ONLINE
The official organ of the Anarchist Federation
ONLINE
The official organ of the
Anarchist Federation
AF DIRECT ACTIONS, PRESS RELEASES AND COMMENTS
CONTENTS:
Pro-republic & anarchy direct action happening at UK royal wedding 29.04.2011 - No anarchists
will participate in ochlarchy, including hooliganism! And more! The latest news from AF!
Anti-cuts march: About 500,000 at London protest. Brown Cards to extremist marxists, e.g.
Socialist Workers Party (trotskyite), sailing under false anarchist flags when acting criminal ochlarchist!
Anarchist International support action for the social-individualist anarchist
Julian Assange and WikiLeaks
Mass demonstration against austerity measures in Ireland
Students protested as UK govt debated and hiked tuition fees 09.12.2010
New student protests in UK 24.11.2010 - Anarchist comment - Brown Card to BBC-TV etc!
Ad students protest in London, Conservative HQ attacked
Brown Cards to student ochlarchists, i.e.
ultra-authoritarian
extremist marxists,
rioters and provocateurs
falsely using the anarchist @-sign & flags, and CNN, Associated Press and more - Anarchist point of view!
Midterm elections in USA 2010
FABS and the Anarchist Federation
G20 = the policy of a) the uninformed of real economics and b) bureaucracy economics
Ad violent clashes with police etc, i.e. ochlarchy, in Toronto 2010 related to the G20 meeting.
No anarchists involved
Anarchist protests connected to the G20 summit
in London April 2, 2009 - More about the Ian Tomlinson case
Irish EU referendum 12 June 2008: Vote no!
Irish Lisbon II referendum: Vote NO to the Lisbon Treaty 2 October 2009
AF'S CONGRESS SEPTEMBER 01-05 2003 ABOUT OCHLARCHY (MOB RULE) AND
OCHLARCHIST INFILTRATION TO THE ANGLOPHONE ANARCHIST MOVEMENT
The Anarchist International's Statement on the London Bombing
The Anarchist International Condemns the London Bomb Attacks of 7th July 2005
IRELAND: Comments on the referendum about the ugly "Nice" treaty
GIBRALTAR - ANARCHIST POINT OF VIEW
MICK JAGGER ON THE WRONG TRACK - BOYCOTT MICK - THE YELLOW SHIT! "NAZI-MICK"!
The boycott of "Mick the yellow shit", and Rollings Stones is ON!
ANARCHY IN NORWAY - ANARCHY IN GREAT BRITAIN?
THE HISTORY OF FREEDOM PRESS AND THE PAPER FREEDOM
Vernon Richards - He helped to keep the anarchist voice alive in Britain
AF's homepage: http://www.anarchy.no/afb.html - FO's homepage: http://www.anarchy.no/afbpress1.html
Alternative street party - anarchist & republican - at Red Lion Square from noon
International solidarity action pro-anarchy and republic in UK! Click here!
Anarchists and republicans from UK and all over Europe are due to come to London on April 29, a.o.t. to protest against the cost of taxpayers bankrolling European royal families, i.e. royal plutarchy. Britons are less excited about the day than the press coverage suggests. When these big stories come up it then makes people think about it. A direct action happening, e.g. an alternative street party, will be held at Red Lion Square, Holborn in London on April 29 from noon, and merchandise such as cups bearing the pun "I am not a royal wedding mug" will be on sale. Map and information about Red Lion Square: Click here! Previous royal weddings have helped boost interest in anarchism & republic and increased hostility to royalty, which many people regard as an anachronism in the 21st century. The Anarchist Federation and The Anarchist International call for Anarchist International Action in London April 29! A direct action happening! Demonstrate with dignity - NOT ochlarchy! Paroles: Monarchy - NO! Anarchy - YES! Republic YES! Strong president - NO! Royal plutarchy - NO! Get in the right mood: Play the F@BS, the Federalist Anarchist Beat Society's "Punk Out": Click here! More information and records of FABS: Click here! Update 29.04. Friday's anarchist activities and events progressed all the way as planned and anticipated, and marxist extremists and provocateurs were unable to hijack the protests. More than 50 000 anarchists in UK and world wide joined the actions, however with a relatively small number gathered in central London. More information at the bottom of this resolution.
There are fears that extremists may try to hijack the protests. Remember marxist communist provocateurs, ochlarchists - falsely posing as "anarchists", doing ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined) to discredit the anarchist movement as much as possible: lubbeist, trotskyite, blitzian, "libertarian", "black bloc", etc., have got Brown Cards from IAT, meaning they are expulsed from the anarchist movement, and are thus NOT anarchists. Especially militarist commie-fascistoid "black blocs" e.g. with masked hooligans, are NOT anarchists! Anarchists show the back against all hooligans and ochlarchists in general, and the police will probably take care of such persons - hopefully without too much fuzz! "Bread and Circus" are a bit outdated ... or not? More information about lubbeist, trotskyite, blitzian, "libertarian", "black bloc", etc. marxian communist provocateurs, often falsely posing as "anarchists" when acting criminal, see the resolution "Anarchist policy is the main issues - marginals are for the Communists" at the anarchy debate.
According to the official website for the wedding of Britain's Prince William to Kate Middleton; William, who is second in line to the throne, is marrying Kate on April 29 at Westminster Abbey. This website, www.officialroyalwedding2011.org, has exclusive content including photos, features, videos and links, but probably not anything about the British and Anglophone Anarchist Federation's pro-republic and anarchy actions (supported by AI/IFA), related to the wedding. Although the British monarchy is mostly symbolic regarding political/administrative power, they are among the economical plutarchists/capitalists in UK, and the event is fine for pro-republic and anarchy direct actions.
The British and Anglophone Anarchist Federation is for a libertarian republic in the UK. However a symbolic, i.e. not real, political monarchy may be more libertarian, and thus preferable -- if the realistic alternative is a powerful president as, say, in the USA. However the British monarchy's wealth should of course be reduced, as of all economical plutarchists/capitalists in the UK (and world wide), and the wealth redistributed to the poor. There are reports, a.o.t. by CNN 04.03.2011, indicating that marxist, extremist ochlarchist provocateurs, in black clads -- falsely posing as "anarchists" (i.e. acting according to the 'Big Brother' travesty of anarchist = ochlarchist) -- will try to hijack the anarchists' direct actions related to the royal wedding. The IAT-APT will of course hand out expulsing Brown Cards according to the Oslo Convention to such ultra-authoritarian provocateurs and infiltrators to the anarchist movement. They will be "kicked out". The Anarchist Federation in general condemns all tendencies of ochlarchy, and is also prepared for other actions against attempts of ochlarchist infiltration. The IAT-APT will of course also hand out Brown Cards to newsmedia and others breaking the Oslo Convention in this connection.
The Anarchist Federation calls for an end of the present populist (moderate, parliamentarian fascist) regime in UK, and a steady and orderly movement of the social, i.e. economic and political/administrative - system towards real democracy, i.e. anarchy - a real revolution and a velvet revolution; and continued increased libertarian degree, see System theory - Chapter V. B.! A development towards real democracy must be done by the people's actions - more and more, i.e. act with dignity, use real matter of fact arguments and add weight behind via direct actions, including mass actions & industrial actions, and via organization, dialog and elections! The Anarchist Federation is a junction in this connection!!
Security, police and AISC against ochlarchists. No anarchists will participate in ochlarchy, including hooliganism
The police may use anti-terror laws to prevent violent protests at the royal wedding. There are fears that extremists, including marxist communist ochlarchists falsely posing as "anarchists", could target Prince William and Catherine Middleton's wedding day following the disorder that marred the anti-cuts demonstration in London 26.03.2011. At the anti-cuts rally as usual extremist marxists, e.g. the trotskyite Socialist Workers Party (SWP), were sailing under false anarchist flags when acting criminal ochlarchist, to try falsely put the blame on anarchists. The same dirty marxist tricks are happening world wide, e.g. by members of the International Socialist Tendency, included SWP, Internasjonale Sosialister (IS) in Norway, similar in Germany, etc., see Brown Card to Blitz/AFA & IS & RU. The International Anarchist Tribunal - IAT-APT handed out Brown Cards according to the Oslo Convention to the extremist marxists, e.g. Socialist Workers Party (trotskyite), sailing under false anarchist flags when acting criminal ochlarchist, and these "anarchists" are thus of course also expulsed from the anarchist movement. The Anarchist International Security Council (AISC) says that similar may happen at the London Royal wedding.
Scotland Yard is planning a "pre-emptive strike" against such so called "anarchists" who are planning to disrupt the royal wedding, senior officers have revealed. Keen to prevent the scenes of disorder which accompanied the TUC march 26.03.2011, the Metropolitan Police says it plans to identify and potentially arrest known trouble-makers in advance of the royal wedding. 60 ochlarchists falsely posing as "anarchists" arrested during the TUC march have bail conditions which prevent them entering central London two days before the wedding and two days after, as well as the actual day itself. Police "spotters" – normally used to combat football hooligans - will be used throughout the country to watch those on bail, and other ochlarchists falsely posing as "anarchists" who have previously committed public order offences at demonstrations, to ensure they are not planning on disrupting the wedding. In general, if intelligence shows that groups or individuals are planning on causing trouble in London on the day they could be arrested before hand on conspiracy charges. Others will be warned to stay away from central London on the day of the wedding. A police source said: "The same faces often re-appear at different protests and we will try and take a pre-emptive strike against them."
The Met's policing operation on the day of the wedding will involve just under 5,000 officers – fewer than the number which policed the wedding of the Prince of Wales and the then Lady Diana Spencer. At least 1,000 officers will form "mobile teams" which the force will dispatch to any incidents which take place away from the royal wedding route. Assistant Commissioner Lynne Owens, who is in charge of the royal wedding policing operation, said that the mobile teams will be based at various points around central London. She added: "We will be able to respond in fast time to any incident that occurs. If any body comes to London on the day of the royal wedding intending to commit criminal acts, we will act quickly robustly and decisively." While Scotland Yard is confident that it can prevent disorder along the parade route, they fear that ochlarchists falsely posing as "anarchists", similar to those who attached themselves to the TUC march, will cause trouble at other locations across central London. The TUC march was marred by groups using so-called "black bloc" tactics, diverting from the main group to cause criminal damage before changing their clothes and blending in with the protesters. Fearing that ochlarchists falsely posing as "anarchists" may use similar tactics on the day of the wedding, officers are monitoring websites to establish the groups which are intent on causing trouble. But a Scotland Yard source said that while the overt intelligence – material on the web – is plentiful, the covert intelligence picture – information from police sources - is much poorer.
Ms Owens said: "We have both overt and covert policing activities on going and we will prevent people coming to London to cause criminal behaviour if that is their intention." Scotland Yard have said that there is no specific intelligence to suggest that the event will be the subject of a terrorist attack. Officers will not, therefore, be able to use stop and search powers under terrorism legislation, but will have other stop and search powers available. The majority of the police officers involved in the wedding will be in ceremonial tunics lining the route while others will be deployed to protect the 80 dignitaries expected to attend. The Goring Hotel, where Kate Middleton will stay the night before the wedding, will be subject to its own policing operation. Scotland Yard will also liaise with the Fixed Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC) to identify stalkers who have obsessions with members of the Royal family or any of the high-profile guests who will attend. It is believed that a small number of people have been warned to stay away from the wedding. Policing the event is expected to cost millions, with officers receiving double time because the wedding day has been made a bank holiday. The Anarchist International Security Council (AISC) has investigated the matter and is practically certain that no anarchists will participate in ochlarchy, including hooliganism, at the direct actions in London 29.04.2011 and around this date. This resolution will be updated! Source: AIIS 04.03.2011 updated 21-25.04.2011.
Updates by AF 29.04.2011. 1: With the nutter-arch, i.e. not anarchist: Charlie Veitch - arch of the nutter non-anarchist "Love Police" group taken care of by the police yesterday - much of the ochlarchy by false 'anarchists' is probably avoided. 2: Lies at www.telegraph.co.uk = "Royal wedding: disruption fear as anarchists don masks". De facto: No anarchists use masks at protests! Unmask the communist provocateurs!! NB! Police have acted to prevent disruption after a group pulled on masks. Metropolitan Police officers invoked sections 60 and 60a of the Criminal Justice Act covering the whole of the royal wedding security zone – about a one mile radius. Section 60 allows police to stop and search anyone without suspicion. Section 60a allows officers to arrest people if they refuse to remove face coverings. 3: The police also arrested 68-year-old Chris Knight, the nutter-arch of the anti-capitalist & marxist group the 'Government of the Dead' -- sometimes falsely called 'anarchist' -- and two more for a 'mock execution' plan. By the afternoon 45 arrests had been made, 25 for breach of the peace and the others for offences such as theft, criminal damage and drunk and disorderly. Of course no anarchists were among the arrested. Nearly 100 people, i.e. ochlarchist extremist marxists, that the police feared would attempt to disrupt proceedings were banned from attending central London in advance of the day.
Update by AF 08.08.2011. There is information about recent riots and more at the International Anarchist Tribunal - IAT-APT, see especially the International Branch.
Update by AF 09.11.2011. London student protest over fees draws thousands. Amid a heavy police presence, thousands of students, included some anarchists, marched through central London to protest cuts to public spending and a big increase in university tuition fees. Police said 24 people were arrested, most for breach of the peace and public order offenses, i.e. ochlarchy, but the march was largely peaceful as demonstrators made their way through the city center. No anarchists participated in the ochlarchy. The marchers had planned to link up with an existing protest camp against corporate greed outside St. Paul's Cathedral, but were stopped by lines of police in riot gear.
Update by AF 30.11.2011. British public sector strike 'largest for a generation'. See International Workers of the World.
Update by AF 13.04.2013. Ad Margaret Thatcher's funeral. Police are bracing for riots by marxist ochlarchists, some falsely posing as "anarchists". Thatcher's funeral will take place in St Paul's Cathedral, London, on Wednesday April 17. No anarchists will participate in riots or other forms of ochlarchy, but AF is protesting non-ochlarchical against "Thatcherism" and that the State is paying for the funeral. 17.04.2013 hundreds of people protested in the typical anarchist way by turning the back against Thatcher on her last trip to St Paul's Cathedral.
Update by AF 11.06.2013. Nearly 1,200 officers, including hundreds of riot police, were on duty as anti-G8 demonstrations took place across London. Anarchists protested without ochlarchy, but ochlarchist anti-capitalists, i.e. authoritarian socialists – marxists, clashed with the police. Some of the marxists were provocateurs, using anarchist flags - also combined with authoritarian marxist slogans. They get a Brown Card by the International Anarchist Tribunal - IAT-APT, meaning they are expulsed from the anarchist movement. By late afternoon, 32 marxist ochlarchists had been arrested for offences including possession of articles with intent to commit criminal damage, assault on police, criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon and failing to remove a face covering.
Update by AF 09.09.2014. The British and Anglopohone Anarchist Federation, AF, supports Yes to independence of Scotland, according to the anarchist (IFA/IAF) principles of autonomy and decentralization.
Update by AF 19.09.2014. Scotland will remain part of the United Kingdom - along with England, Wales and Northern Ireland - following a historic referendum vote. A majority of voters Thursday 18.09.2014 rejected the possibility of Scotland breaking away and becoming an independent nation. AF calls for more autonomy for Scotland, within the UK.
Update by AF 18.10.2014. Protesters from Occupy London have begun a week long demonstration in Parliament Square. The group have pitched tents and are displaying placards highlighting more action to be taken on a number of issues including real democracy, inequality and poverty. The occupation is expected to last until October 26. AF supports the demonstration as long as it stays non-ochlarchical.
Update by AF 10.05.2015. Anti-austerity campaigners launched impromptu protests across Britain, less than 48 hours after David Cameron was returned to power with a parliamentary majority. Hundreds of people joined demonstrations in Wales and central London following the surprise Conservative election victory. About 200 people, marxist ochlarchist extremists, were involved in clashes with police outside Downing Street, throwing green smoke bombs and tomato ketchup at officers in riot gear. Police officers shut Whitehall for several hours while they tried to contain the demonstrators. AF condemns the ochlarchy, but supports the peaceful demonstrations.
Update by AF 23.05.2015. More than 60 percent of voters said "yes" to a referendum that changes Ireland's constitution to give gay and lesbian couples the right to civil marriage, but not to wed in a church. The referendum was seen as a test of whether liberal thinking would trump conservative, traditional leanings in the majority Catholic nation.
Update by AF 06.07.2015. Despite some 250,000 people, including anarchists, taking to the streets of London last weekend for the first major national mobilisation against the austerity agenda of the Conservative government, Chancellor George Osborne has just announced plans to slash the welfare budget by £12 billion (approximately €16.7 billion).
Update by AF 20.02.2016. AF says vote NO to EU in the 23.06.2016 referendum about British membership in EU. YES to BREXIT. THE ANARCHIST INTERNATIONAL SAYS A CLEAR NO TO THE GROSS GERMANIAN EU-MEGA STATE - EU SUPER-STATE - WITH UNENLIGHTENED PLUTARCHY AT ALL REFERENDA IN 2016. NO TO THE 'UNITED STATES OF EUROPE' FOREVER! 23.06.2016: The referendum ballot paper asks the following question: "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" Vote "leave"!!!!
Update by AF 11.03.2016. No to Donald Trump!
Update by AF 24.06.2016. Yes to Brexit won. The UK has voted to leave the European Union after 43 years in a historic referendum. Leave won by 52% to 48% with England and Wales voting strongly for Brexit, while London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backed staying in the EU. The referendum turnout was 71.8% - with more than 30 million people voting - the highest turnout at a UK election since 1992. Wales and the majority of England outside London voted in large numbers for Brexit. David Cameron announces resignation as Prime Minister following UK vote to leave the EU. This is a small step towards Anarchy in the UK.
Update by AF 01.07.2016. We are not nationalists but internationalists. AI/IFA has a policy of one federation in each country, and anarchy within each country and then world anarchy. We are for a real democratic international anarchy in Europe and in the world, but first every country must be an anarchy. EU is far from democratic as it is today, and in the far future. It is an EU super state, a top heavy vertical organization: EU-Brüssel on the top of the hierarchy and then hierarchy of the different countries. To do away with the top heavy Brüssel-bureaucracy makes less rank and income differences and more efficiency and thus less authoritarian countries. A small step in direction anarchy. The EU super state is lead by Germany as the most important power, thus a gross Germanian megastate… For anarchy and more of it!!! It is already anarchy in Norway, The Swiss Confederation and Iceland (of low degree). They are not members of EU… We don’t think EU can improve much in direction real democracy, i.e. anarchy.
Update by AF 14.07.2016. No to Donald Trump! Vote for Hillary Clinton Tuesday November 8! That is the best solution to stop Donald Trump from being president of the USA. Resolution of The Anarchist Federation Section USA.
Update by AF 09.11.2016. Donald Trump won... Thousands of people, anarchists and others, have taken to the streets in US cities to protest against Republican Donald Trump's surprise victory in the presidential election, blasting his campaign rhetoric around immigrants, muslims and other groups.
Update by AF 10.11.2016. For many Americans across the country, Donald Trump's victory is an outcome they simply refuse to accept. "Not my president," protesters chanted in rallies coast to coast. Tens of thousands filled the streets in at least 25 US cities overnight -- with demonstrations outside Trump's properties. While most protesters were peaceful, dozens were arrested. At least three officers were wounded. And about 40 fires were set in one California city. AF condemns the ochlarchy, but supports peaceful demonstrations against Trump.
Update by AF 11.11.2016. The anti-Trump demonstrations continue, with some ochlarchy. As mentioned AF condemns the ochlarchy, but supports peaceful demonstrations against Trump. See also IAT-APT for more information.
Update by AF 12.11.2016. As President-elect Donald Trump's administration begins taking shape, thousands took to the streets of a divided nation again Saturday to express their frustration at the stunning election result. While largely peaceful, the protests have resulted in blocked highways and bridges, arrests during clashes with police and the early Saturday shooting of a man at a march in Portland, Oregon. See also IAT-APT for more information.
Update by AF 13.11.2016. Protesters remained vocal Sunday about the election of Donald Trump as cities such as Washington, D.C., New York and San Francisco braced for more public demonstrations. This will be the fifth day of protests since Trump upset Hillary Clinton in the US presidential election. Protesters are upset about Trump's policies on immigration, the environment, LGBT rights and other issues. Some are questioning the legitimacy of Trump's victory by noting that although he took the Electoral College, Clinton won the popular vote.
Update by AF 14.11.2016. The anti-Trump demonstrations continue, but smaller. The inauguration of Donald Trump (the official name is the 58th Presidential Inauguration) as the 45th President of the United States is scheduled to take place on Friday, January 20, 2017, in Washington, D.C. The inauguration will mark the commencement of the four-year term of Donald Trump as President of the United States, and Mike Pence as Vice President of the United States. The anarchists (AF-section USA) are planning anti-Trump demonstrations in the USA on Friday, January 20, 2017, of course without ochlarchy.
Update by AF 15.11.2016. Anarchist anti-Trump actions Friday, January 20, 2017 - without ochlarchy!
Update by AF 16.01.2017. The Anarchist International (AI/IFA) is against Trump's anti-NATO policy, and for a strong NATO! Trump is a.o.t. falsely calling NATO "obsolete".
Update by AF 20.01.2017. Police deployed pepper spray and made numerous arrests in a chaotic, ochlarchical, confrontation blocks from Donald Trump's inauguration Friday as protesters registered their rage against the new president. Spirited demonstrations, with anarchists and others, unfolded peacefully at various security checkpoints near the Capitol as police helped ticket-holders get through to the inaugural ceremony. Signs read, "Resist Trump Climate Justice Now," and ''Let Freedom Ring". But at one point, police gave chase to a group of about 100 protesters, marxist ochlarchists, a few falsely posing as "anarchists", who smashed the windows of downtown businesses including a Starbucks, Bank of America and McDonald's as they denounced capitalism and Trump. Police in riot gear used pepper spray from large canisters and eventually cordoned off the protesters. The IAT-APT handed out Brown Cards to the marxist ochlarchists falsely posing as "anarchists", meaning they are expulsed from the anarchist movement. The anarchists (AF-section USA) are planning anti-Trump demonstrations in the USA on Saturday, January 21, 2017, of course without ochlarchy. See also IAT-APT for more information.
Later on CNN reported: Six police officers were injured and 217 protesters arrested Friday after a morning of peaceful protests and coordinated disruptions of Trump's inauguration ceremony gave way to ugly street clashes in downtown Washington. At least two DC police officers and one other person were taken to the hospital after run-ins with protesters, DC Fire spokesman Vito Maggiolo told CNN. Acting DC Police Chief Peter Newsham said the officers' injuries were considered minor and not life-threatening. The anarchists condemn the ochlarchy. Also the IAT-APT handed out Brown Cards to Euronews and BBC for falsely calling the marxist ochlarchists "anarchists", and thus breaking the Oslo Convention.
Update by AF 21.01.2017. Millions of protesters, anarchists and many others, have taken to the streets of cities in the US and around the globe to rally against the new US President Donald Trump. Larger numbers of demonstrators than expected turned out for more than 600 rallies worldwide. The aim was principally to highlight women's rights, which activists believe to be under threat from the new administration. The biggest US rally was in the capital Washington, which city officials estimated to be more than 500,000-strong.
Update by AF 22.03.2017. The Anarchist Federation (AF) and the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) condemn the 22.03.2017 terrorist attack in London, UK.
Update by AF 23.05.2017. Twenty-two people, including an eight-year-old girl, have been killed and 59 were injured in a suicide bombing at Manchester Arena, at the end of a concert by US singer Ariana Grande. A man set off a homemade bomb in the foyer at 22:33 BST on Monday 22.05.2017, in what Theresa May called a "sickening" act. So-called Islamic State has said - via IS channels on the messaging app Telegram - it was behind the Manchester attack. The Anarchist Federation (AF) and the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) condemn the 22.05.2017 terrorist attack in Manchester, UK, and the IS.
Update by AF 01.06.2017. The Trump-administration has decided that the USA will leave the Paris agreement. The Anarchist International AI/IFA, AF and GAIA condemn the move!
Update by AF 03.06.2017. The Anarchist Federation (AF) and the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) condemn the 03.06.2017 terrorist attack in London, UK.
Update by AF 19.06.2017. The Anarchist Federation (AF) and the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) condemn the 19.06.2017 terrorist attack in London, UK. A van drove into a group of pedestrians early Monday 19.06.2017 near a mosque in London, killing one person and injuring 10 in what the mayor called a “horrific terrorist attack” that struck Muslims as they finished prayers.
Update by AF 13.08.2017. U.S. officials have opened a civil rights investigation into the circumstances of the deadly car attack that took place amid clashes (ochlarchy) of white nationalists and counterdemonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia 12.08.2017. A few anarchists participated among the counterdemonstrators, but they of course did not participate in the ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined). The Anarchist Federation, section USA, and the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) condemn the terrorist attack by the white nationalists, i.e. fascists, and the ochlarchy in general.
Update by AF 19.08.2017. Tens of thousands of anti-racism protesters, anarchists and many others, have opposed the "Free Speech" rally in the US city of Boston that featured right-wing speakers. The rally on Boston Common, which attracted only a small crowd, disbanded early and the participants were escorted out by police. The Boston Herald reported that up to 30,000 people attended the protest. Hundreds of police were deployed and clashes broke out later between some police and anti-rally protesters, mainly the ochlarchist marxist communist group AFA a.k.a. Antifa. Police said on one street officers had rocks thrown at them. The Boston Globe newspaper reported that 20 people had been arrested. The anarchists condemned the ochlarchists. More information on AFA a.k.a Antifa at IJA 1 (43).
Update by AF 15.09.2017. An explosion on a Tube train in south-west London is being treated as terrorism, Scotland Yard has said. Thirty people were injured after the explosion on a train at Parsons Green. The Islamic State (IS) group has said it was behind the bomb, which detonated at 08:20 BST on Friday 15.09.2017. The Anarchist Federation (AF) and the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) condemn the 15.09.2017 terrorist attack in London, UK, and IS.
Update by AF 01.10.2017. Canadian police have confirmed they are investigating possible acts of terrorism after multiple incidents in Edmonton, Alberta, on Saturday (30.09.2017) night. They said a police officer controlling traffic at a Canadian Football League game was struck by a car at high speed and then viciously attacked by a knife. A man driving a van went on to hit at least four pedestrians and was arrested two hours later after a police chase. Police said an Islamic State (IS) group flag was found in one of the vehicles. The Anarchist Federation (AF) and the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) condemn the 30.09.2017 terrorist attacks in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and IS.
Update by AF. 02.10.2017. 58 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert. A gunman, named as 64-year-old Nevada resident Stephen Paddock, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel towards an open-air music festival attended by 22,000. He killed himself as police stormed the room where 10 guns were found. A police statement said the shooting began at 22:08 local time on Sunday 01.10.2017 (05:08 GMT on Monday). Paddock came from the small town of Mesquite, some 60 miles (100 km) north-east of Las Vegas, and had resided in the hotel since 28 September. The attack is the worst mass shooting in recent US history. So-called Islamic State claimed to be behind the attack, saying that Paddock had converted to Islam some months ago. But the group provided no evidence for this and has made unsubstantiated claims in the past. The Anarchist Federation (AF) and the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) condemn the 01.10.2017 terrorist attack in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and IS.
Update by AF. 31.10.2017. Eight people have been killed and more than a dozen injured after a terrorist attack in New York. A hired pick-up truck drove the wrong way down a cycle lane on the west side of Manhattan. The vehicle travelled several blocks before hitting a school bus and coming to a stop. The suspect, a 29-year-old male named Sayfullo Saipov, then got out of the truck and brandished what police believed were two handguns. They were later determined to be a paintball and a pellet gun. He reportedly shouted Allahu Akbar before a nearby police officer shot him in the stomach. The suspect in the New York attack is from the central Asian nation of Uzbekistan and came to the United States in 2010. A note was found in the truck Sayfullo Saipov used in the New York terror attack claiming he did it in the name of ISIS (a.k.a. IS). The Anarchist Federation (AF) and the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) condemn the 31.10.2017 terrorist attack in New York, USA, and IS.
Update by AF. 05.11.2017. At least 26 people have been killed and 20 others wounded after a gunman opened fire at a Texas church during a Sunday service. The attack happened at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, a small town in Wilson County. The victims' ages ranged from five to 72. The suspected gunman was later found dead in his vehicle some miles away. Police identified him only as a "young, white male" but US media named him as Devin Patrick Kelley, 26. The Anarchist Federation (AF) and the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) condemn the 05.11.2017 terrorist attack in Sutherland Springs.
Update by AF. 21.01.2018. Women's marches draw crowds, anarchists and many others, in US. Women's marches are being staged across the US on the first anniversary of President Donald Trump's inauguration. It's one year since the first Women's March inspired protest movements around the US and beyond. Hundreds of thousands of women (and some men) across the US and the rest of the world today took to the streets for the 2018 Women's March. Many protested against Donald Trump.
Update by AF. 23.05.2018. Ireland will vote in a referendum on 25 May on liberalising its strict abortion laws. Vote yes!
Update by AF 26.05.2018. The Republic of Ireland has voted overwhelmingly to overturn the abortion ban by 66.4% (Yes) to 33.6% (No). A referendum held on Friday 25.05.2018 resulted in a landslide win for the repeal side. Currently, abortion is only allowed when a woman's life is at risk, but not in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality. The Eighth Amendment, which grants an equal right to life to the mother and unborn, will be replaced. The declaration was made at Dublin Castle at 18:13 local time.
Update by AF 26.06.20018. Anti-Trump action: Vote for the Democrats in the Midterm-elections! (in November 2018 in the USA). Two years after Donald Trump was elected, American voters take to the polls again on 6 November for the mid-term elections. These elections happen every four years in November – so-called because they take place in the middle of the president’s four-year term of office.
Update by AF 16.07.2018. Brown Card warning from the International Anarchist Tribunal to CIA. CIA may have plans to put up an ochlarchy "anarchist" group to take out Trump. The IAT, AI and AF denounce such actions by the CIA or similar. (Former CIA Director John Brennan slammed US President Trump's "performance" during the press conference after his meeting with Putin in Helsinki 16.07.2018 as "treasonous" on his Twitter: "Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of “high crimes & misdemeanors.” It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???")
Update by AF 11.08.2018. Anti-nazi rally. On Saturday 11 August 2018, the small, serene city of Charlottesville, Virginia, USA - marked the deadly white nationalist/nazi rally that shocked the nation 12.08.2017, with a protest march. Anarchists and many others participated in the demonstration.
Update by AF 12.08.2018. Anti-nazi rallly. A small group of white nationalists/nazis arrived in Lafayette Square park across the street from the White House, where they're holding a rally on the anniversary of clashes in Charlottesville that left one person dead and elevated racial tension in America. But the group was vastly outnumbered by throngs of counterprotesters, anarchists and many others, who had been gathering in the nation's capital throughout the day.
Update by AF 24.10.2018. Trump = Nationalist; Caravan = Democrats; Nationalists = Nazis; Nazis = Terrorist attacks on Democrats. The International Anarchist Tribunal.
Update by AF 26.10.2018. A 56-year-old man has been arrested in Florida in connection with a mail-bombing campaign aimed at critics of US President Donald Trump, mainly Democrats. US officials named the man as Cesar Sayoc. DNA evidence was used to track him down. He is a registered Republican. Public records show he has a long criminal history and on one occasion was accused of threatening to use a bomb. Court records show he filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The nationalist Trump admitted that Sayoc was a follower, and the nationalist (Nazi) Sayoc sent the mail-bombs, i.e. terrorist attacks on Democrats. AF condemns the terrorism.
Update by AF 27.10.2018. Nazi terrorist attack. Multiple people were killed in a shooting Saturday 27.10.2018 morning at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. The suspect has been identified as Robert Bowers, 46. The gunman made anti-Semitic statements during the shooting. Bower, killing 11 people, has been charged with murder - in what is believed to be the worst anti-Semitic attack in recent US history. A law enforcement source told CNN that investigators believe an account on Gab, a social media platform, that espoused anti-Semitic views belonged to Bowers. The language on the account matches the suspected motivations behind the shootings, the source said. In one post, Bowers claimed Jews were helping transport members of the migrant caravans. AF condemns the terrorism.
Update by AF 06.11.2018. Midterm-election in USA. Anti-Trump action: Vote for the Democrats today! Resolution by AF - Section USA. Results 07.11.2018: Democrats take House, but Republicans hold Senate.
Update by AF 28.06.2019. Nazi sentenced to life in prison. A man who drove his car into a crowd of protesters in the US city of Charlottesville, killing a woman, is sentenced to life in prison. James Alex Fields Jr, 22, was sentenced for numerous federal hate crimes committed in the August 2017 attack. Heather Heyer, 32, died when Fields drove his car into people protesting against a white nationalist rally. The avowed neo-Nazi has also been convicted of murder at the state level. He is set to be sentenced in that case next month.
Update by AF 31.01.2020. BBC reports:
The Anarchist Federation congratulates UK with the exit from the supra-national EU-bureaucracy, over the Top of the British hierarchy, that has now ended.
Update by AF 05.03.2020. AF-Section USA is against Donald Trump and supports the Democrats in the next president election 03.11.2020. Furthermore we support the green Joe Biden, and not the marxist statist Bernie Sanders.
Update by AF 20.04.2020. The Real, i.e. including green Democrats = Anarchists, support Joe Biden for President of the USA in the next president election 03.11.2020, and are strongly against re-election of president Donald Trump. Although generally referred to as a moderate, Biden has declared himself as the candidate with the most progressive record. The 2020 presidential campaign of Joe Biden began on April 25, 2019, when he released a video announcing his candidacy in the 2020 Democratic party presidential primaries. Biden, the former vice president of the United States and a former U.S. senator from Delaware, had been the subject of widespread speculation as a potential 2020 candidate after declining to be a candidate in the 2016 election. His positions include codifying Roe v. Wade into statute, a public option for health insurance, passing the Equality Act, free community college, and a $1.7 trillion climate plan embracing the framework of the Green New Deal, also supported by the Green Global Spring (GGS). The Biden green plan — an about $2 trillion proposal, is more narrow and less aggressive than the far-reaching Green New Deal. Biden supports regulation on fracking. As a former vice president, Biden entered the race with very high name recognition. From his campaign announcement up to the start of elections, he has been the candidate most identified as the frontrunner. He led most national polls through 2019. He won a landslide victory in the 2020 South Carolina Democratic primary on February 29, 2020. In March, Biden was endorsed by 10 of his former competitors, bringing the total number of such endorsements to 12. Biden earned enough delegates on Super Tuesday 2020 to pull ahead of the marxist Senator Bernie Sanders. On April 8, after Sanders suspended his campaign, Biden became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Update by AF 30.05.2020. A resolution from IAT. BROWN CARD TO DONALD TRUMP FOR FALSELY CALLING THE RIOTS AND CHAOS IN USA RELATED TO THE POLICE KILLING THE BLACK MAN GEORGE FLOYD, "ANARCHY"! 30.05.2020. Brown Card to Donald Trump from the International Anarchist Tribunal for falsely calling the present riots and chaos in USA “anarchy”. "What I see happening on the streets of Atlanta is not Atlanta. This is not a protest. This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. This is chaos," Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said. Donald Trump called the riots and chaos, that is ochlarchy, i.e. mob rule broadly defined, «anarchy and chaos” according to TV2, falsely mixing up the de facto ochlarchy with the quite opposite, anarchy = Real, i.e. always including green Democracy, including optimal order and law. Donald Trump is thus breaking the Oslo Convention, and The International Anarchist Tribunal hands out a Brown Card to him for this very authoritarian, brown populist/fascist, Orwellian “1984” Newspeak. WEB OF IAT: http://www.anarchy.no/iat.html. More information at http://www.anarchy.no/apt.html.
Update by AF 31.05.2020. Updated resolution from IAT and AF Section USA and more. BROWN CARDS TO DONALD TRUMP FOR FALSELY CALLING THE RIOTS AND CHAOS IN USA RELATED TO THE POLICE KILLING THE BLACK MAN GEORGE FLOYD, "ANARCHY" AND ALSO FALSELY PUTTING THE BLAME FOR THE OCHLARCHY ON ANARCHISTS! 30.05.2020. Brown Card to Donald Trump from the International Anarchist Tribunal for falsely calling the present riots and chaos in USA “anarchy”. "What I see happening on the streets of Atlanta is not Atlanta. This is not a protest. This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. This is chaos," Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said. Donald Trump called the riots and chaos, that is ochlarchy, i.e. mob rule broadly defined, «anarchy and chaos” according to TV2, falsely mixing up the de facto ochlarchy with the quite opposite, anarchy = Real, i.e. always including green Democracy, including optimal order and law. Donald Trump is thus breaking the Oslo Convention, and The International Anarchist Tribunal hands out a Brown Card to him for this very authoritarian, brown populist/fascist, Orwellian “1984” Newspeak.
31.05.2020 the US president Donald Trump denounced the actions of "looters and anarchists", accusing them of dishonouring the memory of Mr Floyd. What was needed, he said, was "healing not hatred, justice not chaos". "I will not allow angry mobs to dominate - won't happen," he added, according to several international news-media, including BBC and France 24. The Anarchist International Security Council, the anarchist intelligence network, has investigated the case, and is 100% sure no anarchists participates or is in anyway connected to the ochlarchy, including, riots, looting and vandalism, so this is a 100% lie from Donald Trump. Falsely putting the blame for the ochlarchy on anarchists, as Donald Trump does, is even more serious authoritarian Orwellian "1984" Newspeak than falsely calling the ochlarchy "anarchy". Thus, the International Anarchist Tribunal hands out a second Brown Card, this time a Dark Brown Card, to Donald Trump, the very authoritarian populist/fascist including anti-climate US president, for this serious break of the Oslo Convention.
Perhaps some leftist extremists, i.e. ultra-authoritarian ochlarchical marxists, and provocateurs - sometimes falsely posing as "anarchists" to try to put the blame for ochlarchy including criminality on the anarchist movement, say, such as the ultra-authoritarian marxist-communist ochlarchy group Antifa including several Trotskyites, are involved in the present ochlarchy in USA, but they are of course NOT AT ALL ANARCHISTS! Anarchists are practically 100% certain never ochlarchists! The police-ochlarchy including murder of innocent black people in USA, by white policemen, is extreme ultra-authoritarian ultra-fascism including racism, similar to Adolf Hitler's SS & Gestapo, and "must now be stopped at once" the British and Anglophone Anarchist Federation - Section USA - declares, supported by all anarchy.no-organizations and groups in general.
Trump said also on Sunday 31.05.2020 the US government would designate anti-fascist group Antifa as a "terrorist" organisation. It was not clear how many of the protesters participating in demonstrations are from Antifa. "Get tough Democrat Mayors and Governors," Trump said on Twitter on Sunday afternoon. "These people are ANARCHISTS. Call in our National Guard NOW. The World is watching and laughing at you and Sleepy Joe. Is this what America wants? NO!!!""Sleepy Joe" is Trump's nickname for Democrat Joe Biden, his presumptive rival for the presidency in the November election, according to Al Jazeera. As mentioned above, Antifa is an ultra-authoritarian marxist-communist ochlarchy group including several Trotskyites. They are not anarchists. And no anarchists participates in the ochlarchy, i.e. mob rule broadly defined.
Update 01.06.2020. The US-president Donald Trump delivered a brief address from the White House Rose Garden, amid the sound of a nearby protest being dispersed. "I'm dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults and the wanton destruction of property," he said. Mr Trump then turned his attention to the national protests, which he falsely blamed on "professional anarchists" and the anti-fascist group Antifa, according to BBC. This is a 100% very ultra-authoritarian and ultra-fascist, including anti-climate and racist, lie. 100% certain: no anarchists are participating in - or are behind - the ochlarchy, i.e. mob rule broadly defined!
From: The International Anarchist Tribunal [mailto:ifa@anarchy.no]
Sent: Monday, June 01, 2020 1:29 AM
To: International newsmedia and mandated persons etc.
Subject: UPDATE 2: BROWN CARDS TO DONALD TRUMP FOR FALSELY CALLING THE RIOTS AND CHAOS IN USA RELATED TO THE POLICE KILLING THE BLACK MAN GEORGE FLOYD, "ANARCHY" AND ALSO FALSELY PUTTING THE BLAME FOR THE OCHLARCHY ON ANARCHISTS!
Forwarding to other embassies of democratic countries and more in Norway. More information about sanctions against Trump’s very ultra-authoritarian and ultra-fascist including anti-climate and racist economic-political system in USA, see below. Best regards Harald Fagerhus.
From: The International Anarchist Tribunal [mailto:ifa@anarchy.no]
Sent: Monday, June 01, 2020 1:15 AM
To: International newsmedia and mandated persons etc.
Cc: 'USUNPublicAffairs@state.gov'; USAs Ambassade terrortips; USAs Ambassade; 'press@joebiden.com'; Statsministerens kontor; Forsvaret og E-tjenesten; Forsvarsdepartementet; Utenriksdepartementet; Utenriksministeren; Justis- og beredskapsdepartementet; PST
Subject: UPDATE 2: BROWN CARDS TO DONALD TRUMP FOR FALSELY CALLING THE RIOTS AND CHAOS IN USA RELATED TO THE POLICE KILLING THE BLACK MAN GEORGE FLOYD, "ANARCHY" AND ALSO FALSELY PUTTING THE BLAME FOR THE OCHLARCHY ON ANARCHISTS!
Hello international news-media, in about 100 blind-copies. Copies to CIA and US embassies in Norway and UN, Joe Biden’s group and some Norwegian relevant authorities. NB! New & latest updates! Regards Harald Fagerhus, responsible editor of IJOR/Fb/IJ@/IIFOR – AISC – GGS – IAT - The British and Anglophone Anarchist Federation - Section USA, and anarchy.no in general.
News-media! Report the truth! You are mainly all passing on false news, i.e. 100% lies, from Donald Trump and his followers among other US authorities that US-anarchists are behind the present ochlarchy, including chaos, violent riots, arson, robbery, theft, vandalism and so on in USA, without any comments about our view – the 100% truth. This must stop immediately! The 100% fact and truth are that no anarchists are behind or doing the ochlarchy, i.e. mob rule broadly defined, in the USA in the present protests. Please stop the false reporting! Remember the Haymarket affaire and the justice murder of the Chicago-anarchists. This may happen again and worse, if the false accusations from Trump and his followers among other US authorities against the US-anarchists, are the only news from the news-media, and Trump & Co follows up with judicial proceedings. We, the anarchists demand that the 100% true fact in this case, that US-anarchists in no way are behind the present ochlarchy in USA, shall be published at once by the international news-media. Or else the International Anarchist Tribunal will give you all that are presenting these horrible lies without comments about the truth, Dark Brown Cards for serving and supporting 100% the very ultra-authoritarian and ultra-fascist including anti-climate and racist system of Donald Trump and other authorities of his kind in the USA, as ultra-fascist dark brown propaganda news-stations, similar to Fox-News, all of you. Stop being dark brown shit-bags with witch-hunting against anarchists!
From: The International Anarchist Tribunal [mailto:ifa@anarchy.no]
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2020 11:44 PM
To: Folket - media og øvrigheten
Subject: UPDATE: BROWN CARDS TO DONALD TRUMP FOR FALSELY CALLING THE RIOTS AND CHAOS IN USA RELATED TO THE POLICE KILLING THE BLACK MAN GEORGE FLOYD, "ANARCHY" AND ALSO FALSELY PUTTING THE BLAME FOR THE OCHLARCHY ON ANARCHISTS!
Hei Folket – media og øvrigheten i Norge. Videresender til orientering og oppfølging. Med vennlig hilsen Harald Fagerhus for IAT and more.
From: The International Anarchist Tribunal [mailto:ifa@anarchy.no]
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2020 11:37 PM
To: The people & anarchists and authorities world wide
Subject: UPDATE: BROWN CARDS TO DONALD TRUMP FOR FALSELY CALLING THE RIOTS AND CHAOS IN USA RELATED TO THE POLICE KILLING THE BLACK MAN GEORGE FLOYD, "ANARCHY" AND ALSO FALSELY PUTTING THE BLAME FOR THE OCHLARCHY ON ANARCHISTS!
Forwarding to other embassies of democratic countries and more in Norway. Best regards Harald Fagerhus.
PS. Don’t support Donald Trump’s very ultra-authoritarian and ultra-fascist including anti-climate and racist system in USA. Make pressure to get rid of Trump and his ultra-fascist followers among other authorities in the US system. They should all be considered political-economic pariah. Make tough sanctions against USA. The US-system is quite similar to Hitler’s Germany as long as Donald Trump rules.
From: The International Anarchist Tribunal [mailto:ifa@anarchy.no]
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2020 11:21 PM
To: International newsmedia and mandated persons etc.
Cc: USAs Ambassade terrortips; USAs Ambassade; USUNPublicAffairs@state.gov; Statsministerens kontor; Forsvaret og E-tjenesten; Forsvarsdepartementet; Utenriksdepartementet; Utenriksministeren; PST; Justis- og beredskapsdepartementet
Subject: UPDATE: BROWN CARDS TO DONALD TRUMP FOR FALSELY CALLING THE RIOTS AND CHAOS IN USA RELATED TO THE POLICE KILLING THE BLACK MAN GEORGE FLOYD, "ANARCHY" AND ALSO FALSELY PUTTING THE BLAME FOR THE OCHLARCHY ON ANARCHISTS!
Hello international news-media, in about 100 blind-copies. Copies to CIA and US embassies in Norway and UN, and some Norwegian relevant authorities.
News-media! You are mainly all passing on false news, i.e. 100% lies, from Donald Trump and his followers among other US authorities that US-anarchists are behind the present ochlarchy, including chaos, violent riots, arson, robbery, theft, vandalism and so on in USA, without any comments about our view – the 100% truth. This must stop immediately! The 100% fact and truth are that no anarchists are behind or doing the ochlarchy, i.e. mob rule broadly defined, in the USA in the present protests. Please stop the false reporting! Remember the Haymarket affaire and the justice murder of the Chicago-anarchists. This may happen again and worse, if the false accusations from Trump and his followers among other US authorities against the US-anarchists, are the only news from the news-media, and Trump & Co follows up with judicial proceedings. We, the anarchists demand that the 100% true fact in this case, that US-anarchists in no way are behind the present ochlarchy in USA, shall be published at once by the international news-media. Or else the International Anarchist Tribunal will give you all that are presenting these horrible lies without comments about the truth, Dark Brown Cards for serving and supporting 100% the very ultra-authoritarian and ultra-fascist including anti-climate and racist system of Donald Trump and other authorities of his kind in the USA, as ultra-fascist dark brown propaganda news-stations, similar to Fox-News, all of you. Stop being dark brown shit-bags with witch-hunting against anarchists!
Regards Harald Fagerhus, responsible editor of IJOR/Fb/IJ@/IIFOR – AISC – GGS – IAT - The British and Anglophone Anarchist Federation - Section USA, and anarchy.no in general.
From: The International Anarchist Tribunal [mailto:ifa@anarchy.no]
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2020 11:00 AM
To: The Green Global Spring Revolution; The people & anarchists and authorities world wide; International newsmedia and mandated persons etc.
Cc: 'USUNPublicAffairs@state.gov'; USAs Ambassade terrortips; USAs Ambassade; 'press@joebiden.com'
Subject: BROWN CARDS TO DONALD TRUMP FOR FALSELY CALLING THE RIOTS AND CHAOS IN USA RELATED TO THE POLICE KILLING THE BLACK MAN GEORGE FLOYD, "ANARCHY" AND ALSO FALSELY PUTTING THE BLAME FOR THE OCHLARCHY ON ANARCHISTS!
PPS. 17.10.2020. An attack on Donald Trump in Scandinavian language from AFIN-ANORG - The Anarchist Federation in Norway: Ad Donald Trump og valget i USA tirsdag 03.11.2020.
Republikansk senator med kraftsalve mot Trump: – Han slikker diktatorer oppetter ryggen. Den republikanske Senatoren Ben Sasse kom onsdag 14.10.2020 med kraftig kritikk mot Donald Trump under et møte med velgere. Han frykter presidentens oppførsel kan føre til et «republikansk blodbad» i senatet. Det var under en telefonkonferanse med velgere at den republikanske Senatoren fra Nebraska fikk spørsmål fra en kvinnelig velger om hvorfor han kritiserer presidenten så mye. Under det nesten ti minutter lange svaret, som Washington Examiner har fått tilgang til, begynner senatoren med å ramse opp ting der han og Trump er enige, men den listen var veldig kort. Det gikk ikke lenge før han anklager presidenten fra hans eget parti for a) feilhåndtering av koronakrisen, for b) å innsmigre seg hos 1. diktatorer og 2. hvite nasjonalister, c) dolke allierte i ryggen, d) bruke penger som en «full sjømann» og e) dårlig behandling av kvinner.
– Først ignorerte han covid-19, så gikk han inn i full nedstengningsmodus. Han var den som sa at 10 til 14 dager med nedstenging ville fikse dette, og det stemte aldri. Jeg mener at måten han leder oss gjennom denne krisen på, er hverken fornuftig, ansvarlig eller riktig, sa Sasse. Senatoren, som stiller til gjenvalg i Nebraska den 3. november 2020, var ikke nådig mot den sittende presidenten og fortsatte tiraden med å hevde at Trump «slikker diktatorer oppetter ryggen». – Han ignorerer at uigurer er i konsentrasjonsleirer i Xinjiang og har ikke har løftet en finger for å hjelpe menneskene i Hongkong. USA dolker jevnlig allierte i ryggen under hans lederskap, sa han. Sasse har vært kritisk til Trump før. I 2016 sammenlignet han Trump med tidligere Ku Klux Klan-topp og rasist David Duke, og nektet å stemme for ham. De siste årene har han tonet ned kritikken noe, men onsdag lot han alt strømme ut med sterkere styrke enn noensinne. Dette er den første tydelige kritikken mot presidenten fra en republikansk politiker som stiller til gjenvalg i førstkommende valg. – Familien hans har brukt presidentembetet som en forretningsmulighet, og han flørter med hvite nasjonalister, fortsatte Sasse.
Senatoren frykter også at Trump skal skremme velgerne vekk fra det republikanske partiet, og føre til store omveltninger i USAs senat. – Jeg ser nå at det er muligheter for et republikansk blodbad i senatet, og det er derfor jeg aldri har vært på Trump-toget. Det er derfor jeg ikke driver valgkamp for ham, sa han. I tillegg til presidentvalget, er det nemlig også Kongressvalg 3. november. Alle de 435 plassene i Representantenes hus og 35 av de 100 plassene i Senatet er på valg. Republikanerne har i dag flertall i Senatet med 53 mot 47 senatorer, og valg-målingene antyder at Demokratene har gode sjanser til å øke med fire. – Debatten i ettertid kommer ikke til å handle om hvorfor jeg var "så slem" mot Donald Trump. Den kommer til å handle om hva i all verden vi tenkte på da vi trodde at det å selge en TV-besatt, narsissistisk person [= ultra-autoritær psykopat og sociopat, mye lik Adolf Hitler] til det amerikanske folket var en god ide? sa Sasse.
Flere amerikanske medier har verifisert og publisert lydklippet der Sasse kommer med uttalelsene. Hans talsmann James Wegmann bekrefter overfor Washington Examiner at senatoren kom med uttalelsene tidligere denne uken: – Jeg vet ikke hvor mange flere ganger vi kan skrike ut dette: Selv om politikerne i hovedstaden er … besatt av presidentvalget, er flertall i senatet ti ganger viktigere. Det er det eneste valget [Senator] Ben [Sasse] bryr seg om, valget han arbeider med, og det eneste han snakker om. NB! De frihetlige sosial-demokratene [alle anarkistene, de libertære] i USA støtter a) Joe Biden som President, og b) ellers Demokratene i Kongressvalget, i valget i USA tirsdag 03.11.2020, dvs. 3. november, og planlegger å mobilisere en masse til valget. Kilder: Washington Examiner, NRK og AIIS. 17.10.2010.
OPEN LETTER ON THE NOVEMBER 3, 2020 ELECTION
Dear Fellow. As Election Day 2020 approaches, several crises are wreaking havoc across the country. The Corona-pandemic that has taken more than a million lives across the globe has triggered an economic crisis that will deepen, not resolve, in the months ahead. The consequences of manmade global warming are manifesting more and more acutely. Political polarization continues to escalate, with protesters who are demanding racial justice facing violence both from police and white supremacists, egged on by Donald Trump. And the blows are falling hardest on Black people, others of color, women, and poor people, as they usually do.
In this election, we as always promote the “lesser evil” argument. The rationale is that Trump is just too dangerous to do anything other than vote for his Democratic Party opponent. The same case was made when the authoritarian Nixon ran, and Reagan, and the Bushes senior and junior. The nationalist-fascist Donald Trump is even more openly and crassly pushing the supremacy of the wealthy white elite than his authoritarian predecessors. It is precisely because the stakes are higher today that workers and poor folks, and the population in general, must support the Democratic Party and its significant, but not perfect, ability to solve 21st-century problems.
Substituting Biden for Trump will probably contribute to a) restore many jobs that have been lost, b) empower communities to hold police accountable, c) wrest stolen wealth out of the hands of the uber-rich, and d) result in the forceful and immediate action needed to check the ravages of manmade global warming. Resolution by the Anglophone Anarchist Federation – Section USA. From Freedom Online http://www.anarchy.no/afbpress1.html. 20.10.2020.
Update by AF 07.11.2020. Our campaign for election of Joe Biden was a success. ACCORDING TO CNN AND BBC JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR. IS ELECTED TO THE 46TH PRESIDENT OF USA CA. 17:40 07.11.2020. Don't underestimate the threat to American democracy at this moment (Corey Brettschneider). Trump shakes the world: a deadly form of tyranny. We know that Trump will try to do anything to stay in power, to avoid that ultimate catastrophe in life – becoming a ‘loser’. There is a general logic of destruction that kicks in when the downfall of the tyrant seems nearly certain… (Judith Butler). From the Guardian.The Fb-IJOR-Group congratulates Joe Biden and Kamela Harris for their hard-fought victory and their impending entry into the White House. This is a great day for the whole world. We congratulate American democracy which managed to shake off and oust a President who trampled on the most basic of democratic norms and still persists in futile efforts to cling to his fading power. Resolution by the Anglophone Anarchist Federation – Section USA.
Update by AF 15.11.2020. Georgia USA Senate Runoff 2021. The two runoffs in the state will decide control of the Senate, on Jan. 5, 2021. Vote for the Democrats in the Senate election in Georgia 05.01.2021. Resolution by the Anglophone Anarchist Federation – Section USA.
Update by AF 24.12.2020. The EU and UK have reached a post-Brexit trade deal, ending months of disagreements over fishing rights and future business rules. At a Downing Street press conference, Boris Johnson said: "We have taken back control of our laws and our destiny." The text of the agreement has yet to be released, but the PM claimed it was a "good deal for the whole of Europe". The UK is set to exit EU trading rules next Thursday - a year after officially leaving the 27 nation bloc. It will mean big changes for business, with the UK and EU forming two separate markets, and the end of free movement.
But the trade deal will come as a major relief to many British businesses, already reeling from the impact of coronavirus, who feared disruption at the borders and the imposition of tariffs, or taxes on imports. As the deal was announced, Mr Johnson - who had repeatedly said the UK would "prosper mightily" without a deal - tweeted a picture of himself smiling with both thumbs lifted in the air. In a press conference in Brussels, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen said: "This was a long and winding road but we have got a good deal to show for it." She said the deal was "fair" and "balanced" and it was now "time to turn the page and look to the future". The UK "remains a trusted partner," she added. The AF is satisfied with the result of the trade deal and the Brexit, with more autonomy for UK. Sources: BBC & AIIS.
Update by AF 25.12.2020. The AF condemns the Nashville USA RV car bomb terrorist attack. Of course no anarchists were behind the attack.
· Liz Truss will be the new UK prime minister after defeating Rishi Sunak in the Tory leadership contest
· It was a closer result than some analysts predicted, with Truss taking 57% of valid votes cast
· Speaking after her victory, Truss thanked Sunak for a "hard-fought contest"
· Under pressure to announce a plan to tackle soaring energy costs, she also pledged to "deliver" on the crisis
· She is understood to be considering a freeze on energy bills, with an announcement potentially scheduled for Thursday
· Truss will become prime minister on Tuesday after travelling to meet the Queen at Balmoral in Scotland
· Labour's Keir Starmer has congratulated her but says the country is facing a "Tory cost of living crisis". Source: BBC 05.09.2022
Liz Truss is appointing her new cabinet hours after becoming prime minister
Kwasi Kwarteng has been named chancellor, James Cleverly is foreign secretary and Suella Braverman is home secretary
Therese Coffey is the new health secretary and deputy PM
For the first time, not a single white man will occupy one of the "great offices of state" - PM, home secretary, foreign secretary and chancellor
Prominent backers of Truss's leadership rival Rishi Sunak are out of a job, including Dominic Raab and Grant Shapps
Earlier Truss said that her government would "transform Britain into an aspiration nation" and that "together we can ride out the storm"
She is under pressure to tackle spiralling energy costs - and is expected to announce a package within days
The BBC understands the annual price cap on household energy bills could be capped at around £2,500 - costing the government billions. Source: BBC 06.09.2022
King Charles III publicly proclaimed as new monarch of UK, after queen Elisabeth's death. Source: CNN 10.09.2022.
03.10.2022. Kwasi Kwarteng U-turns on plans to scrap 45p tax rate, see: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63114279. Source: BBC.
15.10.2022. Who is in charge? Liz Truss or Jeremy Hunt? https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63268860. Chancellor warns of tax rises and squeeze on spending, see: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63268238. Source: BBC.
18.10.2022. I'll lead Tories into next election, says embattled Liz Truss, see: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63293891. Source: BBC.
19.10.2022. The latest inflation figures show the cost of living went up 10.1% in the 12 months to September, driven mostly by rising food prices. It means prices are rising at their fastest rate for 40 years. The figure for August was 9.9%, see: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-63284484. Source: BBC.
20.10.2022. Liz Truss resigns as PM, with new leader by next Friday, see: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-politics-63309400. Source: BBC.
24.10.2022. Rishi Sunak calls for stability and unity as he wins contest to be PM, see: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63375281. Source: BBC.
21.04.2023. Oliver Dowden becomes deputy PM as Dominic Raab resigns over bullying, see: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-politics-64467038. Source: BBC.
23.04.2024. Rishi Sunak's Rwanda bill to become law after late-night showdown, see: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-68840441. Source: BBC.
05.07.2024. The center-left Marxist Labour party forms new government in Great Britain, see: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cd10ene4n5rt. Sources: BBC and AIIS.
More information about UK (click on):
Freedom Online - The newspaper of The British and Anglophone Anarchist Federation (AF)
The AF again calls for Republic in th UK! Soon goodbye to the Monarchy, although it is just formal, not real, regarding rule of the UK.
13.09.2022. Arrest of UK anti-royal protesters raises free speech concerns, see: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/13/arrest-of-uk-anti-royals-raises-questions-about-freedom-of-speech. Source: Al Jazeera.
The West and UK are just getting over a lengthy mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II, and saying goodbye to the longest reigning monarch in British history. The anarchists called for Repubic in the UK. Perhaps Vladimir Putin waited, as a mark of respect, before he addressed the Russian people to give them the next phase of his plans for his ‘special military operation’, i.e. war against Ukraine. It was hard to witness his drive in the streets of London in an open-topped limousine smiling, beside the Queen, some twenty years ago! Relationships with Russia have certainly soured since then.
About that time also, 2003, there was a high-level meeting held of those of Putin’s inner circle in which there was a chance to adopt a more open democratic line, albeit Russian style, the perestroika of Mikhail Gorbachov, or alternatively follow the well-trodden path which secured the position of the favoured few within a strict authoritarian government, perhaps better termed a kleptarchy. The latter was opted for, which made the few extremely wealthy, e.g. the oligarchs who had a hold on the key state industries from the 1990s and Putin and members with upper KGB, now FSB, affiliations. Today Putin who is recently 70, is reputed to be worth some $40bn, and has an unreasonable embedded hatred of the west which isn’t going to change. It will get worse as his position is increasingly threatened.
There was a fairly recent meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which includes China, Russia, India, Turkey and others. Putin used the occasion to put his case, as he saw it, and subsequently visited Saudi Arabia, and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He was advised to bring the war to an end in each case. Overall, he received a cool reception.
Instead, he has dismissed that advice and chosen to illegally grab the eastern and southern flanks of Ukraine – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. This he has done now on paper at least, much as he stole Crimea in 2014. He has no compunction about lying; it is his way of life. He now broadcasts worldwide and holds a televised ceremony, that these four parts of Ukraine are now a part of mother Russia, and Ukraine continuing attacks on those 4 provinces would be seen as attacks on Russian soil. But he only has a self-proclaimed mandate for this and most of the world, from the UN down, included the Anarchist International AI/IFA, pronounce the move as illegal.
However, Ukraine won’t stop its endeavours as it has slowly been taking its land back, gaining territory, particularly in Donetsk and latterly towards Kherson. They rightly believe that the land is Ukrainian and not Russian. In the past few days, the Ukrainians have been making steady progress, which has led to the pronouncement again that Russia will take all the land within the four provincial boundaries, which it has illegally claimed, as the “successful’” outcome of «the special military operation». The Russians/Putin claim it now belongs to Russia.
The Ukrainians will continue, however, and the war looks as if it will intensify, if the Russians are to try to make good on their pronouncement. The Russians have to regroup and significantly increase their numbers in order to not only halt the Ukrainian advance but to reverse the progress of the war. Their attempts to recruit prisoners, some criminal and others political, and the untrained populace to provide new troops is decidedly questionable. The population has been fleeing the country in droves.
This is where the future with a long war beckoning becomes worrying, because Putin has more than once stated that he would use tactical nuclear weapons, against all-nation protocols that negate such a move. In trying to decide his actions-- will he or won’t he? - one has to study the man. In his boyhood, he was known to watch rats on the stairwell of his apartment and what happened to them if they became cornered.
He may feel sometimes that the situation is becoming so serious, that he must lash out and fight, no holds barred. That may happen in the next month or two and he will feel that he must use the nuclear option and proceed accordingly. The rules of engagement will have totally changed and such an escalation will have to bring a response. What will it be? No one knows! There is no sign yet that there is sufficient of an opposition in the Duma to bring in a leadership with some sanity. Thus the future of Ukraine and the West looks grim! By IIFOR 11.10.2022.
11.10.2022. Biden says Putin ‘totally miscalculated’ by invading Ukraine but is a ‘rational actor’, see: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/11/politics/joe-biden-interview-cnntv/index.html. Source: CNN.
In the largest public protest since the Iraq war rally in 2003, marchers from across the UK set off from Victoria Embankment to Hyde Park, where TUC general secretary Brendan Barber was first in a line of speakers. "We are here to send a message to the government that we are strong and united," he said. "We will fight the savage cuts and we will not let them destroy peoples' services, jobs and lives." "Ministers say the cuts are necessary to get the public finances in order, but this is a lie and a policy of unenlightened plutarchy and not at all optimal. UK should follow the libertarian policy and advice from the World Economic Council - WEC," a spokesperson of the Anarchist Federation said to AIIS.
About 500,000 people attended the march and rally in central London against public spending cuts. Labour leader Ed Miliband addressed crowds in Hyde Park and the main march organised by the Trades Union Congress passed off peacefully. But marxist communist splinter groups have attacked shops and banks, and a stand-off with police took place in Piccadilly. There have been 16 arrests. As usual the extremist marxists, e.g. the trotskyite Socialist Workers Party (SWP), were sailing under false anarchist flags when acting criminal ochlarchist, to try falsely put the blame on anarchists. The same dirty marxist tricks are happening world wide, e.g. by members of the International Socialist Tendency, included SWP, Internasjonale Sosialister (IS) in Norway, similar in Germany, etc., see Brown Card to Blitz/AFA & IS & RU. The International Anarchist Tribunal - IAT-APT handed out Brown Cards according to the Oslo Convention to the extremist marxists, e.g. Socialist Workers Party (trotskyite), sailing under false anarchist flags when acting criminal ochlarchist, and these "anarchists" are thus of course also expulsed from the anarchist movement. The communist criminal ochlarchy included:
The Anarchist Federation of course condemned the marxist criminal ochlarchy. Scotland Yard said five officers have been injured and as mentioned 16 people arrested for criminal damage and public order offences, i.e. ochlarchy. Commander Bob Broadhurst said: "The main TUC march has been going well. We have had more than a quarter of a million people with hardly any problems. "Unfortunately we have had a group of approximately 500 criminals committing some disorder including throwing paint at Topshop in Oxford Street and at the police, and scaring the public who are trying to shop." The TUC general secretary said he hoped the incidents of violence would not detract from the main protest. The Anarchist Federation agrees! 26.03.2011.
PS. 27.03.2011. Later the marxist ochlarchy continued. Police said a total of 201 arrests had been made during the day. 66 people were reported to have been injured, including at least 31 police officers, 11 of whom required hospital treatment. The injuries were described as relatively minor. Police - who have agreed with the TUC's estimation of numbers on the main march, i.e. "between 250,000 and 500,000 people", would be studying photographs and CCTV footage and may make more arrests. Broadhurst, who was in charge of the Metropolitan Police operation, said his officers had to deal with "mindless yobs" in and around Trafalgar Square in central London. A.o.t. the ochlarchists were trying to attack and damage the Olympic clock. Broadhurst said a group of about 100-150 people had run off, ripping open litter bins and throwing bottles and bricks at police. He added: "This is just mindless vandalism, hooliganism, it's nothing to do with protest." Business Secretary Vince Cable has said the arrogant government will not change its economic strategy as a result of the protest.
Anarchist International support action for the
social-individualist anarchist Julian Assange and WikiLeaks
Julian Assange, the main spokesperson for the news-organization WikiLeaks, is social and individualist as well as progressive, and may thus be seen as a social-individualist anarchist. As many social-individualist anarchists he does not use the label 'anarchist' about himself, at least not so far... But he 1. has 02.12.2010 been called anarchist on CNN, and more, 2. has a strong co-operation with -- and support for -- the social-individualist Anarchy of Iceland, 3. is mainly acting as an anarchist, a.o.t. a) for a free press -- against the media as a 4th power of the State, b) doing whistle-blowing against authorities, and c) works for libertarian human rights, and thus 4. practically certain is a social-individualist anarchist. To see an interview with Julian Assange about his main policy and activities click here!
The ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined) against Julian Assange, a) falsely calling his whistle-blowing and other libertarian press-activities criminal, b) smear-campaigns with probably false accusations of rape in Sweden, c) people calling for his assassination and d) much, much more mobbing, e) must stop. Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, and their news-reporting, have full support from the Anarchist International and the Anglophone Anarchist Federation, and AI & AF have 02.12.2010 launched an international solidarity direct action for Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. AI & AF call on all anarchists world wide, and all others that read this resolution, to join in the world wide support action. AI & AF demand continued freedom for Julian Assange and WikiLeaks!!!
PS. Fellows world wide! You can join in the international solidarity direct action for Julian Assange and WikiLeaks by forwarding this resolution to your own network, and/or link up the Web of Freedom Online at your Web and/or blog. Do it now!!!
LATEST NEWS ON JULIAN ASSANGE
20.02.2024. Julian Assange makes last-ditch attempt in UK court to avoid extradition to the US, see: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/20/uk/julian-assange-extradition-appeal-ruling-review-intl-gbr/index.html. Source: CNN. AI/IFA and AF: Julian Assange has our full support. Source. AIIS.
20.02.2024. Assange too ill to attend last-ditch court bid against extradition, lawyer says, see: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-68344106. Source: BBC. AI/IFA & AF: We demand freedom for Julian Assange! Source: AIIS.
26.03.2024. Julian Assange staves off extradition to US for now, see: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/uk/julian-assange-us-extradition-appeal-intl-gbr/index.html. Source: CNN. AI/IFA & AF: We again demand freedom for Julian Assange! Source: AIIS.
19.05.2024. CNN: Why Julian Assange’s fate matters. And calling Assange an «information anarchist», see: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/19/opinions/julian-assange-extradition-hearing-alan-rusbridger/index.html. Source: CNN. AI/IFA & AF: We again demand freedom for Julian Assange! Source: AIIS.
20.05.2024. Julian Assange can appeal extradition to the US, UK court rules, see: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/20/uk/julian-assange-wikileaks-extradition-hearing-uk-intl-gbr/index.html. Source: CNN. AI/IFA & AF: We again demand freedom for Julian Assange! Source: AIIS.
25.06.2024. Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free. The WikiLeaks founder has been held in a prison outside London for the last five years and fought extradition to the U.S. He is expected to return to Australia. See: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/julian-assange-reached-plea-deal-us-allowing-go-free-rcna158695. Source: NBC. AI/IFA & AF: Finally freedom for Julian Assange! We keep the support action going on until Julian is back in Australia. Source: AIIS.
26.06.2024. Julian Assange lands in Australia a free man, see: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxee24pvl94o. Source: BBC. AI/IFA & AF: The support campaign has ended. Source: AIIS.
Mass demonstration against austerity measures in Ireland
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated on the streets of Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday 27.11.2010 against the government's austerity plan. Irish police estimated the number taking part in the largely peaceful demonstration to be about 50,000. The protests were organized by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), which has called the four-year plan for spending cuts and tax hikes "savage and regressive." Irish police said a comprehensive policing plan has been put in place "in order to facilitate a peaceful march." Groups of eight to 10 police officers were seen at several key intersections, monitoring the activity.
Families, pensioners, the unemployed and members of unions and community groups, included anarchists, were among the demonstrators who braved a rare dusting of snow to come out Saturday. The Anarchist Federation, including of course the Irish section, supported the protests. The marching route took protesters along the River Liffey to a Dublin landmark, the General Post Office. Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen announced the plan this week after agreeing to a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund and European Union, 'needed' to tackle Ireland's massive debt. The plan saves 10 billion euros ($13.4 billion) through welfare cuts and an additional 5 billion euros ($6.7 billion) through higher taxes. There will be reductions in the minimum wage and public-sector pay, and a hike in the value-added tax on goods and services, Cowen said.
The plan calls for introducing water meters, making students pay more for higher education, and requiring more Irish workers to pay income tax. Trade unions and anarchists complain the plan unfairly targets lower-paid workers, while making no provision for a tax on asset wealth. They say it fails to explain how the Irish people can carry the banks' massive debts and sets out no strategy for creating jobs. "People are angry and they've had enough of this government and government in general," a spokesperson for AF's Irish section told AIIS. "They're furious because they feel like the government has handed over the keys to the country."
Students protested as UK govt debated and hiked tuition fees 09.12.2010
Angry student protesters, also small groups of anarchists and unions, marched through central London toward Parliament on Thursday as lawmakers began debating a controversial plan to triple university tuition fees in Britain. The Anarchist Federation supports the protest, but of course not ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined). Weeks of nationwide protests were reaching a crescendo, as thousands of students held demonstrations and sit-ins throughout the country. In central London, where recent protests have turned violent, demonstrators braved near-freezing temperatures to protest. Small groups of protesters tore down barricades and appeared to light flares as police bearing riot shields moved to reinforce a security cordon near Parliament, but the massive march remained largely peaceful. The Anarchist Federation condemned the tendencies of ochlarchy.
The tuition vote poses a crucial test for both the Conservative's governing coalition with the Liberal Democrats and the government's austerity plans to reduce Britain's budget deficit. The vote put Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and other Liberal Democrat leaders in an awkward spot. Liberal Democrats signed a pre-election pledge to oppose any such tuition hike, and have reserved the right to abstain in the vote even though they are part of the governing coalition proposing the change. "The real danger for the government is not that they won't pass it through, but that it will be a policy fiasco," said Patrick Dunleavy, a political science professor at the London School of Economics. "By picking this fight with the student body ... the government seems to have gotten itself into choppy water." All of this has made Clegg one of the least popular politicians on university campuses. "Clegg today will expose himself as the pathetic Pinocchio of politics," read the front page of the Daily Mirror newspaper - complete with an altered photo of Clegg's growing "nose of shame."
The government proposed raising the maximum university tuition fees in England from 3,000 pounds (about $4,700) a year to 9,000 pounds (about $14,000). Students reacted with mass protests that have been marred by violence and have paralyzed some campuses. In response, the government modified its plan by raising the income level at which graduates must start repaying student loans and by making more part-time students eligible for loans. "The concessions are not enough," 19-year old City University student Carter Rothgard said in London. "It still doesn't make it any easier for us to go to school." Students say that under the proposal, piles of debt will plague graduates and make a well-rounded education unattainable for many.
But Cameron argued Wednesday that without the income from higher fees, British universities will fall behind international education standards. "We have to make a choice here," Cameron told the House of Commons. "If we want to see university education expand, if we want to see universities well funded, we have to work out where that money will come from." Students should pay more since most taxpayers "don't go to university and don't benefit from university education," Cameron said.
Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labour party, fired back, saying the hikes will burden British students at public universities with the highest fees in the industrialized world. Miliband said the education policy was in chaos. "Only the prime minister could treble tuition fees and then claim that it is a better deal for students," Miliband said. "No one is convinced, frankly." The controversy has highlighted regional educational differences in the United Kingdom. The Welsh regional government has pledged to subsidize the higher fees for any student from Wales who enrolls at an English university. Student fees in Scotland are just 1,820 pounds ($2,875) per year, sparking fears of a future stampede of bargain-hunting students from England. Northern Ireland's fees are capped at 3,290 pounds ($5,200) a year.
In the afternoon students, police clash as UK approves tuition hike. British lawmakers have approved a controversial plan to triple university tuition fees with a narrow margin as some government legislators rebelled amid violent protests outside Parliament. The plan to raise the cap on tuition fees to 9,000 pounds ($14,000) was approved, 323-302, a small margin given the government's 80-set majority. Outside, police with riot shields and batons tussled with angry student protesters near Parliament. Many in the crowd booed when they heard the result of the vote. Earlier small groups of protesters threw flares, billiard balls and paint bombs, and officers, some on horses, rushed to reinforce the security cordon. Police said 13 protesters and four officers were injured in the fracas, while seven people were arrested.
The Anarchist Federation once more condemned the tendencies of ochlarchy, and declared: "Demonstrate with dignity - not ochlarchy, use real matter of fact arguments and add weight behind via direct actions, mass actions, and via elections." Three ministerial aides resigned over the issue. Less than half of Lib Dem MPs voted for the government's plans for tuition fees. There were 21 Lib Dem and six Conservative MPs who voted against the coalition. Many of the protesters, including anarchists, called for new elections soon...
In the evening, more clashes and ochlarchy. There were angry clashes as protesters - some throwing missiles - fought to break through police lines. Fires were started and buildings sprayed with graffiti. In angry scenes, protesters were battling with police and attacking buildings, including the Treasury and the Supreme Court. A vehicle containing Prince Charles and Camilla was attacked as they travelled to an engagement. A window was cracked and their car hit by paint, but the couple were unharmed. Police say eight officers were hurt in clashes. They have made nine arrests. Riot police have been forcing back protesters who were smashing windows and trying to break into a side door of the Treasury. Protesters also smashed windows at the Supreme Court. Earlier protesters had forced their way into Parliament Square and pressed against lines of police in front of the Houses of Parliament.
Later in the evening, ambulance services said 37 people were hurt. The police made 22 arrests. Even later police say 12 officers and 43 protesters have been injured. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said there would be a "very serious and very detailed investigation" into the disturbances, in which 10 police officers have been injured. Protests spread to the West End with demonstrators breaking shop windows in Oxford Street. Other reported actions taken by the protesters include: 1. Setting the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square alight; 2. Vandalizing statues in Parliament Square, including that of Winston Churchill.
Superintendent Julia Pendry said officers had come under sustained attack and condemned "acts of wanton vandalism, wanton violence" by protesters. The Anarchist Federation once more condemned the ochlarchy! The IAT-APT reported to AIIS that "the vandalism, violence and ochlarchy in general were practically certain done by ultra-authoritarian marxist leftwing extremists. No anarchists were involved!" A spokesperson of the Anarchist Federation said to AIIS: "We, students and anarchists, have won the arguments and the battle for public opinion. We have lost in the House of Commons today only because MPs have broken their promises. We are incredibly disappointed and angry with the politicians who have let us down so badly!"
New student protests in UK 24.11.2010 - Anarchist comment - Brown Card to BBC-TV etc!
Lines of police are holding back thousands of student protesters in central London, in a wave of protests against higher tuition fees and university budget cuts. There have been clashes as police try to contain surges from demonstrators. A police van, marooned in the protest on Whitehall, has been attacked. Anarchistic pupils from a London school protected a police van that had been attacked. They told vandals to withdraw. Later a placard with the @-sign of anarchist youth was placed on the roof of an attacked police car, probably to protect it, but ochlarchists smashed the windows and tagged it with spray-paint anyway. Anarchists were not involved in the ochlarchy. The Anarchist Federation supports the protest, but of course not ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined), and strongly condemns the ochlarchists. There were however no evidences of ochlarchists falsely posing as anarchists.
There have been occupations at many universities across the country - including Oxford University's Bodleian Library. Students are staging occupations at universities including Royal Holloway, Plymouth, Birmingham, London South Bank, UCL, Essex and UWE Bristol. Marches, walkouts and protest events are also taking place at universities and colleges in Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Bristol, Southampton, Oxford, Cambridge, Leeds, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Glasgow and Edinburgh. School pupils have walked out of lessons in Winchester, Cambridge, Leeds and London. Students, including anarchists, a few using the anarchist black and red flag, are protesting against plans to increase tuition fees in England to £9,000 per year and to withdraw public funding for university teaching budgets for many subjects.
There were demonstrations several thousand strong in university towns and cities across the country, including Bristol, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds. In Cambridge, hundreds of students scaled the fence outside Senate House, the building used for graduation ceremonies, and marched into the grounds of the 700-year-old King's College shouting and waving placards. Two people were arrested for obstructing police. In Birmingham, students called on the university authorities to reject what they call a "socially regressive plan that will limit access to education". "Education is not a rich kid's game," said Tash Holway, 19, a student. "If this keep up, the entire industry will change. It won't be about talent, but only about who can pay."
Kaya Wiley, 17, said the government is breaking its promises. "They're wasting our money and we're not going to get anywhere," she said. "I don't want work at (supermarket) Tesco. I want to be able to go to university. I don't think the violence is effective and I'm afraid the government might just brush it off." The Anarchist Federation and IAT-APT agree, declaring: "Nobody takes ochlarchists seriously, it is just a police matter, criminality, which anarchists are against. Ochlarchy does not work in libertarian direction, only for the authoritarian and more of it. Demonstrate with dignity - not ochlarchy, use real matter of fact arguments and add weight behind via direct actions, mass actions, and via elections."
A much larger student march two weeks ago, 10.11.2010, ended in an attack on the Conservatives' headquarters building - severe ochlarchy, which has so far since been followed by 68 arrests. The disorder included windows smashed, objects hurled at police officers, and an 18-year-old student pleaded guilty Wednesday to throwing a fire extinguisher from the roof of the building. It narrowly missed police officers standing below. Edward Woollard admitted one count of violent disorder. His lawyer said Woollard was "very sorry for his actions." District Judge Nicholas Evans said Woollard would be sentenced later. He faces a maximum of five years in prison.
Anarchists falsely got much of the blame for this ochlarchy, and BBC-TV has repeated these lies, that anarchists were behind. The International Anarchist Tribunal, IAT-APT hands out a Brown Card to BBC-TV for this false "1984" Big Brother reporting. A so called 'anarchist' group has called for "roaming marches" to "disrupt business" across central London. If the protests degenerate into ochlarchy, ochlarchists falsely posing as anarchists will get expulsing Brown Cards from IAT-APT. Anarchists and ochlarchists are opposites - Anarchy and ochlarchy are opposites! In the afternoon police said three people had been arrested in the capital for violent disorder [ochlarchy], which many students condemned as undermining their cause. The Anarchist Federation and IAT-APT of course agree.
As well as the planned rise in tuition fees, students are also campaigning about wider budget cuts for higher education. Protesters' spokespersons have claimed that an "unprecedented wave of student revolt is unfolding" - and they say they are following in the spirit of [the somewhat anarchist] student protests of 1968. The Anarchist Federation declares: "Revolt based on direct action OK! Ochlarchy NO GOOD! Demonstrate with dignity - not ochlarchy!".
Students feel betrayed by the coalition government, in particular by junior partner the Liberal Democrat party, which had promised to vote against higher tuition fees. Simon Hardy, one of the Whitehall protesters, tells that Nick Clegg, who has been the focus of much student anger over the Liberal Democrats' failure to stick by their pre-election pledge not to raise tuition fees, is "the biggest joke in British politics." Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has been defending his actions on BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show, saying students will not have to pay the increased fees up-front, but when they start work. For the first time, the coalition is extending this provision even to part-time students, he said.
Clegg told that he "massively regrets" breaking his election promise, but said he was developing a "thick skin" toward the protests. He urged students to look at his education proposals in detail: "...when people look at the detail of these proposals (they will) realize that all graduates will be paying less per month than they do at the moment and the poorest quarter will be paying much, much less," he said: "I hate in politics, as in life, to make promises that you then find you can't keep... We made a promise we can't deliver - we didn't win the election outright and there are compromises in coalition."
There was a noticeably larger police presence on the capital's streets than two weeks ago when the head of the London police force admitted they had not been prepared for trouble. Lines of policemen in fluorescent jackets formed human barriers across streets in Whitehall, the heart of British government, while other police officers corralled students into small groups, a process known as "kettling." "The majority are acting peacefully and we are working to keep the protest as peaceful as possible," police said.
As darkness fell, fires were started, graffiti sprayed and windows broken in Whitehall by demonstrators who were being contained by police. Police are dispersing student protesters in central London. Hundreds of remaining protesters are gradually being released by police. Earlier as mentioned a police van was attacked, and barricades thrown, as protesters tried to break through police lines. Others destroyed phone boxes and set fire to a ticket machine at a bus stop. There have been 32 arrests, mainly for public order offences and criminal damage, i.e. ochlarchy, and 17 people injured including the two police officers, according to the Met Police. The officers and 11 members of the public are being treated in hospital for minor injuries. The Anarchist Federation and IAT-APT once more condemn the ochlarchy. No anarchists were involved in the ochlarchy.
Students staging a sit-in at University College London have issued a statement. They say: "We stand against fees and savage cuts to higher education and government attempts to force society to pay for a crisis it didn't cause. Promises have been broken, the political process has failed and we have been left with no other option. We stand in solidarity with all those fighting these cuts nationally and internationally. These cuts are a product of ideology and not necessity." The Anarchist Federation and The Anarchist International agree!
Ad students protest in London, Conservative HQ attacked
Brown Cards to student ochlarchists, i.e.
ultra-authoritarian extremist marxists,
rioters and
provocateurs
falsely using the anarchist @-sign & flags, and CNN, Associated Press and more - Anarchist point of view!
A group of demonstrators broke into the headquarters of Britain's governing capitalist Conservative Party in London Wednesday, spray-painting anarchy symbols and setting off flares before being forced out of the building. They went on to set fires outside the building. The violence came during a largely peaceful protest by students against government plans to allow universities to increase tuition fees. Students and university staff are protesting against government plans to allow universities to charge up to 9,000 pounds (about $14,500) per year in tuition fees -- a substantial rise from the current cap of 3,000 pounds (about $4,800).The National Union of Students said 40,000 demonstrators were on the streets. The Anarchist Federation and anarchists in general support the protest against this hike in tuition fees, but not the ochlarchy, i.e. mob rule broadly defined, and riots.
The International Anarchist Tribunal, IAT-APT, hands out Brown Cards to the student ochlarchists, i.e. ultra-authoritarian extremist marxists, rioters and provocateurs falsely using the anarchist @-sign, trying to put the blame for the ochlarchy on anarchists. The Brown Cards mean expulsion from the anarchist movement for these provocateurs. The rioting students were anti-capitalists, i.e. socialists, and significant ochlarchical, i.e. ultra-authoritarian and extremists. All authoritarian socialists are marxists, not anarchists, and thus the rioters were marxists, extremists, and not anarchists. CNN also gets a Brown Card for spreading the disinformation and lie, that anarchists were behind the ochlarchy and riots. NB! The rioters were marxist extremists, not anarchists!
Associated Press reported "Office workers were evacuated as several dozen demonstrators managed to get into the lobby, scattering furniture, smashing CCTV cameras, spraying graffiti and chanting "Tories Out," while outside police faced off against a crowd that occasionally hurled food, soda cans and placards. Anarchist symbols and the words "Tory scum" were spray-painted around the building, and black and red flags flew from atop an office block beside the 29-story Millbank Tower," and also gets a Brown Card, and Brown Cards are also handed out to all newsmedia quoting AP in this matter. In fact no anarchists participated in the ochlarchy, only marxist provocateurs falsely using anarchist flags and symbols, making an ochlarchical mockery of direct action and trying to put the blame of the vandalism on anarchists. Nobody takes ochlarchists seriously, it is just a police matter, criminality, which anarchists are against. Ochlarchy does not work in libertarian direction, only for the authoritarian and more of it. Demonstrate with dignity - not ochlarchy, use real matter of fact arguments and add weight behind via direct actions, mass actions, and via elections. 10.11.2010.
Midterm elections in USA 2010
Ad midterm elections Tuesday 02.11.2010: Perhaps the Democrats tendencially is the most libertarian of the parties, i.e. the least authoritarian party alternative. But in general, vote for the candidate you think will do the best job, i.e. be most libertarian and thus least authoritarian, regardless of party. However, the Anglophone Anarchist Federation, section USA, calls on a boycott of the Tea Party candidates at the midterm elections 2010. More information about "USA on the economic-political map...", see (click on:) The Anarchy Debate. 28.10.2010. Update: Republicans rode a tide of voter discontent to take control of the House of Representatives and expand their voice in the Senate in elections Tuesday. 03.11.2010.
FABS and the Anarchist Federation
The main international libertarian progressive rock and punk-band FABS, the Federalist Anarchist Beat Society's five main albums, are available via iTunes.apple.com/us and emusic.com, click on 1. The Ballad Of Exterazy Grax (1979), 2. FABS' Collection Album 1967-2008 (2008), 3. Punk Out For Fans Only (2009), 4. Soundtrack From Monter - Anarchist Criticism of Norway 1968 (2010), 5. Anarki i Norge - Anarchy in Norway (2011). Click on: FABS Fanclub for more information. The FABS is an important source of inspiration for the anglophone Anarchist Federation.
G20 = the policy of a) the uninformed of real economics and b) bureaucracy economics
Ad violent clashes with police etc, i.e. ochlarchy, in Toronto 2010 related to the G20 meeting.
No anarchists involved
1. The anarchists condemn marxist vanguardism, hallmarked by symbolic violent attacks on state and capitalism, say, banks, government buildings and other symbols of wealth and power, i.e. ochlarchy and ochlarchist, futile from anarchist point of view, and the opposite of anarchism and anarchist. Such symbolic violent actions are typically marxist vanguardism, similar to RAF-ml (Baader-Meinhof), etc. and the opposite of anarchism and anarchist. Arrest the marxist 'vanguard', the marxist leftwing extremist ochlarchists, i.e. terrorists, vandals and hooligans, see also point 2. for more information.
2. Ad so called "anarchists" that use/used firebombs (Molotov coctails) and similar and/or do/did vandalism and hooliganism, i.e. throwing stones at police etc.
The thruth is that terrorism, including bomb, arson attacks and firebomb attacks and similar - including threats of terrorism and calls for terrorism, is a form of ochlarchy, and very much a top down approach, ultra-authoritarian and extremist, and not anarchist. The anarchists condemn terrorism and are strongly opposed to all forms of extremism. These terrorists using firebombs, so called "anarchists", are anti-capitalist, i.e. socialist, and ultra-authoritarian. Authoritarian socialists are marxists - not anarchists, and should not be called so by the media.
Ad so called "anarchists" that do/did vandalism and hooliganism, i.e. throwing stones at police etc. They are also in reality leftwing extremist marxist ochlarchists and not anarchists. Such violent attacks on police etc. are ochlarchist, very much a top down approach, ultra-authoritarian and extremist, and not anarchist. The anarchists condemn these violent attacks on police etc., and are strongly opposed to all forms of extremism. These so called "anarchists" are anti-capitalist, i.e. socialist, and ultra-authoritarian. Authoritarian socialists are marxists - not anarchists. Arrest the criminal marxist ochlarchists!
As indicated above, these so called "anarchists", that use/used firebombs (Molotov coctails) and similar and/or do/did vandalism and hooliganism, i.e. throwing stones at police etc., are in reality not anarchists, they are extremists and ochlarchists. The only violence anarchists accept is defensive violence, proportionate in pure self defense, not terrorism, i.e. extremism and ochlarchy. Other violent actions are ochlarchy and ochlarchist, and not anarchistic.
No anarchist groups have been involved in the terrorism, including bomb, firebomb and arson attacks and similar and/or do/did vandalism and hooliganism, in Toronto, not now and not before. These so called "anarchists", are in reality marxist leftwing extremist ochlarchists, and thus not anarchists. Anarchists and ochlarchists are opposites. Such marxist, extremist ochlarchists, including copycats, have already long time ago got Brown Cards from the IAT-APT, meaning they are expulsed from the anarchist movement. NB! They are thus not anarchists! IAT-APT hands out fresh Brown Cards to these ochlarchists, to 'hooded ones', black clads', etc, also the ones falsely posing as "anarchists" and using anarchist flags, so called "anarchists", to underline that they are expulsed from the anarchist movement, and thus are not anarchists, according to the (click on:) Oslo Convention.
People doing ochlarchy, i.e. ochlarchists/ochlarchs, are clearly authoritarian, and not anarchistic and anarchists. The difference between ochlarchs/ochlarchists and anarchists is per definition dependent on what you do, not what you say you are or flag or be called in the media or by others! Anarchism means anarchist, i.e. non-authoritarian, non-ochlarchical means and methods, as well as anarchist ends and aims. There must be consistency between means and ends. This is the only strategy that works. The real aim is in general the consequences of the use of the means involved, not some ideological manifesto with good intentions, if any.
Anarchism and anarchist strategy are to change the societal organization in horizontal direction, not attacking persons or things... Anarchists see extremist symbolic actions on capitalism and statism as futile vis-a-vis changing the social organization in horizontal direction - the anarchist aim and strategy, and thus such actions are practically certain not done by anarchists, and not in this and similar cases. 'Hooded ones', 'black clads', 'black blocs/blocks', etc., falsely posing as "anarchists", are as mentioned in reality marxist leftwing extremist ochlarchists, and not anarchists. Ad 'hooded ones', 'black clads', 'black blocs/blocks', etc. - anarchists are against political uniforms, this is used by authoritarian groups, not libertarians. A so called 'black bloc/block' is a very hierarchical, uniformed and para-militarist ochlarchist group, very authoritarian, and far from anarchistic and anarchists.
3. As mentioned anarchists and ochlarchists are opposites. To mix up opposites as anarchists with marxist ochlarchists is equally authoritarian as mixing up opposites as peace and war, as Big Brother did in Orwell's "1984" newspeak. Such notes in the media also produce copycat ochlarchists - mainly mislead youths, falsely posing as "anarchists". It should be stopped, and the IAT-APT hands out Brown Cards, as free criticism of this authoritarian tendency.
4. The Anarchist International and the International Workers of the World call for direct actions, i.e. demonstrations with dignity and without ochlarchy, against the authoritarian policy of the G8-G20 and for horizontal organization, i.e. socialism and autonomy, now and later. The IWW, AI and anarchists in general arrange, support and participate in direct actions, i.e. strikes, general strikes, rallies, etc., against the unenlightened plutarchy world wide, but are clearly - and fight - against ochlarchy and ochlarchists/ochlarchs and authoritarian tendencies in general!
The anarchists are against the State in the meaning of societal x-archy, where 'x' is a lot, but not 'an', and do and support direct actions against the State, i.e. top heavy societal pyramid, economical and/or political/administrative. Cut bureaucracy costs - increase the demand of the people - the people seen as a class as opposed to the superiors in rank and/or income - for full employment - against the unenlightend plutarchy of IMF, WB, euro and the Euro-zone, EU in general, and the G8 and G20 countries.
The anarchists thus call for proper demand management now and later. In general it must pay to work, for the people. More information about the fight against the unenlightened plutarchy - and for full employment, see No to euro - Full employment - Anarchist vs bureaucracy economics - IJA 1 (32) , the WEC resolutions , The unenlightened plutarchy and The general theory of anarchist economics. More information about the best alternative to the unenlightened plutarchy, i.e. real democracy and horizontal organization, see (click on) System theory , Real democracy , Industrial organization and Horizontal organization - a brief survey.
Associated Press reports 27.06.2010 about the G20 meeting: World leaders pledging to reduce global deficits. As global deficits equal global surplus, this is the same as doing away with surplus, and is the policy of a) the uninformed of real economics and b) bureaucracy economics. It is typical unenlightened plutarchy. This is counterproductive, especially when the world economy very likely is entering a double dip depression, and with about 10% unemployment in many countries, including USA and the Euro-zone. Economic depression is per definition equal to or more than 5% unemployment ratio. This is certainly not the right time for reducing surplus = deficits, but time for proper demand management. Mandated persons! Do it now! Especially, weakening the over-evaluated US $, the British £ and the Euro, i.e. the currencies of the main "deficit countries", is a good thing in the present situation, not the opposite.
5. Reuters and Pav Jordan falsely report 26.06.2010. "G20 protesters burn police cars, smash windows. Black-clad "anarchists" separated from what began as a peaceful procession, fanning out through the core of a city generally known for its civility, and forcing police to rush to keep up... Anarchist groups, which led the violence, had specifically mentioned banks as targets in the run-up to the G20, and a Royal Bank of Canada branch in Ottawa was firebombed last month by a group saying they would protest at the summit." These so called "anarchists" are ochlarchists, the opposite of anarchists. They are practically certain marxist leftwing extremist ochlarchists - and thus not anarchists. In fact no anarchists participated in the violence, and "Big Brother" Reuters and Pav Jordan get Brown Cards according to the Oslo Convention for publishing this liestory.
6. Euronews reports 27.06.2010. "G20. Violent anti-G20 summit protests in Canada. ... What started off as a peaceful rally, transformed into ugly scenes as anarchists, dressed in black, broke away from the main group... At least two police cars were set on fire, one in the financial district of the city. Shop fronts were destroyed, as people wearing masks continued to cause havoc, moving to just blocks away from the three meter fence around the summit site." These so called "anarchists, dressed in black", are ochlarchists, the opposite of anarchists. They are practically certain marxist leftwing extremist ochlarchists - and thus not anarchists. The truth is that no anarchists participated in the violence, and "Big Brother" Euronews gets a Brown Card according to the Oslo Convention for publishing this liestory.
7. NRK-Dagsrevyen translated 'anarchy' to 'kaos/chaos' in their report about the G20-meeting, but put the blame for the ochlarchy in Toronto falsely on 'black bloc/block anarchists/anarkister', and joins Reuters and Euronews with a Brown Card from IAT-APT.
8. The IAT-APT hands out Brown Cards to all newsmedia that have similar reports as Reuters and Euronews. It must be mentioned that Euronews later had a report without falsely calling ochlarchists, "anarchists".
9. The other main international newsmedia including CNN, BBC and Associated Press, reported quite objectively about the violent ochlarchy in Toronto, and did not falsley call the ochlarchists "anarchists". BBC-TV Saturday showed a lot of red, marxist, flags, directly connected to the violent ochlarchy.
AP reported: "Police made more than 400 arrests after black-clad demonstrators broke off from a crowd of peaceful protesters at the global economic summit and went on a rampage in downtown Toronto that lasted into the early morning hours, authorities said Sunday. The roving band of protesters torched four police cruisers and shattered shop windows with baseball bats and hammers for blocks, including at police headquarters, then shed some of their black clothes, revealing other garments, and continued their rampage. Some demonstrators hurled rocks and bottles at police. Toronto Police Sgt. Tim Burrows said Sunday that at least 412 people had been arrested in the rampage that began Saturday afternoon. Burrows said many of the violent protesters were Canadian. He added that authorities had known of their plans for some time. "We're not sure we have the leaders, but we have a large proportion of those people and the people who decided they wanted to be influenced by these violent protesters and join with their cause," Burrows said. "A lot of them were home grown. There's a lot of Canadian talent in the group."
CNN later Sunday reported: "G-20 protests plagued by violence, vandalism. Police fired tear gas Sunday to tame groups protesting the arrest of G-20 demonstrators in Toronto, Canada, said Nena Snyder, a spokeswoman for the Integrated Security Unit. An old film studio was converted into a prisoner processing center specifically for handling G-20 protest arrests. Police released tear gas outside that center where other people were protesting the arrests, Snyder said. "I do not believe that the individuals bent on vandalism and violence in our city have finished with their intent, so we will remain vigilant," Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said Saturday night. Police have made a total of 562 arrests since June 18, said Constable Rodney Petroski of the Ontario Provincial Police. From 6 a.m. ET Sunday through late afternoon, 224 people were arrested, he said. Some of those have been released from the prisoner processing center, while others were being held for bail, according to Petroski.
Mobs [ochlarchs/ochlarchists] were scuffling with police in multiple locations, Snyder said. Of the Sunday arrests, 70 took place on Bancroft Avenue, she said. "At no time was there risk to the safety of summit participants," according to the ISU. There were no reports of serious injuries to either protesters or police, said Integrated Security Unit spokeswoman Jillian Van Acker. Blair told reporters that packs of disruptive demonstrators infiltrated peaceful protests in order to cause chaos [ochlarchy, the opposite of anarchy] and distract police. "These criminals rely on the anonymity of hiding in a larger group of the curious and the naive," he said."
10. The anarchists condemn the violent marxist ochlarchists/ochlarchs, and welcome the arrests. The anarchists call for arrest of all criminal marxist ochlarchists/ochlarchs, now and later. The anarchists are not naive in these matters, see Direct action against the World Bank etc. at the ABCDE-conference.
11. Associated Press 28.06.2010 reported: Police arrest more than 600 at Toronto summit. Police raided a university building and rounded up hundreds of protesters Sunday in an effort to quell further violence near the G-20 global economic summit site a day after black-clad youths [leftwing extremist marxist ochlarchists] rampaged through the city, smashing windows and torching police cars. The violence shocked Canada, where civil unrest is almost unknown. Toronto police Sunday said they had never before used tear gas until Saturday's clashes with anti-Globalization activists [leftwing extremist marxist ochlarchists]. Police said they have arrested more than 600 demonstrators, many of whom were hauled away in plastic handcuffs and taken to a temporary holding center constructed for the summit.
Police adopted a more aggressive strategy Sunday by going into the crowd to make arrests, compared to the previous day when they stood back as protesters torched four police cars and broke store windows. No serious injuries were reported among police, protesters or bystanders, Toronto Police Constable Tony Vella said Sunday. Thousands of police officers in riot gear formed cordons to prevent radical anti-globalization demonstrations [leftwing extremist marxist ochlarchists] from breaching the steel and concrete security fence surrounding the Group of 20 summit site. Security was being provided by an estimated 19,000 law enforcement officers drawn from across Canada. Security costs for the G-20 in Toronto and the Group of Eight summit that ended Saturday in Huntsville, 140 miles (225 kilometers) away, were estimated at more than US$900 million.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper deplored the actions of a "few thugs" [leftwing extremist marxist ochlarchists] and suggested the violence justified the controversial cost. "I think it goes a long way to explaining why we have the kind of security costs around these summits that we do," he said. The disorder and vandalism [ochlarchy, the opposite of anarchy] occurred just blocks from where US President Barack Obama and other world leaders were meeting and staying. On Sunday, protesters gathered at a park near the detention center - about 2 1/2 miles (four kilometers) east of where the leaders were meeting. Plainclothes police jumped out of an unmarked van, grabbed a protester off the street and whisked him away in the vehicle. The protest was then quickly broken up by riot police, who set off a device that created a cloud of smoke that sent protesters running down the street. Vella said it was not tear gas.
Bridie Wyrock, 20, from Cleveland, Ohio, said she was arrested for public mischief for sitting on a street in the financial district. Wyrock, held for 19 hours before being released, said there weren't enough toilets and said some people resisted detention, but said police treated most people with respect. "They put us in cages, blocked off on all three sides," Wyrock said. "It was cold and dirty." An anti-poverty group called The Global Call to Action Against Poverty [and anarchists] criticized the protesters who committed violence [ochlarchy, the opposite of anarchy]. "A bunch of pimply faced teenagers trashing shops and burning cars does not help anyone," said Rajesh Latchman of GCAP South Africa. "These hooligans [leftwing extremist marxist ochlarchists] obscure the real issues."
Previous global summit protests have turned violent. In 1999, 50,000 protesters shut down World Trade Organization sessions in Seattle as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. There were some 600 arrests and $3 million in property damage. One man died after clashes with police at a G-20 meeting held in London in April 2009.
More information at (click on the file:)
The International Anarchist Tribunal - The Anarchist Press Tribunal - International Branch.
See the also the note "Anarchy is optimal order" in the introduction to this file, and the chapter "Anarchists against political extremism".
The Anarchist Federation supports the IAT-APT resolution
Anarchist protests connected to the G20 summit
in London April 2, 2009 - More about the Ian Tomlinson case
The Anarchist Federation (British and Anglophone) calls on all anarchists to participate in the protests, and of course demonstrate with dignity, not ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined).
The first big protest is expected to take place Saturday in Central London. Police expect some 20,000 people to turn out. Though organized by trade unions, some 120 different groups are taking part in the "Put People First" march, which will start at Victoria Station, wind through Trafalgar Square, and end in a demonstration at Hyde Park.
April 1, the day before the summit, will see various smaller demonstrations in central London. Protesters are calling it "Financial Fools Day," a play on April Fools Day and the anger surrounding the current economic crisis. The protest, organized by an umbrella group called "G20 Meltdown," will feature four separate "carnival parades," each led by giant "Horseman of the Apocalypse" puppets. A flyer for the event, carries the slogan "Storm the Banks!" and features images of French revolutionaries storming the Bastille in 1789 and a mannequin of a banker hanging from a noose. An "Alternative G20 Summit" will also take place near the summit venue, the ExCeL convention center in east London. The slogan "Storm the Banks" is of course not to be taken in a literal sense.
Marina Pepper, one of the organizers of "G20 Meltdown", said that Twitter, the blogging tool that allows short updates to be filed, published and read via cellphones, would be used to coordinate the protests -- and warn participants of possible trouble. But she warned that dissatisfaction with the government and the state of the economy was likely to provoke a minority to violent protest. The Anarchist Federation calls on all protesters to demonstrate with dignity, not ochlarchy and violence. 27.03.2009.
The G20 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the US and the EU. They will meet to discuss measures to tackle the downturn.
28.03.2009. G20 demonstrators march in London. Tens of thousands of people marched through London demanding a.o.t. action on poverty, climate change and jobs, ahead of next week's G20 summit. The Put People First alliance of 150 charities and unions walked from Embankment to Hyde Park for a rally. Protesters had travelled from Spain, Belgium and Italy to take part, and the age ranged from children in prams to pensioners in their 80s. Police estimated 35,000 marchers took part in the event. Protesters taking part described a "carnival-like atmosphere" with brass bands, piercing whistles and stereos blasting music as the slow-paced procession weaved through the streets. "The sun is shining - there are lots of banners and flags and everyone is in good spirits," said Chris Jordan, an Action Aid campaigner. People were clearly angry, but the atmosphere was not tense. The relatively small group of anarchists with slogans, @-signs and waving red and black and black flags was clearly present, also in the newsmedia, mainly CNN, Euronews, BBC, and AP. The basic anarchist demands about less statism and capitalism/economical plutarchy and for more autonomy and socialism, were however not clearly expressed in the newsmedia. Slogans as "welcome to the pig state", and "we've got a long week ahead, the streets are our streets" and similar quoted by the press, are not good enough and should be avoided. Bad press is worse than no press. The demonstration was non-violent, no ochlarchy, and so it shall be also next week.
Anarchism and anarchist strategy. Anarchy is in reality and objectively seen a system significantly without archs, ochlarchs/ochlarchists included, i.e. a system with relatively small rank and income differences, orderly (optimal order, and not chaos) and efficient, also environmentally. Anarchy is real democracy - from the people and upwards, significantly. Anarchists are real democrats. The people, seen as a class, are the grassroots in contrast to the superiors in rank and/or income, the pyramid that in reality is the state/government, if significant i.e. top heavy, and it is probably always inefficent. Anarchism and anarchist strategy are to change the societal organization in horizontal direction, as members of the people, not attacking persons or things... More and more... Until complete horizontal organization is achieved as an ultimate aim. This may take some time...
In this sense, and only in this sense, the anarchists are for abolishment of the state, as expressed on CNN Saturday. Anarchism means anarchist, i.e. non-authoritarian, non-ochlarchical means and methods, as well as anarchist ends and aims. There must be consistency between means and ends. This is the only strategy that works. The difference between ochlarchs/ochlarchists and anarchists is per definition dependent on what you do , not what you say you are or flag. Don't act as an ochlarchical boss!!! If you do act in this way, you are no longer an anarchist, but a form of superior, i.e. ochlarch/ochlarchist, authoritarian. Anticapitalist ochlarchs/ochlarchists are authoritarian socialists, i.e. marxists.
01.04.2009. Protesters block London's financial district. About 4,000 protesters locked down a section of London's financial district for much of the day on Wednesday a day before the Group of 20 summit meeting here, shouting "storm the banks" and "shame on you." Around 2 p.m., several hours into the protest, a handful of furious protesters smashed the windows of the Royal Bank of Scotland, which became a symbol of the financial crisis because of a record loss that prompted a government bailout. Some painted slogans such as the communist (ml) "class war" on the facade, while others carried computers through the broken windows and smashed them on the street. A branch of HSBC also had windows broken. When the police stepped in to stop the looting, Liam Edin, a student, said "the police are defending the very people they should be fighting: the bankers." A wide range of interest groups were in attendance, including climate change campaigners, marxists, anarchists and pensioners concerned about their life savings. The rioters were criminal anti-capitalist leftwing extremist ochlarchs/oclarchists, i.e. ultra-authoritarian marxists. No anarchists were involved in the vandalism. The demonstrations continued late in the evening, with sporadic violence. There have been 63 arrests, with some police and protesters injured. Later, a man died after collapsing, police said in the evening. Most of the protests were non-violent, non-ochlarchical. All in all about 5,000 people took part in the protests on Wednesday.
02.04.209. More protetsts. Demonstrators gathered near the G20 summit venue in London's docklands for a second day of protests. Several hundred staged "noisy but calm" protests on various issues near the ExCel centre. Earlier, 40 protesters met outside the London Stock Exchange where they had threatened to disrupt business but were outnumbered by 100 police officers. On Thursday morning, Prime Minister Gordon Brown greeted world leaders arriving at the ExCel centre a few hundred yards from the protesting groups. Elsewhere, campaigners got their message across in a variety of different ways. A small number of protesters played a giant game of Monopoly in the City, armed with huge crates of fake money. Later French freeclimber Alain Robert, known as the Human Spider, attempted to scale the Lloyds' building in the capital as part of protests. He unfurled a banner but returned to the ground. Stop the War Coalition, the British Muslim Initiative, CND, Middle East campaigning groups, marxists and anarchists, were among the protesters.
Confrontations between ultra-authoritarian marxists and riot police ensued, as extremists high-jacked the initially good-humored protests that had begun outside the neighboring Bank of England. Protestors' anger focused at the greediness of the few against the majority of the population. Marxist expressions as "burge into banks" and "hung bankers" were some of the slogans used in the protestations. More than 23 people were arrested, all of them leftwing extremist ultra-authoritarian marxists.
On Wednesday, all in all about 90 people were arrested in the City after flashes of violence marred mainly peaceful protests. Four people were charged, three with possessing bladed weapons and the fourth with assault. Metropolitan Police Commander Simon O'Brien said small pockets of criminals were responsible for the outbreaks of trouble on Wednesday and would be tracked down. But he added that the vast majority of demonstrators were good-humoured. Investigations have already been launched after protesters smashed their way into a Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) branch in the City of London. The Metropolitan Police said those involved in violence should expect a "knock on the door". Senior officers said one police officer was in hospital, receiving treatment after suffering a blow to the head. Seven protesters were also taken to hospital. Those arrested were held for offences including violent disorder, obstruction, aggravated burglary, arson and unlawful possession of police uniforms.
Meanwhile, police have raided two squats in east London to arrest people they believe may be linked to violence at Wednesday's G20 protests. Scotland Yard said a total of 80 were arrested in the operation, which also included a raid on property in Rampart Street, Aldgate. Police also confirmed that the circumstances behind the death of a man who was involved in the protests has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Police said the man, thought to be in his 40s, died on Wednesday evening after bottles were thrown at him and he collapsed. Scotland Yard said he was found unconscious near the Bank of England and the London Ambulance Service took him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The anarchists condemn the ochlarchy, including the throwing of bottles, and send condolences to the relatives and friends of the victim.
03.04.2009. The protests are over. The world leaders claim to have struck an historic deal to combat the global recession following the G20 summit in London. A whole raft of measures has been agreed to tackle the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The most notable is a 750 billion euro cash boost for the International Monetary Fund to assist those countries hit hard by the financial crisis.
08.04.2009. G20 probe officer comes forward. The police officer thought to be shown in video footage of the G20 protest in London pushing a man who later died has come forward. An independent criminal probe has begun into the death of Ian Tomlinson, 47, who had a heart attack minutes later. Additional video footage shown on Channel 4 News appears to show an officer striking him with a baton. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is trying to identify officers who were at the scene. Deborah Glass, of the IPCC, explained the decision to take over the investigation: "People are rightly concerned about this tragic death and this footage is clearly disturbing." "In light of new information which we became aware of yesterday (Tuesday) evening, we have now taken the decision to independently investigate." Opposition MPs have called for a criminal investigation into the death. The police have well-established powers to use reasonable force if they think there is a threat either to themselves or the public, but these are enhanced during a protest or riot.
The Anarchist Federation demands a full criminal investigation into the death!
23.04.2009. The Anarchist Federation calls on the World Bank and IMF to act quickly on G20 goals. The Anarchist Federation has called on the World Bank and IMF to use the opportunity of their spring meetings in Washington to accelerate efforts to stem the global collapse in employment and economic prospects. The Anarchist Federation today warns that global unemployment could increase by 50 million people in 2009 unless the World Bank and IMF and public sectors in the countries of the world take immediate action to implement the commitments made at the G20 London Summit. This year, hundreds of millions of workers will not earn enough from their labour to reach the poverty line because of the crisis. The World Bank and IMF should use the spring meetings not only to confirm the G20 conclusions, but to make further proposals for global management reform, i.e. in the direction of anarchist self management - autogestion - and increased efforts to create jobs and protect social programmes. Among the groups most affected by the financial meltdown are workers close to retirement in countries that adopted mandatory privatized pension funds as advocated by the World Bank. The Anarchist Federation suggests that the Bank participates in providing compensation for the loss of retirement incomes suffered by these workers
The Anarchist Federation emphasizes that job creation and public investment must be an essential part of all economic recovery strategies, and further proposes reform of global management systems
to ensure that the world economy remains sustainable after the crisis, i.e. in libertarian direction. Noting that longstanding demands for management reform of the World Bank and IMF remain unfulfilled, the Anarchist Federation urges both the World Bank and IMF to quickly and substantially increase the delegations of the developing countries in their decision-making structures. It also suggests that the IMF should monitor recovery programmes and advocate for stronger fiscal stimulus measures if current expansion plans prove insufficient. The traditional Keynes type countercyclal monetary and fiscal policy measures, are not sufficient. Measures to lower inflation and to achieve a modest increase in labour productivity, taking into account green economics, should also be introduced.
The World Bank and IMF must address the imbalances of recent years, such as increased income inequality, that led to this crisis. But the recovery and reform processes cannot be left to finance ministers and bankers, alone. The World Bank and IMF must include trade unions and civil society including the anarchists in their discussions and work with other international institutions as they move forward. It is essential that they confirm a clear break with the failed, anti-growth and anti-jobs economic adjustment programmes they have advocated in the past, i.e. unenlightened plutarchy.
The Anarchist Federation proposes a new libertarian financial sector regulation, including the nationalization of insolvent banks, and encourages the World Bank and IMF to promote active labour market policies, extend social safety nets, and invest in green projects to shift the world economy onto a low-carbon growth path. The Anarchist Federation calls on the World Bank and IMF to work with the International Labour Organization and the anarchists, etc.. to find employment-driven solutions to the crisis, to support the proposed Global Jobs Pact at the upcoming International Labour Conference, and to cooperate in establishing a global Charter for international management, i.e. libertarian self management - autogestion - that would include all the major international labour, financial, trade and development instruments.
28.04.2009. The Anarchist Federation welcomes the World Bank's suspension of "Doing Business" labour indicator EWI.
The Anarchist Federation welcomed the decision of the World Bank to instruct its staff to stop using the "Employing Workers Indicator" (EWI) of its highest-circulation publication, "Doing Business". The EWI gives the best ratings to countries with the lowest level of workers' protection and has been used by the World Bank and IMF to pressure developing countries to undertake labour market deregulation. In the context of the current global economic crisis, where a) more than 50 million more workers could become unemployed this year, and b) pressures to decrease wages and workers' living standards are intensifying every day, it is c) significant that an important development institution like the World Bank is turning the page on a one-sided deregulatory view on labour issues and d) proposing to adopt a more balanced approach where adequate regulation, improved social protection and respect for workers' rights will be given a higher profile.
In a note on revisions to "Doing Business" made public today, World Bank management informed its staff that "the EWI does not represent World Bank policy and should not be used as a basis for policy advice or in any country program documents that outline or evaluate the development strategy or assistance program for a recipient country". The World Bank will furthermore remove the EWI from its Country Policy and Institutional Assessments (CPIA), which the Bank uses to establish countries' overall level of eligibility for loans and grants allocated by the Bank's concessionary lending arm, the IDA. It is clear that use of the EWI may contribute to excessive inequality, that can become politically dysfunctional, and to the extent that it begins to depress consumption, it can become economically dysfunctional.
An alternative approach that promotes the creation of decent work should be introduced. The World Bank Group has already made considerable strides concerning respect for the ILO's core labour standards (CLS), starting with the requirement three years ago by the IFC, the Bank's private-sector lending arm, that all of its projects conform to the CLS. More recently, the World Bank incorporated a CLS requirement into its master procurement documents and led a process to include CLS clauses in the harmonized standard bidding documents used by all multilateral development banks. The IMF took a similar step concerning the "Doing Business" labour indicator in August 2008, when IMF management instructed staff that mission teams should refrain from using the EWI in any of the Fund's public documents because of various methodological problems associated with the index.
In its note on the "Doing Business" labour indicator issued today, the World Bank states that it proposes to give appropriate weight to "issues as diverse as political stability, social safety nets to shield vulnerable parts of society from intolerable levels of risk and protection of rights for workers and households as well as for firms". The World Bank's decision to pay greater attention to issues such as these is consistent with the commitment of G20 leaders at their London summit to "build a fair and friendly labour market for both women and men". The World Bank should listen to the ILO and civil society in general, including the anarchists, on this theme, noting that the G20 statement called upon the ILO to assess appropriate employment and labour market policies.
The actions taken by the World Bank regarding the Employing Workers Indicator of the "Doing Business" report are described in a note posted today on the Bank's "Doing Business" web site: http://www.doingbusiness.org/documents/EWI_revisions.pdf . Interesting reading for anarchists.
PS. 28.04.2011. More about the Ian Tomlinson case. G20 inquest to consider unlawful killing charge. Jurors at the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson will consider whether the actions of a police officer amounted to unlawful killing, a coroner has said. The jury must decide whether Pc Simon Harwood acted illegally and directly caused the death of Mr Tomlinson at the G20 protests in London on 1 April 2009. Judge Peter Thornton QC was summing up at the inquest into the death. Mr Tomlinson, 47, collapsed and died after he was hit by a baton and pushed to the ground by the officer. Judge Thornton said the jury had to decide if the baton strike and push were "unlawful" and "dangerous" and whether they inadvertently caused Mr Tomlinson's death. The judge said the push on Mr Tomlinson did not have to be the "sole or principal" cause of death for the jury to return an unlawful killing verdict. The jury was told the three other possible verdicts were misadventure, natural causes and open.
Pathologist evidence. Judge Thornton said pathologist Dr Freddy Patel's "credibility" as a witness must also be considered. Dr Patel, who carried out the first post-mortem examination on the newspaper seller, initially said Mr Tomlinson died of natural causes, but changed some of his evidence when challenged during the inquest. The inquest has heard that Dr Patel was suspended by the General Medical Council for failings in his post-mortem examinations in other cases for three months in 2010 and was since given a further four-month suspension. The jury had already heard that two pathologists disagreed with Dr Patel's finding that death was due to natural causes and believed that Mr Tomlinson died from internal bleeding.Jurors were told for the first time that a fourth pathologist had come to the same conclusion. The jury has been told the Crown Prosecution Service could review its decision not to seek charges against police officers depending on its verdict. The month-long hearing at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in Fleet Street, central London, has heard Mr Tomlinson fell to the ground after Pc Harwood hit him on the thigh with a baton and then shoved him from behind. Mr Tomlinson, who was not part of the G20 protest, got back to his feet but collapsed and died minutes later.
03.05.2011. Met Police expresses "deep regret" over Tomlinson death. The jury at the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson has concluded that he was unlawfully killed by a Scotland Yard police officer during the G20 protests two years ago. The jury said Pc Simon Harwood acted illegally, recklessly and dangerously when he shoved Mr Tomlinson to the ground with a baton. Deputy Assistant Commander Rose Fitzpatrick of the Metropolitan police expressed "deep regret that the actions of an MPS officer had been found to have caused the death of a member of the public".
Events following Ian Tomlinson's death during G20 demo. An inquest jury has ruled that Ian Tomlinson was unlawfully killed by a Metropolitan Police officer during the G20 protests in 2009. Pc Simon Harwood was filmed pushing the 47-year-old newspaper seller to the ground in the City of London shortly before he collapsed. Here are details of Mr Tomlinson's death and the subsequent events that have led up to his inquest: BBC-Timeline-Tomlinson.
Ian Tomlinson G20 push witness recalls nightmares. The man who helped Ian Tomlinson after a police officer pushed him over during the G20 protests has said the incident was "unbelievable". Alan Edwards, of Derbyshire, said he had suffered nightmares and struggled to come to terms with what he had seen. Mr Edwards was just feet away from Pc Simon Harwood when the officer struck the newspaper seller during the April 2009 protest in London. At the inquest, the jury saw footage of Mr Edwards helping Mr Tomlinson. Mr Edwards told the BBC he had returned to the scene on each anniversary of Mr Tomlinson's death.
At the inquest, he described how he had been in the area of Cornhill and the Bank of England for most of the afternoon leading up to the push and fall. Shortly after 1900 BST, he saw teams of officers with dogs begin to clear the area, moving along the streets and into the Royal Exchange arcade shown on this map. One of those he saw fall was a BBC cameraman. "The police dogs began to move down the Royal Exchange and, when that happened, I retreated to the Victorian pump by the side of the road," he told the BBC. "I saw Mr Tomlinson being moved up the Exchange by the line of police dog handlers. "They pushed him - they moved him with physical force. It wasn't that bad, but it was noticeable. "I was a bit worried for him, he was an older gentleman, sort of my dad's age and I was a bit worried because I had seen people struck with batons and shields."
Mr Edwards did not see Pc Harwood hit the 47-year-old, or the push on his back, but he saw the fall. "When Mr Tomlinson got to the bollards, I thought he was OK because the police line had stopped. "All of a sudden he came flying through the air straight towards me and landed on the ground heavily. "After that I covered the ground quite quickly and asked him if he was OK and tried to help him as much as I could." On the footage recorded by witness Chris La Jaunie, Mr Tomlinson has his hands in his pockets and is moving away from the police line. Pc Harwood can be seen coming forward a few yards and pushing Mr Tomlinson hard in the back. Mr Edwards can be seen rushing to his aid, crouching on the ground.
"I spoke to him, but I don't remember what he specifically said," said Mr Edwards. "I asked him if he was OK, and he said he wasn't happy about what had happened to him. "But he must have said he was OK, because I left him. "I pointed him up the street to perhaps the best way of getting out of the area. "I then watched him walk off." Mr Tomlinson began walking along Cornhill, but within minutes he collapsed. Police officers tried to resuscitate him, but he died at approximately 1930 BST. Recalling the events, Mr Edwards said: "I was shocked to be honest, it was unbelievable. "I don't know how to explain it properly.
"For him to go flying through the air like that, I can't see that as being reasonable especially the attack happened behind him and I don't think he was warned because he didn't turn around. "The only time I have seen something similar is a car accident. "He was struck with an immense amount of force and I don't know how it could be justified." Mr Edwards said all the evidence pointed to Mr Tomlinson posing no threat to anyone as he tried to make his way home. "It saddens me that something like that can happen and nothing is done about it. "My heart goes out to his family. "For a local resident trying to get home, to happen to them, is sickening." Source: BBC.
Irish EU referendum 12 June 2008: Vote no!
Irish Lisbon II referendum: Vote NO to the Lisbon Treaty 2 October 2009
Irish voters are preparing to decide the fate of the EU's Lisbon Treaty in a referendum on 12 June 2008. Ireland is the only EU member state to have a public vote on the treaty and both sides have stepped up their campaigning, with many voters still undecided. The Lisbon Treaty is a step towards creating a very authoritarian EU-mega STATE - EU super-state. Thus, the Anarchist Federation says vote no!
Best regards
L. Flanagan
Spokesperson of the Irish section of the anglophone Anarchist Federation
PS. 13.06.2008: Ireland rejects EU reform treaty. Voters in Ireland have rejected the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty in a referendum by 53.4% to 46.6%. The vote is a major blow to leaders in the 27-nation EU, which requires all its members to ratify the treaty. The vote was a great result for the people as a class, in contrast to the superiors economically and/or political/administrative in the whole EU, included Ireland. An earlier, more wide-ranging EU draft constitution failed after French and Dutch voters rejected it in 2005. The Irish No campaign won by 862,415 votes to 752,451. Turnout was 53.1%.
24.06.2008: EU after the Irish referendum. The Lisbon treaty, under EU rules, it cannot enter into force if any of the 27 member states fails to ratify it. Since then, the Czechs have suspended their parliamentary ratification vote pending a constitutional court ruling, and ratification by the UK parliament is being delayed until a court rules on a legal challenge. EU leaders meeting in Brussels on 19-20 June decided to delay any decision on what to do after the Irish No vote until their next summit in mid-October. Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said he could not speculate on whether Ireland would hold a second referendum. The leaders are very divided. EU foreign ministers agreed on 16 June to keep the treaty alive and rejected suggestions that Ireland might be left behind. But Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said there were "no quick-fix solutions" and called for a "comprehensive analysis" of the Irish No vote. Mr Martin's Slovenian counterpart Dimitrij Rupel warned against any hasty moves to resuscitate Lisbon. The Anarchist Federation is prepared for all alternatives, including a new Irish referendum, that should be a new No vote...
28.06.2008. International support for the Anarchist Federation's point of view, with a comment to the article "EU in crisis after Irish No" (EU i krise etter irsk nei) in Dagsavisen.
16.02.2009. Lisbon EU treaty - Call for earlier 2nd Irish Lisbon vote. Ireland's main opposition party has urged Dublin to hold the country's planned second referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty months earlier than previously proposed, to "help the economy". Fine Gael wants it to be in April. The government is sticking to some time before the end of October. It is waiting for details of guarantees promised by European partners in exchange for holding the re-run before giving an exact date. A new poll shows growing support for the treaty, up to 51 percent – an eight point rise since November. The No dropped six points, to 33. In the first referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, last June, an alliance between Fine Gael, fellow opposition Labour and the governing Fianna Fail, failed to obtain a Yes vote. The anarchists again declare: Vote NO to the Lisbon treaty.
27.09.2009. Lisbon II referendum. As mentioned above, the Lisbon Treaty was rejected by Irish voters in 2008. However, Ireland will hold a new referendum on 2 October 2009. The anarchists declare: The Lisbon Treaty is still a step towards creating a very authoritarian EU-mega STATE - EU super-state. Thus, the Anarchist Federation says vote no! Vote NO to the Lisbon Treaty 2 October 2009!
03.10.2009. The Irish electoral office says 67.1 percent of voters said "yes" while 32.9 percent voted "no", on a 58 percent turnout. That contrasts sharply with the June 2008 referendum, when 53.4 percent rejected the treaty on a 51 percent turnout. The treaty requires unanimous ratification. All the other EU nations already have passed the treaty through their national parliaments. Ireland was the only EU member state to hold a referendum on Lisbon, though there have been calls for referendums in several countries. Democratic? Only the heads of state of Poland and the Czech Republic have yet to withhold their assent. The Treaty of Lisbon still has to be ratified by Poland and the Czech Republic, but the Irish vote is a major step towards it's acceptance. The Treaty of Lisbon is not democratic, it is aiming to impose federalism with a top - down approcah, and destroy the people in the member countries' sovereignty and autonomy. Federalism without autonomy is not anarchist.
28.12.2009. The ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty was completed the following month when the Eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus finally signed it. It came into force in December 2009. The anarchists declare: The yes to the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland is a step towards creating a very authoritarian EU-mega STATE - EU super-state. The anarchists continue the fight for autonomy and socialism, against capitalism and statism.
The Anarchist International's Statement on the London Bombing
The Anarchist International Condemns the London Bomb Attacks of 7th July 2005.
As anarchists we deplore the
horrific attacks on innocent people 7th July in London. We
express our deepest sympathy to anyone affected by the
blasts. We condemn the use of political violence and the
perpetrators of the bombings whether they be Islamists or anyone
else.
Terrorist actions are completely at odds with any struggle for a
freer, fairer society and never help oppressed people in any part
of the globe. Instead violence against civilians is a tool of
states and proto-states every bit as brutal as the ones they
profess to oppose. Terrorism is a significant authoritarian
tendency according to the Oslo Convention of 1990. Terrorism has
more than 666 per thousand authoritarian degree on the economical-political
map, i.e. very evil.
Our thoughts are with the victims of this atrocity, and their
loved ones.
![[AF logo ]](http://www.anarchy.no/aflogo.jpg)
THE
ANARCHIST FEDERATION's'
British/anglophone section of the International of Anarchist Federations
Great Britain, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, a.s.o.
CONGRESS SEPTEMBER 01-05 2003 ABOUT OCHLARCHY (MOB RULE) AND OCHLARCHIST INFILTRATION TO THE ANGLOPHONE ANARCHIST MOVEMENT
Contact the AF congress? - click here!
Background note to the congress at
click on: IJA 1 (33)
RESOLUTION FROM THE CONGRESS - UNANIMOUSLY DECIDED UPON:
The Congress takes the background note mentioned above as a program for the fight against ochlarchy and ochlarchist infiltration in the anglophone anarchist movement, and concludes after discussion and analysis that there is a lot of ochlarchist infiltration in the anglophone anarchist movement. Groups with significant ochlarchist infiltration are, say, the so called Anarchist Federation of Britain rooted back to the so called Anarchist Communist Federation with e-mail adress at "bigfoot", (that must of course not be mixed up with the British/anglophone Anarchist Federation), the so called Anarchist Federation of Ireland, NEFAC and the so called Industrial Workers of the World in America. After this congress these groups have got expelling Brown Cards from the IAT for ochlarchist infiltration, several are provocateurs. They are more communist than anarchist, i.e. they are marxist. All anglophone anarchists, i.e. not ochlarchists and not provocateurs, should thus leave these groups at once and join the British/anglophone Anarchist Federation. Updated: See also IJA 1 (36).
IRELAND: Comments on the referendum about the ugly "Nice" treaty
Click on: Ireland - report nr 1
MASSIVE PROTEST AGAINST THE REFENDUM - 51,55% REFUSED TO VOTE AS A PROTEST AGAINST THE ROTTEN SYSTEM! A LARGE MAJORITY, 71,23 % OF THE IRISH PEOPLE, I.E. THE GRASSROOTS, VOTED NO TO THE NICE TREATY. HOWEVER THE BULK OF THE INHABILE UPPER CLASSES, I.E. THE AUTHORITIES, VOTED YES, SO THIS FASCISTOIDE TRAVESTY OF A REFENDUM FALSELY INDICATED "YES" ALL IN ALL, BUT THE PEOPLE DISALLOWED IT.
IRELAND - VOTE NO!
FOR JOBS, GROWTH AND THE BEST FUTURE FOR THE GRASSROOTS OF IRELAND - VOTE NO 19 OCTOBER.
Don't back the treaty - Vote No to the Nice Treaty on Saturday. Teach the Government, led by Mr Ahern's Fianna Fail party, a real lesson on 19 October.
The Nice Treaty is being put to the vote for a second time, 16 months after it was rejected in its first public test. It is a key part of the European Union's plans to take in new members, and fulfill Adolf Hitler's political last will about creating a Gross Germania with the capital in Brüssel*. If the treaty is passed in Ireland, expansion should go ahead without further hitches in 2004. If it is rejected, it throws a spanner in the works - delaying expansion for an unknown period. "No" campaigners must woo the 24% of undecided voters. All libertarians should join in direct actions to create a No-majority.
European Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen spoke optimistically about the progress of the Yes campaign on Sunday, saying the odds offered by Irish bookmakers indicated a victory. Anarchists have another opinion, but the result depends on joint direct action for a No vote, via Internet, on the workplaces and in the streets.
The No campaign suffered a setback when chief spokesman Justin Barrett confirmed attending meetings of far-right parties in Italy and Germany. This must however not stop libertarians to enter the No campaign. Barrett has also insisted that he had been unaware of this. Latest opinion polls suggest that 41% of voters are planning to back the treaty, with 27% against. The crucial "undecided" sector stands at 24% - high enough to swing the result either way. The Irish Government on Monday renewed its campaign to persuade voters to take part and vote yes. The anarchists call for the opposite - a loud and clear NO Saturday 19 October!
FOR JOBS, GROWTH AND THE BEST
FUTURE FOR THE GRASSROOTS OF IRELAND - VOTE NO 19 OCTOBER.
ONLY THE AUTHORITIES AND UPPER CLASSES WILL BENEFIT FROM A YES.
Best regards
L. Flanagan
Spokesperson of the Irish section of the anglophone Anarchist
Federation
*) Or a similar city in the same area west of northern Germany
TO SEE THE NO VS YES DEBATE IN
IRELAND FOLLOWING THIS RESOLUTION
CLICK ON:
Ireland - report no 1
GIBRALTAR - ANARCHIST POINT OF VIEW
"We will not have shared British and Spanish sovereignty over Gibraltar. We will have anarchy as in Norway or even more anarchy, and not anything like an authoritarian pseudodemocracy as in Spain," say the anarchists of Gibraltar.
Police acting libertarian in Norway at the
ABCDE-event 24-26.06.2002 in Oslo, i.e. real, anarchist law and
order. For more information click on:
http://www.anarchy.no/abcde.html and http://www.anarchy.no/sevilla.html
Police acting authoritarian in Spain similar to
at the EU-meeting 21-22.06.2002 in Seville. "Order"
achieved by repression in this way is not real, anarchist, law
and order.
The situation in Seville related to the EU-meeting was horrible
and authoritarian, and demonstrations were problematic. The
anarchists in Spain however raised their voice, but they were not
heard as much as in Oslo.
Regards... S. McCracken S.G. of AF
ANARCHIST FEDERATION OF
BRITAIN/ANGLOPHONE
Go to AF - Click here!
Press Release 09.06.2002 updated
---------------------------------------------------------------------
MICK JAGGER ON THE WRONG TRACK
BOYCOTT MICK - THE YELLOW SHIT!
"NAZI-MICK"!
"TELL ME WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE - AND I WILL TELL YOU WHO YOU ARE " IS A WELL KNOWN ANARCHIST WORD OF WISDOM. COMBINING THIS WORD OF WISDOM WITH THESE PICTURES FROM THE ADOLF HITLER LOVER LENI RIEFENSTAHL'S WEBSITE AS PROOF - WE CERTAINLY MAY CALL MICK JAGGER A "CLOSET NAZI"
NAZI-COLLABORATIONISTS:- LENI RIEFENSTAHL
WITH TWO BOYFRIENDS - MICK AND THE MAJOR
(Pictures from www.leni-riefenstahl.de/deu/bio.html)
Jagger's royal honours tease in 2001. Now he is heading for a "sir" title. "Return to sender", says Elvis of AF.Mick Jagger: The Rolling Stone gathers no titles, (and that is how it should be.) Rolling Stone Mick Jagger has poked fun at the royal family for the lack of honours he has received during his long musical career. That is what he should continue to do. In a documentary, the singer held a conversation between himself and an imaginary royal person, drawling in exaggerated upper-class tones: "Is it true that you haven't got anything at all? That is rather odd, isn't it?" Jagger's fellow musicians Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John have already been formerly recognised, and The Beatles were all made MBEs many years ago, although John Lennon later handed his back.
Mick should not receive such an upper class title. He is a "street fighting man", although "playing in a rock'n roll band". If he is going to be a "sir" we will never buy a Rolling Stones record again, says Brian Jones of the Anarchist Federation of Great Britain. (not the dead R. S. guitar player of course, but an ordinary member of AF). Rock of ages: The Rolling Stones are still touring. Jagger made his comments shortly before meeting the Prince of Wales at the London première of the film Enigma, which the singer produced. "If Mick takes a "sir" title, he should f... o... He is then no longer a friend of the people of the world", Brian says, "but one of the authorities!"
IF MICK TAKES THE "SIR" TITLE WE SHOULD: "BOYCOTT
MICK - THE YELLOW SHIT!"
... and stop buying Rolling Stones'
records and tickets!
Anarchist greetings
S. McCracken
S.G. of the Anarchist Federation of Great Britain.
11.06.2002: The direct action boycott against "Mick the
yellow shit", i.e. if he is taking the "sir" title, has reached the Latin world:
Assunto: The Rolling Stone gathers no titles, and that is how it
should be! AF! "S. P. (TUTOPIA)"
Observação: mensagem anexa encaminhada. Os honras reais do Jagger arreliam em 2001. Agora ele está pensando em um "título de senhor. "Retorne ao remetente", diz Elvis da Anarchist Federation. Mick Jagger: O Pedra Rodante não tem nenhum título, e isto é como ele devia ser. A pedra rodante Mick Jagger cutucou diversão na família real para a falta de honras que ele recebeu durante sua longa carreira musical. É era isso que ele devia continuar a fazer. Em um documentário, o cantante manteve uma conversação entre ele mesmo e uma pessoa imaginária ligada a realeza, na caricaturizaçã da classe alta manteve uma voz com alta afinação: "É verdade que você não conseguiu qualquer coisa mesmo? Isto é bastante estranho, não é isto?" O JAGGER segue seus amigos músicos da mesmas categoria Sir Paul McCartney e Sir Elton John do já foi anteriormente reconhecido, e The Beatles eram todos fizeram MBEs (condecorações e títulos da realeza) muitos anos atrás, embora John Lennon mais tarde tivesse mandado tudo as favas.
Mick não devia receber tal título de classe alta. Ele é um "homem que luta nas ruas", embora "tocando em uma banda de rock'n roll". Se ele estiver virando um "senhor/Sir" nós nunca mais compraremos discos dos Pedras Rodantes novamente, diz Brian Jones da Federação Anarquista da Grã-Bretanha. (não o tocador de violão de R. S. morto claro, mas um membro ordinário de AF). A Era do Rock: As Pedras Rodantes estão ainda viajando. Jagger fez seus comentários logo antes de se encontrar com o Príncipe de Gales em Londres na première do filme "Enigma", que o cantante produziu. "Se Mick aceitar um "título de senhor/Sir, ele devia fuck off/sair fora/se fiuder. Ele não seria então mais um amigo das pessoas do mundo", Brian diz, "mas só mais uma das autoridades!"
Saudações anarquistas
Tradução "CCN"
13-18.06.2002: FREEDOM ONLINE NEWSLETTER NO 1 - 2002 - BOYCOTT OF "YELLOW MICK JAGGER" UPDATE, ETC ... SEND TO THE GB ETC. E-MAIL-ADRESSES OF YOUR OWN LISTS TO AF AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. THE AF IS A NON-SECTARIAN NETWORK AND OPENS FOR WIDE DISTRIBUTION IN GB AND THE ANGLOPHONE WORLD IN GENERAL. Regards... S. McC.
P.S. Feel free to copy and paste and send messages with "BOYCOTT MICK THE YELLOW SHIT" to: <yourname@stones.com>; <getAccess@cc.com>; <Sales@TicketsNow.com>; <myorder@TicketsNow.com>; <Manager@TicketsNow.com>; <News@TicketsNow.com>; <Feedback@TicketsNow.com>; <Webmaster@TicketsNow.com>; <rockandrolletc@rcn.com>; <mailroom@beggarsbanquetonline.com>; <postmaster@genesiseditions.demon.co.uk>; <iorr@arena.no>; <rolling.stones.fan.club@lund.mail.telia.com>; <Wolfgang.Morscher@uibk.ac.at>.
Comment from NOTBORED: "Should have started the boycott back in 1976, during the "Black and blue" ad campaign! Well, better late than never, wot? Re. S. McC: "Yes, better late than never! By the way the other "sirs" of R&R in Britain are of course practically boycotted long time ago.... Boring far...."
The boycott of "Mick the yellow shit", and Rollings Stones is ON!
Sir Mick's 'surprise' at royal honour: Sir Mick Jagger has said his friends and family were amused at him being given a knighthood, while he was surprised at receiving the title. The Rolling Stones singer, once seen as the scourge of the Establishment, added that it also led to merciless teasing as news of his honour spread. Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Mick the yellow shit, 58, said he was "very surprised" to receive the letter informing him of the honour (Friday). Sir Mick the yellow shit is looking forward to the next Stones tour. Jagger said he had not been waiting for a knighthood, although other pop stars from the 1960s such as Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Cliff Richard have received the honour. "Noel Coward didn't get a knighthood until he was 80. Tom Stoppard's older than me - he didn't get a knighthood until recently," he said.
"I didn't expect to get one. I just didn't," he said. "Very strange since he nearly begged for it last year", says S. McCracken. But he ducked the question of whether or not he deserved the knighthood. The Stones once personified 1960s counter-culture and revolutionary movement, with songs as "Street fighting man", "Salt of the Earth", "2000 man", "Mother's little helper", "Factory girl", "Satisfaction" and "Gimme Shelter". "I'm very happy to get one. Whether I deserve one or not is not my place," he said. "You've got to feel apart from that. "I think the thing about honours is that you should never really ask for them, and you should never really expect them, but I think you should accept them if they are given to you. "Well, John Lennon returned the yellow shit title...", says McCracken. Mick added: "It's a great recognition of what the band's achievements have been over the years we've been together." Jagger said that his son Gabriel, four, told school friends that his father would now be able to wear armour. "Yeaah, Mick has certainly been a real knight of the Queen and a nobelman..." S. McC, continues. "Gabriel was asked to talk about his news of the week to the class and he said: 'My father's going to be knighted. He's going to be a knight'."
"I don't think it will change me," says Sir Mick, they yellow shit. The honour would no doubt have surprised and puzzled both friends and foes of the band in their 1960s heyday, when the group seemed to personify counter-cultural and revolutionary tendencies. But Sir Mick said: "There's been a debate about whether I'm in the Establishment or not since about 1966, when I was first on the London social scene." And, he added: "I don't think it will change me that much. I don't see any great changes in friends who have had similar things happen to them." "This debate is now brought to and end. Mick is from now on not only a rich plutarch, but also a knight, "Sir", and nobelman, and a yellow shit. That's it! "says S. McCracken: "The boycott of "Mick the yellow shit", and Rollings Stones is ON! We will buy no records and Rolling Stones tour tickets.... The next Rolling Stones tour starts in the US on 3 September.
Update: 03-05.09.2002: The Rolling Stones has started the 2002 tour, but it sounds politically false and very out of tune - when Mick - the yellow Shit - sings about revolution and "Street fighting man". The boycott continues until Mick returns the whole knighthood thing to the queen, does solidarity work and acts revolutionary, - says S. McCracken, S.G. of the Anarchist Federation.
_ _ _
15-16.09.2002
Hello there:
Reply to Mick Jagger Boycott: Just a couple of thoughts
from a Melbourne, Australia anarchist: - I'm wondering why
you expected him to be aware, radical, with a conscience etc?
Well, as pointed out in the text above the
Stones once personified 1960s counter-culture and revolutionary
movement, with workingclass songs as "Street fighting man",
"Salt of the Earth", "2000 man", "Mother's
little helper", "Factory girl", "Satisfaction"
and "Gimme Shelter". Mick is in this way a kind of
political icon for people that want to change the world, at least
seen in a historical context. And The Rolling Stones are probably
still the no 1. R & R and R & B band in the world.
Besides we think music may be an important trendsetter on the way
people think, as explained below.
- I'm wondering why you are criticising him for knowing and
or being
photographed with Leni Reifenstahl?
Leni Riefenstahl is a well known cultural
nazi icon, and have made several nazi propaganda movies. Thus, it
is quite obvious that Mick in this way contributes to legitimate
the nazi stuff of Leni Riefenstahl. When Mick is publicly
friendly with Riefenstahl, many people may wrongly think her nazi
propaganda movies are ok or not so bad after all.
- ...And not for his mindless consumption or sexism etc. etc. I'm
wondering why you expected him to be any different from any
other
wealthy consumer?
We are mostly interested in Mick as a
political icon in this context, and as a kind of trendsetter it
may be important to give him a hint that he is on the wrong track.
In other ways Mick is not more interesting than any rich rock
star.
- I suppose it all seems a bit passe.. So what? Another pop music
figure is
exposed as a conservative... Cheers C. S.
Passe or not - as indicate above, this is
more of a special, political case. Say, the Beatles were all made
MBEs many years ago, but John Lennon later handed his back. In
this way he kept up a relatively progressive political profile.
Mick, who is even more of a revolutionary icon, should do the
same - return the shit. When he becomes conservative - and a
"closet nazi", say, a lot of fans may also get this
tendency as well as people reading about this in the papers. The
boycott is also an action against the ongoing authoritarian and
reactionary tendencies in pop music in general.
Of course the boycott against Mick & Co is not the most
important work of AF, say, we also join in the broad based
libertarian actions of the different sections of the Anarchist
International in general, i.e. feminist, syndicalist,
environment, solidarity work, etc.
Regards... S. McCracken
PS. 23.06.2011. Later Mick Jagger try to act more progressive in the song "Sweet Neo Con" stating a.o.t. "How come you're so wrong - My sweet neo con.... Yeah - It's liberty for all - 'Cause democracy's our style - Unless you are against us - Then it's prison without trial - How come you're so wrong - My sweet neo con - If you turn out right - I'll eat my hat tonight." Sweet Neo Con" is a controversial song from the 2005 Rolling Stones album 'A Bigger Bang'. The song itself was primarily a Jagger composition, with Jagger performing vocals, harmonica, bass, and guitar with Richards, and with Charlie Watts on drums. This song represents a slight improvement but also nazis object to neo cons, so the boycott of Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones continues. The record is available on You Tube - Sweet Neo Con - The Rolling Stones. Regards... S. McCracken
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR
ORGANIZATION RESEARCH - IIFOR
http://www.anarchy.no/iifor.html
- IIFOR P.B. 4777 Sofienberg N-0506 Oslo - Norway
ANARCHY IN NORWAY - ANARCHY IN GREAT BRITAIN?
Dear Matt
I have got a question from you sent via the mailform at AF's homepage:
....
> I'm interested to know whether the UK is an
anarchist paradise, just
> like Norway?
Norway is no anarchist paradise, although some Americans in California think so (say, LA-Times), see link at foot of web-page Anarchy in Norway.
The Norwegian system is only a little above 50%
anarchist (ca 53%), i.e. significant anarchist, but at ca 47%
distance from the anarchist 100% ideal, and just 3-4 % from
significant authoritarian rule, i.e > 50% authoritarian. There
is all in all an influence from the people, anarchists included,
on the societal management upwards at about ca 53%, and ca 47%
the other way around, from the top, the authorities, towards the
bottom, grassroots. Thus the people seen all in all have a
significant influence on "the wheel", a) sometimes
directly or by sacking of delegates, mandated persons and
officials that don't deliver and produce results in the interest
of the people, and b) most of the time as a "hand on the
hand who turns the wheel" in different ways via media and
workingclass people's organizations, but the bureaucracy broadly
defined, the authorities, are also quite powerful, especially
relatively to their small number of persons. Sometimes the state
council, a kind of minority based cabinet, must "eat camels",
"sluke en kamel", as we say in Norwegian, because it is
over-ridden by a majority of the mandates at the Storting.
Furthermore, nobelmen are not allowed, there are no "sirs".
Thus Norway is no anarchist paradise, i.e. 90-100%
anarchy, but only a bit anarchistl, as mentioned ca 53%
anarchist and thus also with about 47% authoritarian tendencies (1994-2001. In 2002 an anarchist degree of ca 54% was measured, an per 2008 it is the same).
The IIFOR and the networks, FICEDL, AIUF, etc. have not analysed
GB very much in this context. As a preliminary working
hypothesis, we think perhaps the British system seen all in all
is a liberal, a bit authoritarian democratic (more than 50%
authoritarian, but not totalitarian/dictatorship, i.e. more than
67% authoritarian), significant plutarchy (more than 50%
capitalist), i.e. within the liberalist
quadrant on the E.P. map, see System theory and EP-map
. [Later research showed however that the preliminary working
hypothesis for GB was rejected and that the UK-system in reality is moderate populist, ed.no]
The Tony Blair "Labor" cabinet is probably pulling in
left-populist direction more than towards socialism and freedom,
but this force is weak, and we see no change towards Britain
moving out of the liberalist quadrant in the near future. Sorry
to say, the so called British "libertarian" movement is
for a large part just semilibertarian at best, and infiltrated by
council communists, marxist-lubbeists included, trotskyites and
their "friends" and "wannabe" libertarians,
and thus not pushing and pulling significant in the right
direction. Several more or less marxian and ochlarchical
unofficial "anarchist" and "anarchist federation"
websites made by kids and provokers, don't make it any better.
The purpose of this infiltration is to provoke, make chaos and
ochlarchy, falsely rename it "anarchy", later call for
strong rule by the commie party, and compromise and put the blame
for the ochlarchy on the anarchist movement, throwing shit on the
idea of freedom and the libertarian in general. This
authoritarian game of ochlarchy and false "anarchy" is
well know. The only hope is AF, see URL above.
Sorry pal. My tip is no significant anarchy, i.e. above 50%
degree of anarchy in Britain in the near future.
Anarchist Paradise? Not even in Norway in the near future. Perhaps
in a 100 years, about 60% anarchy can be achieved?! It may easy
go the other way, towards significant authoritarian rule.
By the way. The AF is an open, including, not a splitting
and expulsing network-organization. Thus, it will send
newsletters to all radical groups in GB, anarchist, marxian,
populist light, liberal, leftist, middle and rightist as long as
they are a) not more than ca 55% reactionary, and/or b) not more
than 67% authoritarian, i.e. terrorists and/or very chaotic, red/brown,
dark brown , or blue/brown, left wing extremists and right wing
extremists and/or nationalists, mafia/ochlarchists or small group
"class war" vanguardists, i.e. for "class struggle"
militarism.
Thus we hope AF of GB may contribute at least to some dialog and
progressive actions in general, of course not ochlarchical,
terrorist included, but with dignity. If you have any
fellows that may be interested in joining in with an e-mailadress
in GB, you should feel free to send a list to WSC-IFA at World Secretariate etc. of IAF-IFA-AI
or the AF . The AF in GB has already local contacts/federations
in Scotland, Wales, England, Northern Ireland, Falkland and other
islands mainly in the South Atlantic ocean plus Gibraltar, as
well as a contact at the WSC-IFA. Furthermore there are contacts/sections
for the Anglophone countries broadly defined world wide, i.e.
Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, etc. The
S.G. of AF is for the time being S. McCracken.
Great Britain is no anarchist paradise and Norway is no anarchist paradise. Britain is a little authoritarian, and Norway is a little anarchist. The same as in GB is more or less valid for the rest of the Anglophone world, although the coordinates of the systems within the liberalist [or the fascist] quadrant may variate from place to place. Say, it is relatively a big difference between Vermont in USA and the system of Mauritius. [Later research showed however that the preliminary working hypothesis for GB was rejected and that the UK-system in reality is moderate populist, ed.no]
Anarchist greetings.
S. Johnsen,
Research fellow
IIFOR
Freedom Press has published the anarchist paper Freedom for many years. The group has also published an anarchist quarterly, the Raven, and many anarchist books and pamphlets. They also have run an anarchist bookshop and distributed the output of some North American anarchist publishers. The Freedom Press started in 1896 and had first an office close to Fleet Street in London, but soon had to move to another adress. In 1942 Freedom Press moved to Angel Alley. Contributors, editors and other workers are all unpaid volunteers. For a free specimen copy of Freedom and a book list write to Freedom Press in Angel Alley, 84b Whitechapel Highstreet London E1. Behind a door with a small sign with "Freedom Press" written on it, up some stairs and in a door, we find the bookshop.
The first Freedom emerged from the British socialist movement in the early 1880's. At that time there were several overlapping organisations with associated periodicals - The Social Democratic Federation with Justice and Today, the Fabian society with the Practical Socialist and Our Corner, the Socialist League with the Commonweal, and so on. Anarchists were active in all these, but there were no seperate anarchist initiatives in the country until the formation of a "circle of English anarchists" in May 1885. This group included both Continental emigres (Such as Nikola Chaikovski and Severio Merlino) and native British anarchists; among the latter the most prominent member was Charlotte Wilson, who was both well educated and well off , and who was an active writer and speaker advocating anarchism in socialist organisations and publications from 1884.
When Peter Kropotkin, the best-known figure in the international anarchist movement, was released from prison in France in January 1886, Charlotte Wilson was responsible for the group inviting him to come to Britain to join them. He settled in England in March 1886, and the group decided to produce a new anarchist paper. This was the origin of Freedom and the Freedom Press.
Meanwhile Charlotte Wilson wrote an account of anarchism in the fourth Fabian tract, What Socialism is , which was published in June 1886, and led the anarchists at a joint socialist meeting which supported parliamentary socialism by a two-to-one vote, at Anderton's Hotel in London in September 1886. The time had come for a new anarchist initiative.
Freedom began publicating as a monthly in October 1886. From the start it was intended not as the organ of a particular group but rather as an indpendent voice in the wider movement. At first it was described as a journal of Anarchist Socialism, but in June 1889 it became a "Journal of Anarchist Communism"; it has often represented mainstream anarchism, and also giving a voice to differing views. Although Freedom Press concentrated on the periodical from 1889, it also produced other publications - first pamphlets and then booklets and books, mostly works by foreign writers (Kropotkin above all, but also Errico Malatesta, Jean Grave, Gustav Landauer, Max Nettlau, Domela Nieuwenhuis, Emile Pouget,Varlaam Cherkezov, Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman plus Proudhon and Bakunin) and also works by British writers (including Herbert Spencer and William Morris). And from the start there were regular discussions and occasional public meetings.
For most of the first decade, Freedom was edited, published and largely finanaced by Charlotte Wilson, although its most important contributor was Kropotkin. Freedom became the main English language anarchist paper in the country, a position it has held for most of the time ever since. After the First World War anarchism seemed eclipsed by the rise of Communism and later Fascism abroad and parliamentary socialism at home and the original Freedom ceased publication in December 1927.
When the Spanish Civil War and Revolution began in 1936, Freedom Press helped to revive the anarchist movement in Britain, Spain and the world appeared fortnightly from December 1936 to December 1938. When the Second World War began yet another Freedom Press paper was started, a rather naive journal called War Commentary began publication in November 1939, the production of other publications was resumed, a printing press was acquired in Whitechapel and a bookshop was opened.
War Commentary co-operated with radical pacifists and the few socialists who escaped the line of the labour and Communist parties. When the war ended in Asia, in August 1945, the title was changed back to Freedom.
Freedom Press was attacked with a firebomb Spring 1993. The bomb destroyed much of the printing office. This was the first time in history Freedom was violently attacked. "We have never had trouble before" said Vernon Richards. A domestic neo-nazi group, Combat 18, stood probably behind this act of terrorism.
Freedom published among other things in October 1994 the Oslo Convention of 1990 against mob rule etc. related to an ochlarchical meeting in October 1994 arranged by authoritarian chaos-punks, marxians and mad fogarchs posing as "anarchists", called "Anarchy in the UK", with magical "Levitation of parliament" as the main "direct action". Vernon Richards et.al. of Freedom and Freedom Press denounced this meeting, together with the IAF/IFA.
In the late 1990s the paper Freedom declined in quality, and the paper is today mostly of historical interest. To keep up the tradition the AF has called this online news-file "Freedom Online". This is however not an organ of Freedom Press, but of the AF.
The main militant of Freedom and Freedom Press for several years was Vernon Richards, see note below.
IISG has an archive on the paper containing the following: Freedom in the period : (1886) 1904-1980: Biographical/historical note : The anarchist periodical started in 1886 by a group of friends around Peter Kropotkin after their separation from the English Anarchist Circle and The Anarchist edited by Henry Seymour; in addition to Freedom, the group eventually set up the Freedom Press, the main publisher of anarchist literature in England; first editors of Freedom were Charlotte M. Wilson 1886-1895, Alfred Marsh 1895-1912 and Thomas H. Keell 1912-1932; among the contributors to the periodical were George Bernard Shaw, Max Nettlau and Kropotkin; a rival Freedom was published by opponents of Thomas Keell, including John Turner and Oscar Swede 1930-1936; ceased publication in favour of Spain and the World 1936-1938, edited by Vernon Richards, and changed its name to Revolt in 1939; this was continued as War Commentary, renamed Freedom in 1945.
The contents of the IISG archive on Freedom are: Daybooks, accountbooks, letterbooks and subscription lists 1889-1980; documents concerning administration, financial affairs and publications of Freedom and Freedom Press; manuscripts for, and letters to Freedom and Freedom Press (most complete for the period 1920-1938) from Guy Aldred, Ba Jin (Li Feigan), George Ballard (pseudonym Barrett), Alexander Berkman, Thomas Cantwell, Edward Carpenter, Varlaam and Frieda Cerkezov, Fred Charles, Clara Gilbert Cole, Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis, Vera Figner, Henry Glasse, Emma Goldman, Marcus Graham, Jean Grave, Rudolf Grossmann, Auberon Herbert, George J. Holyoake, Mabel Hope, Henry M. Hyndman, Joseph Ishill, Harry Jones, Bernhard Kampffmeyer, Thomas H. Keell, Harry Kelly, Kotoku Sakae, Peter and Sophie Kropotkin, Jo Labadie, Gustav Landauer, John McAra, John Henry Mackay, Enrique Flores Magón, Errico Malatesta, Tom Mann, Saverio Merlino, Louise Michel, Leonard Motler, Erich Mühsam, Max Nettlau, William Owen, Joseph Presburg, Ben L. Reitman, John Beverly Robinson, Rudolf Rocker, Olivia Rossetti, Emil F. Ruedebausch, Alexander Schapiro, George Bernard Shaw, Mollie Steimer, Oscar Swede, James Tochatti, John Turner, Charlotte M. Wilson and others.
When Freedom Online in 2002 became an organ of the Anglophone libertarian world and Anarchist Federation in general, it is following the historical tradition with writers of several countries word wide.
Freedom, London's oldest anarchist bookshop, was firebombed in the early hours of Friday 1st Febuary 2013. The bookshop on the ground floor and the building's electrics were “seriously damaged”, despite the bookshop having been fitted with metal shutters following a bombing by members of Combat 18, a British neo-fascist group, in 1993. Thankfully, nobody was hurt in the new attack. Freedom Bookshop is home of Freedom newspaper, Britain's longest running anarchist newspaper, as well as the Freedom Press, the country's largest anarchist publishers. Freedom was founded in 1886 by volunteers including Peter Kropotkin and Charlotte Wilson. Contributors to the paper have included Emma Goldma and George Orwell. The bookshop remains a vital and lively hub for the anarchist movement in Britain.
Vernon
Richards
He helped to keep the anarchist voice alive in
Britain
Across seven decades, Vernon Richards, who has died aged 86, maintained an anarchist presence in British publishing. His chosen instrument was Freedom Press, based in Whitechapel, in London's east end. He edited the anarchist paper Freedom - and its prewar and wartime variations - into the 1960s. Earlier, he had written a biography of the Italian anarchist Errico Malatesta, and photographed George Orwell. Born Vero Recchioni in Soho, Vernon was the son of the Italian anarchist Ernidio Recchioni. Vernon was educated at Emmanuel school, Wandsworth, and graduated in civil engineering from King's College London in 1939. In his Soho childhood, he had been taught the violin by the conductor John Barbirolli's uncle, and had performed the orchestral repertoire.
By 1934, he was becoming active in the battle against Mussolini, and, in 1935, was deported from France, where he had met the Italian anarchist Camillo Berneri, and fallen in love with his daughter, Marie-Louise. Back in London, he anglicised his name to Vernon Richards and, co-operating with Berneri in Paris, started publishing Free Italy/Italia Libera. In 1936, the year the Spanish civil war began, Vernon joined the veterans of Freedom - founded in the 1880s, it had effectively ceased publication by 1932 - to produce Spain And The World as an English-language voice for Spanish anarchists, according to Colin Ward. This was at a time when the only version of events in Spain being heard on the left in Britain was that of the News Chronicle and New Statesman, supporting the Soviet-backed popular front. In October 1937, Marie-Louise joined Vernon in London, and, to give her citizenship, they married. She and their baby died in childbirth in 1949.
Between the end of the Spanish civil war and the outbreak of the second world war, the fortnightly Spain And The World briefly became Revolt!, before adopting the title War Commentary. In 1945, War Commentary resumed the title of Freedom. A bit naive pacifist acts ruined his career as a civil engineer. Instead, he ran the family business, a food shop at 37 Old Compton Street, Soho, until it was sold in the 1950s. He also worked as a freelance photographer - producing latterly famous images of Orwell in the mid-1940s - and as an organic gardener and travel courier. Convinced that the links formed by tourism were a liberatory influence, opening closed frontiers, he went to Franco's Spain and the Soviet Union. In 1968, he and Peta Hewetson moved to a smallholding in Suffolk, where, for almost 30 years, Vernon produced vegetables for the organic market.
After 1951, he continued to edit Freedom as a weekly, and wrote, in weekly instalments, his continually reprinted and translated Lessons Of The Spanish Revolution (1953). He quit as Freedom's editor in 1964, but assumed the role again whenever he felt that others were pushing it in the wrong direction. It was not until the 1990s that he finally stopped writing for the paper. By this time, Freedom Press, as an anarchist publisher, had a spectacular range of books in print. Looking for the source of Vernon's single-mindedness, friends assumed that his father had set him in motion. The anarchist who influenced him most was Malatesta. In his dedication, Vernon was a bit of an ruthless exploiter of others. None of the group he had inspired in the 1940s - Sansom, Hewetson, and George Woodcock - were on speaking terms with him at the times of their deaths. Unable to recognise himself as a bit of a manipulator, he saw their withdrawal from his circle as proof that they had been seduced by capitalist values. At the end of the 1990s, admirers sponsored the publication by Freedom Press of four books of Vernon's photographs. In 1999, the Centre For Catalan Studies produced an album of his pictures, taken after 1957 while he was escorting holidaymakers to the then poverty-stricken Catalan village of L'Escala. For local families, the book became a precious record of their grandparents, their dignity and hard times. Peta predeceased him in 1997. Vernon Richards (Vero Recchioni), the writer and publisher, born July 19 1915; died December 10 2001. All in all an a bit naive spokesman of anarchism, and with some minor authoritarian tendencies, but he certainly contributed to keep the anarchist voice alive in Britain. Perhaps one of the best among a not too impressing and a bit naive lot of British writers on anarchism.
IISG has a also a file on Vernon Richard. It starts with a biographical/historical note: Recchioni, Vero, later anglicised to Vernon Richards: born in London 1915, died in Hadleigh, Suffolk 2001; civil engineer, anarchist and editor; helped his father with propaganda work against Mussolini; arrested in Paris in January 1935 and extradited from France; in 1936, he published in collaboration with Camillo Berneri a bilingual anarchist and antifascist paper Italia Libera/Free Italy; founded and edited Spain and the World, which became Revolt in 1939, and eventually was followed by War Commentary 1939-1945 and Freedom from 1945; imprisoned for nine months for inciting agitation among soldiers in 1945; editor of Freedom until 1964; continued to run Freedom Press; among his publications are ‘Lessons of the Spanish Revolution' 1953 and ‘Errico Malatesta Life and Ideas' 1965. Berneri, Marie Louise: his first wife, born in Arezzo, Italy 1918, died in London 1949; took part in the publication of Revision Paris; went to Spain in 1936 where her father Camillo Berneri edited Guerra di Classe; returned to Paris to study psychology at the Sorbonne; went again to Spain after the assassination of her father; in October 1937 she went to London to help her companion Vernon Richards with the publication of Spain and the World; member of the group that edited Revolt and then War Commentary and Freedom until her premature death; among her publications are ‘Journey through Utopia' 1950 and ‘Neither East nor West' 1952.
Recchioni, Emidio: his father, a wild one called "bourgeoisie terrorist" by Vernon according to Colin Ward, born in Russi near Ravenna, Italy 1864, died in Paris 1934; railroad employee; originally a republican and follower of Giuseppe Mazzini; converted to anarchism in the early 1890s; contributed to Sempre Avanti; founded and edited, with Cesare Agostinelli and others, L'art. 248 Ancona in 1894; arrested in June 1894 in connection with the shooting of Prime Minister Crispi and confined for three years; started with Malatesta and friends L' Agitazione Ancona in 1897; soon arrested again and sent back to the prison isles, but managed to escape; emigrated to England in 1900; stayed involved in all Italian anarchist publications published in Ancona before and during the First World War; contributor to La Protesta and L' Adunata dei refrattari and other papers, mainly under his pen name Nemo; organized and financed a number of attempts on Mussolini.
Contents of IISG archive: Vernon Richards papers; correspondence relating to Freedom, 1924, 1933-1987 and n.d., including some personal letters, with Camillo Berneri, Gerald Brenan, Havelock Ellis, Emma Goldman, Jim Huggon and Steve Sorba, August John, Max Nettlau, George Orwell, Sylvia Pankhurst, Herbert Read, Raffaele Schiavina and many other anarchists mainly from France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and the USA; personal papers relating to education, study, finance, family members, memberships and business activities 1926-1983; Manuscripts of articles and books, including ‘Malatesta – Life and Ideas' and ‘Lessons of the Spanish Revolution', with some other documents; manuscripts and notes by Camillo Berneri, Max Nettlau and others 1858-1984; manuscripts of translations, including ‘Kropotkin's The State – Its Historic Role' and Gaston Leval's ‘Collectives in the Spanish Revolution' by (1937) 1969, 1973-1975, 1978; files relating to Freedom Press, including minutes of meetings 1946-1948, 1965-1967; documents relating to organization, finance and premisis, partly also concerning Spain and the World and Revolt 1936-1984; manuscripts by various authors; documents on publishing activities, the Freedom bookshop, a conflict with the Anarchist Federation Group 1941-1946, the prosecution of Freedom members on charges of conspiracy 1940-1941, 1944-1945; documents relating to a protest meeting against political trials in Spain 1952, including single letters from Benjamin Brittan, Fenner Brockway, E.M. Foster, Aldous Huxley, Lewis Mumford and Bertrand Russell; documents on other subjects and printed material. IIFOR also mentions a collection of essays edited by Vernon Richards called "The Impossibilities of Social Democracy" available from Freedom Press bookshop in 1994 and "Why work? Arguments for a leisure society" presenting some rather naive arch-utopian ideas of little anarchist interest. IIFOR has also some more articles and other stuff about Freedom and Vernon Richards from the 1990s and later.
Marie Louise Berneri papers: correspondence with anarchists 1936, 1938-1949, including Volin (pseudonym of Vsevelod M. Eichenbaum); letters from her mother Giovanna Berneri 1937, 1939 and from Vernon Richards 1945; diaries 1934, 1939, 1947-1949; documents relating to education and study 1933-1936; manuscript of ‘Workers in Stalin's Russia' 1941-1945 and of articles and speeches 1937-1938, 1940-1943; notes 1929, 1935-1944, 1949; documentation 1932-1947; letters by Marie Louise Berneri to her grandmother Aldalgisa Berneri-Fochi 1947-1949. Emidio Recchioni papers: letters received from Luigi Fabbri, Carlo Frigero, Luigi Galleani, Errico Malatesta, Max Nettlau, Raffaele Schiavina (1904-) 1921-1934; notebooks kept during his illness 1934; manuscripts of articles 1921 and n.d.; financial documents relating to his Italian produce store ‘King Bomba' in London 1917-1919 and Carrara marble trading 1925, 1931-1933; some documents concerning Michele Schirru's attempt on Mussolini and Recchioni's involvement 1930-1932. Papers of other relatives: papers of Camillo Berneri (1897-1937) consisting of letters received by Berneri 1916, 1920, 1929, 1935, manuscripts of articles primarily on the catholic church and fascism 1905-1906, 1909, 1926-1927, 1932-1937, notes on Spain 1936-1937, printed material; papers of Giovanna Berneri, Giliane Berneri, Constanza Recchioni, Vera Balfour-Recchioni.