Revolution

Practical & Strategic Lessons From The Venezuelan Revolution

March 25, 2014 Suren Moodliar, www.zcomm.org Strategize! Revolution, Venezuela

In short, promoting a system change – devolving power to the people – is both necessary and fraught with danger. Short-term political calculations and modern media spin all endanger the project but potential achievement of the long-term goal of popular sovereignty will permanently shift the balance away from the State and capitalism. . . we have argued that the left needs to rally behind the revolutionary process using a framing that educates people here about the social forces at play in Venezuela. The left may also help in de-polarizing the political conversation so that the many middle layers who have now thrown their lot in with the opposition may seek policies that correspond to the underlying interests. However, the current cycle of violence needs to be ended first but that requires recognition that the current attempt to oust President Maduro preempts the constitutional route to recall the president. Only the right has the capacity to stop the violence because it is in service of their privileges.

Six Things Tahrir Protesters Taught About Starting a Movement

March 4, 2014 Samiezade’-Yazd, www.occupywallst.org Strategize! Egypt, Occupy, Revolution

The Square digs deeper, showing viewers the anatomy of mass movements and the DIY ethos that drives those within to action. It shows you first-hand that decentralized movements aren’t about the headlines and the talking heads that define them, or, for that matter, the establishments that oppose them. They’re about the people and objectives within that propel them. The Square is an important film-- not just about Egypt, but about freedom movements and social change for an entire generation. The Square is a snapshot of a greater uprising, a social shift that is interconnected with Occupy and others like it all over the world. And while some have turned their backs on protesters within both movements, The Square is a vital reminder of the lessons that Tahrir’s revolutionaries taught Occupy and the world, inspiring the disenfranchised to to turn to the streets to amplify their voices.

Making A Renewable Energy Revolution

March 2, 2014 Ted Glick, www.grist.org Organize! Climate Change, Revolution

What is needed if we are to have a chance of enacting a renewable energy revolution in enough time to prevent widespread and catastrophic climate disruption? Revolutions happen when: ~~A majority of people are either actively or passively in support of the changes that, cumulatively, would constitute a revolution; ~~The ruling powers-that-be are divided, unsure of how to handle rising resistance and with some going over to the side of the revolution; and, ~~The revolutionaries are organized and united.

Did Nonviolence Fail In Egypt?

February 23, 2014 Mark Engler and Paul Engler, www.wagingnonviolence.org Strategize! Egypt, Nonviolence, Revolution

Three years ago this month, the 82-year-old president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, stepped down amid historic protests against his dictatorial rule. News of his resignation on Feb. 11, 2011 marked the climax of an uprising that was quickly recognized as one of the most sudden and significant upheavals of the 21st century. As the New York Times reported, “The announcement, which comes after an 18-day revolt led by the young people of Egypt, shatters three decades of political stasis and overturns the established order of the Arab world.” Activists in Egypt, along with sympathizers throughout the world, rejoiced. “We had tried before. But nothing was like this,” said Ahmed Salah, a veteran youth organizer who had worked for years to drum up resistance to the regime. For months, he had been promoting the audacious and improbable idea of a revolution without arms. “I had hopes, but I never really thought that I’d see it,” he explained. “Tahrir brought tears to my eyes.”

Breaking: Ukraine Government & Opposition Reach Major Agreement

February 21, 2014 Staff, www.AP.org Resist! Revolution, Ukraine

In a day that could significantly shift Ukraine's political destiny, opposition leaders signed a deal Friday with the country's beleaguered president that calls for early elections, a new constitution and a new unity government. If it holds, the ambitious agreement could be a major breakthrough in a months-long crisis over Ukraine's future, a standoff that worsened sharply this week and left scores dead and hundreds wounded in the worst violence the country has since seen it became independent in 1991. Within hours of the signing, Ukraine's parliament voted to restore the 2004 constitution that limits presidential powers, clawing back some of the powers that President Viktor Yanukovych had pushed through after being elected in 2010.

Revolution, or Digital Age Renaissance?

February 20, 2014 Bernardo Gutiérrez www.occupy.com Educate! renaissance, Revolution

GlobalRevolution: that guerrilla-gas, flees the classic strategy of the working class, its massive strikes. Without being antagonistic to that formula – some groups work in a self-governed strike of the 99% without unions – #globalrevolution does not find its strength in the stoppage, but in construction. Not in the boycott, but in the movement. In addition, its power is not just replacing the pieces of the system. Its explosive secret lies in the possibility of building their own pieces. Pieces-prototypes openly made in shared flows. Its sting is not, for example, blocking a port, but building an enough attractive port to replace the old one. Or better yet: to create a new system of urban gardens, parallel currencies, micro-ports and a 3D printers network to build objects that will make unnecessary the mega-port of the past. "Don´t look at us, join us," sing the Spanish indignados. “Don´t beat the enemy, let them join

We Are a Movement of Movements

February 18, 2014 Rivera Sun www.riverasun.com Strategize! Democracy movement, Revolution

Our movements are revolutionary; their manner of collaborative, horizontal organization is the most natural, organic system on Earth. We terrify the empowered elite because we reflect, in our very structure, the most powerful force on the planet: Life. In what they call our disorganization, we embody the natural systems that the patriarchal, Puritanical European colonizers have been trying to repress and control for thousands of years. Our movements are as frightening to them as a liberated woman, or the pagan religions of old Europe that succumbed to the first invasion of the mentality that now engulfs the empowered elite around the globe. We are organic and uncontrollable . . . and we are, ultimately, unstoppable. Instead of codifying our movements under one name, we must learn to recognize who and what we are. We are a movement of movements, a great multiplicity of motion. We are a thousand points of light. We are Life, itself.

G-20 Protester’s Amazing Statement To Court Before Sentencing

February 14, 2014 Joel Bitar, www.supportjoel.com Educate! Afghanistan, Finance and the Economy, G-20, Iraq, Israel, Revolution, Wars and Militarism

It is only really possible to understand the events that took place in Toronto in the context of the global movement against neoliberalism and the corporatization of the planet. It is my belief that this movement is best explained as an individual and collective response to various forms of domination and exploitation. My politics are inseparable from my own life experiences, which I would like to briefly speak about now. When I was in college trying to get rich and focusing on my own personal comforts seemed right when everyone else was chasing the same thing. However, two events occurred during this time that fundamentally changed the way I now see the world. The first event was the global financial crisis of 2008. The second event took place in December, 2008, when Israel launched an invasion into the Gaza Strip. This led me to see more and more about the world that I could not unsee, including how the continued exploitation of the environment is connected to the same economic interests mentioned above. Financial crises, war and environmental degradation share a common thread. They are born of the prevailing economic system, which is only interested in maximizing profit and increasing growth. This system is predicated on maintaining vast levels of inequality, where a small number of people have incredible amounts of wealth while the masses are locked in poverty.

The Zeitgeist Of Tahrir And Occupy

February 10, 2014 Ahmed R Teleb, www.truth-out.org Educate! Egypt, Occupy, Revolution

The 21st Century spirit that fueled Tahrir - that made these possibilities visible, palpable and global - appears not yet to have said all that it has to say. January 25th's and Occupy Wall Street's political failure may in fact be their triumph. In demonstrating the inability of representative governments to meet the ambitions and ideals of the 21st Century mind, protestors in Cairo and in New York achieved a cultural coup. They educated the broader public about what is not possible within current political-economic structures and what alternative structures could be. Moreover, their use of technology to democratize information and liberate ideas not only makes citizen outrage more recognized but also makes the alternatives generally available beyond geographical barriers. In effect, just as political innovation seems more urgent than ever (with the weak global economy, degrading environment, rapid change), it has also never been more likely.

Understanding European Movements From ’68 To 2011

February 9, 2014 Parthena Xanthopoulou-Dimitriadou, www.roarmag.org Educate! Book Review, Europe, Revolution

The last years have witnessed an unprecedented proliferation of mobilizations and grassroots movements responding to the dismantling of social and political arrangements following the momentous and ongoing financial crisis of 2008. In 2011, people took the streets across Europe to protest against socio-economic degradation, challenging the austerity policies designed and implemented under the auspices of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Cuts in public spending, wage reduction, the removal of working benefits, the abolition of collective labor agreements, the dissolution of public health systems and pension schemes, and rampant unemployment and homelessness were among the most contested issues behind the mobilizations, which soon redirected the public expression of indignation towards the entire political system, denouncing parties and challenging the very idea of representative democracy.

The Economics of Revolt

February 7, 2014 Brandon Jourdan, vimeo.com Educate! Austerity, Finance and the Economy, Government, Revolution

Mason examines revolts around the world and sees a common denominator as the failure of neo-liberal capitalism to deliver decent lives to people. While economies grow wealth is not shared so incomes go down and at the same time government programs are cutback. When the collapse of the economy occurs government pour money into the economy but not to meet the necessities of people but to recapitalize banks. At the same time that monetary policy is printing money for the banks, fiscal policy is cutting back government services in the name of austerity and deficit reduction. Governments cannot respond to these revolts until they find a way to create an economy that serves the people.

The Roots Of Revolutionary Moments Are Not Always Obvious

February 6, 2014 Sam Smith, www.prorevnews.blogspot.com Educate! Occupy, Revolution

Ira Chernus, History News Network - "The '60s" as a real political-cultural phenomenon was not evident to most Americans until 1967 or maybe even 1968. It's only in retrospect that so many events of 1964 seem so obviously intertwined. That's what historians do: look back and see things that people at the time couldn't see. It's a job well worth doing. But it's equally important that we don't confuse the early seeds of a major political, social, and cultural change with the substance of the change itself. ... Historians face a methodological problem here. If you're going to decide that the key to understanding any historical era is to track down its roots -- as '60s scholars so often do -- where do you stop? Everything that happened in 1964 -- or any other year, for that matter -- was the fruit of things that happened earlier. It's well known by now that the roots of "the '60s" really lie in the supposedly so opposite era of "the '50s."

Man From The North: Three R’s Not Taught In School

January 26, 2014 Rivera Sun, www.dandelionsalad.wordpress.com Educate! Man From The North, Revolution

Resistance, rabble-rousing, rebellion: a maturing empire such as ours has no room for these. Unquestioning obedience is required. Every standardized test, multiple choice question, regimented schedule, gold star, or failing grade trains us to obey authority. The curriculum that is laid out in yearly tests leaves no time for free thought, only a frantic rush to memorize and regurgitate the correct answer. It is boot camp for our brains. From our leaders’ viewpoint, American society no longer requires pioneers, artists, and innovators. The wealthy elite births just enough entrepreneurs to generate fresh, controllable income. Inventors are cheaper in China, where such questioning minds pose problems to other corrupt governments, not ours.

Globalize Liberation: 5 Stages For Social Movements

January 21, 2014 George Lakey, www.trainingforchange.org Strategize! Activism, Revolution

Late '90s Serbia was different in many ways from the situation facing activists in the U.S. or other countries. For one thing, the U.S. led a NATO bombing against Milosevic, which failed to unseat him, and in its frustration Washington decided to bet on the young rebels and help fund Otpur's leaflets and computers. Even so, Otpur's experience can stimulate our thinking. Given how many activists are tired of an endless round of protests that don't seem to add up to anything, Otpur activists' biggest gift to us might be their choice to unite around a strategy, to get creative about tactics, and to let the strategy guide which tactics make sense and which don't.

The Man From The North: The Open Hand

January 19, 2014 Rivera Sun, www.dandelionsalad.wordpress.com Educate! Revolution

We are poised, my friends, on the brink of rapid evolution or demise. Our socio-political-economic system is stretched as taut as tension wires. The edges are weakened and fraying. Smoldering frustration is sparking innovation and rebellion. The slow arc of evolution has brought humanity full circle in a revolution as deep and profound as the orbiting of the planets around the sun. Once again, we have reached a moment of phase transition, but this time, we will either propel ourselves into much-needed change or our ecosystems, species, and life, as we know it, will vanish from the face of the earth. The mantle of destiny falls on the shoulders that accept it. A billion molecules may have been offered the opportunity to become evolution’s Adam and Eve. How many passed that chance up from fear? Suspicion of one another? Narcissistic self-involvement? How many lost their opportunity because they were tuned out, oblivious to the others all around them?

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