From Russia With Love

       In the face of continued repression individuals can, and do, become desperate, and do things that may be far removed from their normal line of thought. Capitalism and the state is a brutal poisonous marriage, driving millions of people in this world to the point of desperation, causing them untold misery and steeping them in savagery. So it is not surprising that some of them resort to the same brutal methods of the state, attacking the problem with violence.

   On the recent bomb explosion at an office of the Russian security service, this from crimethinc:

      A year ago, the Russian Federal Security Service—the FSB—initiated a wave of repression, arresting and brutally torturing anarchists in order to force them to sign false statements admitting to participating in a supposed terrorist group invented by the Russian authorities. The ensuing crackdowns put tremendous pressure on anarchists around Russia; you can learn more about the cases and solidarity efforts here. Today, a young Russian anarchist died in an attack on the FSB headquarters in Arkhangelsk. The FSB has gotten its wish, bullying young Russians into carrying out bombings rather than engaging in public organizing. Below, we present a rough translation of the initial report from Russian anarchists, including the young man’s personal claim of responsibility.
      As we have previously emphasized, we don’t believe that individual attacks on specific authority figures will suffice to abolish the institutional power of the state and capitalism. But the Russian state has left precious few alternatives for those who desire a means of bringing about positive change. At the conclusion of a week that has seen a tremendous upswing in authoritarian repression and fascist violence around the world, from Pittsburgh to Brazil, it is time for us to discuss how we can collectively respond to the escalating violence of the state and its fascist supporters.
     It also bears mentioning that the FSB is directly descended from the KGB, showing the continuity of oppression between state socialism and capitalism.
     We respectfully bid farewell to this young man who took a stand against repression, torture, and deceit, doing the best he could with the few options that were available to him. Let’s organize together to give people like him a reason to live. Please go to the support page for those targeted by the FSB operation.

      Visual survey report on the torture that the FSB inflicted on arrestee Igor Shishkin, from the Public Monitoring Commission findings.
From bo-ak.org:
      At 8:52 am, at the entrance to the FSB Directorate for the Arkhangelsk Region, an explosion took place. The anarchist rebel, Zhlobitsky Mikhail Vasilyevich, also known on the app Telegram as Valerian Panov, blew himself up. This is the first case of anarchists carrying out such an attack on the FSB in 19 years; the previous attack was organized in 1999 at the reception of the FSB in Moscow by the New Revolutionary Alternative organization.
      The comrade died as a result of the explosion, also causing injuries of varying severity to three officers of the FSB.
     Seven minutes before the explosion, Valerian left a message in one of the anarchist chats via Telegram, in which he described the reasons for his action:

      Comrades, now in the FSB building in Arkhangelsk there will be a terrorist attack, the responsibility for which I take upon myself. The reasons are clear to you. Since the FSB fabricates cases and tortures people, I decided to go for it. Most likely, I will die because of the explosion, because I have initiated the charge directly by pressing the button attached to the bomb cover. Therefore, you are requested to spread information about the terrorist attack: who committed it and what the reasons were.
      Well, sort of like everything. I wish you to go unswervingly and uncompromisingly towards our goal. Light to you, the future of anarchist communism!

      We bow our heads before the heroism of our comrade. We were not acquainted in person, but through communication, he left an impression of himself as an intelligent and well-prepared person who was not apathetic, who aspired to go beyond the swamp of the official opposition struggle that is now mainstream.
       We are sorry that he had no other choice, no way to do more damage to the enemy with less harm to himself.
      Yet be that as it may, he lived as he thought was right, and died as a hero in the struggle for our common ideals.

As the Kurds say—Şehid namirin! Heroes do not die!

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Precarious Workers Organise.

 

     Capitalism continually morphs trying to rescue itself from crisis after crisis. However all the changes never enhance the working conditions of the ordinary people. The previous crisis ushered in austerity, another name for stripping the funding from social service to repay the financial mafia's gambling losses. During this period the most wealthy managed to double their wealth, while the ordinary people went from "just about managing" to an ever precarious struggle to survive.

      The latest crisis  coming in on the back of austerity, has seen the expansion of zero hours contracts, part-time working and the gig economy. All of these are another step in protecting their ability to cream ever greater profit from the workers. It is a planned development to erode workers conditions stripping them of paid holidays, guaranteed income, sick pay, and saving the employers from paying national insurance. It also frees them from any responsibility for accidents at work and working conditions.

     This form of work, is likely to grow as more and more employers see the benefits to them of making workers "self-employed", freeing employers from any responsibility and lowering their costs. If there is anyone out there that thinks that the government, who work hand in glove with the employers, is likely to do anything to reverse this trend, they are living in the fog of naive illusion. Employers are working towards the ordinary people being units on the self, for the employer to pick up when they need them, and to be dumped back on the self to survive as best they can, until some other employer sees the need to pick up a couple more to be used in the same temporary manner.

     The only way that these workers will see any improvement in their conditions or improvement in their life style and security, is to organise in conjunction with other workers and the unemployed.

     It is encouraging to see that is what they are starting to do. Recently we had the couriers strike, and two protests and rallies of "precarious workers", which covers all those mentioned above and more. One in London and one in Glasgow, but they need the solidarity of all workers, unemployed and pensioners. As their conditions are stripped away it impinges on all our communities. Without organising we face a society of impoverished workers and social services stripped to the bone.    

Some photos from today's demonstration in Glasgow's George Square:

Some from the London demonstration:

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

Down Bristol Way.

Bristol Tattoo Circus 3rd + 4th November 2018 

 

  

         We are excited to say Bristol will be hosting it’s first ever Tattoo Circus this year! Open at 10 both days and stuff going on all day and till late.
 

What’s going down?
       It will be a weekend full of tattoos from local and international artists and will be a chance to bring together folk from tattoo, DIY and anarchist circles. There will also be workshops on prison abolition, stalls, tasty snacks and music throughout the weekend. The principle of a Tattoo Circus is that it is a non-hierarchical, non-competitive and non-commercial event where nobody makes a profit. Everyone involved will be donating their time for free and all money raised will go to Bristol Anarchist Black Cross, a group focused on supporting prisoners and furthering campaigns for prison abolition.
 

History of the Tattoo Circus:
       The first Tattoo Circus happened in Rome in 2007 as a solidarity event, to support the anti-prison struggle and to create a space where tattoo culture and political activism could merge. Since its birth 11 years ago, tattoo artists from all over Europe (Barcelona, London, Thessaloniki, Bern, Athens, Madrid, etc.) have come together to co-create events with the aim of supporting political struggle of various kinds and also celebrating tattoo and DIY culture.

 

More information and full program HERE: 

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

 

Just Another Figurehead In The Capitalist Dictatorship.

        Another election and another right-wing swing of a government, Jair Bolsonaro, ex-army officer who sings the praises of Brazil’s military dictatorship of 1964-1985 and has defended its use of torture on leftist opponents, “I am in favour of torture — you know that. And the people are in favour of it, too.”
        This psychopathic, anti-abortion, racist, homophobic nonentity, has been handed the power to control the lives of the people of Brazil, his policies should be clear, as he carries the nickname of, “The Trump of the Tropics.” . Obviously big money was behind him, making sure their desired illusion was woven by the Brazilian, babbling brook of bullshit, their mainstream media. Fantasy answers to the people’s problems, appealing to the lowest common denominator, and bolstering poisonous nationalism.

         It shows the power and efficiency of the babbling brook of bullshit, when it can win votes for a man who sees nothing wrong in rape, his comment to female official, “I would not rape you because you are not worthy of it.”, and after having fathered three sons stated that his fourth child, a daughter, was his moment of weakness. Somehow the propaganda machine of the rich and powerful has persuaded the people of Brazil to hand over power to this lover of dictatorships. No doubt, with the control of the police, military and judicial system in his hands, he will go about hastily carving his own name on the list of brutal dictators that have shed the blood of millions of ordinary people, a list that has savaged the history of the ordinary people.
         For years now, we have all lived under the dictatorship of capitalism, and in countries where there is insufficient control by that dictatorship, up pops the “hero” who will make the country great again, who will take us back to the illusionary “good old days” when everything was fine and dandy. It has been said often and by many, that elections change nothing, this is not exactly true. Under the dictatorship of capitalism, elections function to change the degree of control needed to keep that dictatorship in power. This is what has happened in Brazil, with the aid of the babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, backed up by big money from powerful people and corporations, this election will reshape capitalism in that country, giving it greater control over the people of that country and its resources.
       The enemy is not the dictator, the real enemy is the dictatorship of capitalism over the world’s people and its resources. Jair Bolsonaro, is just another figurehead of that dictatorship.

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

 

International Video Poetry Festival, Athens.

     If in Athens at the end of November this year, you will have the opportunity to visit The International Video Poetry Festival, well worth a visit. You still have time to send in your work to be part of this growing international festival.

 

 

    The yearly International Video Poetry Festival 2018 will be held for seventh time in Athens / Greece. Approximately 1200 people attended the festival last year.
       The 7th International Video Poetry Festival will run for two days in two different zones. The first day will be the Show Room Video Poetry. An unique zone that will include video poems, visual poems, short film poems and cinematic poetry by artists from all over the world (America, Asia, Europe, Africa). The second day will be the Live Improvisation Zone with multimedia poetry reading, concerts with experimental music and performances.
      We are inviting the artists – poets, video artists, performers, directors, producers – who want to visit the festival to present their art project at the Theatre. We can provide to them accommodation for 3 days (one day before the festival, during the festival and one day afterwards).
      The International Video Poetry Festival 2018 attempts to create an open public space for the creative expression of all tendencies and streams of contemporary visual poetry.
       It is very important to notice that this festival is a part of the counter-culture activities of Void Network and + the Institute [for Experimental Arts] and will be non-sponsored, free entrance, non commercial and nonprofit event. The festival will cover the costs (2000 posters, 15.000 flyers, high quality technical equipment) from the incomes of the bar of the festival. All the participating artists and the organizing groups will participate voluntary to the festival.
       The Institute [for Experimental Arts] invites the artists and creators of video poems to participate from their side in our effort to cover the expenses of the festival without private or state sponsorship. For this reason we propose to the artists the suggested donation of 5 euro for the submission of their video poems.
       The participation is free and each artist can send more than one work ( 1 to 3 video poems for free). 

      The International Video Poetry Festival 2018 attempts to create an open public space for the creative expression of all tendencies and streams of contemporary visual poetry.
      Void Network started organizing multi media poetry nights in 1990. Void Network and +the Institute [for Experimental Arts] believe that multi media Poetry Nights and Video Poetry shows can vibrate in the heart of Metropolis, bring new audiences in contact with contemporary poetry and open new creative dimensions for this ancient art. To achieve this, we respect the aspirations and the objectives of the artists, create high quality self organized exhibition areas and show rooms, we work with professional technicians and we offer meeting points and fields of expression for artists and people that tend to stand antagonistically to the mainstream culture.
       We would like to thank Dave Bonta from the influential video art site Moving Poems, a global site with the best video poems in the web that inspired us to create the International Video Poetry Festival in Athens and we cooperate since 2012 to spread out the announcement of the Festival each year so as to gather participations from all over the world.
           DEAD LINE FOR SUBMISSION: no later than November 20, 2018 (date of postmark)
      HOW TO SUBMIT A WORK:
      Click here to download and complete the submission form:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pIWEeQd3VUQAF4anMUUobO6bdEYHRS1AwRUtSbz6XTY/edit?usp=sharing
      1. Your participation is FREE. Please you can add the suggested donation of 5 euro (or more) to the following bank account: National Bank of Greece 04664860451 Iban GR2101100460000004664860451 Swift (BIC) ETHNGRAA
       2. Please, send the submission material via email as following:
via email: your video poems in mp4 or mov file, definition (720 x 576, 1280 x 720, 1920 x 1080) the submission form and photos in .jpg file (all these in a single wetransfer file) Email: theinstitutecontact [at] gmail.com
*please replace [at] with @ symbol to send email
       You can use wetransfer.com or any other FREE SERVICE to send us big files.
        3. It is very important to name your files (videos and still images, photos) as it is shown below:
       Title of video poem, Artist’s name, Countrry
      4. Be careful, you have to send only one email with the application form, the link to download, the video poems or the video poems archives, the still images of the video poems and any website of your art work projects
      5. We recommend you to add English or Greek subtitles to your video poems even if the spoken language is in English as it will be easier for people outside the English spoken world to understand it.
       We suggest you send your video poems through internet. Otherwise you can also post your DVD file in the following address
INTERNATIONAL VIDEO POETRY FESTIVAL
TASOS SAGRIS
159 KREONTOS
SEPOLIA ATHENS
GREECE 10443
      Please post it not later than November 20, 2018(date of postmark) to the International Film Poetry Festival, Athens. The Institute [for Experimental Arts] will inform you about your participation in early December 2018.
      International Video Poetry Festival photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/98573745@N03/albums/72157636930950693
       You can look here for some photos of previous poetry nights organized by Void Network and + the Institute [for Experimental Arts]:
http://voidnetwork.gr/2/5th-international-video-poetry-festival-sat
http://voidnetwork.gr/2015/10/20/speak-no-evil-poetry-even
       for more photos from Void Network art, events and actions :
http://flickr.com/photos/voidnetwork

       The 7th International Video Poetry Festival is dedicated to the Chinese radical poet and photographer Ren Hang, one of the leading lights of the new generation of Chinese photographers. Ren Hang was arrested many times for his sexually explicit, joyously celebratory photography. Although he was globally renowned, he never gained the recognition he deserved in his home country, in part because he was repeatedly denied the opportunity to display his work in Beijing and throughout China.
      Read more about Ren Hang to the following link:
http://artasiapacific.com/News/ObituaryRenHang19872017

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

Women On The March, Glasgow.

       Today, Tuesday October 23rd., the streets in the centre of Glasgow were greeted to a joyful, good humoured, noisy procession.  Care workers, council employees, were on strike for parity of pay with men, and held a procession, ending with a rally in George Square. As they noisily weaved their way through the streets of Glasgow, they were greeted by applause from the side of the road, though sadly, I must say, mainly by women. This is a dispute that has dragged on for about ten years now. It is strange that in a so called democracy they are still fighting for equality and justice. What is about fairness and justice that the powers that be don't understand?

     I would put the numbers about a thousand or so, a fair turnout. While watching the energy, solidarity, boisterous and vociferous nature of the whole affair, the thought occurred to me, that if we want a revolution in the UK, we should perhaps leave it to the women, they seem to come together in a much more rebellious nature.

     Some photos:

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