Today's Topics:
1. France, UCL AL #313 - culture, Read: Belatz, "Lucio's
treasure" (ca, de, it, fr, pt)[machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
treasure" (ca, de, it, fr, pt)[machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. Canada, Collectif Emma Goldman - Blockade against unbridled
forest extractivism (ca, de, it, fr, pt)[machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
forest extractivism (ca, de, it, fr, pt)[machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. dieplattform: 100 Years Since the Kronstadt Uprising: To
Remember Means to Fight! (ca, de, it, fr, pt)
Remember Means to Fight! (ca, de, it, fr, pt)
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. icl-cit: HENRY SCHEIN, has profited from the current
pandemic, yet it EXPLOITS and FIRES its workers. (ca)
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
pandemic, yet it EXPLOITS and FIRES its workers. (ca)
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. UK, ACG: Fear and Loathing of the Working Class (ca, de, it,
fr, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
fr, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. ait russia: "Yellow Vests" in France held the 120th "act of
protest" [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Lucio Urtubia Jiménez, who disappeared this summer, tells of his very romantic
life, since his childhood in Navarre, his first " expropriations " and his exile
in France, the bank robberies to support the fight against fascism and the
incredible scam of the checks of trip that brought the First National City Bank
to its knees. Amaia, a history student in whom he has accepted to confide,
accompanies him from Paris, where he lives and runs the Louise Michel social
center, to Cascante, the village where he grew up. ---- This long journey is an
opportunity to look back on his journey. Rather than an anarchist militant, he
considers himself a fellow traveler, never having joined any organization, and
defines himself above all as a mason because " we are what we are by what we do "
. He fully assumes his activism, motivated by his decisive encounter with the
guerrilla Quico Sabaté whom he lodged for some time: " A revolutionary who does
nothing ends up looking like a priest."
It was when he arrived in Paris, where he was forced to take refuge in 1954, "
proud to be an authentic deserter from Franco's army " , that he discovered these
movements. He tells Amaia about his trafficking in false papers, his first
robberies: "To steal, for me, if we were hungry, it wasn't stealing. I
practically only stole goods intended for the bourgeoisie, before they resold
them to us for much more. I would skip these steps and help myself straight away
whenever I could."
Its most resounding feat remains of course its forgeries of thousands of
travelers' checks, cashed to finance movements fighting against power and
capitalism across the world, which pushed the City Bank to the brink of
bankruptcy, to the point that having lost millions, she offered to withdraw her
complaint in exchange for the boards and reproduction material.
Ernest London (UCL Le Puy-en-Velay)
Mikel Santos " Belatz ", Le Trésor de Lucio , Rackham, 2020, 128 pages, 19 euros.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Lire-Belatz-le-tresor-de-Lucio
------------------------------
Message: 2
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ---- ("Saint-Michel", Monday March 1, 2021) -
The defenders of the Atikamekw and Innu land accompanied by non-native allies
will block from 1:00 pm today the path that crosses the Nitaskinan, between
"Saint -Michel "and Manawan in order to oppose extractivism. ---- At the 16th
kilometer on the QC-131 N road, Atikamekw, Innu and non-native activists have
been present since Friday to raise awareness and mobilize the population. We are
talking here, among other things, of the clearcuts that have been ransacking the
territory for years, but also of the graphite mine which is currently being set
up a few kilometers away and which will have major impacts on nature and the
quality of life. of the next generations.
Along the way, we can see two large posters calling for a 5-year moratorium on
extractivism. Inserts were distributed throughout the weekend to cars passing on
the road, in order to educate the population about the issues of destruction of
nature, among other things, the devastation of forests and wildlife on the
Nitaskinan. Today, Monday March 1, 2021, activists will be present from 10:00
a.m. and will completely block traffic from 1:00 p.m.
An Atikamekw activist on site today mentions that "For several years, the forests
of Nitaskinan have been ransacked by the destructive machines of forestry
companies, creating floods and loss of habitat for wildlife! Now there are fewer
bears and moose in the area, and they may eventually become extinct. Another adds
that "The white birch, essential to Atikamekw culture, is also in danger. "
The group that is mobilizing today wishes to recall that neither the colonial
government nor the band council have any legitimacy over these unceded
territories. Often, these two governments would rather agree together to wreck it
for the benefit of a few rather than to take care of it for the next seven
generations.
A person on site mentions that "the action carried out this weekend is only the
beginning. Others will follow, because Ekoni Aci! That's enough! We must let
nature regain its strength and that is why we are asking for a five-year
moratorium on all mining projects on the Nitaskinan ".
http://ucl-saguenay.blogspot.com/2021/03/blocage-contre-lextractivisme-effrene.html
------------------------------
Message: 3
International anarchist statement on the centenary of the 1921 Kronstadt Uprising
---- "Let the workers of the whole world know that we, the defenders of the power
of the soviets, will watch over the gains of the social revolution. We will
conquer or perish beneath the ruins of Kronstadt, fighting the righteous cause of
the working masses. The toilers the world over will sit in judgement of us. The
blood of innocents will be upon the heads of the Communists, savage madmen drunk
on power. Long live the power of the soviets!" ---- - The Provisional
Revolutionary Committee of Kronstadt ---- On 1 March 1921, the Kronstadt Soviet
rose in revolt against the regime of the Russian "Communist" Party. The Civil War
was effectively over, with the last of the White armies in European Russia
defeated in November, 1920. The remaining battles in Siberia and Central Asia
were over the territorial extent of the USSR. Economic conditions, though,
remained dire. In response, strikes broke out across Petrograd in February, 1921.
The sailors of Kronstadt sent a delegation to investigate the strikes.
Background
The city of Kronstadt is on the island of Koltin, which dominates the approaches
to Petrograd. It was the home of the largest Russian naval base and was a bastion
of revolutionary politics since 1905. It played a distinguished role in the
revolutions of 1905 and 1917. The Kronstadt Soviet was established in May, 1917,
not long after the Petrograd one.
Throughout 1917, soviets had multiplied and strengthened across the Russian
Empire. In October, they had overthrown the Provisional Government. The Second
All-Russian Congress of Soviets took power in its own hands. The All-Russian
Congress, however, agreed to a Bolshevik proposal to appoint a Council of
People's Commissars to act as an executive cabinet over the Soviet. The
Bolsheviks lost no time in setting up a State apparatus with coercive powers.
Crucially, they subordinated the local and regional soviets to the central one.
As early as April, 1918, the Bolsheviks began repression against the anarchists
and started purges of the soviets. The October Revolution had established freedom
of the press and the right of soldiers to elect their officers, but the
Bolsheviks reversed these and many other vital social changes in the course of
the Civil War.
The repression of all opposition, war communism and forced requisitions imposed
by firing squads, together with the spread of poverty and hunger, alienated many
of the sympathies that workers and peasants had placed in Bolshevism. Protests of
workers and peasants against authoritarian Bolshevik measures were frequent
through 1918 to 1921, including several waves of workers' strikes.
The Petropavlovsk Resolution
The Petrograd strikes of February, 1921, prompted Kronstadt sailors to send a
delegation to investigate and report. The sailors themselves had been unhappy
with management of the Navy and had deposed their commander in January. The
report of the delegation prompted the passage of the Petropavlovsk Resolution:
In view of the fact that the present Soviets do not express the will of the
workers and peasants, immediately to hold new elections by secret ballot, the
pre-election campaign to have full freedom of agitation among the workers and
peasants;
* To establish freedom of speech and press for workers and peasants, for
anarchists and left socialist parties;
* To secure freedom of assembly for labour unions and peasant organisations;
* To call a nonpartisan Conference of the workers, Red Army soldiers and sailors
of Petrograd, Kronstadt, and of Petrograd Province, no later than 10 March, 1921;
* To liberate all political prisoners of socialist parties, as well as all
workers, peasants, soldiers, and sailors imprisoned in connection with the labour
and peasant movements;
* To elect a Commission to review the cases of those held in prisons and
concentration camps;
* To abolish all politotdeli (political bureaus) because no party should be given
special privileges in the propagation of its ideas or receive the financial
support of the Government for such purposes. Instead there should be established
educational and cultural commissions, locally elected and financed by the Government;
* To abolish immediately all zagryaditelniye otryadi (Bolshevik units armed to
suppress traffic and confiscate foodstuffs);
* To equalise the rations of all who work, with the exception of those employed
in trades detrimental to health;
* To abolish the Bolshevik fighting detachments in all branches of the Army, as
well as the Bolshevik guards kept on duty in mills and factories. Should such
guards or military detachments be found necessary, they are to be appointed in
the Army from the ranks, and in the factories according to the judgment of the
workers;
* To give the peasants full freedom of action in regard to their land, and also
the right to keep cattle, on condition that the peasants manage with their own
means; that is, without employing hired labour;
* To request all branches of the Army, as well as our comrades the military
kursanti, to concur in our resolutions;
* To demand that the press give the fullest publicity to our resolutions;
* To appoint a Travelling Commission of Control;
* To permit free kustarnoye (individual small scale) production by one's own efforts.
This resolution can be summarised as containing two fundamental demands: the
restoration of Soviet democracy and an economic compromise with the peasants.
Revolt and Suppression
On 1 March, a mass meeting convened by the Kronstadt Soviet endorsed the
Petropavlovsk Resolution. It was the beginning of the Kronstadt Uprising. Over
the next few days, the rebels tried negotiating with the Bolshevik Government.
They allowed Kalinin to return to Petrograd. They disregarded the advice of the
Czarist officers (who had been employed by the Navy as technical advisors) to
take military measures, including attacks on the mainland. The Bolsheviks did not
reciprocate and arrested delegations from Kronstadt that reached points on the
mainland.
The Government attacked on 7 March, but was beaten off, having lost substantial
forces to defections. A more serious attack on 10 March was also defeated, with
many casualties on the Bolshevik side. The final attack, with much larger forces,
occurred on 17-18 March and succeeded in capturing Kronstadt and suppressing the
uprising.
Legacy
Today, anarchists remember the centenary of the Kronstadt Uprising for two
reasons. Firstly, it shows that it is not true that the only alternative to
capitalism in Russia was the authoritarian and repressive regime of the so-called
"Communist" Party. The Kronstadters had kept alive the original values of the
Russian Revolution and were raising them again against the Party's government by
commissar. They failed because the people of Russia were exhausted, not because
their ideas were rejected.
Secondly, we remember Kronstadt because the true history of the rebellion is far
different from the lying versions propagated by various Leninist groups and shows
how far the Bolsheviks had deviated from the principles upon which the October
Revolution was founded. The Kronstadters wanted democratic soviets, not a
Constituent Assembly which could only establish a capitalist government. They
rejected aid from abroad, turning instead to the workers and peasants of Russia.
And they exhibited consistently higher principles in the course of the conflict,
attempting at all times and even during the final battle to fraternise with the
government troops and win them over politically. Some Leninists, desperate to
defend the credibility of the Bolsheviks' denunciation of the Kronstadt Uprising
as counter-revolutionary, cite statements by Bolsheviks from Kronstadt in the
aftermath. We only consider it necessary to point out that these statements were
signed by people held in prison and threatened with execution. False statements
can usually be obtained for a good deal less.
The Bolsheviks (by then calling themselves the "Communist" Party) held their 10th
Congress during the period of the Kronstadt Uprising. Critics of the rebellion
often cite the articles of the Petropavlovsk Resolution as demanding an
unacceptable compromise with the peasants, but seldom mention that the 10th
Congress endorsed the New Economic Policy, which was a far more extensive
compromise. In truth, the aspects of the Petropavlovsk Resolution which were
unacceptable to the Bolsheviks were the ones setting out the demand for soviet
democracy. It was the Bolsheviks, not the Kronstadters, who were setting
themselves against the working class.
Today, anarchists work for new revolutions of the working and popular classes
worldwide and fight for the fullest direct democracy within them. We are inspired
by the rebels of Kronstadt and aim to ensure that, though it may have been
delayed, they have not shed their blood in vain.
All power to the Soviets!
? Alternative Libertaria/ Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (Al/FdCA) - Italy
? Anarchist Communist Group (ACG) - Britain
? Greece Anarchist Federation
? Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (AWSM) - Aotearoa/New Zealand
? Coordenação Anarquista Brasileira (CAB) - Brazil
? Devrimci Anarsist Faaliyet (DAF) - Turkey
? Die Plattform - Anarchakommunistische Organisation (Germany)
? Embat Organització Libertària de Catalunya - Catalonia
? Federación Anarquista de Rosario (FAR) - Argentina
? Federación Anarquista de Santiago (FAS) - Chile
? Federación Anarquista Uruguaya (FAU) - Uruguay
? Grupo Libertario Vía Libre - Colombia
? Libertaere Aktion - Switzerland
? Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group (MACG) - Australia
? Organización Anarquista de Córdoba (OAC) - Argentina
? Organización Anarquista de Tucumán (OAT) - Argentina
? Organisation Socialiste Libertaire (OSL) - Switzerland
? Union Communiste Libertaire (UCL) - France
? Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM) - Ireland
? Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front - ZACF (South Africa)
https://www.dieplattform.org/2021/03/01/100-jahrestag-des-kronstaedter-matrosenaufstands-erinnern-heisst-kaempfen-ger-eng/
------------------------------
Message: 4
HENRY SCHEIN, a multinational company supplying medical equipment, present in
more than 22 countries, supplying medical and clinical equipment. As such, it
should come as no surprise that the current pandemic has significantly increased
its turnover. In Spain, it's also been awarded profitable contracts with the
public health service. ---- Regardless, last September 11, the company dismissed
9 workers at its warehouse and logistics centre in Seseña-Toledo, Spain, based on
alleged production needs. During the following months, they have dismissed more
workers from other centres, which is evidence of the company implementing an
in-depth organizational rearrangement. The alleged causes for the dismissals are
false. The company is using them to hide its ongoing reduction of labour costs,
carried out under the current state of alarm in Spain, decreed because of the
health emergency.
RelatedPosts
Olive oil sale in solidarity with CNT Gijon
[Spain]CNT's section strongly rejects redundancies in Alumalsa
[Spain]Strike in Alumalsa
Henry Schein is not interested in maintaining jobs during the health crisis and
is acting unlawfully. Between March and May, it bought a number of companies and
assets from subsidiaries (Dental Especialidades, S.L., assets of Casa Schmidt,
S.A., Servimed Técnicos, S.L.U., assets of Mediclog Sanitaria S.L., Casa Schmidt
Portugal, etc.), while forcing a reduction of working hours and wages on its
staff. This reduction ended in September, when a return to normal employment
conditions was announced. Yet the dismissals quickly followed. In addition, the
company gained lucrative contracts with the regional Administration to supply
sanitary equipment related to COVID-19.
The company is using the health emergency and the past reduction of working hours
to disguise a group dismissal of workers, which should be done through the
relevant legal instrument, as individual ones and is violating workers' rights.
WE DEMAND THE REINSTATEMENT OF ALL DISMISSED WORKERS!
https://www.icl-cit.org/henry-schein-a-multinational-company-supplying-medical-equipment-has-profited-from-the-current-pandemic-yet-it-exploits-and-fires-its-workers/
------------------------------
Message: 5
Last week a report on the results of a survey of the British publics attitude to
inequality (pre- and) post-COVID by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) and
Kings College London (KCL) was published. In its reporting of the results of this
survey the Guardian newspaper bent over backwards to try and interpret the
results as showing the selfish, sexism and racism of the populace. "Kings College
London study also revealed negative views of minorities are still common" the
subheadline stated, with the piece then opening with: ---- "In findings that will
raise fears over inequalities in Britain, a study of attitudes by researchers at
Kings College London showed a significant minority thought a widening post-Covid
income gap between white people and BAME groups would not be a problem."
Yet looking at the raw data you get a rather different picture. Overwhelmingly
people see income gaps as too large, majorities felt that society was unequal
even before COVID-19. Most people see the increase in inequality in either income
or life expectancy for all groups as a problem. Two thirds of people see COVID as
negatively affecting those with little wealth and low paid jobs. Significantly
more people agree that the government should redistribute income than disagree, a
majority believe that the government should take measures to reduce income
inequality. 90% of people agree that "the furlough scheme helps people who are
facing difficult times through no fault of their own", 83% say the same about
unemployment benefits. Indeed the authors of the report summarise the results of
the report as "Britons across the political spectrum care about disparities
between deprived and better-off areas, chiming with the government's focus on
‘levelling up'".
Yet while the authors do not go as far as the Guardian they still cannot resist
stating that "Britons' focus on hard work and ambition means they tend to have a
relatively unforgiving view of those who have lost their jobs during the crisis."
This argument is made on the basis that that 47% of respondents think "how well
people are performing at their jobs" is important in someone losing their job
(39% of people disagreed). At first glance the result of this question may seem
to justify the authors' statement. But the fact that someone believes performance
is important in someone losing their job that does not mean that they do not
believe other factors are also important (perhaps even more important). In fact
those surveyed were only asked to consider two (non-exclusive) factors
(performance and luck) that might be responsible for someone losing their job.
The authors neglected to ask people whether the underperformance of bosses, the
government, or the political system were factors that were responsible for job
losses during COVID.
Both the survey and the reporting of it have been created on the basis of the
long-held contempt of people that is endemic in liberalism. That people cannot be
trusted, they are unthinking, nasty and brutish, they will not listen to the
liberal experts. This fear of the working class is not new but has become more
naked in recent years with the rise of populist parties/ideas - hence the
widespread sharing of a cartoon of people as passengers who insist they should
fly a plane rather than the pilots.
It suits liberals to believe that the foolish, selfish and racist workers need to
be led to the promised land by the enlightened. But despite 40 years of consensus
on neo-liberalism pushed by all the tools of the State and capital (the major
political parties, think-tanks, business, etc) the results of the IFS/KCL study
show levels of the solidarity remain high. And it is on the foundation of that
solidarity that working class politics must be based.
https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2021/03/03/fear-and-loathing-of-the-working-class/
------------------------------
Message: 6
Rallies, road blockades, actions to slow down traffic, free admission on toll
roads ... Small in size, but stubborn protests of the yellow vest movement, which
on February 27 held its 120th "act of protest", are continuing throughout France.
---- In Paris, they organized two demonstrations. One of them moved at 13.00 from
the Reilly / Diderot metro and walked along the streets of Reilly and Charonne,
avenue Philippe-August, boulevards Menilmontand and Belleville, rue Faubourg du
Temple, Place de la Republique, boulevards Saint-Martin, Saint-Denis and Beaune
Nouvelle, Rue Hauteville, Abbeville, Aubourg-Poissonniere and Boulevard
Rochechouart, ending at 4.30 pm at the Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre. The march ended
with an expression of solidarity with the Spanish musician Pablo Asel, who was
thrown into prison on charges of insulting the monarchy. Protesting against this
arbitrariness, people in Spain took to the streets for several days in a row and
fought barricade battles against the forces of the capitalist order.
The second demonstration proceeded from the Place Saint-Michel at 13.30 along the
boulevards Saint-Michel and Saint-Germain, Place Maubert, Rue Monge, Avenue
Gobelins, Place della Italia, boulevards Auguste Blanqui and Saint-Jacques,
ending the march at Place Danfer-Rochereau.
"We only urge to find solutions (to problems), but they (the government) do not
give us solutions, they confront us with fait accompli. Hospitals close beds, and
then they say that there are no more places (to treat people). They tell us so
that we can stay at home. We can no longer agree with this, "says Nejeh, one of
the organizers of the action.
In addition, the "Yellow Power of Yellow Vests" group held a rally outside the
National Assembly, recalling the social demands of the movement.
In various parts of the country there were performances of "yellow vests". So, in
the department of Yvelines (near Paris), a demonstration was held in Versailles,
an action on free admission for cars in Saint-Arnoux ... In Nimes, the protesters
occupied the already familiar roundabout ... Various actions are reported from
Avignon, Bordeaux, Codry, Chalon -sur-Saon (against the "killing of freedoms";
with the participation of "vests" from Lille and Besançon), Lena ...
In Montreuil, the "yellow vests" called for a demonstration on 18 March to
celebrate the anniversary of the Paris Commune ...
https://blogs.mediapart.fr/ceinna-coll/blog/280221/gj-acte120-paris-27022021-liberte-onlacherien;
https://twitter.com/giletsjaunesgo;
https://actu.fr/ile-de-france/versailles_78646/yvelines-les-gilets-jaunes-manifestent-a-versailles_39837075.html;
https://twitter.com/gjaunes;
https://actu.fr/ile-de-france/versailles_78646/yvelines-les-gilets-jaunes-manifestent-a-versailles_39837075.html;
https://aitrus.info/node/5641
------------------------------
protest" [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Lucio Urtubia Jiménez, who disappeared this summer, tells of his very romantic
life, since his childhood in Navarre, his first " expropriations " and his exile
in France, the bank robberies to support the fight against fascism and the
incredible scam of the checks of trip that brought the First National City Bank
to its knees. Amaia, a history student in whom he has accepted to confide,
accompanies him from Paris, where he lives and runs the Louise Michel social
center, to Cascante, the village where he grew up. ---- This long journey is an
opportunity to look back on his journey. Rather than an anarchist militant, he
considers himself a fellow traveler, never having joined any organization, and
defines himself above all as a mason because " we are what we are by what we do "
. He fully assumes his activism, motivated by his decisive encounter with the
guerrilla Quico Sabaté whom he lodged for some time: " A revolutionary who does
nothing ends up looking like a priest."
It was when he arrived in Paris, where he was forced to take refuge in 1954, "
proud to be an authentic deserter from Franco's army " , that he discovered these
movements. He tells Amaia about his trafficking in false papers, his first
robberies: "To steal, for me, if we were hungry, it wasn't stealing. I
practically only stole goods intended for the bourgeoisie, before they resold
them to us for much more. I would skip these steps and help myself straight away
whenever I could."
Its most resounding feat remains of course its forgeries of thousands of
travelers' checks, cashed to finance movements fighting against power and
capitalism across the world, which pushed the City Bank to the brink of
bankruptcy, to the point that having lost millions, she offered to withdraw her
complaint in exchange for the boards and reproduction material.
Ernest London (UCL Le Puy-en-Velay)
Mikel Santos " Belatz ", Le Trésor de Lucio , Rackham, 2020, 128 pages, 19 euros.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Lire-Belatz-le-tresor-de-Lucio
------------------------------
Message: 2
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ---- ("Saint-Michel", Monday March 1, 2021) -
The defenders of the Atikamekw and Innu land accompanied by non-native allies
will block from 1:00 pm today the path that crosses the Nitaskinan, between
"Saint -Michel "and Manawan in order to oppose extractivism. ---- At the 16th
kilometer on the QC-131 N road, Atikamekw, Innu and non-native activists have
been present since Friday to raise awareness and mobilize the population. We are
talking here, among other things, of the clearcuts that have been ransacking the
territory for years, but also of the graphite mine which is currently being set
up a few kilometers away and which will have major impacts on nature and the
quality of life. of the next generations.
Along the way, we can see two large posters calling for a 5-year moratorium on
extractivism. Inserts were distributed throughout the weekend to cars passing on
the road, in order to educate the population about the issues of destruction of
nature, among other things, the devastation of forests and wildlife on the
Nitaskinan. Today, Monday March 1, 2021, activists will be present from 10:00
a.m. and will completely block traffic from 1:00 p.m.
An Atikamekw activist on site today mentions that "For several years, the forests
of Nitaskinan have been ransacked by the destructive machines of forestry
companies, creating floods and loss of habitat for wildlife! Now there are fewer
bears and moose in the area, and they may eventually become extinct. Another adds
that "The white birch, essential to Atikamekw culture, is also in danger. "
The group that is mobilizing today wishes to recall that neither the colonial
government nor the band council have any legitimacy over these unceded
territories. Often, these two governments would rather agree together to wreck it
for the benefit of a few rather than to take care of it for the next seven
generations.
A person on site mentions that "the action carried out this weekend is only the
beginning. Others will follow, because Ekoni Aci! That's enough! We must let
nature regain its strength and that is why we are asking for a five-year
moratorium on all mining projects on the Nitaskinan ".
http://ucl-saguenay.blogspot.com/2021/03/blocage-contre-lextractivisme-effrene.html
------------------------------
Message: 3
International anarchist statement on the centenary of the 1921 Kronstadt Uprising
---- "Let the workers of the whole world know that we, the defenders of the power
of the soviets, will watch over the gains of the social revolution. We will
conquer or perish beneath the ruins of Kronstadt, fighting the righteous cause of
the working masses. The toilers the world over will sit in judgement of us. The
blood of innocents will be upon the heads of the Communists, savage madmen drunk
on power. Long live the power of the soviets!" ---- - The Provisional
Revolutionary Committee of Kronstadt ---- On 1 March 1921, the Kronstadt Soviet
rose in revolt against the regime of the Russian "Communist" Party. The Civil War
was effectively over, with the last of the White armies in European Russia
defeated in November, 1920. The remaining battles in Siberia and Central Asia
were over the territorial extent of the USSR. Economic conditions, though,
remained dire. In response, strikes broke out across Petrograd in February, 1921.
The sailors of Kronstadt sent a delegation to investigate the strikes.
Background
The city of Kronstadt is on the island of Koltin, which dominates the approaches
to Petrograd. It was the home of the largest Russian naval base and was a bastion
of revolutionary politics since 1905. It played a distinguished role in the
revolutions of 1905 and 1917. The Kronstadt Soviet was established in May, 1917,
not long after the Petrograd one.
Throughout 1917, soviets had multiplied and strengthened across the Russian
Empire. In October, they had overthrown the Provisional Government. The Second
All-Russian Congress of Soviets took power in its own hands. The All-Russian
Congress, however, agreed to a Bolshevik proposal to appoint a Council of
People's Commissars to act as an executive cabinet over the Soviet. The
Bolsheviks lost no time in setting up a State apparatus with coercive powers.
Crucially, they subordinated the local and regional soviets to the central one.
As early as April, 1918, the Bolsheviks began repression against the anarchists
and started purges of the soviets. The October Revolution had established freedom
of the press and the right of soldiers to elect their officers, but the
Bolsheviks reversed these and many other vital social changes in the course of
the Civil War.
The repression of all opposition, war communism and forced requisitions imposed
by firing squads, together with the spread of poverty and hunger, alienated many
of the sympathies that workers and peasants had placed in Bolshevism. Protests of
workers and peasants against authoritarian Bolshevik measures were frequent
through 1918 to 1921, including several waves of workers' strikes.
The Petropavlovsk Resolution
The Petrograd strikes of February, 1921, prompted Kronstadt sailors to send a
delegation to investigate and report. The sailors themselves had been unhappy
with management of the Navy and had deposed their commander in January. The
report of the delegation prompted the passage of the Petropavlovsk Resolution:
In view of the fact that the present Soviets do not express the will of the
workers and peasants, immediately to hold new elections by secret ballot, the
pre-election campaign to have full freedom of agitation among the workers and
peasants;
* To establish freedom of speech and press for workers and peasants, for
anarchists and left socialist parties;
* To secure freedom of assembly for labour unions and peasant organisations;
* To call a nonpartisan Conference of the workers, Red Army soldiers and sailors
of Petrograd, Kronstadt, and of Petrograd Province, no later than 10 March, 1921;
* To liberate all political prisoners of socialist parties, as well as all
workers, peasants, soldiers, and sailors imprisoned in connection with the labour
and peasant movements;
* To elect a Commission to review the cases of those held in prisons and
concentration camps;
* To abolish all politotdeli (political bureaus) because no party should be given
special privileges in the propagation of its ideas or receive the financial
support of the Government for such purposes. Instead there should be established
educational and cultural commissions, locally elected and financed by the Government;
* To abolish immediately all zagryaditelniye otryadi (Bolshevik units armed to
suppress traffic and confiscate foodstuffs);
* To equalise the rations of all who work, with the exception of those employed
in trades detrimental to health;
* To abolish the Bolshevik fighting detachments in all branches of the Army, as
well as the Bolshevik guards kept on duty in mills and factories. Should such
guards or military detachments be found necessary, they are to be appointed in
the Army from the ranks, and in the factories according to the judgment of the
workers;
* To give the peasants full freedom of action in regard to their land, and also
the right to keep cattle, on condition that the peasants manage with their own
means; that is, without employing hired labour;
* To request all branches of the Army, as well as our comrades the military
kursanti, to concur in our resolutions;
* To demand that the press give the fullest publicity to our resolutions;
* To appoint a Travelling Commission of Control;
* To permit free kustarnoye (individual small scale) production by one's own efforts.
This resolution can be summarised as containing two fundamental demands: the
restoration of Soviet democracy and an economic compromise with the peasants.
Revolt and Suppression
On 1 March, a mass meeting convened by the Kronstadt Soviet endorsed the
Petropavlovsk Resolution. It was the beginning of the Kronstadt Uprising. Over
the next few days, the rebels tried negotiating with the Bolshevik Government.
They allowed Kalinin to return to Petrograd. They disregarded the advice of the
Czarist officers (who had been employed by the Navy as technical advisors) to
take military measures, including attacks on the mainland. The Bolsheviks did not
reciprocate and arrested delegations from Kronstadt that reached points on the
mainland.
The Government attacked on 7 March, but was beaten off, having lost substantial
forces to defections. A more serious attack on 10 March was also defeated, with
many casualties on the Bolshevik side. The final attack, with much larger forces,
occurred on 17-18 March and succeeded in capturing Kronstadt and suppressing the
uprising.
Legacy
Today, anarchists remember the centenary of the Kronstadt Uprising for two
reasons. Firstly, it shows that it is not true that the only alternative to
capitalism in Russia was the authoritarian and repressive regime of the so-called
"Communist" Party. The Kronstadters had kept alive the original values of the
Russian Revolution and were raising them again against the Party's government by
commissar. They failed because the people of Russia were exhausted, not because
their ideas were rejected.
Secondly, we remember Kronstadt because the true history of the rebellion is far
different from the lying versions propagated by various Leninist groups and shows
how far the Bolsheviks had deviated from the principles upon which the October
Revolution was founded. The Kronstadters wanted democratic soviets, not a
Constituent Assembly which could only establish a capitalist government. They
rejected aid from abroad, turning instead to the workers and peasants of Russia.
And they exhibited consistently higher principles in the course of the conflict,
attempting at all times and even during the final battle to fraternise with the
government troops and win them over politically. Some Leninists, desperate to
defend the credibility of the Bolsheviks' denunciation of the Kronstadt Uprising
as counter-revolutionary, cite statements by Bolsheviks from Kronstadt in the
aftermath. We only consider it necessary to point out that these statements were
signed by people held in prison and threatened with execution. False statements
can usually be obtained for a good deal less.
The Bolsheviks (by then calling themselves the "Communist" Party) held their 10th
Congress during the period of the Kronstadt Uprising. Critics of the rebellion
often cite the articles of the Petropavlovsk Resolution as demanding an
unacceptable compromise with the peasants, but seldom mention that the 10th
Congress endorsed the New Economic Policy, which was a far more extensive
compromise. In truth, the aspects of the Petropavlovsk Resolution which were
unacceptable to the Bolsheviks were the ones setting out the demand for soviet
democracy. It was the Bolsheviks, not the Kronstadters, who were setting
themselves against the working class.
Today, anarchists work for new revolutions of the working and popular classes
worldwide and fight for the fullest direct democracy within them. We are inspired
by the rebels of Kronstadt and aim to ensure that, though it may have been
delayed, they have not shed their blood in vain.
All power to the Soviets!
? Alternative Libertaria/ Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (Al/FdCA) - Italy
? Anarchist Communist Group (ACG) - Britain
? Greece Anarchist Federation
? Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (AWSM) - Aotearoa/New Zealand
? Coordenação Anarquista Brasileira (CAB) - Brazil
? Devrimci Anarsist Faaliyet (DAF) - Turkey
? Die Plattform - Anarchakommunistische Organisation (Germany)
? Embat Organització Libertària de Catalunya - Catalonia
? Federación Anarquista de Rosario (FAR) - Argentina
? Federación Anarquista de Santiago (FAS) - Chile
? Federación Anarquista Uruguaya (FAU) - Uruguay
? Grupo Libertario Vía Libre - Colombia
? Libertaere Aktion - Switzerland
? Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group (MACG) - Australia
? Organización Anarquista de Córdoba (OAC) - Argentina
? Organización Anarquista de Tucumán (OAT) - Argentina
? Organisation Socialiste Libertaire (OSL) - Switzerland
? Union Communiste Libertaire (UCL) - France
? Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM) - Ireland
? Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front - ZACF (South Africa)
https://www.dieplattform.org/2021/03/01/100-jahrestag-des-kronstaedter-matrosenaufstands-erinnern-heisst-kaempfen-ger-eng/
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Message: 4
HENRY SCHEIN, a multinational company supplying medical equipment, present in
more than 22 countries, supplying medical and clinical equipment. As such, it
should come as no surprise that the current pandemic has significantly increased
its turnover. In Spain, it's also been awarded profitable contracts with the
public health service. ---- Regardless, last September 11, the company dismissed
9 workers at its warehouse and logistics centre in Seseña-Toledo, Spain, based on
alleged production needs. During the following months, they have dismissed more
workers from other centres, which is evidence of the company implementing an
in-depth organizational rearrangement. The alleged causes for the dismissals are
false. The company is using them to hide its ongoing reduction of labour costs,
carried out under the current state of alarm in Spain, decreed because of the
health emergency.
RelatedPosts
Olive oil sale in solidarity with CNT Gijon
[Spain]CNT's section strongly rejects redundancies in Alumalsa
[Spain]Strike in Alumalsa
Henry Schein is not interested in maintaining jobs during the health crisis and
is acting unlawfully. Between March and May, it bought a number of companies and
assets from subsidiaries (Dental Especialidades, S.L., assets of Casa Schmidt,
S.A., Servimed Técnicos, S.L.U., assets of Mediclog Sanitaria S.L., Casa Schmidt
Portugal, etc.), while forcing a reduction of working hours and wages on its
staff. This reduction ended in September, when a return to normal employment
conditions was announced. Yet the dismissals quickly followed. In addition, the
company gained lucrative contracts with the regional Administration to supply
sanitary equipment related to COVID-19.
The company is using the health emergency and the past reduction of working hours
to disguise a group dismissal of workers, which should be done through the
relevant legal instrument, as individual ones and is violating workers' rights.
WE DEMAND THE REINSTATEMENT OF ALL DISMISSED WORKERS!
https://www.icl-cit.org/henry-schein-a-multinational-company-supplying-medical-equipment-has-profited-from-the-current-pandemic-yet-it-exploits-and-fires-its-workers/
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Message: 5
Last week a report on the results of a survey of the British publics attitude to
inequality (pre- and) post-COVID by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) and
Kings College London (KCL) was published. In its reporting of the results of this
survey the Guardian newspaper bent over backwards to try and interpret the
results as showing the selfish, sexism and racism of the populace. "Kings College
London study also revealed negative views of minorities are still common" the
subheadline stated, with the piece then opening with: ---- "In findings that will
raise fears over inequalities in Britain, a study of attitudes by researchers at
Kings College London showed a significant minority thought a widening post-Covid
income gap between white people and BAME groups would not be a problem."
Yet looking at the raw data you get a rather different picture. Overwhelmingly
people see income gaps as too large, majorities felt that society was unequal
even before COVID-19. Most people see the increase in inequality in either income
or life expectancy for all groups as a problem. Two thirds of people see COVID as
negatively affecting those with little wealth and low paid jobs. Significantly
more people agree that the government should redistribute income than disagree, a
majority believe that the government should take measures to reduce income
inequality. 90% of people agree that "the furlough scheme helps people who are
facing difficult times through no fault of their own", 83% say the same about
unemployment benefits. Indeed the authors of the report summarise the results of
the report as "Britons across the political spectrum care about disparities
between deprived and better-off areas, chiming with the government's focus on
‘levelling up'".
Yet while the authors do not go as far as the Guardian they still cannot resist
stating that "Britons' focus on hard work and ambition means they tend to have a
relatively unforgiving view of those who have lost their jobs during the crisis."
This argument is made on the basis that that 47% of respondents think "how well
people are performing at their jobs" is important in someone losing their job
(39% of people disagreed). At first glance the result of this question may seem
to justify the authors' statement. But the fact that someone believes performance
is important in someone losing their job that does not mean that they do not
believe other factors are also important (perhaps even more important). In fact
those surveyed were only asked to consider two (non-exclusive) factors
(performance and luck) that might be responsible for someone losing their job.
The authors neglected to ask people whether the underperformance of bosses, the
government, or the political system were factors that were responsible for job
losses during COVID.
Both the survey and the reporting of it have been created on the basis of the
long-held contempt of people that is endemic in liberalism. That people cannot be
trusted, they are unthinking, nasty and brutish, they will not listen to the
liberal experts. This fear of the working class is not new but has become more
naked in recent years with the rise of populist parties/ideas - hence the
widespread sharing of a cartoon of people as passengers who insist they should
fly a plane rather than the pilots.
It suits liberals to believe that the foolish, selfish and racist workers need to
be led to the promised land by the enlightened. But despite 40 years of consensus
on neo-liberalism pushed by all the tools of the State and capital (the major
political parties, think-tanks, business, etc) the results of the IFS/KCL study
show levels of the solidarity remain high. And it is on the foundation of that
solidarity that working class politics must be based.
https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2021/03/03/fear-and-loathing-of-the-working-class/
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Message: 6
Rallies, road blockades, actions to slow down traffic, free admission on toll
roads ... Small in size, but stubborn protests of the yellow vest movement, which
on February 27 held its 120th "act of protest", are continuing throughout France.
---- In Paris, they organized two demonstrations. One of them moved at 13.00 from
the Reilly / Diderot metro and walked along the streets of Reilly and Charonne,
avenue Philippe-August, boulevards Menilmontand and Belleville, rue Faubourg du
Temple, Place de la Republique, boulevards Saint-Martin, Saint-Denis and Beaune
Nouvelle, Rue Hauteville, Abbeville, Aubourg-Poissonniere and Boulevard
Rochechouart, ending at 4.30 pm at the Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre. The march ended
with an expression of solidarity with the Spanish musician Pablo Asel, who was
thrown into prison on charges of insulting the monarchy. Protesting against this
arbitrariness, people in Spain took to the streets for several days in a row and
fought barricade battles against the forces of the capitalist order.
The second demonstration proceeded from the Place Saint-Michel at 13.30 along the
boulevards Saint-Michel and Saint-Germain, Place Maubert, Rue Monge, Avenue
Gobelins, Place della Italia, boulevards Auguste Blanqui and Saint-Jacques,
ending the march at Place Danfer-Rochereau.
"We only urge to find solutions (to problems), but they (the government) do not
give us solutions, they confront us with fait accompli. Hospitals close beds, and
then they say that there are no more places (to treat people). They tell us so
that we can stay at home. We can no longer agree with this, "says Nejeh, one of
the organizers of the action.
In addition, the "Yellow Power of Yellow Vests" group held a rally outside the
National Assembly, recalling the social demands of the movement.
In various parts of the country there were performances of "yellow vests". So, in
the department of Yvelines (near Paris), a demonstration was held in Versailles,
an action on free admission for cars in Saint-Arnoux ... In Nimes, the protesters
occupied the already familiar roundabout ... Various actions are reported from
Avignon, Bordeaux, Codry, Chalon -sur-Saon (against the "killing of freedoms";
with the participation of "vests" from Lille and Besançon), Lena ...
In Montreuil, the "yellow vests" called for a demonstration on 18 March to
celebrate the anniversary of the Paris Commune ...
https://blogs.mediapart.fr/ceinna-coll/blog/280221/gj-acte120-paris-27022021-liberte-onlacherien;
https://twitter.com/giletsjaunesgo;
https://actu.fr/ile-de-france/versailles_78646/yvelines-les-gilets-jaunes-manifestent-a-versailles_39837075.html;
https://twitter.com/gjaunes;
https://actu.fr/ile-de-france/versailles_78646/yvelines-les-gilets-jaunes-manifestent-a-versailles_39837075.html;
https://aitrus.info/node/5641
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