#June30 - time for a second revolution in Egypt!

 

EGYPT will once again take centre stage in the dramatic global uprising against neoliberal tyranny this weekend.

Opponents of the US-backed Morsi regime will be taking to the streets on Sunday #June30 to call for a second revolution - a year after the increasingly unpopular and despotic leader came to power.

There were already chaotic scenes in Alexandria on Friday, as revolutionaries were attacked by government supporters, with reports of at least one death and many injured.

The Muslim Brotherhood in the coastal city was also said to have been set on fire (see photo) - previously such attacks have been claimed by Egypt's thriving anarchist Black Bloc movement.

Rumours were also circulating on the internet that the regime was planning to shut down Egyptian TV channels over the weekend in a desperate bid to retain power, reminiscent of the final days of the Mubarak regime.

Officials have already ordered the arrest of a talk show host and demanded a TV station be shut down for "inciting mutiny in the army and for insulting the armed forces and the police".

One live feed from Egypt on Sunday is being offered here, starting 6am Cairo time.

Anarchists on the streets of London

 
Despite brutal police repression, anarchists in London succeeded in getting across a powerful message of anti-capitalist resistance ahead of the neoliberal G8 summit in Fermanagh.

Defending the Black Bloc

A PROMINENT activist in Occupy Wall Street has spoken out against "dangerous" criticism of the Black Bloc tactic by "violent peace-police".

David Graeber writes in N+1 magazine in response to an article called “The Cancer in Occupy,” by one Chris Hedges.

He tells Hedges in his open letter: "I am appealing to you because I really do believe the kind of statement you made is profoundly dangerous.

"The reason I say this is because, whatever your intentions, it is very hard to read your statement as anything but an appeal to violence. After all, what are you basically saying about what you call 'Black Bloc anarchists'?

"1) they are not part of us

2) they are consciously malevolent in their intentions

3) they are violent

4) they cannot be reasoned with

5) they are all the same

6) they wish to destroy us

7) they are a cancer that must be excised

"Surely you must recognize, when it’s laid out in this fashion, that this is precisely the sort of language and argument that, historically, has been invoked by those encouraging one group of people to physically attack, ethnically cleanse, or exterminate another—in fact, the sort of language and argument that is almost never invoked in any other circumstance.

"After all, if a group is made up exclusively of violent fanatics who cannot be reasoned with, intent on our destruction, what else can we really do? This is the language of violence in its purest form. Far more than “fuck the police.” To see this kind of language employed by someone who claims to be speaking in the name of non-violence is genuinely extraordinary."

Graeber pulls apart Hedges' claim that the Black Bloc tactic gives cops the excuse they need to attack protesters and depict them as violent.

He writes: "If the police decide to attack a group of protesters, they will claim to have been provoked, and the media will repeat whatever the police say, no matter how implausible, as the basic initial facts of what happened.

"This will happen whether or not anyone at the protest does anything that can be remotely described as violence. Many police claims will be obviously ridiculous – as at the recent Oakland march where police accused participants of throwing 'improvised explosive devices'—but no matter how many times the police lie about such matters, the national media will still report their claims as true, and it will be up to protesters to provide evidence to the contrary.

"Sometimes, with the help of social media, we can demonstrate that particular police attacks were absolutely unjustified, as with the famous Tony Bologna pepper-spray incident. But we cannot by definition prove all police attacks were unjustified, even all attacks at one particular march; it’s simply physically impossible to film every thing that happens from every possible angle all the time.

"Therefore we can expect that whatever we do, the media will dutifully report 'protesters engaged in clashes with police' rather than 'police attacked non-violent protesters'. What’s more, when someone does throw back a tear-gas canister, or toss a bottle, or even spray-paint something, we can assume that act will be employed as retroactive justification for whatever police violence occurred before the act took place."

And Graeber points out the even Gandhi, hero of the peace police, would not have taken the extreme line adopted by Hedges and his kind.

He writes: "Gandhi and his movement were regularly denounced in the media, just as non-violent anarchists are also always denounced in the media (and I might remark here that while not an anarchist himself, Gandhi was strongly influenced by anarchists like Kropotkin and Tolstoy), as a mere front for more violent, terroristic elements, with whom he was said to be secretly collaborating.

"He was regularly challenged to prove his non-violent credentials by assisting the authorities in suppressing such elements. Here Gandhi remained resolute. It is always morally superior, he insisted, to oppose injustice through non-violent means than through violent means. However, to oppose injustice through violent means is still morally superior to not doing anything to oppose injustice at all.

"And Gandhi was talking about people who were blowing up trains, or assassinating government officials. Not damaging windows or spray-painting rude things about the police."

Brutal Spanish cops attack students - videos

 
 




BRUTAL cops have attacked student protesters in Valencia, sparking public outrage across the Spanish state.

Several hundred young people, responding to appeals on social networks, gathered on Monday outside the institute Lluis Vives.

Reports AFP: "The clashes broke out in the mid-afternoon after students protesting against education budget cuts, which they say have left classrooms without heating, demonstrated outside a school and came up against police barricades.

"Photographs and videos from the scene showed youths with bleeding faces and baton-wielding police in helmets and body armour chasing, beating and dragging people along the ground as the clashes continued after nightfall.

"El Pais newspaper said on its website that police fired rubber bullets, and media reported numerous injuries."

Solidarity protests against the sickening state violence are being planned.

Keep up to date with the global insurrection - follow Vast Minority on Twitter.   

 

Police forged 'anarchist' papers

RUSSIAN anti-fascists and anarchists from Nizhny Novgorod are calling for global solidarity in their battle against a police prosecution based on crudely forged papers.

Crucial pieces of so-called evidence were planted during police searches, they say, during which a great number of procedural violations were committed - including the fact that most of the accused were altogether absent when their apartments were searched.

"Thus, during a police search of the apartment of one of the accused, who was not home at the time, the official witnesses (who are required to be present under Russian law) sat outside the closed door of the apartment while the police, who had entered through a window, did as they pleased in the empty apartment.

"The alleged IDs contain a crude spelling error (it would be odd if leftist activists had spelled the word “anarchy” wrong).

"The charter of this 'organization', which was likewise planted by police during these searches, stipulates a hierarchical structure, unconditional submission to the leader, and even punishment for disobedient members.

"These 'rules' are, of course, incompatible with leftist views and with the ideals of liberty and equality that our comrades espouse.

"The authorities have ignored all the outrageous violations of human rights committed by the political police, and they refuse to acknowledge the clear fabrications committed in this criminal investigation.

"Our only hope is the pressure of public opinion, international attention to the case, and widespread media coverage. On March 16–18, 2012, we call for days of coordinated actions in solidarity with the Nizhny Novgorod anti-fascists."

The dissidents are also asking for money to pay lawyers - at least $3,000. Details of how to donate can be found at http://avtonom.org/node/17032.

Keep up to date with the global insurrection - follow VM on Twitter

'These kids are absolutely fucked'

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A NEW video on the street revolt in Greece has been published on Vimeo by Ross Domoney.

On December 6th 2008 a police shooting of a 16 year old innocent boy in Athens started a two-week revolt in cities around Greece.

The film, featured on the From the Greek Streets blog, explains how anger at his death was combined with the frustration of a new generation for whom the future is bleak.  "These kids are absolutely fucked."

Three years on people march in remembrance of Alexis Grigoropoulos. Greece now is very much in social and economic turmoil, with all parts of the community sharing the rage of the youth.

The streets look like a war zone as petrol bombs and rocks are hurled at the hated riot cops - often far right extremists in state uniforms. 

Where will it all end? Nobody can know.

Keep up to date with the global insurrection - follow VM on Twitter.

US cops 'inspired Egyptian brutality'

SCENES of violent American police smashing up the Occupy Wall Street protest camp in New York inspired Egyptian state forces in their attack on the Tahrir Square occupation.

This is the shocking revelation picked up from Egyptian state TV by the Russia Today news channel.

It reports that an anchor for the broadcaster referred to the "fantastically efficient police response to the Occupy Wall Street movement in America" and  added: "We saw the firm stance the US took against OWS people (and the German government against green protesters) to secure the state" .

It is clear that US support for the army regime consistst of more than just theoretical inspiration, with chemicals used to attack protesters being supplied from America.

Despite the vicious attack by police and army, the encampment in the centre of the Cairo remains in place and on Tuesday a new series of demonstrations are expected as momentum grows for a Second Revolution in Egypt to sweep aside the SCAF military council. 

Video - undercover cops on demo

THIS video shows undercover cop thugs in action on the London student demo on November 9.

They can be seen at Holborn Circus pushing to the ground and arresting a protester - about a minute into the video.

Says the N9 Anarchist Bloc site: "This new police tactic, if it continues, will need anarchists to acknowledge our collective role on demonstrations. Any anarchists who continue to attend demonstrations as individuals, as opposed to a politically constituted element, will have to learn pretty sharpish a new way of thinking.

"Nov 9 was a classic example of a police demonstration. The new and dangerous twist is the police are now an active and embedded part of the march itself.

"A warning of things to come." 

London police threaten violence

 
LONDON'S police thugs are planning to use force to "disperse" protesters at London Wall at 5.30pm today, it has emerged.

Comments London anarchist Ian Bone on his blog: "The new commander at the Met really is doing his best to ensure violence. This is bound to lead to trouble – so blame Commander Fuckwit Pountain and his boss.

"Swaggering bullies with their bullets and armoured cars determined to show off to Theresa May how tough they are – no nonsense types. Well..they’ll have to do the same on November 23rd and 30th – by which time the cracks will show."

November 23 is the date, already announced, of the next student day of action and November 30 will see a national day of industrial action and protest against the neoliberal economic assault on the population. 

London police ramp up intimidation

POLICE in London are ramping up the intimidation ahead of Wednesday's big student and union  protests in the British capital.

In a blog entry entitled "Don't be intimidated, see you on the streets", police monitoring group Fitwatch reports that letters have been sent to protesters on police files trying to put them off turning up.

Says the report: "On the eve of the mass education/sparks/cabbies protest on 9th November, it is clear the state are trying to intimidate us.

"From the news today that the police have written to protesters arrested at previous demonstrations warning them off protesting (see picture), to the “total policing” of the last couple of weeks witnessed at the squatting demo and deaths in custody march (amongst others), the message is clear; attempt to protest and the state will clamp down, act violently, and make arbitrary arrests.

"And, if you’re unlucky enough to get caught, the courts are making sure long deterrent sentences are passed, regardless of how insignificant the individual action, in attempt to scare us away from future protest.

"However, whilst even seasoned activists have admitted to being a little scared at the current state of policing, it’s not all doom and gloom, and we mustn’t be tricked into feeling intimidated.

"It’s nearly the anniversary of the Met’s attempt to silence Fitwatch for giving common sense advice to the Millbank protesters. This is still recommended reading, as is this Fitwatch call to action.

"Above all, we should be applying the lessons we have learnt on the streets over the last year. When we don’t just ‘walk on by’, and act in solidarity with each other, we are stronger; when we act as fast mobile blocs, we are more effective and harder to contain; when we sit down or put our hands in the air, we are fodder for baton strikes and kettling; when we refuse to play the divide and rule game and condemn fellow protesters, we are more threatening.

"And finally, and perhaps most importantly, when we mask up, and make no comment to police questioning, we are harder to convict and lock up.

"See you on the streets!"

Neoliberal mask is slipping fast

THE ILLUSION of democracy under capitalism is finally being dispelled as the neoliberal elite desperately tries to stem the global surge of revolt.

With paramilitary police forces being sent in to crush dissent wherever it breaks out and 'austerity' measures imposed everywhere,  the mask of consensus is rapidly slipping to reveal the brutal face of plutocratic dictatorship.

Reports From the Greek Streets today: "It sounds like a sitcom joke, or maybe a strange feeling that perhaps those at the echelon of power might have a sense of humour after all, even if it’s a twisted one — but it’s true: Greece’s representative at the IMF (called Panagiotis Roumeliotis, in case you  want to know) now appears 'very likely' to become the next prime minister, according to corporate media reports and ‘leaks’.

"In the near-incomprehensible sequence of events unfolding before our eyes, democracy is unveiling itself for what it really is — nothing more, of course, than a means to protect and perpetuate the existing system of power and domination.

"The fact that the veil of any sort of  'representation' or 'consensus' has dropped can be a positive one: resorting to showing its brute face is a sign of weakness on the side of power, and a hint of some great opportunities on the side of our own."

Adds a contributor: "In Italy the EU and US want them to get rid of Berlusconi and install a technocrat. This is the way they want the world to be run now, not be people voting people into office (which almost always turns out to be a joke anyway).

"Now they are just bypassing any facade of democracy and basically 'appointing' representatives who will do the bidding of capital markets.

"It is however a big sign of weakness. Because once the illusion of democracy is removed, that’s when people can no longer trick themselves."

Sydney video - police thugs move in

OCCUPY protesters in Sydney, Australia, have been evicted from a disused building by a gang of 100 police thugs with dogs.

Angry supporters chanted "this is not democracy!", "shame!" and "no justice, no peace!" as the huge contingent of cops moved in to arrest the ten people who had squatted premises abandoned since 2008.

Police also assaulted protesters in the street and shone a high-strength torch into the lens of video cameras outside to stop the eviction being filmed.

Occupy Sydney has reported that police will not give them any information about the arrestees, citing 'privacy reasons'.

A 60-minute protesters' recording of the eviction can be viewed here.

Nov 9 panic spirals into threats

 

STUDENT protesters in London are now being threatened with rubber bullets as the authorities' panic at the prospect of mass dissent spirals into absurdity.

Sky News was, as ever, more than happy to try and put the frighteners on the public, with a report entitled 'Cops Armed With Baton Rounds for Student Demo.'

It quoted one Commander Pountain as saying: "Baton rounds is a valuable tactic for me to have available should the need arise.

"At the moment I have asked for it to be available to me. Those units will be parked away from the area on standby.

"If any of my staff are coming under sustained attack as we saw in previous demonstrations, I need the ability to protect them and to make sure they don't sustain serious injuries or even worse."

As one comment on Twitter said: "Story about rubber bullets is blatant attempt by police to scare folk away from Wednesday's demo. Fuck. That. Shit."

Defiant Dallas in general strike call

ANTI-CAPITALIST protesters in Dallas have called for a general strike on November 30 after being attacked by police in the Texan city.

Reports Press TV: "What began as a peaceful protest at Occupy Dallas has turned into an event with multiple arrests and video of officers assaulting a protestor.

"Pepper spray was also blasted into the protestors after a protestor was pushed off a four-foot wall by police officers. Protestors questioned the officers about their motives and in return where blasted with pepper spray.

"The Occupy Dallas protesters were marching to the Bank of America Plaza in support of Bank Transfer Day, a national event which calls for supporters to close their bank accounts with large corporate banks and move their money into community credit unions.

"Occupy Dallas spokesperson Michael Prestonise told NBC 5 via email that an off-duty Dallas officer working security at the bank shoved a protester and that is what sparked the violence." 

The General Assembly of Occupy Dallas has issued a statement calling upon all people to engage in a General Strike on November 30th, 2011, and imploring them not to buy anything, make bank transactions or go to work between 12:01 am and 11:59pm on November 30th, 2011. 

Its statement condemns "incredible income disparity between management and employees,  active discouragement and intimidation of unionization of the workforce, engaging in unethical business practices that jeopardize the long term financial stability of the country and viewing financial profit as more important than the individual worth of a people."

Now cops attack Atlanta protest

 

POLICE in the USA have again attacked a protest against corporate capitalist greed, this time in Atlanta, Georgia.

As this video shows, a bid to reclaim the streets after a rally in a city park was met with tooled-up robocops on motorbikes and horses.

Once again, peaceful protest does not stop the state from using violence to crush any opposition to its monopoly of power. 

Police tear gas protesters

POLICE attacked Occupy Oakland protesters with tear gas after they successfully closed the city's sea port.

The American authorities' patience with the current outbreak of dissent is clearly wearing thin.

USA's sham 'democracy' is exposed

THE USA is showing the world what it really means by democracy, as police thugs are sent in to break up Occupy protests.

The latest nauseating incident came in Denver, Colorado.

Explained a report on Indymedia: "There are few scarier sights than that of 100 police officers putting on gas masks. That view, along with the largest showing of police force yet, graced Occupy Denver's weekly rally today when state and city police reacted to the renewed presence of tents.

"The unrest was met with pepper spray, batons, an unknown number of arrests and at least one protester being shot out of a tree with a round of rubber bullets.

"'It was a great party until the police crashed it with hundreds of rubber bullet guns,' says protester Kerri Kellerman, who was arrested during both of the first two rounds. 'We keep putting on peaceful protests, and they keep crashing them until it's not peaceful at all anymore once they're here'.

"Early in the day, Occupy organizers called out on social media for people to show up in mass numbers for the Saturday rally to support efforts to "take back the park." This focused mostly on setting up eleven tents as a symbol of the movement's freedom and a reminder of the need it faces for shelter from increasingly cold weather. The majority of the tents were reclaimed from the state patrol yesterday by protesters with IDs after they were removed from the group's previous site in Lincoln Park.

"By the time the day's approximately 2,000-person march rounded its way back to the campsite, with a long stop in front of the Capitol building, officers had mobilized and formed ranks around the area in preparation.

"At about 3:30 p.m., the first round of violent interaction occurred on the side of the park opposite the tents. Officers moved in on the gathering with rubber bullet guns already out and pointed -- an increase in aggression compared to the beginnings of previous demonstrations.

"As protesters grouped to shout chants at the cops and form a barrier between the officers and the camp, police opened fire on the group and openly sprayed tear gas at any occupiers standing in the way. One protester, Andrew Cleres, was shot from a tree with an entire round of rubber bullets while taking photos of the scene."

Meanwhile, authorities in Nashville have tried to use a curfew to stop the protests, thus further revealing the truth behind the big lie of  American 'free speech'.

Another protest camp attacked

 
THE HIRED thugs of neoliberalism have again violently attacked the pro-democracy #occupy movement - this time in Oakland, California.

Reports CBS News: "Oakland's City Hall was the site of conflict throughout the day. Authorities used a pre-dawn raid to dismantle an Occupy Wall Street encampment that had taken over a plaza outside the government headquarters for more than two weeks.

"Police removed about 170 demonstrators who had been staying in the area overnight after repeatedly being warned that such a camp was illegal and they faced arrest by remaining. City officials said 97 people were arrested in the morning raid.

"In less than an hour, the 2-week-old, miniature makeshift city was in ruins. Scattered across the plaza in front of City Hall were overturned tents, pillows, sleeping bags, yoga mats, tarps, backpacks, food wrappers and water bottles. Signs decrying corporations and police still hung from lampposts or lay on the ground.

"Later Tuesday, hundreds of protesters gathered at a library and marched through downtown Oakland. They were met by police officers in riot gear, and several small skirmishes broke out."

As we pointed out with regard to the attacks on camps in Australia, this kind of repression is inevitable if the movement keeps up momentum.

But if we keep resisting, it can only make us stronger.

Brutal cop kicks woman in head

A SHOCKING video of a cop brutally kicking a handcuffed female protester in the head has emerged on the internet.

Note that this footage shows the incident in slow motion - a real-speed version can be seen here.

Reports Keep Talking Greece: "A group of Indignados made up of protestors from several European countries arrived in Brussels last week after walking the 1562km from Madrid.

"Wednesday’s incident happened during an otherwise peaceful demonstration in front of the headquarters of the bank Dexia on the Rogierplein in the Sint-Joost-ten-Node area of the city."

The woman, who is Greek, was interviewed by the authorities after the video surfaced and the cop has been suspended.

The point to remember here is that protesting peacefully does not mean police will not physically attack you - in fact, for some of them the reverse is true.

Italian riot police attack Tunisians

 
TUNISIANS demanding freedom have been brutally attacked by Italian riot police on the southern island of Lampedusa.

RFI reports that around 300 Tunisian immigrants demonstrated on Wednesday September 21 against the conditions in which they are being kept.

They chanted "Freedom! Freedom!" and some of them set fire to a local office dealing with immigrants on the island, which is not far from the Tunisian coast.

Later, riot police attacked others with batons and the protesters were forced to jump down three or four metres to escape, as this shocking video shows.

Filippo Miraglia of the "Archi" support group for the immigrants explained: "Some of the Tunisians have been there since August - for a month of a month and a half - and others for a week to ten days.

"They are being held on the island in very difficult conditions and the idea of being deported straight back from Lampedusa to Tunisia is making them revolt."