Libcom
Portugal's largest demonstration for over 30 years
As the gangsters and crooks from the IMF et al are due to arrive in Portugal to assess the success of the austerity measures they demanded, 100,000 people gather in a protest against austerity in what is the biggest demonstration in the country for over three decades.
In what is the largest demonstration Portugal for over 30 years, 100,000 people have packed into Lisbon’s Palace Square in protest against austerity measures.
Portugal's largest demonstration for over 30 years
As the gangsters and crooks from the IMF et al are due to arrive in Portugal to assess the success of the austerity measures they demanded. 100,000 people gather in a protest against austerity in what is the biggest demonstration in the country for over three decades.
In what is the largest demonstration Portugal for over 30 years, 100,000 people have packed into Lisbon’s Palace Square in protest against austerity measures.
Adventures in the Sausage Factory: A cursory overview of UK university struggles, Novermber 2010 – July 2011
Nearly a year after the attenuation of a wave of further and higher education struggles against state-led ‘decomposition’, Danny Hayward looks back at the faultlines within this resistance and the future which follows its defeat
Decomposing Higher Education: Stage One
Government officials flee Zhejiang village over land grab protests
Another Chinese village, apparently inspired by the Wukan uprising of last year, has been protesting over land grabs, causing the local government officials to flee. Around 5000 villagers of East and West Panhe Villages, Cangnan County, in Zhejiang Province, are now reported to be running the village themselves.
As many people predicted after the Wukan uprising, villagers taking more militant action in opposition to land grabs is happening again according to reports from a few days ago (sorry for taking so long on this, just been busy recently!).
A villager, Lu Yeqin told reporters that:
Government officials flee Zhejiang village over land grab protests
Another Chinese village, apparently inspired by the Wukan uprising of last year, has been protesting over land grabs, causing the local government officials to flee. Around 5000 villagers of East and West Panhe Villages, Cangnan County, in Zhejiang Province, are now reported to be running the village themselves.
As many people predicted after the Wukan uprising, villagers taking more militant action in opposition to land grabs is happening again according to reports from a few days ago (sorry for taking so long on this, just been busy recently!).
A villager, Lu Yeqin told reporters that:
Common's luck - a film on Jack Common by John Mapplebeck (1974)
Jack Common wrote brilliant novels, film scripts and essays of radical social comment, all rooted in his early 20th century working class Geordie upbringing. Later a friend of George Orwell, he led a life of literary obscurity and persistent material poverty, but left us some of the most perceptive commentary and description of working class life of his time. His novels (or, more accurately, autobiographies in novelistic form) also offer some of the best recollections of life unfolding through the eyes of a child.
"[i]John Mapplebeck's film Common's Luck begins with a letter seeking employment written by Willy Kiddar, a thinly-veiled self-portrait of the young Jack Common. Tom Pickard's readings from Kiddar's Luck form part of the narrative of the film.
Trade union factionalism and rank-and-file organising
Over the past year, it's become increasingly evident that the branch of the civil servants' union PCS I'm part of is beset by factionalism. In particular, the dominance of a ruling clique has been like a cancer which has seen people drop out of being reps, and even go off work with stress, because of the bullying occurring within the union. In my own rank-and-file approach to organising, I've butted heads with this problem on more than one occasion. This blog is a reflection of the issues at hand and an attempt to focus my own thoughts in terms of how to combat that.
When I last wrote about the internal politics of my branch, as part of a post about a members meeting ahead of N30, it caused a right stink.
Testimony of a black worker - Charles Denby
Extracts from Charles Denby's excellent autobiographical work, Indignant Heart - Testimony of a Black Worker. The extracts describe his experiences as a black auto worker, factory struggles against both the bosses and the union bureaucracy and the dynamics of race within the workforce and wider society. He also describes his disillusioning experiences with Stalinist and Trotskyist parties and their hypocritical attitudes to black workers.
Originally published in the US at the height of the McCarthyite era in 1952 under the assumed name of Matthew Ward. The author later became better known as a member of the Marxist humanist group News & Letters under the name Charles Denby and edited their paper. He died in 1983.
(UAW is the United Auto Workers union.)
14.
UAW
Communization and the abolition of gender
"Present day civilization makes it plain that it will only permit sexual relationships on the basis of a solitary, indissoluble bond between one man and one woman, and that it does not like sexuality as a source of pleasure in its own right and is only prepared to tolerate it because there is so far no substitute for it as a means of propagating the human race." Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents
Communization is not a revolutionary position. It is not a form of society we build after the revolution. It is not a tactic, a strategic perspective, an organization, or a plan. Communization describes a set of measures that we must take in the course of the class struggle if there is to be a revolution at all.
Party leaders push reform - "[insert adjective here] capitalism" on the way?
The leaders of all three major parties in the UK have been making the case for "reforming" British capitalism, while at the same time digging the grave of the welfare state. What's going on?
There's been some interesting debates on libcom recently about reform and whether it's possible.1
Party leaders push reform - "[insert adjective here] capitalism" on the way?
The leaders of all three major parties in the UK have been making the case for "reforming" British capitalism, while at the same time digging the grave of the welfare state. What's going on?
There's been some interesting debates on libcom recently about reform and whether it's possible.1
The seamen's strike, Liverpool 1966 - Tony Wailey
A personal account of a striker's experiences; describing working conditions on ship, strikers' solidarity, the smear techniques of the press and government, the capitulation of the union leadership etc.
For analysis and context of the strike, see; http://libcom.org/library/seamen-strike-1966-foulser
The Seamen's Strike, Liverpool 1966by Tony Wailey
The seamen's strike, Liverpool 1966 - Tony Wailey
A personal account of a striker's experiences; describing working conditions on ship, strikers' solidarity, the smear techniques of the press and government, the capitulation of the union leadership etc.
For analysis and context of the strike, see; http://libcom.org/library/seamen-strike-1966-foulser
The Seamen's Strike, Liverpool 1966by Tony Wailey
The seamen's strike, Liverpool 1966 - Tony Wailey
A personal account of a striker's experiences; describing working conditions on ship, strikers' solidarity, the smear techniques of the press and government, the capitulation of the union leadership etc.
For analysis and context of the strike, see; http://libcom.org/library/seamen-strike-1966-foulser
The Seamen's Strike, Liverpool 1966by Tony Wailey
"To be fair, he is a journalist": a short response to Chris Hedges on the Black Bloc
A short reply to Chris Hedges 'Black Bloc: The Cancer in Occupy' article.
It was a little weird to wake up today to an article by Chris Hedges on a website called “Truth-Out” when “truth” is in such short supply in the piece.
Blikkiesdorp photo gallery
Blikkiesdorp (i.e. 'tin can town) is one of a number of 'Temporary Relocation Areas', concentration camps, set up to house the urban poor in Cape Town. There are similar abominations in Johannesburg and Durban. This photo gallery has some pictures of Blikkiesdorp as well as the Symphony Way Occupation - which held out against eviction to Blikkiesdorp for many months before being defeated.
52970.jpg 1111968588.jpg Blikkiesdorp-1.jpg Blikkiesdorp-2.jpg Blikkiesdorp-3.jpg Blikkiesdorp-18.jpg Blikkiesdorp-21.jpg CAPE-TOWN-STADIUM.jpg 53083.jpgAfter the next storm passes
Article speculating on possible outcomes in Occupy, current anti-austerity struggles, and radical involvement.
Here’s what I think may be going on in the present today. A lot more people are interested in fighting. The official powers that be are not disposed to negotiations and concessions.
Not quite kicked out: racism in English football
The past few months have been difficult for anti-racist football fans in England. As one instance of racism has followed the other, I've been dropping my jaw and grinding my molars so much that my mouth is starting to ache. To try and ease this I thought I'd put down my thoughts on it all.
If, like me, you grew up watching football in the 90s and early 2000s you'd be forgiven for thinking that racism in English football was basically dead. I mean, obviously it still happened from time to time, but it was nowhere near as bad as in the past. I remember going with a friend of my mum's to see Fulham vs.
State fiscal crises and the Greek example - Mouvement Communiste
A text about the state debt crisis and its relationship to the underlying health of capital as measured by the actual profitability of the world's biggest companies. For the most important firms in the US and Europe the recession is effectively over but this doesn't mean anything good for the working class!
Letter number 35
Barnet council workers to strike against privatisation
On Thursday 9 February, hundreds of Barnet council UNISON members will go on strike. Barnet council workers are fighting plans to mass-outsource council services and jobs to the private sector.
The council is going ahead with a £750m “support and customer services project” where a private company will be engaged to deliver services like council estates, finance, human resources, information systems, procurement, revenues and benefits and project management services.
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