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			    <title>Middle East | ANTIFA.CA - ANTIFA Canada - Canadian Anti-Fascist movement!</title> 
				<link>http://www.antifa.ca/middle-east</link> 
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			<title>Advanced Middle East Systems, le Amesys nouveau est de retour en Libye</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/advanced-middle-east-systems-le-amesys-nouveau-est-de-retour-en-libye</link>
			<description><![CDATA[L&#039;information a été repérée par Jean-Marc Manach et provient du site African Intelligence (accès payant). L&#039;article d&#039;African Intelligence relève la présence d&#039;Amesys, sous sa casquette toute neuve d&#039;Advanced Middle East Systems (maintenant exilé technologique… aux Emirats Arabes Unis), à un salon sur le (...)
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			<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 19:50:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>[Reflets.info] Advanced Middle East Systems, le Amesys nouveau est de retour en Libye</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/refletsinfo-advanced-middle-east-systems-le-amesys-nouveau-est-de-retour-en-libye</link>
			<description><![CDATA[L&#039;information a été repérée par Jean-Marc Manach et provient du site African Intelligence (accès payant). L&#039;article d&#039;African Intelligence relève la présence d&#039;Amesys, sous sa casquette toute neuve d&#039;Advanced Middle East Systems (maintenant exilé technologique… aux Emirats Arabes Unis), à un salon sur le (...)
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			<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 14:10:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>Up A Mighty River Without A Paddle?</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/up-a-mighty-river-without-a-paddle</link>
			<description><![CDATA[During the last election the centre-right National Party lead by multi-millionaire John Key, said it would partly privatise certain state assets if re-elected. Its main losing rival was the Labour Party, at the time lead by the uncharismatic Phil Goff, who had been one of the architects of the privitisation push in the 1980s. National has now decided to press ahead with its threat. The power company Mighty River Power is the current focus of attention, with other goodies up for grabs in the future. What will the effects of greater privatisation be? What options exist for workers in Aotearoa/New Zealand? 
Up A Mighty River Without A Paddle?

During the last election the centre-right National Party lead by multi-millionaire John Key, said it would partly privatise certain state assets if re-elected. Its main losing rival was the Labour Party, at the time lead by the uncharismatic Phil Goff, who had been one of the architects of the privitisation push in the 1980s. National has now decided to press ahead with its threat. The power company Mighty River Power is the current focus of attention, with other goodies up for grabs in the future. What will the effects of greater privatisation be? What options exist for workers in Aotearoa/New Zealand? 

Aotearoa was one of the first countries where the neo-liberal brand of capitalism gained momentum during the 1980&#039;s and 90&#039;s. The Fourth Labour government began the process in 1984. In terms of finance, foreign exchange controls were removed, the dollar was floated, new banks allowed and keeping inflation low became an obsession. Regarding trade, import tariffs were severely reduced or eliminated and subsidies to farmers ended. The labour market was weighted increasingly in favour of employers, with legislation such as the Employment Contracts Act (1991),which enabled strong attacks on unions, in the name of &#039;flexibility&#039;. A regressive Goods And Services Tax (GST) was introduced, with a corresponding reduction in income and company tax. The State-Owned Enterprises Act in 1986 required remaining government run assets such as Telecom and Air NZ to operate on a &#039;for profit&#039; basis. All this so the market could be free to work its magic of bringing greater efficiency and prosperity to the country. (1)

Subsequent Labour and National administrations have sped up, slowed down or modified elements of this process, but none have reversed it. After three decades of these measures, there can be little doubt as to the effects of privatisation. Most workers have no union coverage and are left to bargain alone against employers. Many work long hours, subject to irregular shifts and job sharing in precarious positions on short-term contracts. Earlier attacks by previous governments have been extended by the present one, in the form of the 90 Day Act. This permits workers to be fired within that period without explanation and limits union access to worksites (2). Wages have not matched the higher levels of productivity squeezed out of workers (3). Welfare beneficiaries (4) are continuing to be attacked and stigmatised. One of the more recent measures for example, being the drug testing of beneficiaries. The individual beneficiary is being blamed for his/her situation rather than the failure of the system to provide meaningful jobs. GST has increased to 15% with no exemptions and basic food items are becoming hard for some working families to buy regularly. This has caused dependence on food banks (which have sometimes actually run out of stock due to high demand), private charities and extended whanau. Rents are high, especially in the main centres and many families have given up on the dream of ever owning their own homes. In short, there is very little prosperity to be seen out there, though a minority have of course benefited. A lot of people are getting by bill-to-bill, rather than living in the financial paradise held out by the neo-liberal theorists.

Asset sales also interrelate to the deeper history of this country in terms of colonialism and its consequences. The NZ nation state is intrinsically based on the confiscation of indigenous land and destruction of indigenous communities. From at least 1860 onwards, the crown broke its guarantees set out in the Treaty of Waitangi and even overrode the fact that many iwi had not signed it. The crown simply invaded and stole (6). Having the land, culture, people and knowledge decimated, has impacted tangata whenua for generations since. As in other countries with similar histories, the indigenous people continue to be over-represented in crucial social indicators such as poor health, gambling, homelessness and high conviction statistics. Most hapu have essentially lost all rangatiratanga - the ability to determine what happens to your land. Asset sales are just another way of transferring assets from one owner to another without Maori being able to even participate in the discussion of how that happens, let alone making any decisions.

As for the question of efficiency, recent governments have had to implicitly admit the failure of privatisation and SOEs&#039; by either buying back assets, selling off some or putting tax payers&#039; money into others. In 2001 the Labour-lead government bought an 80% stake in a nearly bankrupt Air NZ (8). Rail services were taken back into state control and renamed Kiwirail in 2008 after being run down for years. Telecom made multi-billion dollar profits but did very little to develop its infrastructure. Consequently it is now being hugely subsidised to upgrade its network. The Solid Energy coal company became nearly $400 million in debt due to a combination of bad investments and poor management and is now on the list of assets to be sold by this government (9). Mighty River Power is about to be 49% privatised, supposedly in order to reduce government debt, and others will follow.

The neo-liberal privatisation approach has failed in Aotearoa, even on its own terms. This country is far from unique in this regard. Socio-economic damage has consistently been the case globally wherever it was applied, from Chile to Britain. Opponents of neo-liberalism have searched for alternative approaches to asset sales and privatisation, with nationalisation (i.e. state ownership) being put on the agenda. Traditionally in the English-speaking world, nationalisation has been promoted by sections of the ruling class as a means of building infrastructure in sectors of the economy that are natural monopolies and therefore less open to easy profit making.

Current calls for selective nationalisation overseas, have come from some business-friendly members of the elite. Examples include Nigel Lawson ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer under Thatcher (10) and Ilse Aigner a cabinet member in the ruling conservative government of Angela Merkel in Germany (11). The Labour and Greens here are also promoting it as a better way to manage elements of the system. The Greens argue that &quot;Selling off our publicly owned companies would mean more foreign ownership and less accountability to whats best for New Zealanders&quot; (12). Their perspective is one mired in a petty nationalism that sees opposition to asset sales as helping &#039;us&#039;, meaning the nation of fellow kiwis, regardless of social class. It is no accident that these parties find themselves alongside the right-populists of NZ First, headed by the zombie egotist Winston Peters and his racist MP Richard Prosser and Co. The latter spout very much the same rhetoric, arguing &quot;New Zealand First firmly believes that any profits should stay at home&quot; (13). Strangely, even some of those claiming the label &#039;socialist&#039; see nationalisation as a useful tool. This is because to them it is a transitional mechanism on the road to eliminating the entire current economic system, rather than merely a defensive measure to maintain it (14).

The fact that nationalisation can be adopted by various wings of the contemporary establishment and has been used historically by all manner of regimes from the Nazis, to Stalinists and petty dictators in Africa, South America and the Middle East, should give people pause for thought. It cannot be viewed as an inherently progressive move that will secure resources for the majority of the population. Instead it simply entails the transfer of resources from control by private business to that by politicians and unelected bureaucrats. The Fourth Labour Government&#039;s actions showed that this process can be reversed too. The state has not played the role of kaitiaki and can&#039;t be relied on to do so in the future either.

Under state ownership workers can more easily be bullied into compliance with government policies. This can be done by a combination of laws and cops at the &#039;tough&#039; end of the spectrum (15). At the opposite end there are top-down union structures with &#039;friendly&#039; union bosses who act as soft cops. They warn members not to rock the boat and to put their faith in the idea that &#039;consultation&#039; with government will win a few scraps from the table. Its hardly surprising they would do this, given the number of union bosses who get rewarded with safe Labour Party seats in parliament and other perks once they retire. (16)

Under neither privatisation nor nationalisation do those who actually produce goods and services have control or ownership over them. In addition, the myopia of &#039;kiwi first&#039; nationalism that nationalisation would be based on, is a dead end. It fails to deal with the reality that this country is part of an interlocking international economic system. Therefore any solution to economic failure has to extend outwards to deal with it. In this regard John Key at least acknowledges that asset sales are tied to the need for the government to react to the global economic crisis. The attempt by the Labour Party/Greens/NZ First et al to mobilize workers against &#039;foreign investors&#039; and overseas companies is a cheap trick. Workers in this country are experiencing the effects of the global crisis in the same way as workers everywhere else. It isn&#039;t foreign speculators, foreign banks or foreign companies that are the problem. It is a global capitalism which knows no boundaries and the global ruling class with material interests in common (despite internal squabbles) that is responsible for the mess the world is in.

Anarchists don&#039;t accept the false dichotomy of private ownership or state ownership. We see our goal as a transnational economy where those who produce things, collectively and directly own and control those resources. We envisage a world where we actually determine the social and economic ways of organising ourselves in our workplaces and communities. Decisions would be made in a truly democratic way, with direct participation by all and accountability to the collective for those decisions. Given the complexity of operating any economy in the modern world, this would require co-ordination between the various organisations the communities establish. This can be achieved by federations that span wider and wider geographical areas. No doubt, there would be teething problems, especially if a democratic economy arose after a protracted revolutionary upheaval. However, given that the workers of the world currently produce everything anyway, efficiently controlling resources on our own behalf is not an impossible task if the opportunity arises. In addition, with the full possession of the factors of production, the material basis would exist for the whole of society to live comfortably, rather than the minority that do at present.

Collective and federative ways of organising are not new. Many aspects of our lives - from bands to community groups or marae - already include truly democratic and collective ways of operating. Plus, history is full of examples of people doing things together for the community as a whole and not for the betterment of a few individuals.

Moving from the political options available, to modes of struggle, what can be said about the latter in the present environment? Opposition to asset sales has taken a reformist and legalistic shape. For example the Maori Council appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the government&#039;s actions interfered with the Treaty of Waitangi process. This temporarily held up the prospective partial-privatisation of Mighty River Power but ultimately failed when they lost the case. The Greens and Labour along with the Mana Party (17), some unions and Marxist-inspired grouplets have formed an anti-assets-sales campaign. One tactic being applied is signature collecting for a petition to be submitted to parliament. This is intended to initiate a referendum on asset sales. The petition has nearly reached the minimum 300,000 names needed to produce a referendum. However, with a glossy government advertising blitz in favour of selling Mighty River Power shares, you would almost not know any petition existed at all! The very fact it does exist shows that there is a significant level of disagreement with the government&#039;s plans. It also adds credence to the idea that even during times of increased capitalist pressure, the population is rarely entirely passive (18).

Unfortunately for the signatories and the rest of the country, Key will ignore the petition. His argument being that the election, in which nearly a quarter of the population refused to participate, gave him a mandate to push through whatever he wants. The experience of the opposition movement so far proves once again that if a form of protest is permitted by the powers-that-be, its probably because they know it offers no more than a symbolic &#039;threat&#039; to them (ie. no threat at all). An accompanying tactic has been street demonstrations. These have managed to gain some attention and thereby raised awareness of the issue. Though fluctuating attendance has been a feature of them too. However, the nationalistic approach has also made neo-nazis and anti-semites comfortable participating in &#039;Aotearoa is Not for Sale&#039; marches (19). This demonstrates the slippery slope that this really is. Unless we are explicit that our campaign is anti-racists and racists are not welcome (from Rightwing Resistance&#039;s Kyle Chapman to NZ First leader Winston Peters), we legitimise racist and anti-semitic rhetoric. Overall the demonstrations and referendum hardly have the government quaking in its boots and are likely to degenerate further in the direction of electioneering in favour of the Greens and Labour in the next election.

While anarchists have participated in demonstrations and disseminated our message regarding asset sales, we have done so with no illusion that this is sufficient. Real change will require workers and communities across the country to take direct action for themselves. This can come in many forms including strikes and occupations that put resources under their immediate control and begin to threaten the stranglehold of the state and capitalists. This will have to be undertaken in co-ordination with similar actions in other places across the globe. On the face of it, this seems highly unlikely to happen soon in Aotearoa. However, something being unlikely doesn&#039;t make it wrong, just difficult and failure to act at all will guarantee defeat. The fightback though limited here, has begun and will hopefully continue to gain momentum as this ideologically (and in some cases literally) bankrupt system lurches from crisis to crisis.
Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement


Notes:


1. An accessible orthodox Left critique of neo-liberalism as applied in NZ in the &#039;80s and &#039;90s can be found in J. Kelsey, The New Zealand Experiment, (Auckland, 1996).

2. See AWSM, &quot;Solidarity&quot;, Issue 1:1 2009 for more on this legislation.

3. Bill Rosenberg, http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/5824465/New-Zealanders-get-low-wages.

4. See http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7496309/High-cost-for-drug-testing-beneficiaries-Health-ministry.

5. Sophie Rishworth, NZ Herald, Nov 3 2011.

6. Of course there were variations in experience within the colonisation and confiscation processes but the basic picture is clear. See R. Boast &amp; R. S. Hill (eds), Raupatu (Wellington, 2009).

7. For a wide-ranging view of the various social problems experienced by Maori today, see T. McIntosh &amp; M. Mullholland (eds), Maori and Social Issues (Wellington, 2011).

8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Air_New_Zealand#Rebirth_and_re-nationalisation.

9. For a summary of how this problem arose, see http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/8489664/Why-Solid-Energy-has-ended-up-on-the-slagheap.

10. http://www.investmentweek.co.uk/investment-week/news/2240785/exchancellor-lawson-calls-for-full-nationalisation-of-rbs.

11. http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/member-of-merkel-cabinet-calls-for-nationalization-of-german-power-grid-a-877576.html.

12. http://www.greens.org.nz/koa.

13. http://nzfirst.org.nz/what-we-stand-for/no-asset-sales.

14. For example, Socialist Aotearoa which is the NZ affiliate of the International Socialist Tendency.

15. Of course, it is the nature of the state to attempt to act this way, regardless of the exact proportion of government or private control over the economy. Something even right-wing libertarians appreciate. Nevertheless, it is easier when the state has more direct control. The classic example of draconian intervention by the NZ state in industrial warfare was the 1951 waterside dispute. See Dick Scott, 151 Days (1952).

16. For example, Andrew Little - a current Labour MP - spent his entire previous working life as a union bureaucrat and obtained his seat via a prime position on the party list, despite having been resoundingly rejected by voters in an electorate seat.

17. A small Left split from the Maori Party, which had chosen to enter into coalition with National.

18. See Toby Boraman, &quot;The Myth of Passivity&quot;, http://www.anarkismo.net/article/2277.

19. See https://notafraidofruins.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/stop-ignoring-anti-jewish-racism/

]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 13:50:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>Lebanon: Foreigners can not continue to be buried alive!</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/lebanon-foreigners-can-not-continue-to-be-buried-alive</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Why this is importantHundreds of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are kept every year in Lebanon in an underground parking lot under a bridge of Beirut, used as a detention center by the General Security, the service in charge of immigration and foreigners’ issues in Lebanon.Arrested for various reasons, they wait for their repatriation to their country of origin or their release in Lebanon.Every year, many of them are believed to be forcibly deported to their country of origin in contradiction with their rights. For example, migrant domestic workers are deported without having taken their salaries or after having been abused and prevented from filing lawsuit against the perpetrators; refugees and asylum seekers are forcibly deported to their country of origin, so on and so forth.The conditions in this detention place are unacceptable and a tantamount of torture: the detainees don’t see the sunlight or breathe natural air for weeks, months or even sometimes more than a year of detention. They are not allowed to meet their lawyers and there is no judiciary supervision of their unlimited administrative detention that is illegal since not provided for by law.Sign here.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 09:50:02 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>Things that Make us Smile</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/things-that-make-us-smile</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Beautiful. There is hope with people like you.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2013 19:30:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>CLDH visits President Michel Sleiman</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/cldh-visits-president-michel-sleiman</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A delegation of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) visited today General Michel Sleiman, President of Lebanon, in order to thank him for his personal stand against the deportation of Syrian refugees and expose to him the current concerns of the organization.CLDH raised with the President various issues such as:- The importance given by the organization to the set up of the national independent commission for the enforces disappearances aiming at beginning the truth process regarding the issue of the disappeared in Lebanon ;- The need to relocate the General Security underground detention center that represents inhuman detention conditions for the detainees and unacceptable work conditions for the agents ;- The case of Nehmeh El Haj, sentenced to the death penalty on the basis of « confessions » signed while he was at the hands of the Syrian intelligence services and whose detention was considered as arbitrary by the UN working group on arbitrary detention. A report of CLDH detailing the case of Mr. El Haj was handed to the President;- The case of Faysal Moqalled, sentenced to life imprisonment on the basis of unbelievable « confessions » that he reportedly signed under the torture of the Lebanese Army intelligence services at the Ministry of Defense. A detailed report about this case, showing the file’s inconsistencies as well as the violations to which Faysal Moqalled was allegedly subjected was delivered by hand to the President.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2013 19:10:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>#J11: Map of the capitalist West End – London (UK)</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/j11-map-of-the-capitalist-west-end-london-uk</link>
			<description><![CDATA[

Presenting the action map for the June 11 Carnival Against Capitalism. Some 90 locations connected to blatant murder, oppression and exploitation. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg …
Click on the image to zoom in, download and print. Also on http://network23.org/stopg8/
There is also an online map which will feature more details and even more addresses. It is still being updated. To check in for latest progress go to: mappingthecorporations.org/ and select “Mapping Capitalist London” in the sector menu.
If you have more information on any company, or want to add a new address, please email stopg8@riseup.net

This is London.

London is at the heart of global capitalism. It is one of the main hubs of a worldwide system of money and power. Deals made here build factories in Asia, burn down forests in South America, and start wars in Africa. For billionaires, dictators, and other parasites London is a safe place to hide out, launder money, and go shopping. These people are not untouchable. They are right here on our doorstep, and they have names and addresses. 
We now live in a globalised economy. Factories in Asia make goods using raw materials from Africa, South America and the Middle East, which are sold (on credit) to European consumers. The UK produces little: a factory here can’t compete with a Bangladeshi sweatshop where wages are pitiful and life is cheap. In the 1980s and 90s the UK economy shifted away from manufacturing to money management, and is now almost entirely based on debt and on London’s role as a financial middleman.
No longer the capital of a powerful country, London thrives as a money-laundering centre for the new global elites. It attracts international wealth with its banking infrastructure, established networks, minimal tax and regulation, historic prestige, and tame population. As the city’s role changes, its landscape is transformed. The valuable real estate in the centre is socially cleansed and secured with private guards, gated areas, and CCTV, pushing us out to the forgotten fringes.
London has three main economic power centres. In two of them, the City and Canary Wharf, the big banks shout their power with glass skyscrapers and neon corporate logos. But much of the power in London is quietly concentrated in the old elite areas of the West End. Here deals are done in whispers, behind unmarked doors.
Money.

Mayfair is home to private banks, banks that cater to the wealthy and don’t ask questions. The map shows just a few of them, including some dedicated to washing money for regimes like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The deregulation and financial boom of the 80s and 90s led to new forms of investment including *private equity* and hedge funds. These also gravitated to the private banking zone, making Mayfair the world’s second hedge fund capital after New York.
Private equity investors buy companies and shares in private deals, rather than on ‘public’ stock exchanges. They are less transparent, less regulated, and can make much bigger profits. Some private equity funds take over existing companies, sacking workers and ‘asset stripping’ the firms. Some speculate in real estate, including the ‘land grab’ funds buying up farmland in poor countries, displacing communities and pushing up food prices. ‘Soft commodities’ funds speculate on food and water supplies. Other funds specialise in privatisation, using their political contacts to grab cheap government assets.
Hedge Funds are ‘alternative’ investment managers specialising in risk, secrecy, and big profits. In contrast to the cautious and relatively tightly regulated pension funds of the City they are private partnerships, usually run by a few superstar managers, that publish little information and attract wealthy investors. Hedge funds follow a range of different strategies. Some make their money by gambling on currencies and other financial markets: a number made a killing out of the sub-prime mortgage collapse of 2008. ‘Distressed debt’ funds, sometimes called ‘vulture funds’, are glorified debt collectors who buy up and chase bad debts, including those of struggling countries like Greece and Argentina. Many fund bosses are big political party donors, which helps them fend off regulation and investigation despite their unsavoury reputations.
Dirt, blood and spin.

Some of the world’s bloodiest and most polluting corporations are based in the West End. Oil giant BP and mining companies like Lonmin are vestiges of British colonial power, still plundering Africa and other resource rich regions. Their new neighbours are ‘emerging market’ giants like India’s ArcelorMittal, Tata and Vedanta. A number of these companies are based around St James’ Square, south of Piccadilly, the area that is also the traditional clubland of the old British ruling class.
Where there’s a goldmine or an oilfield, you need guns (and drones, jets, guided missiles, etc) and hired killers to defend it. The West End is also the main European base for many of the world’s largest arms companies, including BAE Systems, Thales, Lockheed Martin and more, and also of mercenaries and private security contractors. These can be found clustered around Victoria, and throughout the area.
Some unfortunate regimes and corporations suffer from ‘reputational issues’: i.e. people realise that they are murdering bastards. This is where Public Relations companies like Bell Pottinger, Brown Lloyd James, and M&amp;C Saatchi step in to spin destruction into development. The West End has become a key base of the global PR trade, traditionally centered around Soho.
Dens of the rich.

Once you’ve made obscene money, you need to spend it. London real estate is a prime investment opportunity, and you can get round planning laws by knocking mansions together and digging down for underground swimming pools. The boutiques of Bond Street and the nightclubs of Mayfair and Knightsbridge mix the prestige of the old aristocracy with the glamour of the new mega-rich. Crucially for them all, London is a haven of ‘stability’: extradition treaties don’t touch the elites, and London’s occasional riots usually stay safely away from rich areas.
If we knew our power …

The old idea was that we could overthrow capitalism by uniting as workers and taking over production. But London doesn’t produce anything: the only work left is in the ‘service’ sector, serving the rich. If we want to destroy the system that is killing us, and replace it with sustainable and worthwhile ways of living, we need to identify where our power lies today. Cities like London are key hubs in the circulation of finance and information that keeps the global system going. To function they need stability and security. They rely on us to keep tame and compliant. Time to wake up.
stopg8
stopg8@riseup.net
https://network23.org/stopg8/]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2013 14:50:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>Migrant Workers Day 2013!</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/migrant-workers-day-2013</link>
			<description><![CDATA[You thought May Day events are over? Wrong!All details in poster on and on fb event.Join!]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 04 May 2013 09:40:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>Call for Endorsement - Lebanon</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/call-for-endorsement-lebanon</link>
			<description><![CDATA[CSBR Solidarity Statement with Demands for Justice Against the Abuse and Degradation of Non-heteronormative bodies by the Municipality of Dekwaneh, LebanonThe following statement is a direct response to a severely abusive, racist, transphobic, homophobic, and xenophobic incident that occurred in the municipality of Dekwaneh in Lebanon two weeks ago and is a call to action against police violence and brutality in Lebanon. Please read and endorse our solidarity statement and circulate it widely to fellow Global South organizations by sending an email to solidarity.lebanon@gmail.com.There have been escalations since the drafting of this statement whereby Minister of Interior, Marwan Charbel, made an official statement saying &quot;Lebanon is against faggots, and by Lebanese law its considered a felony.&quot; He ignored, and therefore condoned, the fact that non-heteronormative bodies (trans* and other) bodies were violated in inhumane and disgusting means and condoned the racism against Syrians living in Dekwaneh. Find the statement at these links in Arabic and in English. We are hoping for heavy endorsement by organizations and associations in Lebanon and across the Global South and a strong statement of South to South Solidarity to Lebanese officials.  *FOR WIDE DISSEMINATION*Solidarity with Demands for Justice Against the Abuse and Degradation of Non-heteronormative bodies by the Municipality of Dekwaneh, Lebanon People across Lebanon have risen up against the injustice perpetrated by the Municipality of Dekwaneh last Saturday April 20th, 2012. Antoine Chakhtoora, Municipality Mayor of Dekwaneh, ordered his internal security forces to raid and close a Club frequented by people with non-heteronormative sexual orientations and gender expressions. Internal Security Forces were also ordered to conduct the arbitrary abduction in trunks of police cars and abuse and degradation of 4 persons, one of which who was ordered to strip in front of police officers at the Municipality Headquarters under the supervision of the Mayor to ‘check whether she was a man or a woman’. Pictures of the naked body were taken by municipality police officers under Chakhtoora’s directions and distributed on mainstream media. Chakhtoora said:‘We took their clothes off, in our office, the holding station, of course. We need to know. We saw something scandalous happening, we need to know, what are these? Public immorality on the streets…okay…but is this a girl or a man? No, it turns out, half girl and half man.’Antoine Chakhtoora, Mayor of the Dekwaneh, blatantly announced his decision to detain, humiliate and shame transpersons and vehemently denies the criminality of his, and the Municipality’s, actions. This incident falls in parallel with a recent policy by the Municipality of Dekwaneh to enforce a 7 pm curfew on Syrians living in Dekwaneh .These arrests and the subsequent illegal detention, humiliation and police harassment constitute a flagrant abuse of power, a deployment of police brutality, and criminal assault. We also acknowledge the rampant misogyny explicit in Chakhtoora’s actions and words and his role within a patriarchal system to monitor, survey and police gender roles on one hand, and to discipline, humiliate and punish any deviation from these gender roles on the other. We attest to the misogyny inherent in this incident, where the “cross-dressing” of men as women has been described by Chakhtoora and his associates as abhorrent, criminal and an attack on “the vigor and strength of Dekwaneh”.Reprehensible decisions from Lebanese municipalities are a growing issue of concern. Lebanese municipalities, including Dekwaneh, have taken it upon themselves to institute a police state that represses the freedom of mobility of Syrians and migrants in Lebanon, with many incidents of police brutality and hard-handed enforcement.Antoine Chakhtoora has the power, resources and security apparatus to enforce a transphobic monopoly on morality. It is not within the jurisdiction of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces to forcefully strip people of their clothes and examine their genitals, and it is even more reprehensible that the Dekwaneh municipality felt it was entitled to photograph and publicize the naked bodies and genitals of persons which we consider to be a violation of sexual autonomy, rape. This behavior constitutes criminal assault on the part of the Municipality of Dekwaneh and, directly, it’s Mayor, Chakhtoora. It has become apparent since the incident that Chakhtoora has been strategically targeting individuals with little or no political backing, such as Syrian refugees and residents, people with non-heteronormative gender expressions, and the working class, in a bid to ascertain power in the next Municipality elections.We recognize the deep connections and similarities between the experiences of our peoples in the Global South and loudly protest the normalization of transphobic decisions and behavior by Lebanese elected officials and the Internal Security Forces and the persecution of trans* and migrant bodies as a political tool. We demand that the Lebanese Courts give no leniency in the persecution of the blatant illegal abuse of power and criminal assault perpetrated by Chakhtoora and his municipality and also urge the residents of Dekwaneh to bid for the immediate dismissal of Chakhtoora from office.The signatories of this statement reject and condemn all forms of state violence and police brutality condoned by the State that systematically oppress social, political and bodily freedoms. This incident as a continuation of recent rampant and uncontested police brutality, abuse of power and criminal assault and rape perpetrated by the Lebanese State and its security forces. Lebanon’s security apparatus violated the sexual autonomy of 36 working class men in a porn cinema in Nabaa by conducting anal probes, (test for homosexuality subsequently denounced by the Lebanese Order of Physicians, the harassment of migrants in Dora by general security forces, attacks on political protestors by the security forces in front of the Egyptian Embassy in January 2010 and the attack on Chaml organization in their Civil Marriage protest as well as the vicious and unresolved attack by the SSNP (Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party) militia on political protestors, and, most recently, the trans-bodies assaulted by Municipal Chief Chakhtoora, and the attack on sex workers sensationalized in the Lebanese TV Program ‘Inta Horr’ . We call on the Lebanese state to denounce all forms of violations on social, political and bodily freedoms and end its permissibility for abuse of the rule of law.We salute all individuals (in this case the trans* and Syrian individuals) living under daily threat of physical, verbal and structural abuse and violence and commend the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) for exposing the criminality of the Municipality of Dekwaneh and their unyielding demands for justice. We call for the intersectional unity of Lebanese civil society and activist movements to organize collectively on the growing issue of police abuse, brutality and violence and the unpunished transgressions of elected officials.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 04 May 2013 09:20:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>Parade Pictures</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/parade-pictures</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Event pageCheck different albums here:PatsyMay HaddadNath HalawaniDemotixKafaFirstpostDifferent pieces of coverage here:WomensenewsAl-AkhbarLegal AgendaAlMustaqbalAssafirSaida TVAlBawabaBlogs]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2013 23:20:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>May Day Parade Speech</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/may-day-parade-speech</link>
			<description><![CDATA[            Friends and colleagues,Ladies and gentlemen,On behalf of the migrant domestic workers’ community, I would like to welcome all of you to this workers’ day celebration. This day is a celebration for all the workers in the world. All, with no exception - every nationality, every profession. Unfortunately, many could not join us here today. Not because they didn’t want to, but because a system says that someone else can forbid them from leaving the house, which means that many do not get a single day off. This system also deprives migrant domestic workers of their right to quit or change their job and to move and travel freely. This system punishes migrant domestic workers just because of their profession.And what is our profession? We help families keep their houses in order. We take care of their children, and love them as our own. And yes we do dangerous and tiresome chores. We understand that it’s part of our job, and our job is to help. And we understand that some people fear having a stranger in their house. But we don’t understand how they think this system is the solution. This system that takes away some of our basic human and labor rights and creates an unhealthy and dangerous relationship between employer and employee. This system is called the kafala system, and it is bad for everyone. It is even bad for the image of Lebanon.Friends and colleagues,Ladies and gentlemen,I have been in this country for over x years. I have met so many friends from all over the world. I can see many of them are here today. I care about my colleagues and my friends and I care about this country. That is one more reason for me, for all of us, to seek the replacement of the kafala system with another that upholds our rights and lets us do our jobs in a healthy environment.Some of you will say that this is a losing battle, or that it is not in our hands. But, there are also those of you who know right from wrong, and cannot sit silent when they see injustice. Fifteen years ago, no one was thinking about changing the kafala system, most people didn’t even know what it was. Look where we are today. Domestic workers, Lebanese and international organizations, trade unions, and activists, have come together to demand change! The road is still long, but seeing how much we have accomplished so far only gives us a sign: That our hope is growing and that justice will prevail.Thank you]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2013 23:20:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>Remember This Name: Antoine Chakhtoura</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/remember-this-name-antoine-chakhtoura</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Antoine Chakhtoura, Mayor of Dekwaneh, directly supervised sexual violence against trans women, arresting them, stripping them naked in his office, &quot;checking&quot; for their sex, and taking photos of them, not to mention sharing the photos with media outlets. This is an outrageous violation of the women&#039;s bodily rights and we must hold him responsible. (Nasawiya)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVcTrkZ4W2Y]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:00:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>Another Program</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/another-program</link>
			<description><![CDATA[حلقة محشوّة بكل اشكال والوان العنصريةشربل خليل&#039;بمحض صدفة، شاهدت دقائق من &quot;بس مات الوطن&quot; (شربل خليل). المرأة تريد &quot;انكليزياً&quot; لتعليم ابنائها اللغة الانكليزية، فيأتي &quot;سوري&quot; يدعي انه انكليزي. يجن جنونها وتطرده، وتطلب من الشخص الذي يبدو أنه يلبي طلباتها &quot;سيرلنكياً&quot;. تقول له&quot; جبت لي السيرلنكي يللي وصيتك عليه&quot;. بالطبع، يأتي &quot;سوري&quot; آخر صبغ وجهه باللون الاسود. تجن ثانية وتطرده. تعود لتسال الشخصية التي امامها: جبت لي &quot;طرمبة المي&quot;، فيدخل &quot;سوري&quot; بكوفية على كتفيه حاملا سطل مياه فارغاً. ويشرح لها الشخص الذي يلبي طلباتها بأن السوري يمكنه ان يحل محل الطرمبة. هكذا.. تسقط أرضاً مغشياً عليها لكثرة السوريين وشدتهم على انفاسها اللبنانية.&#039;(نقلاً عن جهاد بزي)]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:40:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>Lebanon’s ‘uncomfortable’ maid culture</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/lebanon’s-‘uncomfortable’-maid-culture</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Re-posted on CNN.Great work by Nathalie Naccache.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:40:01 CEST</pubDate>
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			<title>Another Municipality Joins the Syndrome: Bsalim</title>
			<link>http://www.antifa.ca/antifa-news/another-municipality-joins-the-syndrome-bsalim</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Source]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:20:01 CEST</pubDate>
			</item></channel> 
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