In Honor of Labor Day

Billy Bragg wrote revised English lyrics to sing "The Internationale" with Pete Seeger at the Vancouver Folk Festival. Those lyrics are featured in the video above. Below are the English lyrics translated directly from the French, followed by the explanation of the origins of this socialist labor anthem. (I think I like Billy's English version better).

The Internationale

Arise ye workers from your slumbers
Arise ye prisoners of want
For reason in revolt now thunders
And at last ends the age of cant
Away with all your superstitions
Servile masses arise, arise
We'll change henceforth the old tradition
And spurn the dust to win the prize

Chorus
So comrades, come rally
And the last fight let us face
The Internationale unites the human race
So comrades, come rally
And the last fight let us face
The Internationale unites the human race

No more deluded by reaction
On tyrants only we'll make war
The soldiers too will take strike action
They'll break ranks and fight no more
And if those cannibals keep trying
To sacrifice us to their pride
They soon shall hear the bullets flying
We'll shoot the generals on our own side

No saviour from on high delivers
No faith have we in prince or peer
Our own right hand the chains must shiver
Chains of hatred, greed and fear
E'er the thieves will out with their booty
And give to all a happier lot
Each at the forge must do their duty
And we'll strike while the iron is hot.

"The Internationale was written to celebrate the Paris Commune of March-May 1871: the first time workers took state power into their own hands. They established in the Commune a form of government more democratic than ever seen before. Representatives were mandated on policy questions by their electors, they were recallable at any time and were paid wages that reflected those of their constituents. Marx's Civil War in France is a contemporary account of the history and significance of the Commune. The Commune was drowned in blood by the conservative French government in Versailles, cheered on by the ruling classes of the world. The words were written by poet Eugene Pottier one of Communards who was killed and the music by was written by his friend the composer Pierre Degeyter in 1888.

The song is still sung right around the world and Rob Elders in Holland has collected over 40 versions of The Internationale."
Source: Union Songs

A Cat's Eye View

Baxter here. It's about Time someone took a New Picture of Me. How do you like it? I think my Eyes look Very Piercing since they are reflecting the Glow of the Flash.

So, here we are, another Week gone. My Female Human has been wasting all her Free Time lately on that stupid Facebook thing. It's One Thing to be reading Blogs, which Stimulate the Mind; it's Quite Another Thing to be taking Stupid Quizzes and posting that you're eating Cereal for Lunch. The only Good Thing she does on that Facebook place is play Scrabble. That is an Intellectual Pursuit.

Be that as it may, at Least on the Weekends she is catching up, because it seems as if on Weekends when people aren't at Work they don't do much on Facebook! What does this say about the Nation's Work Force?

I wanted to tell you about a Nifty Site I discovered while Surfing the Net last night. It's on CNN.com and it is a Complete Summary of the Progress to Date by President Obama. Check it out right here. You can see how much of the Recovery Act went to things like Education or new Energy initiatives, which Bush Policies he reversed, and so on. It's worth a Look!

One of the Things my Female Human is particularly happy about is the digitizing of Medical Records:

"Another component of Obama's plan calls for all health records to be standard and electronic within five years. 'It just won't save billions of dollars and thousands of jobs -- it will save lives by reducing the deadly but preventable medical errors that pervade our health care system,' Obama said during a January 2009 speech."

The Doctor my Female Human goes to for her Checkups is Big on electronic Records. She inputs all her Information into a Laptop, she prints out her Prescriptions so the Pharmacist can actually read Them, and she Communicates via e-mail in a System called RelayHealth. My Female Human loves this. Her Doctor can be reached easily and she can even e-mail Prescriptions to Pharmacies in other States if my Humans are on Vacation and need some Pills they Forgot to bring. (Personally, as a Cat, I don't know why they would WANT Pills, but that's their Problem).

But her Other Doctors do not use this System and it is Very Frustrating for her. It's hard to get ahold of them, it's hard to get an Appointment, and so on. My Female Human's Mother's doctor wrote her out a Prescription that was so Hard to Read that the Pharmacist had no idea what it Was.

Moving on. This was an Interesting Week in terms of Stupid Things Done by Authorities. Cases in Point:

A school in Vienna, Virginia has imposed a "No Touch" rule for students. Apparently there had been some Altercations at School - and now Kids aren't allowed to even Hug, High Five or have any other Physical Contact. Doesn't this seem a Bit Much? As a Cat, I have a Large Personal Space and certainly Resent it if someone touches me without my Permission. But if I want to Rub around someone's Ankles, I think that should be MY decision. Same thing with Kids. Positive Touching should be allowed.

Some 13-year-old girls who were Goofing Around taking Pictures in their Underwear are being threatened with Child Pornography charges because the Pictures ended up on Some other Kids' cellphones. Child Pornography? This is Very Silly. After all, their Bras probably cover more than their Bikinis do on the Beach. And they were 13! Apparently they are Supposed to take some Classes teaching them about Sexual Harrassment and some of the Girls and their Parents are Refusing, and have called in the ACLU to defend Them. Good on them, I say! This is all getting Out of Control. Glad we Cats have Fur and don't have to worry about this Sort of Thing.

In other stories, a controversial Announcement was made this week that the building replacing the Destroyed World Trade Center Towers, which was to be called the Freedom Tower, is instead to be named "1 World Trade Center." Personally, I am in Favor of this. "Freedom Tower" was just a bit too George W. Bush-ish for My Taste. Reminded me of "Freedom Fries." False Patriotism. Plus of course it would have been a real Thumbing of the Nose to those who would like to Do Harm, and would probably have made it more Dangerous.

Earlier this Week, it was announced that the Swedish Government has refused to help save Saab, prompting demonstrations in Trollhattan. Guess those Swedes aren't as "Socialist" as everyone thinks! The headline should have read, "Sweden to Saab: Drop Dead!" However, Saab may still survive if Someone buys them. Time will tell. In the Meantime, the 4000 people who work at the factory in Trollhattan are Plenty Worried. Part of the Reason Sweden is so Stubborn about this may be that the Swedish government is just plain Mad at General Motors for Running the Famed Saab Car Company into the Ground with their Lousy Management.

In Better News, the Stock Market is nearing the End of March up over 8%, nearly 600 points. This is a Vast Improvement, although it is Too Soon to tell if it will Continue. The announcement of the President's Plan to Rescue the Banks from their "Toxic Assets" went over well with Wall Street, if not with Everyone Else.

So that's about It for Now. I will continue to scour the Internet for Further News to report to you. In the Meantime, have some Catnip and try not to think about your 401k. Remember, if you were a Cat, you wouldn't have one to begin with and your Life might be a lot Simpler.