RED AND BLACK FEST - from Sheffield to Oaxaca! - cops harass anarchist fundraiser
Current mood: artistic
Category: Music

SHEFFIELD ANARCHIST FEDERATION
Homepage: http://www.afed.org.uk/sheffield

8:22 PM - 4 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

SOLIDARITY WITH ANARCHISTS IN VENEZUELA - DVD DOCUMENTARY ON OIL INDUSTRY
Current mood: artistic
Category: News and Politics

Presenting...

Our Oil, and other tales - a censored DVD documentary about the environmental and social impact of Venezuela's oil industry, by the Gattacicova Collective

THE VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT had liked previous Gattacicova Collective productions (for example, Another way is possible ...in Venezuela) so much that they offered financial support for their next project. But the documentary they then made examined the issues of oil production in the country: from the impact on the environment and indigenous populations to the way the industry is run.

The bureaucrats of the Ministry of Culture realised they didn´t like such a close look at their involvement with multinational and northamerican corporations, so they tried to suppress the movie.

Only with the help of local activists a few copies escaped censorship.

Now you can watch the documentary that Hugo Chavez tried to keep secret...

All proceeds going to support Venezuelan anarchists.

A BIT OF BACKGROUND INFO CAN BE FOUND HERE ...

Manifesto of solidarity with Venezuelan anarchists and social movements

9:17 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Statement on the murder of Anarchist comrade Ilya Borodaenko at Eco-camp in Siberia
Current mood: pissed off

The Anarchist Federation adds its voice to those condemning the murder of Anarchist comrade Ilya Borodaenko, a member of Autonomous Action (Russia) at the hands of fascists on Saturday 21st 2007. A nazi gang, armed with iron bars, bats & air guns, attacked ecological protestors as they slept at the Angarsk anti-nuclear camp in Siberia. They beat seven comrades into hospital, where one is still seriously ill and where Ilya died.

The Russian state has attempted to hide the political nature of this outrage. Most offensively, it has implied that anarchism has nothing to do with environmentalism or anti-nuclear protest. With Autonomous Action and other Anarchist organisations we wish to state strongly that social and environmental crisis are intrinsically linked and that the causes of one can no longer be addressed in isolation from the other. The state has also portrayed the attack as nothing more than a skirmish between rival youth groupings. This was in fact a mobilisation of fascists from throughout the Irkutsk region in which the authorities are implicated.

Fascism stands for dictatorship, inequality, intolerance, and collaborates in the destruction of the natural world by capitalism. Anarchists celebrate freedom, equality and diversity, and fight to protect the planet we will all one day share.

We also honour the memory of Timur Kacharava & Alexander Ryuchin, & the African students Samba Lamsar & Kanhem Leon, who have died in the recent wave of neo-nazi violence in Russia. Anarchists in Britain and Ireland will remember the fallen with vigils, antifascist activity and environmental activism of our own this Summer. We send solidarity to the comrades continuing the camp at Angarsk.

Info on Indymedia UK: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/07/376699.html

Link to Autonomous Action website:  http://avtonom.org/index.php

3:07 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Reds go virtual in Second Life
Current mood: bouncy
Category: News and Politics

It says a lot about the state of the authoritarian and reformist left that a grouping called Second Life Left Unity seemingly supported by the World Development Movement and an assortment of trots in including the Scottish Socialist Party, saw the need to demonstrate against the G8 inside the 'Second Life' computer generated world! Second Lifers were encouraged to "go to the Cre-8 Garden and place a tribute to the victims of globalisation/capitalism or to leave a message for the leaders of the G8 countries".

Hell-ooooooooo real world!

The trots are so desperate for attention they'd try almost anything. We recall that back in 1999, in Britain, the Socialist Workers Party (known as ISO or IS outside of Britain) teamed with the World Development Movement and Friends of Earth and, on paper at least (mainly their papers!), organised a set of 'public meetings' in an attempt to assume leadership of the anti-capitalist movement with its front organisation Globalise Resistance. The anarchist-influenced J18 Stop the City event of June 18^th was conveniently forgotten as Globalise Resistance sought to redefine the beginnings of the anti-capitalist movement at the Battle of Seattle later that year. Now, after shooting themselves in the feet with the embarrassing alliances and leadership tiffs. it's most encouraging to see both the SSP and SWP entering the twilight zone where they belong.

Other SLLU antics have included virtual anti-fascist activities against Le Pen / French National Front, this time we read on a Socialist Worker website, "Wearing anti-fascist t-shirts and brandishing placards they loudly demanded that the fascists be banned from the Second Life 'metaverse'." So much for getting out on the streets and building that working class resistance then! Tell you what, let's get them all in there, trots and fascists alike, and ask Linden Labs if they'd kindly turn off the servers. Utopia is only a flick-of-switch away.

More hilarity (and clearly an extremely small trot turnout – where's the party discipline?) at: Second Life Demonstrations and Cre-8 Tribute Garden

More about J18 1999: Reflections on June 18

10:36 AM - 6 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Anarchist block on Trdent demo 24/2/07
Category: News and Politics

A 100 strong anarchist block from Solfed, AF and The Vortex social centre joined last Saturdays march against the UK's trident 'defence' system (see Resistance 91). The march was relatively large – police say 10,000, organisers say 60,000 everyone else says they both lie – but either way does not really reflect the strength of feeling against trident or the war. After so many big demonstrations that have done nothing over the last 5 years, perhaps people are taking it as a given demo's will happen and staying at home.

The Autonomous Block was good clean fun with a bit of a chicken and egg relationship with the police photographers – no one could say whether some people were wearing masks because they were being filmed, or that they were being filmed because they were wearing masks. One thing is certain; if you have a 3 foot pink mohican, putting a bandana round your gob is not going to stop you from being identified at a later date!
The block was worthwhile as it gave an anarchist presence, with many people joining it when they saw it, and links were made; despite the internet revolution, lots of people only get to meet anarchist ideas on demo's, and they can't do that if we aren't there.

Some interesting points were the widespread support for the Faslane 365 blockade from the liberal organizers – we met some people for the blockade later and they said it had potential. After the demo, lots of people went back to the benefit party for Greek anarchists at The Vortex social centre and further networking commenced with the aid of beer.

5:55 AM - 0 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

MERSEYSIDE ANARCHIST GROUP - founding meeting announced - Thursday 1st March, 7.30pm
Current mood: jubilant
Category: News and Politics

Another announcement...

There will be a founding meeting for a new Merseyside Anarchist Group on Thursday 1st March at 7.30pm in the Liverpool Social Centre, Basement 96a Bold Street, Liverpool, L1 4HY [Map]. 

There will be a follow-up/consolidation meeting on Thursday 15th March, same
place, same time and thereafter on the 3rd Thursday of every month, subject
to confirmation.

Anarchism - or libertarian socialism - is an increasingly strong political
current within society and has for a long time been championing the case for
a fair, ecological and sustainable global community that may be our last
best hope for humanity.

What is it and what can it offer us all? Best of all, what can you do to
bring it about. begin the journey here.

3:19 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

"PROJECTILE": ANARCHIST FILM FESTIVAL, May 18-20 2007 - Newcastle - UK
Current mood: chipper

Projectile May 18th - 20th 2007 - Newcastle UK

So far confirmed...

Ian Bone (Founder of Anarchist Tabloid CLASS WAR)

Penny Rimbaud (Poet and founder of anarcho punk band CRASS)

The Sex Patels (Bollywood versions of all your punk favourites)

The Bongaleeros (Some freaks from Pitchley Yorkshire)

Check out the PROJECTILE WEBSITE

5:28 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

SONGS TO OPPOSE ID CARDS BY ...
Current mood: groggy
Category: Music

We'd love to have a 100-list of anti-ID (or identity related) songs. Here's a start in no particular order. Please post your additions and comments. Here's hoping you have a fruitful new year opposing identity schemes in 2007, wherever you are in the world.

For anarchism

Track [by] Band [from] Album

5:36 AM - 12 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Shayler Watch
Current mood: chipper
Category: News and Politics

(Note: after some debate this quick update was posted only on the understanding that its made very clear the AF have no time for the '911 Truth Movement' and do not wish to engage with them whatsoever. This is not about them. Anarchists recognise that governments kill thousands of citizens every year in cold blood - its an ineveitable part of government. We do not need a conspiracy theory to see what is in front of our noses)

Anarchists massing for the joint block on the September 23rd march were happy to display their libertarian credentials by tolerating a few dodgy poems from a Green Party supporter over a portable soundsystem in Albert Square - but none too happy when ex-MI5 agent David Shayler took to the mic.

Shaylor was a spy from 1991 until 1996, his department directly responsible for monitoring and harassing progressives and revolutionaries considered a threat to government - the very people standing in front of him that Saturday. Despite his "whistleblowing" storm in a tea cup in 1998, which amounted to 7 weeks in an open prison, Shayler has never given the press or the left anything of any substance - and he was certainly party to juicy information. His jailing in 2002 was purely on principle for breaking the Official Secrets Act. If Shayler genuinely does not know anything else of any value, he is as irrelevant a spokesman as the next failed journalist. Currently he makes a living out of conning people into believing he does have a trick up his sleeve: after exhausting the media's interest with him, he has now zeroed in on the "911 truth movement", people who believe the 11th of September attacks were carried out either by, or with the help of the US government - Shayler personally argues it was an "inside job".

It was this topic which Shayler chose to address. Unfortunately for those around him in the "911 truth movement", he does not believe a word of it. At the end of his speech, an AF comrade took the mic to explain:

"Whether nine eleven was an inside job is possibly up for discussion; what is not in question is whether this idiot genuinely believes that. Directly after the attacks, he went on record to say that it was a security failure, but not an inside job. A few years on and he has a book out and craves attention so he changes his tune. Don't listen to this wannabe martyr."

"Well, I should have said martyr," the speaker admitted later, "but I get nervous speaking in public, and when I'm nervous I swear. I just called him a f*cking idiot, which got me booted off the mic."

However at this point Shayler grew animated and followed the speaker into the crowd. Shouting "What have you done? I've been to prison for my beliefs!" he pushed into them repeatedly and goaded his denouncer to attack him, probably hoping for their arrest. A bit of solidarity from the crowd sent him packing however.

A rather surreal footnote to an otherwise straightforward day. It is bizarre that Shayler thinks of anarchists and socialists as a potential audience, and even more bizarre that he is surprised they react badly to his presence. He has come to the (unwilling) attention of the movement since his attempt to talk at the 2005 anarchist bookfair. Since then anarchists have been interested in the work of independent researcher Larry O'Hara. Along with the evidence of his blatant opportunism around 911, the idea that he remains an MI5 agent spying on the anti-war movement is interesting. O'Hara looks at Shayler in NFB #6 http://www.borderland.co.uk/

MI5 agents are lower than any scum in the state hierarchy, they alone are completely aware of exactly how the ruling class lie and kill to stay in power - they carry it all out. Given that Shayler still supports, and possibly is in MI5, before addressing revolutionaries he should remember that revolutions end with the secret police hanging from the trees.


 1-http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2002/03/24228.html

8:24 PM - 4 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Reflections On Sackparliament

On Monday October the 9th AF members from different regions participated in the Sack Parliament action. The action was disastrous; chaotic, confusing and worst of all dangerous. Almost 40 people were arrested under the new exclusion zone laws, and one independent camera man was hospitalized by a police charge. It was both demoralizing for the participants and confusing for the public .. in many ways it represented the worst of ..activism...

AF members were involved out of solidarity with the organisers and the intentions of the action, and despite what happened on the day we think the idea behind it was justified and creative. We do not think this trend of ..direct action.. is particularly important, but reserve our criticisms for the planning and on-the-ground actions that day.

The Ideas Behind Sackparliament

Sackparliament was an initiative that came out of a group of students and anti-authoritarians who had attempted direct actions on the Lebanon war demo..s over the summer. Whilst we think their politics are so wide you could throw an aircraft carrier through them, their actions have been completely justified. They correctly see the anti-war movement as a mass movement. At times this has been undeniable, with several polls returning a majority opposed to the war in Iraq, and the numbers on the streets on February 15th 2003 were the biggest ever. The ..Day X.. actions, combined with developments like the school students strikes, showed a potential move towards mass direct action. The most important thing anarchists could have done was try and move the ideas of the anti-war movement away from the ideas of lobbying .. which criticises only this particular government, only this particular war .. and pushed for a real demonstration .. a demonstration of the will and strength of the people united in defiance.

British anarchism was going through a time of identity crisis when the war broke. Burned out from the development of Reclaim The Streets and radical ecology into the anticapitalist movement of Seattle and Genoa, those behind RTS and the Mayday riots were seeing fewer people turn up to their events .. and theirs was movement that relied entirely on events. Many young anarchists who would have taken the helm of a new movement saw little point in activism from a class perspective. Subsequently, there was no fusion of the anticapitalist movement and its tactics with the anti-war movement, apart from at the ..top.. where it never counted .. in the NGO..s, Charities and socialist parties. In a lot of ways it..s real shame.

Event based activism is pointless when the problems of capitalism and the class system need a long term opposition from the people they fuck over .. the working class. Its capitalism that causes wars, and it..s the working class that get sent to fight and die after all. Given the choice between a political strike at an arms factory and a non-violent activist blockade of the arms factory, we would want a strike. But given the choice between the blockade and sweet fuck all, we support a blockade. If the war is a class issue, support its opponents as long as they are not endorsing a political party or another form of dominance.

On this basis then, Sackparliament was something we were willing to engage with. Mostly on the strength of one of their last actions .. leafleting children being taken to an army recruitment fair with information like ..25% of rough sleepers used to be in the army... This is engaging with normal people at the point of contact with the war, where it counts. Also, kicking off outside the American Embassy on the Lebanon demo..s was justified, if a bit stupid without the numbers. Its more something you hope would happen anyway rather than something you call for!

All sackparliament propaganda was good stuff, when you consider its purpose. It was meant to unite all those against the war rather than anarchists and lefties without coming across as lobbying. It also was well produced and had a cracking sense of humour; one flier was a spoof tax return for the government from ..Inland Revenge... All MPs received a spoof P45 on the day too.

Unsurprisingly we think that no matter how good the prop was, there is not much point in isolated stunts rather than trying to build long term resistance, and we do not consider the two paths to be exclusive. Stunts and actions are fine if they feed into the wider struggle, and sackparliament might have.


(put hands on your head and lie down) On The Ground

What was seriously neglected was planning. Similarly to mayday 2003, a map with targets had been distributed and people were expected to plan actions themselves. In this case the targets were different entrances to Parliament, and the plan was for different groups to blockade different ones and delay or cancel the opening session that day. Beyond this hope, nothing was done. According to the map, the situationist inspired Space Hijackers were supposed to provide counseling for the newly sacked MPs and someone else was doing a soundsystem. Neither were in evidence on the day. Considering 500 people were not able to get a portable soundsystem into Trafalgar square this mayday and that there hasn..t been a proper soundsystem on a London action since J18 in 1999, it doesn..t seem very likely one was even secured for this venture.

The ..antiauthoritarian block.. were highly organised, meeting at several different points around London to ensure there were no tails and catching a bus into Parliament Square to avoid getting stopped on the street. Entrance to the square had been looked into properly and other routes assessed and rejected. So, we all pile out of the bus, hats and scarfs on and then.. And then? Nothing. Nobody had a plan, and the original idea .. to somehow blockade several entrances, we assume with our bodies .. totally contradicted the call for an antiauthoritarian (read: black) block. The block had a bit of a rush for the road, 40 people faced down 800 police, and lost. Pushed back into the square, the protestors were surrounded by police. Snatch squads were sent in, and scuffles broke out as the block tried to defend people. Eventually, if they weren..t arrested outright, those in the pen had their details taken and were charged with illegal demonstration.

Suggestions
- Tell people what you think they should do. If you want people to nonviolently blockade things, say so. Marks on maps mean nothing.

- Lead from the front. Anyone who is not a plastic anarchist is happy to take advice from someone with better knowledge; if you called the event, that..s you.

- ..Fill the Jails.. tactics do not work for issues like this. As anarchists, we generally try to avoid jails full stop.

- Get an idea of the numbers attending. Nobody had any idea. Someone speculated ..they..ll be lucky to get over 1000... The event got about 50.

- If you doubt the turnout, call it off .. or make more appropriate plan.

- Get an idea of who is attending .. and what they are capable of. If you have personal guarantees from people to attend, you can assign roles and make better plans.

- Most importantly: Have an exit strategy. Planning ended with the arrival of the block. How does that get us home and dry?

In the end, the gap between the potential and the reality of the action would make anybody feel pretty negative. It was well known that the police were going overboard for this since the Friday article in The Standard; plans should have changed. Or have been made in the first place.

Its important to be honest with yourselves when planning a confrontational action .. which this was, being illegal. Rather than just ..not condemning.. different tactics, think what you actually do want: do you want a riot or a stunt? There is nothing anarchic about having no plan.

That..s All Folks

The authors acknowledge the time effort and money put into the Monday, and hope the organisers find ways of making actions like this work in future, and most importantly linking them to long term issues. See you there.

11:23 AM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment