PREDICTABLE AND OTHERWISE PART 2
RECENT  REBELLIONS:
     Once more it has been an extended time since I posted here. All this time I have been quite (excessively ?) active on Facebook, Almost always reposting the stories of others. If this blog continues to exist it has to have some purpose. I think that its purpose is to be a sounding board for my own personal opinions. Too bad that it can no longer be a collection of links to other anarchist sites. All my links got dumped into the aether when I foolishly signed up for the 'new look' Blogger. Live and learn I guess, though I greatly miss all the hours I put into that list.

     All that being said I have delayed the second part of this article far too long. This has been not only because of a lack of time. In setting my beliefs out I have found that I have changed my opinion in the many years since I first formulated it. I am still of the opinion that managerial societies have been and will be racked by periodic crises and that the triggers for such crises are something beyond simple economics. What I now doubt is that idea that they can be predicted in terms of timing. The problem comes with the variable nature of such crises. When the duration of a crisis varies, and it is hard to set a reference point in terms of beginning, middle and end it is pure hubris to imagine that one can calculate a predictable timeline.

      I's still like to return to thius subject, but other matters call for attention. See you soon.

A MOLLY POINT OF VIEW:
PREDICTABLE AND OTHERWISE PART 1:



      For many years I have held a rather heretical (in the usual lefty point of view) opinion. I personally believe that we are living in a post capitalist society that is better described as "managerial" rather than "capitalist". This is, of course, a moot point, and I recognize that no society is purely dependent on only one mode of production and exchange. The inclusion of exchange is important to differentiate my point of view from merely another 'historical materialist' point of view, one that is solely focused on prouction and neglects to one degree or another the world of consumption.

     I'll leave the justification of this opinion for another time.What is important here is just like an idealized "capitalist" society has its periodic crises somehow connected to "overproduction" so does managerial society has its own cycles.of crisis. The business cycle, of course, never followed the rule book laid out by Marx in Capital  . When Marx wrote his magnum opus in the most free trade society  in the world at the time of its maximum free trade existence ie its closest approach to an ideal "capitalism" it was at least seeminly possible that history would follow the schemata that Marx laid out.

     There was, however, a fly in the soup.History didn't march to a Marxist drumbeat. This was amptly demonstartrated by Eduard Bernstein in the early years of the 20th century ( see Evolutionary Socialism ). The proletariat was not forced into increasing poverty. So-call "intermediate strata' did not disappear and instead multiplied. The force of monopoly went so far and then settled into a dynamic balanceas new economic opportunities opened up. The Leninist incantations of ìmperialism`failed to explain the fact that the workers found  that they could improve their position by both trade union and political ways.The marxist left was left with a theory of price that always failed to either predict or explain the cost that a commodity fetched on the market (free, semi-free or stateized).

      In the end there was a business cycle that was more of less controlled (abolished ? ) by state management- both the authoritarian communist and the Keynesian methods. What was left was a society that continued to have periodic crises. Only some of these were classically economic. Others were very much social/political as various underclasses would rebel against their managerial overlords. Of course the eruptions of such rebellion was not wholly predictable, but I seemed to have found a least a crude periodicity of such rebellions in both the so-called capitalist world and in the state socialist world as well. The period was anywhere from 7 to 10 years, and it would often be demonstarted in the state socialist societies not as open rebellion but rather as economic crises, presumably due to somewhat "passive rebellion" on the part of workers and consumers.

      Thyere was also the fact that no economic system in history has been pure. The state socialist societies existed only because of an underground capitalist black market that made said societies livable. Feudalism contained elements of both capitalism (the merchants) and managerial rule (many of the monastic orders). Our present society wavers between a managerial system and a capitalist one with the caveat that the decision to adapt prouction and consumption to the rules of the market lies with managers, especially those of the state, the managerial class par excellance.

      Next time: Recent rebellions.

AGRICULTURE:
BREAKING THE ANTIBIOTIC ADDICTION:
 For many  years it has been a common practice to add antibiotics to food animal rations (poultry, pigs and to a lesser extent cattle). The rationale is that said antibiotics, even if they are in too low a concentration to actually treat any disease, act as growth promoters leading to btter and faster slaughter weights. The mechanism whereby they do this is unclear. It may be by suppressing the growth of pathogenic bacteria, by treating subclinical infections or by promoting the growth of mutualistic bacteria.
    
     No matter what the mechanism there is a downside to this common practice ie the promotion of bacteria that are resistant to not just common antibiotics but also to such "last choice" therapeutics as vancomycin or methicillin.This is because these antibiotics are similar to those used as "growth promoters" in animal feed. The sub-optimal concentrations of such additives is almost gauranteed to promote antibiotic resistant bacteria.This connection has been amply demonstrated in the scientific literature of the last decade.

      The demonstration of the promotion of resistant bacteria is now a matter of major concern in public health. This means that various jurisdictions are trying to curb this use (misuse ?) of antibiotics or to ban it entirely. The Swedish example of a total ban is instructive. While there was an initial drop in productivity during the 1986 ban on growth promotant antibiotics the deficit in production was soon made up as farmers paid attention to other facters of production such as hygiene, reduction of stress and other management practices such as "all in all out". The present opinion is that antibiotics have no benefit as growth promoters if of producion are optimized. This has been the experience of Sweden.

      The latest country that has opted for a total ban is Denmark, and an editorial (page 440) and article (pages465-466) describe how another country, Denmark, is in the process of such a ban. The articles describe how the ban was faciliated in that Danish farmers are almost all members of the Danish Agriculture and Food Council. I do not wish to oveemphasize the role of this body, but it undoubtedly a major factor in the elimination of food additive antibiotics in Denmark.

    The actual article in  Nature (June 2012, Vol 486,pp 465-466) tells how the ban was implimented, and gives proof of the harm done by sub-therapeutic antibiotics, and it also describes how the argument from production is false . If a person is farming as they should, with proper feed, housing, disease treatment and nutrition   then antibiotics add NOTHING to production. In other words if you are a good farmer antibiotics will add nothing to your operation.Do I have to say it again ?                                                                                                      

PERSONAL:
DRIVING AROUND WINNIPEG:
      It's a quick trip from the Slav Rebchuk bridge and the missing "People Before Profit" sign to Selkirk Avenue, the main drag of Canada's second poorest neighbourhood. That's Winnipeg for you. This burg can't even be the winner in a competition for bad.
     Anyways  it's an east turn down Selkirk to Main Street, and the first block shows where the 'People Before Profit' sign may have gone. Yup it's up in BIG LETTERS on the local headquarters of the goddamn Communist Party. Now the commies have been many things in their regretable history, and "thief" is one of the minor insults that could be thrown their way. But there it is in big red letters for all to see.This slogan has also been present for years (decades ?), but it only becomes apparent when the entering North End sign disappears.
     I don't know whether to congratulate or laugh at the commies plunking their head office down in thne middle of a decidedly non-proletarian neighbourhood. To say that it has been useless in signing up the lumpen proletariat would be understating the case.Most cemetaries do a far more lively business than these souls nostalgic for the days of Moscow gold. I do a lot of driving back and forth in this city, and the only sign of life that I have ever seen at Commie HQ is that once they cut the grass/weeds in their yard.Never in hundreds of passes have I seen a person enter, leave or merely hang around this particular mausoleum to an idea past its best before date.
      Not that I am at all displeased by this. As the subtitle of this series of vignettes says, "may they never rise from the dead". A resurgence of sympathy for organizations involved in the cover-up of the greatest atrocities in history would be the death certificate of any radical opposition.
     But then we sail past this monument to an unlamented past, and head out to "Pharmacy Row" on Main Street. Makes you wonder why a neighbourhood with the highest concentration of addicts in the city also has the highest concentration of drug stores.Heading north now, and we leave the dreaded North End behind.

ENVIRONMENT:

A TASTE OF SHELL GAMES TO COME IN THE ARTIC:

 

Shell Loses Control Of Arctic Drilling Rig In Alaskan Harbor

By Climate Guest Blogger on Jul 16, 2012 at 12:23 pm

Photo: Teresa Derrick-Laxfoss

by Kiley Kroh
Royal Dutch Shell’s preparedness to drill offshore in the harsh and remote Arctic Ocean this summer has been called into question by a series of recent events.
Over the weekend, the company’s drilling rig, the Noble Discoverer, appears to have come dangerously close to running aground near Dutch Harbor, where Shell’s fleet has been assembled. The Noble Discoverer is one of two dozen ships Shell plans to send into some of the most challenging conditions on the planet. According to the US Coast Guard, the vessel slipped anchor and drifted within 100 yards off shore before being pulled back into deeper water by a Shell tugboat.
The Los Angeles Times reports:

The vessel‘s anchor failed to hold and the 514-foot ship began drifting, but its movement was halted when tug boats were called in to assist, Coast Guard spokeswoman Sara Francis told the Los Angeles Times.
“We don’t know exactly what happened yet. We do know that the vessel’s anchor didn’t hold, they began to drift, they let out more anchor chain to slow that drift and called for immediate tug assistance,” Francis said.

Although Shell and the Coast Guard asserted there was no evidence of grounding, onlookers — including longshoreman David Howard and Dutch Harbor captain Kristjan Laxfoss — contradicted this account, saying the vessel was not moving and appeared grounded: “There’s no question it hit the beach. That ship was not coming any closer. It was on the beach.”
Petty Officer Sarah Francis said winds of 27-35 miles per hour likely led to the ship drifting — conditions that are benign compared with the hurricane-force gales, 20-foot swells, and dynamic sea ice the Discoverer could encounter off the North Slope where the company plans to drill offshore.
Pete Slaiby, vice president of Shell Oil in Alaska, noted both the Discoverer and Kulluk drilling ships will be secured by an 8-point anchor system when operating in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.
The incident immediately follows the Coast Guard’s refusal to certify Shell’s oil spill response barge, the Arctic Challenger, because of concerns about the fire protection system, wiring, and piping on the 37 year-old vessel. The Coast Guard also expressed doubts about the barge’s ability to withstand harsh Arctic storms. The containment barge is essential to the fleet as it is designed to deliver oil spill response equipment to the five drilling sites. Without it, Shell would not have access to the equipment necessary to contain an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean.
In addition to the extreme and unpredictable weather, there is an alarming dearth of infrastructure necessary to mount a large-scale response effort off the North Slope. As detailed in the Center for American Progress report, Putting a Freeze on Arctic Ocean Drilling: America’s Inability to Respond to an Oil Spill in the Arctic, the area lacks roads, railroads, a permanent Coast Guard facility, a major port, or sufficient infrastructure to house and feed a large influx of people. As a result, Shell has said that its oil spill response efforts will be largely self-contained. The fact that the company is experiencing problems with this equipment before even reaching the drill sites raises serious concerns about their contingency plan.
Shell’s flotilla will continue to wait in Dutch Harbor – 1,000 miles south of the proposed drilling sites; the closest major port to the North Slope – while unexpectedly heavy sea ice prevents them from making the voyage to the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.
Slaiby, Shell’s VP in Alaska, recently told CNN that the company’s proposed exploration in the Arctic will be the “most complex, most difficult wells we’ve drilled in company history.”
Kiley Kroh is the Associate Director of Ocean Communications at the Center for American Progress.

CANADIAN LABOUR:

WILDCAT STRIKERS DEFY UNION AND COMPANY IN NEWFOUNDLAND:

 

Up to 1,000 workers have gathered near the road to Vale's Long Harbour construction site in eastern Newfoundland this morning, as a wildcat labour dispute enters day five.
Some employees have turned around, and many have joined in the protest, but there has also been a steady flow of traffic past pickets to the site.
There was a rally-like atmosphere along the sides of the road to Long Harbour on Monday morning. Speakers addressed the crowd, composed mainly of workers who decided not to report to work on the site.
Electrician Kevin Slaney addresses workers gathered near the road to Long Harbour on Monday morning. (Adam Walsh/CBC)Portable toilets were erected at the location. Microphones have been set up for speakers to address the crowd. Some picketers were playing the guitar.
The Long Harbour site generally has up to 2,000 employees a day working on it.
According to the security guard at the gate, some people are working, but there is no count available as of yet.
The illegal strike was triggered by about 100 crane operators last Thursday. Those now gathered near the Long Harbour road represent a number of unions.
Vale was granted a court injunction last week preventing workers from blocking the road to the site.
On Sunday, the umbrella organization representing all 16 trade unions at the Vale site urged wildcat strikers go back to work.
Gus Doyle, president of the Resource Development Trades Council, said the unions do not support the illegal strike.
"We have a collective agreement in place — they want the collective agreement to be opened up and changed, and that's not in the cards,” Doyle said Sunday.
Long Harbour"I’ll just use my own kids as an example," he said. "I mean, a child will ask you something and they have an answer in mind, and if you don't give it to them, then you're wrong, and that's the case here today."
Doyle insisted that Long Harbour would be open for business Monday.
But workers have continued to express dissatisfaction with the company and their union representation.
In an address to workers near the site Monday morning, electrician Kevin Slaney called for Doyle to resign.
Workers are upset with wages and how the company is interpreting the collective agreement on issues such as travel and living allowances.

Province looking at options

Meanwhile, Labour Minister Terry French says he's very disappointed that many workers at the Vale construction site in Long Harbour continue to stay off the job.
French says he cannot pick sides, but he's asked the the provincial justice department to review what action the government could take.
The construction site is covered by a special work order, and under that legislation, strikes or lockouts are prohibited.

The $3.6-billion Long Harbour plant will process nickel concentrate extracted from the Voisey’s Bay mine in Labrador. It's scheduled to open in 2013.

ANARCHIST LITERATURE:
NEW BOOK FROM ARTHUR J. MILLER:
Good old A.J.. Here's a collection of his working class writings in book form. Always relevant over the decades. Here's the plug...

FW Arthur J. Millerhas a new book entitled 'Upon The Backs Of Labour';essays from a working class writer that help organize, agitate and emancipate our Fellow Workers.

     Copies available through Tacoma IWW for $15.00 USD plus &1.50 for shipping for a total of $16.50 (What about Canada ?-Molly)Please send cheques or money orders to Tacoma IWW c/o McNair, 3702 Hund St. NW #17, Gig Harbor, WA  9835-8202.

     The Tacoma  GMB is beginning an effort atn publishing IWW books, pamphlets, leaflets and blasts for sale to help build a working people's library and research center in the Pacific Northwest. We have available original Wobbly FWs McLean and Gilbert Mews, a Wobbvly writer from a few dfecades ago.

Help us get our library launched so that workers can read about our struggle.

DRIVING AROUND WINNIPEG:
PERCEPTUAL EXPECTANCY
      As you drove over the Slaw Rebchuk bridge from downtown Winnipeg to the North End you were greeted for years by the "Welcome To The North End: People Before Profit" sign on the roof of the Nippon Auto building at the north foot of the bridge. For years this somewhat incongrous sign on the roof of an auto body shop (whose owners must certainly be quite concerned about profit) set the tone for the neighbourhood where so much of Winnipeg's radical history came to pass. Nobody seemed to know how long it had been there. In my own memory for many years.

     Nobody knows how it came to be placed on the roof, though last November when the "People Before Profit" part was eliminated the owners of Nippon Motors claimed that this tag-on had been painted by vandals. On a dark and non-stormy night I presume. The official explanation was that the slogan was removed in the process of re-roofing the business.Some how I don't think so, but the intent was plain whether done by itself or in the process of putting on a new roof. Gotta bump that anti-capitalist slogan after all, though I would be utterly amazed to hear that the literary gem on the rooftop lost Nippon Motors a single cent of business.

      Here we are however. The slogan disappears in November. Through the next few hundred times I drive north over the bridge I fail to notice anything amiss. In other words my brain was registering the whole two phrases while only one was still on the roof. This is an amazingly persistant illusion.

     Finally one day in February my fact checker must have been on as I headed up into the North End. "What The Hell ?". The "People Before Profit" part is missing. Where the hell did it go ? Having done roofing in my youth I was fairly certain few people would be insane enough to be up on a roof in Winnipeg in February. Which leaves me with the question of when exactly was the "ideological rectification" done.

     All that being said, however, the case of Nippon Motors' roof came up again when a few weeks ago Winnipeg Free Press columnist Colleen Simard wrote a piece implying that the offending phrase was still up. This really threw me into a tailspin. Had it really been put back up? Nope. The 'socialist-speak' was as absent as ever. For all I know Simard still is seeing the illusionary "People Before Profit" every time she heads north on Salter. Just like I did for months.

     What this is called is "visual expectancy". This functions as both addition and subtraction. Details that are no longer present i a situation, image, etc. have their blanks filled in by a brain attuned to the "grand picture". This is addition. The most famous instance of subtraction is the inability of many subjects in one experiment to see a gorilla in the background of images whose foreground is a major item of interest.

     Fill it in or erase it. The brain can do both. Both abilities for illusion actually have survival value, and it is little wonder that they have been selected for over millions of years of evolution. I wonder if other animals have the same capacity for illusion. I also wonder if there are any people or anyone in an "altered state" who has to suffer the full impact of being unable to filter out the irrelevant and add the missing details. If there are I feel sorry for them.



PERSONAL:
MOLLY'S BACK !!

Well, it's been a long drought here in Mollyland, but I'd like to announce my return the world of blogger. I'm still active in reporting up to date news over at my Facebook account, but it's about time I added a little more personal comment. This blog will be the outlet for same. Let's see what develops.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT:
THE VICTORIA ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR:
     Fall rolls around once more, and, as the leaves are turning colour the colourful Victoria Anarchist Bookfair will be blowing into town out there on the west coast. Here's the details:

Victoria Anarchist Bookfair Call for Participation ***** 1. Victoria Anarchist Bookfair Dates & Contacts September 8th and 9th, 2012 Fernwood NRG Community Hall 1240 Gladstone Ave, Victoria, BC, Lekwungen Territory We are pleased to announce the seventh annual Victoria Anarchist Bookfair, located on unceded Lekwungen Territory in Victoria, British Columbia. The Bookfair is for anarchists and non-anarchists, with participants from all over North America and beyond. The Bookfair always includes workshops on a wide range of topics. We seek to challenge colonial attitudes, introduce anarchism to the public, foster dialogue between various political traditions, and create radical, inclusive, anti-oppressive spaces. Participants with different visions, practices, and traditions are welcome. Events include book and information tables, workshops, readings, films, presentations, and much more! We are particularly seeking workshops that engage with our theme of anti-colonialism and the mobilization to stop proposed pipeline projects in B.C.. This can include presentations on radical theory, Indigeneity, historical issues, participatory demonstrations, panel talks, facilitated discussions, and everything in between—if you have an idea for a workshop, we want to hear about it! We’re also keen on workshops that address, challenge, and connect gender, sexuality, ‘race’, colonialism, ability, capitalism, environmental destruction, workers’ struggles, and other issues affecting our communities. Please consult our Statement of Principles before sending your proposal. It can be found on our website: http://victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This year's deadline is July 15th, 2012. We are proud to have received Monday Magazine's 'M Award' for Victoria's best literary event in 2009. ****************************** Contacts: TABLES: tables@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it WORKSHOPS: workshops@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it FESTIVAL: festival@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it VOLUNTEER: volunteer@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it GENERAL INQUIRIES: info@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 2. How to Request a Table for Sept 8 & 9 The heart of the Bookfair is the main room including booksellers, distributors, independent presses and activist groups from all over BC, North America, and abroad. If you’d like to table this year, please provide a short description of your group and the materials you intend to distribute at the Bookfair. There is no fee for tabling at the Bookfair, but we will be requesting 10% of sales after expenses in order to help us cover costs. The deadline to request a table is July 15, 2012 (we cannot guarantee inclusion on the poster or in our program-zine for late submissions). EMAIL: tables@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 3. Workshop & Presentation Proposals: for Sept 8 & 9 The Bookfair organizing collective is currently seeking workshop and presentation proposals. As stated above this Bookfair we are looking to convene in order to challenge the ongoing colonization of our communities and our minds. We are looking for workshops that discuss Indigenous perspectives, de-colonialisation, social struggles, and environmental issues. We also aim to foster a growing movement in resistance to colonialism through the sharing of practical skills. Together we can acknowledge our past and move forward with meaningful solidarity. Workshops may be aimed at people who are curious about, or new to, anarchist ideas and radical practices; alternatively they might address a topic in depth for people who are already familiar with the subject. Standard Bookfair workshops last for 50 minutes with a 10-minute break in between. While we are open to a variety of workshop formats, we recommend that facilitators leave at least 20 minutes for discussion at the end of their presentations. Each year we get a lot of submissions, but if we don’t have space at the Bookfair, we still want to help make your workshop happen! Please provide a title and short description of the workshop's content in your submission. If your workshop is accepted, this information will be reprinted in the program zine. NOTE: The deadline for all workshop and presentation proposals is July 15, 2012 (after that date we cannot guarantee a timeslot at the Bookfair or inclusion in our program-zine for late submissions). EMAIL: workshops@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 4. Festival of Anarchy Events: Sept 1– 7 (various locations TBA) In addition to the Bookfair, a "Festival of Anarchy" will take place during the preceding week with diverse anarchist-themed events occurring at different venues in Victoria. You can propose any type of event or activity: the only limit is your imagination. Also this year the Urban Interventionists are looking to coordinate artists to intervene in spaces around the city. Installations, flash mobs, bike races, dance parties, punk shows under bridges, guerilla art, graffiti, performances… and beyond. Festival of Anarchy events as well as the Urban Interventionists are organized autonomously from the Bookfair and, as such, venues are the responsibility of Event Organizers—that’s you! The Bookfair Collective acts as a hub to promote and coordinate these events. We’re committed to helping promote autonomous festival events to the best of our ability through the program zine and the website. If you’re interested in having us promote your event, please provide a title and short description of your program by July 15, 2012 so that we can include it in our zine and on our website. We strongly recommend Festival Events are NOT scheduled during the Bookfair's operating hours. In general, contacting the Bookfair Collective about scheduling dates before our proposal deadline is a useful way to ensure the least number of event conflicts. EMAIL: festival@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 5. Volunteers We need your help! The Victoria Anarchist Bookfair & Festival of Anarchy Collectives are always looking for new people to assist behind the scenes. We’re looking for help in all kinds of areas such as postering, welcoming & information tabling, room set-up, kids activities, counselling and safe-space support, cleanup and more. The Bookfair is entirely volunteer-run and helping out is a great way to get involved and meet new people. If you’re interested, please read the volunteer descriptions, our collective principles and accessibility statements on our website, and let us know how you’d like to help out! EMAIL: volunteer@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 6. Listserve Subscription Options We do not send very many messages for most of the year, except as the bookfair dates draw near, so if you want to hear about what’s coming up, subscribe to our listserve by sending a message to vicanarcbookfair -subscribe@lists.riseup.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 150 Years of Colonialism: 150 Years of Resista

EMAIL: tables@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 3. Workshop & Presentation Proposals: for Sept 8 & 9 The Bookfair organizing collective is currently seeking workshop and presentation proposals. As stated above this Bookfair we are looking to convene in order to challenge the ongoing colonization of our communities and our minds. We are looking for workshops that discuss Indigenous perspectives, de-colonialisation, social struggles, and environmental issues. We also aim to foster a growing movement in resistance to colonialism through the sharing of practical skills. Together we can acknowledge our past and move forward with meaningful solidarity. Workshops may be aimed at people who are curious about, or new to, anarchist ideas and radical practices; alternatively they might address a topic in depth for people who are already familiar with the subject. Standard Bookfair workshops last for 50 minutes with a 10-minute break in between. While we are open to a variety of workshop formats, we recommend that facilitators leave at least 20 minutes for discussion at the end of their presentations. Each year we get a lot of submissions, but if we don’t have space at the Bookfair, we still want to help make your workshop happen! Please provide a title and short description of the workshop's content in your submission. If your workshop is accepted, this information will be reprinted in the program zine. NOTE: The deadline for all workshop and presentation proposals is July 15, 2012 (after that date we cannot guarantee a timeslot at the Bookfair or inclusion in our program-zine for late submissions). EMAIL: workshops@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 4. Festival of Anarchy Events: Sept 1– 7 (various locations TBA) In addition to the Bookfair, a "Festival of Anarchy" will take place during the preceding week with diverse anarchist-themed events occurring at different venues in Victoria. You can propose any type of event or activity: the only limit is your imagination. Also this year the Urban Interventionists are looking to coordinate artists to intervene in spaces around the city. Installations, flash mobs, bike races, dance parties, punk shows under bridges, guerilla art, graffiti, performances… and beyond. Festival of Anarchy events as well as the Urban Interventionists are organized autonomously from the Bookfair and, as such, venues are the responsibility of Event Organizers—that’s you! The Bookfair Collective acts as a hub to promote and coordinate these events. We’re committed to helping promote autonomous festival events to the best of our ability through the program zine and the website. If you’re interested in having us promote your event, please provide a title and short description of your program by July 15, 2012 so that we can include it in our zine and on our website. We strongly recommend Festival Events are NOT scheduled during the Bookfair's operating hours. In general, contacting the Bookfair Collective about scheduling dates before our proposal deadline is a useful way to ensure the least number of event conflicts. EMAIL: festival@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 5. Volunteers We need your help! The Victoria Anarchist Bookfair & Festival of Anarchy Collectives are always looking for new people to assist behind the scenes. We’re looking for help in all kinds of areas such as postering, welcoming & information tabling, room set-up, kids activities, counselling and safe-space support, cleanup and more. The Bookfair is entirely volunteer-run and helping out is a great way to get involved and meet new people. If you’re interested, please read the volunteer descriptions, our collective principles and accessibility statements on our website, and let us know how you’d like to help out! EMAIL: volunteer@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 6. Listserve Subscription Options We do not send very many messages for most of the year, except as the bookfair dates draw near, so if you want to hear about what’s coming up, subscribe to our listserve by sending a message to vicanarcbookfair -subscribe@lists.riseup.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

DRIVIN' AROUND WINNIPEG:
I HOPE THEY NEVER COME BACK TO LIFE PART TWO:
     It's over the Slaw Rebchuk bridge travelling north I go, a bridge named after a socialist by a government that is the furthest from such views as may be possible. Come over Slaw Rebchuk travelling north, and the first thing you see (more or less) is the roof of Nepon Motors. The roof proclaiming "Welcome To The North End".Nice and welcoming I may say, but since last Fall the roof has been missing its decades' long coda: "People Before Profit". The Winnipeg Free Press has conducted a poll, and 60% of respondants want the coda restored. The response of the management of Nepon Motors has been rather confused. On the one hand they claim that the decades long. "People Before Profit" sign on their roof was the work of "vandals" On the second hand they promise to restore in after driving this route for over 25 years all that I can say is that, if it would be vandalism, that it took more than a quarter century to recognize it as such. Sounds like new (idiotic) management to me, abandoning a great customer draw May the results be on the bosses'  heads..

DRIVIN' ROUND WINNIPEG:
I HOPE THEY NEVER COME BACK TO LIFE:
      A lot of my work days are consumed with driving across Winnipeg. After 28 years of doing this job I think that I know more about the City than the average cab driver. Interesting stuff some times. Today I had another attempted car jacking when a perp attempted to open the passenger side door. Locked, ha ha ! Perp travels to the drivers side and tries to beg money. The perp responded to the proper English of  "NO, go the fuck away" without any graphic details about how I would carve up their intestines. Bye bye. OK, I was sitting in a convenience store parking lot at Arlington and Selkirk reading the local newspaper trash, the Winnipeg Sun, and eating junk food---almost an invitation to street demons. Still I got to admire the common sense of the demon. Quite unlike one demon who attempted to open the driver's door when I was parked at Notre Dame and Arlington many years ago. Once againb the door was locked, but it DID open as I slammed the fucker as hard as I could with the door. OUCH !!!Which all goes to show- exercise caution no matter what you are doing.

CANADIAN LABOUR:
RIO TINTO OFF THE PODIUM:
     Over in London England the international mining company Rio Tinto has been awarded the position of  the metals necessary to make the award medals. Yet back here in Canada workers at Rio Tinto's aluminum smelter in Alma Québec have been locked out for months. Rio Tinto wants to replace union members with unorganized temporary workers who are to be paid 50% less and will have no pension. The 780 locked out workers have been on the picket line for far too long.

     The United Steel Workers Canada and the labour solidarity site Labour Start have initiated a compaign to demand that the International Olympic Committee drop Rio Tinto as being incompatible with Olympic ideals. The IOC will be meeting in Canada next week. Please go to this link to sign the petition to the IOC.                                                                                                      

ANARCHIST THEORY:
BUT WILL THE TRAINS RUN ON TIME ?

 The short answer is "yes". In fact, given the lower "neighbourhood costs" of rail versus road traffic they will run even more frequently.This article is the first of what I hope will be a series on how things might be organized in an anarchist society. What follows is not some sort of program that is closed to change and learning from experience. It is merely musing and a demonstration that things can be organized quite diffrently than they way that they are.

     To begin with...what is a railroad.? It is an enterprise with fixed capital consisting of lines, rolling stock and facilities. It is also, however, a social enterprise wherein people cooperate in the doing of useful work. In other words it is a social system. Today it is assumed that a seperate caste of "managers" is necessaryfor the smooth functioning of this network. The idea that centralized control is "necessary" runs up against the reality that there are many different rail companies, all of which have agreed without central direction to use the lines cooperatively in many cases.

     Such cooperation is a mere shadow of the .cooperation that would be required to run the rails in a lbertarian fashion. It does, howevev show that such a thing is possible.In actual fact the role of management is quite minimal in the day to day operation of a railroad. To a large extent they are merely the "harassment team" whose goal is supposedly the direction of a system that basically runs itself by routine.

     All that is quite fine you may say, but what sort of structure could substitute for what little use management actually has ? Delving back in anarchist history we submit the union structure of the Spanish CNT as proof, a strucure that during the first years of the Spanish Civil War actually worked and, in fact increased production and efficiency in many enterprises.The CNT had a basic dual unionism.  On the one hand it favoured "industrial unions" that would represent all of the workers in a certain workplace and, beyond that, in the whole of an industry. This was balanced by the "geographic union" of all workers in a given community. This structure was not only useful for the day to day fight against the bosses. It also was capable of running production on its own in the abscence of  said bosses.

     What would a modern equivalent look like ? Well one thing is for sure. It would involve a lot of bargaining. The difference between this self management and the present managerial system would be that workers organized in a libertarian fashion would have every incentive to improve the overall functioning of the enterprise, as opposed to the present adversarial system of workers versus management. There would remain only the "personal" conflicts present in all human groups. There would not  be a zero sum game as it is today where the gain of one is the automatic loss of the other.

      What would be the best way to organize so that the libertarian way ends up better than our own class based system ?  Some might say that the traditional industrial/geograpic organization of the CNT is totally sufficient. Here in North America the most popular concept is the traditional IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) model whereby industrial unionism is sufficient in itself. Personaslly I favour a triad of organization: industrial/craft and geographic. I think that the geographic locals are the best body to make final decisions about such things as investment, compensation, etc. and to negotiate with other organizations in a libertarian society.

     I see the need for craft organization in order to identify specific "small" problems. The safety of a system is very much dpendant on the individual identification of problems by certain occupations. Improvements to a system are likewise most likely first noticed and put forward by the "specialists" in a given activity. Once a problem is identified it would first be presented to either the trade association or to the geographical union. Unless the problem was one that is necessarily wide in geographic scale there would hardly be any need to involve the larger industrial union at this point. The industrial union would, however, be able to consult to see if the problem was widespread, and it would make suggestions to other geographic or trade unions based on the one union's presentation.


      The industrial union, along with the parallel geographic general assembly of workers on the railroad would have to be involved if the correction of a situation required resources that would be held by either the local assembly or the industrial union. Sometimes the resources needed would be beyond those of either the local assembly(s) or even the industrial union. In this case it would require the assistance of larger federations of local citizens' groups. Depending upon the size of such organis of local democracy there would be either informal ties with cross membership of the workers and the citizens' assembly or more formal cross representation. This, of course, would also depend upon the occupational strucure of the organs of neighbourhood self management.


     In any case there would have to be bargaining involved amongst the various groups as to the best way to use available resources. This would be utterly different from the present labour/management bargaining for the simple reason that it would not be a zero sum game. There would be not be a situation where the gain of one was the loss of the other. This bargaining would be carried on amongst people looking for a cooperative solution that would benefit all. Not that there wouldn't be disagreements. Far from it. Neither would there cease to be self interest and the conflicts that arise from such. It is quite likely that people in one town would feel that resources should be used in completely different ways.


     That's all well and fine you may say, but how would the railway workers "earn a living" ? Vewry pointed question ! The traditional anarchocommunist view is that "social solidarity" would be strong enough in a stateless society so that one could depend on the "good will" (enforced by social pressure such a shaming) of members of society to volunteer their work in exchange for free access to community goods. Whjatever they may be...food, housing, recreation, health services, etc..


      Myself I am a little more doubtful. Maybe the anarchocommunist vision is viable, but I for one worry that there will be too many "freeloaders" in the abscence of punishment. Dependence on "social shaming" for such punishment would assume a rather particularist community to a degree that I would find unacceptable.Not that anarchism doesn't involve a recreation of community, but should such community be inward looking and omnipotent ? I personally don't think so. This tension between community and individual initiative has been simulataneously discussed and ignored in the anarchist tradition (depending on who you read). It is the central point in Ursula LeGuin's. 'The Dispossed'.


      On the other hands there are those such as the American individualists/mutualists/left libertarians who believe that all (or the vast majority) of economic transactions should be governed by a "free market". I will not go deeply into their beliefs here except to note that they run up against multiple examples of "natural monopoly" such as the railroads discussed in this post.


     Personally I am wary of "absolute solutions". In the world of the ecomomy I think it is best to hold to a pluralism of systems or, putting it another way, a "mixed economy". In an anarchist society all of the present "socialized" ie free and "communistic" services and goods would remain free. In addition I think that other matters available only in the market economy should also become free ie "communistic". There is, however, a big gap between saying that the essentials of life should be free and available to all and saying that each person can take what he wants from common stores. Everybody should have shelter and beyond "shelter" a home.  Yet the demand for mansions cannot be accomodated by any foreseeable society. This is even including the general realization that they are an infinite amount of work in the abscence of paid labour.


      Similarily everyone in a society should have the right to season appropriate footware. This doesn't mean, however, that each and any demand for unique shoes such as green elf slippers with bells or the felt lined winter version of same should be a matter of "ask and get". Personally I think there should be a subsidiary market economy where such "luxuries" could be purchased in units of whatever "alternate currency" that might replace the present currency of states.Who knows what these alternative curriencies might be ? They may be "labour certificates" issued by the syndicates. They might be "local currency" of the community. They might be credit union backed transferable  (from place to place and industry to industry) funds. The important thing is that they would not be open for monetary speculation.


     So back to the railways and their everyday operation in the abscence of management. The first thing to note is that the railway workers would have equal access to any and all free services provided by the local community. Doubtless, however, this would not satisfy the railway workers' sense of justice. However they might like to pay themselves (equally, by family size, by difficulty of job, by seniority and so on) should be their choice alone. I'd suggest that a credit union of each railway centre organizeed in a federation of credit unions would be the best way for railway workers to approach negotiations with the wider community about the worth of their labour and the subsequent compensation. I can see the credit unions engaging in almost endless negotiations to not only determine what "luxuries" railway workers are entitles to locally but also how to make such credits transferable from locality to locality. Movement and vacations should, after all, continue to exist.

      Summing up it can be seen that a viable anarchist society at least in the case of this one public aminity is the furthest thing from the "chaos" that anarchism is often described as, and which is too often imitated and praised by fringe elements in anarchism. An anarchist society is actually a far more organized society than they we "enjoy" now. Yes, it would require more time devoted to decision making than is presently the case for most (all ?) workers, but one might hope that this would be balanced by a decrease in "busy work" mandated by management and compensated by the feeling of "real power"  and meaning of advancing ones' own interest under self management.


      God knows there is more than enough of specifics I have left out of this post. I am not wedded to the exact schemata presented here. The wisdom of crowds after all.... No doubt an anarchist society would be different in many points than what I have sketched above. I would hope that others might find organizational forms that were more democratic, more efficient and more productive of humam liberty.My whole pont, however, is that "YES" the trains will run on time under anarchism. The way  they will be organized will be far different from today, but each change will be an improvement on the present situation.













 

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR/ANARCHOSYNDICALISM:

LATEST SPANISH GENERAL STRIKE A HUGE SUCCESS:

March 29th saw a one day general strike in Spain that eclipsed previous general strikes in magnitude if one is to judge by the drop in energy consumption, often the best way of estimating the impact of general strikes on the economy as a whole. According to this measure this strike was much more popular than that of September 2010 being actually the largest in 30 years in Spain. There are actually quite important differences between this event and previous strike protests in Spain. Not only was this the largest demonstration of working class resistance to state plans in Spain. It was also set against a background of conservative governments in both Spain and the Catalan region.

Even more importantly this strike was not a project of the so-called "majority unions", the UGT and the CCOO. As far as I can determine the date of this strike was more or less set originally by the "nationalist" unions in Euskadi and Galicia. This timing was then agreed to by the CGT and then by the other libertarian unions (the CNT-FAI, CNT-Catalunya, Solidaridad Obrero). The UGT and CCOO were late comers to the endorsement. It happened only after they could gain nothing by their preferred method of bureaucratic negotiation.Then they "signed on" at the last moment. This had its effect. Not only were the so-called majority unions very much a minority vis-a-vis the local unions in Galicia and Euskadi. In several places in Catalonia the gatherings of the UGT/CCOO were less numerous than that of the libertarian unions (who allied themselves to a rainbow of community groups).

No doubt looking at the country overall the UGT/CCOO "mafia" are still the most popular unions in Spain, and their turnout was higher overall than that of their libertarian and nationalist competitors. Still, the very fact that they have lost the initiative and have to play catch-up is significant. In previous general strikes the libertarian unions tailed the UGT and CCOO.

What does this mean ? When I look at this from over here in Canada where anarchists in unions are a tiny minority it is easy to be sceptical. I think the fact that the socialist (UGT) and so-called "reformed" communist (CCOO) unions are still a majority amongst Spain's workers is still very significant. Yet....looking at the buildup to the general strike (in my case mostly info from the CGT and the CNT-AIT) I get the distinct impression of watching "people who know what they are doing and have a plan". The libertarian unions, especially the CGT, took the evidence of the past (previous general strikes) and distilled it into a plan for opening a new front against the conservative government. They have also understood very clearly that politics is a process rather than any sudden conversion. Hence the plans already mooted for a two day general strike in the future.

Personally I think is is an historic opportunity for the libertarian unions in general and the CGT in particular. Anarchosyndicalism has always contained an Utopian element with the advent of "libertarian communism" easily following the "general strike". This easy stepwise proposal has been repeatedly disproved in history. In order for the anarchosyndicalist unions to become even major competitors with other unions, let alone usher in a free society, they first have to prove that their tactics are more effective in the here and now in advancing the rights of workers. Spain today is a perfect example of where this is possible. The "program" of the libertarian unions is actually very circumcised- opposition to the austerity of the conservative government. Prove that more militant libertarian tactics are better than the treacherous negotiations of the UGT/CCOO, however, and all sorts of possibilities open up.

What will happen in the future ? Who knows. Yet I see the actions of the Spanish anarchists as great evidence that libertarians in at least one country understand their task as a process that requires planning and intelligence.

CANADIAN POLITICS:

DEFEND OUR SOCIAL HOUSING:

True to form our present federal Conservative government is quite content to see funding for "social housing" (co-op, non-profit and public housing) gradually wither away as the following article demonstrates. The Harperites must be particularily happy that this is a trend inherited from previous Liberal administrations and that the removal of this social policy requires no grandstanding legislation that might shine the light of day on what is happening. Well now there's a campaign to bring this erosion out of the shadows. The Front for Popular Action on Urban Restructuring (FRAPRU) in Québec alongside with the Red Tents group in English Canada are mounting a campaign of opposition. Here's the story.

○○○○○○○○○○
Defend Our Social Housing

About the Campaign



Across Canada, hundreds of thousands of co-op, non-profit and public housing units have been receiving subsidies for decades from the federal government. These subsidies, which allow very low-income families to be housed, are beginning to run out, and this phenomenon will accelerate over the next five years. The number of housing units benefitting from long-term agreements decreased from 630,000 in 2006 to 613,500 in 2010. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) predicts this number will go down to 540,800 in 2015. This trend will continue, so that by 2032, the federal government will no longer fund any housing units. All social housing units built before 1994 will be affected. This represents a loss of $1.7 billion in funding per year.

The withdrawal of federal funding will have dramatic consequences. Low-income tenants living in co-op and non-profit housing will lose CMHC funding that allows them to pay rent geared to their income. These tenants will face steep rent increases, forcing them to leave, and be replaced by more affluent tenants.

If nothing is done, the housing crisis in Canada will be aggravated. Already, there are 982,000 Canadian tenant households facing core housing need. This loss of federal funding comes on top of cuts to federal funding for the creation of new affordable housing, which is at its lowest level in decades.

We need to preserve existing social housing, not only for current tenants, but for all households who will need it in the future. FRAPRU (Front for Popular Action on Urban Restructuring of Quebec) which brings together over 100 organizations working for the right to housing, supported by its allies of the Red Tent Campaign (http://redtents.org/) , a Coalition of housing groups from different provinces, are working to put pressure on Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. The Red Tent campaign is demanding that the federal government immediately commit to maintaining funding for social housing, after the termination of long-term funding agreements signed when these units were originally built.

To do so, we call on all committees, tenants associations, co-op federations, social housing groups, social justice and anti-poverty organizations in all provinces to organize demonstrations, rallies or actions on the weekend of May 25-27,2012. On this weekend, there will be a big demonstration in Montreal, where at least one thousand people are anticipated. Check the tab with your province( at http://defendoursocialhousing.com ) to see what is happening where you live. If nothing is planned, contact Red Tent and we can support you in organizing with us.

Meanwhile, we ask all those who are either directly affected, such as tenants of co-op, non-profit or public housing, or those concerned about the preservation of our social housing stock, to print, sign and circulate the petition asking the government of Canada to:
■immediately commit to an adequate budget that ensures the renovation, improvement, and modernization of all social housing units (low-cost housing, cooperatives, and non-profit housing);
■immediately commit to maintaining the long-term subsidies granted to social housing units created before 1994, in particular those that allow low-income tenants a rent that is geared to their income (corresponds to their capacity to pay).

The original copies of the petition must be returned to FRAPRU by April 30, 2012, in order for them to be delivered to the House of Commons.

CANADIAN POLITICS ONTARIO:

DENOUNCE AND DEFEAT DRUMMAND'S DREADFUL DIRECTIONS:

Always on the lookout to squeeze the poor even further the McGuinty government of Ontario has recently received a commission report of a plan to tighten the screws from former bank executive Don Drummond. It was all that could be expected. Here is the reaction to this report from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP)

ññññññññññ
Defeating Drummond's Dreadful Directions‏

Former Toronto Dominion Bank economist, Don Drummond, has now handed over
his report to the McGuinty government. As we might have expected it is a
call to arms for the advocates of austerity. It suggests cuts to social
services that would make Harris’s Tory government look like social
reformers. Harris cut the Provincial Budget by less than 4% during one
term of office while Drummond wants a 17% reduction kept up for a decade
and a half. Among other drastic recommendations it calls for limiting
annual spending growth for social assistance to 0.5% until 2018, despite
the fact that those living on social assistance are still suffering from
the 21.6% cuts to assistance from the Harris years, which the Liberals
have only made worse. Nowadays a person living on welfare in Ontario is
making 55% less than they did in the early 90s, when the rates were
already far below the poverty line. Also in Drummond’s cross-hairs are
ODSP and the Child Tax Benefit.

Through all the rhetoric of ‘’overspending’’ it is important to remember
that this economic crisis was not caused by us. After all, it is
noteworthy that the budget was balanced before the crisis of 2008-09. It
was not caused by welfare recipients, it was not caused by organized
labour and it was not caused by public services. We are living through a
financial crisis that was caused by the rich, and while the banks are
getting bailed out we are being bled dry to pay for their greed.

The Drummond report is a road-map to austerity and if it is not swiftly
defeated its legacy will haunt us for decades to come. At the same time it
is important not to stay fixated on the Drummond report. We know that the
Liberals have been planning to implement cut-back measures long before
this report came out. It is imperative that we keep a close eye on the
upcoming budget and root out every attack directed against us in the name
of austerity.

The time is crucial for us to coordinate our efforts and organize
ourselves as effectively as possible to mount a serious fightback.

Overview of the days of action

This is not the first time radical groups, community groups and labour
unions have been called to fight together. In the mid to late 1990s in
response to the drastic cuts to social services and attacks on workers put
forth by the Harris government these groups had to band together to mount
opposition. What started as small protests against the PC government soon
swelled to one of the largest mobilization periods in Ontario’s history,
with hundreds of thousands of people joining in the fight. Unfortunately
this mobilization, though ground-breaking in many ways, was not enough to
defeat the Tories and they were not forced to retreat. As powerful as the
Days of Action were, the present struggle against austerity will need to
learn from past shortcomings as well as strengths. Unlike the
mobilization against Harris, the struggles we take up to-day will need to
escalate to the point where those implementing austerity face a level of
economic and political disruption that creates for them a social, economic
and political catastrophe. We can’t stop at moral appeals but must force
Bay Street and its political representatives at Queen’s Park to retreat
through decisive mass mobilization

The Common Sense Revolution cuts were pushed through and we are living
with its legacy today. In real terms people living on social assistance
today have less spending power than they did during the height of the
Harris-era cuts. Capitalism has re-doubled its attacks on organized labour
and vital public services are being cut and threatened daily. If we fail
again this time around, however, the results will be far more devastating.

Proposal for a plan to move forward

We in OCAP believe that the only way we can truly defeat the current wave
of austerity measures is to build a movement that is willing and committed
to pushing back in meaningful ways. Symbolic rallies and editorials will
only get us so far, and social assistance reviews are not going to help us
push back against austerity. It has even been admitted by Lankin that a
raise in social assistance rates is not even on the table. Rather, to beat
this beast we have to put forward a plan of resistance that is going to
disrupt every stage of their agenda, we have to be willing to confront
these politicians and decision makers head on at every single chance we
can take.

On March 16th OCAP, with a wide array of community groups and labour
groups will be marching from the ministry of housing down to the financial
district. In a show of unity we will be marching together against the
austerity measures of the liberal provincial government, we will be
demanding a raise in OW and ODSP rates, as well as quality public
services. But marches alone are not going to win this battle. Other
community groups have to be willing to take up the fight in meaningful
ways, unions have to be willing to strike against this government, and
everyone has to be committed to taking this to its logical conclusion! We
are calling on all our allies, all labour unions, all activists, all
community organizations to help us defeat this government and the
austerity measures it represents. Together we can fight to win!


_______________________________________________
ocap mailing list
ocap@masses.tao.ca
https://masses.tao.ca/lists/listinfo/ocap

WINNIPEG EVENTS-WAG

ROCK AROUND THE ROCKWELL:

Hard to say about this party, but it may be interesting. The Winnipeg Art Gallery is holding a party on March 23 to celebrate the art of Norman Rockwell now on display at their gallery. Ah the days of innocence and five cent soda drinks. Here's the skivy:

##############

Rockwell Around the Clock at the WAG

Public Event for Winnipeg Art Gallery ·

By Kaari Sinnaeve

Friday, March 23, 20127:30pm until 11:00pm

Get your dancing shoes on - the WAG is throwing a sockhop!

Inspired by our spring blockbuster, American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell, Rockwell Around the Clock promises to be a carefree night of art, music, dancing and fun that will transport you into the world... of Norman Rockwell.

As well as guided tours of the exhibition, the evening features music by Will Bonness’ Swing Band and dancers from Hepcat Studio who will be performing and teaching. $20 members $25 non-members Cash Bar http://wag.ca/visit/events/list/category/specialevents/411

CANADIAN POLITICS TORONTO:

KEEP THE SCHOOL HOUSE SHELTER OPEN:

Here's another callout from down Ontario way and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). This is an appeal and petition to keep a downtown homeless shelter open. Here's the story:

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hello everyone,

The fight for the School House Shelter and services AND housing in the Downtown East continues.

Please sign this on-line petition that will be brought to the City:http://www.petitiononlinecanada.com/petition/save-the-school-house-harm-reduction-shelter/834

CANADIAN POLITICS TORONTO:

PRE-BUDGET RALLY AGAINST ONTARIO AUSTERITY:

The following call-out is from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP).

()()()()()()()()()()()

On March 16 FIGHT POVERTY AND DEMAND: A LIVING INCOME! HOUSING!
QUALITY PUBLIC SERVICES FOR ALL!

Solidarity Against Austerity

Friday, March 16, 2012
Rally and March
12noon
Meet at College St and Bay St, Toronto (Outside the Ministry of Housing)

*Free Meal (provided by members of the Ontario Nurses Association)
*ASL-English at the Rally
*Closest accessible transit station is Queen’s Park

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/168518953261094

Join the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) and allies for a march
and rally on Friday, March 16th, in the lead up to the 2012 Provincial
Budget. The McGuinty government has hired former head of the TD bank, Don
Drummond, to propose and provide the basis for massive social cutbacks in
their 2012 budget. It is being drafted as the Provincial component of the
austerity agenda that is gathering force across Canada and
internationally. City Hall, Queen`s Park and Ottawa are delivering
austerity, but clearly it is being cooked-up on Bay Street by bankers like
Drummond to the benefit of their rich friends.

We have to stop the cuts and fight for what poor and working people need!

For poor people and workers in this province, it has been a constant state
of crisis. McGuinty is now preparing to make this situation much worse.

On March 16, we will be rallying at an Ontario Government location but
taking our march to Toronto`s financial centre where the real decisions
are being made by and for the '1%'. We will be marching to oppose
austerity measures but also to demand
the reversing of previous cutbacks, the right to a living income, the
right to affordable and accessible housing, and for good quality public
services for all! We will be marching against the kind of society Drummond
and the rich are creating, and for one that meets the needs and improves
the lives of all of us!

JOIN US!

Endorsing Organizations: Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, Aids
Action Now, Barrio Nuevo, BASICS Community News, Bread & Bricks
Davenport West Social Justice Group, CUPE Local 1281, CUPE 4308, CUPE
4600, CUPE Toronto District Council, Disability Action Movement Now,
Educators for Peace and Justice, Greater Toronto Worker’s Assembly, Health
Providers Against Poverty, Health for All, Jane-Finch Action Against
Poverty, Kingston Coalition Against Poverty, Medical Reform Group, No One
Is Illegal Toronto, Ontario Association of Interval and Transitional
Houses, OCCUPY Toronto, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, Ontario
Network of Injured Workers, Ontario Nurses Association, Ontario
University Workers Coordinating Committee (CUPE Ontario), OPSEU Local 525,
Poverty Makes Us Sick (KW), Rhythms of Resistance, Sistering, Students for
Medicare, Toronto Stop the Cuts, Under Pressure Ottawa, Workers Action
Centre, and growing!

HOW TO BE INVOLVED IN MARCH 16:

-Organize a contingent: bring a group of people from your organization,
neighbourhood, city or union local to this demonstration, bring your
demands

-Drum out Drummond: bring drums, noise makers, pots and pans. Rhythms
of Resistance will also be there to start us off on the march.

-Join the CHILDCARE NOW contingent of parents, caregivers and kids

-Organize a group of students or a ‘kids block’ to be a part of the day as
part of March Break

-Banners, flags and signs: Organize a ‘banner making day’ in your area,
bring your banners to the march

-Help fund a bus, food, transit tokens, ASL, and materials for the day: if
you or your organization or union local can make donations of money or
in-kind, please help us make this day as participatory and accessible as
possible

-Build the movement: add your organization’s to the list of endorsers for
this day of action

-Get the word out: help us get the message out about this day of action,
download the poster and flyer at www.ocap.ca, forward this announcement
far and wide, contact us if you would like to help with postering,
flyering, etc.

GETTING TO MARCH 16th:

Don’t want to come alone? Need transit tokens or a bus to get in to
downtown? Join one of these many groups meeting up ahead of time and
coming together...

In T.O

Jane and Finch: 1st stop: BUS from Yorkgate Mall at the 'no frills' entrance
at 11am , 2nd stop: 35 Shoreham Drive [A senior centre about 5 or 6
minutes away]

Downtown East: Join the Downtown East Stop the Cuts, meeting at the
corner of Dundas and Sherbourne at 11am **with tokens

Weston-Lawrence/Mt.Dennis: Meeting at Weston King Neighborhood Centre
(2017 Weston Road) at 11am **with tokens

Davenport and Perth: Join Bread and Bricks Social Justice Group, meeting
at The Stop Community Food Centre (1884 Davenport Road) at 11am **with
tokens

Parkdale: Meeting at PARC (1499 Queen St. West) at 11am **with tokens

From Out of Town

Pick up in Hamilton: CUPE 5167 office, 818 King St East at 9 am
Departing Toronto to arrive back in Hamilton at the 5167 office for 4 pm.

Pick up from Kingston, Belleville, Peterborough: please call 613 328-1938
for a ride

**Vans are also coming from Ottawa, Sudbury and Kitchener

GET IN TOUCH: Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
Email: ocap@tao.ca
Phone: 416-925-6939
Web: http://OCAP.ca
Facebook: OCAP
Twitter: @OCAPtoronto#maketherichpay