Tuesday 30 August 2011

Moscow police station is bombed



A BOMB has gone off at a Moscow police station, as Russian anarchists fight back against state brutality.

Reports Russia Today: "The blast shattered windows in the department and damaged several cars allegedly belonging to officers.

"Moscow police have become targets for attacks lately, as signs of co-ordination appear in the chain of recent bombings and arson actions against police departments and officers.

"Experts are yet to determine the type of device and motives of the attack, but it seems very similar to other recent attacks on Moscow police.

"Last Friday, a device exploded near a police department in the city’s north, shattering windows and causing minor damage to the walls of the building. The bomb was allegedly thrown by a passer-by who managed to run away after the action.

"Assailants also set fire to a number of police vehicles parked near the central police department of the Moscow satellite city, Khimky, last Tuesday. Nobody was hurt, but several cars were torched.

"In June another bombing of the road police office was carried out in Moscow’s outskirts. A group dubbed 'Anarchist Guerilla' has claimed responsibility for that attack and uploaded a video of the action to the web.

"Operatives of the anarchist group have already gained attention on the internet, targeting parked vehicles and carrying out small 'terror attacks' on police departments.

"They say they aim to protest brutal actions by police officers, who break laws, use civilian cars as 'shields' while in hot pursuit of car thieves and cover for VIP drivers, allowing them to violate driving rules.

"In their attacks, the 'guerillas' use hand-made explosives of relatively small capacity which are never intended to cause injury anybody, the activists claim.

"On their web page, the 'Anarchist Guerilla' manifesto claims they want to change society so that people will have more freedom and not be 'just puppets in somebody’s hands'. They plan to organize various minor 'terror actions' with no goal to kill or wound anybody, but rather to express public opinion."

"In a web self-manual, the activists explain how to produce a simple explosive device at home and list the best ways to use them against police and civic workers. The group’s website has inspired separate attacks on police in the Russian capital, some of which were appreciated by the leaders of the group.

"For the moment, police do not believe the attacks are co-ordinated by just one group and qualify the assaults as simple hooliganism, not linking them all into one case."

Monday 29 August 2011

Berlin's burning!


THE car-burning insurrection in Berlin is turning up the heat on the German authorities.

"At night all over the city, cars are burning on the streets of the German capital," reports The New York Times.

"The federal police have been called in to help. Helicopters with infrared cameras can be heard buzzing overhead, and citizens are talking about forming watch groups. About 90 cars have been set on fire in the past two weeks alone.

"In light of the recent outbreak of rioting in London, it might seem as though Berlin was the site of the Continent’s latest unrest. Yet incongruously, the city is otherwise peaceful.

"Burning cars as a political statement dates back a decade here; hundreds go up in flames every year. Add copycats, insurance fraud and petty acts of revenge to the mix and a chronic illness has flared into an epidemic — with the burned-out chassis of BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes and even a backhoe and a garbage truck filling the news. The record up to this point came in 2009, when 401 automobiles were set on fire. Already this year, however, 364 cars have been set ablaze.

"Of particular concern is the possibility that the arson attacks, which are also a problem in Hamburg, could signify the stirrings of a militant domestic movement, just as the Red Army Faction made its presence known in 1968 with two department store fires in Frankfurt."

Above is a map plotting the cars burnt so far in 2011.

Sunday 28 August 2011

'I saw cops shoot my brother'


IT'S THE same all over the world - cops will lie through their teeth to avoid paying the consequences of their state-endorsed thuggery.

It has now emerged that the Chilean police are claiming they had nothing to do with the death of 14 year old Manuel Gutiérrez Reinoso (above) and - rather tellingly - are not going to be holding an internal inquiry.

This is despite the fact that numerous witnesses have come forward to say they saw police shoot the teenager, who later died from his wounds. But, as usual, the evidence of "non-people" on the streets counts for nothing in the eyes of the state.

Manuel's brother Gerson, a wheelchair-user, told Perfil the youngster was watching protests when a police vehicle headed south and a cop fired three shots.

"One of the shots hit my my brother and knocked him down. I saw a policeman firing from the car. He shot at people. My brother told me, 'they got me'. He pulled his bloody hand off his chest and there was a hole there."

Fearful of an angry public response, police are spreading the rumour that Manuel was killed in gang related violence coincidentally taking place at the same place and time.

Friday 26 August 2011

Chilean police kill teenage protester


POLICE in Chile have murdered a 14 year old boy as the South American country rises up against neoliberalism.

With the long-running student protests against privatised education being supported by trade unions in a two-day general strike, hundreds of thousands were out on the street.

And while neoliberal states are keen to support rebels against their own enemies abroad, they all react in the same traditional fashion to dissent at home - with murderous police violence.

Sky News reported that the teenager has been identified as Manuel Gutierrez, who was shot near a security barricade - witnesses have confirmed that police were to blame.

It added: "On Thursday, youths blocked roads, threw rocks and set fire to piles of rubbish in Santiago and other cities to block traffic. Some 600,000 were reportedly involved in protests across the country.

"Police used water canons and tear gas to defuse the latest social unrest against conservative billionaire Pinera's policies."

With tensions already so high in Santiago and beyond and with Sebastian Pinera the most unpopular ruler since General Pinochet, it is not clear what effect the teenager's death could now have on a volatile and potentially revolutionary situation.

Massive protests for Palestinian freedom


PROTESTS have been held all over the world to mark Al Quds Day, an annual event suppporting Palestians suffering under Israeli occupation and oppressed people everywhere.

Rallies have taken place in Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, USA, Europe, as well as Gaza and the West Bank in occupied Palestine.

Reports Press TV: "In defiance of a government ban on Quds Day rallies in Bahrain, protesters have taken to the streets (above) to mark the international event and have set fire to the Israeli flag.

"Witnesses say hundreds of Bahrainis took to the streets in the capital, Manama, and several villages to protest against the government ban on the anti-Israeli rally and show solidarity with Palestinians.

"Protesters set fire to the Israeli flag and called for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine."

In another report, it says: "Tens of thousands of Egyptians have staged a massive anti-Israel protest, demanding an end to the peace-accord between Cairo and Tel Aviv.

"Following the Friday Prayers, protesters and activists gathered in several cities and Cairo's Liberation Square to stage a million-man demonstration.

"Egyptians called for the expulsion of the Israeli envoy and chanted anti-Israeli slogans."

Al-Quds Day is named after the Arabic word for Jerusalem and its environs, the Holy Land. Yawm Al-Quds or Al-Quds Day is a day of solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians in their struggle against the Zionist-Apartheid system of Israel. Al-Quds Day also extends beyond Palestine to support all oppressed people in their struggles across the world. All over the world seminars, rallies and marches are held on this day, the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadhan in order to pledge solidarity with those seeking peace through justice.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Uprising intensifies in Chile


REBELLION against neo-liberalism in Chile has intensified, with trade unions backing the long-running student rebellion.

Reports MercoPress: "The Chilean capital Santiago was witnessing another tumultuous day on Wednesday as protests started to sweep the nation’s capital and unions called for a two day nationwide shutdown to protest the educational system.

"Protesters barricaded roads and burned tires as the two-day national strike began against unpopular President Sebastian Piñera.

"On the last two months mass demonstrations emerged in Santiago - along with other important Chilean cities – calling for improvements in Chile’s educational system. Demonstrations have drawn over 100,000 supporters to the streets of Chile’s capital.

"One union official stated 'this will be the biggest national strike of the last decade'; others have threatened to block roads (including those to the airport). Transportation workers and day-care providers also plan to strike, stranding millions of other Chileans.

"While previous governments have faced one-day national strikes, it was the first 48-hour national strike since the 1973-1990 Augusto Pinochet dictatorship."

Monday 22 August 2011

They Will Not Control Us!

Rebels torch NATO lorries in Pakistan


REBEL fighters in Pakistan have torched at least 15 NATO tankers carrying oil supplies to the US-led occupation army in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The vehicles were set ablaze by gunmen in the Mastung region of the southwestern province of Balochistan.

Reports Press TV: "Militants fired at the trucks and set them ablaze before fleeing the scene. There are no reports of casualties.

"Meanwhile, the Pakistani security forces have sealed the area off and begun a search operation in the troubled region.

"The latest attack came days after several gunmen torched nearly a dozen tankers in the same Pakistani province.

"Hundreds of NATO tankers and containers have been destroyed in different parts of Pakistan during the past three years.

"In response, Pakistani authorities have deployed large contingents of police and military forces on all major arteries in the area in an attempt to curb the attacks.

"Pro-Taliban militants often claim responsibility for such attacks, saying that the assaults are in retaliation for non-UN-sanctioned US drone strikes on Pakistan's tribal regions.

"Despite frequent attacks on NATO supply convoys, the US military has not stopped its unauthorized drone bombings on Pakistani territory."

Sunday 21 August 2011

Riots break out in Hamburg


RIOTS have broken out in Hamburg, Germany, after a lively summer street festival was swamped with thousands of police.

Reports Deutsche Welle: "Police used water cannons against rioters in the north German city of Hamburg on Saturday evening, August 20, following a street festival in the district of Schanzenviertel.

"Disturbances began when a group of unknown individuals tried to break into a branch of the German bank Sparkasse in the district, a police spokeswoman said.

"The incident took place close to the former Rote Flora theater - an alternative left wing rallying point in the city.

"Water cannons and riot personnel were deployed and used against the perpetrators, police said, with numerous fires also extinguished in the area."

Egyptians angry at Israel's killing


ANGRY crowds have besieged the Israeli embassy in Cairo after five Egyptian policemen were killed by the unpopular neighbouring state.

Reported the BBC: "More than 1,000 Egyptians protested outside the Israeli embassy late on Saturday night. They demanded the immediate expulsion of the Israeli envoy from the country.

"Military police stood outside the embassy, but did not intervene when one protester pulled down the Israeli flag."

Press TV added that the young Egyptian protester had replaced the flag with Egypt's.

It said: "Amid ongoing protest of thousands of Egyptians in front of Israel's embassy in Cairo on Sunday, Ahmad al Shahhat climbed the building and removed the Israeli flag.

"Following the move, people cheered and honked their car horns as protesters prevented police from arresting the young man."

Saturday 13 August 2011

Anarchists speak out after historic riots


ANARCHISTS in the UK have been speaking out in the aftermath of an historic week of rioting across the country.

While the state and its media puppets have ramped up the rhetoric of reaction for their own purposes, dissident voices have been raised in proud defiance.

Says the All London Anarchist Revolutionary Movement (ALARM!) "Whilst the riots may have taken their toll on our communities, there is no turning back now. We cannot wish them away. The screams of our youth have been heard; its time we turned them into the battle cries of our class."

Writes Ian Bone: "I guarantee within weeks the backlash against this rough injustice will start... Then this ROTTEN PARLIAMENT won’t look so fucking good. Self-satisfied, smug, privileged elite bullying and hectoring, representative of no working class people or anyone under 40 not fast tracked via Oxbridge and politcal party research departments.

"This lot aint like us, they despise us. They’ve jumped on peoples fears to rehabilitate themselves. The shine will soon tarnish and we’ll see more anger than ever. Comrades turn off your tellys and radios. Don’t torture youselves.Go and lie down. You’re going to need your energy."

Comments weekly newsletter SchNEWS: "What’s missing from the picture presented by most media analysts is what a bunch of c*nts the police actually are. As anarchist political activists we have a choice about our engagement with the police, we run up against them when we mobilise and so we get a tiny glimpse of what it’s like to live in an area where everyone is treated as potential criminal."

A blogger at Fitwatch adds: "I feel utterly sickened at the attitude of large numbers of people who are suddenly supporting the police, who support the army being brought in, who want to see water canon and plastic bullets used on the streets.

"I am livid with rage at people who have never experienced police harassment not even attempting to understand the brutalisation this causes. I know the effect it has had on me, and I’ve only experienced it through the choice of being politically active which is nothing compared to it happening on a daily basis because of your skin colour or where you live."

Writes anarcho-newsletter The Porkbolter: "We are living in an utterly corrupt and dysfunctional society which cannot be fundamentally altered by any number of reforms.

"Revolt is in the air and that can only be a good thing. While all the Daily Mail bigots call for concentration camps, mass shootings and sterilisation of the underclass, it is up to the rest of us to speak the truth. We must tell them that the sick society they cherish so much is worthless and we will shed no tears as it falls apart around them. Generation Anarchy – we are on your side!"

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Chile revolts against neoliberalism


YOUNG people in Chile are keeping up their epic battle against the neoliberal system's grip on the education system.

Reports The Guardian: "Violence erupted on the streets of Chile's capital and other cities as tens of thousands of students staged another protest demanding changes in public education.

"Masked demonstrators burned cars and barricades, looted shops and threw furniture at police in Santiago on Tuesday. Some attacked an apartment building, throwing rocks and breaking windows. Riot police used tear gas and tanks with water cannons to push them back.

"By nightfall, at least 273 protesters were detained, including 73 in Santiago, and 23 police officers were injured, said Rodrigo Ubilla, a deputy interior minister.

"Five days after a banned march ended in nearly 900 arrests, students and teachers marched peacefully in Santiago and elsewhere in Chile on Tuesday, calling for the government to increase spending on schooling and provide "free and equal" public education.

"As in previous demonstrations, protesters danced, sang, wore costumes and waved signs. But then groups of masked protesters split off and tried to break through police barricades blocking the way to the presidential palace."

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Unrest breaks out in more UK cities



RIOTING spread further across the rest of the UK on Tuesday night, as the state swamped the capital with 16,000 police.

There were major outbreaks of unrest in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Nottingham - where a police station was attacked - with Leicester, Loughborough and Gloucester alshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifo affected, among others.

With the mirage of 'law and order' dispelled, an increasingly fraught British state seems to be edging towards deploying the army on the streets to hold down its own underclass.

Monday 8 August 2011

State panic as riots spread


RIOTS were spreading all across London on Monday night, as pent-up anger at the capitalist system and its brutal police broke out.

Hackney, Peckham, Lewisham, East Ham and Croydon were all said to be hit by unrest, with reports coming in of incidents in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Liverpool and Leeds.

Clapham Junction was also a focus - locals were helping themselves to the contents of Debenhams, with no police in sight.

A Google map has been set up here.

Power cuts are also being reported.

There is an increasing sense of panic from the state and its media apologists, with the forces of law and order increasingly unable to maintain the illusion that they have the numbers to hold down a rebellious population.

Naive people who believe in the myth of protective authority are becoming confused as to why it hasn't all been "sorted out".

Ian Bone's blog has updates plus, of course, Twitter.

Sunday 7 August 2011

Police lie as London erupts


RIOTS in London suburbs continued on Sunday night, spreading to a wider area.

And doubts have emerged about the police account of the death of Mark Duggan - the catalyst for the street rebellion.

While great play was made of a bullet lodged in a police radio, apparently fired by Duggan before he was shot dead, it is now clear the bullet was from one of the police's own guns.

This is a familiar pattern for deaths at the hands of cops - the killing of newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson in 2009 was also cloaked in layers of lies.

Right-wing media have taken to describing the London rioters as "anarchists" - probably inaccurately but a sign that they understand the underlying political nature of the uprising.

London endured a second night of violence last night as questions were raised about the shooting by police of a suspected gangster.

Reports The Daily Mail: "In Enfield a mob of 200 anarchists smashed their way into shops and lobbed concrete slabs at police cars following Saturday’s riot in Tottenham.

"A jewellery store, a McDonald's and a Tesco were set upon in Enfield, while in Brixton, South London, hundreds of teenagers looted a Footlocker store before setting it on fire, requiring six engines to battle the blaze at 1.30am.

"Police reported more than 100 arrests too place across the capital overnight.

"Last night there were also reports of disturbances Walthamstow and Islington in North London, and sporadic clashes with police in Elephant and Castle in South London and Shepherds Bush in the west.

"Three police officers were hospitalised after they were stuck by a fast-moving vehicle while trying to make arrests after looting in Chingford Mount, Waltham Forest."

Anti-police riot in Tottenham



AN ANTI-POLICE riot broke out in the London suburb of Tottenham on Saturday night, as simmering anger finally reached boiling point.

The insurrection followed on from a protest against yet another death of a young man at the hands of an increasingly discredited and hated police force.

29-year-old father-of-four Mark Duggan was gunned down by cops on Thursday and friends and family had gathered to demand justice.

The rioting saw police cars, a bus and shops torched as the police lost control of the north London streets for several hours.

Added The Guardian: "There were scenes of chaos in the early hours of Sunday morning as sustained looting spread from Tottenham to other nearby areas of Haringey.

"By midnight police managed to secure a 200-metre stretch of the Tottenham High Road, scene of some of the worst rioting on Saturday night.

"But as fire engines entered the street, and began putting out blazing cars and buildings, the rioters spread north and east through back-streets. To the north, at Tottenham Hale, Aldi supermarket was ransacked and set on fire. So too was a nearby carpet shop, causing a huge blaze.

"Looters turned up with cars and shopping trolleys to carry away stolen goods. Nearby, large groups of youths congregated in the surrounding streets with sticks, bottles and hammers.

"Some wore balaclava masks, preventing cars from accessing streets as buildings were broken into. Others used large rubbish bins to form burning barricades across the road."

Afghan rebels down US chopper


AFGHAN rebels have shot down an American Chinook helicopter in one of the most spectactular successes in the long war against neoliberal occupation.

Said a statement from the Afghan resistance: "New reports from Wardag province indicate that a heavy clash unfolded last night at about 11:00 pm local time in Syedabad district of the province between Mujahideen and the invaders resulting from the enemy’s raid on the civilians which was faced with sterner resistances by Mujahideen who fought back the enemy and shot one of the invaders’ helicopters with rockets during the fighting.

"Mujahideen officials said the enemy helicopter fell down Syedabad district killing 38 enemy troops including 31 US-NATO invading troops and 7 of their puppets.

"The reports add the dead and wounded were evacuated by 8 ambulance helicopters, while 8 Mujahideen became martyred in the enemy airstrikes during the fighting.

"The wreckage of the struck helicopter is said to still exist in the area the debris of which is lying scattered at the scene."

Britain wakes up to police state


POLICE state represession of dissent in Britain is becoming increasingly obvious to the public, as the crumbling neoliberal system lashes out at opponents.

Absurdly vindictive jail sentences for student protesters and the man who threw foam in Rupert Murdoch's face have fuelled unease as a long-term reality becomes impossible to ignore.

One of Britain's most prominent human rights lawyers has likened "heavy-handed" and politicised treatment of student protesters to the brutal victimisation of the miners during the strikes of the Thatcher era.

Michael Mansfield QC said "outrageous" tactics were being employed to quash political protest and peaceful demonstrations in the UK, within politics, the police and the judiciary.

He told The Guardian: "We praise those in the Arab spring and condemn the force used against them by their governments, yet allow our own rights to be eroded," he said. "What is happening here? A direct attack is being made on the right of people to go out on the streets and show their solidarity and unity with others of the same opinion and hold peaceful protest."

Raj Chada, a lawyer with Hodge Jones & Allen who represented Jonathan May-Bowles, the man jailed for throwing shaving foam at Rupert Murdoch, said he had real concerns that a person now arrested during a political protest could expect harsher treatment than someone who committed a similar offence when not at a protest: "The fact they are at a political protest is now being treated as an aggravating factor, rather than a mitigating factor."

The tough approach by police and judges was having its desired effect, he said. "When I have spoken to protesters, some on the fringes say they do not want to go on protests any more. There are real concerns that the judiciary is being unduly harsh on political protesters."

Chilean youth rise up against system


CHILE has erupted into massive demonstrations against neoliberal rule and police state repression.

The focus is on the education system and students are at the forefront of the revolt, but the roots of the discontent spread much further and arise from the same revulsion at the dominant death-system that is being felt all over the world.

As well as resisting cop violence, protesters seized a TV station, demanding the right to a live broadcast in order to express their demands.

After being teargassed on Thursday, student leader Camila Vallejoo called on citizens to show support for the striking students by banging pots and pans at 9pm – a reminder of the call to the streets used in the Pinochet era.

Reports The Guardian: "Her call spread like wildfire on social networks and led to a night of clanging celebrations, spontaneous street festivals and a national realisation that Chile is living a historical moment, with a movement that cuts across traditional social and class boundaries."