The ongoing U.S. “war on terror” has forcibly displaced as many as 59 million people from just eight countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia since 2001, according to a new report published Tuesday by Brown University’s Costs of War Project.
The latest figure represents a dramatic increase from the Costs of War Project’s 2019 report, which estimated that 21 million people had been displaced internally or forced to flee their home countries due to violence inflicted or unleashed by U.S.-led wars over the past two decades. That report also put the death toll of the so-called war on terror at 801,000 and the price tag at $6.4 trillion.
The new report argues that “wartime displacement (alongside war deaths and injuries) must be central to any analysis of the post-9/11 wars and their short- and long-term consequences.”
“Displacement also must be central to any possible consideration of the future use of military force by the United States or others,” the report states. “Ultimately, displacing 37 million—and perhaps as many as 59 million—raises the question of who bears responsibility for repairing the damage inflicted on those displaced….”
This moment is about us, the people, making a change. Its time for our voices to be heard. Time for our most essential needs to be met. We live in one of the most segregated cities in America; We need to show Milwaukee we can break the mold. This is our moment for change and to rewrite history. Lets keep up the fight, the hard work, the blood, sweat, tears, and the vigor that everyone has given in these last weeks- Lets Keep fighting, Lets Keep marching until we are finally heard. March for Breonna Taylor,George Floyd, Jacob Blake and all the injustices Black People face in America. We have to let our voices be heard by our city and Kenosha.
March will start at 2 pm at the Water Tower Park on E North Ave to Whitefish Bay
Hello, everyone: On Saturday, September 12 from 6 PM to 8:00 PM, we will be hosting a peaceful protest and march starting at the bandshell in downtown Port Washington to bring awareness to the students of color who have left the Port Washington school district because their voices weren’t being heard. I will speak to my experiences as a student of color in the school district and will be joined by guest speaker and local organizer, William Toney. I will post the march route the day of the event and ask that folks plan on marching on foot, not by caravan. All attendees should wear a mask. Thank you for your support of this event.
Martin Luther King Park, Milwaukee, WI – 11:30 A.M.
The Jacob Blake family, All of Us or None, The Peoples Revolution: Come on out and help us support the Jacob Blake family. We want Justice and we want it now! This movement will not stop until we reach our goal of getting the officers involved in shooting and paralyzing our brother, tried and convicted. This will be a day of great festivities, speakers, entertainment, food and fellowship, from people all over the world. Don’t miss this great extravaganza for justice!
All Of Us Or None Wisconsin ☆ Special Address: JUSTIN BLAKE and JACOB BLAKE SR. JARRETT BLAKE & LETETRA BLAKE ☆ Special Guest Speakers: CHAIRMAN FRED HAMPTON JR. – Black Panther Party Cubs, Prisoners of Conscience Committee PROFESSOR BENNETH LEE – Justice Studies NEIU, National Alliance for the Empowerment of the Formerly Incarcerated☆ Performers YOUNG BLEED – No Limit Records MISTY BLANCO – Misty TV Firm Corp KENYA AMIR – Misty TV Firm Corp PREZ – Bad Boy ENT YOUNG MERE – Misty TV Firm CORP DINI HUE – Universal Records BLAQ ICE – Poet (king of poetry) KHAMONZI – Zulu Nation B-Love Dia I’sea Deizel-Marie Janiya Williams KhamouEl Rebecca Burrell Vaun Mayes Young Medina ☆ Other Speakers include: Amina Matthews – Pause for Peace, daughter of Jeff Fort The Anderson Family Caliphe Muab-El – Breaking Barriers, All of Us or None WI Minster Cielcel Lacy – Brother of Earnest Lacy David Bowen – Elected official Destiny Monae – The Peoples Revolution Greg Bennet – Peace in the Streets Brother Hogan Bey – Grand Governor, Moorish Science Temple of America Jerome Dillard – EXPO Khamonzi – Zulu Nation Khalil Coleman – The Peoples Revolution Tiffany Henry – President, Milwaukee Urban League Tracy Cole – Mother of Alvin Cole LaTanya “Tanky” Fort – AMNMMPA Monique West – Mother of Ty’Rese West Senator Lena Taylor – Elected Official PorcheBennet – BLAK Sean Wilson – ACLU Sedan Smith – Breaking Barriers Mentoring Sequanna Taylor – Elected official Stevante Clark – SAC Tanya McLean – Peace in the Streets/ A.E.R Vaun Mays – Comforce ☆
The state, when talking about political entities, might be defined as “the supreme public power within a sovereign political entity” (The Free Dictionary by Farlex). V.I. Lenin, leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917, wrote his important work “The State and Revolution” in the days leading up to the seizure of power by the working class and poor peasants of that nation. He distilled the idea that the “state” was, at heart, “bodies of armed men” including the military, police, the courts and prisons that maintained the rule of one class over other classes. These repressive forces were necessary because the state existed for the exploitation of one class for the benefit of another. All the rest of the departments of government were not fundamental.
Slaveholders needed a state to keep slaves from revolting. Feudal barons and kings needed a state to maintain their extravagant lifestyles off the backs of the peasant masses. The capitalist bankers and bosses, representing only a tiny percentage of the population, needed a host of armed agents and a coercive judicial system so that the other “99%” could be controlled if and when they decided to throw off the oppressive yoke either at home or abroad.
The United States today is experiencing a profound crisis that is worrisome to the billionaire capitalist class. An essential element in ruling over some 330 million people, when you are really not even “1%,” is to keep those masses divided and confused. Heaven forbid that the working class and even the middle class (the peasantry is long gone as a numerical force) recognize their common interests, unite and turn against the super rich.
White supremacy is the premier tool, or weapon, used to keep people in the U.S. divided. The ruling class arsenal also employs sexism, anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry, ableism, and more in their attempt to fragment and thus weaken the working class and oppressed nations inside the borders.
But it is inevitable for oppressed and exploited people to rebel. The racist murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. Years, decades of police violence and murder against African Americans and other people of color erupted into a massive uprising that began on May 25 and has continued, remarkably, up to today. The protests are not just in a few cities, but across the country in large metropolises and small towns alike.
The uprising is also characterized everywhere by its youthfulness and the unity of African Americans, Latinx people, Arabs, Native people and whites. This is what most worries the ruling class. Also noteworthy is that the uprising started and continues in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Who knows how large the movement would grow to if tens of millions of people weren’t cautiously staying home for fear of contracting the disease?
No less disturbing to the billionaires and their agents is the economic dislocation caused by the pandemic. What happens when a mass movement against white supremacy and police terror coincides with an economic collapse of the capitalist system. Tens of millions of workers are out of work with no clear path to return to work as the coronavirus proves unmanageable. Unable to pay their rent or mortgages millions face eviction or foreclosure.
The emergency stimulus package known as the CARES Act staved off disaster for a while. The pitiful $1200 the government gave to many people was bolstered by several months of extra unemployment benefits to those laid off due to the pandemic. But those band aids ran out a while ago and the two capitalist political parties – Democrats and Republicans – have proven unable to pass a second package. The Trump administration did get the CDC to order a halt to evictions nationwide, but it isn’t clear if the ruling will survive court challenges or local sabotage.
Unseen by most people is how the stock market is staying high. Unemployed workers and closed factories and offices don’t produce profits for the capitalist class. The Federal Reserve has been holding interest rates to zero as well as buying corporate bonds to maintain the illusion that all is well. This cannot go on forever. Maybe they will keep it up until the election. But, sooner or later, a crash is feared by many economists and political insiders.
The coinciding of the three crises – COVID-19, anti-white supremacy uprising and economic collapse – haunt the ruling class. President Trump has been going full blast to support the police against demonstrators. He sent Federal agents from many departments in full riot gear to assault the Portland protesters. That backfired and the demonstrations grew greatly. In Detroit U.S. Attorney General William Barr came to town and met with top police officials on August 18. Four days later the Detroit police launched an unprovoked, violent attack on a peaceful gathering. No one believes that was a coincidence. But the protests in Detroit continue nightly. Democratic nominee for the presidency, Joe Biden, has also chimed in to condemn protests that have expressed themselves commensurate with the rage of the people. Of course, unlike Trump, Biden tries to show a little bit of sympathy for “peaceful” demonstrations.
In situations where the organs of state power, the “bodies of armed men” in Lenin’s words, prove unable to do the job of suppressing the masses, the capitalist class has historically turned to extra-legal bodies of far-rightwingers who are not bound to respect law or constitutional niceties. These groups going by the name of Nazis, KKK or some “patriotic” title have always existed on the outskirts of society. Sometimes the ruling class may put them down and at other times they are encouraged, financed and given support by the police themselves.
Hitler’s Nazis played the role of a fringe group in Germany for 10 years before the German ruling class, fearing the power of the Socialist and Communists, unleashed him and allowed him to take power in 1933. In the South in the U.S. after the Civil War and onwards the Ku Klux Klan, hand in glove with the local police and the ruling rich, carried out murder and terror against African Americans as well as any white sympathizers for equal rights.
It should not surprise anyone that fascists in Kenosha came to that Wisconsin city on August 25 to confront anti-police terror protesters. The demonstration there followed the police pumping 7 bullets into the back of Jacob Blake with no provocation. Kyle Rittenhouse armed with an AR-15 style rifle opened fire killing Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and seriously wounding a third person.
Days later far-right Trump supporters caravanned into Portland, intent on confronting Black Lives Matter protesters. Fights broke out on many streets. A man identified as a member of a right-wing extremist group was shot in the chest and died. Police, led by Federal agents, tracked down the alleged anti-fascist shooter and gunned him down during the arrest.
Right wing groups are being whipped up to assault and murder progressive people who have taken to the streets to demand change. Not surprisingly FOX News has been promoting, praising and pushing them on. The President of the United States has also made it clear repeatedly that he supports them and what they are doing.
The right wingers only exist with the forbearance or encouragement of at least part of the ruling class. It Is clear that the fascists are getting special treatment from the police forces around the nation. During the early days of the pandemic armed militias showed up at the Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan, pushing their way into the building when the legislature was in session. They claimed their constitutional right to bear arms and the police gave them full access. Over the years these same police refused to allow protesters to even carry protest signs into that same building.
On June 9, 2019 a small group of swastika wearing members of the National Socialist Movement marched through Detroit carrying guns. They went to confront the annual LGBTQ festival in downtown’s Hart Plaza. This small group of Nazis weren’t bravely facing the crowd. No, they were surrounded and escorted by a phalanx of Detroit cops who made sure no one ran them out of town.
The Portland fascist caravan had no interference from the Portland or state police. But in Kenosha the cops stopped trucks carrying water and food that had arrived to support the demonstrators. And you can see for yourself that Kyle Rittenhouse was allowed to walk through police lines after he had murdered two men and wounded another, still carrying his rifle.
The progressive, radical and revolutionary “left” is in the streets and, of necessity, will only grow. The labels “left” and “right” come from the year 1789 when the French Revolution convened the National Assembly in Paris. On the left side of the hall sat the delegates who were against King Louis XVI and his oppressive nobility. On the right side sat those who were conservative supporters of the King and the feudal system he headed. That struggle, between the left and right continued for years until the complete overthrow of the “old order” of the French feudal ruling class.
Today’s left wing encompasses those who are against police terror and white supremacy. Also included are those who want action against climate change. The left also covers supporters of women’s and LGBTQ rights. Those who demand economic justice and oppose oppression of minorities also belong to the left. Those on the left may disagree over many things, such as demands, tactics and methods. Not everyone believes that voting for Democratic Party candidates is a solution or even worthwhile.
Under current conditions the left will grow if a program can unite the different factions that emerge and correct tactics can be put forward. Mistakes will, no doubt, be made and difficulties and setbacks are inevitable. But the ruling class, their loyal politicians from both big parties, the armies and police as well as the fascist militias can be confronted and defeated by a serious and determined mass movement that understands that it is the capitalist system that needs to be overthrown and replaced by a system that values human needs not capitalist greed. That system is socialism.
Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, murdered by a right-wing shooter in Kenosha, WI. | Photo: nbcnews.com
This coming week we’re joined by Moratorium NOW! Coalition and others to talk about housing justice!Join Community Movement Builders, the General Baker Institute, and the Black & Brown Alliance of the Detroit Democratic Socialist of America for our second series of neighborhood-based political education & community conversation events on the movement to defund the police, defend black lives, and rebuild our neighborhoods. Upcoming Liberation Mondays: September 14th September 21st September 28th We know folks really enjoyed and benefitted from the first series of Liberation Mondays this summer in different parts of the city as our speakers placed the present moment and its demands in the larger context of the fight to end capitalist exploitation. We talked about what it could look like to defund the police and rebuild our neighborhoods. Now we will focus on what is needed to fund the things we actually need in our neighborhoods. Masks are strongly encouraged. We’ll be setting up chairs at six feet apart to comply with social distancing protocols. Some light refreshments will be served. Livestream will be available if you can’t attend in person.
All four of George Floyd’s murderers have filed motions to have their charges dismissed – the latest was Derek Chauvin on Aug 28. These motions (along with other motions) could be heard or scheduled in court on Friday, Sept. 11. Court starts at 9 a.m. We will hold a protest starting at 8 a.m.We must not let these four officers get away with murder!
October 19, 2020 will be Jonathon’s 2 year angelversary. We are asking everyone to wear their Justice for Jonathon Tubby shirts or face masks on this day and to post you in his shirt or mask on social media. Please tag one of us or the Justice for Jonathon Tubby facebook page. Justice for Jonathon Tubby
AFGE’s Women’s and Fair Practices Departments is honored to announce its very first Black Labor Week, a week dedicated to providing education and empowerment. These events are open to everyone interested in increasing their knowledge and awareness.
Our first annual Black Labor Week will kick-off Monday, September 14th with a week of interactive and inspirational events. All trainings will be hosted on Hopin, an online conference platform.
Monday, September 14th from 7:30 – 9:30 PM EST: Black History: Race and Racism in America
Staff in Planned Parenthood’s D.C. office celebrated their first contract yesterday. Reached after more than three years of negotiations, the agreement works to address equity in the workplace, codify benefits, and provide staff — members of SEIU 500 — a voice in organizational decision making. “We are the doers,” said Aaron Wilder, a member of the D.C. bargaining unit leadership team, “the employees who come to the job every day to tirelessly fight for Planned Parenthood patients and reproductive rights.” The D.C. staff joins other Planned Parenthood staff who have already joined a union, including those in the organization’s offices in Miami, Greater New York, the Rocky Mountains and Northern New England. Read more here
