Crisis??

 

          When the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, we had a migrant crisis, millions of Ukrainians fled across the border to neighbouring countries, in most cases accepted and welcomed. It was as if this was the only migrant crisis on the planet. For years Europe has been gripping on about the migrant crisis from Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, and so the list went on. These migrants however were never accepted, never welcomed, thousand languished between authoritarian lines on the land called borders. neither allowed to move one way or the other. Trapped in appalling conditions, in unforgiving weather, men, women and children, herded like cattle to prevent them from entering this country or that country, continually fleeing repression and brutality,  and Europe wringing its hands and shouting "crisis" but no solution just detention centres.
        Along comes the Ukrainian affair, and suddenly the only migrant "crisis" is the flow of terrified people fleeing Ukraine and Europe opens its arms. The other migrant "crisis" has disappeared off the media map, off the agenda, no longer worth mentioning. Sadly however, those thousands of humans lumped together as a migrant "crisis" before this Ukrainian affair are still there, still trapped between those inhumane borders, their real problem of course is that they are the wrong colour, they are not European, therefore not welcome in our European white race military camp.

The following from Crimethinc:

          Nearly four million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded. But these are hardly the only refugees fleeing war-torn countries today. Starting in 2021, the government of Belarus has cynically used thousands of refugees displaced by wars in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ethiopia, and elsewhere as a weapon with which to exert pressure on the European Union. EU governments have responded callously, leaving these refugees trapped in limbo between two militarized borders and establishing a restricted zone to ensure that observers could not see them dying. Despite this, anarchists organized in the No Borders Team network have defied the restrictions to provide assistance to the refugees in the name of a world without borders. We spoke with anarchists mobilizing on the border between Poland and Belarus to learn more.

          You can donate to support the efforts of No Borders Team here.

         For background on mutual aid efforts in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic, start with this article. To learn about how volunteers act in solidarity with migrants along the border between the United States and Mexico, read this. For perspective from migrants, read this interview with Syrian exiles.

 

          October 23, 2021: Items abandoned by refugees in Poland. They were either in a hurry to escape from the border guards or were unable to pack up camp because they were arrested and taken back to Belarus.

 

 Read the full article HERE:

 

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Borders.

             What are borders, nothing more than imaginary lines drawn on paper and marked on the ground by power mongering states, to proclaim to others that this is their territory, their stolen slice of a planet. These lines encompass all who live there and bind them to the fabricated rules of the power monger and also are there to deter others born on another stolen patch from entering. Europe has joined hands in a massive border surrounding many of these power mongering states, in an effort to keep out non-Europeans. The suffering and death of thousands of human beings fleeing fear, persecution, death and destruction, is of little consequence to the power mongers of the European super state. Here in the UK our state apparatus has whole heartedly joined and help fund this savage persecution of humans trying to get and take their families to safety. Death among those seeking asylum and safety is a daily occurrence, exacerbated by the actions of these nation states and their phoney borders. Borders are inhuman and in a free society cannot exist, free movement of people is a foundation stone of freedom. We will not be fettered by the rules of power and wealth or glued together with the poison of patriotism.

The following is an extract from Enough is Enough: 

Originally published by Calais Migrants Solidarity.

Thursday’s shipwreck

       In the early hours of Thursday morning (12/08/21), a boat carrying approximately 37 people, including women and children, began to deflate and take on water in the Channel, around 25 kilometers north of Dunkerque. Because of their distance from shore, the people on board were not able to reach the emergency numbers by phone. They tried to signal for help to passing cargo ships, at least two of which passed by without responding. For more than two hours the people kept trying to get water out of the boat. According to survivors, as the boat continued taking on more water, luggage was thrown overboard and some people jumped into the sea to lighten the load.

Continue reading

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Coiled Spring.

 

       One of our government pundits stated that the economy was like a coiled spring, and would bounce up quickly. I believe that the underlying anger of the people is like a coiled spring, and that as this lockdown and pandemic comes to an end, and unemployment and slashed working conditions start to make their mark, that anger in the coiled spring will be released. In so doing it will bounce up and reverse that submissive attitude that has affected all our actions like a thick gum. Some of the coils are already releasing their energy, all for different aspects of this type of society. Spain, against the arrest of rapper, Pablo Hasél, in India, the largest strike in the world, because of the government pushing its neo-liberal free market policies. There may be different reasons but the anger is there and will thrust itself up like that released coiled spring.

     There will be plenty to vent that anger on, child poverty, homelessness, unemployment, inhumane treatment of migrants, police brutality against public protests, the privatisation of the the NHS and other public assets, and the myriad of population controls introduced during the pandemic, which our lords and masters will attempt to retain. Then of course there will be the anger against the oncoming austerity engineered to pay back the billions handed to their corporate friends, to keep their luxury yachts well stocked. 

       We should never pull back from showing our anger at the injustice and inequality that is the bed rock of the capitalist exploitation system. What we must try to do is link up all this anger with that of other countries, we must organise across borders. Our corporate overlords, are well versed in that cross border organising, in conjunction with the various states. The ordinary people of this world must never recognise borders, we are all in the same struggle against the same state backed corporate juggernaut. Only unity across these imaginary lines will end this world of wars, exploitation, injustice and inequality. Let's release that coiled spring of anger, and in the words of an old Korean saying, "Enjoy the ecstasy of your righteous anger".

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An Appeal.

       States act with impunity when handing out brutality and do so with the greatest force when it come to those who would dare to demand a change to this authoritarian system that has locked humanity in its grip. A system built on exploitation, by the powerful and privileged, a system that demands submission from the population. Of course they talk of checks and balances on the use of power, however that is always backed up by pieces of paper they have written in their favour, then stamped with their little symbols that is meant to give it legitimacy, therefore binding and can be enforced by what ever force they deem necessary. To appeal to those among the wealthy and privileged to give up some of those privileges and spread that wealth more evenly, is naivety in extreme.
        The Greek state is ahead of the game in Europe, when it comes to trying to crush dissent, though not by much, most states are walking the same path, all at their own pace.
       The following two articles apply to the Greek state, but similarities will be found across the globe.

          At the end of last December the Greek government approved a reform of the national penitentiary system that, in addition to other measures that worsen prison conditions, establishes that those convicted of terrorism cannot access “rural prisons”, more “open” institutions to which long-term prisoners have access. The approval of this law has led to the immediate transfer of political prisoner Dimitri Koufontinas from the rural prison of Kassevitia.
       Dimitri is a comrade convicted for participating in the revolutionary organization 17 November, in prison since 2002. The new set of laws stipulates that inmates in rural prisons are reclassified and then transferred to the last prison they were in. In Dimitri’s case it should have been the Athenian prison of Koridallos. However, the prison administration decided to transfer him, manipulating the transfer papers, to Domokos prison. Although there are no differentiated circuits in Greece, in recent years, the prison administration has turned Domokos into a “hard” prison.
       Such a punitive transfer is aimed at striking a comrade who has always struggled: as a free man, in courtrooms, in prison. Since his capture he has participated in numerous protests and has been on four hunger strikes. This repressive manoeuvre is not only aimed at annihilating Dimitri Koufontinas but also forms part of the Greek’s state repressive project: crushing the most radical and combative parts of society to
avoid the hypothesis of future and general conflicts.
       Faced with the transfer, Dimitri Koufontinas decided to strive once again, using his body as a weapon and last resort. Since 8 January he has begun a hunger strike which will continue indefinitely until he is transferred to Koridallos prison. As the strike continues, the comrade is in a critical and precarious condition in Lamia hospital: according to the doctors he could collapse at any moment. During the strike there were many initiatives and solidarity actions throughout Greece and beyond:
protests, demos, wall writings, banners, attacks against multiple objectives (politicians, banks, post offices, etc.). But time is running out and now we think extra efforts are needed. Dimitri’s struggle is also the struggle of each of us.
        The creation and expansion of international ties is as crucial as ever so we are calling for an INTERNATIONAL day of solidarity and action on FRIDAY 12 FEBRUARY to support Dimitri Koufontinas.

THE DEMAND OF HUNGER STRIKE MUST BE IMMEDIATELY ACCEPTED
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY IS OUR WEAPON

Athens, 7 February 2021
Solidarity Assembly with Dimitri Koufontinas

And regarding the same case of repression:

           On Monday, February 1/2021 the ′′ Solidarity Assembly with the hunger striker D. Koufontinas ′′ intervened with the participation of dozens of comrades at the Athens Bar Association (solicitors general offices union).
      The intervention included hanging a massive banner on the building and gathering in front of the Board of Directors offices with banners, On Monday, February 1/2021 the ′′ Solidarity Assembly with the hunger striker D. Koufontinas intervened with the participation of dozens of comrades at the Athens Bar Association (solicitors general offices union).The intervention included hanging a massive banner on the building and gathering in front of the Board of Directors offices with banners, texts, flyers, and slogans. At the same time, they handed out texts on all floors of the building to the workers and lawyers who were there. Comrades involved in the intervention then left shouting slogans in Academias Street. 

THEY WANT HIM DEAD, LET’S NOT ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN
VICTORY TO THE STRUGGLE OF D. KOUFONTINAS
Solidarity Assembly with hunger striker D. Koufontinas
THEY WANT HIM DEAD, LET’S NOT ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN
VICTORY TO THE STRUGGLE OF D. KOUFONTINAS
Solidarity Assembly with hunger striker D. Koufontinas

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State Brutality.

         How long will we tolerate a system that is run by wealthy political ballerinas with their second homes and generous expense accounts, to treat worse than animals, those fleeing persecution death and destruction. In so called detention centres across Europe, migrants are herded together in conditions worse than the worst of prisons. Inadequate is the adjective that describes all aspects of their lives. Inadequate food, inadequate medical facilities, inadequate freedom of expression, inadequate communication with friends and support groups, and so the list goes on. All known to the powers that be, but they are "migrants" so in the eyes of the state system, they have lost all rights, they cease to have the right to be treated like human beings. We cannot tolerate this state persecution any longer, we can't stand by and watch people being treated in this way, or we are complicit.
        Remember not so long ago the fire that destroyed the vastly overcrowded Moria migrants camp on Lesbos, and left 13,000 extremely vulnerable individuals and families sleeping in streets and waste land, without any real support. no human should be treated in this way. However we don't have to look to the other side of Europe to find these state perpetrated inhumanities, we have them right here in the UK, one of the richest countries in the world. One being the Napier Barracks in Kent, recently partially destroyed by fire. We should know by now, that the state will always see the "foreigner" as something to be suspicious of and to fear, it will always claim its borders are sacred and must not be crossed without their blessing. All borders must fall for a free and civilised society.

The following from Act For Freedom Now:

      Can you imagine the building you live in burning down and everyone being rushed outside with sirens and smoke everywhere? It sounds frightening, but what would you expect to happen next?

 

     What you wouldn’t expect is for everyone to be told to go back inside, but all the lights and the heating are turned off so it’s cold and dark. And as the night goes on it gets colder. But all the staff have been evacuated so only residents are left alone, with no information or care. Many have Covid and are very sick.
     There are people left outside as one of the buildings is unusable after the fire. No one has done anything to help these people so you self-organize to share your bedrooms with them, although you have no spare bedding and it’s freezing with no heating…Some men are refusing to sleep indoors and are outside in freezing temperatures in sleeping bags…
      Dozens staged a protest at the gates of the barracks, shouting “freedom” and hoisting banners
      One refugee told : The situation at Camp Folkestone is very bad He said: We wait in line for hours. We are in a prison and one room that sleeps 40 people.
     There is no food or drink at all. Because the people who are supposed to look after you have done nothing. The police bring in and in a riot vans.. As there is no one else. You have to use your torch to see.
       One of the people who are sick turns bad so we you ask to phone an ambulance….

Solidarity with the immigrant’s and refugees Destroy borders and nations States they are the real criminal’s !

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UK Apartheid.

         Details are coming out that hospitals have been instructed not to vaccinate those without a NHS number. Suddenly a swath of health workers, foreign students and other foreigners living here are now to be left to the vagaries of this virus, and be more or less continuous spreaders. As usual, in the eyes of the state foreigners are less worthy than we special Brits. This, apart from being an unjust and inhumane policy, is a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. These individuals do live here, they do function among us, and they have to be denied the vaccine!! Will the state set up special camps to lock up all foreigners in, for fear of them spreading the virus through our special pure race Brits?

"Please leave the queue, you're not British."

        This inhumane, callous and barbaric policy must be shouted down by all means available, and those responsible for trying to enforce it must be brought to justice. The UK to date, is nor an apartheid state, but with policies like this it is walking along that path.

Extract from the Guardian:

        The document says that where staff do not have an NHS number “the vaccine should not be given”.
          One email sent to the hospital explicitly states that overseas nurses without NHS numbers should not be vaccinated, although those from the “devolved nations” – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – can be recorded on paper.
        The Guardian understands that some hospitals are working around the issue to ensure staff without NHS numbers are also being vaccinated but there are fears individuals could fall through the cracks.
       Staff at one hospital set up a separate system to vaccinate workers with and without NHS numbers – but were later advised not to do so and to follow the NIVS protocol instead.
      “We’ve decided that’s wrong,” said the source. “We’re vaccinating them anyway, then we’re asking them to register afterwards and we’ll put them on the system retrospectively.”

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Strike Update.

  

          A little more on the Indian farmer workers strike, the largest workers strike ever in the the world. I personally am delighted to see that the strikers have decided to turn down the latest government offer of postponing the new free market legislation for 18 months for talks to take place. An obvious drawing, out of affairs to weaken the resolve of the strikers. Despite being on strike since 26 November 2020, and camped out in bitterly cold weather, on the outskirts of New Delhi, they have decided that they will not accept any postponement and will settle for nothing less than complete withdrawal of this legislation. Their brave and determined stand deserves brave and determined solidarity and support from across all borders.

More info HERE:

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Mass Strike.

Photo courtesy of Al jazeera

          Still on going, the world's largest workers strike, over 200,000 farmers and farm workers have been on strike since November 26th., 2020. They have been camped out on the borders of the city of New Delhi demanding the withdrawal of the governments intend new legislation, opening up Indian agriculture to the free market. This of course will benefit nobody but the big agro-business and destroy all the small farmers in India, all for corporate profit.
        They have already won a small victory by getting the courts to delay the implementation of the new legislation until further notice. The farmers have stated they will not settle for less than the complete withdrawal of this legislation. Meanwhile the government has always stated that it would not back down with its plans to open up Indian agriculture to the corporate beasts of the free market.
        Now it appears that the government has perhaps blinked first, as they have stated they are willing to delay the implementation of the legislation for 18 months and hold discussions with the farmers. It is to be hoped that the striking workers realise that this is not the time to concede, as the delay could be a tactic to sap the strength of the strikers by dragging the affair out for another 18 months.
       To help the striking workers we should all show solidarity and support for their long drawn out struggle, three months out on strike so far is hardship, to hold out while the government for the next 18 months, pussyfoots around the discussion table with popcorn offers and bubblegum suggestions, with the intention of implementing the legislation as the workers resolve fades. All power to the workers' struggle, solidarity across borders.

More HERE: 

And HERE: 

And HERE: 

And HERE: 

Visit ann arky['s home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk      

Solidarity.

        Anarchism knows no borders, nor does its solidarity and support, we are all one. To quote someone who was no anarchist,  "If you don't know the guy on the other side of the world, love him anyway because he's just like you. He has the same dreams, the same hopes and fears. It's one world, pal. We're all neighbors."  Frank Sinatra.

The following from Anarchist News:

 

         Antijob.net has been known on the Russian-speaking Internet for almost 20 years. For example, in 2019, the site received 8 million unique visitors. We received and processed more than 20 thousand responses manually. When the media write about labour conflicts, they use testimonials from our website. In this way, we help workers' voices be heard. We also run groups on social networks where we talk about injustice, capitalism, and class struggle. The total number of readers of our social networks is about 34 thousand subscribers.
        Thus, we, as anarchists, are always on the side of the worker, and people are aware of this. Antijob.net is affiliated with the working class, and we also work with independent trade unions. Previously, we also organized actions of the Solidarity Networks, in which our associates pressured employers to return unpaid wages to their workers. At the same time, we do not cooperate with employers and the police, for which our site is often attacked and banned (we are banned in Belarus and Kazakhstan, several times a year we are blocked in Russia). We often receive threats from employers, courts, and police.
       Why do you need to donate? Antijob.net is now in dire need of technical improvement. It should work faster, be comfortable for workers. We need to have the best places in the search engines Google, Yandex. We recently made a complete redesign of the site, but this is still not enough.
       Support us and help us become a better feedback site so that more workers know about anarchism. Help us continue to unite workers in the class struggle because we want to bring social justice to this world. Help us and we will strike against the power of bosses and other deceivers harder.

THE ROAD MAP:

February 1th: Refinement of basic functionality

        Website optimization (frontend and backend) Server optimization and service tuning Improving usability Editing design and layout

February 15th: Mirrors and decentralization

        Moving the database into a separate secure service Creating mirrors for the case of state's blocks

March 15th: New user features

      User notification system, Spam Complaints System,Modification of the Telegram bot, Geo-optimization of content for the user's city Improvement of user statuses

April 30th: Database restructuring

       Creation of company entities, API-integration of information about companies
Expansion of the feedback form Addition of rubrication with tags Bot optimization for changes

May 31th: Analytics

      Automatic analysis of the uniqueness of reviews
Checking spam and automatizing analysis of bot-attacks
Publicly available analytics by problems, regions, companies, and spheres of work

June 15th: Legal services

      Legal FAQ,  Functionality of automatic complaints to the Labour Office and the Prosecutor's Office

Donate here:
https://www.firefund.net/antijob

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By Any Means.

           The current situation in states across the world is that they are moving further to the right. In turn that means that any form of opposition to the existing order will be seen as something that must be stamped out, by any means available. Their specially sculptured judicial system will keep introducing laws that can clamp down on dissent of any form, by financial or custodial means, or both. Our very few freedoms are are risk, unless we show solidarity and organisation across borders. The following report is from Spain, but just as easily could have been from Greece, Itally, Uk, U$A or any of the other variations of  protectors of the status-quo.

         The following report is from Anarchists News, translation is not perfect but good enough to let you know what is going on.

       “They ask the union for almost 600,000 euros and jail sentences for the complainant worker and union members, a total of 8 people,”

Prison sentences for unionism

          It all started with different labor irregularities and an alleged sexual harassment at work, a complaint currently filed. A worker went to the union at the beginning of 2017 to comment on what was happening to her at Pastelerías La Suiza, in Gijón. ” ..The union requested additional information to support the version of the worker, after which, it met with the company to discuss the issue, unsuccessfully which led to the beginning of a union mobilization campaign and several concentrations of complaint were held, “nothing that is not usual in union action,” the unionists declare. 

       However, “the attacked women became aggressors from one day to the next, when denounced by the businessman on numerous occasions,” the CNT denounces. “They ask the union for almost 600,000 euros and jail sentences for the complainant worker and union members, a total of 8 people,” they detail from the anarcho-syndicalist central, “some penalties that are beyond all logic.”
       Behind the claim that asks for years in jail for unionism allegedly could be the Gijón hotel trade union, people with a clear conservative orientation, who “have accused the CNT of extorting, of being ETA, and have tried to outlaw the union for a crime of illicit association ”.
       In fact, they have hired, as a lawyer to exercise the private accusation against the union, the former magistrate of the National Court, Mr. Javier Gómez Bermúdez, “star judge and now Jaime Botín’s lawyer”, highlights the anarcho-syndicalist organization. 

       “This case is another step in the outlawing of trade unionism, either directly or by putting trade unionists in jail and financially condemning them,” denounces the CNT. For this reason, they appeal to class solidarity and the fraternal support of all the trade union centrals, in order to try to stop this aggression and to disseminate as much as possible what is going to be judged as of Monday 18.

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UK inhumanity.

         The mainstream media quite often carry stories and photos of "illegal" migrants being picked up on the beach on this side of the Channel. They tend to leave the story there, they have done their bit, created the illusion of an "invasion" of "illegal" foreigners coming here to use our wonderful benefits system and destroy our very special way of life. The rest of the story is of little interest to them. The fact that these people have, in desperation, taken on a horrendous and dangerous journey, half way across the world, fleeing unimaginable violence, deprivation, persecution, death and destruction. All of these conditions mainly due to the foreign policy of the Western powers, that they run to for help, is not news worth to them.
         So they get picked, what next? They get a welcome and help? Well no, they get locked away from any social connection in detention centres, (prisons for desperate foreigners), they are trapped in a system of policing, devoid of any rights, caged. For how long, well nobody knows, weeks, months and in some cases even years. This being a truly capitalist country, all of this has to make a profit for some corporation, it has to stuff some CEO's bank account with tax payers money. So the UK's detention centres (prisons for desperate foreigners) are mostly run by private companies, human storage and cargo at a profit. As long as the corporate world can make money from this inhumanity, it will persist, it is a capitalist system, not a humanity based system.

The UK holds many accolades, not many of them for worthy causes.

         The UK has the largest Immigration Detention estate in Europe. UK policy results in asylum seekers facing detention at any time, even if they have committed no crime whatsoever. Detention has no time limit and is not automatically subject to Judicial Review. Many endure months and some endure years of indefinite detention.
          There are no safeguards in place to prevent the detention of vulnerable persons, including those who have faced imprisonment, torture and /or sexual violence in the countries from which they have fled. This harmful and expensive practice is unnecessary and deprives people of their freedom, their dignity and is damaging to their mental health.
         Detention Action Frequently Asked Questions about Detention and reports including Detained Lives. They also have a freephone number 0800 587 2096 for advice. 

         Conditions in these prisons for innocent foreigners, are far from decent, and far short of how any civilised society should treat desperate people in need of help. 

        Some detainees are being held for too long and in insect-ridden rooms at Europe’s largest immigration centre in west London, inspectors say. Conditions at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre were “desolate”, with bare rooms, broken equipment, bed bugs and cockroaches, the report by Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke said. Some detainees were held for over a year, with one man held for five years.

And:

      The outbreak has led to renewed calls for all detainees to be immediately released. “The outbreak of COVID-19 at #BrookHouse detention centre was completely predictable - and utterly preventable. Nobody should be detained for immigration purposes during a global pandemic,” tweeted Freedom From Torture. Celia Clark, the director of Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID), similarly argued: “The government should now recognise that the use of detention and deportation in the current climate helps to spread coronavirus and puts lives at risk.

        Another of the UK's accolades is, we have the largest detention centre, (prison for desperate foreigners) in Europe. 

        Harmondsworth IRC currently has a capacity of 676, which makes it the largest detention centre in Europe. It holds only men and the security in several of the wings is comparable to a Category B (high security) prison. Harmondsworth is run by private security company Mitie, under contract to the UK Border Agency.
        The last inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons was released in March 2018. The report found that there were considerable and persistent failings in the safety and respect afforded to detainees.

       In matters of detention, control, surveillance and policing, the UK punches well above its weight. 

 

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Whose Wars?

       Isn't in strange that we in the West are always the good guys, and those others are the bad guys, we always do the right an honourable thing, while they always do heinous and nasty things. What a wonderful position to be in, always righteous, fair and compassionate. Well that's the propaganda that is spewed out over us on an hourly basis, and I suppose it is the same in those other patches on the planet that we vilify. All attempting to engender that poison called patriotism, and it is never for the benefit of the general population of either side.
      It's all about power, wealth and privilege of the parasite class on either side of the divide, a divide that doesn't or shouldn't exist between the ordinary people from either side. We don't, or shouldn't, seek power and privilege, we seek, or should seek, justice and peace among all our people, no nation, no borders, just one world of people. Wars are never fought with the benefit of the people in mind, nor do the ordinary people ever gain from any war, we shed the blood, the powerful and privileged pick up the spoils, riches from blood and death. It doesn't have to be that way.

A message from John Pilger...

"Why are we living with the threat of world war? Russia, a nuclear power, is encircled by America and Europe; China, a nuclear power, is the brunt of unrelenting provocation.  Why do we in the West allow this? The answer lies in one word: propaganda. In the West, our propaganda industries - both political and cultural - rarely ask us to look in the mirror. Stop the War performs this vital task and deserves our support. Join me at Artists Against War on Friday."

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EU Camp.

          In this complex matrix of finance, resources, nationalism, borders, corporate powers, trade deals, arms industry and wars, it is easy to get lost in the political debate of cause and effect. However if we step outside the standard narrative of the powers that be, it is really quite simple. 99% of all the ills that plague the people of this planet can simply be laid at the door of the economic system that prevails and corrupts all our lives. A system of exploitation and greed, with power and privilege for the few. A system that through its power-blocks, borders and wars, spawns migrants, poverty, misery, deprivation, homelessness, and paints a distorted picture of those fleeing the systems inevitable painful and brutal results. All backed up by a propaganda machine that bellows the poisonous illusion that migrants are a danger to our way of life, our culture and are just risking death across thousands of dangerous miles, to get on our benefits system and take advantage of our wonderful social services. Though those locals who live on those benefits and rely on those social service, could tell them that it is not worth crossing the road for them, let alone half the world.

The Following from Enough is Enough:

Lesvos. Greece. A statement by some of the Enough collective, who are on Lesvos at the moment.
Published by Enough 14.
         Once again some of the Enough 14 collective are on the Balkan route, where Europe’s true face comes to the surface. This time we are on Lesvos, the island that showed Fortress Europe’s ugly face through the inhuman Moria camp. Apart from the lost of the very few belongings of its inhabitants, the fear and the suffering in the new camp, its actually not a bad thing when an inhuman camp like Moria burned down.
        Many things have been said about the outer borders of the European Union, it should be clear by now that the dying in the Mediterranean Sea, the repression, pushbacks, imprisonment and suffering on the Balkan route are designed and therefore deliberate policies.
       After the fire in Moria the conditions for refugees on Lesvos, became even worse. People were forced to go into the new camp, where there is no running water, only one meal per day, insufficient sanitary facilities, a lack of about anything. On top of that authorities banned the distribution of food and water outside of the camp. The repression against refugees and people who support them is growing fast. Greek authorities claim they are investigating 33 people from four different NGO’s for the formation of a criminal association and Espionage. In reality they are inverstigated because they support refugees.
      On Lesvos the cops are everywhere. Harassing refugees and people who support them. To get an idea what happens when people try to distribute food or water to refugees, it can happen that you get chased by Delta cops on motor bikes. A wild pursue through Mytilene for distributing food or water to people in need. Welcome to Europe 2020.
     Were not wondering about the systematic repression, it’s the logical consequence of a system against life. What is wondering us, is the starry-eyed understanding of the system were living in. The European Union and its member states were never about solidarity. Its a capitalist economic union and therefore its always about money and its competative position in the capitalist order. Human rights are sometimes useful to use as a PR measure, but normally they don’t play a role in everyday politics in the European Union. The capitalist order is the reason that people are forced to leave their homes. Trade treaties at the expense of the global South, arms exports, the growing climate catastrophe, and the wars that the EU and its member states support with their “peace” missions. In other words, the capitalist way of life and its colonialized structures are systematicly producing refugees.
        Colonialism was never away, it has only changed its face. Our rulers know that their colonial policies will produce more and more refugees. That’s why they designed Fortress Europe, its a cruel attempt to scare-off people from coming to Europe. The result of this deliberate policies are tens of thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean Sea. As a consequence our rulers did not open safe routes for refugees, but instead started a wave of repression against sea rescue operations. And yet people are appealing to the people that are responsible for this structural mess, to make it a bit more human. Although its obvious that the European borders policies are designed to keep a Europe for the Europeans.
       As long as there is an starry-eyed understanding of the colonizisation policies of the European Union and its member states, which have always meant death and oppression, as long as we don’t fight the capitalist order with all consequences, we will not be able to put an end to Europe’s border policies. We have to unite our struggles and instead of asking for reforms, we must put an end to authoritarian capitalist rule.

Connecting struggles!
Smash the capitalist death machine!
Solidarity with the defendants of the Brennero trial!
Solidarity with the comrades struggling against the Nea Demokratia Mafia!
Solidarity with Liebig 34, Terra Incognita, Notara 26 and Danny stays!

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Solidarity.

       That blood soaked part of the planet that goes by the name of South Africa, where millions of lives were brutally blighted, for generations, by the colonialist regime of Apartheid, may have, through a bloody and savage battle broken the chains of that particular shackle, but like the rest of us, in this capitalist system, is still struggle for justice and freedom. At present the workers there are in the midst of a general strike, fighting the usual capitalist malaise, greed, corruption, violence, state repression and corporate bosses slashing at conditions and wages. They deserve all the solidarity and support that we can muster, their struggle is our struggle. In the battle for justice and freedom from exploitation we see no borders.

The following from IndustriALL Global Union: 

       8 October, 2020Thousands of workers took to the streets of South Africa’s main cities and towns to protest corruption, gender-based violence, and to protect jobs and collective bargaining agreements from arrogant employers.
     The national strike, on 7 October, which coincided with World Day for Decent Work, was called by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) with support from the other main federations: the Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA), the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), and the National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU).
      IndustriALL Global Union’s five affiliates in South Africa belong to three of the federations. The combined membership of the federations represents millions of workers. The unions say the law should be used to deal with corruption through prosecution, and anti-corruption strategies should be put in place.
       The unions wanted an end to gender-based violence and for the government to ratify Convention 190 on curbing violence and harassment at work, and to develop an implementation plan. The gender pay gap must also be closed.
       On health and safety, unions want employers to comply with labour laws and not leave the burden on workers and their families.

 André Kriel, SACTWU general secretary said: 

“The COSATU strike is significant because it is unifying. It confirms concretely that all South African workers, irrespective of union federation affiliation, are crystal clear about common core issues which they must fight in the current conjuncture: corruption in the public and private sector, job losses, attacks on collective bargaining and gender-based violence”.

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches said:

“We are in solidarity with the millions of South African workers who are fighting for jobs, against gender-based violence, and for the protection of collective bargaining. These are issues at the core of union activities, and employers should not be allowed to destroy what the union has gained through years of struggle.”

Read the full article HERE:

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