busesftw

I don't particularly enjoy watching sports - except for tuning in with friends. This time around, even that little affirmation of solidarity has had the joy stripped out of it - mostly because the USA is making the sport a uniquely horrid "spectacle". Capitalism is taking the opportunity to normalise all the oversized tickets, environmental damage, racist policing, and God knows what else. So, what is our community's view on watching this horrorshow play out? Is it something we should be boycotting this time? I can only see this tournament being a way for the US elite to yet again brag about their privilege, to put it mildly. And I can't imagine that would be good for football as a sport.

Quick edit: I think the question now is not whether we are boycotting it but how we will resist this sportswashing as spectators

Edit: I changed the post title due to the need to convey the message.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11395808

Reasons of women safety and last mile connectivity being lacking have existed perennially. But many RWers online are raging because a foreign news outlet was able to pick apart the lies of projected ridership.

Being an Indian in an urban city, I can at least affirm that it is a failed system in many cities, seemingly just an infrastructure project for companies (and municipalities) to put on their balance sheets/report on.

Reasons of women safety and last mile connectivity being lacking have existed perennially. But many RWers online are raging because a foreign news outlet was able to pick apart the lies of projected ridership.

Being an Indian in an urban city, I can at least affirm that it is a failed system in many cities, seemingly just an infrastructure project for companies (and municipalities) to put on their balance sheets/report on.

Some points I think deserve mentioning

• Jai Bhim Nagar consists of mostly Dalit and Bahujan people. Them being chosen as easy targets multiplies the inhumanity of this action.
• Some popular builders in Powai (Hiranandani and the like) have seized most of the land to build their own estates and this continues to today.
• That the demolition is illegal is based in the inhuman way it was carried out, which was in contravention of a Government Resolution that resolves not to demolish structures within the monsoon months. Slum rehabilitation laws exist for this purpose as well.

Our system is based on trust to a large extent. And I don't mean just monetarily. It is basically how "liberal society" functions right from daily life to the rationale behind systemic activities.

Yet, fake news is basically propagated everywhere with impunity. Facts are alleged and agreed on social media without any deference to proof that says otherwise. There are probably more such examples in media - Prashant Kishore said in his recent interview with Karan Thapar he cannot count on newspapers, he wants a recording of what he said (aside from the fact that this is laughable beyond measure), the fact that people are beginning to claim that newspapers (rather multiple) are not reliable is quite something even for the fascist timeline we are in.

Perhaps what has been most concerning has been the way in which the Election Commission of India has avoided all responsibility for the most basic repositories of trust, the general elections. It does seem like this point in our decay was a long time coming with the fascists in power and them dogwhistling any opposition's efforts, but some of these effects will be long-lasting. I do not think the political system can recover from a compromised EC.

As leftists, how do we interpret this? What impacts does this have for the working class that is forced to sell its labour in exchange for participating in a trust based economy? We surely are placed more precariously but organising around this will require some acceptance of seemingly contradictory positions regarding the role of trust in a political system (IMO we have to make efforts around thinking of a system without trust in the same way it exists in liberalism and consequently, neoliberalism)

Summing Up

The BJP is on the offensive using and misusing state power to push its communal-corporate agenda. The secular opposition parties are unable to put up a convincing united fight even on agreed issues. As stated in the Party Congress resolution, the Congress party in the intervening period has further shown its inability to rally all the secular forces against the BJP. In such a situation it is essential for the Party to gear up its independent activities at all levels while making sincere efforts for Left unity. In this period in some States the party has successfully organised programmes and mobilisations along with other democratic and secular forces against the communalism of the BJP-RSS. These efforts should intensify. The Party must devote its energies in building up such struggles at the local and State level while simultaneously uniting people against the communal bulldozer politics of the BJP-RSS.

CC Calls

August 1-15, Observe 75th Anniversary of India’s Independence, culminating in the hoisting of the National Flag in Party offices and taking a pledge on the preamble of the Constitution. The campaign should highlight the role of the Communists in the Freedom Struggle; defense of democracy; democratic rights; civil liberties and India’s secular, democratic, Constitutional values.

From September 14 to 24, conduct a campaign on the increasing assaults on people’s livelihood. Concrete plan of action in each state should be planned by the state committees. This campaign will culminate in a central public meeting at state capitals.

As decided by the 23rd Congress, strengthening of local struggles on local problems facing the people must be prioritized.

To conduct campaigns against the efforts to destabilize the Kerala LDF government all across the country. The campaign must also include the highlights of the pro-people alternative policies pursued by the LDF government.