HOLIDAYS:

HAPPY ROBBIE BURNS DAY:

Aye me wee laddies an' lassies, taday be the grate an' glorious feast o' the birthin' o' Rabbie Burrrrns, national poet o' swait Scotland. Robbie Burns (January 25, 1759 - July 21, 1796) has become something of a cult figure, both in Scotland itself and in the worldwide Scottish diaspora. Born the eldest of the 7 children of William Burness and Agnes Broun two miles south of Ayr in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland he lived in the house that his father had built until he was seven years old. At that time his father sold the house and became a tenant farmer at the Mount Oliphant farm southeast of Alloway. Here Robbie Burns grew up in poverty and hard work. He rfeceived very little official schooling. He was taught by his father, a self-educated man, and one John Murdoch, an iterant teacher of the district. Through his young adulthood he worked as a farm labourer and as a flax dresser, all the while carrying on quite a number of love affairs that made him rather unpopular amongst the strict religious parishoners of the locality. He fathered his first illegitimate child in 1785 and had several others, most illegitimate and legitimate.

Burns began his literary career in April, 1786 when, at the suggestion of his brother he published the volume 'Poems: Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect' . His success was immediate, and he became well known across Scotland. At one of the many literary gatherings to which he was invited he impressed the then 16 year old Walter Scott as having eyes that he had never again seen in any other man. Burns carryed on with his womanizing while in Edinburgh where he fathered another illegitimate child, Robert Burns Clow, with Jenny Clow in 1788. While in Ediburgh he met James Johnson, a music engraver and seller, and between them they began the 'Scots Musical Museum' to which he contributed (either writing or gathering) about a third of the 600 songs in the collection. Many of Burns' efforts were of songs such as 'Auld Lang Syne' . he contributed over 100 songs to 'The Meolodies of Scotland', was a major contributer to 'A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice' . Burns would usually compose the tune for the songs before he finished the words. One of his most amusing efforts is the 'Merry Muses of Caledonia' , a collection of bawdy traditional folk songs. He often used the tunes of older songs for his own song poems. Auld Lang Syne, for instance, is set to the tune of 'Can Ye Labour Lea' .

Burns wrote extensively in standard English (the language of his political tracts), the Scots dialect and in Scots Gaelic. He focused on many themes including republicanism, radicalism, Scottish patriotism, anti-clericalism, issues of class oppression, gender roles, poverty, sex, partying and many aspects of Scottish culture. Burns' works greatly influenced many subsequent socialist and radical writers such as Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Steinbeck. Over at Le Revue Gauche megablogger Eugene Plawiuk has faithfully commemorated Robbie Burns day each year since 2005, and much information on Burns' radical views can be found there. This year is no exception, and references to his blogs on RB Day in previous years can be found there. The flavour of Burns' anti-clerical sentiments may be guaged from the following extract from 'No Churchman Am I', a song he published in 1782:

" No churchman am I, for to rail and to write,

No statesman nor soldier to plot or to fight,

No sly man of business contriving a snare,

For a big-belly'd bottle's the whole of my care.

The peer I don't envy, I give him his bow;

I scorn not the peasant, though ever so low;

But a club of good fellows, like those that are here,

And a bottle like this, are my glory and care.

Here passes the squire on his brother-his horse;

There centum per centum, the cit with his purse;

But see you the Crown, how it waves in the air ?

There a big-belly'd bottle still eases my care.

The wife of my bosum, alas! she did die;

for sweet consolation to church I did fly;

I found that old Solomon proved it fair,

That a big belly'd bottle's a cure for all care."

Robbie Burns' Day is traditionally celebrated by the Robbie Burns' Supper. This has become a much more popular event than the official Scottish national day, St. Andrew's Day, let alone the North American proposal of Tartan Day. It has had a format that hasn't varied since the time of the poet's death. The event begins with the host's welcoming speech and the 'Selkirk Grace'. There is then the soup course, usually something like Scotch Broth, Potatoe Soup or Cock-a-Leekie. Then comes the highlight of the evening, the "piping-in" of the haggis. if you don't know haggis then your education is incomplete. See this website for haggis recipes and other matters related to things "haggishy". be aware that the alternative recipes are arranged, "in order of increasing use of animal parts that would normally be thrown away". The ceremony continues with a recitation of Burns' 'Address To a Haggis", performed either by the host or by somebody with acting talent. It begins as follows (see the Robbie Burns' Supper website for the complete poem):

"Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftan o' the puddin-race!

Aboon them a' ye tak your place,

Painch,tripe, or thairm:

Weel are ye wordy o' a grace

As lang's my arm.

The cutting open of the haggis is the highlight of the evening. After this has been done there is a toast to the pur wee haggis. See the websiote cited above for more details. If you are interested in things "Burnsian" try browsing the foillowing sites. Don't forget to visit Le Revue Gauche for comment on the politics of Burns.

*Scottish Government Site on Burns

http://www.scran.com/robertburns

*The Burns Federation

http://www.worldburnsclub.com

*National Burns Collection

http://www.burnsscotland.com

*The Bard

http://www.rabbie-burns.com

*The Works of Robbie Burns (collected works on project Guttenberg, very good reference site)

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18500/browse/authors/b#a583

Hey, here's a special treat. Many of Burns' works have become part of international culture, including that song that everybody tries to drunkenly sing at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve (Hogmanny in Scotland). Ever met anyone who knew all the words to 'Auld Lang Syne' ? probably not, and if they did once know them said memory is irretrievable at midnight Jan 1. So, here as a special public service, are the complete lyrics of Auld Land Syne. memorize them now and amaze your friends next New Years.

"For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind ?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint stowp,

And surely I'll be mine;

And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,

And pou'd the gowans fine;

But we've wander'd morry a weary fit,

Sin' auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,

Frae mornin' sun till dine;

But seas between us braid hae roar'd

Sin' auld lang syne.

And ther's a hand, my trusty fiere !

And gie's a hand o' thine !

And we'll tak a right gude-willie waught,

For auld lang syne.

THE YEAR THAT WAS:

THE BEST ANARCHIST SITES OF 2007:

Despite its small size the anarchist movement continued to expand in 2007, and nowhere was this more apparent than on the internet where anarchists have gleefully seized the possibilities that the medium offers. What follows are Molly's admittedly biased picks for the Top Ten anarchist sites of 2007. Picked for a number of reasons, of which public attractiveness (hence no crazies), usefulness, diligence and attractiveness were the main criteria, Molly's choices might be argued with, but they were what she found best in the year that was. So, on to the show....

10: Leading out at spot number 10 is the new La Commune-Montreal blog, up and about since September and already with over 8500 hits. This francophone blog is "La Blogue d'information Politique de l'Union Locale'" of NEFAC in Montreal. This "BIP" is, of course, written from a platformist perspective, but the subjects covered are far ranging. despite having less than a dozen contributors the spot remains timely and up-to-date, unlike many sites that are founded in a flurry of enthusiasm and rapidly peter out. As per many of the new breed of anarchist sites La Commune also enables you to download pdf copies of their print magazine, Cause Commune. A good selection of links as well.

9: Following close on the heels of this newbie is what may be the grandmother of all such sites. These good people, from Brighton, England began their weekly(more or less) newsletter many years ago in the "age of print", and now they are on issue # 614. Schnews has never pretended to be either an organization building organ nor anything more than what it is- the newsletter of a local anarchist group that focuses on their neighbourhood but will often carry news and comment from the wider world. But they do a wonderful job at what they do. The print form of their publication is also available at the site in pdf format for those who might want to distribute it elsewhere. An extensive list of links, in many categories, including film downloads. A site well worth imitating for those who might like to start their own local anarchist site/publication. Also the grand prize winner in the category of "persistence".

8: Persistent in another way is winner # 8, the Spanish language site, El Libertario, from Venezuela. This is the online presence of the magazine of the same name, and it works under extremely difficult conditions, published as it is in a country governed by a demagogue who has his own ideas of "revolution". The Venezuelan comrades have to steer their boat in a sea made up of the followers of this pseudo-socialism and a perhaps more repellent right wing influence, both domestic and foreign. Not that the comrades of El Libertario have always been right, but they have held up the fact that anarchism is not just a more disorganized form of leftism to public view. El Libertario has an extensive list of links in Spanish and a small section of news in English. Also a library of texts en Espanol.

7: Then there is yet another form of persistence. The main site of the IWW, the Industrial Workers of the World, is the online presence of the oldest existing revolutionary syndicalist organization in the world, one over 100 years young, having been formed in 1905. Through thick and thin the IWW has survived, if not always prospered, and in recent years it has experienced remarkable growth as a new generation of anarchists has entered it in search of a practical outlet for their idealism. A hugely varied site- events, forums, blogs, a pdf of the Industrial Worker, their print organ, graphics and much more. Breaking news of syndicalism in the USA, Canada, Britain, Australia, Germany and other places. Catch up on the new generation of workers' organization here.

6: Speaking of syndicalism, another Spanish language site, that of the Spanish CGT, also comes in on this list at number 6. This is the official site of the world's largest present day anarcho-syndicalist organization, the Confederacion General de Trabajo of Spain. Contains an extensive guide to their organization, now the third largest union federation in Spain, an extensive listing of texts (in Spanish), including many unavailable elsewhere, and even a musical section where you can listen to Spanish anarchist songs. Their newspaper Royo y Negro is available here in pdf format.

5: Also on the syndicalist beat we shouldn't forget the winners of place # 5, the French CNT and their website. There are actually two CNTs (Confedration Nationale be Travaille) in France, but this site is that of the non-AIT group often known as the CNT-Vignoles from the street on which their main office is located. They are the much larger and more active group, actually functioning as an union rather than a propaganda group. Since its gradual fade-away following the World Wars, French anarchism has lacked a syndicalist presence, even though the original CGT was the founder of the revolutionary syndicalist way of organizing. In recent years the CNT has brought this tradition back, and it is one of the most dynamic anarcho-syndicalist groups in existence today. The site is in French, but there is a limited translation capacity for English and Spanish. Make sure to sign up for their e-newsletter.

4: The fourth place in this list goes to the Anarkismo site. Sorta the "party organ" of international platformism, it is spectacularly multilingual, though the base language is English. Source of many of the best theoretical articles from the platformist current, as well as a good newsfeed. Contains feeds from other libertarian publications in the "social anarchist" sector, as well as lists of anarcho-communist events. Lacking links and an organized library, this site is still very much worth visiting as the entry point to international platformism.

3: But for sheer timeliness and productivity few sites can beat Le Revue Gauche, produced by Eugene Plawiuk in Edmonton. Almost every day without fail since December 2004 LRG has kicked out news, both local, provincial, national and international as well as commentary from a combative but wryly humorous standpoint. Often voted "the best blog" in many online polls, LRG draws an incredibly large audience, having seen 224,058 unique vistors in 2007. It's doubtful if there is any other anarchist site in the world that has done so much to present the ideas to a wider public. Also an incredibly rich site in terms of its links and syndications. A joy to explore.

2: Number 2 on this list is the venerable A-Infos, the oldest of the anarchist newsgroups. Lacking all the bells and whistles, A-Infos does its job of being the most comprehensive source of anarchist news on the international scene. No graphics, no fancy sidebars; sorta an anarchist Dragnet-"just the facts m'am". Resolutely social anarchist and excluding the various nutbars that populate the world of "fashion anarchism" it still has few axes to grind and presents the decent side of the movement in all its diversity. The best place to check up on the daily anarchist news.

AND NOW...NUMBER ONE ON MOLLYMEW'S LIST OF HER FAVOURITE ANARCHIST SITES OF 2007:
THE CROWD IS HUSHED. THE WINNER IS
LIBCOM. !!!!!!!!!!!!
LibCom, the anarchocommunist site produced out of Britain may not be the easiest site to navigate, but the visitor will be well rewarded for the effort. Its newsfeed function is "class struggle" in orientation, and it ventures into ground that is too often ignored by more ideologically "pure" anarchist sites. Its international coverage is excellent, and you'll find news here that is unavailable anywhere else. The stories are also much easier to "track-back" than on some other sites. The library function of the site contains a wealth of history, biography, texts, theory and much more that makes this the equal, and in some ways the superior, of sites devoted only to such things such as the Anarchist Archives. You want organizing manuals ? They have them. If you visit there be sure to check out the forums section. Besides giving living proof that anarchists are not the rhetoric spouting robots that some more juvenile offerings give the impression of, the forums can often be belly laugh funny. A rare event in any political site.


That's it for now. Let's see what 2008 brings.

THE BEST OF THE BLOGS:

LETTERS H TO P:

Once more Molly features the best of what she has read on recent blogs. Today we go from H to P in the alphabet. The Jesus Manifesto has a post entitled 'Beware the Subtle Shade of Oligarchy' contrasting the various ways that hierarchy establishes itself with the teachings of Jesus as seen by a Christian anarchist.

On the Mutualist Blogspot Kevin Carson continues to serialize his latest book-still in production. This chapter is entitled 'The Corporate Form', and its gives a free market anarchist analysis (anti of course) of the legal fiction of the corporation. Meanwhile over at the No One is Illegal-Van blogspot there are two interesting news items. One is a report on recent events in Iraq titled 'Iraqi Government Orders Arrest of Oil Workers' Leaders'. The title of the other is 'Canada: 40% of Military Contracts are "Non-Competitive"'. Golly, one can't imagine that Stevie and friends would ever stoop so low as to guarantee rich deals to their friends.

Then sort of out of alphabetical order, but perhaps relevant to the last item above, comes Eugene Plawiuk's Le Revue Gauche which has two articles on Harper and friends. One is 'Return of the Progressive Conservative' , an essay on how Stevie is alienating more and more people from the old PC wing of his "newish" party. From provincial premiers to MPs more and more conservatives are becoming fed up with the actions of the present federal government. As an aside Molly has to mention that David Orchard, who ran for the leadership of the old Progressive Conservative Party before it was won and sold out by Peter Mckay (who seems quite content in his role as Stevie's poodle) will be the main speaker at this Saturday's peace rally here in Winnipeg. Ah for the days of Dief the Chief.

Eugene's second article of note is a report on how much Canadians distrust the honesty of Stevie the Weasel's government. One has to say that Harper does his level best to earn this distrust. The Winnipeg Free Press had an interesting cartoon today about Conservative promises with the "sign here" line enclosed by a "clip here" box. That's about what their promises are worth.

Finally Larry Gambone at the Porkupine Blog has been writing on affairs in Venezuela recently, particularly the closing/takeover of one of the independent television stations by Chavez and cronies. Larry is of the opinion that this is "much ado about nothing" as the press remains still relatively free in Venezuela. It has to be said, however, that he reproduces the contrary opinion from the Venezuelan anarchist 'El Libertario' so that people may have both sides of the debate.

That's it for now. The end of the alphabet will come up soon, and then it's back to the "A's

THE BEST OF THE BLOGS:

This is another entry is Molly's regular feature from her endless blog surfing amongst the blogs listed in our Links board. Pride of place this week goes to Eugene Plawiuk who has accidentally posted early on the Carnival of Anarchy roundtable on violence and anarchism. His post which includes references to his previous writings on the subject thoroughly discredit the ideological construction that anarchists who want to justify senseless violence wrap themselves in. Their whole reason for being is more adolescent acting out than political action. Go on over to see this post along with some others that are beginning to trickle in. Also on his other blog Le Revue Gauche, Eugene has a number of interesting new posts. One continues the references he made to Benjamin Tucker in his post at the Carnival of Anarchy, and is titled 'Are Anarchists Thugs'. Another is titled 'Jamestown:The Birth of Capitalism' and is a far ranging survey of the origins of the Jamestown colony, slavery and indentured labour, black history, the campaign against slavery and British imperial interests. Then there's another article entitled 'Why Managers Need Unions' that examines the recent court decision against Peter Nygard of Winnipeg. Not that Molly agrees with Eugene's desire to subsume "managers" under a "working class" heading, but Nygard is a "special case"- to say the least. Molly has been gathering material on him since he closed down one of his factories here in Winnipeg, and the character of the man is truly astounding. To my understanding his employee was awarded only $11,000 in unpaid overtime (I'll try and find court costs) while Nygard's legal expenses in dragging this matter all the way up to the 'servants' entrance' of the Supreme Court were undoubtably several multiples of this amount. Totally amazing ! Hopefully Molly's little article on Nygard will eventually see the light of day. Anyways, drop over to Le Revue Gauche to see megablogger Eugene in action.

Molly also dropped in on a very enlightening post about "schooling" at the Aucklands Burning blog from New Zealand. Part of it is a reprint from the Stanselen blog, but it also contains some interesting material and references about compulsory schooling. Meanwhile over at Kevin Carson's Mutualist Blog the author weighs in heavily (28 pages when I printed it out) on 'The Ethics of Labour Struggle: A Free Market Perspective'. The title is deceptive as most of the essay revolves around working class tactics and their effectiveness (or lack thereof). Carson takes on some of the pro-business apologists in American libertarianism, but a lot of his essay revolves around documenting the effectiveness of "network" means of struggle for workers. The post describes lessons from the IWW that show how workers can win the real value of their labour by various tactics that are totally ignored amongst the official union movement.

But there are a few more items to round off this tour. The Slackbastard blog from Australia has a wide selection of anti-fascist posts recently. Seems to be something SB is concentrating on. Larry Gambone's Porkupine Blog has an interesting entry titled 'Anarchists and the Ultra-Left:the Mine Canaries of the Revolution' arguing that the desirability of a revolutionary change can be gauged by its actions towards those "on the left" of the winning party. He also argues that not all revolutions "devour their children". Over at Social Design Notes there are a couple of interesting resources. One is a link to a collection of maps, essays and statistics on the number, significance and scope of US military bases around the world. The other is an examination of the US budget in 2006 and an expose of how much of American tax money is spent on military ventures. Rounding off this little tour the Solidarity Across Borders blogspot from Montreal has an interesting essay titled 'Why Do Ordinary People Commit Evil Deeds'. it is basically an update on the famous 'Stanford Prison Experiment' and shows how the desire to conform resonates to today with the atrocities in various US run prisons across the world, from Iraq to Guantanamo.

All of the blogs mentioned above, and many more, can be found in the Blogs section of our Links list.

Molly