The united front does not annul the personality. It does not signify confusing or amalgamating all the doctrines into a single doctrine. It is a contingent, concrete practical action... [and] only considers the immediate reality outside of any abstraction and any utopia... everyone should keep his own affiliation and his own ideology... But all should feel united by class solidarity... the struggle against the common adversary, tied by the same revolutionary will and the same renovating passion... The variety of tendencies and precise defined groups is not something bad, on the contrary, it is …
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Even the most optimistic view of 2012 gives us a continuation of 2011. Europe remains in crisis, the US staggers along, China continues to skirt crisis. But things could get much more interesting. As Europe follows its suicidal path of austerity, the economy continues its decline. Some countries such as Italy, Spain and Portugal could follow Greece into defacto default. The virtual collapse of Europe will send a shock wave across the Atlantic, furthering the wrecking of the US economy. With a lower demand from the US and Europe, China and India will go into crisis. Brazil, one of the global …
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Manifesto of the Federación Anarquista Revolucionaria de Venezuela (FARV) 1) The Federación Anarquista Revolucionaria de Venezuela - http://farvespecifistas.blogspot.com/ is a collective that adopts the ideology of Libertarian Communism, a system where both capitalism and the bourgeois State that supports it are abolished, where the people as the producers of goods and services have control of what is produced in the form of collective ownership, where such production is distributed according to the principle "from each according to their ability, to each according to their …
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I see Occupy's situation today as analogous to that of the Civil Rights Movement. As long as they stayed in the South Northern liberals loved them. But when the movement went North and started confronting racism there, it became "Dr. King, you are going too far!" Perhaps without intending to, the Civil Rights Movement exposed the limits of liberalism and of the socio-economic system of the United States. Occupy has gotten a lot of back patting and verbal support from political moderates. However, now that the time has come to turn those kind words into taking a real stand with the …
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Having spoken with the camping protesters in front ofcity hall last night,they told me the city has ordered themto strike down their tipi tentunder the claim it is a firehazard. They have until 6pm tonight to do so,right when most of Nelson is eating supper and/orgoing to vote in ourcivic election. I spoke with one young fellow who is part native whosays he will do his utmost to not allow the tipi to betaken down. We live in a place thatcontinues to deny the Sinixt Nation full Indian Status. I say all power to these folks who are standing upfor us at city hall.They need our continued support. …
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There is a second Occupy Nanaimo web site and I think this is the "official" one, see http://www.occupynanaimo.ca/ See also www.occupynanaimo.weebly.com …
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The weather has turned wet and cool, but it has not dampened the ardor of the people of Occupy Nanaimo. There must be about thirty tents, all of which are occupied, as well as a food area, library and covered area for making placards and posters. A number of homeless have joined this little community. Today at noon there was a round table discussion which I joined. Occupiers and supporters like myself stood in a circle and took turns voicing our thoughts as how to distill down the vast number of demands into a smaller package and to voice any other opinions that people wished. One man said …
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Check this out at http://www.bopsecrets.org/recent/awakening.htm …
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Occupy Nanaimo was a total success, as far as I could see. About 400 people came out, which is about double the number we usually get. Keep in mind this is not a big city. There was an opportunity for anyone who wished to speak to do so and many did. Everyone spoke well and informatively. We had several people from the Labour Movement, a First Nations woman,, several city council candidate our MLA Leonard Krog as well as many others. But the best speech of al, in my opinion was given by Illan of the Thirsty Camel Resto who laid out a fine critique of capitalism and the whole cult of …
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The “nattering nabobs of negativity” have been having their day with OWS. First “why don't they dress differently?” And of course, “they are a bunch of spoiled college kids.” Then, “they have no program, its all a mass of different demands.” and “it will easily be co-opted.” The first two brilliant responses are from the right. They said the same about us 45 years ago, but imagination was never the strong point with right-whiners anyway. Less easy to dismiss, as it comes from left as well as right, is the supposed profusion of demands. For shame, you lefties, if any …
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No posting of mine has had as many negative comments as Free Will Proven a Myth During the years since, I have attempted to understand this reaction. Here are some tentative explanations. Could it be that the upholders of the free will superstition think an attack upon free will is an attack upon freedom in general? If so, they are making the same mistake the Church made when rejecting the Copernican system in favor of the Ptolemaic. The teachings of Jesus, never rose or fell on whether the earth went around the sun or vice versa. What the Copernican reality negated was the …
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The “remember when...” stories that circulate on the Internet always seem to have a reactionary bent. It's as though the authors miss the days when women, children and minorities “knew their place.” I have rectified this problem by listing the truly good things of life that existed before greed, corruption and megalomania came to predominate in the 1980s. Remember when: It was normal to get a good paying union job just out of high school. That same job would last until you got your pension. It was normal for working people to expect a higher living standard each decade. Mail was …
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Here is the most recent news on the struggle to find the bodies of the Residential Schools missing children. See http://blip.tv/thatchannel/real-health-2011-09s-06-kevin-annett-5533270 …
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I guess by now you heard of the Ohio guy whose work “buddies” won $99 million and refused to share it with him because he was too sick to make the payment. There were 23 employees in the pool, a total of $4.304,343 each. Minus the sick guy, their winnings would be $4.500,000. Even though each one of these greed heads would have $4.3 million they would screw their co-worker for the sake of $195,000! Before you might dismiss this as typical of the USA, something even worse occurred in Canada about 20 years ago. A man in Quebec and his daughter won $7 million. Yet the daughter forgot to put …
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A radio program has been done on Kootenay Coop Radio about the 1983 BC General Strike, its history and the ramifications of it. I also am interviewed as well as Tom Wayman and 4 other people who were involved at the time. Here is the link - http://kootenaycoopradio.com/index.php?%2Fradio-show%2Fshow%2Fhedge_school_of_the_air%2F …
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For a good article on the student revolt in Chile see http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/48526 …
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The chickens are coming home to roost. 30 years of reactionary,criminal, anti-people policies are being effectively trashed by rioters in London, and now I just got a report that it is spreading to another city. The police state tactics of the past no longer seem to be working, for as the Guardian has reported The Met's preferred tactic in recent years has been the controversial "kettle", in which large numbers of police are drafted in to contain protesters, sometimes for hours on end. But roaming groups of youths cannot be effectively kettled. Get that kiddies? Not that I think rioting …
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“Ideas have consequences” is a favorite mantra of the far-right. It's usually sprung on some mildly pink college professor who happens to refer favorably to Marx in a lecture. “The ultimate result of the Marxist ideology you spout is the Gulag and Pol Pot”, bellows the right-wing pundit. Funny though, this same pundit would never suggest that Jesus is responsible for the Inquisition or Martin Luther for the Holocaust. But then consistency was never part of the right wing mind set. However this very week, instead of a spurious, fabricated causal chain, with the Norwegian Massacre …
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This review appeared in Oystercatcher (oystercatcher@uniserve.com ) If you are looking for a history of the Vancouver counter culture, this is definitely not the book. "City of Love and Revolution" is little more than a compendium of glaring omissions, factual errors, mass media cliches with a belittling and condescending tone throughout. While there is much talk of love, the author seems to have little of that sentiment for his subject. Let's start off with the omissions. Aronsen ignores the Simon Fraser University student movement, the most militant and well organized in the …
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The immediate response of both the authorities and most of the public was to find a subject to blame for the riot and demand swift vengeance. The riot was the work of “anarchists”, or “thugs” and at the most analytical level, dragged out the old and dog-eared, “society is too permissive” bromide. We expect the authorities – as group forever mired in a LaBrea Tar Pit state of denial, to do this. But for all the ordinary people who engaged in this blame fest, it only goes to show the hegemony of authoritarian ideology. Such hegemony means that most people are incapable of a …
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The riot pointed out, one more time, the incompetence and stupidity of both our leaders and the media. Oh, such moaning! “The riot was totally unexpected.” What dolts, you put a hundred thousand adrenaline charged, boozed up people in one spot and at least some of them will think it funny to flip over a car or toss a bottle through a window. And that's how it starts. The riot was virtually inevitable, and the civic leaders don't want to take responsibility for it. The CBC hit a new low. They tried to smear the Black Bloc as somehow initiating the riot, since a number of the rioters …
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Hot off the press! THEY DIED FOR YOU – A Brief History of Canadian Labour Martyrs, by D.J. Alperovitz and Larry Gambone. When we started this project we thought we would have maybe 8 or 9 martyrs and a 10 page pamphlet. Doing research we found twenty-five of them. Read their stories in this 37 page booklet. Full of illustrations. Available from iwwvi@telus.net for $4.00 per copy plus postage. …
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Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]

Only 39.7% of voters, or 24% of the Canadian population supported the right wing Conservative Party in the last Canadian general election. The base for this party consists of religious extremists, but these make up only about 10% of the population. Then there are the five percent of the wealthy and near-wealthy who naturally vote Conservative, since their policies allow them to skim-off ever more of societies riches. Ideologically-rooted haters and greed creeps are the natural basis for far right parties. But how does one explain the support the remaining 9% of the population, neither …
[Read more...]