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The end of squatting in Holland? A call for action

Squatting in the Netherlands is to be banned. According to the minister of Housing (amongst others), squatting is ‘an old ideology that does not fit in the present reality’. If mutual help and resistance do not fit, then maybe the present reality needs to be bent? There are eight million square metres of empty office buildings in the Netherlands, and in Amsterdam alone, some two hundred thousand people are looking for a place. In the inner cities, it is becoming impossible to find a house that most people can afford.

• Our representative political parties want to make more use of temporary housing contracts to combat emptiness of buildings. These contracts are a vehicle for stripping renters of the modest housing rights that they did have until now. They explicitly exclude people from bare essentials such as a legal house peace and include the possibility of being dumped on the streets, sometimes within a day, without any reasons given. These temporary contracts are a direct result of the governments struggle against squatting. People placed in empty places with hardly any rights are also called ‘squat guards’ or ‘antisquat’. When we are speaking of squatting, it is useful to keep an eye on the rights of renters. Squatting, for many, is not a goal but a means, the goal being to live and have a roof. But clearly not in the rightless position of someone on a temporary housing contract. Because they are denied the rights of an owner, a regular renter and even of a squatter, antisquat does not just place a negative pressure on squatters, but also on the rights of renters. Antisquat could also be called antirent. The Dutch political parties want to see an end to squatting. The ‘right wing’ wants to end it right now, the ‘left wing’ sees squatting as a transitory situation, to come to an end in the bright future that will come naturally when market and government have been allowed to do their good work. If they succeed, squatting will in hindsight have been used as a crowbar to break open the lower regions of the housing market. In the current parliamentary bill that was adopted as a basis for subduing squatting, the practise of squatting is considered ‘a grave incursion on ownership rights’. Let’s agree with the minister on that point. The damaging of ownership rights and the current economic division might, at least in a political sense, be seen as our core business.

International solidarity actions can support the fight to maintain our right for a radical protest against housing injustice.

Please keep us informed on krakengaatdoor@squat.net

Solidarity with Resistance of Adivasis in Kashipur(India)

• against the Bauxite Mining and Alumina Refinery venture of Alcan- Hindalco(UAIL).

Since 1993 the Adivasi and also Dalit communities in the Kashipur region are fighting against the mega industrial venture of UAIL for Bauxite mining , Alumina Refinery and connected to it a power generating factory. The whole bureaucracy-administration-government-police-judiciary-media are for the corporations and against the adivasi people. For twelve long years the adivasi communities blocked this mega industrialising venture; the corporations couldnt get control even over a piece of land. Since 2004 December the state stepped up the process of mass repression and terror through more than 800 paramilitary forces. It is in this period in 2005 that the corporations were for the first able to take control of more than 300 hectares of land which they have fenced off and levelled as a preparation for the construction of the Alumina refinery. It is at this time that some of us started a solidarity campaign in Germany. There are more than thirty places in Germany where Alcan has factories, offices and service centres. The small protest actions we made on July 14(global action day) this year helped motivate the people in kashipur to make a direct action two weeks back . This is just to say that even if we dont really hurt Alcan here in Europe atleast it gives heart to the resisting adivasi communities in Kashipur to continue their powerful sustained resistance in the face of almost impossible odds. In France there are Alcan factories, offices and service centre at 64 places and also in many places in Britain and rest of Europe. A european wide campaign would make much more sense and impact. This would be a concrete way of solidarity against the global industrial State of Capital which at the same time concretely also confronts the way life is organised here and now and as a way to solidarising in preventing genocide, destruction of nature and other(adivasi) ways of life who have more connection to values of egalitarianism , freedom and living in nature and in peace whether in india, brazil, chile , botswana or wherever else.

• www.kashipur.info kuchaipadar@yahoo.de

Talk and discussion on this solidarity campaign here in the PGA conference on 31st August between 15-18hrs at h17

g8 callout

.... and now for something more and completely different.

a global call written at campinski, August 2006

Many calls like this have been made before - for people to voice their protests against an unjust, unfair, unequal international system. The G8 summit represents just one part of this. Many have called for mobilisations and hoped networks would grow on their own. Although unsure wether or not we have the right recipe, we will try to avoid making the same mistake. We, the international working group on resistance against the next G8, are just a group of people sitting in a field, wanting to change the world.

We call for people all over the world to join us in expanding the basis for a strong and effective resistance here and now against the G8 summit in Heiligendamm in 2007 - and in the future - against the entire bloody capitalist circus.

Looking beyond this mobilisation, we will make this the next building blocks of a strong, continuous global resistance, drawing strength from our diversities. We call for the creation of lasting networks sharing and expanding discussions and ideas across borders, which in the future will make it unnecessary for us to even consider them.

To make resistance against the G8 as effective as possible we wish to facilitate the participation of people across the world - in the preparations, sharing their experience and in the actions themselves - both abroad and in Germany.

Practically this means several things: We will publish a two-way newsletter - firstly to provide relevant news and information about the preparations and discussions in Germany and abroad. In addition to this, there will be an English language website and mailinglist as a forum for communication between the working group and activists, creating a strong international network in advance. To achieve these goals we call for you to contribute with information, experiences, issues, forms of action, views and ideas for practical resistance. Also we call for help with translation and distribution of information - the creation of a pool of translators to help make information accessible to everybody and volunteers to help by printing and distributing the newsletter to their local communities.

We invite everyone interested to get involved in the working group itself. Especially we invite you to participate in the international meeting in the first or second weekend of February. The location for the meeting has not yet been selected but it will be outside of Germany. The meeting will provide a space for everyone to get up to speed so we can all participate on an equal footing. To enable people to be present both at the upcoming international planning meeting and at the protests in Germany we will provide real, up to date, practical information about aquiring visas and travelling, and if possible to help financing visas.

This and many other projects of the working group will require funding, therefore we also call for all who are able to help raise the funds needed.

We will help make the process as well as the actions open as widely as possible, by coordinating and providing clear and relevant information as well as easily accessible ways of communicating.

We want change - not just for our children, but for ourselves.

We call for you to join us in making this mobilisation yet another stepping stone, another nail in the coffin of international capitalism.

contact for the international working group: g8-int@riseup.net international mobilisation mailinglist: g8-int@lists.riseup.net german language mobilisation list: g8-2007@lists.riseup.net websites with info on g8 mobilisation: http://gipfelsoli.org http://dissentnetwork.org http://dissent.org.uk (dissent! uk)

Movin' Europe - From one caravan, thousands

In their 6th Declaration the Zapatistas declare that they are going to join together with resistance struggles in Mexico and the World against neo-liberalism and for humanity. They will do this by exchanging with mutual respect their experiences, histories, ideas and practice of democracy, liberty and justice. To do this they are going to seek those that want to organise, struggle and build 'another politics' from the grassroots. This new way of moving forward, leaving traditional party politics behind is what they have called the Other Campaign.

Europe is not Mexico and so we cant simply adopt the Other Campaign but rather have to find our own way to develop the struggle against neo-liberalism and for humanity that is relevant to our context.

To make our struggle stronger and more effective we need to move beyond the traditional way of revolving around an ideology developed by a few, but rather fascilitate dialogue between people to find their own solutions. This means that to have a global movement of resistance it is necessary first to understand, share and work in the local struggle, to know how women and men are affected by Capitalism and how they are organising to resist these effects. We want to show a Europe where people are resisting Capitalism everywhere in both politicised and unpoliticised struggles and that to get rid of Capitalism itself we need to connect all these struggles together. The caravan, 'Movin Europe', is a practical tool for everyone who believes in this concept to have a way to form these connections horizontally. It will take place between april and september 2007 (the warm period in europe), it is not a mobilisation for the G8 summit but rather a mobilisation of minds, bodies and hearts before, during and after the G8.

The caravan itself is the second stage of the process. The first stage is starting a dialogue with local groups and local struggles outside of our usual activist structures. This will help us see that there are many people from different backgrounds struggling everyday against the effects of capitalism and see the reasons that motivate people to say NO! We have to take the reponsibility to go back to our neighbourhood to know better the struggles we have around us; saving a local park, preventing the builiding of a road, anti-nuclear campaigns, struggles against the politics of immigration, workers struggles, environmental campaigns, movements against the privatisation of education, health, transport etc. To connect with these local struggles will be the basis of how we can link struggles from all over Europe to see what others' lives and struggles are like, what their thoughts about the world are and realising the common cause between the struggles.

The traditional idea of an activist caravan is a single group of activists travelling around visiting social centres and various campaigns. This caravan is different in that it is more of a caravan network that not only connects activists but creates permanent links between similar or related local struggles. This means that the activists' role is largely that of a fascilitator to create ongoing connections between people saying NO! The vision is to have many different caravans connecting many different people/groups. The caravans would come together at 'stations' which would be autonomous spaces, social centres etc that have the ability to host people. These stations would be a place to share experiences, find out what the different caravans have been doing, what links have been made, have workshops and discuss practical steps to move forward.

The caravan will also try to share culture and develop art & creativity as we use culture to shape our politics and politics to shape our lives.

The planning of the caravan will happen partly through the website (www.vision07.net) which will have an interactive map of europe. This will highlight the different local struggles, autonoumous spaces, groups and collectives involved in resistance and the connections already made with other struggles around the world.

Practical Steps to get involved:

- Get involved and create a dialogue with struggles in your area. - Send information of your local struggles, autonomous spaces, groups, collectives, and exisitng networks to other groups

• around the world to mapofgroups@moviments.net

- Visit www.vision07.net and register as a user to add content, initiate discussion, post and read news, propose ideas, find

• related struggles and groups and help develop the caravan.

- Prepare to both be a caravan and host/invite other caravans. - Spread the idea, meet with other interested people and see how you can join in and develop the idea. - COME TO THE MEETING AT THE CENTRALISED CONFERENCE ON FRIDAY AT 6.30 PM IN THE CINEMA!

Global Perspectives – Which Future project

From a working group formed in Dijon

The world is at the threshold of an energy, environmental and economic crisis that will end the present-day occidental way of life. Fossil fuels, the energy drug that has so hugely accelerated growth for the last two centuries--and on which practically all our transport and production depend, are running out. At the same time, their use is provoking unprecedented climatic changes that are causing huge problems (of water and many other nasty things like hurricanes, extreme heat, cold and general climatic instability, increasing sea level, species extinctions and ecological imbalances). The question is WHO will determine the future, the kind of society that will perhaps survive the coming crisis.

The ruling classes are already designing their future to try to preserve their privileges and power : hugely increased inequalities, including in the North (no more pensions, social rights, etc.); totalitarian governments manipulating permanent war, xenophobia, fundamentalisms, etc.; even more disastrous attempts to counter (and make money out of) the growing environmental and energy problems : GMOs, nuclear energy, massive biofuel agribusiness (already being planned to take the place of the rain forests of the south), speculations in « pollution rights », etc.

BUT countless and varied struggles are also fighting the different aspects of this program and trying to preserve or develop the possibilities for an alternative future. There is also already a more or less clear consciousness of the links between these struggles and perspectives. For example, the last PGA global conference in 2001 added a statement about climate change to its manifesto, alongside of the visions of the indigenous peoples, farmers organisations, etc.

Our project is to try to further clarify the links between the different problems and struggles and contribute to the unification of these themes, visions and networks of struggle that are still often treated in a relatively isolated manner - to encourage the development of solidarity, of a common vision and common campaigns.

Themes to be linked: Oil wars, geopolitics, energy crisis Climate change The limits of growth, necessity of negative growth, critiques of development and growth. Autonomy and self-sufficiency perspectives in: ...Northern alternative experiences

• .. Indigenous resistances
• .. Peasant communities struggles

First steps we propose. Develop some more this proposal in order to: - Contact the Climate Change Camp and Rising Tide campaign Contact the Oil Watch network, which has already made a call for a similar process. Contact networks discussing and mobilizing on the energy crisis (like crisisenergetica.org and peakoil.net ) Contact groups interested in negative growth (decroissance people in France), people who worked at Bellevue site of conférence and others working on practical self-sufficiency, autonomy projects. Propose the subject for the possible Zapatista Encuentro. Contact networks or groups working on oil/antiterrorist wars, etc. Propose the discussion on the global PGA network, proposing that indigenous, peasant organisations, northern groups, etc., work together on the subject, for example before the next global conférence.

Contacts for interested persons: < enric@moviments.net >, Olivier < elviejo@greenmail.ch >

Lyon

Punk cooking

..and one day there was punkrock cooking. in this nice trashy kitchen in La Friche, Lyon, France, Occident. and there was punk and beer and tofu and a lot of vegetables and soy sauce and really nice people, but not enough big knives i think. however, everybody had fun and the food was tasty and served quite in time. this cooking was really good for my mood, thanks to cl. who had the idea. and thanks to the person who made the guacamole - it was so fucking good! moments like this were rare at the pgaconference because everybody had to do a lot of things all the time.. so thanks for that.

greetings to all the cooks and all the others who where at the pga conference !red-head!

UNDERSTANDING HETEROSEXISM IN RADICAL POLITICAL SCENES

• - some thoughts after a workshop in the decentralized PGA meeting in Lyon

To talk about heterosexism in society in general – about how it is expressed in violence and legislation is one thing. Another, and often more difficult thing, is to talk about how it appears in our own radical political scenes, where most people see themselves as “openminded” and innovative. One reason is the lack of knowledge about what heterosexism is – both on a theoretical level and on a practical, individual level. The lack of knowledge makes it difficult for heterosexuals to take responsibility for their position.

The attitude in radical scenes where heterosexuals are the majority is often “homo-friendly”. This attitude easily makes oppression and different positions of power invisible. The problem with this “homo-friendliness” is that it will only hold as long as the heterosexuals are not openly criticized – they expect a “hetero-friendliness” in return, which has to be so permanent that they never feel questioned. An example of this is when the number of nonhetero persons in a heterosexually dominated gathering increases to such a degree that they appear as a collective rather than as individuals. They often then start to be seen as a threat and some heterosexuals might start complaining that a new norm has been created and that they have to hide their relationships – without reflecting that what makes them want to hide might be their own desire to be “politically correct” and not to take responsibility for their position in society. Blaming the nonheterosexuals for the fact that heterosexuals do not feel free to show their sexuality is in fact heterosexist- how could it be the responsibility of the “homos” to make the heteros feel comfortable in a hetero majority situation?

Many heterosexuals confuse their own experiences of experimenting with the norms of sex and relationships with the problems faced by persons who permanently live outside the heterosexual norm. (For example: many heterosexuals have occasional sexual relationships with persons of the same sex or experiment with / practice different forms of relationships that do not conform to the norm of monogamy. ) The unwillingness to realise that, even if you are experimenting and exploring your identity, you have a heterosexual position in society, seems to sometimes block the interest in informing yourself about the subject of heterosexism, queer issues etc, and to reflect on your position.

Heterosexism also manifests itself in the reaction an individual from the “nonhetero - collective” might get when this person criticises how heterosexist structures are reproduced in somebody's way of behaving or arguing. The discussion often then changes focus from a structural level including the heterosexual him- or herself, to an individual level focusing on the nonhetero's feelings of opression. This way of changing focus implies that the structures themselves are not the problem – the problem is how they make the poor nonhetero individual feel. In the long term this kind of reaction will silence the critics because you grow tired of being put in the position of victim.

Another problem is the confusion between heterosexism on the one hand and sexism/patriarchy on the other. This distinction is important to make in order to be able to see the specific oppression which people outside the heterosexual norm suffer. If you don't do this, the analysis of heterosexism tends to disappear behind the feminist issue (that is, a feminism focusing mainly on “gender roles”). This distinction is also needed to understand heterosexual women's position of power.

So... more knowledge is needed if we want to do something about the heterosexism inside our scenes. This knowledge can be gained by talking to nonheteros about their experiences and by reading texts on the subject. But also by reflecting why you live the way you do and which norms you break and which you don't - and how this positions you in society.

Kristina Loretta Daphne

sexuality ? activism ? frustration !

On Wednesday evening in Lyon a group of people proposed a debate entitiled “Sex, Activism, Frustration” followed by a party ewith the theme “sex is political”. I was interested in participating in the debate because, actually, there are tons of things that could be said, and it is not really a discussion which is often proposed. At the same time, I was a little apprehensive about the form that it could take; it's not an easy subject for me and in this space it would be with people who i didn't know well or not at all. But I told myself that sometimes it's necessary to take a leap into the darkness in order to make something happen...

So around thirty people met up and made a go-round, with every person saying a little about why they came to speak about sexuality... There were many different and wideranging contributions, but I saw several strands that came up often: a critique of a sort of norm in radical scenes that excludes visible signs of affection from public or collective space, notably by monogamous couples, and expecially when they are heterosexual – desire to break taboos more especially when this affection is sexual, and so should be even more hidden – the fact that girls especially are judged as “sluts” when they have lots of sexual activity with different people - critique of the way that sexuality is turned into something sacred, or the opposite: to take everything just a little bit too lightly – some men expressed the feeling of a malaise or pressure because of ideas or demands for deconstruction of patriarcal domination within sexual relations, and didn't know (anymore) how they should behave – many girls made reference to sexual violences reminding people that these experiences are really widespread and so it was likely that they were not the only survivors in the group. And that the representations of sexuality(s) that exist in this society can in themselves be a form of violence. So that when we talk about sexuality we should take into account that it's not a simple topic and that we need to always pay attention to people – some people expressed that, coming from a different cultural background (muslim culture, non-western networks), they wanted to understand other visions of sexuality, -etc.

After the round table a slightly difficult discussion started, often jumping from one subject to another, without managing to go deeper into any of them (such as is often the case with discussions in such a big group. And the fact that there was alcohol and so on going around didn't so much help the possibilities to talk about the subject with the necessary delicacy...). I don't feel capable of reporting everything that was said, so I'll just talk about a few contributions which made an impact on me.

The discussion revolved around questions of gender power dynamics, and the search for ways of relating to one another that can manage to break out of the frame of domination, when a man claimed that it was completely impossible to have sexual relations (he wasn't specific, but I suppose he was speaking of hetero relations...) without domination, and that that was part of the attraction(!)... this provoked a few murmurs in the crowd, but the only concrete response came from a girl who said strongly and with some provocation that she practiced an S/M sexuality and in this the dynamics of domination could be turned around. Then she added that these power dynamics were consensual, but I really regretted that she didn't take more time to explain more clearly that power dynamics within S/M practice don't have so much to do with the structures of domination between men and women precisely because they are done in a consensual way. Personally, I'm not into S/M, but after quite some conversations with people who are, and also reading around this subject, one of the things which to me seems very interesting about it is this very idea of consensuality. To reach an agreement it is necessary to communicate well and many people in the discussion had been talking about the big difficulties in communicating around these questions. So OK, I felt we missed the opportunity to talk more about this, it was limited to a provocative affirmation of a sexual identity, rather than a wish to exchange views and go deeper into this subject.

I tried at other moments to raise the idea of proposing what could be other rules of the game if we want to reject existing sexual norms. If, for example, we want to disconnect our sexual relations from the demands of fidelity, what other sort of engagement can we imagine, to not just fall into the trap of “everyone does what they want with no attention to anyone else”. I would call that a sort of “responsibility” but this term doesn't seem to connect with the representations of many people. I had to repeat the explaination three times before being understood, which shows that it is very complicated to understand, because we don't use the same words to describe things. But that also made me question that the idea of engagement with or responsibility towards other people always returns only to norms, restrictions and very traditional visions of “sexual things”, in short, limitations which are in opposition to any form of liberation. It seems to be that even if we want to deconstruct things, we are also constructed by this society. And in it there is notably an idea of the hyper-sanctity of sexuality. So I don't see so much how it is possible to construct other relations without reflecting on the ways to create bases for trust, to allow all individuals with their different personal histories to gain from this “liberation”... We've already seen sexual revol utions that actually were nothing of the sort.

A last point to which I would like to return concerns the reactions to a comment by a girl about the lack of intergenerational exchanges on this subject. I don't know what annoyed me the most between: “I don't really know what we're talking about, what is the connection between sexuality and my grandparents?” (1) and “When it comes to sexuality, I have more in common even with my worst enemy than with my grandfather” and a girl who seemed to find it very funny to make out that she was fucking her grandfather and crying out “oh, papi”. Maybe it was the fact that some of these reactions came from people who had organised the discussion and therefore claimed to want to struggle against norms and taboos. In this moment they seemed completely closed to the idea that older people could have fun sexually...

• I left the discussion at this moment, and I walked out frustrated. With a bit of afterthought, I saw at least the value of having brought up some possible starting points for reflection, but unfortunately without going any further, without really putting in any content, and without honestly questionning the representations made. If it is enough to put on sexy (2) clothes and to “fuck without limits” in order to be “liberated”, then the job would be much easier. Don't misunderstand me, I've nothing against it and for sure it's also a way to find other ways to relate to sexuality, but I think things are much more complex than that. And I don't think that there are on the one hand“liberated” people and on the other “blocked” people who just need to relax a little.So there are moments where I tell myself that maybe I, a survivor, with a sexuality that isn't so spectacular and with a whole bunch of things that I really don't find easy, maybe I am actually closer to a self-determined and un-normed sexuality, one that makes me feel good and takes care about others, than some of those who live out their sexualities in an extravagant and spectacular way...?

Just a short remark to finish: my intention is not to contribute yet more to the confinement of people inside categories, and I'm also conscious of the fact that I don't know the people who participated in the debate very well, so please don't see only the expression of my anger and of my subjective impressions that maybe are wrong. Take this text instead as an invitation to debate more sincerely, to give ourselves the means to treat these topics with the finesse which is is necessary for everybody to feel comfortable.

igor

1)As a kind of answer, I want to give you a little something to contemplate: maybe your grandparents have the sort of sex life that you could not even begin to imagine... 2)And what does it mean, the word “sexy”? To leave behind the norms we could also reflect on what we eroticise and what that reproduces...

Racism class issues in the anti-authoritarian activist scenes

This is the report of the first workshop concerning racism that has taken place in the decentralized part of the PGA in Lyon. The goal was to understand why the people concerned by racism, migrants, often of working class and precarious, who have not had or had little access to education and to information are minoritarian in the anti-authoritarian movement. The people of color were yet a minority; as much as in this workshop as well as in the general gathering in Lyon. About 25 people participated in this workshop. After discussions in smaller groups (3 groups), the ideas that came out of each group were shared with everybody. In the first place; people were asked to discuss between them about their links with groups or movements directly concerned with racism or migration. This part will not be treated here. Each group being composed by people of different backgrounds, they resulted in different sensibilities towards issues on colonial history; of classe; etc. and some issues were country specific. But some impressions still seemed to converge on a few points (ex.. closedness of the activist scenes of white and Western majority).

Question 1: Why are the people concerned by racism under-represented in the circles of the anti-authoritarian movements when instead they are the majority in the ghettos and that they lead the global anticapitalist struggles?

Groupe 1 *two women of algerien origin were present in this group Algeria, Germany, France...

In certain scenes and in the culture of feminist literature, there is not enough questioning of the representations on sexism in the countries that have been colonised.

Certain attitudes of latent racism that hurt a lot.

Historical reason – ex. while feminism wzs emerging (70's – 80's), the immigrant women had other crucial preoccupations and feminism had not arrived all the way to the bidonvilles and in the HLM neighborhoods (lowcost social housing).

The feminism in France also has a rather intellectual and bourgeois history; thus certain women did not feel concerned or welcome

The community is closed apon itself.

The question in itself was put to question : Why “represent”?!

• The notion of “representation” was put to question by people who originally came from the former French colonies...

In the same manner, it was criticized that it was necessary to define what racism is.

Culture of silence : the oppressed and their descendants have learnt to stay silent --> dificulty to speak out and difficulty to listen to this voice.

Groupe 2 *one persone of color (woman) Switzerland, Sweden, France, Ukraina, Germany...

Migrants have prioritary problems that are different.

Possible difficulties : language differences different cultural backgrounds different class of origin different ways of organizing

Power relations make it difficult to develope friendship.

Complexity : intersection of different types of oppressions (ex. racism, sexism, heterosexism, class oppression, etc...) in the relationships.

There's a tendency to selfcensorship in the people who are targeted by racism.

• --> it is also necessary to create spaces on our own and not to wait for others to make them.

Logic of time and urgency make it difficult to cover these issues in an explicit manner.

There's the tendency to exoticise the “Other” and to trap her/him in stereotypes (positive or negative).

Often a paternalistic attitude is adopted towards people as if we knew “better than them” (education) yet at the same time, people who have less means of power tend to count on those who have more means of action...

Lack of desire/effort to confront these issues (ex. whiteness) in the activist scenes.

People don't mix – ex. we may invite people to meetings but we do not become friends with them

• The affinity based logic can be excluding

Not enough space is given to discuss about these issues

Too local perspective – ethnnocentrism (activist culture)

We stay in a logic of give in take – hierarchy, lack of objective equality and power relations (of which we do not become conscious).

Ignorance on the situation of the other – the action of a person is very limited according to his/her conditions and position/status.

Lack of presence/visibility of people with similar conditions – dissuasif/discouraging

Selfcensorship on one hand and reluctance to talk about one's own history and that of one's family and/or country and its implication in the past/present politics (not to position oneself – and we tend to ask the others to position themselves).

Groupe 3 dtwo people of color (women) Bulgaria, Australia, France, England...

- Situation in Bulgaria where there are many Roms in communities that are quite closed and not conscious enough of the modes of anti-authoritarian self-organisation. The Turkish community distrusts the Bulgarians because of racist discriminations. No trust, difficult to make connections. Segregation of the Turkish population. not much mixing, difficulties to make exchanges. The fact that there be so much racism doesn't give the desire to create ties with individuals who are difficult to distinguish from the oppressors.

In Australia, the Chines immigrants, Koreans, Vietnamese do not ivest themselves in anticapitalist groups. In the activist circles, difficult to create ties with youth of Asian origin who are the object of discrimination.

In France, the same kind of patterns when you arrive in a place where you are discriminated they tell you to scram. Mentality integrated in the first generation. But there are many people of color since a long time so this doesn't explain anything.

When one is non-white, culturally poor; it is very difficult to integrate oneself culturally; it's very difficult to integrate oneself to the anarchist, feminist and left scenes. 3 things are recognized : to be white, to be rich, to be educated (know how to speak well...). Otherwise you are not accepted. One must proove oneself; be in the same identity codes.

A peroson concerned by racisme explained that when she went to the G8 for the first time it reminde her of the first time she went to a lesbian club, where at the entrance she was told “this is a gay club” and refused to let her in. The same sensation at the G8 where she seemed to read in the eyes of the people “what the hell are you doing here?” When we organise direct actions it is necessary to feel at ease. How to arrive to this level of self-confidence if the white group is closed; that we feel that the people are scared of foreigners, of the people they do not know? How to change the world if we cannot change these local problems?

The words change:we say minority for people who are the majority. What changes :there will be people who have power, money outside of white people. The actions, anti-white movements change the situation and the way these issues are seen. To return the oppression. We speak of anti-white racisme, white people are scared. Before the people of color sent back the violence to their communities, now return to the white oppressor.

If your parents give you money, you're not obliged to work, it's easier to invest yourself in the anarchist scene as opposed to if you work or if you have family in your charges.

Cultural obstacles: It's a long time that this is questioned but it isn't working. Class problems: it's difficult to say that we don't understand the books on theory, elitism. The language used is academic, tough. If you grew up in a proletarian context and you're not an activist, you don't have the political culture that is needed, and that you don't understand, when you don't understand it is made understood that you are stupid. In the white middle class one can be sexist, homophobic, without political reflection but you have access to certain means that when you come from working classes, and you or/and your family doesn't speak the local language; or that you don't have these bases, nor encouagement to reading...

There's also from the exterior, there are perceptions of anarchists as people who are “lazy” and who do not contribute to a more larger community.

The people who are implied in the daily struggles don't have the “privilege” of the anarchist lifestyle

The problem of anarchist “culture”

Question 2: Whose responsiblility is it to increase the participation of the people concerned directly by racism in these scenes? (which means?)

Groupe 1

- Cultural hegemony: the experience to have lived as a foreigner and unwelcome allows to understand a few things.

Groupe 2

Deconstruct on different levels personal historical interpersonal (speak and share)

Facilitate the creation of network, make information circulate outside of the closed circles and vice-versa.

A practical example to sensibilise people on these issues : distribute things like brochures-questionaries (that exist) to measure one's own internalized racism, homophobia, sexism, heterosexism

Meet and speak directly with the people who are concerned

Make explicite and visibilise the implicite rules and structures; organisation/how things work in the scenes

Include and welcome specific groups (ex. write in the flyer that people without papers are very welcome)

Create spaces

Tto become conscious of /realize about power dynamics

Groupe 3

Link with local struggles – not to wait for people of color to “come towards us”

The activists should be conscious of their “safety” strategies of the group de comment leur stratégies de “protection” du groupe (ex. not working with people we don't know when planning direct action).

Allow people to learn in their own time/rhythm.

The intellectual/academic understanding fo the théorie seems to be valued more than anything which excludes for example the working class

..............................................................................;

A few notes :

One of the difficulties of these discussions is that the people who intervened did not have the same relationship to this and oppression and that this is not made explicite.

Maybe we didn't underline enough the qtiestion concerning the confrontation to one's own internalized racism de se confronter.

Affinity-based networks are problematical.

Lack of connection with other movements.

Meeting of Evaluation

The general evaluation of the pga meeting in Lyon has been prepared and we discused in three little groups of between five and eight persons during one hour and a half. It was super interesting, much more than this feedback!

Three axes has been defined, with three underpoints for each: * What do you think about the organisation of the meeting?

• -the repartition of the tasks? -the assemblees of the morning? -decisions making?

* What do you think about thematics workshops?

• - to which workshops did you participate? - did you organize some workshops? - are they one or more topics/activities that we didn't discuss/do and that you would like to discuss/do?

* What do you think about relations between people?

• - did you met "new" people? -what do you think about the athmosphere? - what do you think about the place?

And some other questions: * Were you interested by the pga? * What did you think about the role of the organisers?

The organisers of the discussion precised that all contradictions are wellcome, and no consensus expected.

Note : = means proposition

FIRST POINT : ORGANISATION - good quality of self-management - it's a pity for the lateness:

• = put clocks in all rooms = being more punctual for the meals = improve plannings and plans of the place = shorter workshops with more pauses (also for more informal moments between the workshops) = workshops of two hours are too short (that's why we always finish in late) = difficulties of conviviality (because of the big size) = better than usually but not enough collective = reexamine the link meal/washing dishes = reexamine the length of reception permanence (4 hours is too long) = plan more persons for the meal (1 person for 10)
• -very cool and kindly for ill persons
• - very very very good preparation of the place - convivial place despite the big size of the place -cool organisation in the middle of the 10 days ( little complex to put in place at the beginning, wavering in the end)

- difficulties for the people to get out their usual context (either for the visitors than for the organisers) -less of spontaneity for the visitors to take tasks in charge - collective tasks not enough turning -problems with translation

• = organise a translation team

- problem with the buffet - lack of realism in the planning -problem of different rhythms of life : proposition of a permanent buffet

SECOND POINT : THE WORKSHOPS

- Too much topics (less than 4), dispersion, difficulty of organisation -lack of cool working - lack of answers, solutions and actions (x3) - rhythm that was too dense/too short time periods

• = one theme/day, first gather in smaller groups and then getting together at the end of the day

- getting out of the place wasn't obvious - French-speaking domination (hard time at the end of the workshops for translations) - the question of passing to a mixed group (of gender) after a mixed group (because of lack of time and different experiences lived) - non-mixed infopoint/clarification of basic terms concerning feminist issues

• = proposition of a meeting in Lyon by a friend from Strasbourg for this

- stigmatisation / hetero-bi men /women, gay, lesbian, trans, bi (but in general things were really cool x2) = make an infopoint for Dijon, a pannel and make a feministo'queer meeting Wednesday night in Dijon (in order to exchange impressions) -satisfactions and unsatisfactions / workshops (deceptions and enthusiasm) - small groups worked better (anti-racism and lesbian sexuality) / people were more at ease to speak -isolation / lack of trans and gay visibility (communication) - workshops concerning the information society and control were very few (connected to the number of people, lapse of time, communication + everything being spread out with the decentralisation, the theme was also too large) - the link between issues on gender/sexism and "race"/racism seemed to be clearer - in general people thought to have had positive and enriching exchanges and ressourcing - lack of visibility of the PGA to the exterior, demonstrations - some positive feedback from concerning the workshops on "men against patriarchy'/masculine construction " -very good exchange concerning practical knowledge (samba, welding, massage, silk screening...) - concerning the contents of the workshops :

• too much division between intellectual/practical/organisational tasks positive atmosphere in workshops with practical activities / attention towards others

- propositions of more workshops concerning the body in the morning

anti-racism and migration politics focus

• - dissatisfaction / form of workshops (problems concerning moderation, translation, linked to diversity of opinion) - dissatisfaction and regret because the first workshops on "internalised" racism gathered only few people, and especially very few men, which speaks of a certain lack of interest for this theme and of an unwillingness to reflect on it - the final dynamic was positive and managed to make up for the chaotic and badly followed beginning for the people directly concerned by racism finally could get together and create a space for speech and exchange of impressions - this will to become conscious of "internalised racism" (involuntary and unconscious) is making its way - a project is in process, with a first meeting, which is the starting point of a longer and wider process of reflections on racism, and particularly integrated racism (others meetings more open and with more kind of activities are to build)
  • -this first step will happen in november in little groups and if possible, with a majority of people who are directly targeted by racism, with "non mixed" workshops of "racialized" people ( characterised by migration and colonial heritage "marks").
    • -we'll work in "non mixed" groups and, then, in mixed groups to understand better the mechanisms of racism, also amongst our militant network.

Out of these discussions, we could also plan to write a leaflet with useful texts for awareness-raising and collecting strategies to face racism in everyday life.

• THIRD POINT: MEETINGS AND RELATIONSHIPS

Globally, these meetings have been warm, nice and even great! The few conflicts have been considered, on one hand as a sign of intense and successful meeting and on the other hand as a way to pacify superficially the relations( difficulties to make the conflicts emerge, bearers of communication and enhancer of domination's relations) - Nuances in "no conflicts" : some people noticed a competition for radicality or purism. -The workshops have been places for warm meetings and especially the practical workshops (self defence for the demonstrations...) -Some regrets for the lack of informal moments (to have some rest, or to be available to the others...) between the workshops. Informal discussions on LGBT, racism and migration policies were really interesting.

"Ethnorootscentrism" atmosphere, validism: -Some people left because the place reminded them of experienced situation of extreme precarity. -Other left for medical reasons, individual malaise. -We notice also the quasi absence of elder people (most of the people were between 25 and 35),some felt a bit lonely. -We regret also the absence of visibility of possibilities to be hosted in a flat , more confortable places... -There were also really few people who are targeted by racism or from suburbs( racism of militant networks?) -Difficulties to connect people from PGA and people from La Friche ( due to a lack of common information, communication or lack of time?): just a few discussions and also interjections about non-mixity... Someone also pointed at the sexism of some inhabitants of La Friche. -The feminist/gender/queer topic seems to provoke a change in the atmosphere: less sexism than usual, a better sharing of tasks (The collective life is better organised than usual)

-The STAMP team: -Some people regreted a lack of time and energy to participate to more workshops ( Importance of logistic and material questions) or to have some rest. Globally they find it normal according to their organisers status but it was a lot of work anyway! -Some visitors regreted the lack of visibility of the whole process. Desire for more visibility of the Stamp and pga process in Dijon,

Big thanks to the organisers for the installation and preparation of the place, and for organising the workshops and the meetings...!

Dijon

Digital Struggles Theme

RFID Background

RFID

text: Author: nadir.org

RFID: identification technology for single objects and how-to build means of protection against it

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is being massively rolled out with big money involved. All the big players in the IT market are involved, e.g. Thales, Siemens, IBM. The biggest customers so far are the U.S. Army, Nation States (with their e-pass), Logistics, Clothing (Levy's) and Retail (e.g. Wal Mart and Metro). Public Transport Systems are more and more into it, e.g. in London (Oyster Card) and Delhi (Thales).

What is it?

RFID systems are minimally build up with a reader and tags that are read. Most often, some middleware or database is hooked onto the reader, or at least some networking connection to some database.

The Tag consists of a chip with an antenna. The chip contains an unique number in its minimal version, often it has some rewritable memory and even cryptograpic capacities. Tags come in two version: passive and active. Passive tags get their energy from the reader, while active ones have their own power supply per battery.

The Reader is emmitting an electromagnetic field, that "wakes up" the tag. The tags responds by sending its unique number plus possibly more data. The data transmission range varies a lot, depending on a lot of parameters, between a few millimeters and hundreds of meters with active tags. Different Frequencies are used for different applications. 13.56 Mhz is very common with passive tags, 2.4 Ghz with active ones. The relation of reader and tag is master and slave.

What is bad about it?

It is used for identification purposes in any imaginable field. RFID includes basically two upgrades for identication technologies: in difference to the common bar code, that you find on any good, it is not only a serial number, but also a unique number that is on the tag. This means that any single object is identifyable: to trace its history, its usage... Second, data transmission is not feasible or to recognise by any human sense: via waves, there is nothing to see (opposed to the optical transmission with barcodes), and radio waves can pass through walls. Readers may be hidden anywhere, reading out passing tags, without notice. The tags can also easily be hidden, e.g. in the sole of shoes. Some tags are textile tags: mashine washable and woven into the fabric. Others are just as small as a sandgrain, made for banknotes and documents. What makes RFID so spooky: it is a machine to machine communication, that operates without the knowledge of those you carry tags.

What can I do against it?

Tags that are covered with aluminium foil (or any other metal) are not readable. The metal stops the waves. To put some foil in your electronic passport makes it impossible to read out the data without your knowledge as the foil has to be removed.

Tags are easily destroyed: once you notice some strange tag somewhere, you can put it into a microwave. But be careful: it burns faster than you think.

Best way we know so far: The RFID Zapper - a reengineered snap shot camera. Using the capacitor of its flash, a huge amount of enery is being emitted into the environment in a very short moment, silencing the tag forever. It is smart, as it leaves no traces of destruction. It is low-cost: all in all maximum 7 Euros. It takes around 3 hours to build, depending on the cameramodel. It may be build by anyone. Little soldering is needed, don't worry: this can be done by anyone.

Documentation and How-To of RFID-Zapper: 23b.nadir.org/rfidzapper English translations soon to come! Please send us photos, drawings, translations into french, spanish etc, scripts and any experiences concerning the RFID Zapper: rfid@nadir.org

Credits for the Zapper go to three young it students from Berlin, who invented it, but whose names we don't know and would not publish anyway.

URLs concerning RFID: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID http://www.rfidvirus.org/index.html http://www.spychips.com/ http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/cat_rfid.php http://www.nearfield.org

How to build your own RFID Zapper.

Material

Parts you will need: - single use camera (for example "Fuji Quicksnap") - 1 meter of painted (or insulated) copper wire - button (to replace the trigger)

Tools you will need: - a soldering iron - solder - wire cutters - a small knife

And here is the recipe...

1. Unpack the camera and open it. Be careful with the paper cover. Try to avoid breaking it so it can be put back on afterward.

2. Remove the battery and the film. If you are careful enough you might still be able to use the film.

3. Remove the optical parts of the camera including the "view finder". Then remove the inner contents of the camera, leaving the back plate in order to have a flat surface. Try to keep the electronic part with the capacitor and the flash undamaged.

4. Unload the capacitor (otherwise you might be hurt by an electric shock afterward)

5. Cut or break a hole where the old trigger used to be.

6. Cut a broad slit from the inner wall of the space for the film to the middle part of the camera.

7. Cut a short piece of the copper wire that will lead from the trigger to the capacitor.

8. Form a coil out of the copper wire by winding it around an (imaginary) credit card (approx. 5 x 8.5 cm). Leave a few centimeters untouched at both ends.

9. Insert the coil into the camera so it rests upon the rear wall.

10. Remove the insulation from all four wire ends by scratching it off or burning it with a lighter.

11. Solder one end of the coil to the capacitor and the other end to the button. With the short wire, connect the other side of the button to the other side of the capacitor.

12. Put the battery back into place and test if the electric circuit works. (for a Fuji camera: turn on the "flash" by pulling out the plastic switch on the front. You should hear a high sound or have some optical feedback depending on the camera you use.) Wait a little and pull the trigger. If you can hear the capacitor being reloaded afterward it was unloaded and the electric circuit is okay.

13. To seriously test it you can come to the medialab in Berlin or some other space where you can try it upon RFID chips..

14. Depending on your personal taste and needs you can put the camera together again and beautify it.

15. You are done. Have fun.

more information: https://23b.nadir.org/rfidzapper

New digital tools for activists

by anonymous

The world is changing, our struggle is changing, and we need to evolve along with it. Indymedia made waves in 1999 and allowed new levels of international (and local) collaboration. What are the new tools that could help us in the present struggles?

Here in Dijon, we discussed some ideas as street protesters and activist techies came together. Of course technology can never solve all our problems, but sometimes we can use it to organize more effectively. (Imagine putting together this conference without email and websites.) The tools mentioned below are still being designed, so please get in touch with any input, since we want them to reflect real needs of activists, not just be "cool" tech projects.

One idea that came out of the Autonomus Spaces meetings was overhauling squat.net to actually make it a useful tool for squatters again. A number of ideas were proposed for ways this website could help the squatter's movement.

One project was to compile a set of guides on the legal information on squatting and repression in every European country. They would discuss the current laws, as well as possibly some tactics people use to deal with courts. These would be very helpful for legal defenses of our spaces. If you know of a guide for your country or would like to help write one, please contact legal@squat.net . There were a number of other ideas on how to link together various squats in a network that would enable more solidarity. These include creating a directory of Autonomous Spaces, allowing spaces to post alerts like a pending evicition where they need support, and hosting an intersquat newsletter of sorts to exchange ideas and techniques. There was also an idea that squats could post resources that they need or can share, so squats can find home for the pile of onions in the living room, and borrow a sound system for the big demo (or concert) they're planning. Finally, people mentioned the idea of long-term squat exchanges, where a collective member who has some useful skills (like carpentry, pirate radio, etc.) moves to another squat for a number of months to share skills and also to learn from the people at his or her new home.

All of these techniques could help squats connect with one another and support each other's projects. But the website won't do anything by itself, it needs people to use it and make it useful. If you want to add a space you're involved with to the network, please visit http://squat.pga.taz/, while you're at the tanneries. If you are interested in helping design the website, please contact Maxigas ( maxigas@anargeek.net ) or Dark Veggy ( darkveggy@pimienta.org ).

The other project that was presented comes from the riseup collective, and spawned some discussion among activists at the meeting. It is codenamed CrabGrass (http://stamp.poivron.org/MeetingNotes/CrabGrass) and is designed to facilitate communication in groups of activists, especially when the members live in different cities (or countries). It consists of a number of online meeting tools, with support for a number of techniques we use in meetings, like straw polls, consensus, smaller discussion sessions, etc. It also has a number of tools to help organize minutes and task lists.

While this could be useful in local organizations, the most exciting possibility is allowing large, distributed networks to coordinate effectively (and democratically) without large, central gatherings. >From Global Days of Action and the Chain Refl-Action idea, to an international tech collective, to a virtual flash mob, this tool could allow us to easily experiment with new forms of actions. It is also being designed to allow for secure online communication, so we can actually discuss actions online without tipping off the cops. The collective is beginning to code it and a basic version should be ready for initial testing in early 2007.

View of Digital Sruggle meeting:

The meeting was very rich, lot's of exchange of knowledge and expériences and also concrete projets. There were people from lot's of countries.

Humains problems also happens, kind of tipical problems of this scene, and what we can focus is that words exchange in workshops of different size and with people from others topics, helped to being aware of those problems. A reflexion is in progress to finds solutions

Indymedia is dead

In the Digital Struggles discussions of the conference we had a chance to evaluate the status of the Indymedia project from a broader historical perspective. In the beginning Indymedia managed to bring something revolutionary to the alternative media scene with the technical feature of _open publishing_ and the social feature of a more _closely-knit global network_ of alternative media producers, advocators, distributors and techies. In terms of content, it was built around the concept of carrying news by activists, for activists, about activists. Basically it managed to overwrite mainstream media for most activists. With time it became very popular and has evolved into the strongest _brand name_ in the radical movement. By now it is a grassroots success story. Indymedia activists are writing its history. In fact, it is history, it just lives on in an animated state as projects tend to do in our postmodern/postmortem world.

However, a collaborative weblog was progressive and effective in 1999 but lost its novelty with the rise of the globoshpere and the invention of tools like tagging, RSS feeds and social networking services. The focus on repression reports and action news that is central to the Indymedia vision is still vital for the internal and external communication of the movement, but became boring to a lot of readers and media makers. The concept of Indymedia as a service to the movement also has its downsides. On the one hand, sometimes the specialisation of Indymedia activists is problematic when they only show up to document an action and disappear afterwards in the same way as the journalists of mainstream media. On the other hand, sometimes the specialisation of Indymedia activists is problematic when contributors treat them as a service in the capitalist sense of the word, publishing articles knowing that there is an editorial team to deal with the moderation of comments and the correction of typos and the organisation of information. During great events like anti-G8 summits Indymedia activists are glad to work together with the organisers, often in dangerous situations, to cover the event. During the CPE movement in the Spring in France they were glad to lose sleep and edit the hastily updated newswire items. However, during normal operation they are somewhat tired of "cleaning up after people".

All in all, there was some general understanding about Indymedia not being the progressive and interesting project that it once was. However, there was a sense of having to sustain the network because it is still an infrastructure of vital importance for the movement. Moreover, new directions have been suggested by various parties. In general, there are two areas to discover. Once, the next wave that changed the Internet after the advent of blogs has been social networking software, which makes a lot of sense for activist. Actually, it makes more sense to activists: they don't just talk, but they want to organise and act in the real world as well. A social networking tool that appreciates the fact that activists organise in collectives and affinity groups could greatly empower the movement.

Twice, while the end of the twentieth century was about the freedom of information which Indymedia translated to open publishing and public website, the beginning of the twenty first century is about control and cryptography. With the recent wave of server seizures which went hand-in-hand with crackdowns on squats radical activists began to appreciate privacy. Collecting the list of autonomous spaces taught me that there is a great deal of content which anarchist organisers would like to access but wouldn't like to publish. In this light an information infrastructure which serves content only to trusted peers definitely makes sense. Laws are changing rapidly, especially in Europe, so that providing cryptographic communication channels is slowly becoming illegal. Therefore, we need more sophisticated tools to route around the surveillance techniques of the authorities and the data retention laws of goverments. At the end, we might even need to resort to dropping the concept of servers and use peer-to-peer data sharing platforms.

What Indymedia activists can do to escape the zombie state of their project and once again provide useful and innovative services to the movement? On the one hand, it is certain that Indymedia should not be a series of websites, but rather an electronic platform where people can create whole information structures with websites, mailing lists and chat channels instead of mere articles. On the other hand, it has to provide an easy-to-use but exceptionally secure communication channel, possibly outside of the World Wide Web, but still inside the Internet. It will not be an alternative media network any more. It will be a darknet of a new subculture.

So what to do with the Indymedia assets? In the final analysis, the most valuable part of the project turns out to be the social network behind it. These people can once again write history by teaching each other the revolutionary tech tools of the next generation and acting as arbitrators of the know-how. We can sell the domain names to fund the next underground inforgent network.

disclaimer: the article is a subjective reflection on the conference and does not necessarily reflect broader indymedia views.

maxigas@anargeek.net Indymedia.hu

The author is the member of the Horizon Research Institute

maxigas Horizont Kutató Intézet / Horizon Research Institute / hi.zpok.hu indymedia.hu ak57

Crossover: Digital Struggles as seen by the participants involved in other themes

An overview based on 4 interviews and and brief notes of the various points of views gleaned during the discussion.

"Who? What? What for? Why?"

• H, London - Autonomous Spaces - alternatives to the system (not neccessarily just strictly activist based )
• F, Montpellier - CPE - squats, collective cafes, infoshops.
• H, Rouen - CPE - various, squats, infoshops, guerilla gardens and community gardens(for growing food).
• F, Dijon, - Autonomous Spaces - similiar networks, pga, antifascist, feminist, political ecology.

(editorial note - CPE stands for contract of first employment, a draconian job scheme for school leavers proposed by the french government earlier this year, and the focus of many of the protests in march2006 )

Perceptions of digital struggles, tools and the people involved :

• Everything that is linked to computer use that is free and non proprietary - using linux rather than windows, mozilla rather than internet explorer, email service providers such as no-log (respecting personal privacy, anonimity)
• alternative software: tools (ex: free/opensource software) which are created in an autonomous, collective manner, to free ourselves from dependance on big commercial companies and the monoploy of microsoft
• alternative servers = virtual autonomous spaces
• autonomous computers - energy usage, connectivity, administrators, systems, users, moderators

Advantages:

• freedom and autonomy from commercial companies.
• freedom and privacy: permits anonimity; financially accessible.
• basic tools to inform ourselves, co-ordinate and organise.
• open access for everyone to communication tools, to reduce the power of hierarchies.
• fast, interactive, horizontal, integrated.
• weapon for activist anti capitalist struggles and other movements,tool for creating other alternatives
• facilitating struggles allows a critique of the system, to do research and inform people about the dysfunctionality of the system, problem of internet censorship in China
• a method of denouncing and alerting people to serious threats to digital freedoms and digital struggles( the seizure of the indymedia server, legislation in France)

Problems :

• lack of training, a need for training: a need for training/education on open source software in schools and colleges ( there are only courses offered in proprietary software, and proprietary software is used everywhere in these institutions)
• problems with specialisation - too esoteric: difficulty communicating in plain language to share knowledge/information.
• lack of openess: groups need to be more open/ welcoming to beginners in opensource and also to spread knowledge beyond just activist circles.
• language problems, discussions are often just in english, (and a geeky english that is scary!)
• virtual life, risks of isolation, being scattered, dependancy etc etc ,

software tools that we use':

ordi, firefox (internet), no-log (mail), photoshop, the gimp, publisher (texts), word, but now we're using openoffice and other free software with Ubuntu (alternative linux operating system), indymedia project in Montpellier. Ah? there are some texts of 'group discussions' of "digital struggles"

• buried in their 'thing' (geek), difficult for others to join in and get involved/interested

• good feedback from the skillshare workshop,made people want to know more and participate in opensoftware training in the autonomous spaces where they live
• would have been good to have someone able to teach the basics that you need to know: a sense of embarrassment/disempowerment from not knowing more.
• had met some people from the group DS (digital struggles) who had helped install Ubuntu.
• found it normal that people got together amongst themselves to get things done/ take things forward
• understood the desire of those who are passionate about opensource to work amongst themselves, but that it can be exclusionary/ a problems for new people. We need also to be careful that holding all this knowledge doesn't become a power control problem
• hopes that the geek community can become less closed ( male dominated and 'experts') but they have to take this on board ( be conscious of this) amongst themselves as well

autonomous spaces and digital struggles crossover

"who are all that people with laptops writing strange things that we can't understand? They seem to be strange, but i think they are this people who do the internet connection work in the social centre."

"why do this people who are suposed to be activists keep on using strange software like "windows"? It seems that they think free software is too complicated for them."

So it seems to be quite clear for everybody that there is some kind of gap or separation going on many times between the so called "techies" and the rest of the activist comunities. Also for those like me who recently started to use free software (and are really happy and proud of it) and understood why it is so crappy to have an email account in yahoo, it is really difficult to understand what is to administrate a server or how to create those email lists that fill our mailboxes.

As i said I started recently to be aware of all that work behind any digital resources that I was actually using, like activist info webpages or email accounts. So i opened my eyes and started asking questions as I always do. I realized that many of the people who was actually working on that resorces felt too much as "service providers" for a community they belong to. And that was not nice for them. I also realized that most of the time communication about these issues was difficult because I was not able to understand everything I was told, and many times my partners were not able to speak using a "normal" language. That made me think that any kind of encounter between these two worlds would be really useful. I think this crossover meeting we made in the PGA conference between the "digital struggles" group and the "defense of autonomous spaces" group was kind of useful. At least for me.

I could do a summary of the things that were said in the meeting, but this can be found here [1]. So I felt free to just make my own conclusions as i prefer to write some personal article rather than a report. So, please take it as it is, some personal opinions helped by the way i understood peoples reflections on that very issue.

For shure one of my conclusions should be that there are many different levels of specialization going on in this issue. To set an example, let's say that i would be a complete beginner for the group of people involved in digital struggles, but when i come back to my town i'm the only one who knows a little bit about free software, for exemple. Of course if i could get some technical skills about free software and other stuff around it, everyone can. Of course i would need years of work to learn how to administrate a server, and i'm not really ready for that. I still spend most of my time with human beings, and maybe I prefer to learn other things related to technology. But, c'mon, i believe that i have to learn a little bit about anything that i use, from my computer to a train, from a guitar to a piece of bread. I think that if i am intelligent enough to eat, i'm also intelligent to understand how my stomach works.

Anyway, there was something really interesting that was said in the meeting, about the importance of making people understand what's behind autonomous uses of technology. I guess that if i learned something in those last times, it was probably because i had some great people to learn from, but also because i understood the importance of this issues.

In the other hand it seems to me (since i have my eyes opened to that) that maybe we don't realize so much the work that is being done by some people about administrating servers, updating pages, creating and moderating email lists... As somebody said in the meeting, this happens usually with many many works that are not visible for most of the people involved in activism, like cooking in a gathering, or cleaning a social centre, or taking care of your "comrades" (sorry for this bit of communism, i don't know where it came from) and how they feel in their very hearts. And of course this is related to gender most of the times (and also to other "factors"). And HAS TO BE spoken as something political, to be assumed by anyone in our communities. So the problem seems to be more complicated than "geeks/non geeks". So, as far as i understood, the keys can be to think about technical issues as something political and try to solve them as such, with all the complications this implies. And of course, to make personal and collective efforts in "both sides" in order to come closer and empathize.

So, yes, i think that crossover is a great word, that refers not only to hardcore bands playing a little bit of metal.

[1]http://stamp.poivron.org/DigitalStrugglesAndAutonomousSpacesCrossover

norman

Autonomous spaces theme

Presentation of the "squat from a to z", a french legal and practical support book and team

We made a presentation of the french practical and legal guide (le squat de A à Z). This guide was born at the end of the 90's in the Parisian autonomous squat scene, and over the years since then has been revised and updated. What it is is a small photocopyable booklet which gives basic advice. From now on it will be available and downloadable from the site squat.net/fr, and soon will be translated into English as part of the project of collecting legal information from different European countries. A new version will be brought out this October, after a work weekend in Les Tanneries. In addition to making clear certain legal changes, and including some new practical tips, there is also the desire to have a tone that is less markedly directed at "autonomous squats", and more open to other types of squatting that happen for reasons of precarity.

The people who are working on "le squat de A à Z" from a variety of French squats are also trying to gather together legal papers from the court cases of various French squats, analyses of the situation in various towns and also contacts of lawyers in order to be able to pass them on from one place to another. There is also a working list which you can contact if you want legal and practical advice during your various squatter wanderings: a-z@squat.net . The working group is open and you are warmly invited to share your experiences and join the sweet universe of intersquatter solidarity. Court judgements and legal papers can be sent to squat a-z c/o Les Tanneries, 17 boulevard de chicago - 21000 Dijon

We later came across similar structures of solidarity between squats throughout Europe: Weekly collective squat opening in Amsterdam, local and national squatter meetings, emergency lists for solidarity between squats of the area in Barcelona.

We have also considered the possibility of gathering people from different places to help open squats in towns where the squatter scene is less active or the repression is stronger.

If you want to know the law, ask an anarchist!..

Squat.net international Legal Guide

Squat.net is an international resource for squatted projects, self organised spaces and temporary autonomous zones. As part of a planned re-launch being worked on for the site, we are producing an international legal resource to provide basic information for people travelling between projects and actions so they can get informed before they go, and to provide an international overview of the contexts we are all acting in.

We have made a basic list of questions that we want to answer for as many countries as possible and put together as an international resource, focussing on what the laws are, and, more importantly, on what tends to happen in practice:

It would be really helpful if you could send us basic answers to these questions, based on the experiences in your country, as well as copies of any existing legal guides and resources for your country in digital format, in as many languages as possible to:

legal [at] squat.net

big thanx!!

Basic Questions:

* What is the legal and practical status of squatting in your country?

* What happens when you are arrested? What is the process How long they can hold you for What are your rights What you should and should not do

* What to do if someone you know is arrested?

* What happens if you are stopped by police in the street? ­ do you have to give ID, passport? Personal searches? What are your rights?

* What is the situation for foreigners? (different treatment for EC/non EC citizens? Deportations, Special prisons, what are your rights? How useful are the Embassies? Etc.)

* House searches ­ What to do? What are your rights?

* On the Streets ­ special legal or practical information for demos and actions

* Anything else you think is particularly important in your country (e.g. use of anti-terrorist laws, hitch hiking)

* General information about the police (different police forces, common police tactics etc.)

* Contacts for legal support groups, links to local legal resources

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Hello all!

As part of the international legal guide we are putting together for squat.net, we would also like to develop some kind of international overview of the attacks and erosion of our political space over the past decade. We are therefore looking for analyses of legal changes and strategies of repression of grassroots activism in your city or country over the past five or ten years. We would like to know:

* Has repression and social control increased in your country over the past five to ten years? How?

* What new laws have been introduced? e.g. Anti-terrorist legislation, Civil Laws (housing, labour etc), Public Order legislation/freedom of assembly (such as the Crinimal Justice Act in the UK, or the Codigo Penal in Spain)

*How have those laws been applied?

*How has the practice of social control changed?

*How are they using surveillance? e.g.Patiot Act in US, CCTV, Phone tapping, ID cards and controls etc.

* Who are the main targets of this repression?

* What impact has this had on grassroots political activity and on society in general?

*Is there anything else you think it is important to know about the situation in your city/country?

We are also very interested to receive more in depth analyses of specific aspects of repression in different places. ( e.g. CCTV and ID cards in the UK // Phone tapping in Holland // repressive cooperation between different states, such as the ³Operacion Cervantes² targeting anarchists in Italy, Spain and Greece). And also international instruments of social control such as Europol and biometric passport systems.

If you are interested in collaborating in any part of this project, please contact:

legal [at] squat.net

"The toboggan", squat opening in Dijon...

A banner, Barcelona-style "an empty house is a waste of space" hung over the Rue Charles Dumont, as people from various European countries gathered on the pavement, in front of the barricaded doors and around a breakfast table, waiting for an eventual visit from the police. Several genial old ladies opened their windows to us, donating a bag of crisps or some rain clothes, and cheering the news of a new squat. Being between two conferences, PGAers in Dijon went to support the opening of a new squat in Dijon, "le toboggan" (the slide) It comprises two disused bars and the flats above them, with a garden, near to the city centre. The living collective wishes to put in place various activities open to all in the area where they feel, at the moment, very welcome. Until now, the squat seems to have the feeling that it will stay and that there are things that need to be done and then continued...

Movie project about squatting in Europe

During the week of debates about the autonomous spaces in Dijon, we decided to realize à short documentary movie about squatsaround europe. The movie offers you 10 short interviews of squatters living in various european countries. They all tell a few words about their local legal/practical situation, about the state of their local squat scene and give intimate accounts of great stories of resistance. Part of the movie should be presented during the centralised gathering. Copies of the movie should be available by writing at stamp@poivron.org

When « when the streets are burning » gather in the garden... it is good there

At the end of august, at Les Tanneries, there was going to be a meeting about the french movement of spring 2006 at the PGA conference. About ten people arrived in Dijon finally realising their hope of meeting other participants of the struggle. People from Dijon, Grenoble, Lyon, Paris, Rouen, Nancy, Montpellier and elsewhere crossed the street, went down the garden path and met them under the fruit trees that would become their meeting point for the next week. One workshop was born through the collective questioning of each others local experiences. The principal themes discussed were general assemblies and occupations, demonstrations and actions, networks, the sudden ending of the movement and what has come out of the movement. At first, we talked about our experiences sharing anecdotes and details that people were unaware of and glad to hear about. As the days passed, we moved from telling stories to analysing, using the opportunity of meeting different people to move beyond just the facts and the particuliar experiences. We discussed our lives during the struggle remembering our defeats and (numerous) successes during our actions, on the streets and in the places we were occupying: occupations of premisees, experiments of autonomous living in the universities, unauthorized demonstrations, economic blockades and other radical actions. The discussions were about the analysis of these defeats and successes to learn how not to make the same mistakes next time. In particular we talked about how to take part in the ge