The Army Without A Uniform.

         War is universal, it is the life blood of modern capitalism. It is not just the uniforms that carry out the destruction, it is all the research centres, manufacturing centres, logistics and transportation companies that back them up and make war possible. The nice guy that works in the arms industry office, the driver of a transport company that carries the weapons to their destination, the researcher that is working on new weapons systems, they all go home to family and friends, but they should be obliged to wear a uniform. They are an integral part of the imperialist war machine, without them no war would be possible.    

         We destroy cities, and whole countries, then hand out contracts to multinational companies to re-build the infrastructure, all part and parcel of the merry-go-round of the imperialist war machine. How much of this system's time, energy and resources are wasted in this vicious circle of destruction and rebuild? No matter how much, the destruction and waste of life and resources will continue, as long as we accept the society that capitalism forces on us. It will continue as long as we see war as only a thing in uniform, we have to realise that war is dependent on an army of participants not in uniform, they are the core of the war machine.

         As I said, war is universal, this is a call for solidarity from Italy:

AGAINST THE WAR IN LIBYA
LET’S JAM THE WAR MACHINE

       War is no longer declared: it is simply there. Since 1991 the Italian State has been at war with its troops deployed in over 20 countries and its participation in all the most prominent ‘international missions’.
         Renzi’s government is now getting ready to attack Libya with the purpose of lining up the army in defence of ENI oilfields and gas pipes.
         As this wasn’t enough, the Italian State will soon go back to Iraq with a contingent of about 500 soldiers, who will oversee work on the Mosul dam to be undertaken by the construction company Trevi from Cesena.
          War has always been used by the States and the ruling classes in order to affirm their own interests. From resources grabbing to the availability of low cost workforce, war is the oxygen of any business.
          Not only: war is a business itself, as it secures huge profits to the bosses of the arms industry – first of all the State’s giant Finmeccanica – and to speculators who distribute ‘reconstruction’ contracts between themselves, not to mention the bosses of the logistics necessary to military manoeuvres.
         While the bosses feast at the expense of the whole world, we also see war here close to us, under the form of hunted humankind: millions of refugees are crowding on the external borders of the very States that have bombarded them; but they are faced with kilometres of walls, barbed wire, iron, internment camps and troops watching them. Borders which had apparently disappeared are becoming material again.
         On this side of the border people are being made to live in the terror that war can bounce back in the form of indiscriminate attacks. Zones of dissent are being restricted, life conditions are worsening and cities are being militarized. All this is being achieved amidst the tacit consent of anyone who doesn’t oppose resistance to these choices.
           But we can find the responsible of the horror also here close to us. In fact it is not only the military that make war. They need others to support them in their doings: companies that produce arms, universities that develop technology and intervention strategies, commercial carriers for the logistical transport of arms and soldiers.
        An armoured vehicle that is not boarded on a ship can’t go and shoot oversea; a bomb that is not carried outside a factory can’t be dropped on a Libyan or Syrian village. For these reasons Moby Lines, Tirrenia, FS Logistica, Saima Avandero, Ter Roma and many others are complicit in the war. FS Logistica earns over 10 million euros per year from the railway transport of military vehicles. Moby Lines transports RVM bombs from Sardinia to the Continent in order for them to reach war scenarios.
       Therefore it is necessary to act against war logistics, the imminent attack on Libya and all the accomplices of militarism. For this reason we call on all the enemies of the war machine for mobilization from 28th March to 2nd April, with actions of disruption and opposition against those who send instruments and supplies to the front, according to each one’s desires and possibilities.
     We call for demonstrations to take place in as many cities as possible on 2nd April, in squares, outside universities, research centres and war businesses.
       Because we respond to the war between the states and the peoples with social war, for the destruction of all borders and all forms of exploitation made by human beings on other human beings and nature.

Anarchists and antimilitarists

Translated by act for freedom now!

via:www.informa-azione.info/

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Democracy and The State, Opposite Sides Of An Unbridgeable Divide.

      Another couple of examples of how democracy works in the Western world. We preach democracy across the world, bomb countries into submission and call it democracy. While at home we keep locking up more and more of our citizens, and the treatment delivered to those unfortunate to be confined within its cages, can be brutal in the extreme. 
This example is from Contra Info: 

Athens: Beatings inflicted on anarchist prisoner Panos Aspiotis for refusing to give DNA sample

      Anarchist Panagiotis (Panos) Aspiotis was wanted since March 2013 on firearms possession charges (“violation of the Arms Act”). In October 2015, he appeared voluntarily before the authorities. He was remanded and sent to a prison located far from Athens (his former residence). During these months in prison, he has refused to give the police a DNA sample.
       On Saturday, February 6th 2016, Panos Aspiotis was transferred from Nafplion prison to Athens, where he is scheduled to appear before the investigating judge Eftichis Nikopoulos (special appellate judge against terrorism) on Monday the 8th. The comrade was expected to be moved to Koridallos prison, but was brought to the Prisoner Transfer Division instead. He was separated from other prisoners and taken into a cell without surveillance cameras, where he was attacked by hooded cops of the anti-terrorist unit, who tried to take a sample of his DNA by force. He was beaten and kicked repeatedly in the head, ribs and body. The comrade resisted their first attempt by swallowing the DNA swab. The cops continued beating him, even after they forcibly took DNA sample from him.

SOLIDARITY WITH ANARCHIST PRISONER PANOS ASPIOTIS.

       This video from US, is extremely sickening as we know that this sort of thing is all part of the violence the state inflicts on its own citizens, through the medium of its trained keepers of the cages.

Published on Apr 5, 2013
        "You're never going to win... Bottom line is the house wins every time." That's what Maine Correctional Center Captain Shawn Welch said to a prisoner who was strapped into a restraint chair, his face coated with pepper spray and his legs shaking in pain and fear. The entire ordeal was captured in a disturbing video that recently hit the internet. After Captain Welch pepper sprayed prisoner Paul Schlosser in the face, Captain Welch ignored Schlosser's plea that he could not breathe; at one point, Captain Welch responds to Schlosser's pleas for help with the taunt, "Last I heard, I was as useless as tits on a bull."
        A former military medic, Paul Schlosser has received treatment in prison for both bipolar disorder and depression. After being held in solitary confinement for two months, he began to cut himself -- a common response to such long-term isolation. On June 7, 2012, Schlosser pulled off his bandages and refused to be treated. He was then strapped to a restraint chair and confronted by Captain Welch.
       In the video, we see Schlosser immobilized in the restraint chair and surrounded by officers in riot gear. Schlosser remains compliant until one of the officers pins Schlosser's head to the back of the chair; Schlosser responds by squirming and then spitting at the officer. Without warning, Captain Welch suddenly coats Schlosser's face at close range with pepper spray from a canister only intended to be used on large crowds from a distance of twenty feet or more, according to an investigator's report. Schlosser chokes and fights for breath. He pleads, "I can't breathe, Captain," but Welch does nothing. Instead of following accepted professional standards and rinsing away the liquid, Welch puts a spit hood on Schlosser, effectively trapping the pepper spray against the man's face. For over 20 minutes, Welch, with canister in hand, paces in and out of the small area where Schlosser is being restrained, and refuses to let him wash the burning spray from his face and eyes.
        Sadly, this is one of many examples of corrections staff abusing restraints and pepper spray, at times with deadly results: • Nick Christie died in 2006 after being pepper sprayed twelve times and spending six hours naked in a restraint chair. There, too, guards placed a spit hood over Mr. Christie, ensuring that he would breathe the liquid as long as he wore it. The case was later ruled a homicide. • Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio discontinued the use of restraint chairs in 2006 after three wrongful death lawsuits. • Jesse Lee Williams, Jr. was restrained when guards sprayed an entire can of pepper spray into a hood before putting it over his mouth as part of a savage beating. He died two days later.
      Openness and accountability are two of the strongest bulwarks protecting prisoners from abuse. This is true whether the abuse occurs in a matter of minutes, such as when Arizona guards beat, tased, stripped, and left Marty Atencio to die in a cell, or days, like when Michigan guards strapped Timothy Souders to a cement slab until he died of hyperthermia and dehydration.
       Unfortunately, instead of promoting openness and accountability, the Maine Department of Corrections has closed ranks to protect one of its own. Corrections Commissioner Joseph Ponte ignored the recommendation to fire Welch despite an internal investigation which found that Welch acted on a personal vendetta against Schlosser and not for any legitimate security reason. Now, the Department has focused its attention on ensuring no more videos are leaked, instead of ensuring no more torture happens.
        Paul Schlosser is lucky to be alive. The next Paul Schlosser might not be so lucky.

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Tomorrow, January 22nd. Trans Prisoner Day Of Solidarity.

       Society is not civilised as long as it locks people up in cages. All those unfortunate enough to find themselves locked up under some state legislation, suffer humiliation, trauma and violence, both mental and physical. For some the experience can be even more brutal, those who society considers not to fit the "norm", can find prison an unbearable experience, and in many cases, their experience ends in suicide. This type of treatment is intolerable in a modern civilised society. We have a duty to stand up for those put through this repressive state treatment, and show our unstinting solidarity.

Download and distribute this pdf zine in low-res (6mb) or high-res (24mb)
This zine will be distributed to folks both inside and outside prison walls.

       January 22nd 2016 will be the first annual Trans Prisoner Day of Action: an international day of action in solidarity with trans prisoners. This project was first imagined by Marius Mason, a trans anarchist prisoner in Texas, USA. Since then, through his friends and supporters, an international collective of people both inside and outside of prison walls have come together to make this day a reality. A preliminary list of trans prisoners can be found here.

 

US prisons: 
Statement from Marius Mason for the Trans Prisoner Day of Action and Solidarity January 22nd 2016

        Happy New Year, Family and Friends! Many, many thanks for so much support and care over this year from both long-standing friends and new pen pals. I feel very grateful and am always humbled by the encouragement and resources sent my way by folks who are doing so much already to increase our collective chances for survival. The news has been full of stories about someone winning the big money pool that has accumulated for the US Lotto – but the most important “win” has nothing to do with money. I am betting on the movement to win big this year: in getting more control over their communities and defending against police brutality and racial inequality, in winning more victories for animal and in the defense of wild spaces, in creating social relations based on respect, dignity and compassion for all people… irregardless of their race, orientation, creed or gender presentation.       Thank you for coming together today, to hold up those members of our community who struggle so hard behind walls to keep their sense of self intact. Sovereignty over our selves, our bodies is essential for any other kind of liberty to be possible. By reaching out to trans prisoners, you affirm their right to define themselves for themselves – and defend them against the overwhelming voices who claim that they do not exist, that they must allow others to define them. In the isolating environment of prison, this is toxic and intimidating, and amounts to the cruelest form of psychological torture. By offering your help and solidarity, you may just save a life. I know that for the last year and a half, as I have struggled to assert myself as a transman, as I have advocated for the relief of appropriate medical care for my gender dysphoria – it has been the gentle and loving reminders of my extended family of supporters who have given me strength and courage to continue. Please join me in offering this help to so many others who need it to keep going. Never underestimate the healing power of a letter, those letters have kept me going…and I want to pass that gift on, if you will help me.
       Thank you again for coming together on this day, for connecting to those on the inside who truly need you, who need you to see them as they really are and striving to be. Until the prisons are gone, we need to work hard to support those of us inside – especially those of us who are not always as visible to the rest of the world. We are always stronger together.
Marius Mason
January 2016

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A Littler Bit Of Good News.

               In a world that is falling apart, with wars, repression, brutal authoritarianism and executions, it is cheering to hear some good news.

This from Contra Info: 

            Long months have passed since the hot summer day at the beginning of July when our friend and comrade got arrested at a passport control at the Greek-Bulgarian border. The Europe-wide arrest warrant against her had been issued by the prosecution office of Aachen, Germany, on the 24^th of June 2015. After having spent three weeks in Bulgarian cells she got handed over to the German cops at the airport of Sofia.
          In Germany she got locked up under the ‘U-haft‘ (Untersuchungshaft) regime in Cologne because of a presumed involvement in an armed bank robbery that had taken place two years earlier (2013). Under this regime prisoners awaiting trial are locked up, officially for a maximum of six months, which in reality very often is extended up to a period of over a year. In her case the restrictions put in place meant that at each visit (2 hours per month) there were two cops, a guard and a translator present, that she was not allowed to make any phone calls and that all post was first directed to the prosecutor’s office where it was read and then given to her after one month delay.
               Her detention was based on a single piece of evidence: a DNA trace found on two gas pistols discovered in a closet of the bank by an employee 11 days later. A few weeks ago, on the 2nd December, after months of investigation the prosecution formally charged her with bank robbery, hostage taking and weapon possession. These charges were brought in front of three judges, who had to decide whether to pursue them in court or not. On the 16th of December, the court called the prison instructing them to release our comrade because all charges were to be dropped, since the “evidence” that five months of investigation produced was not sufficient for this case to be brought to court.
                 Now, our comrade is back with us. However, the joy that this brings us does not replace, nor lets us forget our anger towards the isolating restrictions, towards the ridiculousness of the uniform circus, and towards any authoritarian system that plays with people’s lives in such a way. The biggest source of strength came from the uncompromising and uncooperative stand our comrade took: she always kept her head up and her defiant spirits alive.

Read the full article HERE:

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk
 

Against Democracy.

 From Anarchist News:

      Against Democracy, an anonymous translation is now available of this book from Spain - a book which was used as evidence in trials against arrested anarchists as proof of their criminality... please help distribute and promote it if you find it useful!

       I certainly found it extremely interesting and very informative and certainly worth promoting as widely as possible. http://againstdemocracy.blog.com/

       This is a link to an article about the events from Contra Info: http://en.contrainfo.espiv.net/2014/12/27/spanish-state-operation-pandor...

            The whole book is worth reading but here are part of its conclusions:

5. conclusion.
        As we can see, the term “democracy” has very different meanings depending on where or in what social sector it is used. Perhaps it is such a broad and subjective term that it can’t really be abstractly defended or categorically despised (since the word is often draped over demands and conflicts that contain the dignity of the struggle against injustice and for freedom), but it must always be analyzed critically, because in most cases it is simply the mask used by Power, or some form of Power, to perpetuate itself.
       And in such cases, we should have no moral qualms whatsoever about unmasking, attacking, and destroying it, to open the field to new definitions, which are always contained as such within the acts and realities of the self-management of the people, and the aspirations of individuals.

Alternatives to democracy
        Human beings, because we are social animals, need other people to live and a place where we can be nourished, take shelter from the cold, and develop inwardly, since consciousness is a characteristic inherent in our species.
        As anarchists, we are often asked how we would organize society with no political leaders and no state institutions. We cannot answer this in a closed-minded manner, since the very idea of organizing a society runs contrary to the anarchist ideal.
        In other words, anarchism is not so much a political doctrine as it is a way of life based on three basic points: freedom, respect and responsibility. We are not afraid of the freedom of others; we do not believe that “man is a wolf to his fellow man,” as Hobbes said, nor that competition drives “humanity” to progress, causing everyone to make their best effort. We simply think that given equal conditions people are able to organize without anyone’s arbitration, and without being directed by anyone. This idea does not at all mean that we are all equal; we love differences, and no two beings are equal anywhere in the universe. We do not wish to homogenize anything, or to impose on anyone what their life should be, and simply do not want anyone to impose on us either.
     Throughout history a variety of organizational models and historical experiences have reflected the Idea [1] quite well; but unfortunately the rule of money leaves ever less room for any form of life that fails to meet its criteria, and is able to subjugate, regulate, or even genetically modify (mutate) anything and everything that does not fit into the destructive vortex contained within what’s called “progress.”
        Recent examples that have arisen in many places throughout Spain are those of the open council, or the communitarian forms of work that we have been seeing in many towns for harvesting crops, sharing pastures, or cleaning roads and ditches; there the common good is first and foremost, with horizontal relationships and camaraderie, subject to norms set by the people themselves for the smooth execution of their work.
       Obviously we don’t believe that no problems will ever arise in these relationships, but the mechanisms to resolve them must be consistent with the people’s way of thinking. We have nothing but contempt for bourgeois justice, where a handful of well-paid professionals devote themselves to judging the rest of society based on codes that they create to uphold their own interests.
       Conflict resolution must be an essential part of human relationships themselves, without delegating that responsibility to people outside the conflict. The conditions that are currently in place have led to the degeneration of relationships among people, making us competitive with one another, infantilizing us, and alienating us. In short, it’s never been so easy for us to be enslaved, so we have to remove all of the causes behind it, both physical and mental.
        Social justice is a basic cornerstone of healthy relationships between individuals where there are neither exploiters nor exploited, nor profit extracted at the expense of others. Today the privileged classes tell us that the way of life they have created must be kept exactly as it is, because it is the best of all possible worlds; meanwhile they deliberately ignore how all that supposed prosperity is actually built, and the consequences that it entails for the planet and other groups of human beings: the systematic plundering of raw materials, the irreversible alteration of landscapes, the pollution of water, land and air, and the enormous masses of displaced, subjugated, and dead people left in the wake of the ruling classes’ much-vaunted “prosperity,” based on war and theft, and justified by a condescending moralism that decides what is good and what is going to be made good – since everything else is directly eliminated.
         The individual is the root at the basis of the way free people, i.e., people with the capacity to make their own decisions, function amongst themselves. Each individual is free to do as they please as long as it doesn’t harm other individuals. Then come relationships with your group, or groups based around shared interests. Depending on the needs of each, or the magnitude of the work that needs to be done, these groups can coordinate with others to meet their needs (to exchange products, hold festivals, do work, have experiences…), and thus always uphold the principles of individual and collective freedom.

We’ll try to clarify things a bit more in the following sections:------

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In Democracy, Prisons Are An Anathema.

        Prisons are cages where the state locks away those who resist its power, where it tries to intimidate and silence those who would work at breaking its strangle hold over our freedom. Prisons are there to intimidate, repress and silence any real change to the power structure of this unjust and exploitative system. As long as one prison remains, we do not have a free society. For centuries, so often we have found the voice of freedom locked away in some dark and dismal hole for fear that it might light the touch paper of anger that simmers under the surface of so many. For fear that they could be the spark that releases that fire of burning desire for freedom we all carry in our hearts. While prisons stand freedom struggles.

Click image to read article.

This from Contra Info:

INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR A GLOBAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY ACTIONS BY RELATIVES AND FRIENDS OF POLITICAL PRISONERS
      We who experience the condition of our children, our spouses, our brothers and sisters, our friends being captive.
    We who have heard exterminating sentences to decades of imprisonment handed down by terror-courts of the State of exploiters.
     We who have stood firmly and with dignity by the side of our relatives and friends – captive freedom fighters.
      It’s time that we raised our own voice. It’s time that we proclaimed our own truth.
     We propose and call for a Global Solidarity Action Day joined by relatives and friends of political prisoners.
     From Greece, Italy, Spain to Chile and Mexico and throughout the Earth.
     Let us all together shout out loud:
POLITICAL PRISONERS – IMPRISONED FREEDOM FIGHTERS
ARE NOT ALONE.
     We stand by them and will continue to do so. In the face of the barbarity of terror laws of fascist and democratic governments of the empire of wealth, we will continue to resist.
       We propose December 31st as a day of global action undertaken by relatives of political prisoners.
      Through initiatives for manifestations & interventions at prisons, courts, ministries and every centre of Power.
        For human dignity and FREEDOM.
Until the demolition of the last prison left standing
We continue to resist.
Relatives & Friends of prisoners and prosecuted fighters | Greece
sygeneis-filoi[at]espiv.net
call-out in Greek

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Spanish Democracy.

     Europe, a continent of democratic countries!!! Or so the propaganda narrative goes. Such horrors of imprisonment without trail only happens in those nasty dictator countries, not here in democratic Europe. However any person that opens their eyes, will know that the state apparatus in any country in Europe, as elsewhere, can make the rules up as they go along. Being imprisoned for two years without trial blows a hole in the veneer of European democracy, it shatters the illusion of democracy spouted by the babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media. If two years seem extremely excessive, how about four years?

This from Contra Info: 

Spanish prisons: Contact address of anarchist prisoners
Mónica Caballero and Francisco Solar
      On October 28th 2015, the Spanish justice decided to extend the period of pretrial detention for anarchists Mónica Caballero and Francisco Solar for two more years. They were arrested on November 13th 2013, accused of participation in a terrorist organisation, of havoc and conspiracy. Though the Spanish penal code sets a limit of two years of incarceration without a trial, the State can in fact impose an extra remand period of two years on the ground of “special reasons”.
The comrades have been transferred to the prisons in Asturias:
Mónica Caballero Sepúlveda
Francisco Solar Domínguez
C.P Villabona-Asturias
Finca Tabladiello s/n
33422 Villabona-Llanera
(Asturias) España/Spain
Strength to Mónica and Francisco!

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The Creeping Disease Of Fascism.

         We can see the ugly face of fascism creeping along the sewers of Europe, ever increasing their presence as capitalism creaks at the seams. It has to be resisted at all times and at all costs. No where is that battle more obvious than in Greece, a country where the police and fascist openly work hand in glove, a situation that will become the norm as the present capitalist crisis grows deeper.

A Contra Info appeal from London Antifa:

 London Antifa Solidarity Tour –

Financial support of prosecuted comrade in Kavala, Greece

Saturday December 5th
7pm – 11pm
LARC
62 Fieldgate Street
London E1 1ES

We will be asking for donations at the door.

       London Anti-Fascists are organising a short tour with a comrade from Kavala, Greece to raise awareness and solidarity for their struggle against fascists and state repression.

      Anti-fascists in Kavala have been some of the most active in all of Greece, organising demonstrations and actions against neo-nazi groups over the past years. We are organising this tour as one of the comrades from Kavala is facing serious charges on December 9th and is desperate need for solidarity and financial support.

ABOUT THE CASE:

       On Sunday 26th January 2014, a few hours before a scheduled anti-fascist rally, neo-nazis from the “Patriotic Movement” smashed up a shop owned by one well know anti-fascist and attempted to set fire to it, endangering the lives of those inside the building. After the intervention of local residents, as well as people from the surrounding nightclubs, the worst was avoided.

      Our comrade, once notified of the attack on his store, went down there to see what had happened. A few moments later some plain-clothes police officers arrived, having been notified by the local residents. At that moment our comrade is informed that before the smashing and arson of his store, a clash had taken place between a group of antifascists and a group of members of the Patriotic Movement. The “Patriotic Movement” were guarding the public space of the Municipal Park to prevent any anti-fascists from attending.

     Though refusing to have anything to do with the police, our comrade for the purpose of insurance had to go to the police station. Whilst waiting for 3 hours he was informed that he was arrested for public disturbance. Apparently members of the Patriotic Movement in collusion with the police attempted to put the blame for a previous confrontation on him.

     Not only were the Patriotic Movement attempting to control the streets and public spaces, they had after the incident violently attack two youths in a park and then proceeded to work with the police in making this claim against our comrade.

     A few hours later the antifascist rally, organised by the Autonomous Collective of Kavala [Kavala Autonomous Hangout], Vironos 3 squat and individual antifascists, took place in Faliro Park. From the very first moment of the rally, the Park was surrounded by several riot squads (around 8 to 10) and many plain-clothes cops. As soon as the antifascists (150 to 170 people from Kavala and other towns) blocked the road in front of the park, police vans shut off the road, in order to prevent the antifascists to approach the Municipal Park, where at the same time the fascist gathering was being held. Not only neo-nazi Golden Dawn members took part in the fascist gathering, but also other neo-nazi groups, such as the National Socialist Army of Macedonia and other known and unknown fascists from Northern Greece. After the events of that weekend, two comrades were held in custody for several days and face charges of “disturbance of public order with facial features covered”.

The trial is set for December 9th 2015.

       We hope that this tour can further make links between anti-fascists in UK and anti-fascists across Greece.

londonantifascists.wordpress.com | ldnantifascists[at]riseup.net

 Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Greece, December 2008, A Prelude.

 

 

Athens December 2008.

 

          I was in Athens that December 2008, on the streets around Syntagma Square, the atmosphere was electric, awe-inspiring, walking and chatting among those thousands of people from all walks of life, it was easy and wonderful to get drunk on this new elixir, an elixir that is there for us all. I had never felt a feeling like it before in my life, and I have never felt anything like it since. Deep inside you felt that something wonderful was about to happen, something new and empowering was about to be born. Sadly it didn't happen that month, or the next. The process is still going on, still forming, still waiting to burst forth and create that new world we all hold in our hearts.

There Will Come a Time

There will come a time when the hordes remember,

who bound our grand-parents to the yoke of oppression,

who sentenced our parents to deprivation,

who bid poverty sink its teeth into our heart,

who teach our children, greed is a noble art.

Who sent our sons through the gates of hell

to a litany of cambist brawls,

crammed coffers with blood-stained gold

while laughing in Ares’ halls.

“Who does these terrible things to us?” they will ask,

and when they remember,

they’ll bring an energy that is endless

to drive a fist that is fearless.

Then this merciless market-driven world will crumble

under an insurrection of integrity,

the poor will emerge from the dark husk of capitalism

to live in the light of social justice.

There will come a time when the hordes remember.

Athens December 2008.

The following from Contra Info:

 

        I hate the individual who bends his body under the weight of an unknown power, of some X, of a god. 

        I hate, I say, all those who, surrendering to others, out of fear, out of resignation, a part of their power as a man, are not only crushed themselves but crush me, and those I love, under the weight of their frightful cooperation or their idiotic inertia. 

      I hate, yes, I hate them, for I sense it, I do not bow before the officer’s braid, the mayor’s sash, the capitalist’s gold, moralities or religions; for a long time I have known that all of this is just baubles that can be broken like glass.
— Joseph Albert (Libertad)

       There are times in history when the randomness of some events can cause dynamic variables, able to almost entirely paralyse the social space-time.
      It was Saturday night, on 06/12/2008, when the culmination of a conflict between two worlds took place in just a few moments. On one hand, the youthful, enthusiastic, spontaneous and impetuous insurrectionary violence; on the other hand, the official state institutional organ that, legitimately, claims the monopoly on violence through repression.
       No, it was not about an innocent kid and a paranoid cop found in the wrong place at the wrong time, but a rebellious young comrade who attacked a patrol car, in an area where clashes with the forces of repression were common, and a cop who patrolled the same area and, out of a personal perception about the honour and reputation of the police, decided to confront the troublemakers on his own. It was a conflict between two opposing forces: on one Insurgency, on the other Power, with the main protagonists of this conflict each representing their own sides.
     The murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos by the cop Epameinondas Korkoneas, and the large-scale riots that ensued, caused a powerful, high-tension social electroshock, because the image of “social peace” was shattered and the existence of these two opposing worlds was made visible, in the most manifest way, triggering situations from which there was no easy return, at least not without a creation and manifestation of events whose momentum nobody could any longer pretend they did not notice, they did not see, they did not hear, they did not take into account.
     The 2008 rebellion rocked a society that, in its majority, still enjoyed their consumerist bliss and the culture of western lifestyle, and ignored the unbearable consequences of the coming economic crisis. It caused embarrassment, numbness and perceptive paralysis, since the majority of the social body was unable to comprehend whence sprang so many thousands of rioters, who were creating disturbances of such a tension.
      In the aftermath of the rebellion, a number of intellectuals, political analysts, professors, sociologists, psychologists, criminologists, and even artists, each taking advantage of their own professional prestige and renown, joined the public debate, not only in order to interpret December ’08, but also to de-signify it by slandering its occurrence and condemning violence altogether, from wherever it may come, making it clear what their real social role is.
      There is much more to be said about December ’08 and its insurrectionary heritage, as manifested through the dozens of direct action groups which proliferated explosively across the country, creating a front of internal threat. A period when anarchist direct action undermined the social normalcy almost on a daily basis. But what we want above all is to remember…
      To remember what December ’08 was and how anarchy, having a leading role, contributed to the manifestation of dynamic situations, which gained resonance in the international anarchist movement.
      To remember the time when anarchy overcame the fear of arrest, captivity and violent repression, and therefore acquired a tremendous self-confidence, moving on to actions and gestures that, until then, seemed impossible; a self-confidence which was manifested in the whole range of anarchist polymorphous action, from simple public interventions to all kinds of occupations, and from spontaneous confrontational practices to more organised offensive actions.
       We want to remember our young comrade who was guilty of his spontaneity, which he paid with his life. Under other circumstances it might have been us in his place, as the same insurrectionary enthusiasm pervades us since then, and besides, EVERYONE should remember their origins instead of exorcising them.
      We want to remember the beauty of paralysing the social space-time through smaller or larger social short circuits.
     We want to remember how dangerous anarchy may become, when anarchy wants to…
      We want to relive the days when “death shall have no dominion, and dead men naked they shall be one with the man in the wind and the west moon, and they shall break in the sun till the sun breaks down”
(paraphrased verses from a poem by Dylan Thomas).

Read the rest of the article HERE:

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States And Fascism, Two Sides Of The Same Coin.

      The fascists attempt to spread their divisive and bigoted ideas by brutal acts, attempting to instil fear, while the state looks the other way. Greece is no stranger to the foul, brutal vomit and actions that spews from the these forms of low life, The latest is a bomb attack on a squat in Athens.

This from Contra Info:

      On Monday morning (November 9th 2015), at 05:30, the Epavli Kouvelou squat was struck by bomb attack. The result of that murderous attack was that nearby houses and shops suffered heavy material damage, while some damage was caused to the main entrance of the squat itself.

       What is shocking, however, is not the material damage caused by the attack but the fact that the perpetrators left the high power explosive device in the middle of the street, acting with complete disregard for the lives of neighbours or passersby.

      This attack was not a bolt from the blue; besides, it was not the first one aimed against the squat (recall the 2011 arson, and the golden dawn’s attack on 01/08/2014). It came as a response and intimidation attempt in the face of the dynamic interventions undertaken by people housed in the squat. The perpetrators, who belong to the extreme right-wing milieu, have targeted and struck the squat exactly because they fear these interventions. They fear solidarity with refugees and migrants, they fear the resistance to governmental and memoranda policies, the struggles against employers’ terrorism and against fascism. They fear all of us, who do not serve the interests of our bosses, but instead fight with dignity, putting self-organization and solidarity in the forefront of the struggle.

     We do not discriminate against people on the basis of national origin, race and sex, we do not go along with the powerful, nor become their minions; we, therefore, want to reassure the neo-Nazi killers that their attack not only does not terrorise us, but it confirms that our action is directed in the proper direction.

more photos: athens imc

      On Monday evening, a gathering was called in the squatted space. A PA system was set up from 18:00, and the above text was read and also distributed in the neighbourhood. At 19:30 we began marching loud and lively in the surrounding area, then moved to the centre of Maroussi, and ended the demonstration at the squat. The slogans chanted were anti-fascist, anti-statist, and in solidarity with refugees/migrants and squats/self-managed spaces. An estimated 250-300 comrades from various neighbourhoods of Athens participated in the demonstration.

     We make clear once again that such attacks do not terrorise us but make us more tenacious.

      Our struggles are dynamites, not only in Maroussi but everywhere We erect embankments against fascism

Epavli Kouvelou squat
Dionysou & Solonos St., Maroussi

source: epavli kouvelou

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It Also Got Dark Inside---

        A call for solidarity on behalf of anarchist prisoner Tasos Theofilou asking for funds for his legal fees through the purchase of sound track. Enjoy the track and if you you can, download for what you want to pay. 

From Contra Info:

       Tasos is currently in prison, after being sentenced on the basis of forged and nonexistent evidence. He was convicted just because he’s an anarchist. He was convicted because he didn’t lose his smile even when the court of first instance announced his sentence.

        “I have committed the offence that encompasses all offences. In the class war, I chose to side with those who have been treated unjustly.” (Tasos Theofilou, February 2014)

        “I am an anarchist communist. I cherish life as much as I love freedom. Let’s fight to tear down the prisons that bury thousands of living persons inside them. Let’s fight for the vision of social liberation. Let’s fight for the liberation of our class from the power of the Capital.” (Tasos Theofilou, September 2012)

       Electric Litany covered the Apostolos Kaldaras song “Night has fallen with no moon (Nychtose choris feggari)” with its original lyrics (before the 1947 censorship) as a gesture of solidarity with anarchist communist Tasos Theofilou, imprisoned in Greece.

         This release (recorded in London during September 2015) has the sole purpose of raising funds to support the case of Tasos Theofilou. You can purchase the track by donating an amount of your choosing through PayPal. Contact email: londanfund15 (at) gmail.com

       All proceeds will go to cover the legal costs of the case, which will be tried at the appellate level. 

via ASF LDN – Anarchists in Solidarity (original description in Greek):

“Night has fallen with no moon, it also got dark inside Yedi,*
and yet, one palikari is unable to fall asleep.
      Who knows what he’s waiting for from evening till morning
at the narrow window that illuminates the cell…
     The door opens, the door closes, but it’s double-locked with key.
What has he done, why was the fellow thrown into prison?”
      * in reference to the notorious Yedi Kule prison in Thessaloniki, Greece (The banner viewed at minute 2:46 reads: “We are all guilty”)
        With those who put up strong resistance for all of us;
with those we will always stand in solidarity.

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From A Small Prison, To A Bigger Prison.

        Evi Statiri, is now out of a prison, but when will she be free? Like she says in her letter, her prison has just been increased in size to 1km.

This from Contra Info:

Received on October 7th 2015:

       Once you are released from prison, the first thing you realise is that your glance doesn’t stumble into walls, bars or dividers. It can wander and face the sky, without staring through barbed wire. Then, your footsteps are no longer numbered—twenty walking towards the wall of the prison yard, and twenty going back to your cell. Certainly, in my case, the prison yard walls have expanded by one kilometer distance from my home, without even being able to have contact with my companion…
      But be that as it may, for me my release from prison feels like a first victory against fear and injustice they want to impose on us as a restrictive condition of living…
    Nothing of this would have happened if it weren’t for a dynamic polymorphous movement of solidarity, who conveyed to me from every corner of Greece the strength and optimism that history is not only written by the authoritarians but also the insurgents…
      A big thank you goes out to all of the known and unknown comrades who broke the terror of the Power’s omnipotence.
      A big thank you also goes to the doctors at the General State Hospital of Nikaia, and even more to the physicians Spyros Sakkas and Olga Kosmopoulou, who supported me with warmth and self-abnegation from the very first moment.
       Of course, I do not forget those left behind, in prisons and frigid cells… I’ll always stand beside them and hold on to all the moments we shared, until we meet again…
       Because as long as there are prisons, no one will be free…

Freedom for political prisoners
Freedom for those who are in prison cells

Evi Statiri

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Freedom At The End Of A Leash.

 

      A state decrees that a wife cannot communicate or meet up with her husband, not because of any grievance between the couple, but because the state sees such a meeting as some sort of threat. Or is it vindictive repression by the state against anybody who seeks to challenge its authority over the individual's freedom?

     Evi Statiri continues her struggle, having won her release from the state's inhumane cages, by means of a long and dangerous hunger strike, she now faces a struggle against the repressive conditions placed on her, so called "freedom", by that vindictive state. That "freedom" consists of being treated like some monitored animal on a leash, permanently under the piercing eye of the state.  

This from Contra Info: 

      According to our latest information, Evi Statiri suspended hunger strike on October 2nd 2015, when the competent judicial council decided to grant her a conditional release from preventive detention. In the coming period she is expected to file a motion for the lifting of restrictive conditions imposed on her, which include the following: ban on exiting the country; obligation to report to her nearest police station 3 times a month; prohibition on communicating or meeting with her husband (CCF imprisoned member Gerasimos Tsakalos) and any other of her co-accused; obligation to reside only in the home she has declared as permanent residence; and ban on moving outside a perimeter of 1 kilometer around her home.

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