The State's Justice Machine, Guantanamo Bay.

        I doubt if there is anyone in the developed world today who doesn't know of Guantanamo Bay, who doesn't know of the brutal injustice that emanates from its walls. Guantanamo Bay epitomises the brutal authority of the state, it is the states final answer to resistance, justice put in the hands of the military. No civil courts, no due process, no public scrutiny, simply brutal military rule. It is fourteen years since its creation, fourteen years of secret brutality beyond the prying eyes of the public, a state gone mad with authority.

       Obama came to power seven years ago with the promise that he would close this abomination, his reign at the helm of the world's biggest empire has accounted for 7 years of overseeing Guantanamo Bay, 50% of its time in existence. He leaves office in approximately one year, and it looks like he will leave the rod of empire, and the keys of Guantanamo Bay to the next emperor. I have no doubt that this symbol of repression and brutality will continue to stand, belching out its foul stench of state authority and human degradation, for as long as the powers that be think they can get away with this, their weapon of choice.

       This video is distressing, but as far as we know accurate.

This from Code Pink:

       “Despite the rhetoric saying he would close Guantanamo as almost the first act of his Presidency, President Obama has had clay feet from the beginning. He has refused to take actions to actually close the prison. Let's remember: seven of the 14 years that these men have languished in Guantanamo have been under Obama.
        “Don't let President Obama blame others. A reluctant Pentagon is no excuse. Obama is Commander in Chief. The fault is not in the stars, but with him. One day of unlawful detention is an outrage, 14 years is an abomination. If Obama is to close the prison before he leaves office, he must move to do so NOW.”

–  Michael Ratner, attorney who represented Guantanamo detainees before the US Supreme Court

       TODAY is the fourteenth anniversary of the opening of the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Join us in calling on President Obama to use his executive powers to close down the prison (and return the base to the Cuban people!).

CODEPINK National Coordinator Alli McCracken led the last delegation to Guantanamo, and the 60-person group visited Caimanera – a small town of 11,000 people that abuts the US Naval Base on the southeastern coast of Cuba. The US naval base, they were told, is an illegal occupation of Cuban land that violates the territorial sovereignty of the island. The base sits on a critical part of the bay that would vastly improve the local economy if the land were returned. They believe that the closure of the base is a condition for the full normalization of relations between the two nations.

       It is unconscionable that the prison in Guantanamo remains open 7 years into the Obama presidency. Call on President Obama to make good on his campaign promise to to close the prison TODAY!

        President Obama can’t make up for the last seven years of failed leadership, but he can live up to his campaign promises and finally end this shameful chapter of American history. Please join us to ensure that he does.

Toward a more peaceful world,
Alli, Andrea, Ariel, Chelsea, Janet, Janna, Jodie, Lisa, Medea, Michaela, Michelle, Nancy, Sam and Tighe
P.S. Make sure to sign the petition to see our video of then President-elect Obama promising to close Guantanamo seven years ago today!

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Western Imperialism, Plain And Simple.

      The working class should take a few lessons from the UK state apparatus, they never give up. They spout about listening to the will of the people, but when the people say something they don't like, they just wait a bit and then after an avalanche of propaganda, ask again. So the people have spoken, Britain will not bomb Syria, well let's beef up the propaganda of fear, and then ask again. 

A modern graveyard of ordinary people.

      They will destroy Syria, well it is practically destroyed already, but they still want rid of Assad and his cronies, and the rat bag of fundamentalists aren't doing it quick enough. So they need to up the stakes, to complete their original plan, get rid of Assad and claim the oil and gas fields for Western corporatism. Compare this approach with that taken by the UK state on the Scottish independence vote, the people have spoken, it should not be raised again at least for a generation, no matter if circumstances change. They are obviously keener on bombing other sovereign states than they are at allowing a people their independence.

The shape of Western freedom in the Middle East.

       We must stop this insanity being piloted by Cameron and his cronies, we the people of the UK have nothing to gain from blasting the civilian population of any other country. Make no mistake, if UK imperialists start bombing Syria, it will be civilians that will feel the brunt of that savage brutality. Like Iraq, towns and cities will be crushed beneath the power of modern day weapons. It will be ordinary men, women and children that will lie beneath the rumble. The officer and political class will be well protected from the Armageddon spawned by the destructive power of modern weaponry.

No politicians here.

     The gainers will be the Western arms industry and the oil and gas corporations, none of whom will ever be at the forefront of the brutality and savagery of modern warfare. 

Iraq, 17 August 2015.

         The UK state has been at war continuously for centuries, this is just another imperialist venture on top of the hundreds of others. A continuous sacrifice of the lives of ordinary people to further the wealth and power of corporations, floated on the illusion of fighting for democracy, and bring freedom to other people. It will continue as long as we touch our forelock and bend our knee in submission to the state and its brutal, imperialistic apparatus.

        To end this insanity, greed and brutal scramble for power and wealth, we have to sweep away the state, all its control, power and surveillance apparatus, its borders, and that divisive man made creation, the nation state. One world, one people, living in communities linked by co-operation, mutual aid, free association and seeing to the needs of all our people. 

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Direct Action, Solidarity.

      Solidarity and direct action takes many shapes, in the community, in the workplace, on the street, it can be organised or spontaneous as circumstances demand. They are of course,  our strongest weapons against any form of attack, and it is always pleasing to see them in action against all the odds, and when needed most. 

       Anarchist News has some examples of friends and comrades standing up for each other.

      Whether it takes place on a dark street or in organized civil disobedience, being arrested is isolating and humiliating. The police lash zip ties around our wrists and tear us from our friends to parade us from jail cell to court until someone makes bail or the DA dismisses the charges.
But we don’t always face arrest alone. When we gather at rowdy demonstrations or busy street corners, we’re not just there to make trouble; we show up to break free of the daily alienation forced on us by work or school. There we see people freeing their friends from the cops: they pull them away by sheer force, open cruiser doors to let arrestees go, or simply land a well-timed blow to the head of an arresting officer.
These simple actions show us that the law and the state are not supernatural forces, but relationships enforced at the hands of the police. That’s why we appreciate all the different ways people have figured out how to de-arrest each other. Check out these ten examples:

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A Date For Your Diary, Glasgow.

       As the state apparatus continues to sell WW1 as a period of glory, and a victory for democracy, there is a multitude of people out there doing their best to propagate the truth. The truth being that WW1, was in fact a bloody, totally unnecessary, imperialist land grab. A war littered with bloody blunders by stupid, blinkered officers and parliamentary ministers, blunders that cost millions of young lives and blighted a generation. All for the power and glory of our imperial masters. One such horrendous blunder was Gallipoli, an idiotic plan, or lack of plan, by the UK fascist, First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, which resulted in around 100,000 dead and almost 500,000 casualties, (Wikipedia) 

        If you're in or around Glasgow on the 25th. of April, you could take the opportunity to find out more about this particular disaster of war, and some of the many others, the Scottish Peace Network will be doing a film show and talk/discussion in the CCA, Glasgow.

      April 25, Saturday, 1pm in the cinema room at the Centre for Contemporary Art at 350 Sauchiehall Street. This day marks the centenary of the World War I battle of Gallipoli, a disaster that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands. We will be showing part of a movie made by Peter Weir, and featuring a young Mel Gibson. The movie will be introduced by three short talks, one setting the context of the battle and the connection to Scotland, another on the enormous impact Gallipoli had on New Zealand and Australia and finally a talk putting this centenary event in the context of the counter program to the government's glorification of the war and of militarism. The movie will be followed by a discussion. FREE. All welcome. Sponsored by the Scottish Peace Network.

 

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The Vindictive Brutality Of The State.

       I think it is important to highlight that the main demand of the prison hunger strikers in Greece, is the release of their relatives. To be charged and imprisoned by the state is something that we might expect, but to have your close relatives imprisoned, because of their relationship with you, shows the true vindictive brutality of the state, a state that is supposed to be managed by a left wing government, Syriza.

     This is a letter, first published in Inter Arma, from Haris Hatzimihelakis, one of the hunger strikers:

On Tuesday 24/3 I was transferred to the general hospital of G. Genimatas in Athens because of my deteriorated health after 22 days of hunger strike. Today, Friday, while writing this I am now in the 25th day of strike and I have lost 15.5 kg of my initial body weight of 84.5 kg. In a similar situation and are also the other hunger strikers, members of the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, most of whom are hospitalized in various hospitals at the moment. Our demand for the release from the clearly retaliatory custody of the mother of the comrades Christos and Gerasimos Tsakalos and the wife of the latter has become a “ball” in judicial circles hands, which move the date of reviewing it from week to week, motivated either by an unprecedented disregard for our life or an active effort to cause irreversible damage to our health which deteriorates rapidly. More specifically, although the prosecutor handling the case has made a positive proposal on Tuesday 17/3 neither of the councils handling the cases of the relatives of the comrades has reviewed the request for replacement of custody with a release on bail. Meanwhile, the political leadership stands defiantly indifferent to the judicial practices, likes of which we have not seen throughout the post-junta history of Greece. Apparently the “left” SYRIZA government is not interested in the fact that family is oficially being criminalized for the first time and relatives of political prisoners are being detained clearly in an vindictive way with ridiculous and loose accusations.

I, from my side, declare that for every effect that the hunger strike may have on my health (which from this point on is tragically possible) the Political and Judicial authority which arranges the physical and moral annihilation of the hunger strikers, is solely responsible.

NOT A STEP BACK

IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF THE RELATIVES OF THE CONSPIRACY OF CELLS OF FIRE

VICTORY TO ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS ON HUNGER STRIKE

Haris Hatzimihelakis

Member of the Conspiracy of Cell of Fire FAI/IRF

Friday 27/03/2015

P.S. I salute all solidarity gestures both in Greece and abroad. Comrades your actions give us strength.
Solidarity and complicity with Alfredo Cospito and Nicola Gai. Brothers your words burn like fire in my heart.

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Europe Lurching To The Right.

     Spain, like the rest of European governments moves further to the right, entrenching their fascist credentials. On Thursday 11th. December this year, 2014, the Spanish congress approved the Civil Protection Act, known as the "gag law". Note how they use Orwellian double speak, "Civil Protection" really means state protection, as this law will bring in a raft of repressive measures that will attempt to stamp out any form of protest against the government. It will give the police a vast extension of their already excessive powers, and hit protest groups and individuals with crippling fines, anything from €100 to a ridiculous €600,000. More details on the Spanish situation here.

     In theory, "representative democracy" is supposed to mean a government is elected to do the people's bidding. However as the people become more dissatisfied  with that government, the more brutal that government becomes to hold on to its power and privileged position. As the people's anger grows at the now blatant plundering of the public purse and privatisation of all public assets, so the "representative government" turns on the more brutal repression.

     Of course, the protests don't go away, the anger just intensifies, and the class war situation becomes more overt, we are now well down that road in Greece and Spain, with Ireland now in open revolt, and the rest of Europe moving in the same direction. When will the UK wake up, and see our situation for what it really is, simply class war.

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Detail;s Of The Nikos Romanos Story.

     A detailed report on the story behind Nikos Ramanos, of the state's two standards of justice, one for bankers, and one for those who oppose the systems corruption. Bankers who robbed the banks of millions and charged with fraud, allowed to walk free, while those who dare to oppose this system are brutally assaulted and imprisoned and denied their just rights.

 

From ROAR MAG:

Few doubt that the young anarchist was refused educational leave as a punishment for his ideas, by a government eager to show that it will not tolerate radical dissent. Romanos demanded from the state, which he intensely abhors, that it recognize his legal rights, which the state is supposed to guarantee for all. He never stole from the public purse nor from citizens; rather he attempted to rob one of the banks which was never brought to account for its part in the economic debacle of the country. No one failed to notice the irony of young anarchists being brutally persecuted for an unsuccessful and bloodless bank robbery by the very same people who treat those convicted of large-scale theft of public money and violent crimes with utmost lenience.

Read the full article HERE

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Statement from Nikos Romanos.

      The first public statement from Nikos Romanos since ending his 31 day hunger strike. This is a remarkable victory brought about by the courage and tenacity of this young man. We wish the strength to continue your chosen path.

From Act For Freedom Now:
 

Statement from Anarchist Nikos Romanos 11/12/14 – Athens – Greece

Following 31 days of a tough and tenacious struggle, I end my hunger strike, having scored an important victory. The amendment voted in Parliament with me its single recipient, had important differences to the initial proclamation of the Minister of Justice, eventually meeting my demands – even if this involves me “wearing an electronic bracelet”.

The only thing certain is that this victory was an outcome of the political pressure applied for it by the people in struggle and  Combative Anarchy are indisputably the great moral, political and practical victors. The multiform revolutionary struggle and us, as political prisoners, resurface from this struggle stronger than before.

I raise my fist, sending the warmest regards and my unlimited love to all those comrades who stood by my side.

BY ALL MEANS!

SOLIDARITY TO POLITICAL PRISONERS

LONG LIVE ANARCHY

PS: A detailed text will follow in the days to come.

PS2: I would like to also thank the hospital doctors who refused to bow to the pressure by the attorney regarding my forced feeding, and who supported me to the possible extent.

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State Brutality.

       The campaign of solidarity with Nikos Romanos is growing in strength and on a wider front as acts of solidarity and support are happening across the globe. His case highlights the vindictiveness of the state apparatus, not just in Greece but in states across the planet, the same brutal repression happens somewhere every day, whether it be Ferguson US, or Athens Greece, it is the same vicious reprisals to keep hold of their authority over us.

Nikos being arrested.

       In the case of Nikos Romanos, some people may not be familiar with the facts behind this case. Behind this vicious brutality of the Greek state, there is a young man who at the age of 15, saw his 15 year old best friend shot and die in the street, at the hands of a thug in a uniform, called a police officer. This after what was a verbal confrontation, the uniformed thug drew his gun and fired to kill the youth. The state shaped Nikos Ramanos's life in a brutal fashion, and the state will willing let him die. This, in what is supposed to be developed, democratic Europe, an illusion that has evaporated like mist in a wind.

Nikos after his arrest, and the photoshop image issued by the police.

       This from Void Network:

       Nikos Romanos was only 15 years old when his name first became known to the Greek public. Romanos was close friend with Alexandros Grigoropoulos, the unarmed pupil who was shot dead by a policeman in the Athens neighborhood of Exarheia. Romanos watched his friend die in front of his eyes after being shot through the heart.

      Not the happiest way to set of into on adulthood, this was a brutalisation by the state machinery of a young man with all the potential of youth, friends and family, beside him. Now some 6 years after that incident, the state is still vindictively brutalising one of our own, with a callousness that defies belief.

       Last spring while in prison, Romanos studied for and took the pan-Hellenic high school exams earning high enough marks to gain a place at a top Athens polytechnic university in business management.
       At the time, the Justice Ministry had praised him and other inmates for their academic success and was to award Romanos a prize of 500 euros. However Romanos refused to attend a ceremony to accept the prize from the Justice Minister, saying that doing so would violate his principles.
      Regardless, at the time the Justice Minister Charalambos Athansiou stated that, “the state does not make distinctions on the issue of studies. He is praiseworthy for following the advice of his teachers and working hard to gain a place at an institution of higher education.” However despite this praise, the door subsequently was shut on Romanos’ putative academic career when the relevant prison council denied his application for prison leave to attend classes.

Read the full article HERE:

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

The White Knight Of British Imperialism.

      Our British imperial state is gearing up for another military outing. This time on the myth of our high morality and ridding the Middle East of its bad men. There is no doubt what so ever that ISIS is a very brutal, fundamentalist religious group, but they are not alone, nor are they unique. The myth that helps to put the British imperial state, on the high moral ground is the one that, as the biggest empire the world has known, we willing helped put our colonies on a democratic footing when they were ready to look after themselves. 

      The truth of course is that we could show the ISIS mob a thing or two about brutality. As the people of our colonies fought to rid themselves of the exploiting, brutal British empire, we turned really nasty. The colonies emerging into the world, free from the British empire, paid dearly for their desire to be free. 

 Something to smile about.

         Aden, in what is now Yemen, an important port to the British empire, in 1960 it became known as the Aden emergency, as the locals were determined to rid them selves of their brutal imperial overlords, the British, they organised strikes demonstrations and protests and resulting riots. To sort this out the British set up torture centres. In these centres prisoners were held in refrigerated cells, bring about frostbite, and pneumonia, among other problems. It was not uncommon for prisoners to have their genitals crushed by guards hands, cigarette buts to be stubbed out on their naked flesh, to mention just some of the brutality inflicted on people seeking independence from the British state. Amnesty International in 1966, issued a report on this barbaric treatment, creating international outrage. The British imperial state had been rumbled. In the face of international condemnation, it apologised, but continued useing the torture centres for another year. 

        Amritsar, India, 1919. The people of that area, men, women and children, on April 13, 1919, pissed off by the brutish rule of the British imperialists, decided to march in a peaceful protest to the walled Jallianwala Gardens, there they hoped to make their voices heard. Late afternoon the troops blocked the exits of the gardens, and then opened fire on the protesters, they kept firing until they ran out of ammunition. The total deaths from ten minutes of relentless rifle fire varies from 379, to 1,000, with more than 1,000 injured. More than 100 women and children sought safety in a well, and drowned. Back here in Britain, the man responsible, Brigadier Reginald Dyer, was labelled, "the man who saved India". 

 

       The catalogue of British brutal imperialism is endless. We could go on and on. In the 1920's, the crushing of Iraq. The Boer war, where 10% of the entire Boer population died in British imperialist concentration camps, among them 22,000 children.

A Reminder.

       And now we are supposed to swallow the British state, painting its armour white and riding out on its white charger, with its white knight companion America, as the saviours of the Arab world. You and I know, the British state doesn't give a shit about the people of the Arab world, they have other motives.

     For more on the British imperialists morality, you could visit, 10 Evil Crimes Of The British Empire.

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The Brutality Of The Israeli State.

      Every time you look at what is happening in the Israeli occupied Palestinian territories, you never fail to be shocked at what is happening to the Palestinian people. It is hard to believe that you are reading about the 21st century and hard to believe that the rest of the world not only tolerates this treatment but in many cases condones this barbarity.
        I recently read the report of the Palestinian lawyer who after being released from an Israeli prison, hanged himself in his bedroom. One can only imagine the horrors that drove this quiet rational family man to take his own life. 

 

 

     On the morning of 29 April, Amjad Safadi’s wife left their Jerusalem home for work. A little after 8am, Amjad’s younger brother Samer arrived to escort him to a court hearing. As he opened the door to his room, Samer found that Amjad had hanged himself.
     The shocking death of the 39-year-old lawyer and father of two girls came five days after his release from the notorious underground Russian Compound detention center — known in Arabic as the Moskobiyeh — in Jerusalem.

Read the full story HERE:

     The number of Palestinians imprisoned by the Israeli authorities is out of all proportion to the Palestinian population. It is estimated that since 1967, over 650,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned, this accounts for approximately 20% of the population and 40% of the male population. Recent estimates of how many are in prison put the figure at around 6,800, including members of the Palestinian legislative council. Minors are not exempt from this brutality, recent figures put the number of minors imprisoned as over 200, with 29 below the age of 16.
     This is 21st. Century Israel lashing out 19th century treatment to a subjugated people, while the so called civilised world looks the other way. 

 

     Children are often taken suddenly from their homes, often in the middle of the night, with soldiers surrounding the house and then raiding it. Soldiers usually do not have a warrant for arrest or searches. For example, in July of 2010, an unusually heavy number of Israeli soldiers (in 12 jeeps) entered the outskirts of the village to arrest a local youth, 17 year old Ahmad Abed Al-Fatah Burnat, without giving any reason. Ahmad was taken by jeep to Ofer military prison located outside Ramallah. Prisoners in Ofer, especially young boys, are kept in harsh conditions with the intention of pressuring them to give information about other Palestinians. Many are denied food and water for extended periods of time and exposed to extreme cold or heat.

Detailed Report HERE:

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Nuclear Savage.

       How the developed so called capitalist democratic West treats others in this world.

This from The Free:  

     “John is a savage, but a happy, amenable savage.” Thus intones the voice on a ’50s-era newsreel clip in the documentary, showing footage of seven male Marshall Islanders who have been brought to the United States for radiation testing. “John is mayor of Rongelap Atoll. John reads, knows about God and is a pretty good mayor.”The film does a stunning job juxtaposing examples of the smug ignorance of South Sea culture with the reality of what the US did to it.
     In “Nuclear Savage” Adam Horowitz exposes American hubris and the horrors of nuclear testing visited on the Marshallese people in one of the darkest chapters of human history. The United States conducted nuclear tests and deliberately exposed the Marshallese people to radiation and studied the effects it had on them in a secret project called Project 4.1.

465458 from adam horowitz on Vimeo.

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