Sunday, July 05, 2009
ANARCHIST MAGAZINES:
RESISTANCE BULLETIN #114:
Resistance is the bulletin of the British Anarchist Federation, and the latest issue is now in print, readable online and available as a downloadable pdf. Here's the announcement via the Anarkismo website.
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Resistance Bulletin #114 July/August 2009:
Anarchist Federation (Britain) info at afed dot org dot uk BM ANARFED, London, WC1N 3XX, England, UK.
AF's regular paper is available online and in print
SUMMER OF RAGE
Iran, refinery walkouts, immigration prison struggles, Greece, the European elections, What is Anarchism? part 3, and more.
Download PDF: http://www.afed.org.uk/res/resist114.pdf
Subscribe to receive Resistance in print for a year: http://www.af-north.org/?q=Organise+and+Resistance+Subs...tions
Join one of our free mailing lists to receive PDF or text by email: http://www.afed.org.uk/res/reslist.html
Also available: Organise! magazine no.72: http://www.afed.org.uk/publications/organise-magazine.html
Full contents of the July/August 2009 issue: ·
Full contents of the July/August 2009 issue: ·
***Refinery walkouts: the return of solidarity
***· Iran: on the brink?
***· Solidarity wins! – workers beat victimisation
***· On the frontline: workplace roundup
***· Popular protest saves Glasgow park
***· Hunger strike and rioting in immigration prisons
***· SOAS occupation gets the goods
***· Sussex uni students occupy land over job cuts
***· Greece: immigrants and anarchists struggle against racist attacks
***· The BNP: time to panic?
***· What is anarchism part 3 – from capitalism to a free society
Related Link: http://www.afed.org.uk
Related Link: http://www.afed.org.uk
Labels: anarchism, Anarchist Federation, anarchist magazines, anarchist publications, anarkismo.net, Britain, international anarchist movement, Resistance.
CANADIAN LABOUR-TORONTO:
RALLY IN SUPPORT OF STRIKING TORONTO CITY WORKERS:
While the garbage piles up, and the city fathers refuse to budge on negotiations city workers of Toronto and their supporters held a strike support rally yesterday. Here's the story from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
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Rally for CUPE 79 and 416:
Local community and labour supporters joined striking Toronto municipal workers at the Ted Reeve Arena temporary garbage drop off site in Toronto's East End, for a support line and rally Saturday, July 4th.
Local community and labour supporters joined striking Toronto municipal workers at the Ted Reeve Arena temporary garbage drop off site in Toronto's East End, for a support line and rally Saturday, July 4th.
A similar rally was held at Christie Pits in the city's West End. The rallies were organized by the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, and John Cartwright, the Council's president, led the line at Ted Reeve Arena.
CUPE 416 and CUPE 79 members walked off the job June 22 to defend their collective agreements from concession demands from the City.
Labels: Canadian labour, CUPE, demonstrations, labour, strike, Toronto, Toronto Civic Workers' Strike
Saturday, July 04, 2009
CANADIAN LABOUR-SASKATCHEWAN:
SASKATCHEWAN WORKERS FIGHT BACK:
Ah, "good" old Saskatchewan, Molly's home province, left long ago and very rarely missed. Time was when Saskatchewan was in the vanguard of socialism in North America, but that time is long passed- mostly Molly feels because of the excessive and single minded devotion of socialists there to the party politics road to socialism. The inevitable happened. The CCF and then the NDP became the be-all and end-all of what socialism meant. The ideology failed to change with the times as the NDP travelled an inexorable trajectory to the right, urged on by so-called "realism" at every step. The only response of "the left", pathetic as it usually was, was to either engage in futile attempts to capture the party or in even more futile, and quite frankly usually ridiculous, attempts to build an electoral sect to the left of the NDP, hampered, as may be expected, by the usual mishmash of Marxists worshipping some foreign power. All this stuff failed, of course, and in the end the electorate began to shift strategically between a corrupt party of the right and a corrupt party of the left. Politics as "revenge".
Since 2007 the governing party in Saslkatchewan has been the (creatively ????) named 'Saskatchewan Party', an ill suited conglomeration of conservative forces patched together to escape the opprobrium of the name of the (stupendously more than usual) corrupt former Conservative party. Since coming to power the SP has done its duty to its class by vicious attacks on working people in that province.
People in Saskatchewan, however, are beginning to fight back, as the following article from the Public Values website details. Needless to say I, as an anarchist, don't agree with the general politics of the Public values site, whose social democracy is exactly what misled socialists in my home province down their long disgraceful road. What I hope, but have little expectation of, is that the "years in the wilderness" will convince unionists and others in Saskatchewan- and elsewhere- to not put all their eggs in the social democratic basket and to build and retain networks that are truly independent of party politics. Still, the Public Values website, along with its sister sites such as the Harper Watch and Straight Goods, are often valuable sources of information. Here's one such example. Go to the original website to view the video associated with this article.
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Saskatchewan public servants fight back:
by Ish Theilheimer
A political sea change in Saskatchewan is forcing public servants there to fight back. With the election, November 2007, of Brad Wall's Saskatchewan Party, organized labour has had a war on its hands.
by Ish Theilheimer
A political sea change in Saskatchewan is forcing public servants there to fight back. With the election, November 2007, of Brad Wall's Saskatchewan Party, organized labour has had a war on its hands.
"Since 2007 we have seen the introduction of some very regressive pieces of labour legislation," said Barbara Cape, in a YouTube video interview for Straight Goods News. She is President of SEIU-West, a recently-formed amalgamation of SEIU locals in Saskatchewan.
"On the face of it they may sound appealing to the public, but quite frankly the government has declared war on trade unions in Saskatchewan."
She says four pieces of legislation are particularly troublesome. These include:
-- the Public Services Essential Services Act, she says, is "probably the most appealing one to the public in Saskatchewan. The problem is men and women who work in health care in Saskatchewan have always ensured there were essential services in the event of a strike. We are being painted by this government as not caring for our patients, clients and residents. That is 100 percent not true. Health care workers in the province are a special breed of people who would never contemplate taking job action without ensuring that there was some safety for their patients, clients and residents.
-- changes to the Trade Union Act. "Previously we had had card checks for organizing. And Saskatchewan had real good union density (proportion of workers that belong to unions) at 33 or 34 percent. With this legislation, not only do we have to have cards signed by our members, but then we have to go through a vote. (Very much to revert the system of unionization to the thuggish regime prevalent today in the USA, a regime that proponents of the 'Employee Free Choice Act are attempting to change down there-Molly)The government has said a vote is democratic. Our argument has been a vote is democratic, but we use the democratic form of card-signing. People have the opportunity to make their choices in the privacy of their own home. There was no pressure. It was organizing, in the pu rest sense of the word.
-- changes to the Construction and Trades Union Act that "open the door quite widely" for the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) to organize in the trades and in health care. Cape joins with most others in the labour movement in calling CLAC an "employer's union."(Even worse in Molly's opinion. The CLAC is more than just a corrupt union. It resembles communist or fascist "trade unions" more than it resembles the old Teamsters) She says the legislation "lowers the standards for working people across the province."
-- the Trespass Act, which "says that nobody, no union, no organization shall be allowed to gather on Crown property without permission in the province of Saskatchewan. What that does is it takes away our right, as citizens of the province, to gather an assemble on our land, our Crown land. The penalties are quite stiff in all circumstances," $2,000 a day for individuals, $50,000 a day for unions.
"With this kind of legislation, they're pushing our members up against the wall," says Cape.
"Health care workers are going to seeing some dark times ahead in Saskatchewan."
Fightback campaigns
In response, her union has organized campaign such as one called "Essential 365 Days," in support of health care workers. Most recently has come the You've Got Mail campaign. "We marched to the Saskatchewan Party caucus office at the Government of Saskatchewan, and we delivered over 6,000 pieces of mail," said Cape. These were generated in 30 days from workers and concerned citizens. "That's significant," she says. "It has had an effect. We've heard from the Minister of Health that he wants us to redouble our efforts at the bargaining table, and he is challenging us to get a deal sooner rather than later."
Cape says the Wall government has been clever in how it has marketed the changes it has introduced. "Initially when the legislation was introduced, on the face of it it seemed pretty innocuous, however when you read the legislation it has absolutely put our members' backs up. The way that it's written and the punitive nature of it, has really angered our rural members, our long-term care members, our acute care members, people are just shocked that our government, which is supposed to be leading our province, that this is a war they're willing to take on health care workers."
Wall was in Toronto for the launch of SEIU's Member Action Program (MAP), which she sees as "an extension of the kind of work we've been doing right now. Our members are about to see, with the response from the government of Saskatchewan, are already seeing the ability of government to respond to those 6,000 pieces of mail.
"All it took was a signature. You see the immediate action, and you want to go further. And I think our members are going to be really impressed by how quickly we can see some payoff for our efforts in the political realm. Because bargaining is no longer just about sitting at the bargaining table anymore, you need to have some other pieces of the agenda, and I think MAP's been helpful to that."
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Ish Theilheimer has been Publisher of the leading, and oldest, independent Canadian online newsmagazine, StraightGoods.ca, since founding it in September 1999. He is also Managing Editor of PublicValues.ca.
Posted: July 02, 2009
Public Values (PublicValues.ca) is a project of the Golden Lake Institute and the online publication StraightGoods.ca
Ish Theilheimer has been Publisher of the leading, and oldest, independent Canadian online newsmagazine, StraightGoods.ca, since founding it in September 1999. He is also Managing Editor of PublicValues.ca.
Posted: July 02, 2009
Public Values (PublicValues.ca) is a project of the Golden Lake Institute and the online publication StraightGoods.ca
Labels: Barbara Cape, Canadian labour, CCF, labour, NDP, Public Values, Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Party, SEIU, social democracy, tactics
CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-VANCOUVER:
MORE ANTI-OLYMPICS EVENTS:
Here's the latest calender of events from the Olympics Resistance Movement/No Olympics on Stolen Native Land network out in Vancouver.
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Upcoming meetings/events:
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Upcoming ORN general meetings: (Every 2nd Sunday)
Sunday, July 5, 6pm @ Spartacus Books, 684 E. Hastings
(The first meetingof each month includes time for new member orientation and Olympic issues background.)
Sunday, July 19, 6pm @ Spartacus Books, 684 E. Hastings
** If you are interested in ORN, but unable to attend Sunday meetings,consider getting involved in one of the subcommittees planning popular education/outreach, legal defense, fundraising, communications, etc. and contact olympicresistance@riseup.net for more information.
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Upcoming events of interest in Vancouver:
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Saturday, July 4
SAVE SOCIAL HOUSING--
NO OLYMPIC PARKING LOT at LITTLE MOUNTAIN
Saturday 4th July, 1 - 2 pm
Rally at Little Mountain
(33rd Ave & Ontario)
BC Housing is demolishing habitable family homes at Little Mountain. On Wednesday June 24, crews came in without warning, right next door to apartments where tenants are still living. They took chainsaws to the vacant units, ripped out appliances, fixtures and pipes. Why now?Officials admit no construction will happen on the site for years. There are:
No plans or dates for new construction,
No dates for re-zoning
No plans or dates for community consultations.
Thousands of BC families desperately need affordable housing. Little Mountain homes are still solid, can be refurbished at very little cost,and can house hundreds of families.
Information: www.my-calm.info and 604-325-7209
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Saturday, July 4
NO ONE IS ILLEGAL MOVIE MARATHON MADNESS!
Saturday July 4th, 11 am to 5 pm
Room 700, SFU Harbour Centre (515 West Hastings)
Decolonize your mind and join NOII for films screenings exploring the realities of the "Canadian" experience. Reasons to attend an indoor film screening on a beautiful summer day:
a) Canada-day weekend is filled with parades about the false histories and myths of Canadian peacekeeping and multiculturalism.
b) Wow, free movies!
c) I am interested in discussions about colonization, imperialism, oppression and how to ignite revolution!
d) I heard about acclaimed critical documentaries, shorts, and artistic films.
e) All of the above.
SCHEDULE
:==> 11:00 am
Home Feeling: Struggle for a Community (57 mins, Jennifer Hodge and RogerMcTair)
==> 12:30 pm
Writing the Land (7 mins, Kevin Lee Burton )Resist 2010 (15 mins, Burning Fist Media with no2010) You are on Indian Land (36 mins, Mort Ransen)
~ BREAK 2:00 - 2:30 pm ~
==> 2:30 PM
Borderless Me (14 mins, Setareh Mohammadi) Unmapping Desire (6 mins, Sheila James)Checkpoint (12 mins, Alex Mah)
==> 3:30 PM
Minoru: Memory of Exile (18 mins, Michael Fukushima) No Time to Stop (29 mins, Helene Klodawsky) Brown Women Blonde Babies (30 mins, Marie Boti and Malcolm Guy) www.nooneisillegal.org
For more information: email noii-van@resist.ca or call 778-885-0040.
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Tuesday, July 7 (and Thursday July 9 ?)
Vancouver CITY COUNCIL meeting on 2010 issues
Tuesday, July 7 2009,
2pm@ City Hall (12th and Cambie),
third floor Council chamber
[Two 2010 issues July 7: Report on Olympic security and a motion to endorse the Coventry Declaration. (from a UK Sport Conference condemning police harassment and advocating freedom of expression during the Games). The security report will be presented on the 7th but (if you request to speak) public comments would be heard at another date (prob. the 9th)
–the report to Council on the 7th will be available on the City Council’s website. If public comments are allowed on the Coventry Declaration motion, it will be presented with speakers on another date (prob. the 9th).
Interesting that Council would consider making a purely symbolic hollow gesture (like endorsing the Declaration) but willingly accepts the expansions of police powers, surveillance equipment, and Host City agreements that empower the police to act as private security guards to the Olympic interests ...]
A. 2010 Olympics and Paralympics Security Deputy Chief Constable Steve Sweeney, and Bud Mercer, Assistant Commissioner, RCMP / Chief Operating Officer, Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit, will provide a Report Reference to update Council on 2010 Olympics and Paralympics security
.B. Motions on Notice
1. Council Endorsement of Coventry Declaration
MOVER: Councillor Ellen Woodsworth
[from the Coventry Declaration: “Participants at Play the Game condemn, in the strongest manner possible, any action in Canada that in any way, shape, or form harasses, intimidates, or threatens any writers or individuals who express ideas through words. Participants at Play the Game ask the city of Vancouver, the province of British Columbia, the Canadian government, VANOC, and the Vancouver Integrated Security Unit, to state in unequivocal language, that all Canadians and those who visit Canada, will have their fundamental right to:
1. Security of the person
2. Freedom of expression
protected, respected and unimpinged ...”]
July 7 schedule (and how to register to speak): http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20090707/regu20090707ag.htm
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Friday, July 31
POLICE BRUTALITY IS NOT A GAME
Friday, July 31, 7pm @ TBA
On July 31st 2009 Vancouver will be hosting the World Police and Fire Games. The games are an international sporting event where police officers, firefighters, customs and correction officers compete against each other in over 65 sporting events. More than 12,000 police officers, corrections officers and firefighters will be in Vancouver for the 10 day event.
The Anti-Poverty Committee is calling for a mobilization against police brutality both locally and internationally, and the violence that the state perpetrates around the world everyday through police and 'correctional' facilities. The APC calls on all those individuals and groups who are against police brutality and the everyday terror and violence caused by the various police forces to participate in actions and events during the police and fire games. The APC will stand to honor those in our community who have been killed, brutalized, and daily harassed by the police and to condemn not only the individual police forces, but the structure that allows them to get away with oppression, intimidation and violence everyday in our communities.
We believe that the police cannot be made accountable, and they will never truly protect those that they purport to, and that police will never make our communities safer, as they continue to harass, target and brutalize poor people, indigenous people, youth, sex trade workers and many others.
The APC is calling for a demonstration during the opening ceremonies of the games on July 31st at 7pm (location TBA).
To get involved in the organizing of the demonstration please contact APC (apc@resist.ca ). If your organization would like to endorse the event please email the APC. We also encourage other groups to organize around these events and denounce the police and fire games. info/contact/organize: apc@resist.ca
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Ongoing Event on Vancouver Island:
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July 1 – 7 11th
Annual WILD EARTH! Gathering
July 1 - 7 (on Vancouver Island)
"We're pleased to announce an outstanding lineup of presenters and workshops. It's a thrill to work with such talented folks who are volunteering to share their activism skills, experience and wisdom. Big cheers!
Wild Earth is the only activism training camp on the coast, and this year's focus is media and legal support for social and environmental justice advocates who are speaking out against the 2010 Olympics and the Torch Relay. Possible locations include a couple forest sites on the beaches of southern Vancouver Island. Please register today!"
More info, registration, and volunteer/donation info at:http://forestaction.wikidot.com/wild-earth
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Ongoing:
The Vancouver Renters At Risk group want to collect stories and interviews about some of the housing impacts of the Games; anyone with contacts, personal stories, ideas, etc., please send to: "Renters At Risk Campaign
- Subject: renters on video I'm looking for BC renters who have been affected/experienced evictions, renovictions, and/or huge rent increases in the lead up to the Olympics. If that's you, are you willing to allow me to film you in a short 15-45 sec segment? If you're interested in hearing more, please write: rentersfightback@gmail.com "
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Olympic Resistance Network: contact - olympicresistance@riseup.net
ABOUT THE OLYMPIC RESISTANCE NETWORK
The Olympic Resistance Network is primarily based in Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories and exists as a space to coordinate anti-2010 Olympics efforts. In doing so, we act in solidarity with other communities across 'BC' - particularly indigenous communities who have been defending their land against the onslaught of the Olympics since the bid itself. Our organizing is largely being done under the slogan of "No Olympics on Stolen Native Land," while creating an opportunity for all anti-capitalist, indigenous, anti-poverty, labour, migrant justice, environmental justice, anti-war, and anti-colonial activists to come together to confront this two-week circus and the oppression it represents.
Labels: 2010 Winter Olympics, anarchism, anti-olympics, canadian anarchist movement, events, No 2010, Olympic Resistance Network, olympics, Vancouver
CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-VANCOUVER:
BUT IS IT 'ART' ?:
Here's an interesting show from out Vancouver way coming up soon this month. A showing of anarchist propaganda "as an exhibit" put on by the Art and Anarchy group.
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Archived Resistance:
July 17 to August 8th
Gallery open Weds-Sun: 5:30 – 8:30
{please contact for daytime showings}
16 E. Hastings. Occupied Coast Salish Territories.
Captured from silence and reconfigured in the detonation of struggle. Archived Resistance is a show of force, of anarchist newsprints and anti-authoritarian/anti-colonial propaganda, collected from various terrains.
Artifacts on display, not to create a prison/museums, but to celebrate the symbols inscribed within the body memory of the Movement.
Articles, not exhumed to be revered and fetishised, -but to reflect our streams of resistance;
Streams, that when converge, form violent oceans beautiful enough to drowned this world of holocausts.
Bring what you can, zines, papers, posters, dreams; donate them to the cause, or- we will make copies of your treasures and pass those copies on to the Anarchist Archive {a digital universe of anarchist press}.
Coincided with an assortment of workshops, films, presentations, happenings. To find out when these take place check out this site or email artandanarchy2010@gmail.com .
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MOLLY NOTE:
I will not pretend to be an "art critic", and the above exhibit seems valuable in itself. I can see the point of such an exhibit, and it is entirely possible that some of the productions of our movement have more than historical interest ie they can stand alone as aesthetic works. All that being said, and no doubt the exhibit is worthwhile, what I do object to is the idiots who hold university tenure who teach young people that it is not only OK to write in the manner above but that it is somehow "superior" (in a snotty way) to normal grammatical English. Quite frankly you can do a machine translation from a foreign language and often get stuff that makes more sense than the above. I couldn't even begin to correct the grammar above. I have left everything as it was.
Does this seems trivial, nitpicking and school-marmish ? Does it interfere with the beautiful poetry of the free associations presented ? Maybe yes, but I would submit that you could express the metaphor of something like a "flowing stream" of anarchist propaganda without resorting to sophomoric distain for the English language and the plebs who speak it. I also say that the thought would be clearer and more beautiful without this little bit of inverse snobbery. Sloppy language, sloppy thought. Put your thoughts into real English, for instance, and you will realize just how silly the metaphor of a "body memory of the Movement" is, and why your thoughts should flow, in the proverbial stream, towards more productive metaphors.
I really and truly think that something has to be said about such a misuse of the language. Sad to say anarchists whose first language is not English and those who have never been indoctrinated in certain university departments usually express themselves much better than many of the supposedly "educated". Maybe it's that they really and truly want to make themselves understood rather than showing off their "rebelliousness".
Yes, this is mean spirited, and I have no doubt that the exhibit will be quite interesting. Still...it is several orders of magnitude less mean spirited than those who want to display signs of superiority via mangling the language. It also has the virtue of humility, which those who are carried away by their self-defined division from ordinary people cannot achieve. Incoherent thought is far too often the womb of delusions of grandeur.
Labels: anarchism, anarchist art, Art and Anarchy, canadian anarchist movement, events, exhibits, Vancouver
CANADIAN LABOUR-LANARK COUNTY ONTARIO:
LANARK COUNTY COMMUNITY LIVING WORKERS NOW ON STRIKE:
The following news item and appeal for solidarity is from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Molly has previously blogged about the bargaining situation of these workers, and now they are on strike, and they need your further solidarity.
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Support ACL workers on strike in Lanark County:
90 frontline workers at Community Living Association Lanark County are on strike for a fair contract.
90 frontline workers at Community Living Association Lanark County are on strike for a fair contract.
Our employer pushed us into a strike by refusing to offer us a fair deal that includes a pension plan that’s available to other Association for Community Living (ACL) workers across Ontario.
In addition to saying no to every no-cost proposal that we tabled to start a pension plan, management demanded concessions from frontline workers.
We had no choice but to go on strike.
We help people with intellectual disabilities. Unfortunately, they are the ones that will hurt the most from this strike.
Please help us in our struggle to seek a fair contract by sending a message to our employer and tell them – Fairness. It’s not a lot to ask for.
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THE LETTER:
Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to the bosses at Lanark County.
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Why are you not respecting your workers’ wishes to have a pension plan that’s available to other ACL workers in the province?
Refusing every no-cost proposal for a pension plan has pushed your workers to the picket line. This will hurt the very people that you are mandated to help.
It’s time for you to show true leadership and respect your workers by offering them a fair contract with a pension plan that will end this strike.
Labels: Canadian labour, CUPE, labour, Lanark County ACL, Ontario, solidarity., strike
POPULAR CULTURE:
THE MICHAEL JACKSON DEATH CIRCUS:
Sigh!!!!!! I guess it's inevitable. Everyone has to have their two cents worth about the death of Michael Jackson, and Molly has joined the crowd. To be honest I never though much about Michael Jackson one way or the other before his death. He was lumped into the category of "celebrities whose names I was unfortunately unable to forget". I've spent years working towards the goal of being unable to recognize the name of any celebrity, music, sports, film, TV, etc.. I do this because I really and truly don't like having my thoughts manipulated. The thing about celebrity is that all so-called "facts" about them are absolutely unverifiable. This applies equally to "good Prole-feed" as it does "bad Prole-feed". Jackson may or may not have been a "great artist", but there are no objective criteria to judge this. He may or may not have been a child-molester. Probably, even though he has never been convicted. Not having been on a jury where all the facts were presented I, however, have no basis for a firm opinion one way or the other.
What I do have a firm opinion on is the obvious- that, like all objects of the "celebrity industry", Jackson was an occasion for making profit by an industry where the concept of "truth" is even more degraded than it is in the aphasic ramblings of post-modern "scholars". I often like to say of any celebrity that, "they don't exist", and in one way this is very true. Like the others the Michael Jackson that some (now a great number) worshipped and the Michael Jackson that some (temporarily a small number) hated never existed in the same sense as you and I and the others we meet in real life "exist". Whatever highly developed primate who was given the identity tag in the verbal system of the pair of mammals whose DNA united to form his fetus bears only a chance relationship to the 'Michael Jackson' that was produced for entertainment by the media.
I'm actually quite slack jawed in amazement about the circus that has been going on about his death, and the points of interest are many and various. The actual quantity of interest that I have, however, is quite limited. I hope to be able to forget all the hype, both good and bad. before I die. I have, however, opened up a poll over at our sister site Molly's Polls so that you can have your say about the matter. I guess that I'll have to place a post there so there is room for any ranters. A painful process actually as, comparing things, I definitely think more about the squirrels in my backyard and all their ramifications than I do about Michael Jackson. By a factor of about 100,000 to one actually. Not a day goes by that I don't think of them. They exist for sure. Whatever may be the primate designated by the term 'Michael Jackson', well, I'm not too sure.
See Molly's Polls for the question, "What Do You Think of the Michael Jackson Death Circus ?'.
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By the way, for those of you with a taste for the weird, as I have, check out the "evolution of Michael jackson's face at http://www,uglychart.com/archives/2005/03/a_history_of_mi .
Labels: celebrity, media, Michael Jackson, nonsense, popular culture, post-modernism
AMERICAN LABOUR:
THE 'INDUSTRIAL WORKER', JULY 2009:
The following announcement of the July (Issue #1717- yes, it has been going for a long, long time) issue of the 'Industrial Worker' is from the website of the syndicalist Industrial Workers of the World. The IWW is active in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and Germany. While many may think that the printed word is a fossil in the age of the internet there is still much to be said for holding your reading material in your hands. For over a century the Industrial Worker has been bringing news of the class struggle worldwide. Check it out.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Headlines:
***UE Workers in Chicago Facing Another Plant Closure
***PIDC Hunger Strike Leader Assaulted & Threatened
***Indigenous People Massacred in Peru
Features:
***Recession: Time To Organize
***Special: Wobbly Art & Poetry
***Post-Fordism in Northern Ireland
***UE Workers in Chicago Facing Another Plant Closure
***PIDC Hunger Strike Leader Assaulted & Threatened
***Indigenous People Massacred in Peru
Features:
***Recession: Time To Organize
***Special: Wobbly Art & Poetry
***Post-Fordism in Northern Ireland
Labels: American labour, anarchist publications, Industrial Worker, IWW, labour
Friday, July 03, 2009
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-HONDURAS:
RUSSELL ATHLETIC PLACED ON 'PROBATION':
Well,well, well, it seems like it's gonna end up as 'Honduras Week' here at Molly's Blog. I plan to publish more info later about the coup d'etat whose purpose is to keep "Honduras just as happy as she has been in the past". Just as a little reminder of just how glorious a job the Honduran ruling class has made of its country I submit the following personal memory. I've only met one Honduran in my life. That individual was grateful beyond measure that the wife and I escorted her back to her room at the (admittedly sleazy-sleazy enough to earn that sobriquet from a Russian) hotel that we were both staying at in Prague. Yeah, there was indeed a detox centre on the top two floors, but "threatening"- hardly. The reason for her paranoia ? Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, at 154.02 per 100,00 population (in Winnipeg terms this would mean 1001 murders per year, a number that we here in what is often the murder capital of Canada would be astonished at). Christ Almighty !!!! If there was no other reason to change the social setup in the uunfortunate country of Honduras this would be an overwhelming one. The ousted President of Honduras was making some very minor moves to correct this and many other problems. How happy Honduras has been in the past !!!!! Not so bad if you can hire ten goons with automatic rifles for bodyguards I guess.
This social disintegration is built upon a foundation of vicious exploitation. The following is from the Maquila Solidarity Network, and its subject is a matter that Molly has touched upon before on this blog, the workers of Jerzees de Honduras. The exploitation of the Honduran working class is the social and economic basis upon which the horrible danger of everyday life in that country is built. This is so gross that even a corporate creation such as the 'Fair Labor Association' has seen fit to censure one of its members- see below. Quite frankly this takes a lot.
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Russell Athletic placed under Special Review over labour rights concerns:
On June 25th 2009, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) put its member company Russell Athletic on Special Review for 90 days. The FLA's Special Review process requires the company to perform specific actions to address violations of workers' freedom of association related to the closure of the Jerzees de Honduras (JDH) factory. This is only the second time in the FLA's history that a member company has been placed on Special Review. If Russell fails to complete the required steps in 90 days their FLA membership may be revoked.
On June 25th 2009, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) put its member company Russell Athletic on Special Review for 90 days. The FLA's Special Review process requires the company to perform specific actions to address violations of workers' freedom of association related to the closure of the Jerzees de Honduras (JDH) factory. This is only the second time in the FLA's history that a member company has been placed on Special Review. If Russell fails to complete the required steps in 90 days their FLA membership may be revoked.
Russell Athletic has been under fire for months for failing to remedy damage done to the JDH workers, the workers CGT union, and their right to freedom of association when they closed the JDH factory earlier this year. While Russell Athletic insists that their only motivation for the closure was economic, two independent investigations have concluded that anti-union bias was in fact a significant factor in the decision to close the JDH factory.
In February, the FLA Board asked Russell to undertake an initial series of steps, only some of which have been addressed by the company. Recently, new violations of freedom of association - including the establishment of "collective pacts" (akin to company unions) in the company's remaining Honduran facilities - have been detailed in a new report issued by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC).
The FLA cited Russell Athletic's "failure to engage in good faith negotiations with the CGT union on issues like compensation for terminated employees, a meaningful first-hire policy and reasonable access for unions to company factories." The FLA further noted that "the existence of 'collective pacts,' no matter their motivation, has the effect of undermining efforts by independent unions to organize workers. These circumstances have led to a high level of distrust among workers and other stakeholders of Russell's commitment to freedom of association."
In order to have the Special Review lifted, Russell Athletic must, amongst other things, engage in good faith negotiations with the CGT union regarding further compensation and benefits for all JDH workers, an effective first-hire policy, and reasonable access of union organizers to employees. The company must also negotiate measures with CGT to ensure the removal of any obstacles to freedom of association, including those posed by collective pacts (pactos colectivos), without depriving workers of existing benefits.
Russell is also being asked to engage with relevant stakeholders including FLA member universities, the WRC, the Clean Clothes Campaign and MSN.
Read the FLA Board's full Resolution and related documents
Read the WRC's latest reports on Russell Athletic and freedom of association in Honduras
Background on the JDH struggle
How you can help
Labels: Honduras, international labour, Jerzees de Honduras, labour, Maquila solidarity Network, personal
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-INDONESIA:
LUXURY BRANDS AND HORRIBLE CONDITIONS:
The following call for solidarity is from the international Clean Clothes Campaign. It's about conditions in an Indonesian factory where luxury clothes are made for fashion giants Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.
ILILILILILILIL
Luxury fashion brands leave Indonesian workers in the cold:
Polo Ralph Lauren, the upmarket US-based fashion giant, continues to ignore union repression and bad working conditions at one of its suppliers in Indonesia, the Mulia Knitting Factory near to Jakarta. The fashion house simply refuses to respond to the plight of workers who produce its garments.
Tommy Hilfiger, another buyer at the same clothing factory, has claimed that they have discussed the problems with the supplier, but the company has yet to take decisive action.
Following the establishment of the factory union SBGTS-GSBI in May 2007, the management of the Mulia Knitting Factory (MKF) organised a campaign to destroy the union by forcing all of its founding members to resign from the union or be removed from the factory. Unsafe and bad working conditions in the factory make the issue of workers' representation all the more urgent.
Although the national umbrella organisation GSBI has now managed to open up a direct dialogue with the MKF management, the latter remains unwilling to discuss matters related to freedom of association.
Support these Indonesian workers in their struggle. Send letters to Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger today and forward this message to your friends. Your actions will make a difference! Take action now!
ILILILILILILIL
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
The CCC and its allies in Indonesia and in the US have undertaken intensive efforts to set up constructive dialogues with MKF's foreign buyers to support a solution to the problems at the clothing factory. Indonesian law, international labour standards and the fashion brands’ own codes of conduct protect the workers’ rights to form and join a union. But Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger have done nothing to demonstrate that there is substance behind the claims in their codes.
Despite seven letters from the CCC and our allies and repeated phone calls, Polo Ralph Lauren's corporate social responsibility manager has refused to discuss the problems at MKF. Unfortunately, this is common practise for the designer of lavish lifestyle(this is a total aside- but I've always hated this word from the first time I heard it-Molly) products.
Although Polo Ralph Lauren actively promotes charities and philanthropic programmes, it refuses to mainstream ethical trade principles in its day-to-day operations. The company has been the defendant in a number of court cases involving discrimination and violations of labour rights.
After dragging its feet, Tommy Hilfiger now says it is committed to solving the problems in its supply chain. However, after more then six months, its efforts have not yielded any concrete results. This raises serious questions about Tommy Hilfiger's commitment to uphold the values laid down in their corporate Code of Conduct.
Support these Indonesian workers in their struggle. Send letters to Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger today and forward this message to your friends. Your actions will make a difference!
LLLLLLLLLLLLLL
THE LETTERS:
Support these Indonesian workers in their struggle. Send letters to Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger today and forward this message to your friends. Your actions will make a difference!
LLLLLLLLLLLLLL
THE LETTERS:
Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letters to Polo Ralph lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLL
To Polo Ralph Lauren's CEO and its Senior Director of Global Compliance.
To Polo Ralph Lauren's CEO and its Senior Director of Global Compliance.
Dear Sir,
I have learned that workers at one of your suppliers, PT Mulia Knitting Factory (MKF) in Indonesia, have been denied their right to freedom of association. Founders and members of the SBGTS-GSBI workers' union, established at the factory in May 2007, have been forced to resign from the union or be removed from the factory.
Unsafe and bad working conditions in the factory make the issue of workers' representation all the more urgent.
As you know, with today's globalised production patterns, manufacturers and retailers who order their goods from suppliers worldwide are increasingly aware of their overall supply-chain responsibilities.
In this framework, I urge you to make sure that Polo Ralph Lauren does everything in its power to address the problems at your Indonesian supplier.
Specifically I urge you to use your influence and assure that MKF:
1 - offers immediate reinstatement to all workers who were wrongfully dismissed or transferred because of their refusal to disassociate themselves from SBGTS-GSBI. The reinstatement should include compensation for salary arrears since the date of their dismissal or transfer. The workers should be reemployed at their previous positions in the factory with no loss of seniority and no reduction in salary;
2 - respects the right of their workers to Freedom of Association, and issues a statement to the work force, verbally and in writing,stating that the factory will respect the rights of workers join any organisation of their choosing, be it an NGO or a labour union, and that no worker will be fired, demoted, transferred or the subject of retaliation of any other kind for the decision that he or she makes. In that statement, the MKF management must clarify that the legally registered SBGTS-GSBI union is considered a legitimate entity.
Rather than denying the CCC any chance at communication, I further urge you to see the Campaign as a possible partner, that has specific expertise in matters relating to worker rights and working conditions in the global textiles supply chains. Fashion companies that show a real willingness to respect the rights of the individuals who produce their clothes can count on the support and collaboration of the CCC in designing and implementing pragmatic solutions.
Hoping for your cooperation in bringing these matters to a swift resolution,
Yours sincerely,
LLLLLLLLLLLLLL
To Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Social responsibility managers in Europe and the US
To Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Social responsibility managers in Europe and the US
Dear Madam, Sir,
I understand from information provided by the Clean Clothes Campaign that Tommy Hilfiger has dragged its feet rather than decisively acting on reports of serious labour-rights violations at one of your suppliers, PT Mulia Knitting Factory (MKF) in Indonesia.
Despite months of communications with the CCC, and despite Tommy Hilfiger's stated commitment to solving the problems at their supplier, your apparent efforts has not lead to any concrete results in the factory.
I have learned that workers at the factory have been denied their right to Freedom of Association. Founders and members of the SBGTS-GSBI workers' union, established at the factory in May 2007, have been forced to resign from the union or be removed from the factory.
Unsafe and bad working conditions in the factory make the issue of workers' representation all the more urgent.
As you know, with today's globalised production patterns, manufacturers and retailers who order their goods from suppliers worldwide are increasingly aware of their overall supply-chain responsibilities.
In this framework, I urge you to make sure that Tommy Hilfiger does everything in its power to address the problems at your Indonesian supplier.
Specifically I urge you to use your influence and assure that MKF:
1 - offers immediate reinstatement to all workers who were wrongfully dismissed or transferred because of their refusal to disassociate themselves from SBGTS-GSBI. The reinstatement should include compensation for salary arrears since the date of their dismissal or transfer. The workers should be reemployed at their previous positions in the factory with no loss of seniority and no reduction in salary;
2 - respects the right of their workers to Freedom of Association, and issues a statement to the work force, verbally and in writing,stating that the factory will respect the rights of workers join any organisation of their choosing, be it an NGO or a labour union, and that no worker will be fired, demoted, transferred or the subject of retaliation of any other kind for the decision that he or she makes. In that statement, the MKF management must clarify that the legally registered SBGTS-GSBI union is considered a legitimate entity.
Hoping for your cooperation in bringing these matters to a swift resolution,
Yours sincerely,
ILILILILILILIL
A LITTLE MOLLY ADDENDUM:
I doubt that I have ever entered any of the stores mentioned above. If I have seen them it is probable that I walked or drove faster to get past them. This, however, brings up the question of what happens to the "remainders" from the manufacturers who via slave labour supply these so-called quality luxury clothes. Quite frankly I wouldn't be surprised if the left-overs ended up at dollar stores throughout the world (Winnipeg is the world's capital of such outlets). The same stuff at 1/50th the price. It would be amusing to find out if this was true. For all I know I'm walking around with a "Tommy Lauren" set of undergitch as we speak. Bow down before my fashion sense.
Labels: Clean Clothes Campaign, Indonesia, international labour, labour, Polo Ralph Lauren, solidarity., Tommy Hilfiger
Thursday, July 02, 2009
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-INDIA/ENGLAND:
DEFINITELY NOT TESCO'S FINEST BLEND:
This item from the international union federation, the IUF, is mainly for our readers in the United Kingdom. It does, however, illustrate a larger point- don't necessarily believe corporations when they trumpet their "social responsibility".
ILILILILILILIL
Tesco's finest tea – produced in far from finest conditions?:
The IUF fully supports the call from our UK affiliate Unite for the UK-based supermarket Tesco to close the gap between its public policy commitments on socially responsible sourcing and its practices.
The call comes in a shareholder resolution to be put to Tesco's AGM Friday, July 3, 2009. The resolution highlights discriminatory practices in Tesco's meat supply chain and calls on the company to "allocate a non-executive board member to Tesco's Corporate Responsibility Committee to share accountability for the implementation and achievement of Tesco's policy commitments" on human and trade union rights.
West Yorkshire Pension Fund Chairman Ian Greenwood, who supports the Unite resolution, told the UK Guardian "We don't enter these things lightly but there's no question there is evidence of problems in many, many supply lines." In addition to problems in the Tesco meat supply chain identified by Unite, the IUF has now uncovered disturbing conditions on an Indian tea plantation which it has strong grounds to believe to be a part of Tesco's tea supply chain.
In June 2009, an experienced team of IUF researchers investigated living and working conditions on the large Talup plantation in Assam, India which IUF understands to supply tea for Tesco's Finest blends. The plantation management clearly failed to apply even the minimum requirements of the Indian Plantation Labour Act of 1951.
The researchers found clear evidence of:
-- substandard housing including homes with no toilets or electricity
-- shockingly poor sanitary facilities
-- lack of potable water
-- evident malnutrition amongst workers
-- pesticides being applied by workers without protective clothing.
In addition evidence gathered strongly suggested the presence of child labour
Tesco's Finest? The IUF research team found no evidence that personal protective equipment was provided to workers applying pesticides on the Talup plantation ....including evidence of children working on the estate.
"Tea was the first own brand product sold by Tesco company founder Jack Cohen", commented IUF General Secretary Ron Oswald. "Tesco is currently running a campaign to revive the British tea time, yet at the same time they place at risk their reputation and the company's brand by selling teas sourced from plantations which pay so little attention to working conditions. The IUF calls on Tesco to take all necessary measures to ensure that all tea workers on estates producing for it are truly in compliance with international standards."
While the IUF acknowledges that Tesco is not the only UK retailer to buy from this plantation, Tesco claims that "In addition to its own strict standards", the company plays "a leading role within the wider industry to address ethical and other issues of concern." Its own claims, and its role as market leader, therefore impose a leading responsibility.
Tesco also claims to ensure that its "Suppliers adhere to our voluntary guidelines" and in reply to the UNITE resolution says "we are not in breach of any laws". Their tea supplier in Talup cannot make the same claim.
Labels: corporate responsibility, England, farm workers, human rights, India, international human rights, international labour, IUF, labour, tea., Tesco
ANARCHIST MUSIC-CALGARY/VANCOUVER:
JOEY GOES TO THE STAMPEDE:
Now when you think of the Calgary Stampede you usually don't think of the 'Big Circle A Brand'. maybe so, but Molly's favourite country rockin' rebel Joey Only and his Outlaw Band will ser serving up their own brand of Country with a rebel twist in Calgary next week. Here's the announcement. In the meantime, from the tunes of Hank Molly, "Git along little boss man, git along, git along. It's your misfortune and none of my own." (Forget the flowers. Just send money.)
AMAMAMAMAMAM
Joey Only Outlaw Band:
CALGARY STAMPEDE SHOW DATES:
JOEY ONLY OUTLAW BAND CALGARY STAMPEDE DATES:
JOEY ONLY OUTLAW BAND CALGARY STAMPEDE DATES:
JULY 7TH: AUDITORIUM HOTEL: NANTON ALBERTA
JULY 8TH: THE PALOMINO
JULY 9TH: THE PALOMINO
JULY 11TH: THE PALOMINO (ROCK AND ROLL RODEO 8PM)
JULY 11TH: THE UNICORN (10:30PM)
Our full outlaw band will be making a trip to Calgary for Stampede for the 2nd consecutive year to be seen on the stage of our favorite venue in that city, THE PALOMINO. We will also be seen Saturday night at the fabulous Unicorn in downtown Calgary. Both bars are old school, full of good food and cold beers!
We may have a gig in Edmonton or Fernie on the 10th, check (www.joeyonly.com ) next week.
Palomino Smokehouse The
109 7 Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2P 0W5
(403) 532-1911
Unicorn Pub
304 8 Avenue SW,
Calgary, AB
(403) 234-8816
--
!FACEBOOK IS THE CIA!
AMAMAMAMAMAM
Yes, there's more. Here's an announcement from Joey about a couple of gigs out Vancouver way that he and the Outlaws will be playing host to.
AMAMAMAMAMAM
MAMAGUROOVE & TRAVELER,
July23, Vancouver:
--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--FOR RELEASE--
--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--FOR RELEASE--
Sound Resistance Productions presents:
ONE NIGHT ONLY IN VANCOUVER - THE SHOW OF THE SUMMER:
MAMAGUROOVE AND TRAVELER
with hosts Joey Only Outlaw Band
AT THE RICKSHAW THEATRE, 254 Hastings at Main
Thursday July 23rd, 9PM doors
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This will be the loudest most psychedelic live show Vancouver has seen in a long time featuring two of the most savvy stage performing bands that have ever made music in BC!
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MAMAGUROOVE from DUNSTER BRITISH COLUMBIA has been boogieing down at festivals across British Columbia and Alberta for 5 years, yet have only ever played one show in Vancouver. They host the Robson Valley Music Festival on their property in Dunster every August. They paint themselves up, they play loud, and funky and are politically savvy music brought to you by their french fry oil bus. They are the NOMEANSNO of the psychedelic tribal funk world, off the hook and intensely imaginative.
myspace.com/mamaguroove
TRAVELER from TEMPE ARIZONA is like a gypsy fusion heavy metal arabic roots music explosion. Featuring Scott Jeffers amazing knowledge of traditional eastern instrumentation and his mathematical band rocking behind him; they are also often accompanied by a fire eating belly dancer. Traveler stole the show at Robson Valley Music Fest last year and are back in Canada this year to play some of BC's best festivals. This is your one chance in the lower mainland to see a band who specializes in the live show. Also, while in Traveler features Vancouver local JOEY ONLY on bass.
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JOEY ONLY OUTLAW BAND from Vancouver will be the warm-up act and your hosts for the nights. For more information on the event, press follow-up and interviews, please contact us at:
778-317-2063
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Labels: anarchist music, Calgary, Calgary Stampede, concerts, Joey Only, Mamaguroove, music, Traveller, Vancouver
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
AMERICAN LABOUR:
COURT DECISION LOWERS FARM WORKER PROTECTION:
ALALALALALAL
A Dire Ruling for the Nation's Farm Workers:
Federal Court Decision Regarding Bush Guest Worker Program Lowers Wage Rates, Worker Protections for Nation’s Farm Workers
Back in May we told you the exciting news that new Labor Secretary Hilda Solis suspended the Midnight(ie last minute regulations before leaving office- Molly) Bush-Chao H-2A regulations.
Federal Court Decision Regarding Bush Guest Worker Program Lowers Wage Rates, Worker Protections for Nation’s Farm Workers
Back in May we told you the exciting news that new Labor Secretary Hilda Solis suspended the Midnight(ie last minute regulations before leaving office- Molly) Bush-Chao H-2A regulations.
We deeply regret to tell you that a North Carolina federal court judge has overturned this ruling. He said the H-2A growers would suffer irreparable harm if not permitted to pay the lower wage rates that the Bush-Chao regime allowed.
As a result of this action, thousands of vulnerable farm workers in the United States—including both domestic and foreign workers--will suffer lower wages, lost benefits, and reduced enforcement of their labor rights.
These midnight H-2A regulations changes by the Bush administration gut existing protections for both domestic and foreign farm workers. They make it easier for growers to slash the pay of domestic farm workers and hire imported foreign laborers instead of U.S. field workers. They weaken government protections in an industry known for violating the minimum wage, housing requirements and other rules.
Current Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis made the right decision, the moral decision, and the lawful decision in a public process to suspend the Bush Administration rules and reinstate the regulations that had been in place previously.
We urge the Secretary of Labor Solis and the Department of Labor to appeal this decision immediately.
The United Farm Workers vows to do all we can to fight for farm workers’ interests and overturn these harmful rules. As part of our fight, the UFW along with Farmworker Justice, will continue with the lawsuit we filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. in January.
We will keep you updated with future developments.
For the latest UFW immigration news, click here
Labels: American labour, farm workers, George Bush, immigrants, labour, United Farm Workers
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR/LE SYNDICALISME INTERNATIONAL:
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE SPANISH CGT/LE SEIZIÈME CONGRÈS DE LA CGT ESPAGNOLE:
The following report about the recent 16 Congress of the Spanish CGT is from the French anarchosyndicalist CNT (CNT Vignoles). The Spanish CGT is far and away the largest anarchosyndicalist union federation in the world today. There is also a link to a recent interview with Jacinto Caecero, the present confederal secretary of the CGT.
Le rapport ci-après au sujet de la récente 16ème congrès de la CGT espagnole est de la France anarchosyndicalist CNT (CNT Vignoles). La CGT espagnole est de loin la plus importante fédération syndicale anarchosyndicalist dans le monde d'aujourd'hui. Il existe également un lien vers une interview récente avec Jacinto Caecero, le présent sectretary confédéral de la CGT.
SSSSSSSSSSSS
XVIème congrès de la CGT espagnole : Construire la grève générale !!!:
jeudi 18 juin 2009, par S.I.
Nos camarades de la CGT espagnole ont tenu le premier week end de juin, à Malaga, leur XVI ème Congrès confédéral.
XVIème congrès de la CGT espagnole : Construire la grève générale !!!:
jeudi 18 juin 2009, par S.I.
Nos camarades de la CGT espagnole ont tenu le premier week end de juin, à Malaga, leur XVI ème Congrès confédéral.
A cette occasion, des représentant-es de la CNT étaient présent-es au même titre que des militant-es d’autres organisations anarcho-syndicalistes : IWW (Grande Bretagne), Initiative des travailleurs (Pologne), USI (Italie), SAC (Suède).
Globalement, la CGT suit la ligne stratégique de développement syndical qu’elle avait amorcé en 2001 lors du Congrès de Valladolid. On peut même constater que le nombre de syndicats à Malaga (160 syndicats dont 105 ont assisté au congrès représentés par 400 délégué(e)s) était en hausse par rapport aux Congrès précédents.
Au delà des motions structurelles, trois grands thèmes traités ont attiré tout le sérieux et l’attention des congressistes : la prostitution et la possible syndicalisation des travailleurs-euses du sexe, le salaire minimum et les perspectives d’avenir et de renforcement de la Confédération.
La CGT aujourd’hui est prise au sérieux. Forte de près de 60 000 adhèrent-es, elle a une réelle capacité de mobilisation pour mener des actions, lancer et gagner des grèves comme ce fut le cas en 2008, par exemple, dans le secteur du nettoyage (Madrid) ou dans les transports (autobus de Barcelone).
En ces temps de crise, la CGT promet en tout cas de tout mettre en œuvre pour aller vers une grève générale interprofessionnelle afin que la peur change de camps et qu’enfin "payent les riches et les banquiers" .
Hortensia et Jérémie pour le SI de la CNT.
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"Il faut fuir le chant de sirène du capitalisme"
Dans un interview qu’il a accordé au journal de la CGT, Rojo y negro, Jacinto Caecero, secrétaire confédéral, revient sur la campagne que mène la CGT contre la crise capitaliste et ses effets désastreux en Espagne avec son cortège de licenciements de masse et un taux de chômage proche de 20% qui ne cesse d’augmenter.
Lire la suite
"Il faut fuir le chant de sirène du capitalisme"
Dans un interview qu’il a accordé au journal de la CGT, Rojo y negro, Jacinto Caecero, secrétaire confédéral, revient sur la campagne que mène la CGT contre la crise capitaliste et ses effets désastreux en Espagne avec son cortège de licenciements de masse et un taux de chômage proche de 20% qui ne cesse d’augmenter.
Lire la suite
SSSSSSSSSSSS
XVIth Congress of the Spanish CGT: Build the general strike!:
XVIth Congress of the Spanish CGT: Build the general strike!:
Thursday 18 June 2009, S.I.
Our comrades in the Spanish CGT held their sixteenth Confederal Congress on the first weekend in June, in Malaga .
On this occasion, representatives from the CNT-es were present as well as militants from other anarcho-syndicalistorganizations: IWW (Great Britain), Workers Initiative (Poland), USI (Italy), SAC (Sweden).
Overall, the GGT follows the line of union development strategy that began in 2001 at the Congress of Valladolid. One can also note that the number of unions in Malaga (160 unions of which 105 attended the conference represented by 400 delegates) was up from the previous Congress.
Beyond the structural motions, three main topics were covered with all the gravity and the attention of delegates: prostitution and the possible unionization of sex workers , the minimum wage and the future prospects of strengthening the Confederation .
The CGT is now taken seriously. With almost 60,000 members , it has a real ability to mobilize for action, initiating strikes and winning as was the case in 2008, for example, in the cleaning sector (Madrid) or in transport ( Barcelona buses).
In these times of crisis, the CGT totally promised to make every effort to move towards a general strike in order to fear changes camps and also to "make the rich and the bankers.pay" Hortensia and Jeremiah for the SI of the CNT.
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"We must escape the siren song of capitalism" In an interview he gave to the newspaper of the CGT, Rojo y negro, Jacinto Caecero, Confederal Secretary, reviews the campaign carried out by the CGT against the capitalist crisis and its disastrous effects in Spain with its attendant redundancies mass and an unemployment rate near 20% which continues to grow.
Labels: CGT, CNT-F, economic crisis, events, France, international labour, labour, meetings, Spain
Monday, June 29, 2009
AMERICAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-RHODE ISLAND:
PROVIDENCE ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR:
The following announcement has been making its rounds of the 'anarchonet' in the last few days. It's the announcement of the upcoming (August 15) Providence, Rhode Island anarchist bookfair. No doubt I wish them the best of luck and hope that the event goes well, but still...there are some things that just have to be said. When I was bitching and complaining to one fellow at the end of my day's tabling at our recent bookfair here in Winnipeg about the poor attendance this fellow(an IWW member who had previously been involved with a, platformist organization) replied to my comparison of our event to Montreal and Edmonton (who, I swear begin planning for next year as soon as they get over their hangovers) with the obvious, "but they are organized anarchists".
What is the problem here ? The idea of anarchist bookfairs continues to grow, and they are a great tactic, but far too often all the planning is being done at the last possible moment. A year is the proper timeline for such an event- not a month and a half. The Providence people have started to send out their calls now, and they still don't have their website up and running (they had one for last year). Can we say "cart before the horse" ?
Plainly, if you want the maximum possible effect you have to plan such things long before they happen. You also have to have an idea of what should be done first, second and third, etc..I say all this with the maximum possible sympathy to all anarchist bookfairs, but with the hope that they will think about being as effective as possible. Here's the announcement from the comrades down in Rhode Island.
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PROVIDENCE ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR !
FUN! BOOKS ! BEER ! DANCING ! REVOLUTION IN THE AIR !
PROVIDENCE ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR !
FUN! BOOKS ! BEER ! DANCING ! REVOLUTION IN THE AIR !
August 15th 1pm to 1am on
Empire Street, Providence, Rhode Island
The annual Providence Anarchist Bookfaire is back again this year and we want you to come on by and enjoy the events, get some books and participate.
The annual Providence Anarchist Bookfaire is back again this year and we want you to come on by and enjoy the events, get some books and participate.
The bookfair is set up during a street festival *Foo Fest* put on by a local art and community center called AS220. This years festival has changed with a 5 dollar cover and a family friendly focus in the afternoon. Bring the kids!
In the evening local bands will be playing as the festival takes a street party atmosphere, come enjoy the music, the books and comradeship.
In the past there have been workshops and interactive presentations on radical and revolutionary topics , please feel free to submit workshop proposals or hit us up to get a table.
We are excited to be putting on the bookfair and hope you are excited to come.
Be on the lookout for more information and fliers to help us promote for more info , questions or suggestions please email Juice at thematch@riseup.net
Thanks and see ya soon !
* Please forward widely*
Labels: American anarchist movement, anarchism, anarchist bookfairs, bookfairs, Providence, Providence Anarchist Bookfair, Rhode Island
ANARCHIST FILM:
THE TAKE:
The film 'The Take' , by the Canadian team of Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis, has become something of an 'alternative classic'. It tells the story of how an auto plant in Buenos Aires, Argentina was threatened with closure by its owners and was taken over by the workers involved and reopened as a producers' cooperative. This is the sort of action that Molly has long advocated here, and it was actually done, in a situation such as an auto plant that Molly thinks is doubtful (see my comments on the recent workers' occupation of the auto plant in South Korea). But it did happen in at least one place.
This film is now available for download and viewing at another Winnipeg site, the Insurrectionary People's Picture Show Theater. Check it out over there, and see all the other treats they have available.
Labels: anarchism, anarchist film, Argentina, factory occupations, films, Naomi Klein, The Insurrectionary People's Picture Show Theater, The Take, Winnipeg
Sunday, June 28, 2009
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS-HONDURAS:
MILITARY COUP IN HONDURAS:
Over the weekend, perhaps obscured by the endless Michael Jackson news(as if he didn't really rise again on the third day), an important event took place in Central America ie the first military coup in that area for many years as the military took over the country of Honduras to prevent the holding of, bizarrely enough, a referendum on whether there would be a referendum in the fall on a new consitution for the country and a Constituent Assembly for same (yes it is complicated, as some of the articles below make plain). There have bben all sorts of opinions expressed about these events, and Molly attempts to present some of them below. The first article is from the School of the Americas Watch, and it is a call for protest against the coup. There are a number of other articles that have been appended as well.
Over the weekend, perhaps obscured by the endless Michael Jackson news(as if he didn't really rise again on the third day), an important event took place in Central America ie the first military coup in that area for many years as the military took over the country of Honduras to prevent the holding of, bizarrely enough, a referendum on whether there would be a referendum in the fall on a new consitution for the country and a Constituent Assembly for same (yes it is complicated, as some of the articles below make plain). There have bben all sorts of opinions expressed about these events, and Molly attempts to present some of them below. The first article is from the School of the Americas Watch, and it is a call for protest against the coup. There are a number of other articles that have been appended as well.
HHHHHHHHHHHH
Military Coup in Honduras:
Military Coup in Honduras:
A military coup has taken place in Honduras this morning (Sunday, June 28), led by SOA graduate Romeo Vasquez. In the early hours of the day, members of the Honduran military surrounded the presidential palace and forced the democratically elected president, Manuel Zelaya, into custody. He was immediately flown to Costa Rica.
A national vote had been scheduled to take place today in Honduras to consult the electorate on a proposal of holding a Constitutional Assembly in November. General Vasquez had refused to comply with this vote and was deposed by the president, only to later be reinstated by the Congress and Supreme Court.
The Honduran state television was taken off the air. The electricity supply to the capital Tegucigalpa, as well telephone and cellphone lines were cut. Government institutions were taken over by the military. While the traditional political parties, Catholic church and military have not issued any statements, the people of Honduras are going into the streets, in spite of the fact that the streets are militarized. From Costa Rica, President Zelaya has called for a non-violent response from the people of Honduras, and for international solidarity for the Honduran democracy.
While the European Union and several Latin American governments just came out in support of President Zelaya and spoke out against the coup, a statement that was just issued by Barack Obama fell short of calling for the reinstatement of Zelaya as the legitimate president.
Call the State Department and the White House
Call the State Department and the White House
Demand that they call for the immediate reinstatement of Honduran President Zelaya.
State Department: 202-647-4000 or 1-800-877-8339
White House: Comments: 202-456-1111, Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Visit http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=MWfTovpS%2Bs7iPEw6XbzbE8a5FVzd6S4K and http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=0ZHK5Ig225OUZNIVhYbLnca5FVzd6S4K for articles and updated information.
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Here is another article from the SOAW about the cuop in Honduras, giving a bit more background.
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Coup in Honduras:
Posted by Kristin Bricker - June 28, 2009 at 12:27 pm
School of the Americas-Trained Military Detains and Expels Democratically-Elected President Zelaya
Posted by Kristin Bricker - June 28, 2009 at 12:27 pm
School of the Americas-Trained Military Detains and Expels Democratically-Elected President Zelaya
Early this morning approximately 200 Honduran soldiers arrived at President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya's residence, reportedly fired four shots, and detained the President. Zelaya told TeleSUR that the soldiers took him to an air force base and put him on a plane to Costa Rica.
Zelaya told TeleSUR from San Jose, Costa Rica, "They threatened to shoot me." Honduras' ambassador to the Organization of American States, Carlos Sosa Coello, reports that the president has been beaten up.
Zelaya told TeleSUR that he doesn't believe it was regular soldiers who kidnapped him. "I have been the victim of a kidnapping carried out by a group of Honduran soldiers. I don't think the Army is supporting this sort of action. I think this is a vicious plot planned by elites. Elite who only want to keep the country isolated and in extreme poverty."
Zelaya fears for the safety of his family, who remain in Honduras. He pleaded with TeleSUR viewers to seek a way to "have a dialogue with these soldiers so that they don't harm my family, so that they don't shoot anybody. We can settle our differences through dialogue."
The anti-Zelaya P
resident of Congress, Roberto Micheletti, has declared himself interim president of Honduras. On the Friday before the coup, Zelaya called Micheletti "a pathetic, second-class congressman who got that job because of me, because I gave you space within my political current."
resident of Congress, Roberto Micheletti, has declared himself interim president of Honduras. On the Friday before the coup, Zelaya called Micheletti "a pathetic, second-class congressman who got that job because of me, because I gave you space within my political current." Zelaya informed TeleSUR that he has not requested asylum in Costa Rica, and that he will return to Honduras as its president to complete his term, which expires in 2010.
Honduran Media Shut Down
Radio Es Lo De Menos, an independent radio station reporting from Honduras, issued a press release before its power was cut. The press release states that several cabinet members have been detained, and there are arrest warrants out for other cabinet members as well as leaders of social organizations. It calls on the international community to hold protests outside Honduran embassies and consulates.
TeleSUR reports that the soldiers have also arrested the Cuban, Venezuelan, and Nicaraguan ambassadors to Honduras(this is particularily arrogarnt-Molly), as well as Chancellor Patricia Rodas. The Venezuelan ambassador told TeleSUR that the soldiers beat him during the kidnapping. La Prena reports that soldiers have detained at least one pro-Zelaya mayor, San Pedro Sula's Rodolfo Padilla Sunseri.
Cell phones are reportedly no longer working in Honduras(No doubt one of the first things that any repressive regime will pay attention to in the future-Molly). The power has been cut in at least some parts of the country, disabling independent media and state television stations for the time being. Before the state televisions went off the air, Channel 8 managed to communicate to its viewers, "It appears as though the soldiers are coming here." Seconds before it went off the air, Channel 8 told citizens to gather in the Plaza de la Libertad. Channel 8 appears to have been taken over by the military, but it is still not transmitting.
Honduras' privately owned Channel 12 and Channel 11 are showing classic soccer clips.
Soldiers Block Opinion Poll
Soldiers have also moved to block the opinion poll that sparked the coup. Today Hondurans were supposed to register their opinion in a non-binding poll that asked them, "Do you think that the November 2009 general elections should include a fourth ballot box in order to make a decision about the creation of a National Constitutional Assembly that would approve a new Constitution?" The poll would have had no legal weight.
In the town of Trujillo, soldiers have taken the streets and are not allowing citizens to vote in the opinion poll.
In Santa Rosa, soldiers reportedly under the orders of the Federal Prosecutors Office have seized ballot boxes from schools and public places.
Soldiers seized ballot boxes in Dulce Nombre Copan as well, but citizens have gone to the military base to take them back again. In Santa Barbara, La Prensa reports that the opinion poll is going on as planned, with no interference thus far from the military.
Soldiers are also carrying out operations on the country's major highways, according to La Prensa. The situation could get ugly on the highways, as La Prensa reports that peasants from the Guadalupe Carney community have taken over some highways.
School of the Americas Connection
The crisis in Honduras began when the military refused to distribute ballot boxes for the opinion poll in a new Constitution. President Zelaya fired the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Romeo Orlando Vasquez Velasquez, who refused to step down. The heads of all branches of the Honduran armed forces quit in solidarity with Vasquez. Vasquez, however, refused to step down, bolstered by support in Congress and a Supreme Court ruling that reinstated him. Vasquez remains in control of the armed forces.
Vasquez, along with other military leaders, graduated from the United States' infamous School of the Americas (SOA). According to a School of the Americas Watch database compiled from information obtained from the US government, Vasquez studied in the SOA at least twice: once in 1976 and again in 1984.
The head of the Air Force, Gen. Luis Javier Prince Suazo, studied in the School of the Americas in 1996. The Air Force has been a central protagonist in the Honduran crisis. When the military refused to distribute the ballot boxes for the opinion poll, the ballot boxes were stored on an Air Force base until citizens accompanied by Zelaya rescued them. Zelaya reports that after soldiers kidnapped him, they took him to an Air Force base, where he was put on a plane and sent to Costa Rica.
Congressman Joseph Kennedy has stated, "The U.S. Army School of the Americas...is a school that has run more dictators than any other school in the history of the world."
The School of the Americas has a long, tortured history in Honduras. According to School of the Americas Watch, "In 1975, SOA Graduate General Juan Melgar Castro became the military dictator of Honduras. From 1980-1982 the dictatorial Honduran regime was headed by yet another SOA graduate, Policarpo Paz Garcia, who intensified repression and murder by Battalion 3-16, one of the most feared death squads in all of Latin America (founded by Honduran SOA graduates with the help of Argentine SOA graduates)."
Honduran Gen. Humberto Regalado Hernandez was inducted into the SOA's Hall of Fame. School of the Americas Watch notes that he was a four-time graduate. As head of the armed forces, he refused to take action against soldiers invovled in the Battalion 3-16 death squad.
School of the Americas Watch points out that this is not the first time the SOA has been involved in Latin American coups. "In April 2002, the democratically elected Chavez government of Venezuela was briefly overthrown, and the School of the Americas-trained [soldiers] Efrain Vasquez Velasco, ex-army commander, and Gen. Ramirez Poveda, were key players in the coup attempt."
According to School of the Americas Watch, "Over its 58 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counter-insurgency techniques, sniper skills, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. Colombia, with over 10,000 troops trained at the school, is the SOA's largest customer. Colombia currently has the worst human rights record in Latin America."
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The Honduran people are not taking this coup lieing down. here is yet another report from the SOAW about the resistance to the coup.
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Resistance and Repression in Honduras:
Written by Kristin Bricker
Sunday, 28 June 2009
An unknown number of Hondurans have taken to the streets today in an effort to stop the coup that the military, in league with Congress and the Supreme Court, has carried out against democratically elected President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya.
Resistance and Repression in Honduras:
Written by Kristin Bricker
Sunday, 28 June 2009
An unknown number of Hondurans have taken to the streets today in an effort to stop the coup that the military, in league with Congress and the Supreme Court, has carried out against democratically elected President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya.
Due to intermitant power outages and heavy rain, independent media within Honduras has had extreme difficulty transmitting news. This means that while there's been plenty of news in the mainstream media about the actions people with a lot of political power have been taking--from Chavez and the ALBA nations to the Organization of American States to the United States--there's been very little reported about what rank-and-file Hondurans have been doing to reverse the coup.
However, it is clear that Hondurans are resisting. People are taking the streets in Honduras despite incredibly hostile conditions created by the military. Radio Es Lo De Menos reports that their colleagues on the ground have been fired at by snipers who are positioned in rooftops around the city. They stress that the gunfire at this point has only been in the form of "warning shots" and no one has been reported injured from gunfire.
The Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) wrote in a communique,"We tell everyone that the Honduran people are carrying out large demonstrations, actions in their communities, in the municipalities; there are occupations of bridges, and a protest in front of the presidential residence, among others. From the lands of Lempira, Morazán and Visitación Padilla, we call on the Honduran people in general to demonstrate in defense of their rights and of real and direct democracy for the people, to the fascists we say that they will NOT silence us, that this cowardly act will turn back on them, with great force."
Radio Es Lo De Menos reported that the military has set up roadblocks all over the country in an attempt to prevent Zelaya supporters from reaching the capital. The soldiers are also reportedly attempting to shut down public transportation.
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The Honduran coup has provoked reaction worldwide, especially from other countries in Latin America and from Europe. the American response has been "muted". Here is an anarchist response from José Antonio Gutiérrez D. The following is a "Molly trans". The original in Spanish is available at the Anarckismo website. This response puts the whole matter of the international "opposition" to the coup in another perspective.
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Coup in Honduras: the return of the gorillas or the tactics of attrition?:
Coup in Honduras: the return of the gorillas or the tactics of attrition?:
The flashing sabers have once again shown their edge in Latin America: the coups d'etat and destabilization processes orchestrated from Washington have succeeded in countries where governments are implementing reform that may be uncomfortable for the digestion of the hemispheric elite-Venezuela 2002; Haiti 2004, Bolivia 2008. This time Honduras' turn has come, a country whose president Manuel Zelaya was overthrown by the military and exiled to Costa Rica. While Zelaya was kidnapped by soldiers in Congress a letter written by Zelaya was read (which turned out to be false) in which he renounced his position as president. At the same time, and while several MPs complained that the conduct of the president put at risk the "rule of law" and accused him of multiple violations of the Constitution real and imaginary, he was removed from office, which was assumed by the Congress president , Roberto Micheletti (who is also from Zelaya's Liberal Party).
The coup happened on the same day that a non-binding public consultation, called by Zelaya would have taken place regarding the need to change the Constitution, drafted in 1982, when the country was just emerging from an extremely brutal military dictatorship supported by U.S. who wielded power from 1972 to 1981. If the results were favorable to constitutional change a Constituent Assembly would be convened in November.
This proposal met fierce opposition from the most reactionary sectors of the Honduran oligarchy who control the legislature, the Supreme Court and the Army, and are gathered under the undisputed leadership of the ultra-conservative National Party of Honduras. These sectors are opposed to reforms that could produce minor questioning of their dominanation of Honduras. The judiciary, in coordination with its allies in the Legislature, were quick to declare the referndum unconstitutional on Thursday June 25, bringing about the scene for the coup . The tanks took to the streets Sunday, July 28, to the residence of Zelaya, and by this canceled the referendum and ended (or believed settled ), by force, the push and pull between the state powers [1].
What is the strategy behind the coup?:
Honduras is a country that, as mentioned, is no stranger to our shared continental history of military dictatorships, which occupied the entire period from the 60s to 70s. In the 80s this kind of history of violence and State terrorism continued under the form of a "democratic" regime under which proliferated under the paramilitaries, who killed thousands of peasants and workers from Honduras, and provided a
platform for the Contra terrorism that devastated Nicaragua. These operations were directed by John Negroponte, U.S. ambassador in Honduras. The U.S. presence is still exists in the physical form of a U.S. military base with at least 500 U.S. troops on Honduran soil. Under this social and political dynamic there has been nurtured a strong network of domination that incorporates an absolute oligarchy and colonial army imbued with the doctrine of national security.
platform for the Contra terrorism that devastated Nicaragua. These operations were directed by John Negroponte, U.S. ambassador in Honduras. The U.S. presence is still exists in the physical form of a U.S. military base with at least 500 U.S. troops on Honduran soil. Under this social and political dynamic there has been nurtured a strong network of domination that incorporates an absolute oligarchy and colonial army imbued with the doctrine of national security. Zelaya is far from being a revolutionary. He is a member of the Liberal Party, in the past part of a reformist trend, a little more to the left than the bulk of his party, raising some social reforms (including the new constitution) . What most worries the Honduran oligarchy is the entry of Honduras into ALBA, an initiative of Latin American integration spearheaded by Venezuela. However, as we have mentioned on other occasions, the "radicalism" of a movement or a political leader cannot be measured in absolute terms, but must be understood in context: in this case, the "radicalism" of Zelaya does not emanate from its own policies, but from the absolute opposition to any compromise or change of any kind that is presented by the oligarchy. Not that Zelaya is seen as a "radical" because he is socialist, but rather because of the completely neaderthal character of the Honduran oligarchy. This paradox is what has made the fight for lukewarm reforms in Latin America often assume the forms of revolutionary struggle.
The coup strategy, which encompasses the paradox of opposing the reforms in the Latin American context, that is, forms of "counter-insurgency" in the absence of a revolutionary movement, can be summarized as follows: the necessity of stopping any process of social change, even the most tepid. The big problem for the oligarchy that is the time when a military dictatorship could be accepted without complications has passed. We are not in the'70 and the U.S. is more interested in keeping up the appearance of democracy and comes out with other methods to impose its will rather than through the shortcut of coups d'etat. Therefore the strategy of a coup has the main disadvantage to thes oligarchy of not being sustainable in the long term in the context of Honduras [2].
The complex post-coup scene
The putschists forces, like those who oppose them, have their internal contradictions. It is likely that there are elements that now fantasize about a return to the pure "gorillaism" that hit Latin America hard during the past four decades. But other elements must be well aware that it is highly unlikely that this coup adventure can continue for long. They know that after the earthquake of the coup in the Honduran political arena, you must have a plan B when it comes to re-establish constitutional order. For them, the coup would only be a deterrent within a broader strategy to regain control over political initiative and wear down their adversaries through attrition.
The coup as a masterful deterrent was applied in Haiti during the first government of the reformist priest Jean Bertrand Aristide. After being overthrown in September 1991 in a coup financed and supported by the CIA, Aristide took refuge in the U.S., where he began s a long period of negotiations with the U.S. authorities (the same that were behind the coup), and after a series of concessions, he was reinstalled in power three years later, with the help of 20,000 U.S. Marines who occupied Haiti and ended the Cedras dictatorship of [3]. During this period, the U.S. achieved "moderation" enough to allow that Aristide, at least momentarily, did not represent a "threat" [4]: "He was basically reduced to a defensive position, trying always to appear to the eyes of the U.S. Government as a reasonable person and as harmless as possible. Thus, he was increasingly submerged in a swamp of concessions and surrenders, leaving his people to expect that the solution came from his meetings and not an offensive in the streets and the mountains "[5]. When Aristide was restored to power, it came with a structural adjustment package to the Haitian economy that deepened the neoliberal model and with it the growing impoverishment of Haitian society.
It is likely that the coup through its strategy Honduran looks for something like the Haitian example (albeit in a rather shorter time line): gain time, wear out the"moderate" Zelaya (who in any case is a "radical") and seek international mediation to achieve an "agreement" between the parties that will finally exorcise the specter of social reforms of any significance. Whether or not the CIA is behind the coup (if not directly-or what is likely, indirectly as all putschist generals are heirs of the School of the Americas [6])(see other articles here from the SOAW-Molly), the U.S. does not have today, the ability to play the solo role of "softening" Zelaya. Furthermore, the current Latin American context does not allow it. Such a role would be left mainly to the OAS, but also to the larger international community: the EU and the USA.
Quickly the "international community" (including the UN [7]) has spoken out against the coup and rejected it and reiterated its support for Zelaya [8]. There has been particularly adamant rejection of teh coup among Latin American countries and the ALBA. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez came out to say that his troops were on alert due to the aggression suffered by his ambassador to Honduras from putschists troops [9]. Obama held an ambiguous position, which may be understood as a way of exploring the field, asking "all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, rule of law and the principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter" [10], without rejecting or supporting the coup against Zelaya. Only after accusations by Chavez and the president of the UN General Assembly, Miguel D'Escoto, about the likely U.S. involvement in the coup, did the U.S. eventually recognize via an anonymous State Department official (more to save the face than otherwise) that Zelaya is the only legitimate president of Honduras [11]. Surely they do not think well of the diatribe by D'Escoto: "Many are wondering whether this attempted coup is part of the new policy [of the U.S. towards Latin America] since it is known that the Honduran army has a history of total submissiveness to theUnited States. "[12]
Everything suggests that the oligarchs and the military can not maintain the coup and only see what they have achieved as a "political solution" that could in time take the form of a "compromise" on both sides, but leave standing its dominance in the medium term. That is the political role that the OAS can play, which, like most governments, have expressed their opposition to the coup not in concrete class terms, but from a defense of "rule of law. " Quitely, in this way, the lines are well marked for both sides: not accepting an "overflow" (going beyond ?-Molly) of the Constitution for either the right or left, or to be precise, an overflow is rejected by the right, precisely to avoid the spillover from the left. What is advocated is the "rule of law" that, ultimately, is what specifically capitalist social order is. This cross-bourgeois democracy can be led in a masterful way by the OEA, which, in the words of the director of Human Rights Watch, Jose Miguel Vivanco, "has a key role to play [to] quickly find a multilateral solution to this breakdown of democracy in Honduras [13].
With this tactic, you are looking for a "multilateral" solution(with the coup), by which the Honduran oligarchy will attempt to open a political space in institutional channels, which takes advantage of reformism, while destroying the political agenda of any major reform or any prospect of radicalization of the political process.
Down with the Coup! ¡Strengthen Popular Mobilization!
The libertarians, along with all consistant revolutionaries position ourselves unequivocally on the side of the forces that oppose the coup. We can not allow the gorilla head to lift in any country in our region which has already suffered enough from dictatorships nor sit back and declare ourselves "neutral" even before the specter of a new one. But to put our position in a clear and categorical way.
The gorillas should be extirpated at its roots and we believe that this can not happen from above, from the bureaucratic point of the "international community", as claimed by sections of the bourgeoisie and reformism. The only one who can remove the root of the gorillas putschist are the people mobilized in the streets, in the fields, in workplaces, schools and universities to stop this military adventure. Within the post-coup scenario is the possibility that the people can become a player that definitely alters the balance of forces in Honduran society to achieve substantive changes. This people, overcoming fear, has begun to mobilize, from one hundred demonstrators outside the government palace in the morning to several thousand at this moment, and it starts to move en masse across the capital Tegucigalpa and other places inthe country.
Even when the protesters to call for little more than the defense of Zelaya, and with it, the defense of a rather lukewarm proposed reform it is in mobilizing that people learn to fight and learn to make their own project. Any mobilization contains the potential radicalization of the masses, especially when you consider that this protest was a spontaneous act of defiance to an oligarchy so stubborn and backward as to be criminal. On this mobilization depends the thwarting of the oligarchy's plan to deter "soften" the political project of Zelaya: on whether it will radicalize the masses and thus driving the process towards the left. This is the factor with which the oligarchy(nor reformism) does not count on . And this is the factor that weighs more in the balance.
On how this conflict is resolved will depend on the future of social change in Honduras. If the crisis is solved at the top, primarily via institutional channels [14], the result will be, undoubtedly, the commitment and cooperation of the parties with the consequent return to the status quo. If, however, the crisis, however, is solved from the bottom, and the coup is slowed primarily by mobilizing the people in the streets there is the possibility that the people will move towards a more radical end and achieve the crushing of the resistance of the oligarchy to change. Even when the outcome is far from the social revolution there will be a foundation for the people who undertake such a long path and leave a people that has gained in experience and confidence in their abilities. And that possibility will shake the oligarchy.
José Antonio Gutiérrez D.
June 28, 2009
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[1] On the controversial referendum to revise the following article http://criticadigital.com/impresa/index.php?secc=nota&n...26666
[2] The only country in America where this strategy has proven to be sustainable for a considerable period of time is Haiti. But Haiti is an absolutely unique event in the Latin American context, a country highly dependent, impoverished, and delayed the oligarchy certainly more cave throughout the hemisphere. But even in Haiti, the imperialists have had a democratic facade to sustain the coup (a subsidiary of the UN force, MINUSTAH, and the role of a president elected "democratically," Preval). For more details on this review process http://www.anarkismo.net/article/1063
[3] For more details on this process reviewed, from a social perspective, the book by Alex Dupuy "Haiti in the New World Order, Westview Press, 1997, pp.140-166. You can also review, from a revolutionary perspective, "The Unmaking of a President" Kim Ives, "The Haiti-Files" (ed. James Ridgeway), Essential Books, 1994, pp.87-103.
[4] At least momentarily, because then again in 2004, Bush again Arisitde considered persona non grata and was overthrown in another coup d'etat.
[5] Kim Ives, op. cit., p.95
[6] In any case, the U.S. government has admitted being in contact very recently with the army of Honduras in connection with the "crisis" http://espanol.news.yahoo.com/s/28062009/ 54/n-latam-ee-....html
[9] Also, the ambassadors of Cuba and Nicaragua were attacked. http://espanol.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090629/latinoam...ras_6
[13] http://espanol.news.yahoo.com/s/28062009/54/n-latam-ee-....html By the way, the role of containment is being sought in the OAS, is the same as the UNASUR played as in the Bolivian crisis of late 2008, when it condemned the slaughter of Pando, but stressed that the decision was from the perspective of "defending the rule of law," looking at the same time to disband the people.
[14] I say "primarily" because there is no one single factor to resolve the crisis: institutional action (the international community, for example), nor action popular with the factors (those that are popular on the street). Neither tactic can be excluded, all are necessary, but the reformist strategy prioritizes the institutional factor (on the ground which gives the advantage to the oligarchy), while the revolutionary strategy must factor favoring the popular (but not excluding pressure on the institutional ).
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Finally, here is a call for solidarity from the international peasant coordination group, the Via Campesina.
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Honduras: Urgent Call:
Monday, 29 June 2009
Solidarity with the Honduran Members of La Vía Campesina and with the People of Honduras
Media Contacts below
For the past few months the grassroots organizations of Honduras, together with president Manuel Zelaya Rosales, have been promoting and preparing for a national consultation of public opinion on possible constitutional reforms, to be carried out on June 28, 2009.
Honduras: Urgent Call:
Monday, 29 June 2009
Solidarity with the Honduran Members of La Vía Campesina and with the People of Honduras
Media Contacts below
For the past few months the grassroots organizations of Honduras, together with president Manuel Zelaya Rosales, have been promoting and preparing for a national consultation of public opinion on possible constitutional reforms, to be carried out on June 28, 2009.
At 5 am this morning the armed forces of Honduras executed a surprise Coup d'Etat against President Zelaya, thus abruptly interrupting the democratic aspirations of the Honduran people, who were preparing to carry out the popular consultation/opinion poll.
Upon hearing the news, the grassroots organizations of Honduras, including those belonging to La Vía Campesina, have taken to the streets to repudiate the Coup and to demand the return of the democratically-elected President to his office and to all the powers that the law invests him with.
The government of President Zelaya has defended the rights of working people and peasant farmers, has joined the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), and in general has implemented policies that have been positive for Honduran peasant and family farmers.
The events of the past hours are the desperate acts of the wealthy oligarchy and the retrograde Right-wing to preserve their interests and those of international and national capital, and in particular they serve the interests of giant transnational corporations. To these ends they are making use of the armed forces and other public institutions, including the parliament, state ministries, the Neoliberal news media, and others.
Faced with these reprehensible acts, La Via Campesina International demands:
1. The immediate reestablishment of Constitutional order, without bloodshed.
2. We call on the armed forces to refrain from repressing the people of Honduras, who are demanding a return to democracy.
3. That the physical integrity of social leaders be respected, including that of Rafael Alegria, leader of La Via Campesina International.
4. We demand the immediate return of President Zelaya to his functions as President.
5. That the authorities guarantee the right of the population to the full exercise of democracy through the popular consultation, and through any other form of free expression.
In the La Via Campesina we will be closely monitoring the safety of our member organizations and leaders in Honduras, and that of the people of Honduras, during these difficult moments. We call on all peasant and family farm organizations, and other social movements, to protest and to present public letters of repudiation against the Coup at the Embassies of Honduras in every country.
We stand in solidarity with our sister peasant organizations in Honduras.
Globalize the Struggle!!
Globalize Hope!!
International Coordination Committee of La Via Campesina
Mali, Africa, June 28, 2009
Media Contacts
Media Contacts
Edgardo García - Coordinator ATC/Nicaragua + 50588872973 (mobile phone) - + 50522784575 (office)
Yolanda Areas - Member of the International Coordination Committee of Vía Campesina / Nicaragua: + 50586549300 (mobile phone)
Labels: anarchism, anarkismo.net, Honduras, international politics, Jose Antonio Gutierrez, military coup, School of the Americas Watch, tactics
