Kissinger's Blood Soaked Hands.

         All of us who have watched Henry Kissinger's psycho shuttle through the years 1969-77, have no doubt in our minds that he was in cahoots with some of the most brutal and despicable regimes on the planet. Friend of military juntas, companion of dictators, he helped shape the size of the world's blood lakes. We all accepted that his hand was giving its blessing to the savage repression of the Argentinian people under the military junta of 1976-83, era, known as Argentina's dirty war. A period when in excess of 30,000 people "disappeared" in Argentina, at the hands of the regime and its hit squads. 

      With the complicity of silence among all but a handful within the Argentine population, the military regime undertook widespread kidnappings, torture, and murder — not only of the violent guerrilla left but also of the nonviolent leftist political activists, their sympathizers, and their families. The war against subversion was viewed within the military's National Security Doctrine as the beginning of "World War III," which it defined as a struggle against the efforts of communism for world supremacy. In three years as many as 30,000 Argentines were killed.

       Where was Pope Francis during this brutal period, as usual, the church sits at the side of the power mongers, handing out blessings.

      Now it seems, papers have come to light that prove Kissinger's complicity in this vicious period of repression.

The memo recounts Hill describing the Kissinger-Guzzetti discussion this way:

The Argentines were very worried that Kissinger would lecture to them on human rights. Guzzetti and Kissinger had a very long breakfast but the Secretary did not raise the subject. Finally Guzzetti did. Kissinger asked how long will it take you (the Argentines) to clean up the problem. Guzzetti replied that it would be done by the end of the year. Kissinger approved.

In other words, Ambassador Hill explained, Kissinger gave the Argentines the green light.

Read the full article HERE:

      Just one of the many dirty deals engineered, approved, or ignored, to let the festering brutality continue, as long as it suited American foreign policy. Kissinger quotes can give an insight to his way of thinking, these are just a few from Wikiquotes:

        Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world. 

       The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.

       It is an act of insanity and national humiliation to have a law prohibiting the President from ordering assassination. 

        "Whatever may be done to guard against interruptions of supply and to develop domestic alternatives, the U.S. economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less developed countries. That fact gives the U.S. enhanced interest in the political, economic, and social stability of the supplying countries. Wherever a lessening of population pressures through reduced birth rates can increase the prospects for such stability, population policy becomes relevant to resource supplies and to the economic interests of the United States."

 A few of the faces of the 30,000 "disappeared".

       Kissinger is just typical of the type of individual we hand power to, to shape our lives, and it is all done in the interest of that small cabal of power hungry billionaires. Their success is dependent on our acquiescence, our subservience, our humble, silent obedience. Perhaps the ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the selfish and greedy people, but the silent acceptance by the good people. 

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

A Need For A Declartion Of War.

      For the ordinary people of the world to bring about justice and freedom for all, they will have to wake up and accept the fact that we are at war, the war that will end all wars, the class war. Without accepting that fact, we will continue to be mired in the wars, misery, poverty and injustice, which for us, are the only fruits of the capitalist system. 

     The following written by my friend and comrade, John, states the case very clearly:

DECLARATION OF WAR.

      There is a ferocious war being waged in our Society today, but it is not a War fought with guns and bullets or tanks and aeroplanes, and the enemy is not some invading army or outside threat.
    The weapons used in this war are the policies and actions of Government departments and civil servants, and the victims in this war are working class people.
     And although there are no guns or bullets, the War is just as deadly in terms of casualties. But these casualties aren’t on both sides; the casualties are all from the ranks of the working class.
     This is a CLASS WAR. The ruling elite through the medium of the Capitalist system controls and exploits the working class.
     The Government wages this one – sided War against working class people in a number of ways. It attacks and destroys the lives of disabled and unemployed people by depriving them of their benefits through the criminal actions of the DWP and their hired mercenaries Atos and Maximus, and attacks those in work with anti Union legislation to ensure a compliant, unresisting and underpaid workforce.

     Do you doubt this? Do you doubt that a Class War exists and is taking place in our society? Well the rich and privileged have no such doubts. This is what Warren Buffett investor, billionaire and one of the ten richest people in the World said in 2005, “The rich class - is waging class warfare on the rest of Society.” And again in 2006 “There’s class warfare alright, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and were winning.”
     So even if ordinary people do not know of the Class War or doubt if it even exists, the rich are perfectly clear about it.
     The reason this is a one sided war is that many working class people have not yet begun to fight back. Many had supposed that by voting against the Tories this would be enough. They had assumed that their jobs and rights at work were being protected by their Trade Unions. And the reality is that this is not the case. The Labour Party and the Trade Unions have proven to be no defence in this war

Who are the people waging this war?

     This Class War is a war waged by the rich and privileged against the poor and powerless; it is a war between the “Haves” and the “Have Nots”
     This war was not started by working class people, but by the ruling elite; big business, multi-national companies, the Arms trade and so on. Their aims are carried out by privileged Tory MP’s who receive (earn would be the wrong word) £74,000 per year and about the same in expenses - plus all they can steal on top of that!
     So while ordinary men, women and children struggle to make ends meet, these pillars of the Establishment - the majority of them privately educated at elite Universities, these honourable Gentlemen and Ladies, these crooks, thieves and liars in the Houses of Parliament, use the farce of “democracy” to scheme and dictate how we should be governed and controlled in the interests of Global Capitalism.
     Anyone who participates in this charade of Parliamentary Democracy is an enemy of working class people. Not only does it perpetuate the myth that everyone is equal and that by voting every four years or so we are part of this great democratic structure, it is also the means by which violence is perpetrated on working class people. While big businesses and corporations receive any amount of public money and are virtually allowed to pay whatever amount of tax they choose – if any, - working class people are subjected to the violence of homelessness, the bedroom tax, benefit cuts and sanctions, foodbanks, inadequate wages and poor living conditions, which make it almost impossible to survive.
     And many don’t survive. Statistics released by the DWP state that during the period between December 2011 and February 2014 2,380 people died after being denied benefits through being found “fit for work.” Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that suicides have reached a ten year high and are linked with welfare “reforms.”
     The situation is so bad that DWP staff have been given “guidance” on how to deal with suicidal benefit claimants! The Sunday Herald reported on the 25th of August 2015 that workers had been issued with a six point plan on how to deal with people denied benefits who appear to be suicidal. Staff at call centres have been instructed to allow rejected claimants to talk about their intention to kill themselves.
    All the laws relating to the above are passed by our so - called elected representatives, and enforced with all the might of the State through the Police and if necessary the Military. If the working class organise to fight back against these injustices, we are the ones who are labelled violent and criminal.

     It is not us who are violent; the violence is inherent in the system that is used to control us. Every act of institutionalised violence directed at working class people is backed up by the Law. The Law is not there to serve working class people: it is a weapon, an instrument of control to be used against us; it is there to maintain and increase the power of the State.
     Labour MP’s or any other “left” MP’s – even if they voted against certain laws are still participating in this violence against the working class – as are any of the agencies and individuals who carry out their policies.
    Some ordinary workers can also wittingly or otherwise act against the interests of their class. Often, out of economic necessity they have taken on jobs that act against the interest of their fellow workers. Capitalism relishes this; it divides working class people and so furthers the interest of the Capitalist system.
     In 1886, a financier and railroad developer called Jay Gould said “I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half.”
     Workers, trade unionists in G4S, in Jobcentres or in any potentially repressive occupation really need to re-assess their position. On no account should they impose hardship on members of their class. The Trade Unions should be very specific on this: they need to educate and instruct their members to refuse to participate in carrying out actions which have a detrimental effect on our class.
    How likely is it that Trade Union leaders will jeopardise their well paid positions by leading any kind of revolt? How likely is it that “left wing” MP’s are going to risk losing their cushy numbers to support a fight against unjust laws? The answer has to be – not bloody likely! These MP’s and Trade Union leaders have more in common with the bosses than they do with the workers.
    Working class people need to become aware of this Class War being waged against us. We have to understand that we have nothing in common with the ruling class. They have not the slightest concern for working class people. The poor, disabled and homeless are an inconvenience to them; they would be happy if the poor in society went away to die quietly and uncomplainingly in some secluded dark corner.
     They see the unemployed and poor as a burden, and their laws and sanctions are used as a form of social cleansing.
     They want a society based purely on the pursuit of profit; the concept of fairness and equality has no place in their thinking.
    This is why they wage a Class War against us. This is why they seek to eliminate anyone who does not have the capacity to be a wage slave.

     The interests of the Working Class and the Ruling Class are diametrically opposed. They want a world controlled by a few for their own selfish ends, - we want a world where the needs of all are met equally. They want a world of oppression and fear, - we want a world without fear, hunger, homelessness, and one in which everyone has the opportunity to lead a happy and fulfilled life.

 Don’t be a willing victim in their Class War, -

 join us and fight back.

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

The State Is Brutal, Authoritarian And Repressive.

        All states are brutal, authoritarian and repressive, some more brutal, authoritarian and repressive than others. However they all must be challenged when ever and where ever they exercise these inhumane traits, borders should not stop our solidarity with victims of any of these brutal, authoritarian and repressive state actions.

  This from Labour Start: 

      People all over the world were shocked and saddened to learn of the torture and murder of Giulio Regeni, a young academic who was in Egypt to research the situation of independent trade unions. 
      As Kamal Abbas, an Egyptian labour leader, has written: "The announcement of Giulio's death came after 10 days of his disappearance. The condition in which the body was found reveals that Giulio was murdered viciously and was subjected to monstrous torture before his death. This caused international outrage."
      There have been open letters and online campaigns from Giulio's academic colleagues.
      We in the trade union movement are also demanding answers from the Egyptian government, and the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for this horrific crime.
Please take a moment to support the LabourStart campaign:
http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=2953
http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=2953
      After you've sent off your message, please share this with you friends, family and fellow union members.
Thank you!

Eric Lee

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

Excessive Arrests, All Part of The Exploitative System.

      Scotland is a small country with a population of roughly 5 million, so in the scale of things, all our institutions should likewise show that smallness. For example our courts should be among the smallest in Europe, but surprise, surprise, Glasgow's Sheriff Court is the busiest in Europe. What a bunch of nasty criminals we must be!! It appears the oor wee Glesca court processes around 2,000 nasties a day. Are we really that criminal a bunch, or is the system simply trying to screw us to the deck with greater enthusiasm than the rest of Europe does with their citizens? 

    Not only is it the busiest court in Europe, but it seems to be the most degrading with foul conditions for those being held in its cages. Women seem to come of worst, according to the recent report by David Strang, HM chief inspector of prisons, who states, female prisoners kept in the holding cells at Europe’s busiest court are forced to endure “degrading and inhumane” conditions, ---"a lack of privacy for female inmates who must walk past unscreened male toilets that were “odorous and clearly visible from the hallway”. Corton Vale Women's Prison also comes in for some nasty criticism. 

    In this system of capitalism, conditions for those arrested are away down the priority list, if they will cut the benefits to the disabled, you can only guess what priority they give to those they deem to be the scourge of their lucrative little scam. You can forget that crap about innocent until proved guilty, arrested, you are treated like a second class citizen, your conditions are of no concern to the lords and masters, rulers of the system.

    No matter where you look, our conditions are on the way down, from over crowed prisons, excessive arrests, social services being trashed, benefits being cut, benfit sanctions, workfare slave labour, employment conditions dropping ever closer to third world conditions, public spaces disappearing into the domain of the corporate world, public assets being sold off to the financial Mafia at knock-down prices, and so it goes on. If you don't recognise this as class war, and we are losing, then you're not paying attention. 

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

Workers Know Your History, Spirit of Revolt Additions

       We've been very busy at Spirit of Revolt Archive, we always are, but recently we have had a wee marathon of work. Three new additions to our website, one is some drawings by Henri-Gabriel Ibels taken from the anarchist paper Le Pere Peinard, they can be viewed HERE: The book is part of our John Cooper Collection

       The next item is for those who missed our recent exhibition on the Rent Strike 1915, 100 Years On, held in the Mitchell Library, during the month of November, you can now read details of the exhibition with photos. The exhibition proved to be very popular and had a catalogue of wonderful comments from the public, who found it both interesting and informative. It also proved to be a stimulant for chat, stories, and questions about our history. So have a look and enjoy the exhibition you thought you had missed.

       The third item we have added to the website is one that I am rather proud of, not that I'm not proud of our entire archive, but that people can learn from it, is I think you'll agree, very important. We have added an educational workshop module on Glasgow's Rent Strike 1915, suitable for schools. It is called Understanding Solidarity Through The Glasgow Rent Strike 1915. It is available free for download as a PDF HERE:

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

 

The Three-In-One Explained, By Dave Allen.

        A wonderful way of attacking dogmatic rubbish is ridicule, and who does it better than Dave Allen, Thanks Loam for reminding me of this one.

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

A View From The Inside.

     Wouldn't be nice if you could have a wee peek inside the police database, a preview of all the going-ons, cover-ups, data on instructions, and treatment of those arrested, who is being targeted and why. Well it looks like you might get a view inside the Turkish police apparatus, thank to Anonymous.

This from Rabble:

Anonymous hacks Turkish National Police server and leaks “huge” database

February 16, 2016news

       As the Turkish state continues its daily bombings and massacres against Kurds and other dissenters, hackers from “Anonymous” have attacked the Turkish National Police and released a “huge amount” of data (available here). Article below reposted from hackread.
     The online hacktivist Anonymous hacked Turkish National Police and leaked a huge amount of data
        The year 2015 was a difficult year for Turkey due to the uncertain situation on the ground and cyber attacks conducted by Anonymous on high-profile targets such as banks and national domain registrar. Now hacktivist collective Anonymous claims to have dumped online a huge database belonging to Turkey’s General Directorate of Security (EGM) in response to “various abuses” by the Turkish government in recent months.
        The person who uploaded the database Monday said he received it from a hacker who had “persistent access to various parts of the Turkish government infrastructure for the past two years.”
      The compressed file is expected to weigh in at some 2.8GB, and the uncompressed version at around 17.8GB.
      RELEASE: Turkish National Police https://t.co/V7Obbml4tQpic.twitter.com/pAu9f8KaxO

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) February 15, 2016

        The files were released “in light of various government abuses in the past few months” in Turkey, as the activist “decided to take action against corruption,” the activists added.
       EGM is the civilian police force in Turkey, tasked with preventing crime, keeping the peace and protecting citizens and their property.
     Data leak coming soon, stand by pic.twitter.com/LESY9JaczY

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) February 15, 2016

        The state of Turkey has been accused of aiding and buying oil from the Daesh terrorist group. Some also accuse Turkey of being a safe passage for the groups recruitment in Syria.
        Stay tuned, the leaked data is being scanned and HackRead will reveal what’s inside the leaked files.

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

Real Or Spectacle?

         Is capitalism the master of sorcery, the great creator of illusions, the weaver of falsehoods, where is reality, is it consumerism, or some other -ism, is it hidden somewhere unreachable in our deep consciousness, or is it all very personal, is reality nothing more nor less than our own personal existence, no matter what that might be? Who is the arbitrator?

This from The Collective:

          As anarchists living in an consumer-driven industrial world where so much of our lives is dominated or facilitated by the State or what we may call Capitalism, what can we consider to be real in our lives, if anything? Are we truly in a Society of the Spectacle, or perhaps lost in the depths of post-modernity or some similar state of extreme alienation that makes the real impossible? Are we truly separated from nature, or are these all simply labels and empty theories that can only attempt to frame the chaotic and complicated world around us? What sort of actions, relationships, projects, discussions, experiences, ideas, group or family dynamics (or anything else) seem to feel genuine or authentic to us? Is it the way you eat or obtain food, have sex, meet strangers or form connections, face enemies, create things you love, destroy things you despise, or something else entirely? What gives those things real qualities or drives you to engage in them as anarchists? Or is anything that could be considered real reserved for revolutionary moments or aspirations, and how would such moments or ideals be obtained?

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

     

Let's Not Be The Frog!!!

 

         Sometimes somebody can just get it right in explaining something, a few words, a few illustrations and you see it quite clearly. Following on from the theme of the last post on this blog, the surveillance society, here is another gem from comrade Loam at arrezafe. A simple but brilliant short video of why we should stand up and question what we are apparently sleepwalking into, or are we already there? English spoken word, Spanish subtitles. Look, listen, learn.

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

Snitching, Snooping, Surveillance Democracy??

            How deep have we sank into the fascist world of Orwell's 1984? More and more legislation stopping you from doing this, more and more legislation stopping you from saying that, more and more surveillance, a polite word for snooping, ever greater encouragement for people and institutions to snitch on people's idiosyncrasies, if you don't fit into their straight-jacket, you're a threat. Always the bogey man of terrorism is dangled in front of you, seeking your acquiescence in this avalanche of fetters on your freedom. 

            The recent case of school boy, Rahmaan Mohammadi who had a visit from the police after his school reported him under the government's “Prevent” scheme, gives us some idea of how this snitching, snooping, paranoia permeates our society. What was Rahmaan's heinous crime, he wore a “Free Palestine” badge, what narrow minded, paranoid member of the school staff thought that supporting the cause of the people of Palestine, merits a police investigation? Rahmaan also alleged that the police warned him not to talk about Palestine in school, and further claimed that staff members put pressure on his 14 year old brother, telling him to get Rahmann to ”stop being radical”. This is an outrageous assault against the individual's right to voice their opinion on whatever matters to them. You and I know, this is not an isolated case, this cancer is everywhere. The government is spending £40 million on the snitchers program, “Prevent”, while continually cutting budgets to health, education and all other social services. Under no stretch of the imagination, would you call this democracy.

        Our millionaire friendly state now plans to go further, 

under new government legislation Local councils, public bodies and even some university student unions are to be banned by law from boycotting “unethical” companies, as part of a controversial crackdown being announced by the Government.
        Under the plan all publicly funded institutions will lose the freedom to refuse to buy goods and services from companies involved in the arms trade, fossil fuels, tobacco products or Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

        So you elect your local council, they are supposed to do your bidding, you instruct them to stop handing your money to industries that ruin your kids health, tobacco, industries that gain from bloodshed, the arms industry, and those millionaire shareholders sitting the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, say, no you can't do that, we might lose if the share prices go down. According the millionaire Bullingdon Club boys that walk our corridors of power, the boycotting of such vile, destructive, money making concerns is responsible for, “undermined good community relations, poisoned and polarised debate and fuelled anti-Semitism”. 

       So, where is our “democracy” that illusion that the state has created by means of smoke and mirrors, that same illusion the state used to get millions to shed their blood, supposedly defending, when in fact they were participating in an imperialist land and power grab, defending the wealth and power of those who control that state. Democracy can only be found outside the state, the state is authority, democracy is anti-authoritarian, the two are totally incompatible. If you want freedom and democracy, the state has to crumble and the system that it spawns must be destroyed.

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

Capitalism Has No Human Side.

        During this recent "refugee crisis", in Europe, (it should really be named a "Western imperialist war crisis"), Germany is seen as the good mother hen, welcoming more refugees than other countries, it would have us believe it is showing the human face of the capitalist system. However, Germany needs lots of young workers, as it is facing a fast shrinking working age population. According to recent statistics, Berlin estimates its working age population will shrink by 6 million people by 2030 as the number of deaths outstrips births, making it hard to keep the economy growing.

 Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel speaking recently in the German parliament:

"If we manage to quickly train those that come to us and to get them into work, then we will solve one of our biggest problems for the economic future of our country: the skills shortage,"

        So, not so much humanitarian as economics of the corporate world. Germany is set to spend $10 billion on the refugee situation in Germany, but more or less refuses to spend on helping the "refugee crisis" that is swamping Greece. No, the refugees have to make the miserable and dangerous journey across Europe on their own, with cases of young and old dying in the process. Not so much the face of humanity in that situation.
      Another incident that shows the true face of the German state, is how it treats those of its own citizenship that choose to live their lives different from the desired government state of subservience, those who choose not to be hypnotised by consumerism.

This from Act For Freedom Now:

      Following an attack of a police officer nearby, a 500-strong anti-riot team backed up by special forces, dogs and helicopters stormed into the so-called “occupied house” at 94, Rigaer Strasse (or “R94”) on Wednesday night. Police raided the two houses next door the following day and kept up a heavy stop-and-search presence till now.
      Taking place at one of Berlin’s best-known anarchist project, the raid has sent shockwaves through the city, sparking a heated debate on whether it was a case of necessary public safety or unlawful police overreach. For the police and their defenders, the raid was an inevitable consequence of continuing disorder and antagonism coming from the squat. For their critics, the assault on the officer was an excuse used by the police to launch an only quasi-lawful attack on people who they disliked.
       The incident nonetheless has more resonance than as a local street battle alone. While they’ve been in retreat for years, Berlin’s squats were long a high-profile part of the city’s fabric, forming a cornerstone of the city’s alternative mythos. The raid on Rigaer 94 suggests that the city’s authorities are no longer prepared to to let their pigs eat stones in this area, as it happened many times.
        Berlin police say that the four assailants that attacked their colleague were seen escaping into Rigaer 94. When backup officers arrived and entered the building, they found the courtyard and basement massed with potential weapons including metal rods, fire extinguishers, gas cylinders, and a shopping cart filled with cobblestones—a horde they immediately shared via photographs on Twitter. In the interests of public safety, the police returned in greater numbers five hours later, clearing the building and making arrests of supporters outside.

Read the full article HERE:

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

The Vanishing Country!!!

        How much longer will the world tolerate the ongoing callous and brutal genocide of the Palestinian people. Since 1967, when the state of Israel occupied the Palestinian lands, it has carried out a continuous land grab and a savage repression of the Palestinian people. It has been 49 years of vicious humiliation, inhuman harassment, deprivation of dignity, and death, for the people of Palestine. Families have been torn apart by death and deprivation, the result of endless military adventures by the Israeli state. Over those years the land of Palestine has all but vanished from the maps of the world, it now consists of two small enclaves, which are no more than two open-air prisons, cruel and brutal prisons, operated and maintained by the sadistic Israeli state. All this has been done, not by unavoidable accidents of fate, but by deliberate policies of the Israeli state. It is attempting to realise its dream of a “greater” Israel, by laying claim to this land on the say-so of their man in the sky, who they claim, gave them these lands 2,000 years ago. On that very dubious claim they believe they have no alternative but to drive out or exterminate the unfortunate people who have lived there for thousands of years. 

       The shrinking map of Palestine and the expanding map of Israel. Click on the date and see the extent of the land grab.

        Religious insanity inspired by the airy-fairy invisible man in the sky, spewing violence and hatred, being allowed to run rampant over the lives of others of a different “faith”. A claim with no legal bases on earth is the foundation of the policies of the Israeli state, resulting the the genocide of the Palestinian people, and the purloining of their land and homes. After 49 years of this crime against humanity, the so called democratic West still turns a blind eye, looks the other way, and worse, supports and funds this religious based killing machine.
         Israeli state claims it is at war, if, by any stretch of the imagination, it could be called a war, it shows a deliberate policy of over kill. Figures for Israeli/Palestinian deaths for 2014 show 2262 Palestinians were killed and 86 Israelis. Another interesting set of figures from the year 1914, just before the start of the first world war, the population of of Palestine broke down as 84% Muslim, 11% Christian, 6% Jews. However thanks to the double-dealing duplicitous ways of the West, that was to dramatically change to the horror of the genocidal promise of a land for the Jews. 

From CodePink:

         Shuhada Street, in the West Bank city of Hebron, has remained almost entirely closed to Palestinians for the past 21 years. While illegal Israeli settlers move freely and carry arms, Palestinian residents face an apartheid system of pedestrian only traffic, checkpoints, military closures, humiliation, arrests, and vicious attacks from Israeli settlers and soldiers.
      Jewish settlers began occupying Hebron shortly after its occupation by Israeli forces in June 1967. In 1994 Brooklyn born settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire in the Ibrahimi mosque, killing 29 Palestinian worshipers and injuring 125 more. Following the massacre, systems of increasingly restrictive measures for Palestinians have been implemented, including the closure of Shuhada Street. Palestinian homes on Shuhada street have had their front doors welded shut, forcing residents to climb down from neighbors' roofs or use only back doors. Patients in need of urgent medical care often wait hours while ambulances are delayed at the checkpoint.

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

Tourist-Terrorist, Interchangeable?

       Day and daily we come across examples of the Spanish state's lip-sealing, action freezing, draconian anti-terrorist legislation. How it engenders an element of fear in the public and allows the police to take extremely violent action in mundane trivial matters, while the public look on, usually with a mixture of fear and confusion.
       Of course the Spanish state is not alone in this continuous repression of people's right to protest, it is an ever tightening noose around our necks in an attempt to breed total subservience, allowing them to get on with the plunder of our wealth.
       The following is a rather poor translation from the Spanish, but you get the picture of what is going on in that beautiful, sunny land of our neighbour.

 From arrezafe:

     "I'm a tourist, a tourist!" - I protested somewhere in the dungeons of the Guardia Urbana, discreetly situated on La Rambla.
"No way!" Replied the policeman shouted, shaking his finger. "Terrorist!"
       On the street, right above me, just minutes after the alleged terrorist act, all the other tourists sauntered, ojeaban postcards and tapas menus, threw out posts mounted books for the festival of San Jordi 23 April or watched artists who always line the walkways typical of Barcelona. There was no stampede of panic, just everyday agglomeration always flooded the city. But now he was not exactly arguing with the voice of reason. The police were sure that I was a terrorist because he was sure it was a squat, and I was sure I was a squatter because he thought he had looked so (wearing a shirt with a political slogan and some slogans scribbled on shoes ).
      The truth is that it was the Assembly Squatters which had organized the little protest from La Rambla. They had a sign with balloons in which one could read in Catalan: "A city without squats is a dead city" and distributed leaflets against gentrification in which the reasons were explained to occupy. The small ceremony ended with the explosion of a firecracker of those throwing leaflets into the air. Did a tremendous, perhaps more than what was intended noise, but after all it was just that: noise. The police, however, always trained for the worst, he came and worse. They loaded the act screaming and incorporated the element of panic that the firecracker had not provided. I was in the area and saw the police running-in that currently pursuing one of the demonstrators, and did what I would have done in the United States: follow the cops to see if they arrested someone, if that someone needed help or was hit. A couple of blocks away, the police had thrown into one of the protesters against the wall. I kept watching until ordered the crowd to disperse, but when he returned to La Rambla, a cop looked at me suspiciously and asked me a question. I explained that I did not speak Spanish very well and showed him my passport; He picked it up and took it. I had to go after him to the police station where he was told that he was arrested on charges of participating in an illegal demonstration and public disorder. And since they argue that the disorders were carried out with explosives, he faced a sentence of between three and six years in prison.
        After two days in police cells, I was privileged to shout me a judge who described the protest as "urban guerrilla" and at the same time, as a "paramilitary" action aimed at attacking La Rambla when more people I was in it, thus releasing the message that the squatters were a military force. At one point during my statement he interrupted me to yell that in the United States and such an action, it would have killed my bones at Guantanamo. I set bail at 30,000 euros (a secretary later told me that, in the 25 years he had worked there, she had never seen a bond and on charges that accused me) and sent me to the Model.------

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