DNC protests: continuing the fine tradition of left splintering and liberal-left selling out

As the headline states, the DNC protests have continued the fine tradition of left-wing organizations splintering into factionalism, in this case caused by the usual liberal-’left’ sellouts. For those of you who have missed it (it certainly isn’t getting much in the way of media attention-surprise surprise), the protests, originally organized under the (rather clever, I have to say) Recreate ‘68 banner. What the organizers are referring to with ‘recreate’ is the protests against the Vietnam War at the 1968 DNC, and presumably, the broader history of left activity in 1968.

Of course, nothing like this could go on without some splintering.

Kennedy backs Obama; ‘change’ occurs

A quickie: came across this article on BBC World. Teddy Kennedy, who is apparently ‘patriarch’ of the Kennedy clan, is backing Barack Obama for Democratic candidate for President. Obama, who uses the ‘change’ line (“I represent change”, blah blah blah) about as much as Giuliani mentions 9/11 (i.e. a whole shitload), and who is clearly positioning himself as the anti-establishment candidate (watch as Obama sticks it to the man by… continuing Bill Clinton’s neoliberal foreign policy!), is apparently anti-establishment enough to warrant the approval of… the head of America’s oldest surviving political dynasty.

I would find the irony to be delicious if the fallout from Obama (or any other Demo/Repub candidate, with the exception of loony-tunes faux-libertarian Ron Paul) didn’t mean the continuation of mass-slaughter at the hands of American capitalism and the neoliberal war machine.