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Anarchists sabotage railway signalling in Bristol

TopCat said:
The communiques from the Angry brigade were also totally embarrassing (and helped get them caught).
I think this will run and run. A big market exists for direct action instead of community politics. Then a few folk will get 16 years in nick and it will fizzle out. If you are known to be a west country anarchist and are up to no good, watch out!
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anyone asking for zoider, some rags and a bottle of paraffin'll be nicked straight off
 
TopCat said:
If you are known to be a west country anarchist and are up to no good, watch out!
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Purely for reasons of comparison, and entirely without prejudice (not in anyway connected to this FIA thing, not all anarchists etc etc), the EDO Decommissioners case (all acquitted I hasten to add) was used by police in Bristol and in Brighton as a way of exploring personal and political connections between large - very large - numbers of people.

Despite the non-violent and essentially spontaneous nature of the action, vast quantities of paperwork, books, posters, DVDs, CDs, flashdrives, computers, mobile phones, photographs, cameras, address books, calendars, personal correspondence etc were seized and examined by police. Extensive analysis of phone data was undertaken.

Whether or not any of this material was found to have any investigatory significance with relation to this specific action - in which those taking part took Ploughshares-style personal responsibility for their actions, made no attempt to evade arrest, and claimed a defence of preventing a bigger crime - is subject to debate. What is clear, however, is that the intelligence value, in terms of building up a detailed picture of who knows who, was not insignificant. The failure of the Crown to convict, despite (i) the defendants' acknowledgement that they did what they were charged with having done [caveats apply etc], and (ii) the extraordinary volume of incredibly personal information mined from the defendants and others, in no way diminishes the fact that the state still has all this information.

So to expand on TopCat's point, you don't have to be in the West Country, you don't have to be an anarchist, you don't have to be "up to no good", and you don't have to (unwittingly or otherwise) know who did the train thing, or agree with it, to be concerned. Whether as a purely cynical pretext, for genuine investigation reasons, or for intelligence gathering, lots of people will be looked at (and that's putting it mildly).
 
DaveCinzano said:
Purely for reasons of comparison, and entirely without prejudice (not in anyway connected to this FIA thing, not all anarchists etc etc), the EDO Decommissioners case (all acquitted I hasten to add) was used by police in Bristol and in Brighton as a way of exploring personal and political connections between large - very large - numbers of people.

Despite the non-violent and essentially spontaneous nature of the action, vast quantities of paperwork, books, posters, DVDs, CDs, flashdrives, computers, mobile phones, photographs, cameras, address books, calendars, personal correspondence etc were seized and examined by police. Extensive analysis of phone data was undertaken.

Whether or not any of this material was found to have any investigatory significance with relation to this specific action - in which those taking part took Ploughshares-style personal responsibility for their actions, made no attempt to evade arrest, and claimed a defence of preventing a bigger crime - is subject to debate. What is clear, however, is that the intelligence value, in terms of building up a detailed picture of who knows who, was not insignificant. The failure of the Crown to convict, despite (i) the defendants' acknowledgement that they did what they were charged with having done [caveats apply etc], and (ii) the extraordinary volume of incredibly personal information mined from the defendants and others, in no way diminishes the fact that the state still has all this information.

So to expand on TopCat's point, you don't have to be in the West Country, you don't have to be an anarchist, you don't have to be "up to no good", and you don't have to (unwittingly or otherwise) know who did the train thing, or agree with it, to be concerned. Whether as a purely cynical pretext, for genuine investigation reasons, or for intelligence gathering, lots of people will be looked at (and that's putting it mildly).
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like bommi baumann said, illegality's something that can happen to anyone, like treading in dogshit
 
chilango said:
On this thread we want less P45s and more P38s.
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090104.gif


You are planning to fill their orifices with plastic padding, comrade?

Kinky!
 
there's some informal anarchist shenanigans going on on Doctors today.




( its violent anarchists beating up cleaners)
 
If AFED haven't already released a statement pointing out that this group has nothing to do with them it might be a good idea to do so - I've had to patiently explain to two different people today that the IAF or whatever they're called aren't the same group.
 
Further to the above comment, which referred to the EDO Decommissioners case, the judgement in the appeal brought by John Catt in relation to intelligence data held by the police on non-violent protesters AKA 'domestic extremists' was given yesterday.

It fell in favour of the police, ACPO and the NPOIU/NDEU.

As the Network for Police Monitoring points out:

Interestingly, in highlighting the criminal nature of the group, reference was made to £300, 000 of damage that was inflicted on the factory by anti-EDO activists. Most of this damage was done in a single act at the height of an appalling bombing campaign by Israel on Gaza.
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Here is the reference in the judges' ruling:

THE FACTS
  • 9 Although Issues (I) and (II) require separate consideration and should not be conflated, it is as well to begin with an overall outline of the facts.
  • 10 (1) "Smash EDO": Smash EDO is a protest group which has carried on a long-running campaign, calling for the closure of EDO, a US owned arms company, carrying on a lawful business and with a factory in Brighton. Smash EDO stages regular protests. Although many people at Smash EDO protests do not commit criminal offences, disorder and criminality has been a feature of a number of the protests: over 136 offences have been recorded. On one occasion more than £300,000 damage was caused. Harassment of staff has been a feature of this campaign. As a result, EDO has spent in excess of £1 million in security measures. The Defendants' evidence, which I accept, is that Smash EDO's tactics and criminality have evolved from the animal rights movement. The Tudway statement says this:
" Until the recent student fee protests the Smash EDO national demonstrations were regarded as amongst the most violent in the UK…."​
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(Ironically enough, it is not a "fact" at all that the EDO Decommissioners caused £300,000-worth of damage. Indeed, in the lead up to trial EDO MBM and its managing director Paul Hills gave wildly different estimates of damage in circumstances that suggested limited possibilities, including possible pressure from the police to upsell the cost. The figure used in the trial - accepted by the prosecution, by the police and by Hill - was £180,000, though £200,000 has also been bandied about.)

Anyway, as NetPol continues:

What the Catt judgement failed to refer to, or take account of, was the fact that all of those involved in that action were acquitted and allowed to walk free by a Crown Court on the basis that they were acting to prevent war crimes.
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Thus the judgement omits crucial context from its 'facts'.

Note also that the uncritical acceptance of "the Tudway statement". To return to the NetPol article - which helpfully brings several relevant themes altogether in one place:

Adrian Tudway, the former head of the National Public Order Intelligence Unit NPOIU (now subsumed into the National Domestic Extremism Unit (NDEU)) gave a statement to the court. One of the key functions of the ‘fundamental tool’ of intelligence, he said, is to provide “the ability to identify relationships within protest groups.”
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The NPOIU, remember, was the unit tasked with infiltrating various long-term police agents into activist groups, including van cops 'Mark Stone' AKA PC Mark Kennedy, and 'Marco/Mark Jacobs'.

Whilst Kennedy is the better known, thanks to his spy thriller exposure by activists and subsequent revelations about his numerous emotional and sexual relationships with those on whom he was spying, 'Jacobs' is perhaps more interesting.

'Jacobs' was primarily embedded within the Cardiff Anarchist Network. After his unmasking, CAN released a statement in which they talked about his activities, which shows that this was not just about keeping tabs on 'the usual suspects':

...Damaging the structure of CAN was undoubtedly a key objective. He changed the culture of the organisation, encouraging a lot of drinking, gossip and back-stabbing, and trivialised and ran down any attempt made by anyone in the group to achieve objectives. He clearly aimed to separate and isolate certain people from the group and from each other, and subtly exaggerated political and personal differences, telling lies to both ‘sides’ to create distrust and ill-feeling. In the four years he was in Cardiff a strong, cohesive and active group had all-but disintegrated. Marco left after anarchist meetings in the city stopped being held...
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The SDS, NPOIU, NDET, NETCU and now NDEU serve but one function - disruption of political activism by any means; surveillance, infiltration, provocation, harassment, bribery, slander, violence, intimidation, fit-ups - all are weapons they have been documented to use, and will continue to use unless we protect ourselves better from their methods.
 
communique #54 has been released


We burned a Clear Channel van (one of the main advertising companies) in Staple Hill by setting fire to the front grill and causing an engine fire, most likely writing-off the vehicle.

We also tore down a billboard on Netham Road, by sawing through the wooden supports and pulling it down with a rope. Over two weeks later it has still not been replaced.

We attacked a second billboard, a giant free-standing, back-lit one on St. Philip’s Causeway by climbing up and cutting the advert on both sides and prying open the electric box, switching off the power and cutting wires and ripping out components. This space was “liberated” from advertising for more than three days.

This is for every advert that reminds us that women equal sex.

For every advert that creates and exploits our insecurities.

For every advert that gives ecocidal industry a friendly green face.

For every advert that endlessly re-inscribes impossible standards of masculinity and femininity, that are anyway ridiculous constructs.

For every advert that tokenises people of colour, whilst still normalising whiteness as the default cultural standard.

For every advert that shouts that happiness is the latest smart phone and fulfilment is an 4x4 on the drive of a suburban home.

We want to expose this relentless assault as psychological warfare; a violation of our senses so complete that we can find no sanctuary in civilisation’s cage. Billboards provide a mirror in which we see reflected the true value our lives have in Capitalist society – as consumers. The value at which we are bought and sold along with our desires, bodies and aspirations. A society that brings people together only to fulfil commercial rituals.

Christos Stratigopoulos is someone who refused to buy this tranquilising dream, and who chose instead to steal back some livelihood outside of wage slavery. He is imprisoned in Greece, having claimed political responsibility for robbing a bank in 2009. The state is trying to stop his return to the streets by now accusing him of a second robbery. We don’t forget you Christos – In social war no fighter stands alone.

We refuse the identity of consumer. We want to break the mirrors and rewrite our lives. This present reality is not the only one within our reach, and through it’s destruction we can discover our immense potential for freedom.

Smash Capitalism, Patriarchy, White Supremacy, the State! Long live anarchy!
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Divisive Cotton said:
communique #54 has been released
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Sometimes less can be more. I think it could have done with some decent editing prior to release. As it is it comes across a bit OTT and verbose.

It would be a good idea to consider how "default cultural standard" could be written in English.

Do adverts really remind us that women equal sex? Don't they suggest or tell us that?

Not too sure that adverts are mirrors. Distorted ones maybe.

 
Tell you what might be a useful exercise on a number of levels - a quick comparison between the IWW's attempts to use/promote/normalise various forms of violence as a legitimate as part of class responses to capital and these idiots attempts to do the same (levels: success/what it says about motivations and attitudes to the working class/conditions/work (or non-work) and its role in politics/politicos an their role in class struggle and so on

Who fancies it? Mr dingding?
 
Divisive Cotton said:
communique #54 has been released
Christos Stratigopoulos is someone who refused to buy this tranquilising dream, and who chose instead to steal back some livelihood outside of wage slavery. He is imprisoned in Greece, having claimed political responsibility for robbing a bank in 2009. The state is trying to stop his return to the streets by now accusing him of a second robbery. We don’t forget you Christos – In social war no fighter stands alone.
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this would be :D if it wasn't so :facepalm:

kind of summed up what I was getting your in the thread a few months back "anarchism as a method of action doesn't work". Sure, many anarchists would not be so stupid, but it appears there is something innate in the philosophy that promotes this individualistic martyr complex .
 
It appears that there just is something inate in the marxist philosophy that promotes this individualistic martyr complex.

1974Meins2Autopsy1.jpg



Anyway, bye bye thread now rmp3 is here.
 
chilango said:
I am absolutely, fully, 100%, in favour of destroying billboards and other forms of imposed, public advertising.

But, you stick out a wanky communique claiming responsibility...you just negate the entire action. Replacing the spectacle you destroy with your own spectacle that you create.

Idiots.
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Spot on.

Hey, we're creating situations - only thing is, you're not invited, nor are you, or you, you're definitely not coming in dressed like that etc

Total evacuation of the collective aspect of the creating of situations,whilst simultaneously recuperating the language of the situationists (minus the content). Advertising in its purest form.
 
come on stop moaning . I'm glad somebody has revived the lost art of the revolutionary communique

They're not borrowing my copy of B.A.M.N. though for inspiration that stays on my bookshelf
 
Red thread of revolutionary continuity is the key: Let us do justice to Comrade P38

(i did put that text on line a few years ago, but it seems to have disappeared)
 
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