ANNIVERSARIES IN LATE 2006
November 11th was the 120th anniversary of the hangings of the anarchist Haymarket martyrs in Chicago, Illinois. Albert Parsons, August Spies, Adolph Fischer and George Engel were hung (and Louis Lingg committed suicide) after a bomb killed police at a labor rally. There was no evidence against them and all were convicted solely on the basis of their anarchist ideas.
Buenaventura Durruti died 60 years ago on November 20th, 1936 in a militia hospital in Madrid after being shot in the chest during the fascists’ attempt to seize the capital of Spain. On a related note, curious readers may wish to consult Abel Paz’s unabridged and revised biography of Durruti, Durruti in the Spanish Revolution, which has recently been translated into English. Additionally, footage of Durruti’s funeral is now available online (see below).
December 9th marked 25 years since the shoot-out with Philadelphia police that has resulted in radical journalist Mumia Abu Jamal being put on death row. He continues to write and struggle from jail. Free Mumia! See www.freemumia.org or www.mumia.org for more info.
MEXICO
Calling all activists, organizers, dreamers and rabble-rousers: The CASA Collectives coordinate two centers for education, international solidarity and activism in Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico. We work to connect movements for justice across borders, and to provide volunteers with skills and experience to bring back to their work in their home communities. Financial aid is available. For more information visit www.casacollective.org.
CRACKDOWN ON ANARCHISTS IN SOCIALIST-LED CHILE
A few leftists cheered when Michelle Bachelet became president of Chile last January. Some thought that Bachelet — a former political prisoner and Socialist–might push the country onto a new path of governmental respect for civil liberties, justice, and equality. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, those who held out hope for the new Chilean regime have received several blows lately. One was the recent disclosure that Chile’s police were actively surveiing anarchists and had created a detailed registry of the country’s militants. Another blow was a September 26th police raid on a squat in Santiago and the subsequent detention of six anarchists. Police alleged that the six were preparing a violent action to coincide with an upcoming demonstration in favor of Chile’s indigenous Mapuche population, but supporters decried this as a pretense designed to conceal this obvious instance of political persecution. Although the government presently appears to be retreating from the case against the six detained activists, we should take the crackdown as a warning and remain attentive to the fate of our Chilean comrades. It is likely that the Bachelet regime will commit more violations of civil liberties, but we can help reduce the human costs if we are vigilant and responsive. For more information on anarchism in Chile, see http://santiago.indymedia.org/ and also http://www.felchile.org/index.php. (by Chuck Morse)
EL LIBERTARIO
The English section of the website of the Venezuelan newspaper El Libertario is now online at www.nodo50.org/ellibertario. If you would like to submit an article or comment please send it to ellibertario – at – nodo50 – dot – org, or to Raul F., apartado postal 128, Carmelitas, Caracas, Venezuela.
WORK VIRUS
A dangerous new virus is being distributed electronically. It is called the Worm Overload Recreation Killer (WORK). You can get WORK from your boss or colleagues. Do not touch it. The virus will wipe out your private life. If you come into contact with WORK, there are two antidotes. You can purchase Work Isolating Neutralizer Extract (WINE) or Bothersome Employer Elimination Rebooter (BEER). They’re available at your local grocery store. Take repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated.
Forward this warning to five friends. If you don’t have five friends, you’re infected with WORK and it is controlling your life.
JOAQUIN PEREZ NAVARRO
Joaquin Perez Navarro, the last surviving member of the Friends of Durruti, died at age 99 in September. He had joined the Spanish anarcho-syndicalist trade union the CNT in 1919 and fought in the Spanish Civil War with the Friends of Durruti, a group of anarchists who had pledged to fight militarization and the betrayals of the Communists; later Navarro also fought with the anarchist militia the Iron Column. In 1938 he was captured, tortured and condemned to death by the Stalinists, but he escaped to France, only to be interned. In 1940 he escaped again to England, where he later served on the CNT liaison commission. He wrote three books in Spanish, including 1995’s Relato Poetico.
LIBERTIES DEFENSE
The Civil Liberties Defense Center needs financial assistance. The CLDC has worked for the non-cooperating defendants in the Green Scare cases; defended Biscuit timber sale protesters who were attempting to stop roadless area logging in southern Oregon; conducted “know your rights” trainings for citizens (and non-citizens) around the country; helped law students and new attorneys to do public interest work; and assisted Grand Jury resistor Jeff Hogg’s attorney and support team.
If you can, please send a donation to the Civil Liberties Defense Center, 259 East Fifth Ave., Ste. 300A, Eugene, OR 97401. The phone number is 541–687-9180 and the website is www.cldc.org.
MONTREAL BOOKFAIR
Montreal’s 8th Annual Anarchist Bookfair will be held on Saturday, May 19, 2007 from 10 am to 6 pm in Montreal, Quebec (location tba). It is the largest anarchist event in North America and part of the month-long Festival of Anarchy (May 2007). The book fair will be followed by a full day of Anarchist Presentations and Workshops (May 20, 2007).
The bookfair is a child-friendly event. Bring your kids! Free childcare is available on-site. Callouts for workshops, presentations, art exhibits, films, tables, and Festival and Anarchy events will be posted soon. If you have ideas for the bookfair or Festival of Anarchy, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a proposal!
To receive updates by e-mail, or if you have any questions, please contact us at anarchistbookfair – at – taktic – dot – org. More information is available at http://anarchistbookfair.taktic.org; by telephone (messages only) 514–859-9090; or by mail: Montreal Anarchist Bookfair, 1500 de Maisonneuve Ouest, Suite 204, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1N1, Canada. Nous parlons francais, Se habla espanol.
WANTED: ANARCHIST PLAYS FOR MONTREAL’S 2nd ANARCHIST THEATRE FESTIVAL in MAY 2007
Montreal’s second annual ‘Anarchist Theatre Festival’ is now seeking submissions of anarchist theatre pieces to be staged May 2007. The festival is part of Montreal’s annual ‘Festival of Anarchy’ that leads up to the city’s 8th annual ‘Anarchist Bookfair’ (see above).
We are looking for theatre pieces about anarchists, anarchist ideas or history, or on any subject related to anarchism. We will consider plays or monologues that are original new work, or that have already been performed, or that have been written by anarchists (historical or contemporary). The pieces can be either full productions or staged readings in either French or English.
We are looking for work that is anti-State, anti-capitalist, non-sexist, non-homophobic, anti-Empire, anti-authoritarian, etc. We want anarchist content written by either anarchist playwrights or writers who are sympathetic to anarchism.
We ask all potential participants to explain why they believe their proposal would fit in this Festival. This is an all-volunteer event, thus, without any remuneration. The Festival will provide publicity, an appropriate indoor venue, and a guaranteed interested audience. (All proceeds from sale of tickets will cover Festival expenses and be used for staging future festivals.)
If interested, please send either an outline of your proposal, or a few sample pages from your work NO LATER THAN February 15, 2007 to either: anarchistfestival – at – yahoo – dot – ca or to @ Theatre Festival c/o S. Laplage, 6797 rue de Normanville, Montreal, Quebec H2S 2C2. Please note: If you submit anything by snail mail, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
FILMS
Many anarchist films–both features and documentaries–are now available to be watched online. There are currently four “film channels” on the London Free TV channel (http://www.londonfree.tv and http://www.londonfreetv.com): anarchist history; Chomsky TV; Spanish Civil War and Revolution I (there will be another Spanish Civil War Channel shortly); and World Anarchist Cinema. At the www.tvhastings.org site there are also two channels. Additionally, two new documentaries — The Angry Brigade and ‘Persons Unknown’– have now been added to the Anarchist History channel on the ChristieBooks film site at: http://www.christiebooks.com/player/anarchy.html (requires free browser plug-in)
2007 GREAT LAKES ANARCHIST GATHERING APRIL 2007, TOLEDO, OHIO
It looks as though the next Great Lakes Anarchist Gathering will be held here in Toledo the second weekend in April, and will likely include a visit and talk with John Zerzan and Kevin Tucker.
We want people to think about what they would like to see this time, what they would like to contribute in the way of putting on workshops, helping to set up, food, etc. There’s a lot going on in our region, both on the very local level as well as things impacting the whole area, such as the RNC in Minneapolis. This will be a good chance to meet others face to face so we can get to know each other and help coordinate and make plans.
Please share your suggestions and ideas here as well as at the Midwest Action Network at http://midwest.azone.org. Also feel free to contact us at typea – at – riseup – dot – net.