A-Infos (en) resistance issue 42. Bulletin of the Anarchist Federation (Britain)

["E W" <nastyned@email.com>]

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DOWN WITH DICTATORS!

War, what is it good for?
Big business!

By the time this issue of resistance appears, The US and its
British ally might already have launched attacks on Iraq.
We can be sure that so-called opposition within Labour will be
soon reduced to a small rump, as Labour Party whips explain
the potential damage to their careers. We can be sure too, that
the unions will tone down their criticisms, as they always have
with this Labour government. At the same time, the unions
have attempted, along with their accomplices in the left
organisations, to tame any anti-war  movement, and stop it
spilling out into direct action on the streets.
The aim of the US war effort is not the liberation of the Iraqi
people from Saddam Hussein, but the overthrow of Saddam
and his replacement by another vicious regime, this time more
at the beck and  call of the US. They kept Saddam in power for
many years, and only now do they want to remove him. This
will guarantee them cheap oil supplies. This was one of the
reasons behind their attack on Afghanistan - the supply of oil in
Central Asia.
An overthrow of Saddam by the Americans will not then
benefit the Iraqi masses. Only a full-blown social revolution can
achieve that. If such a revolution happened, the US and its
allies would do their utmost to destroy it.
A US-led attack on Iraq will strengthen support for Muslem
fundamentalism and anti-Western nationalism. This will
increase the chances of further terrorist attacks.
But at the same time, the US may have committed a major
miscalculation with the launch of anti-war movements
throughout the world that may lead to greater radicalisation and
the realisation that capitalism is the root of war.
The huge demonstration in London in late September was a
sign of massive opposition to the war in Britain. But a walk
from Embankment to Hyde Park is not enough. If we want to
hinder the war effort and eventually bring it grinding to a halt,
then we must escalate actions on the street: direct action
preventing the movement of material and supplies- road blocks,
boycotts, workers blocking transportation of war materials,
strikes and riots will all raise the political temperature and push
the anti-war movement forward

Down with democracy!

Bush, Blair and the whole pro-war bandwagon love to contrast
their democratic credentials to those nasty little dictatorships to
be found dotted around the globe.
But just what does democracy actually mean? It means
capturing the political parties, for example. Remember how
Blair manipulated the Labour Party, filled it with his
hangers-on and suppressed all opposition.
Or how about when Bush fiddled the vote in Florida to capture
power in the USA? Or how Blair and co. wheedled their way
into forming a government on the basis of support from only
about a quarter of the electrorate?
Democracy, in the USA and Britain in particular, is a massive
lie. It is a means by which we are duped into believing that
what we think counts when in fact it is only what they say that
matters. And this lie is spread by a conniving mass media
which gains from spreading the delusion that politicians are
responsive to our interests, wishes and desires.
The reality, of course, is that democracy is really a dictatorship
of the rich, the unaccountable multi-national companies and
their hangers-on. Real power lies with them so long as the
working classes of the world continue to be seduced into
slumber. That is why we in the Anarchist Federation are
fighting to tell the truth, why we are arguing for real peoples
control over our lives and highlighting the struggles of those
like in Argentina (see inside) as possible ways forward.

---

ON THE FRONTLINE

Another busy month of industrial disputes - official figures
show that this year has seen the highest number of strikes
since 1989 - and we still have a national fire-fighters strike yet
to come?
Wildcat strikes returned to the postal services with 30 workers
at the Filton (Bristol) Royal Mail Cashco depot walking out
unannounced - to be joined later by 90 members of the
morning shift. The walkout was over the planned selling off of
part of the business to Securicor - who were also the inspiration
for a wildcat in Scotland where stoppages at Broxburn, West
Lothian and Glasgow took place after they were sold part of
Consignias cash-handling services.
More strikes on the London Underground - a 24-hour strike on
the 25th is to be followed by another on 3rd October. Drivers
are demanding a 5.7% pay rise and moves towards
implementing a promised 35-hour week. All twelve lines were
fully shut down - at a cost of £60 million - London
Underground itself loses about £3 million every strike day and
so cannot hold out indefinitely without damaging itself and
making it a worse investment option for PFI/PPP funds.
24-hour strikes also took place on Arriva Trains Northern,
where conductors are fighting a long running (19 days of
action) and increasingly bitter battle with bosses. They?ve now
been joined by Station and retail staff who are involved in a
separate pay dispute. Arriva has been in dispute with workers in
almost every corner of the country, and have seen their
operating earnings drop by 4% as a result.
International news: In Ireland there is to be a national
work-stoppage on October 4 in Support of ?Irish Glass Bottle?
and Peerless Rug Workers, who are both fighting for full
payment of their redundancy payments. A General strike has
been called in South Africa to protest the current wave of ANC
imposed privatisations and resulting redundancies. General
strikes are also in the pipeline in Italy and Venezuela. In France
Air France pilots are planning to strike against partial
privatisation on 3 October, and Italian air traffic controllers
have also been striking. A Europe wide co-ordination of these
stoppages looks likely in the coming months - as happened
earlier this year.

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CELEBRITY PRAT OF THE MONTH

Ten years ago every position I held was militant, be it
Christianity, Marxism, veganism, whatever. Then I realised
that militancy was really serving no  purpose other than
alienating the people I was close to. I didn?t make the world a
better place. I was just being obnoxious and annoying.?

Delusions that there have ever been anything ?militant? about
Moby?s past affiliations are risible. Christianity, Marxism,
veganism... nothing there, then or now, to oust the status quo.
What is there in Christianity that could be deemed
revolutionary? It?s all bowing and scraping to some figment of
the imagination concocted aeons ago by the ruling
establishment to maintain their dominance, power and lions
share of the worlds wealth. Not much different with the
Marxists, it?d just be exchanging one clique of
?do-as-we-say?s? for another lot. No thanks, we?ve had
enough of that. Veganism - well, it?s a fine principled code of
ethics to live by but, sure as eggs are eggs, it?s never going to
change the social structure, not in the slightest.
No, capitalism per se is the problem and class-ridden society is
its manifestation.
Until we, the workers, the wealth creators, organise ourselves
into a unified force to be reckoned with, seizing back our own
lives from the boss class, politicians, priests and
what-have-you, until we refuse to be sucked into the comforts
of complacency by the likes of the self-admittedly obnoxious,
but ineffectual, Moby, ambitions to attain a genuinely humane
world will never be realised.
If workers are ever to become anything other than pawns in the
competing games of the exploiting classes, opposition must be
total, rising and evolving from a position of strength firmly
rooted in the anarchist communist practice that ensures our
class never again falls prey to the brutality at the core of
capitalism.

--

EXAMS ARE A FAILURE

So at last the exams issue has blown up in the governments
face. Everyone at the top of the examinations tree have been
desperate to slag each other off. Why, because the system has
been revealed to be a complete mess.
Young people in England and Wales sit more exams in their
years at school than in most other countries. They are tested at
7, 11, 14 and 16. If they decide to stay on, they are tested again
at 17 and 18! Both students and teachers are fed up with the
system. So what is the purpose of having constant exams?
Education under capitalism is to prepare people for work.
Bosses want workers who not only have the right skills, but
who will show ?respect for authority? and have a ?good work
ethic?. Teachers used to have more freedom over what they
taught. To the state this meant the possibility of teachers
?subverting? their students by doing topics that might get
people to question society. Constant exams, to a set
curriculum, controls what is taught.
The government would like to go further in controlling the
teachers by introducing performance related pay. Another use
of exams is that they force young people to constantly think
about ?achievement? and ?success?. They compete with other
students, and those who work hardest or are most willing to
conform, will be seen as successes. Those who don?t, will be
?failures?. This prepares people to accept what happens at work
when some people earn stacks of money and others get the shit
jobs and earn peanuts. Exams give the false impression that we
live in a society of ?equal opportunity? where anyone can rise to
the top. Exams are supposed to be an impartial way of judging
people. Social class, gender or ethnicity aren?t supposed to
matter.
Students go along with this because they are worried about
what will happen to them if they don?t play the game. Teachers
go along with it because they are being judged on the exam
results so they can?t afford to be the odd one out. University
students are also under tremendous pressure and most have to
do part-time jobs to survive. Teachers are also fed up with the
extra work that all the exams have meant.
One of the biggest challenges to capitalism in recent European
history happened in Paris in May 1968. It started in the schools
and universities with students and teachers rebelling against
the latest educational reforms. The rebellion then spread to the
streets and the workplaces. Lets see it happen again!


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ARGENTINIANS AT WORK

Ten months ago the Argentinian working class rose up and
seriously threatened the power of the state - five governments
were brought down in three weeks and momentum was
building for more widespread resistance. Since then though, it
all seems to have gone quiet - if you believed the capitalist
press anyway. The reality is very different however - the
struggle continues and has, if anything, taken on a more
determined character.
Activity has shifted from the Popular Assembles to the
occupied factories and to establishing link-ups between the
unemployed piqueteros and the occupying workers. Over 300
factories and workplaces have been taken over by their workers
- for example the Brukman textile plant in Buenos Aires has
been occupied  since December 18th when the boss fled owing
months of wages. Hired goons were sent to take back the plant
but were met with physical resistance by the workers and
piqueteros - which helped to develop practical solidarity.
This has been demonstrated in a series of National
Conferences, the latest of which took place on Sept 28th -
attended by workers and delegates of the piqueteros. Nearly
every industry was represented - miners from Río Turbio,
Grissinópoli bakers, the Junín Clinic of Córdoba, Tigre
Supermarkets in Rosario, to teachers?  occupying  School
Boards in La Plata, Berisso and Ensenada. San Juan,
Tucuman, Entre Rios, Cordoba, El Jagüel, Floresta, Chilavert
have all seen occupations - and this trend is rapidly spreading
throughout the country.
The piqueteros have formed themselves into a National
Picketeer Bloc and have established links with other groups
especially the MIJD (Independent Movement of Pensioners
and the Unemployed) and Barrios de Pie (Neighborhoods on
their Feet), and the CTD Aníbal Verón (Coordinator of
Unemployed Workers). Each groups militancy encourages the
others - statements like ?we repudiate the electoral trap which
proposes that ?All of them must go? so that all of them
remain... and we place no confidence in those who say that the
social crisis... is to be resolved with a change in government??
are accurate reflections of the mood of these groupings.
The importance of independent class action and the value of
establishing links with other working class groups in struggle is
evident here - there?s a lesson for the posties, transport
workers and other struggling workers here - rely on your
collective strength and solidarity - not on union bureaucrats
whinging about legality and protecting their assets.

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Anarchism is organisation

?It will be readily appreciated that I cannot remain indifferent to
the nonchalance and negligence currently obtaining in our
circles. On the one hand, it prevents the creation of a coherent
libertarian collective that would enable anarchists to take their
proper place in the revolution, and on the other, it permits a
making-do withy fine phrases and grand notions, while shying
away when action is  called for?Responsibility and collective
discipline should not cause alarm: they are the fellow travellers
of the practice of social anarchism?.
This quote from the anarchist militant Nestor Makhno features
in a new book from AK Press (www.akuk.com), Facing the
Enemy: a history of anarchist organisation by Alexandre Skirda.
Lessons can be drawn from the book which pinpoints what is
wrong with the anarchist movement in this country: The fear of
effective organisation, the cult of the individual and of lifestyle,
the false understanding of ?spontaneity? is, still makes what
passes for the anarchist movement on these islands ineffective.
Too often effective propaganda and activity are never
attempted, too often even in a neighbourhood or in an industry
no coordination between individuals and groups is attempted,
too often great opportunities to advance the influence of
anarchist ideas are frittered away.
What we need is effective organisation built around core ideas
of class struggle, federalism and
anarchist communism. We appeal to all
anarchists who take the task of furthering revolutionary
anarchism seriously, to think deeply about the need to
coordinate propaganda and activity more efficiently. Obviously,
we feel as many people as possible should join the Anarchist
Federation. But if you do have political differences with the AF,
then join one of the other anarchist organisations in Britain and
Ireland, or, failing this, take part in the work of local groups
where they exist, or help them come into existence. And above
all, work towards coordination and united action between the
groups that make up the body of anarchism on these islands.


--

TIME BOMB

St. Petersburg Soviet 1905
?One evening when there were several workers at my house, as
usual Nossar was there too, -we had the idea of forming a
permanent workers? organisation: something like a committee,
or a council,...? Voline: The Unknown Revolution
The meeting above took place in mid-January 1905. A decision
was made to inform workers in all large factories about the idea
of the Soviet, and to proceed next to the election of officers
which would name a council (soviet) of workers? delegates.
The petition, in January 1905,  to Tsar Nicholas II was an
example of the overwhelming faith the working class had in
their ?little father?, but  betrayed a similar naivety in its faith in
the system that exploited them. Among the measures
demanded were complete freedom of the press, freedom of
speech, the right to organise, the right to strike, the right to join
unions, agrarian laws which would lead to the expropriation of
large landowners, and the immediate convocation of a
Constituent Assembly that would greatly reduce the power of
the Tsar himself.
On Sunday January 9, the march which carried this petition to
the Tsar was gunned down by government troops. The day
after the massacre, the factories and shipyards throughout the
capital were silent. The strike itself was spontaneous, not
directed by any union apparatus, political party or strike
committee, simply a mass demonstration of resistance.
Meanwhile, the soviets spread like a virus, representing most of
the labour force of St. Petersburg, and 80,000 workers in
Moscow. Overall, 50 soviets of workers and peasants were
formed. The Tsar needed to bide his time before bringing his
full force to bear against the people. In August, the monarchy
pretended  to recognise the gains the people had already taken
for themselves. Before long bakers and printers called for
another general strike -a call that was soon heard by the rest of
their class.The general strike in October began on the railroads
but soon spread, suspending the life of the country.
Finally, the government gave way, and issued the famous
?Manifesto of October 17th? which promised the setting up of
a state Duma (parliament) with the right to proclaim laws,
along with greater civil liberties, and extension of the franchise.
The workers were suspicious, but the strike was called off, and
the Tsar bought himself the time he needed. By the end of the
year, the freedoms granted a few months before were
rescinded.  The revolutionary press was censored, major
uprisings were put down, all workers? organisations including
the soviets were suppressed.


---

INSIDE INFORMATION

Mayday Appeal for Witness
We are passing on this appeal from a solicitor about a person
arrested on Mayday in Wardour St at 8.50 pm: I represent
Philip Paden who is accused of affray in Wardour St. on 1st
May 2002 at 8.50 pm. He is accused of using a plastic dustbin
lid to hit police officers shields. Philip denies the charges and it
is very important that I contact any eye witnesses who may
have seen his arrest and the events leading up to it. Philip was
wearing a white paper suit, a white arm guard and was holding
a pink plastic dustbin lid. If anybody can help please contact me
:
Andrew Katzen Moss & Co. Solicitors, 17 Lower Clapton Rd,
London, E5 0NS.
Tel: 0208 986 8336 Email: andrew@mosslaw.co.uk

Cypriot Anarchist imprisoned
On September 4, 2002, anarchist George Karakasian was
sentenced to seven months in prison for ?assaulting a police
officer? at a demonstration outside the Israeli ambassador?s
home. For more info email: exegersi2002@yahoo.com or:
anarchy@vip.gr

New Defence Network for Free
 In June 2000, two US anarchists, Free and Critter, were
stopped by police in June 2000 and ended up charged with
Criminal Mischief and Arson. They had been followed by
undercover agents after setting fires to vehicles at a car
showroom. Critter was sentenced to five years and five
months, Free was convicted and sentenced to an outrageous 22
years and five months, with no possibility of parole. Friends of
Free?s have recently formed a new defence network to
co-ordinate support.
Check out the websites to see how you can support Free:
www.freefreenow.org or
www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk/prisoners/fc/free.html
Brighton Anarchist Black Cross will be the UK contact, for
information (please send an SAE) and for donations toward
Free?s costly appeal process, and/or his college education in
prison.
Contributions however small are welcome and will be passed
on regularly (please make cheques payable to ABC) Brighton
ABC, PO Box 74, Brighton, BN1 4ZQ
Contact Free and Critter directly at: Jeffrey Luers (Free),
#13797671, OSP, 2605 State Street, Salem OR 97310, USA
and Craig Marshall (Critter), #13797662, SRCI, Stanton
Boulevard, Ontario OR, USA

Support the prisoners on dirty protest at HMP Frankland.
Tony Daniels, Greg Newland, Keith Pringle and Tony Woods
are on a dirty protest against their shit treatment.
For more info & copy of a protest letter contact: Miscarriages of
Justice UK (MOJUK) Tel: 0121 554 6947 Fax: 0121 554 7891
Email: mojuk@mojouk.org.uk Website:
http://www.mojuk.org.uk/

Online information
Much of the information for this column came from the
excellent Brighton ABC website. Vist it at:
www.brightonabc.org.uk

Prison Action meeting
The Prison Action Email group has organised a meeting at the
Anarchist Bookfair (see below): Room two, the Camden Centre
from 12 - 1.

---

Subvert and resist

Take precautions when going on demonstrations and don?t
take cameras, booze or drugs. If you?re nicked give your name
and address then say ?no comment? to any other questions.


OCTOBER: 6: Demo and actions at Lakenheath US air force
base in Norfolk Tel: 01508 550 446 Email:
info@lakenheathaction.org. Visit: www.LakenheathAction.org
16: Worldwide anti-McDonalds day of action. Adopt Your
Local Store - leaflets from Veggies Tel: 0845 458 9595 Visit:
www.veggies.org.uk This will also be worker led mobilisation
by the McDonalds workforce. Email: info@mwr.org.uk Visit:
http://mwr.org.uk/proposal.htm
19: Anarchist Bookfair, Camden Centre, Euston Rd., London
WC1 (Kings Cross tube) Visit: www.anarchistbookfair.org
Remember to visit the AF stall.
25: Anarchist Federation and Hereford Anarchists benefit gig.
9pm at Karlo?s, Widemarsh Street, Hereford.
26: Stirling Campaign for Justice Not War. War - What is it
good for? Conference, Cowane Centre, Cowane St, Stirling
12-4 (register from 11.30). For free registration Tel: 07941 769
809. Creche available if requested.
NOVEMBER: 9: Scottish Anarchist Day School in Glasgow.
Kinning Park Centre - nearest underground Kinning Park. 10
am - 5 pm. Admission £3/£1 concs. Workshops on anarchist
alternatives to capitalism, Anarchists organising in the
community, Getting the message across- libertarian media,
The libertarian movement today- Scotland and beyond.
Refreshments available.

---

Join the resistance

The Anarchist Federation is an organisation of class struggle
anarchists aiming to
abolish capitalism and all oppression to
create a free and equal society. This is
Anarchist Communism.
We see today?s society as being divided into two main
opposing classes: the ruling class which controls all the power
and wealth, and the working class which the rulers exploit to
maintain this. By racism, sexism and other forms of
oppression, as well as war and environmental destruction the
rulers weaken and divide us. Only the direct action of working
class people can defeat these attacks and ultimately overthrow
capitalism.
As the capitalist system rules the whole world, its destruction
must be complete and world wide. We reject attempts to reform
it, such as working through parliament and
national liberation movements, as they fail to challenge
capitalism itself. Unions also work as a part of the capitalist
system, so although workers struggle within them they will be
unable to bring about capitalism?s destruction unless they go
beyond these limits.
Organisation is vital if we?re to beat
the bosses, so we work for a united
anarchist movement and are affiliated to the International of
Anarchist Federations.
The Anarchist Federation has members across Britain and
Ireland fighting for the kind of world outlined above.  Contact
us at:

Anarchist Federation,
84B, Whitechapel High Street,
London,  E1 7QX. Tel: 07946 214 590
Visit: www.afed.org.uk
Email: anarchistfederation@bigfoot.com


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