Anarchist Age Weekly Review 22nd July'98 Number 309 20th - 26th July, 1998 IN A TIME OF UNIVERSAL DECEIT - TELLING THE TRUTH IS A REVOLUTIONARY ACT - GEORGE ORWELL POLES APART Anybody who's followed the demonstrations that have accompanied the photographic antics of One Notion's Mother Hen, as she ducks her way around Victoria, couldn't help but notice the differences in the average age of the protesters in comparison to the average age of the One Notion Party faithful. It's heartening to see that the bulk of protesters are young. In Bendigo in regional Victoria almost two thousand secondary school students rained on One Notion's Parade. One Notion's supporters seem to be middle aged or elderly, few young people have been drawn to the One Notion banner. Watching the past and the future confront each other, I know who I'd put my money on. One Notion's rose coloured picture of life in Australia in the 1950's may activate some warm memories for some of their elderly supporters, but it doesn't touch the heart strings of younger Australians. Life has moved on, discrimination based on race may have tickled the fancy of Australians in the so-called good old days, but it doesn't seem to do much for younger Australians. Considering how marginalised most young people are from society and established political parties, it's exciting to see so many stand up to the ridiculous racial ideas that One Notion and sections of the Liberal, Labor and National parties have floated over the past few years. The Soweto children fanned the flames of discontent in South Africa in 1976, their brave actions goaded their parents to intensify the struggle against apartheid. Our children are standing up to a political and social movement that uses race as a political battering ram. Their brave stand may be just the tonic that is needed to goad a generation that is fixated on consumption and status to join their children in the struggle to create a society where people are judged on their actions, not their race. NORTHERN TERRITORY POLICE GO FERAL It looks like the Northern Territory Police have thrown all inhibitions to the wind and have gone feral. The Jabiluka protests have put the limited resources of the Northern Territory Police, judiciary and Correctional Services under a great deal of strain. The mass protests at Jabiluka have highlighted the ineffectual nature of current police procedures. The rabid dogs in the Northern Territory government have realised that the threat of custodial sentence is not deterring protesters. As far as the Northern Territory government is concerned the judicial system is too long and costly. Protesters can clog up the courts for weeks, possibly months. Many of the people who have been arrested at Jabiluka have had charges dropped before they even appear in court. As well as an ineffectual judicial system, the ever expanding Northern Territory Prison system has activated concerns among prison officers. Prison officers in the Northern Territory have threatened to go out on strike if protesters are crammed into Darwin's already overcrowded prison system. Faced with this dilemma, in steps the Northern Territory Police Force. The government has secretly given the Northern Territory's finest permission to go feral. Political activists in Darwin have and are being subjected to intimidatory tactics by the Northern Territory Police Force. Jabiluka protesters have recently found out how uncomfortable it is to have your balls or nipples squeezed by one of the countries finest. The Northern Territory government has in the fine tradition of all macho governments embarked on an unofficial program of intimidation. Protesters, both at Jabiluka and other parts of the Northern Territory are being subjected to extra judicial summary punishment by the forces of law and order. Unfortunately for the intellectual giants in the Northern Territory, government and fortunately for protesters the actions of their Northern Territory feral police force has only hardened the resolve of protesters. CHARGES DROPPED Regular readers of the Anarchist Age Weekly Review will remember that Shell 63, a Darwin anarchist was arrested and charged with a number of offences, when he went to Darwin's Parliament House to show his disgust with John Howard when he visited the Northern Territory a few months ago. Our readers will be pleased to hear that the Northern Territory dropped all charges against Shell 63 before the matter even came to court. Looks like one of the Public Prosecutors must have told the government that they had as much chance of getting their ridiculous charges to stick as Shell 63 has of becoming the Northern Territory's Chief Minister - no wonder the charges were dropped. REDUCING PETROL PRICES BY FORMING MONOPOLIES (SOME PEOPLE WILL BELIEVE ANYTHING) Dapper Pierre Costello (Heir apparent to the visionary John Howard, not John the Baptist you silly person) launched a Federal Government initiative on Monday to win the hearts and minds of regional and country folk. Listening to Dapper Pierre wag lyrical about the so-called deregulation of the petrol industry you'd think the stuff was going to be so cheap we could burn it in our back yards. In a nutshell Dapper Pierre has removed government wholesale caps on the price of petrol and has left it to the market and competitive forces to drive the price of petrol down. Good economic irrationalist stuff. What Dapper Pierre Costello forgot to mention was that thousands of petrol retailers will be forced out of business because of these changes. Petrol prices will fall two or three cents (their figures not mine) for the loss of thirty thousand jobs in the petrol retailing industry. The reforms may initially lead to cosmetic competitive changes that will see the price of petrol fall temporarily. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your frame of mind) small retail outlets will be gobbled up by the current big four in the wholesale petrol industry, possibly a few new monopoly players will join the retail game. Within twelve months, the illusory competitive reforms will lead to the creation of a closed monopoly market that will be ruled by a tacit gentlemen's agreement among the big six. This agreement won't do too much to interfere with each others market share. The independent "rogue" traders that have driven petrol prices down will be forced out of business and their place will be taken by "your media friendly corporate giants." A win win situation for the big players, a lose lose situation for small players and a monopoly necklace for the consumer. Good one Dapper Pierre you're Prime Minister material! SAFETY DESIGN BLUES Listening to the Federal Government's self-congratulatory tone as they publicly launched Australia's new vehicle safety design rules. I foolishly thought Australia's design rules for locally manufactured vehicles had caught up with European rules that were introduced in most of Europe over twenty years ago. Well silly me, how wrong can one person be. Looking at the details (as you all know we're constantly told the proofs in the detail) it soon became obvious to little old me that the latest vehicle safety design rules were nothing more than a spin doctors wet dream. Silly me thought that the Federal government had introduced minimum safety design guidelines for roof supports in motor vehicles in order to decrease the number of avoidable deaths and severe cervical spinal cord injuries in motor vehicle accidents where vehicles rolled over. Well actually they hadn't tackled this problem, what they'd introduced with so much fanfare were some minor safety design changes that would decrease the cost of repairs in some side frontal collisions. The four hundred and fifty million dollar savings that had been trumpeted to the rooftops were potential savings in repair bills. It wasn't money that was going to be saved by decreasing the number of injuries and deaths that are caused in motor vehicle accidents due to rollovers. It looks like the major motor vehicle production companies in Australia and the major importers of cars into this country have once again been shielded from real changes to Australia's vehicle safety design rules. If they had to make changes to increase the strength of roof supports it would possibly add another thousand dollars to the cost of a car. They couldn't do that could they? If they did it may decrease the vehicle manufacturing company's bottom line. No government wants to upset its corporate mates. It's much easier to bury a few more people and dismiss the accompanying fuss as the consequence of an unavoidable accident. OBITUARY - VINCENT RUIZ Born 1913 - Died 15th July, 1998. Vincent Ruiz, a Spanish anarchist who participated in the Spanish Civil War died after a long illness last Wednesday. Vincent was one of the last direct links that Australia's anarchists had with anarchists who participated in the anarchist inspired social revolution during the Spanish Civil War. He was cremated after a simple and moving ceremony in Melbourne on Monday. After the collapse of the Spanish Revolution he and his family lived in exile in Algeria, Morocco and eventually arrived in Australia in 1965. The difference between Vincent and other anarchist exiles who came to Australia is that Vincent stayed true to the ideas of his youth and became involved in the re-emerging Anarchist Movement in Australia. He was one of the few anarchist refugees to this country who was able to make that transition. He will be missed by his family and those Australian anarchists who were infected with his enthusiasm for "the idea". THE ONE TRUE CHURCH Almost eighty years to the day that the Russian Royal Family were executed/killed by the Bolsheviks, their remains were transported from the Urals to St.Petersberg to be interred with the bones of their ancestors. The most interesting aspect of the media driven frenzy that accompanied the funeral was not the burial itself, or Yeltisin's inane comments at the funeral, but the Russian Orthodox Church's reaction to the find of the century. The Russian Orthodox Church is divided between two main factions, those that survived in exile and those that made their peace with 75 years of Bolshevik rule. Both factions are currently involved in a life and death struggle for the hearts and minds and more importantly the wallets of the Russian Orthodox faithful. Although some DNA evidence has been trotted out to support the contention that the recovered bones belong to the Czar, his family and servants, the Russian Orthodox Church doesn't accept a bar of these findings. The church in exile has claimed since 1924 that they have some of the remains of the Russian Royal Family stored in Brussels in Belgium. The internal branch of the church doesn't want to offend its external brethren by acknowledging that the bones that were buried last week belong to the Czar. If they did they'll expose the con that the Russian Orthodox Church in exile has played on the faithful. I don't personally care who's got what, what I find distasteful about the whole episode is how this very sorry little saga is being used to whitewash the memory of a group of despots whose exploits were on par with the worst excesses of the Bolshevik regime. The sooner both groups sink into the quagmire of history the sooner will Russians be able to throw off the mental shackles of centuries of exploitation and oppression. ANARCHIST QUESTION AND ANSWER Q Would an Anarchist Society trade with non-anarchist societies? A. Whether an anarchist society is able to survive in a non-anarchist world depends on its ability to protect its boundaries and its ability to be self-sufficient. It's highly likely that an isolated anarchist community would initially be put under military pressure. If it's able to survive military threats, it would be placed under economic sanctions by hostile non-anarchist communities. How it handles these economic sanctions will, to a large degree, determine the communities standard of living and its long term viability. Although a great deal of effort would be devoted to efforts to become self-sufficient, the chances are that this drive would not be successful. An anarchist community in such a situation has two possibly three options. It makes direct contact with surrounding states and corporations and attempts to negotiate trade agreements. An anarchist community will try to barter with surrounding non-anarchist communities, if unsuccessful it may have to pay for commodities and raw materials with gold or another commodity. In such situations it needs to build up supplies of a commodity which can be used as an exchange mechanism with non-anarchist communities that don't want to trade or barter. The other option that every anarchist society should and would explore, is what can be described as the people to people option. Supporters in surrounding non-anarchist community's may be able to raise the funds or collect the raw materials that are required for the anarchist communities survival. Mutual Aid gathered by supporters is not necessarily one way Mutual Aid. An anarchist society could provide a sanctuary for people persecuted in other societies and also deliver people to people Mutual Aid to surrounding societies, to build its reputation and provide support for anarchist movements in surrounding communities. Whether an anarchist society is able to survive depends on its ability to break out of the isolation that non-anarchist communities may subject it to. The stronger anarchist movements are in surrounding communities, the greater the possibility that hostile states will reach an accommodation with their anarchist neighbour. If they don't reach some type of accommodation, the resultant dislocation would have an adverse impact on surrounding states. As the Spanish anarchists were fond of saying to volunteers who came to Spain to help them during the Spanish revolution, "the best way you can help us is by building an anarchist movement where you live". The creation of anarchist movements in surrounding societies would put an effective brake on hostile military and economic attacks by non-anarchist states. ACTION BOX - NETWORKING There are many groups and individuals within our spheres of influence who have similar but not identical ideas to our own. Many organisations use anarchist methods of organisation and decision making processes but don't describe themselves as anarchist or even think they have anything in common with anarchists. Although the organisation you're involved in may not have enough common principles of association to affiliate with these groups and although you may not agree with all their campaigns and tactics, it's stupid, very stupid to ignore them. Networking is a mechanism by which you can set up a relationship with these groups that doesn't necessarily bind you to them, it allows you to interchange ideas and set up a communication network between groups that don't necessarily work with each other. A networking relationship is essentially non-threatening. It can be productive especially in times of crisis. How that relationship develops depends on the amount of time you're willing to devote to networking. The important thing to remember is that if you don't initiate contact, nobody else will. Find out about the activities of organisations in your area. If you believe some of them have similar methods of organisations and decision making processes, write to them or mail them. If you're on the net and offer to organise a meeting with the group or a representative or a delegate from the group to explore the possibility of establishing permanent links with them. Another way to approach the situation is by organising a one day networking conference, inviting organisations in your area to a meeting. The primary role of this meeting is one of establishing contacts and exploring possibilities for the future. Although the aims of the meeting may seem limited, the eventual outcomes may surprise you. Networking is a non-threatening way by which you can establish contacts and begin to work with groups and organisations in your area or sphere of influence, who have similar goals but different ways of achieving them. It's one option that everyone of us should think about exploring. AUSTRALIAN ANARCHIST HISTORY CHUMMING FLEMING - EMMA GOLDMAN BROKEN DREAMS Fleming attempted to give the flagging Australian Anarchist Movement a boost in 1908 by inviting Emma Goldman to undertake an extended Australian tour. Chummy Fleming was an admirer of Emma Goldman. He had written to her for some years before his invitation in 1908. He distributed Emma Goldman's journal, Mother Earth since its inception in 1906. Chummy Fleming, a bootmaker by trade, worked feverishly to raise the funds for Emma Goldman and her partner Ben Reitman's journey to Australia. In late 1908 Emma Goldman shipped 1500 pounds of literature to Victoria , where in her words there were "new friends to win, fresh minds and hearts to awaken". By April 1909 Reitman and Goldman were ready to go to Australia. Their bags were packed and a party had been organised to see them off on their grand adventure. On the very eve of her departure to Australia, the American government stripped her of her American citizenship. After careful consideration Emma Goldman cancelled her Victorian trip because she was concerned that she would be denied entry into the United States if she left. Chummy Fleming and his supporters had already paid for her passage and for accommodation for their trip. They and Mother Earth both lost a great deal financially because of the abandoned trip. Chummy continued to correspond with Emma Goldman until she died in 1940. He continued to distribute Mother Earth while it was published. I have no idea what happened to the 1300 pounds of Anarchist Literature that Goldman sent to Australia in late 1908. (If anybody knows, page me on 03 9828 2856). Chummy Fleming and Emma Goldman never met, although they continued to correspond with each other. In 1938 when he turned 75 he wrote to Emma Goldman "I have lived my life, my small effort is not like yours, but it is an effort". Emma Goldman died two years later in 1940. Chummy Fleming died at his small cottage in Carlton, Melbourne 10 years later on the 25th of January 1950. Information for this article obtained from Anarchist Portraits by Paul Avrich 1987, ISBN 0691 00609-1. BOOK REVIEW - ANARCHIST PORTRAITS By Paul Avrich - 1988 ISBN 0-691-04753-7 Nestor Makhno and Alexander Berkman, Paris, around 1927 Paul Avrich attempts to fill in the human dimension of Anarchism in this 300 page portrait of a number of anarchist thinkers and activists. He has divided the book into three distinct sections. Russia, America and Europe and the world. Many of the anarchists lives he dissects are the lives of well known activists. Bakanin, Kropotkin, Proudhon, Berkman, Makhno, Mollie Steimer and Gustav Landauer are some of the more well known anarchists lives he dissects. Reading Avrich's book and studying the photographs I learnt much about people who I already thought I knew. The more interesting chapters in the book are those that deal with the lives of men and women in the anarchist movement who have came and gone and left no mark on the thoughts and actions of the current Anarchist Movement. Anatoli Zhelezniakov, Chummy Fleming, Oriole Tucker, V.M. Eikhenbaum and C.W. Mowbray are a few of the forgotten anarchists whose lives are scattered on the pages of this book. Hundreds of names of long forgotten activists appear in the pages of Anarchist Portraits. This book is not an uncritical eulogy to men and women who's lives were intertwined with the anarchist movement. It examines their lives, their frailties, their hopes, achievements, aspirations and in some cases their eventual martyrdom. Anarchist Portraits is ultimately a lesson in humility. It drives home the point that we are all human, that even giants have feet of clay. Reading page after page of forgotten names reminded me of the hundreds of thousands of people who have devoted their lives to create an egalitarian community. Some, if not most died in obscurity, others paid an enormous personal price for their ideas. Reading this book makes me proud to be part of a movement that has attempted to create the necessary circumstances that will allow people to develop their lives to their fullest potential. Anarchist Portraits is the type of book you should read, if you're tired of struggle and you want to recharge your batteries. Paul Avrich, a Professor of History at Queens College of the City University of New York has succeeded in presenting a lively picture of essentially European anarchist thought in Anarchists Portraits. Let's hope that in the not too distant future he is able to pen some portraits of anarchist activists from outside the European tradition. PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS Two white ducks sitting on the roof (actually standing), surveying all before them. It's one of those cold Melbourne mornings. I'm just driving down a quiet suburban street in the eastern suburbs, when I'm jolted by the sight of two white ducks sitting on the roof, watching the traffic speed past. I pull up to the kerb, do a u-turn and stop in front of a white weatherboard house, sitting in a frost laden garden. A small yellow Datsun sits in an open carport. The windows are frosted with subantarctic cold. Yep, they are ducks all right, not your wild ducks, but pristine backyard white ducks. They look down at me, I look up at them. Yep they are right, I'm going to walk down that driveway and knock on the door. A city street is no place for a domestic duck. It won't be long before they are torn apart by a dog or squashed by a truck if they embark on their grand adventure. I knock once, twice, three times, ah well I've done what I can and am about to move off when I hear life stir behind the door. A stringy two metre beanstalk clothed in dull green undies and nothing else opens the door. He wipes the sleep from his eyes as he looks me up and down, well actually down, he is over two metres tall. I tell him he's got two ducks on his roof. Shit!! He says as he gropes round the door and finds a t-shirt to throw over his trunk. It's then I notice his underpants are on inside out and he has scud marks (yes those embarrassing scud marks that mother's are always concerned about), running down the back of his undies. I really don't care what he's wearing, I'm concerned about the ducks, not the state of his undies. We walk out of the front and I finger the two feathery escapees. He thanks me profusely, mumbling something about not closing the gate properly. I've done my duty, it's his problem now. I'm not crawling up any roof for anybodies ducks. I take my leave, wishing him the best of luck, he runs inside to put on some clothes and find a ladder. When I drove past the house 30 minutes later, there was no sign of the ducks or the beanstalk. Maybe he was inside preparing a roast duck meal with all the trimmings, who knows? STOP PRESS - BIG MALS CURSE!! Pity poor Johnny Howard our beloved Prime Minister, every time he goes to bed, he's visited by the ghosts of the past. As he snuggles under the blankets or maybe a doona, thankful that another day has come to an end, the ghosts of Black Jack McEwan and good olde fashioned true blue Australian values intrude, into his slumbers. Johnny Howard had a vision (yes he's capable of visionary thinking), he saw in his minds eye a treasure chest buried deep in the heart of the Australian state. He dreamt that he would be Prime Minister in the year 2000 and that he, not Queen Lizzie would open the Sydney Olympics. The only obstacle between his ambitions and reality was a tiny little inconvenience, a Federal election. Johnny knew that the troops were restless and dapper, Peter Costello was lusting after his job. He knew that those old time agrarian socialists, the National Party had been unnerved by the resurrection of Australia's true blue bigots in the One Notion Party. He knew that if his dream was to become a reality, he would have to prise open the treasure chest and use the treasures in the Telstra dreaming box to finance his bid to retain the country's number one job. In one effort to camouflage his naked ambitions, Johnny Howard buried the Wik debate, courtesy of Senator Harradine. He hoped that he would be able to bask in the glory of his Wik victory (defeat for Australia) and grab the Telstra treasure chest and use its contents to secure his vision. Johnny left nothing to chance. He pushed his ideas through the party room, bowling over the hayseeds in the National Party with a burst of impeccable logic. He won over the willow man Senator Harradine and he dined with Big Mal. Big Mal listened and nodded as only Big Mal can. Johnny called up his tailor to order his 2000 Olympic ensemble and went to bed bathed in Telstra, dreaming rays. He woke up with a song in his heart and a spring in his step, knowing that in his heart of hearts, his vision would turn into reality. Big Mal sat among the assembled Senators, joking with senior Liberal Party minders. When the final vote was taken he sided with the enemy. Big Mal, Senator extraordinaire the man who sold his soul for the Deputy Leadership of the Senate, fractured Johnny's dreaming. Johnny's dream lay shattered among the concrete remains of reality. To make matters worse, the National Party hayseeds had recovered from his burst of impeccable logic and now wanted to stop him stealing the peoples' Telstra dreaming. Looks like poor Johnny Howard is doomed to be a one term Prime Minister. JOSEPH TOSCANO (Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society). ANARCHIST PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS WEEK ABATALHA No.169 1998, R Marques de Ponte de Lima, 37, 29 D,9 Lisboa, Portugal. http://www.tao.ca/~abatalha email Peg@mail.telepac.pl C.N.T. No.233/234 Mar/Apr'98, C- Molinos, 64, 18009 Granada Spain. Tel 958-220065, Fax 958-220119. ROJO Y NEGRO No.99 April'98, Compania 90,1 Izq, 31001 Pamplona/Iruna Spain. Tel (948) 224766 Fax (948) 212 399 SOCIAL ANARCHISM 1998, 2743 Maryland Ave, Baltimore MD 21218, U.S.A. SOLIDARIDAD OBRERA No.277 Mar'98, C Hospital 101, 68001 Barcelona Spain. Tel/Fax (93) 318 8834 TIERRA Y LIBERTAD No.124 Mar'98, Antonio Oliva, Apdo 74 La Puebla de Rio/SE, 41130 Spain, Tel/Fax (95) 25772135, Email:tierrayl@arrakis.es XINA LLIURE Feb 1998, Antencu Llibertari Nura, Av. Constitucio 98, 07760 Ciutadella, Menorca Spain. Tel 971384455 Email aflibernur@infotelecom.es PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS WEEK WEST END NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWSNo.56 July'98, PO Box 5208, West End 4101 Brisbane Australia. 38464358. DISCUSSION BULLETIN No.90 July/Aug'98, PO Box 1564, Grand Rapids MI, 49501, United States. STORM WARNING 1998, Vietnam Veterans Against War, Anti-Imperalist PO Box 21604, Seattle WA 98111-364 United States. Tel/Fax 206-374-2215. VICTORIAN READERS LISTEN TO THE ANARCHIST WORLD THIS WEEK ANARCHIST WORLD THIS WEEK POSTER AVAILABLE FOR THE COST OF A FEW STAMPS Want to help us find new listeners for the Anarchist World This Week, then send us a few stamps to AWTW, Po Box 20, Parkville 3052, Australia and we'll send you out a colour poster (A3) for your use and a black & white poster you can photocopy and put up to help us increase the number of people who listen to the Anarchist World This Week. DEBT ELIMINATION APPEAL - PUSH US OVER THE LINE Our debt stands at $826.50. We would like to eliminate this debt by June. Over the past two years we have been able to reduce our debt from over $3000.00 to a little over $800.00. If you've hesitated helping us overcome our debt because you didn't want to throw good money after bad, well you don't need to worry as we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We need a little bit of extra help to push us over the line. So if you haven't helped before and want to help, make out cheques or money orders to Libertarian Workers and send it to L.W.S.S. PO Box 20 Parkville 3052 Melbourne, Australia. THANKS!! DEBT 22.7.98 - $826.50 ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE PUBLIC DISCUSSION MEETING ANARCHISM AND VEGETARIANISM, Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane (Near Swanston St), Melbourne, 8.00pm Thursday 30th July, All Welcome. Anarres Anarchist Bookshop will have a stall on the evening. ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE OBSCENITY OF THE WEEK - Has been awarded to Robyn Spencer, Victoria Numero Uno of One Notion - she makes Pauline Hanson look like a raving radical leftie. If You Like What You Have Read, Photocopy This Publication and Leave It In Doctors, Dentists, Vets Waiting Rooms and In Railway Stations, Bus Stops, Libraries and Restaurants Etc. The articles in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review express the opinion of individuals within the Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society/Anarchist Media Institute. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society/Anarchist Media Institute. P U B L I C A T I O N S Anarchist Age Weekly Review - 4 pages of Anarchist commentary on Local, National and International events. $50.00 for 50 issues $10.00 for 10 issues Anarchist Age Monthly Review - Issue 80 out July 1998 $48.00 wage earners - 12 issues $30.00 non wage earners - 12 issues Make out cheques or money orders to: Libertarian Workers, PO Box 20, Parkville, 3052 Victoria Australia. All material in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review can be used by anarchists, anarchist collectives and non-profit organisations as long as the source of the material is mentioned in the article. The Anarchist Age Weekly Review reserves all rights as far as commercial publications are concerned. NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL COMMITTED CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD - MARGARET MEAD.