“We see this as the only future for worker’s struggles.”
Makis Anagnostou, Vio.Me workers’ union spokesman

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 is the official first day of production under workers control in the factory of Viomichaniki Metalleutiki (Vio.Me) in Thessaloniki, Greece. This means production organized without bosses and hierarchy, and instead planned with directly democratic assemblies of the workers. The workers assemblies have declared an end to unequal division of resources, and will have equal and fair remuneration, decided collectively. The factory produces building materials, and they have declared that they plan to move towards a production of these goods that is not harmful for the environment, and in a way that is not toxic or damaging.

“With unemployment climbing to 30% – sick and tired of big words, promises and more taxes – not having been paid since May 2011, the workers of Vio.Me, by decision of the general assembly of the union declare their determination not to fall prey to a condition of perpetual unemployment, but instead to take the factory in their own hands to operate themselves. It is now time for worker’s control of Vio.Me.!” (Statement of the Open Solidarity Initiative, written together with the workers of Vio.Me – full statement: Viome.org)

Workers in Vio.Me stopped being paid in May of 2011, and subsequently the owners and managers abandoned the factory. After a series of assemblies the workers decided that together they would run the factory. Since then, they have occupied and defended the factory and the machinery needed for production. They have continued to reach out to other workers and communities throughout Greece, receiving tremendous support. The solidarity and support of all of these groups, communities and individuals, has made an important contribution towards the survival of the workers and their families thus far.

This experience of worker’s occupation to workers recovery and control is not new – either historically or currently. Since 2001 there are close to 300 workplaces that are run democratically by workers in Argentina, ranging from health clinics and newspapers and schools, to metal factories, print shops and a hotel. The experience there has shown that workers together cannot only run their own workplace, but can do it better. The example of Argentina has spread throughout the Americas, and now to Europe and the US. In Chicago, workers of New World Windows have begun production under workers control after years of struggles with former owners and bosses. And now in Greece, workers are again showing that the way forward – out of unemployment – refusing the crisis – is workers control and directly democratic self-management.

“We urge all workers, the unemployed and all those who are affected by the crisis to stand by the workers of Vio.Me and support them in their effort to put in practice the belief that workers can make it without bosses! To participate in the struggle and organize their own fights within their work places, with directly democratic procedures and without bureaucrats.” (Union’s website: biom-metal.blogspot.gr)

As with all factory recuperations, the question of initial financing is central. While solidarity has been able to maintain the lives of the workers of Vio.Me and their families, the capital needed to continue production is huge. The workers’ union has a business plan that is sustainable, but will take time to get off the ground. These first months are crucial. Financial help can make all the difference. Any contribution is helpful.

Direct financial support can be sent to the Vio.Me workers’ union in Thessaloniki through the International Solidarity Website: viome.org

Solidarity Statements as well as questions can be sent to: protbiometal@gmail.com

Signed,
Thessaloniki Solidarity Initiative, Brendan Martin (Working World), Dario Azzellini and Marina Sitrin

Supporters of this initiative include:
David Harvey, Naomi Klein, Avi Lewis, John Holloway, Silvia Federici, George Caffentzis, David Graeber, Mag Wompel (labournet.de) and The Cooperativa de Trabajo lavaca, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The raddest political press there is…

Good afternoon book lovers and radicals! Just to let you know Pluto has five amazing new titles out this month, which you can check out, and (we hope) buy. As we move into September and a new academic year, now seems like the best moment to build up a healthy-sized reading list – or at least to add new books to your pre-existing pile…

Covering topics such as state violence and propaganda; occupation, colonialism and apartheid; sacrifice and terrorism; peace and conflict resolution; and radical alternatives to capitalism, it’s definitely a bumper crop.

Brian Rappert’s How to Look Good in a War offers a powerful, concise examination of the methods used to depict, defend and justify the use of state violence in recent wars, from Iraq to Libya.

Virginia Tilley’s edited collection, Beyond Occupation, is a timely and urgent analysis that looks at three contentious terms that regularly arise in contemporary arguments about Israel’s practices towards Palestinians in the occupied territories – occupation, colonialism and apartheid. She considers whether their meanings in international law truly apply to Israel’s policies.

Melissa Finn’s pioneering Al-Qaeda and Sacrifice goes beyond the usual simplistic accounts of Jihadi movements in her insightful examination of the idea of ‘sacrifice’ in al-Qaeda suicide attacks.

Marwan Darweish and Carol Rank edit Peacebuilding and Reconciliation, a cutting-edge collection using different global case studies of societies experiencing or emerging out of violent conflict.

Finally, Federico Campagna and Emanuele Campiglio’s essential What We Are Fighting For serves as both sword and shield (in paperback form) against the logic of capitalism and the new age of austerity it has wrought. The book features vivid visions of a different society run in the interests of the 99%. In over 20 chapters, leading activist voices including Nina Power, Owen Jones, David Graeber and John Holloway answer the questions the media loves to ask the protesters.

To buy any of these books, go to www.plutobooks.com.

Socialism and Hope

SPEECHES FROM THE LEFT FORUM 2012

Occupy the System: Confronting Global Capitalism

Pace University, March 16-18 2012

This is a fantastic collection of speeches from this year’s Left Forum. It constitutes a tremendous resource for socialists and progressive thinkers world-wide. Congratulations and thanks to Free Speech TV, MMN (who filmed the event) and Deepdish TV for the production of these videos — Glenn Rikowski

William Tabb – Opening Plenary, with an Introduction by Stanley Aronovitz: http://www.leftforum.org/content/william-tabb-left-forum-opening-plenary

Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth – Opening Plenary, with Stanley Aronowitz as Moderator: http://www.leftforum.org/content/nnimmo-bassey-left-forum-opening-plenary

RoseAnn DeMoro – Opening Plenary, with Stanley Aronowitz as Moderator: http://www.leftforum.org/content/roseann-demoro-left-forum-opening-plenary-0 

Marina Sitrin, the Occupy Movement, student, teacher and militant – Opening Plenary, with Stanley Aronowitz: http://www.leftforum.org/content/marina-sitrin-left-forum-opening-plenary

William Strickland – Opening Plenary, Moderated by Stanley Aronowitz: http://www.leftforum.org/content/william-strickland-left-forum-opening-plenary

Michael Moore, film-maker – Interview, Moderated by Richard D. Wolf: http://www.leftforum.org/content/michael-moore-left-forum-2012

Elaine Bernard – Closing Plenary, Moderated by Frances Fox Piven: http://www.leftforum.org/content/elaine-bernard-left-forum-closing-plenary-0

Arun Gupta – Occupy Wall Street journalist, Closing Plenary, Moderated by Frances Fox Piven: http://www.leftforum.org/content/arun-gupta-left-forum-closing-plenary

Christopher Hedges – Closing Plenary, Moderated by Frances Fox Piven: http://www.leftforum.org/content/christopher-hedges-left-forum-closing-plenary

John Holloway – Author of Crack Capitalism, Open Marxist, Closing Plenary, Moderated by Frances Fox Piven: http://www.leftforum.org/content/john-holloway-left-forum-closing-plenary

Esteban Nembhard – Hip-Hop, Politics and Protest (mp4 download): http://www.leftforum.org/content/esteban-nembhard-hip-hop-politics-and-protest

Nyaka Niilampti – Hip-Hop, Politics and Protest (mp4 download): http://www.leftforum.org/content/nyaka-niilampti-hip-hop-politics-and-protest

M1 – Hip-Hop, Politics and Protest (mp4 download): http://www.leftforum.org/content/m1-hip-hop-politics-and-protest

Steven A. Smith – Hip-Hop, Politics and Protest (mp4 download): http://www.leftforum.org/content/steven-smith-hip-hop-politics-and-protest

UMI – Hip-Hop, Politics and Protest (mp4 download): http://www.leftforum.org/content/umi-hip-hop-politics-and-protest

WILL VILL – Hip-Hop, Politics and Protest (mp4 download): http://www.leftforum.org/content/will-vill-hip-hop-politics-and-protest

Wally Shawn – Lunchtime Event, ‘Why I Call Myself a Socialist’, Moderated by Dao X. Tran: http://www.leftforum.org/content/sunday-lunchtime-event-wally-shawn

At the Forum – Michael Moore, Closing Segment: http://www.leftforum.org/content/michael-moore-closing-segment

On the Street – the march: http://www.leftforum.org/content/left-forum-2012-march-liberty-square-0

At Liberty Square – http://www.leftforum.org/content/liberty-square-0

Left Forum
leftforum.org 

Find Left Forum on: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

**END**

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Online Publications at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/glenn.rikowski

Glenn Rikowski’s MySpace Blog: http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski/blog

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic

Socialism and Hope

MAJOR OCCUPY ORGANIZERS TO KICK OFF LEFT FORUM 2012

Friday, March 16th 6:30 pm
Pace University’s Schimmel Theater
1Pace Plaza, New York

With:

Rose Anne DeMoro

Marina Sitrin

William Strickland

William Tabb

Left Forum 2012

Occupy the System: Confronting Global Capitalism

RoseAnne DeMoro is executive director of the National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union of nurses. DeMoro is also executive director of the California Nurses Association, which is well known for igniting the campaign that upended one of the world’s most famous celebrity politicians, Arnold Schwarzenegger, dropping his public approval from 70% to 35% in the polls. Under DeMoro’s stewardship, NNU and CNA is also renown as the leading national advocates of single payer/Medicare for all healthcare reform. Over the past year, NNU has led a national campaign calling for a tax on Wall Street also known as the Robin Hood tax and has supported the Occupy Wall Street movement with nurses first aid stations from New York to San Francisco.

Marina Sitrin has been active in occupy movements worldwide. She is the editor of Horizontalism: Voices of Popular Power inArgentina and author of Everyday Revolutions: Horizontalism and Autonomy inArgentina (forthcoming). She is a lawyer and postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Globalization and Social Change at the City University of New York. She is also a student, teacher, dreamer and militant. Her books touch upon issues of state practices of cooptation and repression in relation to social movement mobilizations to build autonomy and direct democracy.

William Strickland spent his early years of political activism working as the Executive Director of the Northern Student Movement, the northern analogue of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee; working for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party; and working on theHarlem rent strikes in the 1960s. During this time, Strickland also worked with Malcolm X, whom he knew from his childhood days. A graduate of Boston Latin School, Harvard College, Harvard University, he currently is the Director of the Du Bois Papers Collection at W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he also teaches political science.

William Tabb is the author of The Restructuring of Capitalism in Our Time (Columbia University Press, 2012), Economic Governance in the Age of Globalization (Columbia University Press, 2004), and The Amoral Elephant: Globalization and the Struggle for Social Justice in the Twenty-First Century (Monthly Review Press, 2001). He taught economics at QueensCollege and economics, political science and sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center. He was the Visiting Scholar at Kansai University Osaka, Japan and the Visiting Professor Economics at University of California, Berkeley. He was also founding host and for many years did the “Behind the Economic News” program at WBAI Pacifica Radio.

Left Forum 2012 
March 16th-18th
Pace University’s Schimmel Theater
1Pace Plaza,New York,New York

Left Forum: http://www.leftforum.org/

Contact: leftforum@leftforum.org

Early registration discounts are available for a limited time (e.g., students: $10) – register here! 

Help out before the conference.
Email: volunteer@leftforum.org or volunteer on site.

For information on panel submissions: how to submit a panel.

Please consider donating to help support  Left Forum

Left Forum Media:
leftforum.org | media@leftforum.org  | 212-817-2003

Find left forum on:
Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

**END**

‘I believe in the afterlife.

It starts tomorrow,

When I go to work’

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Human Herbs’ at: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic (recording) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h7tUq0HjIk (live)

‘Maximum levels of boredom

Disguised as maximum fun’

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Stagnant’ at: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic (recording) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLjxeHvvhJQ (live, at the Belle View pub, Bangor, north Wales)  

‘Cheerful Sin’ – a new song by Victor Rikowski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIbX5aKUjO8

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Published on Take the Square

We write this letter as participants in the movements, and as an invitation to a conversation. We hope to raise questions about how we continue to deepen and transform the new social relationships and processes we have begun … to open the discussion towards a common horizon.

The evictions and threats to the physical Occupations in theUnited Stateshave again raised the question of the future of the movement. That the movements have a future is not the question – but what sort of future is. For example, should our energy be focused on finding new spaces to occupy and create encampments? Should we be focused more in our local neighborhoods, schools and workplaces? Is there a way to both occupy public space with horizontal assemblies yet also focus locally and concretely?

A look at the recent history of a movement similar to Occupy – the Spanish indignados or 15M movement can shed some light on the opportunities and urgency of this new phase. It is a moment that we see as a potential turning point, and one with incredible possibilities.

There are three key elements that have made the global movements of 2011 so powerful and different. The extraordinary capacity to include all types of people; the impulse to move beyond traditional forms of the protest and contention, so as to create solutions for the problems identified; and the horizontal and directly participatory form they take.

Let’s look at the first element. Unlike other movements that have strongly identified with concrete social groups (workers, students, etc.), both the indignados and Occupy are movements that anyone can join, just by choosing to do so. Again and again inMadridas inNew Yorkwe have heard the demonstrators chanting solidarity slogans to the police: “they’ve also lowered your salary” and “you too are the 99 %”. In both places the movements have been able to bring out many people who had never been to a demonstration before and made them feel welcome and useful. It is a culture and politics of openness and acceptance of the other.

The second element, the capacity to create solutions, is consistent with this non-confrontational aspect of the Spanish and American movements. Like their predecessors inEgyptandGreece, both movements began with the occupation of a public space. Rather than reproducing the logic of the traditional “sit-in,” these occupations quickly turned to the construction of miniature models of the society that the movement wanted to create – prefiguring the world while simultaneously creating it. The territory occupied was geographic, but only so as to open other ways of doing and being together. It is not the specific place that is the issue, but what happens in it. This is what we could call the first phase of the movement. Solutions began to be implemented for the urgent problems of loneliness, humiliating competition, the absence of truly representative politics, and the lack of basic necessities, such as housing, education, food, and health care. InSpainand in theUnited Statesthis first phase saw the creation of two problem-solving institutions: the general assemblies and the working-groups.

The ways in which we organize in these spaces of assemblies and working groups is inextricably linked to the vision of what we are creating. We seek open, horizontal, participatory spaces where each person can truly speak and be heard. We organize structures, such as facilitation teams, agendas and variations on the forms of the assembly, from general assemblies to spokes councils, always being open to changing them so as to create the most democratic and participatory space possible.

The very existence of the encampments, together with the general assemblies, was already a victory over the increasingly desperate battle of all against all that the neoliberal crisis has imposed on us. The participants in these movements create spaces of sociability, places where we can be treated as free human beings beyond the constant demands of the profit motive. In a city likeNew Yorkwhere debates about our society tend to occur only in government institutions, and expensive spaces of limited access (universities, offices, restaurants and bars), the assemblies at Zuccotti provided a public forum that was open to anyone who wanted to speak. In addition, from the very beginning the movement created working groups designed to directly address problems related to basic human necessities. In Zuccotti, the loading and unloading of shopping-carts full of jars of peanut butter and loaves of bread on the afternoon of Saturday 17th, an initiative launched by the already-functioning food committee, was the first sign of this effort to provide solutions. By the 5th week of the Occupation inNew Yorkthe food working group was feeding upwards of 3000 people a day.

In these working groups the dynamic of the second phase of these movements was already implicit. InSpainthis phase began over the summer and in theUnited Statesit is beginning now. This phase is characterized by the gradual shift from a focus on acts of protest (which nonetheless continue to have a crucial role, as we must confront this system that creates crisis) to instituting the type of change that the movements actually want to see happen in society as a whole. The capacity to create solutions grows as the movements expand in all directions, first through the appearance of multiple occupations connected among themselves, and then through the creation of—or collaboration with—groups or networks that are able to solve problems on a local level through cooperation and the sharing of skills and resources. For example, Occupy Harlem is using direct action to prevent heat from being shut off in a building in the neighborhood – this action has been coordinated with OWS and Occupy Brooklyn.

In the case of Spain, this expansion began in June, when the movement decided to focus its energy more on the assemblies and the working groups than on maintaining the encampments themselves. To maintain the miniature models of a society that the movement wished to create did not necessarily contribute to the actual changes that were needed in the populations that needed them the most. Which is why the decision to move away from the encampments was nothing more than another impulse in the constructive aims of the movement: the real encampment that has to be reconstructed is the world.

Of course, it is true that the encampments continue to have a crucial function as places in which the symbolic power of the Occupy movement is concentrated. It is also true that the efforts to defend them have produced moving displays of solidarity. But the viability of a movement is not only defined by its capacity to withstand pressure from the outside, but also in its ability to reach and work together with people outside the space of the plaza or square. It is this – the going beyond the parameters of the plaza – that the assemblies and the working groups have already started to put into effect.

So, for example, what this could continue to look like in theUSis that there are assemblies on street corners, in neighborhoods, in workplaces and universities, working concretely together with neighbors and workmates, as well as then relating together in assemblies of assemblies or spokes councils in parks, plazas and squares, sharing the experiences from the more local spaces. All the while continuing to occupy space and territory, but seeing the territory as what happens together, with one another, in multiple places, and then coming together to share in another geographic place. This could take place on the level of neighborhood to neighborhood – to the level of city to city, all networked in horizontal assemblies.

In any case, to return to the case of Spain, what is certain is that while the indignado movement no longer has encampments, its presence is felt everywhere. It’s a culture now, composed of thousands of micro-institutions that provide solutions through the common efforts of people affected by the same problems. There are cooperatives addressing work, housing, energy, education, finance, and nutrition, and many other things, as well as a web of collaboration that connects these cooperatives. Catalunya and Madrid already have “Integral Cooperatives” whose function is to coordinate the different services offered by various cooperatives within a particular locale, to the point that in some places in Spain it is almost possible to live without having to depend on the resources hoarded by the 1%. The movement has made it possible for these institutions, which used to be dispersed and limited, to grow and grow connected, and it has provided them with a visibility that has led to much more interest, respect, and support for their functions. Also, the movement keeps coming back to the streets every so often in big demonstrations and assemblies that display its force and allow all of those working in the many projects associated with the spirit of May 15th to see each other, network together, and welcome more people.

The creation of alternative institutions and solutions has already begun in the United States. With or without encampments, the constructive phase of the Occupy movement is here, and all indications are that it will not slow down, as it has not slowed down in Spain. Every day on the news and on youtube, we see the police removing the occupiers from parks and plazas, but the movement continues to grow – and to grow outside of these places. While the tumult of raids and returns jolts occupiers and the public alike, thousands of working groups around the world meet weekly in libraries, community centers, churches, cafes, and offices to share their extraordinary abilities and resources. They are already creating the schools, hospitals, houses, neighborhoods, cities and dreams of the 99%.

This is the beginning of the occupation of an encampment that will never be dislodged: the world.

Luis Moreno-Caballud is a participant in the Spanish May 15th movement and the Occupy Wall Street movement. He collaborated in the formation of the NYC General Assembly, and works with the Empowerment and Education working group. He is an assistant professor of Spanish literature and cultural studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Marina Sitrin is a participant in the Occupy Wall Street movement, and was a part of the NYC General Assembly that helped organize OWS. She is a postdoctoral fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center Committee on Globalization and Social Change, and the author of Horizontalism: Voices of Popular Power in Argentina.

日本の友人，同志のみなさんへ

マリーナ・シトリン

（翻訳：萩谷海）

涙なしに書きはじめることができません。怒りの涙、むなしさの涙、そして希望の涙なしには。

私が怒りをおぼ えるのは、途方に暮れるような自然災害であったものが、人の命より欲を優先する制度によって、劇的に悪い方向へと導かれていることです。利益を追求する組 織は壁も建てず、原子炉を冷やすことにさえ二の足を踏ませています。怒りさえも越えてしまう。私は言葉もなく、しかし涙に暮れるのです。

私はむなしさを 覚えます。世界は日本で何が起こっているかを知らず、そして何かしたいと望む私たちの両手は後ろ手に縛られたかのように感じます。失望感を感じます。日本 政府とグローバルな企業の利害関係が手に手をとって、情報がいき渡らないように仕向けています。おかげで行動を取ることが、さらに困難です。私は失望感を 覚え、さらに憤りを感じています。

しかし私は希望 の息吹も覚えました。希望の涙があります。人々の行動、 時として取るに足りないものにさえ見えたとしても、人々がお互いを助ける様々なやり方は、今起きていると思われることを越える、豊かなものです。そして、 私たちが日本で出会った人々が、大小の行動を起こし続けていることは、希望です。

2001年の経済的崩壊以降のアルゼンチンで、ごくわずかな人々の集いが、しだいに数百人、数千人の規模に増え、社会全体が—彼らを危機に陥れた権力を拒絶するために–組織し始めたことを思い出しました。「みんな出て行け！(que se vayan todos!)」と叫び歌い、 政府を追い出し、誰かをトップにつけることのない水平的な組織を始めたのです。彼らは近所で寄り合いを持ち、物々交換のつながりを作り、共同の台所や庭や畑を作ることで、自分たちの働く場所をものにし、共働経営をしたのです。これは危機—そして拒絶—から始まり、拒絶のただなかから、創造が育まれたのです。日本で今起きていることは、アルゼンチンでも起きたことのように感じます。拒絶の叫び、そして同時に、なにか違った—なにか新しい—もの、私たちにとって良いものの創造が始まっているのです。

公園の野宿生活 者の村や、大阪の釜ヶ崎パトロールの同志達へ。あなた達は、汚染から逃れて援助を求める人、そしてあなた達を必要とするすべての人のためにコモンズを創り だしています。あなた達が公園でお互いを助け合い始めたときに、それが新しい生活共同体（コミューン）の基盤になっていくだろうと、一体誰が考えたでしょ うか。難民の都市はコモンズ、コミューン（生活共同体）です。段ボール、紙や、布や針金などのありふれた材料で作った自由の鳥とともに私たちが一緒に公園 を歩き、声を上げ、鳥たちと共に歌い、目を見張るほど美しい野外劇を築き上げた時のことを思い出します。あなた達が今は、自由を謳う沢山の鳥達であること を思い、私は涙します。

人民救援隊（People’s Rescue Troops）の同志たちへ。あなた達の力強さと素晴らしい連帯を前に、私に何が癒えるでしょうか。あなた達は汚染された土地の人々を助け、報道を続けています。仕事のない状況にへの抵抗や、尊厳のために日々組織をするあなた達の行いに今驚きはしないけれど、ただ感嘆します。

希望を伝え、こちらをも鼓舞させる行動がたくさん生まれています。たくさんの有志たちが行動を起こしているのです。その中のいくらかの人々と、G８サミットでの反対行動を日本で共にした経験は、私にとってこの上ない恵みであると感じています。ここから、あなた方の抵抗と創造によって、新しい世界が創造されているのです。今、日本で、です。「もう一つの世界は可能だ」と、反G８の時に話しましたね。あなた方は今、世界でも最悪であるかもしれない状況の中で、あの時に話していた、「もう一つの世界」を造り上げているのです。

同志である、あなた達に伝えたい！私たちはあなたがたと共にいます！私たちは今も、そしてこれからもより良い世界を造り出してゆくことでしょう。

———————————————————–

Friends and companeros,

I cannot begin even writing this without tears. Tears of anger. Tears of frustration. And Tears of inspiration.

I am angry that something that could have been devastating in it’s natural disaster, has been exacerbated, facilitated and made worse by institutions thinking of greed over life. This system of profit that led to walls not being built, and hesitation with the cooling of plants makes me furious. Beyond furious. I am without words, though full of tears.

I am frustrated. The world does not know all of what is going on in Japan, and we, those who wish to do something, are feeling that our hands are tied. That is frustrating. The Japanese government along with global corporate interests are not allowing all of the information to be distributed. This makes action more difficult. This makes me frustrated, and then leads to anger.

But I am inspired. I have tears of inspiration. The actions of everyday people, helping one another in ways that can sometimes seen so small, but are so huge, And in ways that are beyond what one would even imagine are all happening. And, to know that so many of these large and small acts are being done and often facilitated by so many of you who we met when in Japan is all the more inspiring.

I am reminded of how in Argentina, after a total economic collapse in 2001, people began coming together, first by the dozens, then the hundreds, then thousands and then most all of society began to organize together – rejecting the powers that got them into the crisis in the first place – with the shout and song of  “que se vayan todos!” (they all must go!) they forced out their government, and began to organize together – horizontally. They created neighborhood assemblies, elaborate barter networks, collective kitchens and gardens – they took over their workplaces and ran them together, and continue to run them together – horizontally. … It began with the crisis – with the rejection – and then from within the rejection came the creation. What is beginning in Japan feels similar to what began also in Argentina. The beginning of the shout of rejection, and at the same time, the coming together to create something else – something new – and something just.

Companeros from the homeless encamptments in the park and the Kamagasaki Patrol in Osaka. That you are creating commons, a Commune, together with whoever is in need, the so many refugees fleeing toxic contamination. Who knew when you began helping one another to live in solidarity in the park that you would become the infrastructure for a new Commune. A city of refugees that is a commons, a Commune. I think of the beautiful pageant we put on together, the birds of freedom we made together from things found, cardboard, paper, cloth and wire, and how we walked the park together, chanting and singing with the birds in the air. I am filled with tears as you are now these birds of freedom for so many.

Companeros of the People’s Rescue Troops. What can I say of your boldness and incredible solidarity. Going in to report on and help those in the contaminated areas. Having seen some of you in day to day organizing, against unemployment and for dignity, I am not surprised, but nonetheless I am in awe.

There are so many inspiring actions taking place. So many inspiring people making it happen. I feel such tremendous privlege for having collaborated with some of you in Japan when organizing against the G8. It is from this, from your resistance and creation that new worlds are being created. Now. In Japan. We spoke of Another World Being Possible when we were organizing against the G8 – you are now creating that world – and in the worst of possible circumstances.

To you, companeros! We are with you! We are and will make those better worlds!

Marina Sitrin

Pink Tide

THE PINK TIDE: RECONFUGURING POLITICS, POWER AND POLITICAL ECONOMY IN THE AMERICAS?

2nd Call for Papers

The Pink Tide: Reconfiguring politics, power and political economy in the Americas?

Key-note speakers include: Noam Chomsky, William Robinson, John Holloway, Liam Kane, Marina Sitrin

22-24 January 2010, Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice in conjunction with the Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies Department, University of Nottingham, Nottingham,UK.

The global credit crunch and election to power of governments and presidents that identify as left and left-of-centre throughout the Americas offers one of the most visible political challenges to the TINA discourse that appeared to reign unchallenged for much of the past 15 years. With presidents such as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Bachelet in Chile and Obama in the United States the region and its peoples are experiencing one of the most exciting and dynamic political periods of recent history.

It is this political conjuncture that the conference would like to explore as it is the organisers belief that the development of our understanding of the political processes occurring will enable us to conceptualise and contribute to the furtherance of more inclusive democracy and development in the region and beyond. We believe that this discussion can be most fruitfully developed between academics, practitioners, policy-makers and community/social movement participants. We also believe that our understanding of the development of alternatives to neoliberalism can only be enhanced by intra-regional dialogue between the North and the South of the Americas.

The conference conveners welcome the participation of a wide range of actors (academics, scholar-activists, social innovators and practitioners) whose work is related to the following themes: the role of political parties and/or the state in social change; grassroots social movements; the creation of new forms of politics and development; LOC governments and neoliberalism; movement and academic knowledges; the US and the ‘Pink Tide’; opposition to ‘pink  tide’; culture/art/media and social change. We particularly encourage cross-disciplinary contributions.

Various kinds of contributions will be considered, both in situ and remotely. We invite proposals for panels, individual paper and poster presentations, round-table debates, workshops and open spaces. Please could you send a 250 words abstract of your proposed contribution clearly stating the authors postal address, email, phone number and institution to cssgj@nottingham.ac.uk by 20 September 2009.

For further information, please see the Events page on the CSSGJ website:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/cssgj/PinkTide.php

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk