#Worldwide #Information #Blogger #LucSchrijvers: #Update: #anarchist #news and #information from all over the #world - 19.03.2020

Today's Topics:

   
1.  US, MACC GA Moved ONLINE: Friday, March 13th, General
      Assembly HAS MOVED ONLINE Meeting Via Zoom ID 353 047 xxx
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL - press release:
      Coronavirus shakes financial capitalism (fr, it, pt)[machine
      translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
3.  Poland, rozbrat: THE POOREST WILL PAY AGAIN - AKK Revenge
      [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
4.  France, Union Communiste Libertaire AL #303 of March is on
      newsstands (fr, it, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
5.  Poland, Employee Initiative: Solidarity with those dismissed
      from the Pinchuk Art Center (Ukraine) [machine translation]
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
6.  France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL - press release -
      Coronavirus: Macron "discovers" the evils of capitalism (fr, it,
      pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


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Message: 1






This month's General Assembly has been MOVED from Verso to an online conference call platform: Zoom. Please read for details. ---- FB Event:
Friday, March 13th Via Zoom Application: ---- We WILL NOT Be Meeting At Verso ---- Call in @ 6:30PM Orientation @ 7PM for GA ---- The
Metropolitan Anarchist Coordinating Council (MACC) is moving this Friday's (March 13th) General Assembly to a virtual format - a conference
call via Zoom. This GA will be a more thematic assembly, as a forum to discuss organizing in these conditions, responses as well as
reporting back on ongoing projects. We still encourage those who are new to MACC to call in, "attend" orientation at 6:30 (the call will be
started by this time) and to participate in discussion. MACC organizers will happily speak with you independently, connect you to Working
Groups, and familiarize you with projects.

The following link, as well as the above ID, will take you to the Zoom call: https://zoom.us/j/353047898

GAs are a great opportunity to get plugged in with MACC's projects and working groups as well as learn about ongoing organizing. At GAs we
often host speakers and launch new projects. MACC assemblies are open to all anarchists, antifascists, and those interested in anarchist
ideas and organizing so please invite your friends and share widely!

We encourage everyone to participate in the call with ideas about what they would like to see for future campaigns or actions and what
direction they'd like MACC to take to build a more powerful, militant anarchist movement.

An orientation will precede the assembly starting at 6:30 PM for those interested in familiarizing themselves with MACC, general assemblies,
and anarchist ideas. It is the same meeting ID and you do not need to attend a separate conference call.

We expect the assembly agenda to include:

  Reportbacks
  Covid responses and organizing challenges
  Announcements
  Working Group plug-in and debrief with potential "breakout" calls
  Organizing Assembly to address HOW to organize going forward

For more information visit macc.nyc/ or contact us at info@macc.nyc

MACC's safer spaces policy is available here: macc.nyc/safer-spaces
Support MACC Projects

Please consider making a donation to MACC or pledging to our bail fund. We appreciate the support!
Join a Working Group

Both the Organizing Assembly and General Assembly are great places to get involved with new and ongoing working groups. You can see a list
of groups on our wiki. Come to a meeting or email us to learn more.
Free David Campbell
Defend and Support Our Imprisoned Anti-fascist Comrade

Donate using PayPal to the David Campbell support fund! All donations go to David's commissary as well as sending mail and other
communication costs. Come to the benefit party January 25th!
Anarchists Care About Books[ACAB]

Join our monthly bookclub! We'll be discussing Anarchy by Malatesta on Sunday, March 15th, 4pm-6pm at Bluestockings Bookstore, 172 Allen
Street (facebook event).

Learn more about the group on our wiki.

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Message: 2




The capitalist economy is decidedly fragile. The coronavirus pandemic, coupled with the oil conflicts between Russia and Saudi Arabia, has
been crashing stock prices for several days. ---- In Europe as in Asia and in the United States, many crucial financial centers (CAC 40,
FTSE 100 ...) are in worse shape than during the 2007-2008 crisis. Reacting precipitately, the European Central Bank has relaunched its
purchases of securities on the markets, while Trump has suspended travel to Europe, further aggravating the stock market panic. ---- There
is nothing exceptional about this situation. The coronavirus is only the trigger. A solid economic and social system would not bow to the
knee in the face of a manageable epidemic. But the financial markets, hypertrophied by decades of laissez-faire and an overproduction fueled
by the wildest liberalized capitalism, over-react to the least unexpected news. The speculative bubbles are only waiting for a situation
like the one we are living in to burst and sink world capitalism into a new recession.

While the consequences of the 2008 crisis are still not being mended, the states are in debt and the monetary policies of the European and
American central banks are practically at their maximum, the room for maneuver available to react to a new crisis will be extremely reduced
and will leave the economy in a dismal state.

Real-time pandemic expansion map
Click to access it.
Let something unexpected happen, and all the fine principles of the Liberals collapse at breakneck speed. Free market, free movement, all
this applies to times of peace and abundance. In a global market where everyone depends on everyone, a conflict, an epidemic, and here we
are back straight to the most brutal state interventionism.

In his speech on March 13, where he pretended to fight the commodification of public service, Macron only demonstrated his hypocrisy and his
electoralism without sketching the slightest real economic turnaround. Bourgeois governments are already working out bailouts of businesses
and the financial system, and, as usual, workers will pay to save those assisted by big capital. The fiscal stimulus may limit the fall in
growth. Until the next crisis ...

Libertarian Communist Union, March 13, 2020

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Le-coronavirus-ebranle-le-capitalisme-financier

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Message: 3




A coronavirus pandemic is not just a problem. "First world", although business elites try to portray it. It is a disease of the whole system
- a world based on unlimited consumption and relief for the privileged. It is not the poor who have caused the virus to spread widely - they
cannot afford to travel. Capital is the main distributor and, in the future, the beneficiary of the current crisis. When we hear: help
entrepreneurs, we think maybe: o, support for small entities, maybe cooperatives. In practice, employees, not bosses or employers, pay more
for the crisis. ---- Weaker and less well-off people are primarily exposed to death due to coronavirus infection. How to deal with a
pandemic and a state of emergency is class-based. Although it is sometimes said that epidemics bring people together, this is not entirely
true. It is the rich, bosses of financial giants that have a privileged position from the beginning, better access to remedies and
medicines, and the first to report in line for "loss compensation". Meanwhile, their everyday luxury, parceled out, could save the world -
even help control the chaos in the poor areas of India, where hospitals no longer admit the sick and people die on the street.

When a state of emergency is being introduced in the face of an epidemic, this is hardly met with much opposition. This is understandable -
you need to protect life and health. Only are everyone here in the same position? When the government talks about support for the world of
work, it turns to the confederation of private employers or other such entities. Employees are left on their own, often deprived of support
and systemic protection, as is the case with employees employed under civil law contracts or piecework. In an emergency, you can see what
really interests the authorities: not the desire to protect the majority of the poorer society, but the desire to maintain the current order
of the world, built on inequalities, which, among other things, contributed to the spread of the coronavirus. Special regulations, perhaps
currently needed for security reasons, should be monitored by us. In the past, it has often happened that in the case of disasters
regulations were introduced and maintained to pacify social protests or strikes. This should not be our consent!

Naomi Klein in the book "The doctrine of shock: how modern capitalism uses natural disasters and social crises" described a number of such
situations. Although cataclysms and epidemics seem to hit everyone, great capital comes out of them usually strengthened. If earlier any
regulations stopping its expansion were in force - such as employee or civil rights (previously won as a result of social protests), then
the situation of disaster / crisis revokes these regulations. We hear a lot about investors and bosses in discussions about saving
companies. Less about employees whose voice is silenced, because "a special situation requires special solutions." Taking further rights and
maintaining this state of affairs is a constant phenomenon during crises.

History has shown many times that the state is unable to cope with natural disasters. It was grassroots self-organization, often
spontaneous, that helped rebuild damaged structures. We also manage, despite the existence of the state. That is why we do not need
pseudo-support, which will only justify more investment in maintaining neoliberal capitalism.

Let the richest pay for the crisis!
For self-organization of society, against a state of emergency!

Collective AKK Revenge

https://www.rozbrat.org/publicystyka/kontrola-spoeczna/4687-znowu-zaplaca-najbiedniejsi

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Message: 4





pensions, the long strike, strike fund, social movement ; medico-social, head against walls ; radio france ; smart city, big brother beat ;
revenge porn, indignation of class ; Mila, extreme right and pinkwashing ; Palestine and anti-Zionism ; anti-fascism, Brest ; municipal and
libertarian communist elections ; Municipalities, employers ; green capitalism, green new deal, nuclear ; Australian fires ; Rojava, hope or
fear, Kurdish, Syria ; anti-patriarchy, feminism, the strength of women, strike consumption ; anarchism, anarchy, international
In summary:
Editorial
  Urns, from illusions to disillusions
Spotlight
  Retreats: The Long Strike: Preparing for Act 2
Should We Make Crates (of Strikes) ?

Social
Medico-social: Head against the walls

Syndicatisme
Radio France: The antenna for workers

Digital
Smart-city: Big Brother Beat
  Revenge Porn: Class outrage

Antifascism
Mila Affair: The far right in full pinkwashing
  Visa: Brest the red against the brown plague

Politics
Municipal elections: Libertarian communists have their say
  Municipalities: Bosses like the others
  Visa: Light on brown town halls, 3 rd delivery

Ecology
Green capitalism: False hopes of the "Green New Deal"
  Nuclear: The urgency to shut down the Golfech power station
  Australian fires: a very political disaster

Antipatriarchate
  March 8: The power of women changes the world
March 8: Consumption strike
  Controversy and feminism: who divides ?

International
Rojava: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
  Palestine: A "peace" plan for annexation and capitulation

History
50 years ago: Birth of the first Palestine committees in France

Culture
Essay: A first capitalist world, Alain Bihr
Lecture: Rage against the reign of money, John Holloway
Biography: Germaine Breton takes action, Frédéric Lavignette
Collection: The school of cynicism, Victor Serge

https://unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?-AL-de-mars-est-en-kiosque-

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Message: 5





Warsaw OZZ IP committees from the cultural sector show solidarity with dismissed trade unionists from PinchukArtCentre (March 2020) ---- The
OZZ "Employee Initiative" committees operating at Warsaw's cultural institutions express solidarity with former PinchukArtCentre employees
and employees who were dismissed for establishing a trade union. Enough repression for trade union activities!  ---- Below we publish the
content of the Pinchuk Art Centre employees statement: ---- We are former employees of PinchukArtCentre - one of the largest centers of
contemporary art in Eastern and Central Europe. With this letter we appeal to all artists, curators, art managers, museum employees, but
also to other employees working in the field of art for solidarity and support.

We were released 30 guides and mediators shortly after the union was formed. This was done after a series of threats, without any
explanations or notifications. We believe that the activity of our trade union has become the reason for our dismissal.

PinchukArtCentre is the most popular art center in Ukraine (around 2,000 people visit it every day). Over the past 14 years, he has
presented to the Ukrainian audience works of contemporary artists such as: Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami, Marina Abramovic, Mauricio
Catellan, Ai Weiwei, Luc Tuymans, Olafur Eliasson, Rachel Whiteread, Jan Fabre and others. The institution regularly prepares its own
pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Her contribution to the development of Ukrainian art is well known both at home and abroad.
Despite the fact that the institution has a good reputation in the world of art, we, as employees, still face violations of our rights. We
could not benefit from sick leave and the trial period lasted over 6 months. The content of the contract in no way corresponded to the
actual working conditions, some of us worked black, while all employees were forced to provide personal information to the Recruitment
Office without justification.

We achieved success during the first month of the union's operation. We have been given the opportunity to take advantage of sick leave and
paid leave. These rights, guaranteed in accordance with labor law, have never been respected before. We were forced to come to work even
when we were sick, otherwise we were threatened with dismissal.

However, some managers were hostile to the changes we proposed. When we asked the administration to hire our underage black colleague Nikita
Bunin, managers tried to fire him. In addition, he was forbidden to enter the PinchukArtCentre building. It wasn't until the Trade Union
announced its intention to contact the authorities that our colleague was officially employed. So we recognized the attempt to release
Nikita as an act of intimidation.

After this situation, we were repeatedly threatened with dismissals, and demanded to submit a list of trade union members. One of the
managers has repeatedly and obtrusively carried out an audit of the work of Ms Anastasia Bondarenko. In addition, the administration
attempted to ban access to the building for her and another union member, Maria Svyryda.

Due to threats of mass layoffs, we decided to start collective negotiations. We expected that the signing of a collective agreement would
guarantee respect for mutual rights and obligations. However, for two months the administration ignored our interests, and at that time our
employment contracts expired.

Usually, when changing the exhibition, we were preparing to work on the next exhibition. We met with artists, curators, managers and
collected information on works of art. However, during the last exposure change that took place in January 2020, we didn't receive any
messages from our managers. Any attempt to contact them was ignored. Our employment contracts have not been extended. 30 guides and
mediators were released without any notification or explanation. Some of us have worked at PinchukArtCentre for over 2 years.

The mediation practice that has existed at PinchukArtCentre for 7 years has been abolished. On the opening day of the new exhibition, mass
dismissals of mediators were explained to journalists as the need for "experimenting with forms of interaction." However, it is obvious to
us that we have been punished for trade union activities.

When the situation was made public, PinchukArtCentre attempted to present his position in an open letter. The administration declared its
intention to replace mediators with "innovative measures", i.e. "audioguides" as an addition to guided tours. It was said that such a
decision was made in September 2019. Such argumentation is beyond criticism. The letter does not justify why all the guides and mediators
were dismissed. In addition, in November and December 2019 PinchukArtCentre hired 3 new guides (Ksenia Pereplotczykowa, Sofia Akhmed, Kostia
Gumienna) who were selected after a complicated examination process. During the interview they were informed that their activities must be
of a long-term nature. Besides, it's suspicious

The open letter from PinchukArtCentre was written in a humiliating way. We were accused of lying. Mass dismissal was explained by the
incompetence of former employees. After a media message, some of PinchukArtCentre's current employees and his supporters, including artists,
publicly laughed at the dismissed guides and mediators.
Shortly after the publication of the letter, the two artists nominated for the PinchukArtCentre Award, whose works are exhibited at the
current exhibition, gave up their participation in the artistic competition. In this way, they expressed solidarity with all dismissed
guides and mediators. We are very grateful to Pawel Grazhdan and Valentina Pietrova for their support!

We treat the PinchukArtCentre open letter as an attempt to discredit our former employees in order to divert attention from systematic
violation of employee rights. We are concerned about the humiliating tone of this letter and the act of public ridicule by some current
PinchukArtCentre employees. We treat this as an insult to former mediators and guides.

During the conflict, we received a lot of messages from former mediators telling their own stories of unethical treatment while working at
PinchukArtCentre. We are grateful for your trust and support! We came to the conclusion that we were only a link in the chain of permanent
history of unethical approach to employees. This story must end.

On behalf of all former PinchukArtCentre employees who signed this letter, we suggest a way to resolve the conflict. The conditions are as
follows:

1. PinchukArtCentre apologizes to dismissed mediators and guides for violating employee rights, acts of intimidation, public allegations of
lies and public discrediting;

2. PinchukArtCentre restores the practice of mediation through public dialogue with artists, curators, trade union representatives, former
mediators and guides, media, etc. The priority in employment should be given primarily to mediators who have been dismissed;

3. PinchukArtCentre creates the conditions for the functioning of the trade union and signs the Collective Agreement with employees.


Until these terms and conditions are met, we call on artists, curators, teachers and visitors to boycott PinchukArtCentre.

http://ozzip.pl/informacje/mazowieckie/item/2592-solidarnie-ze-zwolnionymi-z-pinchukartcentre

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Message: 6




The containment measures announced by Macron are as late as they are limited. But he did at least say one thing right: yes, the law of the
market weakens society. Because it destroys the public health service, because the country no longer has autonomy in the production of drugs
... The coronavirus crisis reveals the flaws of capitalism. ---- The world is experiencing a health crisis, as the World Health Organization
(WHO) is now declaring that the Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic is a pandemic. France is particularly affected, with thousands of cases, the
number of which is undoubtedly underestimated. Indeed, many and many carriers of the virus do not show symptoms, while others show symptoms
but are not tested.
Weak measures
While other countries are taking drastic measures to limit the spread of the virus, the French government remains lukewarm. Certainly,
Macron has finally announced the closure of nurseries and schools and universities. But he had already fallen way behind on basic things
like ordering surgical masks, he is now stubborn in attempts to appease which contrast with the speeches of many and many doctors and
scientists who call for strong measures .

The protection of capitalism
Why are they reluctant to, for example, close down for a few weeks certain non-essential shops, certain public services, certain companies,
certain public transport ? Because the economy must continue its mad course of course ! And this, while a major crisis is starting on the
financial markets, of which the coronavirus is only the trigger, speculative bubbles being the foundation. The capitalists could not bear to
see their profits decrease to save a part of the population particularly vulnerable to the virus.

So discard the elderly, discard people with weak immune systems ! The capitalist society of which Macron is the chief puppet does not need
you, and will therefore continue its march almost as if nothing had happened. The State is not the guarantor of the general interest but
rather in the service of the dominant !

The public hospital breakage
This unbearable policy will cause deaths in France, but it is not the only cause. The abandonment, or even the destruction of the health
system in recent decades, has made it vulnerable to major epidemics. Emergencies creak in normal times, so now ! Caregivers have been
alerting for months about the deplorable state of the health system, despite their dedication, by exemplary mobilization. They and they too
will bear the brunt of the epidemic, because we will always ask them for more hours of work to cope with the influx of patients. The
destroyers of the public hospital will bear a very heavy responsibility.

Breaking working conditions
The particularly degraded working conditions which are imposed on more and more workers are also at issue. The absence days for sick leave
worsen the spread of the virus, because colleagues prefer to go to work when the symptoms are not too alarming, not wanting to have their
pay cut by one, two or three days. And the rampant precariousness in the world of work ? What auto-entrepreneur can tell his disguised boss
that he or she will not come to work without fear of being fired immediately ? And this is how the disease spreads ...

Bad solutions
Faced with the epidemic, some will bring out their old foul smelling recipes. Racist recipes first, calling for the closure of borders.
Pandemic or not, we must welcome migrants who are fleeing from far more complicated situations, by refusing any amalgamation ! Authoritarian
recipes too, constraining populations. If we are well informed, we will understand the importance of taking drastic containment measures for
example. There is no need for the military and additional filing to enforce this.

For the collective action of the exploited
What is more, it is if we all make decisions with the necessary information, that these decisions will be best applied. Thus, workers must
be able, through the mobilization of work collectives, to impose on employers, strong measures in terms of managing the epidemic in the
workplace. Our grassroots struggles to have our health respected will be most effective against the epidemic, because it has nothing to do
with profits. For this, we have the right of withdrawal, we have the right to strike, we have collective action and the self-organization of
workers. Let us not be deceived by the "sacred union" to which Macron called during his speech:

All that shows is that capitalism is incapable of managing a health crisis. Worse, it makes it worse because of its profit logic. A real
public health policy is a policy that forgets the profits to stem this kind of epidemic. Faced with this crisis not inevitably, let's put
pressure on our bosses to better prepare for the crisis !

Libertarian Communist Union, March 13, 2020

Real-time pandemic expansion map
Click to access it.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Coronavirus-quand-le-capitalisme-aggrave-la-crise-sanitaire

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