Free stickers, via IDollarNY.org
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is general election day here in New York City and across the waters in NJ. If you can vote, use it to make a point.
I know all the debates about voting not changing anything, and while I tend to agree, I’m not asking you to overthrow capitalism with your vote. It won’t do that. But it is a splendid soapbox from which to shout, and it is a way to ensure the object with which those in power can hit you is as small as possible.
So here are my recommendations:
Vote Against Bloomberg
The 4th richest man in America and the 17th richest in the world, Bloomberg is a billionaire 16 times over. He’s spending over $100 Million to finance a campaign that is illegal under NYC law, after we all voted twice for term limits. Of course he got other politicians to annul this law. I wonder how?
Bloomy has jumped UP the rankings, making billions more during his two mayoral terms. And yet he’s cutting schools, health care, services, and raising only those taxes that hit the working poor hardest.
http://www.voterevbilly.org
In short, he’s a scumbag. Tell him what you think by voting for Reverend Billy Tallen for mayor!
You don’t have to worry that Billy will win and be corrupted by power. And Billy has always been the first at every little picket or protest, always offered solidarity, always been there for those fighting power. You owe him one (if not several).
Vote Socialist for NJ Governor
Greg Pason, perennial candidate for the Socialist Party is running for governor. I may be biased. But the media driven acceptable choices are the fat Republican who loves George Bush, or the hairy Democrat who made billions as a unrepentant capitalist merchant banker, or the “independent” who’s really a Republican who just doesn’t hate everyone who’s not straight/white/rich as much as the first guy.
http://www.votepason.org/
Greg Pason is not going to win. Again, if you think this is a question of revolutionary principles, you’ve gotten ahead of yourself. This is a lifeline to those out there who’ve always been told that capitalism, free markets, and wage labor are the only choices there are. I’ve seen the effect that Greg’s campaigns can have on people across the state. People are so rarely reached by radical newspapers, protests, email lists, or punk rock fanzines. New Jersey law gives an avowed anti-capitalist air time, mailings that go to every home in the state, and a platform bigger than any march you’ve ever put together. Every vote Greg and other anti-capitalist candidates gets lends legitimacy to a future more just society.
And this society has gotten so used to abstention, that despite what you’re told, no power is threatened when you stay home. They just think you’re too fat and happy to shift your ass.
So drag it out: you won’t find a better use for a vote, even abstention.
Vote for Debbie Rose for NY City Council
Next Left Notes Photo: Michelle Akyempong
If you’re lucky enough to live on Staten Island, you have the chance to vote for Debbie Rose for City Council. After decades of grassroots activism, Debbie got out the vote and shocked the Democratic Party machine in the primaries, spanking the right wing Democrat Fred Flintstone look alike Ken Mitchell. Now Debbie is a day away from being the first person of color to be elected from any Staten Island election. Ever.
If that’s not reason enough, Ken Mitichell is storming back, using the Conservative Party ballot line (NYC politicians stand on, sometimes seemingly contradictory, multiple party lines) to try and win back his City Council seat. The same seat he was gifted by the Democratic machine, with which he did zero, except voting against a law that would protect Abortion providers from harassment.
Is Debbie Rose going to change the world? Hardly. But she’s good people, has always been loyal to her working class community and the struggles here against racism, police brutality, pollution and poverty. We need to give her a louder megaphone, and take it away from the idiots who hold it now.
So like I said, votes won’t make a revolution. That’s up to the rest of us. Your vote can make a point. Use it.
Related articles:
- See another leftist set of recommendations at Next Left Notes (nextleftnotes.org)
- Reverend Billy: New York’s Consumerism (huffingtonpost.com)
- Bloomberg Sets Record for His Own Spending on Elections (nytimes.com)
- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spending 15000 an hour on reelection bid (telegraph.co.uk)
- On Tuesday Your Vote is Really Going to Count (streetsblog.org)
- New Poll: Anybody But Bloomberg [Polls] (cityfile.com)
- Newark Mayor Backed Bloomberg, Then Got Funds (nytimes.com)
The NYC: Tuesday Protest (/) Vote! by T. Miles, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
As I noted on the 10th of March, the CSRD junta in Niger has replaced all the civilian Region Governors with military men to administer local affairs during the transition. We now have the full list, and while I for one hate to see any military governing, a careful look at the men (all men) coming and going in Niger's Regions gives us an opportunity to examine what's going on behind the scenes, and what it augurs for the future.
More ...
Nigeriens were - are - undoubtedly pleased that the army stepped in to end a newly installed dictatorship. But criticisms of this so called "good coup" are beginning to appear even amongst its strongest supporters. With many months of transitional rule ahead, these whispers give us some idea of the problems the junta will soon face. 
One doesn't see much film, let alone color film, of colonial era African football. So you can imagine my delight when I stumbled across clips of a French colonial propaganda newsreel featuring the my favorite African club side wining a colonial cup final from 1956. 
The new military Junta in Niger has released their first real vision of their promised return to democracy. Niger's expectations, a redux of recent history, are being played to by the soldiers.
After a day of confusion, President Tandja and his supporters are under arrest by the military. I have maintained the live updates from the 18th, and added an in depth analysis of the new CSRD junta.
"Poets are feared by those in power that use violence, who are prosperous at the expense of the collective suffering." - Adamou Idé 
a dinosaur comic about about potable water conservation in sub-Saharan Africa?
The US government will make much of the arrests of three Malians who they say were part of a West African criminal network, devoted to drug smuggling and Osama Bin Laden. So far all we have is hype and what looks like the entrapment of low level criminals. 
The December 18th anniversary of the Nigerien Republic begins a series of dates which may bring the political crisis to a boil, just as mediators think they've made a breakthrough.
A brief look, if one is possible, at the simmering crisis in the northeast Central African Republic. As commentators try to come to grips with this often ignored nation, here is some recommended reading for Anglophones interested in the République centrafricaine.
Niger's rulers would have expected this to be wrapped up by now, with the previous legal deadline for a new president to pass on the 22nd with a shrug. But fears (or hopes) remain that some of those most loyal to the project are looking to abandon their President
Join the second march on the UN by Guineans and their allies in New York City, Thursday December 8th. If you can't make it, there are ways to get involved, so please do!
"If you watch it frame by frame you can pinpoint the exact moment his heart rips in half..."
Anti-fascist activist Ivan "Bonecrusher" Khutorskoy was murdered in Moscow this Monday. 
As the "Abuja I" talks begin with ECOWAS, President Tandja of Niger is increasingly backed into a political and financial corner. Will his "6th Republic" be sacrificed as a way out?
The local elections are odd enough. But "Claude Levi-Strauss" is the 4th most popular search on Yahoo? Right between "Dancing With The Stars" and "H1N1 Symptoms". 
Popular sound systems blend traditional sounds with DJ beats, and keep people across Bamako on their feet. But will Mali's capitol ban the "Balani Show" dance parties?
A recent seizure of US arms in Nigeria highlights the profit and loss of small arms supplied to West Africa.
Blood on the streets of Conakry is a price the Junta is willing to pay for power.
Uri Davis, born to Czech And British Jews in Palestine is now on Palestine's governing council. Is he a contemporary Yossel Mashel Slovo?