https://bit.ly/2N4kR3g

As another government shutdown looms, talk of a general strike has once again begun picking up steam. While the idea was discussed during the longest-ever government shutdown, it’s on some folks’ minds again as the temporary funding bill that reopened the government is set to expire on February 15. While The New York Times has reported that, on February 11, lawmakers reached a deal “in principle” by agreeing to provide over $1.3 billion for the construction of border fencing, there is a general strike already in the works for February 16.

“Imagine the power of working people standing together to demand that our government work for us,” the group General Strike 2019 writes on its website. “If the shutdown continues, we call on all Americans to join us on February 16th at our nation’s airports to show what workers united can achieve.”

“Led by courageous aviation workers, whose lives and livelihoods are endangered if the shutdown continues, we will come together and demand that Washington stop playing political games with our safety and security,” the message continues. “Together, we have the power to end this nightmare for millions of Americans and demand a government that works for all of us.” The impacts of the government shutdown have been intense for many.

https://bit.ly/2E9KSLL

https://www.newsghana.com.gh/

The leaders of the 18th century separatist movement from England were not motivated by a genuine desire for freedom and equality

If the so-called American Revolution of 1776 was truly committed to breaking with monarchical and autocratic rule from the United Kingdom then why did slavery grow at a rapid rate after the achievement of independence of the former 13 colonies in North America?

This is an important political question since even in the 21st century there are repeated references by elected officials in both houses of Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court to the “Founding Fathers” and “Framers of the Constitution.” What is not mentioned by these career politicians and lifetime jurists is that many of the authors of the U.S. Constitution were large-scale slave owners themselves.

These wealthy landowners and slave masters did not see any reason to liberate the more than 700,000 Africans living in the former colonies by the conclusion of the 1780s. The existence of slavery was quite profitable and with the discovery of the cotton gin in 1793, the expansion of involuntary servitude across the South and extending further west empowered the planters to the point where as a result of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 they were able to dominate the House of Representatives through a provision declaring that enslaved Africans could be counted as three-fifths of a person…

African woman tortured by John Kimber who was acquitted of murder by British courts in 1792

Milwaukee Area Labor Council‎Movie Night with Young Workers Committee

633 S Hawley Rd., Milwaukee, 6-9 P.M.

We will be showing “At the River I Stand,” at 6 pm and have a discussion after.

The film is a short documentary that recounts the two months leading to Martin Luther King Jr.’s death in 1968, coinciding with the 65-day strike of 1,300 Memphis sanitation workers.

Free and open to all. Wheelchair accessible

Madison Action Day 2019

On Tuesday, March 26th 2019, over 1,000 people from across the state of Wisconsin, all a part of WISDOM, will gather at the State Capitol to advocate and educate representatives about issues in the proposed state budget! We will be having several buses leaving from all over the state to go to the Capitol! Please save the date. There will be more details to come on how to GET ON THE BUS!

• Green Bay WI Buses leaving from West Side Moravian Church (1707 S Oneida St) at 6am. For more info: http://www.joshua4justice.org/madison-action-day-2019/
• Fox Valley buses leaving from First Congregational UCC (724 E South River St, Appleton) at 6:30am and from Oshkosh Park & Ride at 7:15am. For more info: https://esther-foxvalley.org/date/2019/03/26/madison-action-day-2019

Demonstration Protesting GM Plant Closings Feb 20, 2019 1PM

The State of Michigan Building (W Grand Blvd. between Cass Ave. and Second Ave.), 1 P.M.

Protest GM plant closings and demand Gov. Whitner fight to make GM pay back billions of dollars in Mega tax credits it was given to keep plants open and workers on the job. On Wednesday Feb. 20, 2019 at 1 PM we will gather to protest this outrage. Please join us with your voices and signs.

https://bit.ly/2GBRLHv

According to the Economic Debates Unit of the Latin American Geopolitical Strategic Center (Celag), which issued a report this February 8 about the financial blockade against Venezuela by the United States, it estimates losses of about 350 billion dollars in the production of goods and services between 2013 and 2017 due to the sanctions of Congress and the White House.

The document indicates that the blocking measures for the international debt markets are mainly responsible for the current economic situation, as other independent researchers and analysts have been pointing out.

According to Celag, Venezuela could have a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth greater than that of Argentina if the State headed by Nicolás Maduro had had access to international financing similar to that of Mauricio Macri in his first three years in office: “The country lost in that quinquennium (2013-2017) between 1.6 and 1.1 in Gross Domestic Products “.

DEFEND ILHAN OMAR

By Jerry Goldberg

As an activist from a Jewish background, I completely defend Ilhan Omar’s remarks pointing to the role of AIPAC, the Zionist lobby in Washington, of paying politicians (both Republicans and Democrats) to attack those who stand up in defense of Palestine and especially who want to criminalize those who advocate the boycott and divestment movement from Zionist Israel.

Attacking Zionism and its US lobby AIPAC (American Israel Political Action Committee) is not in any way anti-semitic. Judaism and Zionism are not the same. Zionism in its modern incarnation since Theodore Herzl, is a racist, pro-colonial ideology, that was embraced by imperialism beginning with the Balfour declaration in 1917, when it coincided with western imperialism’s desire to have a garrison state and outpost in the Middle East to guarantee the robbery of Arab oil and resources. That is why Israel is always on the wrong side of every progressive struggle worldwide, even embracing apartheid South African with its Nazi leaders.

Jews never embraced Zionism and had no interest in migrating into Palestine, until they were essentially forced into Palestine when the United States closed its borders to Jewish refugees from the Holocaust. The imperialists conveniently and cynically saw the opportunity to use Jewish refugees with no where else to go as their shock troops in their war against the Palestinian people to create the illegal state of Israel. And U.S. imperialism funds Israel to this day as its military outpost in the Middle East.

It is unfortunate that main stream Jewish leaders embrace Zionism and have brainwashed too many Jewish youth and others in the US into equating the racist Zionist ideology with the Jewish religion. Many of these so-called leaders turned their backs on defense of the Black liberation movement in the US when its leaders understood the connection of the Palestinian struggle to the struggle for liberation of oppressed people in the US and worldwide.

However, as an activist for 50 years, I am encouraged that the real role of Israel as a racist, imperialist outpost is now understood by more and more activists, including young progressive Jewish activists.

I fully defend Ilhan Omar and all those who stand up for the liberation of all oppressed people. I have every confidence that Israel’s days as an apartheid state are limited, and a free Palestine that embraces all its people will ultimately emerge victorious.

International Women’s Day

Join United Action Oshkosh at Harmony Pizza in Appleton from 6-9pm on March 9th to celebrate International Women’s Day! Co-hosted by Wisconsin Freedom Road Socialist Organization, this event will focus on highlighting the leading role women have played (and currently play!) in the struggle for our collective liberation. From union battles to struggles against police crimes and the fight for immigrant rights, women are leading the charge.

A part of this celebration will incorporate a storytelling aspect, where we encourage women to share their stories with us through whichever medium they choose: poetry, song, spoken word, just plain speech, or anything else. People who are interested in attending and would like to participate in this storytelling aspect should prepare something in advance and message the UAO page if there are any questions.