Author: icsswpadmin

What are the motives and likely effects of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan? We will be looking at these questions in the light of the interlocking crises of the US empire, US capitalism and the US Democratic Party. We will start the discussion with short presentations by Gene Ruyle, Veterans for Peace and ICSS, Raj Sahai of ICSS, and David Ewing, Chair of the US-China Friendship Society.

‘The canonical accounts of Lenin’s last writings accept the version that Lenin left a “testament” that included a number of negative remarks about Joseph Stalin, and that Lenin wished to remove Stalin from the position of General Secretary of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolshevik). This version stems partly from Leon Trotsky, who embraced it eagerly in his campaign to replace Stalin as Party leader; partly from Lenin’s wife Nadezhda Krupskaya; and partly from Nikita Khrushchev and the Khrushchev-era last edition of Lenin’s works, the Polnoe Sobranie Sochinenii (“Complete Collection of Writings”), or PSS.
Professor Valentin A. Sakharov of Moscow State University conducted extensive research in the 1990s on this subject. His 2003 book, Lenin’s “Political Testament”, published by Moscow State University Press, is the result of years of access to and study of many of the archival copies of Lenin’s works, drafts of those works, and originals of other important documents related to the question of Lenin’s “testament.”

A new book by Professor Grover Furr concludes that Lenin’s so-called “Testament” is a fraud, same as Skharov reached earlier and is largely based on that research. The new book by Prof. Furr also examines the role Leon Trotsky, Lenin’s wife N. Krupskaya and his sister Maria Ulyanova played in this fraud. Further, it reveals the errors and falsehoods in the book ‘Lenin’s Last Struggle’ by the late historian Moshe Lewin. Furr’s book also analyzes the role of Lenin’s wife.

On Feb 4, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with China’s President Xi Jinping at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing They released a 5000-word document, “Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on the International Relations Entering a New Era and the Global Sustainable Development.” This document expresses the views of two of the world’s largest nuclear powers, both permanent members of the UN Security Council. As such, it merits full discussion and we are inviting a panel to lead our discussion.

1. Myth: Russia’s “Special Military Operation” (SMO) is an unprovoked war of conquest
2. Myth: Russia miscalculated its military strategy in its invasion of Ukraine Russia is losing the war.
3. Myth: the claim that Ukraine is natizified is a Russian propaganda ploy
4. Myth: the world is united against the “Russian aggression” in Ukraine, Russia is isolated and growing more isolated.
5. Myth: the economic sanctions against Russia are working, the Russian economy is a shambles, Putin is isolated, and the sanctions will eventually topple the “Putin regime”

Instead of an hour presentation followed by a discussion, we will split the session into discussions of each of the above US-Narrative talking points, one by one. Several of us will prepare and briefly comment on one or more of the above narrative talking points

Even the corporate press pronounced Biden’s recent Summit of the Americas meeting in Los Angeles as a flop, while the balance between red states (and we don’t mean Republican) and blue states south of the Rio Grande is tipping to the left. Most recently, Colombia elected its first left leaning president, following similar victories in Chile, Peru, and Honduras, which in turn followed Bolivia, Argentina, and Mexico. And the frontrunner in Brazil’s presidential contest slated for October is a leftist. Meanwhile Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela – countries led by explicitly socialist parties – remain in the crosshairs of US imperialism, suffering from severe sanctions also known as unilateral coercive measures. What does this mean for US hegemony?

Speaking will be Roger Harris who is with the Task Force on the Americas, on the executive committee of the US Peace Council, and active with the #FreeAlex Saab and Sanctions Kill campaigns. Roger recently returned from the Workers Summit on the Americas in Tijuana, which was organized as an alternative to Biden’s summit as a place where countries besieged by and barred from the US could participate and meet with militants from workers, peace, human rights, and solidarity organizations (see Roger’s June 17, 2022 article in Counterpunch at:

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/06/17/summit-of-the-americas-flops-while-workers-summit-exposes-cracks-in-the-imperial-facade/