thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-07-23--Ajamu Baraka on Race, Class and Protest in the United States

“ They were scared to death of young black , white and brown people engaged in resistance.
” Speaking at an event organized by the Irish Workers ’ Party , the national organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace and the 2016 Green Party candidate for vice president said that : “ The current ongoing capitalist crisis has created the most serious crisis of legitimacy since the collapse of the capitalist economy during the years referred to as the Great Depression .
We are now seeing , within the economy , the genocidal implications of economic conditions in which young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ generators of profit locked up in prisons than as participants in the economy as low wage workers.
” Founded in 2017 , the Black Alliance for Peace ( BAP ) seeks to recapture and redevelop the historic anti-war , anti-imperialist , and pro-peace positions of the radical black movement .
Framing the current wave of protests across America as an unarticulated rebellion against “ the dehumanization and degradation of late stage capitalism , known as neoliberalism , ” Baraka outlined attempts by the authorities to co-opt the Black Lives Matter movement with photo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I made a pledge that in all of my public presentations that I will acknowledge the existence of political prisoners in the US .
We just had Delbert Africa – who had been incarcerated for 42 years – up until January when he was released .
He passed the day before yesterday .
We believe it is important that people in the US – but even more importantly that people outside of the US – be made aware that inside the US we have the longest serving political prisoners on the planet .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in prison .
Men – and , up until recently , women – who have been in the dungeons of the US for decades .
The motivation for launching the Alliance was based on the fact that on April 4th , 1967 Dr. Martin Luther King reconnected with the radical black tradition by adding his voice of opposition to the murderous US war machine unleashed on the people of Vietnam .
For Dr. King his silence on the war in Vietnam had become an irreconcilable moral contradiction .
He declared that it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of values of nonviolence as a life principle while the US remained the greatest purveyor of violence on the planet .
He thought it was a contradiction for him to remain silent as the US government engaged in genocidal violence against the people of Vietnam .
We say Dr King reconciled and reconnected with the black radical tradition because , in fact , Dr King was late .
In 1967 , when he embraced an oppositional position on Vietnam , it was years after other formations – including the Revolutionary Action Movement , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Non-Violence Coordinating Committee ) , and the Black Panthers – had taken a resolute stance against the war in Vietnam .
The Black liberation movement that those organizations represented are worker based .
They are anti-capitalist , anti-imperialist and international .
On April 4th , 2017 , 50 years after that very famous speech in which Dr King broke with the US government , we launched the Black Alliance for Peace .
We saw that after more than three decades of pro-war commissioning by both corporate parties and the corporate media , coupled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unrelenting war , opposition to militarism and war was something that had almost disappeared in the US among the general population .
The black public was not immune to those cultural and political changes .
And with the ascendance of the corporatist President Barack Obama – during whose tenure the US continued on a militaristic bent unabated and , in fact , ratcheted up – that lack of opposition to and awareness of US militarism deepened even more .
“ After more than three decades of pro-war commissioning by both corporate parties and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war had almost disappeared.
” What we saw was an absolute necessity for us to attempt to recapture anti-war and anti-imperialist traditions .
The black community , the black people , the black working class have been consistently – up until recently – the most anti-war and anti-imperialist communities in the US .
And so the Black Alliance for Peace was launched to try to revive that spirit of opposition .
But we have to make sure that people understand that the Black Alliance for Peace is a fighting organization .
We are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; no peace .
The Alliance is what we call a people-centered human rights project against war , repression and imperialism that , again , seeks to recapture , seeks to redevelop the anti-war , anti-imperialist spirit .
We see our work as part of a broader effort .
A broader effort to not only revive our antiwar traditions but to revive a broader anti-war , anti-imperialist , pro-peace movement in the United States .
We make the connections between domestic violence and repression and the global war machine .
We see , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
NATO and the rotating of NATO troops on the borders of Russia .
The expansion of the US Africa command .
Continued support for apartheid Israel .
Police executions and impunity in the US .
The carceral state with the mass incarceration of black and other colonized workers and poor people are elements and policies of one oppressive global system of colonial , capitalist , white supremacist power .
So , the context of struggle in the US must begin with a structural analysis .
The current ongoing capitalist crisis has created @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the collapse of the capitalist economy during the years referred to as the Great Depression .
The economic collapse comes on the heels of a deep crisis of the economy that occurred in 2007 , 2008 .
With economic instability and the increasing competition between capitalist states , divisions have emerged among the nations that those of us in the Black Alliance for Peace refer to as the US/EU/NATO axis of domination .
The US has responded by moving toward a more confrontational posture , not only with its allies in Europe , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia as national security risks .
Domestically , the black working class has never recovered from the collapse of 2007 , 2008 .
The continual restructuring of the US economy to a low wage economy has resulted in the black working class being relegated to the lower rungs of the labor force , joining undocumented migrants , immigrants and other colonized workers .
We are now seeing , within the economy , the genocidal implications of economic conditions in which young black workers have more value as human generators of profit locked up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy as low wage workers .
This reality is one of the factors driving the obscene phenomenon of black and brown incarceration in the largest prison system on the planet .
Astronomical youth unemployment .
Millions of African-Americans and white people without health care .
Poisoned environments and crumbling schools make for conditions that , with Covid-19 , are ravaging the black communities .
This is the reality of the colonial , capitalist system in its neoliberal stage .
The Corona pandemic has pulled the ideological curtain away from the system and has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system of greed , human exploitation and degradation , social insecurity , corruption , and the normalization of coercive state violence .
“ The Corona pandemic has pulled the ideological curtain away from the system.
” Bipartisan support for neoliberal capitalist policies over the last four decades has had a devastating impact .
The closing of public health care facilities .
Turning hospitals into giant for-profit hospital chains .
Millions of people – disproportionately black people – living precarious lives at the bottom of the labor market as gig workers with no benefits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , no security – ordered to shutter in place as a consequence of Covid-19 .
Hundreds of black people are dying unnecessarily from the virus because of conditions of colonial oppression .
Which we say amounts to a situation of state sanctioned murder .
So the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor – who was murdered by police in her bed – and Ahmaud Arbery , who was murdered in Brunswick , George by non-state actors ; white vigilantes… The whole phenomenon of vicious killer cops is just the tip of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to bring to understand what is happening in the US .
Connecting the pandemic and the ongoing structural contradictions of capitalism .
The impact of the pandemic , not only on black people , on black workers , but on everyone , particularly the working class in the United States of America .
In some ways George Floyd and the resistance is almost a metaphor for what is unfolding in the US .
It ’ s a consequence of this pandemic .
It ’ s a consequence of the disproportionate impact of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s a consequence of the clear message to workers from racial and ethnic backgrounds that their lives mean very little when it comes to the objective interests of capital .
There has been a process of radicalization among the people , particularly among the working class .
The clear message from the rulers is that humanity and the safety and the health of workers means almost nothing in comparison to the needs of capital .
The knee on the neck of George Floyd that we saw became almost a metaphor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They are experiencing the knee on their neck from capital .
So while the cry was for justice for George Floyd and so called police reform , what some of us see is an unarticulated – unarticulated until this point – rebellion against the dehumanization and degradation of late stage capitalism , known as neoliberalism .
And that is responsible for bringing people to the streets .
There is no other way that one can understand the breadth and intensity of the mobilizations we are seeing .
LGBTQ .
The unemployed youth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Downsized petit bourgeois elements .
Suburbanites .
All sectors of the population have shown up in the streets in hundreds of cities and towns across the country .
What has been the response from the state ?
Many of us have seen an evolution take place .
First there was clear repression .
A heavy handed response from the authorities and from the militarized police .
The calling up of what we call the state police and the national guard .
Every state in the US has a national guard .
These are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They do military maneuvers .
They serve as active duty soldiers from time to time .
During the period when the US was involved in a two-theater war – in both Iraq and Afghanistan- it was the national guard that played a very important role in those wars .
The national guard is one of the foundational elements in allowing the state to carry out two wars simultaneously .
We ’ re talking about military personnel .
They were called up to various states and cities across the country .
So repression @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was an attempt to co-opt .
Some of you may have seen some of the images of the police kneeling with the protesters ; sometimes even joining in with the marchers .
We also saw – and it wasn ’ t disseminated as widely – police officers using the kneeling gesture as a way to lure protesters closer to them .
And then they would attack .
Those images were circulated but not so much in the international press .
After continued attempts to co-opt the resistance we saw a clever move on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ began to criminalize the resistance .
They began to raise the issue of the violence of some of the protesters .
Calling on the protesters to police themselves .
To make sure that the resistance would remain what they define as non-violent .
Part of that criminalization process was racial division .
They used an interesting device , talking about the so-called outside agitators .
In this case it was the white outside agitator .
They said it was the white outside agitators who were responsible for the looting and the escalation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump then identified Antifa .
The anti-fascists .
This amorphous group of individuals – some part of other organizations – who emerged after the election of Donald Trump and who proclaimed that they were going to oppose what they saw as a neofascist movement developing in the country .
“ They said it was the white outside agitators who were responsible for the looting and the escalation of violence.
” Donald Trump said that this amorphous element were in fact domestic terrorists and that they were the ones responsible for the violence taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we started seeing was suspicion on the part of the march organizers when it came to the participation of some white comrades .
Then came an attempt to colonize the resistance by the Democrats .
Over two weeks , there was a move away from a call for justice and police reform .
( Policing ) is a local issue , remember ; we have almost 19,000 police forces in the US .
Policing is a local responsibility .
The opposition movement ended up being about Trump in some way .
It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into to that when he ordered the protesters outside of the White House to be pushed back so that he could engage in a photo op .
Of course his bombastic rhetoric played right along to it too .
So after seven days of resistance , it began to look like the resistance was anti-Trump and people started talking about the necessity of voting Trump out of office and started to articulate the talking points of the Democratic Party .
All of these are attempts to control the opposition .
I keep referring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ belittle the notion of racial justice – but to suggest that it was in the interests of the state to keep the resistance on the subject of racial justice for an individual .
For George Floyd .
And for it to be seen to be moving towards police reform .
They were scared to death that the images we all saw : of young black , white and brown people engaged in resistance .
That is a nightmare scenario on the part of the rulers .
A multinational , multiracial opposition under the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the US .
So they were desperate to keep the focus away from pivoting toward a critique of the system .
And the nature of the state .
And they were desperate to break up the emerging coalitions of progressive and radical elements among the people in this country .
What will happen next ?
We believe they will continue to attempt to control the narrative .
That ’ s what we saw with the so-called yellow vests in France .
We all recall that what brought them to the streets in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gradually began to morph into a general anti-neoliberal movement .
The US state is concerned with the same kind of trajectory .
There will be an attempt to depoliticize the opposition .
They are attempting to make sure there is no class analysis .
They don ’ t want us to point to the ongoing plight of the working class .
In particular the black and brown working class .
The fact that it is workers – black and brown workers who they identify as so-called essential workers – who are attracting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t want us to make a connection with the healthcare system in the US in which 80 million people are without healthcare .
They are concerned about the healthcare system being overwhelmed because it is an industrialized system .
When the only way to handle a pandemic is to have nationaliized healthcare and a coordinated , sustainable system in the hands of the people .
“ They are attempting to make sure there is no class analysis.
” They want to keep the focus on the issue of race .
We say we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place .
That there has to be a focus on class and race issues .
We need to connect what is unfolding in the US to US militarism and imperialism .
We say to people making the cry to defund the police that if you don ’ t connect that slogan with defunding the military , then it becomes a reactionary slogan that drives the movement into a dead end .
We say it is a moral contradiction to advocate for a kinder , gentler police force domestically while the US is unleashing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This situation is very interesting as it is generating international solidarity .
The US will never be able , with a straight face , to talk about human rights in other countries .
The situation will prevent the US from pretending to be a state that is upholding international law .
It is revealing to people around the world the true nature of the US , the plight of the working class and , in particular , the black and brown colonized working classes in the US .
The fundamental collapse of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation in which there is no telling what may unfold over the next few weeks and months .
This is a situation that may be historical in its implications .
This article previously appeared in Look Left magazine .
Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report 's Facebook page at http : //facebook.com/blackagendareport Or , you can comment by emailing us at comments @ blackagendareport.com

“They were scared to death of young black, white and brown people engaged in resistance.”
Speaking at an event organized by the Irish Workers’ Party, the national organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace and the 2016 Green Party candidate for vice president said that: “The current ongoing capitalist crisis has created the most serious crisis of legitimacy since the collapse of the capitalist economy during the years referred to as the Great Depression. We are now seeing, within the economy, the genocidal implications of economic conditions in which young black workers have more value as human generators of profit locked up in prisons than as participants in the economy as low wage workers.”
Founded in 2017, the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) seeks to recapture and redevelop the historic anti-war, anti-imperialist, and pro-peace positions of the radical black movement. Framing the current wave of protests across America as an unarticulated rebellion against “the dehumanization and degradation of late stage capitalism, known as neoliberalism,” Baraka outlined attempts by the authorities to co-opt the Black Lives Matter movement with photo opportunities and stories of white agitators.
America’s Political Prisoners
I made a pledge that in all of my public presentations that I will acknowledge the existence of political prisoners in the US. We just had Delbert Africa – who had been incarcerated for 42 years – up until January when he was released. He passed the day before yesterday. We believe it is important that people in the US – but even more importantly that people outside of the US – be made aware that inside the US we have the longest serving political prisoners on the planet. People who are approaching their fifth decade in prison. Men – and, up until recently, women – who have been in the dungeons of the US for decades.
The Black Alliance of Peace
The motivation for launching the Alliance was based on the fact that on April 4th, 1967 Dr. Martin Luther King reconnected with the radical black tradition by adding his voice of opposition to the murderous US war machine unleashed on the people of Vietnam. For Dr. King his silence on the war in Vietnam had become an irreconcilable moral contradiction.
He declared that it was hypocritical for him to proclaim the superiority of values of nonviolence as a life principle while the US remained the greatest purveyor of violence on the planet. He thought it was a contradiction for him to remain silent as the US government engaged in genocidal violence against the people of Vietnam. We say Dr King reconciled and reconnected with the black radical tradition because, in fact, Dr King was late.
In 1967, when he embraced an oppositional position on Vietnam, it was years after other formations – including the Revolutionary Action Movement, Malcolm X, SNCC (the Student Non-Violence Coordinating Committee), and the Black Panthers – had taken a resolute stance against the war in Vietnam.
The Black liberation movement that those organizations represented are worker based. They are anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist and international. On April 4th, 2017, 50 years after that very famous speech in which Dr King broke with the US government, we launched the Black Alliance for Peace.
We saw that after more than three decades of pro-war commissioning by both corporate parties and the corporate media, coupled with cultural desensitization from almost decades of unrelenting war, opposition to militarism and war was something that had almost disappeared in the US among the general population. The black public was not immune to those cultural and political changes. And with the ascendance of the corporatist President Barack Obama – during whose tenure the US continued on a militaristic bent unabated and, in fact, ratcheted up – that lack of opposition to and awareness of US militarism deepened even more.
“After more than three decades of pro-war commissioning by both corporate parties and the corporate media opposition to militarism and war had almost disappeared.”
What we saw was an absolute necessity for us to attempt to recapture anti-war and anti-imperialist traditions. The black community, the black people, the black working class have been consistently – up until recently – the most anti-war and anti-imperialist communities in the US. And so the Black Alliance for Peace was launched to try to revive that spirit of opposition. But we have to make sure that people understand that the Black Alliance for Peace is a fighting organization. We are clear. We say: no justice; no peace.
The Alliance is what we call a people-centered human rights project against war, repression and imperialism that, again, seeks to recapture, seeks to redevelop the anti-war, anti-imperialist spirit.
We see our work as part of a broader effort. A broader effort to not only revive our antiwar traditions but to revive a broader anti-war, anti-imperialist, pro-peace movement in the United States. We make the connections between domestic violence and repression and the global war machine.
We see, for example, the pivot to Asia. NATO and the rotating of NATO troops on the borders of Russia. The expansion of the US Africa command. Continued support for apartheid Israel. Police executions and impunity in the US. The carceral state with the mass incarceration of black and other colonized workers and poor people are elements and policies of one oppressive global system of colonial, capitalist, white supremacist power. So, the context of struggle in the US must begin with a structural analysis.
The current crisis
The current ongoing capitalist crisis has created the most serious crisis of legitimacy since the collapse of the capitalist economy during the years referred to as the Great Depression. The economic collapse comes on the heels of a deep crisis of the economy that occurred in 2007, 2008. With economic instability and the increasing competition between capitalist states, divisions have emerged among the nations that those of us in the Black Alliance for Peace refer to as the US/EU/NATO axis of domination.
The US has responded by moving toward a more confrontational posture, not only with its allies in Europe, but it has also elevated China and Russia as national security risks. Domestically, the black working class has never recovered from the collapse of 2007, 2008. The continual restructuring of the US economy to a low wage economy has resulted in the black working class being relegated to the lower rungs of the labor force, joining undocumented migrants, immigrants and other colonized workers.
We are now seeing, within the economy, the genocidal implications of economic conditions in which young black workers have more value as human generators of profit locked up in prisons than as participants in the economy as low wage workers.
This reality is one of the factors driving the obscene phenomenon of black and brown incarceration in the largest prison system on the planet. Astronomical youth unemployment. Millions of African-Americans and white people without health care. Poisoned environments and crumbling schools make for conditions that, with Covid-19, are ravaging the black communities. This is the reality of the colonial, capitalist system in its neoliberal stage. The Corona pandemic has pulled the ideological curtain away from the system and has exposed the brutal realities of a rapacious system of greed, human exploitation and degradation, social insecurity, corruption, and the normalization of coercive state violence.
“The Corona pandemic has pulled the ideological curtain away from the system.”
Bipartisan support for neoliberal capitalist policies over the last four decades has had a devastating impact. The closing of public health care facilities. Turning hospitals into giant for-profit hospital chains. Millions of people – disproportionately black people – living precarious lives at the bottom of the labor market as gig workers with no benefits, no sick leave, no vacation, no security – ordered to shutter in place as a consequence of Covid-19.
Hundreds of black people are dying unnecessarily from the virus because of conditions of colonial oppression. Which we say amounts to a situation of state sanctioned murder.
So the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor – who was murdered by police in her bed – and Ahmaud Arbery, who was murdered in Brunswick, George by non-state actors; white vigilantes… The whole phenomenon of vicious killer cops is just the tip of the iceberg.
This is the context we have to bring to understand what is happening in the US. Connecting the pandemic and the ongoing structural contradictions of capitalism. The impact of the pandemic, not only on black people, on black workers, but on everyone, particularly the working class in the United States of America.
In some ways George Floyd and the resistance is almost a metaphor for what is unfolding in the US. It’s a consequence of this pandemic. It’s a consequence of the disproportionate impact of this pandemic on the black working class. It’s a consequence of the clear message to workers from racial and ethnic backgrounds that their lives mean very little when it comes to the objective interests of capital.
There has been a process of radicalization among the people, particularly among the working class. The clear message from the rulers is that humanity and the safety and the health of workers means almost nothing in comparison to the needs of capital.
The knee on the neck of George Floyd that we saw became almost a metaphor for what millions of people are experiencing. They are experiencing the knee on their neck from capital.
So while the cry was for justice for George Floyd and so called police reform, what some of us see is an unarticulated – unarticulated until this point – rebellion against the dehumanization and degradation of late stage capitalism, known as neoliberalism. And that is responsible for bringing people to the streets. There is no other way that one can understand the breadth and intensity of the mobilizations we are seeing. LGBTQ. The unemployed youth from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Downsized petit bourgeois elements. Suburbanites. All sectors of the population have shown up in the streets in hundreds of cities and towns across the country.
What has been the response from the state?
Many of us have seen an evolution take place. First there was clear repression. A heavy handed response from the authorities and from the militarized police. The calling up of what we call the state police and the national guard.
Every state in the US has a national guard. These are civilians who also serve in the military. They do military maneuvers. They serve as active duty soldiers from time to time. During the period when the US was involved in a two-theater war – in both Iraq and Afghanistan- it was the national guard that played a very important role in those wars. The national guard is one of the foundational elements in allowing the state to carry out two wars simultaneously. We’re talking about military personnel.
They were called up to various states and cities across the country. So repression was the first response.
Then there was an attempt to co-opt. Some of you may have seen some of the images of the police kneeling with the protesters; sometimes even joining in with the marchers. We also saw – and it wasn’t disseminated as widely – police officers using the kneeling gesture as a way to lure protesters closer to them. And then they would attack. Those images were circulated but not so much in the international press.
After continued attempts to co-opt the resistance we saw a clever move on the part of the state. They began to criminalize the resistance. They began to raise the issue of the violence of some of the protesters. Calling on the protesters to police themselves. To make sure that the resistance would remain what they define as non-violent. Part of that criminalization process was racial division. They used an interesting device, talking about the so-called outside agitators.
In this case it was the white outside agitator. They said it was the white outside agitators who were responsible for the looting and the escalation of violence. You might recall that President Trump then identified Antifa. The anti-fascists. This amorphous group of individuals – some part of other organizations – who emerged after the election of Donald Trump and who proclaimed that they were going to oppose what they saw as a neofascist movement developing in the country.
“They said it was the white outside agitators who were responsible for the looting and the escalation of violence.”
Donald Trump said that this amorphous element were in fact domestic terrorists and that they were the ones responsible for the violence taking place across the country. So what we started seeing was suspicion on the part of the march organizers when it came to the participation of some white comrades.
Then came an attempt to colonize the resistance by the Democrats. Over two weeks, there was a move away from a call for justice and police reform. (Policing) is a local issue, remember; we have almost 19,000 police forces in the US. Policing is a local responsibility. The opposition movement ended up being about Trump in some way. It was an anti-Trump movement and Trump played right into to that when he ordered the protesters outside of the White House to be pushed back so that he could engage in a photo op.
Of course his bombastic rhetoric played right along to it too. So after seven days of resistance, it began to look like the resistance was anti-Trump and people started talking about the necessity of voting Trump out of office and started to articulate the talking points of the Democratic Party.
All of these are attempts to control the opposition. I keep referring to so-called racial justice – not to belittle the notion of racial justice – but to suggest that it was in the interests of the state to keep the resistance on the subject of racial justice for an individual. For George Floyd. And for it to be seen to be moving towards police reform.
They were scared to death that the images we all saw: of young black, white and brown people engaged in resistance. That is a nightmare scenario on the part of the rulers. A multinational, multiracial opposition under the leadership of radical black people emerging in the US. So they were desperate to keep the focus away from pivoting toward a critique of the system. And the nature of the state. And they were desperate to break up the emerging coalitions of progressive and radical elements among the people in this country.
What will happen next?
We believe they will continue to attempt to control the narrative. That’s what we saw with the so-called yellow vests in France. We all recall that what brought them to the streets in the first place was pension reform. It gradually began to morph into a general anti-neoliberal movement. The US state is concerned with the same kind of trajectory.
There will be an attempt to depoliticize the opposition. They are attempting to make sure there is no class analysis. They don’t want us to point to the ongoing plight of the working class. In particular the black and brown working class. The fact that it is workers – black and brown workers who they identify as so-called essential workers – who are attracting the virus and dying.
They don’t want us to make a connection with the healthcare system in the US in which 80 million people are without healthcare. They are concerned about the healthcare system being overwhelmed because it is an industrialized system. When the only way to handle a pandemic is to have nationaliized healthcare and a coordinated, sustainable system in the hands of the people.
“They are attempting to make sure there is no class analysis.”
They want to keep the focus on the issue of race. We say we have to make sure a pivot takes place. That there has to be a focus on class and race issues. We need to connect what is unfolding in the US to US militarism and imperialism. We say to people making the cry to defund the police that if you don’t connect that slogan with defunding the military, then it becomes a reactionary slogan that drives the movement into a dead end.
We say it is a moral contradiction to advocate for a kinder, gentler police force domestically while the US is unleashing systematic violence against people around the world.
This situation is very interesting as it is generating international solidarity. The US will never be able, with a straight face, to talk about human rights in other countries. The situation will prevent the US from pretending to be a state that is upholding international law. It is revealing to people around the world the true nature of the US, the plight of the working class and, in particular, the black and brown colonized working classes in the US.
The fundamental collapse of the global capitalist economy is creating a situation in which there is no telling what may unfold over the next few weeks and months.
This is a situation that may be historical in its implications.
This article previously appeared in Look Left magazine.
Ajamu Baraka is the national organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace and was the 2016 candidate for vice president on the Green Party ticket. Baraka serves on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Peace Council and leadership body of the United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC). He is an editor and contributing columnist for the Black Agenda Report and contributing columnist for Counterpunch. He was recently awarded the US Peace Memorial 2019 Peace Prize and the Serena Shim award for uncompromised integrity in journalism. is the national organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace and was the 2016 candidate for vice president on the Green Party ticket. Baraka serves on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Peace Council and leadership body of the United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC). He is an editor and contributing columnist for the Black Agenda Report and contributing columnist for Counterpunch. He was recently awarded the US Peace Memorial 2019 Peace Prize and the Serena Shim award for uncompromised integrity in journalism.
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thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-07-23--Obama Executive Order 13528 Subverted Posse Comitatus Act of 1878

Executive Orders are orders given by the President that are generally used to direct Federal Agencies and officials in their execution of laws or policies established by Congress .
In many instances , especially during this past decade , Executive Orders have been used to guide agencies in directions contrary to Congressional intent .
Executive Orders are controversial since they are sometimes use to make law without the consent of Congress .
It ’ s time for a closer look at EOs & Directives and it ’ s time to fix the intentional , oft illegal , subversion of laws @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mention was made in the corporate media of President Obama ’ s EO 13528 that egregiously subverts the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 .
A White House Press Release claims the ten member , bipartisan Council was created ‘ to strengthen further the partnership between the Federal Government and State Governments to protect our Nation against all types of hazards.
’ Once appointed , according to the White House Press Release , the council will be reviewing such matters as involving the National Guard of various States ; Homeland defense ; civil support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Federal military activities in the United States ; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard , homeland defense , and civil support activities .
Synchronizing and integrating state National Guard units with those of the Armed Forces would place them under the control of the United States Northern Command ( USNORTHCOM ) that was egregiously created in 2002 , allegedly to help fight the ‘ War on Terror ’ — one of the largest acts of treason ever perpetrated against U.S. citizens by its Government .
The Posse Comitatus Act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Civilian Law Enforcement The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 — which [ Obama 's ] EO 13528 clearly subverts — bars the use of the military for civilian law enforcement .
For years Bush tried to accomplish the same thing , especially after his administration ’ s criminal inactions during the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster .
During the height of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina crisis , Bush tried citing presidential prerogatives for using the National Guard troops under the Insurrection Act , a draconian statute that authorizes the President to federalize National Guard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suppress rebellion.
’ The plight of Katrina victims was twisted — aided and abetted by complicit corporate media — into an act of ‘ rebellion ’ and a new criminal category was concocted to criminalize the traumatized New Orleans residents .
As noted by The Intel Daily , given the serious implications such proposals would have for a functioning democracy , the media ’ s deafening silence on Obama ’ s Executive Order is hardly surprising .
As the cheerleaders in the illegal occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan , and now Pakistan with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ censorship by the media says a lot about the state of affairs in ‘ new normal ’ America .
As with his predecessors , Mr. hope and change will try to illegally forge ahead and invest the permanent National Security bureaucracy with unprecedented power .
Under the guise of the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act — more potentially illegal ‘ legislation ’ — the President will establish the bipartisan Council of Governors to advise , and exchange views and information with the Secretary of Defense , the Secretary of Homeland Security , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matters related to the National Guard and civil support missions .
The Secretary of Defense will designate the Executive Director of this toothless Council .
In ‘ exchanging views ’ with the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement , the Assistant Secretary for Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs , the Commander , United States Northern Command , the Chief National Guard Bureau , the Commandant of the Coast Guard and other appropriate officials of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or agencies designated by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Homeland Security , the council will serve as civilian cover for political decisions made by the Executive Branch and the security apparatus .
Obama Had Previously Proposed Expanding Military Use in Domestic Disasters Last summer Obama proposed expanding the military ’ s authority to respond to domestic disasters .
His proposal was opposed by the National Governors Association ( NGA ) because it would invite confusion on critical command and control issues , complicate inter-agency planning , establish stove-piped response efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ensure the safety and security of their citizens .
EO 13528 further erodes the constitutional limits on Executive Branch power , and actually has little to do with catastrophic emergency response .
It is however , the latest attempt to expand the National Security state and the Continuity of Government ( COG ) programs that are , and have been , illegally kept secret from Congress and the American people .
Many members of Congress are not authorized to view information on COG plans , procedures , capabilities and facilities , as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Presidential Directive 51 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20 ( NSPD 51/HSPD 20 ) , two other draconian , illegal pieces of ‘ legislation.
’ Despite Obama ’ s vows of openness and transparency , even the redacted version of those documents have been removed from the White House web site .
Reagan-era EO 12656 defines a national security emergency as ‘ any occurrence , including natural disaster , military attack , technological emergency , or other emergency that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of the United States.
’ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a history of terrorizing its own citizens and creating disasters and false flag attacks .
George W. Bush ’ s Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 ( HSPD-8 ) , also removed from the White House web site , established ‘ a national program and multi-year planning system to conduct homeland security preparedness-related exercises.
’ That program , details of which are unavailable to Congress and the American people , is to be carried out in collaboration with state and local governments and private sector entities .
The secrecy surrounding the shady creation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of questions and concerns .
Loosely worded definitions concerning the Defense Department ’ s role during such emergencies leave the door open for potential abuses by unscrupulous politicians and their corporate partners .
USNORTHCOM ’ s role in all of this is shrouded in secrecy .
As the past decade has shown , the egregious amount of corruption in Washington has gotten entirely out of hand and something needs to be done to stop it .
The fact that corrupted military leaders are now courting corrupted politicians also raises a lot of flags @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. combat troops as an on-call federal response force coinciding with the greatest economic emergency and financial disaster since the 1930s that was fraudulently created by Wall Street is peculiar and suspicious .
The fact that COG plans are shrouded in secrecy and kept from members of Congress and the American people is very disturbing and very revealing .
It raises a LOT of questions .
In keeping with the tradition of creating tyranny while destroying any semblance of law — like his predecessor — President Obama ’ s EO 13528 undermines the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Obama needs to start paying attention to those that elected him , keep his promises that put him in office and quit running Bush ’ s third term .
It ’ s time for accountability and it ’ s time to restore the rule of law .

Reposted here on account of relevancy. Orig. posting on 10 Jan 2010. PLUS: Undermining judicial protections against governmental abuses of power. O n January 11, 2010, President Obama signed Executive Order (EO) 13528 ( n January 11, 2010, President Obama signed Executive Order (EO) 13528 ( PDF ) — right after the over-hyped Flight 253 ‘terrorist’ attack , the fraudulently engineered Swine Flu pandemic and a few other man-made disasters — that, among other things, establishes a Council of Governors, chosen by the President who, as noted by the Intel Daily, will rubber-stamp long-sought-after Pentagon contingency plans to seize control of state National Guard forces in the event of a ‘National Emergency.’
Executive Orders are orders given by the President that are generally used to direct Federal Agencies and officials in their execution of laws or policies established by Congress. In many instances, especially during this past decade, Executive Orders have been used to guide agencies in directions contrary to Congressional intent. Executive Orders are controversial since they are sometimes use to make law without the consent of Congress. It’s time for a closer look at EOs & Directives and it’s time to fix the intentional, oft illegal, subversion of laws.
In keeping with tradition, no mention was made in the corporate media of President Obama’s EO 13528 that egregiously subverts the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. A White House Press Release claims the ten member, bipartisan Council was created ‘to strengthen further the partnership between the Federal Government and State Governments to protect our Nation against all types of hazards.’
Once appointed, according to the White House Press Release, the council will be reviewing such matters as involving the National Guard of various States; Homeland defense; civil support; synchronization and integration of State and Federal military activities in the United States; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard, homeland defense, and civil support activities.
Synchronizing and integrating state National Guard units with those of the Armed Forces would place them under the control of the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) that was egregiously created in 2002, allegedly to help fight the ‘War on Terror’ — one of the largest acts of treason ever perpetrated against U.S. citizens by its Government.
The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 Prohibits Using the Military for Civilian Law Enforcement
The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 — which [Obama's] EO 13528 clearly subverts — bars the use of the military for civilian law enforcement. For years Bush tried to accomplish the same thing, especially after his administration’s criminal inactions during the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster.
During the height of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina crisis, Bush tried citing presidential prerogatives for using the National Guard troops under the Insurrection Act, a draconian statute that authorizes the President to federalize National Guard units when state governments fail to ‘suppress rebellion.’ The plight of Katrina victims was twisted — aided and abetted by complicit corporate media — into an act of ‘rebellion’ and a new criminal category was concocted to criminalize the traumatized New Orleans residents.
As noted by The Intel Daily, given the serious implications such proposals would have for a functioning democracy, the media’s deafening silence on Obama’s Executive Order is hardly surprising. As the cheerleaders in the illegal occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and now Pakistan with Iran and Yemen coming soon, the censorship by the media says a lot about the state of affairs in ‘new normal’ America. As with his predecessors, Mr. hope and change will try to illegally forge ahead and invest the permanent National Security bureaucracy with unprecedented power.
Under the guise of the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act — more potentially illegal ‘legislation’ — the President will establish the bipartisan Council of Governors to advise, and exchange views and information with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the White House Homeland Security Council on matters related to the National Guard and civil support missions. The Secretary of Defense will designate the Executive Director of this toothless Council.
In ‘exchanging views’ with the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement, the Assistant Secretary for Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs, the Commander, United States Northern Command, the Chief National Guard Bureau, the Commandant of the Coast Guard and other appropriate officials of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense as well as appropriate officials of other executive departments or agencies designated by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Homeland Security, the council will serve as civilian cover for political decisions made by the Executive Branch and the security apparatus.
Obama Had Previously Proposed Expanding Military Use in Domestic Disasters
Last summer Obama proposed expanding the military’s authority to respond to domestic disasters. His proposal was opposed by the National Governors Association (NGA) because it would invite confusion on critical command and control issues, complicate inter-agency planning, establish stove-piped response efforts and interfere with gubernatorial Constitutional responsibilities to ensure the safety and security of their citizens.
EO 13528 further erodes the constitutional limits on Executive Branch power, and actually has little to do with catastrophic emergency response. It is however, the latest attempt to expand the National Security state and the Continuity of Government (COG) programs that are, and have been, illegally kept secret from Congress and the American people.
Many members of Congress are not authorized to view information on COG plans, procedures, capabilities and facilities, as well as the classified annexes of National Security Presidential Directive 51 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20 (NSPD 51/HSPD 20), two other draconian, illegal pieces of ‘legislation.’ Despite Obama’s vows of openness and transparency, even the redacted version of those documents have been removed from the White House web site.
Reagan-era EO 12656 defines a national security emergency as ‘any occurrence, including natural disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other emergency that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of the United States.’ The problem is, the U.S. Government has a history of terrorizing its own citizens and creating disasters and false flag attacks.
Secretive Continuity of Government Plan Raises a Lot of Questions
George W. Bush’s Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 (HSPD-8), also removed from the White House web site, established ‘a national program and multi-year planning system to conduct homeland security preparedness-related exercises.’ That program, details of which are unavailable to Congress and the American people, is to be carried out in collaboration with state and local governments and private sector entities. The secrecy surrounding the shady creation of illegal ‘law’ raises a lot of questions and concerns.
Loosely worded definitions concerning the Defense Department’s role during such emergencies leave the door open for potential abuses by unscrupulous politicians and their corporate partners. USNORTHCOM’s role in all of this is shrouded in secrecy. As the past decade has shown, the egregious amount of corruption in Washington has gotten entirely out of hand and something needs to be done to stop it. The fact that corrupted military leaders are now courting corrupted politicians also raises a lot of flags.
The timing of the deployment of U.S. combat troops as an on-call federal response force coinciding with the greatest economic emergency and financial disaster since the 1930s that was fraudulently created by Wall Street is peculiar and suspicious.
The fact that COG plans are shrouded in secrecy and kept from members of Congress and the American people is very disturbing and very revealing. It raises a LOT of questions. In keeping with the tradition of creating tyranny while destroying any semblance of law — like his predecessor — President Obama’s EO 13528 undermines the democratic rights of the American people. Mr. Obama needs to start paying attention to those that elected him, keep his promises that put him in office and quit running Bush’s third term. It’s time for accountability and it’s time to restore the rule of law.


thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-07-23--Democrats Will Never Choose Transformative Change – So Give Them No Choice

n existential political crisis for the racial capitalist order will only happen when the left puts forward a viable political alternative .
The Covid-19 epidemic proved beyond all rational doubt that decades of bipartisan privatization and austerity had destroyed the U.S. “ public ” health care system , rendering the nation structurally incapable of coping with the viral onslaught .
The late and geographically uneven lockdown succeeded only in creating Great Depression levels of unemployment without halting the spread of the disease , which has now devoured over 133,000 lives , with Blacks and Native Americans succumbing at five times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans dying at four times the frequency of whites .
While home to only four percent of the Earth ’ s population , the United States accounts for 25 percent of the global coronavirus death toll – a proportion that precisely matches the U.S. share of the global prison population , with the result that U.S. prisons , packed with Black , red and brown inmates , are by far the biggest Covid-19 hotspots on the planet .
The nation that claims exceptional national – imperial !
-- rights and privileges is exceptionally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issuing threats and sanctions against much of the rest of humanity .
The raging U.S. health and economic crises are vastly exacerbated by the ruling class ’ s four years-long , self-inflicted crisis of legitimacy , with one faction of the corporate oligarchy raving endlessly that the sitting U.S. president is a dupe of a foreign power .
On top of that imagined illegitimacy , is the real failure of U.S. rulers to protect the population from a contagious disease that killed less than 5,000 people in China , its country of origin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and which is abating in all the developed nations of the world .
A state that can not safeguard the lives of its citizens has failed a basic test of legitimacy .
In that sense , the U.S. state has never been legitimate for Black America .
This chronic , historical condition became acute with the very public murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis cops on May 25 .
The monthlong outpouring of mass rage spread to every state and U.S. territorial possession and sparked demonstrations around the world in solidarity with U.S @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rivaled the tumultuous Sixties , but most remarkable was the scope of the public political transformation .
“ Black Lives Matter , ” the premier slogan and movement of Black militancy , was at the center of what the New York Times called “ the largest movement in the country ’ s history.
” Even more amazingly , a Pew Research poll showed that two-thirds of Americans supported “ the Black Lives Matter movement ” and other polls confirmed that slim majorities of whites now believe that police are “ generally more likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mistreat white people.
” For the first time in U.S. polling history , whites recognized that cops , the coercive forces of the state , systemically mistreat Black people .
`` A state that can not safeguard the lives of its citizens has failed a basic test of legitimacy ... '' In the US of A , where the Warrior Cop was invented to suppress , contain and mass incarcerate Black , brown and red people , that qualifies as a public perception sea change .
However , these combined and overlapping crises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legitimacy , and criminal justice – do not amount to an existential political crisis for the racial capitalist order , because there does not yet exist a viable political alternative .
The corporate duopoly still rules , no matter how many people go to the polls in November , and no matter what happens in the interim in the streets .
“ The Warrior Cop was invented to suppress , contain and mass incarcerate Black , brown and red people.
” Racial capitalism has undergone many crises , in the U.S. and globally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political economy , it is in its late stage , moribund and incapable of reversing its accelerating decline .
But its ruling classes – even when catastrophically split and behaving self-destructively , as has been the case for the past four years – are not the least bit threatened with loss of power , much less their heads .
Indeed , no significant social forces are even proposing to nationalize the banks , or to socialize any significant sectors of the economy .
And even much of “ Black Lives Matter ” ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the U.S. ) has failed to actively support community control of the police , the only proposal that puts popular security in the hands of the people , not the agents of white supremacy and the corporate duopoly .
That ’ s how we make the streets of our communities safe for organizing .
There is no political crisis for the ruling order , unless ending that rule is on the agenda of significant social forces .
Yet Black people , the ( now recognized ) leading edge of the current upheaval @ @ @ @ @ @ @ socialist-minded constituency in the nation , remain locked in the lethal embrace of the corporate duopoly through the Democratic Party , which is hegemonic in Black America .
Three-quarters of the 50 Black full-voting members of the U.S. House ought to be on Black Lives Matters ’ shit list ( the organization ’ s and the wider movement ’ s ) as Class A Enemies of the People , based on their votes for the 2018 legislation that made cops a protected class and assault on police a federal hate crime .
Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been the hands-on managers of mass Black incarceration , gentrification and austerity in Black America .
They don ’ t give a damn about Africa , including the slaughter of six million Congolese at the hands of U.S. client regimes – the worst genocide since World War Two .
They stand ( or kneel ) with Nancy Pelosi , who keeps the nation and world safe for the oligarchy .
“ Black Democrats have been the hands-on managers of mass Black incarceration , gentrification and austerity in Black America.
” Joe Biden is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a friend and ally of segregationist politicians , and a warmonger of the lowest type who has promised to veto Medicare for All .
No one in Congress is more loyal to the corporate class .
But Angela Davis , an icon of the movement for prison abolition who also supports community control of the police , endorsed Biden .
“ I don ’ t see this election as being about choosing a candidate who will be able to lead us in the right direction , ” said professor emeritus Davis .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidate who can be most effectively pressured into allowing more space for the evolving anti-racist movement.
” Davis ’ endorsement of the Democrat is consistent with Communist Party USA politics over the decades , even when they ran their own candidates for president and vice president .
( Davis occupied the party ’ s VP slot in 1980 and ’ 84 . )
Back in 2012 , Davis endorsed Barack Obama for a second term , shortly after the First Black President destroyed Libya , invaded much of the rest of Africa , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Syria and was busy attempting to reach a “ grand bargain ” with the Republicans on austerity .
Davis told a conference on “ empowering women of color ” that Obama “ identifies with the Black radical tradition ” – a nonsensical statement that artificially grafted Obama into “ a place he not only does not belong , but most profoundly does not want to be , ” as I wrote at the time .
“ No one in Congress is more loyal to the corporate class than Biden.
” This time around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pig , Biden , who she says “ is far more likely to take mass demands seriously ” than President Trump .
What does that mean ?
Biden had already rejected defunding of police – Black Lives Matter ’ s top demand .
But Biden and the rest of the corporate Democrats do take Black demands seriously .
It is their job , not white Republicans like Trump , to listen to the demands of the party ’ s most loyal constituency -- and then gut them .
Davis and other radicals that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and thus are far more useful to the Democrats than the Democrats are useful to the movement .
In Black America , radical politics has always been quite popular , and not just with the youth .
The job of Black Democrats ’ is to make radical politics appear idealistic but impractical .
It ’ s alright to shout righteous demands in the street , but serious politics must be vetted by the Democrats to be acceptable .
The truth is that transforming the police from defenders of capital and white privilege to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ security needs will only happen when the rulers conclude that it is more costly to reject our demands than to accept them .
We must not wait on capitalist crises to further devastate our communities .
Rather , the movement must create a political crisis for the ruling oligarchy by agitating to actually end their rule .

A
n existential political crisis for the racial capitalist order will only happen when the left puts forward a viable political alternative.
The Covid-19 epidemic proved beyond all rational doubt that decades of bipartisan privatization and austerity had destroyed the U.S. “public” health care system, rendering the nation structurally incapable of coping with the viral onslaught. The late and geographically uneven lockdown succeeded only in creating Great Depression levels of unemployment without halting the spread of the disease, which has now devoured over 133,000 lives , with Blacks and Native Americans succumbing at five times the rate of whites, and Hispanic Americans dying at four times the frequency of whites. While home to only four percent of the Earth’s population, the United States accounts for 25 percent of the global coronavirus death toll – a proportion that precisely matches the U.S. share of the global prison population, with the result that U.S. prisons, packed with Black, red and brown inmates, are by far the biggest Covid-19 hotspots on the planet.
The nation that claims exceptional national – imperial! -- rights and privileges is exceptionally sick, gasping for air but still issuing threats and sanctions against much of the rest of humanity. The raging U.S. health and economic crises are vastly exacerbated by the ruling class’s four years-long, self-inflicted crisis of legitimacy, with one faction of the corporate oligarchy raving endlessly that the sitting U.S. president is a dupe of a foreign power. On top of that imagined illegitimacy, is the real failure of U.S. rulers to protect the population from a contagious disease that killed less than 5,000 people in China, its country of origin with a population of 1.4 billion, and which is abating in all the developed nations of the world. A state that cannot safeguard the lives of its citizens has failed a basic test of legitimacy.
In that sense, the U.S. state has never been legitimate for Black America. This chronic, historical condition became acute with the very public murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis cops on May 25. The monthlong outpouring of mass rage spread to every state and U.S. territorial possession and sparked demonstrations around the world in solidarity with U.S. Blacks.
The scale of protest rivaled the tumultuous Sixties, but most remarkable was the scope of the public political transformation. “Black Lives Matter,” the premier slogan and movement of Black militancy, was at the center of what the New York Times called “the largest movement in the country’s history.” Even more amazingly, a Pew Research poll showed that two-thirds of Americans supported “the Black Lives Matter movement” and other polls confirmed that slim majorities of whites now believe that police are “generally more likely to treat black people unfairly than to mistreat white people.” For the first time in U.S. polling history, whites recognized that cops, the coercive forces of the state, systemically mistreat Black people.
"A state that cannot safeguard the lives of its citizens has failed a basic test of legitimacy..."
In the US of A, where the Warrior Cop was invented to suppress, contain and mass incarcerate Black, brown and red people, that qualifies as a public perception sea change. However, these combined and overlapping crises – economic, public health, political legitimacy, and criminal justice – do not amount to an existential political crisis for the racial capitalist order, because there does not yet exist a viable political alternative. The corporate duopoly still rules, no matter how many people go to the polls in November, and no matter what happens in the interim in the streets.
“The Warrior Cop was invented to suppress, contain and mass incarcerate Black, brown and red people.”
Racial capitalism has undergone many crises, in the U.S. and globally, and outlived them. As a political economy, it is in its late stage, moribund and incapable of reversing its accelerating decline. But its ruling classes – even when catastrophically split and behaving self-destructively, as has been the case for the past four years – are not the least bit threatened with loss of power, much less their heads. Indeed, no significant social forces are even proposing to nationalize the banks, or to socialize any significant sectors of the economy. And even much of “Black Lives Matter” (the actual organization, with 14 chapters in the U.S.) has failed to actively support community control of the police, the only proposal that puts popular security in the hands of the people, not the agents of white supremacy and the corporate duopoly. That’s how we make the streets of our communities safe for organizing.
There is no political crisis for the ruling order, unless ending that rule is on the agenda of significant social forces. Yet Black people, the (now recognized) leading edge of the current upheaval and the most left-leaning, peace-loving, socialist-minded constituency in the nation, remain locked in the lethal embrace of the corporate duopoly through the Democratic Party, which is hegemonic in Black America.
Three-quarters of the 50 Black full-voting members of the U.S. House ought to be on Black Lives Matters’ shit list (the organization’s and the wider movement’s) as Class A Enemies of the People, based on their votes for the 2018 legislation that made cops a protected class and assault on police a federal hate crime. Black Democrats have for nearly half a century been the hands-on managers of mass Black incarceration, gentrification and austerity in Black America. They don’t give a damn about Africa, including the slaughter of six million Congolese at the hands of U.S. client regimes – the worst genocide since World War Two. They stand (or kneel) with Nancy Pelosi, who keeps the nation and world safe for the oligarchy.
“Black Democrats have been the hands-on managers of mass Black incarceration, gentrification and austerity in Black America.”
Joe Biden is a proud architect of mass Black incarceration, a friend and ally of segregationist politicians, and a warmonger of the lowest type who has promised to veto Medicare for All. No one in Congress is more loyal to the corporate class. But Angela Davis, an icon of the movement for prison abolition who also supports community control of the police, endorsed Biden. “I don’t see this election as being about choosing a candidate who will be able to lead us in the right direction,” said professor emeritus Davis. “It will be about choosing a candidate who can be most effectively pressured into allowing more space for the evolving anti-racist movement.”
Davis’ endorsement of the Democrat is consistent with Communist Party USA politics over the decades, even when they ran their own candidates for president and vice president. (Davis occupied the party’s VP slot in 1980 and ’84.) Back in 2012, Davis endorsed Barack Obama for a second term, shortly after the First Black President destroyed Libya, invaded much of the rest of Africa, made common cause with al Qaida in Syria and was busy attempting to reach a “grand bargain” with the Republicans on austerity. Davis told a conference on “empowering women of color” that Obama “identifies with the Black radical tradition” – a nonsensical statement that artificially grafted Obama into “a place he not only does not belong, but most profoundly does not want to be,” as I wrote at the time.
“No one in Congress is more loyal to the corporate class than Biden.”
This time around Davis puts political lipstick on the rightwing pig, Biden, who she says “is far more likely to take mass demands seriously” than President Trump. What does that mean? Biden had already rejected defunding of police – Black Lives Matter’s top demand. But Biden and the rest of the corporate Democrats do take Black demands seriously. It is their job, not white Republicans like Trump, to listen to the demands of the party’s most loyal constituency -- and then gut them. Davis and other radicals that endorse corporate Democrats legitimize the charade, and thus are far more useful to the Democrats than the Democrats are useful to the movement.
In Black America, radical politics has always been quite popular, and not just with the youth. The job of Black Democrats’ is to make radical politics appear idealistic but impractical. It’s alright to shout righteous demands in the street, but serious politics must be vetted by the Democrats to be acceptable. The truth is that transforming the police from defenders of capital and white privilege to facilitators of the Black community’s security needs will only happen when the rulers conclude that it is more costly to reject our demands than to accept them.
We must not wait on capitalist crises to further devastate our communities. Rather, the movement must create a political crisis for the ruling oligarchy by agitating to actually end their rule.


thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-07-25--THE LANCET Praises Chinese Model for Coronavirus Policies

Another important dispatch from The Greanville Post .
Be sure to share it widely .
This article is part of an ongoing series of dispatches by historian Eric Zuesse China has largely controlled COVID-19 .
A country of 1.4 billion people and a size similar to Europe or the USA now reports only clusters of cases rather than widespread community transmission .
China has been widely criticised for its role and responsibilities during the pandemic because of censorship , transparency , and human rights concerns .
But the rest of the world can still learn from China 's successes in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said that the first lesson to be learned from China ’ s remarkably successful response to the Covid-19 challenge is “ China ’ s response shows the importance of domestic research and public health capacity.
” The Chinese Government has devoted “ huge investments ” to public health , which left the nation “ much better prepared . ''
Third , achieving rapid and effective implementation of control measures for COVID-19 requires broad community engagement .
Community solidarity has been unprecedented during the COVID-19 outbreak in China .
Control measures that could sacrifice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public areas , were accepted readily by the public .
They conclude : “ China is facing legitimate questions in many areas of its domestic and foreign policy , but when it comes to COVID-19 , scapegoating China for the pandemic is not a constructive response.
” Nothing is said there about the performance of other countries .
According to the available statistics , here are the world ’ s most-successful countries at dealing with the coronavirus-19 crisis .
Some of these nations are in civil wars which cause few people to want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t much participating in international trade and therefore have little traffic with foreigners ; some are terribly poor and therefore have almost no tourist industry , others might soon burst out with soaring increases in cases or deaths .
But some of these countries are just doing a spectacularly outstanding job of protecting their populations , vastly better than are countries such as the United States , which has 12,763 coronavirus-19 cases per million inhabitants and 447 coronavirus-19 deaths per million inhabitants , thus far .
ONLY COUNTRIES WITH 5 MILLION+ PEOPLE ARE @ @ @ @

Another important dispatch from The Greanville Post. Be sure to share it widely.
This article is part of an ongoing series of dispatches by historian Eric Zuesse
T he Lancet, which is perhaps the world’s most influential medical journal and is the one that concentrated immediately on, and has concentrated the longest on, the coronavirus-19 pandemic, headlined an which is perhaps the world’s most influential medical journal and is the one that concentrated immediately on, and has concentrated the longest on, the coronavirus-19 pandemic, headlined an editorial on July 25th, “COVID-19 and China: lessons and the way forward” , and they opened:
China has largely controlled COVID-19. A country of 1.4 billion people and a size similar to Europe or the USA now reports only clusters of cases rather than widespread community transmission. China has been widely criticised for its role and responsibilities during the pandemic because of censorship, transparency, and human rights concerns. But the rest of the world can still learn from China's successes in bringing its outbreak under control.
They said that the first lesson to be learned from China’s remarkably successful response to the Covid-19 challenge is “China’s response shows the importance of domestic research and public health capacity.” The Chinese Government has devoted “huge investments” to public health, which left the nation “much better prepared."
A second lesson is that a robust foundation of research cannot guarantee effective control without strong top-level political commitment to use science to tackle the outbreak decisively. Governments and their leaders must respect science, understand its value, and act on it in a way that is best for society. China’s National Health Commission sent three groups of national infectious disease experts to Wuhan at the beginning of the outbreak to investigate the risks and transmission of COVID-19, and their recommendations informed the decision to lockdown Wuhan on Jan 23. When Chen Wang, president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and colleagues saw the need for Fangcang shelter hospitals , the government was quick to respond.
Third, achieving rapid and effective implementation of control measures for COVID-19 requires broad community engagement. Community solidarity has been unprecedented during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Control measures that could sacrifice individual freedom, like mandatory mask-wearing in public areas, were accepted readily by the public.
They conclude: “China is facing legitimate questions in many areas of its domestic and foreign policy, but when it comes to COVID-19, scapegoating China for the pandemic is not a constructive response.”
Nothing is said there about the performance of other countries.
According to the available statistics, here are the world’s most-successful countries at dealing with the coronavirus-19 crisis. Some of these nations are in civil wars which cause few people to want to visit them; some aren’t much participating in international trade and therefore have little traffic with foreigners; some are terribly poor and therefore have almost no tourist industry, others might soon burst out with soaring increases in cases or deaths. But some of these countries are just doing a spectacularly outstanding job of protecting their populations, vastly better than are countries such as the United States, which has 12,763 coronavirus-19 cases per million inhabitants and 447 coronavirus-19 deaths per million inhabitants, thus far. ONLY COUNTRIES WITH 5 MILLION+ PEOPLE ARE BEING CONSIDERED HERE:
Laos=3, Papua=4, Vietnam=4, Myanmar=6, Tanzania=9, Cambodia=12, Taiwan=19, Uganda=14, Angola=27, Burundi=29, Syria=35, Niger=46, Thailand=47, Burkina Faso=51, Mozambique=51, Chad=56, Yemen=56, China=58, DRC=98, Togo=100, Ethiopia=110, Jordan=112, Tunisia=120, Mali=123, Sri Lanka=129, Rwanda=132, Benin=140, Zimbabwe=143, Malawi=177, Nigeria=189, S. Sudan=200, Zambia=209, Japan=214, Cuba=218, Sierra Leone=219, Liberia=224, Sudan=257, S. Korea=273, Malaysia=274, Kenya=302, N.Z.=311, Madagascar=315, Hong Kong=316, Libya=336, Indonesia=349, Slovakia=388, Greece=397, Hungary=455, Venezuela=479, Lebanon=499, Morocco=510, Guinea=518, Nicaragua=519, Australia=533, Congo=550, Senegal=562, Ivory Coast=568, Uzbekistan=573, Paraguay=576, Algeria=596, Cameroon=629, Nepal=630, Haiti=631, Philippines=697, Tajikistan=744, Egypt=883, Afghanistan=923, India=968, Ghana=976
0=Cambodia, Laos, Papua, Vietnam
0.02=Uganda
0.08=Burundi
0.1=Myanmar
0.3=Taiwan
0.4=Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania
0.5=Sri Lanka
0.8=Thailand
1=Angola, Jordan
2=DRC, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, Nepal, Syria, Togo, Zimbabwe
3=Benin, Burkina Faso, China, Guinea, Madagascar, Niger, Uzbekistan
4=Malawi, Malaysia, Ivory Coast, N.Z., Nigeria, S. Sudan, Tunisia
5=Australia, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Paraguay, Singapore, Slovakia, Venezuela
6=Mali, Somalia, S. Korea, Tajikistan
7=Lebanon, Zambia
8=Cuba, Japan Libya, Morocco, Sierra Leone
9=Congo
10=Uruguay
11=Senegal
13=Haiti
14=Liberia, Palestine
16=Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Sudan, Yemen
17=Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines
19=Greece
23=India
26=Algeria, Pakistan
31=Afghanistan, Kazakhstan
34=Czechia


thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-07-25--Chinese ‘Imperialism’ in Hong Kong Concerns US Media; Puerto Rican, Palestinian Colonies, Not So Muc

Chinese ‘Imperialism’ in Hong Kong Concerns US Media; Puerto Rican, Palestinian Colonies, Not So Much

hen China passed a national security law for Hong Kong on June 30 , criminalizing terrorism , secession and subversion of the Chinese government , as well as collusion with foreign governments , massive condemnations resounded all over Western media .
Vox ( 5/21/20 ) described it as an “ official death sentence ” for the “ one country , two systems ” model of governance in Hong Kong .
Business Insider ’ s headline ( 7/1/20 ) described China ’ s national security law as having “ killed Hong Kong ’ s pro-democracy movement in less than a year.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ran an op-ed mocking China ’ s actions as “ nothing less than imperialism with Chinese characteristics.
” The Atlantic ( 7/1/20 ) described Hong Kong as a “ colony once more , ” equating the Chinese government with previous British and Japanese “ overlords in a distant capital ” making “ decisions on Hong Kong ’ s behalf.
” Of course , while Western media describe the national security law as something China “ imposed ” on Hong Kong , these same outlets rarely if ever present the “ one country , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hong Kong as something that was imposed on China by British imperialism , when London refused to unconditionally return the former colony to China .
Hong Kong was violently seized from China with the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 , after the British waged a war to impose the opium trade on China , causing about 90 millionChinese people to develop an addiction by the end of the 19th century .
FAIR studies ( 10/26/20 , 12/6/20 ) have found that Hong Kong protests received dramatically more media attention than contemporaneous protests in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Ecuador .
FAIR found that the disparity in coverage couldn ’ t be explained by the protests ’ size , significance , number of casualties or response from the authorities , as police crackdowns in US dependencies have been far more brutal and lethal than the crackdown in Hong Kong .
The disparity is better explained by corporate journalists considering Hong Kong protesters “ worthy victims , ” more deserving of coverage because they are protesting against an Official EnemyTM of the US , rather than a government friendly to Washington .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ s national security law as an act of “ colonialism ” or “ imperialism , ” since Hong Kong is part of China , FAIR conducted a study comparing media coverage of Hong Kong ’ s national security law and actual colonialism by the US in Puerto Rico , and by its ally Israel in Palestine .
From June 16 to July 14 , FAIR searched for all relevant results for “ Hong Kong+security law , ” “ Israel+annex ” and a general search for “ Puerto Rico ” on the New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ websites , as well as a Nexis search for CNN ’ s coverage .
FAIR included all relevant results , except reposted content from newswires like Reuters and the Associated Press .
Full documentation , including links to all the articles in the sample , can be found here .
In total , there have been 113 articles on China ’ s new national security law in Hong Kong , 12 on Israel ’ s plans to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank on July 1 ( which have currently been stalled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rico .
Puerto Rico is currently the world ’ s oldest colony , incorporated into the US empire as spoils of war following the Spanish/American War of 1898 , and it currently enjoys less political participation than it did during the Spanish monarchy ( Washington Post , 12/13/17 ) .
The US has consistently exploited Puerto Rico ’ s economy for over a century , and has denied the colony representation in Congress or the right to vote in presidential elections ( CounterSpin , 8/2/19 , 3/18/20 ) .
Washington has imposed neoliberal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aid following the devastation left by Hurricane Maria , earthquakes and coronavirus ( FAIR.org , 2/9/18 ; Common Dreams , 1/9/20 ) .
Puerto Rico ’ s local sovereignty is also compromised by the fact that the Jones Act and the PROMESA Act render it totally dependent on the US federal government for its economic viability , along with having an unelected , Washington-appointed body overseeing the colony ’ s finances .
In 2019 , the human rights group Kilómetro Cero documented the police killing of at least four civilians on the island @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a long history of racist violence and suppression of free speech , suspending the First Amendment after 11 PM to terminate protests in part of 2019 .
In FAIR ’ s sample , two of the six articles on Puerto Rico ( New York Times , 7/10/20 ; CNN , 7/12/20 ) also discussed the revelation that Trump considered selling Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria , referring to it as an “ asset , ” demonstrating the US ’ s mercantile attitude towards its colony–though neither of these articles used words like “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Israel ’ s settler colonialism has been going on for decades , FAIR ’ s search focused on Israel ’ s plans to annex the West Bank on July 1 , because it was a contemporaneous measure taken by a US ally that would permanently end prospects for Palestinian independence under a two-state solution ( FAIR.org , 1/31/20 , 2/7/20 ) .
While some of the disparity in coverage could be explained by the postponement of the planned annexation on July 1 due to coronavirus and international condemnation , even if we confine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CNN from June 16 to July 1 , there are still 44 articles on China ’ s national security law for Hong Kong , compared to 12 on Israel ’ s planned annexation of Palestinian territory .
If , as Israel ’ s annexation asserts , the West Bank is not an independent nation deserving of self-determination , than Israel/Palestine is an apartheid state where millions of Palestiniansare denied democratic rights due to their ethnicity .
The denial of these rights has a heavy human cost : According to the Israeli human rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Israeli security forces killed 133 Palestinians in 2019 , including 28 children .
Fifty-six of the people killed took no part in hostilities against Israel , making them victims of Israeli state terrorism .
Corporate media ’ s particular interest in Hong Kong protests can not be explained by the Hong Kong police force ’ s crackdown being exceptionally brutal .
After Chinese revolutionaries waged what Chinese people call the War of Liberation against Western and Japanese colonizers , Communists in Hong Kong led uprisings against British colonial rule in 1967 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or otherwise killed at least 17 people .
In contrast , while instances of police brutality have been documented during the current Hong Kong protests , none of the four deaths of protesters reported so far in the current unrest have been directly and credibly attributed to police violence .
Hong Kong protesters , meanwhile , have set a man on fire , bombed subways , beaten elderly people and young women , and murdered a 70-year-old man by hurling a brick at his head ( South China Morning Post , 11/12/19 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ explain the greater attention US media pay to China ’ s assertion of control over its own territory compared to actual colonialism in Puerto Rico and Palestine : More countries support China ’ s actions defending its sovereignty than opposethem , and the UN has passed numerous resolutions calling for Puerto Rican and Palestinianself-determination .
Not only was far more media attention given to the national security law in Hong Kong , there was also a huge difference in tone in the coverage .
The Journal ran numerous editorials ( 7/1/20 , 7/8/20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 7/13/20 ) worrying about Hong Kong ’ s “ endangered elections , ” and mulling over how to best “ punish China ” for its “ illegal takeover , ” as well as ways to “ curb Chinese intimidation ” of Western corporations , pointing to laws forbidding companies to boycott Israel as a model .
However , the Journal only ran one op-ed ( 7/1/20 ) on the West Bank , which advised Netanyahu to “ slice some pieces off the annexation salami , ” because Israel ’ s illegal takeover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” than “ as a fait accompli , ” and only one column on Puerto Rico ( 6/22/20 ) , a celebration of the privatization of Puerto Rico ’ s bankrupt public utility .
The Times ’ editorial board ( 7/1/20 ) urged Trump to “ pressure ” China , because “ history will not be kind to those who did nothing to try to stop Beijing ’ s human rights abuses ” ; the paper did not speculate on history ’ s attitude toward the US ’ s own human rights abuses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for those of its ally Israel in Palestine .
The paper ran numerous articles ( 7/7/20 , 7/8/20 , 7/14/20 ) on the national security law ’ s suppression of political expression in Hong Kong , noting that the Times will be moving part of its Hong Kong bureau to Seoul .
The paper unironically noted that it must partially relocate to South Korea for that country ’ s “ independent press , ” and because some journalists fear Beijing will “ crack down on activism and speech.
” South Korea ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years for publishing true statements its government deems not in the public interest , and its authoritarian National Security Act censors and punishes people for reading and voicing opinions favorable to North Korea .
Judging by the volume and tone of media coverage about China ’ s national security law , one might get the impression that the law is an unprecedented and obvious threat to civil liberties .
While there are legitimate concerns about how widely it can be applied ( the vaguely worded law appears to assert “ long-arm jurisdiction ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ although the Chinese government denies this ) , China passed a similar law in 2009 for its other autonomous region , Macau—which was returned to China by Portugal in 1999—and Macau still remains autonomous .
Plenty of other countries , including the US , already have anti-sedition laws on the books .
CNN ( 6/29/20 ) notes that anti-separatism is the “ norm worldwide , ” and a UN resolutionstates : While Hong Kong protesters wave US and British colonial flags for varying reasons , some have called on US President Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ liberate ” the territory and “ fight for us.
” The US government funded last year ’ s protests through the US Agency for Global Media ( FAIR.org , 7/15/20 ) .
The National Endowment for Democracy ( NED ) —which performs the foreign government–subverting work the CIA used to do more covertly—has also given millions of dollars in support .
Some of its leaders have openly colluded with US officials , and yearn for a return to British colonialism , which had little semblance of democracy throughout most of its occupation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interference in its elections , it should hardly be surprising or shocking that China would pass similar laws .

W
hen China passed a national security law for Hong Kong on June 30, criminalizing terrorism, secession and subversion of the Chinese government, as well as collusion with foreign governments, massive condemnations resounded all over Western media.
Vox (5/21/20) described it as an “official death sentence” for the “one country, two systems” model of governance in Hong Kong. Business Insider’s headline (7/1/20) described China’s national security law as having “killed Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement in less than a year.” The Washington Post (7/3/20) ran an op-ed mocking China’s actions as “nothing less than imperialism with Chinese characteristics.” The Atlantic (7/1/20) described Hong Kong as a “colony once more,” equating the Chinese government with previous British and Japanese “overlords in a distant capital” making “decisions on Hong Kong’s behalf.”
Of course, while Western media describe the national security law as something China “imposed” on Hong Kong, these same outlets rarely if ever present the “one country, two systems” model of governance in Hong Kong as something that was imposed on China by British imperialism, when London refused to unconditionally return the former colony to China. Hong Kong was violently seized from China with the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, after the British waged a war to impose the opium trade on China, causing about 90 millionChinese people to develop an addiction by the end of the 19th century.
FAIR studies (10/26/20, 12/6/20) have found that Hong Kong protests received dramatically more media attention than contemporaneous protests in US client states like Chile, Haiti and Ecuador. FAIR found that the disparity in coverage couldn’t be explained by the protests’ size, significance, number of casualties or response from the authorities, as police crackdowns in US dependencies have been far more brutal and lethal than the crackdown in Hong Kong. The disparity is better explained by corporate journalists considering Hong Kong protesters “worthy victims,” more deserving of coverage because they are protesting against an Official EnemyTM of the US, rather than a government friendly to Washington.
While one cannot describe China’s national security law as an act of “colonialism” or “imperialism,” since Hong Kong is part of China, FAIR conducted a study comparing media coverage of Hong Kong’s national security law and actual colonialism by the US in Puerto Rico, and by its ally Israel in Palestine. From June 16 to July 14, FAIR searched for all relevant results for “Hong Kong+security law,” “Israel+annex” and a general search for “Puerto Rico” on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal’s websites, as well as a Nexis search for CNN’s coverage. FAIR included all relevant results, except reposted content from newswires like Reuters and the Associated Press. Full documentation, including links to all the articles in the sample, can be found here.
In total, there have been 113 articles on China’s new national security law in Hong Kong, 12 on Israel’s plans to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank on July 1 (which have currently been stalled), and six altogether on Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico is currently the world’s oldest colony, incorporated into the US empire as spoils of war following the Spanish/American War of 1898, and it currently enjoys less political participation than it did during the Spanish monarchy (Washington Post, 12/13/17). The US has consistently exploited Puerto Rico’s economy for over a century, and has denied the colony representation in Congress or the right to vote in presidential elections (CounterSpin, 8/2/19, 3/18/20). Washington has imposed neoliberal shock doctrine on the island, withholding aid following the devastation left by Hurricane Maria, earthquakes and coronavirus (FAIR.org, 2/9/18; Common Dreams, 1/9/20).
Puerto Rico’s local sovereignty is also compromised by the fact that the Jones Act and the PROMESA Act render it totally dependent on the US federal government for its economic viability, along with having an unelected, Washington-appointed body overseeing the colony’s finances. In 2019, the human rights group Kilómetro Cero documented the police killing of at least four civilians on the island. Puerto Rico’s police have a long history of racist violence and suppression of free speech, suspending the First Amendment after 11 PM to terminate protests in part of 2019.
In FAIR’s sample, two of the six articles on Puerto Rico (New York Times, 7/10/20; CNN, 7/12/20) also discussed the revelation that Trump considered selling Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, referring to it as an “asset,” demonstrating the US’s mercantile attitude towards its colony–though neither of these articles used words like “colony” or “imperialism.”
While Israel’s settler colonialism has been going on for decades, FAIR’s search focused on Israel’s plans to annex the West Bank on July 1, because it was a contemporaneous measure taken by a US ally that would permanently end prospects for Palestinian independence under a two-state solution (FAIR.org, 1/31/20, 2/7/20). While some of the disparity in coverage could be explained by the postponement of the planned annexation on July 1 due to coronavirus and international condemnation, even if we confine coverage from the Times, Journal and CNN from June 16 to July 1, there are still 44 articles on China’s national security law for Hong Kong, compared to 12 on Israel’s planned annexation of Palestinian territory.
If, as Israel’s annexation asserts, the West Bank is not an independent nation deserving of self-determination, than Israel/Palestine is an apartheid state where millions of Palestiniansare denied democratic rights due to their ethnicity. The denial of these rights has a heavy human cost: According to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem (1/1/20), Israeli security forces killed 133 Palestinians in 2019, including 28 children. Fifty-six of the people killed took no part in hostilities against Israel, making them victims of Israeli state terrorism.
Corporate media’s particular interest in Hong Kong protests cannot be explained by the Hong Kong police force’s crackdown being exceptionally brutal. After Chinese revolutionaries waged what Chinese people call the War of Liberation against Western and Japanese colonizers, Communists in Hong Kong led uprisings against British colonial rule in 1967, during which colonial police shot to death or otherwise killed at least 17 people. In contrast, while instances of police brutality have been documented during the current Hong Kong protests, none of the four deaths of protesters reported so far in the current unrest have been directly and credibly attributed to police violence. Hong Kong protesters, meanwhile, have set a man on fire, bombed subways, beaten elderly people and young women, and murdered a 70-year-old man by hurling a brick at his head (South China Morning Post, 11/12/19, 6/3/20).
Nor does international condemnation explain the greater attention US media pay to China’s assertion of control over its own territory compared to actual colonialism in Puerto Rico and Palestine: More countries support China’s actions defending its sovereignty than opposethem, and the UN has passed numerous resolutions calling for Puerto Rican and Palestinianself-determination.
Not only was far more media attention given to the national security law in Hong Kong, there was also a huge difference in tone in the coverage. The Journal ran numerous editorials (7/1/20, 7/8/20, 7/14/20) and op-eds (7/2/20, 7/13/20) worrying about Hong Kong’s “endangered elections,” and mulling over how to best “punish China” for its “illegal takeover,” as well as ways to “curb Chinese intimidation” of Western corporations, pointing to laws forbidding companies to boycott Israel as a model. However, the Journal only ran one op-ed (7/1/20) on the West Bank, which advised Netanyahu to “slice some pieces off the annexation salami,” because Israel’s illegal takeover works better as a “bargaining chip” than “as a fait accompli,” and only one column on Puerto Rico (6/22/20), a celebration of the privatization of Puerto Rico’s bankrupt public utility.
The Times’ editorial board (7/1/20) urged Trump to “pressure” China, because “history will not be kind to those who did nothing to try to stop Beijing’s human rights abuses”; the paper did not speculate on history’s attitude toward the US’s own human rights abuses in Puerto Rico, or its support for those of its ally Israel in Palestine.
The paper ran numerous articles (7/7/20, 7/8/20, 7/14/20) on the national security law’s suppression of political expression in Hong Kong, noting that the Times will be moving part of its Hong Kong bureau to Seoul. The paper unironically noted that it must partially relocate to South Korea for that country’s “independent press,” and because some journalists fear Beijing will “crack down on activism and speech.” South Korea’s defamation laws can imprison people for three years for publishing true statements its government deems not in the public interest, and its authoritarian National Security Act censors and punishes people for reading and voicing opinions favorable to North Korea.
Judging by the volume and tone of media coverage about China’s national security law, one might get the impression that the law is an unprecedented and obvious threat to civil liberties. While there are legitimate concerns about how widely it can be applied (the vaguely worded law appears to assert “long-arm jurisdiction” for violations committed outside the territory, although the Chinese government denies this), China passed a similar law in 2009 for its other autonomous region, Macau—which was returned to China by Portugal in 1999—and Macau still remains autonomous. Plenty of other countries, including the US, already have anti-sedition laws on the books.
CNN (6/29/20) notes that anti-separatism is the “norm worldwide,” and a UN resolutionstates:
Any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
While Hong Kong protesters wave US and British colonial flags for varying reasons, some have called on US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “liberate” the territory and “fight for us.” The US government funded last year’s protests through the US Agency for Global Media (FAIR.org, 7/15/20). The National Endowment for Democracy (NED)—which performs the foreign government–subverting work the CIA used to do more covertly—has also given millions of dollars in support. Some of its leaders have openly colluded with US officials, and yearn for a return to British colonialism, which had little semblance of democracy throughout most of its occupation. Given that the United States criminalizesforeign interference in its elections, it should hardly be surprising or shocking that China would pass similar laws.