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Un día dedicado al cine panameño en el Festival Internacional de Cine

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IFF

FF Panamá rinde homenaje al talento local:
destacan “Bila Burba”,  “Brown” y “Dios es Mujer”

El Festival Internacional de Cine de Panamá, IFF Panamá, celebra nuestra panameñidad con cine local, reconociendo los trabajos de valiosos realizadores que a través de su investigación, ingenio y creatividad, han profundizado en la representación istmeña de nuestros orígenes, historia y personajes.

“Durante la última década, el cine panameño ha encontrado sus espacios en la programación de festivales internacionales, legitimando su presencia y circulación cada vez con mayor éxito en dicho circuito. El IFF Panamá, es una valiosa ventana de exhibición para las películas panameñas y este año durante el festival se presentarán 4 producciones ganadoras del Concurso Nacional Fondo Cine de las cuales: Brown y Bila Burba son estrenos, lo que evidencia el apoyo que le estamos brindando a nuestros talentos, quienes están siendo respaldados por una política audiovisual, que busca el desarrollo del cine como una industria creativa”, destacó Sheila González, Directora de la Dirección Nacional de Cine, DICINE.

“BILA BURBA”, el primer largometraje documental de Duiren Wagua, en su estreno panameño, relata los hechos sobre la relación entre la nación gunadule y el gobierno nacional la cual estuvo marcada por numerosos conflictos territoriales y culturales. Siguiendo los pasos de sus antepasados guerreros, los líderes Simral Colman y Nele Kantule se unieron para afrontar su destino y unificar a las comunidades de su territorio para la batalla llamada ‘Revolución Dule’ acontecimiento que buscó defender a toda costa a los Gunadule de los abusos por parte de la policía panameña.

“Quiero que la cultura de mi raza perdure dentro del marco universal de la cultura de los pueblos del mundo. Porque solamente en la expresión cultural de un pueblo está el sello ineludible de la esencia de su libertad, de su dignidad y de su respeto como Pueblo”. Nele Kantule.

Por su parte, los directores Ricardo Aguilar Navarro de Panamá y Manolito Rodríguez de Cuba, presentarán el estreno mundial de “BROWN” en la duodécima edición del IFF Panamá. El filme cuenta la historia del panameño Teófilo Alfonso “Panamá Al Brown”, primer latinoamericano que logró ser Campeón Mundial de Boxeo. Tras perder su título en una pelea amañada, el boxeador cuelga los guantes y viaja a París. Allí se convierte en la gran estrella de un cabaret de segunda y conoce al famoso poeta Jean Cocteau.

“DIOS ES MUJER”, es el primer largometraje documental del cineasta Andrés Peyrot. En él narra el recorrido del director francés Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau, ganador del Oscar, quien viaja en 1975 a Panamá para filmar a la comunidad Kuna, donde las mujeres son sagradas. Gaisseau, su esposa y su hija pequeña Akiko viven con los Kunas durante un año. El proyecto eventualmente se queda sin fondos y un banco confisca los carretes. Cincuenta años después, los Kunas aún siguen esperando descubrir su “película”, hoy en día una leyenda transmitida de los mayores a las nuevas generaciones. Un día, una copia olvidada es encontrada en París…

El día que hace homenaje a los títulos locales, cerrará con una potente fiesta al mejor estilo panameño. Una coproducción entre Pull it Up Naita y Bomba & Plena, en alianza con IFF Panamá, que ofrecerá una experiencia para todos los sentidos, con un mix de géneros urbanos, dancehall, reggaeton, plena, afrobeats, roots y hip hop, junto a RITMO EQUIS, KINGSTON CREW, MADFAMILY y mucho más. Boletos a la venta en ONESPOT.

¡Todo ésto y más en la duodécima edición de IFF Panamá!

Resumen de estas proyecciones:

Sede: Cinepolis, Multiplaza Mall.

Película: Bila Burba, del director Duiren Wagua; Panamá, Gunayala – 2023. Duración: 69 minutos. Idiomas: Dulegaya, Español. Género: Documental. Trailer

Horarios de proyección:
4:30 p.m., sábado 6 de abril, SALA 3

Película: Brown, del director Ricardo Aguilar y Manolito, Panamá y Cuba – 2022. Duración: 104 minutos. Idiomas: Español. Género: Drama.

Horario de proyección:
6:30 p.m., sábado 6 de abril, SALA 3

Película: Dios es Mujer, del director Andrés Peyrot, Panamá, Suiza, Francia – 2023. Duración: 86 minutos. Idiomas: Español, Guna. Género: Documental. Trailer

Horarios de proyección:
9:30 p.m., sábado 6 de abril, SALA 3
8:15 p.m., domingo 7 de abril, SALA 4

Alfonso Brown
Panama Al Brown en Paris, en 1927.

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Beluche, Carta abierta a la juventud panameña

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Cinta Costera

De ustedes y su voto
dependen muchas cosas

por Olmedo Beluche

A los y las jóvenes entre 18 y 30 años:

Ustedes, jóvenes con capacidad de votar, algunos por primera vez, en las elecciones generales del próximo 5 de mayo, ustedes tienen una gran responsabilidad.

Ustedes constituyen el 30% del electorado, es decir, ustedes tienen capacidad de decidir el futuro de este país, si votan con responsabilidad y no caen en los engaños de la publicidad electorera, ni en el clientelismo.

De ustedes y su voto dependen muchas cosas. Si eligen mal, como ha pasado a las generaciones precedentes, pronto lo lamentarán, pues las consecuencias recaerán pesadamente sobre sus espaldas.

Con toda seguridad, usted joven panameño o panameña, fue parte de las decenas de miles que salieron a las calles para protestar contra el contrato minero vende patria, en octubre y noviembre de 2023. Ustedes, junto a sindicalistas, gremialistas, indígenas y comunidades cambiaron la historia. Al igual que la juventud del 9 de Enero de 1964, ustedes con la movilización en las calles forzaron a los poderosos a retroceder y obligaron a la Corte Suprema de Justicia a declarar inconstitucional el contrato con First Quantum Minerals (FQM).

Jóvenes, ustedes con su lucha, han puesto en jaque los saqueadores de nuestra riqueza natural, les obligaron a parar sus operaciones y los tienen a punto de hacer sus maletas para irse de Panamá. Pero cuidado, ciudadanos y ciudadanas jóvenes, ellos no se han ido. Están ahí, dentro de las instalaciones de la mina en Donoso, esperando quién gana las elecciones del 5 de mayo. No cantemos victoria antes de tiempo, porque si gana un candidato vendepatria, de los que están pagados por la minera canadiense, encontrarán la forma de quedarse, burlándose de la lucha de ustedes y de casi todo nuestro pueblo. Así lo ha confesado Tristán Pascall, gerente de FQM, el 22 de febrero pasado: “sigo confiado en que podemos alcanzar una solución…”.

Que culmine exitosamente la lucha contra la explotación minera metálica en Panamá depende de quién gane las elecciones del 5 de mayo. Si gana un vendepatria corrupto agente de los grandes intereses económicos, no solo es posible que vuelvan a firma otro contrato, sino que es posible que no defiendan consecuentemente los intereses del país en los juzgados internacionales en que nos ha demandado FQM, por lo que pagaríamos miles de millones de dólares que saldrían de los programas sociales.

Estimado o estimada joven, analice bien, conozca quiénes son los candidatos y su relación con la minería. Hay uno que ustedes identifican bien porque aprobó el contrato en el Consejo de Gabinete del presidente Cortizo y lo ha defendido: ese es José Gabriel Carrizo, agente directo de FQM, pues fue abogado de Petaquilla Gold que le vendió los “derechos de explotación a los canadienses.

Estimada o estimado joven, usted también sabe que el bufete de abogados que defiende los interese de la minera se llama Morgan y Morgan, y conoce que el candidato Rómulo Roux trabaja para esa empresa por ende es un títere de FQM.

Tal vez usted es muy joven y no lo vivió, pero puede preguntar a sus mayores, en 2011, durante el gobierno de Ricardo Martinelli, el ministro de gobierno era José Raúl Mulino, y ambos trataron de imponer una reforma al Código Minero para favorecer esos intereses en los que ellos hacen parte. Esa cuando el pueblo se lanzó a la calle a protestar Martinelli y Mulino lanzaron una dura represión a costa de decenas de heridos y varios muertos. Así que, Mulino es otro agente de la minería.

Pero es que Martín Torrijos, como conspicuo miembro del PRD, avaló el contrato minero impuesto en el periodo de Ernesto Pérez Balladares, y tampoco hizo nada al respecto mientras fue presidente en el período 2004-2009. Así que usted puede suponer qué pasará si Martín Torrijos gana la presidencia.

A estas alturas estimado o estimada joven, puede que usted crea que porque se asomó alguna vez a alguna manifestación antiminera Ricardo Lombana sea su alternativa. Sin embargo, debo decirle que detrás de la campaña de Lombana se mueven poderosos intereses económicos que apoyan el negocio minero, como su vicepresidente Michael Chen, expresidente de la Cámara de Comercio de Colón, que en su momento manifestó su acuerdo con la mina.

El candidato Melitón Arrocha ha ocupado cargos de confianza en varios gobiernos, y con Juan Carlos Varela llegó a ser ministro de Comercio, avalando con sus actos el contrato inconstitucional de 2007. Peor aún, el 12 de diciembre en entrevista a EcoTV, lamentó el cierre de la mina y el fallo de la Corte.

Llegado a este punto del razonamiento, cualquier joven que de manera consecuente desea defender el futuro natural y ambiental de nuestro país, debe saber que solo le quedan dos opciones: Zulay Rodríguez y Maribel Gordón.

Ciertamente Zulay Rodríguez votó contra el contrato minero y lo denunció, pero tiene una cara oscura respecto a sus relaciones políticamente estrechas con sectores corruptos del PRD y RM.

La única candidata que luchó en las calles contra el contrato minero junto la juventud, los sindicalistas, los docentes, los indígenas fue la profesora Maribel Gordón, que además tiene una vida de lucha junto a l movimiento popular en defensa de los derechos sociales.

Joven panameño o panameña, en tus manos está el futuro, o avanzamos en la lucha contra la minería y la corrupción, o retrocedemos eligiendo a un nuevo corrupto vendepatria. Piénsalo bien. Tú decides.

Un abrazo

vote

 

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Jackson, “mutual assistance” of different sorts: Panama, Colombia and the USA

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fire
Cerro Patacon burns, as the huge garbage dump in a northwestern part of the Panama City metro area had repeatedly done. A recent photo by the bomberos.

“What’s in it for US?” in foreign aid

by Eric Jackson

If you read or listen to the discourse against foreign aid that unfolds in the United States, two major currents are apparent.

The larger stream, often flecked with racism, is a usually right-wing stream of consciousness about how resources that ought to be spent on deserving Americans in the USA are instead being wasted on foreigners for no good reason. There is also a common theme, coming mainly out of the left, that recognizes that at least by some measures most US foreign aid is military assistance that represents the costs of a cynical policy of maintaining a global empire of dependent and subservient states.

In the past few days we have seen a couple of illustrations here, and ought to think a bit about what it means for the countries involved.

On March 22 in the Metro Libre, there was a story about how “The United States donates equipment to Panama to reinforce security in the country.” It features Panama’s President Cortizo and US Ambassador Aponte and has the appearance of something written by a publicist at the American Embassy.

Then we see in passing something in the media coverage of the story of a long-running environmental disaster, the conclusions to which will be, among other things, measured in cancer cases for years to come, the recurring fires at Cerro Patacon. In Panamanian news reports it’s brief mention. In the Colombian press it gets bigger play. The Colombian Air Force has been deployed to help fight the fire.

Is it a “national security issue” when a country’s capital is repeatedly covered by clouds of toxic smoke? Perhaps it’s no big deal to those whose thoughts about the matter center upon weapons, geopolitics and ideology. The folks whose thinking lays the cornerstone of “national security” in a country’s ability to feed its people are likely to take a different view.

But look at what the donors say, and think a bit about what it means.

The Colombians? They have a physically much bigger country than ours and when the problems are similar theirs tend to be geometrically larger. Notice, however, the reference in the post on the Colombian Air Force’s Twitter / X account — “incendio forestal.” It’s really not a forest fire, but it’s categorized that way because that’s mostly the stuff with which the Colombian helicopters that came to our rescue deal.

On the Colombian Air Force website they go into more detail, describing two systems that they deployed here. One is that from a helicopter they poured water from “Bambi Buckets” on precise points of the burning dump. The other was that from a fixed-wing cargo plane they released “Guardian Caylym” containers which, once released from the aircraft and in the air discharge their water content over a somewhat larger area as if it’s raining.

As in the Colombians were helping out some neighbors but were also training their forces and experimenting with the application of some technologies to see how they work in a given situation. It’s not as if there was nothing in it for the Colombian Air Force in this gift.

US military aid in another context: in 2014 in Iraq, people displaced and cut off from supplies by an offensive by the Islamic State got these pallets of bottled water air dropped to them from this US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo transport plane. US Department of Defense photo by Staff Sergeant Vernon Young Jr., USAF.

Forget about the MAGA stereotypes about foreign aid going to swarthy criminals whose big ambition in life is to cross the border from Mexico into the United States and rape cute blonde American girls — or at least get on welfare at taxpayers’ expense. Most US foreign aid is military assistance and at the moment it’s highly unpopular with a segment of the American population because its best known face is supplying the munitions for Israeli ethnic cleansing operations against the Palestinians.

But across the seas, on this side of the planet and in this country there are other long experiences with US military assistance. Let’s get analytical, but not too cynical, about such programs and the ways that they are presented to the Panamanian people.

On this occasion, let’s set aside most of the history and motivation of US information control games and just look at something that was recently presented.

It’s about gifts from the United States to reinforce public safety in this country. It’s through the State Department’s international law enforcement and “War On Drugs” apparatus. US Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte describes a mission to “provide timely, relevant and actionable information on threats to border security in the region, especially terrorism, irregular migration, drug trafficking and illicit trade. Since its creation, 1,148 reports of possible security threats have been generated, including: drug traffickers, murderers, document forgers, alerts with pending cases, among others.” She tells of 60 military vehicles delivered to Panama’s SENAN combined coast guard and air patrol, and to our SNF border patrol. She describes the sharing of biometric data and equipment to identify suspects, cooperation against money laundering and training for maritime rescue operations.

Yeah, yeah. Will some Karen protest that when she sees a black person in her neighborhood and calls the cops, it takes forever for them to come, but here the US government is funding law enforcement in a foreign country.

Consider, however, the economic realities of this.

Did Uncle Sam give money for somebody with the right surname and political ties in the Panamanian government to skim, and then order motor vehicles with what’s left? Not a chance. As with most US foreign aid, the money for the cars never left the United States. Uncle Sam bought those military vehicles from US manufacturers and then shipped them to Panama. Just like many of those Fords in which Panamanian cops tool around.

Do we want to get into “first one’s free” pusher economics? Get the Panamanian government hooked on one model of automobile, or computer, or software, through initial gifts, and if all goes as hoped there will be some Panamanian purchases of some of this stuff afterward.

The reality of it is that US foreign aid works as a subsidy to American businesses. As in American jobs in places like the Detroit area and bonuses and stock options for the more privileged strata of management personnel.

The biometric stuff? Does that work like the artificial intelligence that frequently garbles this reporter’s social media posts?

There has been a lot of criticism of erroneous results arising from police use of facial recognition technology in the United States. The market to sell that stuff to big city police departments and such has declined because of the errors and the reputation they generate. But how much of that is about cops acting as if they have an all-powerful magic wand rather than a useful tool that requires verification work to properly employ? And how much unmarketable police and military junk does Uncle Sam dump overseas?

Yet against that, over the past several years a number of criminal suspects have been identified and arrested at Tocumen Airport via the biometric detection equipment they have there. The technology does have its uses and is improving over time.

 

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Haeryfar, A primer on measles

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germ
A measles virus particle. Measles is one of the most contagious pathogens known. US Centers for Disease Control photo.

Measles is highly contagious, but vaccine-preventable

by Mansour Haeryfar, Western University

Canada is seeing a resurgence of measles, with cases in the first quarter of 2024 already far surpassing the total for all of 2023. There were 12 cases last year, and more than three times that number so far in 2024, with 38 reported as of March 19.

Most of these cases (28) are in Québec, and eight are in Ontario, while Saskatchewan and British Columbia have each reported one case.

As an immunologist with a focus on host-microbe interactions and antiviral immunity, I have been following recent measles outbreaks.

Symptoms and complications

Measles (also known as rubeola) is a serious but vaccine-preventable disease caused by an RNA virus of the family Paramyxoviridae.

A child seen from behind with a red rash all over his skin
Measles rash appears on the face before spreading downward to other areas of the body. Photo by the US Centers for Disease Control.

Measles usually begins with fever, runny nose, conjunctivitis (red watery eyes), sore throat and coughing. These can be initially mistaken for common cold or flu.

However, these non-specific signs and symptoms are typically followed by clinical manifestations that are characteristic of measles. These include Koplik spots (tiny white specks with bluish-white centres in the inner lining of the cheeks), and subsequently a measles rash appearing on the face before spreading downward to other areas of the body.

In most cases, measles resolves on its own. However, severe complications may arise, especially in immunocompromised individuals. Complications can include pneumonia, encephalitis (brain inflammation and swelling), blindness, deafness and permanent neurological consequences. When measles occurs during pregnancy, it can result in miscarriage, premature labour, stillbirth, birth defects or even fetal death. The most severe cases of measles can be fatal.

Also of note, infection with the measles virus can weaken the immune system for months or years, increasing the risk of infections with a wide range of microbes. While measles-associated immunosuppression has been documented for decades, we are only beginning to decipher its underlying mechanisms. For example, a phenomenon called “immune amnesia” is thought to contribute, at least partially, to unrelated infections in the aftermath of measles.

What is immune amnesia?

The naturally occurring (wild-type) strains of measles virus can target, infect and kill memory B and T lymphocytes, which are instrumental to antimicrobial defense. This is because one of the three measles virus receptors, called CD150, happens to be abundantly present on the surface of these lymphocytes.

Long-lived memory cells, which accumulate as a result of immunizations and infections over time, remain in a poised state to mount rapid and rigorous recall responses when we re-encounter microbes. B cells orchestrate the production of antibodies that neutralize extracellular microbes, and T cells work to destroy infected cells. Therefore, when people lose their precious memory cells to measles, the immune system is set back to a default mode, as if it has never seen any microbes or vaccines in the past.

To add insult to injury, measles virus may also eliminate “memory-like” innate T cells, which also express CD150, thus removing yet another potent weapon from our antimicrobial arsenal. Therefore, collectively, the ability of measles virus to find and kill memory and memory-like lymphocytes can lead to adaptive and innate immune amnesia, rendering a measles patient or survivor prone to many opportunistic infections.

How does measles spread and how contagious is it?

microscopic image of a virus
Microscopic view of a measles virus particle (red). Photo by US Centers for Disease Control.

Measles virus spreads easily through airborne droplets released by infected people when they breathe, talk, laugh, cough or sneeze. In addition, measles virus infectious particles can remain active in the air and on contaminated surfaces for up to two hours.

Measles virus is one of the most contagious respiratory pathogens known, with each person with measles passing on their infection to 12 to 18 other people in a susceptible population. Measles virus is more transmissible than influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2 variants.

How effective are measles vaccines?

Measles vaccines are safe, affordable and extremely effective. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), measles claimed 2.6 million lives each year before 1963 when a measles vaccine became available. Since then, widespread immunization programs have saved millions of lives, including an estimated 56 million just between 2000 and 2021.

Measles vaccines contain a live measles virus strain that has been attenuated so that it does not inflict harm; yet, it is sufficient to generate protective immune responses.

The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine or the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine is routinely administered to children in two doses, with a first dose being given after the first birthday, typically between 12-15 months of age, followed by a booster dose recommended after 18 months of age and before attending school. This should afford lifelong protection against measles in most people.

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one and two doses of the MMR vaccine are 93 per cent and 97 per cent effective in preventing measles, respectively.

Teens and adults should also remain up to date with regard to measles immunization since measles can affect anyone. There are blood tests that can be ordered by health-care providers to determine immunity to measles.

The MMR vaccine can be given at any time during one’s lifespan, but the MMRV vaccine is authorized in Canada only between one and 13 years of age.

Why are measles cases returning?

Recent years have witnessed a rise in measles outbreaks within and outside Canada. This is primarily due to an alarming decline in measles vaccination caused by delayed childhood immunizations amid COVID-19 lockdowns, vaccine hesitancy creating vulnerable societal pockets, anti-vaccine sentiments and digital misinformation spread through online social media, and the resumption of global travel post-COVID.

Measles outbreaks occur soon after herd immunity is compromised. Herd immunity is achieved when an adequately large proportion of a population becomes immune to a specific pathogen through prior infections or vaccination. As a result, the probability of an infectious case encountering a susceptible person drops dramatically.

For measles, the necessary threshold for herd immunity is 95 per cent. This means when 95 per cent of people in a population are immune, the remaining five per cent (including newborns, unvaccinated or undervaccinated children and immunodeficient people who cannot receive a measles vaccine) are also indirectly protected since the risk of measles virus transmission is significantly minimized.

By receiving two doses of a measles vaccine, one protects not only themselves but also the vulnerable members of their community. The only way to avoid measles and its serious complications, including proneness to a broad spectrum of unrelated infections, is to vaccinate widely, to engage those who are hesitant to have their children immunized in a respectful dialogue, and to educate the public regarding the unparalleled benefits of measles vaccines.

It is also crucial to isolate infected individuals for four days after the appearance of a measles rash to prevent measles virus transmission to others.

In Canada, measles has been a nationally notifiable disease since 1924 (except between 1959 and 1968), and the Canadian Measles and Rubella Surveillance System (CMRSS) ensures the weekly collection of measles data from every province and territory, including zero report submissions.The Conversation

Mansour Haeryfar, Professor of Immunology, Western University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

 

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¿Wappin? One hellacious road trip / Un viaje por carretera infernal

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highway to hell
The road to Hell. Graphic by Leo Reynolds.

If you think the NEWS is awful these days
Si crees que las NOTICIAS son horribles…

Billie Eilish – All The Good Girls Go To Hell
https://youtu.be/-PZsSWwc9xA?si=Hd3LtrHgNUn6AqcP

Romeo Santos – La Diabla
https://youtu.be/tYUD9zpSTgw?si=xjXUcBaGGp0nXJBB

Soap & Skin – Me and the Devil
https://youtu.be/ZfWSOs5YbQ8?si=VbMH7m_sc0hxlE4_

Van Halen – Running With The Devil
https://youtu.be/Bl4dEAtxo0M?si=hIOitN95_beooWAg

Pat Benatar – Hell Is For Children
https://youtu.be/MxYsi5Y-xOQ?si=1h_1URud3aCpCB9d

Ritual – The Devil Wears Prada
https://youtu.be/tQnKdBeRTdY?si=gcqhRGY3rur21gXW

Indira Paganotto – Diabla
https://youtu.be/QKNBlxXR_Lo?si=QA4-VODBfp1UruiU

Rolling Stones – Sympathy for the Devil
https://youtu.be/Jwtyn-L-2gQ?si=MWhVOnSILP9sMess

Anne Wilson – Devil
https://youtu.be/f1dh3t2F5oE?si=BglQBRu-ZD-12YuJ

Ulpiano Vergara – Amores Prohibidos
https://youtu.be/nNhZddpugIc?si=RgZev-eWhk0d0WYj

Demi Lovato – Dancing With The Devil
https://youtu.be/EAg69LaLlS0?si=3onwg2ROwqqCBK0q

Colter Wall – The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie
https://youtu.be/H3FZztHrCMM?si=W-mi6sWqBtUm6L6N

The Velvet Underground & Nico – Femme Fatale
https://youtu.be/r_4wKYrky4k?si=P2iSIWRpKVNf4Whk

The Charlie Daniels Band – The Devil Went Down to Georgia
https://youtu.be/wBjPAqmnvGA?si=UZqzmEpfh7hFftzb

Hello Seahorse! — Bestia
https://youtu.be/QNDlwHW92OY?si=PThBdPgMYw2s_n04

Alice Cooper – Go to Hell
https://youtu.be/VRL1hGPOUTo?si=WVivrqxcU_09A26Y

   

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Traditional machine politics: Carlos’s crew

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pouring
In one way or another, it’s happening across much of the country. Wherever there is a PRD or allied representante, there is money available for local works. For places with opposition local officials, not so much. The next rounds of question are on what and how honestly it gets spent. Then there are questions of quality and wise discretion. “Pave the road going through El Bajito” has been a long-running demand. “Drain The Swamp” is a gringo slogan of the MAGA kind. Pouring concrete for drainage under a newly improved old street. Photo by Eric Jackson.

Public works for all to see

by Eric Jackson

Whether he was born with the right to carry the Panamanian cedula that he has, who is this gringo to complain about Panama’s constitution? It was drawn up by elected representantes — members of municipal and provincial councils who have some more administrative and asset distribution roles than what you might expect in other countries — back during dictatorship days in 1972. It was done at the behest of military strongman Omar Torrijos to humor the Washington politicians, really. The goal was to decolonize Panama — put the old Canal Zone and the canal itself into Panamanian hands — and “tinhorn dictator” was not the face that Torrijos needed to show the world in general or the USA in particular. Torrijos and Boris Martínez led a 1968 coup to oust a guy whom Washington did not particularly like — he WAS, after all, one of Hitler’s friends in the 1930s and early 40s. Then these two men had their falling out and Torrijos, with the assistance of the Guardia Nacional G2 intelligence chief Manuel Antonio Noriega (to whom Torrijos sometimes referred as “my gangster,” needed to show the Americans some sort of democratic reform to get new arrangements that would abolish the hated Hay – Bunau-Varilla Treaty that had created the Canal Zone back in Teddy Roosevelt days.

Having overthrown the elected president 11 days into his term, and dissolved the legislature, Torrijos left much that was local government in place. So to draft a new constitution he assembled the representantes elected in 1968 and they drew up this document. They gave themselves supremacy over the alcaldes in municipal government. They set up a political spoils system wherein those politicians who played along with the game would get a cut of the political patronage action. It phased in over a dozen years and is the system under which Panama lives to this day.

Carlos Fernández, a member of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) that Torrijos founded, is our veteran representante here in Juan Diaz de Anton, in Cocle province. I moved here about a decade ago and my first impression was not a good one. In 2015 the water went out in our neighborhood for eight months, during which he did not show his face.

But hey, I was a young city council member and I made young politician errors. I learned from and corrected things as best I could see how. Politicians growing wiser in office is a common thing and ought to be the expected thing. Egos of people who believe overblown campaign hype or the words of flatterers can get in the way, but still I would not expect the venerable Joe Biden to repeat some of his rookie senator errors.

Via this awful PRD government money has come this neighborhood’s way. Carlos Fernández has not been good about formally consulting with anybody, but the unpaved road has on occasion brought protesters out to block the highway and rightly or wrongly has been blamed for the police not coming through this neighborhood to suppress the maleantes as much as residents think that they should. He may have skipped the formal hearings with proper notice to all affected, but Fernández did respond to public demand otherwise expressed. So we get this road improvement project.

2
WHAT?!?!? We are warned about the danger of deviationists in the neighborhood? Actually, it was a warning to make a slight detour around some hazardous work along the road’s shoulder.

I’m not a civil engineer. Not sure if the representante is educated as such either. But both of us know that a standard bane of Panamanian roadwork is insufficient to non-existent drainage. And both of us ought to know that one of the deadlier driving hazards in the unshielded abutment into what a vehicle might crash. I have this third concern that I share with dogs and birds, but I am not sure with the representante: conserving the neighborhood’s little wetland.

A drain was already there and it’s being improved. Perhaps too much, so that it drains away and eliminates a place in which dogs and birds love to splash and around which adds to the biodiversity of the flora. So, what to do if such wetland conservation is not in the plan? Just a retrofit, a low berm in front of the drain, over which the water must pour to get into the tube that crosses under the road. As in a mini-dam of rocks, mud and water vegetation, a relatively cheap and easy addition.

3
Good translators are hard to come by, and this inspector relies much more on his sense of smell than on sharp eyes. But surely he knows what’s at stake and would insist on certain standards.

The outward signs are that Fernández is on his way to re-election, but those can deceive. His signs and PRD flags are everywhere. Sometimes, however, it looks like he has a lot more to show than he has people to show it. Like four flags and a sign at a house, instead of single flags and a sign at four different houses. And at the top of the ticket his party has this ridiculous presidential candidate who may have negative coat tails. This year there are also an unusual number of houses flying flags of parties that are not allied with each other, which suggests more than the usual ticket-splitting — which I estimate may help the representante keep his job.

The student of history and urban policy will know, or will soon learn, of the machine pol who “seen my opportunities and took ’em.” But the water is on and every day, up the road, you see men working on an addition to the water tower. The roadwork is ongoing and there for all to see — even if on my usual daily round I will head to bus stop and see guys from Carlos’s crew napping in the shade of a tree. Somebody might get irate, but I’m a working man whose writing station is not air conditioned — as in well aware that to get the best outdoor work in the tropics it’s best to let the crew rest while the sun is directly overhead. The meanest of plantation culture actually isn’t the way to get the most productivity. 

Everyone else in the neighborhood can see what I can see, interpreting it as they will. I see a traditional politician running a traditional campaign that seems to be on track.

4
 

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Prominent Jewish Americans condemn AIPAC effort to “dominate” US primaries

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There is a hue and cry to call Glazer “self-hating” for this. A lot has been invested in this vilification.

Prominent US Jews condemn AIPAC

by Jake Johnson — Common Dreams

More than 100 prominent Jewish Americans signed a statement released Wednesday condemning the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s increasingly aggressive interventions in US elections, particularly Democratic Party primaries in which the powerful lobbying group is spending big to unseat progressives.

The statement’s list of signatories includes well-known scholars, rabbis, anti-war activists, journalists, and filmmakers who have “agreed to come together to highlight and oppose the unprecedented and damaging role of AIPAC” and its allied organizations in the American electoral process. The statement calls on Democratic candidates to reject all funding from AIPAC’s political network.

AIPAC’s political entities, including its United Democracy Project super PAC, are expected to spend $100 million this election cycle targeting candidates who have backed a cease-fire in Gaza or have otherwise been deemed inadequately pro-Israel.

“We recognize the purpose of AIPAC’s interventions in electoral politics is to defeat any critics of Israeli government policy and to support candidates who vow unwavering loyalty to Israel, thereby ensuring the United States’ continuing support for all that Israel does, regardless of its violence and illegality,” reads the new statement from Jewish Americans, which can be read in full below.

“Given that Israel is so isolated internationally that it could not continue its inhumane treatment of the Palestinians without US political and military support, AIPAC is an essential link in the chain that holds in place the unbearable tragedy of Israel/Palestine,” the statement continues. “In the coming U.S. elections, we need to break that chain in order to help free the people of Israel/Palestine to pursue peaceful coexistence.”

In contrast to AIPAC, we are American Jews who believe that US support for foreign governments should only be extended to those that respect the full human and civil rights, and right to self-determination, of all people.

The statement comes days after more than 20 progressive advocacy organizations—including Jewish Voice for Peace Action and the Jewish-led IfNotNow Movement—formed a coalition aimed at countering AIPAC’s influence in the 2024 elections after the lobbying group had a significant impact on the 2022 midterms.

According to OpenSecrets, most of the candidates AIPAC supported in the 2022 cycle won their races after the group’s super PAC raised more than $30 million.

In the current cycle, AIPAC’s top targets are members of the progressive Squad who have called for a cease-fire and end to weapons exports to Israel. As The Interceptreported earlier this month, AIPAC recruited and is funding Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s (D-N.Y.) primary challenger and is expected to spend heavily to unseat Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), who overcame AIPAC money to win her seat in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District in 2022.

On top of working to sink progressives, AIPAC has also previously “endorsed Republican extremists and dozens of Congress members who’d voted against certifying” President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory over former President Donald Trump, the Jewish Americans noted in their new statement.

“In contrast to AIPAC, we are American Jews who believe that US support for foreign governments should only be extended to those that respect the full human and civil rights, and right to self-determination, of all people,” the statement reads. “We oppose all forms of racism and bigotry, including antisemitism—and we support the historic alliance in our country of Jewish Americans with African Americans and other people of color in the cause of civil rights and equal justice.”

“Therefore, we strongly oppose AIPAC’s attempts to dominate Democratic primary elections,” the statement adds. “We will support candidates who are opposed by AIPAC, and who are advocates for peace and a new, just U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine.”

Read the full statement and list of signatories:

We are Jewish Americans who have varying perspectives. We’ve agreed to come together to highlight and oppose the unprecedented and damaging role of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and allied groups in US elections, especially within Democratic Party primaries. We recognize the purpose of AIPAC’s interventions in electoral politics is to defeat any critics of Israeli Government policy and to support candidates who vow unwavering loyalty to Israel, thereby ensuring the United States’ continuing support for all that Israel does, regardless of its violence and illegality.

Given that Israel is so isolated internationally that it could not continue its inhumane treatment of the Palestinians without US political and military support, AIPAC is an essential link in the chain that holds in place the unbearable tragedy of Israel/Palestine. In the coming US elections, we need to break that chain in order to help free the people of Israel/Palestine to pursue peaceful coexistence.

In the same 2021-22 election cycle in which AIPAC endorsed Republican extremists and dozens of Congress members who’d voted against certifying Biden’s victory over Trump, the AIPAC network raised millions from Trump donors and spent the money inside Democratic primaries against progressives, mostly candidates of color. AIPAC is now vowing to spend even more millions in the 2024 Democratic primaries, targeting specific Democrats in Congress—initially all legislators of color—who’ve advocated for a Gaza cease-fire, a position supported by the vast majority of Democratic voters. AIPAC’s election spending increasingly works to defeat candidates who criticize the racist policies of Israel.

In contrast to AIPAC, we are American Jews who believe that US support for foreign governments should only be extended to those that respect the full human and civil rights, and right to self-determination, of all people. We oppose all forms of racism and bigotry, including antisemitism—and we support the historic alliance in our country of Jewish Americans with African Americans and other people of color in the cause of civil rights and equal justice.

Therefore, we strongly oppose AIPAC’s attempts to dominate Democratic primary elections. We call on Democratic candidates to not accept AIPAC network funding, and demand that the Democratic leadership not allow Republican funders to use that network to deform Democratic primary elections. We will support candidates who are opposed by AIPAC, and who are advocates for peace and a new, just US policy toward Israel/Palestine.

Signed by: (Organizational Affiliations For Identification Purposes Only)

Adam Gold, Senior Strategist, Working Families Party

Adam Shatz, London Review of Books

Alan Levine, Civil rights lawyer

Alan Minsky, Executive Director, Progressive Democrats of America

Alicia T. Singham Goodwin, Political Director at Jews For Racial & Economic Justice

Rabbi Alissa Wise, Lead Organizer, Rabbis for Ceasefire

Alisse Waterson, Presidential Scholar and Professor, John Jay College, CUNY

Anna Baltzer, Author, “Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories”

Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright, M4BL Black Hive/Black Alliance for Peace

Ariel Dorfman, Novelist, playwright, essayist, human rights activist

Ariel Gold, Executive Director, Fellowship of Reconciliation

Ariela Gross, Distinguished Professor, UCLA School of Law

Rabbi Dr. Aryeh Cohen, Professor, American Jewish University

Aurora Levins Morales, Writer

Aviva Chomsky, Professor of History, Salem State University

Aviva Orenstein, Professor, Maurer School of Law, Indiana University

Ben Cohen, Co-founder, Ben & Jerry’s, philanthropist

Ben Ehrenreich, Author, winner of American Book Award

Beth Miller, Political Director, Jewish Voice for Peace

Rabbi Brant Rosen

Rabbi Brian Walt

Caroline Levine, Professor of the Humanities, Cornell University

Dan Segal, Professor Emeritus, Anthropology and History, Pitzer College

Dan Simon, Professor of Law and Psychology, University of Southern California

Daniel Stolzenberg, Associate Professor of History, University of California, Davis

Danny Goldberg, Music executive, author

Dave Zirin, Sports editor at The Nation, author

David Vine, Professor of Anthropology, American University

Deborah Eisenberg, Writer and actress

Deena Metzger, Poet, novelist, and essayist

Dennis Bernstein, Poet, human rights reporter, and host of Flashpoints

Donna Nevel, Educator

Eliot Katz, Poet, author “The Poetry and Politics of Allen Ginsberg”

Elliott Gould

Eric Drooker, Graphic novelist and artist

Estee Chandler, Board Chair, Jewish Voice for Peace Action

Eva Borgwardt, National Spokesperson, If Not Now

Ira Shor, Professor Emeritus, Graduate Center, CUNY

Gabriel Winant, Assistant Professor of History, University of Chicago

Gail Hershatter, Professor Emeritus of History, University of California, Santa Cruz

Gene Bruskin, Labor leader and playwright

Hadar Cohen, Scholar, mystic, and artist

Hollie Ainbinder, Program Director, Institute for Public Accuracy

Howard Horowitz, Board President, WESPAC Foundation

Howard A. Rodman, Screenwriter, novelist, and educator

Ivan Handler, J Street Chicago

James Schamus, Filmmaker, Professor, Columbia University

Jay Levin, Founder of LA Weekly

Jeff Cohen, Media critic, retired Ithaca College journalism professor

Jeff Gottlieb, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist

Jennifer Spitzer, Associate Professor, Literatures in English, Ithaca College

Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, Organizer, founding member, Radical Jewish Calendar

Joel Beinin, Emeritus Professor of History, Stanford University

Judith Butler, Professor, University of California, Berkeley

Judith Gurewich, Publisher, Other Press

Kenneth Pomeranz, Professor, University of Chicago, Yuen Campus in Hong Kong

Larry Cohen, Former President of Communications Workers of America

Laura Dittmar, Professor Emerita, author of “Tracing Homelands”

Leora Auslander, Professor, University of Chicago

Lesley Williams, Librarian, Board Member, Jewish Voice for Peace Action

Lisa Sternlieb, Associate Professor of English and Jewish Studies, Penn State University

Marcy Winograd, Co-founder, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party

Marjorie Cohn, Professor Emerita of Law, past president of National Lawyers Guild

Mark Dimondstein, President of the American Postal Workers Union

Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research

Martin A. Lee, Author, “The Beast Reawakens”

Maya Schenwar, Director, Truthout Center for Grassroots Journalism

Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK Co-founder

Michael Greenberg, Founder and Executive Director, Climate Defiance

Mike Hersh, Communications Director, Progressive Democrats of America

Mitchell Plitnick, President, ReThinking Foreign Policy

Molly Crabapple, Artist and writer

Morgan Spector, Actor

Naomi Dann, Chief of Staff, Housing Justice for All

Nomi Stolzenberg, Professor, USC Gould School of Law

Norman Solomon, National Director, RootsAction

Dr. Paul Zeitz, Author and activist

Penny Rosenwasser, Author, Center for Jewish Nonviolence

Peter Beinart, Editor-at-Large, Jewish Currents, author, and journalism professor

Phyllis Bennis, Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies

Rafael Shimunov, Radio host and co-founder, The Jewish Vote

Rebecca Vilkomerson, Organizer and author

Richard Bauman, Professor Emeritus, Indiana University

Richard Handler, Professor of Anthropology, University of Virginia

Rick Goldsmith, Documentary filmmaker

Robert Brenner, Professor Emeritus of History, UCLA

Robert Greenwald, Filmmaker, President of Brave New Films

Robert Herbst, Esq., Board Co-Chair, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)

Robert Naiman, Former Policy Director, Just Foreign Policy

Robert Scheer, Author, journalist, publisher of ScheerPost

Sam Rosenthal, Political Director, RootsAction

Samuel Moyn, Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History, Yale University

Sarah Jaffe, Journalist, author of “Work Won’t Love You Back”

Sarah Schulman, Writer

Seth Ackerman, Editor-at-Large, Jacobin

Sheldon Pollock, Professor Emeritus, Columbia University

Simone Zimmerman, Co-founder, IfNotNow

Sarah Sophie Flicker, Artist, actress, and activist

Spencer Ackerman, Journalist and author

Stefanie Fox, Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace

Susan Adelman, Feminist, activist, and philanthropist

Suzanne Gordon, Journalist and author

Suzi Weissman, Professor of Politics, St. Mary’s College

Tony Kushner, Writer

Victor Wallis, Professor of Liberal Arts, Berklee College of Music

Wallace Shawn, Actor & Playwright

Zillah Eisenstein, Professor Emerita of Politics, Ithaca College

 

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Cambios de fechas y organización para la FAE

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Marko
¿Marko The Magician volverá a aparecer esta vez? Foto de archivo de GECU.
FAe text

 

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To fend off hackers, organized trolls and other online vandalism, our website comments feature is switched off. Instead, come to our Facebook page to join in the discussion.

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Editorials: What God’s and secular laws forbid; and Cleaning up

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What’s forbidden and what ought to be

Pork is forbidden for observant Jews and Muslims.

During this month of Ramadan eating, drinking and smoking during the day are forbidden for Muslims.

Wars rage on in many places, permitted under certain circumstances by most major faiths. Demagogues, racists and bigots like to contrive arguments about the circumstances.

Wars that that turn noncombatant civilians, especially but not only children, into military targets? Those are forbidden by international law and most of its variants – by the precedents of Nuremberg, by the Muslim Sharia, by the wisest passages of the Jewish Old Testament and the Christian New Testament.

The world has not found effective and systematic ways to enforce any of these bans, and extreme measures can be worse than the misconduct. But humanity gropes its way through the smoke, stumbling over the rubble, looking for a way. And every now and then an egregious offender loses a war and is subjected to harsh justice.

Let’s understand about the offenders but not excuse the offenses. It doesn’t always work that way, but let there be a reckoning for the ongoing rampage.

Broce's campaign
Independent Panama City mayoral candidate Edison Broce and his crew are picking up on a tactic this campaign season. People running against the PRD mayor and his allied representantes are cleaning up and fixing eyesores and hazards that the incumbents have neglected. The most obnoxious – but desired by the opposition – power structure responses are of the “You can’t do that because it’s OUR turf” flavor. / Photo from Edison Broce’s Twitter / X feed.

Panamanians don’t trust the main institutions here

Polls sell newspapers, especially in a society where the dominant elites are inordinately concerned about all sorts of “rankings.” And might we start by ranking polling firms?

La Prensa is using a polling firm that exists in several countries but really wasn’t a factor the last time that Panama went to the polls, nearly five years ago. There’s a straightforward math about what’s a random sampling and how many people to question. Knowing which questions to ask, figuring out who is really likely to vote, weighting samples that don’t precisely match demographics, identifying “hot buttons” – these are important arts and sciences that also go into good polling. It’s not rocket science but pollsters have been wrong about Panama before.

La Prensa leads it March 18 edition with a poll about public confidence in seven major public institutions. Duh, now – the great majority have little or no trust in these parts of the government. They asked about the courts and the legislature – but not the presidency or local governments. They found that people trust the police more than the prosecutors or the courts, but that just over one-quarter of Panamanians trust the police. They asked about state institutions but not religious ones. The asked in late February and early March, before some events that may turn out to have been game-changers.

Widespread disbelief? Here come the snake oil vendors. Those who sell a concoction of the rendered fat of an Asian water snake with certain herbs mixed in, as something to rug on your aching muscles? Honest businesspeople, on the whole. Those who sell it as a cure for all that ails ye? Political campaign managers for our times.

We face momentous decisions with a lot of information of widely varying quality at our disposal. Common sense, decent values and multiple sources of information become indispensable for you, and for the nation. Pay attention to, but do not give too much weight to, what other people say that other people think. Do your own homework and make your own decisions.

If your Panagringo dual citizen editor gives such advice to Panamanian voters, on his US citizen side he also says that to American voters. In both Panama and the USA, the choices are too stark and the issues are too important for anybody to play the fool. VOTE.

OWH -- but NOT Old Weird Harold


The greatest act of faith is when a man understands he is not God.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Bear in mind…

It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult.

Queen Elizabeth II

The Palestinian people are united in their determination to achieve our rightful place among nations.

Yasser Arafat

Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.

Margaret Atwood

 

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Li, TikTok – agents of the Chinese government?

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TikTok
Some US lawmakers have grown concerned about TikTok. From the TikTok website, Wikipedia image by Jernej Furman.

Is TikTok’s parent company an agent of the Chinese state? In China Inc., it’s a little more complicated

by Shaomin Li, Old Dominion University

Does the Chinese government have officials inside TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, pulling the strings? And does the storing of data from the popular social media app outside of China protect Americans?

These questions appear to dominate the current thinking in the U.S. over whether to ban TikTok if its owner, Chinese technology giant ByteDance, refuses to sell the platform.

But in my opinion – forged through 40 years as a scholar of China, its political economy and business – both questions obscure a more interesting point. What’s more, they suggest a crucial misunderstanding of the relationship between state and private enterprise in China.

Simply put, there’s no clear line between the state and society in China in the same way that there is in democracies. The Chinese Communist Party – which is synonymous with the Chinese state – both owns and is the nation. And that goes for private enterprises, too. They operate like joint ventures in which the government is both a partner and the ultimate boss. Both sides know that – even if that relationship isn’t expressly codified and recognizable to outside onlookers.

ByteDance under the microscope

Take ByteDance. The company has become the focus of scrutiny in the U.S. largely due to the outsized influence that its subsidiary plays in the lives of young Americans. Some 170 million Americans are TikTok users, and U.S. politicians fear their data has a direct route back to the Chinese state via ByteDance, which has its head offices in Beijing.

Location aside, concerned voices in the U.S. cite the evidence of former ByteDance employees who suggest interference from the Chinese government, and reports that the state has quietly taken a direct stake and a board seat at Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. Ltd., ByteDance’s Chinese subsidiary.

Grilled by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in March 2023, TikTok’s Singaporean CEO Shou Zi Chew said unequivocally that ByteDance was not “an agent of China or any other country.”

The history of the Chinese government’s dealings with private companies suggests something more subtle, however.

The rise of China Inc.

Over its century-long history, the Chinese Communist Party has sought to exercise control over all aspects of the country, including its economy. In its early days, this control took the form of a heavy-handed command economy in which everything was produced and consumed according to government planning.

China took a step in a more capitalist direction in the latter half of the 20th century after the death of Mao Zedong, founder of the People’s Republic of China. But even the reforms of Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s and 1980s – credited for opening up China’s economy – were in the service of party goals. Because China’s economy was in ruins, the party’s emphasis was on economic development, and it loosened its grip on power to encourage that. The continuation of party control was still paramount – it just needed to reform the economy to ensure that goal.

That didn’t mean the party wanted pluralism. After decades of economic growth, and with a GDP surpassing that of the U.S. when measured by purchasing power parity, the Chinese government once again started to shift its focus to a comprehensive control of China.

In recent years, under the increasingly centralized control of Xi Jinping, the Chinese government has evidently opted to run the entire country as a giant corporation, with the ruling party as its management.

A party with unusual power

Unlike political parties in democracies, which people freely join and leave, the Chinese Communist Party resembles a secret society. To join, you need to be introduced by two party members and tested for an extended period, and then pledge to die for the party’s cause. Quitting it also needs approval by the party. Orders are implicit, and protecting one’s superior is crucial.

People who don’t cooperate face serious consequences. In 2022, an official warned a resident who disobeyed the official’s order in COVID-19 testing that three generations of the resident’s descendants would be adversely affected if he were uncooperative. The same is true of businesses: Ride-sharing company Didi incurred the party’s displeasure by listing its stocks in the U.S., and was harshly punished and forced to delist as a result – losing more than 80% of its value.

Since those who disobey the party are weeded out or are punished and seen to have learned their lessons, all surviving and successful private businesses are party supporters – either voluntarily or otherwise.

The rapid emergence of China Inc. has caught even seasoned Chinese entrepreneurs off guard. Consider the case of Sun Dawu, a successful agricultural entrepreneur known for advocating for rural reform and the rights of farmers. That offended the party, and in 2020, authorities confiscated all his assets and sentenced him to 18 years in prison.

As if that weren’t enough, China’s National Intelligence Law granted broad powers to the country’s spy agencies and obligates companies to assist with intelligence efforts. That’s why some American lawmakers are concerned that ByteDance could be forced to hand over Americans’ private data to the Chinese state. TikTok denies this is the case. However, recently leaked files of I-Soon, a Chinese hacking firm, reveal public-private collusion in data sharing is common in China.

That’s why I’m not convinced by TikTok’s argument that American users’ data is safe because it’s stored outside of China, in the U.S., Malaysia and Singapore. I also don’t think it’s relevant whether the party has members on the ByteDance board or gives explicit orders to TikTok.

Regardless of whether ByteDance has formal ties with the party, there will be the tacit understanding that the management is working for two bosses: the investors of the company and – more importantly – their political overseers that represent the party. But most importantly, when the interests of the two bosses conflict, the party trumps.

As such, as long as ByteDance owns TikTok, I believe ByteDance will use TikTok to support the party – not just for its own business survival, but for the safety of the personnel of ByteDance and TikTok, and their families.The Conversation

Shaomin Li, Eminent Scholar and Professor of International Business, Old Dominion University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

 

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