Anonymous Comrade writes

Orwellian Anti-Semitism

John Chuckman, YellowTimes.org Columnist (Canada)

George Orwell understood the power of words, and he understood the power of ideology to utterly corrupt their meaning.

He identified tyranny with expressions such as "war is peace" or "ignorance is strength." But absolute government is not necessary to experience the corrupted language of power and the abuses it hides. A nasty democratic minority, supported by a population choked with fear or prejudice, or a ruling majority full of hate or bad intentions is perfectly capable of producing them.

Tom Keefer writes

"THE ANTI-G8 PROTESTS IN CALGARY:

SOME CONTRIBUTIONS TO A CRITIQUE OF THE ANTI-GLOBALIZATION MOVEMENT

By Tom Keefer, July 2nd, 2002. (tom@tao.ca)

[Synopsis: An analysis from an anarcho-communist perspective of the
anti-globalization movement in the context of the G8 protest in
Calgary
with a special focus upon the impact of Sept 11th, and
contradictions
between the movement's reformist and revolutionary tendencies.
Contains a
discussion on the weaknesses of the concepts of "anti- capitalism"
and
"diversity of tactics" as expressed by the movement's radical wing.
Tom
Keefer is a member of the North -Eastern Federation of Anarcho-
Communists
(NEFAC) nefac]

THE LONG SHADOW OF THE TWIN TOWERS

It is clear that after a string of successes (beginning with Seattle
and
carried on in Washington and Quebec City), that the anti-
globalization
movement has lost ground in its ability to mobilize large numbers in
North
America in the wake of September 11th and the attendant "war on
terrorism"
launched by US imperialism. The forces of reaction have been
strengthened
by the attacks of Sept 11th, and many of those we would seek to
rally to
our cause have lined up behind the flags of patriotism or have been
intimidated into silence by a dramatic increase in state
surveillance and
repression in conjunction with the mass detention and deportation of
"suspect" Muslims, Arabs and undocumented immigrants.

hydrarchist writes:

This is an interview conducted by a participant in the Generation mailing list with Hobo, an Italian militant.

* Am I right in thinking that the panther movement (a wave of
university occupations in 1990, so named because it coincided with
the escape of a panther from Rome Zoo) caused an expansion and
de-ghettoisation of the social centres? Did students get involved
with the social centres at this time?

Yes, even if the the panther movement marked just a beginning of the
longer process of de-ghettoisation. Which can be considered
accomplished, years later, with a big opening up to "civil society"
and its heterogeneous component (grassroots associations, NGO's,
catholics, etc.). We can say that a big boost in this sense was given
by the Zapatistas after their first "encuentro internacional" where
they introduced the concept of "enlace civil". Going back to the
panther, yes they brought a real renewal in the social centres,
giving vital energy and wiping out that diffuse sense of defeat. Many
new social centres (actually, most of the existing social centres)
were occupied in those years by the panther students themselves.