Commie Toon Nov.29/2006

Pravada

In the search for progressive media, one is always disappointed with what is available.

Liberal/Social Democratic blogs and web pages are in abundance, but those of us on the side of anti-imperialism and social change have no interest in "whether or not the Democrats will beat the Republicans?", or "How soon can we bring the troops home from Iraq?", or other such reformist nonsense.

I don't care which bourgeoisie party is at the helm of Canada, or any other imperialist state; They all represent the interests of factions of the ruling class, rather than the people.

I don't care about the welfare of troops overseas occupying Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, or any other nation; They are imperialist oppressors, and deserve to be dealt with swiftly by the peoples that they oppress. If you are an occupier, than you are no countryman of mine.

I don't pre-occupy myself with enviro-fundamentalism, "Animal rights", vegetarianism, or any other such nonsense that is passed off under the banner of the left-wing. I'm sure that some of these causes may have some valid points, but in the scheme of the global situation, they are mere diversions to keep people from taking up politics and crying out against true injustices against humanity.

I have met many others like myself. Those that think like me, see the world like me, and have taken the time to form media outlets of their own. So, for the first time, I am releasing a list of other online media outlets that I have found useful, informative and uncompromisingly progressive.

I hope that these sites will also help others to find what it is that they are looking for.

Live the Revolution,
RavenBlade

http://soilride.wordpress.com/ - A blog by a Comrade of mine from the United States, a member of the US- MLO.

http://revmedia.net/index.html- A resource center of video and audio clips, operated by Maoists, most likely affiliated with the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement.

http://www.vunet.org/videos/- This site, while being communist in nature, has been forced to make some concessions to the aepolitical masses who simply want to see frivolous video clips, rather than anything progressive. Still, it has many good socialist video clips.

http://www.che-lives.com/home/modules.php?name=radio- Radio Rebelde... I don't have much of an ear for the styles of music that they usually play ( Not enough rap). Still, it is probably one of the best sources for progressive music.

www.bethuneinstitute.org- Excellent place to go for anti-fascism/anti-racism materials. Hasn't been updated recently.

If anyone else has any ideas, please send them to me.

Borat: Cultural slandering of Kazakhstan for benefit of glorious empire of United States

The Poppy feud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ciMYIdzU1A

Okay, this is a link to a movie put out by a Comrade of mine in Edmonton, on the Canadian holiday of "Remembrance Day", which is today.

In this short clip, she is making the case for the co-existence of the "White poppies" Campaign side by side with the orthodox "Red Poppies" put out by the Royal Canadian Legion on Remembrance day.

What struck me as most interesting about this entire short production was a response made by one of the people who viewed it:

"redcollargedeon (1 hour ago)
NO, it does take away from the symbol used by the veterans. Their poppy represents sacrifice so that you can make silly decisions, but wearing the Peace Poppy is a backstab. Being active against all wars means that our armed forces will not get the financing they need to do peacekeeping abroad. They won't spread good Canadian values abroad. They will lose their status as good guys abroad. Many will die. "

Alright, lets analyze this Braying-Jack Ass reply in depth.

" Their poppy represents sacrifice so that you can make silly decisions..." - The true trademark of a reactionary capitalist; They believe in the right to freedom of speech and action , but if you ever try to exercise this right, they will raise hell.

"Being active against all wars means that our armed forces will not get the financing they need to do peacekeeping abroad."
- Obviously this individual does not understand how the politics of conflict work. For starters, this individual does not realize that if the ruling class wants to go to war, they will do so and allocate funds to the military, regardless of popular protest. In the face of overwhelming mass discontent, the ruling class may keep the military itself out of a conflict, but still find back-door ways to participate in it; to give you an example, much of the ammunition used by the US in Iraq comes from Canada. Also, by stationing Canadian troops in Afghanistan, it frees American troops to participate in Iraq. Even though our government is not officially participating in the war in Iraq, they are finding ways to aid the US military. Also, this individual believes in the concept of "peacekeeping", an obvious indicator of political naivete.

"They Won't spread good Canadian Values abroad"
- This observation not only reveals the obvious ideological slant of the individual that posted it, but infuriates me in a way that only a reactionary ideologue can. "Spread good Canadian values abroad"?! This warmonger is openly advocating Imperialism in the name of Canadian cultural chauvinism! Once again the "White man's burden" becomes the justification for wars of aggression. This individual is not only ignorant, but an aggressive Canadian chauvinist.

"they will lose their status as good guys abroad." - Who, other than our Canadian media, says that they have this status? Your argument is nonsensical; By not interfering in the sovereignty of nations over seas, I think that Canada would be held in much higher esteem, than as an imperial occupier.

I think that this person owes Paula an apology. Furthermore, I think that this person should repeat the fifth grade.

I been doing a lot of anti-war work in the last week myself, demonstrating in front of a local recruitment center to draw attention to the war in Afghanistan. The overwhelming majority of those that I encounter agree with my position, but on two occasions, individuals have confronted me angrily for daring to exercise my democratic right to free speech.

I've been thinking a lot about this. I wrote about this in March as well, in my post entitled "Ignorance is bliss". Here, once again, is another ignorant reply from the Edmonton Sun :

"Could all of the anti-war protesters try protesting in Iraq or Afghanistan where the war is actually going on? Or are you all too comfortable in your homes that were won through the hard work and effort of Canadian, American and British troops?- Al Boschman"Edmonton Sun, March 23, 2006

On this day, Remembrance day 2006, is it is important to honour the dead, but also educate people about the reality of wars of occupation in Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, etc. My Great grandfather served in the Second World War. I do not intend to dishonour his memory, or the memories of any others who fought against Fascism in Europe; However, I will not support any war of occupation and imperialism, and neither should any other person, whether they are Canadian or otherwise.

I salute Paula for making this short film in response to the Legions attack on the peace activist white poppies, I salute the women in black for initiating the white poppy campaign, and I salute all those who are fighting to oppose wars of occupation, especially by the current Canadian armed forces.

I think that the best way to honour the fallen soldiers of Canada, is to stop others from joining them in death.

Oppose the War of Occupation in Afghanistan and Haiti! Troops out Now!

Commie Toon, November 7. 2006

(Graphic removed)

I wish that you could see this Graphic better. I assure you that it worked, just click on it.

Okay, now for my little disclaimer: As the creator of this graphic, I can assure all persons portrayed and mentioned within it that it was created for satirical purposes only. I have no plans to assasinate Mr. O'Reilly, Ms. Coulter, Mr. savage, Mr. Hanntiy, Mr. Robertson, Mr. Limbaugh, or any other persons. I am not in league with the Dixie chicks, or their evil ilk. I salute the red, white and blue flag every day ( and by that, I mean Cuba.).

I hope that disclaimer worked. In the scheme of things, if Robertson can get away with advocating the assasination of President Hugo Chavez, and then apologize afterwards, I hope that this disclaimer will keep me out of the camp fire.

Allright, live the Revolution.

Eco-warnings from a long-haired Commie

Recently I was discussing with a friend of mine about a report put out by the World
Wild Life Federation. The report states that the human race is now consuming resources faster than the planet can replace them. They predict that at our present rate of consumption, the world will be out of resources in 2050.

I cited this as proof that the system of capitalism is in extreme crisis; We can not continue to consume at our present rate. My friend replied "I like your argument but what if the resources run out. Even if we have socialism , it will just prolong the suffering. Eventually the human race will overpopulate and then shit will go down the sinker, unless we've settled on other planets. No, humans are kinda like a parisite, and the earth has probably had enough. Or were just gonna destroy her."

I promised him that I would do a post on this topic on my blog, so that I don't send him a reply in installations in huge e-mail messages.

The first part of the problem, as I have already touched upon with him, is our current level of consumption. I've analyzed the way we consume products. I ask myself, how much of this is necessary? In addition to Marx's analysis of the crisis of overproduction inherent in capitalism,
there is also the question of how wisely we are using our resources. I used to work in a grocery store in the city of Edmonton, Alberta. Every day we would fill the dumpster in the back room with unsold loaves of bread. The thing is, these loaves of bread were not rotten; hell they weren't even stale. All of these loaves were only a day old, still indistinguishable from what they had been only a few hours ago, and yet they are sent to the city dump to rot every day.
Now consider if every grocery store in the city of Edmonton does this. Now Consider if every grocery store in the province of Alberta does this. Now, Consider if every grocery store in Canada does this. What if every grocery store in the US did this too? How about North America? Do you see where I'm going with this?

Do we really need to cultivate as much land, and burn as much fuel in harvesting machines as we do now? Do we really need as much wheat as we do now? Do other countries need to starve and ship all of their wheat to us? Maybe if we didn't throw away unsold bread EVERY DAY, we wouldn't have to grow so much wheat in the first place! We would save a lot of land, and a lot of
fuel.

A few years ago, I visited Los Angeles. The streets were congested with traffic. Myself and five of my family were all packed into a small car, so we got to use the "car pool lane"of the road, which was empty. If the car pool lane was empty the entire time that we were there, but the regular high way was hopelessly jammed with traffic, I think it's fair to say that not enough people were using their vehicles and fuel consumption wisely. How many barrels of oil could be saved every day if people took public transportation, or simply car pooled? Once again, we get back to the question of "How much do we need?"

As my friend pointed out, "Socialism will only help to prolong the suffering", as he sees overpopulation as an inevitability. Personally, this is a problem of our current society, not the new,socialist society. Consider if the economy was centrally planned; How difficult would it be for the national birth rate to also be controlled, or at least monitored. A big part of overpopulation is that it is a symptom of our society of individual centric hedonism, as personal pleasure is promoted as the ideal that all individuals should aspire to. When personal responsibility takes a back seat to personal pleasure, and the society is apathetic to the amount of procreation happening, overpopulation ensues. Don't get me wrong comrades; I'm not promoting some sort of baby-killing squad, or even promoting abortions. Contraception is a big part of it, and state organized initiatives, like in the peoples republic of China, encouraging couples to have fewer children.

Not all measures to manage the environment and consumption are so extreme. Personally, I walk everywhere. If there is somewhere I'm going, I walk. If it is too far to walk, I take public transportation, or catch a ride with a friend. I do not own a vehicle. Now consider that. I am just one person, but if I drive a vehicle for the rest of my adult life, how many barrels of oil will be consumed? By not owning a vehicle, and using fuel efficiently, over the course of my lifetime I will save many irreplaceable liters of gas. Not to sound like a self righteous hippie, but recycling does count, and so does buying post-consumer recycled products. Don't waste food; eat all that you take. Little things like this, in the scheme of things, help buy the planet time, at least.

The clock is ticking, comrades. Now, more than ever, the need for Socialism is a very clear and present need. If we can not manage the environment, our population, and our own desires, than we may be doomed to extinction. Humanity is at the crossroads; only the path of socialism leads to survival.