Anarchic update news all over the world - 9.11.2018

Today's Topics:

   
1.  France, Alternative Libertaire AL #288 - United States -
      China, a trade war on the backs of workers (fr, it, pt)[machine
      translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  Poland, INICJATYWA PRACOWNICZA - WORKERS' INITIATIVE:
      Croatia: strike of the shipyard workers of the group of Ulyanik
      [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
3.  Holand,  vrijebond: [Amsterdam] The Mobile Unit goes to
      court! (nl) (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
4.  ANA - [France] "The ties of friendship that unite us can not
      be defeated by a gang of bandits and mafias" by French Anarchist
      Federation (pt) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
5.  US, Tierra y Libertad: California's Prop 10 and the Fight to
      Build Tenant Power -- A Statement by Black Rose/Rosa Negra - Los
      Angeles (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
6.  Czech, afed.cz - Tekmil: creating a culture of constructive
      criticism [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1






The confrontation of the two hyperpowers with customs taxing can bring nothing good to the 
employees, on one side or the other, and even in the whole world. ---- Since January, 
China and the United States are engaged in a "   trade war   ". The goal: to increase the 
products of the enemy by protectionist measures to favor the national production. For 
Donald Trump, it is a question of punishing Chinese commercial practices considered " 
unfair  ": the "  forced transfers of technologies  " and "  intellectual property rights 
" but also the depreciation of the yuan by China to support its competitiveness. ---- If 
the battle was first carried out with threats, it is now through real taxes of imported 
products, each offensive of one camp causing a response of the other. Latest episode: 
Washington announces, on September 17, the taxation of 200 billion dollars of Chinese 
imports. The next day, Beijing responded by setting up taxes on $ 60 billion of various 
imports such as machine tools, agricultural products, chemical components or liquefied 
natural gas.

375 billion deficit
Good news for workers ? The stated intentions of Trump are to restore American industrial 
power and thus to promote the employment of employees in the United States. In fact, the 
US industrial decline is undeniable, and the $ 375 billion trade deficit vis-à-vis China 
(a figure multiplied by 10 in twenty years) have something to do with it.

Yet there are many reasons to believe that the operation will not be beneficial to workers 
on either side of the Pacific.

Certainly, according to the association of American industrialists, taxes on steel and 
aluminum have had beneficial effects on employment in the steel industry, with 3,000 
hires. But the response of the Middle Kingdom immediately has the opposite effect by 
raising the price of raw materials that the United States imports from China, thus making 
the US economy less competitive and less job-creating. It is also likely to generate 
higher prices for US consumers, because of increased tariffs on the finished product or 
the raw materials needed to manufacture it.

What the proletariat wins on one side, so it loses it on the other.

The same thing, symmetrically, is true for the Chinese people. On the other hand, the 
effects of this commercial war are not limited to the two hyperpowers  ; they threaten the 
entire global economy. However, in case of crisis, it is above all the popular classes who 
toast.

Protectionism, sometimes touted on the left as beneficial to the working classes, finally 
pauperises the working classes in the same way as free trade. And it will be so as long as 
the economy is in the hands of the capitalists ... whether protectionist or free-traders, 
depending on the fluctuation of their interests !

Vincent (AL Saint-Denis)

http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Etats-Unis-Chine-une-guerre-commerciale-sur-le-dos-des-travailleurs

------------------------------

Message: 2






Solidarity action with a strike of Croatian shipbuilders - the Warsaw Environmental 
Commission of the OZZ IP with plates with the slogan "support for the striking workers of 
Uljanik and May 3" ---- On Monday, October 22, the strike of the employees of the shipyard 
"Ulyanik" in Pula and "3. May "in Rijeka (region of Istria). Both shipyards belong to the 
group of Ulyanik and employ a total of about 4,500 employees. Some employees of 
cooperating companies also joined the strike. ---- The strikers are demanding payment of 
salary for September, cancellations of the board and launching a government aid program 
for the shipbuilding industry, as well as the introduction of crew representatives to the 
supervisory board. ---- This is another strike by Croatian shipbuilders this year. After 
the first case of non-payment of salaries in January, there was a several-hour, 
spontaneous protest. On August 22, trade unions began a strike that lasted 10 days and was 
one of the largest workers' protests in the history of both cities; during the strike 
there were street demonstrations (in both cities and under the seat of the government in 
Zagreb), the largest of which were about 5,000. participants. As a result of the August 
strike, salaries were paid for July and August, but the next month the situation repeated 
itself, and both shipyards are in danger of bankruptcy.

The privatization of the yard was a condition for Croatia's entry into the EU in 2013. 
Currently, approx. Half of the shares in the group of Ulyanik have banks and pension 
funds, and 46% of shares are held by current and former employees, including people in 
managerial positions; actual workers hold about 28% of shares, which does not give them a 
real impact on the management of the company. Employees accuse the management and 
politicians (both from the ruling region of the IDS and from the government) of acting to 
the detriment of the group. They believe that the government is trying to liquidate the 
shipyard to build tourist facilities or luxury housing estates. The government explains 
the lack of help to the shipyards with EU state aid rules and offers solutions for finding 
"strategic investors" for both plants, which, however, according to employees,

There are three trade unions in both shipyards, generally negatively evaluated by 
employees, in part the exception is Jadranski Sindikat in the shipyard in Pula, who is the 
only one who consults the crew (though some are also accused of insufficient radicalism), 
and informal cooperation with him. Stožer employee group for obran brodogradnje Uljanik 
(SZOBU - Ship Defense Center of Uljanik). The shipyard workers received numerous 
expressions of support from trade unions and left-wing organizations from Croatia and 
other countries of the region, and the August strike caused a nationwide public discussion 
on the future of the economy.

The bankruptcy of the shipyard would mean an increase in unemployment (including 10,000 
jobs at risk), but also almost complete deindustrialization of the region and basing its 
economy on services and tourism, characterized by very low wages and precarious work 
conditions. Stoczniowcy emphasize that they are struggling both to pay overdue salaries 
and to save their plants.

Addresses to send solidarity:
stozer.za.brodogradnju[@]gmail.com
jadranski.sindikat[@]gmail.com

http://ozzip.pl/teksty/informacje/zagranica/item/2423-chorwacja-strajk-stoczniowcow-grupy-uljanik

------------------------------

Message: 3






Three weeks ago, the collective De Mobiele Eenheid squatted the building Gedempt 
Hamerkanaal 86, Spijkerkade 2 in Amsterdam Noord. To counteract the commercialisation, 
mass-tourism and precarious housing market, we have created a social centre offering a 
weekly program. Soon after the building's occupation in opposition to an all-encompassing 
property-based violence, the end is near. Following dangerous threats, the owner of the 
building is summoning the collective to court, based on his supposed plan to turn the 
building into a hotel. ---- Amsterdam contains a disproportionate number of hotels and is 
completely over-crowded. The hotel stop decreed by the previous city government, is hardly 
noticeable. But the owner in question, a diamond merchant and property speculator, knows 
that real diamonds nowadays have two legs, arrive in Schiphol and pull wheelie bags.

His presented plans are not only problematic, but also highly questionable. In 2006, the 
building was squatted for the first time and already then, the plan was to build a hotel. 
Besides an environmental permit in 2013, the owner has undertaken little to no action 
hinting at reconstruction of the building. Overall, the greatest part of his property has 
been standing empty for many years.

In the upcoming years, a new housing development project will be realised in the area 
surrounding Gedempt Hamerkanaal, the so-called Hamerkwartier, which is currently comprised 
of mostly businesses. According to the plan, altogether 6.500 flats will be built, and 
real estate value will rise significantly. The owner of Gedempt Hamerkanaal 86, 
Spijkerkade 2 is therefore likely to await the development so as to sell his property for 
a higher profit.

Thus, his plans will presumably result in renewed, long-lasting vacancy due to property 
speculation, instead of the realisation of an actual zoning plan in the near future. In 
the face of dire housing shortages, escalating prices and the prevalence of precarious 
living, emptiness cannot be justified. The municipality has done little to act against 
emptiness. Since the introduction of the law "kraken en leegstand" concerning squatting 
and emptiness on October 1, 2010, municipalities are able to counter persistent vacancy by 
means of fines. In reality, only half of this law is put into practice. It is used to 
justify the eviction of squatters, but not to counter vacancy.

De Mobiele Eenheid will go to court today, on November 6, and continue to use the building 
as a non-commercial, horizontal social space as well as living space for people in 
precarious housing situations.

We are not evicted for hotels, property speculation and anti-squats!
amsterdam, kraken, sociaal centrum

Vrije Bond Secretariaat

https://www.vrijebond.org/amsterdam-de-mobiele-eenheid-gaat-naar-de-rechtbank/

------------------------------

Message: 4






Comrades of Brazil, ---- We, militants of the Francophone Anarchist Federation, followed 
with great concern the events that led Bolsonaro to power in Brazil. ---- We are very 
concerned about the political situation in your country. We are particularly concerned 
about your safety and freedom of action. The bonds of friendship that unite us can not be 
defeated by a gang of bandits and mafias. ---- We are obviously witnessing an overall 
increase in authoritarian regimes, foreshadowing a new form of fascism that combines 
ultra-economic liberalism, a political system based on the army and the police, and the 
most extreme religious alienation. ---- If in France we do not live the extremes that you 
know today in Brazil, a recent survey revealed that 40% of the French population would 
support the establishment of a strong political power.

In France and Europe, there are institutional obstacles to despotic overruns in the 
economic and political spheres, but for how long?

But there are also institutional devices that allow the power to make decisions without 
consultation, to criminalize social conflicts, etc.

More than ever, libertarians of all countries must show solidarity in the struggle against 
economic exploitation, political oppression and religious alienation.

Although we are separated by an ocean, we assure you of our support and are ready to 
transmit, to the extent of our means, the information you will send us for dissemination.

Our support for our comrades in Brazil could, in the first place, be manifested by the 
dissemination of information. Our means of advertising and information: Le Monde 
Libertaire monthly, Le Monde Libertaire online, Radio Libertaire , but also our 
international contacts are at your disposal to support you and relay the information you 
will send us.

Fraternal and caring embrace

federation-anarchiste.org

anarchist-ana news agency

------------------------------

Message: 5






Renters across California are facing a crisis: 9.5 million Californians are spending more 
than 30% of their income on rent with that number has increased by 3.7 million since 2000. 
The median cost of an apartment in LA or Orange County is 50% of the median income. 
Between 1985 and 2000, a typical rental would have cost 36% of the median income. Lower 
income residents spend 121% of their income to afford even the cheapest apartments- 
meaning that many of us are forced into difficult situations; cramming as many friends or 
family members as possible into tiny spaces, living in run-down and unmaintained housing, 
commuting to work for hours each day, or staying in abusive relationships because there's 
nowhere else to stay. Or, of course, if we can't afford to pay the landlord, there's 
always the very real chance of joining the 130,000 homeless people in California.

The solution to this crisis is a new economic system organized around needs instead of 
profit. We need to win the generations-long fight for land and freedom. But getting there 
will take a long struggle of building a revolutionary renters movement through smaller 
confrontations with landlords where we can extract concessions and win reforms.

Proposition 10 is one of these confrontations over reforms that can move us one step 
closer to livable conditions for renters and building a fighting tenants movement. That's 
why we encourage people to vote on Tuesday for Prop 10 and to get involved in organizing 
the tenants movement.

What Will Prop 10 Do?
In 1995, the real estate industry pushed through a law in California called the 
Costa-Hawkins Act. This law severely limits rent control in our state. Costa-Hawkins 
prohibits cities from passing new rent control laws that cover housing built after 1995, 
when the law was passed. It keeps cities with existing rent control laws from expanding 
them to cover housing built after that city's rent control law was first passed. It also 
limits the ways that rent control laws can keep down rent increases. This means that in 
Los Angeles, where rent control was passed in October 1978, the city can only apply rent 
control to apartments that were built before October 1978.

Proposition 10 would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Act. This would allow tenants to push their 
local governments to expand rent control and create new rent control laws. Proposition 10 
will expand the tenants movement's ability to pursue legal strategies to end rent hikes. 
Attempts to repeal Costa-Hawkins through the state legislature last year were blocked by 
Democratic politicians close to the real estate industry. In response, tenant 
organizations and non-profits went directly to Californians, and used their signatures to 
place the repeal on the 2018 ballot as a proposition.

The most important aspect of this campaign is that it stems from organizations like the LA 
Tenants' Union which build popular power to directly confront landlords and speculators. 
In the past year the union's members organized an unprecedented number of high-profile 
campaigns against rent-hikes and evictions, using direct action tactics like pickets and 
rent-strikes. While various non-profits like the AIDS Healthcare Foundation have provided 
funding and support for Prop 10, a victory on rent control could be claimed as a clear 
product of the power of tenants themselves.

For us, this is a key point. Fights to change policy, like Prop 10 or the recent rent 
freeze for unincorporated areas of LA County, are always secondary to base building. 
Direct action organizing block-by-block is the foundation of a tenants movement and policy 
changes can be a useful means to improve conditions and advance movements with a strong 
autonomous base. The recent wave of rent strikes and the autonomous communities that built 
them are what makes this measure deserve our support.

What won't Prop 10 do?
Proposition 10 alone will not fundamentally change the conditions of our lives. It will 
not lower rents or stop gentrification. It merely removes one of the legal barriers that 
is preventing the movement from achieving these goals. If Prop 10 passes, it will be up to 
tenants in every city in California to fight the landlords and create new limits on rent 
increases and evictions. A policy victory is only a precursor to block by block organizing 
on the ground.

Even winning expanded rent controls will fail to make a substantial impact without a 
movement to enforce them and hold landlords accountable. We can't rely on the state to 
hold abusive landlords accountable. Furthermore, rent control still leaves landlords with 
many incentives to harass and evict their tenants. While many of the recent high-profile 
campaigns of the LA Tenants' Union have been in buildings not subject to rent control, 
they have plenty of members who are fighting to hold on in rent-controlled apartments. If 
landlords can force their current tenants out, they can hike up the rent and advertise to 
wealthier renters, remodel the property into luxury condos, or even tear down the whole 
building and replace it with higher cost apartments. Seen in this context, winning 
expanded rent control will merely add another tool to our arsenal in the fight for a fair 
housing system.

In the future, we will need to push the tenants struggle forward by stepping up from 
defensive demands that slow down exploitation, such as limiting rent increases and 
stopping evictions, to offensive demands that genuinely improve our lives. Part of the 
reason why the US leads the world in poor housing conditions is because the state 
abandoned public housing as it embraced neoliberal economics in the 1970s. We must take 
the offensive to win new public housing in California and fix the housing crisis. As well, 
we must aim beyond public housing measures of the past and instead develop a model of 
social housing that is democratically run and managed by tenants instead of through 
government bureaucracies. We support targeting wealthy low-density neighborhoods like 
Hancock Park and San Marino in LA for new social housing, because these are places near 
urban centers where the land is not being efficiently used and could be redeveloped into 
democratic and ecological neighborhoods, run by those who live in them.

Make no mistake, that fight extends far beyond merely bringing down high rents or even 
creating examples of new social housing. Rent itself is exploitative, and landlords are 
parasites who we would be better off without. A system where money is concentrated in the 
hands of a few people who can buy up properties to sell for a profit without doing any 
work themselves, while the rest of us pay through the nose everyday so we're not thrown 
out on the streets, is not a fair or free system. We cannot have adequate housing for 
everyone as long as housing is privately owned and a profit-making commodity. Changing 
that is going to take massive confrontational and revolutionary movements of working 
people - movements where people can organize themselves and realize their power to 
challenge landlords and the system that sustains them.

Why are Anarchists Supporting an Election Campaign?
As anarchists, we're obviously not interested in campaigning for political candidates. As 
a national organization, Black Rose/Rosa Negra has been critical of the renewed focus by 
many left groups in the US to revive left electoral strategies,"inside-outside" or 
otherwise, that views electoral victories as a complement or means to movement building. 
But our position is not based on a moral stance around engagement with the state - rather 
we see left electoralism as an ineffective strategy that actively undermines movement 
building. Trying to get politicians elected means participating in running the state and 
taking part in the management of capitalism - the state's ultimate purpose. If we are 
going to create a revolutionary movement, it must be independent of the capitalist class 
and the institutional forces aligned with the state such as political parties. You can't 
run the police department that protects the property of the landlords at the same time as 
trying to redistribute housing to workers - you have to choose a side. Throughout history, 
movements have foundered when faced with this contradiction. Believing politicians will 
save us requires either a deep commitment to reformism or forgetting our past mistakes.

A ballot proposition is different from electing a politician. We are not trying to 
participate in the state. We are forcing ahange in the law. Despite our complete lack of 
respect for the law, it shapes our world. Changing the law is one of the many ways that we 
can exercise our power to change the world we live in. This is something anarchists have 
been doing for generations - from the campaign for an eight hour day, to the votes on 
abortion legalization in Ireland and Argentina this year.

One argument against voting in any election is that it legitimizes the state. That may be 
true to some extent, but many other tactics that we use also legitimize the state, from 
suing the police for violating our civil rights, to public sector workers organizing to 
get better working conditions from the state, to putting pressure on the state to use 
environmental regulations to block pipelines and mines. The state will continue to 
function whether or not working class and oppressed people grant it legitimacy. It relies 
on the capitalist class and on its own repressive force much more than on whether we as 
individuals acknowledge its power and authority.

Popular Power For Land and Freedom
In our analysis, winning the fight for Proposition 10 will strengthen and empower the 
burgeoning tenants' movements. For us, that makes it worth a vote. We encourage everyone 
to talk to your neighbors about Prop 10 and about your greedy landlords and unsafe and 
undignified housing conditions. Whether Prop 10 succeeds or fails, make rent control a 
reality by organizing to press your demands. Only then can we channel our collective power 
towards a revolutionary fight for land and freedom, "tierra y libertad."

For an overview on tenant and community organizing in Los Angeles we recommend the brief 
interview, "Tenant Power from Below: The Los Angeles Tenants Union" and the YouTube 
presentation "A Year In Popular Power #2 - Stopping ICE Raids with the Koreatown Popular 
Assembly." We also highly recommend "Resources on Tenant Organizing, Housing and 
Gentrification."

http://blackrosefed.org/prop-10-tenant-power/

------------------------------

Message: 6






Text about the experience with the communication concept in the revolutionary conditions 
of Kurdish Rojava ---- Source: ---- Tekmil: Creating a Culture of Constructive Criticism 
By Philip Arges O'Keeffe ---- In the existing societal structures dictated by capitalist 
modernity, it is very rare that we find means by which we can facilitate open and honest 
discussions. Whether it's in the workplace, in schools, even between friends and families, 
we are restricted by social constructs which inhibit our ability to express our 
perspectives, hear those of others and engage in meaningful, constructive discussions. 
---- The concept of constructive criticism is incredibly challenging for so many people. 
Many people struggle with receiving criticism. Perhaps this is due to the narcissism and 
egoism which is encouraged by the competitive and individualistic nature of capitalist 
society. However, personally, I find that the most difficult part of constructive 
criticism is the act of giving criticism. The fear of conflict or rejection can be 
paralytic. The big question that arises is that of why does criticism evoke fear?

Perhaps the issue is that we do not have a culture of constructive criticism. Capitalist 
modernity does not foster equality nor mutual trust. It divides us and forces a upon us a 
hyper competitive culture built upon internal and external deception and facades. In this 
system, criticism is not seen as a means by which we can improve ourselves and each other 
but rather as a means by which we can attack and destroy our competition, our enemies, our 
fellow humans.

It can be difficult to imagine that an alternative exists. For many people, the capitalist 
system can appear so overwhelming and oppressive that effecting change can appear 
impossible. The degree of competition and mistrust is so great that people might often 
think that by allowing themselves to trust their fellow humans would merely make them 
vulnerable to imminent attack. Personally, before I came to Rojava I held these very same 
suspicions.

Upon arriving in Rojava, some of the first of many revolutionary concepts that I was 
introduced to were those of Hevaltî and Tekmîl.

Tekmîl roughly translates to "report". On its face it sounds fairly mundane, however a 
more conceptual definition would be that of revolutionary constructive criticism. Tekmîl 
typically follow up everything such as military operations, training sessions, civil 
projects, or simple daily tasks. These sessions can be called at any time by anyone in 
either the civil or military structures in Rojava.

The structure of Tekmîl is based on giving and receiving critiques and self-critiques. The 
process is based on the foundations of Hevaltî. Hevaltî roughly translates to friendship 
or comradeship. It is the idea that we work together, we help each other, we share 
everything from the tangible to the intangible not because we expect something in return 
but simply because we are comrades, that we are humans living, struggling and experiencing 
life together, that we are sharing the same purpose of trying to advance the collective 
wellbeing. It is the idea that we can trust and believe in each other and that we need not 
fear ulterior intention.

By establishing the culture of Hevaltî as the basis of revolutionary life we create the 
alternative environment and society conducive to constructive criticism and the means by 
which, together, we improve ourselves and the collective. This is critical to Tekmîl 
because it allows us to respectfully give criticisms and more importantly, accept, absorb 
and address the criticisms in an efficient manner, free of ego, fear, mistrust or conflict.

In order to prevent digressions or polemics, the Tekmîl format suggests that each 
participant has the opportunity to give critiques and self-critiques without any response 
from any of the other participants. It is also suggested that the same critique of a 
participant should avoid being repeated during the Tekmîl once it has already been given, 
the idea being aimed at avoiding the perception of a participant being singled out and 
attacked by the group. This format fosters a more efficient, disciplined and professional 
means by which each participant can contribute. Futhermore, it alleviates the fear of 
conflict that so often can prevent a person from expressing themselves. Finally, Tekmîl 
will close with the opportunity for each of the participants to make suggestions for 
anything from improvements, projects, etc.

The idea of Tekmîl not only creates a safe environment for constructive criticism and 
allows us to work together to improve ourselves and each other but it also acts as a means 
by which we can encourage accountability and prevent stagnation. It is rooted in the 
aspect of the philosophy of democratic confederalism which emphasizes humility, 
open-mindedness and progress in all aspects of revolutionary life.

https://www.afed.cz/text/6898/tekmil-vytvareni-kultury-konstruktivni-kritiky

------------------------------