1. Australia, anarchist affinity: The Wages for Housework
Campaign and ‘Women’s Work’ Under Capitalism By Rebecca
Winter and Jasmina Brankovich (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. France, Alternative Libertaire AL n° special - Spring
burning: We are not tired! (fr, it, pt) [machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. OLYMPIA, WA: MARCH IN SOLIDARITY WITH MILWAUKEE UPRISING
August 15, 2016 (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. Britain, Glasgow Events Black Lives Matter and Pride
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. Chile, periodico-solidaridad #34 - La Bahía de Concepción
under transnational threat (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. Anarchist Summer Camp 2016 -- Appeal for the Anarchist
Summer-Camp 2016 (de, fr) (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
“Why has woman’s work never been of any account? […] Because those who want to emancipate
mankind [sic] have not included woman in their dream of emancipation, and consider it
beneath their superior masculine dignity to think “of those kitchen arrangements,” which
they have rayed on the shoulders of that drudge-woman.[…]Let us fully understand that a
revolution, intoxicated with the beautiful words Liberty, Equality, Solidarity would not
be a revolution if it maintained slavery at home. Half of humanity subjected to the
slavery of the hearth would still have to rebel against the other half” – Peter Kropotkin
(1). ---- Caring work, reproductive labour, affective work: there are different names to
describe the type of unpaid work conducted in the so-called ‘private’, domestic sphere of
the nuclear family; yet it is essential, life-giving work. If there was no one willing to
wipe the bums of babies, to do the laundry, to cook food, or to care for those who need
support, none of us would live well, and for some it would be a question of survival. Yet,
the labour that goes into reproducing us as human beings – in the form of child-rearing
and caring, housework, and emotional support – is frequently under-appreciated, and almost
always either under-paid or unpaid. It is also a form of labour that is, in global terms,
predominantly performed by women, especially women of colour.
This gendered division of reproductive labour is often justified on the grounds that women
are ‘naturally’ suited for caring roles, and that this work is not exploitative because
women do it out of love for their families. We argue, however, that the gendered division
of reproductive labour is an important tool of patriarchal, racist capitalism.
By presenting reproductive labour as not being ‘real work,’ women’s labour is devalued,
which allows capitalists to easily exploit it, while also perpetuating patriarchal social
relations which privilege paid work in the ‘public’ sphere when performed by men. This
also functions to reproduce racism, as women of colour often perform this work, by taking
on the reproductive labour of wealthy families as well as in their own homes. We argue
that it is vital for anarchists and other anti-capitalists to examine the role of
reproductive labour under capitalism and reconceptualise what it means to be a worker. In
other words, “the strategy of feminist class struggle is […] based on the wageless woman
in the home […] whose position in the wage structure is low especially, but not only, if
she is Black” (2).
Reproductive labour and its discontents
“Why deny that caring for people is the very stuff of life? Basic to relationships. Basic
to human survival. Yet treated as worthless. Women give their all, but it’s not mutual and
it’s not paid” – Selma James (3).
Prior to the 1970s, during the ‘golden era’ of growth in post-Second World War capitalism,
the state supplemented the interest of capital in raising the future workforce, with
heavily subsidised investment. However, since the advent of neoliberalism in the 1970s we
have seen increased disinvestment by the state in the ‘private’ sphere. Women were
increasingly ‘welcomed’ to the paid workforce, but often still find themselves left with a
‘second-shift’ of reproductive labour at the end of the day.
More recently cuts to state funding have meant that workers in the aged care, nursing,
disability, and child care sectors (most of whom are women), are increasingly forced into
precarious casual employment, with little job security and inadequate wages. Cuts to
social services and welfare programs have been made worse by privatisation of essential
services, and have left those performing unpaid reproductive work with few avenues of
support and little financial independence.
In the first volume of the Capital, Karl Marx describes the paid labour conditions of men,
women, and children, toiling in the factories of 19th-century industrial England. But,
while Marx’s work explores the creation of this kind of ‘productive’ labour (which
generates profit for capitalists), he was silent on the important role of reproductive
work in capitalism. Marx’s focus was on the way capitalists extract the maximum profit
from workers by paying them much less than their labour is worth. Like many other
socialist and anarchist thinkers, however, he neglected to think about those
(predominantly women) who work outside of the wage system, or who perform unpaid work
alongside waged work.
A key challenge to this limited view of work and capitalism has been provided by the
writings and activism of autonomist Marxist feminists. The work of autonomist feminists
redefined the ‘private sphere’ of the home as a sphere of relations of production and a
site of potential anti-capitalist organising (4).
In 1972, the International Wages for Housework Campaign was launched by activists
including Selma James, Silvia Federici and Maria Dalla Costa. The campaign challenged the
idea that housework, child care and emotional labour did not count as ‘real’ work by
demanding that it was reconceptualised as if it were paid. As Federici explained: “To say
that we want money for housework is the first step towards refusing to do it, because the
demand for a wage makes our work visible, which is the most indispensable condition to
begin to struggle against it, both in its immediate aspect as housework, and its more
insidious character as femininity” (5).
By challenging the unpaid status of housework, the Wages for Housework campaign sought to
undermine the division between paid and unpaid workers under capitalism, and create the
space for women to think of themselves as workers with a right to struggle for liveable
working conditions inside the home, as well as outside it.
The solution, according to Wages for Housework activists, was not for individual families
or care-givers to simply be paid by the state or capitalists, or for individual men and
women to just share unpaid reproductive work. They argued that reproductive work should be
collectivised, controlled by those who performed the work, and used to engage community
members in rethinking what unpaid labour represented, and the benefits it accrued to
capitalists. They aimed to challenge the idea that reproductive labour is an
‘unproductive’, less valuable form of work, which must be performed in addition to a
person’s ‘real work.’
However, it’s not enough to think about how women’s reproductive labour benefits the
capitalist class – we must also think about how it benefits men and maintains a
patriarchal social structure. Heidi Hartmann notes that it’s not simply a coincidence that
the gendered division of reproductive labour “places men in a superior, and women in a
subordinate, position” (6). The fact that many men receive a wage for their work, while
many women do not, creates an inequality in economic power which facilitates men’s control
over women’s lives. Ultimately, the gendered division of labour props up a patriarchal,
white supremacist capitalist system, which the vast majority would be better off without.
However, under the current system, the fact that men are not obliged to take on as much
housework, child care, or care of family members is often perceived as a benefit, a
privilege, which some men will fight to keep. This happens even when women in the family
participate in paid work on an equivalent basis to men. Recognising this helps us
understand why campaigns which focus on reproductive labour, such as Wages for Housework,
can face a backlash by men, including those who claim to be comrades in the
anti-capitalist struggle.
The ideas of the Wages for Housework campaign have since been continued in the Global
Women’s Strike movement, as but one example of Selma James’ legacy. Women from 60
countries, including Argentina, Peru, India, Uganda and the UK, took part in a strike on
International Women’s Day in 2004. The Global Women’s Strike was organised under the
banner of ‘Resources for Caring Not Killing’ (7). In addition to wages for housework, the
movement demanded access to social housing, free education, clean water, and debt
abolition for ‘Third World’ nations. They strongly opposed military spending and demanded
that women’s unpaid emotional labour be financially compensated by divestments from
military activities, thus again drawing attention to the unjust division of resources
under capitalism (8).
The gendered division of labour in contemporary Australia
“We both had careers, both had to work a couple of days a week to earn enough to live on,
so why shouldn’t we share the housework? So I suggested it to my mate and he agreed – most
men are too hip to turn you down flat. You’re right, he said. It’s only fair. Then an
interesting thing happened […] The longer my husband contemplated these chores, the more
repulsed he became, and so proceeded the change from the normally sweet, considerate Dr.
Jekyll into the crafty Mr. Hyde who would stop at nothing to avoid the horrors of
housework” – Pat Mainardi (9).
What are some of the ways that the gendered division of reproductive labour functions
under contemporary Australian capitalism? While mainstream pundits argue that feminist
struggles are unnecessary today, women in Australia are still overwhelmingly
overrepresented in unpaid and underpaid forms of labour, such as childcare, housework and
emotional labour. Unpaid labour is essential to the functioning of Australian capitalism.
In 2006, the value of unpaid household work, and volunteer and community work ranged from
$416 billion to $586 billion, which represents 41.6% to 58.7% of GDP for that year (10).
On average, women perform two thirds of all unpaid work in the home (such as cleaning,
food preparation, laundry), while men perform two thirds of waged work. Living with a
partner (without children) increases the household labour women perform by six hours, when
compared with women who live alone or in shared housing. However, men who live with their
partners experience no increase in unpaid labour. Despite many more women taking part in
paid work in addition to household labour, on average women in Australia spend the same
amount of time on housework in 2006 as they did in 1992 (11).
In addition to household chores and maintenance, Australian women are significantly more
likely to take on child care responsibilities. Female parents perform more than two and a
half times the amount of childcare taken on by male parents. Mothers are more likely to
perform “physical and emotional care duties” (43%, compared with 27% for fathers), while
fathers spend more time on “play activities” (41%, compared with 25% for mothers) (12).
Another less recognised aspect of women’s unpaid labour is the pressure placed on women to
perform emotional labour to ‘keep everyone happy.’ Modern ideas about what it is to be a
‘good woman’ or wife/partner frequently emphasise the importance of emotional work. Often
falsely naturalised under the guise of comments about ‘women’s intuition’, women are
frequently tasked with responsibility for maintaining the emotional wellbeing of their
family, partner and social groups. These ideas bleed into the sexual realm, as right-wing
commentators like Bettina Arndt urge us to ‘take one for the team’ and consider having sex
with a partner as just another chore, like taking out the bins (13). Sex can end up being
added to the list of duties a woman is expected to perform as part of her day. Federici
writes that “for women sex is work; giving pleasure is part of what is expected of every
woman […] In the past, we were just expected to raise children. Now we are expected to
have a waged job, still clean the house and have children and, at the end of a double
workday, be ready to hop in bed and be sexually enticing” (14).
In many ways, women’s emotional labour does not end in the home. In social justice and
anti-capitalist organising circles, we all too frequently see the overrepresentation of
women in facilitation, conflict resolution, and in grievance collectives. These roles are
vital to the continued existence of functional social movements. But women’s work is often
unrecognised, under-appreciated, and seen as less valuable than roles typically performed
by men, such as leading protest actions, acting as media spokespersons, and frontline
banner carriers. In this way, even otherwise egalitarian socialist and anarchist groups
can reproduce the gendered division of labour that is the hallmark of patriarchal capitalism.
The consequences of this gendered division of waged work and unpaid reproductive labour
for women are extremely significant. Women are more likely to bear responsibility for
unpaid work, perform part-time work, and work in areas that are underpaid due to being
classed as ‘women’s work.’ This puts many women in a much more financially precarious
position than many men, often forcing them to rely on a waged partner for financial
security. Being financially dependent on a partner makes it more difficult for women to
escape abusive relationships. Women in Australia are significantly more likely to more
likely to live and die in poverty in old age, as they often cannot accumulate sufficient
savings or superannuation due to time spent performing underpaid waged work or unpaid
reproductive work. Moreover, because reproductive labour for one’s family is not seen as
‘real work’, women typically lack the benefits and protections won by paid workers (such
as, limited work hours, time off, wages, collective support).
Implications of reproductive labour for anti-capitalist resistance
“One part of the class with a salary, the other without. This discrimination has been the
basis of a stratification of power between the paid and the non-paid, the root of the
class weakness which movements of the left have only increased” – Lotta Feminista (15).
What lessons should we draw from the Wages for Housework campaign and its focus on women’s
reproductive labour? The Wages for Housework campaign was important in that it challenges
us to think about the ways that the capitalist concept of ‘work’ devalues the work of
women, in particular women of colour, and therefore makes it more difficult to challenge
the exploitation which comes with it.
The campaign also shows us how the idea that reproductive labour is something women are
naturally suited to, and that it is something which ought to be done ‘for love’, is a key
ideological tool for patriarchal, white supremacist capitalism. The wage gap between men
and women in waged labour market persists partly because women are designated as ‘natural’
bearers of reproductive labour. An analysis of reproductive labour is especially important
in the current period of significant increases in precarious, feminised service work. The
devaluation of women’s work contributes to poor conditions in paid work generally. Again
we see how patriarchy and capitalism work together – capital benefits from free or cheap
labour, and men gain perceived advantages from having women take on the majority of
low-status caring work. This dichotomy between ‘public’ and ‘private’ work undermines our
struggles against oppression and must be challenged.
The Wages for Housework campaign also has important lessons for contemporary
anti-capitalist organising efforts. Women, and others who perform reproductive work, are
usually marginalised within anti-capitalist struggles. The home isn’t seen as a potential
site for workplace organising. Housework, parenting, sex work, elder care, and emotional
labour aren’t seen as worker’s issues. As Federici comments, “We are seen as nagging
bitches, not workers in struggle” (16). We need to remember how broad and diverse the
working class is as a social force. Women of colour are the biggest section within the
global working class. Workers labour in the home, in the child care centre, and in nursing
homes, as well as in factories. ‘Labour’ is not only about waged labour. By thinking about
the role of reproductive labour plays in our societies, we can draw attention to the
gendered and racialised dimensions of capitalist exploitation. The idea of reproductive
labour also opens up new possibilities for anti-capitalist resistance. We need to think
about how we can struggle as unwaged workers – what strategies and tactics we can employ
when our ‘boss’ is not a clearly identifiable authority figure, but rather an economic and
social system. While this form of action raises challenges, it also raises opportunities
for us to spread anti-capitalist workers’ struggle into every home, and all parts of our
communities. Only by accepting this challenge will be have any chance of creating the
broad, diverse workers’ movements we need to successfully challenge capitalism, patriarchy
and white supremacy.
References
(1) Peter Kropotkin, The Conquest of Bread and Other Writings, 1995, edited by Marshall
Shatz, Cambridge University Press, Boston, p. 113-114.
(2) Selma James, “Sex, Race and Class,” 1975, p. 12,
https://libcom.org/library/sex-race-class-james-selma
(3) Selma James, “Home Truths for Feminists,” 2004, The Guardian,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/feb/21/gender.comment
(4) For a good summary of this work see Silvia Federici, Revolution at Point Zero:
Housework, Reproduction and Feminist Struggle, 2012, PM Press.
(5) Silvia Federici, “Wages Against Housework,” 1975,
https://caringlabor.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/silvia-federici-wages-against-housework/
(6) Heidi Hartmann, “The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Towards a More
Progressive Union,” in Women and Revolution, 1981, edited by Lydia Sargent, p. 7.
(7) PJ Lilley & Jeff Shantz, “The World’s Largest Workplace: Social Reproduction and Wages
for Housework,” 2004, Common Struggle, http://nefac.net/node/1247
(8) The campaign website is here: http://www.globalwomenstrike.net/
(9) Pat Mainardi, “The Politics of Housework,” 1970, Redstockings,
http://www.cwluherstory.org/the-politics-of-housework.html
(10) Australian Bureau of Statistics, 5202.0 Spotlight on National Accounts, May 2014,
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/5202.0
(11) All other statistics in this section are from Australian Bureau of Statistics,
4102.0, “Trends in Household Work,” March 2009,
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features40March%202009
(12) “Trends in Household Work.”
(13) Bettina Arndt, “Marital bliss? You must be on drugs,” June 1 2013, Sydney Morning
Herald, http://www.smh.com.au/comment/marital-bliss-you-must-be-on-drugs-20130531-2nh9f.html
(14) Silvia Federici, “Why Sexuality is Work” in Revolution at Point Zero: Housework,
Reproduction and Feminist Struggle, 2012, p. 25
(15) Lotta Feminista, “Introduction to the Debate”, Italian Feminist Thought: A Reader,
1991, edited by Paola Bono and Sandra Kemp, Blackwell, Oxford, p. 260.
(16) Silvia Federici, “Wages Against Housework,” 1975.
http://www.anarchistaffinity.org/2016/08/the-wages-for-housework-campaign-and-womens-work-under-capitalism/
------------------------------
Message: 2
Since the fight against pension reform in 2010, there had been no confrontation and social
importance, despite years of anti-social policies. But if there was a struggle is that the
Labour Law has crystallized a set of ideological and social tensions. The challenge was to
coordinate the sectors whose stakes in the struggle and strategies could diverge. ---- For
the government, supported by the right and the employers (despite the usual staging fake
own disagreements in the political game), the issue of El Khomri law is to take a decisive
step in the destruction of the code work. The law not only facilitates layoffs and allows
lower wages and increased working time, but it reverses the hierarchy of norms of
collective bargaining agreements allowing companies to be lower than the agreements of
branches and even labor code itself!
Opposite, the wage earners could not keep his head down. And the awakening took place,
fortunately, beyond what we could hope for.
If the fight has become so widespread is that it clash sees two opposite worlds. On the
one hand the government makes the law a strong ideological issue, the Prime Minister did
not hesitate to tax its opponents' left nineteenth century "and claiming Holland, as
Margaret Thatcher, that" there no alternative ". On the other side, the mobilization
finally offers the opportunity to compete in an unpopular power, arrogant and
demonstrating for years his canine loyalty to the capitalists.
A move to different time
Impossible to give a single face to this movement as its various aspects have been. It
began with a media agitation came from the left of the PS with the launch of a petition
which gathered more than a million signatures. On the union side, the start was more than
laborious. Initially, inter-union "in full force" has produced an effete call, aligned CFDT.
It took that anger up internally, and that the idea of a day of action on March 9 meeting
a strong echo on the Internet for the Inter flakes yellow. Reduced to one alliance CGT,
FO, FSU, Solidaires and UNEF UNL, she launched the call for mobilization. Followed ten
dates of varying scope, with demonstrations and strikes.
But if the movement has taken on the length is that it was able to rely on a variety of
mobilized sectors that have not obeyed the same temporality and was spread through these
days of action.
From March to April, it is the educated youth who mobilized in high schools and facs.
Then in May and June, are sectors who went on indefinite strike - refineries,
transportation, utilities, nuclear power plants, ports and docks, etc.
This diversity and mobilization in waves explains the tenacity of a movement that has
united different rages over time ... but could not really massify.
Difficulty massify
Indeed, despite the proliferation of "highlights", the demonstrations have not experienced
real tidal wave. Except March 31 and June 14, the days of mobilization have not attended
by over 500 000 people, that is to say well below the movements of 2010 (pensions) and
2006 (EPC), where the peak of 3 million people in the streets had been reached.
Regarding strikes, the problem is similar. Where combative trade unions are established,
strikes have been carried out, with the exception of most of the public service. In
strategic industries, the strike has had an impact by making poses a threat to the
economy. Proof is that the government quickly tried to defuse some hotbeds of releasing
ballast (on the draft collective agreement in the railway sector, the salaries of teachers
...).
No magnitude strikes, and therefore the temptation to fall back behind the more combative
(refineries, nuclear power plants, railway ...) by feeding the strike funds. The strike
fund is a very positive tool to support solidarity, piecemeal, businesses struggling. But
when one is supposed to enter into struggle "all together", one senses immediately that
offset is possible towards the famous fight by proxy ...
Several reasons explain the difficulty massify. There is first of all the rampant
insecurity and the breakdown of collective labor, added to the absence of combative unions
in the majority of workplaces. Then there is, regarding the protests, fear of police
violence, accentuated by their viral spread on social networks.
Finally, there is such a rightward shift of the political class and the media that it
becomes difficult to hear an alternative voice. In this regard, it must be taken lightly
the polls revealing that a majority of people were opposed to the Labour Law. In the mass
of "people against" there may be disparate reasons that do not necessarily lead towards
mobilization.
Still, the fight enjoyed genuine popular support, despite the violent attacks she suffered
on police and media plan. They have only feed radicalism expressed by an increasing share
of its actors and actresses.
Blocking, integrated into the arsenal of the fight
In 2010 many blocking actions had taken place, but no comparison with those that have just
taken place. Faced with the government's deafness, the practice of blockages is
widespread. In many cities, transportation, railway stations, industrial areas and fuel
depots were blocked, usually as a unit.
These direct actions have a triple virtue. They allow a climate of conflict between
national days; they contribute to the balance of power in partially blocking economic
activity; they give confidence and awareness of what can be the collective force. Rest
they do not replace the need to strike, blocking the main weapon of the economy.
The political crisis deepens, building alternative
This movement aggravates the current political crisis. In several European countries, the
traditional parties and their electorate collapse disintegrates. Depending on
circumstances, it benefits the extreme right to the radical left and even political UFOs.
But overall, authoritarianism grew from a bourgeoisie whose political struggle to find any
democratic legitimacy.
In France, very isolated, the government could not rely on force to impose the Labor Law.
The repression was violent and authoritarian measures are multiplying: excessive use of
Article 49-3, bans on demonstrations in some people attempt to ban the trade union
demonstration of June 23, imprisonments, martial rhetoric. Social democracy, as usual,
opened the Pandora's box of authoritarianism and no one knows how the system will evolve,
but the PS will pay dearly. It will likely be shattered in 2017 and after.
You have to bet that this collapse does not benefit only the extreme right. The FN usually
so talkative was very discreet for four months, caught between capitalist interests it
serves and some of its favorable mobilization electorate.
For that demonstrates this hot spring? That the real opposition to the Government
PS-Medef, this is neither the sarkozystes sharks Republicans nor technocrats redesigned FN
nor ramollos parliamentary Left Front ... The real opposition is the social movement. All
together, we can block the economy. And we can transform society.
The revolutionary side, the challenge is to unite the forces that spoke to carry the
amount resistance to authoritarianism and build social and political alternative. In this
context bubbling, the dice are restarted.
Tristan (LA Toulouse)
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Printemps-brulant-On-n-est-pas
------------------------------
Message: 3
On Sunday night, anarchists in Olympia marched in solidarity with rioters and rebels in
Milwaukee. After Sylville Smith was gunned down by the police in Milwaukee on Saturday,
residents rose up and fought the police, burning down buildings and destroying police
cruisers. We are saddened that another person lost his life to the police and white
supremacy, but we are also inspired by the response in Milwaukee. We took to the streets
to amplify their struggle, to make sure that the names of those murdered by the police are
heard by all, and to remind Olympia that the struggle against the police is ongoing and
everywhere. ---- A crowd of around forty took to the streets just before 11 PM, chanting
“All Cops Are Bastards! ACAB!” People handed out spray paint, wheat-paste, and posters,
and soon 4th Avenue was covered in posters declaring “War Against the Racist Police State”
and anti-police graffiti.
Many onlookers joined the march, and many more were supportive and appreciative. We
marched up and down 4th Ave covering walls, windows, and poles with our messages of
rebellion and resistance. People took advantage of the opportunity to sabotage parking
meters as well, and covered the new condo on 4th with graffiti and wheat-paste. The
parking meters, new condos, and downtown development are all part of an attempt to
gentrify downtown and to exclude houseless people and other “undesirables” so that yuppies
feel safe shopping. We hope the vandalism makes them feel a little less safe, and we hope
some people get free parking tomorrow.
The cop shop also got a visit and a makeover, with some cracked windows and a new paint
job. We expect that some pigs will be demoralized tomorrow when they show up for work and
see our hatred writ large across their walls.
The march continued for about 30 minutes, complete with flares, roman candles, and
mortars, and then everyone safely dispersed into surrounding alleys downtown. By the time
the police mobilized a response everyone had disappeared, leaving behind a downtown
covered with paint and posters. We hope this small gesture warms hearts in Milwaukee, and
that rebels there and elsewhere know that they aren’t alone. We also hope that others in
the Northwest and across the country take actions against the police on their own terms.
The police are not omnipotent, and they are not an indivisible force; they have names and
addresses, cars and offices, fueling stations and warehouses. It only takes a friend and a
plan to put up some posters or to slash some tires, and for each cruiser that can’t drive
that’s one less cop on the streets waiting to harass, arrest, beat, or kill someone.
As the quartersheet handed out to bystanders proposed:
“When the police kill, let us turn the cities into burial pyres for the dead.”
REST IN POWER, SYLVILLE SMITH.
FUCK THE POLICE, FROM OLY TO MKE.
------------------------------
Message: 4
We’d like to draw your attention that tomorrow in Glasgow there will be a Black Lives
Matter demo to protest about all the people of colour killed by police in UK as well as in
solidarity with those protesting in USA. Please come if you can. ---- Cheers ---- Free
Pride + SQIFF Film Screening: Kate Bornstein is a Queer and Pleasant Danger ---- Friday
12th August 7pm ---- University of Strathclyde Students’ Association ---- 90 John Street,
G1 1JH ---- Free Pride and the Scottish Queer International Film Festival are teaming up
for a super special Free Pride fundraising film screening! ---- We’ll be screening the
brilliant Kate Bornstein documentary ‘Kate Bornstein is a Queer and Pleasant Danger’,
alongside a selection of exciting LGBTQ+ short films. ---- This will be the first time the
film has screened in Glasgow, so don’t miss out on a rare chance to see this brilliant
film on a big screen!
‘Performance artist and writer Kate Bornstein explodes binaries while deconstructing
gender—and her own identity. Trans-dyke. Reluctant polyamorist. Sadomasochist. Recovering
Scientologist. Pioneering gender outlaw.
Sam Feder’s playful and meditative portrait on Bornstein, captures rollicking public
performances and painful personal revelations as it bears witness to Kate as a
trailblazing artist-theorist-activist who inhabits a space between male and female with
wit, style and astonishing candor.’
Find out more about the film here: The film, “Kate Bornstein is a Queer and Pleasant Danger”
Pay what you can! We’ll be taking donations to fund our main Free Pride event on 20th
August, but the event is free to attend.
In association with Strathclyde LGBT+!
ACCESSIBILITY:
Stathclyde University Union is a wheelchair accessible building and gender neutral toilets
will be available. All films will have english subtitles. If you have any other
accessibility requirements please get in touch!
***
Black Lives Matter Glasgow
Saturday 13th August
3-6pm. Meeting at Donald Dewar statue at top of Buchanan St
Rally for all the black lives lost due to police brutality.
There will be a demonstration in on the Buchanan Steps by the Donald Dewer statue followed
by a vigil for Sheku Bayoh
***
The Physics of Ghosts
Monday 15th
Admiral Bar, Waterloo St
Doors open at 7pm. Kickoff at 7.30
Glasgow Skeptics
In this talk we ask “What are ghosts made of?” and follow up by asking why do they haunt
specific places? How do they move around and go through walls and throw things across
rooms when nobody is looking?
The obvious answer is they don’t – but what if they did? How would it work?
All of these questions and more will be answered, interweaved with real life ghost stories
from Thomas’ granddad’s 50 years as an exorcist with the Church of England. These will be
debunked, bunked and debunked again and you might learn a thing or two about Quantum
Tunneling theory in the process.
Thomas Hind is a former physicist turned science communicator turned comedian. He studied
Physics at the University of Glasgow and followed it up with an MSc in Science
Communication and Public Engagement at the University of Edinburgh as well as briefly
working at CERN.
His Granddad, the Reverend Tom Willis, was once the Church of England’s foremost exorcist
working in their paranormal-tinged Ministry of Deliverance (not related to the Jon Voight
film). He made regular TV and radio appearances, including one infamous appearance where
he accidentally swore on This Morning with Richard and Judy.
===
This is event is free to attend, although we will be asking for donations at the end of
the talk. Participants are under no obligation whatsoever to donate, however please rest
assured that the money we collect doesn’t end up in anyone’s pocket – it is used to fund
our overhead costs, and travel/accommodation for our speakers who come from further afield.
===
Accessibility: As per the policy of the Admiral Bar, access to the venue “can only be
provided to patrons who are sufficiently mobile and capable of independently evacuating
premises, or with the minimum of assistance”. Unfortunately, this leaves the basement
inaccessible to most wheelchair users.
***
LGBTQ Mental Health Empowerment Space: Writing for Mental Health
Monday 15th
6-8pm
Flourish House
25 Ashley Street
LGBT Health and Wellbeing have started a supportive, friendly and confidential space in
Glasgow for LGBTQ+ people with lived experience of mental ill health to come together,
share our experiences and challenge mental health stigma. Our meetings are once a
fortnight, on Mondays from 6-8pm. You can come to as many or as few meetings as you like.
This location is wheelchair accessible.
WRITING FOR MENTAL HEALTH WORKSHOP
Writer Elaine Gallagher will be with us for this meeting. No writing experience required!
Elaine says: “This session is to give people a taste of what it is like to write, and to
encourage people who have written before to get back into it. In short exercises focused
on writing for mental health we will encourage everyone to write their thoughts, without
worrying about craft or technique… or even grammar. The session will be a safe space, free
of criticism, with no pressure to read what you have written but welcoming you to read if
you should
wish to.”
Booking: Booking isn’t essential, but we’d really appreciate it if you did! You can phone
0141 271 330 or email jenny@lgbthealth.org.uk
Booking ahead of the event helps us to plan better, but we definitely understand that not
everyone can or wants to commit to coming along – you’re welcome to just turn up.
***
Free Pride Banner making for Glasgow Pride march
18th August
4-9pm
Strathclyde Univerrsity Union
We will be marching on Saturday 20th of August, alongside thousands of LGBTQ+ people to
celebrate our history, culture and continue the fight for our rights.
Come along on Thursday before the march to make all the amazing radical banners and
placards we wil be showing off on the march. All materials will be provided, and if you
want, we will keep a hold of your placard/banner and bring it to the march for you to use.
We will be making banners from 4pm so feel free to drop in whenever you like.
We always aim to centre the voices of those most marginalized in our community and beyond,
so welcome women, trans*, disabled, POC, and migrant groups and individuals to join us. If
there is anything we can do to support your campaigns or struggles either during pride or
after, please get in touch.
Join our march event and invite your friends:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1669984489993880/
ACCESSIBILITY:
Stathclyde University Union is a wheelchair accessible building and gender neutral toilets
will be available. If you have any other accessibility requirements please get in touch!
***
Pride is a Protest!
Saturday 20th August is Glasgow Pride
Parade starting from Glasgow Green at 12 noon
There will be various radical, community and trade union blocks, including Free Pride, who
have an post parade event too – see listing below this one.
Join Free Pride Glasgow as we take part in Glasgow Pride March 2016!
We will be marching through the streets of Glasgow, alongside thousands of LGBTQ+ people
to celebrate our history, culture and continue our fight for more rights.
If you would like to march with us, then either meet us at our meeting point, or look out
for us during the march.
MEETING PLACE: King’s Court, Glasgow, G1 5RB 11am. Walk towards Glasgow Green at 11.30am.
We believe Pride is a protest, so bring your banners, drums, pots and pans and loud
voices. We will be hosting a banner making session for the march on Thursday the 18th of
August.
Accessibilty for the march: There will be a Free Pride quiet bloc for anyone who wants to
join. This group will be clearly indicated with a banner at our meeting place. If you do
not feel comfortable coming alone, one of our wonderful Free Pride volunteers can come
meet you, just message our page. Also if there is anything we can do to make the march
more accessible don’t hesitate to get in touch.
If you can’t make it for the march: then you can still come and join us during the whole
day for Free Pride, at the Art School. This will be a whole day of workshops,
performances, film screenings, stalls and a club night to top it off! For the LGBTQ+
community, by the LGBTQ+ community.
Hope to see you there! And however you decide to spend your Pride, we hope you have a
wonderful day.
Free Pride.
***
Free Pride Glasgow 2016
20th August 2pm – 3am
The Art School
20 Scott Street, G3 6PE
Free Pride is BACK!
Last year, we came together to bring an inclusive, accessible & radical event for the
LGBTQIA+ community in Glasgow. We didn’t think it was right to charge money to attend
Pride, excluding those who can’t afford expensive tickets. So we created a free
alternative, focusing on marginalised identities, promoting community and having a fun,
safe space to celebrate pride. We had great feedback after last year’s event, so now we’re
coming back!
Join us at the Art School after the Pride march for a day and night of talks, workshops,
stalls, music, poetry & more!
DAYTIME 2pm–7pm
Music + poetry all day in the Vic Bar
Workshops + talks including
Ukblack Pride, Sex Worker Open University, disability workshop, trans identities workshop,
vlogging masterclass + more!
Stalls from LGBT Youth Scotland, Danii’s House, Glasgow Women’s Library, Glasgow
Disability Alliance, Rape Crisis Scotland, Black Lives Matter, Terence Higgins Trust + more!
NIGHTIME 10pm–3am
DJ sets across two floors, and a selection of films from Scottish Queer International Film
Festival and Lock Up Your Daughters Filmmaking on the top floor. Music from:
Deep Brandy Album Cuts (PVC/TRUANTS)
Wheelman (STEREOTONE)
Letitia Pleiades (PVC)
Junglehussy
Kaiserin
+ more TBC!
Performance from
Jak Soroka
Sgaire Wood
Bea Webster
+ more TBC!
Hosted by Gloria
We will also be meeting to join the Glasgow Pride march at 11am. More info here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1669984489993880/
Accessibility:
The event is completely free to attend.
The Art School is a wheelchair accessible building with a lift to each floor and disabled
toilets.
Gender neutral toilets will be available throughout the events.
The event is family-friendly.
We are currently fundraising to have BSL interpeters present throughout the event, and the
films we are screening will be subtitled.
There will be a Quiet Space available throughtout the whole event, day + night, for anyone
needing time away from the main activities. It’s not possible for us to make this totally
quiet, but we’ll provide things to make this as peaceful an environment as possible.
If you have any accessibility needs, or if there’s anything we can do to make attending
the event easier, please get in touch and we will do everything we can to accommodate you.
**********
Email future events including name/time/date/location/description to:
glasgowautonomyupdates@lists.riseup.net
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The Autonomy Update is brought to you by Glasgow Anarchist Federation. Visit our blog at:
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https://glasgowanarchists.wordpress.com/
------------------------------
Message: 5
Interview with Edinson Neira Henriquez, spokesman for the Coordinator Penco Lirquén
against the Octopus Project ---- FOR SOLIDARITY-LIBERTARIAN COMMUNIST FEDERATION ,
TERRITORIAL, Pampanga ---- The draft -portuario BiobioGenera-LNG (ex Octopus-LNG) aims to
be carried out on the coast of Penco and Lirquén. Despite enormous opposition from social
organizations by environmental threat, it will involve the construction and operation of
the largest thermoelectric complex in Chile. ---- The terminal will be built which aims to
enable for the reception, storage and regasification of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), later
to be transported to shore via an underwater pipeline, which will link with a terrestrial
pipeline; and thus supply the thermoelectric El Campesino, as other already planned in the
region.
Investment LNG terminal exceeds 165 million dollars, and central El Campesino, 804 million
dollars, projects involving its operation for 2018. One of its partners is precisely
Cheniere Energy, dedicated to the extraction of natural gas by fraking (hydraulic
fracturing), which is already banned in many places due to its disastrous environmental
consequences and health of people, mainly by contamination of groundwater.
The processing of the project has not been without conflict, since the communities
directly affected have been organized against him from the beginning to show serious
socio-environmental effects that can bring. Expressed in direct and indiscriminate
alteration of the marine ecosystem, the coastline and marshland Rocuant-Andalién. Implying
drastic changes in the flora and fauna, availability of water for soil for agricultural
use, the destruction of traditional productive activities such as fishing, diving and
gathering shellfish, coupled with the powerful tourism development in the Bay in the
municipalities directly affected.
In opposition to the project and its destructive effects, Penco- Lirquén Coordinator,
Coordinator Chorera, Coordinator Tomecina and Bulnes Committee without Thermoelectric
grouped in the Intercommunity Coordination against Octopus / BiobioGenera-LNG.
What relevance does this type of energy projects in relation to economic agreements
between Chile and the United States - Canada in the global geopolitical context?
It is public knowledge that Michelle Bachelet traveled to the United States and ratified
an agreement to import LNG by 2050 and thereby realize the dependence on gas imports to
the US This is a strategic goal because it is known that Chile intends to export to other
countries such as Argentina and Brazil. This is already settled, in fact, Maximo Pacheco
minister has already signed the agreement.
So what is projected to Latin America as a strategic area of resource extraction and
energy production?
The project will mainly benefit US with the gas business starts advanced to overcome the
economic war waged with countries that have oil, such as Venezuela, Russia and other Arab
countries. This allows them think about other energy resources, market it directly and
thereby replace oil exports can not perform.
How important is for the Chilean State this project under the 2020-2050 strategic energy plan?
The idea is that the Bio Bio region become a zone of energy capital, since the gas will
allow to continue building thermoelectric and thereby generate electricity to send to the
north, mainly to mining and for export to other Latin American companies. Today As Gener
has a contract with Argentina and Brazil to export electricity. So in the context of
becoming the energy capital of the whole country, gas plays a strategic role.
What social and environmental risks means the massive use of LNG in the region?
Having gas, a fossil fuel and not clean energy, as they try do believe, will allow
discourage the use of renewable, clean and sustainable energy, by therefore the gas does
not contribute to the decontamination of the region, on the contrary, creates new
industries and thermal power in the territory of Bio Bio, in fact studies have shown that
in the US with the use of liquefied natural gas, pollution has not decreased, but
increased to feed a large number of industries. In social terms incorporating is energy
industry based on LNG, is not compatible with the activities associated with fishing,
shellfish harvesting, local commerce, tourism potential given the landscape value of the
bay, destruction of identity and attachment to the coastline, heritage, among others.
What are the risks to which the population will be exposed before a project like this?
The regasification process brings air pollution from the large amount of emissions of PM
10 and 2.5, plus the release of toxic waste to air quality that have direct impact on the
health of people, globally and also contributing to climate change and the greenhouse effect.
Regarding the challenges that open, how you can standardize the uneven development of
mobilization in the territories directly affected as-Lirquén Penco, Tomé, Talcahuano and
Bulnes?
It is difficult to standardize processes of mobilization in the various communities that
are directly affected by the project. They are communities who for years have not
mobilized for common reasons, in a way, the levels of organization and mobilization are
low in that sense the task that has been developed is to rebuild the social fabric having
a common struggle against the installation of terminal Penco LNG Lirquén. To join force
what is done is to create an inter coordinator against the Octopus project between Penco,
Lirquén, Tomé, Talcahuano and Bulnes to take common actions, to be concrete in Concepción
being the regional capital and are engaging not only protesters communes directly affected
but which promptly posteriorly, will be affected by the installation of thermoelectric
plants. It is committed to the realization of territorial community meetings and public
demonstrations among coordinators.
How extrapolate mobilization from the communities that are directly affected to those who
suffer the consequences indirectly with the massive influx of LNG to the region?
A key strategy is to promote propaganda to raise awareness and generate information
especially in the student level, as facilitators of social movements, understanding that
they are also inhabitants of the territories affected by the project. It is essential to
bring the discussion of the neoliberal model and extractivismo and its effects on the
particular territory and on the national scene in general with projects like Minera Los
Pelambres, Alto Maipo in Santiago, with the salmon in the south, etc.
Finally multisectorality commitment, since in the territories there are workers, students,
residents, and this struggle affects and must be confronted by all.
[Published in the Solidarity No. 34]
http://www.periodico-solidaridad.cl/2016/08/14/la-bahia-de-concepcion-bajo-amenaza-transnacional-2/
------------------------------
Message: 6
Update: We need help to set up the camp and take it down afterwards. Do you have time
arrive on 10.8. or 11.8. to help? Please let us know! ---- Update: We need help for the
support group, especually at the second half of the camp (more information). If you want
to help: Please let us know! ---- 12. to 21. August in the west of Lower-Austria ----
Contact: ---- Mail: acamp2016@autistici.org ---- Orga: 00436642732296 ---- Support Group:
00436642732297 ---- Aim ---- The anarchist camp 2016 aims to bring together people and to
strengthen the cooperation within the left and anarchist movement across borders. An
alternative society free of domination cannot be simply learned from books – it has to be
tried out in real life. ---- The camp can enable experiences with self-organisation,
open up new perspectives for how to live together, and inspire ideas for new projects. A
collective engagement with critical thought and praxis also encourages questioning our own
actions and behaviours.
We want to create a central interface for bringing
together different fights and movements against everyday
forms of racism, sexism, and exploitation. Our goal
is to build up a network for cooperation and action that
lasts longer than the camp itself. You neither need to
be part of a political scene nor know anything about
theory to participate at the A-Camp. Everybody who
identifies with emancipatory and anti-authoritarian
ideas is invited.
What there is and what it can be
The A-Camp is no “vacation” in its common understanding.
“Vacation” implies a separation between
work and leisure. We do not want to regenerate our
labour power, but to collectively shape our life without
restraints. We want to fill anarchist theory with a
solidary practice in everyday routines as much as in
discussions, workshops and while we get to know each
other.
The camp takes place on the premises of a farm
collective with several meadows, a small river and a
fireplace. Besides ample of space for tents we will also
be able to use some of the indoor rooms (others will
stay off-limit). We will cook together in a way that everybody
can eat: we will cook vegan and be considerate
of people with allergies or breastfeeding mothers. We
find it especially important to put our aspirations into
practice. If we all deal with the daily chores (shopping,
cooking, cleaning…) together and distribute them fairly,
each and every one of us will only need to spend little
time with them. We would also like to create something
together with our hosts that will stay after the camp in
order to thank them for providing the campgrounds.
Registration and program activities
We ask you to register on the homepage so that we
can plan ahead.
What happens contentwise depends on what the participants
want to do. While there will be space for being
spontaneous, we will also try to announce a large part of
the program in advance.
If you want to organise an activity (workshop, lecture,
or whatever) at the camp, you can announce it on the
homepage until June 30. We are also happy about proposals
for whole workshop series. We will create a preliminary
program on the basis of your announcements
in July.
We want to encourage as many initiatives and projects
as possible to organize workshops and trainings during
the camp. We want to collectively treat different topics
from a critical perspective: theory and practice, workshops,
games, music, lectures and discussions, cooking,
filming, sport, dancing, and much more. We are looking
forward to your ideas!
When – Where – How
The A-Camp 2016 will take place in the west of the
Austrian province of Lower Austria from August 12 to 21.
We are glad if you have time at the beginning or end to
help us set up the camp and dismantle it.
In the middle of July we will put the address of the
camp and information about how to get there online.
Cars are not allowed on the campground, but there will
be parking possibilities nearby.
There is no fixed contribution to the camp. About 8
Euros per person and day will allow us to cover the costs
of the infrastructure and food. If you cannot pay that
much, this is no problem. If you can pay more out of solidarity,
please do so.
Bring a tent, sleeping bag, blankets, and your own table
ware (there is no available at the camp!). It can get
cold during the nights – warm cloths and rain shelter are
absolutely advisable! A bike is useful (e.g., for driving into
town).
Respectful conduct
We all carry around mechanisms of domination in
our heads. Nevertheless, we can succeed to create up
to a certain degree a free zone beyond social normality,
where we experience what we are fighting for.
A basic requirement for this is that we will not tolerate
discriminations or mechanisms of oppression of
any kind during the camp, and that everybody feels responsible.
That means: be attentive and get involved if
you notice such behaviours in others or yourself. Look
after one another and respect the boundaries of others!
We can draw love and strength for our daily struggles
out of experiences of a reflective and solidary life at
the camp.
Women inter and transgender space
A tent exclusively for women inter and transgender persons
will be available as a meeting space and free zone.
Awareness group
A preformed awareness group will ensure a respectful
conduct and a determined dealing with boundary
crossings and assaults. The awareness group will
be your contact if you are harassed. It is nevertheless
important that we all feel responsible!
Children
We want to encourage parents to come with their
children. There is a lot of space on the premises to run
around and play. There will also be a children’s tent.
Bring ideas and toys! It should not be only the task of
parents to look after children. We should all try to be
considerate of children and their needs.
Drugs and Rock’n Roll
A respectful and responsible dealing with loud music,
drugs, and other behaviours that can impair others
is part of a basic understanding of solidarity!
Dogs
Please leave your dogs at home. A large number of
dogs on the campgrounds is tedious and makes it difficult
to participate for people with children.
Trailers
No cars can be parked on the A-Camp grounds. There
will be parking possibilities nearby. Trailers or caravans
can be parked on a small meadow on the premises, but
only in limited number. In order to avoid damage to the
meadows, these trailers should stay put for the duration
of the camp.
Other matters
Many people will not come from Austria. We thus
have to try to find a common language and to translate.
Please also try not to exclude people through pre-existing
circles of friends.
We hope that both experienced activists and people
who are newly interested in anarchism will participate at
the camp! Questions and objections can be an opportunity
to pass on experiences and to learn something new.
What the organising group does
The organising group has arranged the campground,
spreads the announcement and provides the necessary
infrastructure. However, nothing will work at the camp
without people who set the camp up and dismantle it,
who organise the camp and the kitchen, who cook, clean,
organise childcare, and so on. We as the organising
group will try to share our knowledge with you so that
collective forms of non-hierarchical organising can take
shape at the camp. We are also no closed group – everyone
who likes to is warmly welcome to help in organising
the camp.
However, we have already decided on a couple of
points beforehand after intensive discussions. These
points build on prior experiences and we do not want to
see them fundamentally questioned at the camp.
https://www.acamp2016.org/#tab-english
------------------------------
