A Get-Together.

From Tarcoteca, mark your diaries, in advance: 

         The Tenth Congress of the International of Anarchists Federation (IAF) will be held from 4 to 7 August 2016 (Thursday to Sunday), in Frankfurt, Germany.
         The last congress of the IFA was held during the International anarchist Gathering in St-Imier (Switzerland) in 2012. This Gathering, initiated by the Anarchist Federation (FA), the Libertarian Federation of Mountains (FLM) and Espace Noir (St-Imier) had brought together thousands of anarchists around the world for discussions, concerts, films, exhibitions, workshops, round tables, etc.
         The success of the event is due to the strong investment of members of the Anarchist Federation, Libertarian Federation of Mountains (FLM) and Espace Noir (St-Imier) but also the involvement of the International of Anarchist Federations (IAF) and the Anarkismo network. This involvement has allowed all the "families" of anarchism are represented. Delegations came from all continents.
        These meetings provided to structure knowledge networks and solidarity. They have given rise to various projects.
Following this Gathering, the International of Anarchist Federations (IAF) participated, supported and / or initiated Mediterranean anarchists Gathering (Tunisia, Greece), Balkan anarchist Meeting (Greece, Slovenia), the Meeting of the anarchists radios (Slovenia , Germany), etc.

Read the full article HERE:

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk
 

      

Recent General Strike In Finland.

The latest from Anarchist Radio Berlin:

       As Anarchist Radio Berlin we had the opportunity of making an interview with two members of the new Anarchist Federation in Finland, Alusta. The interview was made during the Anarchist Bookfair in Tallinn, Estonia. The comrades tell us about the idea and the goals of the federation, the recent general strike in Finland and the political and social panorama of the country, including the rise of the far right in midst of governmental austerity measures.

New Forms Of Workers Organisation.

     Thanks to City Strolls for this, also thanks to Glasgow Anarchist Federation, Clydeside IWW, Spirit of Revolt, and Radical Independent Bookfair for sponsoring and organising this valued discussion. A book launch and talk/discussion, by Immanuel Ness on new forms of workers organisations held in Glasgow on Wednesday 18 June at the Fred Paton Centre.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

A Concerted Attack, Requires A Concerted Defence.

      The living conditions of the ordinary people of this country are under attack as never before, and on so many fronts it is imperative that we join all our campaigns into one massive revolt against the financial Mafia's grand plan. This grand plan is being implemented by the Oxbridge millionaire cabal, sitting in The Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, and consists of slashing all social services and the demolishing of our hard won working conditions, We have ATOS destroying the lives of the sick and disabled, we have the bedroom tax attacking the poor, we have workfare getting you to work for the multinationals for no wages, and then we have the "zero hours" contracts, tying you to a phone in the hope that you get a few hours work. This is not going to stop until we stop it, you will not wake up tomorrow and find that they have turned all compassionate and are reversing the damage done by their brutal and vicious assault.

      If you don't know where to get involved you could contact your local Clydeside IWW, Anarchist Federation, or Glasgow Against ATOS, a good place to start would be the Glasgow Games Monitor 2014. Here is some info from them:

A wee digest of new posts up on the site. Note especially the important new documentation of Alex Salmond's visit to the Accord Centre:

Accord Centre:    Alex Salmond vist to the Accord centre (video and full transcription): http://gamesmonitor2014.org/2013/08/08/alex-salmond-at-the-accord-centre-a-promise-unfulfilled/

Image gallery of selected City Council and Scottish Government letters to the Accord: http://gamesmonitor2014.org/2013/08/03/save-the-accord-letters/Atos:

Image gallery of Chris Hoy Velodrome occupation: http://gamesmonitor2014.org/2013/08/03/photos-from-the-velodrome-occupation/

Games Monitor comment on 'Atos kills' and the Games: http://gamesmonitor2014.org/2013/08/08/atos-kills-and-it-has-accomplices/

Documentation of the 'Dirty Laundry' event on Glasgow Green, 3rd, August (Atos protestors included): http://gamesmonitor2014.org/2013/08/07/documentation-of-glasgows-dirty-laundry-event/

Cheers, Glasgow Games Monitor 2014: http://gamesmonitor2014.org/

ann arky's home.

FIGHTING FOR OURSELVES.

     For those interested, the Solidarity Federation's new book, "Fighting for Ourselves" gets a detailed review in The Commune.

"---- Yet it is not quite. Despite a few caveats about SolFed not being the be all and end all, this is a SolFed-centric vision. This is maybe most evident in the passage about the SolFed Local:

“At the heart of the anarcho-syndicalist union is the Local, which aims to be at the centre of community and workplace struggle in the surrounding area. But the role of the Local goes beyond that. It provides the physical space where a diverse range of groups, such as oppressed, cultural, and education groups can organise. The Local acts as the social, political, and economic centre for working class struggle in a given area. It is the physical embodiment of our beliefs and methods, the means by which workers become anarcho-syndicalist not just on the basis of ideas but activity.”

     Such bodies will need to exist. But if there is a particular reason why they should be part of – or mainly facilitated by – SolFed, it is not described within these pages. Thinking of Liverpool radical politics right now, I would love to be in such a group with the SolFed comrades, but I’d want AFed comrades there too, as well as the many unaligned comrades who make up the overwhelming majority of radical class struggle activists.----"

Read the full review HERE: 

      You can buy hard copies of Fighting for ourselves for £6 (including p&p) from Freedom Press (UK – £5 in the shop), and for $10+p&p from Thoughtcrime Ink Books (North America). It can also be viewed or downloaded for free from the ‘Selfed’ website.

ann arky's home.

PRIVILEGE.

     After our millionaire Prime Minister Cameron, spouted his ridiculous statement about "spreading privilege" I thought this article would be a good read.

This from The Anarchist federation:

A Class Struggle Anarchist Analysis of Privilege Theory – from the Women's Caucus.

Aims and definitions

      The purpose of this paper is to outline a class struggle anarchist analysis of Privilege Theory. Many of us feel “privilege” is a useful term for discussing oppressions that go beyond economic class. It can help us to understand how these oppressions affect our social relations and the intersections of our struggles within the economic working class. It is written by members of the women’s caucus of the Anarchist Federation. It does not represent all our views and is part of an ongoing discussion within the federation.
       What do we mean – and what do we not mean – by privilege? Privilege implies that wherever there is a system of oppression (such as capitalism, patriarchy, white supremacy, heteronormativity) there is an oppressed group and also a privileged group, who benefit from the oppressions that this system puts in place1. The privileged group do not have to be active supporters of the system of oppression, or even aware of it, in order to benefit from it. They benefit from being viewed as the norm, and providing for their needs being seen as what is naturally done, while the oppressed group is considered the “other”, and their needs are “special considerations”. Sometimes the privileged group benefits from the system in obvious, material ways, such as when women are expected to do most or all of the housework, and male partners benefit from their unpaid labour. At other times the benefits are more subtle and invisible, and involve certain pressures being taken off a privileged group and focused on others, for example black and Asian youths being 28% more likely to be stopped and searched by the police than white youths2.

      The point here is not that police harassment doesn’t happen to white youths, or that being working class or a white European immigrant doesn’t also mean you’re more likely to face harassment; the point is that a disproportionate number of black and Asian people are targeted in comparison to white people, and the result of this is that, if you are carrying drugs, and you are white, then all other things being equal you are much more likely to get away with it than if you were black. In the UK, white people are also less likely to be arrested or jailed, or to be the victim of a personal crime3. Black people currently face even greater unemployment in the UK than they do in the USA4. 

      The point of quoting this is not to suggest we want a society in which people of all races and ethnicities face equal disadvantage – we want to create a society in which nobody faces these disadvantages. But part of getting there is acknowledging how systems of oppression work, which means recognising that, if black and ethnic minority groups are more likely to face these disadvantages, then by simple maths white people are less likely to face them, and that means they have an advantage, a privilege, including the privilege of not needing to be aware of the extent of the problem.

Read the full article HERE:

ann arky's home.

LONDON LEAVES A BAD TASTE AFTER ST. IMIER.

This from AFed UK:

Anarchists Detained by Counter-Terrorist Police on Return from Swiss Conference [plus French, Spanish translations]

For the past week, thousands of anarchists from across Europe have been converging in St.Imier, Switzerland to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the founding of the Anarchist international. The gathering took the form of a festival and educational, with music, films and entertainment as well as workshops and discussions.

On returning from the St Imier gathering, two anarchists, one a member of the UK Anarchist Federation, were detained for nearly two hours at Heathrow by SO15 (counter-terrorist) police. During the detention, the anarchists were told that their normal rights did not apply, and had their names, addresses, email addresses, DNA and fingerprints taken. The detained anarchists were also forced to sign forms – which may or may not be legal – waiving their rights to silence and a solicitor. Police also conducted a thorough search of personal possessions, photocopied literature and passports and took information from phones and cameras.

During the detention, the police constantly accused the anarchists of lying about involvement in criminal activity and alleged that they would be conducting follow-up police action against one of the detained anarchists. In addition to this, SO15 officers asked a number of inflammatory, irrelevant and offensive questions, including ‘what would you do if someone raped your mother?’ evidently in an attempt to cause emotional upset and illicit angry or violent responses. One member (28) who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals from the police, said "We were treated like criminals. I told them I went to the congress as I am an amateur journalist and I write articles about activism. They saw my note book, camera and Dictaphone but they said I was lying. One officer said 'You said you are an anarchist, I've seen anarchists on the news, they are violent, throw molotov cocktails and disrupt people’s lives not write articles'".

Read the full statement HERE:

ann arky's home.

A TIME TO THINK, A TIME TO ORGANISE.

St Imier 140th anniversary -

Talk and News On Upcoming International Anarchist Festival.

Public Event By Glasgow Anarchist Federation And Friends

Thursday, 19 April 2012

18:30 – 21.00

Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QQ

       In August 2012 anarchists from all over the world will be gathering in St Imier, Switzerland for a week of events to mark the 140th anniversary of the founding of the Anarchist International- a major split with the authoritarian international of Karl Marx.

     This split represents a fundamental divide between those who believe that communism can be imposed from above, and those who believe that we can only have true communism if we have freedom as well. How we get where we want to go is as important as where we want to go.

      As part of the process of building up to the summer event, the Anarchist Federation is hosting a series of meetings around the country. The theme of the meetings is the struggle against authoritarianism- from St Imier to today.

The following issues will be discussed:

• The background to St Imier and what was involved in the split

• How the struggle against authoritarianism continued in key revolutions such as Russia and Spain

• The debate about human ‘nature’ and why humans do not need authority to flourish

• The role of authoritarian tendencies in struggles today eg the cuts movement, the strikes in the public sector, the student movement and within the anarchist movement itself.

http://www.anarchisme2012.ch/

Facebook Event Page:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/240919052672305/

ann arky's home.

GLASGOW ANARCHIST FAIR.

Glasgow Anarchist Fair

Saturady 10th December

10am - 11pm

Kinning Park Complex.

Workshops: Introduction to Anarchism - Anarchist strategy in Community and Workplace - Ben Franks (author of'Rebel Alliances: The Means and Ends of Contemporary British Anarchism') on Anarchist Ethics - Libertarian Education - Racism - Scottish author D.D. Johnston reading from his new book, Peace, love and Petrol Bombs.

Stalls: Including Radical Independent Bookfair, Anarchist Federation,Solidarity Federation, GU Vegan Society, Glasgow Social Centre, Coal Action Scotland.

Social: In the evening, Films, Music, Chat.

Kid's Space: Please contact us as soon as possible to use the space.

glasgowanarchists.wordpress.com/fair

ann arky's home.