Monday, March 29, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
International Call for Solidarity: Support the 11 of Lisbon!
International Call for Solidarity: Support the 11 of Lisbon!
On the 25th of April of 2007, an anti-authoritarian demonstration against fascism and capitalism took place in downtown Lisbon, protesting against the growing influence of fascist groups in Portugal and the attempt to rehabilitate the figure of the former dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar. Several books about Salazar came out back then and a Museum was to be opened in Santa Comba Dão, the place where the dictator was born. A television contest, designed to boost nationalistic and chauvinistic attitudes among the Portuguese people, actually managed to elect Salazar as “the greatest Portuguese of all times”. Besides that, PNR, an ultra right-wing party, involved with nazi skinhead groups, started to show signs of great activity, with a large-scale campaign to increase xenophobia and several street demonstrations, one of which taking place, provocatively, in a known immigrants' quarter downtown Lisbon.
As a response to the growth of reactionary forces and attitudes in Portuguese society, anarchists organized a big demonstration on the day of the celebration of the Carnation Revolution, the 25th of April, when the fascist dictatorship was overthrown. The demonstration gathered over 500 people, crossed downtown Lisbon, always being closely followed by the police, and halted in Largo de Camões, where most people left. From there, a second demonstration started and, when the demonstrators were descending Rua do Carmo, the riot police closed the street exits, trapped them, and then charged violently. Several people were injured, some of them badly, and 11 of the demonstrators were arrested and now stand for trial, for alleged civil disobedience, verbal abuses, and assault on police officers, risking sentences from six months to five years of imprisonment.
We ask for the international support and solidarity of all sections and friend of AIT-IWA to spread the news of what's happening, specially among Portuguese communities in their area, and send protest letters, faxes and emails to local Portuguese Embassies, Consulates and interests, performing, if possible, actions in front of them, specially on the days of the Court hearings, but not limited to them. We also appeal to the sending of protest letters, faxes and emails to the Court where the hearings are taking place.
A model protest letter to be sent:
(it's both in English and Portuguese)
Vimos por meio da presente carta protestar contra a ida a julgamento dos 11 detidos aquando da realização da manifestação anti-autoritária contra o fascismo e o capitalismo, em 25 de Abril de 2007.
Denunciamos o comportamento claramente ofensivo e discriminatório demonstrado pela polícia no decorrer dos acontecimentos, assim como a brutalidade com que a mesma reagiu à manifestação, carregando indiscriminadamente sobre os manifestantes e demais transeuntes presentes na Rua do Carmo, numa acção cujo objectivo manifesto não foi a dispersão da manifestação, mas antes o espancamento do maior número de pessoas possível, posto que todas as saídas da rua foram cortadas pela polícia de forma a não deixar aos manifestantes fuga possível.
Afigura-se-nos que as pessoas detidas o foram de forma aleatória e arbitrária, e que a sua ida a tribunal não serve outro propósito que não seja o de mascarar e ilibar a violência policial, culpando os manifestantes pelo sucedido. Consequentemente, exigimos o encerramento deste processo e a absolvição de todos os arguidos.
Com os melhores cumprimentos,
…
English translation of the letter:
We hereby send you the following letter to protest against the trial of the 11 persons arrested during the anti-authoritarian demonstration against fascism and capitalism, which took place on the 25th of April 2007.
We denounce the clearly offensive and discriminatory behavior displayed by the police during the events and its brutal response to the demonstration, charging indiscriminately on demonstrators and bystanders at Rua do Carmo, in an action clearly intended, not to disband the demonstration, but to beat up as many people as possible, for all the street exits were cut off by the police in order to trap the demonstrators and let them no way to escape.
For us, it seems that the persons arrested during the events were picked randomly and arbitrarily among the demonstrators, and that the charges pressed against them serve no other purpose than to whitewash the police violence, blaming the demonstrators for what happened. Consequently, we demand the closure of this process and the acquittal of all defendants.
Best Regards,
...
Court address:
1º Juízo Criminal
Av. D. João II, nº 1.08.01 - Bloco B
1990-097 Lisboa
Portugal
Email: lisboa.jcr1@tribunais.org.pt
Phone: (+351) 213 505 500
Fax: (+351) 211 545 164
Process Number:
42/07.5PALSB (please mention it on the letters, faxes and emails you send to the Court)
A list of Portuguese Embassies worldwide:
http://www.mne.gov.pt/mne/en/ministerio/organizacoes/embaixadas/
Portuguese Consulates abroad:
http://www.mne.gov.pt/mne/en/infocidadao/pestrangeiro/consulados/
Days of the next Court hearings:
- 20 of April
- 29 of April
- 19 of May
________________________________________
Associação Internacional dos Trabalhadores
Secção Portuguesa
Apartado 50029
1701-001 Lisboa
PORTUGAL
Tel. +351 963 216 840
E-mail: aitport@yahoo.com
http://www.ait-sp.blogspot.com/
http://www.freewebs.com/ait-sp/
A soldier returns - letter from an American fighter in the Durruti Column
A letter from an American trade unionist and member of the revolutionary union the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) about his experiences as a fighter in the Spanish Civil War and Revolution of 1936-9 in the International section of the anarchist Durruti Column. The following letter was published in the paper of the American IWW's paper, One Big Union Monthly in 1937.
Original introduction
The One Big Union Monthly and the Industrial Workers of the World are heart and soul for the success of the anti-fascist fight going on in Spain but we see no reason why we should stick our heads in the sand and pretend not to be aware of the capitalist class element within the Spanish United Front government that is trying to rob the Spanish revolutionary unionists of victory.
No matter what our opinion may be as to the wisdom of the syndicalists' policy of co-operation with political government, the information and arguments contained in this letter from a rank and file fighter in the cause of working class freedom, and in other articles appearing in this magazine, cannot but be valuable reminders that there are still working class enemies among those who favour "democracy" as opposed to fascism - Editor.
A soldier returns
Marseilles, France
Fellow Worker:-
Received your letter the other day in Barcelona. I typed three pages in reply but could not smuggle it out of the country, so I tore it up.
I am out of Spain. The reasons are numerous. I was not wanted by the government as I was in the Durruti International Shock Battalion. The government sabotaged us since we were formed in May and made it impossible for us to stay at the front. No tobacco unless you had money. All of the time I was in the militia I received no money. I had to beg money for postage stamps, etc. I was sent back from the front slightly shell-shocked and put in a hospital in Barcelona. when we registered at the hospital I told them I was from the Durruti International Battalion and they wouldn't register me. In fact they told me to go and ask my friends for money for a place to sleep. I explained to them that I was from Canada and had no friends in Barcelona, then they tried to make me a prisoner in the hospital. I called them all the lousy -- I could think of. Anyway, I ran away from the hospital one day to the English section of the CNT-FAI and the people there insisted that I see the British consul for a permit to leave Spain, which I did, though I hated to leave.
Spain is a wonderful country. At present it reminds me of the stories I have read of the O.G.P.U. [secret police] in Russia. The jails of loyalist Spain are full of volunteers who have more than a single-track mind. I know one of them from Toronto, a member of the L.R.W.P. I wonder if they will bump him off. The Stalinists do not hesitate to kill any of those who do not blindly accept Stalin as a second Christ. One of the refugees who came over with me from Spain was a member of the O.G.P.U. in Spain, which, by the way, is controlled by Russia. Every volunteer in the Communist International Brigade is considered a potential enemy of Stalin. He is checked and double-checked, every damn one. If he utters a word other than commy phrases he is taken "for a ride." This chap (ex- O.G.P.U.) is like all the other commies coming out of Spain, absolutely anti-Stalin and anti-communist. He skipped the country by flashing his O.G.P.U. badge on the trains etc.
I believe that the I.W.W. has lost some members here, as I doubt if they would keep quiet at the front in view of what is taking place.
It was only through sabotage that the government succeeded in disbanding the International Battalion of Anarchists. Four of our bunch died of starvation in one day. Our arms were rotten, even though the Valencia government has plenty of arms and planes. They know enough not to give arms to the thousands of anarchists on the Aragon front. We could have driven the fascists out of Huesca and Saragossa had we had the aid of the aviation. But the Anarchists form collectives where ever they advance, and these comrades would rather let Franco have those cities that the CNT-FAI.
Fenner Brockway, prominent labour leader in England, exposed the way the communists were treating those boys (volunteers) in the International Brigade. They will not let any of them come back unless they are racketeers of the Sam Scarlett type who will say anything they are told as long as the pork chops are coming in.
The CNT-FAI seems to have lost all the power they had in the army. There is a good fort on the top of a hill overlooking Barcelona which the anarchists captured from the fascists. When I left for the front it was still in the hands of the FAI but when I came back the communists had it. The workers of Spain are against the communists, but the latter don't care. They are making a play for the support of the bourgeoisie and other racketeers. As far as the industries are concerned the CNT has a lot of power, far more than any other organization.
Well, Fellow Worker, one day has elapsed since I wrote the above. Last night I had a head ache and I had to postpone finishing the letter. I am eating good since coming to France.
I believe the British consul is going to send me to England or to Canada. If I wasn't such a wreck I would ship on a British ship for Spain. Wages are double on the Spanish run, and ships are tied up because of a shortage of men. I have been on English ships and none of the crew would speak English.
I met two more men from the International Brigade this morning. They say many Canadians are in prison in Spain.
With best wished for the I.W.W.,
I remain Bill Wood
from One Big Union Monthly, September 1937.
This text taken and slightly edited for spelling by libcom from the Revolt collection.
Originally from the bulletin of the Kate Sharpley Library.
1970s' Manitoba poverty experiment called a success
1970s' Manitoba poverty experiment called a success
Last Updated: Thursday, March 25, 2010 | 7:25 PM CT Comments14Recommend9
CBC News
A controversial government experiment in the 1970s in which some households in a Manitoba town were given a minimum level of income improved the community's overall health, a professor at the University of Manitoba says.
From 1974 through 1978, about 30 per cent of the population of Dauphin was provided with a "mincome," as the guaranteed level of income came to be called.
"We found that, overall, hospitalizations in Dauphin declined relative to the control group," said Evelyn Forget, professor of community health science at the University of Manitoba. "We also looked at accidents and injuries, and they also declined. You can argue that accident and injury hospitalizations are strongly related to poverty."
The goal of the program, which cost $17 million, was to find out whether a guaranteed income would improve health and community life. If a household's income dropped below a certain amount, the program would top it up to an income equivalent to the welfare rates at the time.
'Hospitalizations for mental health issues were down significantly,'— Evelyn Forget, researcher
The participants who worked had their supplement reduced 50 cents for every dollar they earned in an attempt to encourage people in the program to look for work.
Forget has spent three years comparing the administrative health care records of Dauphin's citizens between 1974 and 1978 with those of a control group of people living in similar Manitoba communities at that time.
She said her research suggests that people appear to live healthier lives when they don't have to worry about poverty.
"Hospitalizations for mental health issues were down significantly," she said, adding that teenagers stayed in school longer as a result of the initiative.
The initiative, which started in 1974, was terminated in 1978 as political support for the experiment faded.
"Politically, there was a concern that if you began a guaranteed annual income, people would stop working and start having large families," Forget said.
Ron Hikel, the executive director of the Mincome project, is delighted Forget is taking a fresh look at the project's impact.
'Politically, there was a concern that if you began a guaranteed annual income, people would stop working and start having large families.'— Evelyn Forget, researcher
"As somebody who devoted three or four years of his life to making this happen, I was disappointed that the data were warehoused," Hikel said.
Forget has not yet been given access to the 2,000 boxes of data collected by the original Mincome researchers, which contain copies of questionnaires participants filled out and, she believes, transcripts of interviews with the families who took part.
Hikel, who is now legislative director for U.S. Rep. Eric Massa, said Forget's research is immensely relevant in Canada and the United States. He said he intends to use her analysis as part of the current health-care debate.
"It has to do with the impact that larger social conditions have on one's health condition and the need for health care," Hikel said.
LAID OFF ABITIBI WORKERS BLOCKADE PLANT
Courtesy of Molly blog:
CANADIAN LABOUR - QUÉBEC:
LAID OFF ABITIBI WORKERS BLOCKADE PLANT:
Since last Monday laid off workers at the AbitibiBowater plant in Beaupré Québec began a blockade of the mill that they say they will maintain until they get severance pay due to them. the blockade prevents the company from removing equipment and materials from the plant. The blockade is still on. Here`s the story from the CBC.
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Abitibi workers to maintain blockade
The 300 hundred employees of the AbitibiBowater paper mill in Beaupré say they will maintain a blockade at the plant, north of Quebec City, until they get their severance pay.
The workers, who said they are owed a total of $12 million, set up a trailer blocking the road leading into the mill on Monday.
The severance pay is required according to the workers collective agreement, said union local president Mario Leclerc.
The workers are owed between $40,000 to $60,000 each, said Leclerc.
The company cannot afford to make the payments, because it is under bankruptcy protection, said AbitibiBowater spokesman Pierre Choquette.
Each worker must file a request for compensation through the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, he said.
"Already a package has been sent to them with forms, and all of these forms have to be completed by each of the employees, with the amount according to their personal situation," said Choquette.
The deadline for the forms to be submitted is April 7, he said.
Leclerc, however, said the workers have already submitted their claims.
The barricade will stay put until the workers are offered the full amount of their severance packages, he said.
Agreement with union
AbitibiBowater announced plans to shut down its Beaupré plant and to suspend operations at three other Canadian plants in September.
The company blamed the move on a worldwide drop in demand for all types of paper.
Earlier this month, AbitibiBowater reached a tentative deal with its union that could allow the company to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
The agreement, which includes concessions from workers, is currently going through the ratification process. Pension regulators in Quebec and Ontario must also give their nod.
The company has been operating under creditor protection in both Canada and the United States for almost a year. It filed to restructure after struggling amid slumping newsprint demand and debts approaching $5 billion.
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Here's some relevant comment translated from the french at the Voix De Faits blog in Québec City.
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Factory Blockade In Beaupré
According to regional media, hundreds of AbitibiBowwater workers have been blockading the entrance to the Beaupré plant since 6am this morning. The blockade is to prevent the company from leaving with the factory's equipment. The most recent report said that about twenty persons were still on the scene in the evening. Constant vigilance is maintained on the premises.
The factory is closed but the company still owes money to its former employees ($ 12 million in various bonuses!). As AbitibiBowater was placed under the protection of the Creditors Arrangement , the only guarantee that people have of the region to be paid one day is to prevent the dismantling of the machines. That is their ultimate balance of power.
The gesture is described by the symbolic local union president. It is indeed, however, direct action. Such blockades - sometimes embellished with threatening to destroy the material - have brought results around the world (from France to Ontario). Maybe it's not "legal" but it's perfectly legitimate! Don't let any piece go.
There's videos on the site of the LCN and Radio-Canada (The Sun also did a story on the subject).
Note that the resumption of the plant under capitalist control is very unlikely (but not for lack of trying, including a revitalization committee supported by local elites!). Strangely (!), Nobody seems to have thought about a relaunch under workers' control, as in Argentina, at least until the payment of sums due. An idea to consider?
Monday, March 22, 2010
Defend Free Speech! Oppose the Motion to Condemn Israeli Apartheid Week in Manitoba!
Defend Free Speech! Oppose the Motion to Condemn Israeli Apartheid Week in Manitoba!
In a press releasing slandering Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) and its organizers (http://pcmanitoba.ca/Newsroom/pcs-condem-israeli-apartheid-week.html), Progressive Conservative MLA Heather Stefanson (Tuxedo) has stated that she plans to propose a resolution in the Manitoba Legislatore condemning IAW. Her intention is clear: to "eradicate" IAW. Also of concern is the fact that provincial Leader of the Opposition Hugh McFadyen and cabinet minister Christine Melnick shared the stage with David Matas of B'nai Brith as he called for IAW to be banned.
This is an unprecedented attack on freedom of speech in Manitoba. But it also represents a recognition of the successes of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign as well as the explosive growth of IAW since 2005, a week long educational event which promotes an understanding of Israeli apartheid and the BDS movement. This year, IAW events were held in 60 cities around the globe, including Winnipeg for the first time, as well as cities in Canada, USA, Europe, South Africa, and the occupied territories.
Stefanson's press release echoes some of the sentiments which have been coming from organizations opposing IAW in the local media. Most of these allegations are untrue and slanderous, and could have been avoided had these organizations and politicians attempted to contact organizers of IAW in Winnipeg or done the most basic of research. Instead, they chose the route of slander, lies and ignorance.
What you can do:
Contact your MLAs. While email is the fastest way to contact them, they can also be reached at their constituency offices by phone or visits in person. It's important to have them all contacted.
Step 1:
copy and paste their email addresses into the to: field
below are their email addresses separated by both commas and semicolons, use whichever one works with your email program
minedu@leg.gov.mb.ca, rob.altemeyer@leg.gov.mb.ca, minmit@leg.gov.mb.ca, minett@leg.gov.mb.ca, sharon.blady@leg.gov.mb.ca, mincon@leg.gov.mb.ca, rick.borotsik@leg.gov.mb.ca, erna.braun@leg.gov.mb.ca, marilyn.brick@leg.gov.mb.ca, stuart.briese@leg.gov.mb.ca, drew.caldwell@leg.gov.mb.ca, miniem@leg.gov.mb.ca, cliff.cullen@leg.gov.mb.ca, len.derkach@leg.gov.mb.ca, greg.dewar@leg.gov.mb.ca, myrna.driedger@leg.gov.mb.ca, peter.dyck@leg.gov.mb.ca, ralph.eichler@leg.gov.mb.ca, david.faurschou@leg.gov.mb.ca, jon.gerrard@leg.gov.mb.ca, kelvin.goertzen@leg.gov.mb.ca, cliff.graydon@leg.gov.mb.ca, gerald.hawranik@leg.gov.mb.ca, george.hickes@leg.gov.mb.ca, minlab@leg.gov.mb.ca, minhcd@leg.gov.mb.ca, gerard.jennissen@leg.gov.mb.ca, bidhu.jha@leg.gov.mb.ca, bonnie.korzeniowski@leg.gov.mb.ca, kevin.lamoureux@leg.gov.mb.ca, minlg@leg.gov.mb.ca, minfam@leg.gov.mb.ca, larry.maguire@leg.gov.mb.ca, mincht@leg.gov.mb.ca, doug.martindale@leg.gov.mb.ca, hugh.mcfadyen@leg.gov.mb.ca, minaed@leg.gov.mb.ca, minwsd@leg.gov.mb.ca, bonnie.mitchelson@leg.gov.mb.ca, tom.nevakshonoff@leg.gov.mb.ca, minhlt@leg.gov.mb.ca, blaine.pedersen@leg.gov.mb.ca, daryl.reid@leg.gov.mb.ca, minna@leg.gov.mb.ca, minhliv@leg.gov.mb.ca, leanne.rowat@leg.gov.mb.ca, mohinder.saran@leg.gov.mb.ca, ron.schuler@leg.gov.mb.ca, erin.selby@leg.gov.mb.ca, premier@leg.gov.mb.ca, heather.stefanson@leg.gov.mb.ca, minagr@leg.gov.mb.ca, minjus@leg.gov.mb.ca, mavis.taillieu@leg.gov.mb.ca, frank.whitehead@leg.gov.mb.ca, matt.wiebe@leg.gov.mb.ca, minfin@leg.gov.mb.ca
minedu@leg.gov.mb.ca; rob.altemeyer@leg.gov.mb.ca; minmit@leg.gov.mb.ca; minett@leg.gov.mb.ca; sharon.blady@leg.gov.mb.ca; mincon@leg.gov.mb.ca; rick.borotsik@leg.gov.mb.ca; erna.braun@leg.gov.mb.ca; marilyn.brick@leg.gov.mb.ca; stuart.briese@leg.gov.mb.ca; drew.caldwell@leg.gov.mb.ca; miniem@leg.gov.mb.ca; cliff.cullen@leg.gov.mb.ca; len.derkach@leg.gov.mb.ca; greg.dewar@leg.gov.mb.ca; myrna.driedger@leg.gov.mb.ca; peter.dyck@leg.gov.mb.ca; ralph.eichler@leg.gov.mb.ca; david.faurschou@leg.gov.mb.ca; jon.gerrard@leg.gov.mb.ca; kelvin.goertzen@leg.gov.mb.ca; cliff.graydon@leg.gov.mb.ca; gerald.hawranik@leg.gov.mb.ca; george.hickes@leg.gov.mb.ca; minlab@leg.gov.mb.ca; minhcd@leg.gov.mb.ca; gerard.jennissen@leg.gov.mb.ca; bidhu.jha@leg.gov.mb.ca; bonnie.korzeniowski@leg.gov.mb.ca; kevin.lamoureux@leg.gov.mb.ca; minlg@leg.gov.mb.ca; minfam@leg.gov.mb.ca; larry.maguire@leg.gov.mb.ca; mincht@leg.gov.mb.ca; doug.martindale@leg.gov.mb.ca; hugh.mcfadyen@leg.gov.mb.ca; minaed@leg.gov.mb.ca; minwsd@leg.gov.mb.ca; bonnie.mitchelson@leg.gov.mb.ca; tom.nevakshonoff@leg.gov.mb.ca; minhlt@leg.gov.mb.ca; blaine.pedersen@leg.gov.mb.ca; daryl.reid@leg.gov.mb.ca; minna@leg.gov.mb.ca; minhliv@leg.gov.mb.ca; leanne.rowat@leg.gov.mb.ca; mohinder.saran@leg.gov.mb.ca; ron.schuler@leg.gov.mb.ca; erin.selby@leg.gov.mb.ca; premier@leg.gov.mb.ca; heather.stefanson@leg.gov.mb.ca; minagr@leg.gov.mb.ca; minjus@leg.gov.mb.ca; mavis.taillieu@leg.gov.mb.ca; frank.whitehead@leg.gov.mb.ca; matt.wiebe@leg.gov.mb.ca; minfin@leg.gov.mb.ca
Step 2:
Fill out the subject line
suggested subject line: I oppose any motion to condemn IAW. I support free speech in Manitoba
Step 3:
Copy and paste the following letter. Edits, additions, and personal touches are welcome in your letters. If addressing it to a particular MLA, or your own MLA, put their name in the address line. Also, don't forget to sign it.
*************************
Dear Members of the Legislative Assembly:
I am writing in response to a proposed private members bill that condemns Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), a series of campus-based educational events that takes place annually on campuses all over the world.
The motion, which will be introduced by Progressive Conservative MLA Heather Stefanson (Tuxedo), is an unprecedented attack on free speech in Manitoba. I condemn and oppose this motion and the decision of any MLA to support it.
IAW has grown in size and scope since it was first launched on campuses in Toronto in 2005, and now includes dozens of events in 60 cities worldwide including 3 cities in South Africa. IAW is marked by its inclusive and diverse nature, its respect for discussion and debate, and its call for peaceful solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict. IAW has been endorsed and supported by dozens of organizations including student unions, trade unions, faith groups, and Jewish solidarity organizations.
The term "apartheid" is not a hateful one, nor is it on the "margins" of mainstream debate. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter uses the term in his best-selling book Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid. South African anti-apartheid campaigners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Willie Madisha, regularly use the term "apartheid" to describe the conditions in which Palestinians live both inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories. The term is also used widely inside Israel itself: former Israeli Prime Minister and current Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently used the term in a speech about the consequences of stalled peace talks.
The conditions in which Palestinians live clearly meet the definition of "apartheid" as described by the United Nations. The increasingly differential system of roads, housing, laws, access to resources, basic rights, living conditions, and quality of life between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians all point to a system of apartheid. Palestinians have the right to describe these conditions in the way they experience them.
In Manitoba, there have been a total of zero complaints to the university administration that we are aware of, zero violations of the University of Manitoba Respectful Work and Learning Policy, zero incidents of Jewish students being threatened or intimidated, and zero incidents of racism on campus as a result of IAW. While certain organizations and politicians have condemned IAW in the media and slandered and condemned IAW and IAW organizers, none had even attempted to contact organizers of IAW in Manitoba. Had they bothered to contact organizers or do the most basic of research, they would have found that IAW is an anti-racist event and that every event at the University of Manitoba was opened by reading a statement opposing racism.
You may disagree with an apartheid analysis of Israel, but you have no right to limit or restrict Palestinians and their supporters from expressing a completely legitimate perspective. A decision to condemn IAW would represent a serious setback for free speech in Manitoba, and should be reconsidered before it is approved. The Manitoba legislature should not be in the business of censorship. Furthermore, it is highly irresponsible for the Manitoba legislature to condemn student organized events when there are organized campaigns to ban these events. Fortunately the University of Manitoba administration has so far refused to infringe on free speech and students right to organize on campus.
In her press release at pcmanitoba.ca, Stefanson has clearly stated her intention: to “eradicate” IAW. This assault on free speech can not be tolerated, and I call on all democratic-minded MLAs to oppose this resolution.
I urge to rethink your position, to become more informed about this issue, and to demonstrate support for free speech in Manitoba – including for those political perspectives with which you might disagree.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
XXXXXX
********************
Step 4:
Press send! If you get a response, please forward it to iaw.winnipeg@gmail.com
Step 5:
Pass this email on to anyone you think may be interested or concerned about these attacks on free speech in Manitoba.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
College and University Workers United demand justice for Denis Rancourt
Open letter to Allan Rock, President of the University of Ottawa
http://www.thefulcrum.ca/articles/27732WE, THE UNDERSIGNED members of College and University Workers United (CUWU), know Denis Rancourt to be a dedicated educator and a fearless defender of justice. We know Denis Rancourt to stand for human rights and for students’ rights. We are thankful to count Denis Rancourt among the rare public intellectuals who do not compromise their principles when they become aware of institutional folly; but instead use their positions to expose and correct flawed practices.
We have examined the circumstances of Denis Rancourt’s sudden removal from the University of Ottawa. These extraordinary circumstances have included an unannounced laboratory lockout, illegitimate use of trespass legislation to handcuff and arrest the professor, illegal dismissal of his research associate of many years, denial of due process, extensive use of covert surveillance including voice recording talks on other campuses, intimidations of graduate students by threatening loss of scholarships, and many more violations of established labour norms in the academic environment.
We note that the dismissal was executed against a mid-career tenured professor of the highest academic rank, with an active and federally funded research group, having achieved international recognition for his scientific work in several areas, and having practised some of the most innovative advances in teaching in the country.
We note that less than a year before the dismissal Denis Rancourt won an Arbitration Award setting new precedents for academic freedom in Canada—a published legal study of which was entitled “Teaching Science through Social Activism is Protected by Academic Freedom, Arbitrator Rules.”
We have examined the accusations against Denis Rancourt, which he has made entirely public, and the university administration’s position, which it has made public in two press releases.
We conclude that the charges advanced against Denis Rancourt are a contrived pretext, that they are preposterous as reasons to summarily remove a tenured professor, and that, therefore, the real reasons must lie elsewhere.
We conclude that this was a political firing to remove a dissident academic who was also critical of the university administration and supportive of student efforts to reform the institution towards greater student power.
We protest the firing of Denis Rancourt by the administration at the University of Ottawa as a backward move that harms Canadian academia and the educational project in a free and democratic society. We ask that those most directly involved take an uncompromisingly critical look at the machinations of the university’s administration in this important case and not let justice be disregarded to this extent.
Martin Duckworth, Concordia University; Sumi Hasegawa, McGill University; Adrienne Hurley, McGill University; Sandra Jeppesen, Concordia University; Steven Jordan, McGill University; Denis Kosseim, André-Laurendeau; Thomas Lamarre, McGill University; Abby Lippman, McGill University; Ehab Lotayef, McGill University; Joy Moore, Dawson College Anthony Paré, McGill University; Eric Shragge, Concordia University
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Solidarity Rally being held in front of CNIB Thursday March 18.
Solidarity Rally being held in front of CNIB Thursday March 18.
Clients who rely on CNIB services want to be heard.
A Solidarity Rally will be held in front of the CNIB Office at 1080 Portage Avenue from 2:30 to 4:30p.m. The press conference for the media will be at 3:00pm and UFCW Local 832 President Robert Ziegler will be speaking along with MFL President Kevin Rebeck, CNIB staff who are currently locked out and Eric Mackinder President of the Winnipeg Chapter for the Alliance of Equality for Blind Canadians will also be on hand to speak at the rally. WHO: UFCW Local 832, President Robert Ziegler
Manitoba Federation of Labour President Kevin Rebeck
Locked-out CNIB workers (Ann Harry & Laura Layton)
Alliance of the Equality for Blind Canadians, Winnipeg President Eric Mackinder
WHAT: Solidarity Rally and Press Conference regarding the lock-out of CNIB Workers
WHEN: Thursday, March 18, 2010 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: CNIB OFFICE, 1080 Portage, Winnipeg, MB (on the sidewalk)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
First Israeli Apartheid Week in Manitoba a Success
WINNIPEG – March 15, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
First Israeli Apartheid Week in Manitoba a Success
The organizers of Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) would like to thank everyone who spoke at, volunteered for, sponsored, attended or otherwise supported our events. The events of IAW went very well, with large turnouts, excellent speakers and robust debate. While the events of IAW are now over, the organizers would like to point out a few facts about the first run of IAW in Mantoba.
Israeli Apartheid Week, contrary to the claims of some opposed to discussing the issue of Israeli apartheid, went smoothly and successfully. "We proved that all accusations of anti-Semitism and race baiting were totally unfounded, and showed that our event was genuinely anti-racist in intent and practice," said Brian Latour, spokesperson for the Winnipeg IAW Coordinating Committee. "Each of our events actually had audience members spontaneously stay afterwards to continue the debate, sometimes for hours, proving that Israeli Apartheid Week actually served to encourage debate and discussion."
Organizers fire back against Parliamentary and Legislative motions to condemn IAW
The organizers would also like to respond to the attempts by Members of the Manitoba Legislature and Canadian Parliament that seek to shut down debate and discussion on Canadian campuses. While the motion was rejected in Parliament thanks to the courage of a few MPs who voted with their conscience, the motion proposed by MLA Heather Stefanson for the Manitoba Legislature is still a reality. “These attempts to crush free speech and defend apartheid are as anti-democratic as they are pathetic and any MLA who votes for or otherwise supports this effort to crush freedom of speech should be ashamed of themselves and resign immediately," declared Latour.
In contrast to the behaviour of some Members of the Legislature, the organizers would like to recognize the principled decision made by the University of Manitoba administration to avoid infringing on our free speech rights. They did so despite pressure from organizations like B'nai Brith who repeatedly slandered us in the media and in correspondence with the University administration. We can only assume that when IAW inevitably expands to other University campuses in this province that their administrations will be as respectful of the democratic rights of students.
About Israeli Apartheid Week
Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an anti-racist event intended to educate about the realities of Israel's apartheid policies. In addition to the broad subject of apartheid, this inaugural year included panel discussions on the impact of apartheid on women, Canadian government complicity, indigenous solidarity, and the appropriateness of Israeli Apartheid as a topic for discussion on University campuses. It also included an evening event featuring a spoken word performance by Lyrical Militant, a socially-conscious, local hip-hop artist.
Full details of the events can be found online at winnipeg.apartheidweek.org.
Monday, March 15, 2010
CNIB locks out unionized staff
CNIB locks out unionized staff
Notice sent to union office
The union received via fax today that the CNIB in Manitoba has locked out the members represented by UFCW Local 832.
The unionized staff at CNIB started their strike today over the company’s position to sick leave and long term disability.
UFCW Local 832 represents 19 employees at CNIB who are the front line workers to the visually impaired in the province.
Friday, March 12, 2010
CBC News - Manitoba - CNIB workers prepare to picket
We will make sure to stay on top of this:
CNIB workers prepare to picket
Last Updated: Friday, March 12, 2010 | 11:55 AM CT
Workers at Winnipeg's Canadian National Institute for the Blind are preparing to walk off the job
Union members on Thursday voted down the CNIB's final contract offer, after negotiating with management for close to a year.
The union is willing to accept a wage freeze in the first year of a new deal but not the proposed reductions to paid sick leave and long-term disability, said United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 832 president Robert Ziegler.
"The membership is outraged that after spending nearly a year at the bargaining table and being understanding on monetary issues that the company would force a reduction in their health and wellness benefits when it has never been a problem," Ziegler said.
The 19 union members who work at the CNIB perform various duties assisting people living in the province who have visual impairment.
Contract negotiations started in April 2009 and in July 2009, a government-appointed conciliator was brought on to try helping the two sides reach a deal.
"The company has taken a hard line on a non-issue and unfortunately they are demonstrating to the people in the province who need these services that they would rather force our members on a picket line instead of helping them," said Ziegler.
There are no plans to continue negotiations as the company stated this was their final offer, he added.
However, the union is willing to meet with the company over the weekend prior to the Monday morning picket, if they are willing to move off this issue, Ziegler said.
There's been no comment from the CNIB.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Amadeu Casellas is Free!
Catalan anarchist prisoner Amadeu Casellas Ramon was released from prison at midday on Tuesday, 9 March!!!
The director of the penitentiary center at Girona (Catalunya, Spanish State) finally considered all the complaints and petitions submitted by Casellas' lawyers and concluded that Casellas had been imprisoned for 8 years too long, and ordered his immediate release.
Casellas spent 24 years in prison for bank robberies to support workers' struggles in the 1970s, during periods of strong struggle against the state during the stage-managed transition from dictatorship to democracy. In the 1980s he took part in the strong prisoners' resistance movement.
He conducted two extremely long hunger strikes for his release, in 2008 and 2009, and received a great deal of solidarity from the outside. He has vocally protested torture and repression inside the Catalan prisons, and stood in solidarity with all prisoners.
Although the state pretends to find a legal basis for his release, we are sure that without the solidarity actions he would have been left to rot in prison indefinitely.
Over the past several years, Casellas has received solidarity from all over the Spanish state, and from other countries as well. Anarchists have written letters, raised money, visited, stayed in contact with his family, protested outside embassies and Spanish government buildings, made thousands of protestors and graffiti on all the walls calling for his release, sabotaged train lines, attacked police vehicles, smashed or set fire to banks and cash machines, held info events, put up stickers, blocked roads, sent letters of protest to prison officials, and worked within legal channels. Though there were conflicts between different support groups, they kept their sights on liberty for Amadeu and avoided unnecessary infighting, despite strong differences in politics and strategy.
Meanwhile, the anarchists have not watered down their goals but continue to vocally advocate freedom for all prisoners and the destruction of all prisons. Although legal arguments were used for part of the support campaign, that Amadeu has been imprisoned longer than he should be according to their own laws, the fundamental message is that no one should be in prison and that we want him out here with us. There were never any arguments that Amadeu was innocent, or that prison in any form is legitimate.
In the past year, anarchists have won freedom for the two main Catalan prisoners they have supported, Amadeu Casellas and Ramon Garces. They continue to support all prisoners and not make distinctions for "political prisoners" but after major failures in the prisoner solidarity movement earlier in the decade they have focused on supporting prisoners who are active within the prisons and can lead their own struggles.
Freedom for all prisoners! Down with all walls!
Llibertat per Amadeu! Llibertat per a tots i totes!!
http://barcelona.indymedia.org/newswire/display/391289/index.php
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
ALTERNATIVES TO CAPITALISM: SELF-MANAGEMENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT
ALTERNATIVES TO CAPITALISM: SELF-MANAGEMENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Within the framework of the CNT-AIT centenary (1910-2010), a series of conferences brought together under the name of “Alternatives to Capitalism: Self-management in the spotlight” will take place in Barcelona (Spain). These conferences will be held throughout april 2010. The contents will be organized in three blocks of lectures: theoretical, historical and a broader one, based in more current experiences.
The theoretical block draws up a program of lectures on how the capitalist system works, focusing on the present moment of economic and social crisis. Anarcho-syndicalist proposals facing the crisis will also be debated. This theoretical perspective is completed with several papers which shall offer a wide vision of economic and social literature on the subject of socialism and libertarian-communism models.
The historical block tries to put forward two strong models that may serve as an alternative to the capitalist system. On the one hand, that of the anarchist collectivization during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), for which lectures will be included to explain how it worked in the different regions where it was implemented (Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Aragon, Castile, Andalusia). On the other hand, explanations will be offered on the Yugoslav co-management model (1950-1990) with the purpose of assessing this experience both in the light of a possible model for the development of impoverished countries and from the limits imposed on socialism by the five-year plan, the market and the One Party State, along with a strictly libertarian vision of the whole process.
With the present block we intend to gain an insight on different organizational experiences that fight against capitalism nowadays from a self management point of view. In this sense, the contribution of the CNT-AIT (labour and socioeconomic aspects) is included, as well as those of other specific anarchist organizations (socio-political aspect), of some models of cooperatives with a radical perspective (labour and socioeconomic management aspect) or of cultural and study centres (cultural aspect). Finally there’s place for initiatives linked to local and municipal fields, such as those of squat social centres and apartments, municipalism or local assemblies (local-political aspect). Finally, from a wider geographical, and in some cases, thematic point of view, live experiences from other places in the world will be debated, such as social movements in Latin America, Chiapas, Brazil (Landless Workers Movement, MST), Argentina (enterprises recovered by their workers), Venezuela and Greece.
More info:
http://www.autogestion2010.info/
Organizing:
CeNTenary (Barcelone) Comission
Fundación Anselmo Lorenzo – FAL (http://www.cnt.es/fal)
Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences – ICEA (http://iceautogestion.org)
Fundació d'Estudis Llibertaris i Anarcosindicalistes – FELLA (http://www.nodo50.org/fella)
PROGRAM
-4 p.m. Introduction to the conferences. CNT Barcelona
-4.15 p.m. Where do we stand in the crisis? Miren Etxezarreta. Economist, lecturer at Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) for 35 years and member of the critic economic seminar TAIFA
-5.30 p.m. Capitalism today: crisis or downfall? Some thoughts. Toni Castells. Economist.
-6.45 p.m. Anarcho-syndicalist proposals in the face of the economic crisis. Gaspar Fuster. Economics teacher in Secondary Education and member of the Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences (ICEA).
-8 p.m General debate and conclusions
Saturday 10th April – Morning. Studies on self-management and models on socialism and libertarian communism (I).
-10 a.m. Socialism and libertarian communism in economic thought until 1939. Lluís Rodríguez Algans. Economist and member of the Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences (ICEA).
-11.15 a.m. Self-management, an up-to date debate: participative planning or re-conceptualization of the market. Endika Alabort Amundarain. Economics lecturer at Basque Country University (Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea) and member of the Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences (ICEA).
-12.30 p.m. Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences: study and technical support for widespread self-management. Members of the ICEA.
-1.45 p.m. General debate and conclusions
Saturday 10th April – Evening. Studies on self-management and models on socialism and libertarian communism (II).
-4 p.m.The economics of freedom: creating abundant lives for all (in English). Jon Bekken. Member of the editorial collective of Anarcho-syndicalist Review, former general secretary and treasurer of Industrial Workers of the World.
-5.15 p.m. Inclusive Democracy as a political project for a new libertarian synthesis: rationale, proposed social structure and transition (in English). Takis Fotopoulos. Political philosopher and ex-senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of North London (UK) where he taught Political Economy for over twenty years. He has been the editor of the theoretical journal Democracy & Nature, The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy since 1992 and founder of the Inclusive Democracy movement.
-6.30 p.m. Anarchist Planning for Twenty-first Century Economies: A Proposal (in English). Robin Hahnel. Professor Emeritus at American University where he taught Political Economy for thirty-three years, and is currently Visiting Professor of Economics at Portland State University. He is best known as co-creator along with Michael Albert of an economic model known as “participatory economics” which is widely discussed as an alternative to capitalism (PARECON).
-7.45 p.m. General debate and conclusions
Friday 16th April. Anarchist collectivization during the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 (I)
-4p.m. Historical background and social aspects of the Civil War. Paco Madrid. Historian.
-5.15p.m. Face to face against the state: the 1936 revolution and agrarian collectivism in Catalonia. Marciano Cárdaba. Historian. Researcher in the social, economic and political factors of agrarian collectivization in Catalonia (1936-1939).
-6.30p.m. Collectivist transformations in the industry and services in Catalonia (1936-1939). Toni Castells. Historian.
-7.45p.m. General debate and conclusions
Saturday 17th April – Morning. Anarchist collectivization during the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 (II)
-10a.m. "Agrarian collectivities in Aragon (1936-1939). Between revolution and reaction." Walther L. Bernecker. Professor of the History of Spain, Portugal, and Latin-America at Friedrich Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany).
-11.15a.m. Coup-d’etat, war and social transformation in Andalusia and Castile (1936-1939). José Luis Gutiérrez Molina. Historian. Researcher in contemporary social history, particularly in Andalusia.
-12.30p.m. Collectivities in the Valencian Community. Ending with the typical topics. Manuel Vicent. Historian and archivist.
-1.45 p.m. General debate and conclusions
Saturday 17th April – Evening. Yugoslavia 1950-1990
-4 p.m. Unequal development as a limit to the self-management process. The Yugoslav case. Ramón Franquesa. Lecturer of World Economy at University of Barcelona (UB). Researcher in management of natural, renewable resources and on Social Economy and non-capitalist economic organization processes
-5.15p.m. The Yugoslav selfmanagement squeezed by the plan, the market and the single party : is the suppression of institutions the solution? (in English). Catherine Samary. Professor and Researcher specialist of the Yugoslav and East European transformations; activist in internationalist networks.
-6.30p.m. Yugoslav Self-Management: An Anarchist perspective (in English). Andrej Grubačić. Historian and anarchist sociologist. Researcher in the subject of anarchism and the history of the Balkans. Member of Industrial Workers of the World.
-7.45p.m. General debate and conclusions
Tuesday 20th April. Organizational models as an alternative to capitalism: anarchism and anarcho-syndicalism.
-4p.m. CNT: syndicalism for social change. Genís Ferrero. Member of the CNT Barcelona.
-5.15p.m. Libertarian organizations: Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI), Iberian Federation of Anarchist Youth (FIJA), Federation of Libertarian Students (FEL).
-6.45p.m. Uruguayan Anarchist Federation. Specific anarchism, anarchist direct action: towards the construction of the Popular Power. Mario Remedios. Secretary of Affairs of FAU. Militant of the Germinal Ateneo in the Villa Colón neighbourhood (Montevideo).
-8p.m. General debate and conclusions
Wednesday 21st April. Organizational models as an alternative to capitalism: cooperativism and municipalism.
-4p.m. Solidarity economy: the embryo of a new economy? Jordi García Jané. Cooperativist, professor and writer on subjects related to solidarity economy and social alternatives in general.
-5.15p.m. Cooperatives: production, finances and consumption. Mol-Matric, Coop57, and Germinal.
-6.45p.m. Libertarian municipality on the way to self-management. Manel Aisa. Historian.
Assembly of the neighbourhood of Sants. Mireia Rosselló.
-8p.m. General debate and conclusions
Thursday 22nd April. Organizational models as an alternative to capitalism: anarchism, culture and social movements.
-4p.m. House squatting and social centres. Jesús Rodríguez. Activist of the squat movement.
-5.15p.m. Libertarian Ateneo. Popular Encyclopaedic Ateneo and Libertarian Ateneo of Sants. Xavier Oller, historian and members.
-6.45p.m. Libertarian Centre of Studies: Foundation for Libertarian and Anarcho-syndicalist Studies (Barcelona), Libertarian Centre of Studies, Federica Montseny (Badalona), Libertarian Centre of Studies, Francesc Sàbat (Terrassa), Foundation Anselmo Lorenzo (Madrid). Members.
-8p.m. General debate and conclusions
Saturday 24th April – Morning. Nowadays experiences (I): Social Movements in Latin America, Chiapas y Brazil.
-10 a.m. Social movements in Latin America: you can’t fight progressivism. Raúl Zibechi. Thinker and activist, professor and researcher in social movements, journalist and international analyst for La Jornada (Mexico) and Brecha (Uruguay).
-11.15 a.m. Indigenous rebellion in Chiapas. Committee of Solidarity with the Zapatist rebellion.
-12.30p.m. Landless Workers Movement from Brazil, the struggle for land, Agrarian Reform, and a fairer society. María Carballo. Anthropologist and member of the MST Support Committee of Barcelona since 1996.
-13.45. General debate and conclusions
Satruday 24th April – Evening. Nowadays experiences (II): Argentina, Venezuela and Greece
-4p.m. From crisis to self-management: origins and perspectives of the recovery of firms in Argentina. Luis Buendía. Economist and pre-doctoral researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), and member of the Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences (ICEA).
-5.15p.m. Imperialism, social reform and popular power in Venezuela. Luis Baños. Libertarian militant active in organizational, education and popular struggle processes in the rural environment and the city. Historian and member of the Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences (ICEA).
-6.30p.m. Tracking down social antagonism and anarchist-antiauthoritarian movement in Greece. Anarchist companions from Greece.
-7.45p.m. General debate and conclusions
-8.15p.m. End of the program. CNT Barcelona
