Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim political party and militant group based in Lebanon, where its extensive security apparatus, political organization, and social services network have fostered its reputation as “a state within a state.” Founded in the chaos of the fifteen-year Lebanese Civil War, the Shiite group is driven by its opposition to Israel and its resistance to Western influence in the Middle East.

Led since 1992 by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament.

Hezbollah was established in the wake of the 1982 Lebanon War by Lebanese clerics who had studied in Najaf. It adopted the model set out by Ayatollah Khomeini after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and the party's founders adopted "Hezbollah" as the name chosen by Khomeini. The organization was created with the support of 1,500 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps instructors, and aggregated a variety of Lebanese Shia groups into a unified organization to resist the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon.

During the Lebanese Civil War, Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto listed its objectives as the expulsion of "the Americans, the French and their allies definitely from Lebanon, putting an end to any colonialist entity on our land". From 1985 to 2000, Hezbollah also participated in the 1985–2000 South Lebanon conflict against the South Lebanon Army (SLA) and Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and fought again with the IDF in the 2006 Lebanon War. During the 1990s, Hezbollah also organized volunteers to fight for the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War.

Since 1990, Hezbollah has participated in Lebanese politics, in a process which is described as the Lebanonisation of Hezbollah, and it later participated in the government of Lebanon and joined political alliances. After the 2006–08 Lebanese protests and clashes, a national unity government was formed in 2008, with Hezbollah and its opposition allies obtaining 11 of 30 cabinet seats, enough to give them veto power. In August 2008, Lebanon's new cabinet unanimously approved a draft policy statement that recognizes Hezbollah's existence as an armed organization and guarantees its right to "liberate or recover occupied lands" (such as the Shebaa Farms). Hezbollah is part of Lebanon's March 8 Alliance, in opposition to the March 14 Alliance. It maintains strong support among Lebanese Shia Muslims, while Sunnis have disagreed with its agenda. Hezbollah also has support in some Christian areas of Lebanon.

Since 2012, Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian civil war has seen it join the Syrian government in its fight against the Syrian opposition. Between 2013 and 2015, the organisation deployed its militia in both Syria and Iraq to fight or train local militias to fight against the Islamic State.

From 2006, the group's military strength grew significantly, to the extent that its paramilitary wing became more powerful than the Lebanese Army. Hezbollah has been described as a "state within a state", and has grown into an organization with seats in the Lebanese government, a radio and a satellite TV station, social services and large-scale military deployment of fighters beyond Lebanon's borders.The group currently receives military training, weapons, and financial support from Iran and political support from Syria, although the sectarian nature of the Syrian war has damaged the group's legitimacy. In 2021, Nasrallah said the group had 100,000 fighters.

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The "Houthis" (known officially as the Ansarallah) is a broad grassroots movement with only a few defined political keypoints. This is deliberate, as the movement seeks to incorporate and represent the Yemeni people in its entirety across both Islamic and political differences. The movement has a right-wing, a centre-wing and a left-wing, each organized into separate unions and interest groups. For example, the left-wing is organized into what is called the "Cultural Front Against the Aggression", just to be very specific.

Origins

The Houthi movement was founded in the 1990s by Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a member of Yemen’s Zaidi Shia minority, which makes up about one-third of the population. Hussein was killed by Yemeni soldiers in 2004, and the group is now led by his brother Abdul Malik.

The Zaidis, once a powerful force in north Yemen, were sidelined during the 1962-70 civil war and then further alienated in the 1980s as Salafist Sunni ideals gained prominence across the border in Saudi Arabia, which exported the ideology to Yemen. In response, Zaidi clerics began to militarise their followers against Riyadh and its allies.

The intermittent insurgency gained support from Shia Yemenis fed up with the corruption and cruelty of the long-time authoritarian president and Saudi ally, Ali Abdullah Saleh, particularly during the aftermath of 9/11 and the US invasion of Iraq.

On 18 June 2004 Saleh sent government forces to arrest Hussein. Hussein responded by launching an insurgency against the central government, but was killed on 10 September 2004, the insurgency continue intermittently until a ceasefire in 2010. During this prolonged conflict, the Yemeni army and air force was used to suppress the Houthi rebellion in northern Yemen. The Saudis joined these anti-Houthi campaigns, but the Houthis won against both Saleh and the Saudi army.

Later, the Houthis participated in the 2011 Yemeni Revolution, as well as the ensuing National Dialogue Conference (NDC). However, they rejected the provisions of the November 2011 Gulf Cooperation Council deal on the ground that "it divide[d] Yemen into poor and wealthy regions" and also in response to assassination of their representative at NDC.

The "Houthis" ceased being a rebel group in late 2014 with the advent of the September 21st Revolution and the signing of the UN-sponsored Peace & National Partnership Agreement.

Prior to 2014, the group could indeed be described as a rebel movement as it fought 6 consecutive wars against the corrupt Saudi-backed government of Ali Abdullah Saleh. In September 2014, when the "Houthis" entered Sana'a to topple said government, more than 2/3rds of the entire Yemeni Armed Forces switched and took their side instead of the side of the government, giving the "Houthis" access to missile stockpiles and heavy weapons.

There are currently two competing governments in Yemen, one based in the constitutional capital Sana'a, and one de-facto based in Aden - although the Aden-based government remains unable to exercise its authority there. The "internationally-recognized government" based in Aden doesn't actually operate from within Yemen, but from a shadow cabinet based in the luxurious Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh where they've been exiled since February 2015.

Their direct authority is limited to warlord figures and tribal factions doing their bidding, representing less than 15% of Yemen's total population. In turn, the so-called "Houthi rebels" are part of what is called the Government of National Salvation, which exercises direct authority over 85% of Yemen's entire population.

content by Aldanmarki on twitter

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>Following an attack in which Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took an estimated 199 hostage, Israel has retaliated by killing thousands of Palestinians; cutting off water, fuel, and electricity; and ordering over 1.1 million citizens to evacuate from North Gaza. Amid the violence, death, and countless violations of the Geneva conventions, The Onion asked Americans how they are ignoring the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and this is what they said.

>Dianne Feinstein, who served as a senator of California since 1992, died Thursday night at the age of 90. The Onion looks back at 31 years of Feinstein becoming elderly while in office.

>In Canada, centring conservation with the country's indigenous peoples is allowing its original stewards to reconnect to their land and culture – and proving remarkably effective.

>Every year, when the frozen streams have melted and greenery emerges after months of winter stillness, Dolcy Meness knows it's time. Packing their truck, she and a colleague set off through the densely forested hills of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg territory, an Algonquin First Nation in the province of Quebec.

>After a few hours they reach their destination. Parking the truck, they make their way through forest until reaching a narrow stream. Kneeling on its mossy bank, Meness carefully places a small device in the water.

>Over a period of one year, the device will collect data on the water's temperature, PH, salinity and conductivity.

>But even before any data is gathered, Meness and her colleague are on the look out for indications that something is off. Seeing an unusually high amount of sand in streams – which leaks into the water from logging roads – is one sign they look out for, based on indigenous knowledge, says Meness.

>"Brook trout use creeks, but they like rocks. Sand isn't a good breeding place for them, so they have to look for a different place. It creates a change that shouldn't be there," she says.

>Using a "two-eyed seeing approach", Meness and fellow Nagadjitòdjig Akì guardians draw on the strengths of indigenous knowledge alongside Western science to monitor the impacts of extractive industries, like logging, on their territory.

>Being in this job gives me in-depth knowledge about my own history, culture and teachings. [It's] a long journey of re-learning – Dolcy Meness By collecting data on water quality in streams and rivers, they help determine if companies are adhering to regulations.

>"We can go to them and say: 'You're not doing your job properly, you're destroying creeks when you're logging, you're not following your own rules,'" says Meness.

>Over the year, Meness and her colleagues will repeat their data gathering task many times. Working alongside non-governmental organisations, they're responsible for 50 sites throughout the Ottawa River watershed, which encompasses Kitigan Zibi traditional territory.

>They are also part of a flourishing movement of 1,000 "Indigenous Guardians" across Canada who are stewarding their traditional lands and waters and redefining what conservation can – and many argue should – look like.

>Amidst global ecological collapse, which some scientists call the "sixth mass extinction", there is increasingly widespread acknowledgement that indigenous people can demonstrate a more sustainable path forward – one that other societies could learn from. This is due to both their relationship with the environment, based on respect and reciprocity, and their substantial but often undervalued contributions to biodiversity conservation.

>In Canada, where there are feelings among many that colonialism is a historical problem but one still rooted in the present, centring conservation with the country's original stewards is allowing indigenous people to reconnect to their land and culture. It is also reshaping relations between indigenous nations and non-indigenous Canada, presenting an opportunity for genuine reconciliation.

>"Being in this job gives me in-depth knowledge about my own history, culture and teachings," says Meness. "[It's] a long journey of re-learning."

[full article !kkkanada ](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230809-how-indigenous-guardians-are-protecting-canadas-environment)

>With the death toll from the Maui wildfires at 111 and as many as 1,000 still missing, we speak with Hawaiian law professor Kapuaʻala Sproat about the conditions that made the fires more destructive and what’s yet to come for residents looking to rebuild their lives. Decades of neocolonialism in Hawaii have redirected precious water resources toward golf courses, resorts and other corporate ventures, turning many areas into tinderboxes and leaving little water to fight back against the flames.

>Now many Hawaiians say there is a power grab underway as real estate interests and other wealthy outsiders look to buy up land and water rights on the cheap as people are still reeling from the loss of their family members, livelihoods and communities. “Plantation disaster capitalism is, unfortunately, the perfect term for what’s going on,” says Sproat, who just published a piece in The Guardian with Naomi Klein.

>She is professor of law at Ka Huli Ao Native Hawaiian Law Center and co-director of the Native Hawaiian Rights Clinic at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa School of Law. “The plantations, the large landed interests that have had control over not just the land, but really much of Hawaii’s and Maui Komohana’s resources for the last several centuries, are using this opportunity, are using this time of tremendous trauma for the people of Maui, to swoop in and to get past the law.”

Full Interview Transcript and Audio

!amerikkka

>Óscar Machoa sits on the floor of his community’s large central hall, the maloca, cutting leaves and watching patiently as he heats them over a fire. Now aged 67, his hands show the signs of years of collecting plants, of craft and building work.

>He is the healer of the Kichwa community of San Carlos, charged with passing on ancestral knowledge to his neighbours in the canton of La Joya de los Sachas, in Ecuador’s eastern province of Orellana – home to a portion of the Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, which will this week be the focus of a national referendum over the future of oil reserves located beneath its soils.

>As soon as he hears the word “oil”, Machoa’s patient attitude changes. “We don’t want anything to be extracted. I remember all the things they promised us and never fulfilled,” he says forcefully. The healer talks of a time nearly 60 years ago, recalling the beginnings of oil extraction in the area, led by Texaco (now owned by Chevron), and which saw more than 2 million hectares of the Ecuadorian Amazon affected over almost 30 years of exploitation.

>“That’s when our nightmare began,” Machoa continues. “They told us they would use state-of-the-art technology, but spills became very common. Rivers were polluted, fish died, animals died, and nobody supported us. My grandparents, my parents, we grew up here. That’s why we are going to defend Yasuní for our children.”

>This Sunday, 20 August, Ecuadorians will head to the polls for a general election to decide the country’s next president and parliament – clouded by the recent murder of candidate Fernando Villavicencio – as well as a parallel referendum to decide whether to continue or ban exploitation of the Ishpingo, Tambococha and Tiputini (ITT) oil fields, also known as Block 43, located within the Yasuní National Park.

>The Kichwa healer says he is determined to vote “Yes” to block their exploitation, a position shared by many of Ecuador’s Amazonian population – though not universally. As the vote nears, the issue has polarised some Indigenous groups, both near and far from Yasuní itself, reflecting long-standing debates over the benefits and damage of oil extraction, and the extent of state support for the remote communities.

Full Article

!wiphala

The Demerara Rebellion of 1823 was an uprising involving more than ten thousand enslaved people in the Crown colony of Demerara-Essequibo (now part of Guyana) on the coast of South America. The rebellion took place on August 18, 1823, and lasted two days. No particular incident sparked the rebellion; the enslaved simply grew tired of their servitude and sought to resist in the most direct way they could.

Planning for the rebellion began on August 17, 1823, at Plantation Success, one of the largest estates in the area. Two leaders emerged during the planning period: Jack Gladstone, a cooper on Plantation Success, and his father, Quamina, a senior deacon at a church led by English Protestant missionary, John Smith. Gladstone and others planned the uprising, but Quamina objected to any bloodshed and suggested instead that the enslaved should go on strike. Quamina and other leaders visited John Smith, informing him of his son’s plans. Smith urged the enslaved to remain peaceful, exercise patience, and wait for new laws that would reduce their suffering. Quamina carried Smith’s message back to the plantations.

Quamina’s call to remain peaceful fell on deaf ears. The enslaved on Plantation Success rebelled the next evening, August 18, 1823, and attempted to seize all firearms on the plantation. They locked up the whites during the night, planning to release them when their demands were met. They did not see their rebellion as a challenge to slavery itself but demanded better treatment for enslaved people in Demerara-Essequibo.

Most of the enslaved remained loyal to their masters. An enslaved house servant, Joseph Packwood, told his owner, John Simpson, about the planned revolt before it began. Simpson, in turn, informed Governor John Murray, who rode out to confront the rebels with the militia. The enslaved demanded their rights, but Governor Murray ordered them to return to their plantations. When they refused, he declared martial law. Some returned to the plantations while others participated in the rebellion.

Only a handful of whites were killed during the Demerara Rebellion. The rebels locked up owners, managers, and overseers on thirty-seven plantations, who did not flee to Georgetown, the colonial capital, when the rebellion began. Large numbers of Christian slaves refused to rebel and helped suppress those who rose up.

Other enslaved people confronted their owners and the military forces sent against them. On Bachelor’s Adventure Plantation, approximately two thousand enslaved people confronted Lieutenant Colonel John Leahy and his militia. When the enslaved refused Leahy’s order to disperse, he commanded his troops to fire into the crowd. Approximately two hundred people were killed.

Although the rebellion ended on Tuesday, August 19, the punishment that came afterward was severe. Hundreds of rebels were hunted down and killed, including two hundred who were beheaded as a warning to other enslaved people. Fourteen rebels were hastily tried and sentenced to be hanged. Governor Murray commuted their sentences and had them deported elsewhere in Caribbean. Jack Gladstone was deported to St. Lucia. His father, Quamina, who had argued against the revolt, was tracked down by dogs and Indians and killed in September 1823.

Original article

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>As part of the Declaration of the Third National Assembly for Water and Life, a "national mobilization against the war faced by the Zapatista peoples and all the indigenous communities of Mexico" will be called for October 12.

>In this regard, Carlos González García, follow-up coordinator of the National Indigenous Congress-Indigenous Council Government (CNI-CIG) told La Jornada that on that day "activities are generally carried out to make clear the resistance of our peoples, and the opposition to the whole process of conquest and historical domination that has been imposed on the original peoples.

>He specified that the CNI was founded on October 12, 1996 (it will be 27 years old) and that is why the proposal is to carry out "a day of struggle to demand a halt to the war against the Zapatista peoples and the original peoples of the country, and this includes the context of privatization and dispossession of water". In the CNI, "it is only going to be discussed at the beginning of September, but the idea is that it will be a national day".

>In a press conference, members of the National Assembly for Water and Life (ANAVI) also demanded a "halt to state repression and drug trafficking crimes directed against the people of Santa María Ostula", as well as an end to the "systematic violence in Querétaro" against those who defend water, springs and territory, mostly ejidos".

>Hortensia Telésforo, who was one of the coordinators of the sit-in held at the end of last year by residents of San Gregorio Atlapulco, Xochimilco to demand the removal of 1.6 kilometers of pipeline, said the National Water Commission (Conagua) is one of the entities that contributes to the current situation of unequal access to water in the country, because "it allows it", and in this sense the Third Assembly also agreed to hold a national demonstration against the Conagua on September 25.

>"It has become very clear who is implementing this situation throughout the country. We call on all citizens to demonstrate that the Conagua is the main responsible for the institutionalization and instrumentation of the dispossession of water in our territories".

>Also in the assembly, held on August 12 and 13, it was agreed that the Fourth National Assembly for Water and Life will be held in the communities that defend the territory in Tlaxcala between February and March of next year.

>González García explained that "specifically this National Assembly in Defense of Water and Life, what it promotes is that beyond modifying legal frameworks, to carry out a self-managing exercise of water, because we do not see the will or interest on the part of the government or legislators to respect the right to water".

>Since the government of Enrique Peña Nieto, organizations and collectives have pressured for "the enactment of a water law, in accordance with the constitutional reform that recognized the right to water as a human right; it is a pending issue that was not addressed by the previous government, that was not addressed by Congress during the previous six-year term, and that has not been addressed today either.

>No progress has been made in this area, because "the interests behind water are enormous", close to "60 percent of water rights are in the hands of soft drink companies, breweries, and some mining companies; and another part goes to domestic consumption in urban areas", among others.

>At least two of the hunger strikers were transferred to the Angol Hospital, after more than 100 days on strike and several days on dry strike, due to the lack of response from the government and Gendarmerie. Solidarity with their demands and for the fulfillment of all their demands.

>In August 2022 the Mapuche political prisoners in the Angol prison had reached an agreement with the Gendarmerie where formal aspects were agreed upon for the application of ILO Convention 169 to which the State of Chile is a signatory, in particular for the application inside the Angol prison for Mapuche prisoners, whether they were charged or convicted.

>There, formulas were established to regulate visits, the entry of food and particularly for the guarantee of places where they can express their spirituality.

>But on May 7, 2023 this agreement ceased to apply after a conflict occurred with prison guards, where community members were charged with false accusations of an alleged kidnapping of guards. This also implied the dispersal of the political prisoners to other prisons, which was later revoked by the Supreme Court, returning the prisoners to the Angol prison, but without respecting the agreement originally signed and agreed upon at the end of last year.

As a result, they began a hunger strike that has lasted more than 100 days, without any response from the government or the gendarmerie. The intransigence of the gendarmerie and deaf ears on the part of the authorities has led to the point that twelve of the political prisoners decided to begin a dry strike in the face of the government's inability to reach an agreement.

>It is necessary to point out that many of the strikers were persecuted by the Operation Hurricane set-up when they were minors. On the other hand, the lack of attention from the Chilean State institutions is total, which is reflected in the fact that they have not even received a visit from the National Institute of Human Rights (INDH) during the more than 100 days of hunger strike.

>It should be noted that the demand is absolutely minimal: that even when deprived of their liberty they can continue to exercise their cultural practices as Mapuche, for the correct application of ILO Convention 169, which is in force and which every State institution has the obligation to apply. In other words, they are requesting the retaking of an agreement that had already been previously reached in its application, nothing extraordinary or outside the law.

>For their part, the business media and the traditional parties have promoted a campaign to demonize the demands of the strikers, who have even been accused of having alleged "privileges", which has been repeatedly denied by the strikers themselves and their spokespersons.

>The political attitude of punishment by the Gendarmerie against the community members is striking, without respecting the established agreements, ignoring basic agreements that have been applied for more than 15 years in prisons where there are Mapuche prisoners. This institution is responsible for the situation, and the government on which it depends must respond.

>At the time of writing this note, the state of health of the strikers is very serious, four of them are in critical condition, and at least two of them have been transferred to the Angol Hospital.

>The treatment of this government with the community members on hunger strike contrasts clearly with the treatment it has had with the forestry businessmen, with the big farmers and with the right wing of the zone, applying a hard hand against the communities in resistance, prolonging for more than a year the State of Emergency in the zone, practically doing the dirty work that Piñera's own government was unable to carry out.

The Mapuche political prisoners on dry strike are:

• Simon Huenchullan
• Alejandro Liguen
• Miguel Torres
• Antoni Torres
• Sergio Huentecol
• Boris Llanca
• Juan Penchulef
• Pedro Palacios
• Jorge Palacios
• Alexis Huenchullan
• Sebastian Marillan
• Joaquin Millanao

>We support the demands of the Mapuche political prisoners, we demand respect for the agreement reached and the application of Convention 169 and the fulfillment of all the demands of the strikers. We demand an end to the militarization of Wallmapu, the release of political prisoners and the return of ancestral lands.

original article

>Keʻeaumoku Kapu has been handing out water, clothes, and emergency supplies to families in need out of the Walgreens parking lot in Lahaina, Maui. He said it is a way to keep himself occupied while he grieves the losses of his community.

>"I'm afraid we're not going to recover from this," said Kapu, speaking to CBC from his cellphone at the distribution centre Monday.

>Kapu is a Kanaka Maoli (a Hawaiian word for their Indigenous people) community leader in Lahaina, and head of the Nā ʻAikāne o Maui Cultural Center — which was destroyed by the fire that ripped through Lahaina.

>While members of the community are still grappling with their immediate needs and the death toll from the fire is still being counted, Kapu said he is "frantic" to make sure he is included in the conversations that are happening about what is next for Lahaina.

>"I'm hoping that we can get over this hurdle, but at the same time the fear of being erased ..." said Kapu.

>"Because our island is now turned into a cheaper commodity because there's nothing more important to save here, you have people coming in willing to buy burned-out places."

>Maui land grabs

>Kapu said his family and other members of his community have been contacted by realtors asking to buy their burned-up property.

>The office of the governor of Hawaii released a statement warning Maui residents about predatory buyers trying to capitalize on their fear and the financial uncertainty for those who have lost their homes.

>In a press conference Wednesday, Governor Josh Green said he is working with the attorney general to put a moratorium on property sales in West Maui.

>Social media posts from residents are pleading with people to not sell their properties to these realtors, fearing it will lead to Native Hawaiians being displaced from their homelands.

>A non-profit organization called Hawai'i Alliance for Progressive Action has started an online petition to call on governments to use their powers to stop Maui land grabs, support displaced families and ensure decisions are made with Native Hawaiians at the table.

>Kapu is urging people not to sell but is worried that people's fear and desperation may drive them to accept these offers.

>"You're gonna make our children tomorrow orphans within their own land," said Kapu.

>Lahaina holds deep cultural significance to the Hawaiian people and was once the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom. The city is where King Kamehameha III had his royal residence, and unified Hawaii under a single kingdom by defeating the other islands' chiefs.

>Many Hawaiians still recognize it as the original capital today, long after the capital was moved to Honolulu in 1845.

>The fire destroyed Lahaina's historic Front Street, where the cultural centre Kapu ran was located. Inside, the building held many cultural artifacts, like feather capes and helmets, implements, maps and documents.

>They were all destroyed.

>"Our place was a living place, it was a living museum. It was things that you could actually touch, books that you could actually read, maps that showed a lot of families where they originated from," said Kapu.

>But the loss is bigger than that.

>Kapu describes the centre as a gathering place for Indigenous people internationally, where culture was shared for the next generations and people could learn from each other.

>Kapu is heartbroken over the loss, and holds himself responsible for the care of the objects inside, though he barely escaped trying to save it, only having time to grab his laptop as he ran out.

>Ten minutes later the building was engulfed in flames.

>"For Lahaina, I'm afraid what this place can turn into now," said Kapu, who worries the historic buildings that have been lost could be replaced by private development.

>"This is, for us, genocide."

Full Article

Heloise Ruth First (4 May 1925 – 17 August 1982) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and scholar. She was assassinated in Mozambique, where she was working in exile, by a parcel bomb built by South African police.

Journalist, academic and political activist, Ruth Heloise First was born on 4 May 1925. She was the daughter of Jewish immigrants Julius and Matilda (neé Levetan) First. Julius, a furniture manufacturer, was born in Latvia and came to South Africa in 1906 at the age of 10. Matilda came to South Africa from Lithuania when she was four years old. They were founder members of the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA, later South African Communist Party [SACP]) in 1921. Ruth and her brother Ronald grew up in a household, in which intense political debate between people of all races and classes often took place.

After matriculating from Jeppe High School for Girls, First studied at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, from 1942 to 1946. She graduated with a BA (Social Studies), receiving firsts in sociology, anthropology, economic history and native administration. Her fellow students included Nelson Mandela, Eduardo Mondlane (Mozambican freedom fighter and the first leader of FRELIMO), Joe Slovo, JN Singh (executive member of both the Natal and South African Indian Congress), and Ismail Meer (a former secretary-general of the South African Indian Congress). First helped found the Federation of Progressive Students and served as secretary to the Young Communist League, and was active in the Progressive Youth Council and, for a short while, the Johannesburg branch of the CPSA.

In 1947 First worked, briefly, for the Johannesburg City Council, but left because she disagreed with the actions of the council. She then became the Johannesburg editor of a left-wing weekly newspaper. As a journalist she specialised in investigative reporting and her incisive articles about slave-like conditions on Bethal potato farms, the women's anti-pass campaign, migrant labour, bus boycotts and slum conditions remain among the finest pieces of social and labour journalism of the 1950s.

Having grown up in a politically conscious home, First's political involvement never abated. Apart from the activities already mentioned, she did support work for the 1946 mineworkers' strike, the Indian Passive Resistance campaign and protests surrounding the outlawing of communism in 1950. First was a Marxist with a wide internationalist perspective. She travelled to China, the Union Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) and countries in Africa, experiences that she documented and analysed. She was central to debates within the Johannesburg Discussion Club, which led to the formation of the underground SACP (of which First was a member) and to closer links between the SACP and the African National Congress (ANC).

In 1949, First married Joe Slovo, a lawyer and labour organiser and, like her, a communist. Throughout the 1950s their home in Roosevelt Park was an important centre for multiracial political gatherings.

Despite her public profile and wide contacts, First remained a private person. She had a brilliant intellect and did not suffer fools gladly. Her sharp criticism and her impatience with bluster earned her enemies and she was often feared in political debate.

In 1953, First helped found the South African Congress of Democrats (COD), the White wing of the Congress Alliance, and she took over as editor of Fighting Talk, a journal supporting the alliance. In 1956, both First and Slovo were arrested and charged in the Treason Trial. The trial lasted four years, after which, all 156 accused were acquitted on 29 March 1961.

First considered herself to be primarily a labour reporter, and during the 1950s she was producing up to 15 stories a week. Despite this high work rate, her writing remained vivid, accurate and often controversial. Her investigative journalism was the basis of her longer pamphlets and, later, her books. The transition to more complex writing came easily.

During the state of emergency following the Sharpeville shootings of March 1960, First fled to Swaziland with her children, returning after the emergency was lifted, six months later, to continue as Johannesburg editor of New Age (successor to The Guardian).

On 9 August 1963, First was detained at the Wits University library. This took place following the arrests of members of the underground ANC, the SACP and Umkhonto we Sizwe in Rivonia on 11 July. In the trial which followed, political leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki were sentenced to life imprisonment. However, First was not among the accused.

After 90 days First was released but immediately re-arrested on the pavement outside the police station. She was held for a further 27 days, during which she attempted suicide. During this time her father fled South Africa. Soon after her release First left with her children to join her husband, Joe Slovo, who had already fled the country to Britain.

The family settled in North London and First threw herself into anti-apartheid politics, joining the Anti-Apartheid Movement, holding talks, seminars and public discussions in support of the ANC and SACP.

During the 1960s, First researched and edited Mandela's No Easy Walk to Freedom (1967), Govan Mbeki's The Peasant's Revolt (1967) and Oginda Odinga's Not yet Uhuru (for which she was deported to Kenya).

Following a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) conference at the centre on 17 August 1982, First was killed by a letter bomb, widely believed to have been the work of security agencies within South Africa. Until her death, she remained a ‘listed’ communist and could not be quoted in South Africa.

To read a collection of writings by Ruth First, visit The Ruth First Papers at http://www.ruthfirstpapers.org.uk/

Original article

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>Here’s a first look at the Scott Pilgrim Anime coming to Netflix November 17th add it to your list today.

Looks good

On this day in 2012, the Marikana Massacre took place when South African police fired on striking workers, killing 34 and injuring 76 in the most lethal use of force by the state in half a century.

The shootings have been compared to the infamous Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, when police fired on a crowd of anti-Pass Law protesters, killing 69 people, including 10 children. The Marikana Massacre took place on the 25-year anniversary of a nationwide strike by over 300,000 South African workers.

On August 10th, miners had initiated a wildcat strike at a site owned by Lonmin in the Marikana area, close to Rustenburg, South Africa. Although ten people (mostly workers) had been killed before August 16th, it was on that day that an elite force from the South African Police Service fired into a crowd of strikers with rifles, killing 34 and injuring 76.

After surveying the aftermath of the violence, photojournalist Greg Marinovich concluded that "[it is clear] that heavily armed police hunted down and killed the miners in cold blood."

Following the massacre, a massive wave of strikes occurred across the South African mining sector - in early October, analysts estimated that approximately 75,000 miners were on strike from various gold and platinum mines and companies across South Africa, most of them doing so illegally.

A year after the Marikana Massacre, author Benjamin Fogel wrote "Perhaps the most important lesson of Marikana is that the state can gun down dozens of black workers with little or no backlash from 'civil society', the judicial system or from within the institutions that supposedly form the bedrock of democracy."

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>For the second time this year, K’atl’odeeche First Nation in the Northwest Territories was part of the evacuation alert following an out-of-control wildfire fuelled by strong winds and dry conditions over the weekend.

>Following an evacuation order in May, the K’atl’odeeche spent weeks away from their homes. K’atl’odeeche community members returned to find their band office burned to the ground and their community damaged.

>Those emotions were present as community leadership alerted residents of another evacuation notice.

“I’m sorry to say this, but we are now again on an evacuation notice for K’atl’odeeche First Nation,” Chief April Martel said in a video posted to the community’s Facebook page, her voice cracking.

>Only three weeks ago, Canada’s National Observer spoke with federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who was in the community to give a press conference on the riverbed of the Hay River. In his conversations with community members, Singh was told the water level has never been so low in recent memory.

>Greenhouse gases trap heat around the planet like a warm blanket. The more greenhouse gases we release into the atmosphere, the thicker that blanket gets, the hotter the planet grows and the more the climate changes. Burning fossil fuels is one of the main ways humans add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and drive climate change, which leads to hotter temperatures and creates conditions that help spark wildfires, like drought. Climate change also makes weather patterns more unpredictable, leading to an increase in extreme weather events.

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!kkkanada

>As Mexico faces its worst water crisis in decades, Indigenous communities have organized to fight back against what they call an exploitative system that has looted and contaminated their ancestral lands.

>MEXICO CITY (CN) — On Aug. 1, 20-year-old Lorenzo Froylán de la Cruz was forcibly disappeared in his hometown of Santa María Ostula, in the southern Mexican state of Michoacán, where he served on the town’s communal guard. His remains were found 10 days later.

>His death was yet another in what water activists denounced as a “war of extermination” against Mexico’s Indigenous peoples and the resources on their ancestral lands at a press conference in Mexico City on Tuesday.

>The conference was held to announce the conclusions and plans of action developed at the third biannual National Assembly for Water and Life, which took place on Aug. 12 and 13 in San Gregorio Atlapulco, in the historic Mexico City borough of Xochimilco.

>This war “is taking place on our territories, especially ... against the Zapatista communities,” said activist Eduardo García, referring to the insurgents in the southern state of Chiapas who have opposed Mexico’s government since the mid-1990s.

>He added that the war is being “developed and systematized” by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador “in order to guarantee and safeguard the interests of big capital and the narco-state.”

>Such disapproval of López Obrador's security policy was expressed by several attendees at the assembly over the weekend. The president has been criticized for his advancement and expansion of a growing wave of militarization in Mexico during the 21st century.

>In May, Zapatista communities alerted that “Chiapas is on the verge of civil war” in a statement signed by over 1,300 sympathizers and celebrity leaders, such as Mexican actor Diego Luna and American intellectual Noam Chomsky. The group held that López Obrador is either actively or passively complicit in the conflict.

>Over 830 people attended the weekend’s assembly, representing more than 200 grassroots Indigenous and environmental organizations and 21 Mexican states. They contend that Mexico’s worsening water crisis is the result of a rapacious capitalist system backed by lopsided policy and intensifying violence.

>“Organized crime and paramilitary groups systematically collaborate with the armed forces, the National Guard and state and municipal police, to the point where we can no longer understand them as distinct phenomena, but rather as codependent pieces,” said García, “[the] muscles and ligaments of the weaponized arm of the capitalist narco-state.”

!EZLN

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Born 1904 - Kilifarevo, Bulgaria, died May 28th 1925 - Belovo, Bulgaria.

Born in Kilifarevo, Bulgaria on 14th August 1904, the student-actress Mariola Sirakova belonged to a well-off family. She revolted from an early age against her social background and became an anarchist communist when she went to the Girls High School at Tarnovo in 1919.

She regularly took part in secret anarchist meetings.

She began a relationship with another Bulgarian anarchist, Gueorgui Cheitanov. She associated with other important anarchists like Petar Maznev, Georgi Simeonov Popov, and others. In her frre time, she acted in the Orpheus Theatre Company in Kilifarevo. In 1922-23 she studied in Pleven. She often hid wanted anarchists like Vassil Popov and Valko Shankov

In 1923 a military coup led to the butchery of 35,000 workers and peasants. The armed resistance that followed ended with the bomb attack by the Communist Party on Sofia cathedral which was aimed at the country's elite. A massive campaign of repression was then unleashed by the fascists and military against the revolutionary movement.

Mariola was arrested by the police, and brutally beaten. In June 1924 she returned to Kilifarevo. She was arrested again, but soon released. She gave support to the Kilifarevo cheta (armed guerilla unit), bringing them food, medicine and clothes and caring for the wounded.

Special police detachments were set up to hunt Cheitanov down. All the guerrillas united into a single detachment, being forced to disperse towards the end of May. Cheitanov and Mariola Sirakova, were caught in an ambush and arrested. They were taken to Belovo railway station and shot with 12 other prisoners on May 28th June 1925.

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A huge and powerful strike of British dockers against low pay, unsafe conditions and casual, precarious employment contracts which, with international solidarity, won nearly all its demands and marked a turning point in UK working class history.

The dangerous nature of port work, combined with low pay, poor working conditions and widespread social deprivation ensured that the workforce looked to their trade unions for protection. As a result, industrial relations were strained throughout the history of the port.

Until the late 19th century, much of the trade of the port was seasonal. Sugar came from the West Indies, timber from the north, tea and spices from the Far East. It was difficult to predict when ships would arrive since bad weather could delay a fleet.

The number of ships arriving during a period of four successive weeks in 1861 at the West India Dock was 42, 131, 209 and 85. On some days there were many ships in the docks, on others very few.

There was very little mechanisation - the loading and discharging of ships was highly labour-intensive. Demand for men varied from day to day because there was very little advance notice that a ship was arriving. The dock companies only took on labourers when trade picked up and they needed them.

The 'call-on'

Most workers in the docks were casual labourers taken on for the day. Sometimes they would be taken on only for a few hours. Twice a day there was a 'call-on' at each of the docks when labour was hired for short periods.

Only the lucky few would be selected, the rest would be sent home without payment. The employers wanted to have a large number of men available for work but they did not want to pay them when there was no work.

The dock strike began over a dispute about 'plus' money during the unloading of the Lady Armstrong in the West India Docks. 'Plus' money was a bonus paid for completing work quickly. The East and West India Dock Company had cut their 'plus' rates to attract ships into their own docks rather than others.

A trade depression and an oversupply of docks and warehousing led to fierce competition between the rival companies. The cut in payments provided the opportunity for long-held grievances among the workforce to surface.

Led by Ben Tillet, the men in the West India Dock struck on 14 August and immediately started persuading other dockers to join them. The Dockers' Union had no funds and needed help.

The support they needed came when the Amalgamated Stevedores Union, under Tom McCarthy, joined the strike. Not only did they carry high status in the port but their work was essential to the running of the docks.

Support from the stevedores

The stevedores' union issued a manifesto, entitled To the Trade Unionists and People of London. This called on other workers to support the dockers

Other workers followed the lead of the stevedores, including the seamen, firemen, lightermen, watermen, ropemakers, fish porters and carmen. Strikes broke out daily in factories and workshops throughout the East End.

The port was paralyzed by what was in effect a general strike. It was estimated that by 27 August 130,000 men were on strike.

The dockers formed a strike committee to organize the dispute and decide on its aims. The main strike demand was 'the dockers' tanner' - a wage of 6d an hour (instead of their previous 5d an hour) and an overtime rate of 8d per hour.

They also wanted the contract and 'plus' systems to be abolished and 'call-ons' to be reduced to two a day. They also demanded that they be taken on for minimum periods of four hours and that their union be recognized throughout the port.

The Strike Committee organised mass meetings and established pickets outside the dock gates. They persuaded men still at work and 'blacklegs' to come out on strike.

During the strike the port was at a standstill and the dock companies were losing money. Despite this, they believed that giving into the dockers' demands would set a dangerous precedent.

From the beginning of September however money poured in from Australia. The first instalment of £150 was sent by the Brisbane Wharf Labourers' Union.

In all, over £30,000 was raised by the Australian dockers and their allies. It arrived at just the right time and meant the end of worries about feeding the strikers and their families.

The dockers could now face a longer strike and the leaders knew they could now concentrate on the picket lines. Defeat through hunger now seemed very unlikely and the dockers scented victory.

On 5 September, when the strike was in its fourth week, the Lord Mayor of London formed the Mansion House Committee.Its aim was to try to bring the two sides together to end the strike. Ben Tillett and John Burns represented the dockers at the negotiations.

The Mansion House Committee persuaded the employers to meet practically all the dockers' demands. After five weeks the Dock Strike was over. It was agreed that the men would go back to work on 16 September.

After the successful strike, the dockers formed a new General Labourers' Union. Tillett was elected General Secretary and Tom Mann became the union's first President. In London alone, nearly 20,000 men joined this new union.

The success of the Dockers' Strike was a turning point in the history of trade unionism. Workers throughout the country, particularly the unskilled, gained a new confidence to organise themselves and carry out collective action. From 750,000 in 1888, trade union membership grew to 1.5 million by 1892 and to over 2 million by 1899

[Og article - Libcom !penguin-love ](https://libcom.org/article/great-london-dock-strike-1889)

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