December 2014 - P2P-Foundation - lists.ourproject.org

Fwd: FW: Comunicado de la CONAIE
by Michel Bauwens 16 Dec '14

16 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Francois Houtart <houtart(a)hotmail.com> Date: 2014-12-16 19:31 GMT+07:00 Subject: FW: Comunicado de la CONAIE To: Christophe Ventura <christophe.ventura(a)gmail.com> François Houtart Profesor en el Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales (I.A.E.N.) Tel: (593) (2) 382 99 00 Ext 272 houtart(a)hotmail.com Fundación Pueblo Indio del Ecuador Calle Ruiz de Castilla N. 26-92 y Sosaya 170520 - Quito ECUADOR Tel. (593) (2) 32.12.100 Cel. (593) 9.69.55.06.40 Rue Kelle, 192/6 - B-1150 Bruxelles Tel. (32) 476.31.50.53 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 20:14:47 -0500 Subject: Comunicado de la CONAIE From: nidia.arrobo(a)gmail.com To: Sin palabras! *COMUNICADO CONAIE* -- ============================================== La Floresta, calle Guipúzcoa E14-166 y Av. La Coruña, 0987880331 facebook: Pueblo Kitu Kara Quito – Ecuador -- Te invito a visitar http://jubileomlp.blogspot.com/ ______________________________ Nidia Arrobo Rodas C/ Ruiz de Castilla N26-92 y Sosaya Teléfono 00593-2-3200968 Quito Ecuador -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

1 0

Fwd: Rajagopal's Gandhi lecture in Bangkok on land reform
by Michel Bauwens 16 Dec '14

16 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Hans van Willenswaard <hans(a)schoolforwellbeing.org> Date: Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 4:20 PM Subject: Rajagopal's Gandhi lecture in Bangkok on land reform *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT-vuFzvMNA <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT-vuFzvMNA> * [image: cid:[email protected]] *Please join us Saturday 20 December 09.00 a.m. at Room 105* *Maha Chulalongkorn building, Chulalongkorn University* Suan Nguen Mee Ma social enterprise Garden of Fruition Publishing house * Green shop, books, handicrafts, coffee * Green Market Network 77,79 Fuang Nakorn Road Opposite Wat Rajabopit Bangkok 10200 Thailand www.suan-spirit.com www.thaigreenmarket.com Co-organizer 3rd international conference on Gross National Happiness, Thailand, November 2007. Secretariat School for Wellbeing Studies and Research Towards Organic Asia (TOA) programme www.schoolforwellbeing.org Tel. +66-(0)2-622 0955 Fax. +66-(0)2-622 3228 -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

1 0

Fwd: cyclos 4 is not open source
by Michel Bauwens 16 Dec '14

16 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Nicholas Roberts <niccolo.roberts(a)gmail.com> Date: Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 12:38 PM Subject: cyclos 4 is not open source To: Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> Cyclos got money from Gates Foundation not sure of relation, but its now not open sourced in v4 http://p2pfoundation.net/Complementary_Currency_Software#Cyclos -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

2 1

Fwd: [Networkedlabour] A new article by Jakob Rigi
by Michel Bauwens 16 Dec '14

16 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jakob Rigi <rigij(a)ceu.hu> Date: Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 2:42 AM Subject: [Networkedlabour] A new article by Jakob Rigi To: networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org, johan.soderberg(a)sts.gu.se Hello all, I enclose below the title and abstract of an article that I have recently published in tripleC. As you will see from the title and abstract I attempt to develop a Marxist theory of the political economy of in formation. Cheers Jakob Foundations of a Marxist Theory of the Political Economy of Information: Trade Secrets and Intellectual Property, and the Production of Relative Surplus Value and the Extraction of Rent-Tribute *Jakob Rigi* Abstract The aim of this article is to sketch a preliminary outline of a Marxist theory of the political economy of information. It defines information as a symbolic form that can be digitally copied. This definition is purely formal and disregards epistemological, ideological, and functional aspects. The article argues that the value of information defined in this sense tends to zero and therefore the price of information is rent. However, information plays a central role in the production of relative surplus value on the one hand, and the distribution of the total social surplus value in forms of surplus profits and rents, on the other. Thus, the hegemony of information technologies in contemporary productive forces has not made Marx’s theory of value irrelevant. On the contrary, the political economy of information can only be understood in the light of this theory. The article demonstrates that the capitalist production and distribution of surplus value at the global level forms the foundation of the political economy of information. Keywords Information; Value; Relative Surplus Value; Surplus Profit; Information Rent _______________________________________________ NetworkedLabour mailing list NetworkedLabour(a)lists.contrast.org http://lists.contrast.org/mailman/listinfo/networkedlabour -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

1 0

Fwd: [Networkedlabour] Fwd: [Debate-List] (Fwd) United Front statement and press reports
by Michel Bauwens 15 Dec '14

15 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: peter waterman <peterwaterman1936(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 6:26 PM Subject: [Networkedlabour] Fwd: [Debate-List] (Fwd) United Front statement and press reports To: "CRITICAL-LABOUR-STUDIES(a)jiscmail.ac.uk" < CRITICAL-LABOUR-STUDIES(a)jiscmail.ac.uk>, WSFDiscuss List < WorldSocialForum-Discuss(a)openspaceforum.net>, networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org, gina vargas <ginvargas(a)gmail.com>, Raphael Hoetmer <Raphael(a)democraciaglobal.org>, Boa Santos < bsantos(a)ces.uc.pt>, Eva Charkiewicz <ewa_charkiewicz(a)yahoo.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Patrick Bond <pbond(a)mail.ngo.za> Date: Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 8:10 AM Subject: [Debate-List] (Fwd) United Front statement and press reports To: debaTE <debate-list(a)fahamu.org>, SAwatercaucus(a)googlegroups.com, cjn-south-africa(a)googlegroups.com, IANRA list <ianra1(a)googlegroups.com>, safis-solidarity-platform(a)googlegroups.com, " durbansocialForum(a)yahoogroups.com" <durbansocialForum(a)yahoogroups.com>, Campaign_DPE(a)googlegroups.com (Though the reports in the mainstream press are downbeat, the vibe in the United Front Preparatory Assembly was tremendous, and there's every indication that naysayers like Sadtu will be regretting their inaccurate cynicism. Surprisingly, here's a balanced 1-minute SABC report with more of the flavour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH5NOWdO4II ) [image: Description: C:\Users\Dingas\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\T702XF9V\UFLOGO.jpg] *DECLARATION OF THE PREPARATORY ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED FRONT* *JOHANNESBURG 14 DECEMBER 2014* *14 December 2014* Globally we are experiencing the gravest economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s. Wars and counter-revolutions stretch from the Middle East to the far East to Africa and the Americas. Imperialism knows no constraint. The devastating ecological and climate crises are caused by a predatory capitalist system that is endangering the very existence of humanity. Post apartheid capitalism is leaving a trail of inequality, hunger, poverty and misery. The wealthy elite and the bosses – white and black - refuse to concede a single inch to the urgent needs of the majority. They view even the most basic reforms as a potential threat to their profit margins. The ANC government now consistently echoes these views. Every progressive programme, strategy and intention is either abandoned or rejected by the government in the face of the brutal logic of managing a capitalist state. The ANC government has refused to confront capital and white privilege and instead become an enabler of white monopoly capital and their junior BEE partners. This is the source of the political crises facing our country. >From the 13 – 14 December 2014 in Johannesburg 350 delegates from around the country representing a diverse range of trade unions, social movements, popular organisations, faith-based organisations, NGOs and anti-capitalist formations assembled to lay the foundation of a united movement of the poor majority to challenge the system that has made South Africa the most unequal country on earth. The cry of the Preparatory Assembly of the United Front is KWANELE, KWANELE, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, GENOEG IS GENOEG. Our call from this historic assembly that has broken new grounds is for our people to unite in the year of the United Front. Our task is to build solidarity in struggle in Southern African and internationally. We are internationalists. We are setting out on a journey to rise to the grave challenges of our times and unite the struggles of our people: workers, unemployed, women and youth to amplify them so as to shake and revolutionise this country. We are confident that our actions will reverberate throughout Southern Africa and will inevitably echo across the continent. While basing ourselves on the heroic movements of the past, on the struggles to make programmes like the Freedom Charter and others a material force, the United Front is going to the people; it is unfolding a process of popular assemblies to collect the demands of our people, to listen and to build a front that is of the people, for the people and by the people. The United Front will unite the working classes, rural and urban in struggle and in which women and youth will be in the forefront. With a great sense of urgency we have come together as the United Front and are uniting our separate and often fragmented efforts, to build solidarity, restore confidence and hope amongst the masses of this country. The building of working class and popular power lies at the heart of our initiative. The United Front is a front of mass action and struggle. Across the country people in communities, workplaces, townships and villages are mobilising against poverty, inequality and corruption. Our role is to unite and co-ordinate these struggles. As activists of the United Front, we view our first and main task to build movements that mobilise to fight corruption, looting of public resources, failing service delivery, increasingly unaccountable governance, violence against women, children and LGBTQI people, police brutality, and anti-poor/pro-rich economic policies (“neo-liberalism”); We will resist retrenchments, cut-offs, evictions, collapse of our education and health systems and the retribalisation of the countryside Our goal is to strive for the deepening of democracy and the building of people’s power in social, economic and political spheres where collective needs and interests of the people as a whole come before profits and other elite interests; We call on the workers, the unemployed, women and youth, shack-dwellers, back yarders, farm workers, landless and the dispossessed, to organise, mobilise and build the united front in every corner of the country. The core social base, engine and locomotive of the UF should be exploited, oppressed and marginalized people – primarily employed workers, informal/atypical workers and the unemployed in both urban and rural areas, as well as women and youth. Mass organisations of the oppressed and exploited should be the main organisational expression of affiliation to the UF. These include trade unions, social movements, civics, women’s organisations, student and youth organisations, and other membership-based organisations of the mass of the people. All those who agree and accept the vision, aims, mission, principles, programme. duties and obligations of the UF will be allowed to join our Front. As a campaigning and fighting movement, the united front will be unfolding campaigns around the following themes: work, land & food, environment, decent public services (especially housing, education, health, water & sanitation) and violence against women, children the LGBTI community. To this end the United Front will establish several working groups to unite organisations and struggles in these areas, elaborating campaign and mobilisng strategies. Between now and the official launch of the United Front we are going to unite in struggle against the national austerity budget, particularly on the issues affecting poor communities on February 25. We will organize a day of mass action on March 21 in defence of human rights, freedom of expression and the right to organize and against police brutality. We give notice to Judge Farlam that the United Front will be watching for the outcomes of the Marikana Commission of Inquiry. We demand nothing less than justice for Marikana! The Preparatory Assembly has put in place a National Working Committee to oversee the implementation of its decisions and specifically to prepare for the official launch of the United Front on the 25-27 April 2015. They include: *1. **Andrew Chirwa* *2. **Bandile Mdlalose* *3. **Brian Ashley* *4. **Cynthia Machaba* *5. **Dinga Sikwebu* *6. **John Appolis* *7. **Kwezilomsa Mbandazayo* *8. **Mazibuko Jara* *9. **Reverend James Fatuse* *10. **Ronnie Kasrils* *11. **Vuyiseka Dubula* *12. **Zackie Achmat* *13. **Zanoxolo Wayile* *Provincial representatives* Eastern Cape: *Lungile Mxube* Free State: *Thokozile Sefumba* Gauteng: *Siyabonga Mbuqe* KwaZulu-Natal: *Gcina Makoba* Limpopo: *Michael Rasikhinya* Mpumalanga: *Elvis Komane* Northern Cape: *Patrick Dondolo* North West: *Shaheen Khan* Western Cape: *Abraham Agulhas* An injury to one is an injury to all. Aluta Continua For Enquiries: Numsa National Spokesperson - Castro Ngobese – 083 627 5197 - ec 2014 - The Mercury - Shanti Aboobaker United Front moves slowly IT REMAINS unclear if the United Front, spearheaded by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), will succeed where previous attempts to build broad coalitions between social movements and trade unions have failed before. The formation of the front follows a resolution taken at Numsa’s watershed special national congress a year ago, and is aimed at building a solid alliance between unions and social movements to fight corruption, failing service provision and issues facing communities. This weekend 342 people and 71 organisations met in Boksburg to plan the front’s overall strategy towards a national launch scheduled for April. Among the actions planned are a national day of mass action scheduled for Freedom Day (April 27) in defence of human rights, freedom of expression and the right to organise, and opposition to police brutality. There will also be a response to the Treasury’s “austerity budget” on Budget day in February. The assembly elected a 21-person national working committee comprising a representative from each of the nine provinces and a further 12 people, including former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils and HIV/Aids activist Zackie Achmat. It also has Numsa shop stewards, Abraham Agulhas of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, clergy from the Interdenominational African Ministers Association of SA, former leaders of the SACP and the former general secretary of shack-dwellers organisation Abahlali baseMjondolo. But there are concerns that the organisations and individuals who were present at the assembly lack the constituency and don’t represent the numbers necessary to build a mass movement with clout. Some of the organisations present at the assembly included Equal Education, Section27, the Treatment Action Campaign and academics from Wits and the University of Johannesburg. Professor Steven Friedman, director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy in South Africa, said the United Front organisers needed to ask themselves probing questions, including in what way these new leaders broadened a constituency. While the jury was still out, he said at this stage some developments raised serious questions. Numsa announced last week that it was delaying the formal launch of the front, amid speculation the initiative was struggling in its infancy. Friedman said many of the individuals playing a key role in the formation of the front were already engaged in issues of sanitation, education and freedom of speech, but it was not clear what value they could add. “The United Front is supposed to deal and rectify the situation in which the trade union movement has ignored social movements. Cosatu trade unions have narrowly focused on workplace. “The question is: Is this (new initiative) actually going to rectify that?” he said. “If it means Numsa and whoever from the trade union movement work together with Abahlali, for example, in a united campaign, it is possible it might produce more than we have at the moment.” Broad principles agreed on included that the United Front would be : Pan Africanist. Based on ubuntu from below. Anti-xenophobic. Feminist. Anti-racist. Opposed to tribalism and ethnicity. Anti-homophobic. Non-sectarian. Democratic from below. Transparent and accountable. Working class in character. It is, however, still debating whether its aims and mission should include the goal of socialism – a process that will include discussions on what the meaning of socialism is and the place of the Freedom Charter in its long-term vision. According to the consolidated discussions emanating from commissions held at this weekend’s assembly, there would also be continued debate on collaboration with political parties and considerations on the racial composition of the leadership of the front. *** United Front blames ANC for poverty, inequality The United Front has called on Cosatu to break away from the ruling party. Emily Corke <http://ewn.co.za/Contributors/Emily-Corke> | about 2 hours ago JOHANNESBURG – The United Front has blamed the African National Congress (ANC) for inequality and poverty in South Africa and has called for the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) to break away from the ruling party. The political movement adopted its declaration at the weekend <http://ewn.co.za/2014/12/14/United-Front-groupings-discuss-participation-in…>in an assembly convened by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) <http://ewn.co.za/2014/12/13/Numsa-United-Front-to-tackle-race-and-class-div…> in Kempton Park. The assembly of gathered workers unions and civic organisations <http://ewn.co.za/2014/12/13/Numsa-United-Front-not-political-party> also elected an interim committee, which includes former African National Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Ronnie Kasrils, who will oversee the official launch of the movement in April. The United Front says the ANC has left a trail of inequality <http://ewn.co.za/2014/12/14/Numsa-SAs-democratic-dream-dead>and that Cosatu, which it says is in intensive care, must leave the Tripartite Alliance. The umbrella body <http://ewn.co.za/2014/12/13/Numsa-convenes-peoples-assembly> made strong claims against the ANC, saying the majority party is obsessed with a capitalist system which places profit margins above the living conditions of the poor. United Front member and academic Noor Nieftagodien says they will build campaigns on issues affecting the poor, women and children. “The ANC government has become an enabler of white monopoly capital and the junior Black Economic Empowerment.” United Front officials say the movement will begin challenging the ANC government before its launch next year. Numsa was voted out <http://ewn.co.za/2014/11/20/Cosatu-denies-reinstating-charges-against-Vavi> of Cosatu in October by 33 votes to 24 and the decision has since exposed the rift between rival affiliates. Eight of Numsa’s allies in Cosatu subsequently refused to take part <http://ewn.co.za/2014/11/28/Cosatu-ANC-unity-intervention-not-at-risk> in the federation's meetings and have warned that if the metalworkers do not return to the fold, a mass walkout is on the cards. (Edited by Tamsin Wort) *** Numsa's Front: United only in opposition 14 Dec 2014 15:23 Phillip de Wet <http://mg.co.za/author/phillip-de-wet> Numsa's umbrella entity, the United Front, not so united as delegates disagree on internal structure and what role the party should play in elections. NEWS ANALYSIS It started off strong, because in any group with even mild leanings towards the left it is a song everyone knows by heart. “My mother was a kitchen girl,” sang National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) deputy general-secretary Karl Cloete on Saturday morning, and the 200-odd people in the room, there to work towards the formation of the United Front, were with him. “My father was a garden boy,” continued Cloete, and again the crowd followed enthusiastically. But it was not to last. *‘I’m a socialist’* “That’s why I’m a communist,” led Cloete from the podium, and suddenly there was confusion. Some people just mumbled incoherently when they reached the contentious part, others fell silent, glancing at their neighbours. By the second repeat most had opted to go with “that’s why I’m a socialist”, and by the third verse Cloete, despite commanding the microphone and resolutely clinging to “communist”, was overpowered by socialists apparently not quite ready to declare themselves communists. *Disagreements* The nascent United Front, Numsa’s initiative to create an umbrella that is neither political party nor trade union, spent Saturday and Sunday locked in a Johannesburg airport hotel trying to define itself. By the end of the weekend, however, and despite sometimes heated debate, the meeting had not agreed whether the United Front would be socialist – nor even what, exactly, socialism is. Other areas where delegates agreed to disagree, at least for the time being, is on whether or not the United Front should be regional, or continental, or just South African, how it should be structured, whether or not only individuals or only organisations can become members, and whether or not it should ever get directly involved in any way in elections. Membership should be open to all who share the (yet-to-be-defined) vision of the United Front, the meeting agreed, but definitely not to “the bourgeoisie”. Unfortunately, there was no agreement on what, exactly, would constitute being bourgeois, and whether or not the bourgeoisie includes the likes of taxi drivers, taxi owners or informal traders. *Consensus* Notwithstanding such rather fundamental disagreement, the mood was self-congratulatory. “There is sufficient consensus,” Cloete declared to nods and claps. That consensus, especially where strongest, seemed to consist almost entirely of a long list of things and people the United Front is not, or is against. *What the United Front is not* The United Front is not patient, Numsa president Andrew Chirwa said. “We are told we must suspend our hunger, our poverty, until 2030, when Vision 2030 is reached ... We’re told to be patient ... but we don’t see patience from some of our leaders ... we see a rush to loot resources.” The United Front is not sympathetic to the opposition politics of the Democratic Alliance, said activist Zackie Achmat, best known for his work with the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). “If you don’t watch out, Helen Zille will rule here,” Achmat warned, referring to the province of Gauteng. “The DA is coming, and not in a good way.” And the United Front, though sympathetic to the struggle of the Economic Freedom Fighters to speak its mind in Parliament, is not some “shortcut to Parliament”, Chirwa said, in one of many sly references to the EFF. The United Front is not a group that will seek to rescue the ANC or the SA Communist Party (SACP), said Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim, because those organisations are already lost. Neither champion socialism, and the entire ruling alliance is now “anti working-class” that has seen “a once proud people reduced to begging from the state” for social grants. If anything does unite the United Front, it is loathing of the Tripartite Alliance – and its leaders. Though Jacob Zuma was rarely mentioned by name, the many jokes about Nkandla were met with universal applause. Insults directed at SACP leader Blade Nzimande (“rotten”), Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini (“run, Sdumo, run!”) and deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa (“the Buffalo Breeder”) drew laughs even on their umpteenth repetition. *Ambitions* Loathing of the ANC and its alliance, however, is not in itself a course of action. In its struggle against neo-liberalism, the meeting seemed to concur, it would be fighting on many fronts. And the breadth of its ambitions are breathtaking. A sampling of some of the projects, problems and issues the United Front possibly intends tackling include: - Poverty and the wage gap - Planed redistribution - “crime, especially its violent forms” - Police brutality - food prices - “Environmental destruction” - Xenophobia - E-tolls - The National Development Plan (NDP) - Drugs - “Apartheid geography” - “Feudal control by tribal chiefs” - Health, education, housing, transport, water, and electricity - Unaccountable governance - Debt and student loans - Discrimination against women, the disabled, and everyone who is not hetrosexual To tackle those issues, the meeting agreed, the United Front must capture the public imagination. But how it should do so was not immediately clear. Some argued strongly for a campaign called The South Africa Want, based on a process of gathering demands “from below” via a process similar to the way the Freedom Charter was created. But others argued that it would be better to focus on an “iconic community”, such as Marikana, or to organise a “Day of Action”, or to picket the national budget presentation in Parliament to air objections to state spending priorities. The decision on which of those plans, if any, are to be implemented, was deferred. ------------------------------ Phillip de Wet is an associate editor at the Mail & Guardian. - Read more from *Phillip de Wet* <http://mg.co.za/author/phillip-de-wet> *** Kasrils excited to be involved with United Front Sunday 14 December 2014 15:42 SABC [image: Ronnie Kasrils has been speaking at the United Front People's Assembly in Boksburg on Gauteng's East Rand.] Ronnie Kasrils has been speaking at the United Front People's Assembly in Boksburg on Gauteng's East Rand.(SABC) Tags: - Gauteng <http://www.sabc.co.za/wps/portal/news/main/tag?tag=Gauteng> - East Rand <http://www.sabc.co.za/wps/portal/news/main/tag?tag=East%20Rand> - Boksburg <http://www.sabc.co.za/wps/portal/news/main/tag?tag=Boksburg> - Ronnie Kasrils <http://www.sabc.co.za/wps/portal/news/main/tag?tag=Ronnie%20Kasrils> - United Front <http://www.sabc.co.za/wps/portal/news/main/tag?tag=United%20Front> - Zackie Achmat <http://www.sabc.co.za/wps/portal/news/main/tag?tag=Zackie%20Achmat> - SACP <http://www.sabc.co.za/wps/portal/news/main/tag?tag=SACP> - Mazibuko Jara <http://www.sabc.co.za/wps/portal/news/main/tag?tag=Mazibuko%20Jara> Former Defence Minister and now United Front National Working Committee member Ronnie Kasrils says he feels rejuvenated to be involved with the United Front. He's been speaking at the Front's People's Assembly in Boksburg on Gauteng's East Rand. Sunday has seen the establishment of an interim committee of the fledgling body aimed at steering it to its official launch in April next year. Other members of the committee are social activists Zackie Achmat and Mazibuko Jara, both former ANC and SACP members respectively. Kasrils says he's excited. “I am elated to be part of a movement now based on the workers, based on the poor … for social equity, for a real sea change in our country given the way under this government of Jacob Zuma, under what the ANC and the Communist Party have become, to change things in order to serve the people and not oneself. So, we want to regenerate mass-based struggles and look to real change to serve for the better for our people.” The United Front People's Assembly has resolved that the new body will fight to champion the interests of the poor and working class. Delegate Noor Nieftagodien read out the final declaration: “The United Front will establish several working groups to unite organisations and struggles in these areas elaborating campaigns and mobilising strategies. Between now and the official launch of the United Front, we are going to unite in struggle against the national austerity budget, particularly on the issues affecting poor communities on February 25. We will organise a day of mass action on March 21 in defence of human rights, freedom of expression and the right to organise and against police brutality.” United Front delegates ratify interim leadership body by Karl Gernetzky <http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/staffprofiles/2012/08/02/karl-gernetzky-pro…>, 15 December 2014 A COALITION of leftist and activist forces under the banner of the United Front has resolved to begin campaigning next year, including a protest against austerity as Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene tables the budget in February. The United Front was scheduled to be officially launched this weekend, but this has been delayed until April. About 342 delegates from 71 organisations met in Ekurhuleni instead for a "preparatory assembly" to discuss organisational matters. Amid disagreements on issues such as the use of the term "socialist", delegates formed a 21-person interim leadership body. It resolved that entrenched elites in SA were incapable and unwilling to "give one inch" on policies that could benefit the socioeconomically marginalised. Reading the United Front declaration on Sunday academic Noor Nieftagodien said it must "unite in struggle against the national austerity budget". A mass action in defence of human rights would be held in March, among other programmes. The interim leadership structure includes former African National Congress (ANC) stalwart Ronnie Kasrils, activist Zackie Achmat, and former Nelson Mandela Bay metro mayor and MP Zanoxolo Wayile. They were among 12 individuals elected during United Front commissions at the weekend, while nine others, one elected by each of the provinces, constituted the rest of the steering committee. The United Front encompasses trade unions, social movements, civics, women’s organisations, student and youth organisations, but its fate and purpose has to date been intertwined with the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), which has bankrolled much of the organisation. Despite this there had been agreement that the United Front had to fund its own budget at least from April, United Front co-ordinator Dinga Sikwebu said on Sunday. Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) affiliates supporting Numsa following its expulsion from the federation did attend the United Front assembly. But the uncertainty as Cosatu heads to a special national congress next year and ANC intervention to heal rifts, may complicate matters, at least for unions supporting the front. In a statement on Friday, the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) — a supporter of Numsa — said it would send representation but would distance itself from all efforts to form a new "party-political formation". The South African Democratic Teachers Union on Sunday took Fawu’s position as a signal that the United Front had "failed", saying: "It never had any basis for unity in the first place." Numsa deputy general secretary Karl Cloete on Sunday reiterated that Numsa would remain a trade union rather than a political party, but said one of the tasks for the United Front should be to ensure that organised labour remained democratic and worker-controlled. *** [WARNING - Sadtu was being fed misinformation] Contact: Mugwena Maluleke, General Secretary, 082 783 2968 Nkosana Dolopi, Deputy General Secretary, 082 709 5651 ------------------------------ [image: SADTU Teachers at Work, with logo, smaller.png] *SADTU Media Release, 14 December 2014* *Collapse of NUMSA’s “United Front”* The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) notices that the metalworkers’ union NUMSA, formerly an affiliate of COSATU issued a statement on Friday. Buried in the more than 6,000 words of NUMSA’s usual rhetoric is an admission of complete failure to carry out its long-time plan of creating a “United Front”, precursor to a “Movement for Socialism”, and of a copycat version of the tripartite National Democratic Revolutionary Alliance of the ANC, SACP and COSATU. NUMSA is once again “diving in the box” and claiming victimhood. But the defeat of the “United Front” dream, and of all that was to follow, is entirely self-inflicted. It was a disastrous “own goal” for the current NUMSA leadership – the same leadership that defied the majority in COSATU, causing the metalworkers’ union to be expelled from the federation. The demise of the “United Front” marks the beginning of the end of NUMSA’s destructive aberrations of the last few years. SADTU hopes that metalworker members who want NUMSA back in the Federation will now assert themselves within its structures. They should first make sure that poached members of SATAWU, CEPPWAWU, NUM and other COSATU affiliates return to their rightful homes. Then they should make NUMSA submit to COSATU’s constitution, and return with dignity to the fold. The “United Front” failed because it was never united, and because it never had any basis for unity in the first place. The cabal at the top of NUMSA thought that they could create a coalition of the angry, by bringing together people who are jealous of the ANC’s success, and who want to steal the ANC’s clothes, with other people who can’t bear that kind of success at any price, and who instead want to pursue an ultra-leftist experiment in South Africa, against the wishes of everybody else in the country. SADTU has also noticed FAWU’s statement on Friday. FAWU is now unequivocal in its determination to remain within the ANC fold, and to retain relations with the SACP. FAWU is not interested in any kind of divorce from COSATU, or interested in a new federation. The clear pro-Alliance statement that FAWU has issued means that the failure of the “United Front” is complete. We are also happy to note DENOSA’s categorical statement of a week ago that said: *“DENOSA is dismayed by the claim made by the former president of South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU), comrade Thobile Ntola, that they had engaged DENOSA on formation of the new public service union. DENOSA would like to categorically distance itself from the formation of this public sector union. DENOSA can confirm that it has never been consulted and it is not party to the formation of a public sector union as reported.”* SADTU would like to remind the public that Thobile Ntola was convicted by SADTU’s internal disciplinary process of corruption. Ntola is in our opinion not a fit person to be in the leadership of any union, which is why we dismissed and expelled him from SADTU. We would warn workers that “SAPSU” is far from being a registered union under the Labour Relations Act, and that they should not join it, or hand over any money to anyone in connection with “SAPSU”. This bogus entity, “SAPSU”, has no officials, no domicile, no office and no telephone. It is no more than a confidence trick. Beware! SADTU notes the firm statements made this week by our sister affiliates of COSATU, NEHAWU and NUM. We support what they have said. We are proud to stand with them, and with the overwhelming majority of COSATU members. *Lastly, we want to condemn the conduct of the incumbent General Secretary of COSATU, in particular his refusal to implement the decisions of the CEC. His unprecedented move is an indication of a leader who has clearly grown bigger than the organisation. The General Secretary must be reminded that he is serving us in that office and not his own interests or views. COSATU is not a personal project and he must implement the decisions of the collective instead of reducing the Federation's structural meetings and workshop sessions to the platform to attack the COSATU leadership and deal with the charges preferred against him. The Constitution of COSATU is very clear about disciplinary procedures and he must abide by that. He must stop using the political process as resolved by the CEC to go around creating chaos in the Federation rather than working for unity and cohesion of the Federation. Is he causing all this constitutional chaos of choosing which decision to implement and which one not to implement as an indication of where he actually belongs? Is he a free agent of the Federation or the General Secretary elected in accordance with the same constitution he is violating? He must forthwith stop confusing COSATU with his own properties. We urge him to serve COSATU affiliates who own COSATU. There is no COSATU without the affiliates he is undermining. We urge him to abide by the policies and the constitution of COSATU.* SADTU has also noticed the outstanding success of the Young Communist League’s 4th National Congress, still under way in Cape Town. Taking all of the above together, SADTU is happy to note that South Africa’s National Democratic Revolution, now in its Radical Second Phase, is very secure as we approach the end of 2014. We wish all of our members and partners all of the best, including safety and health, during the festive season. We would also take this opportunity of wishing our beloved liberation movement, the African National Congress, well on the coming 103rd Anniversary of its founding, and a serene and powerful year of government in 2015. *Issued by:* *SADTU Secretariat* *Contact:* *Mugwena Maluleke, General Secretary, 082 783 2968* *Nkosana Dolopi, Deputy General Secretary, 082 709 5651* -- To view previous posts, create a Google account with your current email and log in using gmail to access the archives. https://accounts.google.com/newaccount?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups " debate-list(a)fahamu.org" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to debate-list+unsubscribe(a)fahamu.org. To post to this group, send email to debate-list(a)fahamu.org. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/a/fahamu.org/group/debate-list/ . -- 1. *2014. From Coldwar Communism to the Global Justice Movement: Itinerary of a Long-Distance Internationalist. * * http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/from_coldwar_communism _to_the_global_emancipatory_movement/ <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/from_coldwar_communism_to_the_global_emanci…> (Free, in two formats) * 2. *2014. Interface Journal Special (Co-Editor), December 2014. 'Social Movement Internationalisms'. <http://www.interfacejournal.net/current/> * 3. *2012. EBook: Recovering Internationalism <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/recovering_internationalism/>. [A compilation of papers from the new millenium. Now free in two download formats]* 4. *2013. EBook (co-editor), February 2013: World Social Forum: Critical Explorations http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/world_social_forum/ <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/world_social_forum/>* 5. *2012. Interface Journal Special (co-editor), November 2012: For the Global Emancipation of Labour <http://www.interfacejournal.net/current/>* 6. *Ongoing. Blog: http://www.unionbook.org/profile/peterwaterman. <http://www.unionbook.org/profile/peterwaterman.>* 7. *2005-????. Needed: a Global Labour Charter Movement (2005-Now!) <http://interfacejournal.nuim.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Interf…>* 8. *2011. Under, Against, Beyond: Labour and Social Movements Confront a Globalised, Informatised Capitalism <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/under-against-beyond/>(2011) (c. 1,000 pages of Working Papers, free, from the 1980's-90's).* _______________________________________________ NetworkedLabour mailing list NetworkedLabour(a)lists.contrast.org http://lists.contrast.org/mailman/listinfo/networkedlabour -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

1 0

Fwd: The Critique of EuroModernism: a question of standpoints
by Michel Bauwens 15 Dec '14

15 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Kanth, Rajani <rkanth(a)fas.harvard.edu> Date: Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 7:50 AM Subject: The Critique of EuroModernism: a question of standpoints To: "michelsub2004(a)gmail.com" <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com> best , r *** Understanding EuroModernism In this short piece, I clarify the standpoint of my Critique of EuroModernism ( in the latter section of this Note; I have carefully defined this epochal template in previous posts, some of which are available on my blog-site: http://theinvolutegandhian.weebly.com/ ). I have tried to argue, in various previous posts, that EuroModernism is the demoralizing , totalizing, spectre that haunts the globe today - albeit now in its very last tremors (though its ghoulish tail lasheth at us all, willy nilly). Its expungement will be , I have written, a great boon to humanity, globally, not least to European societies themselves - that were its very first victims. I have not claimed this as a moral imperative, though it certainly is so. Nor have I forwarded it as an apriori political judgment, though the Argument might not be diminished by such a stance. Instead, I have merely posited the requisites of real, anthropic societies: and suggested that all of Modernist presumptions run plainly contrary to their basic presumptions. In effect, Modernist ontology and epistemology are inherently anti-anthropic in their thrust: and will, if allowed full rein, destroy our anthropic existence entirely - thereby fully arresting human evolution. The prospect of a Transhuman future , which is not far off - if unchecked - is quite ineradicably written into Modernist dogmas. To the ‘progressivist’ Modernist such a critique will appear un‘dialectical’, equivalent to ‘throwing the baby out, alongside the bathwater’. Stated differently , the Loyal Critics of His Modernist Majesty have it that it is kosher to criticize Modernist realities, but not Modernist ideals (that they, apparently, share) - omitting to remember the critical, umbilical, cord connecting the one to the other. Indeed, Modernism ‘creates’ a wholly mutant social form , alien to the anthropic essence, and antithetical to its hospitable survival in a relatively equable natural world. It replaces the vital nexus of kinship with contractual relations, to the point of viewing society itself as a ‘contract’ rather than an affective compact. It postulates, and idealises, an asocial ‘individual’ who is prompted with self-seeking conduct as the ontological ‘building block ‘ of this ‘civil’ society. It also vests this luckless creature - doomed henceforth to live out the dual , if still monotonic, destinies of a producer/consumer - with illimitable material drives that keep it at the wheel ,like hamsters , for the duration of its days. After performing this radical caesarean , it compensates this disabled, rootless entity with the promise of a slew of meretricious ‘rights’: equality, liberty, et.al. Where/when these dubious benefices are found insufficient in themselves (as ever!) there is that standby, gaudy, glut of commodities that might help while away the idle, empty hour , where such time is available at all : away , that is, from the daily, lifelong, grind of laboring - usually for the profit of others, which is the abject lot of the vast majority. Even were these ‘rights’ to be ‘real’ (i.e. realizable) they would only help solidify the alienated individual forlornly within his/her personalized domain of cold, ‘rational’ anomie, floundering without the crucial rudders of care and consideration , manifestly essential to anthropic well-being. But they are tendentious promises only , run through , and razed, by the designs of the rich and the powerful who manage the ‘system’, one way or other, for their own ends. To live and die within the solitary confinement of such a lightless, privatized , existence, formally ‘equal’ to others suffering similarly under the same common fate, does not , somehow, appear to represent a cornucopia of psychic riches to be envied, or marveled, at: let alone being the apex of human attainment, as EuroModernism views itself. Indeed, it is a condition that , perhaps somewhat more obviously, moves sentient, feeling , creatures to the very margins of debauchery and destruction (of the Self, or Others) - as befitting a state of rudderless anomie. Paradoxically, the more normless and amoral the real societal state of being, on average, the more glaring the Modernist flaunt of Constitutions, Codes, and Rulebooks (yes, it is an Empire , any time of day, blest with a commanding largesse of Laws). In fact, even a casual glance at the civil/social statistics of EuroModernist societies would help confirm the very palpable psychic suffering, alienation, if you will, that accompanies a life spent - not lived! – in such an arid terrain of perpetual, pitiless competition, one-upmanship, and despoiling, extirpative conflict. It becomes, inescapably, a nasty, boorish , Hobbesian world where, as has justly been remarked, ‘hell is other people’. The urban jungles of the lead Modernist entity, the US, illustrate this ineffable quality of hellishness , almost in caricature. Small wonder that desperation, existential angst, and coruscating, irrequitable , loneliness is the lot of so many of the true believers who still worship at the Modernist Altar(even whilst being sacrificed on it). Indeed, the frantically utopian yearnings of the sensitized , within them, are a reflex only of the unbearable , destituting, burdens of that prostrating geist. The conclusion may well be indefeasible: that EuroModernism is little other than sheer fraud, a scurrilous Libel upon the - admittedly slender reeds of beneficence of - the Human Race. For desocialisation is , for us humans, dehumanization. Stated differently , the eclipse of gemeinschaft communities by the hypertrophic gesellschaft formations so favored by Modernist Corporatism – for it is their choice creation !- presages only the slow , suffocating, extinction of the civilities, nay decencies, of anthropic life. With the latter, dies morality - a societal norm deriving from the domestic sphere of child-rearing (the domain, in extremis, of societal care and consideration). Whence arises the amoral ‘human’ ( a real oxymoron) , now rendered fair game for manipulation , robotisation , and exploitation - by the powers that be. I have tried to point out that deep underneath the unprecedentedly egregious Crises of our times is a real, titanic struggle between the ‘mammals’ (warm blooded/heat-seeking) and the ‘reptiles” (cold blooded/calculating). I have no doubt that given time, our species-being will , eventually, assert itself: but it could be this very vital resource that may be insufficient to ensure such an outcome - given the overflowing Tribe of Dr Strangeloves (and worse) that today populates , in increasing overswell, the extant halls of Power and Governance. EuroModernism is, in short, misanthropy, writ large. *** Standpoints , in such analyses of the here , and the hereafter, are clearly important. Any philosophy or ‘social science’ that elides a sound knowledge of a realist anthropology of the species is, thereby, simply gratuitous. Regrettably, almost all of European speculative philosophy , since the so-called ‘enlightenment’ – including its ‘social sciences’ - has had nothing but thin air as its presumptive, ontic foundation(whether pronounced piously or pompously). Marx’s Tenth Thesis on Feuerbach says: The standpoint of the old materialism is civil society; the standpoint of the new is human society, or social humanity. It can now be seen that both the ‘standpoints’ referred to, above, are flawed. ‘Civil Society’ is the quintessential artefact of EuroModernism that negates every axiom of anthropic society, in its constitution, being the playground (or is it the battleground?) of ‘universal egoism’ - where each sees the other, and society itself, as a means to his/her personal ends. But the novel ‘standpoint’ he proffers, in its stead, is also pure fiction: indeed, what realist basis exists for such a fantasy? Now, to the extent that his ‘human society’ is none other than tribal formations - first overrun by European conquistadores and then eulogized as ‘primitive communism’ – there would be , thence, a solid base for a very real, already achieved, ‘Utopia’. But it is not at all clear that that is what is being referred to: ‘primitive communism’ was , undeniably, an original point of departure for Marx, and others - but his later ideas left that inspiration behind as he went on to embrace a radical, ‘left-wing’ version of Liberal EuroModernist ideas ( I am aware that, in his very last years, Marx changed his mind about many such issues, but his legacy and legators did not scale that into their plans). As I have written elsewhere, the underlying vision of Marx, like so many of his ‘progressive’ contemporaries, is not too far apart - with some hyperbole - from a secular version of the Judeo-Christian ‘kingdom of heaven’. The irony of otherwise materialist philosophers, plim with fanciful ideals is far from a trifling one. Most European ‘enlightenment’ philosophers , in this genre, theorized even more ‘speculatively’, much like the US ‘declaration of independence’ positing boldly, , one presumes with a divinely granted perspicacity, various human attributes given us by an invisible ‘Creator’. I do not, given such discouraging precedents, advocate, in turn, yet another ‘pie-in-the-sky’ Program leading to a Promised Land: instead, I point to ‘actually achieved utopia’, i.e., the innocuous, self-sustaining, anthropic communities that lived contentedly (if within unbreachable anthropic limits) on the basis of affective, kindred based, convivial relations - almost ‘dialectically’ antipodal to any and all versions of EuroModernist societies. As I have written, we can’t simply ‘imagine’ ourselves into a ‘new world’ (despite the fact that there is, as has been noted, ‘a hidden value to day-dreaming’) , on the basis of a grand, even noble, ‘camaraderie of ideals’, which is largely the way EuroModernists went about their plans – to unscalable human misery such as has chararacterised social engineering, Capitalist and Socialist, in the Twentieth Century. Anthropic society is real: it is not difficult to fathom - if studied seriously, without the aids of colored or discolored lenses. It is neither good nor bad: it is what it is. I argue that the essence of our species-being lies in kinship : and , accordingly, I suggest that societies that are based on that live possibly more satisfying lives, in consequence. I point to the universality of the family as the ultimate warren of nurturance , care, and warmth for the human animal as providing powerful testimony in support of that supposition. This is not utopian banner-waving, nor does it constitute unduly wishful thinking: au contraire, it is a serious argument that is as yet , providentially ?, verifiable empirically : given that a few such societies still exist where, by sheer inadvertence, the Modernists, be they European or Otherwise, have not annihilated them completely. As such , the Argument is in point of fact, for better or for worse, realist in the extreme. One Final matter: Modernism is the motherlode from which both Capitalism and Socialism derive. Putting aside Socialism , that derived from an appreciation of the more egregious defaults of EuroCapitalism (obvious to both Dickens and Engels, for example, in England), the issue might be posed: which came first, Modernism or Capitalism? Unlike the chicken-or-the-egg conundrum (‘solved’, apparently, to their own satisfaction by Brit researchers sometime ago), this one is rather easy. It is Modernism that first validates individualized,(i.e. anti-social) , unilateral, self-interest, unmindful of the community interest, as socially appropriate: it is this glaring watershed that separates not only Europe from its own history, but also from the history of ALL existing societies , globally. That idea found its resonance in the subsequent approval of the ill-fated Profit-motive ( that so disfigures all scapes of Europe, forever after) which is the mantra, and mainstay, of Modernist Capitalism. So, yes, EuroModernism was the foster-nurse and midwife of EuroCapitalism. REFERENCES R. KANTH, BREAKING WITH THE ENLIGHTENMENT, 1997 ______, AGAINST EUROCENTRISM, 2005 ______, THE CHALLENGE OF EUROCENTRISM, 2009 ______, THE POST-HUMAN SOCIETY, 2013 ---------, TWO LECTURES ON EUROCENTRISM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDwQrpfom9M< https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v1/url?u=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%… [© R.Kanth 2014] -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

1 0

Fwd: Seeds of Truth: Vandana Shiva and the New Yorker
by Michel Bauwens 15 Dec '14

15 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jonathan Latham <jrlatham(a)bioscienceresource.org> Date: Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 10:47 AM Subject: Seeds of Truth: Vandana Shiva and the New Yorker To: bsr-PROJECT-ELIST1(a)gn.apc.org Dear All Published today (Dec 15th) on *Independent Science News*: *Seeds of Truth: Vandana Shiva and the New Yorker* by Dr Vandana Shiva http://www.independentsciencenews.org/un-sustainable-farming/seeds-of-truth… *Synopsis:* Earlier this year *The New Yorker* published an article by Michael Specter titled "Seeds of Doubt". We are reprinting the reply of Dr Vandana Shiva who was the centrepiece of that article. As well as detailing its "fraudulent assertions and deliberate attempts to skew reality", Dr Shiva calls important attention to the ongoing efforts of Monsanto and the biotechnology industry to manipulate reporting of GMO issues in the media-including the publishers of *The New Yorker*. She also gives her assessment of the still misunderstood Indian experience with GMO Bt cotton that was the background to *The New Yorker* article. yours sincerely Jonathan Latham, PhD Executive Director The Bioscience Resource Project Ithaca, NY 14850 USA www.independentsciencenews.org and www.bioscienceresource.org jrlatham(a)bioscienceresource.org Skype: jonathanlatham2 Tel: 1-607-319-0279 “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”—Edward Bernays, Propaganda _______________________________________________ BSR-project-elist1 mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/bsr-project-elist1 To unsubscribe, email bsr-project-elist1-unsubscribe(a)gn.apc.org -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

1 0

Fwd: [Networkedlabour] Fwd: <nettime> Global Direct - Political Philosophy Art - Global Democracy Now
by Michel Bauwens 14 Dec '14

14 Dec '14

hi Paolo, not sure how I came to participate in this ? it doesn't ring a bell, seems an important initiative though, but it it an 'art' project, or really aims to set out what it explains ? Michel ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Orsan Senalp <orsan1234(a)gmail.com> Date: Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 10:49 PM Subject: [Networkedlabour] Fwd: <nettime> Global Direct - Political Philosophy Art - Global Democracy Now To: networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org Begin forwarded message: *Resent-From:* nettime(a)kein.org *From:* Paolo Cirio <press.paolo.cirio(a)gmail.com> *Date:* 12 Dec 2014 01:43:23 GMT+1 *Resent-To:* Nettime <nettime-l(a)kein.org> *To:* nettime-l(a)kein.org *Subject:* *<nettime> Global Direct - Political Philosophy Art - Global Democracy Now* Press Release Nov./Dec. 2014. NYC. Global Direct [1]http://GlobalDirect.today Artwork by Paolo Cirio and currently shown at DOX Prague, Palazzo del Governatore Parma and online on Turbulence.org With the participation of Carne Ross, Daniele Archibugi, Douglas Rushkoff, Jon Lebkowsky, Ethan Zuckerman, Michel Bauwens, David Moore, among others. The artwork Global Direct is a visionary political philosophy promoting global participatory democracy driven by information technology and the failure of current primitive political systems. To illustrate the conceptual work the artist has drawn a series of fifteen organograms for initiating a program for global participatory democracy. [2]http://GlobalDirect.today/program These creative diagrams are informed by research in contemporary and emergent forms of democracy which the artist conducted and integrates as part of the artwork. Furthermore, the artist promotes Global Direct through designing a political poster campaign to popularize its visions. [3]http://GlobalDirect.today/campaign Akin to a traditional political campaign, posters are disseminated throughout public walls in several cities and consistently feature the campaignâs political symbol beside each slogan. In the poster, a clear sky visually represents a bright future full of new possibilities above the clouds. Global Direct researches in pursuit of a new advanced version of democracy, where everyone can take part in local and global governance, justice, and economy. For this new political civilization, Global Direct aims to inspire new protocols, procedures, and policies that can cope with the social complexity, crises, and speed of contemporary life. These issues are addressed in the artistâs theoretical essay. [4]http://GlobalDirect.today/about Combining multiple voices and ideas about alternative modes of advanced participatory and global democracy, the documentation on the website includes academic publications, links to organizations, and articles that influenced the creation of the project. [5]http://GlobalDirect.today/today As part of its documentary component, the artist produced over ten video statements by visionaries close to the ideas promoted by Global Direct. The collection of short video statements are available on the website, offering a compelling overview of the potentials of an ideal society. [6]http://GlobalDirect.today/statements The website also presents the artistâs research into social sciences for comparing the political structures of several countries, which are presented through many charts that diagram different governmental functions and features. [7]http://GlobalDirect.today/yesterday Through this painstaking investigation the artist was able to analyze common and specific mechanics of contemporary governance and reassemble them with new organograms drawn in order to suggest the creative political alternative proposed by the project. The fifteen diagrams created for the project are presented via large prints as an installation for art galleries. Each print indicates a single area of governance and social structure. [8]http://paolocirio.net/work/global-direct/#pics The diagrams are also presented together on the website and distributed in printed leaflets as interconnected networks of conceptual maps that influence one other in a feedback loop for a fair, self-governing global society. [9]http://globaldirect.today/press/GD-DIAGRAMS-PDF/0_global_direct-netw orked_governance.pdf These diagrams drawn by the artists are the core of the artwork, describing the political program of Global Direct, as the ultimate utopic vision, directly inspired by the multiple perspectives found through research on prevailing political systems, theories, and alternative ideas about advanced forms of democracy. Global Direct is a 2014 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc. in NY, U.S., for its Turbulence.org website, which is made possible with funding from the Jerome Foundation. Global Direct has been especially supported by DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague and Lunatici Cultural A.P.S Association through the Municipality of Parma, Italy. Keywords: Decentralization, Participation, Deliberation, Transparency, Accountability and Openness in governance, Open Source Governance, Open Data, Electronic Voting, Emergent Democracy, Online Consultation. Thank you for the attention. Paolo Cirio. [10]http://paolocirio.net References 1. http://GlobalDirect.today/ 2. http://GlobalDirect.today/program 3. http://GlobalDirect.today/campaign 4. http://GlobalDirect.today/about 5. http://GlobalDirect.today/today 6. http://GlobalDirect.today/statements 7. http://GlobalDirect.today/yesterday 8. http://paolocirio.net/work/global-direct/#pics 9. http://globaldirect.today/press/GD-DIAGRAMS-PDF/0_global_direct-networked_g… 10. http://paolocirio.net/ # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime(a)kein.org _______________________________________________ NetworkedLabour mailing list NetworkedLabour(a)lists.contrast.org http://lists.contrast.org/mailman/listinfo/networkedlabour -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

2 2

Re: [P2P-F] Do It Yourself Solar: Austrian Self-Build Coops
by Michel Bauwens 14 Dec '14

14 Dec '14

yes, of course, excellent history! On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 8:18 AM, George Mokray <gmoke(a)world.std.com> wrote: > > Thought you might be interested in this story of self-help solar. > > ------------- > > In 1983, a couple of years after the second of the 1970s oil shocks and at > a time when petroleum prices were relatively low, in a village near Graz, > Austria, in the province of Styria, a farmer and an engineer led a group of > 32 people in building simple do it yourself solar heaters. They said, "Our > primary aim was to build a collector that was inexpensive and easy to build > for every one of us. Having become aware of the 􏰜finiteness of natural > resources, we also aimed at avoiding all material waste in constructing the > collector. Other important aspects were the saving of energy, environmental > protection, and community building. Everybody was expected to build their > own collector in order to be sufficiently familiar with its function.” > > By the end of 1984, two more self-building groups with more than 100 > participants were needed to meet the local demand for such solar heaters. > By 1986, the do it yourself groups were producing more collector surface > area than all the commercial suppliers in Austria. In 1987, the first > build-it-yourself guide was published and in 1988 the Association for > Renewable Energy (AEE) was founded to institutionalize the group build, > self build, do it yourself solar movement which now included about 50 > groups and more than 1,000 participants. > > By the end of 1998 there were 360,000 m2 of solar collector area and about > 30,000 household solar hot water heating systems built by the do it > yourselfers, out of 100,000 private household solar systems with 1.3 > million m2 of plate collector surface in all of Austria. For a decade and > more, do it yourself, self-build groups dominated the Austrian solar > industry and the model was exported to Switzerland, the Czech and Slovak > Republics, and Slovenia. > > From 1986 on, the self-build group leaders met monthly and improved the > heater designs based upon practical feedback from users and builders. They > met with manufacturers, examined their products, and placed bulk orders to > produce solar installations for their members and participants at very > competitive prices. The self-builders developed a new method to integrate > solar collectors directly into the roof and expanded the solar hot water > systems into space-heating or combination systems as well which became more > cost-efficient and popular as building insulation and air infiltration > standards rose in the 1990s. It is estimated that 50% of all the new solar > systems in Austria are now designed to serve both hot water and space > heating needs, making it the leading market for solar combination systems > today. > > A do it yourself group starts with an introductory lecture and a trip to > existing self-built solar systems. The construction groups work with the > help of technical leaders to build 􏰜finished solar water systems. The > average life of a construction group is usually three to four months. The > most remarkable characteristic of the members of the self-help group is > that farmers and part-time farmers seem to be the largest adopters. > > Although the solar companies originally saw self-build groups as amateur > competition likely to botch the solar systems and installations, the > success of the self-construction movement made solar more popular and > certainly more visible. Today, Austria has one of the highest penetrations > of solar thermal energy systems in the world and Austrian solar collector > producers are market leaders in the European market with one third of all > solar systems sold there coming from their factories and workshops. > > I first learned about the Austrian self-build cooperatives in the > magnificent Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy by John > Perlin (Novato, CA: New World Library, 2013 ISBN 978-1-60868-132-7) and > followed his footnotes to Michael Ornetzeder and Harald Rohracher's > original work: > User-led innovations and participation processes: lessons from sustainable > energy technologies > Energy Policy 34 (2006) 138–150 > > http://www.musiklexikon.ac.at:8000/ita/ita-papers/Ornetzeder_Rohracher_Ener… > Of solar collectors, wind power, and car sharing: Comparing and > understanding successful cases of grassroots innovations > http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:685433/FULLTEXT01.pdf > > Back in the day, in the late 1970s, I started something called the Solar > Work Group in the Boston area. It was a group of people who met together > once a month or so to build simple solar devices. We built a couple of > water heaters out of copper sheet and tubing, helped a friend fix up his > attached solar greenhouse, and projects like that. At about the same time, > the anti-nuclear movement was warming up in Western MA anbd in Southern NH > over the proposed Seabrook nuclear power plants . The Solar Work Group > rolled into the NE Coastal Power Show, a traveling energy show housed in a > big, old White van, an old bread truck, that went from Maine to Washington > DC, from Pennsylvania to Cape Cod over the next few years as an affinity > group of the Clamshell Alliance, and presented energy efficiency, > renewables, and nuclear energy information to an estimated 250,000 million > people throughout the Northeast. We had a big parabolic trough hot water > heater on the roof and a detachable windmill we could place on top of a > mast on the van. The van itself had a secondary battery that was charged > by the engine as we drove. Solar cookers, hot water heaters, Stirling > engines, buttons, bumperstickers, pamphlets and books, we had more > information than any one person could absorb. > > Also during that time period, another group of us formed the Urban Solar > Energy Association which soon became the "fastest growing" solar group in > the nation. It also had monthly meetings and did solar barnraisings, > building solar attics, greenhouses, windowbox solar collectors, solar hot > air collectors, and solar water heaters. The group went on for a number of > years producing a do it yourself solar hot air heater manual, other > technical reports, and a monthly newsletter. Eventually, it merged with > the MA Bay chapter of the Northeast Solar Energy Association to become the > Boston Area Solar Energy Association (http://www.basea.org) which still > has monthly meetings, lectures and presentations on the solar issues and > technologies of today. > > In the last few years, the Home Energy Efficiency Team ( > http://www.heetma.com) here in Cambridge has been doing weatherization > barnraisings and a number of other communities have begun to do the same. > In five years, HEET has organized more than 225 energy-upgrade work > parties, assisted with more than 50 solar installations, and trained more > than 3,500 volunteers in hands-on skills in saving energy. There have been > other weatherization and solar barnraising groups in Western MA, NH, ME, > CA, and around the country. Perhaps, if they institutionalized and > organized themselves as well as the Austrian solar water heater group, they > could multiply their impact. > > Austria's solar self-build movement has had a significant effect on that > country's energy economics. Can Ukraine do the same? In November 2014, I > saw a BBC article (http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29840214) on Roman > Zinchenko and Greencubator (https://www.facebook.com/greencubator; > http://greencubator.info; @greencubator). In that country, with its > energy supply dependent upon Russia, Zinchenko has been organizing > hackathons - "off-grid, solar-powered meetings of an assortment of > programmers, engineers, and bloggers set 'in the middle of nowhere'". > These events give birth to businesses like Ecois.me, an app being tested by > Deutsche Telekom which helps households reduce energy consumption and works > with a sensor installed in the electrical meter, and eCoopTaxi which > combines electric cars, a taxi service, and open energy co-operation as a > business model. Greencubator is also building an "energy torrent", a > platform to encourage open-source energy tech designs and is about to > "retrofit" an existing building in Kiev as a showcase for green > initiatives, an "architectural hackathon." > > Energy is power and power is politics. All these examples are forms of > Solar Swadeshi, the locally productive nature of solar energy, and can fit > within the definitions of Gandhian economics, the formation of a > non-violent economic system. > > Previously: > Solar Swadeshi > > http://solarray.blogspot.com/2005/05/solar-swadeshi-hand-made-electricity.h… > > Personal Power Production: Solar from Civil Defense to Swadeshi > > http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/11/10/919251/-Personal-Power-Production-… > > Solar Barnraisings > http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/03/05/470085/-Solar-Barnraisings > > Old Solar: 1980 Barnraised Solar Air Heater > > http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/07/05/527101/-Old-Solar-1980-Barnraised-… -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

1 0

CAMRI Research Seminars spring 2015 preview: World War I, Žižek, CSR=ideology, consumer capitalism movie, Occupy, fetishism, neoliberal technology/university
by Christian Fuchs 11 Dec '14

11 Dec '14

CAMRI Research Seminars Spring 2015 University of Westminster, Communication and Media Research Institute Overview: http://www.westminster.ac.uk/camri/research-seminars Programme: http://fuchs.uti.at/wp-content/CAMRIspring2015.pdf Time: Wednesdays, 14:00-16:00 University of Westminster, Harrow Campus, Room A7.01 Registration for specific events: e-mail to christian.fuchs(a)uti.at Peter Goodwin (University of Westminster) Media, Art and Politics: The Centenary of the First World War in Britain January 21, 2015 http://www.westminster.ac.uk/camri/research-seminars/peter-goodwin-media,-a… Clint Burnham (Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada) The Subject Supposed to LOL: Slavoj Žižek and the Event of the Internet January 28, 2015 www.westminster.ac.uk/camri/research-seminars/clint-burnham-the-subject-sup… Marisol Sandoval (City University London) From Corporate to Social Media: Critical Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility in Media and Communication Industries http://www.westminster.ac.uk/camri/research-seminars/marisol-sandoval-from-… February 4, 2015 Beyond Consumer Capitalism: A Movie Screening and Q&A with Justin Lewis (Cardiff University) February 11, 2015 http://www.westminster.ac.uk/camri/research-seminars/justin-lewis-beyond-co… Anastasia Kavada (University of Westminster) Communicating Protest Movements: The Case of Occupy February 25, 2015 http://www.westminster.ac.uk/camri/research-seminars/anastasia-kavada-commu… Des Freedman (Goldsmiths College) Media Policy Fetishism March 11, 2015 http://www.westminster.ac.uk/camri/research-seminars/des-freedman-media-pol… Richard Hall (De Montfort University) Against Educational Technology in the Neoliberal University March 25, 2015 http://www.westminster.ac.uk/camri/research-seminars/richard-hall-against-e…

1 0