Catalan CDRs raise Barriers and Call for not paying Motorway Tolls

note: Facebook has banned me from sharing this post for 2 days

The CDR open the toll barriers of La Roca on Sunday afternoon
Àngel Garcia

The Republic Defense Committees (CDRs) have called for the first massive Civil Disobedience Action Today. Instead of blocking the froads they have called for a popular refusal to pay abusive motorway tolls on the return from the Easter Holiday.

The CDRs are a network of autonomous, horizontally organized,  local defense groups which sprang up in response to the massive violent crackdown by the Spanish State on the Catalan Referendum which voted for a Republic.

Abusive motorway tolls are a sore point for Catalans because they hardly exist in Spain where the infrastructure gets more State finance

by Gemma Garcia  at La Directa ..The CDRs calls for not paying tolls and raise the barriers in the Return Home operation .The Defense Committees of the Republic recovered the slogan of the 2012 campaign “I do not want to pay.”Already on Sunday afternoon, they opened the toll barriers of La Roca and other points of the AP-7 north/south motorway and put bags over the cameras to avoid fines. Continue reading “Catalan CDRs raise Barriers and Call for not paying Motorway Tolls”

Fascists burn Ateneu Popular Workers Centre in Barcelona

While the Spanish government and the press in Madrid have not stopped talking about violence by citizens and pro-independence groups, this morning they burned the Ateneu de Sarrià and painted it with Nazi and fascist symbols.Un incendio calcina el Ateneu Popular de Sarrià y aparecen esvásticasomberos y guardia180329132450

A fascist attack destroys the Ateneu Popular de Sarrià

The site had already suffered attacks in advance, which have intensified since the referendum was held. On the walls of the patio have appeared swasticas,”Death to the CDR” (Citizens Defense)

Again, today at about three in the morning, the Ateneu Popular de Sarrià has suffered a fire, which has left the site destroyed. Awaiting the firemen’s report, they have already advanced that the building will probably have to be demolished due to its bad condition.

The centre was still being rebuilt after another fascist attack last November. The fascists are well known but enjoy impunity, encouragement and even financial aid  via the Spanish State for hundreds of attacks in a bid to stifle public support for imprisoned Catalan activists and politicians. Continue reading “Fascists burn Ateneu Popular Workers Centre in Barcelona”

Antifa (2018): New documentary available to watch online

by

Not to be confused with last year’s similarly-titled The Antifascists, Antifa is a half-hour film, mainly focused on recent antifascist struggles in the US, but with a brief look at the UK and Germany for some historical context. As a brief content warning, it includes some footage from the immediate aftermath of the car attack in Charlottesville where Heather Heyer lost her life, so if you feel that you don’t need to watch that kind of footage, you can skip from about 25:20 to 26:20.

As ever, these films are most interesting when watched and discussed as a group – if you feel that a half-hour film isn’t enough for an event on its own, you could watch it alongside Bash the Fash, which is also half an hour, or the hour-and-a-bit Swedish/Greek film The Antifascists.

Hands Off Afrin: Demos, Support, Appeal, News Updates

Turkish Invasion of Rojava

For the last several years, anarchists, anti-capitalists, and many people on the Left have been supporting the ongoing struggle and evolving movement in Rojava, as an autonomous region in Kurdistan began to take shape, making up parts of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.

There, both a sea change has taken place in the form of growing support for “Democratic Confederalism,” which embraces many aspect of anarchism, ecology, and feminism, as well as in the fierce resistance by the YPG and the YPJ against ISIS. In the battle against the Islamic State, many anarchists and anti-capitalists have also joined in the struggle and given their lives.

However, after the fall of ISIS in Raqqa, the Turkish state quickly moved to attack the Kurdish forces, and began a campaign of bombing and attacking various cities starting with Afrin.

Does this mean the death of the Rojava Revolution, and with it, a hope of an anti-capitalist and anti-Statist way of life? Will our comrades in the YPG and YPJ, as well as our anarchist sisters and brothers be slaughtered?

How can we act in solidarity with those on the ground? These are hard questions of which we do not have answers, but already people .. are rallying in support of the Kurdish struggle for autonomy and freedom.

Hands off Afrin Solidarity Demonstrations

Friday, Jan 26th, San Francisco, CA

Friday, Jan 26th, Nashville, TN

Friday, Jan 26th, New York City, NY

Saturday, Jan 27th, Los Angeles, CA

Saturday, Jan 27th, Boston, MA

Sunday, Jan 28th, Knoxville, TN

Continue reading “Hands Off Afrin: Demos, Support, Appeal, News Updates”

✊🏽 Ashley Judd’s Fiery Fighting Feminist Speech ❤️‍⭐️‍

NASTY WOMAN    from   ..It Is What It Is

“My name is ..  and I am a feminist.

And I want to say hello to Independence Avenue in the back, all the way down to 17th Street, and I bring you words from Nina Donovan, a 19-year-old in Middle, Tennessee.

She has given me the privilege of telling you what she has to say:

“I am a nasty woman. I’m as nasty as a man who looks like he bathes in Cheetos dust. A man whose words are a distract to America. Electoral college-sanctioned, hate-speech contaminating this national anthem. I’m not as nasty as Confederate flags being tattooed across my city.

Maybe the South actually is going to rise again. Maybe for some it never really fell. Blacks are still in shackles and graves, just for being black. Slavery has been reinterpreted as the prison system in front of people who see melanin as animal skin. I am not as nasty as a swastika painted on a pride flag, and I didn’t know devils could be resurrected but I feel Hitler in these streets. Continue reading “✊🏽 Ashley Judd’s Fiery Fighting Feminist Speech ❤️‍⭐️‍”

Have We Learned Nothing? Stop the Foolish Fascists!

by reblogged with thanks  If you thought the white supremacist/nationalist movement was unique to the United States, think again.  Last weekend, some 60,000 people marched in Warsaw, Poland, celebrating Poland’s Independence Day, flying in from various points in Europe:  Slovakia, Sweden, Spain and Hungary.  But more than celebrating the day Poland gained its freedom from a century of foreign rule in 1918, the march was to promote the idea of white supremacy, of hatred … of evil.

Marchers carried signs reading …

  • Europe Will Be White
  • Clean Blood
  • White Europe Of Brotherly Nations
  • Pray for Islamic Holocaust

Poland-4That last one stops my heart … “Pray for Islamic Holocaust” … this from people who are descended from people, some of whom were no doubt victims of Hitler’s Holocaust!!!  Chants of “Pure Poland, white Poland!” and “Refugees get out!” could be heard throughout Warsaw.

What a damn shame that human beings, that mankind, has learned not one thing from the history of only last century.  Is this the direction Europe and the United States wish to go?  Are we really so eager to see millions of people murdered simply because of the colour of their skin, their national origin or their religion???

The march was organized by a neo-Nazi group called The Radical Camp, the name of a 1930s fascist movement.  To be sure, there were some small groups of counter-protestors including anti-fascists and Polish Jews, but they were far outnumbered and largely ignored. Although police and organisers tried to keep the two groups apart, nationalists pushed and kicked several women who had a banner saying “Stop fascism”.

Poland-1In recent years, Poland’s politics have leaned more toward a right-wing, xenophobic ideology. Similar nationalist and racist ideologies are growing in influence in Greece, Austria, Switzerland, and numerous other democracies across the continent. And so I ask again … have we not learned one, single, damned thing from history?


Fascism Is Possible Not in Spite of Liberal Capitalism, but Because of It..  The question of the labor movement under fascism is the question of what to do when it is already too late.


Poland’s resurgent fascist youth movement has embraced Donald Trump, whose campaign manager Steve Bannon worked for years to exploit white ethno-nationalist political energy in western Europe as well as the United States from his position leading Breitbart. America’s own white supremacist and spouter of hate, Richard Spencer, was originally slated to give a speech at this event, but changed his mind after Foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski said that Spencer “should not appear publicly, and especially not in Poland.” Not, mind you, that Spencer cancelled his trip based on a change or heart of stroke of conscience, but he feared he would be denied entry into the country.

Poland-2I have noted many times before, I cannot understand how anybody with even half a brain can think that having pale skin makes a person superior to others.  Obviously, however, some do think so and that number seems to be growing, the ideology spreading like a fast=growing cancer both in the U.S. and in Europe.  …  Add to this mix people like Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Geert Wilders, Norbert Hofer, Marine LePen, and others — populist candidates whose platform is based on one of xenophobia and of halting immigration — and it is a recipe for disaster.

How do we forget that we are all of the human race?  And where, pray tell, are the banished people of this world supposed to go?  How are they to survive, to live, even to thrive? The homelands of the Middle Easterners are being torn asunder by war and terrorism.  The nations of Africa are poor and some already over-populated. And why would we want to live apart from our brothers and sisters who add so much to our lives, make our lives richer by sharing their cultures?

Poland-3.jpgHow do we stop the white nationalist movements that would exterminate, apparently, everyone who does not think, act and look exactly like them?  I don’t have any answer to that question, but I would ask those who feel this way a question:  say you got rid of all the Middle Easterners, the Latinos, those with African heritage … who’s next?  People with red hair?  People with disabilities?  Women?  It is a never-ending process, and it is evil.

The only way I know of to stop such a movement is for every person to take up the cause, to speak out against this evil, and to take time to educate those who somehow feel superior because they have pale skin.  I have said it before, and I say it again today:  those who remain silent in the face of this evil sweeping the globe are as guilty as any.

There are lessons to be learned from the past, but we are failing to learn them.  For fourteen years, Adolph Hitler reigned in much of Europe, his reign resulting in the deaths of between 70 and 85 million people, including six million human beings whose only crimes were to be different.

Do we really need to repeat this atrocity?  Is it not possible for us to learn tolerance, to learn to ignore the Richard Spencers and Steve Bannons of this world and treat people as equals?  Think about it, for we each must make the choice to either speak out loudly against this evil, or to be complicit in helping the haters achieve their goals, thus taking responsibility for the outcome.

CARNIVAL AGAINST FASCISM Bristol UK, Sunday 10th September

CARNIVAL AGAINST FASCISM

Bristol, Sunday 10th September

A day of partying, resistance and PRIDE!

On the 10th September a group calling itself ‘Gays against Sharia’ is coming to Bristol to try to spread their Islamophobic and racist agenda. This is a blatant attempt by the far-right to tokenise LGBTQIA+ communities and use us for their own ends.Image result for carnival against Fascism bristol

This has been tried before in Bristol: in 2012, the EDL marched on the same day as Pride. While their PR insisted they weren’t homophobic, their violent attacks on gay men on the day told another story.[0]

Let’s not be fooled by their latest clumsy attempt to wrap fascism in a rainbow flag.

We will not be used to spread oppression that would inevitably turn straight back on us. History shows that wherever these bigots gain momentum by scapegoating one group (Muslims and migrants today, Jews in the 30s) they target us soon after.

So we are planning to stop them with a large, spectacular and fabulous carnival – dust off your heels, shine up your boots and join us!Exact details about when and where to meet will be released nearer the time via:
angryqueerantifascists.wordpress.com
facebook.com/bristolqueercaf
facebook.com/bristolantifascists
And here’s the facebook event.

Remember:

Cops and far-right thugs can be unpredictable, so to keep each other as safe as we can, it’s recommended to come with friends and stick together.

This event is queer-led but anyone who wants to stop fascism, racism and homophobia is very welcome.


So who are ‘Gays against Sharia’?

On their last outing (Manchester, June 2017) they yelled racist and homophobic abuse and attacked people. A homeless man was hospitalised while protecting a mum and young daughter from them.[1] Sikh volunteers giving away food were threatened and ‘had to scarper for our own safety’.[2]

All the key figures are far-right and most have no genuine interest in queer communities:

‘Annie Greek‘ (Ioanna Photiou): The main organiser of their Bristol demo, hilariously spotted on twitter[3] saying:
s

‘Tommy English‘ (Tommy Cook): used to be the (mostly one-man) ‘LGBT division’ of the EDL.

Jack Buckby: ex-BNP who stood as a candidate MP in Jo Cox’s area after she was murdered by the far-right.

Ann Marie Waters: so toxic that even UKIP deselected her as a candidate. Writes for Breitbart.

‘Tommy Robinson‘ (Stephen Yaxley-Lennon): former EDL leader. What a lovely guy. Not.

B+W Leaflet and poster for cheap printing.

Colour versions (nicer): Leaflet and poster

Contact: angryqueerantifascists(at)riseup(dot)net

Montreal Counter-info #2.. Autonomous Communication as an Anti Authority Weapon

                   Contents

“Cops Protect Fascists” Report-back
Frontlines in the Fight Against Islamophobia
March 15 in Montreal: Police Attacked, Kettle Broken
Anti-gentrification Vandalism in Saint-Henri
Revolt in the Youth Center of Val-Du-Lac
Enbridge Line 3: The Feeblest Head of the Hydra
Montreal Antifa Prevails: Would You Like A Beating With Your Happy Meal?
4:20 – Against legalization and Criminalization Alike
Police Protect Far-Right Demo from Antifascists
Business Invasion: A Tactic to Fight Gentrification?
May Day in Montreal: Some Critical Reflections
Hey There Yuppies!
You’re Also Staying In “Montreal” This Summer?
A Recipe for Nocturnal Direct Actions!
Street Demonstration Tips
June 11th: Communication As a Weapon
How to Safely Submit Communiqués

Continue reading “Montreal Counter-info #2.. Autonomous Communication as an Anti Authority Weapon”

London Rally January 15th against Turkish State Fascism


stop-turkish-fascism

Organised by Unity of Democratic Forces – Meet at BBC for rally and March to Downing Street 15th January at 2pm.

Unite Against Fascism In Turkey!

Erdogan and Justice and Development Party (AKP) government have launched an aggressive assault against the Kurds, democrats and revolutionaries by declaring a state of emergency following the failed coup attempt.

The state has arrested dozens of Kurdish MP’s including Co-leaders Figen Yuksekdag and Selahattin Demirtas, closed down media outlets (TV channels, radio stations, newspapers), political organisations, arrested progressive journalists,sacked academics, lawyers and many more.

Recently government officials announced that the State of Emergency will be extended until April 2017.antifaThe progressive Kurdish and Turkish forces living in UK have organised a national demo against the Turkish state’s assault on Kurds, Democrats and Revolutionaries and calls for your support and solidarity.

Date: 15 January 2017
Time and Venue: 2pm starting from BBC headquarters on Portland Place, nearest station is Oxford Circus.

%d bloggers like this: