Anarchic update news all over the world - 15.02.2018

Today's Topics:

   
1.  France, Alternative Libertaire AL - Notre-Dame-des-Landes: a
      victory that calls for others (fr, it, pt) [machine translation]
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  wsm.ie: Climate Change, Peak Oil, and Globalisation - 3
      Interlinked Problems (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
3.  Greece, Internationalist Anti-fascist Demonstration in
      Sofia, Bulgaria By APO (gr) [machine translation]
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
4.  Greece, apo: Mobilizations in the context of the solidarity
      action group on the native Mapuche (gr) [machine translation]
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
5.  France, Alternative Libertaire AL #279 - Palestine:
      Hamas-Fatah reconciliation: wishful thinking or reality ? (fr,
      it, pt) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


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Message: 1





[Photos] After the joy of victory, and the wonderful event that celebrated it, the fight 
enters a new phase, with new challenges. AL will continue to be. ---- The declaration of 
public utility (DUP) of the airport has lapsed since February 9, burying permanently this 
project of another age. ---- The demonstration the next day, February 10, celebrated this 
victory with a record attendance: more than 30,000 participants. People of all ages, from 
all over France and beyond have made the trip to affirm a seamless solidarity with the 
movement. A multitude of collectives, unions and political organizations also made the 
trip, all in a happy and fraternal atmosphere. ---- We had an appointment near the farm 
Bellevue. This wandering gave a much more positive image than the clichés of the media and 
the government on a so-called "lawless  area  ".

Alternative Libertarian participated in this beautiful day of mobilization. We will be 
present in all the new phases of the struggle by attaching ourselves particularly to the 
unity of all the components of the movement. For us, the fight does not stop ; we will 
oppose any attempt to evacuate the ZAD after March 30th.

New stage, new challenges

Indeed, we are entering a new phase of the conflict. Agriculture and life experiences have 
emerged during the occupation of the area. They are carriers of alternative projects and 
anticapitalist reflections. But the state, Vinci, and the chamber of agriculture do not 
hear it that way, and want to take the hand and kill the experience in the bud. The battle 
for land will be at the heart of the struggle in the months and years to come.

This victory at Notre-Dame-des-Landes calls for another. We think of Bure (Meuse), Roybon 
(Isère), No TAV (Savoie), but also a multitude of projects, large or smaller, imposed on 
the population despite their social or environmental harm. This fight of 
Notre-Dame-des-Landes is an example of diversity of tactics and taking into account the 
aspirations of each and everyone. Our unity and our solidarity must lead us to new victories.

Libertarian Alternative, Nantes, February 10, 2018

http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Notre-Dame-des-Landes-une-victoire-qui-en-appelle-d-autres

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Message: 2





There are problems which are related but not very often discussed together. These are 1) 
climate change and pollution, 2) peak oil, and 3) globalisation - very large and complex 
problems which though not insurmountable require serious consideration. ---- What the 
author writes here is simplifying reality as the main purpose is to provoke thought in the 
reader and encourage further research. ---- 1 - Climate Change and Pollution ---- 
Pollution and climate change are already causing many health and food insecurity problems 
in the world. Pollution and climate change are set to cause much larger problems in the 
near future, as was recently discussed at the annual UN climate summit COP23 
(1)(2)(3)(4)(5). ---- During the summit 15,000 scientists signed a "Warning to Humanity" 
document, which insisted that ---- "To prevent widespread misery and catastrophic 
biodiversity loss, humanity must practice a more environmentally sustainable alternative 
to business as usual." (21)

2 - Peak Oil

Different sources suggest different times when when ‘Peak Oil' will occur. Peak oil, as 
the name suggests, is the point at which the rate of oil extraction will be highest - at 
its peak - thereafter declining slowly until the oil eventually becomes too uneconomical 
too extract. By some predictions, global peak oil should have happened already. By others, 
global peak oil should arrive in the near future, or quite far in the future. There are 
different forecasts on how quickly transportation (private and industrial), industrial 
production, agriculture, and heating would widely unaffordable after ‘peak oil' (21)(31). 
And there is substantial debate over whether ‘unconventional' oil (e.g. shale oil, tar 
sands) can properly substitute for ‘conventional' sources, i.e. whether ‘peak oil' refers 
to the peak of all oil extracting or really means ‘peak conventional oil'.

To understand peak oil, let's look at some real figures. The US and Europe are the largest 
oil consumers (6). US proven oil reserves are 48 billion (bln.) barrels and consumption is 
7 bln. barrels a year, so without import reserves could last just under 7 years. European 
Union proven oil reserves are 5 bln. barrels (7) whereas consumption is 6.5 bln. barrels 
per year, so reserves couldn't last even one year (8). Other countries have much larger 
reserves and much less consumption, and export oil. Petrol and diesel is imported in EU 
and US, but how reliable can this import be considered to be? (9)(10)

Global yearly consumption is about 35 bln. barrels. Based on data from OPEC in 2017, 
global oil reserves are about 1500 bln. barrels and the highest proven oil reserves 
including non-conventional oil deposits are in Venezuela 24%, Saudi Arabia 21%, and about 
another 40% in other Middle Eastern countries. The techniques for estimating oil reserves, 
however, aren't entirely accurate and many oil-producing nations do not reveal their 
reservoir engineering field data, instead providing unaudited claims for their oil 
reserves (11)(12). In Ireland there may be up to 10 bln. barrels under the sea, but 
presently Ireland is importing almost all oil consumed and almost no oil is produced (13)(40).

3 - Globalisation

Here the term ‘globalisation' really refers to ‘capitalist globalisation'. As Noam Chomsky 
put it:

'Globalisation used neutrally just means ‘international integration'. Everybody is in 
favour of it. It's been the core of left and working class movement since its origins ... 
The term has been appropriated by a narrow sector of power and privilege to refer to their 
version of international integration, the investor rights version.' (62)

The production and consumption cycle of each product has increasingly been spread around 
the world rather than happening locally. Large areas produce a highly specific range of 
goods for consumption elsewhere in the world . Because of this highly specific and 
interdependent system of production, it becomes increasingly difficult for an area, for 
example a nation, to switch to a largely independent, self-sustaining, local economy 
because industrial and agricultural production would need to be substantially re-organised 
for this to be possible.

There are 10 huge multinational companies which sell most food that can be bought in 
supermarkets and shops (14). Their production and distribution cycles are spread across 
many countries, generally starting in poorer, formerly colonised, countries where they 
often violate workers' basic human rights, especially where workers can't unionise, have 
few protections on their working conditions, and are paid very low wages (15)(16)(17). 
Large multinational companies control not only food but many sectors of the economy and 
rarely their production and distribution cycles are local. Often, for example, raw 
materials come from Africa (23), manufacturing and assembly is in south Asia (24), the 
final products are distributed in Europe and USA, and the financial transactions occur in 
some tax haven like the Cayman Islands (or Ireland!) (34).

In most cases, countries, rich and poor, import and export a very large volume of 
products, and produce a small range of different products. It would be a big change for 
any country to become even mostly self-sufficient, and it is debatable whether any country 
can become fully self-sufficient. Almost all countries are dependent on international 
trade of multinational companies (26)(27).

These very large multinational companies have in many cases a continuity with older 
imperialism in a less direct way and in states that are formally independent (25)(60).

With the further development of transportation technologies the economic volume of 
international trade has recently grown significantly, the annual global volume of imports 
and exports increased from $3 trillion in 1990 to $9 trillion in 2005 (28).

For example, Britain and Ireland import about 50% of food consumed (18)(19).

Recent statistics showed that only 2% of shoes bought in USA and 3% of other clothes were 
produced locally (20). Even if a product isn't imported some part in its production and 
distribution cycle could be.

Large multinational companies also control the oil and energy market - one report stated 
that 70% of planet-wide carbon emissions since 1988 were attributable to merely 100 
multinational corporations (29). This illustrates how the process of capitalist 
‘globalisation' has gone hand-in-hand with the deterioration of the Earth's biosphere.

Here is an interesting example of just how complicated, energy intensive, and polluting, 
the production and distribution of a seemingly simple, everyday, food item is in the age 
of capitalist globalisation. The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology recently 
examined the life cycle of a bottle of tomato ketchup. They found that tomatoes grown in 
Italy were sent to Sweden for processing before being poured into bottles imported from 
Britain made with ingredients sourced from Japan, Belgium, and the US. By the time the 
bottle traveled to a grocery store and finally to a kitchen table, the process had 
consumed 4,190 more units of energy than was contained in the ketchup. And it generated 
more than 5,000 pounds of CO2.

The Worldwatch Institute estimates that ‘dining globally' can burn up to 17 times as much 
oil as ‘feasting locally' (30). When producing a large number of products the unit cost is 
lower than producing a small amount (‘economies of scale') so small local companies have a 
‘competitive disadvantage' under multinational corporations, which tend to monopolise the 
market in various ways. Indeed oligopoly is as familiar to us as Coke and Pepsi, but this 
is neither desirable nor all that is possible for humanity.

Large multinational corporations do not simply bring wealth, high quality products, or 
development, to the people of poor and rich countries. Rather, they bring a host of 
problems to societies. Their advantages come with a list of societal terms and conditions 
which overall disimprove the quality of life of residents both locally and globally. They 
should be replaced with means of production owned and run by workers and the people at 
large or at least, on a shorter time scale, cooperatives of workers and small companies 
that are inherently more sustainable forms of business. Currently farming and agriculture 
is where the co-operative business model is most widely utilised (co-operatives together 
have an estimated 32% of global market share). (32)

It would be best if each region produced necessities locally without depending on long 
distance import and fossil fuels and production was diversified enough to be able to 
manage different weather changes and emergencies. If this isn't profitable in the current 
market conditions then the state should be funding it as part of the climate change 
prevention and adaptation and national security.

Outcome of the Three Issues

Let us now consider climate change and pollution, peak oil, and globalisation, and how 
they relate to each other. It is hard to emphasise just how urgent it is that we make 
substantial social changes in order to avoid calamity due to climate change. At this 
stage, in 2018, we are more realistically presented with the task of damage limitation, 
rather than preventing human-caused climate change altogether. That boat has sailed, but 
there is no less reason to act decisively today, and we can still make a big impact which 
our future selves and future generations will thank us greatly for.

Further to that, as said in the introduction, the following is primarily for the purpose 
of stimulating thought and further research. It is not to stimulate panic. As said in a 
WSM article on peak oil:

‘Panics are not the atmosphere in which a libertarian society can easily be built. Rather 
panic and the fear of collapse of civilisation are precisely the requirements of 
dictatorship and fascism when it comes to forcing populations to accept that the boot on 
the neck is better than the alternatives.' (61)

Breakdown of Global Production Chain Due to Oil Prices

As described in the preceding sections, the economy of each nation, and province, is very 
dependent on fossil fuels and international trade (which also deeply depends on fossil 
fuels) and in Europe and other places with no local oil reserves it is at least possible 
that quite quickly prices could spike leaving masses of people in a much worse condition.

Food would be one of the main problems. Climate change itself will cause very large 
problems in food production. Furthermore, because of the globalised nature of production, 
a major and rapid increase in oil price due to oil scarcity would mean major disruption in 
the provision of necessities to a very large number of people (33). In large areas 
agriculture would have to be started almost from scratch due to lack of machinery 
(37)(38), unless machinery could be fully electrified and supplied with non-fossil fuel 
sources of energy, such as wind and solar, which thankfully is looking quite likely. 
Industries would need to be re-organised if possible to provide necessities without the 
use of oil, using renewable energy and other material and chemical inputs, probably at 
high cost.

In the worst case peak oil scenario, which isn't necessarily likely, a generation grown in 
technological comfort could find itself quite quickly in a pre/post-industrial age without 
the knowledge or skills necessary to adapt or even any way to maintain a minimum quality 
of life.

What is more definite is the burden which climate change and pollution will bring, if not 
sharply mitigated against, such as extreme weather, acid rain, and air as carcinogenic as 
a pack of cigarettes. Indeed, the greatest and most predictable threat we face is in 
consuming current oil deposits and sending the Earth onto a path of runaway climate 
change. In that sense, climate change is the limiting factor. It would not be a victory or 
a relief to discover that we have more oil than previously thought.

Ireland's Food Production

Let us now consider production in Ireland. Ireland is a large food producer and exporter 
per capita, but that production is almost only meat and dairy, which are exported mainly 
to Britain and then mainland Europe and the rest of the world (35). Meanwhile about 50% of 
the food consumed in Ireland is imported (36).

If there was a failure in international commerce due to the oil price rising, there could 
be a large overproduction of meat in Ireland while pretty much all other products became 
scarce and very expensive. That is not counting all the inputs and machinery used in 
agricultural production which are imported and if missing could break the production cycle 
(41).

If oil became more scarce and expensive, production depending on oil - which is a lot 
(37)(38) - would become more expensive and so the price of the final product would become 
higher.

Climate Change and Food Production

Similarly, climate change could be seriously damaging to production. The increased 
tropical storms, droughts, flooding, loss in biodiversity, rising sea level, 
desertification, etc, threaten to destabilise our societies. More diversified production 
would be less vulnerable as different products can tolerate different weather ranges 
(42)(43)(46). For example in India, after independence crop diversification helped to 
markedly increase production and prevent food shortages (44). Monoculture and lack of 
genetic variation was one of the causes of the Great Hunger in Ireland in the 1840s (apart 
from complicated political reasons) (45).

Farmers in the Netherlands for the past few decades have begun to use quite advanced 
techniques in growing food in greenhouses (49). Their food production is diverse, and they 
became a large food exporter. It would be beneficial if Ireland could organise part of its 
agricultural production this way, allowing local produce to replace some of that which is 
imported (47).

It is important to note that even if CO2 emissions stopped dead today, human-caused 
climate change would take many years to slow down and stop. Possibly at this stage we can 
only do damage control. (48)

Capital and Class

As usual, the poor will be worst affected by the problems described above, particularly 
those in the global south. The irony being that the problems will have been mainly caused 
by those at the top, the richest capitalists, owners of large multinational companies, and 
obsequious politicians pursuing short-term electoral incentives, and that the relatively 
wealthy global north more broadly has prospered disproportionately at the global south's 
ecological expense. (29)

However, nobody can ultimately escape the effects of climate change as rich or poor we all 
live on this planet. Even many capitalists could lose a large part of their profits if 
there was a sudden spike in oil prices or due to climate change related emergencies. So 
with a few exceptions, such as capitalists which would probably speculate on the high 
demand for oil and the consequent high prices, most capitalists will have to switch their 
industries to renewables and improve energy efficiency as soon as they can, if not for the 
humankind and other life on this planet, then just for the continuation of their profits. 
Some large companies already committed to switch to 100% renewable energy, which is 
positive regardless of their motivations. (50)

If there was a real democracy, a direct democracy where people collectively owned and 
operated a large part of the means of mass production, a solution would be much easier 
because the producers would be also owners and consumers. The economy could be much more 
easily focused on stable, reliable, and sustainable, high-quality production, 
re-organising all industries, beginning with necessities, to use renewable energy and 
otherwise ecologically viable methods, and to operate as locally as possible. 
International trade would be depended on pretty much only for raw materials which couldn't 
be found locally.

But, of course, this is not the case. The current capitalist economy is focused on the 
profit of the few and everything comes second to that. In order to stand a fighting 
chance, people must join forces with one another, organise themselves effectively, and 
pull no punches in rectifying what is undoubtedly a global emergency. The petrochemical 
industry is very powerful, which, apart from political inertia, explains why there has 
been such a lengthy delay in switching to clean renewable energies and not only has there 
been a lack of awareness about climate change but disinformation has spread so widely.

How to Prepare and Prevent Disaster

As a global society, in order to prevent a rather catastrophic scenario we need to achieve 
three main objectives: make production more localised, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 
and pollution, and transition from oil to other sources of energy and material. Here are 
some more specific suggestions:

Switching as quickly as possible to renewable energies, which are in many places today 
actually cheaper than fossil fuels on a large enough scale to produce substantial 
quantities of electricity (51)(52)(53). Hence, increasing research on cheap green 
renewable energy sources, and other possible energy sources like LENR(54) and energy 
storage methods such as large-scale batteries, CAES, and hydrogen (55) especially for the 
production and distribution of necessities (39).
Switching to a much more local economy, at least for necessities. Diversifying local 
industrial and agricultural production - this will significantly reduce our carbon 
footprint and will be much safer if there's an emergency or a sudden crisis that is 
blocking international commerce, especially buying directly from the producer like a 
farmers market.
Reducing our reliance on petrochemicals by developing a mature electric or hydrogen 
powered transport infrastructure, and other machinery such as agricultural machines (56).
Plant agriculture can feed several times more people than animal agriculture while 
reducing the associated ecological footprint, as well as being healthier (57)(58)(67). 
Similarly organic agriculture has a much better ecological performance than conventional 
methods.
Remote or local working where possible. Generally reducing reasons why people need to use 
a motorised vehicle, including facilitating bicycle usage. Ultimately requires 
re-structuring of cities, towns, and residency and infrastructure more broadly.
World population doubled since 1960 (63), this growth can be slowed and eventually halted 
by giving people more reproductive rights, including birth control, education, and 
freedom. In societies with less sexism and more reproductive rights the population growth 
becomes lower or negative. (64)(65)(66)
A direct democratic political system as well as democratically managed workplaces would 
allow for much greater control over issues of production and ecology and allow more 
substantial and rapid social changes.
Retrofit accommodation and industry with good insulation and electrical (rather than 
fossil fuel) heating.

Progress is being made, but it is not sufficient. Partially this is due to a lack of 
public awareness of the issues, partially it is due to a political and economic system 
highly resistant to the necessary changes.

These issues are undoubtedly social in nature. The ‘power of one' approach to ecology 
promoted by many states, where the individual is supposed to attempt to minimise their own 
ecological impact by micromanaging consumer choices, will never be enough. However, 
communal solutions cannot exist without individual action.

Thus, at the individual level, we should be prepared as much as possible to:

Harvest water
Grow food in our neighbourhoods and at our homes.
Have solar panels and/or wind turbines for electricity.
Have sustainable heating (59)
Live a low-carbon lifestyle in case petrol/diesel becomes too expensive before being 
replaced by renewables - not just transportation but more sustainably produced commodities.
Switch to a more plant-based diet.

Conclusion

There are many reasons to change to a sustainable economy as soon as possible. If saving 
the planet from climate change wasn't enough, it would improve energy and food security, 
as well as more efficiently use resources.

While it is not necessarily likely that global peak oil will mean catastrophe or major 
disruption, due to technological innovation and re-organisation in the meantime, humanity 
has set a clear course to ecological devastation due to climate change. Unless there is 
radical social change humans and other creatures on this planet will be forced to adapt to 
a very different climate and habitat. Many species have been unable adapt, and we have 
called this the Sixth Mass Extinction Event. There is no zero cost route here, and it is 
only logical that humans make serious material changes in the present rather than burying 
our heads in the sand.

References
Note: Some of the information sources below, of course, have completely different opinions 
from WSM and the author of this article, but they provide information related to parts of 
the article.

http://m.wfp.org/climate-change/climate-impacts

http://www.fao.org/climate-change/en/

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6145/508.full

https://cop23.unfccc.int/news/climate-action-priority-for-food-security-and-zero-hunger

https://health2016.globalchange.gov

https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/en/corporate/excel/energy-economics/statistical-review-2017/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2017-underpinning-data.xlsx

http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=ee&v=97

http://www.indexmundi.com/energy/?region=eu&

https://www.transportenvironment.org/sites/te/files/publications/2016_07_Briefing_Europe_increasingly_dependent_risky_oil_FINAL_0.pdf

https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/imports-and-secure-supplies

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves

http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/data_graphs/330.htm

http://www.shelltosea.com/content/gas-oil-robbery

https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/these-10-companies-make-a-lot-of-the-food-we-buy-heres-how-we-made-them-better/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labor_in_cocoa_production

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/feb/20/trafficking-labour-corporations-compliance-human-rights

https://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/06/more-than-half-of-uks-food-sourced-from-abroad-study-finds

https://www.independent.ie/life/food-drink/food-miles-all-you-need-to-know-26294300.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2013/09/23/inside-made-in-the-usa-showcasing-skilled-garment-workers.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil

http://scientists.forestry.oregonstate.edu

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_resources_of_Africa

http://factsanddetails.com/asian/cat62/sub408/item2555.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multinational_corporation#Multinational_corporation_and_colonialism

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221256711501374X/pdf?md5=c3b257f2b2795e2a3a0d16bfa28b9bab&pid=1-s2.0-S221256711501374X-main.pdf

http://globalization.kof.ethz.ch

http://www.logistickymonitor.sk/en/images/prispevky/kozlak-aleksandra.pdf

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change

http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/globalizations_carbon_bootprint/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predicting_the_timing_of_peak_oil

http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/food-supply-monopoly.html

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2011/01/the-peak-oil-catastrophe-in-waiting.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/10/24/which-u-s-companies-have-the-most-tax-havens-infographic/#2f6824d05706

https://www.bordbia.ie/industry/buyers/industryinfo/agri/pages/default.aspx

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/half-of-nations-food-bill-goes-on-imported-goods-26871990.html

http://www.gracelinks.org/118/energy-and-agriculture

http://www.resilience.org/stories/2006-06-11/implications-fossil-fuel-dependence-food-system/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_Sweden_an_Oil-Free_Society

https://www.seai.ie/resources/publications/Energy-Security-in-Ireland-2015.pdf

http://www.fruitandnut.ie/visionsoffuturefood.html

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/Why-agricultural-diversification-vital-for-rural-transformation/689364-1690372-wopbytz/index.html

http://www.climatetechwiki.org/content/crop-diversification-and-new-varieties

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6906e/x6906e06.htm

https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/agriculture_02

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_diversity

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4863106/The-hi-tech-future-farming-Netherlands.html

https://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-not-reversible-but-stoppable.html

https://dutchgreenhouses.com/approach

http://re100.org/companies

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source

https://futurism.com/wind-energy-has-officially-become-cheaper-than-fossil-fuels/

https://www.goodnet.org/articles/renewable-energy-now-cheaper-than-fossil-fuels

http://e-catworld.com/what-is-lenr/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_production

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle#Electric_public_transit_efficiency

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/facts-on-animal-farming-and-the-environment/

https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/health

https://www.fix.com/blog/sustainable-winter-heating-options/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocolonialism

https://www.wsm.ie/c/politics-peak-oil-anarchism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RxHzQTHhKk

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_growth

http://grist.org/population/2011-10-03-womens-rights-are-key-to-slowing-population-growth/

http://grist.org/article/2010-06-09-womens-rights-are-the-right-way-to-approach-the-population-issue/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_growth_rate

https://eatingourfuture.wordpress.com/meat-dairy-diet-increases-climate-change-pollution-damage-to-our-environment/

https://wsm.ie/c/climate-change-peak-oil-globalisation

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Message: 3





Every year in Sofia, Bulgaria, a fascist parade is held in honor of the fascist general 
Hristo Lukov, executed by the rebel Violeta Yakova on February 13, 1943. The parade 
organizes a series of neo-Nazi parties and organizations such as the Bulgarian National 
League and others. The parade is the leading event of fascism in Bulgaria, and every year 
delegations from fascist and Nazi parties from other European countries (Germany, Spain, 
Italy, Sweden, etc.) participate. For us, as anarchists, resistance to the pursuit of 
totalitarianism and fascism should have an internationalist character. It is impossible to 
confront globalized capitalism and fascism exclusively in Greece. It is vital to develop 
contacts and practical solidarity between comrades in neighboring countries as well as on 
an enlarged international level. The Anarchist Political Organization, with its previous 
decision, strongly supported the anti-fascist demonstration held last February in Sofia. 
About 50 comrades from Greece found themselves in Sofia to protest against fascism and 
support their comrades there who have taken even more action in recent years to organize 
resistance to fascists and bosses in the country. The demonstration achieved its purpose, 
since it was the one that tried to move against the 20 fascists who set up a 
counter-concentration, making them silent.

DEMONSTRATION

against Lukovmarch

February 17, 2018 | Sofia - Bulgaria

departure from Thessaloniki: Saturday 17/2, 05:00, St. Venizelos

bus reservation: 6976022582, 6942682306

Anarchist Political Organization Federation of Collectives

http://apo.squathost.com

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Message: 4





 From January 25 to February 4, the International Federation of Anarchist Federations 
(IFA-IAF) called for an international week of solidarity movements in the Battle of the 
native Mapuche who accept the repressive attacks of the Argentine state. Attacks in which 
the anarchist companion Santiago Maldonado and the young fighter Mapuche Rafael Nahuel 
were murdered. ---- In this context, the Anarchist Political Organization - Federation of 
Collectives, as a member of the IFA-IAF, responded to the call by making relevant moves. 
On Wednesday, 31 January, local coordinators of Athens made an intervention at the 
Argentine Embassy, while on Friday February 2 in Patras, the anarchist group "dignified 
horse" together with comrades and comrades made a counterinformation intervention in front 
of a Benetton store.

Following is the joint announcement of the organizations participating in the 
International Anarchist Federations (IFA-IAF) and photographic material.

PRICE IN THE ANARCHICAL AGIENT SANTIAGO MALDONADO
UNDERSTANDING AND ASSOCIATED BY THE ARGENTINE STATE

The multinational company Benetton, which, through its advertisements, attempts to present 
a supposedly anti-racist profile, actually buys large land in Argentina, most of which 
belong to the indigenous Mapuche, a land that has been beaten by the Argentine state-and 
Chile - by indigenous peoples. Mapuche contestants and those who also stand solidarity in 
their struggle are targeted by the Argentine state as "terrorists" - as part of the 
repressive "RAM plan" drafted by the national security ministry - for their social 
isolation and suppression of their resistances . Last August, Argentine police kidnapped 
and murdered the anarchist SantiagoMaldonado, and in November he murdered companion Rafael 
Nahuel.

On August 1, in Chubut province, Argentine Patagonia, a Mapuche tribe together with 
solidarity ruled out a street in the area where Benetton's headquarters are located, 
protesting for the landing of their land by the company. Gendarmerie forces attacked by 
shooting and chasing those who tried to defend themselves as they could. During the 
repressive operation - according to many eye-catchers - the anarchist Santiago Maldonado 
was arrested by the gendarmerie, who was forced into a white van by force and actually 
abducted him since Santiago did not communicate with anyone again . His corpse was found - 
two and a half months later - on October 18th in a river of Patagonia, in a barbarous 
reminder of the 30th.

During the kidnapping of his partner, a major mobilization has been developed to return 
Santiago with gatherings, demonstrations and conflicts in many Argentine cities. While the 
state, the cops and the media were involved in a pardon of the indignation of indigenous 
struggling indigenous communities and anarchist fighters, they were denied any 
responsibility for abducting their partner by focusing their propaganda on conspiracy 
theories about extinction or the threat they pose for the state as "internal enemy" those 
who stand against the plans of the bosses and especially the anarchists.

The natives of the Mapuche tribe - in Chile and Argentina - struggle to defend their 
communities, their culture and their land from the looting and destruction brought about 
by their exploitation by large multinational companies to which they are granted by the 
state, which has taken it from indigenous peoples with a series of wars and genocides from 
the time of the "conquest" of the American continent. In their struggle, they have often 
faced persecution, imprisonment, and the violence of repressive mechanisms, as well as the 
gangs of partisans operating on behalf of the bosses on both sides of the Andes. In 
Chubut, much of Mapuche claims the land owned by the Benetton Group,

Santiago was murdered because, as an anarchist, he chose to stand and fight with 
indigenous peoples, chose to stand by the oppressed and the exploited, and against the 
torturers and murderers of the suppression powers, the anti-social and anti-social plans 
of the state and economic elites.

Rafael Nahuel, a young companion from the Mapuche region, was a member of the Al Margen 
college and had taken part in many actions to defend the native Mapuche and their land. On 
25 November 2017, on the day of Santiago's funeral, the Argentine police conducted a 
business in a Mapuche area for the violent removal of indigenous peoples from their land. 
The cops attacked the people with both plastic bullets and real fire resulting in the 
murder of companion Rafael.

Comrades Santiago Maldonado and Rafael Nahuel will be present in races that break out in 
every corner of the earth like all the fighters who gave their lives for a free and fair 
world without inequalities, without exploitation and oppression ...

Internationalist Solidarity

- our comrades in Argentina who accept the repression of the Argentine state and resist

-The Indians Mapce and all the indigenous peoples who defend their land against its use by 
Benetton's modern conquistadors.

Anarchist Political Organization - Federation of Societies
member of IFA

http://apo.squathost.com/2714-2/

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Message: 5





On October 12, a reconciliation agreement was signed in Cairo after years of division by 
the two main Palestinian forces: Fatah dominates the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, 
which leads the blockaded Gaza Strip since 2008. This agreement raises hope for 
Palestinians but also questions. ---- From the past can we make a clean sweep ? The only 
thing really signed in Oslo in 1994 was the obligation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) 
to ensure the security of the Israeli occupier and to pursue opponents of these 
agreements: Hamas, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP, Marxist), Islamic 
Jihad (nationalist and religious). ---- Continued colonization and the dismissal of 
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians working in Israel quickly made this so-called " 
peace process " very unpopular  .

The occupation destroyed the Palestinian economy. Redistributing money from outside could 
only lead to corruption and patronage. In particular in Gaza, in 1994, real mafia, put the 
territory in a controlled section, headed by Mohammed Dahlan, a member of Fatah and head 
of the PA's preventive security forces.

The division and territorial fragmentation of Palestine is a great victory for the 
occupier. In deciding to evacuate settlers in Gaza in 2005, Ariel Sharon had no doubt 
premeditated the fracture.

Hamas's electoral victory in 2006 was only partially a vote of adherence to its religious 
vision of society, and largely a vote of protest. A first national unity government was 
created in 2006, and Ismael Haniyeh (Hamas) became the Palestinian prime minister, in line 
with the election result. Immediately, Europe and the United States decide to cut food, 
causing a terrible economic crisis in Palestine. The salaries of civil servants are thus 
not paid for months.

Various testimonies make it possible to reconstitute what happened in Gaza in 2007: pushed 
by the West and probably also by the PA president, Mahmoud Abbas, Mohammed Dahlan prepared 
a coup to "  neutralize  " the Hamas. Seeing that he was going to fail, he fled to Egypt, 
leaving his troops to start the coup and get slaughtered. This is how Hamas took power in 
Gaza.

Already in effect for years, the blockade of Gaza has become hermetic with the tacit 
approval of the PA, which is headquartered in Ramallah in the West Bank.

Palestinian division is very unpopular in Palestine. Many believe that it is a shame, a 
victory for the occupier and that "  the parties do not think of the population but of 
their own interests  ".

Several attempts at a government of national unity followed one another without success. 
In April 2014, an agreement is finally signed. A government of Palestinian technocrats 
close to the IMF is appointed. Two months later, Israel attacks Gaza. This is the great 
massacre of Operation Protective Edge. After the ceasefire, Hamas, believing that it 
played a vital role in the resistance to the occupier, raised its demands and this unity 
government disappeared. In two months, he will only have had time to suppress the training 
of teachers in Gaza !

Difficulties difficult to overcome

During a stay in Gaza in May-June 2016 [1], we had the opportunity to meet all the 
political parties. For Fatah, supported on this point by the small parties of the Left, 
Communist Party (PPP), Democratic Union and Front of struggle, Hamas exercises a form of 
dictatorship. But above all, he would control an entire underground economy (some have 
even spoken of "  underground city " "), Diverting for his men oil and electricity. This 
would be the explanation for chronic shortages. Hamas is also accused of having recruited, 
on clientelist bases, tens of thousands of officials whose names and skills are unknown, 
and who pay with the money they receive from their foreign support. . Fatah is semi-legal 
in Gaza. We know where to find his leaders, but since his big demonstration in 2012, he no 
longer has the right to parade.

Hamas qualifies the AP collabo. He blames her for abandoning Gaza during the three major 
massacres of recent years, to have for main concern to try to overthrow the government of 
Gaza instead of fighting against the occupier and to impose exorbitant taxes (300  % ) on 
imported fuel to run the power plant, which would be the main reason for the shortage (4 
to 6 hours of electricity per day).

These accusations on both sides are probably true. The most unitary parties that 
systematically mediate in the event of inter-Palestinian conflict or mediate are the PFLP 
and Islamic Jihad.

Two political projects without blood and without future

For over twenty years, the PA has been discredited with a pseudo peace process that 
favored the colonial steamroller. His strategy of hoping that the international community 
allows the creation of a Palestinian state does not lead anywhere. His repeated failures 
against the colonizer accelerate his unpopularity. Especially since Abbas, whose election 
dates back to 2005, no longer has any legitimacy and appears as the man of the West.

Hamas is also failing. He wanted to make Gaza the prototype of an Islamic mini-state, but 
society is resisting. Hamas expected to receive foreign aid but, for different reasons, 
the countries that helped it at certain times (Iran, Syria, Turkey, Qatar) withdrew. Of 
course, Hamas resisted those who, by creating a widespread shortage in Gaza, hoped to 
overthrow him. But in a situation of serious economic and social crisis, he is unpopular 
by his authoritarianism, being also splashed by corruption and even sometimes 
collaborating with the occupier, according to testimonies received from peasants and 
fishermen.

The division in Gaza has an incredible pace: when you come back from Israel, there are two 
checkpoints, that of the PA and that of the Gaza government. There are also two deans at 
al-Aqsa University. There are three types of civil servants in Gaza: those who are paid by 
Ramallah and work (especially teachers and doctors), those who were paid by Ramallah on 
the express condition of not working and those who were recruited by Hamas on clientelist 
base and who are paid (by him) with low wages.

Before the agreement

It was Mahmoud Abbas who unleashed hostilities by firing (or automatically retiring) many 
government officials and then ceasing to pay for oil and electricity imported into Gaza, 
plunging the territory into a serious crisis, including understood in terms of food.

Hamas retaliated by signing an agreement with Dahlan. This mafia became the rival of Abbas 
and the man of the Emirates. The agreement stipulated that Dahlan would use his 
friendships with Egypt to end the blockade of the Rafah border. Dahlan's intervention has 
no doubt prompted Abbas to change course. When asked, Gazan friends seem to say that this 
time, it's serious. There are some easy problems to solve. The issue of border control and 
fuel imports is not an insurmountable obstacle. And then Hamas and Islamic Jihad have 
expressed the desire to return to the PLO, which would resume a central role. It seems 
that it has been accepted.

But an inter-Palestinian reconciliation depends, for many, from abroad. In 2014, Israel 
had attacked to break it. The destruction of a tunnel on October 30 with the death of 
several Islamic Jihad fighters was surely intended to provoke a new war. The Gazan parties 
did not fall into the trap.

In Egypt, immediately after the appalling attack on a Sufi mosque (365 dead) on November 
24 in Sinai, the border with Gaza was closed.

Predictably, the agreement stumbles on the question of the officials. The social question 
has been reinvited in Gaza. University officials, whose salaries were drastically reduced, 
went on strike.

When those who had been paid for doing nothing for ten years came back to those Hamas had 
recruited to replace them, they were physically barred by them.

Hamas can accept to become again a simple politico-religious movement, it can not cut off 
its social base by plunging it into misery.

The man and woman of the street in Palestine often complain: "  We miss a Mandela  ". In 
this Palestine, fragmented by the occupying power, there is no longer any idea or strategy 
that is largely in the majority, and to unite when there is no territorial continuity and 
no state is obvious.

Pierre Stambul (friend of AL)

Towards a new Intifada ?

Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel and 
to transfer the US embassy, which legitimizes a little more policy of annexation of the 
government of Benjamin Netanyahu has caused a wave of anger in Palestine and around the 
world and the disapproval of the "  international community  ".

As early as 8 December protests took place in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jerusalem, as 
well as in many countries. In Paris, several hundred people gathered on December 10 for 
the reception of Benjamin Netanyahu by Emmanuel Macron. Hamas, who launched the slogan of 
a "  new intifada  " immediately after the decision of Trump calls to make every Friday a 
"  day of rage  ".

The actual live fire from Israeli forces during the clashes in recent weeks has already 
resulted in many casualties and several deaths. One of them, Ibrahim Abou Thouraïa, 
amputated both legs in 2008 after an Israeli attack, and who was demonstrating in a 
wheelchair, became the symbol of the protest. On December 18, Israel shelled Hamas 
positions in Gaza after rocket fire.

While reconciliation agreements between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority seem to be 
bogged down, popular mobilization may allow a united front in the event of a new Israeli 
war. In France it is crucial to intensify protests against Trump's decision and to 
participate in protests against the occupation and colonization of Palestine.

[1] This stay is recounted in Gaza Chronicles, May-June 2016, Acratie editions.

http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Palestine-Reconciliation-Hamas-Fatah-voeu-pieu-ou-realite

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