greeklish.org

International Women's Day 2010

Mike — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:30:00 -0500

International Women's Day, as described by Alexandra Kollontai, began as “a day of international solidarity, and a day for reviewing the strength and organization of proletarian women.” Established through the determination of radical activist and organizer Clara Zetkin and a resolution adopted at the International Conference of Working Women the first IWD was marked in 1911. Today, IWD is commemorated around the world as “a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.”

In recognition of International Women’s Day 2010, here are some biographical sketches of some women I admire:

Nadezhda Krupskaya (1869 – 1939) Married to V.I. Lenin, Krupskaya was a very important revolutionary in her own right, educating and supporting fellow Bolsheviks in the years leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Suffering through persecution and arrest under the Tsar, Krupskaya endured the struggle and supported Lenin through the tumult that would eventually bring the Soviets to power. Krupskaya was an archivist and librarian and did much work in the establishment of the new Soviet library system following the revolution. In 1933, she published Reminiscences of Lenin, a biography of her husband which is often regarded as one of the best assessments of his life and work.
Further Reading: Nadezhda Krupskaya Internet Archive

Madhubala (1933 – 1969) One of the most popular actresses of Bollywood’s Golden Age, Madhubala performed in over 70 films before her untimely death at the age of 36. Her most celebrated part was the lead role in the epic film Mughal-e-Azam. At the time of her passing, she was regarded as an icon throughout India and beyond. She remains one of India’s most beloved film stars to this day.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862 – 1931) Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a journalist and activist who used her exceptional talents as a writer and a speaker to raise global awareness regarding crimes against African-Americans in the South during the decades immediately following the Civil War. She wrote extensively on the problem of lynching in the United States, beginning with two groundbreaking pamphlets Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases, and a A Red Record. She co-founded the NAACP with W.E.B. DuBois and others in 1909.
Further Reading: Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases (full text) by Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Mother Tsai Immortalized by Agnes Smedley in her article “No Sacrifice…No Victory,” Mother Tsai was a leader of women in the “south Yangtze valley” during China’s War of Resistance against Japan from 1937 – 1945. Well into her late 60’s, Mother Tsai worked in the fields with her daughters-in-law while her sons fought in the guerilla armies against the Japanese invaders. She was an important member of the Women’s Association, delivering inspirational political speeches to to wounded soldiers as they convalesced in hospital wards. She mounted aggressive campaigns against opium use and corruption in the region, declaring war on the oppressive conventions of sexism and exploitation.

Further Reading: Portraits of Chinese Women in Revolution (full text)

Lili Brik (1891-1978) Intimately involved at a number of levels with the Russia’s Futurist movement of literature and art, Lili Brik was a close personal associate of Russia’s celebrated poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. After Mayakovsky's death, Brik penned a personal appeal to Joseph Stalin in 1935 in which she advocated for the widespread dissemination and popularization of Mayakovsky’s works. She wrote: “…I address myself to you because I do not see any other means to realize the tremendous revolutionary heritage of Mayakovsky.” The appeal was met with the approval of Stalin who famously responded, “Comrade Brik is right: Mayakovsky was and remains the most talented poet of our Soviet epoch. Indifference to his memory and words is a crime.” Her memory lives on in the works of Mayakovsky and the art of Alexander Rodchenko.
Further Reading: I Love: The Story of Vladimir Mayakovsky and Lili Brik (Amazon listing)

Ali Kantouri sentenced to 15 years in prison

Mike — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:30:00 -0500

The grim news from Iran is that student and activist Ali Kantouri has been sentenced to 15 years in prison as a result of his political activities. Kantouri participated in the National Students’ Day demonstrations of December 2007 and, like a number of his fellow left activists, he was persecuted for his activities and was subsequently arrested, tortured and detained for an extended period of time over the course of the last two years.

According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Kantouri‘s sentence was issued by Branch 104 of the Sanandaj General Court and immediately prior to the pronouncement of sentencing, Ali continued to deny the charges against him. There is a chance that the sentence may be reduced or otherwise amended but there is no information regarding the likelihood of such a development.

Ali Kantouri has friends and admirers around the world. We grieve for Ali and his family and we hope that the Iranian people will ultimately unite and set right the terrible crimes committed by the theocracy and its ruling clique. These despots have systematically and methodically victimized the people of Iran for decades.

The unjust imprisonment of Ali Kantouri should serve as a stark reminder to Western Marxists -- as well as progressives and activists everywhere -- that anti-imperialism is not the sole hallmark of a worthwhile or viable political system. Political Islam is, in and of itself, overtly hostile to political opponents, workers and students, employing barbarism of the worst kind upon all those who struggle against such dogma and oppression. Ali Kantouri – like his comrades Peyman Piran and Behrouz Karimizadeh – can certainly attest to this.

A better world is possible. A better world is necessary.

Aluta continua!

…and then there was Dutch.

Mike — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:54:00 -0500

It didn't take long for us to realize that we didn't want to be without a Boxer in the house. After just a few days without Domino, we decided that we wanted to go back to being a "two dog family" for everyone's sake, including that of our very grief-stricken Lhasanese, Stupsi. A few of our friends, including some fellow Boxer enthusiasts, encouraged us to "get back on the horse" as soon as we could and we took that advice to heart. We looked at a few older dogs in area shelters but we just weren't feeling the connection that we were hoping to find.

Late yesterday, I found a classified ad for a litter of 9 week-old Boxer pups. The seller was in South Charleston and she was very nice over the phone, even agreeing to hold one puppy in particular as we were very interested in him from the photo in the ad. Immediately after work, Thomai , the girls and I set out to visit South Charleston, braving the dropping temperatures, freezing rain and dark rural roads to reach the seller's home.

The lady was one of the most conscientious breeders I have ever met. She had folders prepared with documentation, medical histories and feeding instructions for each individual puppy. The parents of the litter were both present for us to meet and inspect. It was all very nice and reassuring and the fact that she was offering the pups at very "non-breeder" prices (so to speak) was even more encouraging.

In the end, we left with the very pup we had come to see. He is a handsome boy, indeed. He's a reverse-brindle Boxer with big paws and he's naturally curious but a little on the skittish side. The breeder described him as "stubborn and bull-headed but a bit of a sissy" (Those are her words, not mine). I have to admit that it will be quite funny to see our Stupsi -- a tiny little Tribble of a dog -- ultimately take her place as the dominant dog in the house, especially when this male pup grows into a full-size, muscle-bound 70+ pound brute.

We named our new guy "Dutch" (or "Dutchie") and the origin of his name is really something of a long story for another day. Stupsi has welcomed him to our family with cautious enthusiasm and we are all so excited to have Dutch with us. Of course, it's not the same as having our old girl Domino here with us, but it's a nice new beginning for everyone.

Thanks to everyone who shared words of support and encouragement.

Notes on the passing of a friend

Mike — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:23:00 -0500

Given the enormous human suffering brought on by the recent disaster in Haiti, it doesn’t seem right to publicly dwell for too long on the death of a family pet. But because greeklish.org has been something of an "online diary" for us for such a long time now, I wanted to mark the occasion with a few reflections on the recent passing of our good friend Domino.

Thomai and I bought Domino as newlyweds in 1997. She was our second family pet after our green iguana Oppie (named after J. Robert Oppenheimer) who passed away in 2002. We bought Domino from a farm in rural Eaton and we named her after the Kiss song "Domino." I have always been proud to say that Domino’s name was Thomai’s idea.

Domino was a huge part of our lives for 13 years. She welcomed our two daughters into the family and she was always patient and always gentle with the kids. I think that there aren’t many dog owners who can honestly and accurately say that their dogs never bared teeth, growled or showed aggression in any form but this was absolutely the case with our dog Domino. Whether it was all those times when the girls inadvertently smacked her with toy golf clubs and the like or it was those first few years when Thomai and I used Domino to test out our developing “parental skills,” Domino was always understanding and always forgiving.

When we brought Stupsi home a couple of years ago, Domino was kind enough to welcome one more member to the family. As a rambunctious puppy, Stupsi was awfully trying in her own right but it was great to see Domino acting as a “mentor” of sorts to our newest four-legged addition. We lovingly called Domino our “Grand Dame” as we watched her teach Stupsi the ropes.

She wasn't a show dog. She had a "point" on the top of her head. Her bottom front teeth looked like the salt from a big soft pretzel. Her nose was often dry and crusty. She drooled spit and sludge from her jowls and often left a trail of the stuff through the house. But Domino was made out of incredibly tough stuff. Her health problems were always minor and we were often told by fellow boxer owners how fortunate we were to enjoy such a long time with our beloved friend. We didn’t have to deal with a lengthy battle with cancer (boxers are notoriously cancer prone), heart problems or hip issues. In the end, it was her 13 year-old liver that gave out. He decline started last Thursday and I already had a pretty good idea what we were facing by the time I helped her into the van to go to the vet on Saturday. In addition to her lethargy and obvious discomfort, the jaundice in her eyes signaled that she was in a bad way.

The doctor was very nice as he explained things, ending our difficult discussion by saying that he thought that letting Domino go would be “fair.” Thomai and the girls arrived in time to say a difficult goodbye and when they stepped out, I got a few minutes alone with Domino. I sat on the floor with her, wrapping my legs around her body and my arms around her neck. She rested her chin on my arm and closed her eyes as I whispered in her ear. She had been virtually deaf for years but something about the situation was comforting to her and for a few moments she dozed comfortably as I spoke softly to her. The doctor joined us and the end was fast and merciful. She fell asleep once more in my arms and I gently laid her down for one final goodbye.

The whole situation was wonderfully materialistic in a manner of speaking. There was no talk of God or Heaven, no musings about religion and spirituality or the grand cosmic meanings of life and death. We were straight with our girls about what happened and why and they are stronger surely because of the experience and its lasting lessons. Even the doctor was very concrete in his description of how Domino reacted in her final seconds, describing some involuntary movements as “random electricity.” It was all consistent with how I view life and existence and thus reaffirming and ultimately very comforting.

I sat down at the computer late Saturday afternoon and opened up the web browser, landing on my default home page here at greeklish.org. Right there in front of me were the words I typed just a few weeks ago:

Nothing ever truly goes away. Our favorite things, places and people will last forever but in different shapes and forms.

It is a comfort to me that Domino will exist in our memories and beyond for many, many years to come. Thomai and the girls struggle now and again and I have apologized many times over the course of the last few days for all of the times my girls have had to see me sob and cry. Stupsi is having a hard time as well, spending hours laying near Domino’s favorite spots in the house and periodically searching for her around the house as she softly whimpers.

This is real life though, and there are many problems much worse than this all around the world, every single day. We are surely fortunate that this is our greatest of challenge at the moment just as we are fortunate to have enjoyed so many years with such a dedicated friend.

We will always love our friend Domino.

"Suddenly... You were gone... from all the lives you left your mark upon.” ★

On matter, energy and the universe

Mike — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:25:00 -0500

Today I watched a snowflake drift to the ground and melt and it was in this brief moment that years of reading and reflecting on materialism and physics became clear to me: Nothing ever truly goes away. Our favorite things, places and people will last forever but in different shapes and forms. After being free of religious dogma for over two decades, it is this very realization which yields the most liberating feeling of all. (Written on 19 December 2009)

"Life, everyday practical activities, convince us that the world exists it is of a material nature objectively, independently of man, of his consciousness, sensations and desires." – O. Yakhot

Red Youth in Moscow's Zoya Kosmodemyanska Museum

Mike — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:39:00 -0500

Most people who know me – even in passing – know of my profound interest in Soviet and Russian history. Back in June of this year, my years of interest and study culminated in the completion of my self-published book project, Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War. The book chronicles the life and martyrdom of Zoya Kosmodemyanska, one of the best-known and most loved heroines of the Soviet Union’s war against fascist Germany. Regular readers to this site know that I had a lot of help on this project and a lot of support for my efforts as well.

In the months that have followed since the initial release of the book, I have received kind words and encouragement from many different places in the world and I have shipped copies all over the United States and as far away as the Middle East and Australia. I also shipped a copy to Peyman Piran, one of the Iranian students to whom the book is dedicated. Last month, I filled a wholesale order for Red Emma’s Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore and they are now selling copies online and in their store.

I am, of course, very happy to sell copies of the book to anyone with an interest in Zoya’s story. But one of the greatest honors thus far just happened this week. My friend Nina Lebed lives in Russia and she was kind enough to take a copy to the Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Museum in Moscow. On Tuesday November 24, 2009 she presented a copy of the book to Museum Director Natalia Valentinovna who will place the book into the collection of materials at the museum.

To have this book placed upon so many important documents and exhibits related to Zoya and her brother Shura is one of the most tremendous accomplishments of my life and I am grateful to Nina and everyone else who helped to bring about this honor.

Museum Director Natalia Valentinovna holding the
Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Museum’s newly acquired copy of Red Youth.

The book will be added to this case which contains works
about Zoya from around the world.

Red Youth sits atop Zoya’s primary school desk.

Closeup of Red Youth on Zoya’s desk.

Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War is available for purchase through Erythrós Press and Media.

On Building the Polemic

Mike — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:34:00 -0500

You don’t have to be a Marxist to appreciate the fact that few people have ever been so skilled at building polemic arguments as V.I. Lenin. Consider this passage from his 1915 work New Data on the Laws Governing the Development of Capitalism in Agriculture in which Lenin set out to refute the assertions of a prominent Russian economist of the day:

All these assertions are monstrously untrue. They are in direct contradiction to reality. They are a sheer mockery of the truth. Their incorrectness ought to be explained in detail for a very good reason…

The argument that follows this introduction is as painstakingly detailed and spot-on as required, which is a necessity given the subject matter at hand. From the caustic polemic follows a methodical deconstruction that is then buttressed by a wealth of relevant statistical data. The balance of the piece is a resounding quod erat demonstrandum.

Such an introduction to a complex and multifaceted debate immediately compels the reader to accept the infallibility of the forthcoming counterpoint(s). It’s a methodical attack, meant to undermine the fallacious claims of an opponent while simultaneously and explicitly asserting the validity of the immediate arguments.

This method is among the more useful and effective tactics in both the most simple and complex of political debates.

The Balmoral Estate Appeal

Mike — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:58:00 -0500

Signifying a sharp turn in working class movement in Sri Lanka, the plantation workers of Balmoral Estate in hill country recently took a bold step forward to establish an action committee. After weeks of preliminary strike actions which were, in turn, met with numerous betrayals by reactionary trade unions, Sri Lankan workers are still engaged in an important struggle.

The Balmoral Estate Action Committee recently published an appeal to all workers which includes a bold vision statement and call to action:

We, the workers of the Balmoral Estate in Agarapathana, have formed our own Action Committee to fight for our rights and call on workers throughout the plantations and other sections of industry to do the same.

We have taken this step because we have no faith in any of the trade unions that have sold us out time and time again. All the plantation unions are working with the employers and the government to force us to accept another two years of poverty-level wages.

(Read the full statement here)

The organization of the Balmore Estate labor force constitutes an important development not only within Sri Lanka but on an international scale as well. Working people and students everywhere can learn from the bravery and vision of these plantation workers. Their struggle exemplifies the vision of Indian political theorists like D.D. Kosambi who captured the very essence of workers' movements in the conclusion to his 1939 piece The Kanpur Road:

My place was not with the heroes, but with the rabble, with the men who had been pressed into the ranks by force of arms, or force of hunger, with nothing to fight or work for and little to gain; whose function in the epics was to be slaughtered by the heroes; whose role, according to the historians, was to provide a mere background for the deeds of great men. The heroes of a money-making society rose from the people, at the expense of the people; I could rise only with the common people.

2009 Mid-Ohio Con

Mike — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:39:00 -0400

It's been a few years since the last time I attended the Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus. A lot has changed in that short space of time. Then again, some things have stayed the same, too. What's changed is that money is quite a bit tighter for us these days. When I started planning to attend this year's event, I knew that I wouldn't have the kind of "mad money" that I had back in 2006. At the 2006 Mid-Ohio Con, I was able to land some pretty remarkable finds, including a classic that had eluded me for a very long time, Captain Marvel #100 (1949). That particular book was a landmark find for me, as it cracked the elite ranks of my comic book "Wall of Fame." It was truly an exciting find and it was one of my best comic con purchases ever.

Airboy, vol. 4, number 1
(1947)

My interests have changed since 2006 as well, as I've spent a good deal of the last 18 months or so working on the project that ultimately became the book Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Add to that the fact that I've been busy with the guys from The Wrestling Daily to produce our new site that is coming along very well these days. Each week seems to bring something new for TWD and we seem to have real potential for terrific growth. It's time-consuming but tremendously exciting stuff.

As far as my taste in comics, that's still pretty much the same. I took a printout of my partial inventory with me to the Con and, as usual, I was on the lookout for affordable copies of Golden Age Air Fighters and Airboy issues. I am also always looking to fill gaps in my collections of Power Man and Iron Fist and Rom: Spaceknight so that I might end up with full runs of each series. After all these years, I am still a sucker for the Bronze Age stuff.

Since my spending money was on the lean side, I figured I'd be pickier than usual and my expectations were pretty low as far as making a big score this year. Hillman comics seemed to be pretty scarce. I did find a dealer out of Louisville who handed me a nice stack of Airboy issues to look though, but the average price on the books was about $125. Here and there I found other copies of Airboy comics, ranging in price from about $40 to $185 or so. It was the first big comic con I've attended in a while that didn't seem to have any copies of Real Clue or Headline Comics and that was kind of disappointing.

I found one dealer who was more or less liquidating his inventory and he had a copy of Airboy volume 4, number 1 (1947) marked at $30 but he was also offering it at 50% off. I made a note of it and a few booths down the way, I found the same issue for $185! Needless to say, I walked back to the other guy and bought his copy for $15. It's got tape on the spine, but it's complete and the cover displays well. And it was way cheap, too. Those are the most important things to me when it comes to acquiring Golden Age books for my collection.

There were a couple of pro wrestling booths at Mid-Ohio and I took the opportunity to do a little networking on behalf of TWD. One guy specialized in old school DVDs and we had a nice chat about industry business. He was also nice enough to let me have whatever DVDs I wanted for $5 each. Among the DVDs I scored was a disc that features the complete ECW/USWA feud. I watched most of it last night and I have to say it is the most tremendous display of action and storytelling I have ever seen in the world of pro wrestling. This series has the best shoot promos from Jerry Lawler, Jim Cornette, Tommy Dreamer, Beulah McGillicutty and a lot of other huge names. Incidentally, I think Beulah's "eye for an eye" promo about Tommy Dreamer's injured testicles might just be my new favorite promo piece of all time. The matchups feature so many ECW originals that it's hard to even list them all from memory. I think when it' all said and done, this might be one of my favorite "unofficial" DVD compilations of all time.

I also got some face time with a promoter from an up-and-coming regional promotion and he seemed pretty interested in what we're doing at TWD. There seems to be a good chance that we might work together in the near future.

Marv Wolfman was in attendance at Mid-Ohio. I met him at the 2008 Gem City Comic Con and he didn't seem too interested in talking that day. Luckily, he was in very good spirits this time and he was happy to sign my trade paperback of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I also presented him with Total Eclipse #1, explaining that I love Eclipse Comics and that I had just re-read the entire mini-series over the summer. I told him that the editors had bragged that Total Eclipse was Marv's "most complex" plot to date and when he heard that he rolled his eyes, saying he was never really pleased with that particular series. He explained why, confirming a little of what I have previously heard about Eclipse. It was a pretty fascinating glimpse into the business side of the comics industry and it was especially noteworthy to hear It from such a legendary writer like Wolfman. He was not terribly nostalgic for the Eclispe days, but to me, Eclipse will always stand out as a tremendous source for great storytelling, particularly with their resurrection of so many Golden-Age characters. Before I moved on, I shared with Marv that his writing has been a huge influence on me for the better part of my life now and I thanked him for that. He was very gracious and it was a positive experience for me.

Marvel Two-In-One #24
(1977)

I don't usually sell or trade comics, but I did take a copy of Zoo Funnies #3 (1945) with me in hopes that I could unload it for cash or credit. It's generally considered the first Charlton comic book ever. A couple of the people I showed it to were intrigued with its historical significance as a Charlton comic but they were also quick to add that "funny animal" stuff doesn't sell these days. Whatever. After striking out with about 4 dealers, I ended up finding a guy who was willing to trade me for it, offering 20 comics from his inventory in exchange for my one book. As luck would have it, he had a ton of Power Man and Iron Fist and Rom issues, so I made out pretty well. I also landed a Marvel Two-in-One featuring Black Goliath (another one of my favorite Marvel Bronze Age characters) and a few copies of The Flash from the mid 1980s. One day I hope to put together a full run of the Silver Age Flash series as well. So I guess I ended up with a nice haul after all.

Mid-Ohio is a nice experience and all, but in times like these, a $15 admission fee is more than a little steep. It took patience and tenacity on my part to find a handful of good deals this year. Still, I got to see a lot of nice comics and toys and I ended up with some nice new additions to my collection. Now if I only had time to read all of these comics that I just bought…

Site additions

Mike — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:34:00 -0400

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally managed to find some time to add some new content to our archive of materials dedicated to Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

The index page of the archive now features a new collage of images from Zoya’s life and beyond. Also featured on the page is a banner ad for the book Red Youth, which is still on sale from Erythrós Press and Media. It’s also worth mentioning that Red Youth recently received a very favorable review from The Marxist-Leninist, which is one of the better political blogs on the Internet. You can read the review here.

We have added a few images to our Post Card Gallery of single-issue cards and selections from sets. The new images in this gallery include:

-   A Soviet-era card from around 1943, likely one of the earliest post cards featuring Zoya’s image.

-   A card from the 1950’s which features both a black-and-white portrait of Zoya and an artist’s depiction of her speech before her execution at Petrischchevo.

-    An undated color print of what appears to be an oil painting of Zoya, dated 1953.

Tanya Solomakha

Also in this image gallery is a new favorite of mine, a 1964 artist’s depiction of Young Pioneers laying flowers at the base of a statue of Zoya. I happened upon this by complete accident on eBay one evening. Although the card was not specifically listed as being related to Zoya, I noticed the Russian inscription of her name at the base of the statue and thought this would be a great piece for our collection.

Finally, we’ve posted a series of photographs taken by our friend Nina Lebed during her trip to the Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Museum in Moscow earlier this year. The pictures show some fantastic exhibits of property, documents and literature related to the Kosmodemyanskie. Of particular interest to me was the picture of Tatiana "Tanya" Solomakha, the heroine of the Russian Civil War whose story was especially important to young Zoya both in childhood and as a young partisan.All in all, these are great photos of a place that I very much hope to visit someday. Many thanks to you, Nina!

The Wrestling Daily: Past, Present and Future

Mike — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:02:00 -0400

Well…despite my best intentions, it's been difficult to focus on one or even two projects lately because there's just so much in the works for us at any given time.

Edge vs. Jeff Hardy
May 12, 2009

Most recently, I've joined up with a small group of pro wrestling fans to launch a new website called The Wrestling Daily. The foundation for TWD was set many months ago when I met up with a couple of guys on a website called "Bleacher Report" (sorry folks, but you can look that link up yourselves). There's really a lot to that part of the story and maybe I'll share it some other time. For now it's enough to say that the three of us found that we have a lot in common, including our rather caustic senses of humor. Our respective writing skills and talents meshed well and because we were far from happy with some of the goings-on at B/R, we decided to set out on our own.

The mere mention of this new project generated significant interest from many other talented wrestling enthusiasts who shared our vision for a new standard in pro wrestling journalism. Of course, not everyone could be counted among our well-wishers and there were a few folks here and there who took it upon themselves to try and shake our confidence and stymie our progress. There was a fair amount of saber rattling directed at us, including threats to "silence" us and to "take action" against us (whatever that means).

The Bleacher Report guys even went so far as to delete one of my article from their site that was entitled "Building a Better Website" in which I discussed the imminent launch of TWD. It only took their thought police something like four hours to take it down, too. Turns out I apparently violated their "Terms of Use" or something like that. I kind of know what that means but consider this: In the last week alone, I've seen all kinds of garbage spring up on B/R, including a series of hateful and slanderous rants directed at a young female writer. B/R allowed these comments for fester online for over 24 hours despite the fact that multiple users flagged the offending text a number of times in a relatively short space of time.

Their virtual blind eye to hate speech aside, B/R also seems to be extremely selective when it comes to deciding what kind of promotional activity that they allow on their site. By selective, I mean that TWD is the only site to my knowledge that has been so maligned and censored by the B/R oligarchs as of late. In one recent article, a "writer" promoted a new wrestling-themed blogging site in the bold introductory text to his article. That particular piece is still unedited at present after several days online. There's also a guy who is actively recruiting wrestling writers for some kind of new blogging project on a toy store's web site. Whatever.

Now, if you don't regularly visit B/R and what I just reported above doesn't make sense to you, then you understand it all perfectly. If you are a B/R regular and you haven't seen the hypocritical shit I'm talking about, then you're either a complete dumbass or you're just not paying attention. Like I said in the introduction to the revised edition of my "banned" article: "Integrity, meet the bottom line."

On Monday, August 17, the detractors and naysayers failed and we succeeded when the inaugural edition of TWD launched. Our roll-out lasted three days and we posted a total of 12 articles, one by each of TWD's family of writers. My first piece for TWD was entitled "Lessons from the Old School: How It's Done." The piece is a look back on Ric Flair's first and only appearance on the set of Jerry Lawler's legendary Championship Wrestling show.

Venom's driving force,
the mighty Cronos

There's a lot more to come from TWD and I'm looking really forward to it. The experience thus far reminds me of an old interview with the band Venom (one of my all-time favorites, as most everyone knows), in which the guys talked about how the band's impetus. They explained that they had never been happy with a lot of the other metal bands they had seen over the years, so they created Venom in an effort to become the very band that they had always wanted to see on stage. With TWD, I can very much relate to that very idea, because for so long, I had searched the 'net looking for a pro wrestling site that was coherent, interesting, and compelling. To my mind, TWD accomplishes all of these things very well and it is, indeed, the very kind of site that I have always wanted to read.

This article is for Jason, Ray and the TWD writers because you guys don't suck at all.

Please note that the above opinions are mine alone and I do not represent the writers and staff or The Wrestling Daily in any official capacity through this or any other article published on greeklish.org.

Reminiscences of Canada (2009)

Mike — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:28:00 -0400

Ontario, Canada is one of my favorite places in the world. We’ve visited the area a number of times over the years and every trip has yielded great memories. One of my favorite visits was our trip to Toronto in 2005. Z. was just over one year old and the four of us – with Z. in her stroller – came to know the city well, opting to travel from place to place mostly on foot and through the use of the city’s subway system. In our short time in Toronto, we came to appreciate the omnipresence of hospitality and diversity on the streets of the city.

While visiting Niagara Falls in 2008, I reflected a bit on the trip to Toronto as well as on all of our visits to the area from years past. I had been reading a lot of Allen Ginsberg’s work around this time and – although I’m not comparing my work to his – I can honestly say that I felt his influence as I sat at the desk in our hotel room one night. With that in mind, I took pen in hand and wrote about my appreciation for Canada in verse.

Our northern excursions have been on my mind again lately, especially because I now enjoy regular correspondence with a number of friends who live throughout Canada. Up to now, the only person with whom I’ve ever shared a single one of my poems is Thomaï. She always been kind to me, which is something I truly appreciate. However, I am certain that the support and encouragement of one’s spouse is not really the most accurate gauge as to the quality one's particular work. So, I thought that now might be as good a time as any to share this poem with everyone who might be interested in knowing something of my affection for Canada and its people.

Canada, I Love You

Canada, I love you
for your Loonies and Toonies,
and your healthcare for everyone,
and how you told America to “suck it” over the wars.
I love you for your Horseshoe Falls,
for your legions of French-speakers,
and all your diversity on the streets.
For your Maple Leafs,
and the mother of three
who said, “Look at the fireworks, eh!”
I love you for your “No tax on Maple Syrup!”
and your QEW,
and for the stand against WTO in Montréal.
I love you for your cosmopolitan cities,
with your street-corners full of congregations:
men of faith, break-dancers and drummers,
Hekmatists spreading the word,
men holding hands on the subway,
black folks, asians, “whitefolk” –
melting together in a river of humanity.
Canada, you are not the United States of America,
and I love you for it.

23 July 2008; Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
[Revised 31 July - 1 August 2009; Dayton, Ohio]

Parenting tips, continued: Mother Courage and my children

Mike — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:43:00 -0400

As I've noted before, one of my favorite things to do as a parent is to share interesting and unusual books with our girls at every possible opportunity. Sometimes, the results aren't terribly well received, like the time I read aloud from an old inductive logic book over dinner or the night I shared some passages from Marcuse's One Dimensional Man. Other times, the girls are genuinely interested in what I am reading and they ask me to share a bit with them. I have, of course, obliged on a number of occasions, sharing pieces from books like Chaim Potok's The Chosen and Richard Poe's Afrocentric historical study Black Spark, White Fire.

There was also the wonderful evening when I received a rare first printing of Voltairine de Cleyre's Selected Works in the mail and the girls sat by and watched closely as I carefully opened the book, showed them de Cleyre's portrait and read some of her poems for them. (To this day, Baby Z. says she will someday have a daughter named Voltairine. Really.) I must say that it's nice to help our girls to develop interests and knowledge that extends beyond the limitations of mass marketing and popular culture.

Last Friday afternoon, I was sitting on the swing in front of my in-laws' house enjoying a rare, gentle July breeze as I relished the end of the workweek. I took advantage of this down time to read some of Brecht's play Mother Courage and Her Children which I had started a week or so prior. My rather busy schedule had prevented me from spending more than a few minutes every few days with the book.

After a short time, the girls noticed that I was sitting outside and Baby Z. ran out to join me. She scrambled up into the swing next to me, grabbed a hold of my arm and laid her head on my chest. She looked down at the book and said, 'Read that book to me.” I had just finished the section in the book in which Mother Courage's son Swiss Cheese was executed, so I figured that the next few pages might be rather unremarkable.

So, I started reading to Z. from the beginning of Scene Four but about halfway down the page, I realized that I had indeed come upon some subject matter that wasn't entirely age-appropriate for my young, audience. This scene featured a young soldier who was furious with his captain and was looking to exact some revenge. I stopped reading as I scanned the remainder of the page to see what I had gotten myself into and I silently read the following:

YOUNG SOLDIER: Screw the Captain! Where is the son of a bitch? Swiping my reward, spending it on brandy for his whores, I'll rip his belly open!

AN OLDER SOLDIER (coming after him): Shut your hole, you'll wind up in the stocks.

YOUNG SOLDIER: Come out, you thief, I'll make lamb chops out of you! I was the only one in the squad who swam the river and he grabs my money, I can't even buy myself a beer. Come on out! And let me slice you up!

I wasn't entirely sure what to do at this point, as Baby Z. seemed fairly interested in the subject matter and I have to admit that it's awfully nice to have my little one cuddled up next to me, intent on sharing in what is so obviously rather interesting to me. So I substituted my own "revised” version of the passage and said something like this:

"Well, ummm…See, this young guy is mad at the Captain – really mad, see – and he wants to get the Captain really, really badly because the Captain took his money….or something. And he's really going to get him, I guess. And then this other guy comes along and tells him to be quiet, but the young guy won't because he's really mad. Yeah."

It was at this point that Baby Z. hopped down from the swing abruptly and said, "Okay…Can we do something else?” I asked her if she wanted to know what happened to Mother Courage and she said, rather matter-of-factly, "That book is boring.” Then she toddled off to the garage to get her tricycle so she could ride it in the driveway for a while. Ah well, it was nice for a moment, anyway.

I wondered if Brecht is really boring to a 5 year-old or if it was just came across as boring because I dumbed it down. Whatever the case, I always appreciate the candor of our girls and I figure that someday when they come back to these authors and books of their own accord, they might feel a small spark of recollection and ultimately end up with some greater appreciation for what we've tried to share with them along the way.

Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War

Mike — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:32:00 -0400

Our small publishing venture, Erythrós Press and Media, his yielded its first official publication. The book Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War went on sale earlier this week through our online store. This book is hopefully the first volume in a series of books that will chronicle the outstanding achievements of the youngest fighters in the Soviet Union's struggle against fascist Germany during World War II. This volume tells the story of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who was the first female fighter of World War II to be named "Hero of the Soviet Union."

I have been preparing materials for this project as far back as late 2004 when I began transcribing the entire contents of Lyubov Kosmodemyanskaya's 1953 book The Story of Zoya and Shura for greeklish.org. Shortly thereafter, I began research for an annotated version of the book that I hoped to publish in print at some point in the future. I did quite a bit of work on this project, compiling a huge annotated manuscript and reams of notes, but I shelved the project after I developed many questions and concerns regarding Soviet and Russian copyright law.

A while later, I resurrected the project, first intending to produce a single-volume work which featured biographies of a number of young heroes, including Zoya, Marat Kazey, Elizaveta Chaikina, Zinaida Portnova and others. Realizing I had a significant amount of material on Zoya alone as a result of my previous research, I settled on the idea of developing a multi-volume set that would include newly annotated transcriptions of public domain, Soviet era documents along with my original introductory notes and supplemental information. This first volume of Red Youth is thus the culmination of over four years of work.

I have a tendency towards self-criticism and this tends to effect how I feel about things at the end of a relatively long project. Such is the case with Red Youth. Upon my initial perusal of the finished product, I immediately noticed a few block quotes that weren't properly indented and a missed line break or two. That wasn't so bad. Probably my most unfortunate oversight (which I noticed a bit later) was my failure to include V. I. Lenin's name in the table of contents listing for his 1920 work "Tasks of the Youth Leagues." The document itself is properly noted and cited later in the text, but I would have liked for an important feature like the table of contents to be completely accurate. A good friend put things in perspective for me, however. He told me that having a handful of imperfections gives the work a feeling of credibility that might not otherwise come with an immaculately produced product from a big, bourgeois publishing house. I suppose that is a nice way to look at it.

Whatever the case, I need to get to work promoting and distributing the work to spread the story of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya far and wide once again.

The book is dedicated to Thomaï and our girls, along with Peyman Piran, Anoosheh Azadbar and the Freedom and Equality Speaking Students of Iran.

More information about Red Youth is provided on a special page from the Erythrós Press and Media online store. A complete listing of the table of contents and ordering instructions are included. Click here to download my Foreword to the book.

Quite a few of my close friends helped me with this project through hard work, patience, encouragement and support. Below is the complete text of my "Acknowledgments" section from the book.

A number of people from around the world contributed significant time and effort toward the preparation and enhancement of this book. I am especially grateful to my friend Andy Blunden for his assistance and guidance in all aspects of my work, with particular appreciation for his help in formatting and editing the complete text of this volume. Brian Reid and Clara Statello also assisted in proofreading and editing of most of the documents contained herein and their critique and support were vital to this endeavor. Randy Graham also helped by proofreading selected documents.

Mitch Abidor provided much-needed advice and encouragement at a critical point in my writing.

I thank Tim Davenport from the Early American Marxism website for providing source material. I am also indebted to Steve Palmer and my other fellow volunteers of the Marxists Internet Archive for their collective assistance with a number of research topics.

My friends Einde O'Callaghan, Nina Lebed, Antonis Megremis and Nikos Loudos assisted with the translation of selected passages from source documents and research materials.

I also extend my heartfelt gratitude for my dear friends who have inspired me through their political work and activism. I am thankful to know Panos Fidis, Sam Berner, and many of the students and supporters of the Freedom and Equality Seeking Students of Iran. It is their work and struggle that inspires me to move forward in numerous endeavors, including this project.

I am fortunate to have the friendship and tutelage of David Walters who has provided me with valuable camaraderie, guidance and insight for almost a decade. I am certainly a better person for knowing him.

Finally, I must express my deepest appreciation for the love and companionship of my wife Thomaï. She is my most important supporter and critic and she is responsible for everything good and decent in my life.

Mike Bessler
May 2009

On the current situation in Iran

Mike — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:01:00 -0400

With my attention divided amongst a host of real life and net-based endeavors, I have been slow to comment on the situation in Iran despite the fact that I have a great deal of interest in the developments which continue to unfold hour upon hour. I am following the news as closely as possible, reading accounts through the mainstream media as well as the host of user-generated news sources on the Internet. My dear Iranian brothers and sisters -- those within Iran and throughout the world -- are never far from my thoughts these days.

The current situation in Iran is one that should surprise absolutely no one. From the egomaniacal and demagogic mullahs to the courageous workers and students who now fill the streets of Tehran and other cities in protest, surely they must have all known that history would bring them face to face at this particular juncture. Indeed, what is occurring in Iran right now must happen. Irrespective of the outcome this time around, it is the Iranian people who must move forward in pursuit of a better quality of life and a collective existence that is free from the scourges of oppression and intolerance that were foisted upon them after Political Islam's betrayal of the 1979 Revolution.

One of the most particularly interesting dimensions of the international response to the current events in Iran has been the fact that American progressives and liberals must now come to grips with the despotic nature of Ahmadinejad and Iran's ruling clique. For some time, a number of currents and tendencies of the American left have stood firm on a shameful and baseless conviction that Ahmadinejad is the peace-loving face of the anti-imperialist movement. Now, as the brazen chicanery of the theocracy's election fraud proceeded by its brutal and reactionary response to democratic and popular dissent is exposed to the world, those who have ignored and obscured the true nature of Political Islam must now face the reality of the horrors which they have tacitly and implicitly endorsed through their silence, including the slaughter of left opposition activists and Marxist dissidents, oppression of women and religious minorities and the torture and murder of homosexuals and labor leaders.

In a discussion of previous elections in Iran back in 2001, the late Mansoor Hekmat shared his enthusiasm that the Iranian people might someday mobilize and wrest political power from their oppressors. He said:

"Now, it is reaction that is against the mainstream and it is we who represent the majority. Victory is possible and achievable. This is the essence of the current political situation in Iran." (full text)

As enthusiastic as these words were eight years ago, they ring true today as the people of Iran stand just one great stride from a new direction forward. History is on their side as the people of the world support them in their struggle for freedom and equality.

Aluta continua!

Personal postscript: For the past several months, I've been wrapped up with a handful of projects, some of which are serious and others…well, they were not so serious. In any event, I've resolved to return to some of the things that have been so important to me over the past several years, including my writings on greeklish.org as well as a few other web-based projects. Just this week, I've resumed work again on the development of an archive of the works of Josip Broz Tito, adding a short excerpt from a 1955 interview with Radio Belgrade. More works from 1941-1961 are forthcoming as are additional documents for one of my favorite subject archives of MIA, the Yugoslavia Subject Section.

Some new favorites...

Mike — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:56:00 -0400

Last weekend I was driving around listening to W.A.S.P.'s 1992 album The Crimson Idol. I've had a second-hand copy of the album for a while now and I must admit that up to, I had never managed to get through the whole CD, start to finish. After listening to the entire 2 CD set Double Live Assassins last week, I decided to give The Crimson Idol another shot. Towards the end of the album, I discovered the song "Hold on to My Heart." If there is a better heavy metal ballad, I have never heard it and – after listening to this song at least 20 times since Saturday afternoon – I can't imagine what a better one might sound like. This is just power ballad perfection.

One of my favorite series from greeklish.org is last year's "Mixtape Mixdown: 25 Favorites" series in which I counted down the tracks from my mix CD of all-time favorite songs. For a few months, I have been thinking about compiling a new CD of "forgotten favorites" to showcase some prospects for a new compilation of my 25 (or maybe 30) favorite songs. I am sure that "Hold on to My Heart" will be a contender for the revised list.

It probably won't be much of a surprise to a small number of folks that the song "Mean Man" will be in the running as well. Hell, that song is top ten material, for sure. Maybe even top five! Horns up!

Classics of Soviet Activity Theory back in print

Mike — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:36:00 -0400

Marxists Internet Archive Publications has published the first three volumes of CLASSICS IN ACTIVITY THEORY, reprints of English translations first published by Progress Publishers in the 1970s, of the second generation of Soviet followers of Lev Vygotsky. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, while remaining in the public domain, these works have become unavailable, in most cases even on the secondhand market. And yet there remains a vast research community across the world that builds on Vygotsky and Activity Theory.

Each of the three books beginning the series is a collection of the English translations from one of the three authors: Alexei LEONTYEV, Alexander MESHCHERYAKOV and Evald ILYENKOV, plus a short preface by Prof. Mike Cole of the University of California, San Diego. Every university or education faculty library should have this series. Titles included are, from Leontyev, The Development of Mind: The Problem of the Origin of Sensation, The Biological and Social in Man’s Psyche, An Outline of the Evolution of the Psyche, The Historical Approach to Study of the Human Psyche, The Development of Higher Forms of Memory, The Psychological Principles of Preschool Play, The Theory of the Development of the Child’s Psyche, Child Development and the Problem of Mental Deficiency, Activity and Consciousness; from Ilyenkov, The Ideal in Human Activity: Dialectical Logic, Activity and Knowledge, The Universal, The Concept of the Ideal, Reflections on “Materialism and Empirio-Criticism” and Meshcheryakov, Awakening To Life: Deaf-blind Children, Problems of Deaf-blindness, Forming Behaviour and Developing Their Minds, Learning Programmes for the Deaf-blind.

Volumes are available from Erythrós Press and Media for US$25 + postage per volume but purchasers of all 3 books -- or 4 books with the purchase of Hegel’s Logic -- pay a reduced price of $20 per book with reduced shipping costs.

WWE comes to Dayton

Mike — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:04:00 -0400

Last night, I caught the huge WWE event at Dayton's EJ Nutter Center. It's worth mentioning that the Nutter Center is really in Fairborn. I am surprised that Wright State still advertises that Nutter Center is in Dayton, seeing as how the Gem City's current claim to fame is that we're on the Forbes list of America's fastest dying cities. Something to be proud of, I'm sure. Leave it to the spectacle that is sports entertainment to take our minds off the spiraling malaise of our economic recession...even if it's just for one night.

Anyway, the last WWE event I attended was back in October 2007 and as great as that show was, last night's show was way better. Plus, this time around I landed ringside seats. This was a big first for me and it was every bit as exciting as I'd hoped. Just like the last time, I made a sign in support of CM Punk and I had it with me throughout the show.

The event was actually three WWE shows in one, including tapings for both ECW and SmackDown! as well as two matches for WGN's Superstars show.

The ECW show was the first one of the night and for a little while I thought I might be able to hold it together without completely losing my mind. But once Tommy Dreamer made an appearance, I completely flipped out. To me, Tommy Dreamer is true wrestling greatness. Vladimir Kozlov was pretty exciting as well and I am completely loving his new "Lundgrenesque" training montages and entrance themes (complete with Red Army Choir music and archival film footage). The formation of the new incarnation of The Hart Foundation was a great moment as well. I was disappointed that Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart's daughter Natalya didn't see any action in the ring, but at least she made an appearance during the show.

Seeing Rey Mysterio wrestle twice in one night was pretty cool. He had an impressive bout with Shelton Benjamin for the Superstars show. Once SmackDown! started, I had the feeling we were in for a really good show and the opening match certainly got things headed in the right direction. CM Punk's tag partner was John Morrison and they took on The World's greatest Tag Team in what I thought was a sound, solid match. Punk and Morrison had surprisingly good chemistry considering their heated rivalry some years ago when they fought over the ECW championship.

I'm not a huge fan of the Divas division, so I wasn't really enthusiastic about the tag match. But Gail Kim is pretty impressive and it was really something to see her in person.

Edge before the
SmackDown! main event.

Jericho and Edge stole the show with some really caustic mic work that set the stage for a phenomenal main event. When GM Theodore Long booked Jericho vs. Edge as the final SD! match of the night, I went crazy. It was kind of unexpected to see the two biggest heels square off going into a pay-per-view weekend and these guys are two of my all-time favorites, so it felt like something really special. Early in the match, I wasn't sure who I'd root for but once Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho of Edge, I knew I was pulling for Y2J. I jumped up and charged towards the barrier yelling, TAAAAP! Tap, Edge! Edge is gonna taaaap!" Some 10 or 11 year-old kid started yelling "No he's not!" at me. I looked at him and smiled for a second and then I started heckling Edge again. Once Edge got out of the hold the kid was like, "See?" Yeah, whatever. I kind of freaked out when I saw Edge apply what looked to be a Sharpshooter on Y2J and I think other people were as shocked as I was. It was a great moment.

The ending for the main event seemed to be something of a letdown at first, but after Edge was laid out (courtesy of a run-in by Jeff Hardy, if I remember right), the real excitement started as CM Punk's music hit and he charged down the ramp with the Money in the Bank suitcase. For a minute there, I thought he was going to cash in his contract and win the title just like last time. I knew it was unlikely given that the weekend's PPV card was set, but or a second there, it almost happened. I ran into some friends after the show and one of them told me, "When CM Punk's music hit, we thought he was going to win the title for sure tonight! We were so happy for you!"

My hair is tied back and
I'm all sweaty and hoarse...
but I'm also very, very happy!

Umaga came out and squashed CM Punk's shot at the title, but Punk did deliver a massive blow to Umaga's face with the MITB case and that was pretty cool. The ensuing melee saw Edge and Hardy take their fight into the crowd as Jericho, Mysterio, Punk and Umaga fought all over the damn place. It was chaotic, but very well done.

After the SD! Taping concluded, the crew set up the steel cage for a non-televised championship match featuring Jeff Hardy and Edge. Edge retained the title in a short but well-choreographed match.

It was a great night and I have sure come a long way from sitting in the nosebleeds at Rupp Arena with my dad and my older brother. Of course, I do have some really good memories of those days many years ago. Now my daughters keep asking if they can go with me to a live wrestling event. One of these days – once they're old enough to handle all of the noise, drama and excitement of a bombastic WWE supercard -- it will sure be a lot of fun to make some new memories with them.

I took some photos and posted them in a gallery here. Anyone who has been to an event like this knows it's kind of tough to get good photos in this setting, but I think this batch is okay.

Meet me at the Natalie Merchant laser show...

Mike — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:11:00 -0400

I went up to Wright State a couple of weekends ago to do a bit of research. Some things never change, and one thing in particular that hasn’t changed is the amount of graffiti in the stalls of WSU’s restrooms. I was really taken with all of the writing (and carving) on the toilet paper dispenser in the men's room at the Dunbar Library. Some of it was weird and some of it was funny, but one thing I read was so unexpected that I had no choice but to take a snapshot of it with my phone so I could ponder it later.

May Day 2009 | Πρωτομαγιά

Mike — Fri, 01 May 2009 05:05:00 -0400

image courtesy of marxists.org

May 1st is May Day, which is also known as International Workers Day. This holiday is observed in many
countries and locales, in recognition of the achievements of the working people of the world.

May 1st also marks the anniversary of the beginning of the 1886 nation-wide strike in support of the eight-hour workday. In Chicago, a mass meeting in support of the workers' movement ended tragically with the "Haymarket Massacre" on May 4.

Marxists.org maintains an extensive subject archive that which chronicles the history of May Day.

"The Haymarket Tragedy"

from The Autobiography of Mother Jones (1925)

From 1880 on, I became wholly engrossed in the labor movement. In all the great industrial centers the working class was in rebellion. The enormous immigration from Europe crowded the slums, forced down wages and threatened to destroy the standard of living fought for by American working men. Throughout the country there was business depression and much unemployment. In the cities there was hunger and rags and despair. Foreign agitators who had suffered under European despots preached various schemes of economic salvation to the workers. The workers asked only for bread and a shortening of the long hours of toil. The agitators gave them visions. The police gave them clubs.

Particularly the city of Chicago was the scene of strike after strike, followed by boycotts and riots. The years preceding 1886 had witnessed strikes of the lake seamen, of dock laborers and street railway workers. These strikes had been brutally suppressed by policemen’s clubs and by hired gunmen. The grievance on the part of the workers was given no heed. John Bonfield, inspector of police, was particularly cruel in the suppression of meetings where men peacefully assembled to discuss matters of wages and of hours. Employers were defiant and open in the expression of their fears and hatreds. The Chicago Tribune, the organ of the employers, suggested ironically that the farmers of Illinois treat the tramps that poured out of the great industrial centers as they did other pests, by putting strychnine in the food.

The workers started an agitation for an eight-hour day. The trades unions and the Knights of Labor endorsed the movement but because many of the leaders of the agitation were foreigners, the movement itself was regarded as “foreign” and as “un-American.” Then the anarchists of Chicago, a very small group, espoused the cause of the eight-hour day. From then on the people of Chicago seemed incapable of discussing a purely economic question without getting excited about anarchism.

The employers used the cry of anarchism to kill the movement. A person who believed in an eight-hour working day was, they said, an enemy to his country, a traitor, an anarchist. The foundations of government were being gnawed away by the anarchist rats. Feeling was bitter. The city was divided into two angry camps. The working people on one side hungry, cold, jobless, fighting gunmen and police clubs with bare hands. On the other side the employers, knowing neither hunger nor cold, supported by the newspapers, by the police, by all the power of the great state itself.

The anarchists took advantage of the widespread discontent to preach their doctrines. Orators used to address huge crowds on the windy, barren shore of Lake Michigan. Although I never endorsed the philosophy of anarchism, I often attended the meetings on the lake shore, listening to what these teachers of a new order had to say to the workers.

Meanwhile Vile employers were meeting. They met in the mansion of George M. Pullman on Prairie Avenue or in the residence of Wirt Dexter, an able corporation lawyer. They discussed means of killing the eight-hour movement which was to be ushered in by a general strike. They discussed methods of dispersing the meetings of the anarchists.

A bitterly cold winter set in. Long unemployment resulted in terrible suffering. Bread lines increased. Soup kitchens could not handle the applicants. Thousands knew actual misery.

On Christmas day, hundreds of poverty stricken people in rags and tatters, in thin clothes, in wretched shoes paraded on fashionable Prairie Avenue before the mansions of the rich, before their employers, carrying the black flag. I thought the parade an insane move on the part of the anarchists, as it only served to make feeling more bitter. As a matter of fact, it had no educational value whatever and only served to increase the employers’ fear, to make the police more savage, and the public less sympathetic to the real distress of the workers.

The first of May, which was to usher in the eight-hour day uprising, came. The newspapers had done everything to alarm the people. All over the city there were strikes and walkouts. employers quaked in their boots. They saw revolution. The workers in the McCormick Harvester Works gathered outside the factory. Those inside who did not join the strikers were called scabs. Bricks were thrown. Windows were broken. The scabs were threatened. Some one turned in a riot call.

The police without warning charged down upon the workers, shooting into their midst, clubbing right and left. Many were trampled under horses’ feet. Numbers were shot dead. Skulls were broken. Young men and young girls were clubbed to death.

The Pinkerton agency formed armed bands of ex-convicts and hoodlums and hired them to capitalists at eight dollars a day, to picket the factories and incite trouble.

On the evening of May 4th, the anarchists held a meeting in the shabby, dirty district known to later history as Haymarket Square. All about were railway tracks, dingy saloons and the dirty tenements of the poor. A half a block away was the Desplaines Street Police Station presided over by John Bonfield, a man without tact or discretion or sympathy, a most brutal believer in suppression as the method to settle industrial unrest.

Carter Harrison, the mayor of Chicago, attended the meeting of the anarchists and moved in and about the crowds in the square. After leaving, he went to the Chief of Police and instructed him to send no mounted police to the meeting, as it was being peacefully conducted and the presence of mounted police would only add fuel to fires already burning red in the workers’ hearts. But orders perhaps came from other quarters, for disregarding the report of the mayor, the chief of police sent mounted policemen in large numbers to the meeting.

One of the anarchist speakers was addressing the crowd. A bomb was dropped from a window overlooking the square. A number of the police were killed in the explosion that followed.

The city went insane and the newspapers did everything to keep it like a madhouse. The workers’ cry for justice was drowned in the shriek for revenge. Bombs were “found” every five minutes. Men went armed and gun stores kept open nights. Hundreds were arrested. Only those who had agitated for an eight-hour day, however, were brought to trial and a few months later hanged. But the man, Schnaubelt, who actually threw the bomb was never brought into the case, nor was his part in the terrible drama ever officially made clear.

The leaders in the eight hour day movement were hanged Friday, November the 11th. That day Chicago’s rich had chills and fever. Rope stretched in all directions from the jail. Police men were stationed along the ropes armed with riot rifles. Special patrols watched all approaches to the jail. The roofs about the grim stone building were black with police. The newspapers fed the public imagination with stories of uprisings and jail deliveries.

But there were no uprisings, no jail deliveries, except that of Louis Lingg, the only real preacher of violence among all the condemned men. He outwitted the gallows by biting a percussion cap and blowing off his head.

The Sunday following the executions, the funerals were held. Thousands of workers marched behind the black hearses, not because they were anarchists but they felt that these men, whatever their theories, were martyrs to the workers’ struggle. The procession wound through miles and miles of streets densely packed with silent people.

In the cemetery of Waldheim, the dead were buried. But with them was not buried their cause. The struggle for the eight hour day, for more human conditions and relations between man and man lived on, and still lives on.

Seven years later, Governor Altgeld, after reading all the evidence in the case, pardoned the three anarchists who had escaped the gallows and were serving life sentences in jail. He said the verdict was unjustifiable, as had William Dean Howells and William Morris at the time of its execution. Governor Altgeld committed political suicide by his brave action but he is remembered by all those who love truth and those who have the courage to confess it.

Urgent notice: Peyman Piran in Norway

Mike — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:26:00 -0400

A few months ago, Iranian student and activist Peyman Piran finally escaped persecution in Iran after enduring a protracted campaign of political persecution. He left his home in hopes of being granted political asylum in a more progressive country.

At the moment, Peyman sits in a detention center in Norway awaiting a decision which could ultimately return him to Iran. If – like many other refugees – Peyman is returned to Iran, his life will be in grave danger once again. Please send appeals to the headquarters of the Norwegian Refugee Council and other diplomatic representatives of Norway accredited in your country.

Norwegian Refugee Council:
PO Box 6758 St. Olavs Plass, 0130 Oslo
Phone.: +(47) 23 10 98 00
Fax.: + (47) 23 10 98 01
E-mail: nrc@nrc.no

Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington (US)
2720 34th Street NW
Washington, DC 20008
Tel: (202) 333-6000
Fax: (202) 337-0870
E-mail: emb.washington@mfa.no

Royal Norwegian Embassy (UK)
25 Belgrave Square
London SW1X 8QD
Telephone 020 7591 5500
Fax: 020 7245 6993
E-mail: emb.london@mfa.no

For a complete list of contact information for Norway’s embassies and Consulates General, visit this link: http://www.norway.info/splash.aspx

This article was written with assistance from members of Friends of the Freedom and Equality Seeking Students.

Why We Fight: The 2009 edition

Mike — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:53:00 -0400

During World War II, filmmaker Frank Capra directed a series of films commissioned by the U.S. Government. The series was called Why We Fight and the films proved to be an effective tool to combat the far-reaching propaganda machine of Nazi Germany. I have to admit that I still enjoy watching a couple of the episodes from Why We Fight every once in a while. I am particularly fond of The Battle of Russia with its detailed assessment of the Soviets’ defense of the USSR including some decent segments regarding the battles at Leningrad and Stalingrad. The Battle of China is very interesting as well and it even includes some brief yet rare film footage of Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

Some recent news about new events in Afghanistan and Iraq have led me to reflect a little on what it might look like if someone set out to compile an updated edition of the Why We Fight films. I think it would be a very different and a very sobering experience given what I have read as of late.

Here’s a bit on the “improving” situation in Afghanistan:

From Times Online

A controversial law condoning marital rape and reintroducing Taleban-era rules for Afghan women has been shelved after an outcry in the West.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry said that the law had not been enacted, while Justice Ministry officials said that its contents might be reconsidered. The legislation was put on hold pending a review.

“The Justice Ministry is reviewing the law to make sure it is in line with the Afghan Government’s commitment to human rights and women rights conventions,” Sultan Ahmad Baheen, a spokesman for the ministry in Kabul, said.

The British Government expressed alarm at the law, which applies to the 15 per cent of the Afghan population that is Shia Muslim. President Obama called the law “abhorrent” at the Nato summit in Strasbourg last week.

[...]

One of the most controversial articles stipulates that the wife “is bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires”.

Later the law explicitly sanctions marital rape. “As long as the husband is not travelling, he has the right to have sexual intercourse with his wife every fourth night,” Article 132 says. “Unless the wife is ill or has any kind of illness that intercourse could aggravate, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband.”

Article 133 reintroduces the Taleban restrictions on women’s movements outside their homes, stating: “A wife cannot leave the house without the permission of the husband” unless in a medical or other emergency.

Article 27 endorses child marriage with girls legally able to marry once they begin to menstruate.

The law also withholds from the woman the right to inherit her husband’s wealth. (full article)

It is, of course, good news that the government of Afghanistan is now "reviewing" their newest incarnation of Sharia law after facing an unprecedented criticism from virtually every corner of the globe. But some things are not so easily undone with a simple campaign or a review. Consider the recent tragic events in the “new” Iraq:

From CNN.com

Six gay men were shot dead by members of their tribe in two separate incidents in the past 10 days, an official with Iraq's Interior ministry said.

In the most recent attack, two men were killed Thursday in Sadr City area of Baghdad after they were disowned by relatives, the official said.

The shootings came after a tribal meeting was held and the members decided to go after the victims.

On March 26, four additional men were fatally shot in the same city, the official said, adding that the victims had also been disowned by their relatives.

The official declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Witnesses told CNN that a Sadr City cafe, which was a popular gathering spot for gays, was also set on fire. (full article)

Are the above developments acceptable examples of what it means to be “liberated” in the 21st century? Ask the oppressed men, women and children of Iraq and Afghanistan why we fight. They’ll tell you the truth…but you might not like the answer.

More proof that America doesn't get it (alternate title: Baseball in the F.D.G.)

Mike — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:35:00 -0400

Baseball season is almost here, and at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock, Michigan, the West Michigan Whitecaps and their ballpark owners Fifth Third Bank are rolling out a new item at the concession stand this year. The "Fifth Third Burger" boasts 1.66 pounds of beef (that's 5/3 pounds, folks) and it's topped with 5 slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa, sour cream, chili and Fritos. It takes a whole pound of dough to make the eight-inch sesame seed bun. All together, the Fifth Third Burger is around 4,800 calories, which is something like two days worth of the recommended caloric intake for a 20 year-old with an average build.

So, is this the best time to tout our own decadence given our current situation? Before you make the drive to Comstock for your own Fifth Third Burger, here are a few things to contemplate:

The global financial system is still on the brink of collapse as the world economy continues to contract. Our financial institutions are in a state of ruin. Fifth Third Bancorp (a.k.a Fifth Third Bank, if you're keeping tabs on this stuff) lost over $10 billion in the past 12 months.

In early March 2009, American unemployment hit a 25-year high. According to a recent article from cnnmoney.com, more than 3.3 million jobs were lost in the past six months.

Addiction and depression rates are continuing to rise as economic conditions worsen.

Adults and children continue to suffer from treatable illnesses while our healthcare system remains in a seemingly perpetual state of disrepair.

Well, despite all of the information above, if you're bold enough – and hungry enough – to step up to the plate and gorge yourself in the spirit of excess and gluttony, the Fifth Third Burger is your destiny. For those who are able to polish off this slop bucket on a platter all by yourself, a free t-shirt is the much-coveted prize that awaits you.

And given the current course of our economy, that t-shirt will come in quite handy when all you have left are the proverbial "clothes on your back."

Now available from Erythrós Press and Media: Hegel's "Logic"

Mike — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 22:21:00 -0400

Marxists Internet Archive and Erythrós Press and Media are pleased to announce the publication of Hegel's Logic (MIA Publications, featuring a Foreword by Andy Blunden). The book is now available for purchase through Erythrós Press and Media ($25 plus shipping). Proceeds benefit Marxists Internet Archive.

The 1830 Logic, which Hegel used in his lectures, is a reliable and structured presentation of Hegel's mature views. The text is provided with a new Foreword by Andy Blunden which approaches Hegel from a Marxist perspective and will help the novice appreciate Hegel's importance. This introduction goes a long way to unlocking the mysteries of Hegel's writing for the uninitiated.

Visit the Erythrós Press and Media online store to order your copy.

Join the Erythrós Press and Media Facebook group to receive news about future projects!

International Women’s Day 2009

Mike — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:17:00 -0400

To mark International Women’s Day 2009, I am happy to present some biographical sketches and works of some of my favorite female authors and activists.   Also included is a work on gender equality from pre-revolutionary China.

Iris Chang

Iris Chang (1968 - 2004) was a Chinese-American author who is best known for her 1997 book The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, which provides the most thorough English-language account of the atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army during the occupation of Nanking, China in the late 1930’s. The success of her book bolstered awareness regarding the war crimes committed by the Japanese and in the years following the publication of The Rape of Nanking, Chang led a public campaign urging the Japanese government to both apologize for war-time atrocities and to compensate survivors of the Nanking massacre.

Iris Chang died suddenly in 2004.

Han Suyin

Han Suyin (1917 - ) is a physician and author. She was born in China and much of her writing involves the history and struggles of the Chinese People. She has written a number of works on the history of modern China, including the 1972 book The Morning Deluge: Mao Tse-tung and the Chinese Revolution, 1893-1954. She has also penned a multi-volume autobiographical series and a number of novels, including her most celebrated work, A Many Splendoured Thing (1952).

Dr. Han is recognized worldwide as an authority Chinese history and culture. In 1996, she was named “Friendship Envoy" by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. She currently resides in Switzerland.

Photo credit: David Stephensen

Anoosheh Azadbar

Anoosheh Azadbar is a student activist in Iran. She helped to organize the Students’ Day demonstrations at Tehran University in December 2007.

In 2008, she was charged with a number of crimes against the Islamic regime of Iran in connection with the Students’ Day protests. Later the same year, she was voted an honorary Vice President of the National Union of Students.

A selection from “Sultana’s Dream” transcription from marxists.org
by Begum Rokeya (1905)

Begum Rokeya

Begum Rokeya (1880 - 1932) was an author an activist for women’s rights in undivided Bangladesh.

One evening I was lounging in an easy chair in my bedroom and thinking lazily of the condition of Indian womanhood. I am not sure whether I dozed off or not. But, as far as I remember, I was wide awake. I saw the moonlit sky sparkling with thousands of diamond-like stars, very distinctly.

All on a sudden a lady stood before me; how she came in, I do not know. I took her for my friend, Sister Sara.

"Good morning," said Sister Sara. I smiled inwardly as I knew it was not morning, but starry night. However, I replied to her, saying, "How do you do?"

"I am all right, thank you. Will you please come out and have a look at our garden?"

I looked again at the moon through the open window, and thought there was no harm in going out at that time. The men-servants outside were fast asleep just then, and I could have a pleasant walk with Sister Sara.

I used to have my walks with Sister Sara, when we were at Darjeeling. Many a time did we walk hand in hand and talk light-heartedly in the botanical gardens there. I fancied, Sister Sara had probably come to take me to some such garden and I readily accepted her offer and went out with her.

When walking I found to my surprise that it was a fine morning. The town was fully awake and the streets alive with bustling crowds. I was feeling very shy, thinking I was walking in the street in broad daylight, but there was not a single man visible.

Some of the passers-by made jokes at me. Though I could not understand their language, yet I felt sure they were joking. I asked my friend, "What do they say?"

"The women say that you look very mannish."

"Mannish?" said I, "What do they mean by that?"

"They mean that you are shy and timid like men."

"Shy and timid like men?" It was really a joke. I became very nervous, when I found that my companion was not Sister Sara, but a stranger. Oh, what a fool had I been to mistake this lady for my dear old friend, Sister Sara.

She felt my fingers tremble in her hand, as we were walking hand in hand.

"What is the matter, dear?" she said affectionately. "I feel somewhat awkward," I said in a rather apologizing tone, "as being a purdahnishin woman I am not accustomed to walking abut unveiled."

"You need not be afraid of coming across a man here. This is Ladyland, free from sin and harm. Virtue herself reigns here."

(read the full text)

* * *

Voltairine DeCleyre

A selection from “The Gods and the People”
by Voltairine de Cleyre (1891) transcription from Anarchist Archive

Voltairine de Cleyre (1866-1912) was an American anarchist who was well known as an author and orator. She wrote and spoke extensively on the matter of gender equality.

The rights?-Ah ! the right to toil,
That another, idle, may reap ;
The right to make fruitful the soil,
And a meagre pittance to keep.

The right of a woman to own
Her body spotlessly pure,
And starve in the street--alone!
The right of the wronged--to endure !

The right of the slave--to its yoke,
The right of the hungry--to pray,
The right, of the toiler--to vote
For the master who buys his day !

You have sold the sun and the air,
You have dealt in the price of blood,
You have taken the lion's share
While the lion is fierce for food!

You have laid the load of the strong
On the helpless, the young, the weak!
You have trod out the purple of wrong;--
Beware where its wrath shall wreak!

"Let the voice of the People be heard!
O-- " You strangled it with your rope,
Denied the last dying word
While your Trap and your Gallows spoke!

But a thousand voices rise
Where the words of the martyr fell ;
The seed springs fast to the Skies
Watered deep from that bloody well!

* * *

Miss Chao’s Suicide
by Mao Zedong (1919) transcription from marxists.org

Mao Zedong wrote extensively on the rights of women, but his work on this particular subject is often overshadowed by his philosophical and military writings.   This early work by Mao brought much needed attention to the practice of arranged marriage in semi-feudal, semi-colonial China.

A person's suicide is entirely determined by circumstances. Was Miss Chao's original idea to seek death? On the contrary, it was to seek life. If Miss Chao ended up by seeking death instead, it is because circumstances drove her to this. The circumstances in which Miss Chao found herself were the following; (1) Chinese society; (2) the Chao family of Nanyang Street in Changsha; (3) the Wu family of Kantzuyuan Street in Changsha, the family of the husband she did not want. These three factors constituted three iron nets, composing a kind of triangular cage. Once caught in these three nets, it was in vain that she sought life in every way possible. There was no way for her to go on living; the contrary of life is death, and Miss Chao thus felt compelled to die....If, among these three factors, there had been one that was not an iron net, or if one of these nets had opened, Miss Chao would certainly not have died. (1) If Miss Chao's parents had not had recourse to compulsion but had yielded before Miss Chao's free will, Miss Chao would certainly not have died; (2) if Miss Chao's parents had not resorted to compulsion but had permitted Miss Chao to explain her point of view to the family of her future husband, and to explain the reasons for her refusal, and if in the end the family of her future husband had accepted her point of view, and respected her individual freedom, Miss Chao would certainly not have died; (3) even if her parents and the family of her future husband had refused to accept her free will, if in society there had been a powerful group of public opinion to support her, if there were an entirely new world where the fact of running away from one's parents' home and finding refuge elsewhere were considered honourable and not dishonourable, in this case, too, Miss Chao would certainly not have died. If Miss Chao is dead today, it is because she was solidly enclosed by the three iron nets (society, her own family, the family of her future husband); she sought life in vain and finally was led to seek death...

Yesterday's incident was important. It happened because of the shameful system of arranged marriages, because of the darkness of the social system, the negation of the individual will, and the absence of the freedom to choose one's own mate. It is to be hoped that interested persons will comment on all aspects of this affair, and that they will defend the honour of a girl who died a martyr's death for the cause of the freedom to choose her own love...

The family of the parents and the family of the future husband are both bound up with society; they are both parts of society. We must understand that the family of the parents and the family of the future husband have committed a crime, but the source of this crime lies in society. It is true that the two families themselves carried out this crime; but a great part of the culpability was transmitted to them by society. Moreover, if society were good, even if the families had wanted to carry out this crime, they would not have had the opportunity to do so...

Since there are factors in our society that have brought about the death of Miss Chao, this society is an extremely dangerous thing. It was capable of causing the death of Miss Chao; it could also cause the death of Miss Ch'ieh, Miss Sun, or Miss Li. It is capable of killing men as well as women. All of us, the potential victims, must be on our guard before this dangerous thing that could inflict a fatal blow on us. We should protest loudly, warn the other human beings who are not yet dead, and condemn the countless evils of our society...

This article is for Thomai, K., Z. and for my friend Clara Statello. These are the women I admire.

An evening with Angela Davis

Mike — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:16:00 -0500

First, I must offer a point of clarification...As much as I’d like to write a thorough summary of one of the best lectures I have ever had the privilege to attend, I’m sure that I would not be able to present the subject matter with the depth and detail it most certainly deserves. Instead, the following article mainly discusses the personal significance of the evening, as it was a night filled with memorable moments that will profoundly influence me and my family for many years to come.

On February 23, 2009, I attended a lecture by Angela Y. Davis at my alma mater, Wright State University. The last event I attended at WSU was a lecture by Cornel West back in January 2006 and it was a tremendous experience. As wonderful as that event was, I must say that the opportunity to see Angela Davis speak was more than just a little exciting for me. I was literally jumping up and down when I first learned about the lecture several months ago and I anticipated the date with a great deal of enthusiasm.

At this point, I must note unequivocally that Angela Davis is a hero to me. For decades, she has remained at the forefront of struggles for oppressed and exploited people around the world. Her public victories and her personal sacrifices are well documented and her body of work is a significant contribution to the study and improvement of important issues including those of class consciousness as well as race and gender equality.

Some years ago, I purchased a vintage poster of Angela Davis from an estate liquidation sale on eBay. It was already framed and under glass and as I recall, the price for the poster — including shipping on the big, bulky item (from Texas, I think) — was relatively steep. But I was lucky to acquire it and I still remember the day that I put it up on the wall in our home library room. It’s pretty big and Angela’s portrait dominates the poster, accompanied by the bold title: “Victims of the World’s Greatest Conspiracy!” There are some other images and text around her picture, including portraits of Huey P. Newton and George Jackson as well as some verses from Claude McKay’s poem “If We Must Die.” I think the poster was printed by a San Francisco Bay area book store while Angela was in jail awaiting trial on a series of bogus charges (She was eventually acquitted of all charges in 1972). The poster is original (as opposed to a reproduction) and some nail holes, small tears and a few notes in pencil are visible to the attentive observer. To be honest, I really find the “wear and tear” to add quite a bit of historical and sentimental value to the poster.

I realize it might seem a little odd to embark on a tangent about a simple poster what is supposed to be an account of a speaking engagement, but there is something very important about this poster in the context of my experience in seeing Angela speak at WSU: This piece has been hanging on the wall in our library room ever since our older daughter K. was a toddler. Both K. and our younger daughter Z. have looked upon Angela’s portrait for years. They know her face and they know her name. Sure, it’s true that they are too young to really understand that much about Angela and what she stands for, but they know that she is important. And I don’t mean that they just know she is important to me. They know she is an important woman and some day, they will know her story. This is what made so significant that baby Z. accompanied me to the lecture at WSU. It was truly a remarkable opportunity for me as a father to share this experience with one of my daughters.

Thomai had hoped to attend the lecture with me, but she was scheduled to teach a Greek school class that night. Since K. is one of her star pupils, she was not able to attend the event either. Later that night (after Z. and I got home from the lecture), Thomai told me that K. had expressed some disappointment that she was not able to go to the lecture with us. I was, of course, glad that she did not skip Greek school, but it was also good to know that she would have attended the lecture with some enthusiasm had things worked out. T. offered to take Z. to school with her a number of times, but I was very happy at the prospect of having her accompany me to the event, so we packed a backpack full of coloring books, paper, stuffed animals and Goldfish crackers and we headed up the road to WSU.

We arrived at WSU pretty early for the event, getting there at around 6:00 PM even though it wasn’t scheduled to begin until 7:30 PM. Z. wasn’t really sure about where we were for a while because she kept referring to the WSU campus as “the mall.” She had taken a short nap on the way to WSU, so she was a little disoriented when we got out of the car. I eventually told her that we were at the same place that we go to for the annual comic book show and that seemed to register. I also told her we were there to hear Angela Davis speak and that seemed to bring about some faint realization that we were going to see someone important. I met up with a friends from work while we were waiting to for the lecture hall to open its doors. While we stood there talking, we heard that Angela was already in the building and that she was a guest lecturer for a class across the hall. Shortly after we learned this, I looked up to see Angela standing in the hallway just a couple of yards from us. It was a breathtaking moment to be in her presence for the first time. She had just stepped out of the classroom to chat with some people and I heard someone say that she would be running late for the lecture portion of the evening because she had to go back to her hotel to prepare for the evening. I was a little worried for Z.’s sake, because although she is a patient child, her attention span has some understandable limitations. After a short time, Angela left the area and we filed into the lecture. We snagged some third-row seats, which was pretty good considering that the first two rows were reserved for WSU students and faculty.

The speech started a little later than scheduled, but we took advantage of the opportunity to get to know some people sitting around us. Z. read some books with my friend from work while I chatted with another friend who sat in back of us. I also talked with a lady who is on the Board of Directors for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati and a gentleman who is a professor of African-American studies at WSU.

Angela entered the room quietly, but everyone who noticed her perked up as we knew things were about to get moving. After some brief comments by staff from the Women’s Center and an introduction from WSU President David R. Hopkins, Angela took the stage and began her lecture.

The main portain of Angela’s lecture was around 45 minutes or so. She started by discussing the history of International Women’s Day, making note of the fact that the original purpose of the occasion was to honor the militant strikes of women garment workers in New York. It was especially noteworthy that Angela stressed the point that socialists were among the early champions of the women's movement, as this is a fact that many mainstream academics and authors might typically avoid for political reasons. She then discussed the history of Black History Month, sharing some of the lesser known facts and anniversaries associated with the civil rights movement in America. Tying the two aforementioned topics together, Angela spoke in some detail regarding the collective role of women of color in the struggle for civil rights, placing particular emphasis on the “anonymous” women of the movement throughout its most pivotal points. She recommended the book The Montgomery Boycott and the Women Who Started It by Jo Ann Robinson as further reading on the subject.

Some of the more intriguing comments of the evening came during Angela’s discussion on the election of Barack Obama. Angela touched upon the importance of race as both a “third rail” and a decisive factor in the ultimate outcome of the election. She expressed cautious optimism for the enormous potential of Obama as both a political leader and as a catalyst for geopolitical change, associating Obama’s vision with the spirit of 60’s radicalism. But she also was very candid in the need for continued scrutiny and dissent, noting that Obama is now the leader of the greatest imperial power on Earth. She declared in no uncertain terms that Barack Obama is not a “messiah” and that we should expect to disagree with his ideas and decisions throughout his time in office. These concepts were very well received by the audience, who focused intently upon Angela’s every word.

Z. was an incredible sport about everything as the night went on. There was a tense moment early on in which she quietly confessed to being “a little bored” and she got a little tearful when she started missing Thomai and K. But after a minute or so flipping through the pictures on our digital camera, she was in good shape again. She played quietly with some figurines and her favorite Madball, “Dust Brain.” At one point, she started digging through her backpack and flipping through her coloring books. I asked what she was looking for and she said she wanted paper to draw, so I got several blank sheets and a ball-point pen out for her. She doodled a bit on a few pages and I went back to listening to the lecture. After a few minutes, I looked down at the page she was working on and I noticed she had drawn what appeared to be a woman standing near a large rectangle. I looked up at the stage and saw Angela standing behind a podium and I looked back down at Z.’s picture. I tapped at the drawing and said, “Is that Angela Davis on the stage?” and she said, “Yes.” I watched a bit as she added in the stage, the lighting rig above it, and the plant that was next to the podium. She drew intently for a while and then she got some crayons and started coloring in the scenery. When she was finished, she showed me the picture and I said, “Do you want to give that to Angela?” She said that she did and then — because she was obviously pretty tired by that point — added, “Maybe we can just mail it to her.” I laughed and told her that was something to consider, but that we might try and give it to her personally before the end of the evening.

Later in the lecture, Angela talked about the problems of American prisons and the movement to abolish the current prison system. Her work in this particular area actually predates her involvement with the Soledad Brothers, although the Soledad case ultimately proved to be a pivotal moment in her development as an activist. Her recent work on the abolition of prisons includes the 1997 lecture entitled The Prison Industrial Complex and Angela noted during the WSU presentation that she is also at work on a forthcoming volume regarding the American penal system.

After concluding her lecture, Angela opened a question and answer session, discussing a broad range of issues regarding Marxism and socialism, feminism, and gender issues. One particularly interesting segment involved a University of Louisville student who asked Angela to speak a bit on the late Anne Braden. Angela obliged, sharing some stories about Braden’s fight against segregation Louisville during the 1950’s. Angela also talked a bit about her relationship with Braden and she encouraged the audience to read more about Braden and her husband, Carl Braden. Angela engaged the crowd as a consummate public speaker, yet spoke in very plain terms and enjoyed the opportunity to interact directly with admirers and students of varied backgrounds and interests.

Around 9:40 PM, Thomai called to see how Z. and I were doing. Both Thomai and I were a little concerned about keeping Z. out so late but I also struggled with the idea of leaving without getting a chance to meet Angela at the book signing following the lecture. I decided that Z. and I should go ahead and get a spot in the book signing line ahead of time, so Z. and I packed up and moved back out to the hall. The line was not too long, but I was worried that things might drag if Angela decided to take a long break after wrapping things up in the lecture hall. Fortunately, just a few minutes after we secured our spot in line, Angela came out and went right to work signing books and posing for pictures.

Z. still had the picture she drew and she still had a lot of energy at this point, although I was not sure if she was more excited about giving Angela the picture or about the fact that I agreed to get her some chicken nuggets for the ride home. I talked with a few folks in line while we waited and a young lady in back of us agreed to take our picture with Angela once we made it to the front of the line.

After a brief wait, it was finally our chance to meet Angela. I was almost too nervous to talk as I approached her. We shook hands and I introduced Z. to her. I told her that Z. had drawn a picture for her and that Z. wanted to give it to her. I also noted that Z. had done this on her own because I didn’t want to seem like some kind of strange, overzealous parent. Z. opened the picture (she had folded it into quarters) and Angela stooped down, placing her hands on her knees to get a closer look. I told Angela, “It’s a picture of you speaking on stage.” and she softly replied, “It sure is.” She talked briefly with Z., noting the details of the picture, including the plant next to the podium and a piece of a projection camera that Z. described as “that digital thing.” Angela accepted the gift from Z. and put it down on the table as I presented a book that I asked her to sign. The book was a 1984 International Publishers volume of work by Clara Zetkin that includes a foreword by Angela. Although I have several of books by Angela, this volume has been a favorite of mine for many years. She kind of chuckled when she saw the book, asking, “How long have you had this?” We talked for just a few seconds about some common interests and acquaintances, but my nervousness persisted and I didn’t get the chance to articulate some of the things I wanted share. I wanted to tell her some funny things, like how I read aloud to the girls from Marcuse’s One Dimensional Man when they are slow to finish their dinner. I wanted to tell her how I recommend her book Women, Race and Class to people whenever I get the chance. I had hoped to share a bit about my own activism and work in a variety of forums and media. But I knew time was fleeting and I couldn’t really gather the wherewithal to come across as anything less than a star-struck admirer.

I then asked if Z. and I could have a picture taken with her and she kindly agreed. Z. walked in front of Angela to pose for the picture and Angela looked down at her and said, “Do you want to come up here?” Then Angela Davis — legendary 60’s radical, former Black Panther, two-time candidate for Vice President on the CPUSA ticket and a worldwide icon of militant struggle — put her hands under Z.’s arms and hoisted her up to the table for the picture.

It was a simple gesture, really...But everyone around us seemed to be moved by it. The experience cast and indelible imprint on my mind as to the compassion and attention to detail which drives true revolutionaries in their efforts improve conditions for everyone regardless of the various minor differences that often divide us. The moment reminded me of one of my favorite quotes by Che Guevara in which he proclaims:

...the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.

Once the photograph was snapped, we said our goodbyes and the night came to an end. Although Z. is too young to grasp the significance of what she heard and experienced, we now have a wonderful picture to commemorate our evening with Angela Davis. Someday, when Z. is old enough to learn about Angela’s life and work, I’m sure she will appreciate the time we shared with Angela. It is my sincere hope that moments like this will encourage our children — the new generation and the future of social development and change — to make their mark on history as they work to make the world a better place.

Click on the picture to view a larger image

Lessons from the Old School: A Look Back with "Leaping" Lanny Poffo

Mike — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:05:00 -0500

My new pal "M" from the sports website Bleacher Report has graciously permitted greeklish.org to post his recent article on ICW and "Leaping" Lanny Poffo. The article was voted Bleacher Report's Pick of the Day" for February 25, 2009. I am a huge fan of both Lanny Poffo and the illustrious "M".

Part One: Love for the "Old School"

Over the course of last few years, I have finally come to the realization that no matter how old I get, I will never outgrow my love for professional wrestling. Like most longtime fans, I became hooked as a kid and my interest lasted well into my teenage years. As a young adult, my attention shifted to more important things. I got married, landed a real job, started a family, and pursued some post-college studies as well as some other endeavors. I pretty much missed out on most of the "Attitude Era" and the original ECW promotion but then again, I was having a pretty good time doing some grown-up things during those years.

Somewhere along the way to my new life as a responsible adult, I got sucked back in to the world of wrestling. My enthusiasm for the spectacle of pro wrestling came back stronger than ever several years ago and ever since then, I've been almost powerless to fight it. It's like I've been caught in a mental hammerlock of sorts. So here I am, a grown man with children of my own and I'm watching hours and hours of wrestling every week, buying action figures and DVDs, and reading news and gossip on Internet wrestling forums.

I think I realized wrestling had become an obsession for me the day I heard my two young daughters trying to sing Rey Mysterio's theme song. The funny thing of it was that they couldn't figure out the line "Booyaka, booyaka, 6-1-9" and it somehow came out as "Hoolika, hoolika, one State Farm..." That's the truth, folks. Funny stuff, indeed.

Anyway, I am certainly enjoying some aspects of today's pro wrestling scene and I have spent a few years getting caught up on what I missed in the mid to late 1990s. However, there's a big part of me that longs for the "good old days" when pro wrestling was still considered to be a sport and the rule of something called "kayfabe" still prevailed. I miss the decidedly low-tech entrances, the full-on shoot-style promos and the smash-mouth, in-your-face style of the local organizations and the regional territories. I'm talking about the "old school," people.

When I was about 10 years old, my family moved to central Kentucky. Up to that point, I was largely unfamiliar with pro wrestling. I think my dad had taken my older brother and me to a live event at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia a few years earlier, but this was a special occasion. We hadn't really seen wrestling on a regular basis on television before then. I vaguely recall that Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and Andre the Giant were on the card that night, but I was too young to appreciate it all. That would all change a few years later.

Central Kentucky was a hotbed of pro wrestling activity in the early 1980s. The two dominant promotions in the area were Jerry Lawler's Championship Wrestling out of Memphis, Tennessee promotion and Angelo Poffo's International Championship Wrestling (ICW). My brother and I picked up on the action pretty quickly. I'm almost positive that the first televised wrestling show I ever saw was an episode of ICW in which "Pistol" Pez Whatley had to wear a mop on his head as a consequence for losing a big match. The studio audience kept chanting "Mop head! Mop head! Mop head!" at Pez and the louder they yelled, the angrier he became, stamping his feet and swinging the mop around on his head. It is fair to say that with this episode, my youthful curiosity was piqued. I was completely and utterly hooked.

Lawler's Championship Wrestling was a great show, but it was ICW that really captivated me. In fact, some of the kids in our neighborhood started calling me "ICW" because I talked so much about the show (and also probably because they never bothered to learn my real name).

ICW was an exciting show with a brilliant talent roster. "Macho Man" Randy Savage, the son of Angelo Poffo, was one of the biggest stars to come out of the promotion, but in its heyday, ICW featured an impressive collection of seasoned veterans and rising stars. Ox Baker, Ronnie Garvin, "Iron" Mike Sharp, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, The Great Kabuki and Elizabeth Hulette (Miss Elizabeth) all worked in ICW at one time or another.

"Leaping" Lanny Poffo, also the son of promoter Angelo Poffo, was another prominent "main eventer" for ICW. Although Lanny is probably best known for his run in the WWF as the poetic professor "The Genius," he spent a number of years at the top of the card on television shows and at packed venues throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, and other southern states.

Lanny established himself as a dynamic athlete and performer during his years with ICW. His expertise as a technical wrestler and his unique acrobatic abilities made it possible for Lanny to hold his own with some of the larger wrestlers and legendary talents of the day.

His cerebral approach to promotional spots made his microphone work seem more like legitimate theater and less like the vitriolic tirades that are most commonly associated with "sports entertainment."

Lanny was one of the most popular babyface wrestlers on the ICW roster for the better part of the promotion's existence. When ICW folded in 1984, Lanny and his brother Randy Savage went to Championship Wrestling. Managed by the villainous Tux Newman, they wrought havoc throughout the promotion, engaging in long and bloody feuds with the region's biggest talents, including Jerry Lawler and the legendary Fabulous Ones.

Part Two: Reminiscing with Lanny Poffo

As a young wrestling fan, I was absolutely thrilled to follow Lanny's exploits week after week, and I followed his career with great interest for many years. I recently caught up with Lanny through his official website and asked him to spend a few moments reflecting on his early days with ICW and Championship Wrestling. He was kind enough to answer a some questions via e-mail for this article.

M: Lanny, these days it seems that a lot of wrestling historians like to refer to International Championship Wrestling as an "outlaw" promotion. Of course, this has a lot to do with the fact that ICW was not affiliated with NWA, but in your opinion was there anything else that made the promotion stand out from those of the neighboring territories?

Lanny: The word outlaw implies that running a rival wrestling promotion is illegal. The NWA was an attempt at a monopoly which is illegal. Most of those promoters died broke anyway. Crime doesn't pay.

M: By some accounts, the ICW roster was prone to letting fights spill over out of the ring. I have even read accounts of real life run-ins and parking lot brawls with wrestlers from the Memphis Championship Wrestling promotion. What was the ICW locker room like during the heyday of the promotion?

Lanny:    I was in the babyface locker room. We had Ronnie Garvin, Bob Roop, George Weingeroff, El Bracero, Rick McCord, and others. Our locker room was very happy. Those guys had personality.

M: One of my favorite memories of ICW was your epic feud with "Hustler" Rip Rogers. The buildup to the steel cage, hair vs. hair match at Rupp Arena was tremendous. As you likely recall, your match was the second main event for the evening with the first main event being a bloody cage match between Ratamyus and Randy Savage. To my mind, this was the peak of your run with ICW. What are your reflections on being in the main event that night and was this the pinnacle of your success with ICW or were there other moments that you think were more important?

Lanny:    According to Mick Foley's book, Rip Rogers was the best worker who never made it. That was true. Rip Rogers was a great athlete and a great worker. He never made it because he was too weird even for this business. That's a quote from his book. I agree.

Rupp Arena has a lot of prestige. It also has a lot of expenses. It's a beautiful building but I'm only interested in the bottom line. We did better when we wrestled in Henry Clay High School and let their boosters club sell tickets. That may not seem quite as glamorous, but profits are better than losses when you're living in the real world.

M: When you moved to Championship Wrestling, you adjusted quickly to a "heel" role. I remember one particular promo in which you wore a suit of armor and stood on a hillside reciting a funny poem about Jerry Lawler. When I go back now and look at footage from your Memphis years, it seems as though you were laying the groundwork for the "Genius" character you portrayed during your run in the WWF. How different was the creative process in the territories compared to your time in the WWF?

Lanny:    Not being ugly or crazy looking was a handicap as a heel. I had to go for outlandish ideas.

M: Did the poetry that you wrote come naturally or was it difficult to come up with new and interesting verses week after week? How was it that you came upon the poetic side of your in-ring persona?

Lanny:    I met Shel Silverstein twice in my life. He inspired me to write. In the WWF, I had a handicap named chief Jay Strongbow. He knew who I was going to wrestle on TV but never let me know in advance so I could have more time to write a better poem. When I asked him about this he said. "I don't like your gimmick!" It wasn't a gimmick. It was real. His name is Joe Scarpa. He's Italian. He's not an Indian. that is a gimmick.

M: Your in-ring style has always involved an intriguing mixture of traditional wrestling holds and fast-paced acrobatics. This really helped you to stand out in territories that favored mat-oriented grappling and smash-mouth brawling. How do you think the "Leaping Lanny" character would fare against today's high flying superstars like Rey Mysterio?

Lanny:    In no way do I consider myself the talent that Rey Mysterio is. The bar has been raised. I'm from the '80s. He's the man.

M: On your official website, you discuss your recent endeavors, including your work as a motivational speaker and an author. Would you care to share a bit more regarding your post-wrestling endeavors?

Lanny:    I have a tuxedo and love to speak. I'm in my element. It's my way to make a difference.

M: Thanks very much for taking the time to reminisce with a dedicated fan. Your unique contributions to the spectacle of professional wrestling have given many of us some terrific memories. I wish you the best of luck in all that lies ahead.

Lanny:    Wrestling's been very good to me!

To visit with Lanny and to learn a little bit about his past and present adventures, visit his official website, www.lannypoffo.com. To learn more about the history of International Championship Wrestling, visit the Kayfabe Memories ICW history archive.

Extra special thanks to Ray for some much-needed editorial assistance.

This article is for my older brother. I am grateful that he never seriously injured me in all our attempts to duplicate our favorite old school moments.

Announcing...Erythrós Press and Media

Mike — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:01:00 -0500

Those of you who are regular visitors to greeklish.org have probably noticed that these days I don’t post articles as frequently as I have in years past. This is certainly not for lack of interest or because things are boring at our end. In fact, things have been pretty busy here, as we have been hard at work launching our new endeavor, Erythrós Press and Media.

Erythrós Press and Media offers publishing, web design and media distribution services to individuals and groups. We specialize in serving nonprofit organizations and politically progressive groups and causes.

We officially launched our new web site earlier this week and we are now actively promoting a variety of current and forthcoming projects. We are especially thrilled to offer the long awaited book The Great Anger, Ultra-Revolutionary Writing in France from the Atheist Priest to the Bonnot Gang. This work is a softcover anthology of texts and essays edited and translated by Mitchell Abidor. The Great Anger is published by Marxists Internet Archive Publications, a new subsidiary of Marxists Internet Archive.

Please visit Erythrós Press and Media online and support our new projects!

CM Punk: The future is here!

Mike — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:14:00 -0500

If you woke up this morning asking yourself, "Does Mike still think CM Punk is awesome?" then I am here to tell you that the answer is a resounding "YES!"

On the January 19 edition of Monday Night Raw, CM Punk beat William Regal to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The match was not as thrilling as Punk's September 2007 victory over John Morrison for the ECW title, but there were some pretty amazing moments, including the scary sight of Punk landing almost head-first after a "counter" by Regal that looked kind of like a botched Dragon Suplex. The sight of Punk's head hitting the mat was reminiscent of the time when Chris Benoit accidentally broke Sabu's neck during a match back in the glory days of the original ECW. Punk's finishing move, known as "Go To Sleep" or "GTS," is still my favorite finishing move in pro wrestling and it was a terrific end to the match with Regal.

Punk's win has been the subject of some debate over the question of whether or not he has actually made wrestling history with the quickest "Triple Crown" victory in WWE history. But irrespective of which side you favor in that particular debate, one thing that's clear is that this guy is making his mark in the industry. CM Punk is the future of professional wrestling.

CM Punk wins the Intercontinental Championship

Mixtape Mixdown: Ultimate Venom

Mike — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:24:00 -0500

Venom's 2008 Album
Hell

A few years ago, the band Slayer released a career retrospective box set called Soundtrack to the Apocalypse. I kind of lost interest in Slayer a short time after I started college many years ago but I still remember seeing the box set in record stores right after it was released. I was intrigued by the rather lofty title of the collection, but not enough to actually spend a crapload of money to buy it at the retail price (After reading the Amazon.com reviews for it, I think I made the right decision). Anyway,a few months ago, I was picking up our yard the morning after the remnants of Hurricane Ike had blown through Ohio. I had just purchased Venom's most recent album Hell on CD a day earlier, literally hours before the windstorm hit. As I cranked the volume on my portable CD player, I looked the dark sky above and all of the destruction around me and I thought, "If any there was ever a band that could write a soundtrack to the apocalypse, it’s got to be Venom." It's the freakin' truth.

Over the last few years, I have acknowledged my admittedly strange affection for Venom a number of times on greeklish.org. I've also written a bit on my penchant for mixtapes now and again. But after over two decades as a Venom fan and the creation dozens upon dozens of eclectic mixtapes and CD compilations, it is almost unbelievable that I have never even tried to compile an Ultimate Venom collection. Until now, that is. Indeed, I have finally created the true "soundtrack to the apocalypse."

I tried to make Ultimate Venom a single-disc compilation, but there is just no way to contain the awesomeness of this band, so I ended up with a 2 CD set at the end of it all. I have pretty much every major Venom album at my disposal, including the Tony Dolan stuff, but I limited my selections for Ultimate Venom to the Cronos-fronted albums because it's his voice and lyrics that have made Venom a legendary force in heavy metal. In addition to all of the studio albums, I also have the Venom box set MMV (one of my favorite Christmas gifts ever!) as well as a bunch of live CDs and videotapes. As much as I love the live performances, I pretty much stuck to the studio albums for this compilation because the production quality on the live stuff is somewhat less than stellar.

Before spelling out my track listing for disc one of Ultimate Venom, I have one last caveat for folks that are not really hip to Venom or to heavy metal in general: Venom is an act. It's like watching a scary horror movie or hearing a dirty joke. It's just not the kind of thing that anyone should take too seriously. The band members themselves have acknowledged this time and time again in their self-deprecating jokes about being "the worst band in the world" and their attempts at "killing music." Now if you’re easily shocked or offended, then Venom isn't the band for you. But if you don't mind being a just a little uncomfortable now and again and you're up for a good creep-fest, by all means, check ‘em out.

Hail Venom!

Ultimate Venom, Disc One: Life Death, Immortality

Cronos, still rocking hard
after 30 years!

I went all-out on this compilation, coming up with some special artwork for the CD labels (more on that in the track listing for Disc Two) and giving each CD in the set its own title. Disc One is called Life, Death, Immortality after a line in the lyrics of "Burstin' Out": Hell has granted me three wishes/Life, death, immortality. The line seems to be drawn from the full title of Edward Young's 18th century Christian apologetic, Night Thoughts on Life, Death and Immortality. I have a small cache of antiquarian volumes of Night Thoughts. I started collecting them after I read a story about Robespierre's love for the work. He was supposedly so taken with Night Thoughts that he slept with a copy of the book under his pillow during the French Revolution.

Track listing

1.   Intro
2.   Bloodlust from the 1997 album Cast In Stone (Ltd. Edition Bonus CD)
1996 was a great year for me. Thomai and I got married, which was the best thing that happened that year (of course). '96 was also a year in which there was a kind of "reunion fever" going on in the music world. The biggest reunion of them all was the Kiss "Alive/Worldwide" Tour, which featured a return to glory (and makeup) for all four original band members. It was a huge deal for sure and it certainly lived up to its hype, although it's too bad that the band couldn't stick it out and stay together indefinitely. Around the same time of the much-anticipated Kiss reunion, Venom announced its own reunion of the vintage lineup, featuring the complete power trio of Cronos, Mantas and Abbadon. I think I first found out about the reunion when I saw the cover of a UK metal magazine called Terrorizer. The news was almost every bit as big as the Kiss reunion to me.

Cast In Stone was the only post-reunion studio album featuring the original lineup. In addition to a powerful collection of new tracks, the first issue of the CD included a bonus disc full of new versions of Venom classics. All too often, bands fall short when they try to "update" their best work for re-release, but the bonus disc for Cast in Stone is so fierce and so tremendous that I think it's safe to say that Venom really outdid itself with the new versions. After decades of listening to heavy metal, I honestly consider the "Intro" track from the bonus disc to be the greatest heavy metal intro track ever. Slayer's introduction to Hell Awaits is a close second, but the magnitude and complexity of the Venom track makes it so much better. There is so much stuff going on in the track, from the air-raid sirens to the haunting chants, rolling thunder and mysterious voices...It's the perfect crescendo that concludes with the demonic intro: "Ladies and Gentlemen! From the very depths of Hell...VENOM!" What a great way to start an album!

From the "Intro" track, Venom slams into "Bloodlust," which originally appeared on the Black Metal album. It's a savage, driving track that was always one of my favorites. I know Venom used to end their live sets with this song, but I always thought it would be a great way to kick off a show.

3.   In League With Satan
4.   Welcome To Hell from the 1981 album Welcome To Hell
I think the first time I ever heard "In League with Satan," I was listening to the compilation album The Singles: 80-86. I was totally freaked out by the drums that start out the track because they sounded to bizarre...almost unearthly in a way. It was kind of like they're being played backwards, but they weren't being played backwards at all. Really difficult to explain. The song itself reminds me of the 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which was something of a mainstream, goth-meets-gore creepshow. "Welcome to Hell" is just a straight-out great Venom track that sounds something like Black-Sabbath-influenced punk rock.

5.   Black Metal
6.   Countess Bathory from the 1981 album Black Metal
Black Metal was the first full-length venom album I ever bought. I think that was back in 1989 or so. That metallic scraping, static-like noise at the beginning of the track really makes the song stand out to me. I always kind of figured that is the sound you would hear if you were actually going to Hell or something like that. "Countess Bathory" was the second Venom song I ever heard. The first time I heard the song was when I was watching the Ultimate Revenge: Combat Tour Live home video. The clip on that compilation was from Venom's Seventh Date of Hell concert video. "Countess Bathory" has one of simplest Mantas solos ever. I'm not sure how many distinct notes are played in the solo, but I am guessing it's less than 10. The underlying riff throughout the song is probably one of my favorite metal riffs of all time.

Venom's 1995 Album
Possessed

7.   Satanachist from the 1985 album Possessed
8.   Nightmare (12" Mix) from the 1985 album Possessed (bonus track from UK reissue)
In the liner notes to Dave Grohl's 2004 Probot album, he said this about Venom: "Few bands have ever sounded truly haunted." I bet Dave was thinking about the intro to "Satanachist" when he wrote that. I first heard both of these songs on the Alive in '85 home video. Buying that video is a great memory for me. This was way back in the days before Internet shopping and I had to place a special order through a local video store. The day I went to pick it up, the clerk got it out from behind the counter, looked at the cover and then he looked at me as if to say, "Really?" Really, dude. I played the bejeezus out of that video and then one day I loaned it to someone and he moved away. It was a long time until I could score another one. I landed my new copy in about 1998 or so. It was the one of the first things I ever bought off eBay.

9.   Burstin' Out from the album Cast In Stone [Ltd. Edition Bonus CD]
I think I was a junior in high school the first time I heard "Burstin’ Out" and when I listened to the lyrics, I was like, "Ew. Should I be listening to this?" That was something like 20 years ago and I’m still listening to it.

10.   Possessed (Remix) from the 1985 album Possessed (bonus track from UK reissue)
"Possessed" is an incredible creep-fest of a song that includes some kind of weird introduction featuring a child's voice mumbling something unintelligible through some kind of heavy echo and reverb effects. I think it's one of the kids featured on the album cover photo. Possessed has the distinction of being dubbed Venom's worst album ever by critics. But what do "critics" know, anyway?

11.   Sons Of Satan from the 1981 album Welcome To Hell
"Sons of Satan" is a tremendous, jarring juggernaut of a song. The song actually kicks off Welcome to Hell, which was their 1981 debut album. It's got a lot of fantastic elements, including a fiery, tremolo-laden guitar solo and some classic moments courtesy of Cronos, such as his cry of "Crank it up!" right before the solo and his "Wooo-ooo!" before the final cacophonic flourish.

12.   The Chanting Of The Priests from the 1987 album Calm Before The Storm
This a great song off of what is likely my least favorite Venom album. I think it was their first and only single off the album. There's a good live version of it on the Eine Kleine Nachtmusic album.

13.   The Evil One from the 1997 album Cast In Stone
"The Evil One" is the first track on Venom's only post-reunion album. This song was a great way to resurrect Venom as a band and as an act, as the song captures all of the elements of vintage Venom material while offering a bigger, bolder and more furious sound. Just a terrific song.

14.   Witching Hour from the 1981 album Welcome To Hell
"Witching Hour" is my favorite Venom song ever and the first Venom song I ever heard. I wrote a whole lot about this song in my "25 Favorites" series a while back.

15.   Too Loud (For The Crowd) from the 1985 album Possessed
I have always loved "Too Loud (For The Crowd)" because they opened the 1985 Hammersmith show (presented in the Alive in '85 video) with this song. The studio version includes clips of the on-stage banter from the concert.

The track listing for Disc Two is coming soon! Consider yourself warned.