March 2010
Dear Comrades,
This is my spot to politically vent a little—ok, a lot—as well as
a section to post letters from other socialist individuals & organizations.
The opinions I express here do not represent the views of other people
associated with Parallel Perspectives.
Regards,
JEFarrow
Previous
Postings:
Dear Comrades #1 [April 2008] California budget woes; Red Army in Afghanistan; Humans unwilling to modify their behavior.
Dear Comrades #2 [May 2008] Treacherous Arab Oligarchy; Capitalists & the Environment.
Dear Comrades #3 [August – December 2008] Stimulus package; Animal Rights Terrorists; Castro praises Russian Orthodox Church.
Dear Comrades #4 [March - April 2009] More bailout (for the Capitalists); The Disarming Myth of the Liberal Bourgeoisie
Dear Comrades #5 [July - August 2009] California draconian budget cuts—and more on the way;
Anti-religious views; Michelle Obama vs. Laura Bush.
Dear Comrades #6 [November – December 2009] Karma or Complicity?; Mission to Mars: Fasten your seat belts?
Return to FORUM
INDEX
9. March 2010
Reactionaries &
The Occult
Dear Comrades,
The mysterious & secretive
world of The Occult has always been copiously peppered with confidence
tricksters, the psychiatrically challenged, proto-fascists & a whole
gallery of people promoting purely personal agendas. The initial resurgence of
neo-paganism in the 20’s & 30’s of the last century was almost exclusively
dominated by people with racist views and the belief that most people were
“evolutionarily incapable” of governing themselves, and needed a “Messiah” to
lead them. Hitler easily stepped into that role—and almost immediately had many
of his “Prophets” liquidated.
3Emblem of Thelema
Groups
outside The Third Reich were waiting for “The New Aeon” and a Prophet of their
own. These groups mainly asserted 1 of 2 points of view: 1) They believed the
Aeon had been sparked by infamous Occultist Aleister Crowley. The Crowley
factions still exist & are self-described as “Thelema” and/or “Chaos Magick” disciples. Interestingly,
Crowley himself attempted to contact Hitler in order to convince the Dicatator
to adopt Thelema (“Will”) has the religion of The Reich. 2) The second group placed their bets on the dawning “Age of
Aquarius” and believed its Messenger & Messiah (spiritual Avatar) to be a Hindu boy born into a
Brahmin family named Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986).
This latter group was primarily made up of Theosophists & Spiritualists.
See
also,
REVIEW: THE LAW IS FOR ALL Aleister Crowely
As
stated above, Thelema groups still exist & many of the organizations have a
large—and possibly still growing—membership. Krishnamurti shocked his Order of the Star,
and organization promoting Messianic pretentions. As a matter of fact, he went
on to develop a philosophy that was an expression of a rugged, existentialist
individualism that denied all reliance on authority, particularly “spiritual”
& political authority. In short, he got out of the New Age racket
altogether & rejected its “psychic” trappings as being either useless or
delusional.
3Emblem of Theosophy
The
consciousness-expansion explosion of the 60’s was liberally fueled by the
popularity of ingesting psychoactive substances & an American generation in
rebellion against the materialistic
conformity
of the 1950’s social structure, as well as widespread opposition to the Vietnam
War. This led to a politically active counter-culture that embraced &
extended the idea of The New Age. There was also a resurfacing of neo-paganism,
an interest in the occult & witchcraft (christened “Wicca” by practioners.)
Wicca was created by devotees who weren’t entirely comfortable with being
identified with an historically questionable anachronism, i.e. “witches” and
who also wanted a more eclectic counter-culture religion to fit their life
style.
3This photo doesn’t really illustrate anything in particular,
I
just thought it was kinda cute.
You
hardly hear the term “New Age” bandied around any more, probably because it got
so far out that finally even its main advocates must have become just a little
embarrassed. The term New Aeon is still in wide use (well, obviously) but is
more restrictive & not an option for people who don’t want to be pinned
down by any philosophy too specific—and in some cases “tainted” with Satanism.
People who didn’t feel comfortable with the New Aeon milieu, either joined the
Wicca movement and/or became Conspiracy fanatics. Neither alternative has a
clear political focus, however, they share a general pro-capitalist, diffuse
liberatarianism. In collusion with the Conspricy Fringe, Libertarianism in the
U.S. is backed by landlords & other Right Wing, rabidly anti-socialist
individual. Wicca began as a pro-feminist, vague collectivist slant. With the
shift of American feminism into a pro-capitalist & nationalist agenda,
heaven or hell only knows what Wiccans believe these days.
Some
occultists are conspiracy buffs, while many conspiracy theorists are
anti-occult, feeling an imperative to fend off evil designs of The Illuminati,
Freemasons, The Vatican, etc. (Well, they may be right about The Vatican!)
And
they’re all paranoid…very, very paranoid.
There
are several occult “themes” being promoted by the Conspiracy people:
·
The idea that there is a “crisis of infertility” (among
whites)
·
There is a dark force promoting androgyny
·
The move to a “New World Order” (often personified by
Barack Obama)
·
666 represents micro chipping as a means to control the
population
·
A belief that 2012 represents the “End Times.” Also, The
so-called Bible Code.
·
Pseudo-scientific & “psychic” beliefs claiming that 1
segment of the population is on a more “evolved” plane of existence than
another.
The
agenda of the political & Religious Right is clear to see:
·
The “crisis of infertility” directly dovetails the anti-abortion
Crusade. I need to do a little more undercover investigation on this one. It’s
related to the Gray Conspiracy in some way. The main point, I think, is that it
is a recent fabrication that dovetails with the release of a report that states
“minorities” are reproducing at a higher rate than whites in America that, in
fact, whites show a rate of declining births. My guess is that whites have
fuller access to birth control & are less tied to religious ideas that
place a lot of pressure to reproduce. At any invent, lowering the birth rate of
EVERYBODY is a good thing.
·
The androgyny theory is a barely concealed part of an
anti-homosexual agenda. This belief takes a number of forms. One that I found
particularly interesting claims that “Grays” ET’s hate mankind & are
hell-bent in neutering humanity. Homosexuals or bisexuals are perceived as evil
products of Grays tinkering with the plumbing.
·
The move to a “New World Order” really gets the Tea Party
kooks up in arms. I think at the heart of this conspiracy theory (in the U.S.
at any rate) is a racist backlash to
the Obama Presidancy. At first I was shocked at pictures of T-Party people with
long, grey hair & wearing tie-died shirts—old hippies! But then their
previous lack of political commitment made sense. They denigrate the State,
yes, but are the first with their hands out should any need or catastrophe come
calling. For now their join the chorus, calling for the collapse of an imagined
“Socialist State.”
Maybe
when marijuana is de-criminalized, they will nod off & shut up.
·
The 2012 thing (claiming “the Mayan calendar” predicts the
world will end that year) is a figment of non-Mayan imagination. The only
purpose it seems to serve is to scare people & to make $$$. The Christian
Right has its very own version of this same idea called “The Endtimes.” Like
the Mayan Calendar, the “End” is imminent (it always is.) Not to worry, Jews
have their “Bible Code.” This novel approach to The End claims that the Old
Testament contains embedded codes that can be deciphered by computer. The
messages are appropriately dire & frightening. Then there’s The Da Vinci
Code, etc. et nauseum.
All of these bedazzling “Codes”
and “Secrets” are claimed to present “hidden” or “ancient” wisdom historically
denied to the metaphysically challenged dopes. Just what constitues this Secret
Knowledge, and better yet, how can it improve one’s life?
Does it
really make any difference whether the Knight Templars had the mythical Holy Grail
in their possession? Were the majority of “Founding Fathers” (I really hate
that term, “Founding Generation” is more like it) really Freemasons? Who cares?
Is that really Mary Magalene and not John the Beloved sitting next to Jesus in
The Last Supper? What difference does it make. None of these little New Age
& Occult gems of wisdom benefit anybody except their authors. They may be
interesting like an intellectual hobby, but they have absolutely nothing to
offer in terms of improving life in the real world.
See also,
New ‘Last Supper’ theory crashes Web sites
Amateur scholar claims Leonardo
painting reveals mysterious figures
The 666 craze is probably the
most familiar idea of the lot. It all began with the ever controversial The Book of the Revelation of John.
Like all Apocalyptical writings, The Big
Disaster is scheduled to occurr at any moment. Well, 2,000 years later we’re
still holding our breath. Approaching the year 1,000 CE a huge segment of the
population were convinced that the world would on that date—and they had just
as many—if not more—objective reasons to believe it. It was a very hard time
for humans. Certain religious sects walled themselves into structures in order
to prepare for the end. They starved to death.
See also,
“666” and Historic Materialism
An amazing example of the
pseudo-science method can be found in Stan Gooch’s book THE NEANDERTHAL LEGACY.
In it Gooch claims that homosexuals & socialists are evolutionarily
inferior to the more evolved heterosexuals and capitalists. This is simply a
new form of the highly discredited & racist notion of eugenics. The Nazis claimed eugenics formed the scientific basis of their
criminal racist policies.
Galton's view of the British class structure was the
basis and
emphasis of
the eugenics movement in Britain.
One of the things I find really
interesting about these subjects is that some are consistent with the others;
others are exclusive, while some can be applied to Occultists who are also
Conspiracy people, as well as Conspiracy theorists paranoid of Occultists! The
only thing that is really clear is that proponents of these ideas (whether or
not they really believe in them) can be dangerous. When the occult is mixed
with politics & organized religion, the potential for destructive behavior
should be obvious.
See also,
DOES SPIRITUALITY REALLY
EXIST?
an epilogue (of
sorts)
The
Second Coming
W.B Yeats
Turning
and turning in the widening gyre
the falcon cannot hear the falconer;
things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
mere anarchy is loosed upon the
world,
the blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is
drowned; the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate
intensity.
Surely
some revelation is at hand;
surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
when a vast image out of Spritus Mundi troubles my sight: somewhere in the
sands
of the desert.
A shape
with lion body and the head of a man,
a gaze blank and pitiless as the
sun, is moving
its slow thighs, while all about
it reel shadows
of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know that twenty centuries of stony sleep
were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, and what rough beast,
its hour come round at last,
slouches
towards Bethlehem to be born?
Painting: The Ghost of
a Flea
William Blake 1757-1827
__________________________________
5. March 2010
Proud at Last!
[Photo Josh On/Socialist
Worker.org]
What a sight! Thousands upon thousands of young
people in America taking to the streets protesting the debilitating State
Budget Cuts. And not just college kids, but elementary school kids!
True,
the basic strategy & co-ordination of the mass protests involved college
students & adults, but this was no mere giving kids a day off to mug for
cameras: They were children having fun, yes, but they were children with a
definite purpose in mind. You could see it in their faces. They didn’t want to
lose after-school programs like 4H (various rural type programs that teach
animal husbandry & respect for animals from a working farm perspective.)
The 4H program has been a central program for years, often defining the nature
of rural community. Then there are after- school activities like sports, art
& music. Then there are also many favorite teachers getting the axe. The
cramping of classrooms and more. The students knew exactly what they
were protesting against.
If that wasn’t reason
to enough to feel proud, it was the most multi-racial actions I have ever seen.
Finally, there is a sense to hope that the new generation of American youth
really will represent something wonderful & collective—and they will
be instrumental in bringing down the Oligarchs and the capitalist system.
FROM SWO:
Check out our special coverage of
March 4 day of action...
A DAY OF ACTION JOURNAL
Throughout the day, SocialistWorker.org readers provided reports and photos
from the rallies, strikes and actions in California and around the country to defend
public education.
http://socialistworker.org/2010/03/05/day-of-action-journal
More
below…
18. February 2010
Plugs pulled on free
websites?
Dear Comrades,
I had to
read this article (below) twice just to make sure I understood it correctly. If
the Obama Administration manages to impose an “opt-in” Internet policy, almost
all socialist & progressive groups can kiss their sites sayonara.
Regards,
JEFarrow
Tech industry warns that Obama administration seeks to kill free
websites
A coalition of Internet companies called NetChoice
warned today that the Obama administration's Federal Trade Commission is
angling for a new rule that would require web site visitors to "opt
in" to allow web operators to collect information for advertisers to
target ads.
Executive director
Steve DelBianco warned that such a rule would "devastate" free
websites -- including this one -- by eliminating targeted advertising.
Consumers seldom "opt in" to allow web sites to collect data on the
personal interests they manifest by clicking on articles or advertisements.
DelBianco used an
example of a reader named Grant looking at a golf article. "The web site
ought to be able to tick a box saying Grant likes golf and use that to serve
ads" and share "non-sensitive" data with Nike to buy the ads, as
opposed to selling blind and irrelevant ads for baby diapers.
The FTC won the broader rulemaking authority
it needs in the House-passed financial reform legislation but it is meeting
Senate resistance. DelBianco predicted that such a rule would up-end the
advertising model that now drives the Internet and require ad-supported
websites, including blogs, to find a new source of revenue. NetChoice members
include Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, Yahoo, eBay, AOL, and several web
merchandising groups.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=57469&tsp=1#ixzz0fuq4oOWe
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The
Banquet Joni Mitchell Come to
the dinner gong
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___________________________________________________________
Last Update: 12. March 2010
NOTE: CALLS TO ACTION, Meetings, etc.
should reach us at least 2 weeks in advance of event. We’ll try to get last
minute notices posted, but can’t guarantee it.
________________________________________
3/8/10
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3/7/10
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Monday,
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One hundred years ago today, 99 women
from 17 different countries attended the Socialist Women's Conference held
in Copenhagen in the House of the People. In this first part, we look at
the origins of Women's Day, the origin of women's oppression in class
society, how capitalism lays the material foundations upon which the
question of women's emancipation can be tackled as part of the struggle of
the whole of the working class for the emancipation of the whole of
humanity from class oppression.
Marsinah
(1969-1993) was an Indonesian worker who was kidnapped by the army and
brutally murdered on May 8th 1993 because of her involvement in
the strike action at her workplace. She led a strike with 500 of her fellow
workers, knowing full well that under the dictatorship of Soeharto her life
was in danger. Marsinah has since become a symbol and inspiration for the
workers’ struggle in Indonesia. Let us celebrate International Working
Women’s Day and remember Marsinah by rolling up our sleeves to fight for
socialism, the only way out of the misery of capitalism.
We also publish an excerpt from a
monologue written by Ratna Sarumpaet (translated to English by Robyn Fallick).
This monologue was written in her memory in 1997 and it has since become a
tradition to perform the monologue at every May Day celebration. “Marsinah
Accuses” has also been performed in many other countries.
3/7/10
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
RAWA,
March 8, 2010
Emancipation
of Afghan women not attainable as long as the occupation, Taliban and �National
Front� criminals are not sacked!
Statement
of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) on the
International Women�s Day
Today,
on the 8th of March, Afghan women are mourning for the gang-rape of Bashiras
and Saimas, for being flogged by most lowed elements, for being auctioned in
open market and for their young daughters who put an end to their miserable
lives by self-immolation. But the perpetrators of all these crimes are
forgiven; therefore they enjoy complete immunity, are still holding their
official positions and tightening it through plundering our people and
country.
Though
we don�t expect anything different from the most corrupt and dirty
puppet regime of the world, the pain of Afghan women turns chronic when the!
world believes that the US and NATO has donated liberation, democracy and
human and women rights for Afghanistan; whereas, after eight years of the US
and allies� aggression under the banner of �war on
terror�, they empowered the most brutal terrorists of the Northern
Alliance and the former Russian puppets � the Khalqis and Parchamis
� and by relying on them, the US imposed a puppet government on Afghan
people. And instead of uprooting its Taliban and Al-Qaeda creations,
the US and NATO continues to kill our innocent and poor civilians, mostly
women and children, in their vicious air raids. In
such conditions, we saw that Karzai, as the most demagogic and flagrant President,
turgidly talks about the London Conference, which in face had no positive
outcome for Afghan people and where he only bargained and dealt for the
return of the terrorist Taliban and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to power and the
pouring of millions of more Dollars which go! to the pockets of the Karzai
family and the mafias of Fahim, Khalili, Dostum and other murderers. The
Karzai puppet and reactionary regime is implicated in corruption and blood of
the poor from top to bottom. Only the hundreds of people killed in the recent
avalanche tragedy in Salang and the miseries of millions of refugee Afghans
in the hands of the Iranian criminal regime are enough to punish and jail
many of the so-called high ranking officials for negligence and inattention
to the problems of our people. But
the US government does not try to curb its Afghan stooges and allows them to
commit many crimes, betrayal and lootings, so they could repress and
intimidate Afghans in any possible way and stop the emergence of any
anti-fundamentalist and pro-independent uprising in Afghanistan. Therefore,
it comes of no surprise that the decay and corruption of top criminals such
as Rabbani, Sayyaf, Dr. Abdullah, Qanoni, Karzai family, Zia M! assoud,
Fahim, Khalili, Saddique Chakari, Mirwas Yassini, Zahir Aghbar, Hadi
Arghandewal, Anwar Jakdalak, Ismael Khan, Atta Mohammad and others are even
reflected in some Western media, who have made dirty businesses and
multi-billion Dollar investments in Afghanistan and Dubai as a result of
their lootings and drug-dealings in Afghanistan. To
show to the world that they value women�s rights, the US and its
Afghan mafia lackeys nourished a bunch of flunkeys and pro-occupation women
to hold conferences and meet the so-called �his Excellency�
President Karzai and his US-assigned spokespersons Wahid Omer, Siamak Herawi,
Sibghatullah Sanjar and other traitors to ask for more ministries for Afghan
women. But they are grasping the intentions of others with their own dirty
mirrors and think ordinary Afghan women are unaware of the fact that even if
all the members of the cabinet are made up of reactionary women such as Amina
Afzali, Hassan Bano Ghazanfar, Massoud! a Jalal, Noorzia Atmar, Qadria
Yazdanparast, Shukria Barakzai, Fouzia Kofi, Manija Bakhtari and others linked
to brutal warlords, still it will not bring any positive change for Afghan
women, because such women, acting as committed agents of the US government
and its fundamentalist and non-fundamentalist menials, only define themselves
by raising soft criticisms and asking for some reforms acceptable for the
governing criminals and their foreign masters. With
money and offers of official posts, the US and its Afghan agents have bought
many Afghan intellectuals. Many of the writers and poets are paid by the
blood-thirsty Iranian regime who instead of raising people�s awareness
and mobilizing them for pro-independence, pro-democracy and
anti-fundamentalism struggle, try to pave the way for Iranian theocratic
regime�s deeper involvement in Afghanistan and inflame and fuel
ethnic, sectarian and lingual tensions among Afghan people. RAWA
alw! ays believes that women�s problem is a political issue and we
cannot tackle it separately from the current catastrophic political
situation. Without the overthrow of the current puppet regime, which is
becoming more mortal and odorous than before by the inclusion of Taliban and
Gulbuddini murderers, none of the thousands of the problems of our unhappy
people will ever be solved. Slogans
about restoring peace, security, democracy and women�s rights will be
empty and amplified claims, as long as Afghanistan has not gained its
independence; the Taliban and the Northern Alliance killers are not
prosecuted and the billions of wealth they have pillaged from people are not
taken back from them. The benchmark to judge if any individual or
organization is truly patriotic and progressive in the current situation is
their struggle in any possible means against US occupation, the criminal
Taliban -- who have the enslavement harness of Pakistan around their nick --
an! d the hirelings of Iran and the US in the �National Front�. RAWA
is eager to get united in solidarity with individuals and forces that are
ready to fight for democracy in an independent front against the occupation,
the Taliban, Jehadi and Khalqi and Parchami
homeland-sellers. While
women of Afghanistan are experiencing a new era of captivity and are in the
grip of the fundamentalist monsters, RAWA sends it heartfelt salutations to
struggling brave women of Iran, Palestine, Kurdistan, Sudan, Nepal, India and
the rest of the world and announces solidarity with them. |
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Saturday,
6 March 2010 |
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3/5/10
Here’s
what’s new at SocialistWorker.org...
http://socialistworker.org
________
Check out our
special coverage of March 4 day of action...
A DAY OF ACTION JOURNAL
Throughout the day, SocialistWorker.org readers provided reports and photos
from the rallies, strikes and actions in California and around the country to
defend public education.
http://socialistworker.org/2010/03/05/day-of-action-journal
________
More news and analysis from SocialistWorker.org
Editorials
BUILDING BLOCKS OF A NEW MOVEMENT
The protests against California's budget cuts planned for March 4 are an
important milestone. The next question is how to build on that resistance.
http://socialistworker.org/2010/03/04/building-blocks-new-movement
Analysis: Eric
Ruder
WILL IRAQ EXPLODE AGAIN?
A national election on March 7 could shake Iraqi politics to the core--and
cause long-simmering political and ethnic tensions to boil over once again.
http://socialistworker.org/2010/03/05/will-iraq-explode-again
Analysis: Gary Lapon
WHY WE'RE FIGHTING FOR ENDA
With unemployment a devastating reality for millions, federal protection
from job discrimination for LGBT people is more important than ever.
http://socialistworker.org/2010/03/04/fighting-for-enda
Column: John Pilger
THE REAL HEROES OF ISRAEL
Israel’s onslaught on Lebanon, its devastation of Gaza and its recent
political murder in Dubai have exposed its outrageous criminality.
http://socialistworker.org/2010/03/05/real-heroes-of-israel
Review: Lee Wengraf
WOMEN TRAPPED IN THE AMERICAN GULAG
Interrupted Life is an important collection of writing that
chronicles the experiences of women behind bars in the prison-industrial
complex.
http://socialistworker.org/2010/03/04/women-in-the-american-gulag
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3/4/10
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DEMOCRATIC
SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA |
March 4, 2010 |
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News From DSA |
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Young Activists Need Our Help Because the future of our movement lies in recruiting a new generation, not only to our socialist vision but also to the project of building an organized socialist presence in the United States, |