Anarchistic update news all over the world - 2 April 2015 - Part 1
Today's 9 Topics:
1. France, Alternative Libertaire Tract AL - RTT? Revolution of
the Working Time! (fr, it, pt) [machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. Australia, Upcoming event – 31st of March – Taking On
The State! Social Anarchism, Individualism And Lifestyle Politics
by Anarchist Affinity (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. Czech, afed.cz Existence #2 2016 - summary (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. Spain, MADRID, Grupo Anarquista Albatros-FAI: CONCERT IN
SUPPORT OF CUBAN ANARCHISTS (ca) [machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. New Zealand, awsm.nz: Trumped: The Decline of the USA By
Pink Panther (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. France, Alternative Libertaire AL #258 (Feb) - biodiversity,
Humanity faces the sixth extinction (fr, it, pt) [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
7. Palestine-Israel, New people join, some veterans left,
pressures intensify... but the joint struggle continue kicking.
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
8. Germany, A-Radio Berlin Tomorrow (3.4.): International Live
Anarchist Radio Broadcast (2-6pm CET) (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
9. Australia, Book Review from Rebel Worker Vol.35 No.1 April
2016: Living Anarchism: Jose Peirats and the Spanish
Anarcho-Syndicalist Movement by Chris Ealham, Published by AK
Press (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
Denounce the "work" law and the Medef-Valls government is not enough. In their logic, we
must oppose another, radically reversed. They speak only of "boost growth" by increasing
the flexibility and lengthening working hours. To reduce unemployment and redistribute
wealth, it is exactly the opposite to do. Capitalism is out of breath, it's time to
finish. ---- Working time ---- Social struggles fierce helped down from 60 to 40 hours per
week. Then 39 hours before descending to 35 hours in exchange for the annualization and
flexibility. The fight for the reduction of working time has also played on the retirement
age and days of paid leave. ---- Success in following the setbacks of power between
employers and workers- her, these laws have not changed fundamentally the relationship of
exploitation: the bosses announce every time the "economic crisis" or "the decline of the
country" and continue to make their profits on the wealth produced by labor.
Unemployment and technologies
all hair capitalist promise full employment by the return of growth. Forgetting that the
capitalist mode of production and growth at all costs to take us straight to a major
environmental disaster! And neglecting the amazing acceleration of technological progress.
Between intelligent robots and 3D printing, it announces the disappearance of half of
current global jobs by 2025. And very little alternative employment.
Leaflet in PDF for download
Clearly, it will require less and less labor-its to produce wealth, but there will be
fewer wage earners to buy them.
Capitalism, private property of means of production and "free competition" is thus faced
with an absurd and insurmountable contradiction.
Wealth sharing and working time
If we can produce all the necessary goods, you just know how it distributes the working
time required to produce and how to fairly distribute the goods produced.
For us, the answers are clear: it is necessary to pool the means of production and
self-managing democratically businesses.
Reduction to 32 hours working time is a useful first claim to the mobilization but we can
go much further in a society free from capitalism.
To strike to win
Neither the owners nor the shareholders will not allow themselves dispossessed without
reacting. In the general strike process to break up austéritaires government policies, it
is the expropriation of the bosses and restarting self-managed businesses we prepare.
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?RTT-Revolution-du-Temps-de-Travail
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Message: 2
Our first discussion meeting for the year will be on Social Anarchism, Individualism And
Lifestyle Politics ---- When: 6:30pm, 31st of March ---- Where: Multipurpose Room 1,
Kathleen Syme Library and Community Centre (251 Faraday St, Carlton). ---- Anarchism is a
political philosophy committed to freedom, equality and justice – seeing capitalism, the
state and oppressive social relationships as the barriers to the realisation of these
goals. With such a simple definition, you’d wonder why anarchism is such a broad church.
---- In this talk Anarchist Affinity will be looking at the historical development of the
two ‘tendencies’ that are often brought together under the umbrella of anarchism: Social
Anarchism and Individualism. What are they? What are lifestyle politics? We will talk
about how these philosophies have shaped anarchism’s development, and how they manifest in
approaches to anarchist politics and action today.
After the talk, a lively discussion and debate!
http://www.anarchistaffinity.org/
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Message: 3
The past year in Czechia could be characterised by a surge of fear and hatred, especially
against people fleeing away from war and poverty. Despite the fact that this issue does
not greatly apply to Czechia, similar situation is visible in all the Central European
countries of the former Eastern Bloc including the eastern part of Germany. Many negative
signs in the society call for parallels with Europe of the 30ies and the beginning of
fascist regimes. That is why we chose increasing fascist attitude to be the topic of this
issue of Existence. ---- We ask the questions to what extend it is appropriate to speak of
fascism, to what extend is the social situation changing, what are the grounds and tools
of xenophobes who can be heard in media and in the streets, and why a considerable part of
the society succumbs to their hateful and mostly false rhetoric so easily. For the answers
we are looking for example in an interview with a member of the Antifascist action which
commemorates the 20th anniversary of its existence. A list of features of fascist
tendencies in a society created by Umberto Eco who died this year we consider to be really
apt for understanding. Peter Gelderloos is answering the question, how fascism is useful
to the contemporary regime and another article examines Czech xenophobes from the point of
schizo-analysis and critical theory. We mention George Orwell’s reflection of fascism in
1936, and finally we introduce Eugén Lanti and his efforts to defy nationalism.
As for the activities of the Czech anti-authoritarian movement we bring an extensive
report of the demonstration against “The Fortress Europe”, and information about events
supporting the autonomous social centre Klinika which was attacked by neo-Nazis and later
by public officials and local politicians. We also visit Israel and Rojava. The
Palestinian human rights defender Rafat Sub Laban from the Addameer organization speaks
about the law applied by the apartheid to the second-grade people. The events in Rojava
are commented on in two interviews, with Janet Biehl and a Spanish anarchist who joined
the YPG forces.
An extensive theoretical article by Vadim Damier focuses on P.A. Kropotkin’s ideas and
evaluates many of his conclusions as useful and inspiring for the present day. The article
“Without Patriarchy“ looks into the feminist tendencies inside Islam.
Further there are texts from the wall newspapers A3 of the last three months, and book and
magazine reviews.
http://www.afed.cz/text/6401/existence-2-2016
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Message: 4
L @ s @ s leading anarchists cuban some time reorganizing, through the Libertarian
Workshop Alfredo Lopez in Havana, and are in a time when having a separate room would be
of tremendous help. The regime is opening a little hand, but still persists monitoring and
pressure, before any dissent, which complicates their outreach work and proposals of
anarchism. For now activated in provided places but they are convinced (and us) to have
their own space greatly facilitate their task. That's why, from the Albatros-FAI anarchist
group, we want to join, with the realization of the concert whose details are shown in the
poster annex- other initiatives that are already underway to raise some funds to
contribute to this acquisition. You have to know that you could buy very cheap, but the
average salary in the island around $ 20 a month.
Anyway, if you can and want to help in this project with any amount however small, you had
this account where you can make the deposit. That Cuba is placed on the motive is enough
... IBAN ES83 0182 0974 00 0210075463
For those unable to attend the concert, but want to collaborate economically, there is a
row 0 and some bonds aid for the same purpose. Request information in albatros@nodo50.org
When: Saturday April 2, 2016.
Where?: Ateneo Libertario de Villaverde - Paseo Alberto Palacios, 2 - 28021 Madrid - Buses
22, 86, 130 and 131 - Metro and Train: Puente Alto and Villaverde Alcocer
What time?: 20:00 h.
http://acracia.org/concierto-apoyo-anarquistas-cubanos/
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Message: 5
On March 1st, 2016, was an event known as Super Tuesday in the United States. It’s when
the delegates in the Democratic and Republican parties in eleven key states vote on who
should be their respective Presidential candidates. Whoever picks up the majority of the
delegates tends to get a massive boost in the race. The two beneficiaries of Super Tuesday
and clear frontrunners are a pillar of the Democratic Party establishment, former U.S
State Secretary Hillary Clinton and property mogul and former reality TV show host Donald
Trump for the Republicans. ---- Campaigning under the slogan “Make America Great Again”
Trump’s campaign is revealing just how polarized American society has become. A candidate,
who has not clearly disavowed support from the likes of ex-Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke,
is sweeping all before him while the media and most commentators largely gloss over the
threat Trump poses to the freedom of millions of Americans. They prefer the telegenic
image and easy sound bites he provides.
This is a man who openly talks about abolishing LGBT rights, expelling millions of Latinos
from the United States and building a wall across the U.S-Mexico border to keep out
illegal migrants. This is a man who denigrates women and Muslims. This is a man whose
supporters and Secret Service bodyguards beat up hecklers and bans black students from his
campaign meetings. It may be easy to dismiss him as a buffoon whom the political
Establishment can bring into line. There are also questions around his lack of consistency
on key issues and whether he really subscribes to the views he is currently voicing. At
any rate, being independently rich and privileged himself means Trump doesn’t need the
money of the rich and the privileged to fund his campaign. While this could be seen as a
good thing in light of all the politicians in Congress who are in the pockets of powerful
business and lobbying interests, it also means that Trump can say whatever he likes with
the knowledge no one is going to stop him.
Historically there have been similar populist candidates in American politics, such as
Buchanan in the 90’s or Huey Long in the 30’s. They never really got much traction in the
system. Things have changed. What a lot of Americans are unwilling to admit is that
Trump’s current success is symptomatic of the United States having been in serious decline
for many decades. Likewise in their own different ways, the campaign of Clinton’s business
as usual approach and her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders, show how decrepit things have
become. Sometimes there is a time lag between the reality of decline and political
manifestations of it.
The days when the USA overwhelmingly dominated the world economy, and by extension others’
political systems, have ended. Countries no longer need to rely on the United States to
get the money and technology to expand their own economies. The growth of China and India
as economic powerhouses mean that countries seeking capital can now turn to them. In
Africa, the decades of neo-colonial imperialism of the Western powers whose money came
with strings and consultants attached has left many, if not most, Africans thoroughly fed
up with Western investment. They have instead turned to China and India for investment.
Both countries have shown a willingness to invest without so many strings attached and
much of the growth of the middle classes in Africa can be attributed to investment from
these countries. More importantly, the technology made by the Chinese in recent years is
more affordable and practical than that produced by the United States, thus
revolutionizing how business is done in Africa and, to a lesser extent, South America.
The American geopolitical influence has also shrunk. In parts of Eastern Europe,
particularly Serbia and the countries that made up the former Soviet Union, and within the
Middle East the Russians have become the dominant (if not exactly welcome) influence. This
is best exemplified by the recent Russian intervention on behalf of the Syrian government
in the civil war there. In the Asia-Pacific region China has become more politically
influential among its neighbours, especially now the Chinese have the economic and
military clout to back it up. It is partly in response to this growing influence that the
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement was signed in February 2016. It was mostly about the
United States desperately trying to reassert its influence in an area it hadn’t paid much
attention to in recent decades.
Militarily, the American government has suffered military defeats and setbacks in
Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which were invaded in the aftermath of the September 11th,
2001, terrorist attacks. Their military appears to have no response to the emergence of
extremist Islamic groups like al-Qaeda, Islamic State and the Taliban other than
ineffective air raids and drone strikes designed to look impressive on television but
little else. At other times they have covertly backed such elements, indicating the
dominance of political expediency over high minded rhetoric.
Within the United States itself, there has been a substantial decline. The standard of
living for most Americans has fallen dramatically since the 2008 Recession. As wages
continue to stagnate or decline and working conditions start to revert to those of the
Nineteenth Century for most working and middle class people. The stark reality is that
less than 0.1% of the American people control the vast majority of America’s wealth (U.S
Wealth Inequality – Top 0.1% Worth As Much as the Bottom 90%, The Guardian, November 13,
2014).
Despite growing job numbers the number of Americans out of work remains at around 5.5% (as
of May 2015 according to the U.S Bureau of Labour). This does not include those people
whose unemployment insurance has run out nor those who have given up looking for work.
Those who do work earn either the federal minimum wage of $7.25 (NZD$10.88) an hour or
marginally higher at a time when the costs of living is continuing to soar.
In recent years the introduction of student loans have put millions in financial hardship
and given them heavy debts, making it virtually impossible for anyone with such a burden
to get things like loans, mortgages or even a job in many cases (credit ratings are
routine for many jobs that involve the handling of money). This means the once semi-secure
middle classes are also feeling the pinch like never before.
Life appears to be one endless stream of parties, award ceremonies and fashion show
appearances for the influential and powerful but most Americans can look forward to a life
that is closer to that of the jungle. It’s little wonder then that the United States has
seen much of its population lose faith in their political system and have rallied behind
people like Clinton’s Democratic rival Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, who’ve both
offered different forms of political populism as ‘solutions’ to the problems facing Americans.
As noted, there have been periods within America in the past, which have seen the rise of
pied piper demagogues. I wouldn’t want to over-do it, but I think there are also real
comparisons to be made with historical events in other places. There are disturbing
comparisons between the situation facing the Weimar Republic in Germany between the late
1920s and 1933 and the United States now. Like the Weimar Republic, the United States has
a huge debt that it cannot pay off to both foreign and domestic lenders. The Weimar
Republic faced virtual political paralysis as the result of the Nazis and other
authoritarian political parties on the far right refusing to pass legislation simply
because it was put forward by the Social Democratic Party-led government because of the
misconception they were “Communists”. In the United States today the Republican Party
within Congress has been dominated by extremist Tea Party members who have refused to pass
any laws proposed by Barack Obama.
The Weimar Republic was marked by major social changes which included the legalisation of
homosexuality, the introduction of equal rights and the vote for women and socially
progressive laws that outlawed discrimination against various groups including Jews. These
social freedoms, combined with a brief period of rapid job growth and economic prosperity
that was enjoyed even by the working classes, saw a boom in new styles of literature, art,
film, theatre, popular entertainment and sexual permissiveness that defied social
conventions of the time and offended most conservatives. The United States has witnessed a
similar situation with radical advances in technology, the growth of new architectural and
art styles that have only been possible because of the Internet and the advanced state of
computer technology and the legalisation of same sex marriages. Much of this progress has
been resisted by moral and social conservatives who see these developments as a threat to
their conception of how the United States should be.
Most people from the extreme Left to the conservative Right in the Weimar Republic treated
Hitler and the Nazis as a joke whose policies would never be implemented because there
were constitutional safeguards and the German people were deemed too civilised to swallow
Hitler’s nonsense. Likewise the general attitude within the United States towards Trump
until recently has been to treat him as the butt of jokes or to under-estimate how
desperate people are willing to buy into the nonsense he is peddling.
And, most uncomfortable of all, Hitler exploited the Constitution of the Weimar Republic
to achieve his aims then destroyed the Weimar Republic. Trump has shown himself willing to
fully exploit the Constitution of the United States to achieve his aims but has also used
loopholes to silence his critics, including the use of lawsuits and the Secret Service
bodyguards who now surround all the Presidential nominees.
The United States today, like the Weimar Republic for most of its short history, is a
polarized society where about the only thing the people have in common is their mutual
fear and hatred of everyone that doesn’t look, behave or think the way they do. Few people
in the United States personify that hatred more than Donald Trump.
Fortunately, the United States does have one advantage over the Weimar Republic: history.
If Americans learn the right lessons from the history of the Weimar Republic and similar
examples, they will be able to see just how dangerous Trump actually is and do something
about it by doing whatever lies within their power to stop him. Americans face something
that New Zealand has never had to. That is, the very real possibility that an out of
control populist demagogue could be elected as a Head of State in one of the world’s most
powerful countries.
Whether Trump ends up in the White House or not the one thing he cannot do is to reverse
the decline of the United States. If anything Trump will only end up hastening its
decline, as his plan to deport “illegal Latino migrants” would cost the United States
around $1.5 trillion a year from its Gross Domestic Product and cost almost as much to
implement their rounding up and deportation. His wall along the U.S-Mexican border will
cost billions to build and maintain. And the flight of both capital and labour will almost
certainly destroy the United States’ economy, if the wars he plans on unleashing in the
name of the War on Terror doesn’t.
The divisions that have split the United States have grown too great to mend and there is
no great saviour who is going to save the day. Clinton stands for the status quo and
Sanders is no genuine threat to the system on the deep enough level that would be required
to make a difference. No economic miracle or New Deal is going to materialise. Even if
austerity was not the order of the day, advances in technology have reached the point
where unemployment will no longer be a temporary thing for most people but a fact of life.
(We’ve Reached A Tipping Point Where Technology Is Now Destroying More Jobs Than It
Creates, Warns Researcher, Business Insider, June 3, 2015). It’s going to be up to the
working people and their various allies in the United States and elsewhere to
fundamentally change the system they and the rest of us live under.
Related
The Rojava revolution in Syria
In "International"
Eritrea: National Liberation? National Disaster?
The world is divided into nation-states. These artificial constructs have either evolved
over an extended period, through the actions of people within particular areas or are
created by outside forces. There is nothing ‘natural’ about them, though this is harder to
see in cases where they have been in place…
In "Guest author"
Movie Review: 'Sedition'
In "News"
http://www.awsm.nz/2016/03/29/trumped-the-decline-of-the-usa/
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Message: 6
Since its emergence in 1988, the word "biodiversity" has become a source of confusion and
amalgam because, in an apparent evidence, biodiversity is actually a complex concept. Yet
it expresses a reality of the living world undermined, especially since the expansion of
the capitalist mode of production. ---- In the broad sense, biodiversity is the variety
and variability of living organisms. It is defined in Article 2 of the Convention on
Biological Diversity[1] as "the variability among living organisms from all sources
including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological
complexes of which they are part ; this includes diversity within species, between species
and of ecosystems ". Biodiversity is therefore not limited to the sum of cash, but
represents all interactions between living things and with their physical and chemical
environment. "In its broadest sense, the word is almost synonymous with life on earth. "[2]
The dependent humanity
The dependence of human societies to biodiversity demonstrates that human well-being is
inseparable from the health of ecosystems. According to the Foundation for Research on
Biodiversity[3], biodiversity refers both to its intrinsic value, related to the
importance of biodiversity itself, but also the heritage value related to interest
culture, identity and history that is of biodiversity and finally to its utilitarian
value, related to the resources provided to human societies.
But it is this last vision that remains dominant. Not only food, fuel, materials or drugs,
but also climate regulation, maintenance of major biogeochemical cycles (water,
carbon...), pollination, or the relationship of humanity with nature.
Surrender to the UN in 2005, the evaluation of the Millennium Ecosystem is a report to
assess the extent and consequences of the changes occurring in ecosystems. Its main
conclusion is that mankind has changed ecosystems more rapidly during the last fifty years
since the beginning of its history: destruction and contamination of natural habitats ,
overexploitation of natural resources, introduction of species from one environment to the
and other global warming lead to irreversible loss of biodiversity.
The " sixth extinction " is running: the pace of species extinction due to human activity
continues to accelerate. Its impact rivals that of five massive biological crises that
have punctuated the history of life from 500 million years - the last, there are 65
million years, that precipitated the fall of the dinosaurs.
On top of the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, the adoption of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) commits signatory countries to protect and restore the
diversity of life. Each year, the signatory countries are organizing a Conference of
Parties (COP) to advance the implementation of the Convention. Since 2012, the
Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), modeled on the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was launched.
The policies implemented based on: conservation that aims to keep the state a natural
environment by the establishment of protected areas; protection which seeks to impose
reasonable limits on the exploitation of natural resources; the restoration of ecosystems
; Finally, compensatory measures meant to counterbalance the negative effects of human
activities by restoring other ecosystems - as airport Notre-Dame-des-Landes.
Ecosystem Assessment Millennium - cited - concludes that it is possible to meet the
challenge of reversing the degradation of ecosystems processes, but it requires profound
political changes and practices that are far from being underway[4].
But as the climate crisis , if awareness of the damage to biodiversity is progressing and
if solutions primers take shape, the disaster continues his wild ride.
Ending the sixth great extinction!
The two fundamental obstacles to the implementation of any solution are, on the one hand
in the deadly expansion of the capitalist mode of production and the utilitarian ideology
of nature considered as a single resource pool.
Of course it is not to denigrate the fighting those who are fighting for the development
of protected areas, ecosystem restoration. But it is certain that the measures advocated
by the United Nations, even if implemented by States, will not be sufficient. And within
the capitalist system, whenever a conflict between a multinational combat biodiversity ,
power takes up the cause of "growth"...
The destruction of biodiversity will continue as will the capitalist class power. The
solution requires three revolutions incompatible with the maintenance of the capitalist
mode of production: a revolution in trade, ending globalization, a revolution in
consumption patterns and a revolution in production methods[5].
But it will not suffice to reverse this power. A transformation of the human relation to
the living world is necessary. In exploiter posture of nature we must return to our place
a simple link in the living world, respectful of other forms of life and developing all
necessary cooperation to achieve a new balance not just ensuring our future but the future
of the living world as a whole.
Jacques Dubart (AL Nantes)
[1] Adopted at the top of the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992.
[2] "Biodiversity, which covers this word? "On CNRS
[3] The Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) was created in 2008 at the
initiative of the French Departments.
[4] Ecosystem Assessment Millennium[archive], UNEP, 2005.
[5] " Facing the ecological challenge, three revolutions are necessary " on
www.alternativelibertaire.org
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?L-humanite-face-a-la-sixieme
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Message: 7
Last Friday (1.4) lot of anarchist flags again in Bil'in challenging the new efforts to
put end to the Friday demos in the village. The long range tear gas cannisters prevent any
interaction with the Israeli soldiers and stoped the demonstrators from exiting the
village - like in the demonstrations in Bil'in eleven years ago before the intense efforts
to put end to the demonstrations was replace with the contention of them; and like in the
other locations - Ni'ilin, Nebi Saleh, and Qaddum where the efforts to put end to the
demonstrations intensify. (So are with out the success the intense efforts to strangle the
south of Hebron hills activities with other means.) People with keen ears can already hear
the beginning of the countdown towards the end of the imperial settler colonial project in
the East of the Mediterranean sea. May be the acceleration of the process is the result of
the accumulation of the fiascos of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya...
Bil'in
18-3-16 577th Friday demo... 5 Israeli and about two dozens of internationals joined the
villagers in the march towards the separation wall dedicated to the memory of the
internationalist shahida Rachel Corrie.
Before even reaching the bottom of the hill the village is on the Israeli state forces
started to shoot both the short range and the long range canisters of tear gas. As the
tear gas was spread also at the fringe of the village we had to retreat much more than
usual... but did not disperse till the state forces went away.
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/videos/10207752202656025/
https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/846745682101329
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=846745542101343
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/videos/10207752202656025/
https://www.facebook.com/anatllanat/posts/846745682101329
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=846745542101343
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207751643322042
https://www.facebook.com/Mohammed.Yasin.photography/posts/672718276200871
https://www.facebook.com/taki.bornat/posts/1072368019451757
25-3-16 BIL'IN, Friday 25-3-16, 5 Israelis of the anarchists against the wall and dozen
internationals joined the village activists in the weekly demo. Just as we started to
march down the hill at the fringe of the village, the enforced Israeli state forces
started to shoot the long range tear gas grenades. Few activists succeeded to pass the
tear gas barrier and most of us retreated to the fringe of the range of the of the
grenades - using the friendly wind help.
The advance of the soldiers and adding the rubber bullets and big amount of short range
grenades failed to disperse us.
After about half an hour, most of the state force went away and only one armed car
advanced to us with last salvo of shooting that still failed to disperse us.....
The last care went away. We declared an additional victory and went to drink the after
demo tea at Waji veranda.
https://www.facebook.com/drrateb.aburahmah/posts/10208989565479305
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208989556159072
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208939518468346
https://www.facebook.com/rani.fatah/posts/10208939535628775
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=852071411568756
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/videos/10207834617956356/
https://www.facebook.com/village.bilin/posts/1677685422497067
https://www.facebook.com/village.bilin/photos/pcb.1677685422497067/1677685159163760
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/902085929890740
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/posts/10207834992885729
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=852071551568742
israelpnm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnVlorIlybw
1.4.16 About 22 Israeli activists with the anarchists against the wall initiative - half
of them members of the anarchist communist Ahdut (Unity) joined dozen internationals and
the village activists in the demo against settlers and occupation. Just as we started to
march the Israeli state force started to shower us with the long range tear gas grenades.
As this was not powerful enough one armoured car came near us to shoot us from short
range. After 15 minutes of evading the tear-gas the state force went away and we declared
another victory.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=858109474298283
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10209041134328679
https://www.facebook.com/haytham.alkhateeb/videos/10207931784185451/
https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.b.yaseen/posts/908041805961819
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=908041365961863
Ni’lin
18-3-16
In Ni’lin village, also west of Ramallah, as in Bil’in, the protesters were marking the
anniversary of the death Rachel Corrie.
They marched carrying posters of her and pictures of Tristan Anderson, an American peace
activist who was seriously injured after a high-velocity Israeli gas bomb struck him in
the forehead, on March 13 2009, causing cognitive impairment and physical disability.
The Ni’lin Popular Committee stated that the Israeli soldiers assaulted dozens of
Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists with tear gas bombs that can reach
more than 1000 meters away.
"Many of those gas bombs struck homes, causing many Palestinians, including children, to
suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation," he said, "This is the second week the soldiers
use this type of gas bombs in the village," Mohammad Amira, member of the Popular
Committee said to local reporters.
25-3-16 On Friday, soldiers fired sponge headed bullets on the vehicles parked on the
outskirts of the village, just for fun. Then they fired on water tank and dis-functioned
it regardless they already dispersed the demonstration. Then they threw several stun
grenades toward a house locked in it a family with five small children. Every time someone
came to the window they threw a stun grenade. They also fired tear gas between the houses
and tried to kill children who run away from them. Of course it does not end there.
Afterwards we warned the children not to pick up the orange shock grenades lying between
the tear gas cartridges. The kids collect them for recycling at the end of each
demonstration. The fear was that like two weeks ago the soldiers will trap stun grenades
where children go. The objective is to cause injury or killing of children that collect
these grenades. We saw two weeks ago a grenade a soldier wired and one of the adults
rushed to kick the grenade to explode it before children will try to pick it and hurt.
This week we went back and asked the children not to pick up the orange grenades.
https://www.facebook.com/muhamed.ameera/posts/1031962320209502
Nabi Saleh
Friday 18.3.2016
https://schwarczenberg.com/nabi-saleh-18032016
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154665152409447
David Reeb https://youtu.be/Xuyrjrwg1Us
25-3-16 Residents of the Ramallah-district village of Nabi Saleh marched on Friday to
protest the occupation and the ongoing violent repression of Palestinians by the Israeli
army. This time, protesters were accompanied by a large contingent of foreign solidarity
activists, who came to participate in the demonstration and witness the brutality. The
Israeli soldiers fired many rounds of tear gas canisters, including the new long-range
variety that is undetectable while in motion, and that may cause serious injuries or
worse. The soldiers also used stun grenades to disperse protesters. No major injuries
reported.
https://schwarczenberg.com/nabi-saleh-25032016
1.4.16 David Reeb https://youtu.be/wVUUlpLQWII
israel pnm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbT0DHbWOlQ
https://www.facebook.com/abdallah.aburahma.3/posts/1008375132582130
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Don't say we did not know #493
On Thursday, March 10, 2016, the Civil Administration official responsible for government
property proclaimed 2342 dunums (i.e. 2.342 square kilometres) in the West Bank as state
land. Some of this area has served settlers' businesses for years. The UN and US condemned
this proclamation. We almost have not heard anything in the media about this aggressive
action.
=================================
* From my blog at: http://ilanisagainstwalls.blogspot.com
See at the blog previous reports about the joint struggles the Anarchists Against the Wall
take part in.
See also: Stories from the year 2100 - 50 years after the revolution
http://awalls.org http://ilan.shalif.com/anarchy/glimpses/glimpses.html
http://ilan.shalif.com/anarchy/glimpses/glimpses-it.html
http://ilan.shalif.com/anarchy/glimpses/glimpses-heb.html
Ahdut (Unity) blog: http://unityispa.wordpress.com/
Ahdut (Unity) Position paper about the Palestinian struggle
English - http://www.anarkismo.net/article/27019
Arabic - http://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?aid=430180
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Message: 8
On Sunday, the 3rd of April 2016, the 17 projects of the International Gathering of
Anarchist and Anti-authoritarian Radios that is taking place in Berlin, Germany, will do a
4 hour live radio broadcast that can be listen to through an online stream (links below!).
---- The programme will cover wide range of topics from the perspective of anarchist and
anti-authoritarian movements. Presentations of local and international projects,
groups/networks and activities/struggles; discussions on current issues such as migration;
announcements of the upcoming protests/conferences/meetings/bookfairs and much more! ----
Here the facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1288252974526939/ ---- +++ 14:00
- 18:00 (European Central Time) +++
Streams:
A-radio Berlin (Germany):
http://giss.tv:8000/aradio-berlin.mp3
http://giss.tv:8001/aradio-berlin.mp3
Radio Študent 89,3 MHz (Slovenia):
http://kruljo.radiostudent.si:8000/ehiq
Broadcasts:
Radio Študent 89,3 MHz (Slovenia): 89,3 fm
MORE INFORMATIONS SOON!
Help us spread the information about the online radio broadcast that
will be done this Sunday. Please share this informations with your
comrades and all those interested through your channels of communication!
SHARE THIS FB EVENT AND INVITE FRIENDS!
There will be radio projects (radio stations, radio shows and podcasts)
from different part of the globe participating so interesting program is
inevitable:
* A-Radio Berlin (Podcast, Germany)*
http://aradio.blogsport.de/
* FrequenzA (Podcast, Germany)*
* ?rna Luknja (Show, Ljubljana, Slovenia)*
radiostudent.si/druzba/crna-luknja
* A-Radio Vienna (Show, Austria)*
* Radio Libertarie (Station, Paris, France)*
http://www.radio-libertaire.net/
* Motbrus (Podcast, Stockholm, Sweden)
* Furia de Radio / Radio Irola Irratia (Show and station, Bilbao, Basque
Country, Spain)
* Lucha Libre / Radio Topo (Show and station, Zaragoza, Spain)
* The Final Straw (Show, North Carolina, USA)
* Ex-Worker / CrimethInc (Podcast, USA+international)
http://www.crimethinc.com/podcast/
* Volver a la tierra (Show, Temuco, Chile)
* Error Involuntario (Show, Concepción, Chile)
* Radiozones of Subversive Expression / 98FM (Show and Station, Athens,
Greece)
* 1431AM (Station, Thessaloniki, Greece)
https://www.1431am.org/
* Radio Parasita (Station, Volos, Greece)
* Radio Psalidi (Station, Rethymno, Greece)
* Radio Revolt (Station, Thessaloniki, Greece)
-----------------------------------------------------
Last year (2015) the International Meeting of Anarchist and
Anti-authoritarian Radios was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia. You can check
the radio programme from that meeting here:
http://radiostudent.si/druzba/crna-luknja/voices-of-anarchism
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Message: 9
This book is a biography of a key Spanish anarcho-syndicalist militant and historian, Jose
Peirats. It weaves a tapestry of the history of the CNT (National Confederation of Labour)
in the 20th Century, highlighting its achievements, defeats and crises. ---- The Fake
Anarchist & Syndicalist Milieu in the Anglo World ---- He is in stark contrast to those
elements that infest the contemporary so called anarchist and syndicalist milieus in the
Anglo world. Often workers with high levels of autonomy in their jobs, connected with the
university milieu, students and demoralised workers looking for some pseudo church to join
and long term unemployed gone to seed. This milieu is notorious for infatuation with
oppression mongering, guilt tripping and grotesque formalism i.e. organisational navel
gazing, unhealthy focusing on one’s groups “very precious” internal organisation.
Obsessions with “political correctness” displays i.e. salivating over “safe spaces
policies”, “indigenous welcomes”, and associated enthusiasm for identity politics and
other middle class leftist sub cultural rubbish. These elements are also often consciously
or unconsciously affected by the Stalinist legacy – considering acceptable all manner of
underhanded and shady practices and of course brazen lying. They are often quite hostile
to scientific processes, with aspects of identity politics being “sacred” and beyond
debate and discussion. Just like the "lines" of the Communist Parties in their heydays,
which were not subject to debate by the membership. They of course hypocritically deny
this behaviour. Their so called "organising" in reality often being excuses for social
occasions or tailing any workers struggle and lack any strategy for building grass roots
controlled unionism. As a result, they are often taken advantage by union bosses for
"smoke and mirrors" performances and associated sell out moves. They are an inspiration to
no one and more evidence of the success of bourgeois society in taming it’s so called
opponents into a harmless exotic subculture. (1)
Peirats displayed a consistent commitment to building a mass syndicalist union movement
(favouring ultra democratic processes, direct action, industrial unionism and workers
control of industry and community control of neighbourhoods, etc) in Spain throughout most
of his life. He was involved in long term struggles against insurrectionary, guerrilla and
bureaucratic/counter revolutionary tendencies in the CNT and the Spanish Anarchist
movement. In his life of militancy he on occasion had to undergo terrible forced marches
and when he found he couldn’t walk any further, he had start running. On occasion he would
need to work miracles and did it without any fuss. Aware the stern eyes of history were
upon him. He could not afford to stuff up. He displayed this capability on various
occasions such as in regard to his struggle against the CNT bureaucracy during the Civil
War 1936-39 and subsequently in exile. In these years of exile he faced the dangers of
clandestine organising against the ferocious Franco Regime in Spain and torture and
imprisonment by the French police.
“Revolutionary Gymnastics and “Anarchist Vanguardism”
The book throws new light on the factional struggles within the FAI (Iberian Anarchist
Federation) in the pre Civil War period. It looks at Peirats role in the early 1930’s
opposing the radical tendency in the FAI favouring “revolutionary gymnastics” involving
inciting a cycle of insurrections in these years to “achieve the revolution tomorrow”
associated with vanguard/authoritarian tendencies, through his involvement in the Afinidad
anarchist group. It formed in 1931. Needless to say the group’s activity is in sharp
contrast to the navel gazing, oppression mongering middle class/student based leftist
outfits, playing at activoid “super heroes” of so called “anarchist groups” in the
contemporary Anglo World. It was engaged in cultural activity in the rationalist athenaeum
(workers' educational centre) in their local community. Radically different from today’s
middle class leftist sub cultural hangouts of so called anarchist bookshops. The group
also played an important role in assisting the CNT with various delicate initiatives
associated with strikes and other forms of direct action waged by its affiliates.
Initially Peirats and his group supported an “anarchist workers association” orientation
in the CNT, associated with certain prominent Hispanic American militants such as Abad de
Santillan and the extremist insurrectionary tendency. He rapidly dropped this position and
returned to a classic anarcho-syndicalist position, where the union is seen an economic
combative organisation open to all workers regardless of politics, religion etc. His
anarchist group joined the FAI to counter the influence of extremist elements such as the
Nostros Group, with members such as the legendary figures of Durruti, Ascaso and Garcia
Olivia. Despite many FAI members opposition to “revolutionary gymnastics”, Peirats and his
group were unable to effectively counter its influence. (2)
The CNT in the Civil War
In the author’s discussion of Peirats reflections on the reasons for CNT-FAI collaboration
with the Popular Front Government and bureaucratisation during the Civil War and the
associated counter revolution in the Republican zone, he refers to Peirats criticism that
the CNT lacked sufficient intellectuals grounded in anarcho-sydicalist culture. He
criticises Peirats for not taking into account the lack of a CNT analysis of the lessons
of the Asturias Uprising of 1934 and the death of CNT strategist Orobon Fernandez.
However, a much more significant reason for this disastrous path taken by the CNT was an
absence of climate in the organisation favourable for an effective debate on revolutionary
strategy. Consequently a more realistic approach such as establishing a workers councils
state, stemming from long term union building was not adopted. It was contributed by the
hysteria in the ranks of the CNT caused by the influential extremist tendency in the FAI
purges of other currents in the organisation such as the Treintistas, which favoured a
more long term union building strategy and the BOC (Workers and Peasants Bloc) later to
merge with other groups to form the POUM (Workers Party of Marxist Unification), based on
wild slandering. Whilst massive waves of repression accompanied the “revolutionary
gymnastics” in the early 30’s championed by the extremist wing of the FAI, making a wide
and informed debate on revolutionary strategy in the CNT impossible. Whilst, the
insurrectionary cycle of the early 1930’s contributed significantly to a rightward shift
in the ruling class, culminating in the military coup of July 1936.
The CNT in Exile
The author throws important new light on the bureaucratic character of the CNT in Exile
and Peirats campaign against it. In the late 1940’s it had 7 full time officials. Whilst
prior to the Civil War it had only one paid elected official despite the membership being
30 times greater. The CNT newspaper had 9 full time staff and the FIJL (Young
Libertarians) had 4 full time officials. This bureaucracy was funded by Laureano Cerrada.
He had been involved in counterfeiting and smuggling activities during WWII and onward and
had collaborated with the French Resistance and Allied war effort. His financial support
was vital in maintaining the supremacy of the Montseny family control of key committees
and shaping CNT policy. The MLE-CNT (Spanish Liberarian Movement – National Confederation
of labour) was divorced from any actual union and workplace activity and was more a
National Liberation Movement focusing on exile politics and the guerrilla campaign in
Spain. The author shows that to a significant degree, Peirats who held the position of
Secretary of the CNT-MLE on several occasions struck hard blows at the bureaucracy and its
support for the counter productive guerrilla campaign in Franco Spain. However, he could
never decisively counter Montseny control of the CNT-MLE. In retrospect, Peirates
considered that the MLE-CNT, should have been dissolved into the Spanish anarchist
movement in exile.
Today, with the proliferation of sects in the so called anarchist/syndicalist milieus in
the Anglo world, particularly connected with the IWA (International Workers Association)
there is an unwholesome flourishing of “micro” bureaucracies often dominated by cult
gurus. These formal structures being “beautifully useless” or counter productive in regard
to assisting militants doing serious long range industrial work. Necessary to turn the
tide against the employer offensive and establish the transitional steps toward realising
mass syndicalist unionism in today’s harsh neo-liberal climate. During these hard years of
exile, Peirats wrote his 3 volume history of the CNT, for which he has become well known
internationally.
Following his expulsion from the MLE-CNT for his dissident activity, the author shows
Peirats was involved together with others expelled from the organisation in the launching
of the magazine Presencia, Tribuna Libertaria in Nov. 1965. It played a very important
role in the re-construction of the CNT in post Franco Spain. It emphasised a
reinterpretation of Marxism and anarchism, appealing to the “New Left” and encouraged
militants to be active in the CCOO (Workers Commissions). Subsequently it’s network of
supporters established the Groupos de Presencia Confederal in Sept. 1967, with 300-400
affiliates in both the interior of Spain and in exile. It acted as a pressure group in the
CNT-MLE. It launched the newspaper Frente Libertaria mainly contributed by interior
correspondents, which was mostly distributed in the interior and saw a steady increase in
its print run and readership from 2,000 to 5,000.
A very valid criticism made by the author of Peirats militancy during his exile was his
lack of emphasis on anarchists becoming involved in the CCOO (Workers Commissions) from
its outset in the late 1950’s. Given its decentralised character of these committees and
relevance to the CNT heritage. In this way, it could have countered the takeover by the
Spanish Communist Party of this organisation. The MLE-CNT bureaucracy also ignored
organising opportunities in the CCOO.
The CNT in Post Franco Spain
The validity of this criticism became apparent following the death of Franco in 1975 and
the legalisation and reconstruction of the CNT. It became entangled with the lifestylism
of the youth cultural ferment of post Franco Spain, similar to the 1960’s phenomena in
Western Europe and elsewhere. Whilst enthusiasm for identity politics and regional
nationalism created much confusion in the CNT and anarchist ranks. The role of the CIA in
the disruption of the new left during the 60’s and the Spanish post Franco ferment in the
late 1970’s must also be taken account. It’s been well documented that it played a key
role in the spread of the LSD Drug subculture and less well known in regard to the spread
of “identity politics”, particularly the so called “women’s movement”. (3) The author
shows Peirats was particularly alert to the dangers for the CNT and the Spanish anarchist
movement presented by these “poisonous weeds”. The author details that Peirats was heavily
criticised and censored by sectors of the organisation over his outspoken opposition to
these regional nationalist tendencies.
State Provocation
At the end of March 1978 the bombing of the Scala nightclub in Barcelona, resulted in the
death of 4 workers. It has subsequently been exposed as instigated by State agent
provocateurs. The author shows apart from the Spanish secret service, the CIA also had
some involvement in the affair. The Scala bombing provided the pretext for a major wave of
repression against the CNT, which the author shows was the major opponent to the “Moncloa
Pact” in Oct. 1977. It was a sort of Spanish version of the ACTU(Australian Council of
Trade Unions)/ALP(Australian Labor Party) Accord. Involving an agreement between the
moderate left parties – the Socialist and Communist and their union affiliates – the CCOO,
and UGT and the employers and Government so as to hose down grass roots militancy and
institutionalising the bureaucratic unions in the industrial relations game. It
particularly entailed Government sponsored elections for work place committees. The
Government also promised social welfare improvements.
As a result of the media hysteria and state repression over the Scala bombing, the CNT
underwent enormous membership losses. The author shows the CNT continued to decline due to
a series of devastating splits. Initially associated over the issue of participation in
State sponsored workplace committee elections, and leading to the loss of most of the
organisation to form the CGT (General Confederation of Labour). Following the “official”
CNT winning a court case over possession of the initials. The author shows Peirats became
very demoralised by the factional struggle and splitting process, and catastrophic
membership losses. Resulting in his cessation of active membership in the CNT. However, he
still wrote articles for anarchist publications and engaged in literary work/historical
research, until his death.
In conclusion, the author in his biography does a brilliant job in throwing new light on
key phases in Peirats militancy, which assist us to be better understand the complex
problems and crises faced by the CNT and Spanish anarchist movement during the 20th
Century. Particularly, interesting is his discussion of opposition in the FAI to its
extremist wing during the early 1930’s and the struggle against the CNT-MLE bureaucracy in
the exile years. However, his discussion of the causes of the CNT/FAI collaboration with
the counter revolution in the Republican zone during the Civil War is grossly inadequate.
Mark McGuire
Notes
1. See “Report on the Workers Control Conference” on the archive section of
www.rebelworker.org for the a discussion of the outlook toward the class struggle of these
elements and also on the internet Ainfos: "Feminism and Class Struggle: A document is
distributed" regarding the impact of the Stalinist Legacy on this milieu;
2. See "The Agony of Modernisation" by Benjamin Martin and "Red Barcelona" edited by Angel
Smith;
3. See “Gloria Steinem, the Women's Movement and the CIA” on the internet and “Acid
Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties and Beyond” by Martin Lee
and Bruce Shlain;
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