The Free

Interview and action : Congress of CNT anarchist union

After the Congress of CNT, interview with Secretary General.. from ainfos with thanks.. en castellano abajo

From 4 to 8 December the latest Congress of CNT took place in Zaragoza. Given its relevance to the libertarian movement (in all aspects) and given the expectation that accompanies such events, we wanted to interview someone in the permanent secretariat of the confederal committee to explain to us firsthand his opinion on what he has seen these days and the practical effects of these decisions.

Aquest matí han estat detinguts dos companys de la CNT-AIT de Barcelona, els quals també són militants d’Acció Llibertària de Sants, per la seva participació a la campanya de boicot a El Corte Inglés que ambdues organitzacions hem promogut. Aquestes detencions estan emmarcades en un procés més ampli, donat que s’han produït, precisament quan les companyes es disposaven a donar suport a un grup de persones imputades al llarg del cap de setmana, per la mateixa causa. — 2 comrades of the CNT-AIT of Barcelona who are also militants Acció Llibertària of Sants barrio, have been arrested at the behest of management for their participation in the boicott campaign supporting strikers at the El Corte Inglés right wing chain stores . Black Friday began a series of pickets, sabotage and road blocking.

First I want to thank the colleagues from Alasbarricadas for their interest in the CNT and the celebration of our XI Congress and its important work in spreading anarchist initiatives,and their contribution to the theoretical debate.

Now that you’ve finished, how do you see the Congress in general terms ?

In general, we can speak of a particularly productive congress in several ways.

First, the quantity and quality of the papers that were submitted for debate and approval of the unions. Keep in mind that the CNT has its own rhythms and that Congress is only the end point of a long process of internal debate that began a year ago. In this congress unions have presented papers covering very serious fields of action and strategies of the CNT but we will discuss them later. Secondly, we have seen the internal cohesion of the CNT the maturity of the organization. No one is unaware that the CNT came to this conference in a very delicate and difficult internal moment, after the last de-federaciones of several inoperative small groups and the problems with the previous Secretary General. However, there has been a unity and determination to make strides. The debate in the plenary has been respectful and fluid, which has not happened in previous congresses which were more tense, and reached a depth and much higher level of analysis.

Also in the commissions the level of consensus has been very wide . This does not mean that there have been tensions and disagreements, but that resolution has not been problematic.

What points approved in Congress, do you think are the most important?

For starters, the CNT has now been defined not only as a class organization, autonomous, self-managed, federalist and internationalist but also as a feminist organization, understanding that the struggle against patriarchy is inseparable from the struggle against capitalism and against any form of domination, and indeed union action that has defined the Congress for the coming years has been impregnated with this view. Continue reading “Interview and action : Congress of CNT anarchist union”

US arms criminals save Capitalism: Arms Sales Soar 35%

by Tyler Durden….. If ever there was a clearer indication of America’s “need for war” it was the latest Durable Goods orders data, which confirmed, absent defense spending, the US economy is in a tail-spin. However, as NYTimes reports, foreign arms sales by the United States jumped by almost $10 billion in 2014, about 35 percent, even as the global weapons market remained flat and competition among suppliers increased, thanks to multibillion-dollar agreements with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

Defense Spending New Orders has soared 148% in the last 3 months… the biggest rise since 2007

But it is the US arms sales to foreigners that is really flourishing.Despite a stagnant international weapons market and increased competition among suppliers, American foreign weapons receipts rose from $26.7 billion to $36.2 billion last year. According to a new congressional report, as The NY Times reports…

The United States remained the single largest provider of arms around the world last year, controlling just over 50 percent of the market.

Russia followed the United States as the top weapons supplier, completing $10.2 billion in sales, compared with $10.3 billion in 2013. Sweden was third, with roughly $5.5 billion in sales, followed by France with $4.4 billion and China with $2.2 billion. Continue reading “US arms criminals save Capitalism: Arms Sales Soar 35%”

Iranians warm up winter with ‘Kindness Walls’ free shops

A new movement in Iran is making sure the nation’s homeless stay cozy as frigid winter temperatures set in

Tara Kangarlou @tarakangarlou

Iranians may not observe Christmas, but as much of the West celebrates this year’s holiday season many in Iran are also embracing the spirit of giving, one wall at a time.

The “Kindness Wall” movement — in which ordinary citizens hang clothes on walls as donations for the homeless during Iran’s cold winter — is picking up across the country, which has long struggled under the weight of economic sanctions imposed by the West over Tehran’s nuclear program.

It’s not clear how or where the movement started, but Iranian newspaper Hamshahri said it likely sprang from one man’s goodwill gesture in a neighborhood in the northwestern city of Mashhad. Continue reading “Iranians warm up winter with ‘Kindness Walls’ free shops”

US Christmas lights use more energy than entire countries

694554-63b932ec-5642-11e3-ba26-b7fc4856beca — Bright lights strung on American trees, rooftops and lawns account for 6.63 billion kilowatt hours of electricity consumption every year, according to a recent blog post by the Center for Global Development

American household Christmas lights, a favorite holiday tradition, use up more electricity than some poorer countries—such as El Salvador or Ethiopia—do in a year.

Bright lights strung on American trees, rooftops and lawns account for 6.63 billion kilowatt hours of electricity consumptionevery year, according to a recent blog post by the Center for Global Development. Continue reading “US Christmas lights use more energy than entire countries”