13.03.2003

Campaign fodder

Around the web: Globalise Resistance

Under the heading 'Our world is not for sale', Globalise Resistance gathers together a fair amount of material on a simple and compact website just over one screen in size. On first impressions, it certainly comes nowhere near the Stop the War Coalition website, but does compare favourably to that of the Socialist Workers Party, the guiding hand behind this 'united front'. The main page only has two features. Quite rightly the February 15 demonstration leads with a link to the STWC website, and to a page with a dozen photos from the GR contingent on the march. The second item deals with the arrest and torture of 13 Egyptian anti-war activists and appeals for site visitors to email protests to Egyptian government and diplomatic addresses. Background to the activists' arrests and detention is given, but still carries the assembly location for the relevant action - a protest that took place at the end of last month. The side bar is as sparse as the main page. Two of the four links grouped under 'New stuff' repeat the demo and Egypt materials. The others are similarly eclectic. The first refers us to the debate between Chris Harman (SWP) and Michael Hardt (co-author of Empire) that took place at January's World Social Forum in Brazil. The discussion is interesting and serves as a useful introduction to some of the more complex ideas currently circulating in the anti-capitalist milieu. The other link downloads a 'Stop American militarism' poster, revealing a grinning skeleton lying behind the facade of Uncle Sam. It would have been better if the webmaster had just provided a thumbnail version, allowing the option to view before having to wait for it to download. The 'Anti-war' link takes us to a small archive of dated material, such as GR's statement on the September 11 attacks and a series of protests in its aftermath. The webmaster manages to save face by suggesting that the STWC website should be consulted for up-to-the-minute anti-war news. This section is also padded out with an article on Palestine and the 'Cairo declaration'. The 'Reports' link carries material on the European Social Forum, including model resolutions and petitions. A more comprehensive archive is organised in the 'Past protests' section, going back to an action against GAP in March 2001. These mini-reports are illustrative rather than descriptive, with photographs taken of the action. This method carries over into GR's inaugural conference. Instead of reporting on decisions taken, it merely informs us that 600 attended. This section is rounded off with a (pdf only) archive of GR's newsletter, Resist. 'Background information' carries material on various campaigns - from the struggle against sweatshop labour to resistance against the effects of privatisation in Soweto. For those looking for up-to-date GR activity, comrades will probably find the diary section on the perplexing side. The events calendar from January to March is quite full, but tapers off to include G8, European Union, and World Trade Organisation meetings. Presumably this list is updated as and when more fixtures are confirmed. Finally, perhaps the best feature of the site is the links page. For those entering activity for the first time, the links grouped here to popular activist sites (and quite a few local campaigns as well) is one of the best places to begin exploring the plethora of organisations and groups out there on the web. That said, GR fails to deliver as a site aimed specifically at youth and those new to politics. For those comrades I would like to have at least seen an open forum for sharing ideas, swapping tips and tactics, and a page specifically for active newcomers. Secondly, with the website's emphasis on campaigns against this and that, I came away with the distinct impression that GR sees young people in particular as campaign fodder to be used for the latest sponsored stunt, not as critically thinking human beings, capable of drawing their own conclusions. The Harman/Hardt debate aside, it is perhaps unsurprising that the ideas needed to take on global capital will have to be sought elsewhere. Phil Hamilton