Sanyika Shakur, who was released from Pelican Bay SHU this August, wrote this essay to explain some of the specific spellings and terms used by members of the New Afrikan Independence Movement. It is a good contribution to developing mental and cultura…
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Sketchy Thoughts: Getting Back to the Blog?
As some of you may have noticed – those kind few of you who may still check in here – Sketchy Thoughts has been somewhat comatose for the past months (!), and not for the first time. A while back, Nate, over at the What In the Hell blog, enumerated som…
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Exodus and Reconstruction: Working-Class Women at the Heart of Globalization
What follows is a pleasant surprise i received a couple of weeks ago – a new essay by Bromma, whose writings i have found provocative and useful over the years. This text, which examines the decline of traditional rural patriarchy and the position of women in globalized capitalism today, has
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: MLM Mayhem Reviews Zak Cope’s Divided World Divided Class
My comrade Josh recently wrote a review of Zak Cope’s Divided World Divided Class on his excellent MLM Mayhem blog. You can read it here, but i am also reposting it on Sketchy Thoughts here: These days, at the centres of capitalism, it is en vogue for leftists to attack
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Movement Interviews Dr Zak Cope
The following interview appeared recently on anti-imperialism.com, the blog of the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Movement (RAIM), with Zak Cope, about his book recently published by Kersplebedeb, Divided World Divided Class: Global Political Economy and the Stratification of Labour Under Capitalism. Zak Cope is the author of Divided World Divided Class: Global
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Certain Days Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar 2013
Here it is again, a beautiful political calendar created by a Canadian collective working under the guidance and inspiration of u.s. PP/POWs David Gilbert, Robert Seth Hayes and Herman Bell. Proceeds from this full color calendar go to the New York Task Force on Political Prisoners, the Palestinian NGO Adameer
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: New From Kersplebedeb – Divided World Divided Class: Global Political Economy and the Stratification of Labour Under Capitalism
Divided World Divided Class, just published by Kersplebedeb (the books finally arrived on friday!), charts the history of the ‘labour aristocracy’ in the capitalist world system, from its roots in colonialism to its birth and eventual maturation into a full-fledged middle class in the age of imperialism. It argues that pervasive
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Random Thoughts on PQ Victory
so yesterday were the quebec elections. the pq won a minority government (although i guess in theory the liberals and the more right-wing caq could form a coalition) but not enough seats for a majority, which means it will be difficult to push through any controversial legislation. which is probably
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Montreal’s Week Against Prisons, August 7-12
Because if you’re Black, you are three times more likely to end up in a federal penitentiary. Because if you’re Indigenous, you are nine times more likely to end up in a federal penitentiary. Because these racist disparities are getting worse, not better. Because immigrants face deportation after being punished for a
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Celebrating the Life and Work of Marilyn Buck
Two years ago today, Marilyn Buck died of cancer in New York City; after decades behind bars, she had been released from prison barely a few weeks earlier. As comrade Judy Greenspan wrote at the time: Marilyn died today not in the hospital but at Soffiyah Elijah’s house, her close
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Get Up for the Down Stroke: Sanyika Shakur Responds to Black Liberation in the 21st Century: A Revolutionary Reassessment of Black Nationalism
In Sankyika Shakur’s own words, “i was born Nov 13, 1963. Raised in South Central Los Angeles, by a phenomenal single, working-class, mother. Cut my teeth in the hostile gang culture in South Central from the mid-70’s til the late 80’s. Was introduced to the New Afrikan Independence Movement, by
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Blog Hacked
So Sketchy Thoughts was hacked, not sure how, and while all of the blog posts are safe the template was redirecting people to kunoichi.info, probably so that whoever is trying to sell that domain can show off how many hits they are getting… In any case, what that means is
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Workers Dreadnought Reviews David Gilbert’s, “Love and Struggle: My Life in SDS, the Weather Underground, and Beyond”.
I must admit that it is difficult for me to write an honest review about Com. David Gilbert’s “Love and Struggle” (you can purchase your personal copy here), especially because of the enormous respect that I have for him and the sacrifices that he has made for the revolutionary cause,
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: This Weekend in Quebec City
This weekend is the St-Jean, which i would guess probably resembles other nationalist holidays in nations-without-a-state: massive crowds, lots of partying, confused politics, often fights with cops or just between people. For that section of the left here that considers Quebec independence a worthy goal, the St-Jean has all the
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Armed Confrontation in West Germany in the 1970s and 1980s
La Belle Epoque(1984 Wellington, metro Charlevoix)Saturday, June 30, 1PM traduction anglais-français disponible After the surge of protest that was the sixties, all around the world radicals were drawn to new forms of action and experiments in an attempt to cope with the movement’s ebb. In West Germany, the armed struggle
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Christa Eckes – Honor Her Memory!
The first time Christa Eckes made the news was back in 1970, when as a teenager growing up in the West German city of Hamburg she was expelled from high school for starting a political action group. The “Basisgruppe LS-Schülerinnen” (LS Students Grassroots Group) was said to have distributed leaflets,
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: A Statement and a Poem for Christa Eckes
Former RAF member Christa Eckes died of cancer on Wednesday, May 23, in Karlsruhe, Germany. (To read more about Christa, click here.) The following is a statement by Ronald Augustin and a poem by Gisela Dutzi, regarding their comrade and friend:ron: christa and i, we failed to meet each other
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: “The Partisan” Political Event – Friday June 22 & Saturday June 23 in Montreal
This Friday and Saturday in Montreal (reposted from The Red Flag): For the past year, the Partisan has consistently defended the interests of the working class. Across the board, both nationally and internationally, Partisan condemns the dominant ideology and takes a solid stand in favor of socialism and revolution. It
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Anti-Capitalism and Violence: Gord Hill Interviewed by Kersplebedeb
The opening graphic in The Anti-Capitalist Resistance Comic Book is striking, showing a Black Bloc member squaring off against a cop, each as representatives of the clash between Empire and free peoples from centuries past. To what degree do you feel that the clashes at today’s summits represent a continuity
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: June 21-24: Toronto Anarchist Bookfair
The following from the fine folks putting on the Toronto Anarchist Bookfair next weekend – sadly, this year we will not be able to attend the bookfair, but i really encourage all of you who are nearby to check it out, looks like there will be great stuff happening! Here
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