Another Pandemic.

        All the talk at the moment is about the covid19 pandemic and its various stages, with a hope that it will all end well. However there is another pandemic that is rife throughout the world and its virus is called "inhumanity in prisons", but there is no massive and determined drive to eradicate it, it goes unchecked and ignored by the various states. There is an unending litany of cases of barbarity within the prison system and stands as testament to how the state treats those who would dare to break its rules and regulations, no matter how unjust these may be.

     This is just another case from the many thousands that happen day and daily across the planet. Another symptom of the inhumane and barbaric nature of the state system and its thirst for authority and control. 

     This case just happens to be in Italy, but no state is immune from this type of savagery.  

The following is from Act For Freedom Now:

        Italy: Letter of Beppe from Pavia prison, July 4th, 2020

       July 17, 2020
       The following text is a letter from the anarchist Giuseppe Bruna, imprisoned since May 21st, 2019, for the «Prometeo» repressive operation, currently imprisoned in Pavia prison. To write to him: Giuseppe Bruna, C. C. di Pavia, via Vigentina 85, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
     Dearly beloved,
     I hope this one of mine finds you well!
    I am writing to report a serious situation (yet another!) that I found myself facing between the afternoon of July 3rd and midnight of July 4th! As you will be aware, I have been locked up since about a year in a cell alone in the «protected» section [a section where are held ex-cops, infamous, pedophiles, rapists, ecc.] of Pavia’s jail!, I have always refused such placement by putting in place various forms of struggle (hunger strike, air strike, etc.).
    The [incomprehensible word, probably could be «direction»] health care of the Pavia jail, even though I was never underwent any medical examination (even if there was a specific request of the judge for the preliminary investigations, Basilone), stated that I am under treatment (with what?) for my thyroid lymph node (which has never been checked here) and that I had a serious form of bronchopneumonia and in case of need they would have provided to help me!
     On Friday (July 3rd), in the afternoon, a big storm arrived on Pavia with gusts of wind, not making time to close the window, the wind closed the blindo [armored door] of my cell, here it often happens when there is a lot of wind… I must point out that the bells to call the guards do not work, you just have to scream! In this case the working prisoner warned the guard on duty, telling him that I was «closed», I heard it from my cell… I haven’t called a guard since I’ve been locked in this sewer, their presence irritates me… Waiting that they would have deigned to reopen the armored door as for everyone in the section, I take care of something else in the cell, knowing that around 9:00 p.m. they would have passed by anyway with the nurse who distributes psycho-pharmaceuticals… at about 8:30 p.m. the zealous guard opens the spyhole of the armored door and I immediately tell him to open the door like all the others, that I am very agitated and I can’t breathe! He answers with a «Yes» and then disappears! Around midnight, when the guards make the count and changed shifts… I don’t know what happened, I don’t remember anything, I found myself on the floor full of slime with 4-5 guards who kept calling me, someone said that maybe I was dead!
     They never called the doctor, nor the nurse, I have never been examined even under these circumstances… I have long ago understood why I was placed in this section of this prison! At about 10:30 a.m. (July 4th, 2020) I was called to the infirmary, after having informed the nurse of my illness and about losing consciousness during the night. In front of the doctor on duty I say what happened during the night: there is the nurse and a «graduated» guard who attends the conversation; while he take the parameters I manifest to the doctor a strong pain in my forehead for the blow taken with the fall, the nurse tells me that there’s nothing visible, and in explaining that the guards would come at midnight, when I was lying on the floor, that is how I was when they found me the guards on duty, maybe now they could have made sure of my health! At this point the guard present intervenes and with a threatening tone he tells me that «I talk too much» and that I have to talk only about medicines!, the doctor on duty and the nurse (who seems to be the wife of a guard) are present, they remain impassive! I asked for the medical records, let’s see if they bring them to me! I hope this letter gets to you and doesn’t disappear!
       I ask you to be involved with me against the placement in this section and in this jail!
      Send this letter as many people and websites as possible!
     Prison kills!
      I rise with my head up high, vomiting all my hatred against the placement in this section!
      Freedom for the comrades of Rome!

Beppe

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The Coming Pain.

         I have always maintained that this pandemic was a wonderful opportunity for the state to shovel billions of pounds into the belly of the corporate beast, money that you and I will be told we must pay back to the international money lenders. Before this pandemic, the capitalists system was well on the way to a massive recession and here was the golden opportunity to bail it out in so many different ways. The corporate overlords were given the opportunity to shed labour, grab taxpayers money, and start to dismantle working conditions to make labour cheaper for them. Of course some businesses will go to the wall, but in a recession that would have happened anyway, the big boys don't mind that, they have sufficient reserves to take up the slack, should business start to improve, as it probably will with cheaper labour costs, and employees spread more thinly on the shop floor, and a fat injection of tax payers money.

     The other golden opportunity went to the state, aware that recessions tend to bring unrest and anger to the streets, and this pandemic accelerating the unemployment, they had to prepare for that eventuality. So the introduction of a draconian range of population controls. Some obviously make sense under the conditions of a pandemic, but some will be in place much longer than the pandemic, some people will start to accept some of these conditions as the "new" normal, this will make it all that easier for the state to control that unrest and anger that will inevitable surface as the pain starts to hit the standard of living of millions in this country. The pain is coming, all that money thrown at maintaining businesses and keeping people of the streets by paying them not to work, will be a massive bill that will land at the feet of the taxpayer.

   Some governments have taken the precautions to smother public protests further than others, the others will follow suit as the conditions change. The Greek state for example has introduced a ban on protests that are not sanctioned by the police, you can be arrested for attending a protest if the police haven't given it the nod of approval. Of course the citizens of that patch on the earth controlled by the Greek state are not taking it lying down, I love the people of Greece. The other day there was a massive protest outside the parliament building in Athens. As expected, the police moved in with brutal force, batons swing and gas canisters flying, resulting in a riot situation, with lots of arrests.

The following report from Act For Freedom Now:

          9 July 2020, Athens, Greece: Proposed by a self-proclaimed socialist Minister of Public Order (Michalis Chrisohoidis), taking part in a right wing government (News Democracy), assisted by the votes of the self-proclaimed socialist party (KINAL), the greek Parliament approved a junta-inspired bill on Thursday imposing new restrictions to quash and destroy the right to protest, a right integral to the so-called democracies, eg. under the provisions of the new law you will be arrested for joining a protest that hasn’t been authorized by the police. For dozens of years across the world, this has been called a Police State or a Dictatorship but then again the greek governing party’s name is “New Democracy”, which probably means the same, when someone feels the need to affix the word “New” to the political theory of “Democracy” that has been solidified for more than 2.500 years.
       As a result, thousands of people marched through central Athens denouncing the new law, and managed to approach in great numbers the greek parliament at Syntagma Square, during the discussion of the bill. The sight of hundreds of policemen that flooded the area around the parliament, during such a sensitive topic of protest, aggravated things and soon the protest turned in to a riot, making the atmosphere unbearable to breath, while the riot police “bombarded” the area with asphyxiating gas grenades.
       After a decade long financial crisis, Greece is expected to suffer a new major recession this year due to the impact of the pandemic. The new law that was passed yesterday seems to aim exactly towards what’s coming. The strong reaction of the greek society, for all the money that were thrown away by the greek government and Athens mayor (Kostas Mpakogiannis) during the quarantine and what followed. It’s no wonder that the greek government chose to hire thousands of new policemen, rather than nurses and doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic. But, then again, as it was aforementioned the governing party’s name is “New Democracy”…

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A Dying Beast.

      At the present time we are living with a corpse, well at least with a dying beast. The economic system that has dominated our lives for generations is sounding its death rattle. However we should always remember, a dying beast can be very dangerous.The system is creaking at the seams, as the life ebbs out of it, it will lash out in desperation to cling on to life. The pandemic has given it a golden opportunity at a last gasp for survival. The largest bailout in the history of the entire life of the capitalist system is being delivered to the billionaire parasite class, under the cloak of saving jobs during this pandemic. Fear and public caution is being used to introduce draconian measures of control, creating a submissive population. Controls that will be needed to keep civil unrest off the streets when the shit hits the fan. As it will, when the money lenders come round with their repayment deal. You may believe that we have suffered drastic austerity, and the social damage and injustice that it has delivered, but that deliberate ideological assault on the public will fade into insignificance as the dying system dives in ever deeper to plunder the public purse to pay its money lenders and try to survive. The beast will not "go quietly into that dark night" (A wee pitch at Dylan Thomas). There will be savage  lunges at survival, brutal assaults to stay alive, it will unleash its hounds of fascist beasts on to the streets. We have it in our power to put the beast to death and remove its rotting corpse from the shoulders of humanity. It may be a struggle at times on the streets and in the workplaces, but with the strength, solidarity and unity of our communities we can create that better world for all and rid the world of the vicious beast of dying capitalism.  

The following from Act For Freedom Now:

 

 

      A Funeral for this Rotting Order, Call to Saturday and Onward in Athens
     The world is moving into economic crisis unlike anything experienced since the early 1900s. States with already unstable foundations are now without money or support. In Greece, just this week the new nazi party polls in the top 3 political forces in the country. A counter to the right wing administrations response to pandemic, 6 percent of the country stating simply, economy is preferred to death.
      The end of austerity economics was always destined for war. War against it’s detractors, not abroad but at home. So these weeks we have experienced;
– Detentions for hanging posters
– Detentions for existing outside a police station
– Detentions for hanging a banner
– Mass arrest of a motorcade
– Victoria mass sweep of migrants to camps
– Victora mass detention of those in solidarity
– Monastiraki demonstration met with small army of police
      The employment of the states direct offensive toward active detractors is no surprise. Lets not forget the political war these weeks have brought;
    The education system further turned into efficient factories to churn out workers
     Workers rights continuing to be obliterated on all fronts
    Passing of anti refugee laws designed to force migration toward central europe
     Health workers continue to be ignored while thousands of security forces are hired
       The worldwide preparation against civil society began before the pandemic with faith in an economy that would never falter. Foolish for them yes, but it’s no matter as the way forward requires a break from the past. Much of this break is already written. We believe that through the coming chaos ways of living will emerge which allow existence to flourish beyond the current limitations of state sanctioned life. In the face of Goliath positivity may seem questionable. We suggest two points of contention;
      Unwavering support for subversive culture in contentious neighborhoods and antagonism against all servants of order in these spaces
     Activity designed to display the economic fragility of the state, with understood instead of unnecessary risk
As anger builds which it is, and the anarchists fight with many, which we will, let us lead by example, a clear break from the past.
       Saturday 6/20 we call to support the multiple events throughout the day in Athens and at night in Exarcheia. No ends just beginnings.
     Onward toward a culture of antagonistic individuals against society, its freedom and faith in order. The attack against it,shines a revolutionary path forward for the lost and dispossessed.
Obsidian
source

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Righteous Anger.

 

        I doubt few can dispute the reasons for their anger, nor their description of the system. What surprises me is that there is not more displays of anger on the streets, after all the injustice and inequality and the brutal suppression of dissent is glaringly obvious.

The following from Act For Freedom Now:

        In the night of 19th May, 2020 some bottles full of paint were smashed against the façade of the Bullenpostens in Oberstrass. Why?
Well, I think the question is why not. After all, the barbaric injustice of the dominant system during the pandemic is coming to light in strident colours. Applause for nursing staff in contrast with the billions given to Swiss/Lufthansa; lack of medicines in contrast with record arms exports; distribution of food supplies in contrast with the blessing of profit shares. Overcrowded refugee camps in contrast with empty luxury hotels. Just to give a few examples.
        Ok, it would be wrong to blame the Zurich police for all the devastation of capitalism. But what is true is that here as everywhere else the police are there to protect the system of exploitation and oppression. They do it every day: when they put on their uniforms in the morning, turn on the blue lights or go slow to terrorize our neighbourhoods with racist controls and other dirty tricks.
On May 1st they recently demonstrated yet again how seriously they take their task of being the armed wing of the State. While various forces took to the streets in diverse and creative ways against the pushing of the crisis towards the base, for solidarity and internationalism, the police – not being very successful – were only concerned to expel, arrest, confiscate and block everything moving.
     These bottles of paint are one of the many responses to the repression of the 1st of May. But even more than a response they are promises for the future: in spite of the rubber bullets and prison, revolutionary resistance will continue! And it will win because the order that the police protect is built on sand.
Solidarity means: together against capital and its lackeys!
Translated from Italian by act for freedom now!
via: frecciaspezzata

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Vindictive Cruelty.

 

    To lots of people, the state of Canada has managed to create around it the illusion of a civilised country, possibly because of comparisons with it nearest neighbour America. However, like all developed capitalist countries it has within its institution the savage claws of authoritarianism, and has no qualms about useing them. Ask its indigenous population, they will be able to reel off a catalogue of cruel and savage injustices perpetrated on them by the state for centuries.  

        Another section of the population of Canada, that continually feel the effect of those claws of authoritarianism is the prison population. This report from Quebec tells its own story. Across the world during this Covid19 pandemic, prisons have been one of the places where their populations have been left to rot. Callous, vindictive actions resulting in unnecessary deaths.

This from Act For Freedom Now: 

 

     Noise Demos Outside Montreal-Area Prisons Following Death of Prisoner and a Hunger Strike ,Canada.

Read also : Bordeaux Hunger Strike
Manifesto of Bordeaux Prisoners
Family Members and Advocates Call for Action after the Death of a Prisoner at Bordeaux

       10 May, Montreal – At 2pm today, a caravan of over 30 vehicles visited the Federal Training Centre prison in Laval and the Bordeaux jail in Montreal, demanding the immediate release of all prisoners in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vehicles, decorated with slogans such as, ‘Prison Should Not Be A Death Sentence,’ & ‘Free All Prisoners,’ honked their horns, made noise, and held banners in solidarity with those inside.
      “We’re here today to show people inside these prisons that they’re not forgotten and that we’re out here working for their release,” said Ellie Santon, a participant in the demonstration. “What’s happening in these prisons is a crisis created by the government. If they wanted to, they could solve all this tomorrow. For some reason they seem intent on letting people die.”

      On May 5th, Correctional Services Canada (CSC) announced that a prisoner held inside Laval’s Federal Training Centre had died from COVID-19, the second death inside a federal prison due to the pandemic. 138 prisoners have now tested positive for COVID-19 in the Federal Training Centre, making it the largest outbreak in a Quebec federal prison.
      “The government has spent months refusing to act and now the virus has exploded inside prisons and people are dying,” said Virginia Boucher of the Prison Support Committee. “There is no justifiable reason for this. People should be released from prison, now. People in halfway houses should be allowed to live at their own homes full time. Everyone released should have access to safe housing and healthcare.”
      On May 5th, prisoners in Quebec’s Bordeaux jail also began a hunger strike that has since spread to multiple sectors of the institution. There are over 60 cases of COVID-19 associated with the Bordeaux jail, where 75 percent of prisoners are being held pre-trial, making it the 2nd largest outbreak in a provincial prison.
      “I’m worried about my partner, who is in one of the infected sectors,” said Jean-Louis Nguyen, a participant in the demonstration. “He finally got tested on Friday, but we don’t know the results, and his parole hearing just got postponed by two weeks. Quebec needs to provide public information about what’s happening in its prisons and expedite bail and parole hearings to get as many people as possible out of prison and back with their communities.”
      “Quebec’s jails now have the highest infection rate of any province, but they’ve refused to act,” said Ted Rutland of the Anti-Carceral Group. “Provinces like Ontario and Nova Scotia have released thousands of prisoners by speeding up bail hearings and releasing people close to the end of their sentence, but Quebec refuses to follow their example.”
       Social distancing is impossible inside prisons and prisoners are at high risk of contracting COVID-19. Health care in prison is abysmal. Guards have employed pepper spray and force against prisoners across the country who have taken action to protest their situation. There are now over 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 linked to prisons across Canada.
#liberezlestou.te.s
#grevedefaimbordeaux
#bordeauxhungerstrike
#FreeThemAll
#FreeThemAllCaravan
#FreeThemAll4PublicHealth

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Freedom Is A Crime.

       In the eyes of the state and its institutions, the greatest crime is to try to change society to a true democratic system of equality and justice. Those who push hardest for such a change are likely to feel the full savage brutality of the state enforcement apparatus. Not the far right, not the plunders from the millionaire/billionaire parasite class, but the advocates for freedom and justice. The state will do all it can to intimidate, silence, repress and eliminate such voices. Hence anarchists, being the loudest and most persistent in that drive for true freedom, justice and equality, free from the capitalist system, are always a target for the state's repressive machine.  

       The following is just one incident from one country, but it is being repeated across the developed and developing world. We most highlight these acts of state repression and show solidarity with those at the receiving end of these brutal acts of intimidation.

The following from Act For Freedom Now:

EN/IT,Italy: «Ritrovo» repressive operation. Seven anarchists arrested
       May 14, 2020 by actforfreedom Actforfree received on 13.5.20
During the night of May 13, 2020, seven anarchists were arrested between Bologna, Milan and Tuscany, five others were required to reside in the municipality of residence and the anarchist documentation space Il Tribolo in Bologna was searched. The repressive operation, called «Ritrovo», was coordinated by the public prosecutor Stefano Dambruoso and the Carabinieri of the ROS (Raggruppamento Operativo Speciale), who carried out the arrests and searches jointly with the provincial command of the Carabinieri of Bologna.
      The seven arrested are charged with article 270bis of the penal code (subversive association with the purpose of terrorism or subversion of the democratic order), the other charges relate to articles 414 (incitement to commit a crime), 639 (defacement and soiling) and 635 (damage). One person is accused of article 423 (fire) for the incendiary attack of December 16, 2018, against some telecommunications antennas located in Monte Donato in Bologna and intended for the transmission of national and local television networks. On the site was left the writing «Turn off the antennas, awaken consciences. Solidarity with the anarchists detained and under surveillance».
       The repressive forces affirm that the arrested anarchists are accused of having created a subversive-terrorist association having «the objective of affirming and spreading the anarchic-insurrectionalist ideology, as well as instigating, with the diffusion of propaganda material, the commission of acts of violence against the institutions». Furthermore, the public prosecutor’s office of Bologna, with the help of the regime’s media, underlined that the precautionary measures assume a «strategic preventive value aimed at avoiding that in any further moments of social tension, arising from the particular emergency situation [linked to the coronavirus epidemic], other moments of more general anti-State struggle campaign can take place».
These are the current addresses of the arrested comrades:
Giuseppe Caprioli
C. R. di Alessandria “San Michele”
strada statale per Casale 50/A
15121 Alessandria
 

Stefania Carolei
C. C. di Vigevano
via Gravellona 240
27029 Vigevano (PV)
 

Duccio Cenni
C. C. di Ferrara
via Arginone 327
44122 Ferrara
 

Leonardo Neri
C. R. di Alessandria “San Michele”
strada statale per Casale 50/A
15121 Alessandria
 

Guido Paoletti
C. C. di Ferrara
via Arginone 327
44122 Ferrara
 

Elena Riva
C. C. di Piacenza
strada delle Novate 65
29122 Piacenza
 

Nicole Savoia
C. C. di Piacenza
strada delle Novate 65
29122 Piacenza

 

Solidarity  

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Let's Think.

        We are certainly living through a time of unprecedented problems and unknown outcomes, nobody knows the final outcome in any detail. There are plans by the powers that be to rescue their sinking rat infested ship and continue on the journey of planet plunder. Among the public there must be plans to forever free themselves from this voyage of disaster. How will the new world form, what shape will it take, well that depends on the planners, and the people must guarantee that they are the planners of that new world, or they will sink with that old rat infested ship of the past.

      The following is an extract from an article made up of extracts from letters from a comrade in a Spanish gaol.

       This from Act For Freedom Now:

     The other day I saw an astonishing (or maybe not) story on TV: a Portuguese TV channel (TVI) was giving «news» of a hospice… all of a sudden this «team» of cameramen realize that an old lady is trying to escape from the back by removing a fence… What did the «journalists» who were «informing» (in alarmist tones) about the drama unfolding inside there do? Call the carers to lock up the old lady again! The moral of the story is very simple: there is no empathy and/or sympathy towards the old person looking for freedom, the possibility of a life, no. The drama is for those who stay stuck to their television set, it is the objectivity and rigour of information… then they pull out their phone and become snitches so that the presumed «infected-old lady» threatening «our» safety is recaptured: the victim is a criminal! So… I sympathized with the old lady and wished the worst death to these snitches.
    (…) I’m very curious to see how people will react after this forced imprisonment, how the economy will be, how people will relate to one another, exactly. Will the European invention survive? Will the borders be opened? Will planes come back to sail the skies from one place to another? If unemployment is to be as massive as expected, what will people do? What will the «effects» of forced coexistence be? These are questions that really arouse my interest and curiosity. I also wonder up to what point and for how long «citizens» will be prepared to remain in compulsory «quarantine».

4th April
       (…) I’m looking at (and analysing) the regime «news» concerning the serum tests they are proposing to do (or are doing directly) in countries such as Germany, England, France, Italy, the United States and China to find out which people are immune to the virus. All this is showing us how the new liberal market is already selecting the «most suitable» workforce… this global «emergency» has given States and capital a huge quantity of «private» data concerning their «citizens» and customers… so now these will experience on their own skin what it means to be under a high surveillance regime such as F.I.E.S., in first grade, second grade and/or open regime. All day long, uniforms everywhere: police, soldiers and jailers; controllers and bankers… (…) and anyway the «quarantine» experience has already prepared them for their entrance into «live-prisons»: locked up and with no rights; watched over and with no «control» over their lives.

Now that we are all prisoners

Now that we are all prisoners we know what it is to feel longing, to hate and to love…

To feel longing for walking under the sky with the sea breaking against the rocks.

To feel longing for meeting up with friends and being able to hug them.

To feel longing for the loves we adore kissing.

To feel longing for everything they don’t let us enjoy today.

Now that we are all prisoners we know what it is to hate…

To hate monotony and the boring conversations we can’t escape from.

To hate the septic imprisonment that limits and suffocates our freedom.

To hate the days and nights that follow on from one another like that, without anything else.

To hate the selfish behaviour of others, which alone we can’t avoid.

Now that we are all prisoners we know what it is to love…

To love nature that allows us to breathe.

To love intelligence that invites us to dream.

To love sensitivity that makes us enjoy.

To love the freedom to be and to stay.

Now that we are all prisoners: it’s time to think…

Read the full article HERE:

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Harassment.

 

         Anarchist believe in the dignity of all people, each individual is unique, and must be allowed to live their life without exploitation, degradation, or physical abuse, as long as they behave likewise with others. No ordinary person should walk in fear, fear to be alone on the street at night, nor should they be expected to take insults nor unwanted touching. Unfortunately in our society their are those who don't see it that way, especially when it comes to women. They all too often see them as prey, play things, pretty adornments, an object to be leered at, and women are expected to accept insulting remarks at the whim of some deranged male.

       So I was delighted to see this post from Athens and hope that there is a similar action being organised here and elsewhere. End this abuse now.

 The following from Act For Freedom Now:

May 9, 2020, Athens,Greece: Patience is over. There will be no more excuses. No more apologies. Dead catcallers can’t catcall by Angry girls in the city who are done with this bullshit.
      Patience is over. There will be no more excuses. No more apologies. Dead catcallers can’t catcall.
       The last two months have brought drastic change. The coming conflict in our space brings new threats to our existence as anarchists and as human beings. The womxn’s place is on the streets, in the squares, at the barricades. This is unquestionable.
      Every womxn should be safe to drink beers in platia, to walk home late at night, to wear whatever we want and do whatever we like without unwanted attention from predatory men, without having to look over our shoulders when we walk home or wait to close our front doors, to make sure no one comes in behind us. The patriarchy in all its ugly forms has no place on our streets and the moment it appears it will be crushed. No more politeness.
      The harassment of womxn is not a cultural tradition. Catcalling is wrong and disgusting in every country and saying otherwise is misogynistic and racist. Womxn from every country will not stand for this abuse.
      Catcalling will not be tolerated. No one will harass women in Exarcheia ever again and if they dare to they will face immediate and violent consequences. Everyone is responsible for making sure the city is a safe place for girls and womxn. If we see a car slowing down to creep on a womxn walking at night, we won’t stand. We must intervene. If we see someone harassing a womxn, we must be vocal, be violent if necessary, let them know they are not welcome in our world and make sure they don’t come back. Solidarity is our weapon.
     In solidarity we call for support for the Women’s demonstration of rage in Kypseli at 9pm.
     We are not jewellery. We are not pretty things to be looked at or touched. You have no right to our bodies or our minds though we have every right to punch you or throw a rock at your nice car, if you piss us off just one more time.

You have been warned

Sincerely,

Angry girls in the city who are done with this bullshit.

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Domestic Violence.

      Domestic violence is no new phenomena it has been part and parcel of our society for many a generation. It is born out of patriarchy and festers away in what is often thought of as a "normal" home. It is another symptom of our unjust, unequal, sick society, so often people will turn away when they see or hear it manifest itself, it is somehow seen as a private affair. We always seek to eradicate aggressive and unprovoked violence in our society, we should remember, the home is a unit of our society. This pandemic lockdown has made the life of those at the receiving end of domestic violence all the more precarious, sometimes escape seems impossible, and that is when friends and neighbours should come in.

      This is an appeal for solidarity with those subject to domestic violence, with some helpful advice from Greece.

The following from Act For Freedom Now:

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS A COLLECTIVE ISSUE

       In this time of Covid-19, during the State-imposed lockdown and transport ban, the cases of domestic violence in Greece have increased. It was to be expected -now it’s even harder to escape. The myth of the “holy nuclear family” takes for granted that staying at home is always the safest, but for many of us being with our families or partners is just as threatening as being out there. In the odd silence of the city, the screams we can hear from the neighbouring houses aren’t getting any quieter. Domestic violence is not just a “couple’s problem”, an “issue for the family to resolve” or a “private affair”. All forms of violence against children, partners, family members or housemates are never justified, except when it’s for self-defence against the aggressor.
Every year, patriarchy kills more than any other virus.
     If you are experiencing violence, physical or otherwise, and you are quarantined with your aggressor/s, we tried to put together some suggestions:
• Practice how to get safely out of the house.
• Create a sign to use for emergencies with your neighbours.
• Find people who understand and support you and a safe space, to take refuge in.
•Try to resist! If you can’t do anything, it’s totally ok too, it’s not your fault, you’re not alone.
       If you witness domestic violence which doesn’t target or threaten you and you don’t intervene or speak out, you support the aggressor.
        What you could do:
•Try to create a connection with the person targeted by the violence.
• Offer your space as shelter
• If the person agrees, call out or confront the aggressor.

Anti Covid19 – Network for Mutual Aid and Struggle
FB:@AntiCovidAidNetwork
patriarchyisthevirus.tem.li

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Savage State.

        The state has many ways of bludgeoning its enemies, from the subtle to the down right brutal. We should never fail to bring to public notice any of these repressive inhumanities, they should never be allowed to do their savagery away from the gaze of the public eye. Their brutality must become common knowledge, so that we can put an end to this authoritarian inhumane total disregard for human life and dignity.

 EU slams Greek prison system.

 

     The case posted below is from Greece, but around the globe these acts of callous brutal inhumanity are common place in state after state, part and parcel of this system of protecting the powerful and wealthy parasite class, and the inequality of the status-quo.

The following from Act For Freedom Now:

        Letter of Vasilis Dimakis, dated 27/4/2020, Grevena prison, Greece -Statement of hunger and thirst strike

        Original: https://www.athens.indymedia.org/post/1604730/
     “As of today, Monday 27/04/2020 and, after officially six days of hunger strike, since I have not accepted food from the moment of my violent transfer-abduction from Korydallos prison, headed for Grevena prison on Thursday 16/4, and weighing 62kg, I am going on thirst strike, claiming and trying to protect what I have painstakingly achieved until today, that is my dignified presence and studentship in the EKPA higher education community, as a student of the Department for Political Science and Public Management of the University of Athens. And I have done this under grave conditions, since studying in incarceration is effectively a great feat.
     I am demanding from my wannabe executioners, who arbitrarily and provocatively ordered my transfer, and also enforced the cessation of my studies, to act in a humane way, not driven by base motives, as should be fitting to any democratic citizen, before it is too late, to order my transfer back to my cell in Korydallos prison where all my notes and books are, so that I complete, without any more tricks and obstacles, my so far dignified course in education, so that I can ‘meet’ my future once again.
       It is impossible for me to accept without question the order that came without cause or reason, by some responsible who decided this transfer, interrupting in this way the studies and future of a human being! I inform you, who decided for me without me, that my will to study is so powerful, that is first of all touches my heart and then my dignity, not allowing me to make any discounts on the part that concerns my education!
       For this reason I place my body as a trench, for the second time, and facing serious risk to my health, because for me dignity has more value than life itself!
Fully conscious of the risks involved for my health and my existence, I kindly ask the medical staff of Grevena prison, in case of any complications (fainting, cardiac episode), that they do not medicate me or try to resuscitate me, as this would mean an added violence against my life. I consider that with this statement I absolve the medical staff of the prison and of any other health provider, from any legal responsibilities in case of a deteriorating course to my health.
With regards, prisoner Dimakis Vasilis on hunger and thirst strike.”

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Death By Ineptitude.

      By now we have become accustomed to the state treating prisoners and migrants alike, as non-citizens, people with no rights, sub-human beings. During this pandemic, prisons and detention centres are becoming hot beds for infection, but the state sweeps that all under the carpet and shows a complete disregard for the human suffering involved. Even before this coronavirus event, both prisons and detention centres were places of over crowding, poor hygiene, poor nutrition and almost non existent health care. With the onslaught of the pandemic conditions have become even more degraded, with little to nothing being done to protect the prisoners and migrants from infection, and at the same time trying to keep it all out of the public eye. 

     From the start of this pandemic most governments through ineptitude, vested interests, seeing the economy more important that human life, have bungled their approach to the problem. All this aggravated by austerity, stripping the health services and social care systems to a skeleton of what is required. They can't completely ignore the general public so there is appeasement in small doses, but prisoners and migrants can be ignored because they are locked away out of the public view. We can't allow this to continue, these political ballerinas must be held to account. The deaths are away above what should have been, and what could have been, if the powers that be had followed expert scientific advice and prepare for such an event, if they had put the welfare of the people above that of the "economy", that sacred altar of the financial Mafia, on which humanity is sacrificed, if they had thought more of the ordinary people rather than their buddies, the shareholders. But all that is wishful thinking, they are parasites and need to be cleaned out.

The following from Act For Freedom Now: 

Bologna, Italy – Greetings at the Dozza prison

       In the morning of 16th April, in response to a call made by prisoners’ families in Rome and those in solidarity who supported them in publicly going outside Rebibbia prison walls again, a dozen comrades gathered
       The voices from inside thanked us for being there and told us about the desperate conditions. They said that many prisoners are sick and that they had not been given face masks yet. After all, we already knew that Roberto Ragazzi, the chief responsible for prison health in the Bologna’s AUSL [a local health agency], in an internal memo dated 24th February had given instructions to all health workers not to use masks when seeing prisoners in the Dozza or visiting the prison infirmary and clinic, for fear of creating anxiety and tensions inside the structure. From inside we were also told that the prisoners had not been to the exercise yard for weeks and that they couldn’t have video phone calls in place of visits, but only one ten minute call a week, which they had to pay for.
       After about 15 minutes the group of comrades was confronted with a disproportionate deployment of Digos, screws, police cars and antiriot cops, who stopped everyone and dealt out fines for breaching the [anti-virus] decree (the comrades were wearing gloves and masks, the cops were decisively less mindful of “preventive care” and didn’t even keep the 1-metre safety distance). The cops’ intervention took place at a spot where the comrades could be seen from the cells and so the prisoners’ solidarity made itself heard with shouts and insults against the cops, reversing the roles we are used to seeing.
WE WON’T TIRE OF REPEATING IT AGAIN TODAY: THE ONLY SAFETY IS FREEDOM.

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It'll Be Fine!

 

       There is no doubt we are in a very new type of situation, and everybody has their own way of looking at this. Some with despair, some with fear, others with hope, I tend to lean towards the hope side. Though having reached my 86th birthday, sometimes that hope wears a wee bit thin, but it is still there.

      The following is from Madrid Cuarentena City N.2

Everything Will Be Fine.

       It’s the story of a man who falls from a 50-story building. To calm down as he falls into the void he keeps saying to himself:
So far so good.
So far so good.
So far so good…
      But it’s not the fall that matters, it’ s the landing. As in the metaphor of the French film “La haine”, we live in a world that has been condemned to disaster. The continued destruction of the ecosystems to extract raw materials, the systematic degradation of the earth’s crust by monocultures and agro-industry, the expulsion or annihilation of species, the transformation of the oceans in dunghills, the irreversible damage to the ozone layer… has had an exponential advance in recent years. They’ve put us on a path which is more than evident a transformation, for the worse, of life on earth.
     At the same time, we have generated societies that are annihilators of the different, of the enemies of risk and adventure.The perpetuation of hierarchies and authorities, slaves of an economic system that puts the flow of goods above everything else. Profit as the only ideology. In which the virtual imposes itself on reality. The simulation to the experience.
     In recent weeks, campaigns were launched in places like Italy and Spain asking children to draw rainbow posters with the message “everything will be fine” or “andrá tutto bene” and then hang them on the balconies or public buildings. Unfortunately, this illusory and innocent message implies complacency with all of the above, a yearning to return to a reality that is self-destructive for people and harmful to our environment.
     And all this has been accompanied by self-incrimination, considering individuals as guilty agents responsible for the transmission of a virus, when it is clear that diseases do not become pandemics because of the actions of a few people, for that a series of infrastructure conditions (such as overcrowding in large cities, for example), environmental conditions, movement conditions, etc. are needed, and of course they are and were given.
      We assume, then, the orders to stay at home for our own good and that of others, in a paternalistic and patriarchal tone. But when we are forbidden to go on the streets alone, or with the people we share a house with, are we responding to medical or public order criteria?
      Meanwhile, let’s clap on the balconies and hang signs… but maybe it won’t go well. It’s even possible that whatever we do won’t go well. The possibilities for the recovery of the planet are infinite, it is not so much that in this resurgence from the ashes we can continue to exist as a species. But we are not going to deny ourselves the pleasure of enjoying this journey, even if it is the last one. We are going to confront, fight, experiment, imagine… pointing out and hitting those responsible for this reality and moving away with our practices from its perpetuation.
      Another world is possible, said the classic leftist slogan, another end of the world is possible, is the slogan that we have no choice but to adopt, and we do so with passion. Muchxs without hope, but with the flame in the eyes when you are so close that you can look into the abyss.

Translated by Act For Freedom Now.

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One Race.

      The incident in this post happens day and daily, in different degrees of harassment and intimidation in cities across the world. The nationalist fervour that is prevalent in our cities is a disease that we have to root out. Migrants are the easy scapegoat for nationalist bile, and the states create this by their nationalistic policies, in an attempt to get you all to rally round the flag. The other must be seen as a problem, the enemy, to get you to accept and embrace their policies of control. We are all people, we all have family or did have, we all fall in love, drive buses, fix plumbing, take care of grand parents, who look after grandkids. We can't allow the state to dictate who we like and who we should fear. Nationalism and patriotism are the enemies of unity across those false lines drawn on the map by power mongers. One race, one planet, one home. The following incident was in Athens, but that city is not unique in its treatment of migrants.

Patriotism

No, I shall not die for the fluttering flag,
if truth be known, ’tis nothing but a multi-coloured rag
held aloft by some foolish hand
inciting worker and peasant to kill
on some green and wooded hill,
peasant and worker from some other land.
Nor shall I shed blood for the fluttering rag
that brings out fools to stand and brag
of brutal deeds painted grand,
deeds where rustic and craftsman lie so still
killed by my brothers' misguided hand.

No allegiance have I for the Nation
this man made autocratic creation
that divides my brothers in a world so small,
binds us to a country's cause, right or wrong,
bids us follow its drum, sing its song,
then sheds our blood in some border brawl.
 

No, I'll be no slave to flag or nation,
have no ear for power oration,
though its iron heel is on my breast,
my back feels its leather thong,
at patriotism's barracoon, I'll be no guest.

The following from Act For Freedom Now:

       On 5/4, a friend from Pakistan was walking on Amfipoleos street in Votanikos towards Rouf train station. At the traffic lights, 2 DIAS bikes that were headed to the opposite direction did a U-turn and stopped him. They asked him where he lives and where he’s going, he showed them the handwritten paper that said he was going out for exercise and then they asked him for his residence permit. He showed them the application certificate, because he’s expecting his papers in the next month, they tore it up, shouting that this isn’t valid anywhere, they pushed him against the wall hitting him in the face, one of them pulled his gun, the other two were holding him and the third one was looking around. One spit at him. At that moment the man’s phone was ringing, the cops saw that those were calls from his girlfriend and started mocking him saying: “Do you have a date?” and “Is your girlfriend looking for you?”.
      Then they pulled down his trousers and opened his jacket, they did a body search on him, for drugs as they said, they searched inside his underwear and pulled off his socks and shoes. They started threatening that they were going to lock him up since he has no papers, they told him they were taking him straight to the police station, and when they saw he wasn’t answering them and just asked to call his lawyer, they refused, hitting him, and sarcastically asked if he was going to start crying, too. What’s more, they doubted that the paper of movement was written by him and they were laughing at him, saying there is no way he can write so well, they stated to him that now they’re going to send the photos from his documents everywhere and they’ll be watching him wherever he goes and in the end they told him that they’ll send him back to Pakistan if he wants to walk free in the street or to exercise, because “here, it’s forbidden”. Then they let him go, telling him that they’re doing him a favour by letting him, and only on the condition that he’ll go home.‌
      One more time, the face of democracy and its instruments is made clear. We are reporting this incident not as something new, nor as something shocking. We are aware of the living conditions of migrants in Greece, of the abuses of the state, of their ill treatment by the police and by every fascist scum, and of the suffering they’re put through—if they’re lucky—to get their papers and live with dignity.‌‌
We’ll soon deal with the cannibals of this world.‌‌
NO ONE ALONE AGAINST REPRESSION.
SOLIDARITY TO MIGRANTS.
LET’S BREAK THE FEAR
source

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Hand-To_hand.

      During this pandemic, people's thoughts fly in different directions, and rightly so. This whole episode in our lives is certainly food for thought, the failings  of our society, the possibilities of dramatic change to the way we structure our society, the need for the ordinary people to take control of the decisions that shape our lives, build a world free from the profit motive, bring an end to the ruthless financial Mafia that at present dictates the shape of our world to the benefit of the few. 

    With all of this and more running through my head as it does in others, there is one thought that persistently pushes itself to the front of my mind. We don't produce enough anarchist literature, that hard copy, that tangible thing of paper that we can read and pass from one to the other. I know, the internet is there, but not everybody walks that road. Anarchism is a big field and it grows a wide and varied harvest, let's throw its fruits far and wide. The leaflet, pamphlet, flyer, booklet, serial, are all every bit as necessary and as productive as as the blog, social media etc.

    So I'm always delighted when a new issue appears, whether it is a first or the next issue of anarchist thought, action, tactics, strategies deeds, I don't have to agree with everything that is published, but they can be handed hand-to-hand and should open the door to discussion of our ideas at cafes, bars, workplace, meetings and households, etc. we have a bottomless pit of ideas for that better world for all, let's throw them around more freely.      

    The second issue of RUMOER is now available

       The second edition of the anarchist publication Rumoer is out! A publication which will hopefully provoke discussion, irritation, inspiration, agitation, and attack. Because we do not want a raise in wages, but the destruction of work. Because we do not want to shout ‘boo!’ but want to hear BOOM! We want a confrontation without compromise with the system that is destroying our lives and the planet.
       In this issue some extra attention for the rampaging Covid-19 virus. But also just the ongoing anarchist interventions and other topics: an interview with a graffiti maker in Lebanon, the fight against Shell, post-gentrification and the use of the Signal app.
       If you want to receive the new Rumoer, send an email to: rumoer (((A))) riseup /// net. Since most social centres are currently closed, we ask you to help spread the latest edition. Order some extra copies and bring it to your neighbours, isolated family, friends and comrades.
       You can also download the new Rumoer or print it yourself. The link to the downloads can be found at rumoer.noblogs.org
      Remember, the streets are empty, the possibilities are open. Keep 1.5 meters away, but always at least ten times as much from the police!

Destroy what destroys you
Radio on
Smartphones on
Films on
Tablets on
Travels bought
Cars bought
Houses bought
Furniture bought
For what?
Trains going
Dollars flowing
Machines going
People toiling
Motors made
Canons made
For whom?
Destroy what destroys you
Bombers flying
Tanks rolling
Cops hitting
Soldiers falling
Stocks protected
Managers protected
The state protected
Against us?
Destroy what destroys you

You can download the English version HERE:

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