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As the Capitalist Robber Barons Steal from the 99% — Only the 1% Voted For Austerity — The 99% Should Decide On Austerity — Not The 1% Who Profit From Austerity!
Fidel Castro 1926 — 2016
Fidel Castro and Malcolm X at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem On September 16, 1960
Cuban Revolutionary Fidel Castro Dies. He was the Leader of Cuban Revolution which is the first and only victorious socialist revolution led by non-Stalinists since the October 1917 Russian Revolution. Fidel Castro was one of the heroes of my youth. I became socialist after I was inspired by the Cuban Revolution in 1961. In 1992, my brother Barry and I wrote an essay titled Today’s Cuba (1992). In his 2003 May Day Speech: Cuba’s achievments and America’s Wars, Castro explained the achievements of the revolution that so inspired me.
In his Jan. 4, 1989, speech Castro stated: . . .There are some capitalist countries that question democracy in Cuba. There can be no democracy better than a democracy where the workers, the peasants, the students hold the arms. [applause] To all the Western countries that question democracy in Cuba, I say: Go ahead and give the arms to the workers, to the peasants, to the students, and let us see if you can start hurling tear gas canisters to put down a strike, or at any organization that struggles for peace [applause], or at students. We would see if these countries could send out the police, covered with shields and all that equipment that makes them look like astronauts. We would see if these countries could attack the masses with dogs every time there is a strike or a peaceful demonstration or a people’s struggle. I think the litmus test for democracy is to arm the people. [applause] When defense becomes the task of the people and arms become the prerogative of all the people, then there is democracy. Meanwhile, there are specialized police teams and armies to put down the people when the people show discontent over the abuses and injustice of a bourgeois system. It is the same in a Third World country as in a developed capitalist country.
. . . We have revolutionary schools where sometimes classes are given for 45 days, or three, four, eight months. If we could allow the young people to study Marxism, not for three months, not for a year, but rather for five years, seven years, eight years, through junior high school, through the university preparatory school, through the technological institute and through the university in order that we might better develop that true revolutionary spirit, that profound conviction of the true revolutionist who knows how to think, how to discuss matters, who has conviction and discipline, who has a new awareness, a new attitude toward life. That is the type of revolutionist we want. That is the type of revolutionist that we want in the political organization of the revolution. That type of man who can set an example. That nucleus which will have authority, not merely because it is a nucleus but rather because it sets the example; which has authority not just because they impose it on someone but rather because everyone recognizes it. Because a lazy person who wants to pass as a revolutionist will not have anyone’s respect. The privileged person who wants to pass as a revolutionist will not gain anyone’s respect. And that is why it is necessary to win the authority which example and conduct bring. That is what the nucleus will have to be. We will not rest, compañeros, and we should not rest in the unending task of seeing to it that the best men and women of the nation are gathered in the political apparatus of the revolution, in the United Party of the Revolution. And that the best young people of the nation, the most disciplined, the most reliable, the most studious, the most self-sacrificing, the hardest working, the best part of our youth, should belong to the young people’s organization of the revolution. And that it be an honor, a very high honor, always an honor, always a satisfaction, that is the prize to which revolutionists should aspire, the satisfaction felt by those who fulfill their duties as men, the satisfaction felt by those who fulfill their duties toward society and toward the nation. No privileges should be forthcoming! War against privilege! War against all manifestations of weakness, against all self-seeking! The revolution has integrated its political leadership. The revolution has advanced in the field of organization. Now we should continue forward like an arrow shot toward the future. We must work well, select the best. We must put an end to these minor matters; to this type of hollow, vain and useless sectarianism. War against that sectarianism which leads to privilege, which leads into the swamp. Let us get out of that filthy swamp, that mistaken sectarianism, and let us begin, compañeras and compañeros, let us begin to do what history expects of us, what the nation expects of us, what America expects of us, what the world expects of us — with true revolutionary spirit, with a truly new spirit, with a truly creative spirit, in which the touchstone for every man and woman of the nation shall be merit, shall be the spirit of sacrifice, shall be the revolutionary conscience, shall be love of the revolution. — Fidel Castro, The Revolution Must Be a School Of Unfettered Thought
Images of the Day:
Colin Kaepernick’s latest comments about Fidel Castro will likely create even more strain in his relationship with the American public. Kaepernick, who led a social movement by kneeling for the national anthem as a sign of protest against the treatment of minorities by some police officers, spoke positively about the educational system under Castro’s leadership in Cuba. The San Francisco 49ers QB made his comments during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday ahead of his team’s game Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. The line of questioning came up after a Miami Herald reporter pressed Kaepernick about a T-shirt the QB wore earlier this season that featured Malcolm X and Castro. Given the amount of Cuban refugees in South Florida, a public figure supporting Castro is a hot-button item. Kaepernick said the T-shirt was really intended to focus on Malcolm X, but when pressed, Kaepernick did praise the educational system under Castro. “One thing that Fidel Castro did do is they have the highest literacy rate because they invest more in their education system than they do in their prison system, which we do not do here, even though we’re fully capable of doing that,” Kaepernick said. — Colin Kaepernick lauds Fidel Castro’s educational system
Thousands of Native Americans and their allies have gathered on unceded Sioux land delimited by the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie to try and stand in the way of the “black snake” that could poison the Standing Rock Reservation’s water supply. Many have noted that the pipeline corridor was repositioned from its original route north of Bismarck after white citizens spoke up against the threat a spill would pose to their drinking water ― a threat duly recognized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Yet the Corps failed its federal mandate for meaningful consultation with the Standing Rock Tribe before signing off on a route that moved the pipeline to their doorstep. — A #NoDAPL Map This pipeline could endanger the drinking water of millions.
Now is a time when none of us can afford to remain seated or silent. We must all stand up to be counted. History will demand to know which side were you on. This is not a question of politics or party or even policy. This is a question about the very fundamentals of our beautiful experiment in a pluralistic democracy ruled by law. When I see neo-Nazis raise their hands in terrifying solute, in public, in our nation’s capital, I shudder in horror. When I see that action mildly rebuked by a boilerplate statement from the President-elect whom these bigots have praised, the anger in me grows. And when I see some in a pliant press turn that mild statement into what they call a denunciation I cannot hold back any longer. Our Declaration of Independence bequeaths us our cherished foundational principle: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These truths may be self-evident but they are not self-replicating. Each generation has to renew these vows. This nation was founded as an opposite pole to the capriciousness of an authoritarian monarch. We set up institutions like a free press and an independent court system to protect our fragile rights. We have survived through bloody spasms of a Civil War and a Civil Rights Movement to extend more of these rights to more of our citizens. But the direction of our ship of state has not always been one of progress. We interned Japanese Americans, Red Baited during the McCarthy era, and more. I feel the rip tide of regression once again swelling under my feet. But I intend to remain standing. In normal times of a transition in our presidency between an incoming and outgoing administration of differing political parties, there is a certain amount of fretting on one side and gloating on the other. And the press usually takes a stance that the new administration at least deserves to have a chance to get started – a honeymoon period. But these are not normal times. This is not about tax policy, health care, or education – even though all those and more are so important. This is about racism, bigotry, intimidation and the specter of corruption. But as I stand I do not despair, because I believe the vast majority of Americans stand with me. To all those in Congress of both political parties, to all those in the press, to religious and civic leaders around the country. your voices must be heard. I hope that the President-elect can learn to rise above this and see the dangers that are brewing. If he does and speaks forcibly, and with action, we should be ready to welcome his voice. But of course I am deeply worried that his selections of advisors and cabinet posts suggests otherwise. To all of you I say, stay vigilant. The great Martin Luther King, Jr. knew that even as a minority, there was strength in numbers in fighting tyranny. Holding hands and marching forward, raising your voice above the din of complacency, can move mountains. And in this case, I believe there is a vast majority who wants to see this nation continue in tolerance and freedom. But it will require speaking. Engage in your civic government. Flood newsrooms or TV networks with your calls if you feel they are slipping into the normalization of extremism. Donate your time and money to causes that will fight to protect our liberties. We are a great nation. We have survived deep challenges in our past. We can and will do so again. But we cannot be afraid to speak and act to ensure the future we want for our children and grandchildren. Dan Rather sounds the alarm
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. — Declaration of Independence
Videos of the Day:
Trump’s Energy Policy: More Shale Gas and a Return to Coal Janet Redman of Oil Change International says Trump has rejected ‘Just Transition’ policies as well as clean energy investment that would improve our environment and create jobs
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History Will be the Judge: Fidel Castro, 1926-2016 Fidel Castro, Cuba’s leader of revolution, has died aged 90. Here is an extract from Tariq Ali‘s introduction to The Declarations of Havana, Verso’s collection of Castro’s speeches. On 26 July 1953 an angry young lawyer, Fidel Castro, led a small band of armed men in an attempt to seize the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba, in Oriente province. Most of the guerrillas were killed. Castro was tried and defended himself with a masterly speech replete with classical references and quotations from Balzac and Rousseau, that ended with the words: ‘Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me.’ It won him both notoriety and popularity. By Tariq Ali
Bendib: Tyrants of the World, Unite!
Quotes of the Day: 
Veterans Plan “Deployment” to Join Water Protectors’ Battle Against DAPL “Let’s stop this savage injustice being committed right here at home. If not us, who? If not now, when?” Over 1,000 U.S. military veterans are planning to “deploy” to join the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and peacefully support the water protectors’ fight against the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. By Nika Knight 
“We’re Still Here”: Thanksgiving Day Sees Powerful Dakota Access Resistance ‘Given what we are currently fighting against, Thanksgiving is not really a celebration for us,’ says Dallas Goldtooth by Deirdre Fulton
Colin Kaepernick lauds Fidel Castro’s educational system Colin Kaepernick’s latest comments about Fidel Castro will likely create even more strain in his relationship with the American public. Kaepernick, who led a social movement by kneeling for the national anthem as a sign of protest against the treatment of minorities by some police officers, spoke positively about the educational system under Castro’s leadership in Cuba.
Newly-Released Documents Confirm Bureau of Prisons Visit to CIA Torture Site in Afghanistan One of the many alarming facts that came to light with the release of the executive summary of the Senate Torture Report in 2014 was that the Justice Department’s Bureau of Prisons had sent a “delegation of several officers” to Afghanistan to conduct an assessment an infamous CIA detention site and concluded the CIA “did not mistreat the detainees.” By Alex Emmons 
The Corporate Media Is Already Normalizing the Dark Side That Trump Channeled in the Campaign The media must not excuse the racism, misogyny, nativism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia because we think Trump voters have legitimate gripes. By Neal Gabler and BillMoyers.com 
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November 11, 1962: On the U.N. Demands of Cuba