A short clip from the BBC documentary "Lefties", interviewing members of the International Marxist Group, British Section of the Fourth International.
I think that Trotskyist notions of transitional demands is an interesting and helpful concept. I hate Trotsky too much to worship the butcher of Kronstadt and describe myself as a trotskyite, but still, it's an neat idea that should be explored.
Anarchism has historically gained the most support and influence in Spain, especially in the seventy or so years before Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Here is the history of the Spanish anarchist movement from the words of those who where involved.
The Russian Revolution and Civil War were major watersheds of the 20th Century. Now, for the first time, the story of this bloodsoaked time is being told in full color. New footage from the battlefields, expert testimonies, and exciting colorized archives help to unfold the dramatic story of the Communist rise and seizure of power in 1917.
This powerful two-part series argues that the Russian Revolution was not so much perverted by Stalin, as it was rotten from the start. This was no idealistic uprising of the masses, but a brutal coup d’etat carried out by a handful of megalomaniacs. Almost overnight an entire society was destroyed and replaced with one of the biggest and most radical social experiments ever seen. Within a generation, millions would be killed and almost 1/3 of the world’s population would be living in the shadow of communism.
The film focuses on the sailors from the island naval base of Kronstadt, who took up the revolutionary cause with bloody enthusiasm in 1917 only to have their dreams shattered when Lenin creates a brutal police state. The sailors denounce their former ally and face the Red Army in a final desperate battle. Much of the history relating to the role of these sailors has been recently unearthed and is told here on film for the first time.
The National Film Board of Canada (well, what's left of it anyway)
has started a new website, nfb.ca that showcases its back catalog of films in the you tube format.
The following film is among many to be found on the site.
Titled "Bethune" it covers the life of the famous lung surgeon and communist. It is a Donald Brittain film, from 1964 and has a run time of 58min 38 sec.
The Ten Point Program was as follows:
1. We want power to determine the destiny of our black and oppressed communities' education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present day society.
2. We want completely free health care for all black and oppressed people.
3. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people, other people of color, and all oppressed people inside the United States.
4. We want an immediate end to all wars of aggression.
5. We want full employment for our people.
6. We want an end to the robbery by the capitalists of our Black Community.
7. We want decent housing, fit for the shelter of human beings.
8. We want decent education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society.
9. We want freedom for all black and oppressed people now held in U. S. Federal, state, county, city and military prisons and jails. We want trials by a jury of peers for all persons charged with so-called crimes under the laws of this country.
10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, peace and people's community control of modern technology.
The beginning of this video, is an audio narrative by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, with images of her, as well as a quote of hers about women in the I.W.W. This Narrative is commonly used on recordings to introduce the song "The Rebel Girl" in which Joe Hill dedicated to Elezabeth Guley Flynn. The second part, is the song "The Rebel Girl" Writen by Joe Hill, and performed by Hazel Dickens. I have used images of women who were (or are) members of the IWW. Only two were "supporters" and not members of the I.W.W. (Emma Goldman and Charlotte Anita Whitney).
Joshua Key is an American war resister who fought in Iraq and who sought refuge in Canada because of his war experiences. Author of "The Deserter's Tale," Joshua told the story of his recruitment into the U.S. Army, the carnage he witnessed in Iraq and his subsequent flight to Canada to an audience in Winnipeg, the first stop on a 13-city tour of western Canada.
For more information on how you can help American war resisters in Canada: http://resisters.ca.
Think Peace. Join with others to oppose the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Canadian Peace Alliance has a good list of groups you can join: http://www.acp-cpa.ca.
Here is an interesting piece of anarchist media history:
Lucifer the Lightbearer was an individualist-anarchist journal published by Moses Harman in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Originally produced by a local branch of the National Liberal League as the Valley Falls Liberal (1880-1883), Harman changed the title after he assumed sole editorship in 1883.
The mission of Lucifer was, according to Harman, "to help woman to break the chains that for ages have bound her to the rack of man-made law, spiritual, economic, industrial, social and especially sexual, believing that until woman is roused to a sense of her own responsibility on all lines of human endeavor, and especially on lines of her special field, that of reproduction of the race, there will be little if any real advancement toward a higher and truer civilization." The name was chosen because "Lucifer, the ancient name of the Morning Star, now called Venus, seems to us unsurpassed as a cognomen for a journal whose mission is to bring light to the dwellers in darkness."
Lucifer the Light Bearer Archive
"Sun City" is a 1985 protest song written by Steven Van Zandt and recorded by Artists United Against Apartheid to convey opposition to the South African policy of apartheid.
"Sun City" only reached #38 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1985. Only about half of American radio stations played "Sun City", with some objecting to the lyrics' explicit criticism of President Ronald Reagan's policy of "constructive engagement." The song was banned in South Africa itself.
The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003), directed by Errol Morris, is an American documentary film about the life and times of former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. The original score is by Philip Glass.
Using archival footage, United States Cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the eighty-five-year-old Robert McNamara, The Fog of War depicts his life, from his birth during the First World War remembering the time American troops returned from Europe, to working as a WWII Whiz Kid military officer, to being the Ford Motor Company's president, to his being employed as Secretary of Defense and the Cuban Missile Crisis, to managing the American Vietnam War, as defense secretary for presidents Kennedy and Johnson — emphasizing the war's brutality under their regimes, and how he was hired as secretary of defense, despite limited military experience.
Lessons from the Spanish Civil War. Anarchism is the only hope that the working class have to improve their life and stop the exploitation. We, the Anarchists, follow this Bakinin statement: "The power pervert the man!" During the Spanish Civil War I witnessed how well organized the Anarchist Unions (Sindicados) were in Catalunya and Aragon. It's not a myth anymore. I am in close contact with the Spanish "companeros" and I see how the working class is protected against the exploitation. We need to restore the workers pride and dignity, they should join us, the Anarchists, because the capitalists will never give them a chance to improve their lives; on the contrary, they use the cheaper workers overseas. We the Anarchists are the only hope of the proletariat and day by day we are growing and become important in our class struggle. George Sossenko is an 88-year old veteran of the Spanish Civil War. At the age of 16, he left his home in France to fight against Franco's fascists with the anarchists of the Durruti column. A dedicated, life-long anarchist, George is still an active organizer as he traveels and gives lectures on this important period in revolutionary history. Filmed at the New York City Anarchist Bookfair in May 2008 by David Buccola
Hey folks,
I don't know how many people are out there reading this, but I just would like to inform those who are that I will not be posting any new videos this week. I need to take a brief step back due to a crazy schedule and some personal issues that have arisen this last week or so.
First, I get back to my university life on the 9th. As well, I am interning at UNICEF, practically running by myself a campign they will be doing this October.
As to personal happenings in my life: My Oma (grandma for the non-germans) is currently in the hospital, which looks like an extended visit. On top of that, our family kitten, Bili (pronounced BeeLee) is really sick. The strength of his back legs and his balance is really off, and he is really lethargic. There is allot to worry about, although the worst that has been suggested (Feline Leukemia and Feline version of HIV) have been ruled out.
Between those issues, schedules and work, the blog might get put on the back burner. I'm really worried about my Oma and my Bili, and looming school doesn't help the nerves. But in the mean time, I will try and find new and exicting videos to post to make up for intermission.
Romance! Prostitutes! Anarchists!
Love and Anarchy (Italian: Film d'amore e d'anarchia) is a 1973 film directed by Lina Wertmüller and starring Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato. The story, set in Fascist Italy before the outbreak of World War II, centers on Giannini's character, an anarchist who stays in a brothel while preparing to kill Benito Mussolini. Giannini's character, while preparing to assassinate Mussolini, falls in love with one of the whores working in the brothel. This film explores the depths of his emotions concerning love, his hate for fascism, and his fears of being killed while assassinating Mussolini.
This organic grocery store in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is a thriving business with no bosses at all! Find out what they like about being a worker co-op and how the joys and sacrifices make every day worthwhile.
Thanks to Heather H for this.
