Another Massive Oil Spill.

         I have no doubt that there are lots of people, spouting the wonders of modern technology. who considered that the water protectors trying to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock were over reacting for some ulterior motive. Well not a stones throw from the stand off between the water protectors and the oil greed juggernaut, the wonders of modern technology have let us down again, with disastrous effects. A massive oil spill, estimated at more than 170,000 gallons of crude oil has just leaked into a tributary of the Little Missouri River and over a hillside. It appears that the monitoring equipment failed to detect the leak, so nobody is sure for how long it has been leaking. So far two dead cows have been found at the site. Thanks for the link Loam.

This report from Mint Press News:

        A pipeline just two and half hours’ drive from the Indigenous water protectors’ ongoing stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline has leaked over 170,000 gallons of crude oil into a tributary of the Little Missouri River and into a hillside, it was reported late Monday.
       Monitoring equipment failed to detect the leak, and it is unknown how long the spill near Belfield, North Dakota had gone on before a local landowner discovered it on December 5.
       At least two cows have been confirmed dead near the site of the spill, reports the Pioneer Press.
       The Belle Fourche pipeline is operated by the Wyoming-based True Companies, which is the same company behind the 2015 pipeline rupture in Montana that sent over 40,000 barrels of crude into Yellowstone River. Indeed, at that time it was reported that the operator had a “checkered environmental history,” with 30 recorded pipeline leaks and multiple federal fines on its record.

Read the full article HERE: 

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

No Borders.

 

      The "migrant" question is still top of the agenda for most of the political parties, the usual cry being, "control must be restored" which is an admission that the state's control is far from complete, they always wish to go further down that road. A excellent excuse for more draconian rules and regulations, which don't just apply to migrants, but can be used in a blanket form against the general public. What always puzzles me is the wide acceptance across the population, of these new Orwellian rules. The "Calais Jungle" may have gone, but the people are still in transit, and still branded as illegal. Instead of congregating in self managing groups, they are being transferred to state managed "detention centres", in simple language, prisons. The following is an extract from an interesting article from Bordered by Silence.

Anarchist texts on the Calais Jungle
       Although by now the Jungle of Calais has been destroyed, these two texts by Paris Sous Tension are still very relevant for understanding the situation of migrants in France today from an anarchist perspective. Many of the migrants were moved from the Jungle to various detention or housing centres, but all of those spaces are temporary and they will soon be back with the others in the camps that appeared or grew following the Calais eviction. In November, several thousand people were evicted from the Stalingrad neighbhourhood of Paris, where a camp had grown on the grassy medians of busy commercial streets. With right-wing politics ascendant here in the lead-up to presidential election in the spring, it is likely that the attitude of the state towards the migrants will harden and that the two strategies described in these articles, repression and management, will take on an increasingly violent character. 
“I don’t want to go there. That camp is a prison, a sneaky way of imprisoning us.” from Paris Sous Tension, January 2016
       In Calais, the year 2016 begins in the same way the previous ended: by further repressive measures against the undersireables (undocumented people, outlaws, rebels…), by declarations of war against them by the government and its police. All with the explicit support of the most despicable segment of the population, those who have turned to xenophobia to soothe their miserable existence and who rejoice to see the government — who, in their opinion, never does enough —  go all out and resort to drastic measures. Those who, when things get serious, always line up behind the state and demand as the price of their passive adherence that the order be restored. Their only concern is to preserve their small comforts, their precious bank balance, their precious car and daily routine, their precious space of mental peace that all allows them to live their lives without paying attention to the world around them.
       Like many places around the world, people have been flocking to Calais for years now in hopes of crossing to England, crossing a border that is closed to them because they don’t have the required documents, because they don’t meet the legal requirements , because they don’t have a degree or a resume to help them sell themselves on the labour market, or rather because keeping this cheap labour pool living day to day and in fear is a good way to domesticate them and keep them readily exploitable. For years, these people have been organizing among themselves for survival, in hopes of managing to slip across the border illegally, of overcoming the many obstacles that separate one bit of territory from another for those who are seen as undesireable by the state and the market. And as is often the case in hostile situations, there is strength in numbers and so they’ve come here by the thousands (between 4500 and 6000 [1]) in an informal camp in an area now known as “the Jungle”. The cops, who used to simply destroy cabins and tents back when they were isolated from each other, don’t dare to enter “the Jungle” to evict the inhabitants. And these inhabitants, no longer being chased off every few days, are now able to organize themselves in small groups to sneak into cargo trucks in order to enter the tunnel under the English channel or to enter the port.
        And so we see in the past few months that companies like Eurotunnel and the SNCF rail network have restricted access to the tunnel and drastically increased security — the former by hiring a hundred dog handlers and the latter by erecting barriers along the roadways that are several metres tall and topped with barbed wire. As for the cops, more numerous and recently equipped with drones, they are happy to take advantage of a decree (a gift for the cops as part of the state of emergency) allowing them to stop any pedestrian on the road leading to the port and to pass them on to their friends, the judges, who can then condemn them to six months in prison. Oh joy, proclaim the the president of the region (who is calling for the support of the army to main-tain or-der!), the mayor of Calais, and the police chief  as they demand the deportation or imprisonment of every migrant found guilty of: trespassing around the port or near the Eurotunnel (which is necessary, considering the absence of a space-time portal to cross the border); conflict with the police (which has become necessary in order to access the sites in question, in addition to its general value); vandalism; or “by-law violations” (healthy reactions in the face of frustration, disappointment, anger, despair, rage…). It’s a way of oiling the judicial meat grinder, to wave the cleaver of prison or expulsion (which means, at the very least, starting again) over the heads of those migrants who don’t act the way the bureaucrats, functionaries, judges, and politicians expect: as victims.
        Governments of all stripes dream of order and pacification, but this isn’t in the cards for the near future. As proof, on December 17, about a thousand people set out along the highway towards the tunnel. With Christmas approaching and big traffic jams all around the commercial centres, they figured there would be more chances to sneak onto a truck. But the police didn’t agree, which lead to hours of confrontation. Same thing on December 25, 2500 people passed through the centre of Calais to reach the tunnel under the channel, but the police pushed them back. On their return trip, cars payed the price of their frustration and rage: rear view mirrors and windshields smashed, wipers bent back. A few uniformed goons were hurt. In these dark days, the blindest hatred meets the pettiest arrogance and cowardly submission prospers in the absence of any broader hope for a radically different life. We didn’t have to wait long to hear the half self-interested, half indignant grumbles and squeals of the peaceful and hardworking population as they lined up on the side of order.

Read the full article HERE:

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

Common Cause.

 

         We volunteers at Spirit of Revolt always try to get what is in our archive out to the general public. We do this among other ways, with exhibitions, on line cataloguing, and displays at various events. Why do we do this, well we believe that the grass-roots history of the ordinary people is extremely important. It is a powerful history of our past struggles from which we can learn much. It is also a history that would be lost, leaving a large gap in our true story. Without our true history we are a false people.

     Another way we try to get people interested in what we hold in the archive is the spot on our website called, "Read of the Month". Here we select a pamphlet, paper, small book or whatever, and put it on Read of the Month in the hope that it will raise you interest, pushing you to explore much deeper. 

      This month it is a small magazine covering community and industrial struggles from South Wales, Common Cause, No.2, 1978. Have a look, and if you like what you see, perhaps you can let your curser slide along to the "Donate" button and give a little to help us to continue doing what we are always trying to do, preserve and make easily and freely available, our history of struggle.

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

Our Orwellian Society.

We all know that the state's "secret services" work in secret, that goes without saying, so we the people never know what they are up to, what we can be sure of is that they are not working for the public at large, but working to maintain the established power structure. So the various laws covering their actions are not laid down to tell them how they will work, but to protect them should they get caught snooping where we don't believe they should. Therefore legislation covering the "secret service" will always get ever more invasive as technical abilities allow ever great surveillance, Stingray, for example. Keep the state and you keep the cancer of "secret services"  For this reason I'm not a great lover of petitions as they never remove the real threat, the state, but what they can do is help highlight the murky details and intrusive nature of the state and its cavalier attitude to our liberties.        So I sign this petition and help broadcast it, not because I think it will sort the problem of state mass surveillance, but hoping it will alert more people to the truth about the illusion of democracy and the type of secret surveillance society we live under.  This from Care 2:        It's "worse than scary": This is the UN privacy chief's response to the UK government's new Investigatory Powers Bill, also known as the 'Snoopers' Charter'. The bill means an unprecedented loss of privacy within the UK, allowing police to hack computers and phones and to turn on microphones and bug conversations. If you have a modern mobile phone you are now vulnerable to police secretly recording your conversations wherever you are. Innocent or guilty, we are now under inescapable scrutiny. Please sign this petition to demand that the government repeals the Investigatory Powers Bill. The new surveillance laws will mean that everyone's web browsing histories will be stored for 12 months, and security services will have full access to this personal data. Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group said, "it is one of the most extreme surveillance laws ever passed in a democracy." This bill is not designed to protect us, it's designed to take away our freedom. Please sign this petition to demand that the bill be repealed. If enough people sign, it will send a clear message to the UK government that the world is watching and we will not accept this stripping away of our rights. Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

State Induced Suicides And Self-harm,

         Anyone with a grain of humanity knows that prisons are a barbaric relic from a brutal past and have no place in a civilised society. In our not so distant past children at school could receive physical punishment for any misdemeanour, it was eventually recognised that harsh punishment doesn’t have the desired effect and was in fact damaging to the child. Prisons are much the same, as a punishment it doesn’t work, as a reforming process is doesn’t work, most of those individuals who enter the prison system do so again and again. However, the state will hold on to the prison system as a tool of repression, something to hold up as a warning to its citizens that it still has the power to remove you from society should you cease to be subservient.
       One measure of the barbarity of the prison system can be seen in the number of suicides. Over the last five years, 2011/2016, suicides have steadily risen, from 58 to 107, (England & Wales). Any system that sees an almost 100% increase in suicides has to be seen as inhumane and fatally flawed. Another barometer of the barbarity of the whole prison system is the amount of self harm among prisoners, this has seen a 50% rise in the last four years. Our prisons are dark places of injustice and despair, where the human individual is crushed.
        This quote from a BBC article highlights the anguish and desperation that fills the lives of those trapped within our prison system, none of which is of any benefit to the individual or the quality of our society.

       Danny Weatherson was 19 years old when he was given a 13-month IPP for robbery. More than nine years later, he is still in prison. In February, a parole board said his re-offending risk had reduced sufficiently to be moved to an open prison.
      But he cut his own throat last month and the move has been postponed. He is currently recovering in the prison's hospital wing.
       His solicitor, Shirley Noble, says self-harming has become his way of coping with not having a release date. But she is worried it could also hurt his chances of ever being let out.

Read the full article HERE: 

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

Return of the 20/30's????

 

         It is difficult, viewing today’s political scene, not to draw parallels between the 20/30’s and today. It was the populist vote that brought Mussolini to power in 1922, and a decade later, it was the populist vote that brought Hitler to power in 1933. Today the populist vote is encouraging the rise of far right factions across Europe and America. Fascists now openly displaying their symbols of hate, and openly hold meetings where they spread their rhetoric of division and hate. Of course the fascist are not going unchallenged, nor should they, as the present political era seems to give them a new confidence to spew their vomit, so it should give those who desire freedom and justice for all, an ever greater determination to meet this head on. Where and when the fascist come out of their sewers, we have to be there to meet them, you can never give vermin a free run, or they will destroy everything you hold dear.
        Of course there are forces at work funding and giving the oxygen of publicity and propaganda to these far right factions, and they have an agenda. When times are hard and people start to come together in struggle to improve their conditions, as in the 20/30’s, they are a threat to the established power cabal. The answer to that threat is divide and conquer, through fear and false assumptions, creating conditions for greater control over the population. Fascism is never an accident of nature, it is a man made force, it allows for greater control by the powers that be, over the ordinary people and the shape of the society we live in.

This from New Scientist

        This may help to explain a lot of what is happening in the world right now. The Global Risks Report 2016 details a worldwide rise in catastrophic events, ranging from involuntary migration to natural disasters. When such crises occur, people look for someone to blame, and often immigration and minorities become an easy scapegoat for a problem that is far less visible in origin – as is the case with financial crises.
      Immigration itself has been shown to have an effect on right-wing views – but not in the direction you might expect. The two show a negative correlation: in the places where immigration is the highest, support for right-wing parties is lowest. For example, it has been shown that it is the perception of immigration levels in a local area, rather than the actual change in numbers, that is linked to votes for UKIP.

This from Insurrection News:

 People who hate differences displaying the number of brain cells they have.

         On December 10th, 2016 the ‘German Turkish Federation’ (ATF) organized a cultural day with the slogan ‘Feast of the Flags’ in the Neumünster town hall. The ‘ATF’ is the umbrella organization of the ‘Gray Wolves’ and represents the fascist nationalist MHP party in Germany. It is a scandal that the city of Neumünster allows its premises to be used by fascist organizations who openly display their fascist-nationalist ideology. The flags with the three crescents were openly on display, the ‘Gray Wolves’ hand signal was openly used and fascist literature was sold.
         The ‘Turkish Federation’ is responsible not only for propaganda work in the FRG to spread its fascist agitation but is also closely linked to the MHP party in Turkey. The fascists played a decisive role in the massacres in Cizre, Sur and many other regions while the fascist forces within the Turkish army are currently participating in the invasion of Bakur and Rojava. The MHP is working with the AKP on the reintroduction of the death penalty in Turkey. Their objective is the murder of Serok APO (Abdullah Öcalan) by the Turkish state.
      In protest against the fascist event we simultaneously attacked the ATF building on Joachim street with graffiti and sabotaged several cars of the participants.
We will attack you wherever you are.
Revenge Team Sehid Lecwan Munzur of the Apoist Youth Initiative.
(via Linksunten Indymedia, translated by Insurrection News)

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

A Comrade Remembered.

      December 11th. marks the third anniversary of the police killing of 26 year old anarchist Sebastián Oversluij Seguel in Santiago by Chilean police, he died from 6 bullet wounds, fired from one police gun. His comrades have not forgotten him.

From Insurrection News:

       Sebastián Oversluij, we demand your memory in every direct action.* This December 11 is already 3 years since your death in combat, with fire we remember every fallen compañerx.

Freedom for the PDI case compañerxs, Tamara Sol and all other compas who have been kidnapped and imprisoned by the Police State.

Fire to the prisons! We do not forget, we do not forgive! The struggle continues, stronger than ever!

*Barricades, banners, pamphlets and attacks with Molotovs against the police in memory of Sebastián ‘Angry’ Oversluij and for the political prisoners outside UMCE (Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences). There were also clashes outside Campus Juan Gómez Millas (University of Chile). 07.12.2016

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

Your Diary Dates.

      As usual, our friends at ACE in Edinburgh have come up with another very interesting array of events. So mark your diary and if you are in or around Edinburgh on these dates do drop in.

From ACE:

WOMENS HEALTH PROJECTS AND AUTONOMOUS HEALTH CARE IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO

6pm Monday 12th December

At Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh

     Join us for a talk and discussion on Womens Health Projects and Zapatista autonomous health care in Chiapas, Mexico. Lisa Sanderson-Fox, who worked in the Zapatista Autonomous Zones of Chiapas from 2000-2004 and has made numerous trips since, will be speaking about community health worker projects with an emphasis on Women's health. Community Health Workers are an essential part of insuring dignified health care in remote indigenous communities. Come hear stories and participate in a discussion about the role of international solidarity in developing sustainable health care access in revolutionary Mayan commmunities of Chiapas.Lisa has worked with Community Health Workers in Chiapas since 2000, providing trainings for hundreds of people and accompanying multiple clinics in the process of developing autonomous health services appropriate for their communities and culture.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1866286753657961/

Organised, in conjunction with ACE, by Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity

Group

- edinchiapas@yahoo.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/Edinchiapas/

Followed by talk and discussion on Detroit:

DETROIT: FUTURE CITY?

8pm Monday 12th December

At Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh.

Join us for a talk and discussion on Detroit: Future City?

       The US city of Detroit had a population in the region of 1.8 million in the 1950s but automation and the flight of big business, particularly in the automotive industry, led to massive redundancies, foreclosures and the displacement of millions. The population now stands at less than 700,000, the lowest it has been for a century. In the midst of this neo-liberal catastrophe and the associated withdrawal of public services, residents have banded together to create their own solutions including food networks, community safety patrols, free schools and neighbourhood housing projects. However, these pioneering Detroiters are faced with an onslaught of further privatisation, dissolution of democratic control of local government, the removal collective bargaining and raids on pension funds. These competing models of the 'future city' will have ramifications not just in the US but worldwide. Sarah Coffey, a longtime Detroit resident, community organiser and a co-founder of the Midnight Special Law Collective has been closely involved with autonomous communities in the city.

Event page https://www.facebook.com/events/1384551531585461/

Organised by ACE

ACE MONTHLY MEETING

Tuesday 13 December 6pm

All welcome

     We hope all groups involved with ACE will send at least one delegate The monthly meetings are now the second Tuesday each month at 6pm

EDINBURGH COALITION AGAINST POVERTY WORKING SESSION

Thursday 15 December 6pm - 8pm

Updating our website, writing new articles, leaflets etc

All interested very welcome

ECAP www.edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk

EDINBURGH COALITION AGAINST POVERTY TRAINING

Friday 16 December 11am - 1pm/1.30pm

Informal training for supporting people over benefits problems

At ACE No experience necessary - all interested very welcome

THE BLACK PANTHERS IN LONDON

Talk and discussion at ACE with Carlus Hudson

Saturday 17 December 7pm

        The Black Panthers are one of the most pivotal organisations in the histories of radicalism and anti-racism in the United States, and their ideas have had an enormous impact on activists who have come after them. Far less famous, but by no means less significant, was the Black Panther Movement in Britain. Active in the late 60s and early 70s, its history touches on the fight within the anti-racist movement in Britain between its liberal and radical wings, and the internationalisation of struggles against colonialism, neo-colonialism and the Vietnam War. Focusing on the Black Panthers based in London, this talk will tell their story before delving deeper into the development of the movement’s culture and organisational models. The talk will examine the Black Panthers from the perspective of intersectional anarchism, and show its shortcomings in terms of gender, class, and political hierarchy. Carlus Hudson is a PhD student at the University of Portsmouth researching student anti-racism in the UK in the 1970s'

Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh, 17 West Montgomery Place EH7 5HA

ACE is open Sats 12-4pm, Tues 12-3pm, Thursday 6 - 8pm

     Advice and solidarity on benefits, debt, housing etc on Tuesdays. The Info Shop, Scottish Radical Library and free broadband available all 3 days. Open monthly meetings second Tuesday of the month, 6pm at ACE 0131 557 6242 ace@autonomous.org.uk

www.autonomous.org.uk On Facebook To receive more frequent notifications of ACE events and other news of interest email mike92@riseup.net with header SUBSCRIBE ACE TALK LIST

Ace mailing list

ace@lists.noflag.org.uk

http://lists.noflag.org.uk/listinfo/ace

http://www.autonomous.org.uk

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

Respect The Feelings Of Bulldozers.

   A little piece from Contra Info proving that bulldozers have feelings.

       In the early hours of December 2nd 2016, in Exarcheia, on the corner of Akadimias and Themistokleous St. a bulldozer at the service of DEI electricity company couldn’t take it anymore and decided to give an end to its automatized routine. Before its self-immolation the poor machine reportedly said:

      “Solidarity with the comrades Siao, Hodey and Maya, recently arrested in Germany for defending the Hambach forest!

      Strength to the anarchist Natalia Collado, imprisoned in Chile because she liberated a Transantiago bus with fire!”

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

The Anarchists Have Been Right All Along.

        Anarchist have been consistent in their belief that, if you seek freedom and justice for all, you can't modify the state and/or capitalism, you have to destroy them both. However, this hasn't exactly went down wholeheartedly among the general population. One reason could be that it is difficult to go out and take on the state when your fridge is full, you're booked for a nice holiday abroad. and the "far right" hasn't been rampant on the streets. Now the situation has shifted, lots of people have empty fridges, can't afford any holidays, and the far right is openly on the march, trying to kick the shit out of all those who dare to be different. It is obvious that the so called "left parties" have failed miserably in bringing about a fair and just society, they haven't even been able to defend the few perks that have been won through centuries of struggle, they have presided over the social fabric of society being wiped away before our very eyes, while they displayed their complete impotence.

      We have to shout our ideas louder than ever, people are looking for answers, and if our ideas are not on the table, they wont be picked up. Encouragingly though, our ideas are being picked up, more and more people now realise that the "left parties" as an opposition, have been the problem, and allowed the "far right" to flourish, allowed neo-liberalism to run rampant, and allowed our standard of living to be whittled away.  Politics today, must be moved away from the party political system, moved away from the marble halls, party leaders, presidents, prime ministers, must be ignored, politics must move onto the streets and into the communities. 

      Our struggles can no longer be confined to the local or national level, our enemy is a global enemy, and so we must see a world without borders. Wherever the people enter into open rebellion against the state and/or its bed partner, capitalism, we must display bold and virulent open solidarity with them. Their struggle is our struggle. I can hear the whisper that is becoming a roar, "The anarchist have been right all along." 

 And from It's Going Down:

     Electoral politics feeds off of grassroots social movements and struggles, not into them.

       As Scott Jay wrote:

[E]lectoral activism feeds into electoral activism. It relies on itself to further itself. It attracts people who are attracted to electoral politics and generally does not attract people engaging in class struggle. It does not need, nor does it feed class struggle, except to the extent that it might be able to take advantage of the sacrifices of militants in order to declare itself a proper representative of a social movement it did not create.

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

The Coming War On China.

 

      The other night I did something unusual, I sat and watched a 2 hour documentary on TV, I must admit it was 2 hours well spent. The documentary was John Pilger's "The Coming War On China", it was jammed pact with facts and figures, backed up by photos and statements. What it shows is that there is a savage insanity running through the whole Western capitalist system. War and destructive power are its main ingredients. There is not a shred of humanity to be found in the plans and aims of this juggernaut of manic hate, driven by the militarised American empire. From blatant use of humans in experiments with radioactivity, to outrageous lies to communities, to commandeering whole islands, and destroying the lives and way of life of thousands of ordinary people. All this driven by a paranoia that sees China as something that must be destroyed, no matter the costs.  In their marble halls of power they sit and draw up plans that could, if implemented, destroy all life on the planet, this is, somehow in their deranged minds, is defending freedom.

       If there is anybody out there who still has doubts as to the destructive nature of capitalism, then I ask you to sit and take the time to watch this documentary to the last frame. Not only was my disgust for this system supercharged, my hatred of the capitalist system strongly reinforced, my anger went off the scale. On top of that there was a foreboding feeling of dread, tinged with fear for my kids and grand kids. Watch this Documentary and join the millions across the world who are fighting to bring down this nightmare cancer that is eating at the heart of our planet. It could be much later than you think. 

       As the American establishment feels its power diminishing, it becomes more desperate, more paranoid, more deranged, and grasps around for ways to regain its world dominance, to to them China is seen as the root cause of their slipping power, and so must be destroyed, and to hell with humanity. Sadly, we are part and parcel of that insane destructive nightmare with our Trident nuclear submarines and there nuclear weapons. We are truly living in an asylum, we must break down the walls and regain our freedom before it is all too late.   

 

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

In Defence Of Autonomy.

 

       This year's demonstrations marking the anniversary of the murder by a police officer, of young 15 year old Alexis Gigoropoulos on December 6th. 2008, turned into a confrontation with the repressive police responsible for that murder, and a large group of anarchists. The battle of resistance mainly took place around Exarcheia Square.
      There are estimates that there were 800-1,000 activists involved in that struggle for autonomy around Exarcheia Square, though as far as the babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media were concerned, it never happened.

This report from Anarchist News:

The Exarcheia Commune Rises and Defends Itself, 
a Review of the Battle

Ons Danse le Lachymo…”
Graffiti, France, July 2016
(transl. “We Dance the Teargas”)

“ Comrade, will you watch these while I throw one?” He is tall, masked from head to toe in black, and is known to me. As he speaks he motions to a milk crate stuffed with Molotovs.
“ Sure…go ahead,” I say as I light a cigarette and settle in to guard the precious weapons stash while he tosses the thing at the Social Enemy. Ten minutes later he returns and in spite of the dark night, his black clothing, and the shadow we stand in, he glows with happiness---like the Molotov he just launched, he is alight.
Strategy
The strategy was simple, and for the anarchists new: defend the beating anarchist heart of Athens, of Greece, perhaps the world. Block, stop, and turn back any and all attempts by the Athens Police to get to Exarcheia Square. And do so in a coordinated fashion between all the various groups, teams and squats. Each entity taking responsibility for one or two streets—ensuring they are effectively blocked. This in contrast to previous years when the rioting was scattered, unfocussed and usually developed into clashes around the Polytechnic, the University complex set off several blocks from the Square. This year, the Polytechnic and its environs played no role whatsoever, but Exarcheia Square sure as hell did. Finally, in crystalline form, the strategy was to take and keep liberated territory, to free a community—if only for a few hours.

And further on:

Order of Battle
Anarchists: 800-1,000. Organized as teams of between 5 and 10 fighters. Those from Exarcheia were assigned to various barricades and maintained themselves within their area. Those from outside Exarcheia roamed, the sound of flash bang grenades drawing them to specific streets, militants would frantically move from barricade to barricade as cop charges changed location and intensity. In a lull most hung out in Exarcheia, drank beer, talked, and scrounged for more stuff to throw. The number dwindled over the night to perhaps two hundred when the militants finally dumped arms and hostilities ceased, about 11:00 pm.
Cops: 200-300 (a guess). Based on my observations of the number per charge (20 cops maximum) and the number of barricades being simultaneously probed and harassed—upwards of five, and the number of police needed to provide logistics, support, command, reserves, and to steer traffic well out of the area.
Snapshots
As I sit and write this on the Isle of Lesvos a short 24 hours after the battle a number of scenes come to mind. Sitting in a room discussing preparations for the night, many of the militants standing, pacing, nervous with energy to get started. As I guarded the Molotovs having some Italian comrades wander by. They asked for a Molotov, which I provided and we all agreed that the Greeks had done something very right. Helping a young woman overcome by gas, who, when the Riopan got into her eyes and nose immediately recovered. Like a stoned person suddenly sober-- she straightened, said, “Thank you Comrade,” turned and headed back to the barricade she was attending to. The sight of burning barricades, great arcs of Molotovs fuses sputtering as they flew and struck home in the ranks of the police. The shouting, chanting, laughing, talking--the feeling of really finally being alive. One’s hair standing on end as the flash bangs explode and teargas projectiles clatter on the ground and cloud the street. Finally on my way back to the apartment I was staying at, I noticed a small store open, with several people playing cards at a table in the back. I knocked on the door--needed smokes and something to drink. They motioned me in, and asked where I was from, a few questions and finally one of the older men asked,” So tonight did you see the riots?”
“Yes,” I answered not wanting to give too much away.
“And who are you with, the young people or the cops?”
Hesitantly I said,” The young people, always.”
He smiled broadly and answered,” So are we.”

Read the full article HERE:

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We Will Not Forget.

 

 In memory of Alexia Gigoropoulos.

      Anyone who is aware of the murder of 15 year old youth, Alexis Gigoropoulos, by a police officer in Exarchia, Athens, in 2008, would be well aware that the people of Athens would not allow the anniversary of his cold bloodied murder to go unmarked. Every year since his murder in 2008, large protests against police violence, have take place on December 6th, in towns and cities across Greece. That evening in, December 6th. 2008, Alexis, like so many youths, was hanging out with his friend Niko Romanos in an open air café in Exarchia. Because of a few words of banter from the youths, a police officer drew his gun and shot 15 year old Alexis, who died on the street in the arms of his friend Niko. Niko went on to become a very committed and involved anarchist, and is now in prison. The state, by its actions, always breeds hate against the state.

 Niko Romanos after his arrest.

     So it would be expected that this year, like the previous years, is no exception, and the people of Greece will shout loud and clear, we do not forget, we will not forgive.

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Tear Down The Walls.

      Our capitalist, so called democratic society, simply comprises of two types of prisons, there is the one occupied by the vast majority of people, the open prison with its illusion of freedom. However, you are still confined within its framework of CCTV cameras, wage slavery, consumerist and subservient adherence to the established order of inequality. For the majority of people this means that your quality of life is inseparably linked to you market value on any particular day. Then there is the other prison, the closed prison, with its total surveillance, bars, guards, brutal repression and total control. This one is reserved for those who can't, or won't, play by the rules laid down for the smooth running of this unjust exploitative system. If you are a threat to the established order of this society of inequality, then you are very likely to end up in the closed prison. The human spirit being what it is, most of those the state deems "a threat", and condemns to the closed prison, continue their fight for freedom from within these barbaric cages of repression. The methods and tactics of their struggles comprises of many imaginative and courageous variations and should always demand our solidarity and support. The hunger strike is one such avenue of struggle, and should be seen as a barometer of the inhumane barbarity within the prison system. This is the ultimate sacrifice, and can only be carried out by a principled individual, for they are laying down their life for those principles. No system can be included in a civilised society that pushes an individual to take such a step. There is no place within a civilised society for prisons, freedom can only flourish when all the prisons are rubble, and a dark memory from our distant past.

This from Act For freedom Now:

PDF : HUNGER STRIKE AS A MEANS OF STRUGGLE TEAR DOWN THE BASTILLE VOICES FROM INSIDE THE WALLS GREECE ISSUE 6 – APRIL 2016

INTRODUCTORY NOTE
         The “publication of tear down bastille” is in the frames of the functioning of the Solidarity fund for imprisoned and prosecuted fighters and is distributed in- side, as well as outside the walls. The main activity of the fund is to contribute to the livelihood needs of the people who are in- carcerated for their subversive actions and participation in social struggles. Within its capabilities, lies also the support of people whose constant and persistent attitude within the daily prison life has been identified with dignity, solidarity, and the struggle. However, one of its additional main priorities is the contribution to the spreading of the words of the prisoners and the overcoming of its barriers, posed by their incarceration.
          Those of us who take on the publication of this issue are limited to its technical processing and distribution. The texts come exclusively from fighting prisoners – not always only from those who are materially supported by the fund, but also others who decide to stand tall against authority and the devastating condition of incarceration. This present issue is an exception, because it has fulfilled the subjects it’s called to cover. In this case, besides the letters from imprisoned comrades there is also a historical review which was written by the funds’ assembly. Through publishing the thoughts and experiences of prisoners, through the spreading of their words, we seek to make them as present as possible in the daily processes of the fighters outside the walls, we want to shake the barriers of silence, fragmentation, the division among the oppressed, we chose to incarnate the projects of struggle and solidarity in one more way.
       This specific issue refers to hunger strike as a means of struggle, a matter that has intensely concerned not only those directly involved but also those in solidarity, as well as a large part of Greek society. A hunger strike, as a means of struggle, was never a desperate move, or simply a “peace- full” protest in order to project the victimization of the hunger striker and extract sensitivity and charity. It is a conscious struggle, where the coordination of those inside and outside is a necessary condition in order for there to be a result, but also to maintain the strengths of those fighting. Despite all this, we realize that the hunger strike is the ultimate means that a prisoner could choose, we think it is of imperative need to cultivate a bidirectional struggle dynamic inside and outside the walls, that will prevent the condition of someone placing their own body as a mound.
The struggle for revolution and the tearing down of very prison still remains open.
Solidarity Fund For Imprisoned And Persecuted Fighters
http://tameio.net/
For Communication:
tameio@espiv.net
Tear Down The Bastille:
Voices From Inside The Walls

Read the PDF HERE: 

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