Zelaya’s return to Honduras met with force
Zelaya gets back into Honduras under the protection of the Brazilian embassy while the struggle against the oligarchs continues
Los Angeles Police Move Against Gang
Avenidas is raided by over a thousand police
Economic Vandalism
In a scrape over tariffs on tires between China and the U.S., The Economist warns Obama on protectionism
G20 summit sets stage for sharpening of international tensions
Struggles between the U.S., Germany, and China continue at the G20
For Obama, focus shifts from engagement to pursuit of concerted, tough measures
Russia is now on board for increased sanctions against Iran for “secret” nuclear site
Review of Stefan Bradley’s Harlem v.s. Columbia University
An important revisionist account of the role of student Black Power in the Columbia occupation of 1968
A slightly old article I wanted to share with people here.
U.S. to Reform Policy on Detention
Title says one thing, but the article says that the Obama Administration promises to not change much at all in the immigration detention system.
Oops, lets try this again!
U.S. to Reform Policy on Detention
Title says one thing, but the article says that the Obama Administration promises to not change much at all in the immigration detention system.
State to mom: Stop babysitting
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5intayNnUex0u2p2aPfl95SZitE9QD9B1880G0
Michigan doesn’t want neighbors helping each other out with childcare
From the link David shared, that move by the state of Michigan trying to prohibit informal childcare is ridiculous. Do they realize how many people depend on informal, unpaid support from family, friends and neighbors to raise kids? What does the state expect people to do? Especially in light of Michigan’s exorbitant unemployment rate, the scale of the economic crisis there and massive cuts to social services that are making this kind of informal support more and more essential for working class families. In one light, this type of policy can be seen as an attack on non-“traditional”, non-nuclear families where there are multiple generations of people, unmarried (queer, hetero or other) couples, friends, the children of others or from previous relationships, and more all living under one roof together, whether out of necessity or desire.
But the decades-long attack on working class people by the capitalists has eroded the material basis for the state to be able to fully implement such a policy, because so many more families today are dependent upon unpaid care provided by relatives and friends so that they can work 2 jobs, work a night shift, face long commutes to get to and from work everyday, balance a job and school, etc. At the same time, it hasn’t only been the capitalists that are laying the ground for family forms to shift. You could argue that working class families have never perfectly reflected the model of the nuclear family that has been portrayed as an ideal by the state and the Right for many, many years. It’s also true that the structure of families has changed over time due in great part to the struggles of queer folks to redefine who and what the family is, subverting the patriarchal and hetero-normative forms currently imposed.
If anything, the state should be paying women who provide childcare for their loved ones, regardless of if they’re housewives, work at a job outside the home, or are licensed childcare providers. Selma James and others have written some great literature on the value of women’s unpaid labor in the home raising kids, taking care of the house, cooking & cleaning – in a word, reproducing other members of the working class. James has organized for decades around the demand of “Wages for Housework.” Capitalism has depended upon these unpaid forms of labor done by women, and today it is not much different even though most working class women are not housewives but have jobs (often more than one) outside the home, on top of the caring work they do inside the home.