Italy - NO TAV - Arrests and denunciations throughout the country

informa-azione 

26/01/2012 - At 6:30 this morning, Thursday, January 26, 2012, a vast police operation ordered by the Public prosecutor of Turin has struck many friends, comrades, and No TAV resistants throughout Italy with arrests and cautionary measures. The practices of resistance that set off this massive operation concern conflictual episodes starting from the eviction of the Libera Repubblica della Maddalena [Free Republic of the Magdalene], passing through the siege of July 3 and the long Susa Valley summer.
Of the more than 40 measures, 25 are remands in prison, 15 measures of mandatory residence, 1 detention under house arrest and 1 prohibition of residence in the province of Turin. 
This afternoon a No TAV demonstration in solidarity with comrades affected by this crackdown: appointment at 17.00 in Piazza Castello in Turin.
Candlelight vigil in solidarity at 20.30 No TAV Bussoleno.
Concentration of solidarity at Milan University at 16.00 
Demonstration in Piazza del Nettuno in Bologna at 17.00 
Demonstration outside prison of Quarto (Asti) at 18.00 
Solidarity demonstration in Cagliari at 18.00 
Solidarity demonstration in Padua at 18.30 at the prefecture 
In Pistoia - Tomorrow night in Piazza S. 21e30 Bartholomew, a meeting will be held to organize protests and solidarity with Antonio and all those arrested in these hours. We will keep you updated.

The arrest warrants total 32 (some local media report 26). 
From Biella we learn of one measure of obligation of residence and of a minor being held at the police station.
From Milan comes news of 5 arrest warrants, 3 of which have been put into act (including Maurizio and Stefano). 
From Rovereto we learn of the arrest of Juan. 

The number of arrests and charges in Piedmont is not yet clear. In addition to Gabriela, for whose arrest they broke into El Paso, and Maja, we have reports of some arrests made at several homes in Turin and in the Susa Valley, militants of Askatasuna social centre (George, Jacob and Luke), Tobias Mauro, Guido (councillor of Villar Focchiardo) and in the squat in via Muriaglio (Mambo). Also searches Barocchio. In the morning the occupants of the Mezcal climbed on to the roof when the police arrived; after a few hours and the arrival of solidarity, they came down to receive notifications of denunciation. The police stayed at the Mezcal until 13.00 looking for clothing, helmets and other equipment. Some No TAV resistants taken to police headquarters this morning have been released following notification of charges; entry to their home was made, it seems, using the 41 TULPS (search for weapons and explosives). Two No TAV affected by provisional measures remain unaccounted for. Samuel was arrested in Asti. From Rome comes news of 2 arrests. An arrest in Genoa. Antonio arrested in Pistoia. In Naples, the former home of Alessio was searched as well as the anarchist space 76 A. 

From Bologna we receive: 
The wave of repression against the movement has also struck in Bologna:
right now it seems that the situation in the capital of Emilia is 3 raids, 2 against anarchists and one against an activist of the TPO, also hit with an obligation to remain outside the region.One of the searches against the anarchists, in the presence of Rizzoli himself (Bologna, head of the political police, Digos) was very brutal until the arrival of a lawyer.The comrades were then taken to police headquarters for fingerprints and photographs and were charged. To them, as well as to all those detained, subjected to precautionary measures or raided, all our solidarity..
It is clear that in times of increasing poverty, in which a "technical government" has been called to prevent any situation of real struggle, this wave of repression is a warning.Who commands us would like to instill fear, instilling despair and fomenting division in those who struggle in the Susa Valley and anywhere else.
Finally, it is urgent to underline that these searches in Bologna insert themselves in a period of particular repressive recrudescence and doggedness of the police against anarchists and anyone who has chosen the rejection of any form of mediation or recognition by the institutions.
After the closing of the anarchist circle Fuoriluogo and the arrests in April, those of July 3 in the Susa Valley, they have continued to rain down accusations and court cases that in other circumstances would never have gone to trial. To that should be added a dozen 'new' verbal warnings, about twenty expulsion orders, two attempts to deal out special surveillance, and continuous controls by the Digos sometimes with threatening and violent behaviour also ending up with nights spent at the police station.
Concentration in the main square in Bologna at 17.oo 
Anarchists in Bologna

L'Île-Rousse, Corsica - First floor of college ransacked

corse matin (via cette semaine)18/01/2012 - "A cyclone." This is how the scene of vandalism discovered Monday morning by the cleaners of the establishment, on the first floor of the college-Pascal Paoli, in L'Île-Rousse was described. In each room, insults - tagged with black paint - designed specifically against teachers, supervisors, educators in general. Spanning whiteboards, but also on the tables, computer screens ... But the vandals did not stop there: computer equipment was also found destroyed. The rampage took place during the weekend, when the college was closed.
An investigation opened by police  
An investigation was opened on Monday morning. There, investigators make use of the findings. Then the cleaners can finally clean up the devastation and restore the normal aspect to the damaged rooms by working hard all day Monday. "This morning, the teachers took the students over to the main college. They explained what had happened, and we did some prevention against violence." That afternoon, the teachers gathered in the General Assembly and came out on strike."In addition to verbal abuse and degradation of materials, student work and photographs of school trips have been damaged", complain teachers of the college collective of teachers. There is a security problem, they add. We want to ask a government contractor for the security of the institution. "At the scene, no sign of tampering was found.The investigation is ongoing. And even if no trail has been ruled out, investigators tends to favour students or ex-students of the institution. In terms of the faculty, there is concern that such acts, if they are not punished they will one day lead to aggression against not objects but people. The sackage of the first floor left a deep sense of unease. Giving a disturbing impression of "escalation" in a fairly quiet setting.

Fleury-Merogis, France - 14 vehicles burnt over weekend

le parisien
10/01/2012 - Fleury-Merogis yesterday. Several cars were burned in the night from Sunday to Monday in the district Aunette. Certainty to the police, these fires are not accidental.
The bottom of the air still carries the faint smell of burnt rubber and the fragrance of exasperation. The car park, which is at the foot of the building 2, rue Jacques-Decour Fleury-Merogis, bears the marks of a restless night. Very early yesterday morning, four vehicles went up in smoke.Their remains are adjacent to  two vehicles partially degraded. "It happened around 3:00 and other cars were also burnt out," laments one resident of this set HLM.[council estate]A hundred yards away, in front of the kindergarten-Robert Desnos, a rental van and a sedan are no more than carcasses. Nelson Mandela Street, facing a row of small houses, another vehicle was burned. A total of 11 fires were reported during the night from Sunday to Monday. Three others were also reported last Saturday, according to residents.

Fleury-Merogis prison nr Paris, France - Prison workshops destroyed by fire

cette semaine

 
AFP - 02/01/2012 - According to the firemen of Essonne, the fire started around 9 am. A union source said the fire, extinguished about 11:30 am, destroyed the workshops of building D5 of the prison. About 150 prisoners were working on reconditioning costume jewelry have been evacuated. An inmate and a supervisor were overcome by fumes and taken to the hospital.
The origin of the fire had not been determined late Monday morning. The building will be renovated to D5 from the month of February, as part of a redevelopment of the prison.

Back to the burning of the workshop of the prison of Fleury Mérogis

18/02/2012
Mag du 91 - According to the analysis, the incident would be of criminal origin. Traces of an inflammable product were detected on site. For now, however, investigators have no suspect, in fact, it is difficult to know where the substance was used to trigger the fire. The damage to the prison is estimated at around 400,000 euros.

Hammamet, Tunisia - Students attack their high school with Molotov cocktails

newsoftunisia (via cette semaine)
22/01/2012 - The situation is becoming increasingly critical in Tunisia and turns, in many cases, to drama! What just happened, Friday, January 20, Hammamet is unacceptable.[sic] 

Students attacked their own school, the establishment Mohamed Boudhina in Hammamet, a sign of dissatisfaction with the administration which refused to grant them a ticket after asking them to be accompanied by their parents to justify their repeated absences.

The Director of the institution, Mr. Kamel Messaoud, spoke on the waves of Shems FM, indicating that the students were armed with Molotov cocktails, stones and firecrackers.

Saint-Gilles, Belgium - Victor Horta metro station completely sabotaged

rtbf

22/01/2012 - The pre-metro station Horta in Saint-Gilles is currently out of service due to damage caused in the night from Saturday to Sunday, Brussels court officials have informed.
STIB hopes to reopen Horta station on Monday morning.
The station was completely stained with paint and the doors were blocked with pieces of wood. The damage is severe. The tram lines passing through the station do not stop here for thetime being.
The court in Brussels descended on the scene Sunday morning. The station has now been released by the court. It is now being cleaned by teams from the STIB.
"We are working hard to clean as soon as the station. The goal is to reopen the pre-metro station Monday morning. Tram lines 3, 4 and 51 do not stop there Sunday," said Van An Hamme, spokesman for the company to transport Brussels.

RTBF

Lisbon, Portugal - "Indignados" wrongly reported as victims of fascist attack. Here's what really happened.

received by sysiphus

 24/01/2012 - It was reported by the international media (and also sometimes locally) that an "indignados" demo was attacked by fascists, or that they were sent away by the cops, once again playing the role of victims, but this is far from what really happened. For the indignados no violence can come from whoever participates in "their" demos, "we" can only be good citizens who ask for democracy. All the rest, no matter what, is illusion or provocation.
A demo called for by the organizations of the indignados was about to begin when a group of about 30 fascists with banners and flags approached and tried to integrate with the demo. Already in last March 12 a group of fascists did participate in the massive 300,000 strong demo in Lisbon, with no response. This time however a few people decided the bastards wouldn't go on the demo. And then more people shared this idea, surrounding them. There was no violence a priori from the fascists, and no provocation apart from their simple presence. There was only a decision to not let them march together with us and to kick them out of the area. The police intervened when the clashes began and some fascists were in trouble,  amidst punches, kicks and stones. One of their banners was stolen, two flags burned and at least one fascist had to go to the hospital. The remaining 15 fascists (the other 15 went away after the clashes) had to remain 100 meters away from the demo the rest of the time, with dozens of riot cops protecting them.

What follows next is more or less what happened, translated from a Portuguese newspaper (Diário Digital).

"Nationalist group not allowed to participate in demo after confrontations
A group of about 20 members of the Movimento de Oposição Nacional (MON - nationalist organization) was surrounded by cops this afternoon on the way to the parliament, where the "indignados" were demonstrating, soon after the two groups were involved in clashes.
"We weren't going to make any provocation, we were going to participate in the demo called for in the internet, when hooded individuals in black attacked us. They're people from the extreme left wing and this is a sign of their tolerance. It's the thought dictatorship.", told us João Martins, a member of the MON.
The group, surrounded by police officers, ended up going home and not integrating with the demo.
João Martins, who told the group had already participated in "indignados'" demos before, said there was never any problems, this was the first time, "with one member of the MON going to the hospital with a broken skull, after being kicked and punched."
He added the group has "identitarian nationalist" ideals, but refused any links to fascism or the extreme right wing, telling that their aim in the protest was "to show indignation towards the rotten system rulling the country since 1974". "Everything for this motherland! For Portugal - and nothing else" is the slogan of the MON.
The riot police had to intervene at the beginning of the demo, after a group of the nationalist movement tried to integrate in the demo, where it was promptly rejected. The insults ended up in violence. As soon as they showed their flags, the protesters started to call them "fascists" and "PIDE's" (the political police of Salazar).
The insults soon escalated to clashes, with stones, punches and kicks. The riot cops separated the two groups, but there was still time to burn two flags.
source:
http://diariodigital.sapo.pt/news.asp?section_id=13&id_news=554516

Benghazi, Libya - protestors storm ruling NTC headquarters with home-made grenades

AFP

21/01/2012 - BENGHAZI, Libya — Angry protesters threw home-made grenades and stormed Libya's ruling National Transitional Council offices in the city of Benghazi, setting its front ablaze on Saturday, witnesses said.
The attack, the first such violent act against the NTC -- the body which is ruling Libya since the fall of Moamer Kadhafi's regime -- came in the eastern city which was also the first to rise up against the dictator last year.
The attack occurred as up to 2,000 protesters, including injured former rebels who helped topple Kadhafi's 42-year-old regime, demonstrated outside the NTC offices, witnesses and an AFP correspondent at the scene reported.
Witnesses said the grenade blasts occurred when wounded former rebels were protesting at being "marginalised" in the new Libya, demanding more transparency in the NTC and opposing what they said were opportunists from joining the ruling body.
Protesters in Benghazi have held demonstrations for several weeks, accusing the NTC of lacking transparency and recruiting members who were once seen as loyalists of the former regime.
On Saturday at least three blasts were heard by the AFP reporter who said he did not see any damage to the office or any casualties.
"The demonstrators attacked the building and turned NTC offices upside down," an NTC member said on condition of anonymity.
Other witnesses said protesters, armed with stones and iron bars, stormed and ransacked the offices as they occupied them.
"They set fire to the front (of the office), broke windows and damaged one of the armoured cars that was there," said Fathi Baja, NTC member and the council's political affairs chief.
He said he and NTC chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who had visited the office to calm the protesters, got out of the premises separately, adding that he was unaware of who was behind the attack.
"We do not know. Some were very young, like 15 years, some older. There were many. Some called for the resignation of the entire NTC except... Mustafa Abdel Jalil and another member," Baja told AFP by phone from Benghazi.
Abdel Jalil too faced the fury of the protesters as some threw plastic bottles at him when he tried to calm them down, witnesses said, adding that a brigade of some former rebels secured a passage to allow the NTC head and other council members to leave the building.
Home-made bombs were used regularly by the former rebels during last year's conflict against Kadhafi, especially to attack checkpoints of the former leader's forces.
The grenade blasts and ransacking of NTC offices come just two days after the council's deputy head Abdel Hafiz Ghoga was manhandled by university students in Benghazi.
Ghoga, who also serves as official spokesman for the interim government, had to be escorted away after being mobbed by angry students at the University of Ghar Yunis in Libya's second largest city.
He escaped unharmed but was forced to endure a tirade of abuse from the crowd, who accused him of opportunism because of his belated defection from the Kadhafi regime.
22/01
The deputy head of Libyan ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) Abdel Hafiz Ghoga announced his resignation after the national wave of mass protests against the new government, the Al Jazeera TV channel said on Sunday.

Lisbon, Portugal - Clashes in the streets after indignados demo is attacked by fascists

euronews

21/01/2012 - Violence flared on the streets of Lisbon as members of the right-wing Portuguese nationalist party clashed with supporters of the left wing, indignados group.
The fascist demonstrators threw a lighted flare and used flags they were carrying to attack the indignados. Police had to intervene and separate the two factions.
The fighting erupted during a planned demonstration to protest against the country’s austerity measures. Thousands marched to parliament chanting slogans against the Troika – the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission.
On Wednesday, the government, unions and employers signed a pact to make it easier for crisis- hit companies to hire and fire, cut redundancy pay-outs and the number of holidays.
Officials from the Troika, at the end of a three day visit, praised the government for the reforms required to meet the 78 billion euro rescue package.
see video:
//www.euronews.net/2012/01/21/troika-back-portugal-reforms-as-violence-flares/

Arida, Lebanon - Residents storm border crossing throwing rocks at Syrian outpost following murder of 17 year old fisherman by Syrian naval forces

daily star
22/01/2012 - Arida, Lebanon: A tense atmosphere fueled by anger described the scene at the border town of Arida Sunday after residents held a funeral for a teenager who was killed when Syrian naval forces seized a fishing trawler carrying three Lebanese fishermen a day earlier.
During the funeral procession, angry residents stormed the border crossing, throwing rocks at the Syrian border outpost and shouting anti-Syrian slogans. Lebanese army personnel attempted to stop the young men from crossing into Syria but to no avail.

On Saturday morning at around 6:30 a.m., three fishermen, identified as Fady Hamad, 37, his brother Khaled Hamad, 33, and their nephew Maher Hamad, 17, were kidnapped by Syrian security forces after a Syrian naval vessel crossed three kilometers into Lebanon’s territorial waters. 

Maher was shot in the stomach and killed when Syrian forces fired in the direction of the trawler, Arida residents said. 

 ...

The Lebanese-Syrian border has become increasingly tense since the uprising in Syria began 10 months ago, with several incursions by the Syrian army, the killing of Lebanese citizens by Syrian security forces, and the firing at two fishing boats in August.

Jiyyeh, Beirut, Lebanon - Angry protests against repeated electricity cuts in various parts of the country

dailystar lebanon

21/02/2012 - BEIRUT: Hundreds protested Saturday against repeated electricity cuts in Jiyyeh, Chouf, while 50 people blocked the main road leading to Beirut’s airport with burning tires.

In the Chouf region, upon the request of heads of municipalities and officials, protesters gathered in front of the Jiyyeh power plant carrying signs that said: "Leave, minister of darkness," and "The days of the war are better than your days."

Demonstrators also burned tires in front of the plant and blocked its main entrance.

Meanwhile in Beirut, Lebanese Army personnel and Internal Security Forces launched efforts to reopen the road to Rafik Hariri International Airport, blocked by some 50 men protesting poor electricity provision.

Severe electricity cuts fueled several protests Friday as residents and lawmakers staged a sit-in in the mountain town of Aley and small groups of protesters blocked roads in the south of the country.

Civil society groups and local officials from the districts of Aley and Upper Metn gathered near Aley’s Serail to protest severe power cuts and inadequate supplies of diesel in the region.

Energy and Water Minister Jibran Bassil has warned that the country will witness more electricity cuts, adding that he has submitted several emergency plans to Cabinet in a bid to temporarily resolve the crisis.

“I have warned that the situation will deteriorate and I stated that electricity cuts would increase even more and that the production process would worsen,” Bassil told Al-Joumhouria newspaper in an article published Tuesday. 

Upon the request of heads of municipalities and officials of the Chouf region, the protesters gathered in front of the Jiyyeh power plant carrying signs that said: "Leave, minister of darkness," and "The days of the war are better than your days."

Protesters also burnt tires in front of the plan and blocked its main entrance.

Salford, Manchester, UK - Salford man gets lengthiest riot sentence yet for torching BBC car in August

excerpts from salfordstar

22/01/2012 - Last Friday, Salford man Zac Challinor got five and a half years in jail for torching the BBC Radio Manchester car at Salford Precinct. It was the lengthiest sentence doled out for any rioter. But, so far, the media hasn't bothered to report it.

At midnight on 9th August, Challinor posted on Facebook that he was going to see what was happening in town. ...
Within hours, Salford streets erupted and Challinor was on the front line.
At 5pm, Challinor threw a coin at lines of police in riot gear battling with youths in Brydon Close. Hundreds of youths overturned a BBC Radio Manchester car in Heywood Way. Challinor excitedly suggested 'come on lets set it on fire' and lit the match. As smoke rose over Salford, the mob made their way to LIDL, smashing through the shutters. Challinor was captured on CCTV with armfuls of aerosols. Finally, Challinor aimed a kick at William Hills in the precinct but for some reason stopped before the shutters were damaged around 9pm.  Hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of  damage was attributed all or in part to Challinor's actions.
Challinor received the lengthiest sentence of any rioter.
The majority of those brought before the courts for offences related to civil unrest during the summer are young men like Zac Challinor and Stephen Carter. Like Carter, another of Salford's sons serving time for riot related crime, Challinor was homeless, jobless and estranged from his family at the time of the riot.
Media blackout
In recent months, Salford has been awash with journalists. No-one reported on Challinor's landmark sentence which will, like Carter's, form a bench mark for prosecutions taking place later this year. Within minutes of the BBC car being set on fire, images were being broadcast on Youtube. With their staff as the story, the BBC has shown little taste for broadcasting what was behind the destruction.

MediaCityUK has become the forbidden city for  thousands of Salfordians denied employment, to the elderly who will be confined to their homes by the closure of day centres, to women forced to give birth on the kitchen floor because of the closure of Salford Royal maternity unit, to the people whose homes are being repossessed, to the families forced out by regeneration to make way for new housing that they cannot access, or the schools reducing  25% of the teaching staff....Repossession notices, redundancy notices, closure notices – no damn notice is paid to the conditions that have blighted Salford for years. The only notice given to those beyond the Media City walls warn of powers to disperse groups under the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003 who seek to disrupt the brave new world.
As the marketing of Media City struggles to maintain the illusion of a cohesive community – `Our City, Your City' - the truth is that it's their city now and disaffected youth, the elderly, the sick or impoverished have been cast aside.

...

The torching of the BBC car will never be seen as a symbol of working class struggle by the organisations at the interface of accelerated social change and the digital revolution.  But perhaps it should, as youths gather in shadows of the precinct with nothing to do, nowhere to go...

http://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=1261 

 

Sicily, Italy - Farmers and truck drivers block roads, railways and ports in massive protest against cutbacks

epoch times

20/01/2012 - Heralded as the “Five Days of Sicily,” members of the Pitchforks Movement of farmers, and the Shock Force truck drivers’ consortium have paralyzed the Italian island, Sicily.
Striking transportation workers are blocking main roads with their trucks to protest against Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti’s cutbacks. The drivers, belonging to the Association of Sicilian Businesses, have also been joined by farmers and fishermen.
The main complaint of the protesters is the excessive rise in fuel costs. According to the organizers, the five-day strike that will last until Friday night.
Long lines have formed at the few remaining gas stations with fuel on hand. Roads, railways, and ports have been blocked in different parts of Sicily. Two ferries that were ready to set sail to Naples and Genoa, were forced to dock at the southern port city of Palermo, while some buses belonging to the Catania-Palermo line have canceled their routes, reported Italian news agency ANSA.
In the town of Santa Flavia, which is 20 km (about 12 miles) from Palermo, a near-tragedy was avoided when more than 200 fishermen, accompanied by their wives and children, blocked the railroad tracks just before a scheduled train was to pass.

The town’s mayor, Antonio Napoli, said, “These people are desperate because, due to European Union regulations, they are no longer able to fish. The cost of diesel has also increased from 30 to 80 [euro] cents per litre in three years,” according to Corriere Della Sera, one of Italy’s main newspapers.

Catania, Sicily - Five municipal policemen attacked by group of local people who intervene in defence of immigrant street seller

informa-azione

giornale di sicilia
20/01/2012 - CATANIA. Five municipal police officers were injured last night in Catania by a group of people - two of them have been arrested - which had initially prevented two policemen from checking the identity of  an 'extracommunitarian' street vendor and subsequently attacked three other agents who had intervened in aid of their colleagues. The attack took place on the corner of the streets of San Giuliano and Antonio St. Ursula, in the old city.
The officers - one of whom was forced to fire a shot in the air with the pistol - were able to stop two young men, respectively 18 and 20 years, who were part of the group of attackers, who were arrested and placed under house arrest. The injured have been medicated in the ER and judged to heal within seven days.
"What has happened is a very serious matter. Officers were doing their duty to help fight lawlessness and illegal activity that this administration is undertaking, and were attacked not by immigrants, but by people from Catania who wanted to prevent them from doing their job." said the mayor of Catania Raffaele Stancanelli. [...]

Moscow, Russia - Girl punk band arrested for performing anti-Vladimir Putin song

 telegraph

Eight members of an all-girl punk group called Pussy Riot wearing brightly coloured mini-dresses and balaclavas climbed over railings onto a stone platform next to the cathedral to sing a song called Putin Has P***** Himself.

Russian police stood by while the band performed the song before detaining all the members and taking them to the nearby Kitai-Gorod police station.

Four members were later charged with the non-criminal public order offences and disobeying police, carrying a maximum punishment of 15 days behind bars, according to one band member who uses the nickname Garadzha Matveyeva.

In December the band gave a roof-top concert next to the police cell where protest leader and blogger Alexei Navalny was serving a short sentence.

They have also performed in the Moscow metro.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/9028106/Russian-all-girl-punk-band-Pussy-Riot-arrested-for-performing-Vladimir-Putin-song.html

Ioannina Penitentiary Centre, Greece - Letter from anarchist Rami Syrianos in regards to his case

received by sysiphus 17/01/2012

Without a doubt, we are living through a period where the living conditions in this world are being renegotiated in their totality. Capitalism’s gleaming shop window has been shattered to reveal what lies behind: a process of putrefaction and decadence. Democratic hopes and capitalist promises are being ousted alongside the fictitious prosperity -through loans- of capitalism’s golden age experienced in previous decades; at the same time the “promised land”—complete with private swimming pool, two cars, and four televisions— is replaced by a gray desert of depression, desperation, insecurity, and fear. Domination, in a demonstration of its more then efficient flexibility, is withdrawing toward a new kind of digitally programmed totalitarianism, and is creating bulwarks by setting up new police units, biometric databases, and even newer, more elastic “antiterrorist” laws—all in an attempt to steel itself against the enemy within, which is threatening the ever-so-fragile social peace. The transparent social galley is being transformed into a maximum-security prison, as social cohesion built up over years is set in renegotiation of the rules on which it was based: access to wealth and consumption; the promises and hopes of social ascent and recognition; the role of wage-labor as a means to satisfy needs and desires and as a ticket to human self-fulfillment in a world of consumerist dreams and sensations.

Work is not simply and exclusively an economic process that commercializes human activity. Due to its totalitarian character, it imposes itself as a generalized universal condition that creates and shapes relationships and consciousness. It was through the re-signification of work as a means of attaining social ascent and of capitalist promises of participation in consumption that Power was remodeled in the minds of its subjects, was shared out and broadened, thus consolidating the dominant discourse across classes. The rhetoric of “self-made businessmen”, of achieving social recognition through bank loans, but also of self- fulfillment through consumption, found fertile ground in attentive ears for the cultivation of a cannibalistic consciousness whose supreme value was the ruthless pursuit—even over dead bodies—of prestige, power, and wealth. The old working class was transformed into petty-bourgeois/middle class proprietors who identified their own interests with those of the system, since apart from their chains (now made of plastic and in the form of loans) they also had their comforts and social status to lose. Under the terms of the generalized consensus taking shape, the traditional repressive forces  “withdrew” to the rearguard (although still developing under the surface) and a campaign of enervation and individuation was launched, spearheaded by prefabricated lifestyle models, of access to centers of entertainment, of social recognition, and consumerist happiness. Social peace was guaranteed through satisfying the new collective desires of a society that, hungry to consume products and images, dedicated itself to an orgy of de-signification of its own existence. This was the era in which existential poverty deepened, individuation and concern only for one’s own skin rooted themselves into people’s consciences, and life kept on loosing more and more its meaning—caged by work hours, televised reality shows, standardized entertainment outlets, and images of fictitious happiness. However, this festival had an expiration date and now the time has come to add up the bill, which will have to be paid plus the interest rates.

The new social conditions being shaped come to make the transitional leap from the internalization of control –made possible via access to power and consumer goods- to the internalization of obedience through fear, insecurity, flexible work hours, unemployment, and images of entire areas occupied by the mercenaries of the police. Using the international financial crisis as a pretext, an attempt of unprecedented scale is being made to redistribute wealth toward the highest social strata and simultaneously restructure social relations in their entirety. The fictitious image of affluence is being forcefully unseated, together with the illusions that accompanied it, and is replaced by that of a relentless future now dawning. Fear and uncertainty are coming to replace promises as the main driving force of the social machinery and to establish themselves in the minds of the until recently happy subjects, who are now watching the disintegration of their “earthly paradise” made from loans, as they are touched by the same fate to which they themselves—untroubled by all the blood that accompanied their progress and happiness—once condemned people who live on the margins of capitalism. Wage-labor, the cornerstone of widespread social change, is being stripped of its veneer as a means of ascent and success and demystified, thus revealing its true face: a coercive process of producing inequality and exploitation. Based on this condition, where the traditional mechanisms of consensus previously in function are collapsing, and with social cohesion becoming more and more fragile, Domination is adopting a discourse of war. It is declaring a permanent state of emergency and fortifying itself behind flexible new “antiterrorist” laws, biological databases, surveillance systems, and thousands of new urban mercenaries/ police officers in preparation to face the enemy within who threatens the grand plans to impose a new totalitarianism.

The rekindling of insurrectionary practices on a global level, the reappearance of metropolitan guerrilla warfare, the confrontational demos around the world, the revolts in the Arab world, the growing distrust of the role of regime intermediary being played by the Left, and the turn towards more radical forms of struggle come to remind us that the wager for a revolutionary solution has neither been lost nor forgotten. Rather, it is entering the arena once again, more urgent and vital than ever. The prosecution, imprisonment, and murder of those who struggle are not the results of an attack launched by Domination; rather they constitute its defensive efforts undertaken to address the cracks found throughout its foundation, which are becoming more and more intensified, as faith in the image of its omnipotence is dwindling day by day.

On January 31, while I was making my getaway after carrying out a robbery at the vehicle auction organized by the Public Asset Management Agency Inc. (which conducts a wide range of different auctions and is responsible for the liquidation of cars, motorcycles, and many other assets seized by the pigs or by customs), I was surrounded and arrested by uniformed pigs from the DIAS squad. They brought me to Thessaloniki Police Headquarters, where I was stripped down to my underwear, handcuffed behind my back, and made to stand facing a wall for about seven hours while various undercovers and other pigs joined the parade to get a look at me. I continually refused to say anything other than that I am an anarchist, and I also refused to have my fingerprints and photograph taken.

They later brought me to my home, which they searched for five hours before we returned to Police Headquarters. Once back there, a dozen pigs surrounded me and their chief attempted to begin a process of interrogation and humiliation of my principles in the style of a “friendly chat,” during which I heard grotesques such as: “We’re the real revolutionaries and you’re just a selfish loser,” “We’re against the banks” (!), “While you refuse to help yourself, the other one has already squealed,” [some clichés never die] etc. The only thing I told them time and time again was that I am a revolutionary anarchist and that they are nothing more than Power’s thugs—lackey enforcers of the law without minds of their own, who humiliate, torture, and murder in exchange for a salary. When morning came, after getting in touch with my lawyer I found out that—because of a phone number written on a slip of paper I tragically forgot I had on me—they had arrested another person I knew from the antiauthoritarian milieu, and the mass media had printed photos of both of us. They then brought us to court, making a shocking spectacle out of the whole thing like always. They dressed us in white bulletproof vests, with panic-stricken pigs in balaclavas looking like something out of a scene from a cheap Hollywood action flick. The only thing I told the hearing judge was that I did what I did as an anarchist in the context of the refusal of work, and that the other person being charged had nothing to do with the case. They ruled that I was to be placed in pretrial detention, while the other comrade was released because dozens of witnesses testified that he was working at the self-managed café stand in the Polytechnic school at the exact time of the robbery.

Robbing the Public Asset Management Agency Inc. dealers of stolen goods is a partial expression of my refusal to submit to the oppressive, empty reality imposed by the fragmented space and time of work hours and predetermined paths; imposed by the coercive “you must” ordered by bosses and the alienated “I want” expressed by their subordinates; imposed by a production process that turns people into living spare parts for the machinery of consumption of images and products. Rejecting to play the role either of a victim of exploitation by small or big bosses, or of the victimizer and collaborator in exploiting others; sickened as much by the submissive work ethic of the “poor but honest” worker as by the overambitious arrogance of the “successful careerist”; perceiving the entire complex of social relations as an alienated result of capitalist production, I decided to shift into individual action, throwing myself into the polymorphic revolutionary anarchist process, part of which is the refusal of work. The refusal of work can’t be a choice divorced from a more generalized rupture with Domination, and obviously this refusal isn’t necessarily defined by the means by which it is realized (i.e. a robbery). Raids on goods or money can easily degenerate into a job, with fixed hours and all the consequences that entails: the arrogance of being rich, the participation in consumerism, the fragmentation of time according to “work hours,” and the development of a (criminal) professional identity. Robbery, kidnapping, individual or collective expropriation of goods, sabotage, attacks on economic targets, collective living experiences, and give-away bazaars are all means that can be seen within the context of the overall refusal of the world of work, of production and consumption of images and products, to the degree that they bear an awareness that places them within the wider revolutionary struggle for individual and collective liberation.

As a part of this polymorphic movement, I now find myself imprisoned in the dungeons of Ioannina, paying the price for my conscious decisions. The only thing I regret is not doing more outside these walls.

Not one step back!

Rami Syrianos, Ioannina Penitentiary Center, April 2011

translation by crossing the rubicon

Athens-Thessaloikni, Greece - DOES WORK LIBERATE? Solidarity poster for anarchist Rami Sirianos and comrade Kleomenis Savanidis

received by sysiphus

17/01/2012 -

DOES WORK LIBERATE?

Work penetrates and determines our whole existence. Time flows merciless at her rhythm as we commute through identical depressive surroundings at an ever increasing pace. Working time…productive time…free time…Every single one of our activities falls within her context: acquiring knowledge is considered an investment for a future career, joy is transformed into entertainment and delves into an orgy of consumption, our creativity is crushed within the narrow limits of productivity, our relationships -even our erotic encounters- speak the language of performance and usability… Our perversion has reached such a point that we search for any form of work, even voluntary, in order to fill our existential void, in order to “do something”.

We exist to work, we work to exist.

The identification of work with human activity and creativity and the complete domination of the doctrine of work as the natural destiny of humans have penetrated our consciousness to such a depth that the refusal of this enforced condition, of this social coercion, seems as sacrilege towards the very concept of humanity.

So any job is better than not having a job. This is the message spread by the evangelists of the existent, sounding the kick-off for the ever more frantic competition between the exploited for some scraps from the bosses’ table; for the instrumentalization and complete leveling of social relationships in exchange for some miserable job in the galleys of survival.

It is not, however, only the terms and conditions of work which create a dead-end. It is work as a totality, as a process of commercialization of human activity that reduces humans into living components of a machine consuming images and products. It is work as a universal condition under which relationships and consciousness are formed, as the backbone maintaining and reproducing this society based on hierarchy, exploitation and oppression. And as such, work must be destroyed.

So we don’t merely become more content slaves or better managers of misery. So that we can re-signify the aim and essence of human activity and creativity by acting together and driven by the search for the joy of live through knowledge, awareness, discovery, camaraderie, solidarity. For individual and collective liberation…

LET’S LIBERATE OURSELVES FROM WORK

FREEDOM FOR THE ANARCHIST RAMI SIRIANOS

accused of expropriating some of the stolen wealth from the ODDY

SOLIDARITY WITH COMRADE KLEOMENIS SAVANIDIS

prosecuted for the same case without any evidence

Court date: 18^th of January 2012, Thessaloniki

Athens-Thessaloikni Solidarity Collaboration

San Juan, nr Manila, Philippines - Residents attack police during demolition of their homes

euronews
12/-1/2012 - Anti-riot police take cover behind shields after residents threw a Molotov cocktail during the demolition of shanties in a village in San Juan city, near Manila in the Philippines.

Athens, Greece - Picasso and Mondrian paintings stolen from National Gallery

athens news

9/01/2012 - A work by Picasso was one of the two paintings stolen from the National Gallery in central Athens at dawn on Monday during a break-in. The second painting is believed to be a 1905 Mondrian, one of the two works by the artist in the Gallery's collection.

The thieves escaped undetected, raising concerns about the safety of other exhibits at the museum.

The Picasso is a 1934 work that was presented as a gift to the gallery in the 1940s by a French association.

Police said the perpetrators entered via the rear of the building, breaking in through a mezzanine balcony door that they demolished, before removing the two paintings from their frames.

It is also believed that the perpetrator abandoned an effort to steal a third painting.

Police have taken footage from the museum's surveillance cameras for investigation.

The gallery contains mostly 19th and 20th century Greek paintings, but had just wound up a display of its western European collections that include prints and etchings by German master Albrecht Duerer and Rembrandt van Rijn. It had been due to close Monday for a long period of extension and refurbishment.

Romania, Bucharest and in other cities - Third day of riots following cuts in salary, increased VAT and planned changes to health system

 

Romania Insider

15/01/2012 -
Thousands of Romanians took their anger to the streets over the week-end, with protests ending in clashes with the Police downtown Bucharest. Gendarmes and protesters alike were injured. Over 40 people were taken into the Police custody on Saturday evening, after a heated evening in the Universitate square downtown Bucharest. The Police managed to disperse protesters by firing tear gas and increasing troops on the street on Saturday evening in Bucharest. These were the most heated protests in Romania so far, after the country applied some harsh measures, such as a 25 percent public salary cut and an increase in VAT. The recent events show the decreasing popularity of president Traian Basescu and the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) Government led by Emil Boc.
The spark for the recent protests in the Romanian capital was the proposed health law, which, if enforced, would have brought changes to the country’s emergency health system. Sub-secretary of state Raed Arafat’s resignation from the Health Ministry over the planned changes to the system was the pretext that send Romanians protesting. Initially started mid-last week as support demonstrations for Arafat, the protests soon turned against the Romanian president Traian Basescu, asking for his and the Government’s dismissal, and for early elections. Hundreds of people in other Romanian cities, like Iasi, Cluj, Timisoara joined the protests.
Basescu was publicly for the changes in the health law and quarreled on TV with Arafat. On Friday evening however, he publicly asked the Government to withdraw the proposal, saying it saw the public protest against it.

Palermo, Sicily, Italy - Molotov against headquarters of right-wing youth movement Giovane Italia

Repubblica

06/01/2012 - An incendiary bottle was launched yesterday at 11pm against the building in Via Paolo Paternostro 43, in Palermo, which hosts the headquarters of Giovane Italia [Young Italy, right-wing youth movement], the youth organization of  Popolo della libertà [People of Freedom, PdL is centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system. The party was launched by Silvio Berlusconi  and officially founded in a party congress on 27–29 March 2009, when Forza Italia and Alliance Nazionale were merged together]. 

The flames produced by the petrol bomb damaged the front door of the building. This was announced by the youth movement. Some of the young members were inside, but because of the noise caused by the storm did not notice the incident and a neighbour gave the alarm.
"Our headquarters - said provincial president of Giovane Italia, - has been repeatedly subject to attacks and damage. Only a few weeks ago, during a march organized by students at the community centre nearby, some  masked youths stained the walls of the premises and threw stones at the windows. This gesture is undoubtedly a serious leap in violence by opponents of the extreme left galaxy..

The gesture, according to Giovane Italia, "seems to be a clear intimidation" against the organization that has promoted in recent days, along with other movements of the right, the event next Saturday in Palermo in memory of young people of the MSI killed in the massacre Acca Larentia in 1978.
Also last night appeared in the city centre the written phrase "10, 100, 1000 Larentia Acca." 

 ..........

The Acca Larentia killings refers to three deaths that occurred in Rome the evening of January 7, 1978 in which three activists of the Fronte della Gioventù (neo-fascist Youth Front) were fired upon from a group of five or six assailants armed with automatic weapons.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed a few days afterward through an audio cassette discovered next to a petrol station, on behalf of the Nuclei Armati di Contropotere Territoriale (Armed Groups of Territorial Counterpower):

« An armed nucleus, after skillfully gathering information and controlling the sewer (referring to the MSI Party headquarters) in Acca Larentia, hit the black rats in the exact moment in which they were leaving to go on with another violent action. Make no mistake comrades, the list is still long. »