This is the Elion-Hitchings Building. It’s futuristic look had it appearing in science fiction films and TV, most notably Brainstorm, Natalie Wood’s last film. It was built in 1972. Sadly (and perhaps predictably) it was just demolished after being abandoned for years. Interesting looking but the shapes were a terrible use of space, making a significant percentage of the interior square footage unusable.
“Dr. King pointed out the bombs the United States was then dropping on Vietnam also explode at home, destroying the possibility of a decent life for millions here, especially for working class and oppressed people. Washington’s wars and sanctions still have that effect today,” Struggle-La Lucha’s Bill Dores told Press TV.
“For the past 30 years, the United States has been engaged in a long and futile war to try and regain the monopoly that U.S. oil companies once had on the world’s energy reserves. This is only for the benefit of a handful of multibillionaires not the majority of people.“
(Re)Building for the Future: Solar Solidarity in Puerto Rico - by Mutual Aid Disaster Relief
The networks of mutual support
in Puerto Rico that sprung up like a flower through the concrete after
Hurricane Maria, show how mutual aid responses to disasters build power
and resilience for future crises, both political and climate-related.
These Centros de Apoyo Mutuo (Mutual Aid Centers) served as nuclei for
relief efforts to coalesce around after the recent earthquakes in
southern Puerto Rico. Actions taken by these mutual aid networks have
been potent examples of revolutionary ideas of autonomy and
self-governance.
Partnering with Rock Spring United Church of Christ,
a justice-focused church out of Virginia who provided significant
funding and volunteers for the efforts, along with technical expertise
from Footprint Project and Solar Village Project, together we were able to re-wire the first and second floor and install new fans and LED lights at the Centro de Apoyo Mutuo Bucarabones Unidos
(CAMBU) in Las Marias, Puerto Rico. Our friends here now plan to launch
a computer lab for the community in addition to their other programs in
this rural area, all running off of 100% renewable energy.
Nearby, in Lares, an abandoned school is in the process of being transformed into a vibrant mutual aid community space, by Centro de Apoyo Mutuo Lares.
Lares has one of the highest displacement rates of any community on the
island – lots of people can’t find work here and move to San Juan or
leave the island entirely. Folks working on the project told us that,
aside from providing emergency housing, a communal kitchen and meeting
space, the main purpose will be to share and build skills necessary for
people to support themselves and each other and not have to leave Lares
to work in San Juan, with a particular focus on food autonomy and
agroecology. One organizer in particular emphasized the significance of
food autonomy on the island as much of the island still depends on
imports for many food staples.
A
small photovoltaic system is installed here in Lares for now and we
worked to clean & reclaim several rooms. But as their vision for the
space grows and more rooms are rescued, we aim to have their back and
come back to install a larger, more permanent solar array that can power
the legal clinic, agroecology programs, workshops, skillshares, music
nights and anything else they are dreaming up.
[…]
These mutual aid centers, and more like
them, show a path forward through political, economic, and climate
crises. In grounding their vision for revolutionary change in tangible
action supporting the people in their community, they are building for
the future, one meal, one workshop, one acupuncture treatment, one act
of compassion, one act of resistance, at a time. And we are excited to
build alongside them, one light switch, one solar panel, one friendship
into the future, knowing that whatever may come our way, we know we have
each other.
-Every single communist country in the entire history of the world has collapsed under the weight of either severe poverty, debt, or corruption
-On a visit to the US on a diplomatic trip, Boris Yeltsen, then Prime Minister of Soviet Russia, visited American grocery stores and remarked that he was impressed by the plentiness of options and sheer volume of available food, a stark contrast to a Russian store of the time which only had the most basic staples, if it had anything at all to begin with. He is quoted to even go so far as to say “I was overcome with grief for the Russian people. That we are supposedly a rich nation, but our people only know such poverty.”
-People still work in communist nations! Only now, instead of working a job of their choosing to earn money for themselves and rise to success, they are pressed into factories to produce goods for the party, and earn only enough money to survive, if the country isn’t decrepit enough to only pay in ration stamps yet.
-In capitalist nations, there is the possibility of something called “upward mobility”. This concept is essentially: If you are smart enough and work your way up the ladder, you can elevate yourself into a higher class of society. Upward mobility is notoriously lacking in communist nations unless you are lucky enough to be connected with a high ranking party member.
-People in the USSR did not have color television until the 90s. The lucky few who could afford vehicles drove cars that were made before the end of World War 2.
-The total body count of every communist nation atrocity more than doubles the deaths of the Holocaust, and that’s only the confirmed numbers.
-China, a communist nation, is responsible for more pollution than the USA, UK, and Japan combined.
-China, a communist nation, is trying to take over Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan, and South Korea. That sounds like imperialism to me!
-In The USSR, party members were afforded luxuries that the common man was outright banned from possessing. Including modern foreign technology, large sprawling estates, fleets of vehicles, gun ownership.
There is a reason why things cost money. Unless you want to say that the hard, toiling labor of people like my late grandfather, a farmer for most of his life, is worth nothing more than your gratitude and the gratitude of “the party”, I suggest you learn that reason real fast.
Capitalism is not perfect. There are problems. But you know whats fun about it as well?
When there are things a company is doing that you find wrong, you can exercise your power as the consumer to force them to change. All by simply not giving said company your custom.
You can complain about how Amazon treats its workers, or you can actively avoid buying from them at all cost.
You can complain about how Apple sells outdated, featureless technology at high premiums, or, you can actively avoid buying from them at all cost.
Do something about these problems instead of creating worse ones for the people.
Every single communist country in the entire history of the world has collapsed under the weight of either severe poverty, debt, or corruption
absolutely false- the PRC, DPRK, Vietnam, and Cuba are all still kicking and communist. all of them doing far better at handling covid than the USA or most European countries, i might add. Nepal went communist not too long ago too. China is closing the gap between itself and the USA in terms of GDP too:
On a visit to the US on a diplomatic trip, Boris Yeltsen, then Prime Minister of Soviet Russia, visited American grocery stores and remarked that he was impressed by the plentiness of options and sheer volume of available food, a stark contrast to a Russian store of the time which only had the most basic staples, if it had anything at all to begin with. He is quoted to even go so far as to say “I was overcome with grief for the Russian people. That we are supposedly a rich nation, but our people only know such poverty.”
first, it’s “Boris Yeltsin.” second, when he was prime minister russia was no longer communist. third, i searched that quote and only found results from tumblr, most if not all from this very thread. i’m inclined to believe you simply made the quote up.
In capitalist nations, there is the possibility of something called “upward mobility”. This concept is essentially: If you are smart enough and work your way up the ladder, you can elevate yourself into a higher class of society.
i think what you mean is that in capitalist nations there’s a lie of upward mobility which is used to placate people- an illusory carrot paired with the stick of joblessness, homelessness, and destitution. interestingly communist counries are the only ones who have successfully implemented job guarantees and universal housing. funny.
People in the USSR did not have color television until the 90s.
The total body count of every communist nation atrocity more than doubles the deaths of the Holocaust, and that’s only the confirmed numbers.
coming from the absurd arithmetic of groups like the Victims of Communist Memorial Foundation, which includes nazi soldiers, people who died of natural disasters like famines (ignoring the more frequent famines which occurred before the revolution), and, most recently, everyone in the world who died of covid (because it started in china, you see). but hey, anticommunists will do anything to downplay the holocaust, right?
China, a communist nation, is responsible for more pollution than the USA, UK, and Japan combined.
check the numbers per capita and then get back to me.
yeah no shit a country with a population that size is going to produce more pollution if you don’t adjust for population size dumbass.
Capitalism is not perfect. There are problems. But you know whats fun about it as well?
When there are things a company is doing that you find wrong, you can exercise your power as the consumer to force them to change. All by simply not giving said company your custom.
wow it’s going great. so much freedom of choice.
i think i’ve covered most of your claims here- if there’s anything i’ve missed, well, i’d like you to provide a source to back it up first, especially given that you’re so blatantly dishonest as to have apparently fabricated a Boris Yeltsin quote entirely, in addition to falsely claiming Russia was Soviet when he was prime minister and getting his name wrong.
This blog is mostly so I can vent my feelings and share my interests. Other than that, I am nothing special.
If you don't like Left Wing political thought and philosophy, all things related to horror, the supernatural, the grotesque, guns or the strange, then get the fuck out. I just warned you.
