Living The Dream with The Maritime Defence Committee during the 1998 Wharf Dispute

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A Banner on the Main Gate of Patrick Stevedores East Swanson Dock in Melbourne.
© Takver. http://www.takver.com/

It has been twenty years since the Wharf Dispute between Patrick Stevedores and the Coalition Government on one side and the Maritime Union of Australia, the Trade Unions and supporters on the other. This was the last set piece national confrontation between Capital and Labour over a specific industrial dispute to happen in Australia. In this episode Dave (@withsobersenses) chats with Nick Southall about the Maritime Defence Committee. The latter was formed by comrades outside of the industry to provide meaningful support for the struggle. What happened during the dispute and are there implications for class struggle today?

Articles mention include

Nick Southall   Getting the Gong – A Tale of Two Cities

Shane Reside  Rules made for breaking: beyond ‘Change the Rules’

Music by Rage Against The Machine

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Living the Dream whilst the Global Order fractures

g7-summit-20180608

What the hell is going on globally? In this (short) episode Dave (@withsobersenses) tries to think through the fracturing of the global order: the split in the G7, the end of QE by the US Federal Reserve and the ECB and the looming possibility of more US tariffs on Chinese imports. How do we understanding these phenomena? Why are they happening and what does it all mean?

This is our 50th Episode!

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

Civil China-hosted summit contrasts with G7 turmoil

Music by Wall of Voodoo

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Living The Dream in the time of #metoo Part 2

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http://collectionsearch.nma.gov.au/object/55474#

This is Part 2 of our 2-part show with Tanya Serisier about #metoo, feminism and the struggle against gendered and sexual violence. This show fleshes out the problems of the notion of consent as a solution to gendered and sexual violence, the continuing importance of the lessons of 70s feminism, including much-maligned lesbian separatism, how feminism has forced a rethink of what politics and power is and we finish with Tanya’s reflections on the recent UCU strike and what it shows us about radical and collective struggles

Some stuff we mention includes:

Wendy Brown Moralism as Anti-politics

Critical Resistance

Tanya Serisier Is Consent Sexy

Judith Butler Sexual Consent: Some Thoughts on Psychoanalysis and Law

Nancy Fraser Feminism, Capitalism And The Cunning Of History

Adriana Cavarero In Spite of Plato

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Living The Dream in the time of #metoo Part 1

metoo pic

This episode is part one of a two-part interview with feminist scholar and activist Tanya Serisier. Tanya and Dave(@withsobersenses) discuss how #metoo can be understood in the history of feminist struggle against, and thought about, gendered sexual violence. Tanya discusses how complex these issues are: they evade easy answers and they bring up difficult questions about where such violence comes from and how struggle and speech against them sometimes breaks from the broader patterns of power and sometimes reinforces them.

Tanya’s research work and writing can be found here

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Living The Dream in Ipswich

Furure Ipswich
Courtesy of Future Ipswich

In this episode of Living The Dream (@withsobersenses) chats with Aaron and Michelle at Bad Habit Records about what’s happening in Ipswich. The council is engulfed in a corruption scandal (complete with bashings in the forest), the centre of the town is in dire straits caught between neglect and a development project, the local economy is suffering except for a massive real estate venture in Springfield and the plan for a new, and hotly contested, super dump in New Chum. In the face of all this Aaron and Michelle are doing their bit stoking the embers of alternative culture and trying to bring to fruition a different vision for the city.

You should read Ipswich Underground

Post card image courtesy of Future Ipswich

Music by Scraps

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Living The Dream at Labour Day 2018

labour day
Image by Collective Action ‘a revolutionary anarchist group based in so-called Melbourne, Australia.’ http://www.collectiveaction.org.au

In this episode Dave (@withsobersenses) grabs a recorder and heads to the Labour Day rally. He interviews friends and comrades about the rally, what they think the impact of #ChangeTheRules has been, and if there is any opportunity to broaden and open up struggle? Due to a moments hestitation he didn’t try to interview Sally McManus as she walked past.

Music by Alistair Hulet

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