Greek Jewish Intellectual on Trial for "Defaming" Greek Neo-Nazi Party

The following is a letter sent to the mailing list for the Union for Radical Political Economy (URPE), followed by a copy of the letter I sent to Savvas Michael-Matsas. I urge you to send your support as well.

SAVVAS MATSAS NEEDS YOUR HELP AGAINST GREEK FASCISTS

Savvas Matsas is an exceptionally talented Greek philosopher, literary critic and Biblical scholar who is also the leader of a Marxist political party, the EEK, in his country. He is very well known in Left circles in the U.S., the U.K., and France for his invariably enlightening and spirited participation over the years in a variety of our conferences and seminars.

Today, Savvas stands charged with “defaming” the Greek neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn – whose brutal assaults on immigrants and others most of you will have heard about - “inciting violence” against them, and “disturbing the peace”. His case goes to trial on September 3rd. The evidence for the charge of “defamation” seems to be that he called them “criminals”, for the charge of “inciting violence” that he appealed publicly for a fight against fascism, and for the charge of “disturbing the peace” that he wrote a tract calling for a demonstration against them.

Meanwhile, the Golden Dawn party, which continues its rise on the Greek political scene, has been conducting a virulent campaign against Savvas, whom they’ve called “an agent of the international Jewish conspiracy against the Greek nation who is trying to provoke a civil war in order to establish a Jewish-Bolshevik regime”. Sound familiar?

Perhaps as outrageous as the charges against Savvas is the fact that Greece’s conservative Government, which has several Cabinet members whose origins lie in the extreme right,  should consider such legally protected behavior as worthy of judicial action. This may even be the first time that any country that pretends to be a democracy has made opposition to fascism into a crime, and if it succeeds in Greece it won’t be the last.

Savvas has called for letters that support his “right” (I would have preferred “duty”) to fight fascism in all the ways listed in the charges above be sent to him as soon as possible. The trial, again, is on September 3rd. Even one line will do. Letters are already beginning to flood in from Greece and several other countries. We have a chance to make a difference here - for Savvas, perhaps for Greece, and maybe even for ourselves. Take a moment right now and write, and then forward this appeal to all your contacts who take – or should take – the fight against fascism (and the state’s protection, bordering on open support, of the fascists in its midst) as seriously as Savvas does.

Savvas’ email address is savvasmatsas@gmail.com.

In solidarity,
Bertell Ollman, Department of Politics, NYU

Dear Savvas Michael-Matsas,

I write to you in support of your stand against Nazism, fascism and anti-Semitism in Greece. I hope that the attention brought to your case will help to dismiss the ludicrous charges that have been brought to my attention. Certainly the precedent set by your trial on these charges are chilling for anyone interested in the free expression of ideas, regardless of their philosophical position on any other issue, but also for those interested in opposing hatred and persecution anywhere. As a German and an American, and so, a natural ally of Greeks and Jews, I am most alarmed at the rise of the Golden Dawn in Greece. As any student of history, particular of German 20th Century history, knows, the targeting of Jews and immigrants during economic crises, evil enough in and of itself, is an old yet effective tactic for dividing workers against each other and using that distraction to seize or maintain political and economic power. This never ends well for the people being targeted nor for the rest of those already suffering the crisis. In this context, your trial is of immense historical significance for both native Greek workers and immigrants, both Jews and Gentiles. I know which side I am on and I will urge everyone I know to send you their support as well.

In Solidarity,

Thomas Masterson

Your National Intelligence Apparatus

This:
Snowden Effect Goes Crazy Over Weekend - The Snowden Effect, Continued - Esquire
Then this (better sit down):
CIA Behind Iran Coup - Sixty Years On - Esquire
Which is why THIS is such a relief:
Tom Tomorrow at Daily Kos: Uniquely trustworthy

Entirely Necessary Palate Cleanser:

Best spam ever?

I think so! How often do YOU get an email from DR.BEN S. BERNANKE informing you that someone has arrived at JFK with a "packaged box" containing $9.2 million? Not very, I bet. Too good not to pass along. Please note the mis-spelling of the first word of the subject line, for that extra idiosyncratically authentic feel.

Also, I'm betting that Ben is going to be embarrassed that he used his "nanninanni2" email account to send this to me rather than his fed account.

Also too, the added touch of the field names for the mass emailing is just great.

Australian Working-Class Films and Netflix queue as time capsule

After adding most of these movies to my Netflix queue I got to thinking about my queue as a sort of time capsule/practical joke I play on my future self. Half the time a movie comes up to the top of my queue I have no memory of putting it there, and sometimes I really have to wonder why I ever did. What possessed me to put Strangers When We Meet on there? Right now I have Astroboy, Strike, and Doctor Who Season 3, disc 4 at home. I guess that makes me well-rounded. Strike is obvious, of course. But Astroboy? Well played, past me. Well played.


(h/t Working-Class Perspectives, for the films)

Protecting whistleblowers? Or prosecuting them?

Gov't obtains wide AP phone records in probe. If this is part of an investigation into that particular case, it may not be a violation of President Obama's campaign promise, since it isn't clear that any waste, fraud, or abuse was being leaked to the press. However, conducting a spying operation on the Associated Press seems to be a little too close to violating the First Amendment. I thought corporations were people? Don't they have a right to privacy? No more than you or I do, it appears. Not even the press.
This, by the way, is the Obama transition team at change.gov's statement about whistleblowers on the "ethics" page under "Spending Taxpayers' Money Wisely":

Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance. Barack Obama will strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government. Obama will ensure that federal agencies expedite the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and whistleblowers have full access to courts and due process.

I guess the part about aggressively pursuing and prosecuting whistleblowers was left out of the final draft.

Levy Hipster T-shirt ideas

I was into financial instability before it was cool Minsky: You've probably never heard of him