Video – Ecosocialist Alliance Open Meeting – Building for the Future

The Ecosocialist Alliance, formed for COP26, held an open meeting on 26 January, to explore how the alliance can grow and promote ecosocialist solutions to our ecological and social ills.

The meeting, held on Zoom, generated lots of great ideas, which we are evaluating, with a view to putting together a plan and structure which will do this most effectively. The video of the meeting is below.

Overall, it was very good, and gives us something to build on.

If you would like to join with us, and keep up to date with the alliance, please email eco-socialist-action@protonmail.com.   

Video Recording – Ecosocialists Challenge the G7 Meeting

This is a recording of the Zoom meeting of the Ecosocialist Alliance on 9 June 2021, to discuss the then forthcoming G7 meeting in Cornwall, England. Most of the attendees are from the UK, but with some from north America. As events transpired, they proved that we were right to be sceptical that anything significant would come out of the G7.

This is part of a campaign in the run to COP26 in Glasgow, in November later this year, which began with the release of a statement by the Alliance, which you can read here.

There will be more actions taken before and during COP26, and ecosocialists worldwide are encouraged to support these actions, in any way that you can. The Ecosocialist Allaince is for all ecosocialists, but we in the UK will take the lead in presenting our solutions to the ecological crisis to governments at COP26.

Time is running out – let’s make them listen to reason, and to take some meaningful action to mitigate the emergency.

The video is unedited, so is a little raw.

Contact for more information:  eco-socialist-action@protonmail.com

Ecological Crisis and Revolutionary Solutions

ECOLOGICAL CRISIS AND REVOLUTIONARY SOLUTION from Internationalist Commune on Vimeo.

As part of the Global #ClimateStrike, activists from the campaign Make Rojava Green Again spoke with Jiyan, from the young women structures of Rojava.

 Jiyan talks in a 45-minute interview about democratic confederalism, the importance of ecology and the role of youth and young women in building a democratic, free and ecological society. She also sends her greetings to all activists worldwide who are fighting for an ecological society.

We need your support – Open letter by #FridaysForFuture #Rojava

Dear students of Fridays For Future,

We have been following the world wide climate protests and strikes with great excitement. And since we founded Fridays For Future Rojava in May of this year we have been protesting and striking along side you!

Fridays For Future has brought young people together all over the world, united by the understanding that we cannot continue living in a world in which nature is being destroyed!

The reality in Rojava, the Kurdish region of Northern Syria, is very different from the reality in many places, where there are local chapters of FFF. Since 2012, when the revolution in Rojava began, we have been building an alternative model for society – based on the three fundamental principles of women’s liberation, ecology and radical democracy. In the last 7 years, bottom up, self administrated and ecological projects have been created everywhere: neighbourhood councils – women’s centres - educational academies – an alternative, free school system – economic and agricultural cooperatives – and much more besides. 

All areas of life have been reorganised from the bottom up. In the past, everything used be governed from Syria’s capital Damascus. Now we govern ourselves. In all these new structures, women organise themselves autonomously so they can form a counterbalance to the power structures of patriarchy.

This democratic system has been a target for reactionary forces from the beginning. First, the Al-Nusra Front (a subsidiary of Al-Qaeda) and then the Islamic State attacked our cities and occupied large parts of the country. But we were able to free ourselves from their cruel regime. The Islamic State has been defeated. But the Islamic State is not a phenomenon that arose only here in the Middle East. Many of the Jihadists came here from Western countries passing through Turkey.

Even with the end of the Islamic State the attacks did not stop. In early 2018, Turkey led an illegal war of aggression and has been occupying Afrin ever since – a region that was under self-administration before and was considered one of the safest areas of Syria. Now, violence rules there again.

Many young people like us helped in defending Afrin. Almost every family can name someone who fell in the defence against the Islamic State and Turkey – someone who was murdered defending peace and democratic values for the world.

On October 9th 2019, Turkey started attacking. Everywhere bombs dropped by airstrikes and shot by artillery rain down on us. The Turkish forces are also attempting to cross the border in some places. Already, there have been many civilian casualties. Infrastructure like damms and the electricity power supply have been among the first targets.

In these trying hours, we turn to you, dear friends of Fridays For Futures. We believe that a solution to the ecological crisis is only possible through self-determination. Our economy has to be structured in a cooperative way and according to the needs of the people. That is what the revolution in Rojava stands for. Stand strong, discuss these topics, don’t let yourself be fooled by the media, hit the streets! As long as these attacks continue, there will be actions of solidarity and resistance. The campaign #Riseup4Rojava will tie all these actions together.

If you want to contact us directly, write us at makerojavagreenagain@riseup.net! We are a diverse group of people from the region as well as people who have come to Rojava to support the revolution – so you can write us in English or any other language! 

Make Rojava Green Again as a bridge for internationalist solidarity

We, the Internationalist Commune of Rojava, want to contribute to the ecological revolution in Northern Syria. To this end, we have started the campaign Make Rojava Green Again, campaign in cooperation with the Ecology Committee of the Cizire Canton. The campaign has three aspects:

Building up the Internationalist Academy with an ecological ethos, to serve as a working example for comparable projects and concepts for the entire society. The academy will facilitate education for internationalists and for the general population of Rojava, to strengthen awareness and environmental consciousness, pushing to build up an ecological society.

Joining the work of ecological projects for reforestation, and building up a cooperative tree nursery as part of the Internationalist Academy.

Material support for existing and future ecological projects of the Democratic Self-administration, including sharing of knowledge between activists, scientists and experts with committees and structures in Rojava, developing a long-term perspective for an ecological Northern Syria Federation.

The first two concrete projects of the Make Rojava Green Again campaign are:

Realization of the concepts of an ecological life and work in the Internationalist Academy, partly with the building up a nursery as a part of the Academy. In the spring of 2018, we will plant 2,000 trees in the area of the academy, and 50,000 shoots in the nursery.

Practical and financial support for the Committee for Natural Conservation in the reforestation of the Hayaka natural reserve, near the city of Derik, in Cizire Canton. Over the next five years, we plan to plant more then 50,000 trees along the shores of Sefan Lake.

Support the ecological revolution in Northern Syria

These are some of the ways people can support the the campaign ‘Make Rojava Green Again’, the ecological work in Rojava, and revolution in Northern Syria.

Share this campaign with activists, scientists, and experts from fields such as ecological agriculture, forestry, water supply, and sustainable energy production.

Contact and liaise with activists, journalists, politicians and others who would be interested in this campaign.

Write, publish and share articles and interviews about the campaign.

Share information with friends and family. Spread the word about the growing ecological revolution in Rojava.

Establish contacts between persons/groups/organizations and the Internationalist Commune of Rojava.

Work in Rojava itself.

Support the work financially.

Contact:

Mail: makerojavagreenagain@riseup.net

Web: https://internationalistcommune.com/make-rojava-green-again

 Facebook: facebook.com/CommuneInt

Twitter: twitter.com/CommuneInt

Donations

Rote Hilfe (Red Help)

IBAN: CH82 0900 0000 8555 9939 2

BIC: POFICHBEXXX

Post Finance

Reference: “Make Rojava Green Again”

YouGov Poll - 'Lady Jane' May – Modern Day Queen for 9 months?

YouGov’s latest general election forecast for the Times, of how many seats in Parliament each party will win at the general election next week has caused panic in the Tory Party. The Tories may lose their overall majority, and a hung Parliament would be the result on 8 June, according to YouGov. There is a health warning with this poll from the pollster themselves, saying alternatively the Tories could gain an extra 15 seats. This poll is of course also open doubt anyway, given the recent inaccuracy of the polling industry generally.

Whilst the media report much scepticism from Labour MPs about this poll, Tory MPs are apparently plotting away, in an attempt to find one candidate to replace Theresa May as leader, should all of this come to pass. We know from experience just how ruthless the Tories are with leaders they perceive as losers, and even though the Tories would be the largest party on these calculations, there is no doubt it would finish off Theresa May as Prime Minister and Tory Party leader.

Remember, there was no real need for this election to be called in the first place, with three years to run of the Parliament, and with the Tories holding a small, but workable majority in the House of Commons. May claimed that she needed to call the election because the opposition parties, were err opposing her, on the terms of Brexit. It was a clear piece of political opportunism on May’s behalf, an attempted power grab, whilst the opposition was in some disarray.

May has also made this election a very personal one, one where the choice of the country’s leader is down to her or the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who she says is unelectable. The whole focus of the Tory campaign was to be her, and her leadership qualities, but this started to unravel almost immediately, with public perceptions becoming increasingly negative. The refusal to face Corbyn in a televised debate, the hiding away in remote locations where speeches were delivered to groups of Tory loyalists, all started to chip away at the favourable view of May the public had at the start of the campaign.

The wider campaign itself, has been by far the worst Tory Party general election campaign I can remember, which culminated in the disastrous policy U-Turn on social care, quickly dubbed the ‘dementia tax,’ and compounded by withdrawing winter fuel allowance from most pensioners and removing the ‘triple lock’ on pension increases, which would lead to lower pension rises in future. From this moment on, the campaign came alive as real contest.

The limited opportunities for the public and journalists to question May, that finally came have not gone well at all, with May looking awkward and robotic under questioning, which has further reduced her standing, it appears.

Some commentators are saying this poll will play to the Tories advantage, as Tory intending voters will now not be so complacent about turning out to cast their ballots. There could be some truth in this, and we will hear a lot about the infamous ‘coalition of chaos’ that the Tories say would be case if the result turns out like this YouGov forecast. This worked well for Tories in 2015, with scaremongering about the SNP forcing policies on the English, and may well do so again.

Or it could be that voters don’t want May to have a big majority and therefore force through whatever she deems to be in Britain’s interest. At least a coalition, even an informal one would have the advantage of speaking for different parts of the country and for supporters of different parties.

We will have to wait and see which view prevails, but one thing is for sure, even if the Tories manage a small majority again, May’s credibility will be shot. And anything worst than the Tories 12 seat majority from 2015, will spell the end for May as Prime Minister. Good riddance, I say, to this untalented megalomaniac.

I’ll leave you with Captain Ska’s ‘She’s a Liar, Liar,’ which has just reached number one in the music download charts.  

           

Direct Action - Shutting Down The UK’s Largest Coal Mine For a Day

Written by Andrea Brock, Chris Field, Rick Felgate, Kim Turner and The Canary / Earth First! UK

In the early hours of 21st April 2017, under the banner of Earth First! and Reclaim the Power, our group of five blockaded the UK’s largest opencast coal mine to disrupt the ecologically and socially disastrous mining operations of Miller Argent (South Wales) Ltd.

At 5am, two of us blocked all vehicle access to the mine by using D-locks and an armtube to lock onto the cattle grids at the entrance gate. Before long, on-site security became aware of our presence and called the police. Meanwhile, three of us hiked over the surrounding common land and the edge of the mine – sneaking past cows and security personnel. We climbed down towards the bottom of the vast hole that Miller Argent’s operations have ripped into the earth to find their 300 tonne hydraulic excavators.

These are used to extract coal from the mine – five million tonnes of coal have already been extracted from Ffos-y-fran, with another six million to go – fifteen to sixteen hours a day. Following a little exploration of the excavator, we used D-locks to attach ourselves to the machine, got books, earphones, sleeping bags and sandwiches out and prepared for a long day in the pit. We were locked on for a total of 10 and a half hours, shutting down all coal mining and transport of coal off the site. After having been cut out, we were arrested for aggravated trespass, disruption of lawful activity and intimidation of mining personnel.

Read more

And here is a video of the action:

Miller Argent are suing them for £10,000. Please consider supporting them, and keep the fight against coal alive! http://til.tt/tgT9?s=wb&u=caction

Welcome to Britain in 2017, where everybody is expected to be a border guard

Written by Georgie Wemyss, Kathryn Cassidy and Nira Yuval-Davis  First published at The Conversation

British employers will now be expected to pay an annual skills levy of £1,000 if they want to employ a migrant worker from outside the European Union. The charge, which is reduced to £364 for smaller organisations and charities and came into force on April 6, is the latest measure introduced following new immigration legislation passed in 2016.

The changes have been widely criticised, particularly by NHS leaders who have warned it could cost the health service millions of pounds for hiring nurses and doctors from countries such as India and the Philippines.

This levy comes as part of a wider and deeply worrying trend. As the government turns responsibility for administration of its new internal borders to ordinary citizens, Britain is witnessing the emergence of “everyday border guards”.

The impact of earlier changes to immigration legislation are already becoming apparent to those accessing public services. An episode of the BBC documentary Hospital aired in early February showed a critically ill Nigerian woman being asked by NHS staff about payment for her hospital treatment. She had gone into premature labour with quadruplets in the UK on a flight from the US.

Although such charges have been established in the NHS for some time, immigration checks and charging in the NHS have been extended as part of two recent immigration acts passed in 2014 and 2016.

EU citizens who are not working and are sleeping rough have also been targeted by Home Office immigration enforcement. The campaign group Corporate Watch has reported that immigration officers are working with some homelessness charities to identify and deport rough sleepers.

Everyday borders

These changes are of concern to all of those living in the UK – not just vulnerable migrant communities. They show just how far governments are pushing control of their borders into the everyday lives of plural, multicultural, global societies.

Our research in London and the south-east shows how these internal borders are devastating communities. Not only through the rise of cases of verbal and physical attacks on migrants and those from minority communities, currently being monitored iStreetWatch, but also through the outsourcing of border controls to the public and private sectors. The aim of these policies is to disrupt the lives of migrants who do not have permission to work, creating hostility by bringing immigration status into multiple everyday encounters – from the doctor’s receptionist to letting agents and bank cashiers.





As Don Flynn, formerly of the Migrant Right’s Network, argues in our film Everyday Borders, this approach began in the UK in the 1990s, but has been intensified through subsequent legislation. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government extended the “hostile environment” which intentionally makes life untenable in the UK for undocumented migrants and those without the right to work.

The 2016 Act criminalises the everyday lives of workers whose immigration status does not give them permission to work in the UK. It created the criminal offences of “illegal working”, which carries a sentence of up to six months’ imprisonment and the seizure of earnings. It is now also a crime to drive “when unlawfully present in the UK” and those who are in the country illegally, or who lack the required documentation, are deprived of the “right to rent”.

A climate of suspicion

The impacts of these rules are wide-ranging and stretch far beyond the lives of undocumented migrants. In spite of new powers given to Home Office immigration enforcement teams, the main burden for administering the new legislation falls on people across the UK. Landlords, employers, bank employees, education and health care professionals have become responsible for checking the immigration status of their tenants, employees, students and patients.

Unlike professional border officials, private individuals are legally responsible for border guard duties with no professional training or payment and are liable for prosecution if they fail. Following the passing of the 2016 Act, larger fines were introduced for employers and landlords who do not comply with their border guard roles, as well as prison terms of up to five years.

Activists from housing, health and migrant support organisations are concerned that these policies encourage suspicion and fear of prosecution within communities and are leading to an increase in everyday racism. Landlords are already refusing to rent to people with complex immigration status or those they perceive as “foreign”. Before the law was introduced, the British Medical Association said doctors should refuse to check patients’ immigration status.

The government’s current ideology depends on minimising the role of the state and outsourcing welfare to privatised agencies. But with the case of immigration, the government is outsourcing the control of its borders to all its citizens. Unless we return the border to the margins of our society rather than allowing it to become a dominant feature of our everyday lives, the lives of all citizens will become more precarious and more conflicted.

Eco-activists Vandalise a Trump Golf Course

Several media outlets are reporting that a group of environmental activists did a massive nocturnal redecoration job on the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Under cover of night, a group of anonymous individuals snuck onto the $250 million course and carved the message,

“No More Tigers, No More Woods” in giant letters. They even took video of the whole thing for your viewing pleasure.

According to a statement from the group sent to the Washington Post they said, “In response to the president’s recent decision to gut our existing protection policies, direct action was conceived and executed on the green of his California golf course in the form of a simple message: NO MORE TIGERS. NO MORE WOODS.”

“Tearing up the golf course felt justified in many ways,” they went on to say. “Repurposing what was once a beautiful stretch of land into a playground for the privileged is an environmental crime in its own right. We hope this sends a message to Trump and his corrupt administration that their actions will be met with action.”

Write up from Earth First.

Green Left at the Socialist Resistance Forum on the Paris Climate Agreement

Socialist Resistance organised a forum to talk about the recent Paris Climate Agreement in Kings Cross, London.


Below is Camden Green Party and Green Left supporter Dee Searle's presentation at the forum, where she reflects on what was achieved and where the climate movement goes here, and more broadly on red green matters.

Video - The Transition to Ecosocialism - Joel Kovel

The Transition to Ecosocialism: The Ecological Crisis and the Future of Capitalism

On May 7, 2011, three members from the Capitalism Nature Socialism (CNS) Journal held this seminar on Ecosocialism at the Historical Materialism Conference at The New School in New York City.

This is the first of a four-part video from the seminar.

Featuring Joel Kovel, author of "The Enemy of Nature," co-founder of the Ecosocialist International Network, & Editor of the Capitalism Nature Socialism (CNS) Journal (cnsjournal.org).

For more information, write to: prefiguration@gmail.com.
Shot, edited and produced by Estreito Meio Productions (2011), estreitomeio@gmail.com.

Trade Unions and Climate Change: A Conversation with Naomi Klein and Jeremy Corbyn

At a packed meeting in Paris, Naomi Klein, supported by UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, calls for mass civil disobedience to break the ban on demonstrations on December 12.

Trade unionists and others discuss the real solutions to climate change: an end to fossil fuels, energy democracy, and a just transition to millions of climate jobs.

Video - Jill Stein US Green Party Presidential Candidate at Ecosocialism Conference

Jill Stein - Why Capitalism is Killing the Planet - EcoSocialist Conference 2013

Video - Here’s What a Commons-Based Economy Looks Like

Michel Bauwens, founder of the peer-to-peer foundation, gives a description of the overview of the transformation proposal. The three key responses we see from the world in crisis can be grouped as the movements around Sustainability, Openness and Solidarity, gives the starting blocks, working into the bridges between them, the political structures (both local and global) and the economic enablement required to assist the transition.

Video - Power at stake - Susan George - TEDxGeneva

Susan George is a social science writer and thinker on issues such as world poverty and inequality as well as ecological issues. She is President of the Board of TNI. Below is highlights from the speech.

"There is no such thing as neutrality in social sciences; we should take sides with the poor and the powerless"

"Study the rich and powerful not the poor and powerless: the poor already know what is wrong with their lives. If you really want to help you should give them a better idea of who is keeping them where they are"

"No amount of human suffering, in and of itself, is going to cause policy to change"

"I meet a lot of well-meaning people who genuinely want social and ecological justice, but seem to believe it is possible to have good ideas and good blueprints for policy and you are home free, but that has never been the truth. It is a huge mistake to forget that there are forces out there, adversaries out there who have no intention to allow anyone to do anything that affects their interests"

"Those blocking change are the 1%, the TNCs, Finance Markets, Politicians governing on their behalf - what I call the Davos Class. To do anything concrete we must deal with those adversaries."

Key lists for change 1. Banks back under control 2. Close down tax havens and invest that money in services 3. Binding regulations for TNCs 4. Debt workouts

"I believe with a social system that is growing more stressed, I and you might be that unpredictable element that can provoke the system to break down and reconfigure in a way that could be more just and sustainable."

Video Clip: World Inequality in Numbers

A staggering wealth grab from poor to rich in today's global capitalism

38 Syriza MPs reject the agreement

Written by Stathis Kouvelakis Syriza Left Platform

38 Syriza MPs reject the agreement. Overall result: 229 yes, 64 no, 6 abstain/present, one absence. Today is a tragic day for Greece and for its Left.

More than two thirds of Syriza MPs voted jointly with the pro-austerity parties (New Democracy, Pasok, Potami) and the junior coalition partner Anel the prerequisite bill for the toughest by far austerity package ever accepted by any kind of left (including social-democracy) government in Europe, the only possible comparison being the 1st Memorandum passed by Pasok in 2010.

But it’s even more serious in a way than draconian austerity in a country already devastated by five years of ’shock therapy’: it’s the total destruction of democracy, of popular sovereignty, the perpetuation and aggravation of the sharpest form of subjection.

But 38 Syriza MPs (out of a total of 149) saved the honour: 32 voted no, six voted "present" (there was also one absence)

It appears that all Left Platform MPs, + KOE (maoists) + Zoe Kostantopoulou + former ministers Varoufakis and Nandia Valavani and a couple of others voted No while six MPs of the "53" current (left wing of the former majority bloc) voted present.

In any case, the government has lost control of its own majority: of the 162 MPs of the Syriza-ANel coalition, only 123 supported it, far less than the required by constitutional practice parliamentary majority of 151 MPs coming from the ranks of the government.

In principle Tsipras should resign, he blackmailed this afternoon the Syriza MPs saying that if he hadn’t the support of all them he would do so. But of course he won’t, he was just trying to manipulate his troops. However it seems clear that it is only a matter of time for this new de facto pro-austerity majority to translate in a proper political coalition of some sort.

The "38" [Syriza MP’s who voted NO or abstained ] saved the day . So there remains the possibility of a future. The left to be transformed through the struggles of workers and the people.

Stathis Kouvelakis teaches philosophy at King’s College in London. He is a member of the national leadership of Syriza, and a leader of the Left Platform. First published at International Viewpoint.

Videos & Photos - Greece Solidarity - German Embassy - London - 15 July

Around two hundred people assembled at the German Embassy in London this evening, to show solidarity with the Greek people in their fight against the vicious and vindictive bail out terms forced on them by their creditors in the EU and IMF.

Many of the speakers said they were not angry with the German people, but their government

Councillor Isidoros Diakides, Haringey London (Labour) Greece Solidarity

Stathis Kouvelakis of Syriza Left Platform

Romayne Phoenix of Green Left

Solidarity with the Greek people from London

Video - Green London Mayoral Candidates Hustings - Birkbeck College 11 July

Question: How can the Green Party improve its credibility and communications?

Question: With council and social housing tenants fighting back against developer led regeneration schemes that will deprive them of their homes, families being shipped out of London and private landlords ripping off tenants, housing is likely to be a big issue in the forthcoming London Mayor and GLA elections.

The candidates were asked for their views, and what should be done to improve the situation.

Hat tip to Martin Francis of Wembley Matters for this footage of the event. 

It's time to Take Back the City

Notwithstanding my support for whoever the Green party candidate is....

Take Back The City is a growing movement in London. We are workers, residents, students, teachers, artists, families and migrants. The movement is built on people’s stories, experiences and visions of the future; people who love this amazing city but yet often feel unrepresented, forgotten and unwelcome in it.

We are told time and time again that ordinary Londoners are benefiting from our city’s success but the reality is that it's the wealthiest 1% that holds all the power that is reaping all of its rewards.

We can see that the decisions made by corporations, bankers and politicians are making London increasingly exclusive and unaffordable. We are being pushed aside as community and youth centres are closed and welfare spending is cut. Many of us are struggling to survive as we are priced out of our homes and forced to turn to food banks.

Meanwhile politicians and the media are attempting to turn us against each other with propaganda about immigration and benefits scroungers.

We can reclaim what we love about London only by coming together. Together we will come up with a set of demands that will make London a place for all of us.

Taking Back The City means not being ignored by the 1% and the politicians they fund. It means re-imagining and re-building London in a way that is better for all of us. It means opening our eyes to the common problems we face, and raising ourselves up to the collective challenge of confronting them.

To Take Back the City, we need all the help we can get. Sign our declaration, contribute your demands and vote for the changes you think most need to be made in London. Join our group and help us build this movement. Take Back the City is for everyone who sees London as a home and not an investment opportunity.

Support the campaign here