I feel strongly that we should all be trying to break free from the enticing web of Facebook-twitter, etc. you can take it that they are not on your side if you are trying to change the way society is run, they like it the way it is. However I'm not a techy guy so when I throw something along those lines out, I hope that you bright individuals out their can keep me right. There must be alternative ways to communicate without the consent and blessing of the big corporate beasts that we wish to decapitate. This article is about "Telegram", a messaging service that to my simple mind has lots of the answers we should be looking for in communicating with each other.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed that the internet isn't what it used to be these days. Social media platforms that used to provide for the free exchange of information and the means of organizing resistance, have anointed themselves arbiters of truth, on a mission to protect our fragile minds from any ideas and opinions that they happen to disagree with. Controversial posts are now 'fact checked', restricted or flat out removed. Those who dare speak outside the lines are subject to temporary or permanent banishment.
Unfortunately this trend isn't likely to reverse any time soon. In fact it's going to get worse. Calling them out or petitioning for change isn't going to work. These people feel validated and justified. And they are supported by a highly vocal contingent of the population that believes that dangerous ideas should be silenced, and that heretics should not be allowed any platform whatsoever to speak their minds. As such it is imperative that we develop new strategies for exchanging ideas and organizing that do not depend on their technology.
In this video I'm going to describe a media strategy to bypass Facebook, Twitter and Youtube that makes use of Telegram, however the same principles can be applied to other apps.
Telegram is an encrypted messaging app which ties to a cellphone number much like Whatsapp. However it has much more features than Whatsapp, including channels and multi-level admin controls for groups. It also has a desktop version for Mac and Windows that make it much easier to work with.
Working with Telegram as a tool for activism is very different than old school social media because you don't have direct access to open pools of users that can find you in a search. However the fact that Telegram distributes all messages directly to your channel subscribers or group members without censorship and without limiting distribution algorithmically, makes the potential reach of this platform much more significant.
Telegram also has secret chats which provide a means of communication for activists that intelligence agencies cannot monitor. Given the level of access that social media companies grant to the NSA and other entities this extremely important. And if you think this is a conspiracy theory, you might want to look into the Edward Snowden revelations.
Once you have Telegram installed, setting up channels and groups is easy. Click the pen icon in the top right corner and choose new group or new channel. When you create a new channel or group you will be given the chance to set it as public or private and choose a custom URL. It's also worth noting that you can create a custom username for your account so that people can contact you without knowing your phone number.
Once you've created a channel you'll want to enable comments by connecting a discussion group. This is done by double clicking the channel name and scrolling down to the discussion link. Follow the instructions and a group will be created that allows your followers to comment on posts in the channel and have conversations among themselves.
Both Telegram groups and channels provide the ability to pin multiple posts. This can be used for setting discussion rules or to list links to resources.
In addition to text messages you can post photos, videos, or polls by clicking the paperclip icon to the left of the text field. All of these media types can be embedded into web pages to share with a wider public.
Now you can get your groups and channels jumpstarted by sending invite links to your contacts, or sharing them online. These links can also be converted to QR codes which can then be printed onto posters, business cards or stickers. You can also create location based groups in the phone version of the app by clicking contacts, find people nearby, then create local group. This will make your group visible to anyone who has location services enabled in the area.
So imagine you are trying to organize resistance to a government policy and Facebook and Twitter have made it clear that speaking out against this policy will not be tolerated on their platforms. Rather than trying sneak past them (which is not likely to work), you create Telegram channel. In that channel you pin your manifesto or information about your event to the top and send an invite link to your contacts. You also make a post to your normal social media profiles sending people to the channel. Next you make posters, business cards and stickers with your message plus a QR code. You also post pdfs for these print outs into the channel, and encourage your subscribers to distribute them.
You then create a network of local and regional groups moderated by people you trust. This enables people to organize their own events in their respective towns.
Rinse and repeat and your movement will grow. Social media companies won't be able to stop you. In fact they won't even have information about your activities. They will be completely out of the loop. And that's a good thing, because it also cuts government surveillance out of the loop.
Got this wee article from a comrade, Nick, thanks Nick.
Mutual Aid – A Radical Response
“Mutual Aid is the sharing of resources as opposed to the wealthy giving to the needy”
Glasgow Mutual Aid (GMA) was set up in response to the covid pandemic at a time when charities and state organisations were slow to respond. We saw organising democratically, without hierarchy and bypassing the system to deliver a non-judgemental service as both being necessary and to be a radical act. We quickly realised that we needed to respond to non-covid situations as well. However, few of us thought that ten months later we would still be active and be needed more than ever.
Whether it’s help with shopping; collecting prescriptions; a friendly regular phone call; picking up medication for pets; arranging food parcels or accompanying someone anxious about travelling to visit their dying mother, our volunteers have met a variety of challenges both willingly and imaginatively. Many volunteers have also received a service, for example when required to self isolate.
As people’s circumstances have changed and furlough has ended for many, our pool of volunteers has dwindled. However, the current resurgence of the virus and the toll that months of restrictions is taking on many people, means that demand is rising again. There are currently opportunities for volunteers across all Glasgow postcodes. Even if it’s only a couple of hours a week, you can make a difference to folk in your local community. Get Involved to volunteer or request a service:
Phone M-F 10-2 0141 280 7025
Text 07451289389
support.glasgowmutualaid.co.uk
volunteer.glasgowmutualaid.co.uk
This is a strange one, but comes from a reliable source, can't understand why the workers have not pulled the workplace down by now. Working for a state entity and not having been paid for three years. This is totally and utterly unreservedly beyond any realms of tolerance. These people deserve our full support and solidarity, pressure must be brought to bear to end this act of modern slavery.
The following appeal from Labour Start:
I'm not sure if you saw this message which we sent out last week. This campaign has 4,018 supporters - but we need many more of you to sign up in order to support these workers in Ukraine who have not been paid for three years.
If you have supported the campaign - thank you!
If you haven't yet, please read on ...
All over the world, working people are suffering due to the global pandemic and economic crisis. Many have lost their jobs. Many businesses are failing. But not all these problems are being caused by Covid.
We've received an appeal for help from workers in Ukraine who have not received their wages for more than three YEARS. And the business that employs them - KVARSYT - is state-owned.
According to Ukraine's constitution, every worker must be paid for their work. The decision of the management to not pay these workers is also in breach of ILO Convention 95, entitled 'Protection of Wages' (1949), which was ratified in 1961 by the Ukrainian government.
Please take a moment to protest to the Ukrainian government - and to show your solidarity with these workers.
Click here to support the campaign.
And please spread the word to your friends, family and fellow union members.
Thank you.
Eric Lee
The following from Act For Freedom Now:
Chile : 10 years after the massacre in the prison of San Miguel: words from Memory and tales of struggle
If prison walls could talk they would tell the experiences of those who were (and are) locked up behind them; perhaps they would tell us many stories where the poor are the protagonists, or perhaps they would tell us of the immense yearning for freedom that fills the hearts of those locked up in the dungeons and the cells.
Unfortunately prison walls are silent witnesses of the experiences of the people inside them. It is therefore a precise responsibility of each of us, kidnapped by the State, and of whoever wants to put an end to the present system of terror to tell what happens inside these places. The history of the prisoners is our history and cannot be lost.
Sadness reigns in prison, is its lady and mistress and dominates the lives of those who end up in this gloomy place. Not only does the prison of San Miguel contain stories full of pain, it has also had many experiences of resistance and struggle.
In the early 1990s many political prisoners were locked up in this prison, men of several organizations filled the tower cells until they were transferred to the C.A.S. in 1994, a transfer that the combatants opposed arms in hand.
During the cell searches right after the clashes a large quantity of weapons and ammunition were found: a 7.65 mm Browning gun with seven cartridges; an Italian calibre 38 Trident revolver; a Dachmaur gun with fifteen cartridges; a 7.65 calibre Llama; a bag containing thirteen bullets; another leather bag with 18 bullets; a NEC cell phone and three homemade explosives (1). Several prison guards and a number of prisoners were injured during the clashes, among whom Mauricio Hernández Norambuena (guerrilla and ex-commander of the FPMR, Manuel Rodrìguez Patriotic Front). Commander Ramiro (one of the founders of FPMR) said: “I was seriously injured. I had never been hit by gunfire before, and it was precisely in jail that I was shot for the first time” (2). The same event was recounted by Ricardo Palma Salamanca (ex-guerrilla of the FPMR) in an interview given in Paris on 27th January 2019: “In the middle of the clashes two people were killed, I was also armed but I wasn’t hit”.
The weapons used in the resistance during the transfers to the C.A.S. had originally been destined for escapes. Mauricio Hernandez tells it like this: “We managed to get various weapons into the prison of San Miguel and had devised a very interesting escape plan with external support, which was joined by fighters of Mapu-Lautaro (Mapuche military leader protagonist in the war of Arauco in Chile and the MIR, Movement of the Revolutionary Left). The idea was to get a large group of prisoners out. There were fifteen or twenty combatants in support outside. There were good weapons but unfortunately the plan failed. The whole operation was organized right down to the smallest detail, the fighters outside occupied a house whose walls adjoined those of the prison, with the intention of blowing it up. They could just go through a gate and get out from that side. Unfortunately, we were transferred to the C.A.S. a few days before the escape and used the weapons for the escape to resist the transfer” (3).
This was not the only escape attempt from the prison of San Miguel. In 1997, a group of ex-members of the FPRM tried to escape from the prison through the roofs, with a system of ropes and pulleys, so as to reach one of the adjoining roads. But the attempt failed and a revolt broke out, the prisoners involved were transferred to the prison of Colina I and II, among whom Jorge Saldivia, who was killed during a bank robbery in 2014.
The walls don’t talk but they bear signs that are difficult to erase. Many prisoners tell us that in Tower 5 in the prison of San Miguel, where 81 prisoners died in a fire, the stains of the bodies were never completely erased … The women say that the stains seem to be made of oil, and it doesn’t matter how much wax and paint they put on the floor and walls, they always come through again. Many anecdotes are told about the ghosts and spirits of tower 5, beliefs, myths or reality… but the death of 81 prisoners has never been forgotten by the other prisoners of tower 5, and shouldn’t be forgotten by any other prisoner.
10 YEARS AFTER THE MASSACRE IN THE PRISON OF SAN MIGUEL: ACTIVE AND COMBATIVE MEMORY UNTIL ALL CAGES ARE DESTROYED!
MÓNICA CABALLERO SEPÚLVEDA
ANARCHIST PRISONER
FROM LACINO HAMILTON:
My life changed in an instant on September 30, 2020 when a Wayne County circuit court judge apologized for 26 years of wrongful incarceration, and then released me from prison.
I walked out of the Michigan prison and into a crowd that worked years to prove my innocence. But that was a beginning of sorts. The challenges have been both small and big.
The small challenges have been things like never having used a cellphone and not knowing what I’m doing. The bigger ones have been things such as re-entry during COVID-19 – with so much shut down or slow or not working.
While incarcerated, I painfully self-educated and became a social justice activist, organizer and critical thinker. And in between starting life completely over at 46, I’m searching for ways to do the same on this side of the wall.
I want to continue to be an advocate for justice.
I’ve come a long way in less than two months due to the assistance of RootsAction and others. But I have so far to go, and counting on the support of the broader community.
Thank you,
Lacino Hamilton
P.S. from the RootsAction Education Fund:
Through all those years in prison, many of them in solitary, Lacino never gave up or gave in. Now that he’s freed, we need to help amplify his voice so he can educate his fellow citizens about the evils of mass incarceration.
You can help make that happen with a U.S.-tax-deductible donation of any amount. Please do what you can to support Lacino Hamilton’s advocacy.Donate Button
Background:
Truthout columns by Lacino Hamilton
As usual the people at Kate Sharpley Library do a magnificent job in preserving and making available anarchist info and history, we at Spirit of Revolt, Archives of Dissent, take our hats off to them, as I'm sure lots of others will do likewise. This latest bulletin is no exception, packed full of interesting info. Take a wee look.
2020
Quite a lot has gone up on the website (and gone on in the world) since our last KSL Bulletin in September. We are not even thinking of trying to sum up our year. But we send you our good wishes and some anarchist history you might have missed.
Stuart Christie 1946-2020
Four months on, we’re still coming to terms with the fact it’s no good thinking ‘I must ask Stuart…’ John Barker, his friend and fellow defendant in the Stoke Newington Eight trial, has written a tribute: ‘I couldn’t stomach Bakunin and he Marx but when it came to the politics of the prison we acted as one. And something else, the great thing about Stuart as comrade and friend is that he was always cheerful and ready to make things both happen, and to work. […] With Stuart there was never any need to say, Don’t Let The Bastards Grind You Down.’
Read the rest of the tribute at https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/vhhpd8
Bob D’Attilio tribute from the KSL
For many years Robert (Bob) D’Atillio was an inexhaustible source of material on the Sacco and Vanzetti case. His loss is a tremendous one to those of us interested in the nuances of anarchist history. See https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/6wwrds
There’s a longer obituary by Luigi Botta at https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/vmcx9h
Other Anarchist Lives
Thoughts on Francesco Ghezzi
Francesco Ghezzi was an anarchist militant from Milan who was also active in France, Switzerland, Germany and Russia (and was imprisoned in the last three countries)…
On the 5 November 1937 Ghezzi was arrested for the final time. His case file records his frank replies to the secret police ‘I declare that I was and remain an anarchist, and that no one will change my convictions.’… (from the Gulag Anarchists blog) https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/fttgj8
The shortest day and longest night of the year have past, the year is running to an end, how will we shape the new year? Will we crave to get back to the "old ways" the so called "normal", or will we seize this opportunity to sever the shackles of consumerism, break free from the deadening hand of the luxury yacht owning planet plunderers with their private little tax havens? There has never been a more opportune moment to make the change, shift our direction away from the exploiting profit seekers and look towards our communities, allow the corporate beasts to rot in the wilderness. We can create a world of mutual aid, co-operatives, skill sharing, DIY and swap-shops, etc., all built on sustainability, equality, dignity, freedom from the profit motive, and respect for all our people. In so doing we see an end to wars, deprivation and escape the pending ecological disaster that awaits us if we continue with the profit mongers greed driven plan for ever expanding consumerism. A plan that only feeds the pampered privileged parasite class and leads to a devastated ecosystem, unfit for habitation.
The two roads are diametrically opposite each other, the choice of which we choose is up to us, if we continue to follow the state/corporate/consumerism path, we will deserve all we get, and I doubt our grandchildren will thank us for that tainted bitter heritage. We have to make that choice sooner rather than later, the egg timer is running out.
IT'S TIME TO STORM HEAVEN.
Gift giving is changing. It may never be the same again. You can thank the pandemic for that. The spell of consumerism has been broken, and you can thank the pandemic for that, too. There will be no returning to "normal", despite what we are being told.
Was normal that great anyway?
Do we really want to return to that?
Not when normal is wage slavery in order to survive.
Not when normal is a declining standard of living for most... but not all of us.
Not when normal is rich people going for all the marbles in a global takeover.
Not when normal is the unleashing of violence upon people in other countries that have resources we want, as well as upon our own people... if they are the "wrong" people.
Not when normal is working harder for less, and not having enough time to live.
And certainly not when normal is buying people things they don't want or need because of feelings of obligation, misplaced love, a large dose of advertising arm-twisting, and an even larger dose of "it's the patriotic thing to do".
This gift-giving season, think about a more sensible approach, or consider no gifts at all.
A pandemic is a great excuse to take a break! Do we really want to think about mindless ritual gift giving with so many other more important things going on right now?
If you do give gifts, think of giving something appropriate for this pandemic holiday season. Highly appreciated by most would be things actually needed. And there is so much need right now. That is the way to go this year, and every year.
Gift Giving In A Pandemic
- food, water, clothing, shelter
- toilet paper (this year's hot gift for sure)
- or better yet, an add-on bidet, or tabo
- tea, coffee, and chocolate provide a moment of respite in hard times
- rent money
- books (the old fashioned kind that don't need electricity to work)
- face masks, hand cleaner, disinfectants
- help paying health care costs
- best is to give the gift of your time
And remember, the gift of nothing is nice if the person in mind doesn't need anything.
Sometimes nothing is better than something.
The following from Act For Freedom Now:
NOTHING IS OVER!
WE ARE STILL IN REVOLT AGAINST EVERY AUTHORITY
A year after the start of the revolt that exploded in Chile on 18th October 2019, we continue to spread Confrontación. Greeting all those who have remained active in the struggle against the established order before, during and after so-called the “social explosion”, we remain in the streets with a new printed issue.
A year has passed since 18th October and over these days we have carried anarchist rage against this oppressive system with the warmth of the moments of struggle we continue to share among comrades and occasional accomplices in solidarity, in the heat of the revolt.
We also have a vivid memory of each instance of repression and state violence on our bodies/minds and the many murdered, tortured, assaulted and maimed. To this we add the referendum of 25th October for a possible change of the Constitution, an institutional trap that doesn’t concern or represent us.
Like any moment in history, our context has its own possibilities, difficulties and challenges that form the struggle scenario. Here we want to share some reflections, questions and practical ideas to connect us with the concerns and desires of those who refuse to allow the triumph of normality imposed by Power and the democratic delusions being put on today’s agenda.
FOR A FREE LIFE BUILT ON THE RUINS OF THE OLD WORLD OF THE STATE AND POWER
For those of us who for years have been spreading the revolt against all authority in word and deed, the struggle doesn’t pass through changes in the State apparatus. A year has already passed since a revolt that had different components and whose horizon of rupture with the established order has unfortunately remained trapped by the illusion of presumed structural changes starting from the possibility of a constitutional change, a reformist solution agreed by the political class in November 2019 faced with the impossibility of stopping the advance of a violent revolt without leaders or managers.
A wide range of sectors adhered to solutions offered by the institutions with greater or lesser diffidence towards the constituent electoral process, channelling energies and debates towards this scenario with a logic similar to the plebiscite held in 1988 for a return to democracy with peaceful means after almost a decade of mass protests and anti-dictatorial subversive actions. The plebiscite – as an experience re-conducted to the present time – was also born from the pact between dictatorship and a political class ready to guarantee social pacification and the continuity of the dominant economic and political regime.
