http://anarchismtoday.org/ AnarchismToday.org en-us Thu, 01 Sep 2011 02:38:10 GMT 1440 CPG-Nuke Dragonfly Anarchism Today News http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html http://anarchismtoday.org/images/logobluegrey.gif http://anarchismtoday.org/ http://anarchismtoday.org/News/article/sid=162.html Sources: Workers Solidarity Movement, IndyBay, ZEIT (German) NOTE: This has been translated from German to English, and I'd imagine Chomsky's quotes were translated from English to German and back to English. I have asked Chomsky whether these quotes are more or less accurate and he has confirmed them. Though he has stated they are obviously translated. STUDENTS SHOULD BECOME ANARCHISTS Excerpt: ZEIT Campus: You often say you are an anarchist. What do you mean by that? Chomsky: Anarchists try to identify power structures. They urge those exercising power to justify themselves. This justification does not succeed most of the time. Then anarchists work at unmasking and mastering the structures, whether they involve patriarchal families, a Mafia international system or the private tyrannies of the economy, the corporation. ZEIT Campus: What was the key experience that made you an anarchist? Chomsky: There was none. When I was twelve years old, I began to go to secondhand bookshops. Many of them were run by anarchists who came from Spain. Therefore it seemed very natural to me to be an anarchist. ZEIT Campus: Should all students become anarchists? Chomsky: Yes. Students should challenge authorities and join a long anarchist tradition. ZEIT Campus: “Challenge authorities” – a liberal or a moderate leftist could accept that invitation. Chomsky: As soon as one identifies, challenges and overcomes illegitimate power, he or she is an anarchist. Most people are anarchists. What they call themselves doesn’t matter to me. Thu, 01 Sep 2011 02:38:10 GMT http://anarchismtoday.org/News/article/sid=161.html Get The People Speak Extended Edition DVD when it becomes available. On Sunday, December 13, at 8 PM Eastern and Pacific / 7 PM Central, THE PEOPLE SPEAK -- the long awaited documentary film inspired by Howard Zinn's books A People's History of the United States and, with Anthony Arnove, Voices of a People's History -- will air on History. This video requires either:An HTML 5 compliant browser or Java.Get Firefox 3.5Get Java AnarchismToday.org Multimedia: Howard Zinn's "The People Speak" Trailer Tune in! Details at www.history.com/peoplespeak or text peoplespeak to HISTRY (447879) for tune in info. You can also catch the final stop of the People Speak College Tour at UCLA -- with Josh Brolin and Chris Moore -- Friday, December 2, at 2 pm. www.history.com/conten...llege-tour ABOUT THE PEOPLE SPEAK Using dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries and speeches of everyday Americans, the documentary feature film THE PEOPLE SPEAK gives voice to those who spoke up for social change throughout U.S. history, forging a nation from the bottom up with their insistence on equality and justice. Narrated by acclaimed historian Howard Zinn and based on his best-selling books, A People's History of the United States and, with Anthony Arnove, Voices of a People's History, THE PEOPLE SPEAK illustrates the relevance of these passionate historical moments to our society today and reminds us never to take liberty for granted. THE PEOPLE SPEAK is produced by Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Chris Moore, Anthony Arnove, and Howard Zinn, co-directed by Moore, Arnove and Zinn, and features dramatic and musical performances by Allison Moorer, Benjamin Bratt, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Robinson, Christina Kirk, Danny Glover, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, David Strathairn, Don Cheadle, Eddie Vedder, Harris Yulin, Jasmine Guy, John Legend, Josh Brolin, Kathleen Chalfant, Kerry Washington, Lupe Fiasco, Marisa Tomei, Martín Espada, Matt Damon, Michael Ealy, Mike O'Malley, Morgan Freeman, Q'orianka Kilcher, Reg E. Cathey, Rich Robinson, Rosario Dawson, Sandra Oh, Staceyann Chin, and Viggo Mortensen. Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:37:14 GMT http://anarchismtoday.org/News/article/sid=160.html Noam Chomsky will be honored at an MIT concert, to be held on January 22, 2010, at Kresge Auditorium. The Los Angeles-based composer Edward Manukyan will be present with the famous linguist and philosopher, to hear performances of chamber music - some of which were dedicated to Prof. Chomsky - and songs on Chomsky's words. The event is part of a series of concerts in which the composer honors some of the world's leading intellectuals and scientists with musical dedications. Similar concerts will follow in New York and Texas, honoring the Nobel-laureate biologist James Watson and physicist Steven Weinberg later next year. The concert will also feature speeches about Chomsky and his contribution to science and world ideas, by noted scientists from MIT and Harvard. More about the concert is available from: www.EdwardManukyan.com Tickets are on sale at: sao.mit.edu/tickets/20...al-tribute Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:29:14 GMT http://anarchismtoday.org/News/article/sid=159.html Freedom of Religion in Libertarian Spain By Nicholas Evans Part 2 of the ‘Libertarian Spain in the 1930’s’ series* Libertarianism** (aka anarchism) has always been known as a movement that generally prefers various kinds of democratic socialist economies. 1. These same socialist economies are based, in the opinion of libertarians, on realistic and practical amounts of human freedom. 2. As Kropotkin states, All Libertarians uniquely prefer the “enfranchisement of man from … the state as well as from those of capitalism.” 3. Human freedom for everyone includes freedom of religion. This is why we find the major writers in the libertarian Mutualist, Collectivist, and Communist schools supporting religious freedom. Proudhon, a Mutualist, and the libertarian of small businessmen and co-operative businesses states***: “Let public worship, like industry, be free… The right to assemble for prayer is equal to the right to assemble to talk politics or economics;…” 4. Bakunin, a collectivist, and libertarian of self employed and large scale democratically controlled industry, mentions: “Neither society, nor any part of society- commune, province, or nation- has the right to prevent free individuals from associating freely for any purpose whatsoever: political, religious, scientific, artistic…” 5. Alexander Berkman, the Libertarian Communist, wrote: “Maybe you are a Christian, or a member of some other religion -Jew, Mormon, Mohammedan, Buddhist, or what not… It makes no difference. A man should be free to believe whatever he pleases.” 6. Benjamin Tucker, Libertarian Individualist (aka free market socialist, see his State Socialism and Anarchism) notes on religion: While most Libertarians are atheists, “… the anarchists none less firmly believe in the liberty to believe in it.” 7. Writers who prefer gatherer-hunter lifestyles such as John Zerzan and Freddy Perlman mention favorably hunter-gatherer bands with spiritual beliefs. 8. And of course there are excellent Catholic Libertarians such as Dorthy Day and Catholic Libertarian influenced groups such as Catholic Worker. 9. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:10:13 GMT http://anarchismtoday.org/News/article/sid=158.html Source: Amy Goodman's Column Watch What You Tweet A social worker from New York City was arrested last week while in Pittsburgh for the G-20 protests, then subjected to an FBI raid this week at home -- all for using Twitter. Elliot Madison faces charges of hindering apprehension or prosecution, criminal use of a communication facility and possession of instruments of crime. He was posting to a Twitter feed (or tweeting, as it is called) publicly available information about police activities around the G-20 protests, including information about where police had issued orders to disperse. While alerting people to public information may not seem to be an arrestable offense, be forewarned: Many people have been arrested for the same "crime" -- in Iran, that is. Last June 20, as Iranians protested against the conduct and results of their national election, President Barack Obama said in a statement, "The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights." His statement was released in English, Farsi and Arabic and posted on the White House's very own Twitter feed. His tweet read, "We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people." Read more... Source: Democracy Now!: Twitter Crackdown: NYC Activist Arrested for Using Social Networking Site during G-20 Protest in Pittsburgh "Elliot Madison was arrested last month during the G-20 protests in Pittsburgh when police raided his hotel room. Police say Madison and a co-defendant used computers and a radio scanner to track police movements and then passed on that information to protesters using cell phones and the social networking site Twitter. Madison is being charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, criminal use of a communication facility, and possession of instruments of crime. Exactly one week later, Madison’s New York home was raided by FBI agents, who conducted a sixteen-hour search. We speak to Elliot Madison and his attorney, Martin Stolar. ... SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: For our first segment, we turn to a case of a New York activist who’s believed to be among the first to face criminal charges for communicating electronically with protesters about police actions. Elliot Madison was arrested last month during the G-20 protests in Pittsburgh when police raided his hotel room. Police say Madison and a co-defendant used computers and a radio scanner to track police movements and then passed on that information to protesters using cell phones and the social networking site Twitter. Madison is being charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, criminal use of a communication facility, and possession of instruments of crime. Exactly one week later, Madison’s New York home was raided by FBI agents, who conducted a sixteen-hour search. The agents seized items including computers, clothing, books and the records of Madison’s clients in his job as a social worker. Madison has since won a temporary order barring agents from examining his seized property. For more, Elliot Madison joins us here in the firehouse studio. We’re also joined by his attorney, Martin Stolar..." Read More... Source: Ars Technica: Anarchist arrested after tweeting out the fuzz to protesters "If you're the subversive type, you might want to reconsider tweeting the revolution. One Twitter user has been arrested and had his home raided after he allegedly used the service to help others commit crimes, though he may have just been directing them to be cautious during their protests. ... Though the FBI says so, it's not entirely clear from the complaint that Madison's tweets were actually illegal. Madison's lawyer told the New York Times on Saturday that he and a friend were merely "part of a communications network among people protesting the G-20." As implied through the Times piece, Madison's tweets merely directed protestors as to where the police were at any given time and to stay alert. "There’s absolutely nothing that he’s done that should subject him to any criminal liability." No matter: the FBI followed up on Madison's arrest by searching his home late last week for evidence of other violations, such as rioting laws and whatever else they could dig up. Not only did investigators seize his computers, they also took books, clothing, gas masks, and apparently a photo of Lenin. As a self-described anarchist, Madison's affiliations have undoubtedly contributed to police opinion of him and his activities, no matter how benign." Read more... Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:34:54 GMT http://anarchismtoday.org/News/article/sid=157.html I thought this could interest some of you, so i'm sharing the information here. www.anarcho-punk.net is a new online community and anarcho music sharing forum. We just opened to the "general public" and you are welcome to join this new and growing community! NEARLY 2,000 ANARCHO-PUNK ALBUMS ARE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD !!!! We are an international and multi-lingual community for anarcho-punks from all around the world. The website is available in over 20 different languages, and we offer a variety of language-specific forums for non-english-speaking peoples. Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:57:17 GMT http://anarchismtoday.org/News/article/sid=156.html Source: Democracy Now! Headlines for July 8, 2009 Ward Churchill Denied Bid to Return to University of Colorado In Denver, a judge has denied former University of Colorado Professor Ward Churchill’s bid to return to his old job despite a jury’s finding he was wrongfully dismissed. Churchill sued the school after he was fired from a tenured position on charges of research misconduct. But Churchill maintains that the allegations were a pretext to remove him for his political beliefs. In April, a jury ruled in Churchill’s favor and ordered the school to pay his attorney fees. But on Tuesday, Chief Judge Larry Naves of Denver District Court said university officials are legally protected from Churchill’s bid to reverse his firing because they were acting as judicial officers. Churchill says he plans to appeal. His lawyer, David Lane said: “This is judicial activism in its worst form… a jury said Ward Churchill’s free speech was violated, and yet Judge Naves goes on for almost 50 pages, saying in so many words, ‘Too bad.’” Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:36:42 GMT http://anarchismtoday.org/News/article/sid=155.html FUD, for those who are unaware, is an acronym for "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt." Instilling FUD in people has often been a tactic of proprietary vendors, seeking to scare their customer-base away from other vendors or freer, non-proprietary alternatives. It has often been used to describe Microsoft's tactics of denigrating free and open source solutions, for example. Essentially it is a scare-tactic which operates on people's fear and ignorance. Ogg Theora and Ogg Vorbis are emerging technologies used for compressing video and audio, respectively. The Ogg formats are free and open formats that do not belong to any particular corporation, nor do they require any royalties to use. As it stands, most video sites on the internet require proprietary browser plugins to be installed, for example Flash, or RealVideo. The fact that the Ogg formats are free, however, means that support can be built right in to the web browser. Mozilla Firefox, among others, has announced that they plan to support the Ogg formats right out of the box in the upcoming version 3.5. At one point, Ogg was expected to become part of the HTML5 standard. For more details on HTML 5, Ogg, test videos, and what this could mean for the future of the internet, read my blog post titled, "Free Video is Coming to the Internet." A few big names have jumped on the bandwagon to support Ogg, such as Dailymotion, Wikipedia, and Mozilla. Some media sites, like Democracy Now! and Archive.org, have already been using Ogg Theora for years. Not everyone has been so supportive though... Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:51:06 GMT http://anarchismtoday.org/News/article/sid=154.html * From Madrid the anarchist group Star, linked to the Iberian Federation of Anarchists Youths (Federación Ibérica de Juventudes Anarquistas-FIJA-), has raised questions whose answers will let us know today and in detail what is doing and saying the known Venezuelan anarchist newspaper. - Anarchist group Star (GS) - Could you start talking about your project? º El Libertario is a newspaper published since 1995 (56 issues from then to June-2009). We try to report on anarchist theory and practice in Latin America and the world, as well as support any libertarian aspect within the social movements we find in our field. We do not receive, nor do we want to receive, any subsidy from the State or other instance of hierarchical power. Our activity is 110% self-managed. This spokesman is based on the anti-authoritarian ideal of anarchism and is promoted by the Collective Editor of El Libertario, an affinity group open to participation and collaboration of people with libertarian principles and attitudes, in an atmosphere of mutual respect and non-dogmatism. The central criterion of affinity is to share the anarchist ideal for building a society based on direct democracy, social justice, self-management, mutual support and self-contract without the authoritarian imposition of the law or force; between other values. Apart from being a propaganda group, we try to promote the existence of a libertarian movement in our country, but for this we presupposes that there must be a number of grass-roots social movements, autonomous and belligerent, as a requisite for the expansion of libertarian ideas and practices in our environment. For that reason we linked to various grass-roots social organizations, accompanied them in their struggle against hierarchical power, and for the human rights. Also, some of us do research work and theoretical reflection. We also encourage tasks to promote a culture of self-management, such as audio-visual samples and talks, and the First Libertarian Book and Video Fair, scheduled for November 2009. Finally, to the extent of our affinities and possibilities, we get involved in campaigns like the one held last year for the 20 years of the slaughter in El Amparo. More details on us, how we act and what we think, in our web: www.nodo50.org/ellibertario (in Spanish, English & other languages), and in the print editions of the newspaper. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:42:14 GMT http://anarchismtoday.org/News/article/sid=153.html * El Libertario www.nodo50.org/ellibertario has joined this campaign and we’re trying to divulge this initiative in an attempt to confront the hired killers that are taking the lives of labor activists in this country. Enough killings and repression of workers in struggle! This past May 5 union leader Argenis Vasquez, organizing secretary in the union at Toyota’s plant in Cumana, was gunned down by thugs as he left his house. This assassination occurred just after a month-long strike demanding improvements. The murdered worker was a leader of the protest and key in confrontations with the company and the management. It all looks like the unofficial “answer” by a company unable to impose its will on the strikers. However, not even three months have passed since the deaths of workers Pedro Suarez and Javier Marcano in Anzoategui, in the eastern part of the country, during a violent repression by the regional police ordered by Governor Tarek William Saab as they tried to evict workers from that other Japanese transnational Mitsubishi Motors. The workers were occupying the factory as protest against the firing of 135 workers and for their demands. These killings come on top of the horrible assassination of the three main leaders of the Union Nacional de Trabajadores –UNT (National Workers Union) in the state of Aragua, also at the hand of thugs who gunned them down this past November 27 in the vicinity of La Encrucijada. They were Richard Gallego, president of UNT’s regional section, Luis Hernandez, union leader at Pepsi-Cola and Carlos Requena, union delegate at Produvisa, all members of political party Unidad Socialista de Izquierda –USI (Left Socialist Union). These labor leaders were at the head of the union in a state with one of the largest rates of labor conflict in the country, leading the struggle in solidarity with workers who occupied the Colombian transnational Lacteos Alpina due to threats of lock-down and facing harsh repression by the regional police (then under the direction of Governor Didalco Bolivar). Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:59:33 GMT