Today's Topics:
1. collective action australia: An Anarchist Perspective on
Extinction Rebellion (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. deliverunion.fau: "Another courier cost them nothing. We
were disposable" -- The speech that was held outside the labour
court today (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL Hautes-Alpes, UCL
Montreuil - International, The cacophony in Washington does not
forbid a Turkish attack on Rojava (fr, it, pt)[machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. Britain, Class War: THE TRAFALGAR SOVIET OCTOBER 18th
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. France, Union Communiste Libertaire AL #298 - Education: No,
union unity is not a drag on the ground (fr, it, pt)[machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. Coordenação Anarquista Brasileira - CAB: STOP THE
INTERVENTION IN ROJAVA -- ALL SUPPORT FOR THE
CURDISH REVOLUTION
(ca, it, pt) (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
The following is a flyer written for distribution at Extinction Rebellion's "Spring
Rebellion" event in so-called Melbourne, Australia. It's not intended to be a
comprehensive review of XR as an organisation, only the tactics they employ. ---- Rebel to
Win - An Anarchist Perspective ---- The climate movement is growing rapidly as people are
all too aware that we have limited time to deal with the climate emergency. The recent
climate strike was one of the largest series of coordinated protests in the history of the
world. As the movement grows it's worth looking at some of the ideas around tactics,
analysis and long-term strategies that we're using. In particular this flyer will be
looking at the positions held by Extinction Rebellion (XR). This flyer wasn't written to
convince anyone not to participate in XR or XR-run actions. The more people participating
in a movement to stop the climate emergency the better.There are still some issues that
need addressing though.
Apples to Oranges: XR's Case for "Non-Violence"
A huge part of XR's strategy is based on a very strict commitment to non-violence. This
extends to actively helping Vicpol to arrest activists and policing activist's behavior to
stop people booing or chanting aggressively at cops. It's worth asking here how "violence"
is actually defined and why. XR state in information that they distribute (as well as on
their website) that "53% of nonviolent campaigns were successful as opposed to 26% of
campaigns that used violence. Moreover, of the violent campaigns, 95% had descended into
dictatorship or totalitarian rule within five years." This is based on a study by Erica
Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan which looked at uprisings from 1900 to 2000 and divided
them into "primarily or entirely non-violent" and "violent". The conflicts looked at in
the study are all nationalist uprisings and regime changes - there are no international
movements or movements around particular issues (like the environment) even covered in the
study. The dataset that the study gets it's "violent campaigns" from defines them as
involving the deaths of more than 1000 armed combatants... which is a pretty far cry from
yelling at cops on a Melbourne street.
The more disruptive and effective that the climate movement becomes, the more likely it is
that we'll face a violent response from the government and police to try and restore
business as usual. We shouldn't avoid defending ourselves from state violence on the basis
of a study that is completely irrelevant to the situation we find ourselves in and the
questions we are faced with.
Disruption Is Not the Same as Being Arrested
At the heart of any effective social movement is the understanding that the powers that be
(billionaires, politicians, mining magnates, oil companies etc.) won't give up their
immense privileges voluntarily - even if the future of humanity is at stake. We should be
all too aware by now that we won't save the world by asking nicely - we need to force
those in power to act, we need to make business as usual impossible. This emphasis on
disruption is part of XR's core philosophy and a huge component of the movement's growth -
people are fed up with the same old tired and ineffective tactics.
What's not so clear, though, is the reasoning behind emphasis on being arrested and the
belief that it's inherently effective. On XR's website, their social media and at their
information sessions they state again and again that we should WANT people to be arrested,
that it's good for the movement and brings us closer to the goal of action on the climate
crisis. Roger Hallam, one of XR's founders, claims that what we need for the movement to
succeed is a few hundred people to go to prison. There's never any explanation for this
though, no evidence of it being effective and nothing to link it back to other discussions
of tactics. Any effective social movement is probably gonna involve some people being
arrested and it's great that we have people who are willing to be arrested for the
movement, but that doesn't mean that doing it on purpose is going to help. There are a
variety of other more effective ways to cause disruption. A recent tactic developed in
Hong Kong is to hold a space for as long as we can, then dissipate. Using the app
Telegram, we decide upon another place where we regroup, and then stay there for as long
as we can. This way we maximise disruption without the costs of being arrested and going
through the legal system.
The Iron Fist Beneath the Velvet Glove
Encouraging mass arrests for their own sake isn't just useless, it can be actively harmful
to a movement and to the people within it. Although most charges that are likely to be
laid against protesters are relatively insignificant, the process of going through court
and having a criminal record hanging over your head can often be enough for people to take
a step back from an active role in movement-building. And that's barely scratching the
surface of what people might go through as a result of being arrested - in particular we
should mention the track record that the police have of regularly murdering Aboriginal
people in police custody, as well as other forms of institutionalised racism. Not
everyone pays the same price for being arrested and putting it forward as ‘not a big deal'
is something that can only come out of naivety and privilege.
Then there's the possibility of the police using outright violence to suppress protests.
Over the last few years we've seen a massive ramp-up in the amount of military-style gear
that Vicpol have at their disposal and heavy-handed tactics - including violence - used to
suppress protests. As we've seen in recent struggles such as the Gilets Jeunes in France,
Black Lives Matter in the States and the pro-democracy fight in Hong Kong the police will
not hesitate to use violence to suppress any movement that actually threatens the status quo.
The primary role of police in society is to uphold the very system and laws that we must
overthrow in order to prevent environmental collapse. They are more than happy to break up
strikes, evict people from their homes and protect profit and private property over
people's welfare and over the planet. When XR argue that we should collaborate with and
try to win over the cops they overlook the structural role that police play in the crisis
in which we find ourselves. The issue here isn't the character of individual cops but the
way that the police force as a whole upholds the current system as a whole. Like with
previous issues, XR's approach is at best ineffective and at worst it leaves us vulnerable
and unprepared when they inevitably arrest, tear gas, beat and brutalise us the moment we
start to make real change.
Profit or Survival?
The crisis we find ourselves in is being driven by an economic and political system that
puts profits and property above all else. In short - Capitalism. Just 100 companies are
responsible for 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1998 and those companies hold
immense political and financial power. Again this isn't so much a question of individual
people's moral character as the underlying logic that keeps the system running. A company
must continue to generate profit or cease to exist. Without constant growth, capitalism
falls into major crisis. A system of infinite growth on a finite planet is incompatible
with a livable environment.
The Solution that XR puts forward is "citizens assemblies" - randomly selected groups of
ordinary citizens that have the power to make decisions regarding the climate emergency.
Although this approach bypasses the parliamentary system and the corruption and inaction
that come with it, it still largely ignores the level of economic and political
restructuring that's necessary to make real change possible. It does nothing to change
the underlying logic of the climate crisis.
To seriously put a stop to extinction, we need to put a stop to capitalism. This may seem
like a utopian pipe dream, but it is far more realistic than thinking that with enough
public pressure, the planet destroying machine of capitalism can be made compatible with
the environment. We need to understand now, as the environmental movement takes a radical
turn, that we cannot win without destroying capitalism. In turn, this means the
environmental movement needs to link up with other movements that can oppose capitalism:
the labour movement, anti-colonial and indigenous struggles, as well as fights against
patriarchy, white supremacy and a resurgent fascism.
Where to from here?
As was written at the start, the point of this flyer isn't to stop people participating in
XR or actions XR calls. Be aware, though, that the tactics, analysis and goals that XR
put forward are not the be-all and end-all of the movement for Climate justice. Don't get
yourself arrested without asking yourself (and others) what it'll achieve. Ask how the
actions you take will build a movement capable of changing the world. Building a diverse
and powerful social movement requires discussion and debate around tactics and goals. We
need to build that movement now, more than ever, as we find ourselves at a critical point
in history and the clock is ticking.
http://www.collectiveaction.org.au/2019/10/09/an-anarchist-perspective-on-extinction-rebellion/
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Message: 2
"We are here today, because we hold Deliveroo accountable for their actions. In August,
the company fired all of it's couriers on a four day notice. We do not just quietly accept
this. They think they can do this, because we were forced to take up contracts as
independent contractors, to be formally self-employed - but we all know the truth, as
workers we were completely dependent on the company. We do not accept their reckless
practices of recruiting anyone who did not have another job, and then abandoning them to
the streets, only receiving orders through an application on their phone. Never even
advicing any of their workers on issues like health insurance or accident insurance, let
alone paying anything of them. They did not really care, because another courier cost them
nothing. We were disposable. A big international company with a billion Euros of capital
has to be held responsible to take some care of it's workers.
It's shocking to loose one's means of subsistence with a four days notice. They gave us no
warning. Even though, we could not know it's coming, in some way, most of us were not
surprised. This was the logical end to how they always treated us anyway. Deliveroo, like
many other so-called platform businesses, routinely practiced withholding of information
and deliberate misinformation as management strategy. Anyone who worked for Deliveroo as a
courier knows that they never liked to talk to us, and when they sent us any messages and
they seldom really spoke the truth. We were not treated as intelligent human beings. We
were just extensions to their applications. We were disposable extensions, because there
were always enough people in Berlin needing some money. And gig economy companies are up
to taking advantage of this.
We attempted to engage in a conversation with Deliveroo, with our de facto employer. We
tried to talk to them individually, and we tried to talk to them collectively. They did
not bother to talk to us. They did not bother to try to improve on this - on the contrary!
They only closed the chat channel we could use to talk to each other. They actively
separated us from each other, in order to prevent us from defending ourselves and our
interests. When we wrote them a petition asking for better working conditions, including a
guarantee of having enough work to do, so one could actually earn a livable wage, they did
not listen. They answered by hiring security guards to the front door of their office.
Later on they moved their offices to high towers where the workers could not even enter.
This is the neo-liberal economy, this is a form of neo-taylorism, where there are no
worker rights, workers are manipulated to compete and work against each other, and where
there is no collective action or solidarity. The management of the company is invisible to
us, and lives in another reality. We are here today because we do not accept such
practices. We do not accept their vision of the future.
Deliveroo has ceased its operations in Germany, but this struggle we are fighting here is
not just about one country. They still operate in many other countries, where our
colleagues are struggling with worsening working conditions. We are here also to express
solidarity to them. We're here to show that organising pays off. We are fighting together!"
Akseli, ex-Deliveroo Rider
https://deliverunion.fau.org/2019/10/07/they-moved-their-offices-to-high-towers-where-the-workers-could-not-enter/
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Message: 3
Just over twenty-four hours after announcing the withdrawal of the US Army from Syrian
Kurdistan, and an imminent operation of the Turkish army, the White House turned around,
calling this withdrawal "redeployment" and threatening Turkey with retaliation if it
devastated Rojava. We must not give too much credit to these grotesque procrastinations.
The threat of a Turkish invasion is most serious, with the key to destruction, massacre
and ethnic cleansing. Total support for popular resistance in northern Syria ! ---- On the
evening of October 6, Trump abruptly announced the immediate withdrawal of US troops from
northern Syria, which until now had played a deterrent role against a Turkish invasion. In
the same vein, the White House itself announced that Ankara would be able to launch its
plan to occupy Rojava.
On October 8 in the morning, backpedaling: only fifty soldiers would be redeployed away
from the border, and Trump, in a bewildering tweet, promised in his " great and
incomparable wisdom " that if the Turkish operation " exceeds the limits " (which ?),
it will " completely destroy and destroy Turkey's economy ".
The very words of the US communication show how much credit should be given to it, beyond
the cacophony that reigns in Washington between the White House, the Congress, the
Pentagon and the CIA ...
Erdogan and Trump are scheduled to meet at the White House on November 13th.
cc Anadolu
US soldiers will no longer obstruct the Turkish army
The reality is that the announced " redeployment " of US troops to the south means they
will no longer block a Turkish incursion beyond the Syrian border.
But Ankara's claim is to be able to occupy a strip of territory 30 kilometers deep all
along its border, under a " buffer zone ", saying for reasons of " security ". The
fact is that most of the main cities of Rojava are in this buffer zone: Qamislô (capital
of the Northern and Eastern Autonomous Administration of Syria), Kobanê, Tal-Abyad, Derîk ...
Ankara is openly planning to install part of the 3 million Syrian refugees who live on its
soil, under the old Ottoman policy of deporting people according to the political
interests of the moment. This undertaking would not necessarily displease Bachar el Assad.
It could even be compatible with the policy of the " green line " led by the Syrian
dictatorship in the 1970s. It consisted in making the Kurds in Rojava minority,
expropriating their land for the benefit of Arab families implanted on purpose. in a
colonialist logic that is well known in the West.
A deal might emerge: Erdogan lets Bashar and Putin seize Idlib - where the last remnants
of the Syrian revolution coexist with the most bloodthirsty jihadist gangsters - and
Bashar could let Erdogan destroy this Rojava who insolently defies his power.
After Afrîn, a new ethnic cleansing ?
To make forget his electoral woes, Erdogan wants this invasion of Rojava. He needs a deal
with Assad and Putin on one side ; and a benevolent inaction of Trump on the other. The
current American cacophony may decide to force the game and attack the Rojava, betting on
the lack of American reaction.
Can we imagine that, tomorrow, Kobanê, where the Kurdish left put a stop to the jihadist
expansion, is occupied by the Turkish army, which sponsored Daesh for years ? Daesh will
certainly benefit from this invasion to relocate and relaunch its abuses.
In March 2018, the Turkish army and its Islamist ASL detainees seized the Kurdish canton
of Afrin.
cc VOA
The invasion of Afrin Canton in early 2018 left thousands dead and led to ethnic
cleansing, with 250,000 Kurds displaced from their homes and replaced by the mercenary
families of the Free Syrian Army ( ASL). Today one is entitled to fear, in worse, the
repetition of an invasion of this kind.
On the spot, the whole people is preparing for a total war, taking on the strategic places
and storing food. Such a battle will undoubtedly determine the continuation or
annihilation of the revolutionary experience under way in Rojava. Yesterday, all schools
and institutions were closed to allow everyone to demonstrate against the threat.
Solidarity is paramount, it must continue to be heard to defend freedom and revolution in
Kurdistan. Long live the struggle of the peoples of northern Syria for their autonomy,
against the imperialist calculations of all tyrants !
Guillaume (UCL Montreuil), Édouard (UCL Hautes-Alpes)
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY
The Kurdish Democratic Council in France (CDKF) calls for protest rallies all over France
, for now:
Paris: Saturday, October 12, 2 pm, Place de la République
Strasbourg: Wednesday 9 October, 6.30 pm, in front of the Council of Europe, and Saturday
12 October, 2 pm, Place Kleber
Marseille: Saturday, October 12, 2 pm, Canebière
Nantes: Saturday, October 12, 4 pm, Place du Commerce
Toulouse: Wednesday, October 9, 18:30, Metro Jean Jaurès
Bordeaux: Saturday, October 12, 2 pm, Place de la Bourse
Grenoble: Wednesday, October 9, 18h, Place Felix Poulat
Lyon: Saturday, October 12, 3:30 pm, Place Bellecour
The Turkish war goals, as defended by the TRT agency, a pro-Ankara pharmacy.
cc TRT
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?La-cacophonie-a-Washington-n-interdit-pas-une-attaque-turque-sur-le-Rojava
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Message: 4
There is a happy circumstance in dates. On October 19th parliament is called to a special
session to discuss Brexit. ---- The day before XR are holding a PEOPLES SPEECH in Traf
Square to discuss the peoples response to the Queen's speech ---- XR lack nothing in
ambition so October 18th offers the opportunity to go one stage further and not demand
this or that but to take over the government and occupy parliament to prevent the session
the next day. A short walk to freedom, a demoralised and depleted and defeated police
force. ---- imagination seizes power ---- TEN DAYS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD COPS ADMIT
DEFEAT.....'XR HAVE OUTFOXED US' ---- Activists are refusing to leave two-miles of London
roads with at least 5,000 people willing to be arrested by the Met - who are using up to
eight officers to pick up and carry each person to a police van. Thousands of activists
openly mocked the police's threats that they will be arrested unless they all move to
Trafalgar Square and stay off the streets (inset). But Scotland Yard's attempts to reopen
two miles of streets around Parliament failed within hours. Instead Extinction Rebellion
were able to set up a 'village' on the roads under Nelson's Column with its own improvised
cycle lane, food stalls, community kitchen and a 'well-being sanctuary' for tired or
stressed environmentalists as well as an extraordinary outdoor rave where people spent
hours 'dancing their feelings' (left). A group have also placed 800 potted trees outside
Parliament (right). Admitting defeat Inspector Simon Rooke, who is based in the square,
said: 'They are very well organised and very well-funded. That's all I can say'. Grant
Shapps, the Transport Secretary, whose building was blockaded this morning, said police
were not being 'proactive' enough and were instead 'standing around the edges' as the
activists grabbed control.
------------------------------
Message: 5
The government dismantles the public school through its educational reforms and its wage
policy, however its Minister of Education, Blanquer, has never been so fragile. One can
question the role and strategies of the unions of the FSU-FO-CGT and SUD inter-unions.
---- The school year that begins promises to be rich in mobilization on the side of the
staff of the National Education. If there is a desire and especially reasons to struggle
among staff, the fragmentation of the trade union landscape does not allow to amplify
these mobilizations. This year could be decisive for the trade unions of the National
Education: will they manage to build an inter-union framework at the service of the
struggles ?
Liberal reforms are accelerating ...
The Minister of National Education has made sure that the back to school is going " well
". Concerned about his image, he has multiplied reassuring announcements in the media:
three-year contracts for all AESH staff (accompanying students with disabilities), split
CE1 classes and above all a serene application of the high school reform .
Yet the unions of staff of the National Education draw a completely different balance
sheet of this return. In many academies, the AESH have not signed these famous three-year
contracts. School premises are often not suitable for CE1 duplication. Job cuts aggravate
working conditions. The reform of the school is so unpopular that hundreds of teachers met
before the summer school re-entry to reaffirm their dissatisfaction.
The reforms of high schools and guidance (Parcoursup) are a major point of tension in the
fall of 2019 because they are symptomatic of the way the government proceeded: Parcoursup
is for example applied in high schools before being voted. In September 2019, teachers
still do not know the content or the modalities of the final tests of the baccalaureate
that they and they must yet prepare with their students.
All the elements of liberalism are present: individualization of the courses, breaking of
the national framework of the diplomas, territorialization of the teaching, contracting of
the personnel ... The reforms Blanquer and the management more and more wild of the
personnel show that one crossed a new not in the adaptation of the world of Education to
liberalism.
... but a weakened minister ...
The sequence of retention of the baccalaureate exams and exams is the result of several
years of mobilization and coordination of high school staff.
First the movement " Do not touch my ZEP " for the return of high schools in priority
education networks had brought together in a same coordination staff who are mobilized "
piecemeal " by high school. The rejection of the Blanquer reforms allowed this
coordination to bring together more of the colleagues and to propose more federative and
more radical methods of action by calling to block the exams.
Minister Blanquer is, of course, weakened by this wave of protests. Last spring, following
the mobilization of school teachers, he had to return to the cleaving elements of his law
known as " for the school of trust ". Similarly, in September 2019, he tries to " buy "
the faculty and its trade union organizations by announcements in the small week as meager
salary increases (25 euros per month) in a context of freezing point index and breakage of
the pension system.
Today, Blanquer's policy is largely unpopular. In schools, staff reject their reactionary
ideas on pedagogy and deplore the lack of resources especially in priority education.
Similarly, in the services of the National Education, the working conditions are largely
degraded due to job cuts.
The " Blanquer method " is widely criticized. In fact, the Minister imposes reforms that
are urgently prepared by major advertisements in the press without consulting or informing
his own services. This was the case with the postponement of the Brevet des collèges in
June last announced in the press even before the rectors were informed.
... what are unions doing ?
The situation in the National Education is favorable to initiate a strike movement able to
put in trouble the government and to make progress.
The high school staff managed to coordinate and act at the end of the year, and those of
the schools in the spring. Unfortunately, they did not really get together. The demands of
the education staff are so numerous that they can not converge: local problems concerning
means to inter-professional or societal mobilisations concerning pensions or the climate,
through the educational reforms of Blanquer ... How to find oneself on the struggles and
to act together ?
Trade unions have a real role to play, from their smallest local level to their national
representation. The strategic differences within the FSU between SNUipp, union 1 st
degree, and the SNES union of 2 nd degree, as the weak implementation on the ground of CGT
éducaction and SOUTH education, and the withdrawal of FO did not allow the national and
local inter-unions to launch real convergence dates.
However, it was still observed during the strike of June 17, the first day of the
baccalaureate exams, that the inter-union calls can amplify the mobilizations. There is
therefore an urgent need for trade union education organizations to build a grassroots
union unit to anchor and expand mobilizations.
Today, very few departments have a truly unitary inter-union framework. Often the
inter-union work is limited to declining locally a national call to mobilization, to
vaguely follow jointly the case of a mobilized institution or to consult at the time of
the proceedings. Nevertheless, whenever a union manages to be hegemonic in a sector and a
territory (non-holders, the 1 st degree), it releases the constraints of an inter-working
and prefers to act alone.
For many trade unionists, trade union unity appears to hinder the development of their
union. This undoubtedly reflects a lack of strategic aim of some of the trade unionists
who are betting on favoring the development of their own tool, their union. They think
that a strong union will make progress for all staff. This would be true if there was only
one social transformation union in the field of education. But in the context of union
plurality and attacks against paritarianism, this strategy is losing. It isolates and
weakens trade union organizations !
It is no doubt the task of libertarian communist activists to make union unity a priority
in order to gain progress for the staff. For this, we can build advocacy platforms and
common action strategies at all scales by involving the unions in the spaces of
self-organization created by the struggling staff.
Maud (UCL Greater Paris South)
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Education-Non-l-unite-syndicale-n-est-pas-un-frein-a-l-action-de-terrain
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Message: 6
After more than half a decade of implementing a new way of living, producing and existing
- with social ecology[1], gender equality and defeating daily capitalism, terrorism and
patriarchy in a libertarian social revolution[2], and the brave fighters of Kurdistan in
northwestern Syria have dawned today, needing to deal with yet another violent attack on
their autonomy and their people. ---- This time it is the United States, which has
benefited from the fact that Kurdish armies are the only ground forces[3]facing
city-by-city Islamic State fundamentalists, who now open their doors and extend the carpet
so that Turkey, governed by by facinora Erdogan, commits a ferocious genocide against the
Kurdish people, destroying their revolution and taking their liberated territories.[4]
The Kurdish people, through their popular armies, destroyed the Islamic State[5], losing
over 10,000 combatants who gave their lives for the freedom of their people, while
inaugurating one of the most advanced processes of revolutionary popular struggle,
building, at once, an anti-capitalist, libertarian, ecological society, with sexual
freedom and radically feminist[6].
The brave rebellion in Rojava, which inspires us very much and whose gains are also felt
by us, here in this corner of the world, as breath of hope and lights that point to the
power of direct and revolutionary action made without a state and without a boss, is a
rebellion that has not bowed to every new onslaught of religious terror and state terror,
and which will once again stand with its fist raised against this further attack on the
horizon.
We radically sympathize with the people of Kurdistan, denouncing that imperialism does not
hesitate to attack the daring experiences of the peoples around the world, and stand side
by side with the popular protection units in Rojava, extending the fraternal shoulder and
the ever-militant fist. It stands to defend the revolution, to resist imperialism and to
build another world without state, without patriarchy and without capital.
All our support for Kurdish resistance!
No to the Turkish attack and any foreign intervention!
Do not move foot! Surround the peoples in struggle with solidarity!
facebook.com/cabespecifista/posts/2410323712516101
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