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I read the original, liked it a lot, and thought to post something here, but decided against it because I have not read the original work the article was based on, and for the following reasons:

The whole subject of violent revolution is difficult and dangerous to study or discuss. This is not a new thing, either.

In college, I took a graduate level course called "War and conflict in Latin America". It was team taught by two people I respected, Perez and Nesman -- the first a firebrand cuban with revolutionary links, and the other the son of an industrial family who were enriched by their links to the State Department in Cuba under Batista. Great friends, great counterpoint.
The course was actually about the circumstances that led to violent revolution in Bolivia, Mexico and Cuba, but the university let it be known- very directly- that the use of the word "revolution" in the course description would cause the course to be canceled forthwith. That was in a far more tolerant time, in 1979.  
In the Empire of today, such topics carry a high risk of getting anyone who attempts to write about them on multiple "Bad Lists". It is foolish to think that "Well, I have nothing to hide-- they won't mess with me just for talking about it." They will, and they have legal suypport, thanks to Jane Harmon, D-Calif.
As anyone who knows me will attest, I am not shy about such discussions, on-line or in person.
I think in the end real change will be violent, --or it will not happen. I also think the mechanisms for derailing such events are far better planned and applied than ever before. I have said this many times, in many venues. I too am not very hopeful. But I talk, I write, I print shirts and picket, I tell the stories of my heroes, like Erin Watada---
The last time I traveled to the US I was detained, isolated, strip searched, interrogated, threatened---and eventually released. In the end, they said it was a case of mistaken identity-- that there was someone with the same name who had a local warrant out for non-payment of child support.  Right. This after an international flight, a current passport and driver's license for id, etc. etc.
I said as much, and the unidentified officer (?) who "spoke" with me said, "Well, Mr Miller, perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here."

I will not be cowed, and I hope we follow this trail of ideas until it peters out, or until we create something good. With awareness.

Capitalism searches out the darkest corners of human potential, and mainlines them.

by geezer in Paris (risico at wanadoo(flypoop)fr) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 09:09:06 AM EST
geezer in Paris:
"Well, Mr Miller, perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here."

And what lesson would that be?

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 11:08:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Jeez.
I am a lifelong problem. I have been photographed by the spooks so often I can't count them, I know how to deal with tear gas and mace, I have been run out of town in two cities, Columbus, Ohio and Columbia, S. C.  and I'm proud to say I aint done yet, legs or no.

I have crossed the US customs service interface  literally dozens of timers. Yet suddenly, customs runs my passport, and five minutes  later I am in the little room with someone who refuses to identify himself, and billows clouds of incredibly obvious smoke---attempts to intimidate me-- and you ask what is the lesson.
The only thing that changed was that I had recently posted several essays and e-mails on line about the preexisting conditions that might be necessary for violent revolution, the fact that Al Jazeera actually seemed to do a better job of reporting than Fox, (and a number of allied topics).

They were generous. They warned me.

Capitalism searches out the darkest corners of human potential, and mainlines them.

by geezer in Paris (risico at wanadoo(flypoop)fr) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 01:36:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
geezer in Paris:
I have been run out of town in two cities, Columbus, Ohio and Columbia, S. C.  and I'm proud to say I aint done yet, legs or no.

Not while there's at least one more Place with columbus in the name? ;-)

What I was trying to say (albeit inelegantly) is that if someone is going to try and threaten, then I'd want them to spell the threat out, preferably in writing, although we all know that isn't going to happen.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 03:20:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I would prefer that too, but from the point of the threathener it might very well be the point to keep you guessing and (hopefully) censoring your own behaviour.

Sweden's finest (and perhaps only) collaborative, leftist e-newspaper Synapze.se
by A swedish kind of death on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 05:34:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the same treatment. And mine is not a common last name, but I'm sure they'll find all manner of "Wikrent"s who owe child support, or left the lawn watering system on at their home in Atlanta while they were in gay Paree.
by NBBooks on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 at 10:26:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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