Bulletin N°450
Object: ON US-ISRAELI RELATIONS: THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING.
21 May 2010
Grenoble, France
Dear Colleagues and Friends of CEIMSA,
The politics of genocide, acknowledged or denied, introduces a framework which conveniently eliminates from view the architects of such strategies and trivializes mass murder as a category of crime less heinous than the ultimate crime. For example, politically correct high school textbooks still honor Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) as president of "the age of democracy," ignoring his involvement, at the highest level, in the genocidal policy against the Native American Indian population. And the policy makers for British Australia such as Arthur Phillip (1738-1814) have to this day not been held accountable for their handiwork on the Aborigines. The subsequent policies of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) were not entirely original, and these infamous policies have drawn much deserved attention, but by replacing derived fundamental values with received instrumental values, and by using psychological displacement (whereby the mind redirects affects from objects felt to be dangerous or unacceptable to objects felt to be safe or acceptable) and "false-flag" opperations, critics of genocide have targeted, in this case, groups of people more convenient to accuse because they are more bewildered and helpless to defend themselves, and therefore more easily stigmatized for public scorn.
-Are you prejudice?
-Gosh, I don't think so . . . .
-Well, prove it!
Yes, the politics of genocide which diverts attention away from the efficiently organized administrative nature of this crime against humanity and toward such questions as to the numbers (was it 10, or 12, or 15 or 50 millions of Amerindians that the Europeans destroyed?) and the character traits of the victims (were they angels, were they beasts, were they disgusting?) etc., etc. . . is a classic case of psychological displacement. They were many; they were human beings, and those responsible were inspired by historical precedents, and once again the authors of these crimes got away with it. These are the facts that remain outside the framework of the usual political discussions today, leaving us instead with an impoverished culture, animated with political posturing base on emotions --both real and feigned-- but demonstrating little authentic interest or understanding of the fact that "they" got away with it, that as former French deputy David Rousset wrote after his return from Buchenwald : "the concentration camp, far from being a monstrous denial of civilization, was a possible model for a future civilization. The camps were such models of efficient bureaucracy that they formed a workable kind of society. They were not primitive but overrefined. Men did not die there as men but as part of an administrative system, according to a strictly defined bureaucratic mechanism. The concentration camps were the supreme example of planification." It was what David Rousset called "the advent of a new barbarism" and "the most profound kind of exploitation of man . . . [far worse that the labor exploitation described by Marx]." (L'Univers concentrationnaire,1998). [For more on this subject, please see CEIMSA Bulletin # 361.] And as mentioned in CEIMSA Bulletin #447, a must-read on this subject is the new book by Ed Herman and David Peterson :
(An Excerpt)
The 8 items below offer CEIMSA readers the opportunity to prove their intelligence by recognizing the historical precedents which are now being created in American society to re-evaluate social relationships, precedents which may inspire emulation in future generations to organize for themselves a more fulfilling and humane society in which to live and develop.
Item A. is an announcement for our fourth Ph.D. seminar this year organized at Stendhal University by Francis Feeley.
Item B., is declaration from the Historians Against the War, sent to us by Matt Bokovoy, Staughton Lynd and Carl Mirra for the Historians against the War Steering Committee.
Item C., is a link to the BAY-Peace Youth Manifesto Campaign video sent to us by Pablo Paredes.
Item D., sent to us by Professor Fred Lonidier, is a petition in support of Arizona University faculty opposed to the vicious anti-immigration laws that were recently passed and put into effect by local police.
Item E., is an article with documents sent to us by Nanterre graduate student, Ms. Grace Kpohazounde, who is presently working as the International Criminal Court's consultant on the Court's cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These documents concern a series of Leaked Oil Contracts between DRC and British Companies.
Item F., is an interview with Noam Chomsky discussing "Science and Technology".
Item G., from Grenoble secretary Christelle Julien, is a French television report on retirement "à l'Amerique" today.
Item H. is an Internet link to Mike Weisbrot's Center for Economic and Policy Research offering some penetrating discussions of the economic collapse "that can't quite happen . . . ."
And finally, we invite CEIMSA readers to view the Democracy Now! broadcast of 18 May 2010 on :
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/18/yo_soy_el_army_us_military
Sincerely,
Francis McCollum Feeley
Professor of American Studies
Director of Research
Université Stendhal Grenoble 3
http://www.ceimsa.org/
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A.
from Francis Feeley :
Date: 16 May April 2010
Subject: Announcement sent to the Société des Anglicistes de L'Enseignement Supérieur.
Chers collegues,
Vous etes invité d'assister à la séminaire d'étude doctorale à l'Université de Grenoble le mercredi 19 mai.
cordialement,
Francis Feeley
Séminaire d'étude doctorale
sur
"Les entreprises transnationales américaines en voie d'expansion: le rôle de l'idéologie dans la mise en place des fonctions hiérarchiques"
organisé par le Professeur Francis Feeley
Mercredi, 19 mai 2010
Grande Salle des Colloques
Université Stendhal-Grenoble III
15h30
Présentations de recherche
Par
Asma Jedidi
Doctorante dans le Département d'études anglophones - Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense
"The Role of US Corporations in Post-War Reconstruction Struggles"
et
Par
Mustafa Almrtdi
Doctorant dans le Département d'études anglophones - Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense
"Le rôle du pétrole Libyen dans les relations libyo-américaines depuis 1969"
Dear HAW Members and Friends,
We are writing on behalf of the Steering Committee of Historians Against the War to encourage you to plan teach-ins or other public events on your campus or in your community during Fall 2010. President Obama has said that US policy in Afghanistan would be reviewed at the end of this calendar year. This autumn may offer the opportunity for renewed public debate on the Afghanistan war and on US foreign policy more generally.
If you plan such an event, or if you have already planned one, please let us know and we can feature the events on the HAW website. HAW is in the process of putting together a possible speaker’s list and a how-to kit to facilitate the organizing of these events. They are not done yet, but for an idea of previous resources, please see http://historiansagainstwar.org/teachin.
The Steering Committee encourages the partnering of scholarly speakers with antiwar veterans’ organizations in staging these teach-in events. The partnering of academic speakers with antiwar veterans, who have first-hand experience based on their deployment in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, will strengthen the presentations and increase understanding of the current US military actions in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
Two links to antiwar veterans groups and other peace organizations are below, and a list for a HAW speaker's bureau will be ready for friends and supporters shortly.
Iraq Veterans Against the War-(IVAW) searchable list of regional and local contacts: http://www.iraqveteransagainstthewar.com/chaptersandregions
United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) searchable list of local and regional peace organizations: http://unitedforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=27
We thank you for your interest. We look forward to your response and to assisting you with this important endeavor.
Inquiries and event announcements can be sent to:
Carlmirra@aol.com
Sincerely,
Matt Bokovoy, Staughton Lynd and Carl Mirra for the Historians against the War Steering Committee
HAW Statement on the Afghanistan War
October 2008
1. Whatever views we hold on the initial US military intervention in Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11 attacks in the US, it is now clear that the US/NATO presence in this country has become an occupation, increasingly resented and opposed by large sections of the population.
2. Despite the relief that met removal of the totalitarian Taliban government by US and NATO forces, the new government, chosen under the direction of the Bush administration, has distanced itself from the people, is rent with corruption, and barely governs anything. Outside of Kabul, warlords and criminal elements operate with impunity, the opium trade grows, violence -- including violence by the occupation forces -- proliferates, and the Taliban is resurgent.
3. The support for fundamentalist warlords and the corrupt Karzai regime demonstrate that the purpose of US policy in Afghanistan is not to support the self-determination of the Afghan people, but to extend the bankrupt global war against terror deeper into Central Asia, and to strengthen US geopolitical power in this region. The US/NATO war on Afghanistan is not a "good war" in contrast to the "bad war" on Iraq.
4. The current consensus in higher political circles, including both major party candidates for president, that the war in Afghanistan must be escalated will only deepen the regional crisis and suffering of the Afghan people. The historical experience of other outside powers trying to control Afghanistan (most spectacularly, the Soviet Union from 1979 to 1989, invading from next door over a wide common border) suggests that even a greatly escalated US/NATO war effort will only multiply the deaths and the suffering.
5. The US and NATO should immediately begin withdrawing their military and political assets from Afghanistan so that the Afghan people can have room to decide their own future. Continued US/NATO action in the country is a large part of the problem and cannot be the solution.
6. We call for regional agreement among Afghanistan's neighbors to guarantee Afghan stability, to preserve the ethnic and religious diversity of the country, to assure the full participation of women in social life, and to provide space for all of the people of Afghanistan to fully exercise their right to self-determination.
__________________
C.
from Pablo Paredes :
Date: 7 May 2010
Subject: BAY-Peace Youth Manifesto Campaign Video.
From: Pablo Paredes: pablopare@gmail.com
BAY-Peace Youth Manifesto Campaign Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPJU0dbrOXI
Dear Friends,
All of you I'm sure at some point in the last two to three years have heard me rant about the Youth Manifesto Campaign. Last Wednesday this journey led to a major Victory for the movement to demilitarize society one school district at a time. Wearing my American Friends Service Committee and BAY-Peace hats, I had the pleasure of joining an amazing seasoned activist, Susan Quinlan, in supporting equally brilliant Oakland youth activists to take this campaign to the finish line.
I am confident that we were lucky enough to work with tomorrow's movement leaders on their first campaign. Please take a minute to read and see pictures that tell the story of Oakland students refusing to be targets.
Oakland School Board Passes Toughest Military Recruitment Rules in Nation
You can check the story out @ Oakland Seen :
A shorter version is up on the AFSC websites front page:
http://afsc.org/
Details and pictures are also available on the BAY-Peace website where you can also make a donation to keep this kind of work going:
http://baypeace.org/
Thanks for taking a few minutes to share our victory. We can't spend all our time angry at what is broken, we also have to celebrate the mighty moments of resistance and whisper in the madness that change is possible and here is a glimpse of what it may look like.
In struggle,
Pablo Paredes
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
Youth and Militarism Program
http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/default.htm
65 Ninth St., San Francisco, CA 94103
Office: 415-565-0201 x 23
Cell: 510-967-1357
pablopare@gmail.com
_______________
D.
from Fred Lonidier :
Date: 19 May 2010
Subject: Open letter opposing SB 1070, On behalf of concerned Arizona faculty, please consider forwarding this message far and wide.
Dear Colleagues,
A group of faculty have written an "open letter" for faculty, administrators and staff from the three Arizona Universities in opposition to the new state immigration law SB 1070.
If you would like to read the letter, please open the following link and consider adding your name: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDdmbmVpZl8tcVBBQW0xUnFzM0EtRWc6MQ
Please feel free to forward the link to any colleague or list of colleagues from the three AZ universities.
Also, for those of you who are not from an Arizona University, please consider signing (and forwarding) this "Petition of Support": https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEptVDJ0MlBOeGlGdFpCZmpkNndfTkE6MA
In solidarity,
Bob Neustadt
__________________
E.
from Grace Kpohazounde :
Date: 19 May 2010
Subject: Leaked Oil Contracts between DRC and British Companies: an economic rip-off.
http://dimension.ucsd.edu/CEIMSA-IN-EXILE/publications/Students/Grace-2.pdf
By Noam Chomsky and Ollie Mikse
http://www.zcommunications.org/government-involvement-with-science-and-art-by-noam-chomsky
________________
G.
from Christelle Julian :
Date: 17 May 2010
Subject: The American Retirement Paradise.
Dans les paradis de retraités américains, il ne fait pas si bon vivre…Les seniors américains n’ont plus les moyens de goûter aux plaisirs de leur retraite…Les fonds de pensions ont perdu près de 2 000 milliards de dollars aux Etats-Unis et des millions d’américains découvrent avec effroi qu’ils vivront plus vieux que leurs économies.A partir de 65 ans et au-delà, ils sont obligés de retrouver du travail, de repartir à zéro pour assurer leurs vieux jours…Une expérience d’autant plus éprouvante que cette crise pousse certains d’entre eux jusque dans la rue.
______________
H.
From Mark Weisbrot :
Date: 19 May 2010
Subject: The nature of economic collapses.
Center for Economic and Policy Research
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/clips/mark-weisbrots-publications/