Today in Labor History December 23, 1936: The Spanish Republic legalized the Regional Defense Council of Aragon (CRDA). The council was the first autonomous government of Aragon since 1707. It was created by anarchists within Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) during the Spanish Revolution and Civil War. It eventually included representatives from all the antifascist forces of the Popular Front. However, in less than a year it was destroyed by the Communist Party, which was allied with the USSR. At the time, Aragon was divided, with the western side occupied by the fascists and the eastern side by Republican and anarchist militias. #workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #aragon #spain #cnt #revolution #civilwar #soviet #ussr #communism #fascism #antifa #antifascism

Today in Labor History December 23, 1921: President Warren Harding issued a "Christmas amnesty," freeing Eugene V. Debs and 23 other political prisoners who had been imprisoned for their opposition to World War I under the Sedition Act. Debs was a founding member of the IWW, a socialist, and a 5-time candidate for president of the US. In the 1912 election, he won 6% of the vote. He also led the 1894 Pullman Strike of over 250,000 railroad workers. In 2023, the U.S. launched its #WithoutJustCause campaign to seek the release of the over 1 million political prisoners around the world, ignoring/denying the fact that it has its own political prisoners, including Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has been in prison through eight different presidencies. Very few political prisoners have been pardoned historically, particularly those on the Left. Here are a few exceptions: *Washington and Adams both pardoned several men convicted for the Whiskey Rebellion. *Hayes pardoned the anarchist Ezra Heywood for his 1878 conviction for violating the Comstock Act (for publishing articles in support of free love). *Teddy Roosevelt pardoned Filipino revolutionary Servillano Aquino, ancestor to future Philippine presidents Benigno and Corazon Aquino. *Coolidge commuted the sentence of Marcus Garvey, convicted of mail fraud, but then had him deported. *Ford granted amnesty to over 50,000 Vietnam War resisters. *Jimmy Carter granted clemency to Lolita Lebrón, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Irving Flores Rodriguez, Puerto Rican nationalists who opened fire in the U.S. House of Representatives and wounding five Congressmen in 1954 *Clinton pardoned Elizam Escobar, Puerto Rican artist and activist, convicted of seditious conspiracy in 1980; and commuted the sentences of 16 members of FALN, a Puerto Rican clandestine paramilitary. He also commuted the sentence of Susan Rosenberg, former radical activist and domestic terrorist, convicted of illegal explosives possession in 1984. She also was involved in several Brink’s armored car robberies, providing material support to the Black Liberation Army, and helping Assata Shakur escape from prison. *Obama commuted the sentence of army whistle blower Chelsea Manning. He also commuted the sentence of Oscar López Rivera, an FALN member serving 55 years for seditious conspiracy *Trump posthumously pardoned Susan B. Anthony for illegally voting in 1872, in spite of the fact that Anthony, herself, never would have accepted a pardon, as it would have wrongly validated the trial proceedings and the fine she refused to pay. *Biden commuted the life sentence of Leonard Peltier to home confinement for life. #workingclass #LaborHistory #prison #union #strike #solidarity #socialism #sedition #IWW #worldwarone #antiwar #politicalprisoner #eugenedebs #mumia #leonardpeltier

Today in Labor History December 23, 1617: Just a few years after establishing Jamestown, Europe’s first lasting colony in North America, they created America's first penal colony in Virginia, though England had already been transporting convicts to the New World for several years. Between 1615 and 1699, English courts sent 2,300 convicts to toil in the American colonies, mostly in Maryland and Virginia. Between 1700 and 1775, they sent another 52,200 convicts. Some were as young as nine and ten. The majority had been convicted of petty crimes like shoplifting. Large numbers died from disease on the passage over. Most of the convicts who survived were sold into slavery and were much sought after, as they were cheaper than the white indentured slaves and black chattel slaves who were also living there. Many worked on tobacco plantations. The majority of early colonists were also slaves, but as indentured servants they had a slightly different status than the convict laborers. Unlike the convicts, they had limited legal protections and rights as “persons,” whereas the convicts were considered property, with far fewer rights. Most of the indentured servants came to the colonies to escape famine and/or debt. They were promised passage to the new world and 50 acres of land in return for seven years of indentured servitude. However, few were ever able to fully repay their debt. Most failed at farming in those early years and survived on native plants and rodents. Over half the original Jamestown population died from starvation. Less than 2% of the population were of African descent through the 1650s. In that period, most of them were also there under the system of indentured servitude, rather than as chattel slavery. Daniel Dafoe’s “Moll Flanders” portrays the life of one convict transported to the New World. Some call the novel a piece of propaganda in support of the convict transportation system, in part because of his positive portrayal of the Maryland and Virginia penal colonies. Benjamin Franklin, in contrast, said that America should export rattlesnakes in return for the convicts. He called the system “an insult and contempt, the cruellest perhaps that ever one people offered another; and would not be equal’d even by emptying their jakes on our tables.” #workingclass #LaborHistory #penalcolony #prison #colonialism #classwar #slavery #children #slavelabor #books #novels #fiction #writer #author [@bookstadon](

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Covid and RSV still low, but Influenza is spiking in the U.S. right now, dominated by the H3N2 subclade K strain, which has been causing much more serious symptoms than in a typical flu season. 3 children have been confirmed killed so far from influenza this season. Europe and Asia have already been dealing with spikes in influenza-related hospitalizations.

CIDRAP

US flu activity takes big jump as 2 deaths in kids confirmed

#publichealth #influenza #vaccine

Trump & RFK are bringing back the worst of U.S. criminal racist medical abuses of the past, like the Tuskegee experiment that killed over 100 African American men the South. This time, in the name of proving that vaccines are unnecessary, or dangerous, they've awarded a $1.6 million grant to a group of controversial Danish researchers (The Bandim group) to delay the hepatitis B vaccine to children in Guinea-Bissau, despite the fact that it has already been proven safe and effective, particularly when given to newborns. This is in a region with high endemic hepatitis B prevalence (up to 20% of the population is infected). And it is particularly unethical and cruel, when any delay in vaccination increases the risk of lifelong, irreversible hepatitis infection and premature death. Past studies by the Bandim researchers have been challenged by mainstream scientists, but championed by anti-vaccine activists like RFK Jr. The grant smacks of corruption and cronyism, as it was awarded to the Danish team without any competition from any other scientists. A review published in Vaccine last month found that the Bandim researchers “have systematically over-interpreted the findings from their randomized trials” for 25 years.

CIDRAP

CDC awards $1.6 million for hepatitis B vaccine study by controversial Danish researchers

#publichealth #hepatitis #vaccines #antivax #rfkjr #trump #cdc #africa #racism #children #ethics

Criminality of the system in action: Court just ruled that Tesla must restore Musk’s 2018 pay package, worth $56 billion at the time, but now worth $100 billion, bringing his net worth up to $749 billion. The original judge had said that the 2018 plan “is the largest potential compensation opportunity ever observed in public markets by multiple orders of magnitude—250 times larger than the contemporaneous median peer compensation plan.” But a vicious campaign by Musk and the corporate media helped set the stage for a reversal on Friday. Under the new package, Musk would earn $50 million per hour, or 3 million times more than the starting wage of his Tesla factory workers, who earn $18-per-hour.

CNBC

Musk's $56 billion Tesla pay package must be restored as court rules cancellation was too extreme

Shareholder Richard J. Tornetta brought the suit, accusing Musk and the Tesla board of a breach of fiduciary duties.

#capitalism #elonmusk #greed

Today in Labor History December 22, 1905: San Francisco poet Kenneth Rexroth was born. He was an anarchist, a member of the IWW, and considered by many to be the father of the beat poetry scene, although he never considered himself a beat. Orphaned at a young age, he had very little formal education, but he was an avid reader and taught himself multiple languages. He went on the road as a teen, working along the way as a cowboy cook, a wrangler, peddler and toothbrush maker. #workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #IWW #poet #poetry #books #sanfrancisco #beatnik [@bookstadon](

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U.S. Politics in a Nutshell: 1. REPUBLICANS: Campaigns exploit misdirection to convince those whose interests they don’t serve to vote for them anyway, by blaming other marginalized people for all their problems, and then promising to solve those problems by attacking these other marginalized communities, meanwhile creating enough hatred & distraction to slip their hands into their supporters’ pockets and continue fleecing them. 2. DEMOCRATS: Campaigns exploit misdirection to convince those whose interests they don’t serve to vote for them anyway, by virtue-signaling to their supporters, promising to love and protect marginalized communities from the Republicans, meanwhile creating enough undeserved trust & distraction to slip their hands into their supporters’ pockets and continue fleecing them.