Today in Labor History—June 5

June 5, 1832 – The poor of Paris revolted against the new monarchy. The Society of the Friends of the People raised the red flag, declaring "Liberty or Death." The uprising was the inspiration for Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. (From the Daily Bleed)

Ruins of Columbus, New Mexico, 1916, After Raid by Pancho Villa

 June 5, 1878 – Francisco "Pancho" Villa was born, San Juan del Rio, Durango. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1906 – The leaders of the Cananea copper strike were arrested. (From the Daily Bleed)

Lowly Driving Off in His Busytown Apple Car (Image by Valerie Everett)

June 5, 1919 – Children’s book author Richard Scarry was born, Boston. Scarry wrote or illustrated over 300 books and brought us characters like Huckle the Cat, Lowly the Worm, Wild Bill Hiccup and Gold Bug. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1919 – 67 anarchists were arrested and set up for deportation in the wake of a bomb explosion, marking the beginning of the infamous "Palmer raids" that ultimately led to the deportations and imprisonment of thousands of union members, communists and anarchists. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1919 – Merchants and workers struck in Shanghai to support students. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1925 – Mine owners in La Coruna, Chile, launched an attack on rebel workers in a nitrate mine encampment. Over 500 workers were tortured in Iqueque. This came in the wake of an earlier massacre in March, in which 500 were slaughtered by the government. (From the Daily Bleed and Wikipedia)

June 5, 1967 – Israel attacked Egypt and Syria, during the Six- Day War, resulting in its illegal occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, West Bank, Gaza Strip & Golan Heights. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1969 – Imprisoned U.S. soldiers rioted at the military penal stockade at Fort Dix over barbarous conditions and the tortures being inflicted on them by the US military state. The majority were in prison for going AWOL, resisting the draft, or as conscientious objectors. Many were being held without trial. (From the Daily Bleed)

With Friends Like These: Twisted Lefty Support for Drones and the CIA

As Congress prepared to grill John Brennan, Obama’s appointment to lead the CIA, protesters from Code Pink and other organizations lined up outside in preparation to protest the hearings. As they waited, Code Pink cofounder, Medea Benjamin, was interviewed by KPFA’s Brian Edwards Tiekert (Thursday, 2/7/13, KPFA’s “Up Front”). In the interview, Benjamin listed numerous perfectly good reasons why Brennan should be on trial, rather than being rubber-stamped to head the CIA (e.g., he was rejected for the position four years ago because of his support for torture and “extraordinary rendition,” plus his continued to support for the use of drones to assassinate anyone he sees fit).

However, when Tiekert asked her who she would rather have running the CIA, instead of stating the obvious (i.e., Nobody should run the CIA because the CIA should not exist), she proposed Dennis Kucinich.

Of course Kucinich is no longer an option, having accepted a media job with Fox News. But the fact she named anyone at all implies she is okay with the existence of an organization that exists primarily to promote the interests of America’s largest corporations through the neutralization or elimination anyone or anything that stands in the way. She also suggested in the interview that she takes issue with the CIA’s current tendency to act like a “death squad,” as if this were something new. The CIA has always engaged in assassinations or trained its proxies to do it for them. The only thing new is the candor and brazenness of the President, members of Congress, cabinet members and media in their discussions of assassinating “enemies,” foreign or domestic. That is, in the past the CIA carried out its assassinations in secret because it was assumed the American public would find it distasteful. Today, in the era of endless war against terrorism, the right (indeed obligation) to assassinate is portrayed as so vital that it trumps all individual liberties and rights, including those for American citizens and those etched into the Constitution—and many Americans embrace this logic.

Benjamin has been an outspoken critic of the drone program since its inception, particularly because it has resulted in so many civilian deaths. Thus, it was strange to hear her argue that drones, because they are a military weapon, should be left in the hands of the military, not Brennan or the CIA. Does this mean she is also okay with the use of drones to slaughter people, so long as it is soldiers, rather than spies, who are pushing the buttons, or is she so naïve that she believes the military will use drones “responsibly,” and somehow miraculously avoid civilian casualties?

It might be argued that Benjamin is just not that quick on her feet; that these were simply bloopers coming from an activist who was not sufficiently prepared for her interview. It is true that she was being interviewed outside Congress as she prepared to enter and disrupt it, so perhaps her train of thought was disrupted by adrenaline. However, one would think that someone in her position, who has spent years being critical of U.S. foreign policy and jingoism, would have a stronger critique and mistrust of the CIA and the military. Likewise, as an activist famous for her street theater and disruptive tactics, one would expect her to be well-prepared for addressing the media.

Today in Labor History—June 5

June 5, 1832 – The poor of Paris revolted against the new monarchy. The Society of the Friends of the People raised the red flag, declaring "Liberty or Death." The uprising was the inspiration for Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. (From the Daily Bleed)

Ruins of Columbus, New Mexico, 1916, After Raid by Pancho Villa

 June 5, 1878 – Francisco "Pancho" Villa was born, San Juan del Rio, Durango. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1906 – The leaders of the Cananea copper strike were arrested. (From the Daily Bleed)

Lowly Driving Off in His Busytown Apple Car (Image by Valerie Everett)

June 5, 1919 – Children’s book author Richard Scarry was born, Boston. Scarry wrote or illustrated over 300 books and brought us characters like Huckle the Cat, Lowly the Worm, Wild Bill Hiccup and Gold Bug. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1919 – 67 anarchists were arrested and set up for deportation in the wake of a bomb explosion, marking the beginning of the infamous "Palmer raids" that ultimately led to the deportations and imprisonment of thousands of union members, communists and anarchists. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1919 – Merchants and workers struck in Shanghai to support students. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1925 – Mine owners in La Coruna, Chile, launched an attack on rebel workers in a nitrate mine encampment. Over 500 workers were tortured in Iqueque. This came in the wake of an earlier massacre in March, in which 500 were slaughtered by the government. (From the Daily Bleed and Wikipedia)

June 5, 1967 – Israel attacked Egypt and Syria, during the Six- Day War, resulting in its illegal occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, West Bank, Gaza Strip & Golan Heights. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1969 – Imprisoned U.S. soldiers rioted at the military penal stockade at Fort Dix over barbarous conditions and the tortures being inflicted on them by the US military state. The majority were in prison for going AWOL, resisting the draft, or as conscientious objectors. Many were being held without trial. (From the Daily Bleed)

Trial Ends, Rotenberg Center Will Continue Shocking Students

Discipline Policy at Your Schoo? (Image from Flickr, by Fung.Leo)

A lawsuit against the Judge Rotenberg Education Center (JRC), in Canton, MA, came to a close on April 24. The lawsuit was filed by Cheryl McCollins, whose autistic son, Andre, was shocked 31 times over the course of several hours at the school.

The Rotenberg Center is a “special needs” school that openly uses “aversion” therapy, including electric shocks, to discipline its students. According to a former teacher at the school (who has started a Change.org petition to end the practice), teachers are instructed to shock students for infractions as insignificant as closing their eyes while at their desks, tearing an empty cup, or standing up when asking to use the rest room.

JRC’s website says that aversion therapy is only used when positive therapies have failed and only with parental, medical, psychiatric and human rights approval. Then, students are equipped with wired backpacks which teachers can activate to deliver shocks when desired. A 2007 expose in Mother Jones found that half of the school’s 234 students were wired for electroshocks. JRC is the only facility in the nation that disciplines students with electroshocks.

JRC, which charges parents $220,000 per year, has 900 employees and annual revenues in excess of $56 million. The school has been around for 36 years and, in that time, 6 of its wards have died, prompting numerous lawsuits.

The terms of the most recent settlement were not disclosed, according to the Boston Herald, but the McCollins family was presumably offered money, while the school did not admit any guilt and will be allowed to continue the “therapies,” which it continues to maintain are beneficial for some students.

The state of Massachusetts has twice tried to shut the facility down, according to the MoJo expose. Each time, parents rallied to the school’s defense and it prevailed in court. Several parents interviewed by MoJo not only approved of the shock therapy, but carry shock activators on them to use against their children when they come home to visit, arguing that they are no longer afraid of their children and that the therapy has helped them.

Child Abuse Mills

JRC was created in 1971 by Dr. Matt Israel, who was inspired by work of behaviorist B. F. Skinner. In 1977, he partnered up with Judy Weber, whose son Tobin is severely autistic, to found a sister school in California’s San Fernando Valley. In 1982, the California Department of Social Services filed a 64-page complaint against the school for numerous incidents of child abuse and the school ultimately agreed to stop using “physical” punishments.

The school is still in operation and has been renamed Tobinworld—a $10 million-per-year operation running day schools near Los Angeles and San Francisco. While Israel is no longer directly involved in Tobinworld, he still considers it to be a sister organization, which seems only fair since he recently married Weber.

Israel was forced to step down as head of JRC in 2011 to avoid a prison term for misleading a jury, destroying video evidence and for wrongfully administering electroshocks to two students at JRC.

Prison Hunger Strikers’ Health Deteriorating Rapidly

California’s second prisoner hunger strike this year is now in its third week. The health of many prisoners is deteriorating rapidly, with some exhibiting serious symptoms. Men are fainting in their cells. One striker at Pelican Bay prison was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack, according to the OB Rag. Family members are accusing guards of not responding to calls for medical help.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has transferred some prisoners at Pelican Bay from the Security Housing Unit (SHU) to Administrative Segregation, where they have been accused by the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity coalition of attempting to freeze out strikers with air conditioning.

The strike began on September 26. The CDCR is treating the strike as a mass disturbance and is refusing to negotiate with prisoners. However, prisoners say they will continue striking until they die. According to the OB Rag, prisoners at Corcoran state prison have stopped drinking water completely, which should result in deaths within a few days.

Prisoners and their advocates are upset about medical treatment at Corcoran, Calipatria, Pelican Bay and Salinas Valley prisons, each of which is participating in the strike. Prisoners are routinely denied prompt and adequate care for chronic and acute medical conditions. Numerous prisoners have died unnecessarily because of delayed or inadequate healthcare. The conditions are so bad that the state prison system is in federal receivership in part because of the substandard medical care.

Today in Labor History—June 5

June 5, 1832 – The poor of Paris revolted against the new monarchy. The Society of the Friends of the People raised the red flag, declaring "Liberty or Death." The uprising was the inspiration for Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. (From the Daily Bleed)

Ruins of Columbus, New Mexico, 1916, After Raid by Pancho Villa

 June 5, 1878 – Francisco "Pancho" Villa was born, San Juan del Rio, Durango. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1906 – The leaders of the Cananea copper strike were arrested. (From the Daily Bleed)

Lowly Driving Off in His Busytown Apple Car (Image by Valerie Everett)

June 5, 1919 – Children’s book author Richard Scarry was born, Boston. Scarry wrote or illustrated over 300 books and brought us characters like Huckle the Cat, Lowly the Worm, Wild Bill Hiccup and Gold Bug. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1919 – 67 anarchists were arrested and set up for deportation in the wake of a bomb explosion, marking the beginning of the infamous "Palmer raids" that ultimately led to the deportations and imprisonment of thousands of union members, communists and anarchists. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1919 – Merchants and workers struck in Shanghai to support students. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1925 – Mine owners in La Coruna, Chile, launched an attack on rebel workers in a nitrate mine encampment. Over 500 workers were tortured in Iqueque. This came in the wake of an earlier massacre in March, in which 500 were slaughtered by the government. (From the Daily Bleed and Wikipedia)

June 5, 1967 – Israel attacked Egypt and Syria, during the Six- Day War, resulting in its illegal occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, West Bank, Gaza Strip & Golan Heights. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1969 – Imprisoned U.S. soldiers rioted at the military penal stockade at Fort Dix over barbarous conditions and the tortures being inflicted on them by the US military state. The majority were in prison for going AWOL, resisting the draft, or as conscientious objectors. Many were being held without trial. (From the Daily Bleed)