Blogs

Gender, temporality, and the reproduction of labour power. Women migrant workers in South China

dagongmei in South China

This excellent article by Hannah Schling on migration and gender in China was just published by the periodical Sozialgeschichte.

Shanghai on strike: the politics of Chinese labor

cover of shanghai on strike

Classic book by Elizabeth Perry on working-class formation during the industrialization of Shanghai from 1839 to 1949, including insight into the strike wave and insurrections of 1926-1927.

The bloodbath in Syria: class war or ethnic war?

Anarchists join Kurdish fighters in Syria

As the Syrian conflict drags on, Devrim Valerian looks at the fighting, in particular in Syrian Kurdistan which many on the left have hailed as a "social revolution" and asks whether any side deserves workers' support.

The Giants won and capitalism is the loss

Cindy Milstein on the celebratory rioting which followed the San Francisco Giants winning the world series, and its background.

The poetry and brief life of a Foxconn worker: Xu Lizhi (1990-2014)

xu lizhi

Translations of poems by Xu Lizhi (许立志), the Foxconn worker who committed suicide on 30 September 2014, at the age of 24, in Shenzhen, China. Also includes an obituary with some explanatory notes.

Caribbean port strikes

Costa Rican dockers strike 22 October 2014

A docker strike on the island of Martinique, started on October 20, 2014 at the main port in Fort-de-France, is over the health and safety risks of siting an industrial-waste processing plant at the port. The strike at two ports in Costa Rica, Puerto Moín and Puerto Limón (pictured), began on October 25 over privatization of the terminals by Dutch firm APM (a subsidiary of Maersk).

Out of the Woods articles in the new Occupied Times

Occupied Times 23

The Occupied Times has kindly given us a centre-spread in their new issue, which has an apocalypse theme.

Between the competition and the capitalists: Guangzhou’s taxi driver strike

Many of Guangzhou's 40,000 taxi drivers have been on strike over squeezed pay and excessive competition. The impacts of their strike remain unclear.

Discussion Paper and Minutes: Meeting on Crisis and Class Struggle in the UK – Liverpool, September 2014

Post-Discussion Coma

A dozen of us met for three days in order to discuss the situation of crisis and struggles in the UK and beyond and about the question of how our organizational/practical efforts relate to the current phase.

Social populism - arena for cross-front cooperation

In the past 20 years, various attempts to make coalitions between the left and right have taken place in Poland. The involvement of supposedly left wing or anarchist groups with the far-right have been treated in various publications. These have involved such organizations such as the Anarchist Federation, the August 80 union or ATTAC. It seems that after many years of discussion, some leftists keep falling back into this cooperation.

No buses are due on Nathan road - Mong Kok occupation 2.0 weekend sum-up

Nathan road opened for traffic round on Friday morning.

A few observations on the current development of the Mong Kok occupation in Hong Kong.

Rojava: an anarcho-syndicalist perspective

An anarcho-syndicalist perspective on the political situation in Rojava by a member of the Workers' Solidarity Alliance.

The Most Beautiful

A reflection on a piece of Japanese war propaganda.

Hotpot, Gods, and "Leftist Pricks": Political Tensions in the Mong Kok Occupation

MK New Estate hotpot

Analysis of events in the Mong Kok occupation (part of Hong Kong's "Umbrella Movement") from October 9 to 11, related to a split between what could roughly be called "left" and "right" factions, regarding "leftist" efforts to expand the movement from a single-issue protest for liberal democracy to a broader movement for the transformation of everyday life.

Never retreat, a Mong Kok state of mind

Mong Kok barricade

"Gritty district has its own breed of protester. Tough, streetwise, and kowtowing to no-one." Introduction to some differences between Mong Kok's more militant occupation from other sites of Hong Kong's predominantly pacifist and liberal "umbrella movement." Also includes a report on MK occupiers chasing police away yesterday morning.

Warning signs: Life in a London language school

A short, but informative account from a London TEFL teacher about her early experiences in the industry.

New foundations for struggle and solidarity: The culmination of development and privatization on a Guangzhou Island

Guangzhou Sanitation Strike

An in-depth look at a strike by sanitation workers in Guangzhou and the new terrain of class struggle developing in China.

A letter from Seattle to Hong Kong Protestors/ 从西雅图给香港战友写信

Pepper Spray in HK and Seattle

A letter to Hong Kong protestors from friends and ardent supporters across the Pacific. Add oil! 中文版正在翻译中。

Predictable friction in the IWW

gears and shit

Black vs yellow: class antagonism and Hong Kong’s umbrella movement

Translation: "Civil Disobedience"

Best English article so far on Hong Kong's "Umbrella Revolution" and its background, limitations, and prospects from a Marxist perspective, based on first-hand research.