INTERNATIONAL POLITICS:
SWEDEN TURNS RIGHT:


Last week's national elections in Sweden returned the present right wing government to power and, most disturbingly, the extreme right made unprecedented gains. The following report from the Swedish anarchosyndicalist website Anarkisterna says it all, and it raises some important points.


Molly would add her two cents worth by noting the following. Despite the antique Marxist fantasy followed by all too many anarchists and non-Marxist socialists the advent of 'hard times' seems to have not led to any resurgence of left wing class based movements that fundamentally challenge the present social order anywhere in at least the developed world. If anything the right seems to be 'on the march' worldwide. Where left wing social movements opposed to further tightening of the screws have arisen the main thrust seems to have been an attempt to hold on to what little the lower classes already have, and a more or less implicit (sometimes quite explicit) endorsement of social democratic policies and parties. This despite the fact that in many countries, Spain and Greece come to mind, it is actually "socialist" parties that are doing the dirty work.


Meanwhile the general electorate remains quite cynical, perhaps rightfully so, and opts to vote in many cases for parties whose desire to shift wealth from the lower classes is explicit rather than implicit. This goes hand in hand with an increase in what may best described as the "political superstition" that somehow "immigrants" are responsible for the difficulties that ordinary people face in these hard times. How this can possibly be true is best left to the fevered imaginations of conspiracy theorists. Even if minorities are not "blamed" it may at least feel satisfying to work up a hate for something that can be so easily identified. The left, in general, offers no such easy fantasy. Its social democratic wing has long since abandoned any pretence to having so crude a thing as "enemies". Its orthodox communist wing has not only been disgraced by its history of being worse than the old order. Its idea of the enemy as the 'top-hatted capitalists' ( excluding government bureaucrats of course ) rings hollow in the modern world.


Too much of the rest of the left beyond the social democrats and commies spends its time tilting at the windmills of "isms" having abandoned all hope of a rational road to a better society. It takes a developed taste for either masochism or the 'one downmanship' of identity politics to find this sort of "politics" satisfying...especially as "the enemy" can easily be defined as something approaching 98% of the population. This is not politics. It is psychology gone cancerous.


The Swedish comrades end their article with some questions rather than with assertions. This is undoubtedly the best way to proceed. As an anarchist I am convinced that the anarchist tradition contains many of the ideas that are necessary to oppose the rightward drift of most of the developed world. I am not, however, so unrealistic as to suppose that either I or any wing of the anarchist movement today have a magic pocketful of 'solutions". What is sure is that the main opposition to the right has no practical plan. For anarchists the balancing act is an age old one, one of walking the fine line between collaboration (leftism under an anarchist name) and irrelevancy( either 'purism' or defining away the concerns of ordinary people to focus on 'psychoboo' ). Where the tightrope is depends upon both time and place. Let's hope there are enough political acrobats in our ranks.


Here's the article from Sweden.
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Where do we go from here?
On how to challenge rightwing racist class politics
Lördag 25 September

The elections of September 19th in many ways mark a sad turning point in Swedish history. Since of that date, Sweden joins the growing number of EU member states run by rightwing governments with the participation of the extreme right.

For the first time, a rightwing government was re-elected in Sweden. For the first time, a populist racist party, Sverigedemokraterna (Sweden Democrats) – with roots in the extreme right scene – entered the Parliament. And for the first time a Nazi party gained entrance into a municipality. The leader of Svenskarnas Parti (Party of the Swedes) – formerly Nationalsocialistisk Front – got a chair in the small town of Grästorp.



The reaction to the election was swift: demonstrations in Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm the following day gathered thousands of people, in Stockholm up to ten thousand. Numerous demonstrations have since taken place in different places and many more actions are planned for the coming weeks and especially for the grand opening of the Parliament.

Many people are appalled and outraged at the results of the elections. Bit by bit, the right wing government has been dismantling the welfare state, labour laws and social security systems, replacing them with the freedom of the individual consumer – thereby paving the way for the extreme right. But so have the Social Democrats, the Left and the Greens: By not challenging the politics of the government and putting forward a concrete red and green vision, the stage was set for the racists, posing as the sole alternative to the status quo.

The Sweden Democrats have rather successfully spread the myth of immigration as the one political issue none but them dares to address. This being far from true (quite the opposite, by being tough on immigration any politician comes across as determined and energetic), it nevertheless gained them a lot of attention. And even though being false, it still was a simple answer to a number of important questions: Why is society not as solidaristic as it used to be? Why are so many – especially young – people unemployed? Why is all this downsizing occurring?

Everything was played out to be the fault of “mass immigration”.

These questions are relevant to a lot of people in everyday life today, and so is addressing them. The anxiety is real, it is the result of precarious labour, money that is never enough, climate change that is being neglected, insecurity, frustration, violence and welfare cuts – in other words the results of political decisions. The question radical social movements have to ask themselves is how to address these issues and challenge these politics?

How do we turn protests against the Sweden Democrats into resistance against the racist class politics of the right wing government? And how do we transform our resistance into a constructive force – self organizing local communities and building strong popular movements?

Where do we go from here? Share your experiences with us!

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR FRANCE:
GENERAL STRIKE IN FRANCE DRAWS OVER TWO MILLION:


Today's one day general strike in France in protest over the government's proposed pension "reforms" drew considerably larger crowds in the demonstrations than the previous effort in June. Once more there are considerably different estimates from different people, with numbers ranging from 1.1 million (government figures) to close to three million (union sources). Even if you take the lower figure this is a considerable increase from the about 800,000 who took part in June. What this means, however, for either the workers or the Sarkozy government is unclear. Here's a brief report of the demonstration from the BBC.
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PENSION RALLIES HIT FRENCH CITIES
More than one million French workers have taken to the streets to protest against austerity measures planned by President Nicolas Sarkozy's government.

The rallies came as a 24-hour national strike disrupted flight and rail services, and closed schools.

Activists are angry at government plans to overhaul pensions and raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.

Union leaders say more strikes and protests are possible if the government fails to give an adequate response.

"If they don't respond and they don't pay heed, there'll be a follow up, and nothing is ruled out at this stage," Bernard Thibault, leader of the large CGT union, told a rally in Paris.

France's retirement age is lower than many countries in Europe, but analysts say the issue is polarising politics in the country.


Labour Minister Eric Woerth introduced the pensions bill to the National Assembly, warning of dire consequences if it did not pass.

"If we don't modify our pension plan, then tomorrow there will be no money left to pay the French pensions," he told parliamentarians.

Commuter woe

Under current rules, both men and women in France can retire at 60, providing they have paid social security contributions for 40.5 years - although they are not entitled to a full pension until they are 65.

The government says it will save 70bn euros (£58bn) by raising the retirement age to 62 by 2018, the qualification to 41.5 years, and the pension age to 67.

President Nicolas Sarkozy says reforms are needed to cope with an ageing population and the country's budget deficit.

EUROPE'S RETIREMENT AGES
France - 60
UK, Italy - 65 for men, 60 for women
Germany, Netherlands, Spain - 65
Greece - 65 for men, 62 for women
The government is also looking to find 100bn euros of savings in three years, and is planning cuts in the civil sector.

Some secondary-school teachers went on strike on Monday, protesting against plans to cut 7,000 jobs in education.

State railway operator SNCF said fewer than half of its TGV high-speed services were running, and there was a greatly reduced service on many other lines.

Eurostar said its trains between France and London would operate normally.

Some air-traffic controllers walked out, forcing the cancellation or delay of about a quarter of flights from Paris airports.

Air France said it was operating all of its long-haul flights as planned, but short and medium-haul flights had been affected.

Migrant laws

Amid the disruption caused by strikes, the Interior Ministry said 1.1 million people had joined Tuesday's protests but unions claimed the figure was more than double official estimates.

The figures make Tuesday's protest bigger than a previous one in June, where more than 800,000 people took part.

Huge crowds braved stormy weather across southern parts of France, while demonstrators in Paris and the north enjoyed autumn sunshine.

In Paris, protesters shouted through loud-hailers: "Slave-driving? No, no, no. Working more? No, no, no. Fair reforms? Yes, yes, yes."

Protester Michel Prouvier told AFP news agency: "We're going to have old people living in the street."

Activists were also keen to maker a wider point, angry at the recent deportation of about 1,000 Roma (Gypsies) and a host of proposed laws which they say unfairly target immigrants and minorities.

"Pensions are a pretext for protesting against the Sarkozy system," said Adji Ahoudian, a Socialist Party activist.

Among those concerns is a proposal banning the full face veil worn by Muslim women, which was passed by the lower house in July but is now up for debate in the Senate.

Senators are also expected to debate a controversial new security law which would see recent immigrants stripped of French citizenship if they committed serious crimes such as killing a police officer.

The law would also allow electronic tagging for foreign criminals facing deportation.
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Here's how this strike was seen by the British Lib Com site.
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Mass strikes in France over proposed increase to retirement age
7th September 2010 - In response to the government's proposal to raise the pension age from 60 to 62, French workers have held widespread strikes that brought severe disruption to the French economy.

French unions have claimed that up to three million people have taken part in street protests amid a national strike against France's economic policies.

Police gave an estimate of 1.2 million people at rallies nationwide.

Schools have been closed and public transport disrupted, with demonstrations held in about 200 towns.

Unions are demanding more is spent to protect workers in the recession. Unemployment has reached two million and is expected to rise further.

Union members marched towards the Place de la Nation in Paris behind a banner that read: "United against the crisis, defend employment, spending power and public services."

"They have a profound sense of social injustice," said Jean-Claude Mailly, head of the large Force Ouvriere union, "and that, I think, is something that neither the government nor the employers have understood."

Benoit Hamon, a spokesman for the French Socialist Party spokesman said France was experiencing similar problems to other countries, but that the situation was being made worse by President Nicolas Sarkozy.

"We have a president who aggravates the crisis by making the wrong economic and social choices, by his deafness regarding the general dissatisfaction," said Mr Hamom.

"He refuses to give answers regarding layoffs, regarding the cost of living, regarding the way to objectively avoid the rise in job losses in the public sector or in the public health system."

Marches were also being held in Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble and many other towns and cities.

Noel Kouici, demonstrating in Marseilles, said protesters had a "grudge" against the government.

"Of course we are angry against the government when you see the way they serve the banks and leave the people starving and losing their jobs," he said.

But the deputy mayor of Marseille, Roland Blum, told the BBC the government had done a lot to help people.

"Of course I understand the distress of people who've lost or are going to lose their jobs, but what I think is necessary is that we all work together," he said.

There protests were largely peaceful but minor scuffles were reported in several cities later in the evening.

In Paris, police used tear gas to disperse small groups of youths who were setting fire to rubbish bins and throwing bottles.

It is the second time in two months that major demonstrations have been held, following a similar display in January which drew about a million protesters.

Beleaguered industries

The strikes began on Wednesday evening on transport networks.

An employee assists commuters at Gare Saint-Lazare train in Paris (19 March 2009)
French commuters face a limited rail service because of the strike

The national rail operator, SNCF, cancelled 40% of high-speed trains and half of regional services.

A third of flights out of Paris's Orly airport have been cancelled, while a tenth of France's electricity output has been shut down with workers on strike.

However, buses and the Metro rail system in Paris were running normally, thanks to a new law enforcing a minimum transport service during strikes,.

But with many schools and public buildings shut for the day, the number of workers travelling into the capital was reduced.

Private-sector firms were also expecting a depleted workforce, with staff from the beleaguered car industry, oil and retail sectors taking part in the strike.
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It is, of course, easy to expect too much from such ephemeral wonders. A one day general strike is, after all, nothing but a do it yourself opinion poll with a lot of noise. It has exactly zero immediate effect other than a brief loss of production which, in the case of public enterprise, is often a gain rather than a loss of revenue. As the following article from The Economist points out such symbolic actions have forced the government to back down on the issue of pensions at least once in the past (1995). Whether that will be the case this time is uncertain. President Sarkozy has sunk to record levels of unpopularity, but the reasons are not confined to this one issue or even to a collection of issues related to his neo-liberal agenda. Like most conservative ideologues who preach "morality for the masses" his government has more than its fair share of sleaze and scandal, and this has weighed heavily on his administration.


On the other hand, as the following points out, Sarkozy is constrained by political considerations to at least appear to "give a little". In this he has unlikely allies in the form of the larger union federations, the CFDT and the CGT, both of which are quite happy with their present position in French society and who are unlikely to want to toss the dice in the air in terms of a fundamental rearrangement of same. All the ingredients are there for a compromise whereby both sides declare victory while hoping for electoral gains in 2012. Talk of further general strikes are merely bargaining chips for these unions to "appear" to be useful for their members and in the case of the CFDT for its bedfellow the Socialist party. If the unions were serious about pushing their advantage they would definitely set a general strike for September 29 to coincide with the one planned in Spain and lobby their fellow continental unions for a European wide general strike on that day. Not just talk about it and bluster.


The French anarcho-syndicalist union the CNT (CNT Vignoles) participated in the general strike, but they see the limitations of such actions. Recognizing the ephemeral nature of such protests they have recommended a gradual build up of general assemblies at workplaces. Such general assemblies, independent from the union bureaucracies, would not be tied to any institutional benefits from the state and would be much more effective organs of resistance. They lack the flash and noise of one day demonstrations but unlike the mayfly-like lifespan of such protests they are enduring methods for people to resist the government and its corporate masters.


Something to consider. In any case here is The Economist article.
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French politics
The retiring type

Sep 8th 2010, 9:27 by The Economist PARIS


FRANCE is bracing itself for more disruption after 1.1m-2.7m demonstrators took to the streets, in hundreds of towns across the country, as part of a 24-hour national strike against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s pension reform. The turn-out was better than trade-union leaders had hoped for, and far higher than a previous day of action in June. Train drivers, teachers, post-office staff, air-traffic controllers, and other mostly public-sector workers, some wheeling children’s buggies, others banging festive drums, took part. Flush with their success, union leaders are now hoping to press the government for further concessions.

Mr Sarkozy wants to raise the minimum legal pension age from 60 to 62 years. This is a relatively modest change by the standards of some other European countries, which are pushing the retirement age up to 65 or even 67. The government forecasts that retirement at 62 will reduce by €18.6 billion the €42 billion state pension-fund shortfall expected by 2018. Tax increases, including a raise in the top income-tax rate from 40% to 41%, will make up a further €4 billion; the rest will come from general government spending.

Yet the reform is symbolically important. France has not touched the legal retirement age since the early 1980s, when it was cut to 60 years. Previous governments have tinkered with contribution rules to try to make the numbers add up, but never dared to meddle with retirement at 60. Back in 1995 Alain Juppé, prime minister under President Jacques Chirac, was forced to withdraw a more modest pension reform after weeks of chaos on French streets.

Union leaders and the opposition Socialist Party, which is also against the reform, argue that the government cannot afford to appear deaf to such this week's show of public opposition. Martine Aubry, the Socialist boss, called the reform “unfair”, and called on the government to “go back to square one”, and withdraw the legislation, which is currently going through parliament. “If we are not listened to, there will be further protests,” declared Bernard Thibault, leader of the powerful Confédération Générale du Travail. Union chiefs now need to decide whether to call another national strike this month. Some are talking about another one-day strike later this month, when parliament is due to vote on the reform.

Mr Sarkozy is in an awkward corner. His popularity has dropped to record lows. His own political camp is restless, and some deputies fear he has lost his political touch. The Socialist Party is freshly confident, and has started to believe in its chances of election at the next presidential poll in 2012. Mr Sarkozy says he will not budge on the retirement age. But he will be tempted to give some ground, in order to thwart further disruption. Certain concessions at the margin, over issues such as special rules for those who have done hard labour (pénibilité), would not necessarily make for a bad deal. But to go too far would only save him trouble in the short run. It would do nothing to restore his credibility as a reformer and a leader ready to take unpopular decisions, without which he has no chances of re-election in 2012.

CANADIAN LABOUR-MANITOBA:

MANITOBA WORKERS AGAINST THE WAGE FREEZE:

Here in Manitoba the provincial NDP government has recently announced a wage freeze for the public sector. The ostensible rationale of this policy is that in a "recovery period" from the recent recession/depression government spending will have to be curtailed both in order to recover from a deficit position and to act as a brake on inflationary pressures. All of this, of course, depends upon some pretty 'ify' projections concerning the speed of recovery, inflationary pressures and how much provincial policy can influence the latter-if at all. It also depends on what is probably a "worst case" scenario in terms of government revenue (which depends not just on the rate of recovery but also on its qualitative aspects). What is not "ify" is that the government has determined to set their wage freeze in stone rather than await the unknown future.

During times when the "health" of our managerial economy demands that ordinary workers sacrifice it is very often the social democrats such as our provincial NDP (or even more obviously the "socialist" government of Greece) who lead the lambs to the slaughter. Unfortunately public memory is short, and ordinary workers often give their support to such parties because the alternatives seem worse.

No doubt they are ! This is not, however, an argument against a policy of distancing the unions and other working class organizations from such social democratic parties---if for no other reason than to hold a threat over the head of the parties. It is even less of a reason for people not to look into non-statist, cooperative ways of achieving social goals, ways that depend less on government and more on popular initiative. Even should there never be a society free of bosses, both public and private, this Independence would serve ordinary people well. This latest attack on public service workers in Manitoba is best situated in the long historical tradition of thousands of such attacks on ordinary people by social democrats in power.

Here's the story from the CBC about how the Manitoba Government Employees Union (MGEU) is planning a public relations campaign against the wage freeze.

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Wage freeze sparks MGEU ad campaign

CBC News
The MGEU's ads feature profiles from people like Ryan Espy, a correctional officer who works with youth at a provincial jail. (MGEU) The union representing more than 32,000 public-sector employees in Manitoba has embarked on a campaign to win public support in the wake of an announced wage freeze by the government.

On Monday, the Manitoba Government Employees Union (MGEU) launched TV advertisements under the title of Your Province, Your Services.

The ads introduce the public to civil servants who do everything from test water quality to guarding offenders in provincial jails. Currently, the union has produced five such profiles for the ads.

MGEU spokeswoman Lois Wales suggested it's important the general public realize that wage freezes will have an impact on the provincial economy and the services people receive.

"If you're cutting back on the public service's spending power, then you're stalling out the whole recovery of the recession," Wales said.

"Because the private sector is just starting to come back, people need to have money to spend to keep that economy going, and that's what our members expect," she said.

Freeze part of long-term plan
The government announced in its recently tabled 2010 budget that it would incur heavy deficits for five years before returning to surplus.

A two-year wage freeze for government employees was announced as a cost-cutting measure.

Finance Minister Rosann Wowchuk has defended the wage freeze, saying the government could have laid off workers and cut programs in order to balance the budget, but instead decided to go ahead with deficits to preserve front-line programs such as health care.

The wage freezes would be rolled out as collective agreements expire, Wowchuk previously said.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/05/03/man-wage-freeze-mgeu-ads.html#ixzz0mzFQhrqK

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Now here's the story from the horse's mouth so to speak. Here's the MGEU on their campaign.

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Campaign Highlights Importance of Public Sector Workers
To highlight the importance of Manitoba’s public sector employees, the MGEU is launching a public campaign to remind Manitobans just how critical public services are, especially during tough economic times.

“Too often, when economic times are tough, talk turns to cuts to public services. But at what cost?” asks MGEU President Peter Olfert. “Right now many departments are struggling with unacceptably high vacancy rates. We need to start talking about what’s at stake here.”

Two ads will be running on local television stations throughout the month of May, aiming to remind Manitobans that a strong public service is key to keeping our province going and growing.

“These are the men and women who get us through the tough times, whether its flood protection, or making sure kids are safe when their families are in crisis,” said Olfert. “And now is not the time to scrimp on our safety standards, whether it’s making sure our water is free of e-coli, or striving to keep young offenders from returning to gang life.”

Olfert pointed out that while most Manitobans know public sector workers are there to protect our quality of life, they may not consider their role in keeping our economy as stable as possible.

“Take the current workforce shortages in certified trades,” Olfert said. “We’ve currently got Aboriginal Apprenticeship Coordinators throughout the province working to get young Aboriginal Manitobans into apprenticed trades like carpentry and plumbing. If the government needs to make up for cash shortfalls, are public programs like these really what we want to take the hit? When the private sector is struggling, we need the public sector to help make sure we don’t stall altogether.”

The Provincial government is currently at the bargaining table with over 14,000 public service employees. So far, the Province has essentially said accept an across-the-board wage freeze or there will be cuts such as reduced work weeks or lay-offs.

As you may have already noticed on our website, the MGEU is profiling the many different jobs of provincial public sector workers – highlighting what they do and how it affects Manitobans. Over the next few months, the union will continue to feature different members every week who are the faces behind Manitoba's civil service.

“Let’s remember: a public sector wage freeze would mean significantly less buying power for thousands and thousands of middle class families across our province,” Olfert said. “And cuts would mean the loss of critical services that most Manitobans take for granted.”

Watch Ad #1
Your Province Your Services Ad schedule

Read Profiles of Civil Service Members

CANADIAN POLITICS:

AVOIDING A RECESSION-THE CEO WAY:

If you think you've had it bad the last year-you're probably right, but not if you are a member of Canada's management elite. According to a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives this country's top ten CEOs had an average income of $7,352,895 in 2008, shortly before the recession began to "bite hard". This was 174 times the average Canadian wage. To put this in further perspective, from 1998 to 2008 the average Canadian wage packet dropped 6% when adjusted for inflation. During the same period the average compensation for top CEOs increased !!! by 70% !!!!. The Globe and Mail weighed in today with an editorial on this report. Not denying the facts of the study, as per usual, because they are pretty rock solid. What the Globe opined is that nobody should pay attention to the difference between the average wage and that of top CEOs, nor to the difference in increase versus decrease. According to the Globe the only matter of concern is that the average wage is declining, and it is all fine and good that corporate executives increase their income.

Well finagled I must say. A few little problems are, however, contained in this little excuse. one is that there just might be a connection between the two arms of this lever. It is entirely possible that corporate executive plunder is inversely correlated with employee compensation, and not just because this sort of thing is a zero sum game where money given to one class is unavailable to another. It is also more than likely that one of the things that corporate executives are rewarded for is their ability to "reduce labour costs and increase productivity". In plain language this means quite deliberately reducing the income of their employees. Quite deliberately. It is also a certain fact that this excessive executive compensation is in another zero sum game where the upper levels of management (and lower ones too to a lesser degree) bleed corporate entities at the expense of the stockholders. In a managerial society such as ours the term "stockholders" means, more often than not pension and other mutual funds held in dispersed ownership by the same employees whose wages are being reduced.

Then there is, of course, simple justice. Nobody in his right mind would try and claim that corporate executives work 174 times as long as the average Canadian does. Neither can one claim that their jobs are 174 times as disagreeable as the average job. Then we come to value. No doubt the value produced by a corporate executive may sometimes be high. Can it be, however, 174 times as valuable as that of the work of people such as nurses, firefighters, ambulance drivers, farmers, miners and to put it bluntly pretty well everyone else ? Think about it for awhile.



The following article from the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) gives a general summary of the report in question.
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Canadian corporate CEOs average $7,352,895 each:
New CCPA study says top 100 Canadian CEOs pocketed 174 times each what average Canadian workers earn all year.





Ottawa (5 Jan. 2010) - Canada's highest-paid CEOs raked in an average of $7,352,895 in 2008, the latest year for which statistics are available. That's 174 times more than the average wage of the typical Canadian worker.





"To put that in perspective, Canadians will work full-time throughout the year to earn the national average of $42,305," says Hugh Mackenzie of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), which has just released a new report on the subject.





Yet as of 1:01 p.m. on their first working day of this year (Jan. 4) the top 100 CEOs in the country had already pocketed as much as the average Canadian worker will in all of 2010.
The CCPA study says average compensation for the top CEOs has outpaced inflation by 70% between 1998 and 2008. During the same period, Canadians earning the average income lost 6% to inflation.
Here are the top 10 hogs at the corporate trough:
Thomas Glocer, Thomson Reuters Corp. - $36,595,233.
Ted Rogers, Rogers Communications Inc. - $21,484,708.
J. M. Lipton, Nova Chemicals Corp. - $19,753,245.
George Cope, BCE Inc. - $19,551,345.
Robert Brown, CAE Inc. FY end March 08 - $17,293,144.
William Doyle, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan - $17,026,317.
Hunter Harrison, Canadian National Railway Co. - $13,350,048.
Dominic D’Alessandro, Manulife Financial Corp. - $13,251,274.
Stephen Wetmore, Bell Aliant Regional Com. Income Fund - $11,563,250.
For the entire 100 names please go to the link below and read as much as you can stand. Caution: Not for those with weak stomachs.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
More information:Full Report: A Soft Landing - Recession and Canada's 100 Highest Paid CEOs
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A MOLLY PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:
I've tried the link to the publication by the CCPA in the report above, and it doesn't seem to work. Here is A LINK that does work, at least for Molly. The report is actually a great report, and it deserves far more publicity than it has been given in the mainstream press. As to the "why" of the astronomical executive compensation, much of the standard justification has been dealt with in my introduction to this post. The real "why" is a totally different matter.




Where I have to part company with the CCPA is not in what they have reported. It's obviously true. Neither, unlike the Globe and Mail, do I disagree with them that this sort of inequality is a "bad thing" and totally unjustified. I do, however, have to disagree about the realism of the remedy that they, as good left wing social democrats, have proposed. The simplistic way of summed up their solution (see the report) is "tax the bastards heavily". I wish them well in this enterprise, though it makes me a bit queasy knowing that social democrats rarely find a tax that they cannot love. The CCPA is under the impression that they can find a realistic way to tax such things as "stock options" (whereby management steals from the shareholders- as I said above usually ordinary citizens with dispersed portfolios). Maybe yes. Maybe no. What they will be unable to do , however, is find some magical formula in the byzantine tax regulations that will prevent upper management from switching their compensation to non-taxable benefits. That's the way that tax law has operated in the past, and that probably the way that it will operate in the future despite the best laid schemes of social democrats.




For what it is worth Molly has her own proposals that can be summed up in the brief bon mot of "abolish management". No doubt there will be tax law changes in such a process-mostly involving exceptions for ordinary people rather than attempts to penalize the ruling class. The main steps, however, depend more upon the easing of the legal burden of the state that prevents actual democratization of the workplace. It does not depend upon the failed illusion (demonstrated by the failure of over a century of attempts to build a more egalitarian society by taxation policy that the ruling class evades) of government largess rather than citizen action. That's why I am an anarchist, what I consider a "realistic socialist" and not a left social democrat.




Just in closing, here is the press release of the CCPA about their report, something that will probably never be quoted in anything but brief excerpts in the mainstream press.
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Soft landing for Canada’s CEOs:
January 4, 2010
TORONTO—Canadians may have been hit hard by a worldwide economic recession, but it appears Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs are enjoying a soft landing.





A report on executive compensation by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), a progressive think tank, reveals Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs pocketed an average $7.3 million in 2008, the year recession broadsided the nation.





“Canada’s top 100 CEOs earned 174 times more than the average Canadian wage,” says economist Hugh Mackenzie, CCPA Research Associate.





“To put that in perspective, Canadians will work full-time throughout the year to earn the national average of $42,305. The top 100 CEOs pocket that amount by 1:01 p.m. on January 4 – the first working day of the year.”





Soft Landing: Recession and Canada’s 100 Highest Paid CEOs shows executive compensation remains as resilient to worldwide economic forces as ever.





“Between 1998 and 2008, Canada’s top 100 CEOs’ average compensation outpaced inflation by 70 per cent,” says Mackenzie. “In contrast, Canadians earning the average income lost six per cent to inflation over that period.”
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Soft Landing: Recession and Canada’s 100 Highest Paid CEOs is available at www.policyalternatives.ca
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A Soft Landing
Recession and Canada’s 100 Highest Paid CEOs
Canadians may have been hit hard by a worldwide economic recession, but it appears Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs are enjoying a soft landing. The total average compensation for Canada's 100 highest paid CEOs was $7,352,895 in 2008—a stark contrast from the total average Canadian income of $42,305. They pocketed what takes Canadians earning an average income an entire year to make by 1:01 pm January 4—the first working day of the year. During the worst of economic years, the...January 4, 2010 National Office
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AMERICAN POLITICS:

OBAMA MISSES THE GREEN:

It's been almost one year on, and the sheen is starting to fade from the 'Obama Golden Boy' belief. the man receives an embarrassing 'Nobel Peace Prize' while overseeing not one but two wars. Nothing much happens domestically except a continuation of the massive bailouts to corporate America begun under the previous Administration. The only serious domestic reform-health care ie joining the civilized world- is gutted in the service of the usual special interests while the President sits Buddha-like as the dead is done.

If it was not apparent before it should be apparent now that America's political culture suffers from an illness that goes beyond the left/right divide. The illness is that image has become all, and that there is no substance in the pronouncements of pretty well any politician. Certainly other countries also suffer from this disease, but the USA has travelled furthest along the road. Obama is basically a triumph of image over substance. To be quite frank he said very little in terms of real policy while running for the post of Emperor, aside from the promise to close Guantanamo which has yet to be fulfilled. If it is it means merely transferring the whole atrocity, lock stock and barrel, to Illinois. People on the "progressive side" of the political divide were, more often than not (unless they had an 'ideological halter' such as anarchism), swept up in the romance of Obama's campaign, especially as the alternative was so unappealing.

Now the gloss has fallen off, and it will continue to fall in the years to come. Here is an article written by Naomi Klein for The Nation about another aspect of the Obama failure ie how his "green rhetoric" has not risen to the point of deeds.

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For Obama, No Opportunity Too Big To Blow:
posted by Naomi Klein

Contrary to countless reports, the debacle in Copenhagen was not everyone's fault. It did not happen because human beings are incapable of agreeing, or are inherently self-destructive. Nor was it all was China's fault, or the fault of the hapless UN.

There's plenty of blame to go around, but there was one country that possessed unique power to change the game. It didn't use it. If Barack Obama had come to Copenhagen with a transformative and inspiring commitment to getting the U.S. economy off fossil fuels, all the other major emitters would have stepped up. The EU, Japan, China and India had all indicated that they were willing to increase their levels of commitment, but only if the U.S. took the lead.

Instead of leading, Obama arrived with embarrassingly low targets and the heavy emitters of the world took their cue from him.

(The "deal" that was ultimately rammed through was nothing more than a grubby pact between the world's biggest emitters: I'll pretend that you are doing something about climate change if you pretend that I am too. Deal? Deal.)

I understand all the arguments about not promising what he can't deliver, about the dysfunction of the U.S. Senate, about the art of the possible. But spare me the lecture about how little power poor Obama has. No President since FDR has been handed as many opportunities to transform the U.S. into something that doesn't threaten the stability of life on this planet. He has refused to use each and every one of them. Let's look at the big three.

Blown Opportunity Number 1:

The Stimulus Package

When Obama came to office he had a free hand and a blank check to design a spending package to stimulate the economy. He could have used that power to fashion what many were calling a "Green New Deal" -- to build the best public transit systems and smart grids in the world. Instead, he experimented disastrously with reaching across the aisle to Republicans, low-balling the size of the stimulus and blowing much of it on tax cuts. Sure, he spent some money on weatherization, but public transit was inexplicably short changed while highways that perpetuate car culture won big.
Blown Opportunity Number 2:

The Auto Bailouts

Speaking of the car culture, when Obama took office he also found himself in charge of two of the big three automakers, and all of the emissions for which they are responsible. A visionary leader committed to the fight against climate chaos would obviously have used that power to dramatically reengineer the failing industry so that its factories could build the infrastructure of the green economy the world desperately needs. Instead Obama saw his role as uninspiring down-sizer in chief, leaving the fundamentals of the industry unchanged.
Blown Opportunity Number 3:

The Bank Bailouts

Obama, it's worth remembering, also came to office with the big banks on their knees -- it took real effort not to nationalize them. Once again, if Obama had dared to use the power that was handed to him by history, he could have mandated the banks to provide the loans for factories to be retrofitted and new green infrastructure to be built. Instead he declared that the government shouldn't tell the failed banks how to run their businesses. Green businesses report that it's harder than ever to get a loan.

Imagine if these three huge economic engines -- the banks, the auto companies, the stimulus bill -- had been harnessed to a common green vision. If that had happened, demand for a complementary energy bill would have been part of a coherent transformative agenda.

Whether the bill had passed or not, by the time Copenhagen had rolled around, the U.S. would already have been well on its way to dramatically cutting emissions, poised to inspire, rather than disappoint, the rest of the world.

There are very few U.S. Presidents who have squandered as many once-in-a-generation opportunities as Barack Obama. More than anyone else, the Copenhagen failure belongs to him.

Research support for Naomi Klein's reporting from Copenhagen was provided by the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute.

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MOLLY NOTE:

Klein is, of course, a 'left social democrat' with all the illusions that follow from that position. Like most people in her ideological camp she makes genuflections to "self-managed socialism" while, at the same time, harbouring illusions about both the power of and the realism of massive state action to "direct this grassroots democracy". All that being said, her criticisms of the Obama Administration have just as much force as if they were advanced from a more libertarian position. In other words, all that she has said is true. It's just that I, as an anarchist, am not surprised at the choices that Obama has made. A lot of "the left" feels betrayed. That is unrealistic. The Emperor is, after all, the Emperor, and it is not unexpected that he continues policies that benefit the ruling strata of the Empire. It would be surprising if the converse was the case.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS-GREECE:

GREECE-FROM CRISIS IN THE STREETS TO CRISIS IN THE BANKS:

Little has been heard about street protests in Greece the past few days. That's because there actually has been little happening. The Greek rebellion, like last year, is quick to rise and just as quick to subside. At least this time the youths protesting and occupying buildings called it off before the holidays. The protests in Greece partake of an admirable spontaneity, but they also suffer from a truly stupendous lack of focus, and, consequently, an inability to go beyond repetition of tried and true tactics. If you don't know where you want to go you will certainly never form a plan to get there.

While the streets are now quiet, if more than a little messy, the same can't be said of the financial situation that Greece faces. The fiscal crisis of the Greek state is actually a far more serious long term threat to the stability of Greece's rulers, both political and financial, than the street riots ever could be. In the face of the downgrading of the country's credit rating and the game of "chicken" being played out between the Greek government and the EU the present "socialist" rulers will have to walk on a delicate tightrope in the foreseeable future. They have to tighten the screws on the population so as to reassure investors. On the other hand they can't risk antagonizing the population too much for fear that other social sectors who might have clearer ideas of what they want than the students do might imitate the students. It's going to take a lot of seamanship to steer the boat through these waters. Here's an article from the Financial Times about the fiscal problems that the government faces.

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Investor suspicions grow as Greece tries to end turbulence:
By Kerin Hope in Athens
After only eight weeks in office the credibility of Greece's socialist government is under threat.

The battering taken by Greek bonds, this week's ratings downgrade by Fitch and a sharp fall on the Athens stock exchange have all heightened a mood of crisis in the eurozone's weakest economy.

George Papaconstantinou, finance minister, has been struggling to convince foreign creditors that Greece can reduce the budget deficit from 12.7 per cent to 9.1 per cent of gross domestic product next year without drastic cuts in spending, and that its economy is not heading into freefall.

"We are not a new Iceland, just as we are not the new Dubai," Mr Papaconstantinou said yesterday. "It's clear that the situation is difficult . . . but it's also clear we will not let things get out of hand."

At the same time he admitted that markets could stay turbulent for several months.

In a sign of continuing suspicion among foreign investors, spreads on Greek bonds widened again yesterday, to 250 basis points above their German equivalents - their highest level in seven months. Share prices fell 3.4 per cent - led by Greek banks, also downgraded by Fitch - bringing losses for the week to more than 13.5 per cent.

Greek two-year bond yields, which have an inverse relationship with prices, have risen 1.25 percentage points to 3.123 per cent so far this week. Movement of this scale has not been seen before in a eurozone bond market, according to analysts.

Greece's recent record of missed budget targets and failed promises of structural reform makes analysts sceptical the socialists can turn the economy round.

Pressure started mounting after the government on Monday shrugged off without comment a warning by Standard & Poor's of a possible downgrade. A day later Fitch decided to downgrade Greece's debt to triple B+, the first time in 10 years a leading ratings agency had given Greece a rating of below A grade.

Mr Papaconstantinou changed tack after the Fitch move, vowing to do "whatever's required" to meet medium-term fiscal targets, including, if necessary, presenting a supplementary budget in 2010.

Axel Weber, president of Germany's Bundesbank and a leading European Central Bank policymaker, said Athens had a year to bring its public finances under control or risk having its bonds disqualified for use as collateral by banks borrowing ECB liquidity .

The market turmoil has an indirect impact on Greek domestic affairs. Most bonds are bought by local banks and foreign institutional investors and, until this week's sell-off, foreign investors held more than 50 per cent of shares listed on the bourse.

Newspaper headlines and television debates over whether Greece "faces bankruptcy" are fuelling the sense of insecurity.

"The business climate is about the most negative in memory," says Constantine Michalos, chairman of the Athens chamber of commerce and industry. "There is a strong belief that things have to get worse before they'll get better."

Greece has fallen further and faster in the past three months than other eurozone member states.

A consumer boom that drove GDP growth rates to average 4.2 per cent annually between 2002 and 2007 - twice the European Union average - ended abruptly this year.

The economy is expected to shrink by about 1.3 per cent this year and a further 0.3 per cent in 2010, according to finance ministry projections.

The unemployment rate has also been dramatically revised upwards, to 18 per cent, almost twice the official rate reported for September, after the suspension of an EU-funded jobs programme.

Greeks are bracing for hard times. Consumer lending has stagnated as households cut back and banks tighten loan criteria, says Ersi Athanassiou at KEPE, an economic think-tank. "Household savings have been negative since 2000, but it's possible we'll see an increase this year."

Only a handful of shoppers were browsing yesterday at Golden Hall, a suburban mall.

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The situation of the Greek ruling class hasn't gone unnoticed by their more intelligent opponents. Over at the LibCom site there is a regular correspondent from Greece, one 'Taxikipali', who contributes what is perhaps the best ongoing commentary on events in that country. The following commentary describes how the Greek government may be facing a much more serious challenge than could be provided by students rioting.

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The day after the riots: reforms and crisis in Greece:
Submitted by taxikipali on Dec 13 2009 14:32
Reforms and fears about the explosive economic crisis mark the days after the latest riots in Greece.

The day after the latest riots, which erupted as a response to mass preventive repression against the commemoration of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder, is characterized by the launching of an array of reforms by the Greek state struggling with an explosive economic crisis.

On the educational front, the Minister of Education and Religion Ms Diamantopoulou held a conference with the rectors of the Greek universities in a secluded area in Lavrion (fearing popular mobilisations against it). During the conference it was decided that the government will not challenge the anti-constitutional law introduced in March 2007 amidst, a year long mass mobilisation and periodic riots against it, by the right-wing government.

The Giannatou-law as it is known in effect breaches article 16 of the constitution by ruling that university asylum can be lifted if a state attorney gets the approval of the rector due to crimes being committed. The constitution rules that the asylum can be lifted only by a unanimous agreement of the rectorial-lecturers-students council. Moreover, the educational conference decided to demarcate which area are included in the asylum and which not, without of course any agreement by the students who were not even invited in the talks. Finally the conferees have decreed to oust permanent building or room occupations within university premises, referring to anarchist antiauthoritarian and autonomous social centres operating within universities since the 1980s. The reforms enjoy the support and aggressive promotion by bourgeois press and media interests.

On the repression front, the Napoleonic-delirious Minister of Public Order has once again attacked the left as "hypocrites and professional sensitives" covering "nazis that planned a Crystal Night", insisting on the validity of preventive arrests (illegal according to the constitution), and pointing out most ominously that leftist and anarchist violence will lead "in the immediate future to extreme-right terrorism by yet unknown groups".

The declaration, reading more like a threat than like a prediction in the light of the two armed attacks against premises of the antagonistic movement during 2009, came after two bombs were diffused by the police pyrotechnic corps after warning phone calls on Saturday 13. The bombs which did not go off because of some technical problem were targeted at the social security bureau of the media. The ministry has repeated its promises of abolishing tear gas and replacing it with water cannon tanks, as well as of abolishing the anti-hood law after Christmas.

The reform suggestions come amidst greatest economic crisis since 1974 with the

Greek government juggling with austerity measures that stretch from a three year freeze of public sector salaries, to coupons for meat milk and bread for the unemployed, to the abolition of the Easter half salary bonus. Fearing mass reaction to the measures, the PM has played cold and hot, taking back proposed measures hours after proposing them, and calling a conference of "national unity" for Monday. It must be noted that a mass strike has been called for Tuesday including an array of labour sectors, while a shoe factory (Elite) has come under workers' occupation in Athens.

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I have found it impossible to verify Taxikipali's story about the occupied shoe factory by any other source in English, French or Spanish, but I see little reason to doubt his claims given the general realistic nature of his previous reports. In the interum, here is a report from the Associated Press about what the "socialist" government is threatening if the workers of Greece do not knuckle under to their plans. Very nasty threats actually.

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Greek PM to announce economic reform measures:
By ELENA BECATOROS

Associated Press 2009-12-14 07:21 PM
Greece's prime minister is to outline Monday how he plans to reform his debt-riddled country's economy, as a delegation from Moody's credit rating arrived in Athens to review the economic situation.

George Papandreou, whose Socialist party came to power in October, has said he is prepared to make major changes, which may mean tax hikes and heavy spending cuts. He has called on the country's main opposition leaders to hold rare joint talks on the issue.

Greece has come under intense pressure from other European Union countries to reform its economy, and Papandreou has acknowledged the country suffers from endemic corruption.

The country's deficit is projected to have swollen to more than 12 percent of economic output this year four times the European Union limit and twice the previous official projection while its debt stands at a staggering (EURO)300 billion ($442 billion).

Papandreou will outline his plans in a speech to business and union leaders as part of a public debate on reforming Greece's economy.

Last week, the credit agency Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece from A- to BBB+ the worst of the 16 nations that use the euro. A delegation from Moody's met on Monday morning with Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou, who outlined the government's plans on how to remedy the situation, his office said.

"The public deficit is clearly very worrying," Papaconstantinou said in an interview with the Associated Press and one other reporter. "Of course we have an economic crisis in all the European Union countries. What distinguishes Greece is the gap between the public deficit published by the previous government, and the true numbers that we have at the moment. The deficit is double what we expected, and it requires a much stronger effort" to bring the economy under control, with the government aiming to reduce the deficit to below 3 percent in the next three to four years.

Greek officials, however, have insisted there is no question of Greece defaulting on its debt. Concern about government finances in general had been heightened by news last month that Dubai World, an investment company owned by the city-state that has $59 billion worth of debt, was looking to postpone forthcoming debt payments until May.

"There is no question of default," Papaconstantinou said. "We obviously have very serious problems. We are not the only country to have this kind of problem. What distinguishes us is a loss of confidence; a loss of confidence in our statistics, in our numbers; a loss of confidence that Greek governments are capable of doing what must be done."

The minister said Greece was trying to regain that confidence by reducing the deficit by 4 percentage points in a year, reducing public sector costs, tackling tax evasion and stimulating growth. The government has said it will freeze hiring in the severely bloated public sector next year, and hire just one person for every five who retire or quit in 2011.

Papandreou has pledged that his government will take all measures necessary, but has insisted he will protect salaried workers and pensioners _ possibly fearful of mass protests that often have a tendency of turning violent in Greece. Instead, he has promised to crack down hard on the country's famously prolific tax evasion.

"We have systemic corruption," Papandreou said in Brussels last week. "We experience it so frequently that we think it is normal. But it isn't normal."

The prime minister insisted Greece was not yet at the point where it must freeze or slash public sector salaries.

"Look, if we were on the edge of the cliff and the only solution was to freeze (salaries), then we would cut salaries in half," he said in Brussels. "But we are not there. And we are fighting so that we do not reach that point."

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One should not expect the strike called for December 15th to amount to much. As the following article from Google News makes plain there are divisions not only within the "socialist" PASOK party of Greece (where some members "think" that the party should be at least a tiny little itsy bit "socialist" as opposed to catering to international finance but also amongst the unions). The public sector unions have given more or less official support to the government by delaying any "serious" industrial action to next February. One should not expect any opposition from the Communists, being as they are desperately trying to avoid being overtaken on the left by the dog's dinner leftist coalition of Syriza (The Coalition of the Radical Left). Any "disorder" opens the way for their opponents on the left and leaves little opportunity for them to make gains at the expense of PASOK. The Communists are especially strong in a large number of unions. Expect nothing from this. The great threat to both the commies and Syriza is that the workers will actually "wake up" and demand self management beyond that which any leftist party would be capable of granting. As focused on violence and symbolic actions as the Greek anarchists are, their general message of "self-management" has penetrated into large sectors of the Greek population, sectors who are much more capable of effective action than students or play-actors at terrorism are. The idea that ordinary Greeks might take these ideas seriously and go beyond both the political parties and the illusions of insurrection of the "anarchists" terrifies the aparatchiks of Greek leftism.

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Greece readies debt measures, unions threaten action:
By John Hadoulis (AFP) – 8 hours ago
ATHENS — The beleaguered Greek government is later Monday to outline measures to combat the worst debt crisis in the country's modern history but its plans are threatening to spark fierce union resistance.

Government vice president Theodore Pangalos told the newspaper Ta Nea that "at this moment, loans are a matter of life and death for the Greek economy."

"Our debt must be stabilised before it can begin to retreat," Pangalos said, adding: "I've never seen such a situation in my 29 years in parliament."

He was speaking ahead of a scheduled speech by Prime Minister George Papandreou on the country's crippling 300-billion-euro (442-billion-dollar) debt.

The crisis has split the recently-elected Socialists. Some cadres fear a whirlwind of social unrest from the country's influential unions.

"There are currently two parallel lines, those who want to follow the European Commission's demands (for debt action) and those mindful of social needs," a government official told AFP.
One of the prime minister's main tasks will be to convince Greece's powerful unions, who hit back with general strikes the last time a major reform -- an overhaul of the pensions system in 2008 -- was attempted.

Part of the government cost-cutting drive will again target the pensions system as the state seeks to avoid paying over four billion euros next year to support ailing state funds.

The main union representing civil servants, Adedy, on Monday told the government to clarify its policies and warned of coming industrial action.

"The escalation of our strike activity will be immediate and will be declared by early February," the union said.

Markets worldwide were roiled last week after Fitch Ratings hit Greece with a credit downgrade, which also sparked fears that other troubled eurozone members could suffer the same fate.

The Greek stock exchange was rocked by uncertainty, shedding nearly 10 percent of its value in cumulative losses early last week, then briefly rebounding before closing with a fresh 2.41-percent loss on Friday.

The Athens bourse on Monday opened with a gain of 1.95-percent.

Standard & Poor's has placed Greece's long-term sovereign credit rating on "negative" watch, warning that it could be downgraded in the next two months if the government failed to rein in its growing deficit.

A third ratings agency, Moody's, in October also warned Greece of a possible rating cut. A team of Moody analysts arrived in Athens on Monday on a previously scheduled visit for talks with the finance minister and the Greek public debt management agency (PDMA).

A member of the European Central Bank executive board, Lorenzo Bini-Smaghi, meanwhile told the Italian newspaper La Stampa that Greece now had to take measures to raise its credit rating.

"From our point of view, Greece must implement measures by the end of the 2010 allowing public debt bonds to retrieve an A rating, which will again become the minimum level for our market operations," Bini-Smaghi said.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece's long-term debt ratings to BBB-plus from A-minus last week.

The ECB has eased its rating requirements for government bonds in the wake of the global financial crisis but is expected to restore the minimum A-minus level in 2011.

Bini-Smaghi was referring implicitly to a risk that Greek bonds, at their current rating level, might no longer meet ECB requirements at the end of next year when the central bank reverts to pre-crisis credit rating standards.

The concern for Greece, financial markets and the ECB is that if Greek bonds no longer met the ECB's minimum requirements, Greek banks that hold large quantities of Greek sovereign bonds would no longer be able to offer them as collateral to participate in regular ECB refinancing arrangements.

This in turn would raise the risk that Greek banks would not be able to access the cheapest source of short-term funding, and would be a big blow to the standing of the Greek banking sector.

Greece's public deficit is expected to surge to 12.7 percent of output this year -- well beyond the 3.0 percent limit imposed by the eurozone.

The Greek finance ministry has described the debt crisis as the worst in the country's modern history.

Papandreou has in addition called an all-party meeting on Tuesday on fighting corruption that eats up billions of euros annually.

The prime minister has ruled out going to the International Monetary Fund for aid or freezing wages, talking instead of trimming Greece's overblown bureaucracy.

He has also vowed to go after tax evaders, not workers. The government is now planning to enlist hackers in an emergency "tax police squad," press reports said.

As Papandreou attempts to calm the waters at home, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou will visit his counterparts in Britain, France and Germany in a bid to convince them that the new Socialist government can handle the crisis.

A crucial part of his tour will be a meeting Wednesday in London with institutional investors.

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While we, the anarchists, await both the determination of our Greek comrades to present a plausible way in which ordinary people can transform society and the impatience of ordinary people with the "solutions" offered by the political parties we are thrown back on solidarity with our own comrades in Greece. Prior to the latest round of riots and occupations the "socialist" government ordered a preemptive raid on the Resalto anarchist social centre in Athens. Molly actually visted this centre when she was last in Greece, and she found little evidence that they were any imminant threat whatsoever of any criminal action, let alone a threat to the Greek state. The following, from the Occupied London Blog, a source for the latest news from Greece in English, is the original call for financial support for the bail of thiose arrested at Resalto. Pay attention to it, and give what you can.

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Urgent financial appeal by the Resalto Solidarity Fund:
Friday, December 11, 2009
“Resalto” is the anarchist space in Western Athens that was raided by police on the evening of December 5th (background info on the case is here). The 22 comrades arrested during the brutal break-in of the space were released by the Piraeus Court at the dawn of Tuesday, December, 8th. However, the court imposed strict bail conditions on them all, which included very high amounts of bail money: The total amount of this bail money equals 51,000 euros. More specifically, for one of those arrested bail was set at 15.000 euros, for three of them at 5,000 euros each and for the remaining seven, bail was 3,000 euros.

The total financial amount of bail-money must be deposited by Thursday, December 17th but it is advisable, for the purpose of avoiding bureaucratic deadlocks, that the money is deposited before Tuesday, December 15th.

For this purpose a solidarity fund has been established – for the financial support of the 22 arrested of Resalto, but also for the prompt payment of their bail money. It is very important that we all contribute in gathering this unusually high total amount of bail money.

In order for this amount of money to be securely raised you are all greatly encouraged, and kindly asked to establish direct contact at the following telephone number: +30 6973657960 or via e-mail at tameio22@espiv.net in order to obtain the bank account number where this money may be deposited. Publicly advertising a bank account for fund-raising is illegal under Greek law (for tax purposes).
Solidarity is our weapon.

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All that I have said above is reinforced by what I said last summer in the pages of Linchpin, the journal of the Ontario platformist organization Common Cause. To say the least subsequent events have done little to change my opinions. They have only reinforced them. Whatever the heroism of the Greek rebels, despite the acclamation of certain North American "anarchists" who don't understand the situation and who laud the worst amongst the Greeks, the situation in Greece is very far rom the idea of "revolution" if that is to be taken in terms of a transformation of social relations. Thre is still a long and hard road of "realism" tgo be walked upon before anarchism can be a realistic prospect in Greece, as in anywhere else. Here's what I said previosly.

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Patrick Murtagh

LINCHPIN
On December 6, 2008 it was not a dark and stormy night when the shot rang out, but it soon became so as a police bullet killed 15 year old Alexis Grigoropoulos. Not that such incidents are unusual. According to a spokesman for the anarchosyndicalist Greek ESE “dozens of Greeks have been killed by the police” since the end of the military dictatorship in 1973.

What was unique was the response, perhaps indicative of the harder times that we have entered. Within minutes the news spread across the country via cell phone, and informal groups of friends had gathered to protest the murder.

Protest turned to riot, and for some weeks the conservative government of Greece teetered on the brink of defeat. Dozens of universities and high schools were occupied. Working class demonstrations and a one day general strike coincided with the student revolt. The government was saved, not by its own efforts but rather by a loss of nerve on the part of the socialist PASOK and the communist KKE who ended up criticising the insurgent students and the left-socialist Syriza more than they did the government.

The events didn’t occur in a vacuum. Decades of student militancy have garnered widespread public sympathy since 1973. Tactics such as university occupations are almost routine. Then there is the general state of the Greek economy and society. Youth unemployment and underemployment are endemic and growing. The government has come to be widely seen as both corrupt and incompetent. While recklessly accumulating public debt (foreign debt was estimated to total 93.9% of GDP in 2008) the state has been demonstrably generous to its corporate friends. In various social conflicts over the past decade the state has sometimes emerged victorious, but often has been forced to back down in the face of popular movements.

Few of the factors that underlay the revolt in Greece are unique to that country, aside from the existence of a relatively large and militant anarchist movement. It is no wonder that European governments openly worried about the spread of such revolts to other countries. The Greek insurgents attempted to spread the insurrection internationally, using media events and the same cell phone tactics that had proven successful locally. The response was widespread – perhaps hundreds of sympathy actions worldwide – but distinctly poorly attended.

Then, incredibly anticlimactically, the Revolution was called off for Christmas. When the New Year arrived the usual militant Greek demonstrations resumed, but without the mass participation and occupations of December. An opportunity had been lost.

What happened shows that mass rebellion is possible in a modern state and, given economic conditions, it is almost inevitable. It also showed that modern technology can amplify small scale initiatives into mass movements. It also showed that such movements can be, at best, inspired, never directed. The Leninist dream is over.It was also demonstrated that such rebellions have to go beyond mere street fighting if they are to lead to anything permanent. The Greeks began this process with their occupations of educational institutions and brief takeovers of media outlets. They were unable to go further, however, because of a lack of response from Greek workers who generally remained passive outside of young workers in the streets. Without such participation, “revolts” will remain limited and inevitably fizzle out with little gained.

Finally, while rebellions are inevitably spontaneous, in the absence of organization and vision they cannot go further to actually change society. This may have been the main reason for the passivity of the Greek working class. Without such a vision and clear ideas on how to achieve it, one cannot depend on any vanguard, whether it is a party or whether it is those most willing to fight in the streets.
Patrick edits Molly’s Blog: