News

Interview: The Antifascist Assembly of Piraeus

Submitted by Rob Ray on Jun 30 2017 12:33

Having struggled to find a foothold since the end of 1967-74 military junta, Greek fascism saw a turning point with the spectacular rise of Aube Dorée (Golden Dawn) during the late 2000s financial crisis. The murder of Pavlos Fyssas by a Golden Dawn (GD) assault squad in 2013 saw the organisation lose momentum and support, but it has recently been growing in confidence again as it seeks to exploit the Syrian refugee crisis. Self-defence groups, such as the Antifascist Assembly of Piraeus, have formed to push back.

A libertarian communist fighting with the YPG: why I joined the revolution in Kurdistan

Submitted by donaldo on Jun 24 2017 10:15

Translation from the blog of a French libertarian communist currently fighting with the YPG.

Greece: anarchist refugee squats prepare for State onslaught

Submitted by Rob Ray on Jun 23 2017 12:09

A new spate of recent evictions and interventions by the Greek State against refugee solidarity occupations run by the anarchist movement in Athens has prompted callouts for a major emergency gathering today.

Death in custody in Beckton - #justiceforedson

Submitted by Mike Harman on Jun 22 2017 22:37
Edson, Edir Frederico Da Costa with his son

Twenty five year old Edir Frederico Da Costa, known as Edson, died yesterday having sustained multiple injuries during a police stop in Beckton, East London.

Scuttle the Shuttle: Lyft, strikes and blockades

Submitted by libcom on Jun 22 2017 15:35
Bus blockade in Durban

A lot of discussion around Lyft Shuttle derides it for doing little more than reinvent the city bus. What this forgets, however, is that transit and distribution are the last remaining sectors in the US that are really vulnerable to strikes.

Initial notes on the first-ever strike at Volkswagen Bratislava, Slovakia

Submitted by jura on Jun 21 2017 00:41

On June 20th, 2017, a strike began at the Volkswagen factory near Bratislava, Slovakia. This is the largest and most modern car factory in a country whose annual production of cars per capita is the highest in the world. There had never been a strike at Volkswagen Bratislava before.

SAFTU: The Tragedy and (Hopefully not) the Farce

Submitted by Malatesta Black on Jun 20 2017 12:12

The labour movement has been unable to de-link itself from its archenemy: capital. As its structures bureaucratise, as its leaders become career unionists, as it opens investment companies and pays staff increasingly inequitable salaries, it increasingly mirrors the very thing it is fighting. If the South African Federation of Trade Unions is to meet its promise, it must be fundamentally different from the organisation it was born out of.

The Monopoly board of the city: Grenfell Tower - where was the HCA, government housing regulator??

Submitted by Red Marriott on Jun 19 2017 16:23
Person trapped in Grenfell Tower

The Homes & Community Agency(HCA) is the UK state regulatory body for social housing; its job is to monitor the performance, finances and provision of services of landlords. Missing from the media coverage of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster so far is any discussion of what relation the HCA has to this horror story of corporate murder. Given the years of complaints from Grenfell tenants(1) about their landlord the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation(KCTMO)(2), we can reasonably ask why the HCA never stepped in to investigate the terrible tenant-landlord relationship and the many fire safety complaints tenants had flagged up repeatedly before the fire broke out.

Sisters Uncut Occupy London’s Holloway Prison

Submitted by RSBenedict on Jun 15 2017 15:16
Image credit @sistersuncut, flares on the roof of Holloway Prison

Sisters Uncut, a UK-based feminist group, held a week-long occupation of north London’s Holloway Prison in late May in response to conservative austerity policies that have had a damaging effect on social services for victims of domestic violence.

Smothered by regeneration: the Grenfell Tower fire

Submitted by libcom on Jun 14 2017 10:48
Grenfell Tower fire

Tenants at Grenfell Tower repeatedly warned the council and its management organisation about fire safety risks before a deadly blaze engulfed the 24-storey residential tower block.