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German Guerilla
archiving documents and analysis about the urban guerilla experience in the Federal Republic of Germany
The Red Army Faction, A Documentary History
Vol. 1 Projectiles for the People
Vol. 2: Dancing with Imperialism
Communiqués & Statements
red army faction
rough translations
You are here: Home › rough translations › "The Urban Guerrilla Is History…" The Final Communiqué From The Red Army Faction (RAF)
"The Urban Guerrilla Is History…" The Final Communiqué From The Red Army Faction (RAF)
March 1, 1998 | Filed under: rough translations, Uncategorized and tagged with: old translation
Almost 28 years ago, on May 14, 1970, the RAF was born from an act of liberation [1]: Today we are ending this project. The urban guerrilla in the form of the RAF is now history.
We, that is all of us who were organized in the RAF until the end, are taking this step jointly. From now on, we, like all others from this association, are former RAF militants.
We stand by our history. The RAF was the revolutionary attempt by a minority of people to resist the tendencies in this society and contribute to the overthrow of capitalist conditions. We are proud to have been part of this attempt.
The end of this project shows that we were not able to succeed on this path. But this does not speak against the necessity and legitimacy of revolt. The RAF was our decision to stand on the side of those people struggling against domination and for liberation all across the world. For us, this was the right decision to make.
Hundreds of years in prison terms for RAF prisoners were not able to wipe us out, nor could all the attempts to eradicate the guerrilla. We wanted a confrontation with the ruling powers. We acted as subjects when we decided upon the RAF 27 years ago. We remain subjects today, as we consign ourselves to history.
The results are critical of us. But the RAF – like all of the left until now – was nothing more than a phase of transition on the path to liberation.
After fascism and war, the RAF brought something new into the society: The moment of a break with the system and the historic flash of decisive opposition to the conditions which structurally subject and exploit people and which brought about a society in which the people are forced to fight against one another. The struggle in the social cracks, which marked our opposition, pushed a genuine social liberation forward; this break with the system, a system in which profit is the subject and people are the objects, and the desire for a life without the lies and weight of this distorted society. Fed up with stooping down, functioning, kicking, and being kicked. From rejection to attack, to liberation.
The RAF Arose From The Hope For Liberation
Backed by the courage which emanated from the guerrillas from the South to the rich nations of the North, the RAF came about in the early 1970s in solidarity with liberation movements in order to take up a common struggle. Millions of people saw in the struggles of resistance and liberation around the globe a chance for themselves as well. The armed struggle was a hope for liberation in many parts of the world. In Germany, too, tens of thousands of people were in solidarity with the struggles of the militant organizations Second of June Movement [2], the Revolutionary Cells (RZ) [3], the RAF, and later Rote Zora [4]. The RAF came about as a result of the discussions of thousands of people in Germany who began to think about armed struggle as a means to liberation in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The RAF took up the struggle against the state, a state which had never broken with its national-socialist past following the liberation from Nazi fascism.
The armed struggle was a rebellion against an authoritarian form of society, against alienation and competition. It was a rebellion for a new social and cultural reality. In the euphoria of the global attempts at liberation, the time was right for a decisive struggle which seriously aimed at overturning and no longer accepting the pseudo-natural legitimacy of the system.
With the 1975 occupation of the German embassy in Stockholm [5], the RAF launched a phase during which it did everything possible to liberate its prisoners from jail.
First came the "1977 Offensive", during which the RAF kidnapped Schleyer [6]. The RAF posed the question of power. This began a radical and decisive attempt to push through an offensive position for the revolutionary left against the state power. It was exactly this which the state wanted to prevent. The explosive escalation of the conflict, however, also came against the background of German history: The continuity of Nazism in the West German state, which the RAF attacked with its offensive.
Schleyer, a member of the SS during the Nazi regime, was, like many Nazis in all levels of society, back in office with all his honor intact. Nazis built careers in the West German state in government positions, the courts, the police apparatus, the armed forces, the media, and in major corporations. These anti-Semites, racists, and genocidal murderers were often times the same people responsible for crimes against humanity under the Nazis, and now they were back among the powerful elite.
Schleyer worked towards the ends of the Nazis and the capitalists to create a European economic region under German dominance. The Nazis had wanted a Europe in which there were neither struggles between industrial workers and capital nor any resistance whatsoever to their system. They wanted to end the class struggle by utilizing German workers or workers who could "be made like Germans" and incorporating them into their society. All others were to be enslaved to forced labor or systematically destroyed in concentration camps.
With the liberation from Nazi fascism came the end of the industrial destruction of people by the Nazis, but there was no liberation from capitalism. After 1945, Schleyer worked towards the same economic goals – in a more modernized form. The push towards modernization came with the social democratic model of the 1970s. As the chief of industry, Schleyer was continually building up a system to contain social resistance to the conditions of capital – for example, by locking out workers – and to integrate workers into the system by means of negotiated contracts for social security. This integration was meant to incorporate the German portion of the society most of all, meanwhile capital increasingly exploited immigrant workers and, at the global level, dominated and exploited the people of the southern hemisphere, which resulted in massive destruction from hunger. The continuity of the system which Schleyer embodied – in the 1970s during the period of the social democratic model – was a crucial moment in the building and development of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Absolute Necessity To Approve Of All Measures Enacted By The Crisis Staff And The Repression Of All Critical Voices, Going So Far As To Try And Eliminate The Political Prisoners – These Were The Same Reactionary Techniques Utilized By The Nazis
The actions of the 1977 offensive made it clear that there were elements in the society which would in no way be integrated into or controlled by the system. After the Nazis had eliminated the resistance, the actions of the urban guerrilla groups after 1968 marked a return to a moment of class struggle, no longer integrated to the ruling powers, in post-fascist West Germany. The abduction of Schleyer heightened this aspect even more. The state did not by any means react with panic, as has often been said. The state reacted by suppressing all forms of expression which did not support the state of emergency measures. The state ordered all media to follow the line of the Crisis Staff, which most willingly did. All who refused risked a confrontation with the system. Intellectuals, who everyone knew did not sympathize with the RAF, but who nonetheless contradicted the state of emergency, were no longer safe from smear campaigns and repression. The members of the government's Crisis Staff, some of whom had military backgrounds, reacted with the same means in 1977 as the Nazis had done – although the Nazis, of course, went to a far greater degree of barbarity – to prevent and wipe out anti-capitalist and anti-fascist struggles. Under Nazi fascism, and in 1977, the state's policies were aimed at eliminating any space between total loyalty to the state in an emergency situation on the one side and repression on the other.
When it became more clear that the state was prepared to abandon Schleyer, the RAF gave its approval for a civilian airliner to be hijacked in a guerrilla action as part of its own offensive, and this made it appear as though the RAF no longer differentiated between the top and bottom sectors of the society. Although the attempt to free the prisoners from torture was justified, the social-revolutionary dimension of the struggle was now no longer visible. From the break with the system and the rejection of the conditions in the society – the preconditions for any revolutionary movement – had come a break with the society as a whole.
From The 1970s To The 1980s
The RAF had gambled everything and suffered a huge defeat. In the process of struggle until the end of the 1970s, it became clear that the RAF was left with just a few people from the period of the 1968 upheavals. Many people from the '68 movement had given up on movement politics and used their chances to build careers. The RAF, as part of the global anti-imperialist struggle, had taken up the war of liberation within West Germany. The year 1977 had shown, however, that the RAF had neither the political nor the military strength to direct the situation after the subsequent reaction, the domestic war. It was right to make use of the historical situation at the beginning of the 1970s and open a new and previously unknown chapter of struggle in the metropoles in the fight between imperialism and liberation. The experiences of the defeat of 1977 revealed the limitations of the old urban guerrilla concept of the RAF. There needed to be a new concept of liberation.
The front concept [7] of the 1980s was an attempt to achieve this. The RAF wanted new ties and a basis for a joint struggle with radical segments of the resistance movements which had arisen in the late 1970s. But the front concept held on to many of the basic notions of the old project from the 1970s. Armed actions remained the central focus and the decisive moment of the revolutionary process, which was seen as a war of liberation.
The Anti-Imperialist Front Of The 1980s
In the early 1980s, there were several struggles directed against inhumane projects of the system, but which were also expressions of the search for free forms of living. A social revolt which sought a new social reality, now.
Thousands of people from these new movements went onto the streets in the 1980s to protest the same thing which the RAF sought to attack since 1979: The militarization policies of the NATO states, which would enable the West to wage "one and a half" wars simultaneously, the war against the Soviet Union and, at the same time, warlike interventions against liberation movements and revolutions, like in Nicaragua [8], where the first step towards liberation from Western dictatorship had been taken.
The RAF assumed that they would not be alone during this new phase. The concept was fueled by the hope that militant sectors of various movements would join a common front. But this concept failed to recognize that, in the given social situation, only very few people saw any purpose in a liberation struggle on the level of a war. The liberation struggle, whose central moment is that of war, only makes sense when there is a possibility that there are forces in the society who are willing to take it up and expand it – at the very least, the radical elements of the movements.
But even those who were in solidarity – and they were by no means few in number – did not take up the struggle with this in mind. A guerrilla war requires a perspective for expansion to a level of struggle. This is necessary for the existential development of the guerrilla, and we were not able to achieve this.
The RAF's notion of armed action at the focal point of the struggle placed less importance on the political and cultural processes outside of the political-military struggle. Overcoming this strategic direction, which had come from the fundamental structure of the concept in the 1970s, should have been a precondition for any new revolutionary project. The front could not become this new liberation project to remove the distinctions between the movements and the guerrilla.
In the 1980s, the RAF operated under the assumption that a social-revolutionary approach lay in the attacks on the central power structures of imperialism. With this approach, the RAF's politics became increasingly abstract. This led to a split of what should be united: anti-imperialism and social revolution. The social revolutionary outlook disappeared from the theory and praxis of the RAF. The orientation became reduced to the anti-imperialist line, and the result of this was the anti-imperialist front. The RAF was not a factor in social questions. This was a fundamental mistake.
Subsuming all social and political content under the anti-imperialist attack against the "entire system" produced false divisions instead of a process of unity; and it led to a lack of identity on concrete questions and the content of the struggle.
The resonance within the society remained limited, because the proposal to create consciousness in the society and to break the consensus between the state and the society – a central moment of any revolutionary process – disappeared. Instead, the RAF sought to destroy the state's dominance of control by increasing the intensity of its attacks. The priority shifted to the military dimension. This emphasis remained throughout the 1980s and it defined our struggle.
We carried out attacks against NATO projects as well as the military-industrial complex of capital, together with other guerrilla groups in Western Europe; an attempt was made to forge a West European Guerrilla Front comprised of the RAF, Action Directe in France, and the Red Brigades/PCC in Italy.
The RAF concentrated – as far as its strength allowed – on attacking NATO projects and, after 1984, the formation of a new power bloc by West European states. The focus remained on our own limited forces and those militants who closely identified with the RAF. The attempt to form a front with other groups from the resistance movement did not broaden into reality. For this reason, the front collapsed, because too much energy was spent on trying to adhere to the "correct" line. This narrow focus prevented any political dynamic from being created. Instead of a new horizon, which seemed possible given the variety of resistance in the early 1980s, the rigidness and narrowness of the politics increased as the decade wore on.
There was a great discrepancy between the willingness of RAF militants to give everything in the confrontation and the ability, at the same time, to seek new ideas for the process of liberation. In this respect, very little was risked.
During this time – the concept of the 1980s was by then a few years old already – there was also development on our side, which was characterized by demonstratively coldly driven politics, which was little more than "making politics", and which was far removed from anything having to do with liberation.
But this was also a time when the RAF and its prisoners, despite all the difficulties and defeats, showed with their determination that they had remained uncorrupted by the course of history and remained committed to changing the conditions against the will of the ruling powers. This gave others hope as well and drew in people who wanted to struggle for collectivity and togetherness and against isolation and loneliness in the society. The struggle by the prisoners against isolation detention and for their regroupment, their struggle for dignity and freedom, which other people longed for as well, was something many people could identify with. The determination and lack of compromise by the RAF and the prisoners against the ruling powers stood in the face of all attempts by the authorities to suppress all struggles for another way of living.
We, Most Of Whom Became Organized In The RAF Very Late…
…joined in the hope that our struggle could contribute new impulses for global revolt in the changed conditions. We sought changes for the liberation struggle, for a new path on which we could join ourselves with others. And we wanted to give something back to those who had taken up the struggle before us, and who had died or been sent to prison. The struggle in illegality had a very attractive affect on us. We wanted to break though our borders and be free of everything which confined us within the system.
Armed struggle in illegality was, for us, nothing more than the only possible and necessary way for the liberation process. But also, especially considering the crisis of the left all around the world, we wanted to further develop the urban guerrilla as a possibility and keep illegality as a terrain for the liberation process. But we recognized then that that alone would not be enough. The guerrilla, too, would have to change.
Our hope was to create new ties between the guerrilla and other sectors of the resistance in the society. To do this, we sought a new proposal, in which all struggles from the city neighborhoods to the guerrilla could stand together.
It Was Important For Us, Following The Collapse Of East Germany, To Bring Our Struggle In Tune With The New Existing Social Situation
We wanted to take steps to relate to all those people whose dreams had ended with the collapse of the GDR [9] and its annexation into West Germany. Some had realized that "real existing socialism" was not liberation after all. Others, who were part of the opposition to real existing socialism in East Germany, had dreamed of something different from either capitalism or real existing socialism. Most people who had lived in the GDR and who had demanded reunification with West Germany began to examine the new, depressing social situation which had come about, with social security measures having been drastically done away with. We wanted to relate to all those people, during this historical situation which was unknown to everyone, who had struggled for liberation in confrontation with the West German state and also those who were fed up with the racist and completely reactionary developments unfolding in the now non-existent East Germany. We did not want to abandon these people to resignation, or to the right-wing.
Later on we saw that the dimension of this change could only result in a new and internationalist liberation project if the new reality in both East and West were dealt with. The RAF, with its roots in the history of resistance in the old West Germany, could not achieve this.
The Attempt To Anchor The RAF In The 1990s Was An Unrealistic Proposal
We wanted to transform a concept which had arisen from the 1968 movement into a new, social revolutionary and internationalist concept in tune with the 1990s. This was a time when we sought for something new, but – weighed down by the dogmas of the past years – we did not go radically enough beyond the old concept. So we made the same mistakes which all of us made after 1977: We overestimated the support for this continuity of our conception of struggle. Fundamentally, the danger exists of discrediting armed struggle when it is maintained without explaining how it concretely advances the revolutionary process and leads to a strengthening of the liberation struggle. It is important to deal with this issue in a responsible manner, because otherwise the armed struggle becomes discredited – even for another situation, in which it is needed again.
The crisis, when the left reached its limits in the 1980s and began partially to disband, made our attempt to link the RAF into some new project an unrealistic proposal. We were much too late – even to transform the RAF after a period of reflection. Criticism and self-criticism do not aim at ending something, rather at further developing it. In short, the end of the RAF is not the result of our process of (self-)criticism and reflection, rather because it is necessary, because the concept of the RAF does not contain the necessary elements from which something new can arise.
When we examine this segment of our history today in light of the historical process in general, the attempt to bring the RAF back into a strong political process was more than anything just the prolongation of something which had long since had the perspective of a project at its end. We needed to realize that the form of struggle, above all else, was what had remained from the old concept. There was no new meaning, something which could offer a perspective of an alternative to the labor society and its inhumane, profit-oriented economy, something which could serve as the foundation for the liberation struggles of the future and bring many people together.
Following our defeat in 1993, we knew that we couldn't just keep going on as we had since we began the break with our struggle in 1992. We were sure that we had set the correct goals for ourselves, but that we had made some serious tactical mistakes. We wanted to think things over one more time with those who were in prison, and take a new step together.
But in the end, the very hurtful split of one group of the prisoners from us, who declared us to be enemies, completely erased the very conditions which had given rise to the RAF in the first place – solidarity and the struggle for collectivity [10].
The Process Of Our Own Liberation…
…was important to us, and yet we always seemed to become stagnant. We desired collectivity just as we desired the joint overcoming of all forms of alienation. But the contradiction between war and liberation often got pushed off or talked away by us. Revolutionary war also produces alienation and structures of authority, which is in contradiction to liberation. Dealing with that, so that it does not become established as a structure, is only possible if there is consciousness about it. Otherwise it goes without saying that new structures of authority will arise, as well as a hardening in both politics and relationships. That fact showed itself during the often changing hierarchical structures of the front in the 1980s and the authoritarian tendencies during the split in 1993. And it showed itself during the relapse into mainstream analysis and thought, which, in the history of the RAF, led to many people who struggled here no longer being able to see a justification for total revolt any longer.
It Was A Strategic Mistake Not To Build Up A Political-Social Organization Alongside The Illegal, Armed Organization
In no phase of our history was an outreaching, political organization realized in addition to the political-military struggle. The concept of the RAF knew only the armed struggle, with a focus on the political-military attack.
In the formative communiqués of the RAF up to the mid 1970s, this important question was never even posed, nor could it have been. In the metropoles in general, and especially in Germany, there was no previous experience with an urban guerrilla. Many things had be discovered and learned along the way, and shown to be true or false in practice. Nevertheless, there was never an orientation to the decisive question, whether the project of liberation can be fulfilled by an illegal organization and the armed struggle – or if the building up of the guerrilla should go hand in hand with the expansion of political structures which can grow in the base processes. In January 1976, our imprisoned comrades wrote about this, stating that only an armed struggle from illegality could be a practical-critical opposition to imperialism. The concept in the May 1982 paper [11] also maintained this position, despite all the contradictions and despite the fact that it was an attempt to find a new political association together with other people. Because this concept, too, did not break with the notion that the armed struggle should be central in the metropoles. The political activities which arose from the front process got bogged down in communicating the attacks within the structures of the radical left.
The lack of a political organization for more than 20 years resulted in the continual weakening of the political process. The over-estimation of the political-military actions in the metropoles of the last few decades was the precondition for this concept. The RAF based its strategy on armed struggle, in different ways during different phases, but at no point did it arrive at the point where militant actions aim at: The tactical option of a comprehensive liberation strategy. This weakness also led to the fact that our organization could not transform itself after two decades. The preconditions for placing the focus of the struggle on the political level – which is what we wanted to do in 1992 – were not at hand. But, in the end, that was simply the result of fundamental strategic mistakes. The lack of a political-social organization was a decisive mistake by the RAF. It wasn't the only mistake, but it's one important reason why the RAF could not become a stronger liberation project, and in the end the necessary preconditions were lacking to build up a fighting counter-movement searching for liberation, one which could have a strong influence on social developments. The mistakes inherent in the concept, such as these, which accompanied the RAF throughout its entire history show that the concept of the RAF can no longer be relevant in the liberation processes of the future.
The End Of The RAF Comes At A Time When The Whole World Is Confronted With The Effects Of Neo-Liberalism – The International Struggle Against Displacement, Alienation, And For A Just And Fundamentally Different Social Reality Is In Opposition To The Entire Development Of Capitalism
Global and inner-societal relations are becoming heightened in the turbulence of the historical developments following the end of real existing socialism. Nevertheless, it is not a contradiction for us to end our project while still recognizing the necessity that everything which is useful and possible must be done so that a world without capitalism can come about, one in which the emancipation of humanity can be realized. Considering the devastating effects of the collapse of real existing socialism world wide, and the mass poverty of millions of people in the former Soviet Union, it's not enough to talk today of the chances which have been brought about by the end of real existing socialism. Nevertheless, we recognize that true liberation was not possible under the model of real existing socialism. It is possible to draw consequences from the anti-emancipatory experiences with the authoritarian and state bureaucratic concepts of real existing socialism and to recognize future paths to liberation.
With the collapse of real existing socialism, the competition between systems ended, meaning that the proponents of the capitalist system no longer feel the need to make their system appear to be "better". In the absence of an ideological check on capital, a process of global unleashing of capital has resulted: All of humanity are to be subjected to the needs of capital. Neo-liberalism is the ideological and economic foundation for a world wide push towards optimization and the evaluation of people and nature according to the demands of capital. Representatives of the system call this "reform" or "modernization".
It is more than clear that the present stage of the development of the system will bring an overwhelming majority of humanity further social and existential difficulty. For the majority of the people in the world, neo-liberalism adds a new dimension to the threats on their lives.
In the struggle for political hegemony and economic power, only those economies survive which increasingly orient their capacities towards the blank profits of the corporations and an ever smaller segment of the society. The side effects of this system lead to deep changes within societies. Furthermore, increasing poverty and the increasing brutalization of a further unleashing of wars and barbarity. If their own economic and political interests are at stake, the rich nations will intervene in these conflicts with their own wars, in order to secure "unlimited access to raw materials" in the earth and to enhance their positions of power. They will never concern themselves with actually solving the problems of people, rather they wish to control the destruction which their system sets into motion so as to squeeze out profits for the few.
It is not a contradiction, rather it is a part of the logic of the system that transnational corporations are more powerful than ever, with larger profits than ever, in this phase of political systems in crisis all around the world, the breaking apart of societies, and the impoverishment of wider sectors of the metropolitan masses who had previously been spared from material problems.
Paradoxically, the successful maximization of profits by capital and the process of social collapse called forth by it seems to be pushing capitalism to its limits. This development threatens, above all else, to result in further outbreaks of barbarity: From the independent dynamic of system development, this negative process will continue, until such time as there is a proposal for liberation which can call forth a new force to overturn the system. But today, there is not only the defeat of the historic left and the violence of the global social relations, there is also a wealth of rebel movements who can draw on the experiences of the global history of resistance.
In this global development, capitalism, in the metropoles as well, tries to buy social peace by means of "welfare systems". Instead, however, increasingly large segments of the society become marginalized when they are no longer needed in the production process. The "world power" and the "welfare state" can no longer exist together under one roof. In Europe, for example, the old "welfare states" are coming under the political and economic hegemony of Germany, with Germany serving as a racist frontline state in an entire continent which is turning into a police state.
The police and military are deployed against those fleeing from poverty, war, and oppression. A society full of prisons. Cops and security forces tossing the homeless out of the consumer shopping areas, as well as youths and anyone else who upsets the regular customers and the bourgeoisie. The re-introduction of closed facilities as prisons for kids. The attempt to exert total control over refugees in the near future by means of computer chip cards, with other social groups coming later on. Police batons and weapons against the foreseeable revolts by those pushed to the edges. Exclusion, repression, and displacement. Even the total perfection of humans by means of genetic engineering can no longer be considered unthinkable.
Exclusion and repression through a lack of social feeling within the society as well is normal both here and elsewhere. Racism from below threatens the lives of millions, which in Germany is the murderous mark of the historical continuity which this society carries with it. The exclusion of handicapped persons from above and aggression against them from below are expressions of the day to day brutality of the society. Only people who don't contradict the efficiency of the economic system are desired, as well as anything which can be capitalized. Anything else which is outside of the needs of the capitalist society are given no place. The great many people who can no longer live here, or who no longer want to – and there are many people who chose to end their lives every day – speak of the emptiness of the system and the hardness in the society.
The marketing of people and the violence in the home and on the streets, these are the violence of suppression, the social coldness against others, the violence against women – all of these are expressions of patriarchal and racist conditions.
The RAF always stood in contradiction to the conscious mentality of a large segment of this society. That is a necessary moment in the process of liberation, because it's not only the conditions which are reactionary, rather the conditions produce reactionary character in people, and this continually suppresses their ability to become liberated. Without a doubt, it is a matter of existence to resist and fight against racism and all forms of oppression. Future outlines for liberation must be measured according to this, and they must find a key to unlocking the closed, reactionary consciousness and awakening the desire for emancipation and liberation.
The Reality Of The World Today Proves That It Would Have Been Better If The Global Wave Of Revolt, Which The RAF Was A Part Of, Had Been Successful
The global wave of revolt, which the RAF arose from as well, did not succeed, which does not mean that the destructive and unjust developments up until today can't still be turned around. The fact that we still don't see sufficient answers to these developments weighs more heavily upon us than the mistakes which we made. The RAF came from the revolts of the last decades, which did not exactly foresee how the system would develop, but which at least recognized the threat which it posed. We knew that this system would allow fewer and fewer people around the world to live their lives with dignity. And we also knew that this system seeks total access to people, so that they subjugate themselves to the values of the system and make them their own. Our radicalism sprung from these realizations. For us, we had nothing to lose with this system. Our struggle – the violence with which we resisted these relations – had a difficult, a heavy side. The liberation war has its shadows, too. Attacking people in their capacity as functionaries for the state is a contradiction to the thoughts and feelings of all revolutionaries in the world – it contradicts their notion of liberation. Even when there are phases in the liberation process when this is viewed as necessary, because there are people who desire injustice and oppression and who seek to defend their own power or the power of others. Revolutionaries desire a world in which no one has the right to decide who may live and who may not. Nevertheless, our violence upset some people in an irrational way. The real terror is the normality of the economic system.
The RAF Was Not The Answer For Liberation – It Was One Aspect Of It
Although many questions remain open today, we are sure that from the liberation ideas of the future the seed of free relations can arise, if it truly does embrace the variety which is needed to overturn the conditions. It is useless to speak of "the correct line", the aspect of life outside of which everything else seems inefficient, just as it is to seek a revolutionary subject. The project of liberation in the future will know many subjects and a variety of aspects and content, and this had nothing to do with being random. We need a new proposal in which seemingly very different individuals or social groups can be subjects, and yet still be together. In this sense, the liberation project of the future will not contain the old concepts of the German left since 1968, not those of the RAF or other groups. The joy of building an encompassing, anti-authoritarian, and yet binding organizing project of liberation lies before us still, sadly too little attempted up until now. We see that there are people all over the world who are trying this, to finds ways out of the vacuum.
We draw hope from the fact that everywhere, even in the most remote corners of this country – where the cultural hegemony of the fascist right is no longer a seldom thing – there are people who have the courage to join together against racism and neo-nazism, to defend themselves and others and to struggle.
It is necessary to recognize that we are at a dead end and we need to find ways out. So it makes sense to abandon things which can only be carried forward in a theoretical sense. Our decision to end something is the expression of our search for new answers. We know that we are joined with many other people around the world in this search.
There will be many future discussions until all the experiences have been brought together and we have a realistic and reflective picture of history.
We want to be part of a joint liberation. We want to make some of our own processes recognizable, and we want to learn from others.
This excludes the notion of a vanguard which leads the struggle. Although the concept of being the "vanguard" had been dropped from our understanding of the struggle for years, the old concept of the RAF would not allow this to be actually done away with. That's another reason why we had to cut ourselves loose from this concept.
The Guerrillas In The Metropoles Brought The War Back Into The Belly Of The Beast, To The Imperialist States Which Waged Their Wars Outside Their Own Centers Of Power
Despite everything which we could have done better, it was fundamentally correct to oppose the conditions in West Germany and to seek to wage resistance to the continuity of German history. We wanted to open up chances for revolutionary struggle in the metropoles as well.
The RAF took up its own social terrain of struggle and sought to develop it for more than two decades, a terrain which historically knew little resistance, lacked a movement against fascism, and which was characterized by a population loyal to fascism and barbarism. Unlike in other countries, in Germany, liberation from fascism had to come from the outside. There was no self-determined break with fascism "from below" here. There were very few people in this country who resisted fascism; too few with any trace of humanity. Those who struggled in the Jewish resistance, in the communist resistance – in whatever anti-fascist resistance – were right to struggle. And they will always be right. They were the few glimmers of light in the history of this country since 1933, when fascism began to kill off all that was social in this society.
In contrast to these people, the trend in this society was always more or less to accept what those in power said; authority determined what is legitimate. In the social destruction of this society, which was a precondition for the genocide by the Nazis, the indifference to any other essential moment remains today. The RAF broke with German tradition after Nazi fascism and refused to grant it any legitimacy. The RAF came from the revolt against it. It not only rejected this national and social continuity, it waged an internationalist struggle in place of this negation, a struggle whose praxis rejected the ruling conditions in the German state and attacked the military structures of its NATO allies. All over the world, this alliance, in whose hierarchy the USA was the driving force and the unquestioned leader, sought to defeat social rebellions and liberation movements by means of the military and war. The guerrillas in the metropoles brought the war, which the imperialists waged outside their centers of power, back into the belly of the beast.
We answered the violent conditions with the violence of revolt.
It is not possible for us to look back on a smooth and perfect history. But we tried to do something, and in doing so we overstepped many of the ruling powers' laws and the internalized boundaries of bourgeois society.
The RAF was not able to point out the path to liberation. But it contributed for two decades to the fact that there are still thoughts about liberation today. Putting the system in question was and still is legitimate, as long as there is dominance and oppression instead of freedom, emancipation, and dignity for everyone in the world.
There are nine former militants from the struggle of the RAF still in prison. Although the struggle for liberation is far from over, this conflict has become part of history. We support all efforts which seek to get the prisoners from this conflict out of prison upright.
At this time, we'd like to greet and thank all of those who offered us solidarity on our path for the past 28 years, who supported us in various ways, and who struggled together with us in the ways that they could. The RAF was determined to contribute to the struggle for liberation. This revolutionary intervention in this country and in this history would never have taken place if many people, not organized in the RAF themselves, hadn't given a part of themselves to this struggle. A common path lies behind all of us. We hope that we will all find ourselves together again on the unknown and winding paths of liberation.
Our thoughts are with all those around the world who lost their lives in the struggle against domination and for liberation. The goals which they strived for are the goals of today and tomorrow – until all relations have been overturned in which a person is but a lowly object, a downcast, abandoned, and contemptuous being. It is sad that so many gave their lives, but their deaths were not in vain. They live on in the struggles and the future liberation.
We will never forget the comrades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who lost their lives in the fall of 1977 in an act of internationalist solidarity, seeking to liberate the political prisoners. Today we would especially like to remember all those who chose to give their all to the armed struggle here, and who lost their lives.
Our memories and all our respect goes out to those whose names we do not know, because we never knew them, and to
Petra Schelm
Georg von Rauch
Thomas Weissbecker
Holger Meins
Katharina Hammerschmidt
Ulrich Wessel
Siegfried Hausner
Werner Sauber
Brigitte Kuhlmann
Wilfried Bose
Ulrike Meinhof
Jan-Carl Raspe
Gudrun Ensslin
Andreas Baader
Ingrid Schubert
Willi-Peter Stoll
Michael Knoll
Elisabeth van Dyck
Juliane Plambeck
Wolfgang Beer
Sigurd Debus
Johannes Timme
Jurgen Peemoeller
Ina Siepmann
Gerd Albartus
Wolfgang Grams
The revolution says:
I was
I will be again
N.B. All footnotes in this document were added by the translator and editor. None are originally from the RAF.
[1] On May 14th 1970 Andreas Baader was broken out of prison by by armed RAF members while he was on an educational visit to a library. It was the group's first claimed action. [return to text]
[2] The June 2nd Movement was a West Berlin guerilla group influenced by anarchism, active in the 1970s. In the 1980s it merged with the RAF. [return to text]
[3] The Revolutionary Cells were a decentralized guerilla movement which sought to act as an armed auxiliary to the autonomist left. [return to text]
[4] In the 1980s a feminist guerilla, Rote Zora, emerged, carrying out attacks on sex traders, businesses implicated in the exploitation of Third World women, and engaging in an extensive bombing campaign against bio-tech research facilities. [return to text]
[5] Stockholm – reference to the April 25, 1975 seizure of the German Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, by the 6 member Commando Holger Meins of the RAF. They demanded the release of 26 political prisoners, including the Stammheim prisoners. A police assault on the Embassy resulted in an explosion, which killed one guerrilla, Siegfried Hausner, and one hostage. (see http://www.germanguerilla.com/red-army-faction/documents/75-04-24.html) [return to text]
[6] Hanns-Martin Schleyer, a leading industrialist and former Nazi, was kidnapped by the RAF on September 5th 1977. His release was offered in exchange for that of RAF prisoners being held by the West German State. The state opted for a repressive hard line, and the situation escalated further when a Palestinian Commando hijacked a Lufthansa Airliner in support of the RAF's demands (and also demanding the release of two Palestinian political prisoners held in Turkey). The Palestinian "Commando Martyr Halimeh" flew the airplane from Bahrain to Dubai to Aden (where the pilot was shot) and then finally – on October 17th – they landed in Mogidishu (Somalia). The next day, on October 18th, the conflict reached its climax, as a West German anti-terrorist unit stormed the hijacked plane, killing three of the four hijackers. Left-wing houses were raided across West Germany. Most ominously, the State announced that four RAF prisoners – Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe, Gudrun Ensslin and Irmgard Möller – had been "found dead" or seriously injured in their cells. Only Möller survived, and despite the fact that to this day she has described having been attacked in her cell, the State maintains that the three committed "suicide". [return to text]
[7] In May 1982, the RAF released a paper which called for the building of an anti-imperialist front in Europe with the urban guerrilla as the vanguard. This paper can be viewed at http://www.germanguerilla.com/red-army-faction/documents/82_05.html. [return to text]
[8] Nicaragua – In 1979 a popular revolution in Nicaragua brought the left-wing Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (or Sandinistas) to power, forcing the US-backed dictador Anastasio Somoza to flee to Miami. Under the Reagan regime (1981-1989), the United States worked hard to destabilize the Sandinista regime (and this was one of the factors behind its defeat in 1990), arming and supplying right-wing mercenary armies, mining the harbour of Managua, and carrying out various covert operations. Nevertheless, the US never dared to directly invade the country. [return to text]
[9] GDR, the German Democratic Republic; East Germany. [return to text]
[10] In 1993 several prisoners from the RAF publicly broke from the organization over the question of negotiations with the State and the ceasfire. See http://www.germanguerilla.com/red-army-faction/documents/93_prisoners_split.html [return to text]
[11] In May 1982, the RAF released a paper which called for the building of an anti-imperialist front in Europe with the urban guerrilla as the vanguard. This paper can be viewed at http://www.germanguerilla.com/red-army-faction/documents/82_05.html. [return to text]
Inge Viett, 1944-2022
Historiography and Armed Struggle, by Ron Augustin
Helmut Pohl, 1943-2014
Rolf Clemens Wagner, a Life of Resistance
Christa Eckes – Honor Her Memory!
The Red Army Faction, A Documentary History Volume 1: Projectiles for the People
order for $34.95 from
left wing books dot net
The Red Army Faction, A Documentary History Volume 2: Dancing with Imperialism
© 2023 German Guerilla


Her eyes are porcelain. They clink, like saucers and cups.
The ghosts are playing hide-and-seek with Grandma again. Joel pretends they're not there. He's busy with a plan to make Grandma live forever. Right now, Joel's got her brain leaking from a bag. If only he had a better idea.
In a quiet nook off McLachlan Street, Taxidermy Grandmatransforms its audience into a haunt of ghosts. Behind face-paint and white robes, you're invited to watch as Joel attempts to reroute his Grandmother's fate.
Cupo and Concept. 17 McLachlan Street, Fortitude Valley.


The Stormont Hotel has announced the completion of a renovation programme which has seen Hastings Hotels invest over £1M during the last 18 months.
As part of the renovation programme, the lounge has been extended and is now twice the size with a new bar and coffee station; the capacity of the Grand Ballroom has increased from 340 to 400; the restaurant has received an extensive redevelopment and 20 bedrooms have been upgraded.
Andy McNeill, General Manager of the Stormont Hotel said: "We are delighted to have completed the renovation programme which has seen an investment by Hastings Hotels in excess of £1M over the last 18 months. As a group, we pride ourselves on continuous investment to ensure we make the most of our properties and offer our guests the first-class service they know to expect every time.
"With this ongoing investment in the Stormont Hotel, we are confident that we can continue to maintain standards and cope with the growing markets for overseas visitors while providing the very best of Northern Ireland hospitality.
"As well as the refurbishment of the bedrooms, we have increased the capacity of our Grand Ballroom, doubled the size of our bar and lounge areas, upgraded the Confex Centre and the kitchens are now the most modern within the group," Andy continued.
"The hotel is conveniently located opposite Stormont Parliament Buildings and is a popular base for escorted coaches, especially with the ample car-parking available which has been increased to 400 spaces as part of the renovation programme. In keeping with our location, we have renamed the restaurant The Assembly Chamber and the private dining suite beside it has been renamed The Senate Chamber," Andy concluded.


[ACNS] Ten children are amongst 26 Kurdish refugees from Iraq who have been confirmed to have drowned off the coast of Samos Island in Greece yesterday, the Anglican mission agency United Society (formerly USPG) say.
The 26 dead – including five boys and five girls – are amongst more than 200 who have drowned so far this year as they attempted to cross from Turkey. Despite the winter weather and dangerous seas, refugees are continuing to make the perilous journey to the Greek islands in their thousands.
The Anglican Chaplaincy in Greece, in partnership with United Society is supporting the work of the Greek medical organisation Medical Intervention (MedIn) on the island of Samos. Together, they are providing medical help, with the church also helping to pay for medicine, soap, blankets and sleeping bags. MedIn also provides baby milk to those with young infants.
Refugees ariving on the shore at the Lighthouse on the Greek island of Lesbos.
"Urgent action to support refugees is vital," Max McClellan said. "While countries disagree over their responsibilities and their response, refugees are dying.
The United Society's director of global relations, Rachel Parry, added: "This tragic accident serves to further underline the shocking situations that are forcing people to make these inherently risky journeys. Desperate families choose to travel to Europe knowing the risks, but they have no other option.
"While governments are depriving refugee families of assets and closing borders, the loss of these Kurdish lives is yet another appalling tragedy; may it be a reminder that motivates governments into action, rather than falling on closed minds, cold hearts and unmoving policies.
Click here to read more about how the United Society and Diocese in Europe are responding to the refugee crisis.


text:
Тутка (устар. Туточка) — река в России, протекает в Вологодской и Костромской областях. Устье реки находится в 205 км по правому берегу реки Костромы. Длина реки составляет 52 км, площадь водосборного бассейна — 690 км².

Притоки
(км от устья)
 6,3 км: река Кордоболь (пр)
 26 км: река Урятина (лв)
 29 км: река Волна (пр)
 34 км: река Белая Сора (пр)
 40 км: река Мотьма (лв)

Данные водного реестра
По данным государственного водного реестра России относится к Верхневолжскому бассейновому округу, водохозяйственный участок реки — Кострома от истока до водомерного поста у деревни Исады, речной подбассейн реки — Волга ниже Рыбинского водохранилища до впадения Оки. Речной бассейн реки — (Верхняя) Волга до Куйбышевского водохранилища (без бассейна Оки).

Код объекта в государственном водном реестре — 08010300112110000011956.

Примечания

Притоки Костромы
Реки Буйского района
Реки Грязовецкого района

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Home » Local » Former Lawrence pastor accused of abuse in Baltimore
Former Lawrence pastor accused of abuse in Baltimore
On: 11/15/2013, By Pilot Staff , In: Local
BOSTON -- A former pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Lawrence has been accused of sexual misconduct with a minor while he was teacher in Baltimore in the 1970s.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore announced charges against Father Michael Kolodziej, OFM Conv., Nov. 7, stemming from his assignment as a teacher at Archbishop Curley High School from 1975 until 1979. A former student from this time period said he was abused on several occasions while Father Kolodziej wrestled him.
Father Kolodziej served as pastor at Holy Trinity from 1988 through 1991. The parish was closed in 2004. A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston said no allegations of abuse have been received related to his time in Lawrence.
The order has suspended Father Kolodziej from all public ministry and the Archbishop of Baltimore has withdrawn Father Kolodziej's faculties to function as a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Archbishop Curley High School reported the allegation immediately to authorities, and the police were promptly informed; the school, the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore -- which owns Archbishop Curley High School -- are cooperating fully with authorities.
Father Kolodziej, age 69, was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Buffalo in 1970 and entered the Franciscan order in 1974. Before coming to Lawrence, he served in Maryland and New York State. He also served as rector at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee, Mass. from 1991-2001, as Minister Provincial of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Ellicott City, Md. from 2001-2010, and as parochial vicar at St. Philip Benizi Parish in Jonesboro, Ga. from 2010 until his recent suspension.
Special Edition: Women Religious 2020

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I recently learned that my prose poem, "Flood, Fire, Mountain," was selected to appear in Writers Resist: The Anthology 2018. It's coming out this October, and there are plans in the works for a reading at AWP 2019 in Portland, OR, and possibly elsewhere. Stay tuned!


Cardigan: Hayley Menzies (also here). Top: Free People. Jeans: Madewell. Bag: Sancia (on sale!). Boots: Chloe. Sunglasses: Wildfox. Lip: Nars Red Lizard.
Still very pregnant over here, still wearing very western sweaters. I had this one on my wish list since back in the fall, and I was thrilled when I got it on sale. Luckily, cardigans are one of the only wardrobe additions I'm currently allowing myself. This tunic was a pre-pregnancy buy, and its been a soft, cozy staple I keep going back to. More colors have been added and I love the evergreen.


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Q: deleting item in sharedPreferences from recyclerView adapter i tried to delete an item in sharedPreferences, in recyclerView adapter. but that item doesn't disappear till I go back from the activity and come back. I need it to disappear soon after being deleted.
Method
public boolean RemoveFromWantToRead(AllBooksActivityModel book) {
        ArrayList<AllBooksActivityModel>books = getWantToReadBooks();
        if (null != books){
            for (AllBooksActivityModel b: books){
                if (b.getBookID() == book.getBookID()){
                    if (books.remove(b)){
                        //We create a 'if' loop here is if only the thing happened, the loop actions.
                        Gson gson = new Gson();
                        SharedPreferences.Editor editor = sharedPreferences.edit();
                        editor.remove(WANT_TO_READ_BOOKS);
                        editor.putString(WANT_TO_READ_BOOKS,gson.toJson(books));
                        editor.commit();
                        return true;
                    }

                }            }
        }return false;
    }

This is how I tried to delete an item.
 holder.BtnDltTxt.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
                @Override
                public void onClick(View view) {
                    AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(context);
                    builder.setMessage("Do you want to delete this massage");
                    builder.setPositiveButton("Yes", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
                        @Override
                        public void onClick(DialogInterface dialogInterface, int i) {
                            String EleName = allBooksActivityModels.get(position).getBookName();
                            if( Ulitls.getInstance(context).RemoveFromCurrenlyReading(allBooksActivityModels.get(position))){
                                Toast.makeText(context, EleName + " Removed", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                                notifyDataSetChanged();

                            }else{
                                Toast.makeText(context, "Something Wrong Happens, Try again", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                            }
                        }
                    });
                    builder.setNegativeButton("No", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
                        @Override
                        public void onClick(DialogInterface dialogInterface, int i) {

                        }
                    });
                    builder.create().show();
                }
            });

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society, Supreme Court, Torts December 27, 2008
"Smile: You're Under Arrest: Arpaio Goes Hollywood
The highly controversial sheriff from Maricopa, Arizona, Joe Arpaio may be facing serious charges of civil rights abuses and discrimination, but Hollywood considers him such a laugh that they are giving him his own reality show. He intends to use suspects as props for scenes written by comedy writers and staffed by actors. It is the latest sign of the decline of our criminal justice system as our judges, prosecutors, and sheriffs vie for notoriety on television and in the press.
In the last two decades, we have seen faux judges like Judge Judy become the dominant image of a perfect jurist — even being regularly interviewed on Larry King on her legal insights. Real judges have openly striven to become television judges, promoting themselves with dramatic court performances in high profile cases like Judge Larry Seidlin during the Anna Nicole Smith custody case.
Other judges have pandered to the popular press with humiliating forms of punishment from forcing people to clean their courtroom with a toothbrush to forcing teens to walk around with animals, here,
Abusive and notorious prosecutors like Nancy Grace were given their own shows despite a career marked by repeated violations and reprimands, here.
Within this trend, the horrific concept of Arpaio's "Smile: You're Under Arrest" make perfect sense. Arpaio has long distinguished himself by abusing inmates and pandering to the media. Recently, he boasted "I'm not going to brag, but there isn't anybody in the world who doesn't know who this sheriff is."
The people of Arizona should be ashamed of empowering such a person, but Arpaio continues to operate freely despite an unprecedented number of lawsuits against him.
The show will feature on Fox and makes "When Animals Attack" look like a serious nature show.
The show is likely to raise some interesting legal questions over the privacy rights of suspects. Arpaio is using these suspects for his personal publicity and gain. They are literally being used as props in a money-making enterprise. There is no difference between Arpaio renting out these inmates to businesses. Like being handed over to a circus for people to gawk at, these inmates are being used for entertainment — and Arpaio insatiable desire for publicity.
Even if the shows can get the consent of the suspects, the Arizona legislature should show a modicum of integrity and ban this practice. The Supreme Court has acted to curtail such programs, reaffirming the liability of sheriffs who allow reality shows into the cruisers and barring such programs from arrest scenes. In 1999, Hanlon v. Berger and Wilson v. Layne, the Court ruled that televised raids on homes or ride alongs violated the constitutional rights of suspects.
This program will continue the merging of criminal law and entertainment — the American version of the Roman games. With each of these shows, there is a major corrosive impact on the quality and professionalism of our legal system.
Don't Let the Door Hit You: Less Than One-Fourth of Americans Say That They Will Miss Bush
The Turley Blog Leads in Vote on Best Law Professor and Legal Theory Blogs
18 thoughts on ""Smile: You're Under Arrest: Arpaio Goes Hollywood"
TMLogan says:
I am commenting on momeeof4boys and Chris' posts. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, I can personally attest to "old" Joe's treatment and blatant disregard for every ones basic human rights. I am an American citizen and while visiting my sister-in-law, I was stopped by a Maricopa County Sheriff Deputy, while coming out of a Seven Eleven. He wanted to see my "visa/green card". You see I am half Native American/German and I could pass for Latino, Mexican, Spanish, or Hispanic because of my complexion and dark hair. I would have been arrested and detained at the county jail if I had not have had my driver's license on me!
I was harassed, embarrassed and very upset about the whole ordeal. I called the MCS department to complain about this particular officer and was basically told I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and it was a good thing I had identification on me.
WELL EXCUSE ME!!!! Racial profiling IS IN FACT going on throughout Maricopa County and its people like you who think its "okay" will continue to keep racism from ever being eradicated! Our country was built on the backs of immigrants!
What's the difference between illegals coming from Canada or other country buying land and purchasing homes and taking jobs and illegals from Mexico?
As for criminals deserving to be in jail, yes, I agree. However, NOT every person who goes to jail is there for some heinous crime. First and foremost! Last I checked, our constitutional rights states a person is INNOCENT until PROVEN Guilty.
Therefore, why should a person who has yet to go before a judge or jury be further punished by having to wear pink "used" underwear, eat food that's not fit for a dog and be subjected to whatever whims Arpaio decides to mete out for the day, just because that person may not be able to pay their bail or bond out until their court date?
Being sentenced to jail or prison time IS the punishment, further degradation, humiliation and subjugation is deplorable and is against every single persons basic human rights. Nowhere in anyone's sentence or plea agreement does it state they must endure being watched while taking showers or going to the bathroom, guards on power-trips, deplorable living conditions (putting 4-6 people in a room made for two) and food infested with who knows what along with their specific amount of time incarcerated.
Incarceration IS the punishment; it's not FOR further punishment.
Buddha, my sister the teacher will absolutely love your suggestion.
Buddha Is Laughing says:
Mike A.,
"all I can do is shake my head and hope that whatever genes create that sort of ignorance will gradually be bred out of the species."
I know what you are getting at so from your mouth to the Prime Mover's indifferent ear, but I'd like to point out that ignorance is a function of lack of education or mis-education. Stupidity, however, seems to be completely genetic. The problem is we've tried eugenics and it didn't work out so well for the species. And the age of DNA? Well that will just allow us to screw up to a greater degree of precision if it follows the model of other scientific advances. So how about we start paying teachers six and seven figure incomes based on performance instead of bankers?
Mespo, great illustration of the point!
Bron, assimilation is a generational process. I grew up in New York, Ohio, Florida, California, Colorado, Wyoming, Alabama, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Texas. I encountered different ethnic groups on every stop along that road. What I discovered is that all immigrants gradually become "Americanized" in their own way and at their own pace. Many immigrants would not permit their children to speak their native tongues in their homes. Other immigrant parents encouraged their children to become bilingual (a healthier intellectual choice in my opinion). Many immigrants spent most of their lives in this country without ever learning more than a few English words. There have been immigrants who objected to their children marrying outside of their ethnic group or religion; others have voiced no objections whatsoever. Growing up I dated girls of distinctly Mexican, Irish, Polish and Italian heritage. I dated a couple of very Jewish girls and a couple of very WASPish ladies. The point is that all of the people who have come to this country from every other country in the world are individuals, not stereotypes. Many seize "American" culture, as they understand it, with great gusto. Many find American culture terrifying and attempt to shield their children from those things they find vulgar or otherwise distasteful. Many immigrant groups have prejudices against other immigrant groups, or even sub-groups within their own ethnicity. I have met Cuban-Americans who dislike Puerto Ricans and Mexican-Americans who dislike Cubans. Each new wave of immigration has been met with resentment and hostility. Hispanics are the objects of that resentment presently, because they comprise the newest and largest immigrant group. I could go on endlessly with examples of how that resentment is expressed, but I'm sure you're already familiar with much of it. With respect to illegal immigration, we are a nation of hypocrites. We tacitly encourage it because it permits under the radar exploitation of cheap labor, but we then object to providing any basic human services to those we have induced to violate our laws. Enforcement consists of rounding people up like cattle rather than prosecuting employers. The bottom line is that this is a multi-cultural country and always has been. That's one of its principal attractions after all. I guess there's no logical stopping point, so I'll just conclude by saying that whenever I encounter another Chris or a Joe Arpaio (what the hell kind of name is "Arpaio," by the way?), all I can do is shake my head and hope that whatever genes create that sort of ignorance will gradually be bred out of the species.
Bron98 says:
Mike and Mespo:
isnt it a good thing for people to learn english? if they do it opens up many opportunities they would not have. Personally I am trying to learn Spanish to help me in my work (construction/engineering) so I can better talk to the laborers and craftsmen. But the guys that speak english and spanish are the foreman and superintendents and the ones that speak spanish are the worker bees making much less per week.
It is really about opportunity in this country, so immigrants need to be able to communicate. I have friends whose grandparents came to this country and their parents were not allowed to speak the native lingua in the home and so the immigrants from the Ellis Island days have assimilated and moved into the American fabric, isnt that what we want for our hispanic friends?
mespo727272 says:
Mike Appleton:
I edited Chris enlightened statements to make them even more ethnocentric and historically accurate.
"I'm PROUD of Joe Arpaio in that he sees the threat to this country by illegal immigrants. Even the "legal" immigrants that speak English aren't learning Yuman.* This Country is catering to them and making America bi-lingual. I have a bottle of ketchup from Fry's that I bought last week, and everything on it is in Yuman and English. What happened to all the legal immigrants that migrated here and were PROUD to learn Yuman and become a Cocopa? The media is also killing this country by referring to "English Cocopans." There is only one kind of Cocopan, and that is A COPOCAN! If you want to start referring to someone as "American-Cocopans", then I expect you to be non-discriminatory by referring to each person what they are…Asian Copocan, German Copocan, Vietnam Copocan…? Joe Arpaio is from the "old school", which we all know is the way it SHOULD BE! I'll vote for him forever!!!"
* Copoca are the indigenous native Americans who lived in Arizona. They spoke a dialect of the Yuman language, and are the only ones with real grievances from "illegal immigration."
Chris, I must say you lead a pretty sheltered life. I guess you've never heard of such traditional organizations as the Italian American Clubs, German American Clubs, Portuguese American Clubs, Swedish American Clubs,Serbian American Clubs and Polish American Clubs, just to name a few. Perhaps you've never heard of newspapers printed in the United States in German, Italian, Polish, French, Russian or Yiddish. Maybe you've never learned about churches in this country whose services are conducted in languages other than English. I guess you've never been to Chinatown in San Francisco or New York. You and Joe Arpaio both need to grow up. I agree that he is from the "old school," and believe me, I do know what that means. Someone needs to tell old Joe that that school has long since been closed.
I'm PROUD of Joe Arpaio in that he sees the threat to this country by illegal immigrants. Even the "legal" immigrants that speak Spanish aren't learning English. This Country is catering to them and making America bi-lingual. I have a bottle of ketchup from Fry's that I bought last week, and everything on it is in Spanish and English. What happened to all the legal immigrants that migrated here and were PROUD to learn English and become an American? The media is also killing this country by referring to "African Americans." There is only one kind of American, and that is AN AMERICAN! If you want to start referring to someone as "African American", then I expect you to be non-discriminatory by referring to each person what they are…Asian American, German American, Vietnam American, Columbia American, Portuguese American, Swedish American etc etc. Why do "African Americans" get referred to as such? Joe Arpaio is from the "old school", which we all know is the way it SHOULD BE! I'll vote for him forever!!!
I feel so bad for you momeeof4boys. More so for the four boys actually. But at least they may have a chance, clearly you are way too far gone. You are an immigrant, unless you're a Native American. Open youre mind a little, i promise you'll love it. And youre right, criminals do deserve to be in jail, not on a reality show being humiliated for your enjoyment. There is a word for that, sadism. The way you are talking, I think you are the one who needs to be jailed.
momeeof4boys says:
I am proud to live in Maricopa County and call Sheriff Joe our Sheriff! He is doing things that others are too scared to do. We have so many illegals here since we share a large border with Mexico. Crime is down and so is all the free shit these illegals get. They take our jobs and Arizona has one of the worst school systems (based on test results) … well that is because these non-English speaking illegals bring the test scores down.
I am one who voted him in again … along with many others. Obviously many others feel he is a GREAT sheriff. Criminals deserve to be in jail, not in a bed and breakfast. They deserve no special meals, no tv, nothing! They are criminals and need to be punished!!
waynebro says:
They already tried it on "The Running Man".
Justice as Entertainment. You want to talk about an incentive to misappropriate justice? Take your average attorney's ego and add the drive for ratings and a heaping side order of Hollywood jerkwads throwing gas on that flaming ego 24-7. You'll see more mistrials and acquittals on appeal than a few. Some disbarments too. It is simultaneously a hugely bad idea and likely to result in some great entertainment by judicial and prosecutorial misadventure. That being said, transparency is an issue. Cameras (if used properly) are okay in the court and possibly a force for good. Hollywood in the court is one of the worst ideas in the history of ideas. This is most certainly a slippery slope. I've said so since they started airing "Jack-booted State Power Will Get YOU", um, er, "COPS".
Mike Spindell says:
FFLEO,
Your comment is a very good survey of the entertainment aspects of justice in America today. I agree with much of your conclusions.
In the end the benefits of transparency outweigh the use of criminal justice as circus. The conundrum in this is how to obtain transparency (and justice), without opening the proceedings to the manipulations of those who would use it to advance their careers and fame. One solution is to somehow keep prosecutorial positions from being used as stepping stones towards higher office. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details and this would be hard to do. The most elegant solution would be the development and education of an informed public, who are aware of their constitution and legal system. This would seem to be a noble effort doomed to failure.
Former Federal LEO says:
"This program will continue the merging of criminal law and entertainment — the American version of the Roman games. With each of these shows, there is a major corrosive impact on the quality and professionalism of our legal system"
Thought provocation:
In some ways, isn't Roman Coliseum sport what we do within this blawg? We are simply employing a lower means of available media; a written blawg broadcast via the Internet versus radio or televised broadcasts. I do realize that we are not commenting in any official capacity as the 'justice televangelists' do; however, public opinion has an often profound effect on cases, whether pro or con.
If Judge Judy (whom I would not watch) 'blawgged' (blogged) about her show in verbatim script, would her antics be less objectionable? Does televising the involved subjects in a case cheapen the experience more than that of just hearing the case on radio or reading about it online or within hardcopy newsprint without the additional visual cues?
Within this blawg, we express our views while filling the roles of defendants, arresting officers, jailers, jurors, prosecutors, defenders, and judges in written form while the other commenters add aural and visual enhancements. Are we less 'guilty' as Roman game "spectators" than they are simply because we cannot see and/or hear what viewers or listeners experience?
What if this Turley Blawg suddenly became televised—like the Tonight Show—with JT as host and the guests were we who post here? Would we then acquire additional Roman spectator-like qualities and become open to more ridicule than when we were hiding behind pseudonyms in the full glory of namelessness?
Unfortunately, most humans appear flawed with the psychological need to "play to" the microphone in Limbaughesque rants or "act out" before the camera ala Clark/Ito style, both of which denigrate the complete process of seeking the facts and justice in any case. However, is writing about a case based on court-allowed sketches–in lieu of cameras–any less egregious, especially when most of us write anonymously? We are "acting out" our opinions; just that we are not acting before a camera while worrying about our narcissistic appearances.
The important 'preaching to the choir here' aspect is that all of the facts of each case must receive unadulterated presentation regardless of the media from which those facts issue.
Is it better to hold trials behind closed-door sequestration or holding them out in the open with transparency? I prefer transparency if the presiding judges ensure less of the media circus such as occurred in the first Simpson case. In all civil and criminal cases, violations of established societal laws occur and the public has the right to seek justice for those violations by conducting civil, fair, decisive, and respectful inquiries while ensuring the constitutional protections of all defendants, regardless of their revilement and hated by the public.
Overall, and using whatever media to portray justice in action, I think openness and transparency of all cases are necessary when societal crimes occur. That is the most effective manner for the citizenry to understand and respect the laws of any society. However, our right to opinions and knowledge of any case must never trump any citizens' guaranteed rights under the U.S. Constitution and other established laws.
Disclaimer: I do not like nor do I watch any of the people Professor Turley writes about in his article. Perhaps if we humans ever reach a majority of critical thinker status in this society–extremely doubtful– then the Judge Judy's, Nancy Grace's, and Sheriff Arpaio's of the world will be discounted and rejected as simply the publicity seeking entertainers that they embody. Those 3 persons and their ilk must be held accountable for violating any persons' rights and their recorded media antics are prima facie evidence available in potential libel and other lawsuits.
Therefore, let the justice system televangelisms occur, but prosecute any violations perpetrated by the host celebrities. The MSM's legal pockets are just so deep and the televised justice medium will most likely become self-limiting if violations incur financial and legal liabilities.
Like most TV personalities we'll find a glittering persona masking a empty vessel. This guy is a self-aggrandizer's self-aggrandizer. Shameless, brutal, devoid of humanity, and suspicious of anything limiting his authority, he makes a fine right-wing law and order host. I hope the TV camera shows him for what most thinking people in Arizona–like our own rcampbell–already know him to be. Bring on the clown!
Patty C.
You need to stop your personal attacks. They are ugly and unprofessional. I seldom read your posts, not because I am passive-agressive, but because they are full of hate filled attacks. It is not reasonable to believe anyone, especially the recipient, wants to read such things.
This is a wonderful blog. JT's entries are well thought out, imaginative and hilarious. Except for the trolls, most everyone here is a lot of fun and I have learned much from what they have to say. There is no reason to poison such a wonderful atmosphere with hate.
Here are my ground rules for engagement with you. I will not discuss anything personal about you or about me. I will gladly discuss ideas, and when we disagree I expect that disagreement to be handled in a respectful manner, with no personal attacks. Otherwise, I will simply go back to skipping your posts as before.
Arpaio may be a local figure, but he is a national embarrassment. The constitution means nothing to him as he continues in his sociopathic crusade to use law enforcement in the greater service of this sheriff's ego. My sympathies to you rcampbell for being within this man's jurisdiction. His lionizing spot on 60 Minutes fueled his nationwide celebrity, by appealing to the worst in all of us. His continuing in office is a paean to the "bully theory" of law enforcement and we all suffer from it's effects.
rcampbell says:
I live in Mesa, AZ the second largest city in Maricopa County. I've long thought Sheriff Arpaio an embarrassment. I was surprised to find some of my more conservative friends speaking quite vocally against him during this past election cycle. He still won re-election, but his massive ego and arrogance, Gestapo tactics with suspected illegals (literally stopping dark skinned people on the street demanding their "papers") and his attitude of not working and playing well with others–particularly other local municipalities' police departments–is wearing quite thin.


The Woodlands Club in Falmouth, Maine is the perfect location for a classy wedding that doesn't break your bank. The venue is beautiful inside and out. Toni and her crew take care of you like you are royalty and they take great pride in making sure every aspect of your day is absolutely perfect. I highly recommend the Woodlands for your ceremony and reception location. You're overlooking the perfectly manicure greens of the golf course. Enjoying your cocktail hour on the covered patio with full bar. Your reception inside the ballroom that is the perfect, traditional, room for a wedding large or small.
Karen and Justin were referred to me by Karen's mom, Cindy. They met in 2002 at Hannaford and the rest is history from there. Karen and Justin claimed to not be the dancing type; however, with the jams from 2002 they were both celebrating the best day of their lives to the music they remember when they got together. Their ceremony short, the cocktail hour weather perfect, and their reception was the perfect party.
Having a wedding during Maine's Summer: When it gets hot, don't forget about your vendors!


Here's the list of shows currently rotating on the iHeart Classic AT40 channel. The shows are played in the order listed below, alternating between the 70's and the 80's. New shows, if any, are usually added to the bottom of the list. Otherwise, they just start from the top again.
9-3-83 has literally been played 6 times in the last 2 weeks.
and 7-19-80 at least twice.
There are 44 80s or 90s shows and so one single cycle lasts for 11 days. 9/3/83 appears twice in one cycle and that's why you heard it many times in a short period.
I always listen around 2:30 am Eastern on Sundays and for the entire month of January, I heard the same countdown (6/7/86). While I loved that countdown (great stories and dedications and my favorite Madonna song 'Live To Tell' was #1), I got tired of hearing it every single week. I was overjoyed when I finally heard a new countdown in February and it's been a different episode ever since.
Thank you very much for this listing! It's been very helpful. Is this going to be the order of shows for each cycle? That would be great if it is so that we'll know what to expect next and not have to miss our favorite ones..
Back then there was 28 80s or 90s shows on the channel. With 4 shows a day the cycle was exactly 7 days. So, at that time you heard the same 80s countdown at the same time every week.
This math doesn't make sense to me...seems like they would be playing at least 6 4-hour shows per day (6x4=24) (not allowing for the fact there are no commercials). Granted I don't listen to the iHeart AT 40s channel much, but seems curious to me.
Yes, this is the order of shows for each cycle. Premiere usually only adds new shows to the end of the cycle. If anyone wants to see if new shows are added to the channel, just check the channel when the end of the cycle is reached.
Four 70s shows and four 80s/90s shows per day. A total of 8.
Thank you very much for listing these! I never realized there was a method to their madness in the sequence of shows played. Now I can make a point to catch the ones I want when they come on.
If I may, how do the cycles run?
Premiere plays the 70s shows and 80s/90s shows alternatively, four 70s and four 80s/90s shows per day (plus some fillers near the end of the day), and the shows are played in the order I listed above.
If the end of the list is reached, either newly added shows or the show at the beginning of the list will be played next.
So, we should be able to deduce what shows will be played on the channel. The only unknown factor (provided that the automation on the channel works properly) is when new shows are added, but usually they are added to the end of the list above.
I did catch they ran in the order listed.
then ran a brand new set of 70s / 80s for another 3 months, etc.
I hope that as soon as iheart breaks any new shows out that this posting will get updated or at least someone will give us an alert that something has changed. I myself am tired of tuning in hoping to hear something new and having my hopes dashed.


Babies turn your world upside down overnight! Every new parent will have experienced the baby shock effect that these precious little bundles have on their lives, and suffice to say things are never quite the same again once a new addition arrives!
The baby stage is fraught with worry, anxiety and for the most part, and for many parents, learning as you go along. Things that you said you would never dream of doing with YOUR baby (having seen other parents do it!) are suddenly forgotten when you realise that actually there is method in the madness sometimes!
This is where your parenting journey begins, and at first your life may well be dominated by nappy changing, feeding and sleepless nights, but before you know it your little newborn baby will be teething, sitting up, going on to solid foods, smiling, gurgling and laughing and generally turning into a proper little person.
With this growth and development comes walking, talking and tantrums and that is why it is important that you get your house well and truly in order before the next stage of your baby's development really kicks in.
It's a good idea to have clear ideas about what you consider to be acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Obviously things change and you will experience new and different parenting styles and methods that will suit different stages of your child's development, but even in those early baby days you will find things easier in the long term if you put some kind of rules in place now.
For example, it's a good idea to get your baby used to being held and fed by other people. This is not a way of shirking your responsibilities as a parent, but in fact a great way to get your baby used to other people so that if you do have to leave them with someone else for a while you will know they are in good hands, and your child will not feel insecure and suffer from separation anxiety to such a large extent.
Sleeping can be a stressful parenting topic, and if you do have a child who suffers from sleep problems there is a lot of expert, professional help available. Try not to be tempted into letting your child sleep in your bed on a regular basis because this really has been shown to be one of the hardest habits to break and can make your life very stressful.
By rewarding the positive behaviour that your baby and toddler displays, even from a very early age, you are setting boundaries for them for the rest of their lives. It is important to understand why your children behave the way they do and that they realise what is negative and what isn't.
Even a young child can be encouraged to understand the difference between right and wrong and should be encouraged to use good table manners, say please and thank you and learn how to share their toys and play with other children. These traits in their character will help to shape their personality and will help them enormously when they start to attend settings such as toddler groups, nurseries and preschool.


text:
Q: How to implement Diffie-Hellman between C# .Net and PHP I have been tasked to implement Diffie-Hellman on a software that extracts and sends data through sockets from a Windows platform to a Linux server. I have developed a windows service in C# that sends data to a PHP script running as the server.
I have no knowledge of cryptography and have started studying DH for this project. I understand the methodology of the process and have found a way to implement it in PHP. However on the C# side, I can only find an Elliptic-curve DH implementation which is different from my PHP implementation. If I understand things right, my PHP implementation is regular DH which uses a prime and generator as the public key pair. But ECDH is different in which it uses a curve and a point on that curve. I can find no regular DH implementation on .Net and have to decide on how to best implement DH on both ends.
I cannot seem to find much info on this and am hoping someone can help me. How would I go about doing this? Thanks