Category Archives: Government Oppression

Hello, friend. Im knocking on your door today to ask whether you have accepted the free market as your personal savior. If you havent, Im here to share the good news.

I am, obviously, riffing on the latest talking point from the nationalist conservatives, who have formed a new think tank based on the complaint that American politics is dominated by free-market fundamentalism. Please try not to laugh.

Its not just that this is a ridiculous straw manadvocates of the free market have spent our entire lives being ignored by politicians. Its the fact that this is a sneering way of implying that confidence in markets is a form of dangerous dogmatism. It is an attempt to portray free-market economics as some kind of fanatical leap of faith, rather than a body of knowledge grounded in observation of the remarkable achievements of capitalism over the centuriesnot to mention the failure of every other system.

Its an attempt to accuse somebody else of dogmatism, while they are the ones closing their minds to the evidence.

The most remarkable fact of the last two centuries is the conquest of poverty. We adopted a system of property rights and largely free, unregulated marketsfirst in the America and Western Europe, later in Asia and elsewhereand instead of a hellscape of poverty and oppression, we got this:

We got a vast increase in wealth and the hitherto unknown phenomenon of mass prosperity, in which the majority of people are able to provide themselves not just with the bare necessities of life, but with things that had previously been considered luxuries.

And not only do we have more and better stuff. We also put in a lot less work for it. A mechanized economy no longer runs on heavy physical labor, working hours have dropped, and there are now more white-collar jobs than blue-collar jobs. I say that, not to run down blue-collar jobs, but to point out that the average person has a lot more options, and if you dont want to work with your hands, you probably dont have to.

I was only half-joking when I described the market as your personal savior. Free markets have saved you, individually, from a life of poverty and drudgery. Capitalism has saved you from the hopelessness of a constant struggle with hunger and the limited opportunities of a world in which the vast majority of people were required to toil long hours in the fields just to survive.

No, economics is not the only source of meaning in life. But it is one important source of meaning; consider how much of our lives we spend on our work and careers. And in providing us with wealth and leisure time, economic progress makes all the other sources of meaning easier to access and pursue. Im going to recommend one more time that everyone read Steven Pinkers book Enlightenment Now. I dont agree with all of his conclusions, but he exhaustively demonstrates the vast improvement in human life over the past two centuries. That improvement is most easily measured in terms of increased wealth, but wealth leads to improvements that have an intellectual, psychological, and spiritual dimension: more education, more leisure time, greater access to art, less violence, even an increase in average IQ.

Your life under capitalism is not just wealthier, its richer in every sense. Or at least the free market has made it possible for you to fill your life with things that are meaningful. If you are not doing so, thats your choice. It is not something imposed on you by market forces, which have actually worked to provide you with more options in life, not fewer.

And did I mention the failure of the other systems? Various utopian schemes have been adopted over the years that were supposed to deliver all of these benefits, but without the nuisances of money, prices, markets, and the freedom to trade. They have all failed. A society that consistently rejects the mechanisms of the marketplace ends up like Venezuela, which crashed from relative prosperity to destitute poverty in a surprisingly short period of time.

The people who sneer about free-market fundamentalism are not Bernie Bros itching to run the camps in the Glorious Peoples Republic. Some of them are conservatives who merely want to chisel away at markets here and there in the hope that just a tiny bit more government regulation will make America great again.

There is a sense in which free-marketers are fundamentalist: we start from fundamental principles learned through centuries of observation and experience. These principles of economics warn us about the limited knowledge of central planners and authoritarians, the unintended consequences of supposedly well-meaning regulations, and the intended consequences of hucksters looking to use political pressure to prop up their pet projects.

Thats what leads us to this latest broadside against free markets, which comes from Oren Cass, who is a conservative advocate of industrial policy, which means, in practice, that he wants the government to put its thumbs on the economic scales only piecemeal, depending on which industries and companies the guy in charge wants to help or punish. What Cass is advocating, in other words, is a form of crony capitalism: Free markets for everybodyexcept politically-connected insiders, who get the markets rigged in their favor.

We have a certain amount of experience to show us how honestly and impartially such favors are doled out.

If we want to talk about the fundamentals of the free market, we should note that free-market economics were born and adopted as part of a system of political freedom and individual rights, and the earliest advocates of laissez-faire were also crusaders against corruption and oppression.

The moral principle behind markets is the idea that free people should be able to make their own choices about how they live and what they buy, rather than having preferences pushed down on them from above by populist politicians or arrogant technocratsor those, like the nationalist conservatives, who manage the trick of being both of these things at the same time.

The fundamentalism behind free markets is the suspicion the alternative requires coercion, rather than free choice, as the organizing principle of human affairs. This is what the nationalists are really after. When they rail against free-market fundamentalism, what they really mean is: Dont raise any moral qualms about my favored form of coercion.

If the point of condemning free-market fundamentalists is that many conservatives arent comfortable rejecting all government controlshow can they imagine that they are in any immediate danger on that score? I would gladly spend time with them in Libertarian Debate Club arguing against every last form of government regulation, making the case for private roads, and showing how we could totally fund the government without any taxes. But those arent the debates were going to be having any time soon.

Instead, our debates are going to be about how to pay for massive entitlement programs when they go bankrupt and how to deal with the (allegedly) unintended consequences of the latest poorly thought-out scheme to shut down trade or take over an industry. Our current problems arise from far too little regard for the fundamentals of the free market.

Advocates of the free market know that it will take a long time to get to our Promised Land, and weve given up expecting the laissez-faire utopia in our lifetimes. We would be happy just to see more humility on the part of would-be planners about the brilliance of their schemes. We would like them to recognize that their plan to raise the wages of Uber drivers might just end up putting a whole bunch of free-lancers out of work, or that their plot to use tariffs to revive factory jobs might actually result in a manufacturing recession.

All we ask is that you make a little room in your hearts for the good news about markets and capitalism. Economic policy should start, not with a sneering dismissal of the free market, but with a recognition that capitalism has brought us to a very high level of freedom and prosperity, one unprecedented in all of human history.

It has raised us up out of bondage and made us great among the nations of the earth. And we should not be too eager to sin against it.

Here endeth the lesson.

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Have You Accepted the Free Market as Your Personal Savior? - The Bulwark

Myanmar authorities have actually nabbed more than 2,200 Rohingya Muslims as they tried to unlawfully leave the nation by sea since 2015, according to a list of the detainees acquired from a marine policeman by RFAs Myanmar Service.

Nearly 1,500 Rohingya were apprehended in 2015, greater than 500 were grabbed in 2018, as well as about 250 have actually been nabbed until now in 2019, according to the list supplied by the policeman, that decreased to be called since he is not licensed to provide info to the media.

The numbers did not consist of Rohingya that ran away by land from 2 military-led suppressions in north Rakhine state in 2016 as well as2017 During the preliminary of physical violence, regarding 90,000 Muslims left as well as headed throughout the boundary as well as right into Bangladesh, while the 2nd, more harsh clampdown compelled greater than 740,000 right into Bangladesh.

Thousands of various other Rohingya have actually attempted to leave Myanmar in the last a number of years to retreat institutionalised oppression, grinding hardship, as well as instability in Rakhine state. They pay human traffickers thousands of bucks each to transportation them to various other Muslim- pleasant countries in Southeast Asia where they really hope to have a much better life.

But due to constraints on their flexibility of activity, the Rohingya can not openly take a trip inside or outside the nation without initial getting main consent. Those that choose to traveling unlawfully typically do not take recognition cards with them, which all Myanmar homeowners have to lug.

A team of virtually 70 Rohingya that had actually taken off Rakhine state with the aid of traffickers as well as headed to Malaysia were apprehended in Yangon areas Hlegu area onFeb 20-21 They are currently on test for going against Myanmars citizenship laws for taking a trip unlawfully as well as without documents.

OnFeb 14, authorities grabbed 19 Rohingya, consisting of 4 kids, were apprehended in Magway areas Minhla area of Magway area. The kids were taken to a young people training facility in Mandalay, while the grownups are currently on test for going against citizenship laws, stated area migration policeman Aung Pyi Soe.

In a bigger case, the Myanmar Navy onDec 15 apprehended a vessel transportation 174 Rohingya in waters off the nations southerly pointer, west of Kawthaung community in the southerly Tanintharyi area.

Instead of encountering costs, the participants of the team were moved by watercraft to western Myanmars Rakhine state in very early January, where migration authorities in the local funding Sittwe identified their locations of beginning as well as sent them back to their towns as well as interior variation camps.

OnNov 28, authorities apprehended 96 Rohingya mixed-up off Pathein area in Myanmars Ayeyarwady area after they boarded a watercraft from Rakhine.

All the apprehended Rohingya have actually been billed under Section 6( 3) of Myanmars Immigration Act as well as face jail sentences of 6 months to 2 years if condemned.

Not the answer

Rohingya civil liberties lobbyists have actually decried the apprehensions as well as tests, condemning the Myanmar federal government for falling short to deal with the origin of the prohibited trip.

Tun Khin, head of state of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, stated the federal government needs to expand fundamental civil liberties to the Rohingya, that are taken into consideration illegal aliens from Bangladesh as well as refuted citizenship.

If the Myanmar federal government offers us person civil liberties, allows us reside in our locations [of origin] by restoring our residences, allows us take a trip in our nation, as well as eliminates unjust regulations that influence us, these trip situations can be minimized, he stated.

Yes, the government can do it any time, but it is not willing to do it, he stated. We prompt the federal government to do these points. We [also] desire justice from the global area.

Myanmar is the topic of a suit at the International Court of Justice brought by the tiny African country Gambia, implicating the Southeast Asian nation of going against the 1948 Genocide Convention throughout the supposed expulsion of greater than 740,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh in the middle of the 2017 suppression.

The project of physical violence left hundreds of Rohingya dead, while several of those that attempted to take off were subject to abuse, mass rape, as well as area burnings.

The federal government as well as safety and security pressures have actually safeguarded the activity as a counterinsurgency versus a Muslim militant team in northRakhine The armed force has actually promised to prosecute soldiers that devoted wrongs, as well as has actually until now held 3 courts-martial.

Rohingya lobbyist Thar Aye stated it is more suitable that authorities return recorded Rohingya to their locations of beginning as opposed to prosecute them, which they concentrate their initiatives on billing traffickers.

It is a good action, he stated. Because they are not guilty, it is the right action to send them back to their places of origin.

After sending them back, authorities need to investigate and take action against the people and organizations involved in these human trafficking cases, he added. If they do this, there will be a decrease in the number of flight attempts in the future.

But Nickey Diamond, a Myanmar civils rights professional with the Southeast Asia- based NGO Fortify Rights, differed, claiming that Rohingya that are caught as well as returned will likely leave once more if their scenario does not alter right.

Even if they are sent back to their places of origin, they are going to flee again if they cant survive, he stated. And then, some will be arrested in Myanmars territorial waters, though others will make it to other countries.

I want the Myanmar government to think about the causes of the problem why they cant live in their places of origin, why they are fleeing, he included. The government needs to think about these questions. But now it is giving them prison sentences after it arrests them and is sending them back. This is not the answer.

Reported as well as equated by Khet Mar for RFAs MyanmarService Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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More Than 2,200 Rohingya Caught Trying to Leave Myanmar by Sea Since 2015: Detainee List - The Union Journal

Women are among the strongest opponents of Indias Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens, which threaten the citizenship rights of vulnerable groups like Muslims, poor women, oppressed castes and LGBTQ people. The Act, passed in December 2019, fast-tracks Indian citizenship for undocumented refugees from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan but only those who are non-Muslim. Meanwhile, the National Register of Citizens will require all residents in India to furnish extensive legal documentation to prove their citizenship as soon as 2021.

Critics see the two laws as part of the governments efforts to redefine the meaning of belonging in India and make the constitutionally secular country a Hindu nation.

Since December 4, 2019, Indians of all ages, ethnicities and religions have been protesting the new citizenship initiatives in scattered but complementary nationwide demonstrations. The uprisings have persisted through weeks of arrests, beatings and even killings by the police. But the most enduring pocket of resistance is an around-the-clock sit-in of mostly hijab-wearing women in a working-class Delhi neighborhood called Shaheen Bagh.

Since December 15, 2019, women of all ages from students to 90-year-old grandmothers have abandoned their daily duties and braved near-freezing temperatures to block a major highway in the national capital, Delhi. This is a striking act of resistance in a patriarchal country where women, and particularly Muslim women, have historically had their rights denied.

The Shaheen Bagh protests are as novel in their methods as they are in their makeup. Protesters are using artwork, book readings, lectures, poetry recitals, songs, interfaith prayers and communal cooking to explain their resistance to citizenship laws that, they say, will discriminate against not just Muslims but also women, who usually dont have state or property papers in their own names.

On January 11, women in Kolkata performed a Bengali-language version of a Chilean feminist anthem called The Rapist is You. This choreographed public flash dance, first staged in Santiago, Chile, in November 2019, calls out the police, judiciary and government for violating womens human rights.

In 2011, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported that India is the worlds most dangerous country for women. One-third of married women are physically abused. Two-thirds of rapes go unpunished. Gender discrimination is so pervasive that around one million female fetuses are aborted each year. In some parts of India, there are 126 men for every 100 women.

Indian women have come together in protest before, to speak out against these and other issues. But most prior womens protests were limited in scope and geography. The 2012 brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old Delhi woman, which sparked nationwide protests, was a watershed moment. All at once, the country witnessed the power of womens rage.

The current women-led anti-citizenship law demonstrations are even greater in number and power. Beyond Shaheen Bagh, Indian women across caste, religion and ethnicity are putting their bodies and reputations on the line. Female students are intervening to shield fellow students from police violence at campus protests. Actresses from Bollywood, Indias film industry, are speaking out against gender violence, too.

With their non-violent tactics and inclusive strategy, the Shaheen Bagh women are proving to be effective critics of the governments Hindu-centric agenda. Their leaderless epicenter of resistance raises up national symbols like the Indian flag, the national anthem and the Indian Constitution as reminders that India is secular and plural a place where people can be both Muslim and Indian.

The Shaheen Bagh movements novel and enduring strategy has triggered activism elsewhere in the country. Thousands of women in Lucknow started their own sit-in in late January. Similar Shaheen Baghs have sprung up since, in the cities of Patna and even Chennai.

These protests form part of a broader global trend in womens movements. Worldwide, female activists are combining attention to womens issues with a wider call for social justice across gender, class and geographic borders.

In January 2019 alone, women in nearly 90 countries took to the streets demanding equal pay, reproductive rights and the end of violence. Young women were also at the forefront of the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, Lebanon, Sudan, Brazil and Colombia. As I write in my 2017 book, such inclusive activism is the defining characteristic of whats called fourth wave feminism.

There isnt a common definition of the first three feminist waves. In the United States, they generally refer to the early 20th century suffragette movement, the radical womens movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and the more mainstream feminism of the 1990s and early 2000s.

Fourth wave feminism appears to be more universal. Todays activists fully embrace the idea that womens freedom means little if other groups are still oppressed. With its economic critique, disavowal of caste oppression and solidarity across religious divides, Indias Shaheen Bagh sit-in shares attributes with the womens uprisings in Chile, Lebanon, Hong Kong and beyond.

The last time women came together in such numbers worldwide was the #MeToo movement, a campaign against sexual harassment which emerged on social media in the United States in 2017 and quickly spread across the globe.

Shaheen Bagh and similarly far-reaching womens uprisings underway in other countries take #MeToo to the next level, moving from a purely feminist agenda to a wider call for social justice. Women protesters want rights not just for themselves, but human rights for all.

Alka Kurian, Senior Lecturer, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington, Bothell.

This article first appeared on The Conversation.

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Protests across Indias Shaheen Baghs are part of a global fourth-wave feminist uprising - Scroll.in

By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Christian Post Reporter | Thursday, January 30, 2020 Iranian flag waving with cityscape on background in Tehran, Iran | Getty images/stock photo

A 21-year-old Christian convert in Iran known for highlighting the plight of persecuted believers and criticizing the countrys repressive government remains missing nearly three weeks after her arrest.

The website Article 18 reports that Fatemeh Mohammadi, also known as Mary, was among those arrested on Jan. 12 near Azadi Square. At the time of her arrest, protests were taking place in response to the Iranian governments admission of guilt in the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane hit by two missiles.

Mohammadi was apprehended by police and transported to an unknown location. Nearly three weeks after her arrest no one has heard from the young woman.

On the day of her arrest, she published a series of tweets in which she said the Iranian people were facing soft repression, exposed only to news that the regime wanted them to read.

In her tweets, she used hashtags that, when translated, mean hard-pressed and suppression is the norm."

She added that tackling soft repression is even harder than tackling the hard repression," accusing the government of institutionalizing false beliefs through selective coverage of the news," and lies that are bigger and more repetitive make them more believable.

The Christian activist was previously arrested three other times and spent six months in prison on charges of "membership in proselytizing groups," "Christian activity," and "acting against national security through propaganda against the regime."

Just before her arrest, she was kicked out of the university she was attending for no given reason. A week later, she was arrested again.

It appears that my religious beliefs and having a prior conviction [because of Christian activities] on security-related charges, as well as my human rights activism, are the reasons for banning me from further education, she told Article 18 at the time.

The denial of basic and fundamental rights, such as the right to education, certainly can act as a pressure mechanism and is used as a lever to apply pressure on religious minorities and human rights activists in the hope that individuals will halt their activities and abandon their beliefs. Depriving me of my education is certainly intended to exert pressure upon me, and silence me.

Persecution watchdog groupOpen Doors notes that Mohammadi also boldly spoke about believers rights, including the cruel treatment she received in prison, and ran a campaign petitioning for all Christians, including converts, to be given the right to worship in a church.

When asked whether she feared for her safety, she responded that she was ready to return to prison to fight for the rights of Christians in Iran.

Earlier this year, she wrote an open letter to Irans Minister of Intelligence, accusing him of violating the Iranian Constitution by targeting Christians. In it, she questioned why Christians are prevented from talking about their beliefs with their peers, while Muslims can freely engage in propaganda at schools, universities, mosques and shrines.

Iran is ranked No. 9 on Open Doors'2020 World Watch Listof worst countries to live as a Christian.

Iranian society is governed by Islamic law, which means the rights of and professional possibilities for Christians are heavily restricted, Open Doors notes. Christians are forbidden from sharing their faith with non-Christians in Iran, and it is illegal to produce Christian literature.

According to the charity, over the 2020 World Watch List reporting period, there were at least 169 arrests of Christians, 114 of them made in one single week at the end of 2018.

Many Iranian believers (especially converts) have been prosecuted and sentenced to long terms in jail. Others are still awaiting trial. Their families face public humiliation during this time, Open Doors reports.

Last week, acourt in Iran sentenced a 65-year-old convert to Christianity to three years in prison for insulting Islamic sacred beliefs even as he is yet to be tried in the court for two other charges.

In December, Irans Revolutionary Courtsentencednine Christians to a combined total of 45 years in prison for converting to Christianity. The converts were arrested in January and February 2019.

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Iran: 21-year-old Christian convert who criticized regime's oppression of believers arrested, missing - The Christian Post

Donald Trump's "Middle East plan" has fully adopted the Israeli agenda and ignores the fundamental problem that has continued for more than 70 years.

Palestinians are not striving to improve the conditions of their imprisonment, we want the return of our refugees and the end of the occupation.

As it is, Palestinians are trapped, with very little freedom of movement and no voice to tell our side of the story. That is not going to change with this "deal", especially when the international community turns a blind eye to the reality on the ground for ordinary people.

I feel the isolation that Palestinians are subjected to most painfully when I travel. What I love most about travelling is the freedom of movement; being able to get in a car, listen to music and just set off.

But, more than 70 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulated the right to freedom of movement, this is not something most Palestinians can contemplate.

People around the world, who may not even know they have this defined right, exercise it on a daily basis. But for those living in the Palestinian territoriesessentially a detention camp surrounded by fences, walls and military towersto try is to risk your life.

In Gaza and the West Bank, a person's ability to travel is conditional upon obtaining a permit from the Israeli government and then going on a waiting list administered by Gaza'sMinistry of the Interior. As a result, the vast majority of Gazans have not left the Strip since the Israeli blockade began in 2007. The decision to travel is usually made only in cases of extreme need, such as for urgent medical treatment.

A few months ago, I received an invitation from NOVACT, the International Institute for Nonviolent Action, which is based in Spain, to take part in a speaking tour, in conjunction with a number of other civil organisations, about the situation in Gaza. I was asked to give talks in Belgium, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands, France and Slovenia. This invitation was the reason I was granted a Schengen visa and as soon as I got it, I registered my name on the travel waiting list in Gaza.

I waited for two months.

The conversations I had with my European colleagues during this time perfectly summed up the differences in our experiences and expectations.

They needed to schedule my activities.

"On what day?" they would ask.

"I cannot say," I would reply. "It is not in my control."

"Ok, so in which week?" they would respond.

"I don't know that, either," I would tell them. "Plans can only be made when I have actually left Gaza."

"So in which month will that be?"

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"Maybe in December, maybe January. When I am able to travel, I will let you know."

When I eventually got permission to travel, the experience was one of joy tinged with sorrow that others from my country could not enjoy this simple right.

On the road from Germany to the Czech Republic, and later from the Czech Republic to Austria, I saw no borders to tell me that I was entering a new country. The only thing that informed me was the welcome message I received from my telecom provider on my mobile phone.

I could pass through European airports without registration, waiting lists or lengthy interrogations; I could disembark from a plane and head to the exit gate without being stopped by a security officer. It was a shock.

Dozens of activists I met in Europe told me they had visited Palestine. The thought that they had roamed our cities, learned about our culture, tasted our food and felt the warmth of our sun, always made me feel good. "Did you visit Gaza?" I would ask them. "No, only the West Bank," they would invariably reply, "Israel would not give us permission to visit Gaza."

Not only are Gazans locked in, but others are locked out. And this isolation is killing us and our story. When people do not know us, when they do not see our reality, the chances of them standing in solidarity with us are diminished.

During my tour of Europe, I saw first-hand what it means when Palestinians in Gaza cannot tell their story. I was repeatedly asked by people who knew nothing of the long history of Jews being an important part of the fabric of Arab society, why Arabs were so hostile to Jews.

I was probed about the role of Hamas inthe Great March of Return -peaceful Friday protests by Palestiniansand whether this was the reason the Israeli army had used excessive force against the demonstrators. I replied that, according to the OCHA, 213 Palestinians had been killed since the demonstrations began in March 2018 and more than 36,000 injured, many of whom have been left with permanent disabilities. In contrast, no Israelis had died.

I was asked why we did not just make peace with the Israelis. But peace is not something the victims of occupation, displacement and oppression can initiate, I replied.

Now, as Trump's new Middle East plan silences the voices of Palestinians, our stories, our realities, more than ever, Europe has a decision to make.

The EU has for years expressed its "deep concerns" over Israel's targeted killings and illegal settlements.But pro-Palestinian activists increasingly face censure and restrictions in European countries.

Last May, Germany passed a symbolic resolution designating the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement as anti-Semiticeven though the movement's demands are based on international law and the methods it uses are peaceful.

In December, the French parliament passed a resolution that labelled anti-Zionism a form of anti-Semitism.

Europe today faces a real test: Will it value the principles of freedom of opinion, expression and movement and the international law that underpins theseor will it help in the continued silencing and stifling of Palestinians?

If Europe and the international community get behind Trump's Middle East plana plan in which the Palestinians have no saythe answer will be clear.

Link:

Trapped and Voiceless: The Palestinians Depicted in Trump's Plan - Common Dreams

This poster was seen in the U District. (Dori Monson Show)

Did you hear about Seattles latest group to unionize? A listener sent me a picture of a flier from an alley off of the Ave in the University District a flier for a drug users union.

This group celebrates drug use in fact, they have formed a subculture that is all about drug use. The flier says, Urban Survivors Union Proud To Be a Drug User, Seattles Drug User Union.

We are a union that is, first and foremost, for and by drug users. Our first mission is to unite as drug users, because we are the only ones who understand the oppression we face. Join our family and together we can change the laws to better protect our community!

Then it talks about how they meet the first Thursday of every month at the U District Needle Exchange.

Dori: We only look through the lens of whats best for the heroin addict

I have one big question what other laws do drug users need changed?

Marijuana is legal in this state. King County allows personal possession amounts of hard drugs. We all know that drug crimes are rarely being prosecuted by our county prosecutor. That, along with the citys de-policing, led to the downtown Seattle shooting because of all the open drug use, drug dealing, the gangs that control the drug dealing, and the violence that comes with the gangs.

The drug users union already has the mayor, Seattle City Council, city attorney, and county prosecutor working for the policies it favors. Our leadership wants as many drug users as possible. There was just a study this week stating that the county needs up to $1 billion extra each year to fight homelessness.

Trust me, it benefits local government financially to have all the despair and broken lives that come with drug use. You see, the more broken lives there are, the more government has to step in and fix them by raising taxes.

At least, they tell us they want to fix lives, but its really just about expanding government and collecting more of your money. You have to work and save to get a place to live, but government wants you to also provide affordable housing for the drug vagrants who have come flocking to our area.

The drug users union is pushing for changing the laws but I dont know how the laws could possibly be any friendlier toward them.

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from 12-3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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Dori: Forget the teachers union, now Seattle has a drug users union - MyNorthwest.com

Here's a look at how area members of Congress voted over the previous week.

Here's a look at how area members of Congress voted over the previous week.

Along with this week's roll call votes, the House also passed the Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act (S. 153), to promote veteran involvement in STEM education, computer science, and scientific research; the Global Hope Act (H.R. 5338), to authorize the Secretary of State to pursue public-private partnerships, innovative financing mechanisms, research partnerships, and coordination with international and multilateral organizations to address childhood cancer globally; a bill (H. Res. 752), supporting the rights of the people of Iran to free expression and condemning the Iranian regime for its crackdown on legitimate protests; and the Keeping Girls in School Act (H.R. 2153), to support empowerment, economic security, and educational opportunities for adolescent girls around the world.

There were no key votes in the Senate this week.

House Vote 1:

HOLOCAUST EDUCATION PROGRAMS: House has passed the Never Again Education Act (H.R. 943), sponsored by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., to require the Education Department to award grants for Holocaust education programs at public schools. Maloney said: "Our children are not born with hate in their hearts, and it is up to us to make sure that they never learn it." The vote, on Jan. 27, was 393 yeas to 5 nays.

YEAS: Rutherford R-FL (4th), Waltz R-FL (6th)

House Vote 2:

SUICIDE RESEARCH: The House has passed the Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act (H.R. 4704), sponsored by Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah, to require the National Science Foundation to issue grants to colleges and universities for funding research that aims to prevent suicide. McAdams said the grants "will contribute to the foundational research that we need to give our mental health professionals the tools to save lives." The vote, on Jan. 27, was 385 yeas to 8 nays.

YEAS: Rutherford R-FL (4th), Waltz R-FL (6th)

House Vote 3:

TIBETAN POLICY: The House has passed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act (H.R. 4331), sponsored by Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Mass., to change a variety of elements of U.S. policy on Tibet and its relationship to China, with the general goals of advancing human rights, religious freedom, and economic development for Tibetans. McGovern called the bill an "important step to strengthen U.S. policy in support of the Tibetan people" in the face of oppression by China's government. The vote, on Jan. 28, was 392 yeas to 22 nays.

YEAS: Rutherford R-FL (4th), Waltz R-FL (6th)

House Vote 4:

CONSUMER CREDIT REPORTS: The House has passed the Comprehensive CREDIT Act (H.R. 3621), sponsored by Rep. Ayanna Presley, D-Mass. Bill measures include a ban on consumer credit reports including information about delinquent or defaulted private education loans taken out by borrowers who meet a standard for loan repayment, restrictions on employee credit checks by employers, and other changes to the formation and use of consumer credit reports. Presley said the measures were needed to "ensure a more equitable and transparent credit reporting system for all." A bill opponent, Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, R-N.C., said the changes "will destroy the accuracy and completeness of consumer credit files. This will lead to a weaker financial system." The vote, on Jan. 29, was 221 yeas to 189 nays.

NAYS: Rutherford R-FL (4th), Waltz R-FL (6th)

House Vote 5:

REGULATING FENTANYL ANALOGUES: The House has passed the Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act (S. 3201), sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. The bill would extend until May 2021 the Drug Enforcement Agency's temporary scheduling order regulating fentanyl-like substances as schedule I drugs. A supporter, Rep. Ann M. Kuster, D-N.H., said the extension would give the federal government "the opportunity to better understand the full range of implications that come with classwide scheduling of these substances" that are a large threat to public health. The vote, on Jan. 29, was 320 yeas to 88 nays.

YEAS: Rutherford R-FL (4th), Waltz R-FL (6th)

House Vote 6:

CONFLICT WITH IRAN: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act (H.R. 550), that would bar spending on military force against Iran in the absence of declaration of war by Congress or specific legal authorization from Congress. Khanna said the amendment sought to avoid a repetition of the unending and very costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. An opponent, Rep. Michael T. McCaul, R-Texas, said it "takes legitimate options off the table for the executive branch. In doing so, it shows America divided in the face of mounting Iranian threats, making our nation less safe." The vote, on Jan. 30, was 228 yeas to 175 nays.

NAYS: Rutherford R-FL (4th), Waltz R-FL (6th)

House Vote 7:

REPEALING IRAQ WAR AUTHORIZATION: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act (H.R. 550), that would repeal the 2002 law that authorized the war with Iraq. Lee called the 2002 authorization outdated and unnecessary, and said "not only is it not needed for any current counterterrorism operations, but repealing it would have absolutely no impact on the administration's ongoing military operations." An amendment opponent, Rep. Michael T. McCaul, R-Texas, said repealing the 2002 authorization without a new authorization for counterterrorism actions "endangers not only the United States' national security, but our coalition partners, most notably, Iraq." The vote, on Jan. 30, was 236 yeas to 166 nays.

NAYS: Rutherford R-FL (4th), Waltz R-FL (6th)

Excerpt from:

Congressional Votes | Week of Jan. 24, 2020 - St. Augustine Record

Kobe was a mesmerizing figure. Even the league itself was transfixed and aware of the financial bonanza he provided. Long before the NBA showed its cards and declined to take a stand on Chinese government oppression, in hopes of keeping Chinese money flowing, the NBA stuck by Kobe when he was charged with rape after a 2003 incident in Eagle, Colorado.

The accuser eventually declined to cooperate with authorities, Kobe settled out of court, his reputation took only a momentary hit and the NBA continued to reap the jackpot of having Kobe as the leagues most riveting player.

Even at age 37, Kobes flair didnt waver. His final season, 2015-16, was a farewell tour around the league, and he scored 60 points in his final game, April 13, 2016.

Kobes enchantment continued upon NBA retirement. He stayed above the basketball fray to which so many former superstars succumb. He turned a $6 million sports-drink investment to a $200 million windfall. His production company won an Academy Award for a basketball short film.

That explains Kobe Bryant best. A prom date with a Hollywood starlet before he ever got to the Lakers; an Oscar after he left the Lakers. And all kinds of basketball largess in between.

Kobe was great with the media oh man, what a world it would be if Westbrook had taken his press conference tips from Kobe and from all reports great with fans.

He had a great smile and a warm personality and didnt make enemies, except on the court. Kobe was both accessible and untouchable; he put himself in vulnerable positions but remained Teflon.

He is the embodiment of the star-driven nature of the basketball league that made him famous, and now hes gone, at age 41, a life lived with flair.

Read the original:

Berry Tramel: Flair describes the life and times of the late Laker superstar Kobe Bryant - Oklahoman.com

The Islamic world experienced a short respite during World War II and the Cold War; however, today's chaotic global scene has once again reverted the region's conditions to the pre-World War I environment.

Currently, the struggle for independence and freedom for Muslim countries around the world has once again emerged, leading to region-wide regression. Iranian hostility topped with general anxiety worldwide have led countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to partner with Israel. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have requested U.S. support due to the regional problems.

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the so-called Middle East peace plan, which he coined the "Deal of the Century," alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Statements by Trump regarding the current state and future of Palestine reflected a typical Trump style. In other words, they were unstable and far from reality.

The plan projects Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. In addition, Palestine is given four years to meet certain conditions to become a conditional independent state. In other words, Trump's plan is to make Jerusalem the undivided capital of Israel. This one-sided, unrealistic so-called Middle East peace plan has delighted the Israeli government and outraged Palestinians.

This attitude of the U.S. also risked the possibility of peace between Israel and Palestine and thus became the determinant of the deadlock in Palestine. Trump has threatened the people of the region directly and the people of the world indirectly by saying this plan is the last opportunity for Palestinians and that if it is not accepted, it will have consequences, without mentioning the political framework that has no benefits for Palestinians.

Palestine is located in a geographical region open to all scenarios, and Israel's claim on Jerusalem is not new. Divided by the U.N. in 1947, followed by Israel declaring its independence as a state a year later, Palestine has since tried to work with Washington to protect its future. As the Israeli territory on the map grew over the years, the Palestinian region on the map became smaller and smaller.

Since the 1950s, Palestine's cause has been on the minds of Arab rulers, who motivated their people with the image of Palestine. However, Arab rulers have betrayed the Palestinians' plight, though Arabs still hold Palestine close to their hearts.

Israel and the U.S., portraying themselves as the protectors of democracy and human rights, are trying to occupy the region in line with their own interests on the grounds that they will protect Palestine and the Palestinian people, and they constantly apply tyranny to the people of the region.

On the other hand, the Palestinian people continue to struggle against the pressure and sanctions. Palestine's struggle is an example to the world.

Turkey, which has supported Palestinians strong stand against the statements of the U.S. and has staunchly stood behind the Palestinian people during their struggle for independence, has also been a target of Israel's attacks and reactions.

In this regard, Palestine and Turkey are similar and understand each other very well. Turkey has refused to remain silent regarding Israel's aggression and has declared it will never allow the legitimization of Israel's persecution and occupation. Turkey continues to proudly support the Palestinian people today and has not hesitated to announce its support to the world. In the end, Ankara knows peace will only be achieved by ending the invasive policies in the Middle East. Therefore, Turkey's support is very important for Palestinians.

The world has continuously faced war and oppression, and these pressures continue to increase. The world has now become a place of persecution and injustice, a trend that needs to be reversed immediately.

In this sense, Palestine is the world's womb and Trump's Palestine declaration is not acceptable because it simply promotes occupation.

In the end, as long as Palestine remains oppressed, there is no justice in the world.

Read more:

As long as Palestine remains oppressed, the world is devoid of justice - Daily Sabah

King believed humanity could achieve a "higher synthesis" that rose above the social relations of capitalism and communism.

"Black self-determination was seen by the ruling class as a great communist conspiracy."

The annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is politically meaningless because it is defined by the very power structure that assassinated both his physical life and his radical legacy. To this day, King is remembered by most Americans as the "I Have a Dream" figure who sought peaceful coexistence with a racist power structure also known as the United States government. This narrative has not only benefited the ruling class and the privileges of white Americans but also the Black misleadership class which utilizes King's sanitized legacy as a cover of legitimacy for their political service to the bourgeoisie. It should come as no surprise, then, that the historical moment from which King's work arose has also been distorted by the U.S. ruling class. While publications such as Teen Vogueand public intellectuals likeCornel Westhave brought attention to King's anti-war and anti-capitalist history, fewer have analyzed the importance of socialism in shaping the trajectory of King's politics.

King did not identify as a socialist in Marxian terms. By the end of his life, King was criticizing the triple evils of militarism, racism, and materialism. However, he didn't see the communist movement led by the Soviet Union as the answer to Black America's ills. Instead, King retained a moral and spiritual commitment to equality. He believed humanity could achieve a"higher synthesis"that rose above the social relations of capitalism and communism. The police occupation of poor Black communities at home and the U.S. military occupation of Vietnam abroad compelled King to demand an end to U.S. militarism and to organize the Poor People's Campaign for economic justice.

"The Black misleadership class utilizes King's sanitized legacy as a cover of legitimacy for their political service to the bourgeoisie."

While King didn't embrace communism, his politics were profoundly influenced by the struggle for socialism, domestically and abroad. Most bourgeois historians of the so-called "Civil Rights" era leave out the pesky fact that a war between socialism and capitalism was occurring simultaneously with the Black struggle against Jim Crow white supremacy in the U.S. mainland. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Ghana to celebrate the African nation's independence from Britain in 1957 and met with itsopenly socialist leader, Kwame Nkrumah.National liberation movements throughout Africa and the Third World were receiving aid from the Soviet Union and China to win independence. On the opposite side, the U.S. was engaged in an all-out war on the socialists wherever they resided. This war began with the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1918 and included the use of a two nuclear bombs during World War II, themurder of millions in a military invasion of Korea, and the open threat to drop another nuclear bomb on China for its assistance to socialist resistance on the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. ruling class was extremely concerned that the Black struggle to overturn Jim Crow in the U.S. mainland would seek alliances with the socialist, largely non-white movement abroad. This led King and the rest of the Black movement to become targets in the U.S. government's anti-communist crusade. Black self-determination was seen by the ruling class as a great communist conspiracy that threatened to bring the socialist politics of the Soviet Union to the U.S.' doorstep. Paul Robeson, W.E.B. Du Bois, Claudia Jones, and several other Black intellectuals and organizers wereblacklisted as agents of Moscowand terrorized by the state for their refusal to align with the predations of American capitalism. The ruling class was so concerned about the influence of anti-colonial and socialist movements abroad that theState Department hired Jazz artists such as Louis Armstrongto travel to newly independent nations on the African continent to promote the U.S.' so-called commitment to racial equality.

"King and the rest of the Black movement became targets in the U.S. government's anti-communist crusade."

COINTELPRO's counterinsurgency warfare against communists and revolutionaries of all kinds really intensified at height of the Cold War in the 1950s, not in the 1960s and 1970s as commonly assumed. U.S. imperialism had every right to fear the influence of socialism. The Soviet Union, China, and Cuba all espoused internationalism as a critical aspect of their socialist projects. Paul Robeson famously remarked that he felt no racial prejudice duringhis trip to the Soviet Union.China provided asylum to Black activistRobert Williams in 1966.A real possibility existed for socialist countries and the Black liberation movement to develop internationalist relationships, much to the chagrin of the American Empire.

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Contrary to the assumptions of former FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, Black revolutionaries were not attracted to socialism because they were dupes of Moscow orculturally programmed to seek a "Black messiah."The world socialist movement not only demonstrated to Black Americans and all oppressed peoples that white capitalist rule could be successfully overthrown but also that a new and more favorable system could replace it. Conditions for workers and peasants in the socialist bloc greatly improved under the direction of a planned economy. In China, for example, a peasant class which was largely landless, illiterate, and prone to premature death prior to 1949saw immense gainsin public health, land ownership, and gender equality after the revolution overthrew the rule of the landlord class and its foreign sponsors. As scholarsRobin Kelly and Betty Eschexplain, the world socialist movement resided in the non-white world and provided Black revolutionaries a successful model for asserting self-determination in the belly of the imperial beast.

"A real possibility existed for socialist countries and the Black liberation movement to develop internationalist relationships."

We don't hear much about socialism when the period of Martin Luther King's political life is discussed in the United States. Yet it is clear that the world socialist movement made a deep impact on King's political trajectory. The genocidal U.S. war in Vietnam, which was largely a war to suppress a socialist revolution, led King to make the following remarks in his speech,Beyond Vietnam:

"These are revolutionary times. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of exploitation and oppression, and out of the wombs of a frail world new systems of justice and equality are being born. The shirtless and barefoot people of the land are rising up as never before. 'The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.' We in the West must support these revolutions."

Martin Luther King's anti-war stance is an example of how socialism was a radicalizing force in the Black political movement and vice versa. Vietnamese revolutionary and first elected president Ho Chi Minh wrotean essay about the lynching of Black Americansin 1924 during his travels to the United States. Chairman Mao Tse-Tung of China wrote a statement of support to Black Americaafter King's assassination.The Black struggle for self-determination was as inspirational to the world socialist movement as the world socialist movement was to the Black left.

Many believe that the U.S. government assassinated King because of his decision to oppose the U.S. war on socialist Vietnam abroad. King spent over a decade under close surveillance by the FBI and other intelligence agenciesbeginning in 1955.A civil court in 1998 ruled that various U.S. government agencies were involved in King's murder. The role of the U.S. government in King's murder has been suppressed with the same ferocity that the role socialism in the political life of Dr. King has been erased from the U.S. ruling class' version of "Black History."

"The Black struggle for self-determination was as inspirational to the world socialist movement as the world socialist movement was to the Black left."

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the weakening of the socialist bloc beginning in the 1990s left Black Americans and other oppressed peoples with few allies around the world. Even worse, two generations of neoliberal decay and the development of a Black misleadership class in the United States moved politics in the U.S. markedly to the right over the same period. The decline of socialism around the world coincided with the expansion of endless war, mass incarceration, and austerity. These policies disproportionately targeted Black lives and in many ways were designed to destroy them. The sanitization of King's legacy has always been meant to reinforce the policy of annihilation that U.S. imperialism has set forth for Black America and the world's oppressed peoples at large.

Still, the so-called "liberal left" imagination is more concerned with anti-communism in the form of Russiagate than with the concerns of Black life. The United States' capitalist empire has no room for King's real legacy, as its treatment of Bernie Sanders makes clear. Sanders' economic agenda most closely resembles King's class politics by the end of his life. The Lords of Capital are fully committed to suppressing Sanders with the understanding that if the word "socialism" continues to gain popularity, then more people, especially Black people, may be inclined to explore and emulate King's radical legacy. To combat the opportunism of the lords of capital and their minions in the political class, we must popularize King's radical legacy and revive the politics of socialism and internationalism which animated it. As Fred Hampton famously said, "Socialism is the people. If you are afraid of socialism, then you are afraid of yourself."

See the original post here:

Remember the Influence of Socialism on Martin Luther King Jr's Legacy - Common Dreams