Radical media, politics and culture.

In the Streets

October 7, 2005 - 9:56am -- jim
In the Streets

Anonymous Comrade writes:

Coffin for the Councillor

(or, The Left in the Slums)

Richard Pithouse


On the morning of Wednesday, 14 September 2005 well over 5,000 people from the Kennedy Road settlement and nearby settlements in Clare Estate, Durban, South Africa, marched on their local councillor to demand toilets, land, housing, an end to the threat of forced removals and the councillor’s resignation.

This was the fourth instance of mass political insurgence into the bourgeois world to emerge from Kennedy Road this year. The first was a road blockade which resulted in police violence and 14 arrests, the second a march on the police station where the 14 where held and the third a previous legal march on the councillor. Each of these four events has been noticeably larger than the previous mass insurgency and more and more nearby settlements, and groups in nearby settlements, are joining the movement that has begun in Kennedy Road.

Capital is thrusting us into a world in which an increasingly massive portion of humanity lives in Third World slums, in what we call emijondolo. Mike Davis’ New Left Review article "Planet of Slums" (2004) has recently confronted the left literati with the magnitude of this fact.

October 6, 2005 - 2:55pm -- jim
News
In the Streets

In Our Hearts Infoshop Robbed!
Community Response Needed!


The In Our Hearts Infoshop and lending library which has been operating out
of 131 Grand St. (The Free Store) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for the past 3 months was burglarized
sometime in the past 72 hours. About 200 books, a macintosh desktop
computer, a DVD player and VCR player are some of the items stolen from the
infoshop. A witness described the thief as a white male with short black
hair who allegedly buys drugs on Roebling in Williamsburg. If anyone has any
information about the theft please contact us at 917.673.2920 or
inourhearts@gmail.com
Some of the books which may turn up in bookstores or on street vendors'
tables in Williamsburg or greater NYC are marked with the following names:
Jaquces Aboaf, Lauren Spencer, or Jonathan Spies. If you find any of these
books, please contact us immediately.

The In Our Hearts Collective was already scheduling a benefit party for this
Sunday at Glass House to pay rent and to help finance a new space. With the
recent robbery, the benefit is even more critical to the survival of the
Infoshop.


BENEFIT SHOW - Please Join Us!


When: Sunday, Oct. 9th 5pm -10pm

Where: Glass House, 385 S. 1st St. WIlliamsburg (take the L train to Bedford
Ave. Walk down Bedford to S. 1st, take a right, walk 3 blocks)

What: Benefit Show

Bands: Hoover Flag, Your 33 Black Angels, Orphanage (formerly known as Oogle
Orphanage) and Glory Hole

Plus: Delicious FOOD, DJ's and a kickin Dance Party following the bands!

Cost: $7 (no one turned away - Donations of money and books encouraged!)

WHY: Because The In Our Hearts Infoshop and Lending Library is a great
community space and resource for radical literature and zines in a city that
is rapidly losing such spaces. In order to recover from the robbery we need
your support! Plus it'll be a fine time!

October 2, 2005 - 7:18pm -- nolympics
News
In the Streets

The video is of a solidarity action at the London headquarters of shell. The Rossport 5 have spent 3 months in jail in Dublin for resisting Shell running a pipeline from an offshore gasfield through their lands. The 5 were released on Friday before a national action day on Saturday. The release followed moves from the Norwegian government who are involved through the public part ownership of Norwegian oil company Statoil. Statoil are co owners with Shell of the Rossport project in Mayo, Ireland.

September 30, 2005 - 2:29pm -- nolympics
Announcements
In the Streets

The New Space
(The New School for Pluralistic Anti-Capitalist Education)

Fall 2005 Courses start next week!

READING JOHN HOLLOWAY’S _CHANGE THE WORLD WITHOUT TAKING POWER_
Instructor: Andrew Kliman
6:00 - 7:30 p.m., alternate Wednesdays Oct. 5 - Dec. 14
Sliding scale

A READING OF HEGEL’S _PHENOMENOLOGY OF SPIRIT_
Instructor: Alex Steinberg
7:30 - 9:00 p.m., every Tuesday Oct. 4 - Dec. 20
Sliding scale

BANKING AND INVESTMENTS
Instructor: Howard F. Seligman
6:00 - 7:30 p.m., every Tuesday Oct. 4 - Nov. 8
Sliding scale

See course descriptions below. See the New SPACE website for registration info.
__________________________________________________ _________

Fall 2005 Talks

THE ECOSOCIALIST VISION
Joel Kovel
Wed. Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

THE PEOPLE’S PENSION: THE ANARCHIST ORGINS OF SOCIAL SECURITY
AND TODAY’S BATTLE OVER ITS FUTURE
Eric Laursen
Wed. Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

MODERN CRISIS THEORY: WHY A DYNAMIC UNDERSTANDING OF TODAY'S
CRISES IS CRITICAL FOR ORGANIZING A PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT
AND VISION OF AN ALTERNATIVE SOCIETY
Roz Bologh and Len Mell
Wed. Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.

Suggested Donation for Talks: $7 - $10

See the New SPACE website for details, and please check our website for additional talks to be scheduled.

__________________________________________________ _________
The New SPACE has moved to the

Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center at 107 Suffolk Street, NYC.

Located between Rivington and Delancey Streets in the Lower East Side.
We meet in the second floor Art Gallery. F train to the Delancey Street
station or J, M, Z to Essex Street station. See the New SPACE website for a map.

The New SPACE
(The New School for Pluralistic Anti-Capitalist Education)
http://new-space.mahost.org
new-space@mutualaid.org
Tel: 1 (800) 377-6183
__________________________________________________ _________
Fall course descriptions:

Reading John Holloway’s _Change the World Without Taking Power_

Andrew Kliman
Alternate Wednesdays, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
6 Sessions: Oct. 5 & 19,
Nov. 2, 16 & 30, Dec. 14
Tuition: $75 - $100, sliding scale

Revolution has frequently been identified with the capturing of state power. This notion is now discredited. But the idea of revolution itself will also be discredited unless a different concept of revolution that can replace it is worked out concretely. In _Change the World Without Taking Power: The Meaning of Revolution Today_ (Pluto, 2002), John Holloway argues that genuine revolution cannot be a process of capturing power – not even in order to abolish state power and other relations of domination. Power must be dissolved.

The premise of this course is that, whether one ultimately agrees or
disagrees with this idea, Holloway’s book deserves serious consideration. It is an important recent effort to come to grips with the need to work out an alternative concept of revolution for today. We will read and discuss the whole of _Change the World_. Since fetishism and anti-fetishism are among its major concepts, we will also read and discuss the section on the fetishism of the commodity in Marx’s Capital. Other readings include Peter Hudis’ and Cyril Smith’s reviews of Holloway’s book.

Students should read the Preface and first two chapters of _Change the
World_ (a total of 19 pages) before the first class session and be prepared to discuss them. See the syllabus for the other readings, which are available online. For more information contact the instructor at Andrew_Kliman@msn.com.

Andrew Kliman taught a course on Volume I of Marx's _Capital_ last Spring at the New Space.
Kliman, a professor of economics at Pace University, has published extensively on Marx’s _Capital_, crisis theory, and value theory. Co-editor of _The New Value Controversy and the Foundations of Economics_ (2004), he has recently finished a book that reclaims Capital from the myth of internal inconsistency. Many of Kliman's writings are available at his new website: http://akliman.squarespace.com

BANKING AND INVESTMENTS

Howard F. Seligman
Tuesdays, 6:00 - 7:30pm
6 Sessions, October 4 – November 8
Tuition: $75 - $100, sliding scale

This course will explore banking, investment, and financial markets. We will begin with an introduction to financial accounting and discounted cash flow in order to construct a toolkit for further analysis.

Using several conventional MBA textbooks, we will examine fractional reserve banking -- the underlying mechanical basis of monetary expansion in the United States. We will also scrutinize the role played by "the Fed" in money creation and economic regulation, and look at stock and bond markets from both a historical and a regulatory perspective.
The techniques of security analysis and asset valuation will, then, be
presented in simple lay persons' terms (and in mathematical detail if
students are interested). The same tools will also be applied to
non-investment materials such as air pollution and birth control.

Finally, we will compare different banking systems across the globe -- with an eye toward the impact of emerging economic powers like China and India on the world scene.
Howard F. Seligman taught a course on taxation and finance last Spring at the New SPACE. He has been a self employed financial and tax consultant since 1984. His practice specializes in the arts and entertainment fields, and he serves as the treasurer to more than fifteen arts and cultural organizations. Howard has taught accounting and finance at The Pratt Institute. His hobbies include playing Howie Solo, a singer and stand up comedian who can host your local fundraising event. He is currently researching a book on the history of the Jewish gangster in America.

A READING OF HEGEL'S _PHENOMENOLOGY OF SPIRIT_

Alex Steinberg
Tuesdays, 7:30 - 9:00pm
12 Sessions, October 4 – December 20
Tuition: $150 - $180, sliding scale

The True is the Bacchanalian revel in which no member is not drunk.
--from Preface to the _Phenomenology of Spirit_

It has been said that one cannot understand much of what has transpired in terms of art, culture, politics or philosophy in the last 200 years without having read Hegel's _Phenomenology of Spirit_. For good reason, many have considered this work to be the culmination of the Western philosophical tradition that began in ancient Greece.

In this 12-session series, we will explore the different shapes of
consciousness that have inhabited our culture and continue to shape our
world. We will go on a journey that takes us from the Inverted World, to the Master-Slave dialectic, to the Unhappy Consciousness, to the Beautiful Soul, to Absolute Freedom and Terror and finally to Absolute Knowing. Along the way, we will consider Hegel's relationship to the Enlightenment, Romanticism, the French Revolution, and to his student, Karl Marx.
By the end of this study, students should be able to judge for themselves what is living and what is dead in the work of this titan of the Western tradition. No prior background in philosophy is expected or assumed.

Students should get the A.V. Miller translation of the _Phenomenology_
(Oxford University Press). The reading for the first session is Hegel's (not Findlay's) Introduction -- not the Foreword, which is supposed to be read last. The instructor has prepared an annotated reading list.

Alex Steinberg holds an MA in Philosophy from the New School for Social
Research; he left the PhD program after participating in the student
takeover of the New School following the Kent State massacre in 1970.
Steinberg is facilitator of a philosophy and literature discussion group in Brooklyn and author of several essays, including "The Case of Martin Heidegger" and "From Alienation to Revolution: A Defense of Marx's Theory of Alienation." He has also served as a member of the WBAI Local Station Board (2004) and as Chairperson of the WBAI LSB Programming Committee.

See the New SPACE website for more details about courses and registration info, as well as our pluralism page.
__________________________________________________ ________________

The New SPACE teachers, speakers, and organizers include:
Stanley Aronowitz, Roz Bologh, Jack Z. Bratich, Stephen Eric Bronner, Andrea Fishman, Jeannette Gabriel, Loren Goldner, David Graeber, Robin Hahnel, Jesse Heiwa, Charles Herr, Joshua Howard, Anne Jaclard, Andrew Kliman, Louis Kontos, Joel Kovel, Raymond Lampe, Eric Laursen, Len Mell, Alan W. Moore, Bertell Ollman, Howard Seligman, Stevphen Shukaitis, Tom Smith, Alex Steinberg, Bill Weinberg, Seth G. Weiss


                                                                    **********************

The New School for Pluralistic Anti-Capitalist Education (New SPACE) is a new anti-capitalist educational project dedicated to developing and advancing ideas for liberatory social change. Together with the new movements for global justice, we believe that "another world is possible" -- a world free from the domination of capital and free for the flowering of human powers and talents.

The New SPACE holds that free dialogue and the protection of dissenting views are essential for the development of liberatory ideas and for forging real unity among those struggling for liberation. We reject the suppression of dissenting views and individuals in the name of "unity," convinced that such suppression is antithetical to the working out of real unity. "Freedom," as Rosa Luxemburg reminds us, "is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently." Accordingly, one distinguishing aspect of our mission is to create an educational space - not existent at present - in which pluralistic dialogue and dissident perspectives are respected and encouraged.

The New SPACE will be a place for exploring challenging questions that today's movements confront, such as: How do we build non-hierarchical movements that can sustain themselves? How can such movements safeguard grass roots democracy? How do consciousness and ideas relate to movements for social transformation?

Resolutely anti-authoritarian and non-sectarian, the New SPACE brings together anarchists, humanist Marxists, and others. All those who share our mission and goals are invited to join us as students, teachers, and partners in the development of this project. In particular, we will encourage and facilitate the participation of women, people of color, GLBT people and others who face exclusion and discrimination. e also envision a new space that young people, without ties to the old Left, will find welcoming. We seek, through our classes and other activities, to create an environment in which youth, working people from diverse backgrounds, intellectuals, and activists can dialogue and collaborate in order to make sense of, and transform, our world.

New York City
November 8, 2004
__________________________________________________ ________
The New SPACE
(The New School for Pluralistic Anti-Capitalist Education)
http://new-space.mahost.org
new-space@mutualaid.org
Tel: 1 (800) 377-6183"

September 15, 2005 - 12:29pm -- jim
News
In the Streets

Anonymous Comrade writes:

Greek Anarchists Riot Against Harsh Government Policies

Video from the dynamic reaction by anarchists against the harsh greek government's policies, especially in relation to the economy, employment and suppression of personal rights and liberties.


A 1000-people-strong anarchist block took part in an antigovernment demonstration along with workers’ unions and left wing parties. The demo took place in Salonica outside the Annual International Economic Exhibition building in which the prime minister was giving a speech on his governments’ new employment policies as long as his new antiterrorist plans.

September 13, 2005 - 11:32am -- jim
Analysis & Polemic
In the Streets

"Dhalgren in New Orleans"

Bidisha Banerjee,
Reason

September 13, 2005 —

As Americans struggled to grasp what was unfolding in New Orleans, the
word "unimaginable" recurred frequently — even though the catastrophe had
been imagined, and envisioned, many times. Thirty years ago, science
fiction writer Samuel Delany wrote, in high detail, about the unfolding
of racially-charged violence, rape, and looting in "Bellona," a major
American city struck by an unspecified catastrophe and ignored by the
National Guard.


Delany's Dhalgren focuses on a group of people who choose to remain in
Bellona despite — and partly, because of — its dystopian qualities
(including lack of water and sanitation). This surreal work of science
fiction seemed especially apt last week, as fires raged and stories of
racism, rape, looting, and murder proliferated, and then-FEMA head Mike
Brown continued to blame the victims who had not evacuated the city. New
Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
publicly disagreed over whether residents would be forcibly evicted from
their homes during the cleanup, while thousands of the city's
approximately 10,000 remaining residents remained adamant in their
resolve to stay. Dhalgren suggests what the holdouts might find if they
succeed.

September 8, 2005 - 11:36am -- jim
Announcements
In the Streets

Anonymous Comrade writes:

"Call for Autonomous Direct Action"

Buenas Noches Army


A Call for Autonomous Direct Action to Smash the Rise of Fascism and Racism In Our Communities

A Call for Autonomous Direct Action to Smash the Borders That Capitalism Depends On

This is a call to all people who will be converging on the San Diego/Tijuana, Campo and Calexico/Mexicali regions to engage in autonomous direct action to stop the Minutemen, document it and share it with the world.

The Minutemen have demonstrated that they are willing to change their plans out of fear of disruption by Anarchists. The Minutemen have experienced continuous disruption from the Buenas Noches Brigade in Campo, and are changing the way they operate as a result.

September 5, 2005 - 12:08pm -- jim
Analysis & Polemic
In the Streets

Comrade Matt, T writes:

"The Forbes Convergence"

Comrade Matt, T

While in London during1862, Dostoevsky once wrote of that "apparent disorder that is in actuality the highest degree of bourgeois order”.


Jump forward to Sydney 2005 and there is disorder — not conducive to bourgeois order — in the streets. Over the last few days from the 30th of August through the 2nd of September there has been numerus anti-capitalist and anti-war actions carried out to coincide with the Forbes conference.

The Forbes conference was a meting of around 350 CEO’s and politicians of the neo-liberal or economic rationalist persuasion, Steven Forbes, Rudy Giuliani and John Howard were all present, which give you an idea of the politics represented.

September 4, 2005 - 5:14pm -- jim
In the Streets

Anonymous Comrade writes:

"Now Is the Time? Now Is the Time!"

The Potential of the Gulf Coast Crisis:
Points for Discussion and Intervention



We wrote this text because we felt the level of discussion regarding the aftermath of hurricane Katrina needs to move beyond the rhetoric of cheering or condemning looters, cheering or condemning the authorities, or simply crying for the victims. "Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening," or "I told you so," or "People are dying!" just send us talking in circles. We want the U.S. (and possibly the world) to launch into the unknown — the total breakdown of the social order — and then continue pushing for a self-organized society.



In wanting this, we encourage drawing out and publicly defending the liberatory activities of the last 6 days and deepening this social rupture by refusing to confine it to the Gulf Coast. Our idea of how: implement concrete forms of solidarity that do not just focus on defense, but on attack.

September 1, 2005 - 1:52pm -- jim
Analysis & Polemic
In the Streets

"In Praise of Looting:

Blaming Katrina's Victims For Not Being Rich"

Harry Looter, Infoshop News

"The Iberville Housing Projects got pissed off because the police
started to 'shop' after they kicked out looters. Then they started
shooting at cops. When the cops left, the looters looted everything.
There's probably not a grocery left in this city." — Live Journal

The devastation wrought on the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina is
clearly evident three days after the winds started blowing and the
journalists scampered out from their hotels. Most of New Orleans is
under water. The Mississippi and Alabama coasts are obliterated. The
situation in New Orleans is dire as thousands of people struggle to
survive and get out of the worsening toxic cesspool that the city is
becoming.

Pages

Subscribe to In the Streets