Category: workers

‘The Free’ now Available as a Book! (+ free ebook)

March 2012

Happy to let you know ‘The Free’ is now IN PRINT, on request,  as a real ‘dead tree’ book… Just in time to take part in the ‘Occupy 2012’ movements planet wide!!


Available here: https://www.createspace.com/3702134    costs 10€, or $14, + post. (postage may be cheaper from Amazon here http://www.amazon…. )

..one lonely, abused schoolgirl occupies her own life..and sets off an explosive social and economic revolution


Also it’s Out Now as a free download for Ipad, iPhone, Sony, Kobo, Nook,, etc. Available here:http://www.mediafire.com/?9sdkp1dyhtjbiym for ePub (colour) costs nothing.


Also it’s in Kindle Stores (costs 3€)› US  › UK  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007EHCF14


And still a free pdf download from its website here: https://thefreeonline.wordpress.com/testing-downloads/ 362 page colour 100 illustrations +all info.


Hope you enjoy the adventure, and build on its ideas to exploit the inevitably coming collapse of capitalism

Best of luck to you all…..mike gilli

Would you like to HELP DISTRIBUTE the printed book? You could just tell your friends.. or ask your local bookstore to stock it by ordering through them. Or ask a library to get it.  Trade stocking details ’The Free’ ISBN 978-1466409323                   .CreateSpace. Direct Reseller Application https://www.createspace.com/pub/l/createspacedirect.do?rewrite=true Also trade distributors like http://www.ingrambook.com/retailers/orderingi.aspx(from April 2012) which unlike Createspace should take returns.  For Libraries the agent is http://www.btol.com/ts3/

CNT calls a General Strike in Spain, March 29

by Phil Dickens  The CNT rejects any kind of negotiation over the rights conquered by the working class through years of struggle. We call for this strike with the primary objective of immediately repealing the the labor reform that was approved yesterday by the Parliament, which we consider a head-on assault against the working class. This reform continues the measures started by the previous government, such as the labor reform of 2010 and the cuts to public employee salaries, to pensions, and to public services, cuts which are being deepened by the current government.

bloggers note..This article misleads a little. The big unions finally and reluctantly confirmed the General Strike for March 29th 3 days ago and the CNT is joining in.

The CNT demands the end of an economic policy designed to make the workers pay for the crisis of the banks and the employers. This policy has led to an unacceptable number of unemployed workers, a number which does not stop growing, as well as to an impoverishment and worsening of the working class’s living conditions.

The CNT also calls this strike against the cuts. The strike will happen the day before the setting of the General State Budget which will incorporate a brutal attack against public services and social rights.
The CNT rejects the agreement reached in February between the CCOO and UGT unions and the employers’ confederation, the CEOE, as well as the amendments that those unions have presented to the parliamentary process of the labor reform. The CNT rejects these amendments as a valid alternative, since they share the spirit of the reform and assume the logic of the employers and the government, who suppose that the only escape from their crisis must come through the workers surrendering their rights, placing the working class into a position of weakness from the start. The same logic has already led these unions to accept the raising of the retirement age to 67, even after the general strike of September 29, 2010.

For the CNT, the strike on March 29 must be only the beginning of a growing and sustained process of mobilization, one which includes the entire working class and the sectors that are most disadvantaged and affected by the capitalist crisis. This mobilization must put the brakes on the dynamic of constant assaults on our rights, while laying the bases for the recovery and conquest of new social rights with the goal of a deep social transformation.

All of these reasons have led the CNT to make this call for March 29 on its own account. With this call the CNT wants to give coverage to everyone who is taking up positions for a real and continued confrontation that will pay back the assaults on the working class with the same force with which we are receiving them, together with all workers’ organizations that share these objectives and reject the policies of agreement and social peace……

….,It’s time for all workers – unemployed or employed, retired, on the black market, students, and the precarious – to say “Enough!” We must seize the streets rather than abandon them in order to impose our strength and our demands.

March 29 – everyone in the street, everyone on the strike.

http://cnt.es/en/news/cnt-calls-general-strike-march-29

”If Unit 4 pool cracks..Tokyo is Finished”.. expert

Most Important Video of the Year? Asahi TV: “Unbelievable”

View the video and transcript here Published: March 10th, 2012 at 3:47 am ET By ENENews

— If Unit 4 pool gets a crack from quake and leaks, it would be end for Tokyo -Expert — Doesn’t have to be large tremor, already shaken many times

Most discussion of the No. 4 spent fuel pool has focused on an earthquake causing the pool to collapse. This video is different because it reveals: A crack, rather than the collapse of the pool itself, can be the end of Tokyo The quake that could put a crack in the pool and be the end of Tokyo does not have to be a large one….

They are talking about resuming the operation of nuclear plants. […] But is the accident over? Is it really over? For example, Unit 4. In fact, Dr. Koide of Kyoto University is worried about it most. The present conditions of Unit 4 are like this. You see, almost no walls. They were blown off, and honestly speaking, the Unit 4 is a wreck. A wreck. […]

Now, what if an earthquake occurred right now and the water in the pool started to leak? I asked this question to Dr. Koide. Please watch this video. […] If a large aftershock occurred and the wall here collapsed, the water in the pool would leak out and the spent fuel would not be cooled any more. Then, they would start to melt, probably completely. And huge amount of radiation contained in the spend fuel would be released outside, with no walls to block it. We’ll never know when an earthquake comes. […] the fuel rods, which are probably damaged to some degree […]

What if a destructive earthquake occurred during those years? That would be the end. The end? Yes. You see, that would be the end. Unbelievable…unbelievable. This is a serious problem. TEPCO knows dealing with this problem is most important for now. […]

So if a large earthquake should occur from now until that January… No, it doesn’t have to be large. Unit 4 has been shaken many times already. If the pool got cracks after another earthquake and the water started to leak out, Dr. Koide said that would be the end. The end for a wide area including Tokyo. Oh my, and they are talking about resuming nuclear plant operation.

I think resuming the operation is out of the question at least until the results from the investigation by NAIIC come out. […] I want them to let us vote again. They talk about resuming the operation after gaining understanding from local communities. But for this issue, I think the whole country of Japan, or the whole area including the neighboring countries, is a “local community” that would be affected. We should keep in mind that it’s not only the sites of the plants that should be considered as “local communities.” We should recognize the accident is far from over and the crisis is still ongoing. Yes.

And excuse me, I have a correction to make. Retrieving the fuel rods is planned to start not from January, but from…when? December next year? (Yes.) December next year? No kidding! Sorry, I took a too-favorable view. The members of the Diet who want to resume, I want them to resign. We need to reconsider this issue.

I want to know the exact names of the members of the Diet who want to resume, and ask them for their opinions. […]


Related articles

Dublin Occupiers still EVICTED

The eviction of the Occupy Dame Street camp

A large force of Garda and council workers were deployed at 3.30am today, International Women’s Day, to clear Occupy Dame Street (ODS) camp. The camp was completely demolished in the course of the eviction, campers intimidated and their personal property stolen.

This was a level of force way out of proportion with the numbers in the camp (about 15 people) and stands in contrast with the lack of resources put into investigating what happened at Anglo, the collapse of which has left a debt of 26,000 Euro on every single person in the country.

The small Garda team ‘investigating’ what happened at Anglo only includes one forensic accountant. As far as anyone can tell they have yet to get into the computers that were encrypted and which the bank has refused to hand over the passwords for. This certainly tells us whose interests those in power protect and that the Garda will ‘just follow orders’ even if they are individually included amongst the 99% of us who have been screwed over.

Media coverage of the eviction suggests that it was a fairly low key affair with an overwhelming number of Garda (around 100) compared to campers (about 15) but commentary from the campers and a video interview published by the Irish Times suggests that a significant level of physical intimidation & force was used by Garda. Campers talked of pick axes being used to break into structures while they were still inside and of the seizure of mobile phones, lap tops, clothes, minutes & contact books and even bicycles that were chained on the square. This happened without warning, while people were sleeping. One of the campers said of the police that “they came like volatile bullies & terrorists .. they behaved like animals”

Updated 14.30: In a second video interview from this morning two women from ODS talked about how the Garda had arrived wearing balaclava’s, didn’t poduce the court order until they had dragged everyone off the site and had twisted their arms and stamped on their hands when they attempted to sit on the street.  Just before lunch a small group were forcibly prevented from putting up tents.  A number of witnesses have said that last night some of the Garda appeared to be carrying guns.

  Latest UPDATE
GARDAÍ IN DUBLIN city centre are preventing the protest group who had camped outside the Central Bank’s headquarters from 8 October until this morning from erecting any more tents at the property.

The camp was dismantled by dozens of gardaí at around 3.30am today and the area was subsequently cleaned by Dublin City Council workers.

Jornades d’acció feminista autònoma /feminist action days


[CAT] ¡Se va a armar la gorda! Jornades d’acció feminista autònoma per a dones, lesbianes i trans (MLT), sense partits, sindicats ni banderes)

barcelona..Per segon any consecutiu se celebren les jornades d’acció feminista autònoma al voltant del 8 de març, “Se va a armar la gorda” per a dones, lesbianes i trans (MLT), sense partits, sindicats ni banderes.

Perquè pensem que cal abandonar les pors, la passivitat i la submissió, us animem a que, durant aquests dies però també la resta de dies, feu accions, prengueu eel carrer agiteu el sistema, us autoorganizeu per a crear xarxes i destruir el que ens oprimeix, canalitzant la ràbia, i fent-nos protagonistes de les nostres vides i dels nostres desitjos per tots els mitjans.

En un context de progressiva precarització en tots els àmbits de les nostres vides, de polítiques de privatització i negació dels serveis més bàsics-llei de l’avortament, desnonaments i desallotjaments, explotació laboral, desmantellament salvatge del sistema sanitari i educatiu,nosaltres -invisibilitzades, minoritzades, deslegitimades-vam decidir continuar endavant amb les nostres lluites, amb aquesta lluita, colze a colze contra el poder.

Tornem a prendre el carrer, un cop més, sense demanar permís i organitzant unes jornades feministes al marge de les institucionals, on visibilitzar sense concessions els nostres cossos, les nostres lluites, les nostres sexualitats i la nostra capacitat d’acció;posant coneixements i pràctiques autogestionàries en comú i agitant l’espai públic que se’ns nega sistemàticament, prenent nostre costat a la barricada dels conflictes socials.

Se va a amar la gorda!

+info
twitter @SE_VA_ARMAR #sevarmarlagorda

LEER MÁS AKÍ  http://acampadadebarcelona.org/index.php/ca/compo

Up to 100 million strike in India

The workers are demanding a national minimum wage, permanent jobs for contract labourers, social security for informal labourers, pensions for all workers, intervention by the government to stop the rising costs of living, and to end the sell off of publicly owned companies amongst other demands.

http://libcom.org/blog/world%E2%80%99s-biggest-ever-strike-

Transport, postal services and banking have all been hit by the strike which involves around a dozen unions, with a ‘complete shutdown’ of banking in Mumbai being reported. Police have been deployed to try to prevent ‘unlawful’ picketing, with 100 arrests made this morning for obstructing traffic.

A day-long nation-wide strike staged by 11 trade unions may have been  followed by up to 100 million workers. Key sectors like banking and transport took a hit in various parts of the country.

Rajinder Khurana, a 36-year-old bank clerk working in the government-owned State Bank of India in the capital was up early on Tuesday. The previous night he and his colleagues had prepared elaborate placards demanding an amendment to the Minimum Wages Act and an increase in gratuity payout.

Job Security

Khurana was among the hundreds of employees who picketed the bank’s entrance dissuading employees from coming into office even as a tight police cordon ringed the bank premises. All clerical staff and non-supervisory staff were on strike, while officers reported for duty.

A driver rests on his yellow ambassador taxi during a country-wide strike in KolkataMany taxi drivers suspended their services to participate in the protests

“We have come together to voice our protest against price rise, breach of labour rights and the government’s free market policies like disinvestment in public sector companies,” Khurana told Deutsche Welle.

Millions of others like Khurana joined the call for tighter labor laws and a minimum wage in a strike that crippled banking services across the country and affected different modes of public transport.
A large number of rickshaw and taxi drivers kept their vehicles off the roads in many parts of the country to take part in the protest.
“I had to pay double the fare to take a rickshaw as most of the rickshaw drivers were on strike. They charged exorbitant rates,” exclaimed Swati Chandan, a daily commuter.
Read more here.. with thanks Author: Murali Krishnan
 http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15774001,00.html?maca=en-aa-news-862-rdf

 

Help Greeks under heavy attacks

Financed by capitalist slush funds the rightwing press has fanned a wave of race hate against southern Europeans, blaming our lazy love of fiesta for their economic woes.
BUT OECD FIGURES PROVE THAT SPANISH, PORTUGUESE, ITALIAN AND GREEK WORKERS DO LONGER HOURS FOR LESS PAY, WORK IS MORE PRECARIOUS, HARDER WITH LESS MECANIZATION  AND UNEMPLOYMENT IS  HIGHER.

The eurozone crisis has sown divisions in the European family, and Greece in particular has often been singled out for criticism. Has Greece been living beyond its means? Are Greeks lazy? On this second point, the statistics tell a surprising story.

This week Greece is facing more spending cuts after agreeing to a deal of 130bn euros (£110bn, $175bn) to help it avoid bankruptcy.

But the statistics suggest the country has not lost its way due to laziness. If you look at the average annual hours worked by each worker, the Greeks seem very hard-working.

Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that the average Greek worker toils away for 2,017 hours per year which is more than any other European country.

Out of the 34 members of the OECD, that is just two places behind the board leaders, South Korea.

On the other hand, the average German worker – normally thought of as the very epitome of industriousness – only manages 1,408 hours a year. source: BBC NEWS

Next solidarity protest on Saturday 25 February at the Greek Embassy

Φεβρουαρίου 19, 2012

After the success of the day of action on 18/2 in London and around Europe, we decided to continue our actions of solidarity! 13:00 at the Greek embassy, at 1A Holland Park W11 3TP. Facebook event:  http://www.facebook.com/events/396894816993798/ Με επισήμανση:, , , , Posted in: Δράσεις

GREEK anarchists have called for international solidarity efforts, as they endure a new brutal wave of repression from the state and its neo-fascists guard-dogs.

Says a statement posted on From the Greek Streets: “Greece is at a critical turning point, and many critical changes are taking place in a societal as well as a political and economic level.

“The disintegration and dissolution of the dominant – until recently – model of power and exploitation is more than evident, so it defines what is commonly called ‘crisis.’

“What we are experiencing now is the total failure of a system that is unable to secure any longer the social consensus, thereby is engaged in a frontal attack that is unconditional and with no pretext.

http://vastminority.blogspot.com/