Solidarity With The Exploited, Not The Exploiters

      An interesting article from "Bordered by Silence", raising the question, is there a strike you wouldn't support? In my opinion, it is a matter of solidarity with the exploited, not the exploiters. so it is a definite yes.

  -------In April, some workers were quite reasonably sick of the management’s bullshit and decided to turn their anger into action. Some members of management found themselves forced to work a bit of overtime, and one of them got a serious talking to. The police intervened to save the poor suits. A few hours later, a night team, though quickly assembled, decided to take action. Not to produce merchandise and further enrich the boss, but rather by finally doing a something useful in the factory: a large part of the work space (notably the offices) were ably destroyed using a forklift, which also caught fire shortly after. As well, several cars belonging to the bosses suffered broken headlights. Destroy what destroy us, that’s what it’s about; and that’s precisely our point.

      The next day, a union rep appeared on scene to show off his nervous face for the cameras and to condemn these joyful acts of human dignity. Well of course, a union rep is, in a way, there to protect the factory: even when he seems nice, he’s still a cop. When the decisive moment arrives, it’s clear to see which side he’s on. The unions were much more excited about the prison guards strike in Brussels and Wallonia that lasted several weeks [2]. Unlike the prisoners-----

And:

   ------Imagine for a moment… Locked up inside the bare walls of a prison, deprived of freedom and at the mercy of fickle and unscrupulous people who make their living locking others in concrete cages. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, they go on strike as well. Not because they’re sick of slamming the cell doors day after day, but because they want a better salary and more colleagues to help them in their grim task.
       The unions and leftists supported the strike, but there is a fundamental difference between these two methods of putting pressure on the boss: there are the strikers who block or destroy the machines, and thus the production of merchandise, and those who put the lives of prisoners at risk. Because when the screws go on strike, the prisoners don’t get showers, visits, or yard time [3]. Everyone spends the whole day locked in their cell, with the intolerable consequences that follow. In many places, the prisoners didn’t just suffer through the strike without doing anything and some unrest broke out. In the Tournai, Arlon, Huy, Landtin, and Andenne prisons, the prisoners responded by burning their cells, flooding the units, trashing the hallways, etc. Saturday May 7, a devastating mutiny rocked the Merkplas prison in Anvers. Whole wings were destroyed and burnt by the insurgent prisoners. Walls were leveled, fences torn down, whole units ransacked. Between striking guards and prisoners in revolt, it’s clear which side we’re on.-------

Read the full article HERE:

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The Malignant Power Of Invisible Holy Men.

        Too often religion in Western society gets an easy ride, well at least the Christian variety. In mainstream politics religion is almost taboo territory, a place you don’t go. So many of the mainstream politicians hold deeply religious views, and this is passed over as if it had no bearing on their decisions. However, a devout Catholic will have very strong views on things like abortion, family planning, education etc. but this will not be taken as a conflict of interests when they find themselves sitting on committees shaping legislation on these matters for others of no religion. Apart from this, the institution of religion is dressed in a gown of peace, love and charity, when in fact it is a very rich and powerful authoritarian pillar of the capitalist society. The church has blessed wars, spread the snake oil of submissiveness on poverty, and supported inequality, as it holds the hands of monarchs, prime ministers and presidents, suffers amnesia regarding is centuries old litany of physical and sexual abuse, maintains that lying position of not getting involved in politics, but manoeuvres its devout followers into positions of power. Our present Prime minister is a devout Christian and seeks the advice of her invisible friend in the sky. Religion is at the heart of the repressive system under which we live. There can be no freedom as long as religion and state are intertwined with their cheating hands on the levers off power. Religion must be seen for what it is, a power hungry, homophobic repressive authoritarian regime, the enemy of free choice, with a history of savage brutality, a control system that seeks world wide domination, based on the fairy tales and myths of some long gone ancient tribes.

         Of course there are those who don't see religion as an innocent bystander to the repression of the individuals freedom.

This from Contra Info:

Thessaloniki, Greece:
Church attacked in solidarity with Mónica and Francisco.

    In the early hours of December 8th 2016, we decided to attack the Church of Prophet Elijah at Olympiados Street in Thessaloniki, setting fire to its entrance and interiors. This act was in solidarity with anarchist prisoners Mónica Caballero and Francisco Solar, accused of an explosive attack at El Pilar cathedral in Zaragoza on October 2nd 2013. In fact, during that period the Catholic Church in Spain had been struck by a series of attacks because of its willingness to limit access to abortions.
         Every religion is our enemy. It sustains the status quo, pacifying the society with norms that later become laws. It bases its power on believers’ hopes of a future afterlife, stifling any desire for insurgency today, in the here and now. It justifies war based on cultural differences that religion itself has created.
        This is also the role of the church in Greece’s contemporary reality, and beyond. Its all-powerful political role is exercised by its fascist, patriotic, xenophobic rhetoric, always in tandem and direct relation with politicians, cops, judges and journalists.
         At the same time it is well-known that the church is constantly trying to expand its economic hegemony and immeasurable wealth, which rests on the possession of huge tracts of land, buildings, etc. With a view to obtaining profits by means of speculation, it sets up a charitable façade which has nothing to do with reality.
         Finally, it has a huge social and cultural influence, being a pillar of the patriarchal system. It promotes (both externally and internally) heteronormativity, homophobia, and rape culture in its entirety. Its position on the place of women, sexuality or abortion is indicative of its stance on many such issues.

Solidarity with anarchists held captive in prisons.

 

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A Big Thank You.

 

       Just a wee announcement, Spirit of Revolt, organised a raffle among its friends and comrades, to assist in funding running costs, the draw was on Wednesday 28th of December. The results are as follows:

        The Spirit of Revolt 2016 Hogmanay raffle was drawn on 28th. December as arranged. There were 6 members of the Spirit of Revolt group present at the draw. The numbers of the winning tickets are as follows:

1st. prize, Hamper,
winning ticket 0240

2nd. prize, Smoothie maker,
winning ticket 0636

3rd. prize, 2 signed James Kelman books,
winning ticket 0625

4th. prize, Ann Vance painting, 
winning ticket oo64

5th. prize, £25 AK Press voucher,
winning ticket 0118

6th. prize, £20 Mono/Stereo/Flying Duck voucher,
winning ticket 0303

7th. prize, Bottle of whisky,
winning ticket 0351

8th. prize, £10 Tam Shepard voucher,
winning ticket 0093

      All the prizes have been, or are in the process of being, delivered to the appropriate ticket holders. Spirit of Revolt would like to thank all those who donated prizes, and all those volunteers who worked hard at selling the tickets, but even more, we thank all those who purchased tickets. A big thank-you to you all. All the proceeds of the raffle will go to help Spirit of Revolt go from strength to strength in doing what it is doing, collecting your history and making it easily and freely available to all.

     We at Spirit of Revolt, are all volunteers, however we do need funding for day to day running costs, website hosting, archivist, archiving materials, equipment, etc., and a multitude of day to day bits and pieces that crop up on a regular basis in this capitalist society. Have a look at what we do, and see if you think we do a worthwhile job. If you think we do, then perhaps you could take a moment to click onto our donate button and help us continue. any donation no matter how small, a one of, or a small regular standing order, from a couple of pounds to what ever you feel you would like to give. It will be well appreciated. Thank you. 

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Avalanche.

 

    Issue 9 of the anarchist magazine Avalanche is now available to download as a free PDF.

        Anarchists always appropriated means to spread anti-authoritarian ideas and struggles to feed the dialogue and subversive action. It is in this sense that this publication is also intended as a tool, more precisely that of providing a space to nourish the international debate between anarchists. That is why these particular pages create space for struggles that spring from anarchist activities; autonomous, direct and self-organized struggles; struggles that go towards the destruction of power in all its forms; struggles happening today, yesterday or that are announcing itself.

  Get it HERE:

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When Criticism Is A Crime.

       The state’s survival is dependent on submissiveness and control, hence it will always try to find ways and means of stifling any form of dissent. Anarchist philosophy is based on the creating a state free society, so naturally it goes without saying, anarchist will always be at the sharp end of that state repression. In countries across the globe, anarchist autonomous centres are evicted and trashed, their papers closed down, and in many cases, the supporters imprisoned on trumped up charges. I have always seen Turkey as an extremely repressive state, more so than some of the others in the West. Many years ago I was involved in a campaign in support of a Kurdish lawyer in Turkey, who had been imprisoned for ten years, his crime, editing a Kurdish language magazine in Turkey, the Kurdish language, at that time, being banned in Turkey. Today in Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey things have deteriorated much further down the repression route. Journalists are detained at the slightest hint of criticism of the Turkish state, radio stations are closed if they don’t shower the state and its psychopathic leader with praise. Now they have gone one step further, you don’t have to criticise the Turkish state, you can find yourself in prison if you dare to write an article in support of people in another country struggling to build democracy. This is the nature of the beast, “the state”, they are all dependent on your acceptance of their monopoly on power. Our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, will point to regimes in other lands and label them “repressive”, despotic” and “undemocratic” but they are all just different flavours of the same poison. The state is an authoritarian edifice that will die if the people grasp their freedom, and freedom will die of we allow the state to flourish.
This from Freedom Press:

Meydan issue 30.

       The editor of Meydan Gazette in Istanbul was jailed for a year and three months on December 22nd for “propagandising the methods of a terror organisation” in a free-speech case which dragged on for nearly a year.

        Hüseyin Civan and the Gazette were taken to court after an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor over a December 2015 issue of the paper, which has supported Kurdish revolutionaries fighting in Rojava. The three offending articles were titled “Both Arrival and Departure of State is From Fear” “Banned Until Further Notice” and “Recreating Life.”

       Representing the Gazette and Civan, lawyer Davut Erkan stated that the decision was illegal and would be appealed, if necessary, all the way to the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights.
      In a statement Meydan, which is based just a few streets away from Gezi Park, said:

Our managing editor was charged with “propagandising for the methods of a terrorist organisation employing coercion, violence or threats, through legitimising, praising or encouraging the use of these methods.”
As we emphasised in articles leading up to the investigation, the “State will never be able to lock away the passion and conviction for freedom of the peoples.”
As an anarchist newspaper we know that the free life we believe in can only be created through struggle. We will never give up writing about what we stand for and distributing what we write. We will continue to resist, act and write against oppression, and against these investigations, custodies and arrests.

Journalists have been heavily targeted in the Erdogan government’s post-coup crackdown, which has been heavily skewed against pro-Kurdish media. In October the left-wing Hayatin Sesi TV station was closed along with 24 other TV and radio stations, and hundreds of reporters have been detained, inspiring even some MPs to attempt civil disobedience in protest.
       The draconian measures have even stretched beyond Turkey’s borders, with the issuing of a red alert to Interpol for well-known Turkish-French journalist Maxime Azadi, who was picked up by Belgian authorities for alleged “co-operation” with terrorists on a year-old warrant on December 23rd.

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From The Mouths Of Babes----.

        What more can you say than, from the mouths of babes comes wisdom, and in this case, courage, determination, intelligence and solidarity. Perhaps we adults could learn something from them. Let's hope those kids are still thinking along the lines they were back then. Thanks Loam.

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The Deafening Silence From The Media On Rojava.

 

    As far as our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media is concerned, the only thing that is happening in the Syrian bloodshed is the killing of innocent people in Aleppo by the Assad regime, aided and abetted by the Russians. All else can be ignored, the Turkish regime carrying out genocide on the Kurdish people, can be overlooked, the struggling flower that is Rojava, is a name that they must not mention. It would be a crime in the eyes of the West, if the idea of a society based on equality should receive any positive publicity. They must be left to struggle in silence and face the savage wrath of the psychopathic leader of the Turkish nation. Turkey's brutal President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will be given a free hand to destroy the fight for democracy in Rojava, as the West looks the other way, and fills our minds with the suffering in Aleppo, in the hope that we will swallow the message, the West good guys, Russia and Assad, bad guys. However, you and I know that the war in Syria and surrounding area is a world imperialist war for the resources of the area. We owe it to the people of Rojava to offer up what ever solidarity, support and publicity we can, their struggle is our struggle for that better world.

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We Beat Storm Conner.

       Just back after a couple of days away to escape the consumer madness and the volume of crap flowing through the babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media. We didn't go too far, Luss on the shore of the beautiful Loch Lomond. Despite storm Conner, on Sunday night my daughter and family joined my partner, Stasia and I, and for about two and a half hours, there was a break in the rain. Long enough for us to find a bit on the Loch shore sheltered from the wind by a line of trees, where we lit a fire and indulged in munching goodies, enjoying a drink, and chat, not a drop of alcohol in sight. Then storm Conner opened the flood gates and we hastily doused the fire and headed for shelter. A great time was had by all. I'm not in the photos, somebody has to take them.

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Cop Or Soldier??

    Your friendly beat cop!!

         Militarism used to be a phrase that related to the state apparatus and how it enacted its foreign policy and how it waged war in some foreign land. However, today, militarism is a pervasive ideology that has crept into all aspects of our society, we are a military society. The militarising of the police force, the military style of dealing with civilian protests, with armed police patrolling our streets, check points and stop and search, the thin line between the military and the police has all but vanished. Now if you are anti-militarism, you must include the police in your critique.

Cop or soldier?

This from Bordered By Silence:

       “In recent years, ethnic, tribal, social, and political problematics have re-emerged and contributed to tensions and conflicts in many regions of the world. […]
“The logic of insurgency and counter-insurgency have become essentially urban questions […]
“Guerillas, insurgents, and other non-state actors have taken advantage of the benefits of operating in this environment and will doubtless continue to do so.”
NATO – Operations in urban areas 2020
2.3.2 The Nature of the Enemy – April 2003 [1]
the NATO Research and Technology organization in Neuilly-sur-seine [2]
         “The militarization of the state progresses at a hectic pace. More and more often and for many different reasons, military-style solutions are chosen that disturb or threaten to disturb the fragile social equilibrium”
Anarchist Prisoners of Korydallos
Letter on the assassination of Marian Kola – August 2013 [3]        In times of war. If it weren’t for the avalanche of alienation dispensed by the fourth estate, the media, and its commentaries that fade into declarations by decision-makers — ministers, presidents, religious leaders, and kings — we wouldn’t need to spell this all out. But the change in how uprisings happen and how they are repressed is clear, which means a debate about them is obviously necessary.
          Going forward, for the powerful, there are no clear front lines to hold: all conflicts have become asymmetrical. There are no longer regular armies to force into submission by diplomacy or strategy, treaty or ceasefire. Now, their enemies are everywhere and all wars will be total. The only victory is unconditional: by annihilating the adversary (by murder, enslavement, or imprisonment) or by full control over their subsistence and environment. This is done by means of magnetic cards (credit or ID), NGOs, military and police checkpoints [4], and by generalizing technological advances (like biometrics, surveillance, and virtual social networks).
        Here, we want to highlight that this avalanche of disinformation — the TV news steeped in a warrior tone, where even the reporting is set to imposing music — strategically misleads us, like the propaganda during the Second World War that tried to conceal terrible events in order to morally defeat the enemy civilian population.
Here, we want to highlight that the ongoing militarization of repression is aimed at Us: Those who are in conflict with the existent, its structures, its defenders, and its false critics.
       Of course, scenes of cops in action, armed to the teeth, and the moving declarations by military commanders and soldiers, as well as police and gendarmes, are demonstrations of the means used by the state to defend itself. Immediately, the testimony of terrified citizens and the families of victims ring out from the machines of the fourth estate, justifying the “emergency” measures “put in place”.
      But again, we need to clearly distinguish the propagandistic practices from the real ones and the fictional reasons from the true motivations. We need to distinguish the Logic of the State from Insurrectionary Motivation. Not that of some priest, imam, or ideologue, but those of the exploited, the deserters and the rebels. .
       We need to see the reality of the current conflict clearly:

Continue reading:

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A Festivus For The Rest Of Us.

        For all those sane and rational people out there, it would be nice if could celebrate, a Festivus For The Rest Of Us. Air your grievances with each other, shout your mouth off about all that is wrong with the world today, and forget all that decoration nonesense and consumer crap. 

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We Must Administer The Medicine.

 

       We are coming to the end of the annual epidemic of the disease of consumerism, a time of the year when millions sacrifice themselves on the altar of debt. The epidemic passes, but the disease of consumerism lives on, as does the burden of debt. At this time of the year, the babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, splurges out vast amounts of sewage in the form of "adverts" extolling the wonders of all manner of crap, the nearer we get to the cut off date of this consumer extravaganza, December 25th., the more neurotic the corporations become, and we see the magic of falling prices as they shout 10% off, 15% off, 20% off, 50% off and more, starting to display just how much they were ripping you off by, in the first place. No matter the occasion our capitalist society must turn it into one of mass consumerism. No event is complete without the sale of its paraphernalia, Christmas is just one of the major peaks in the disease of consumerism, which is slowly destroying the planet. We have the cure for this disease, but seem reluctant to administer the medicine, which is organising our communities on the basis of seeing to the needs of all our people through mutual aid and co-operation, free from the poisoning influence of profit, in a word, anarchism.

Here are some wonderful art works by Angel Boligan, for more visit arrezafe. 

 

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A Worker Is A Worker, Is A Worker, Is A Worker!!

       You have got to hand it to our corporate lords and masters, they never give up on their policy of trying to eliminate all workers organisations. The last thing they want is for the workers to be organised to defend their wages and conditions. Of course they get the backing of the babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, who crap on about the evil unions destroying everybody’s day by calling a strike, and the government responding with legislation to “limit the power of the unions”. One other the trend, is to get the workers “self-employed”, you do our work, but you are not one of our workers, you’re on you own buddy. Uber is probably the best known, but there are others. At the moment the people who “work” for Deliveroo are classified by the company as individual contractors, so the company refuses to recognise the union. With ”self-employed”, zero hours contracts, and part time work, the workforce is fragmented, apart from losing out on all the normally accept conditions, that were won by unionised struggle, and go with a “job”, such as holiday pay etc., it makes it more difficult to be organised to protect you pay and conditions, let alone fight for improvements. The bosses are well organised, they know the need to be organised, as they see the true position, bosses and workers are on opposite sides. The workers have to take a leaf out of that book, and realise the need for all “workers”, no matter the label that the bosses put on them, to be organised. The bosses know and accept that it is a struggle of opposites and they will pull out every dirty trick to get the advantage for their side of the battle. We have to do the same, come together, organise to support each other, and see the boss class as the enemy of our desire for that better life for all.

This appeal from Labour Start:

        Since November, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has been attempting to gain recognition (a collective bargaining agreement) from Deliveroo in London.
        If the IWGB is successful, it will be the first collective bargaining agreement in the UK's so called "gig economy" and will force Deliveroo to recognise their riders as workers.
        This will give them the right to the minimum wage, paid holidays, legal protection against discrimination and more.
        Deliveroo has rejected the initial request, but the union remains determined to succeed and a tribunal case is currently pending. But it shouldn't take a tribunal case to compel Deliveroo to do the right thing. They should recognise their drivers as "workers" and should recognise the union for the purposes of collective bargaining now.

Please click here to send a message to Deliveroo telling them to recognise the union now.

       And please share this message with your friends, family and fellow trade union members.

Thank you!



Eric Lee

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Have A Paracetamol.

         Well here we are, once again in the midst of the period when the illusion goes even crazier. Having struggled all year with such problems as heating your home, feeding your kids, and due to the cuts in social services, you are running ragged caring for your ageing parents. Now all your anxieties, fits of depression, loneliness and loss of confidence, can be sorted. It is just a matter of the right perfume, shower gel, super razor, or getting rid of your dandruff. How foolish of you, you didn’t realise that happiness comes in coloured boxes, the more boxes, the more happiness. Your job prospects are enhanced, if you would just pick the right four-wheel drive car. Your self esteem will grow, your sex life will be more exciting, and your standing among your peers will know no bounds, if you just run out and buy that new outfit. Yes, it is the season of the grand illusion, our society has found the secret of happiness and fulfilment it is to be found in coloured boxes. 

        Gone are the thoughts of those 58,000 homeless in England, up by a third since 2010/11, a large proportion of them working, the 3,400 families with children living in B&B’s, steadily increasing since 2011, and those 3,600 people sleeping rough in England, (a low estimate) up 30% since 2014. All lost in a mist of tinsel and coloured boxes, and illusions woven by that babbling brook of bullshit. I guess their problem was that they didn’t buy enough coloured boxes to enhance their lives. I have no doubt there will be a splurge of consumerism in search of happiness, and come January, the old anxieties, depressions, insecurities, loss of confidence and loneliness will return. They’ll be fuelled by the usual realities of this capitalist system, zero hours contracts, low wages, increasing prices, benefit sanctions, job insecurity, and wars and turmoil across the planet. The answer to our problems doesn’t lie in coloured boxes, these are the paracetamol of the system, an attempt to temporally relieve the pain. The answer lies in changing the system, away from the a greed driven capitalist system, to one of mutual aid communities. 

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