We are pleased to announce the next Social Ecology Summer Intensive will take place June 8-13 at the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action in Poulsbo, Washington!
Enroll today for Social Transformation Beyond Pragmatism and Utopia, a three-session seminar that will explore theoretical and practical dilemmas posed by the tension between utopia and pragmatism in communalism’s political vision. Taught by long-time ISE affiliate Robert Ogman, the course will meet Thursdays at 1 pm EST on April 26, May 3, and May 17.
An article by ISE board member Brian Tokar, featured in the Winter 2018 issue of ROAR Magazine with an overall theme of System Change: "To address the full magnitude of the climate crisis and maintain a habitable planet for future generations we need to shatter the myths of capitalist growth once and for all."
The meeting aimed to open up a space for debate among political and social critics, to give visibility to local struggles and alternative forms of political organization, and to make links between all these currents via the frameworks of social ecology and libertarian municipalism.
• Based in north-central Vermont, the Institute for Social Ecology has offered experiential radical education and support for grassroots organizing and community-building for more than 40 years.
• Social Ecology advocates a reconstructive and transformative outlook on social and environmental issues, and promotes a directly democratic, confederal politics. Social Ecology envisions a moral economy that moves beyond scarcity and hierarchy, toward a world that reharmonizes human communities with the natural world, while celebrating diversity, creativity and freedom.
URGENT
EMAIL ZAP OF 'DEMOCRACY NOW!' TODAY BEGINNING AT 12:00pm EST, AND ENDING WHEN DEMANDS ARE MET! LET'S DEMAND AN IN DEPTH STORY ON THE CRISIS IN AFRIN! Start spreading this post far and wide. Email it to listservs you're on, post it into other groups which you are a member of, send it to people in individual messages. Don't let people miss out on this action!
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The crisis in Afrin is at a perilous point right now, as the Turkish Army and their FSA gangs push their invasion of Afrin City, and still the press remains apathetic, or even silent. Democracy Now!, to name one has briefly mentioned vague updates on the situation during their daily headlines, but they never have an in depth story during their broadcast. That has to happen now. If Democracy Now! is going to live live up to their name, they need to talk about why democracy is at stake in Afrin.
For this reason, tomorrow there will be a mass email flood of Democracy Now! To demand immediate, and in depth coverage of the situation so that their viewers have the opportunity to learn why the revolution must be defended at all costs. Here is what you must do.
1.) Go to www.democracynow.org/contact
2.) Under subject, enter “CRISIS IN AFRIN”
3.) In the “Your Message” field, enter the following:
Greetings,
My name is _________. I’m writing to you today because I am very concerned about the current crisis with the Turkish invasion of the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Afrin and the extremely lackluster response from the media and hence the public in general. I am glad that you have mentioned clashes between the forces in Afrin vs. the invading Turkish Army and FSA gangs, and have kept us updated during headlines, but the situation out there requires much more background to know what is truly being threatened by Turkey’s transgressions. For years, the people in Rojava along with the Women’s Protection Forces (YPJ), the People’s Protection Forces (YPG), and countless volunteers from all over the world have sacrificed so much to build a revolution in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan); a way of life where people make their own destiny through democratic councils, and where women are free. Rojava has also been a shining light of how multiculturalism can thrive in the middle east, shattering centuries old tribal and national conflict. It is a blueprint for how much better the whole world can be despite all this turmoil.
But now, in the face of betrayal by both the United States and Russia, and the FSA and Turkish army encroaching further and further upon Afrin City, these incredible social and political advancements are threatened. Far too much blood has been shed for this to happen. Please find it in your time to do a long story on a broadcast in the next coming days. Two organizations that are worth contacting for expertise are North American Kurdish Alliance (NAKA) and Friends of Rojava in North America (FORINA). This is a humanitarian crisis with potentially world shaking effects, yet the world is silent.
Humanity stands at a crossroads. Now, more than ever, history calls for a grassroots democracy at a global scale. If we look carefully, all the tools are at hand. Continue reading →
There's still time to join our spring online seminar starting Monday! We'll study the nature of the state, capitalism, social hierarchy, human-nature relations, movement history and strategy. $100, 8 weeks: weekly video seminar, texts, forums. Get in touch today! ... See MoreSee Less