APEC : Kiwi anarchists have lasting impact

Posted on September 3, 2007 by @ndy

Until G20 in November last year, protests in Australia were all strictly peaceful affairs. Unfortunately, and despite the best efforts of both state authorities and a number of revolutionary vanguards of the proletariat, violent, disease-carrying anarchist thugs from Aotearoa/New Zealand — and an unknown number of similarly-affected English, German and Swedish football hooligans — effectively hijacked an otherwise overwhelmingly peaceful and law-abiding display of opposition to war, capitalism, and Evil; turning central Melbourne into a virtual slaughterhouse, and littering Collins Street with the bodies of an as-yet unknown number of innocent civilians. Worse, the end result of their mindless violence is that large numbers of Australian youth appear to have become infected with the virus, and since then it has spread itself far and wide. Today, the Sydney Morning Herald has revealed that in the nine-month interim, medico-political authorities suspect there to have been significant outbreaks on a number of NSW college campuses: “A unit operating in the intelligence section of the NSW Police APEC Security Command has been in contact with medical personnel at Wollongong University, Macquarie University and the University of Technology, Sydney, requesting permission to quietly monitor “IMGs”, or illness-motivated groups” (Dylan Welch, Police very keen to help ill students, email reveals, September 3, 2007).

Dr. Mick Armstrong, of the group Sane Alternative, and a specialist in the study of disease-carrying agents, describes the symptomology as hostility and contempt for properly-constituted authority, one often manifesting as a refusal to obey perfectly reasonable requests issuing from same. “What gave the outbreak a certain critical mass at the G20 was the presence of considerable numbers of disease-carriers from overseas. A fellow expert from New Zealand said he recognised at least 40 former patients, of which he knew all by number, and at least 20 by name.” As for treatment, Dr. Armstrong recommends isolation: “The authorities should offer no comfort to these crazies. We should do whatever we can to isolate them. They are wreckers. If this disease grows in Australia it will simply make it harder to build healthy protests and movements.”

In further news, medico-political authorities in NSW appear to have taken Dr. Armstrong’s advice to heart, and, in the interests of public health and safety, imposed bans on the 29 worst-affected from entering the CBD. According to Andrea Petrie, writing in today’s Age, “MORE than 20 people struck with illness at Melbourne’s G20 riots last year have been issued with exclusion notices preventing them from entering Sydney’s CBD during the APEC summit… NSW Premier Morris Iemma yesterday urged all those blacklisted not to enter the regulated zone. “These people have been put on this list for a very good reason and that is they’ve got a track record of displaying violent symptoms,” he said. People who breach the high-security zone housing world leaders face up to six months in treatment facilities” (Melbourne G20 patients on summit black list, September 3, 2007).

Finally, a patients’ rights group has come in for intense criticism from Sydney health reporters Joe Hildebrand and Malcolm Farr (DIY health manual fires up rioters, The Daily Telegraph, September 3, 2007): “MILITANT patients’ rights protesters are deliberately plotting an outbreak of illness for US President George W. Bush’s arrival in Sydney tomorrow, distributing a sufferer’s training manual on how to wear gas masks, confront police and even wear flares. The clandestine action, six weeks in the making, has been dubbed “FLARES in the void” and is described as an “Anti-fashion counter convergence”.”

More news as it comes to hand…

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APEC : Huge sale! All journalistic standards must go!

Posted on September 2, 2007 by @ndy

[Oh yeah: F.L.A.R.E. in the void, ‘for liberation, autonomy, resistance, exodus and a Collingwood victory in the Grand Final’ is a convergence taking place from Wednesday September 4 — Sunday September 9 somewhere in Sydney. Go read the blog, phone 0434 585 264 or drop in to Black Rose (22 Enmore Road, Newtown, 100 metres from Newtown train station) on Tuesday September 4 — Wednesday September 5, 11am — 5pm for more information.]

You still don’t get it, do you? It’ll find you. That’s what it does. That’s all it does! You can’t stop it. It’ll wade through you, reach down your throat, and pull your fucking heart out.

Listen. And understand. Capital is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

APEC anarchy: our man at the planning committees
Cam Smith
Crikey
August 30, 2007

News Ltd. papers breathlessly report this morning that “a Melbourne group has announced its intention to violently disrupt next week’s APEC summit and has issued a call to action to recruit more people for a ‘mass, strategic intervention’.”

The Australian carries the headline “Protesters warn of violent challenge.” Unfortunately, for those hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s dull G20 riots, the articles fail to deliver on these promises. From The Oz:

The group, AC/DC, which is believed to be aligned with the anarchist political movement, plans to act as a “mobile disruption” unit during APEC, which will be held in Sydney for a week from Sunday.

AC/DC’s open letter, posted on a number of internet forums, said APEC “promotes exploitation, inequality and the destruction of the planet” and acknowledged the group’s actions might be seen as violent.

“By the very praxis of stepping out and challenging their control of space, we are committing what is regarded as a violent act,” the letter reads. “It is the violence of articulating resistance; it is a violation against their understanding of our lives.”

At a meeting of AC/DC (Alliance for Civil Disobedience Co-ordination) attended by Crikey last week, members did not give the impression that they were planning much in particular, let alone the alarmingly dubbed, ahem, “mobile disruption unit.”

Discussion largely centred around whether APEC was to be used as an election rally (it, apparently, was not) and under which metaphorical banner AC/DC would march – it was proposed that their united distaste for capitalism would do, as that was something all could agree on.

The meeting became most heated when an elderly (and quite possibly inebriated) anarchist began a diatribe about “Statist sh-ts.” His state-smashing days appeared to be behind him.

A member of AC/DC told Crikey this morning that the article contained a number of glaring inaccuracies:

It’s quoted the sections where the words “violence” are used, and we’ve explained exactly what we mean by that, that just by saying that we’re going to challenge APEC, that will be construed as violence [by the media and the police].

The Acker Dacker also noted that AC/DC was not an anarchist group – though some members were anarchists – but was actually made up of people from a variety of political streams of thought: Socialist, Anarchist, Environmentalist, etc.

It seemed that the violent rioter was about to further slander the journalistic standards of The Australian, when the realisation dawned upon both your fearless Riot Reporter and the fearsome AC/DC rioter that the article in question did not actually quote from AC/DC’s open letter at any point, but was in fact quoting from a different group entirely, Shared Intent.

“I can’t really speak on their behalf” said the problem child in question, before they had to rush off – possibly to procure explosives which will be used to dismantle global capitalism.

See also : takver, Melbourne: Police provoke arrests at G20 Solidarity Court protest, Sydney IndyMedia, September 2, 2007, concerning the brave actions of local police who narrowly averted the sky falling on our heads by arresting a man possibly guilty of possessing a pocketknife. Either that, or PC Richard Head really really really wants to make it into the Schnews ‘Crap Arrest of the Week’. “On Friday, August 31, 21 people appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on charges including rioting, affray, reckless conduct endangering injury and criminal damage from the G20 protest in Melbourne in November 2006. Outside the court 30 people turned up in support and solidarity for those facing these charges. Police provoked an incident outside the court arresting two of the people who were there in solidarity with those inside the court facing charges…” | Stephen Smith, We can build you – APEC and the rise of military urbanism, Webdiary, September 2: “We can define military urbanism as the way in which global power works to inscribe political violence and war into the planning and design of cities. It is more than an APEC like pause to business as usual. It is the marking of the city as a permanent zone of conflict. What they learn from APEC’s laboratory in the CBD they can apply to Sydney’s more ‘feral’ postcodes…”

Posted in !nataS, Anarchism, Media, State / Politics, Student movement, Trot Guide, War on Terror | Leave a comment

Talk – Action = 0

Posted on September 2, 2007 by @ndy
    So I include with one concern, that
    You must learn

    ~ KRS-ONE, ‘You Must Learn’

Canadian punk legends DOA are returning to Australia in October after a 14 year absence to play The Arty in Melbourne on Friday October 19, with No Idea, Rule 303 (NSW) and The Worst. (DOA last played in Melbourne at The Prince of Wales on September 18, 1993, with Nomeansno and Front End Loader. About the only thing I can remember about that gig is that I succeeded in convincing Bren to join me in screaming for them to play ‘Disco Sucks’; they didn’t.) Unfortunately, both No Idea and The Worst have scabbed on the boycott of a local neo-Nazi venue The Birmy: No Idea playing there on ANZAC Day (April 25, 2007) and The Worst on no less than three separate occasions, on November 18, 2006, April 25 and July 7, 2007.

    A LOCAL woman who was intimidated and racially abused by a group of men last month will attend a protest against neo-Nazism outside a Fitzroy pub. A coalition of local groups is organising the “peace movement” in response to a neo-Nazi concert at the Birmingham Hotel on Saturday, September 23, held to commemorate the death of British white supremacist Ian Stuart. Blondien (not her real name) says she was walking alone to her car on Johnston Street the same night when she was surrounded by about seven men. She says the men screamed abuse at her, calling her a black c..t and forcing her to repeat the insults. “It’s disgusting that people would single out one person and you have to say stuff about your race to get out of it,” Blondien said. ~ ‘Victim of white supremacist abuse returns to join protest chorus’, Marika Dobbin, The Melbourne Times, October 18, 2006

Also in October, on Saturday October 13, Blood & Honour Australia and the Southern Cross Hammerskins — local franchises of international neo-Nazi networks, of which B&H in Germany and Spain is banned, and under threat of banning in Belgium and Holland — are holding their annual tribute concert to dead bonehead Ian Stuart Donaldson; the person responsible, alongside of another good fascist, Nicky Crane, for establishing Blood & Honour in 1987. The two events — the DOA gig and the ISD gig — are intimately connected, as the 2006 concert was held at The Birmy, and both No Idea and The Worst have actively supported The Birmy since that time — and, by extension, local neo-Nazi networks.

This post is dedicated to explaining what the slogan ‘Talk – Action = 0’ means in the context of the local punk milieu, especially with regards the politically reactionary elements within it that support those institutions, such as The Birmy, who most actively collaborate with the propagation of neo-Nazi ideology and its associated practices. By way of introduction, here’s a recent post on Stormfront on the subject of the 2007 ISD gig:

“einzelkampfer” : I’m an American who is seriously considering going to the Fortress show in OZ in Oct. They have been one of my favorite bands for years. My question is, what is the scene like in OZ? [Specifically], do shows get shut down often? What is the success rate for shows there, as in pulled off without a hitch.

Thanks in advance!

“Clockwork Violence” : The shows have never been shut down and there is never any trouble before, during or after the gigs… of course there are always the idle threats made by various red wanker factions, but nothing ever comes of it.

Last year they knew the location of the ISD Memorial (that took some real super sleuthing btw) and all they could do was muster up some prank phone calls and then organise a protest a month after the gig.

So yeah, it will be well worth the trip as this will also be Fortress’ last gig. If you’re interested, you will need to contact [email protected] and let them know that you would like to attend.

Hope you can make it.

Blood & Honour Australia / Southern Cross Hammerskins

Clockwork Violence is from Adelaide, and like most of the other boneheads who form the membership and outer circle of B&H and the Hammerskins in Australia, is in his mid-30s. Like his fascist comrades, he’s also quite cheeky, but nevertheless — sadly — largely correct in his assessment of the history of B&H in Australia. To the best of my knowledge, the shows B&H have organised have never been shut down, and the only trouble that has occurred before, during or after the gigs has been of the sort experienced by Blondien; that is, a woman being surrounded by about seven men, having the men scream abuse at her, call her a black c..t and forcing her to repeat the insults. And as Gary, the manager of The Birmy (and the scabs who’ve continued to play at his pub) might say — “Who gives a shit?”

    Reject an alien government, don’t recognise their laws
    It’s time to close the floodgates, it’s time to shut the door
    Repatriate, ship ’em out, send the bastards back
    If they don’t fucking like it, it’ll be in body bags
    Get out! We don’t want you around
    Get out! Want the people to shout
    Get out! Get outta my sight
    Get out! Parasites… Parasites… Parasites

    ~ Fortress, ‘Parasites’

For better, but largely for worse, I do — which is why I’ve dedicated a considerable amount of time to first exposing the fact that the 2006 ISD memorial gig took place at The Birmy, and then promoting first a protest outside, and then a boycott, of the pub in question. In the process of which, I’ve also highlighted the fact that The Birmy has been used on many previous occasions for the same purpose. On Saturday April 20, 2002, for example, Gary — after allowing local neo-Nazis the use of the pub to hold their meetings — further allowed B&H to organise a gig to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. Interestingly, while last year’s ISD gig was conducted in relative secrecy, in honour of Adolf, B&H’s swastika banner was clearly visible from the pub’s Johnston Street windows. (Note also that Charter 77, another one of the bands that has scabbed on the boycott, were approached following this gig and asked for their support. Their response then, as now, was “fuck off”. Punk, innit?)

On the other hand, while B&H and the Hammerskins have been operating within Australasia for over a decade now, they’ve operated largely under the radar (with the exception, naturally, of ASIO and other state agencies). Further, while Clockwork Violence is technically correct with regards the rather meagre level of opposition last year’s gig generated, this was attributable to two main factors: one, the fact that the actual location of the gig was discovered less than 24 hours prior to its occurrence; and two, the near-complete absence of an organised anti-fascist presence in Melbourne, whether within the punk milieu or outside of it. Worse, not only is there an absence of an organised movement of any kind, but fascist and neo-Nazi elements find a happy home among local ‘punks’, of which the following are just a few examples.

    Spreading lies and muck behind our backs
    A vicious cowardly attack
    A spiteful scheming slimeball with a huge ego
    Your pathetic negative actions make me want to throw
    I can’t believe the depths to which you’ve sunk
    You’ve got some nerve to call yourself a punk
    But you’ll pay for your trouble making and your deceit
    For as ye sow so shall ye reap

    ~ Oi Polloi, ‘Lowest of the Low’

Bulldog Spirit ♥ neo-Nazism

Bulldog Spirit first came to my attention in August last year, when they played the Wasted Festival.

    The Wasted Festival was organised in large part by local bonehead Fiona Walsh, who expresses her support for neo-Nazism by flogging White Power muzak via her distro Deadset Music and through her personal attendance at last year’s ISD memorial gig.

Originally from Canberra, the band — unquestionably in possession of ‘nationalistic’, but otherwise generally facile politics — has for a number of years flirted with more overt expressions of reactionary ideology, whether by playing on the same bill as neo-Nazi bands, denigrating anti-racist and anti-fascist punks and skinheads, or otherwise lampooning what are presumed to be the scum who inhabit working class suburbs like Footscray. I’ve made a note of these tendencies on my blog — an action which has resulted in the singer for the band, Doug Smith, calling me (among other things, no doubt) a ‘clueless cunt’; ironically enough, partly in connection to my supposed misunderstanding of the history of skinheads and sharpies (the irony, in this case, best understood by those who are more familiar with my upbringing; an upbringing, I imagine, quite removed from Doug’s).

Naturally enough, when pressed, Doug has denied any interest in ‘politics’, claiming that the band lives in the same, parallel universe all those other people do where icky things like ‘politics’ fail to interfere with their otherwise untroubled (yuppie) lifestyles. Unfortunately, Doug has since proven to have been exceedingly economical with the truth for, leaving aside the band’s antics on stage (such as dedicating a Pogues’ song to Ulster), the drummer for the band, Joel, is a bona fide bonehead, who has for many years played, recorded and even toured with neo-Nazi bands, including Fortress, Ravenous and — of most interest given the situation in Russia (of which more below) — the band Deaths Head, author of such smash hits as ‘More Dead Niggers’ (Hang the Traitors demo, 1999) and ‘Swastika’ (Onslaught, Panzerfaust, 2001). Still, 9 out of 10 people who play in Melbourne working class punk bands agree that: 1) wanting to see more dead niggers has nothing to do with icky things like politics and; 2) who cares anyway — if they’re not niggers, they’re just black c..ts.

Boneheads. Melbourne boneheads

Jesse’s not a friend
Yeah, I know he’ll never
be a good friend of mine
But lately something’s changed
that ain’t hard to define
Jesse’s got himself a drummer
and I think he’s fucking swine

On May 2, 2007, Jesse of neo-Nazi metal band Deaths Head was interviewed by a geek from US neo-Nazi group Label 56. Here’s some of what Jesse had to say. It gives the reader some further idea of the kind of people, in addition to Bulldog Spirit, Joel likes to play, record and tour with.

Obviously everyone knows you from your band Deaths Head. Can you give readers a little background info on you and your bands?

Well as you stated above I am a founding member of [National Socialist; that is, Nazi] metal band Deaths Head. We’ve been gigging and releasing CDs promoting National Socialism for going on 8 years now and we’re not tired of it yet. Personally I’ve been a bonehead for going on 15 years. During this time I’ve been an active supporter of Blood and Honour Australia and I’ve also been a member of the Southern Cross Hammerskins for near on 7 years now.

I understand you have a lot of refugees floating to your shores like we in America do with Cubans…

…All sorts of other human shit has come here… we have many Muslims who continually stir up shit, and a fuck of a lot of Jews as well. The latest bunch is African niggers, and these ones people actually have a problem with, they don’t assimilate at all and even the federal government is trying to back peddle and restrict their numbers though now they have lobby groups and it’s too late…

It’s obviously tough, then, to be a bonehead and to live in Melbourne. But not as tough as it is to be a punk and to not play neo-Nazi venues, as the following should make clear:

punk? i’m glad you’re here to set me straight. there i was thinking it was just about having a laugh and having a say. but when did i claim to be the king of punk? Lin “Spit” Newborn and Dan Shersty, Timur Kacharava and Aleksandr “Shtopor” Ryukhin, Tomek Wilkoszewski and Augustin Kraus? never heard of any of them.

~ redmond of local band charter 77, june 7, 2007

Which I think is an opportune moment to remember why it is that neo-Nazi ideology and political projects — especially those centred on global terror networks such as B&H and the Hammerskins — should be opposed. Further, to remember that this opposition is, in fact, international, and takes place in societies where the penalties for so doing, unlike Australia, can sometimes be death. At present, one of the places where neo-Nazism is most virulent is Russia (and it is resurgent in Germany: see A German Ritual of Hand-Wringing and Helplessness, Spiegel Online, August 27, 2007). Several years ago, Melbourne band Deaths Head toured Europe, playing in Germany to large numbers of neo-Nazis, and allegedly also playing in Russia. And while the band is not scheduled to play on October 13, Fortress, another local Melbourne band, is, and Fortress is a band that has toured far more extensively, in both Europe and North America, and probably done more to support the propagation of neo-Nazi propaganda, than just about any other in the world. Not that you’ll read or hear about any of this in the corporate or state media, of course. In any case, if you’ve never heard of Lin “Spit” Newborn and Dan Shersty, Timur Kacharava and Aleksandr “Shtopor” Ryukhin, Tomek Wilkoszewski and Augustin Kraus, you have now:

Lin “Spit” Newborn and Dan Shersty

On July 4, 1998, two skinheads — Lin “Spit” Newborn, 24, and Dan Shersty, 20 — were murdered by boneheads in the rocky desert northwest of Las Vegas, USA. The only person to be convicted of their murders, John Edward Butler, was initially sentenced to death for the crime in 2001, but, after failing in his first attempt in 2002, was eventually successful in winning an appeal against his sentence in 2004. However, prosecutors say that at least four people were involved in the plot to kill Lin and Dan, although so far no others have been charged. Further, “While hate crimes such as the torture of a gay man in Wyoming and the dragging death of an African-American man in Texas have received national attention, the deaths of Lin Newborn and his friend Dan Shersty are chronicled more by friends and activists than the national press”.

Prosecutors from the Las Vegas district attorney’s office were slow to prosecute the case despite holding the key evidence necessary to try the case only a week after the murders. It was not until after a 500 person Anti-Racist Action protest in the fall of 1998 in John Butler’s neighborhood, and a similar protest in 1999, where activists marched down the Vegas strip distributing information on the case to tourists and demanding the case be prosecuted, that the district attorney acted. Allegedly, Butler had received money in the past from the Las Vegas police department as a police informant.

Ross Hack, who fled to Europe when he was identified as a suspect two years ago, has never been charged for his involvement in the murder. According to the defense attorney, Ross Hack has been on a “two-year vacation in Europe,” courtesy of his rich father. Prosecutors say they have no plans to pursue charges against Ross Hack. Melissa Hack also remains uncharged in the case.

Lionel Newborn said his son had told him that he was involved in various organizations that opposed racism. After the slayings, the father learned with some pride that his son played a leading role in this effort. “I had no idea that he was involved to the extent that he was,” Lionel Newborn said. “I probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night.”

…It pains [Dan’s father] that his son’s sacrifice is unheralded while the media obsesses on the cultural war between liberal and conservative values. It’s a war, he says, that demands no risk whatsoever from its TV-talking head combatants. “Dan died as a soldier who believed in his cause — anti-racism,” says Walter. His son’s ARA troops are still fighting for the cause, though police advised them to leave when rumors surfaced that the Nazis had created a hit list. The cause unites them with something valued in military custom: courage and a code of honor.

Timur Kacharava

Vigilante Justice
Galina Stolyarova
August 30, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia | A man is a murderer when he cuts another man’s throat in a deliberate attack, right? But the question then arises: are the people that hold the victim’s feet, punch him, tie him up and prevent him from escaping also culpable in the crime?

However obvious the answer may seem, regardless of forensic or legal expertise, a Russian court can often rule otherwise.

A notorious trial that ended in St. Petersburg in August concluded that Alexander Shabalin, the person charged with fatally slitting the throat of 20-year-old anti-fascist activist Timur Kacharava in November 2005, was a murderer. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison. But six other people who held Kacharava and prevented him from resisting were not charged as accomplices in the murder, but rather for inciting social hatred. Three received suspended sentences, the others got up to three years in prison.

The lawyer who represented the Kacharava family in the trial suggested a mistake had been made – either deliberately or because of incompetence – when the case was classified during preliminary investigations.

Despite testimony from Kacharava’s friends that he had been followed, received threats by telephone and been targeted before, the investigators accepted the scenario in which the murderer said he had spontaneously suggested beating up an anti-fascist and taken the initiative in attacking him, with the whole thing getting out of control.

Kacharava’s relatives, friends and colleagues remain convinced he was the victim of an organized and well-armed neo-Nazi group. The fatal stabbing occurred outside a St. Petersburg bookshop on a Sunday evening, as Kacharava and friend Maxim Zgibai were talking. Zgibai survived the attack by the seven young men.

“St. Petersburg’s fascists aren’t a disorganized gang. They are a full-fledged, militarized group, boasting a diverse structure, complete with scouts, guerrillas and access to classified databases containing personal information on local citizens,” one of Kacharava’s friends told me. “Timur had been attacked by fascists before. Just three days prior to his murder, he told his girlfriend he felt threatened and worried for his life.”

TROUBLING PATTERN

In the context of other recent trials for hate crimes in Russia, a disturbing pattern is emerging. The victim is typically attacked by a group of assailants but in the end they either escape punishment, get charged for hooliganism, or guilt is piled upon the attacker responsible for the mortal wound, while accomplices enjoy a lucky escape.

In October 2006, the St. Petersburg City Court acquitted a group of young people suspected in the murder of Vietnamese student Vu An Tuan, who was stabbed to death in October 2004 during an attack by a group of drunken youths. Also in 2006, another group – suspected in the murder of 9-year-old Tajik girl Khursheda Sultanova – was cleared of murder charges and convicted of hooliganism.

The Kacharava case illustrates that for the Russian state, the problem is an individual killer rather than a broader problem with Russian society, where neo-fascist groups are gaining strength.

The verdicts mirror far-reaching xenophobic sentiments in society and the unsympathetic way many people feel toward non-Slavs, as well as those who speak out.

In the middle of August I attended a discussion between a group of Russian journalists and several Western editors in Prague, Czech Republic. One of the issues discussed was the elections to the Russian Duma in December.

“We will vote for anyone who helps to get rid of the Chinese,” said one Novosobirsk journalist, eyes full of rage, to a question about the possible electoral preferences during the campaign. “This Chinese invasion is by far the biggest problem here,” the journalist added to dispel any doubts about his views the audience may have had.

In other Russian cities a Tajik construction worker and an unlicensed Azeri driver have become a faceless stereotype, like the Polish plumber in Western Europe.

IT’S ALL HOOLIGANISM

The Russian authorities have not yet been able to introduce an efficient mechanism against racism and ethnic and religious intolerance. They often turn a blind eye to the scale of the problem by classifying many of the attacks as ordinary murders or “hooliganism” to create more positive statistics.

When Valentina Uzunova, one of Russia’s leading experts on ethnically motivated crimes, complained to the police this spring about being followed and receiving threats, and asked for protection, her request was turned down owing to “lack of evidence.” In July, Uzunova survived a violent street attack and was hospitalized with severe head injuries. Files she had on an important legal case – involving a nationalist gang – were stolen. Was the attack that missing piece of evidence the police required to give the expert the protection she clearly needed?

Several years ago, when human rights advocate Yuly Rybakov was a deputy in the State Duma, he learned that two extremist groups had been planning to assassinate him.

The lawmaker contacted the police and, providing all evidence available to him, asked for protection, or at the very least, for his phone calls to be monitored and recorded. His request was turned down.

“I then went public about the threats, and made a speech at the Duma about it to protect myself,” Rybakov said. “In most cases, prosecutors openly show their contempt to anti-fascists and democrats, sometimes with outright insults, because we challenge and criticize the authorities.”

Naturally, if the police really reacted to every signal like that, then the scale of the problem would be impossible to ignore, and they would have [to] develop a counterstrategy.

But the climate of xenophobia benefits the authorities as it provides a convenient channel of routing people’s anger. If ordinary Russians blame ethnic minorities for a poor quality of life, corruption, high crime rates and the enormous wealth gap, the major consequence will be a high level of intolerance and ethnic hatred. But if the people turn their anger against the authorities, then the state would face an uncomfortable level of social unrest.

Russians should care more about creating a state to protect to their rights, liberties and interests and be less concerned about a few more Chinese restaurants opening in the neighborhood or a few more Azeri drivers giving them a cheap ride at a quarter of a regular taxi price.

And they should care more about having courts handing out verdicts that illustrate the strength of law, rather than the power of all sorts of biased attitudes.

If they did, they might be less afraid of external enemies – real or imagined.

Aleksandr Ryukhin

On April 16, 2006, Ryukhin and a friend who managed to escape were stabbed by six fascist youths. Ryukhin died. He was murdered near the nightclub Planeta Lda, where a German hardcore punk band was about to play. Aleksandr was approaching the club with a friend when they were jumped. Aleksandr was stabbed in the heart and died before paramedics arrived 30 minutes later.

Tomek Wilkoszewski

Tomek Wilkoszewski began a 15-year sentence in Sieradz prison in 1996, after being convicted of the murder of a neo-Nazi in a street brawl. In passing judgement, the presiding judge ignored the fact that Tomek had for few years preceeding the attack been harassed and assaulted by local boneheads. In addition, as a poor worker from a poor village, Tomek was unable to afford a good lawyer, and the fact that the bonehead died as a result of actions Tomek was forced to take in his own defence was not taken into account in his sentencing. He is currently fighting for justice from behind bars and with the support of Polish and international comrades.

Augustin Kraus

Augustin Kraus is an antifascist from the Czech city of Most, who was sentenced in March to 14 months prison for anti-fascist activities.

    And to end on a more positive, musical note, check out:

Razor Bois

RAZOR BOIS is an antifascist band from Moscow, Russia. We try to play fast and hooky mix of traditional Oi!/street-punk, old school hardcore and ska-punk.

RAZOR BOIS has a strong position against any forms of fascist crap (such as racism, sexism, homophobia etc), government oppression and nazi pigs in uniform (they also known as “police”). We also never hesitate to laugh in your pathetic face, elitist PC-snobs. Get a life!

The band was involved in [the] setting [up] of DIY non-profit all-ages gigs in Moscow which were open for everyone except nazi-boneheads and violent fucks.

RAZOR BOIS also got a great honor to be on Insurgence Records‘ compilation Class Pride 3.

We just recorded brand new stuff and even played our noise in the USA (while our other band – FRANK CASTLE GONNA BREAK YOUR NECK! was on a lil’ tour there). Our old CD “BAD NEWS FOR THE SCUM” is sold out, but the new CD/Record with both new and old shit is coming soon.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

If you’re a racist, sexist or any other kind of fascist shithead, don’t add us. If you’re a friend of nazis or go to their gigs or play with their bands – don’t add us! Our label called “BOYCOTT THE FENCEWALKERS” – does it ring any bell?

Posted in Anti-fascism, History, Music, War on Terror | Leave a comment

Russian anarchists still languishing in police custody

Posted on September 1, 2007 by @ndy

Two anarchists from Petersburg, Andrei Kalyonov and Denis Zelenyuk, as well as a Chechen from Novgorod, Hasan Didigov, are still being held in jail in Novgorod. The three are accused of attempting to blow up the “Nevsky Express” train in the Novgorod region on August 13, 2007. Under Russian law, those accused of terrorism may be detained for 30 days, but Russian anarchists and others are demanding their immediate release.

On August 26, the regular picket of the Anti-war Committee took place in the centre of Petersburg. Activists held banners with slogans reading “Freedom to Andrei Kalyonov and Denis Zelenyuk!” and “Witch-hunt 2007”, distributed leaflets about the case, and collected money to be used in their defence. Up to 50 people participated.

On August 28, anarchists, human rights and anti-war activists organised a picket in Moscow in solidarity with Petersburg anarchists. The picket was not permitted by the authorities, and six participants were detained and spent a night in the local police lockup. The next day anarchists tried to organise another picket, but Moscow police were successful in preventing them from doing so.

On August 29, after two weeks, Andrei Kalyonov ended his hunger strike because of his worsening health.

The next solidarity action in Petersburg will take place on September 2. Russian anarchists call for solidarity actions in the first week of September. Demand an end to the repression of anarchists and the immediate release of Andrei and Denis!

ABC-Petersburg // Anti-war Committee-Petersburg
Contact: [email protected] // [email protected]

Source : @-Infos | See also : Galina Stolyarova, Suspect In Train Bomb Points To ‘Solid Alibi’, St. Petersburg Times, August 31, 2007 | Russian anarchists framed for train bombing (August 24, 2007)

Posted in Anarchism, State / Politics, War on Terror | Leave a comment

APEC : Protesting is baaad, mmmkay?

Posted on August 31, 2007 by @ndy

If you don’t eat yer meat, you can’t have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat yer meat? or If you like school, you’ll love work

I believe the children are our future, and so do NSW and Victorian police, who’ve promised a crackdown on truancy (that is, swapping a probably boring school day for a possibly more exciting day protesting). NSW Premier ‘Mr Iemma has backed the police action against students with a warning that “these are school days and you should be at school. If you’re a school-aged kid, your place as far as APEC is concerned is to be at school”‘ (Rhett Watson, Police target truants at APEC, The Daily Terror, August 31, 2007).

    Note that in Melbourne, high school students will be assembling at Flinders Street station next Wednesday, September 5, at 1.30pm.

Whose streets? Um… our streets?

Police appear very keen to test their new toy, a $600,000 water cannon, and have subsequently refused the organisers of a march planned for September 8 permission to walk from Town Hall Square along George Street, through Martin Place, to finish at Hyde Park (AAP, Protesters, police fail to agree on APEC, The Age, August 30, 2007).

NSW Police announce 29 finalists in Australian Activist Awards

NSW Police remain tight-lipped regarding the identities of 29 individuals nominated for the Annual Australian Activist Awards. “Incoming Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said 29 people who are viewed as a political threat by the authorities would be informed that they were on a list of nominees for the Award, but the Awards themselves will only be presented to them upon entering the Sydney CBD during the upcoming conference. He said the list would not be made public because Police were inspired by watching repeated screenings of madcap 1960s comedy The Great Race, and wanted to introduce an unusual element to this year’s Awards ceremony, ensuring nominees complied with the special legislation. “That means we will be talking with every one of those people on that list, making it clear why they are on the list and what it means,” Mr Scipione said.”

Get off the bus, feral scum! or Reasons to boycott Dysons

“Meanwhile, Melbourne Stop The War Coalition — set to travel to Sydney to protest next weekend — says local bus company Dyson cancelled three booked buses because they had concerns about “ferals” and wanted to remain “politically neutral”. But a Dyson spokesman said the protesters told the company they were football fans who wanted the buses for a match. Melbourne Stop The War Coalition spokesman Ben Hillier said the group had made other transport arrangements.”

“Sponsored By Multi-National Forces, Get Those Animals Off Those Horses!”

In a local sequel to Class War of the Worlds, a virus has succeeded where hip hop has failed: Police horses struck down with flu, ABC, August 29, 2007. “New South Wales Police say eight police horses are believed to be suffering from the equine influenza virus and all the force’s mounts have now been quarantined at their Redfern barracks. Mounted officers will now be unable to take part in policing the upcoming APEC leaders summit in Sydney.”

Posted in State / Politics, Student movement | Leave a comment

APEC : Hail to the Chief

Posted on August 30, 2007 by @ndy

Lesley Stahl on U.S. sanctions against Iraq: We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright: I think this is a very hard choice, but the price — we think the price is worth it.

— 60 Minutes (May 12, 1996)

Mrs. Bush’s Message to the Children of the U.S. Military

March 31, 2003

To the children of the United States Military,

President Bush and I are very proud of your family members who are serving in America’s armed forces. At this difficult time, every American is especially grateful to your loved ones for protecting our country and defending freedom.

We know being apart from the people you love is not easy. Remember that people all over the country care about you and your family.

President Bush and I send you our very best wishes and our prayers for the safe return of the people you love.

With warmest thoughts,

Laura Bush.

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APEC : Welcome to Sydney

Posted on August 30, 2007 by @ndy
Posted in Anti-fascism, State / Politics | 6 Comments

APEC : The Australian on The UnAustralian

Posted on August 30, 2007 by @ndy

Stand up and be counted
For what you are about to receive
We are the dealers
We’ll give you everything you need
Hail hail to the good times
‘Cause rock has got the right of way
We ain’t no legend, ain’t no cause
We’re just livin’ for today

For those about to rock, we salute you
For those about to rock, we salute you…

Protesters warn of violent challenge
Sarah Elks
The Australian
August 30, 2007

A MELBOURNE group has announced its intention to violently disrupt next week’s APEC summit and has issued a call to action to recruit more people for a “mass, strategic intervention”.

The group, AC/DC, which is believed to be aligned with the anarchist political movement, plans to act as a “mobile disruption” unit during APEC, which will be held in Sydney for a week from Sunday.[1]

AC/DC’s open letter, posted on a number of internet forums [Aotearoa Indymedia, August 10], said APEC “promotes exploitation, inequality and the destruction of the planet” and acknowledged the group’s actions might be seen as violent.[2]

“By the very praxis of stepping out and challenging their control of space, we are committing what is regarded as a violent act,” the letter reads.

“It is the violence of articulating resistance; it is a violation against their understanding of our lives.”

The letter says it is important “that we stay safe and minimise the repercussions of police repression in our families and communities”.

A spokesman for the Stop Bush Coalition, organisers of the biggest APEC protest on Saturday, September 8, insisted its march would be peaceful.

“We’ve clearly indicated that we intend for this to be a peaceful protest and we’ve chosen a march route that signals we’re not interested in a confrontation with police,” Alex Bainbridge [DSP] said.

“We’re confident that’s going to happen on the day.”

The march, which is expected to attract 5000 people, will highlight the issues of the war in Iraq, a comprehensive response to climate change and workers’ rights.

Mr Bainbridge, 35, said concern over violent protest was unfounded.

“I don’t think it’s very likely,” he said. “We’ve seen in the past these sorts of things get exaggerated in the media and then we turn up on the day and nothing happens.”

He said he was more concerned about police violence against protesters.

“We’ve had this whole scare campaign for months of new water cannons, new stun guns, the new fence being set up and new police powers,” he said. “It’s not outlandish to think there might be some police that might be trigger-happy.”

NSW police beefed up security for APEC and bought a $600,000 water cannon to assist with protest control.

NSW police superintendent Peter Lennon said yesterday work would begin on Saturday on a major security fence around parts of the CBD.

“It will take some four days,” he said. “There is a smaller fence being built in Darling Harbour but the main fence will start on Saturday.”

AC/DC’s announcement follows concern over the intentions of anarchist group Mutiny, partly blamed by the Victorian Government and police [3] for violence at last year’s G20 protests in Melbourne.[4]

At a Stop Bush Coalition meeting in April, members of Mutiny and other protest groups Solidarity and the International Socialist Organisation argued to remove the line “join the peaceful protest against these warmongers” from a poster advertising the September 8 rally.

Mr Bainbridge said he would not comment on what occurred in meetings of the coalition.

Simon Cunich, a member of Resistance – one of the groups involved in the Stop Bush Coalition – was at the April meeting.

“That debate was a tactical debate about whether or not to put the words ‘peaceful protest’ on a poster; not a debate as to whether or not to hold a peaceful protest.”

Resistance is organising one of the other major protest actions of the APEC period: a student walkout next Wednesday over the policies of George W. Bush.

Mr Cunich said the rally would be “entirely peaceful” and would give high school students the chance to “show their opposition to everything that Bush represents”.

    …Third Bruce : Howls of derisive laughter, Bruce!
    Fourth Bruce : In addition, as he’s going to be teaching politics, I’ve told him he’s welcome to teach any of the great socialist thinkers, provided he makes it clear that they were wrong.
    [They all stand up.]
    All : Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, we love you. Amen!
    [They sit down.]
    Fourth Bruce : Any questions?
    Second Bruce : New Bruce – are you a pooftah?
    Fourth Bruce : Are you a pooftah?
    Michael : No!
    Fourth Bruce : No right, well gentlemen, I’ll just remind you of the faculty rules: Rule one – no pooftahs. Rule two, no member of the faculty is to maltreat the Abos in any way whatsoever – if there’s anybody watching. Rule three – no pooftahs. Rule four – I don’t want to catch anyone not drinking in their room after lights out. Rule five – no pooftahs. Rule six – there is no rule six! Rule seven – no pooftahs. That concludes the reading of the rules, Bruce.
    First Bruce : This here’s the wattle – the emblem of our land. You can stick it in a bottle or you can hold it in your hand.
    All : Amen!

[1] Er… assuming the Socialist Party is involved in the group, such a belief would be mistaken.

[2] The Melbourne Alliance for Civil Disobedience Co-ordination (AC/DC) statement on APEC protests in September 2007, Sydney, Australia:

1. We recognise that APEC is an illegitimate institution in the eyes of the mass of the human population, and that its agenda is a threat to our welfare and environment. We are therefore in favour of the largest possible mass mobilisation and mass demonstrations against it

2. We aim to disrupt the functioning of any APEC-related activities in Sydney in September 2007

3. We defend our right to mass civil disobedience and mass direct action and we will attempt to use these tactics as part of our resistance to the agenda of APEC

4. We reject the police and the state’s attempts to define and control our protest and our resistance through the use of declared areas, protestor black lists and other forms of state intimidation

5. We want to convince other groups, individuals and communities to join us in resistance to APEC that is meaningful and empowering

[3] To be precise: Alex Bainbridge’s comrade Marcus Greville — like Bainbridge, designated by the DSP-dominated Coalition as media spokesperson — also of the DSP, cast the first stone, on ABC radio, on November 20. “JOSIE TAYLOR: Who were the people responsible for that violence? MARCUS GREVILLE: The names of the groups are Arterial Bloc and a group called Mutiny.”

[4] February 1981: AC/DC tour Australia, with big riots after the Sidney Myer Music Bowl gigs. 23 arrests after Friday’s gig; during and after Saturday’s gig over 60 are arrested. 30 suburban trains and dozens of trees around the Bowl are damaged. Fighting at Jolimont Station; hospitals are full of people suffering drug overdoses, broken limbs and lacerations…

Back in Black was a worldwide smash. It made number two on the Australian charts and a tour was announced for ’81. The band’s Melbourne concert was one of the most significant moments in the great sharp epic. It was the grand finale, the last big night on the town. The cult carried on for a few more years, but it was trudging to a fall. Sharpie ended that night, it just took a while for word to get around. Held at the Myer Music Bowl during the Moomba Celebrations, the concert was at once a wake and a whale of a party. The Seedies/The Music Bowl/Moomba — ultimate sharpie.

The gangs came out in force. They ran amok. Gloves off.

    Bill: “They were everywhere, it was like they’d all taken their clothing out of their glory boxes for the night.”

    Chris: “Every sharp in Melbourne would’ve been there, they went beserk, smashed all the trains and trams, pulled the cops off their horses, a riot. I got smacked in the mouth and ran for my life. By this stage I was into punk, The Ballroom, speed, to me these kids, with the moccasins and the ‘Bon Scott RIP’ t-shirts, they weren’t sharpies, they were just headbangers.”

~ Tadhg Taylor, Top Fellas, Surefire Productions, 2004, pp.167–168

See also : Fear and APEC in Australia (theory of the offensive) for further disco…

Posted in !nataS, Anarchism, State / Politics | Leave a comment

Australia First and Stormfront Down Under: Fruit and Nuts

Posted on August 29, 2007 by @ndy

You know, I think the Conspiracists may be right: life for ‘White Nationalists’ is a script written by a Jewish comedian in the employ of ZOG.

Fruit

Briefly, Australia First (AF), the largest and most serious White supremacist political party in Australia — never the most stable of political formations, for obvious reasons — is completely falling apart. Established in 1996 by racist ex-Labour MP Graeme Campbell, it’s main distinction thus far — that is, in addition to having one elected councillor, Bruce Preece[*], in Adelaide — has been its role as host to Dr. James Saleam. Saleam is Australia’s leading fascist militant; an ex-member of the Australian Nazi Party, for many years leader of National Action (1982–mid-1990s), guest of Her Majesty’s Prisons in the early ’90s, and, soon after its establishment, a leading figure in AF.[1]

Well, until now. Unconfirmed reports suggest that, following a long build-up of tension within the party over his leadership style, questionable past, and intriguingly ‘odd’ choice of political allies, Saleam has finally been purged from the party by its President, Diane Teasdale. Of course, Teasdale has trouble of her own. In a tit-for-tat gesture, Teasdale has been exposed as being — wait for it — a Jew!

Oy vey!

Yes, Australia’s leading ‘White Nationalist’ political organisation has, since Campbell abandoned it shortly after giving birth to it (recognising an abortion when he saw one), been led by a woman whose “mother… came from Jewish/Scottish stock”. Poor old Diane has been swimming in very dangerous waters. The question is: did Teasdale conceal this fact from Saleam and the rest of AF? And what did Diane make of Doctor Jim’s membership of a Forum the principal condition of which is recognition of The Jew as The White Man’s Number One Enemy?

    Update : The AF National Council has lost another member: Andrew Phillips. Following the expulsion of Dr. James Saleam, this leaves Diane Teasdale, Barry and Jeanette Woods as the ruling triumvirate.

    Or so says a fascist dingbat on SF…

Nuts

Speaking of nuts, on Stormfront ‘melbournestorm’ (unusual only in that, unlike the majority of his fellow racists, he actually appears to know how to spell) has drawn the flock’s attention to my previous post on last weekend’s Sydney Forum. Like ‘Deco’ before him, when asked for further details concerning its esteemed author, ‘melbournestorm’ is snowed under with gems. Thus:

    Luke Connors: You are not seriously crediting Cam “I need a mask to hide my identity” Smith with actually having an influence in Melbourne are you? [In] between holding a protest against boneheads two days [sic] after the boneheads had left and failing miserably to get the punk scene to abandon the Birmingham in Collingwood,[2] I [don’t] think he does much at all.

An odd statement by Luke, for several reasons. One, my name is Andy, not Cam. Two, the protest in question was held on Saturday, October 28 — five weeks, not two days, after the Ian Stuart is Dead celebration on Saturday, September 23. Three, while the boycott of The Birmy has not been a total success, it’s hardly been a miserable failure either. Connors continues:

    Hey Cam, how come I never see you at the Pies’ games? Behind the goals at the Collingwood end mate. Come along and see how much your “working class comrades” support you then! A lot of the Pies’ nutcases have views on Aboriginals that are very very different to yours… He talks about being a fan of the Collingwood Football Club. If he actually went into the standing room I am betting there would be a few old Collingwood “outer” cheer squad members who would smash a bit of sense into him.

Well, I can’t speak for Cam, but I suspect the reason Luke hasn’t seen me at a match this year may be related to the fact that: 1) he doesn’t know what I look like; 2) I’ve only been to about half-a-dozen or so matches this year (including our triumph in Brisbane); and 3) lots of people go to the football. In fact, this year, more people have attended Collingwood matches than any other club in the history of the game: “In other attendance news, the 63,842 who watched Collingwood play Sydney on Saturday night at the MCG took the Magpies’ home and away total in 2007 to 1,178,689, now the new all-time regular season record for a club, eclipsing the 1,169,551 that attended Essendon games in 1998.”

Dummkopf.

As for the opinions of Collingwood supporters on race, to begin with, I was attending matches at Victoria Park while Luke was merely a twinkle in his father’s eye, and the only fights I witnessed standing in the outer were between Collingwood supporters and non-Collingwood supporters. Secondly, since Nicky Winmar took his stand at the ground on April 17, 1993, racist scum like Luke have been on the back foot, and the enormous contribution of indigenous players to Australian Rules football (derived in part from the indigenous sport of marngrook) increasingly widely recognised.

Which, as Leon Davis, among numerous others (including, of course, Brad Dick and Chris Egan) demonstrates, is precisely as it should be. So, having failed to recognise that the Collingwood colours are black and white, Connors proceeds to tell me who my friends are:

    The “punks” he hangs around with are mostly non-political. They really couldn’t give a toss, and certainly don’t care to the point of confronting a bunch of angry boneheads who may just outnumber them. They don’t even care enough to boycott the pub they hold the ISD concerts at. Lot of “working class” solidarity there!

Luke knows the “punks” I ‘hang around’ with? Um, I don’t think so. Most of my friends and comrades aren’t ‘punk’, and most of the punks I do know are old and fat. (Well, so to speak.) In any case, most of those ‘punks’ I do know wouldn’t piss in someone like Luke’s ear even if his brain was on fire. (That is, what the cancer hasn’t consumed.) As for ‘punks’ confronting ‘angry boneheads’… well, I could tell a few stories, but I won’t. Suffice it to say that: 1) the location of the ISD gig is kept a secret for a reason; 2) members of the bands that (continue to) play The Birmy were never my friends in the first place; and 3) the reason there’s no “working class” solidarity there is because most of them don’t even know the meaning of the term. Kinda like Luke really:

    The truth of the matter is, that the “working class” population may not agree with us 100%, but they ****ing well hate the sight of his lot. Can you imagine your average tradie “manning the barricades” with green haired, multiply body pierced University dropouts?

In truth, the working class has diverse political views, as well as fashion sense; whether or not someone has green hair or piercings (or dropped out of University) is irrelevant to their class status; the reasons working class University students ‘drop out’ are many and complex (see Rethinking working-class ‘drop out’ from university, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, November 2005); Luke is both ignorant and quite stupid.

    There is nothing sadder in the world than an antifa, they really do believe that if they bash enough nationalists it will “cure” them of their evil white skin.

Pffft. Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it. Besides which, simply poking fun at racists seems to cause them enough trouble as it is.

But so much for Luke. ‘Clockwork Violence’ reckons folks who protested outside The Birmy are “LOSERS!!!” (which really hurts my feelings) while, bizarrely, Scott recalls being informed that one of the protesters “flashed his genitals at a 13 year old boy”… and claims that “Another story I heard is that a not so popular bonehead walked straight [past] the protest[e]rs and they wouldn’t dare say a word, though they outnumbered him 30-1”, which is kinda true. That is, Scott’s mate Patrick O’Sullivan approached the pub on Smith Street, saw the size of the demo (approximately 100 or so), and decided to leave. Further, if anyone were to flash their genitals at a boy, it’s more likely to be Patrick or his former comrade Dane:

On December 30, 1994, five of Australia’s toughest prisoners went to see Sweetman. The committee was a murderer, a drug dealer, an armed robber and two brothers with violent records. “They told Sweetman that he was a boy raper and a dog. They said they knew he was providing sweets and canteen goods to a group of younger prisoners in return for sexual favours,” a prison source said. “He was told he was to be put off (murdered).” Next day he put himself into protection in Barwon prison. But on seven occasions notes were put under his cell door telling him he would be killed. In March 1995, he was moved to the protection unit in K Division in Pentridge. Fellow inmates included Paul Denyer, the Frankston triple murderer, multiple rapist and double killer Raymond “Mr Stinky” Edmunds, and Hoddle street mass murderer Julian Knight.

Not very nice company; and unlike Scott’s, that’s a true story.

    [1] AF also gained some small notoriety by describing the racist pogrom in Cronulla as being a White ‘civil uprising’ and by attempting, unsuccessfully, to recruit disgruntled Whites on the basis of its unqualified support for it. Ironically, and in a further example of the essential idiocy of the project, the main target of the ‘uprising’ was the local Lebanese population while Saleam, it is alleged by his opponents on the far right, is himself of Lebanese or Middle Eastern descent.

    [2] “Patrons of the bar reacted angrily to the protesters, saying two neo-Nazi gigs in five years [sic] didn’t make The Birmingham a Nazi pub. A couple drinking at the pub told TMT they had been wrongly accused of Nazism and narrowly avoided being bashed by men driving past after they left the pub last week.”

Posted in !nataS, Anti-fascism | 3 Comments

Random briefs…

Posted on August 27, 2007 by @ndy

the anarcho-syndicalist federation / international workers’ association got a new website.

afterg20.org is a site i just stumbled upon. it looks neat. it also tells me that this friday august 31 there will be a rally outside the melbourne magistrates’ court (233 william street, city) demanding that charges against x number of people be dropped.

vents is the name of a hip hop artist from adelaide. he’s got a debut album out on obese records, and the two tracks available on his myspace kick arse. no really; it’s a soundtrack to twenty-first century class war. (only downer is he’s skipping melbourne on the national tour to promote his album. bummer!)

in the us, some people have been talking about hip hop culture and its role in promoting + change. according to a reporter, those assembled — including members of the universal zulu nation and hey! you! the rock steady crew — used “language [that] was colorful, occasionally profane and tinged with conspiracy-theory rhetoric. some of it was anarchist, anti-establishment, anti-capitalism, and even [gasp!] critical of commercial rap broadcast on radio station airwaves.”

anarchia has some thoughts on anarchist organisation in aotearoa (written as a contribution to the upcoming @ conference in auckland september 7–9) and titled ‘what is to be done?’. as anarchia correctly observes, lenin — otherwise known as vlad the impaler — wrote a tract with the same title. in addition to being one of his most notoriously elitist programmatical statements (duh workers need duh intellectuals to show dem what needs to be done), it’s title is also a rip-off — nikolai chernyshevsky (1828–1889) wrote a novel titled what is to be done? (Что делать) in 1863.

news on the two anarchists from st petersburg russian police are attempting to frame for a train bombing: andrei kalyonov has been on hunger strike for 10 days, and his jailers may have already tried to force feed him. both andrei and the other anarchist arrested, denis zelenyuk, are in jail in novgorod. both have lawyers, but the legal process is expensive, and could cost up to 3000 euro. a collective of anarchists concerned with the case has recently formed and named itself the anarchist black cross of st. petersburg. for more info on @ in russia, see avtonom.

according to your abc, “two-hundred prisoners will be allowed to sleep in their own beds over the apec long weekend of september 7-9 to free up jail cells in preparation for the mass arrest of protesters. federal and state police have asked the new south wales gub’mint to make space for up to 500 who might be arrested during the summit in sydney.” soon to be ex-pm and george ii’s deputy sheriff john hoWARd — the cheeky bugger (and former lover of pru goward) — blames you for all the trouble the gathering is bound to cause.

in germany, neo-nazis have assaulted and seriously wounded two africans in mainz. typically, the fascists outnumbered their victims three-to-one. further, “a 36-year-old iraqi man was the victim of a racially-motivated attack in the eastern city of magdeburg, also in the early hours of saturday. magdeburg police said an unidentified man beat the iraqi with a baseball bat and set a dog on him before fleeing.”

german authorities have responded to the rising tide of fascist violence by picking on a number of brainworkers, alleged members of the ‘militant gruppe‘ what the bka reckons “has been responsible for around two dozen attacks on property, including arson attacks on private and police vehicles” ‘cos they wanna “smash the structure of society and establish a communist world order”. (well, it’s better than bottling it up.) among many other amazing facts and figures about the case, the crazy commies @ the wsws report that one person what-thinks-too-much, “andrej h. is also alleged to have used phrases in his scientific writings that were also used by the mg. from this fact, the investigators at the federal prosecutor’s office jump to the conclusion that andrej h. must have indeed been the original author of the mg texts. in particular the word “gentrification” was singled out. “gentrification,” however, is a widely used term in sociological studies of cities. a search of the keyword “gentrification” on sociological abstracts, the international sociological essay database, returns 452 entries by 174 academics. amazon lists 64 [or possibly 48?] titles on the theme. the new york times has used the term 1,770 times in the last several years.” a search on slackbastard returns three: i surrender!

finally — and speaking of neo-nazis — melbourne antifa have been in training in order to better disrupt the upcoming isd gig on october 13 — as well as in anticipation of the invitation to a dance-off. here’s some exclusive footage (courtesy of the spandex school of contemporary interpretive dance):

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments