Protesting against the decision by the German government to accept the peace treaty of Versailles, a group of soldiers under Wolfgang Kapp took control of Berlin on March 13, 1920. The trade unions called a general strike, which, after some doubt, was supported by the Ebert government. The strike paralyzed life in Berlin and contributed to the failure of the […]
According to the website 'Anecdotes on Kim Il Sung' (http://north-korea.narod.ru/anecdotes.htm) the North Korean leader visited a department store on March 13, 1958. Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) bought a pair of socks of inferior quality so that he would not stand out among the people.
Begriff und Praxis der Kritik befinden sich seit einiger Zeit in einer tiefen Krise. Ein Grund dafür ist, dass ihre Voraussetzungen, die lange Zeit als selbstverständlich galten und deshalb kaum eigens reflektiert wurden, problematisch geworden sind. Dazu gehören ein unterstelltes Interesse am Ausgang aus selbstverschuldeter Unmündigkeit, ein Vertrauen auf d […]
Arno Münster, emeritierter Professor für deutsche Philosophiegeschichte, Ernst Bloch-Schüler und Autor vieler Schriften, die dem Wissenstransfer zwischen der deutschen und französischen Linken dienten, legt in Utopie, Emanzipation, Praxis zehn Texte (Vorträge, Aufsätze, ein Interview) vor, deren Gemeinsamkeit er darin sieht, einen „stets kritischen, dialekti […]
Staatlicher Rassismus und migrantische Subversion in der DDR Sechshundert Algerier streiken in der DDR! Diese Schlagzeile wäre 1975 so brisant gewesen, dass sie in der staatlich gelenkten Presse nicht gedruckt wurde. Die LeserInnen von Neuem Deutschland und Junger Welt erfuhren nicht, dass in acht Betrieben algerische VertragsarbeiterInnen für höhere Löhne, […]
Gebärförderung - aber nicht für alle P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; Seit 2002 gibt es in Deutschland eine Familienpolitik mit explizit demografischen Zielen: Die Geburtenrate soll gesteigert werden. Entscheidender Hebel ist die Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf, die zudem als Abschied von konservativen Familienidealen gefeiert wird. Aber: Nicht alle Kinder si […]
Ce texte a été rédigé en 2007 sous forme de réponse à quelques remarques reçues à l’article « Europe : cinquante ans de retard sur les capitalistes », mais il était resté inédit. Il est publié ici, avec quelques retouches. L’article « Europe : cinquante ans de retard sur les capitalistes » n’a pas vocation à résoudre un problème, mais plus […] […]
Paru dans La Révolution prolétarienne N° 140 (25 novembre 1932). Une conscience FERNAND LORIOT Loriot est à l’hôpital Saint-Denis ; il va très mal. J’apprenais cette nouvelle dans l’après-midi du mercredi 12 octobre. Le même jour il mourait, à l’âge de soixante-deux ans. Nous ne nous étions pas rencontré, si je me souviens bien, depuis […] […]
Lettre de Behnam Ebrahimzadeh à l’Organisation Internationale du Travail (OIT) : La conférence annuelle de l’OIT commencera le 5 juin. Moi, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, j’ai été condamné à cinq ans de prison pour mes luttes pour les droits des travailleurs et des enfants. J’ai déjà passé trois années en prison, et maintenant, alors que mon seul […] […]
Sanandaj, Iran, 11 mai 2013 : Le Comité de Coordination pour Aider à Former des Organisations Ouvrière rapporte que les conducteurs de taxis de Sanandaj ont lancé une grève sauvage coordonnée. Malgré les efforts répressifs des brutes de la sécurité du régime et des voyous en civil, la grève commencée à 9 heures a continué […]
AFP, 25 mai 2013 : Plusieurs milliers de personnes ont manifesté samedi à Lisbonne, près du palais présidentiel, pour réclamer la démission du gouvernement dont la politique d’austérité, exigée par les créanciers du pays, a considérablement aggravé la récession et … Lire la suite →
AFP, 25 mai 2013 : De 450 selon la police à 1.000 personnes d’après les organisateurs ont manifesté samedi après-midi à Paris pour demander au gouvernement de modifier sa politique vis-à-vis des Roms, déplorant des "expulsions qui se succèdent", a … Lire la suite →
by Azaan Javaid In the Islamic interpretation of dreams, to dream about insects means a weaker people organizing themselves to win something over. Organization is both loved and loathed by a tyrannical entity. Loved, because enslaved people constitute profit generating labor. Loathed, because if the same organization is mobilized for a cause, which stands at […]
We, the undersigned, are extremely appalled and outraged by the arbitrary arrest of Comrade Abhay Sahoo at Bhubaneshwar airport by Odisha Police. This despicable and patently illegal act was made to appease POSCO’s blood sucking appetite, which drains the life blood from Odisha, that is, its land, water, minerals, forests and culture. Millions of people [... […]
Certains champignons s'observent toute l'année, mais ils sont en meilleur état lorsque le temps est humide. Cette année la douceur et la pluie ont été propices à leur développement en ce début d'hiver. Les auriculaires (forme d'oreille) sont des espèces gélatineuses ne possédant ni lames comme les agarics, ni tubes comme les bolets et ni […]
Interview de Alaya Allani, spécialiste des mouvements islamistes. Le danger salafiste est devenu une vérité incontournable. L'assassinat de Chokri Belaïd, les événements du Mont Chaâmbi et, tout récemment, les affrontements avec les forces de l'ordre, jugés impies qu'il faut exterminer, à Kairouan et à la cité Ettadhamen en sont la preuve irré […]
Untertitel: "Rathaus nicht der richtige Ort ..." Mittwoch, 15. Mai 2013, 21:54 UhrDarf ein Bürgermeister bestimmen, welcher Künstler welche Bilder in "seinem" Rathaus zeigt? Und: Ist es überhaupt "sein" Rathaus? In Kaltenkirchen hat Hanno Krause (CDU) darauf einfache Antworten - er unterband eine bereits terminierte Kunstausste […]
Untertitel: Interview mit Bodo Ramelow (DIE LINKE) Montag, 6. Mai 2013, 23:12 UhrAm 2. Mai stellte Bodo Ramelow im Norderstedter Rathaus das Buch "Schreddern, Spitzeln, Staatsversagen" vor, das sich mit der Verschleierung der Verbrechen des sogenannten "Nationalsozialistischen Untergrunds" (NSU) befasst und dahinter eine "ordnende H […]
Sister_Shefali_learns_of_sisters_corpse.jpg The site of the Dhaka factory collapse is now cleared; new concessions and reforms are announced. Some further reflections... 1127 corpses; unionisation on the horizon read more
Art of Anarchy 12.jpg Image gallery of the work of anarchist artist Flavio Costantini, who sadly died yesterday 20 May 2013. Bakunin.jpg fc.jpg bullfight.jpg Pinelli.jpg Bonogang.jpg tragic.jpg SidneyStreet.gif children.jpg detencioravachol.jpg Art of Anarchy 15.jpg Art of Anarchy 16.jpg […]
by Ayanda Kota, Pambazuka The Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM) was formed in August 2009 to respond to the crisis of unemployment and the commoditization of essential services in a society dominated by corruption and greed. As Steve Biko said, we blacks are tired of standing at the touchlines to witness a game that we should [...]
18 July 2011 Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement The Victory in the Kennedy 12 Trial is a Victory for all the Poor in South Africa The Kennedy 12 have been acquitted of all the charges bought against them after the attack on our movement in September 2009. It is a great day for the 12, their [...]
On lira avec intérêt cet article http://memorial98.over-blog.com/art... Et aussi les articles de l'Inventaire de la confusion, publié par nos soins (1), confusion dans laquelle de sinistres individus comme Venner, ou ses disciples, ont joué et jouent un rôle non négligeable. http://www.mondialisme.org/spip.php... Tous les articles de ce numéro sont disp […]
Analyser la crise. Un texte du groupe italien Connessioni per la lotta di classe, p. 3 Dans les publications, p. 15 Au Mali, la « communauté internationale des droits de l'homme » étend son pré carré, p. 18 Dans les publications, p. 24 Le retour du bain de sang en Afrique du Sud. Les suites des grèves de l'été 2012, p. 25 Chine. De l'utilisati […]
Wir waren in der vergangenen Woche in Lagern in Bramsche, Braunschweig, Hildesheim, Peine, Wolfsburg, Hamburg und in Hannover um mit den Menschen dort zu sprechen und um für das Tribunal gegen die Bundesrepublik Deutschland zu mobilisieren. Wir, das sind Menschen, die aus unterschiedlichsten Gründen aus verschiedenen Ländern geflohen oder weggegangen sind un […]
Bezirksamt Hamburg Mitte verhindert mit Polizeikräften Zeltaufbau Bürgermeister und Senat stellen sich weiterhin blind und taub Starker Regen flutet Schlafplätze read more
Guy Debord Limited Edition Action Figure Giveaway To mark the launch of McKenzie Wark’s new book The Spectacle of Disintegration, Verso Books have offered Rhizome readers in the UK a chance to win a 3D printed Guy Debord action figure. … Continue reading →
[30 juillet 2012] Mon charabia Essaye de suivre ma plume, essaye de décoder mes hiéroglyphes. Lis entre mes lignes. Top chrono. Je marche sur des œufs avec des patins à glace, je scie mes barreaux pour me faire de l’air … Continue reading →
Liebe Leserinnen und Leser, es ist keine Nebensache, wenn Sektoren der deutschen Arbeiter/inne/enklasse streiken. Es gibt nämlich mehr Streiks als von den Medien eingelullte Köpfe so glauben. Aktuell findet bei Edeka in Nordbayern ein harter Arbeitskampf statt, über den die konzerngesteuerten Medien fast nichts berichten. http://danketsu.twoday.net/stories/a […]
Am Mittwoch, den 22. Mai 2013 fanden bundesweit 21 Hausdurchsuchung im Zuge der Ermittlungen wegen Mitgliedschaft in und Bildung einer kriminellen Vereinigung (§ 129) statt. Durchsucht wurden neben privaten Wohnräumen auch Arbeitsstellen und Vereinsräumlichkeiten. Betroffen waren unter Anderem Objekte in Stuttgart, Berlin und Magdeburg. Solidaritätserklärung […]
Los 94 casos documentados de violencia de 2005 a 2011 siguen impunesCorrupción, el tema en torno a la violencia contra mujeres periodistas. Funcionarios públicos la mayoría de agresores.Por primera vez en la historia del periodismo a nivel mundial, en México se presenta un Informe Diagnóstico de Violencia contra Mujeres Periodistas, mismo que contempla casos […]
Compañeras; mujeres, hombres, personas de todas las edades.Desde hace 22 años, las feministas de América Latina y el Caribe nos damos cita cada 28 de septiembre, para exigir a nuestros gobiernos que detengan la masacre de mujeres que mueren, condenadas al olvido, en abortos clandestinos.En el día por la despenalización del aborto, las mujeres denunciamos el […]
by Stephen R. Shalom Michael Albert, Jessica Azulay, and David Marty Occupy Strategy Volume 3 of Fanfare for the Future Woods Hole, MA: Z Books, Z Participatory Society Series, Fall 2012 Print edition, $15, available from ZCommunications (or all 3 volumes for $30) read more
blog_front: front page Hats off - again - to Chicago's smart, courageous teachers and the union leadership they've re-elected, from the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE), including Karen Lewis as Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) president. read more
Alexei Gaskarov, a Russian social activist and economist, was arrested in Moscow on April 27, 2013. Gaskarov first became known to the broader public both in Russia and abroad in 2010, as one of the “Khimki hostages,” when he was arrested the day after a grassroots protest action in the Moscow suburb of Khimki, apparently because of his role as a spokesman f […]
The worst possible response to the local council elections at the beginning of May in which UKIP won 25% of the vote would be complacency. For this result is shameful for both Labour and for the left-of-Labour left. While it's true that the mainly rural areas and small town being polled are the heartland of sections of the petty bourgeoisie and not at a […]
“Filmmaker Brent Huffman wants to document the historic significance of the Buddhist monastery site at Mes Aynak, which sits on top of massive copper reserves, in an attempt to save it—or at least record what happens to it. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines sold the rights to the copper to the China Metallurgical Group four years ago, but time is running out and archaeologists could be forced to leave the site as early as June.”
das vermutlich letzte Update für 2012, auf Syndikalismus ein Artikel zur Bakuninhütte bei Meiningen und the journal weist auf Geheimdienstdokumente von 1923 zu Jim Larkin hin … und die komplette MEW online beim Verlag Olga Benario und Herbert Baum:
Summary and links to news stories of workers’ struggles around East Asia during November 2012 and related resources. The most important stories appear on my Twitter feed as soon as I find them: http://twitter.com/spartacusnews.
This month there has been news from Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, North Korea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Among the significant events is Singapore’s first strike in 25 years, carried out by Chinese bus drivers – it’s probably too early to suggest this is a sign of China exporting workers militancy, but it’s nice to be hopeful now and then!
“Thousands of residents protested in a southeastern Chinese city after a traffic accident, smashing police cars and overturning three police vans, police and residents said.
The reason for the protest in Fuan city in Fujian province was unclear. Police said it was instigated by “a handful of lawless people.” One resident said people became angry because police and paramedics took nearly an hour to arrive to help the injured, while a Hong Kong-based human rights group said it was to do with corruption.
But such protests have become increasingly common in China, and Saturday’s violence is another reminder that the country’s new leadership has to deal with underlying social discontent that often boils over. People are fed up with corruption and high-handed officialdom, pensions that have not kept pace with inflation, and families being forced from their homes to make way for developments.”
Summary and links to news stories of workers’ struggles around East Asia during October 2012 and related resources. The most important stories appear on my Twitter feed as soon as I find them: http://twitter.com/spartacusnews.
This month there has been news from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. I haven’t had time to check the JTTP.cn or Jasmine Revolution website this month, but they’re worth a browse for the photos even if you can’t read Chinese or be bothered to use Google Translate. Reports I’ve come across for countries outside of the region can be found here.
The international workers’ movement must raise its voice in collective protest against the increasingly repressive measures against the organized left in mainland China. Over the last few years the capitalist class that rules the country in the name of “Communism” has tightened its grip on independent political expression. Of course, in the factories where millions of workers toil under terrible conditions, political dissent and organizing continues to be harshly repressed. But more recently, even legal pro-government publications have faced increasing censorship and have been forced to conform with stringent topic guidelines, and in some cases were even suspended. “Real name” registration is enforced in much of the blogosphere and in the internet cafes; harassment and assaults of journalists, both foreign and domestic, have become the norm; and police raids targeting seemingly unthreatening arts festivals and gay pride events have become almost expected.
After the uprising of the Arab masses throughout the Middle East and North Africa that began eighteen months ago, and particularly since the Bo Xilai scandal unfolded in China earlier this year, the regime has launched a more systematic campaign of repression against left-wing and labor activists in particular. Largely ignored and barely tolerated in the last few decades, the left has most recently become a target of denunciation by the state-run media.
Among the specific acts of state persecution:
Early last year a supporter of the Committee for a Workers International (CWI), Zhang Shujie, was arrested and threatened with a 10-year prison sentence for “crimes related to state security,” and was pressured to act as an informant and gather information on his own and other leftist organizations. According to his account in China Worker, he was able to maneuver his way to Hong Kong, where his comrades and other supporters were able to get him out to Sweden; he has just been granted asylum there.[1] Other leftists of the Revolutionary Party of China who intervened in the Shanghai truckers strike were also arrested and detained for lengthy periods.[2]
The arrest and conviction this spring of Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted party boss Bo Xilai, on charges of murdering British citizen and Bo family associate Neil Heywood, set off a political transition crisis before the Communist Party’s 18th Party Congress. Bo’s “Chongqing model” was seen by many on the “New Left” in China as the leftist alternative to liberal reformers such as Wang Yang of Guangdong province, and he was widely supported by various neo-Maoist organizations. After Bo was removed from his important posts this spring, the state also moved to block the websites of most neo-Maoist organizations, including that of the publication Utopia, fearing that they would mobilize in his support.[3]
A range of leftist organizations had also organized around the “Occupy” movement on the mainland as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan, prompting a new wave of censorship on the internet and a string of anti-leftist tirades in the state-run media (see our article “Occupy” Movement Rattles Chinese Rulers). The Global Times engaged in Stalinist historical falsification and slandered the movement as leading to “bloody terrorist attacks.”
Utopia co-founder Han Deqiang was denounced at length in the state media for slapping an 80-year old man twice in the face during the demonstrations against Japan concerning the Diaoyu Islands dispute in September. Han called him a “traitor” for mocking their chants in support of Mao Zedong. The CCP official newspaper Peoples Daily has now called for his arrest, and CCTV hosts such as Bai Yansong have chimed in with lengthy monologues directed primarily against the left.
Han’s violent reaction provided a convenient pretext for the government to not only campaign against him, but to also prepare the ground for even harsher measures against leftists and labor activists of all political stripes. We say: Hands off Han Deqiang and Utopia – the police that brutalize people everyday have no right to repress the left! At the same time, we denounce Han’s thuggish behavior: in the struggle to free themselves from exploitation and oppression, the workers and oppressed need the broadest possible freedom to debate ideas. Such indiscriminate violence gives a taste of what such “leaders” and organizations have in store for other leftists who don’t share their quasi-religious worship of Mao Zedong, should they expand their influence and power base.
Why Are the Chinese Rulers Targeting the Left?
Discontent is mounting in Chinese society, reaching levels that Communist Party leaders consider dangerous. The working class is growing and feeling its strength, as evidenced by the increasing number of strikes and other working-class protests. Peasants are continually rebelling against Party corruption in the countryside. This discontent, in part a result of the “rising expectations” that accompany the growing economy, is also a reaction to the rapidly expanding inequality in a society already torn by class divisions.
Even where the government has mobilized campaigns that seek to divert the growing political and social tensions into nationalist and chauvinist channels – including the recent anti-Japanese demonstrations, there is danger of these protests becoming more than what the rulers bargained for. The official rhetoric against resurgent Japanese militarism and the unusually strident editorials and speeches against the U.S.’s attempt at strategic encirclement of China struck a deep chord among the masses. They rightly feel that their miserable wages and conditions of life are linked to China’s history of oppression at the hands of Western and Japanese capitalism. Such a groundswell of popular rage is not simply fodder for Chinese imperialist ambitions; it can also expose and threaten the deep links underneath between the imperialists and the Chinese rulers.
While the far left in China is relatively small and disparate, living an mostly underground existence, it has a potential reach way out of proportion to its current size. Already involved in some of the important labor disputes, the left could see its influence grow rapidly, given the rising levels of struggle against poverty and oppression.
China’s rulers are turning to repression because they do not have much capacity to co-opt struggles with reforms. They have made fantastic profits in recent years, but their prominent place in the world economy is based on their control of the world’s greatest supply of cheap labor – they cannot afford to allow China’s workers to improve their wages and living standards much. Moreover, the cost of funding the expansion of a middle class and labor aristocracy broad enough to offer stable support is beyond their means in this nation of well over a billion people. Protecting the profits of capitalists in China, foreign and Chinese, demands an iron fist or repression.
The coming years will likely see an explosion of working-class struggle in China that matches the scope of the nation’s economic expansion over recent decades. It is vital that a genuinely revolutionary socialist party be built among China’s workers to lead that struggle, beginning with the masses’ most immediate democratic and economic concerns, all the way to the conquest of state power. A genuine revolutionary workers’ state in China would use the nation’s greatly expanded industrial capacity to provide a decent life for all rather than the profits of a few, and an expanding realm of personal freedom and cultural expression. Such a revolution will be a mighty step toward the overthrow of capitalism everywhere and the building of a genuinely communist society of peace, freedom and abundance.
More than 10 independent labour organizations have been forced to close down their worker centres and offices in Shenzhen, China. Unlike social work and community based service organizations, none of the labour organizations have succeeded in securing registration with the Ministry of Civil Affairs by now in Guangdong province and Shenzhen municipality. The following are some examples:
Little Grass Workers’ Home – Was forced by the landlord to move out from its spaces by July, received a penalty of RMB50,000 issued by the local fire department claiming that its operation was not compliant with the fire safety control standard. It was followed by an investigation from the tax department for suspected tax evasion, claiming that the organisation, registered under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce had never paid taxes to the government. On 30 Aug, Little Grass Workers’ Home was forced to move out violently by unidentified people.
Dagongzhe Centre – Suffering from government harassment since 2007, had closed down its centre in mid June after a two-month fight with the landlord and government. The Centre has moved to a new place in the nearby district two weeks ago. Re-opened for less than a week, the centre at the new location was raided by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce , threatening to close it down again.
They wish to have more international coverage and support from the international trade unions in helping them to bargain with the government for official recognition and legal protection of their work, and relocation of their centres within the community where they have been serving.
