A-Infos (en) AF Bulletin - resistance 25 - May 2001

[N M <mayday2k@email.com>]

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      A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
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resistance - monthly bulletin of the Anarchist Federation (Britain)

ISSUE TWENTY FIVE - MAY 2001

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Address: AF c/o 84b Whitechapel High Street, London, E1 7QX, England, UK
E-mail: anarchistfederation@bigfoot.com
Web: http://www.afed.org.uk/

Note: HTML and PDF versions of resistance are available via:
http://www.bigfoot.com/~anarchistfederation/res/

For more in-depth articles, read Organise! magazine in print or on-line:
http://www.bigfoot.com/~anarchistfederation/org/

------------

DON'T VOTE, ORGANISE!

So here we are again - its election time. Its time to be oh so grateful to
the powers that be for letting us choose exactly which group of them are
going to spend the next 5 years running the show. No doubt they=92ll be
shutting up libraries, running down hospitals, arming the police, locking u=
p
our friends, starting wars, starving our grandparents, destroying our
environment, and generally making the enjoyment of life more fucking
difficult every day.
Does anyone still seriously believe that politicians are going to change
things for the better? Does anyone still seriously believe that they are
going to do anything other than what the police, the judges, the prison
governors, the company directors, the stinking rich want them to? Well? So
why vote?
Only one thing shifts power from the ruling elite to working class people,
and this is direct action. The direct action of the thousands of postal
workers who over the last year haven=92t waited for orders from their union
reps to stick it to their bosses, but just got on with it themselves with
wildcat strikes and sit-ins. The direct action of the Glaswegians who are
fighting to make their community their own (see article below) and the
Hackney parents who took over a nursery which the council wanted to close
down. The direct action of the anti-capitalists who shook up the City of
London in June =9199 and had the combined power of 3 different police force=
s
on the run.
So let=92s get together at work and spread the word that we don=92t have to
accept the day- to-day grind, the ever worsening pay and conditions. Let=92=
s
get together where we live, and let the council know that no more cuts will
be tolerated, and the police that no more patrols are wanted.
When we begin to organise ourselves and act together we soon realise the
power that we have in our own hands. When we act not to appeal to those in
authority, but to impose our power on them we soon realise our revolutionar=
y
potential as a class.
Life=92s too short to give party politicians another chance, another 5 year=
s.
Lets start making real change now.

---------------------

=85..oh and by the way, WHO THE HELL IS LOUISE CHRISTIAN?
Louise Christian is the prospective parliamentary candidate for the
Socialist Alliance in Hornsey and Wood Green. She is well known as the
lawyer representing the victims of the Paddington rail crash. Less well
known is her work for UCATT, the Trade Union. A mere 5 years ago she served
a High Court writ and the threat of an injunction against Brian Higgins, th=
e
Northampton branch secretary of UCATT. His crime? Writing a letter to a
newspaper in which he was critical of UCATT leader Dominic Hehir for
refusing to support two builders sacked by Southwark Direct Labour
Organisation. Brian was also secretary of the rank and file Building Worker=
s
Group, and as such represented a threat to the established order within the
union. No wonder the union leaders didn=92t like him. And no wonder Louise
Christian didn=92t either. Both trade unions and Socialist politicians have
always been more than a little bit fond of the established order.
For more info contact: Haringey Heckler, PO 1681, London N8 7DN.

And in Manchester...
At the march in support of asylum seekers in  Manchester on the 7th April,
The Socialist Alliance were out in force collecting money for their electio=
n
campaign - never mind the asylum seekers. One woman collecting, when
challenged, said she wasn=92t asking asylum seekers for money and she could
tell by the appearance of individuals who were and who were not asylum
seekers. So, not only was she a parasitical scumbags but she was also
racist!
---------------------

Despite having only a couple of dozen supporters the fascists of the
National Front (NF) have been glimpsed behind the massed ranks of police
several times recently. Not in Oldham though, where 1500 people representin=
g
all communities from the Borough turned out to demonstrate against the them=
.
The NF had spread the word that they were planning to march there. This
dominated the local news. In the event the march didn=92t take place, proba=
bly
because the NF knew they were in for a good kicking if they turned up.  The=
y
did manage to turn up a couple of times in South London where they were
greeted by hundreds of counter demonstrators. And near Leicester on April
21st we found their secret meeting point. The scum scarpered when they
realised we=92d rumbled them but not without getting a brick through their
windscreen. Eventually, under massive police protection (including the
police having Section 60 stop and search powers), they were able to hold a
short march on a closed off stretch of road. Pricks.

Contact: No Platform Anti-Fascist Network,
BM Box 5827, London, WC1N 3XX.

---------------------

Christ, how we laughed when a contestant on The Weakest Link was voted off
for being a copper. Other contestants made no bones about their reasons for
wanting to see this little piggy scurrying back home. Chris, who held the
casting vote, proudly declared =93I felt it was my duty=94. So how does it =
feel
to be welcome nowhere copper? In fact, don=92t bother answering, cos we
couldn=92t give a fuck anyway.
---------------------

NEWS OF THE WORLD

ON THE FRONTLINE
Glasgow: Struggle has broken out in the Govanhill area, as around 12 people
from a group protesting against the closure of a local swimming pool have
occupyed the building, in events reminiscent of tactics used when school
closures were on the cards some years ago. Some have chained themselves in,
and all are refusing to leave until the city council meets their demands. A
500  strong march has also taken place through the area, rallying high
levels of public support.
Once again we see the =91spectre=92 of direct action being used in communit=
y
disputes. This can only increase as more and more cut backs are made, and
local amenities are sacrificed in the name of =91progress=92 and
=91modernisation=92.
Germany: Thousands block trainload of reprocessed nuclear waste returning
from France. State mobilises 20,000 police.
Israel/Palestine: Arabs and Jews march together in Land Day protests at
Israeli State land grabs in =9276.
Turkey: Several days of street protests across country in response to sever=
e
economic conditions as a result of political corruption and IMF
anti-inflation programme.

SEX SLAVERY
Across the globe thousands of women (predominantly) are being bought and
sold for sex. Most are from the most impoverished regions - S.E.Asia, Latin
America, West Africa.   Across Europe thousands are kept as slaves. Some
travel willingly, others are duped, lied to, or forced to leave:
Albania: Shipped via throughout Europe to work brothelsand strip joints.
Britain: An MP was found using a massage parlour where Thai women were bein=
g
forcibly kept and made to work against their will
Canada: Government covered up foreign diplomats bringing in women and
children to work as domestic and sex slaves.
Kosovo: 12 women freed from captivity while awaiting =91export=92. Arrested=
 men
were KLA freedom fighters! Serb and Albanian adversaries have no problem
working together selling women into slavery.
Timor/Indonesia: Indonesian army officers have forcibly shipped Timorese
women to Java to work as prostitutes.
A World To Win!  These examples are a drop in the ocean. Sex sells, and
women are a commodity. There can be no clearer example of the horrors of
authoritarian society. This is the struggle for women=92s liberation, not
putting the odd female suit onto the boards of multinationals. Until all ar=
e
free, we=92re all slaves.
---------------------

CELEBRITY (PARTIAL) PRAT OF THE MONTH

=93When actors complain of exhaustion, I think, for God=92s sake, people ar=
e
clocking up 12-hour shifts in factories. Actors get knackered going to too
many parties.=94

Melanie Hill, Actress

Well, blow us down! At last, something sensible to report from the mouth of
someone in the nefarious world of entertainment. But, truth to tell Melanie=
,
long hours hard at it before the grindstone are only the half of it. There=
=92s
liverish bosses to put up with, crap pay that no film =93star=94 would ever
dream of getting out of bed for, no security in or out of work, unpleasant
and boring conditions to contend with, and the scenery is neither exotic no=
r
does it ever change. You=92re dead right it=92s no fun being working class =
these
days (when was it ever?) and, if we=92re to be compelled to sell our lives =
in
order to live, as we unfailingly are under capitalism, then we reckon each
and every genuine worker deserves at least as much as any footballer or
actress for their contribution to society. After all, what makes
=93celebrities=94 lives more valuable than those of the workers who actuall=
y
produce and provide all the essentials?

---------------------

TACO BELL HELL

Members of the Coalition of Immokalle Workers (CIW) and students across
Florida, USA are fighting against Taco Bell (TB). The =91Taco Bell Truth To=
ur=92
has been visiting TBs in many different cities, holding teach-ins, mass
marches and protests in a campaign against the working and living condition=
s
of farmers who pick TB tomatoes. Those who pick tomatoes for the  Six Ls
Packing Co. Inc. are paid just 40c for every 32lb bucket they pick - the
same =91piece rate=92 paid in 1978! The CIW has demanded the right to organ=
ise,
have requested overtime pay for overtime work, and various other items such
as health insurance, sick leave, paid holiday, etc....Meanwhile TB reported
profits of $5 billion in 1999, while Tricon (TB=92s parent company which al=
so
owns Pizza Hut and KFC) earned over $22 billion last year. The CIW, who
organise from the bottom-up, have been successfully fighting back. Next
stop? Perhaps taking over the means of production themselves.
For more info: PO Box 603, Immokalee, Fla 34143, USA. www.ciw-online.org

---------------------

DO THE RIOT THING

Riots broke out in Cincinnati following the shooting of a black man in a
disgraceful act of murder by a lowlife of a cop. As people took to the
streets the authorities tried to subdue them with tear gas and rubber
bullets only to be met with bricks and real bullets. At least one pig was
hit and seriously injured as many of the angry rebels grabbed for their gun=
s
and met fire with fire. The uprising continued for 3 days.

-----

Anarchists have been at the forefront of protests against capitalists and
politicians meeting in Quebec. A statement for Quebec has also been issued
by anarchist communist groups from around the world, including the AF. For
more information on the protests, and the anarchist prisoners in need of
support contact the North Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists:
nicolasphebus@yahoo.com,
www.nefac.org

---------------------

PROFIT IS THE REAL DISEASE

Is there anybody in Britain aside from the government and NFU (National
Farmers Union - homicidal tendency) who actually thinks livestock shouldn=
=92t
have been vaccinated?  So why this bizarre policy of obliterating livestock
production?  Simple really, PROFIT!
The NFU represents agri-business. It uses small farmers as its disgruntled
stormtroopers to lever ever more concessions, which invariably favour big
producers. While small producers benefit from finance services from the NFU=
,
its leadership couldn=92t care less about them. Britain has the largest siz=
ed
land holdings and the most industrialised agriculture in Europe. It looks
with envy towards North American style prairie farming. The idea of
thousands of small producers being ruined and selling up on the cheap is a
dream come true for them. The NFU leaders and their ilk are the cats that
will get all the cream.
Mr =9114 farms=92 Willie Cleave the livestock trader posing as a farmer who
helped so much to spread the disease around Britain and into Europe will
earn =A31.3million for his efforts, no doubt allowing him to buy up more of
his ruined neighbours. Anyone got a nice big pyre to stick him on perhaps?
The NFU and MAFF are a nest of thieves. National policies are joint efforts=
.
The slaughter policy is their way of defending export earnings, the
ruination of thousands of small producers a superb bonus.
RESISTANCE: A community at Lydney in Gloucestershire is refusing to allow
the slaughter of its healthy animals, and has barricaded out MAFF and the
Police. Many farmers, contrary to NFU bullshit don=92t support the slaughte=
r
policy; we would like to know of other acts of defiance.
---------------------

POSTAL WORKERS GO WILDCAT IN GLASGOW

Posties in Scotland have once again shown how things are done, by bringing
postal services to a complete standstill.
The strike started on 27th March after a manager was allowed to return to
his job after being grilled for making indecent proposals to a 16 year old
girl. Posties in the Springburn office where he works walked out, and prett=
y
soon, there were 3000 in total across the west of Scotland!
The unions and bosses shat a brick, especially when the following day, a
further 1600 workers walked out in Edinburgh and Perth in solidarity. Thing=
s
were escalating, with reports that some workers in Shettleston had attempte=
d
to occupy the sorting office!
Sadly, the pace couldn=92t be maintained. The union got them all back to wo=
rk
later the second day, and by the third day everyone was back at work, with
the union bleating about an official ballet on industrial action. Yeah,
right, heard that one before.
This strike was a short, sharp, shock, and it showed how very easily it is
to grind things to a halt. Hopefully, it won=92t be long before we see the
wildcat stalking the workplace once again, claws out!

---------------------

PURE GENIUS

Guinness workers throughout Ireland placed pickets on all the company=92s
factories in a strike over the closure of the Dundalk packaging plant, a
move that would result in the loss of 147 jobs.
In general, there have been a lot of key industries totally shut down by
Western European workers over the last month indicating a significant level
of militancy. Here are a few other big ones that we have heard about:
Belgian Railways, Italian Railways, French Railways, Dutch Railways, London
Underground, Aer Lingus (Irish Airline), Lufthansa (German Airline), French
Buses, Cypriot Airlines and Fire Brigades (in a joint action).
We are sure that there are lots more, its just not that easy to find out
about them given the extent to which news is censored in this country. No
doubt we have only heard of the above actions because they are official
trade union sanctioned ones.
In true trade union style they have all been limited to one day (or series
of one day) strikes, a classic move which unions use to dissipate workers
anger and limit the damage done by the desire to strike. The only =91benefi=
t=92
is to give their bureaucrats a little more power at the bargaining table.
It=92s the same story for working people all around the world. If you want =
to
strike to win serious victories, to create working class unity, and use thi=
s
unity as the basis for a revolutionary movement, the unions are a waste of
time.

---------------------

MAYDAY FOR MAYDAY?

The state, its lackeys, and its allies the media have mounted a huge
offensive against the Mayday actions (more on Mayday below) Bumbling
officers from Her Majesty=92s Finest launched a daring raid on an empty
factory in Brixton, South-East London, in a bid to foil anarchist
preparations for the upcoming Mayday celebrations. According to the
right-wing broadsheet =91The Sunday Telegraph=92, the =91Button Factory=92 =
was
partially destroyed to prevent the site being used =91for drilling 500
rioters=92 in the art of modern urban warfare. And the left-wing broadsheet
=91The Observer=92 has been doing its best to demoralise protesters, talkin=
g of
splits in the movement and how various groups (including the AF) have been
targeted by Special Branch. Most attention has focused on the bizarrely
acronymed WOMBLES (see resistance #24) with police harrassing activists and
the press spreading ridiculous bullshit (the tabloids are as bad as the
broadsheets). London mayor Ken Livingstone, darling of the left, has put th=
e
boot in already calling for tough police action and urging people not to
attend. The plus side of all this state repression is it clearly shows that
the powers that be are rattled.  The police in London will no doubt hassle
demonstrators on Mayday using Section 60 powers. These allow the police to
stop whoever they feel like and search them for weapons, but you don=92t ha=
ve
to give your name and address. So when they start pumping you for
information answer =91No Comment=92.
Don=92t be intimidated - they can=92t stop us.

---------------------

BLAST FROM THE PAST

As the War on Drugs continues unrelentingly we look at an alternative view
from nearly eighty year ago...
=93There are in France stringent laws aginst the traffic in drugs and again=
st
those who take them. And as always happens, the scourge grows and spreads i=
n
spite, and perhaps because of, the laws. The same is happening in the rest
of Europe and America. Doctor Courtois Suffit, of the French Academy of
Medicine, who, already last year [1921], had sounded the alarm against the
dangers of cocaine, noting the failure of penal legislation now
demands...new and more stringent laws.
It is the old mistake of legislators, in spite of experience invariabley
showing that laws, however barbarous they may be, have never served to
suppress vice or to discourage. The more severe the penalties imposed on th=
e
consumers and trafficers of cocaine, the greater will be the attraction of
forbidden fruits and the fascination of the risks incurred by the consumer,
and the greater will be the profits made by the speculators, avid for money=
.
It is useless, therefore to hope for anything from the law. We must suggest
another solution. Make the use and sale of cocaine free, and open kiosks
where it would be sold at cost price or even under cost. And then launch a
great propagnada campaign to explain to the public, and let them see for
themselves, the evils of cocainel no one would engage in counter-propaganda
becaue nobody could exploit the misfortunes of cocaine addicts.
Certainly the harmful use of cocaine would not disappear completely, becaus=
e
the social causes which create and drive these poor devils to the use of
drugs would still exist. But in any case the evil would decrease, because
nobody could make profits out of its sale, and nobody could speculate on th=
e
hunt for speculators. And for this reason our suggestion either will not be
taken into account or it will be considered to be impractical and mad. Yet
intelligent and disinterested people might say to themselves: since the
penal laws have proved to be impotent, would it not be a good thing, as an
experiment, to try out the anarhcists method?
From: =91Errico Malatesta - His life and ideas=92 =A35 +p&p from Freedom Pr=
ess,
84b, Whitechapel HIgh Street, London, E1 7QX

---------------------

A small group at the University of York have decided to set up an Anarchist
Student Federation. Those interested in getting involved, forming similar
groups etc, should contact:
Steve H, York LEAF, University of York, Heslington, York, YO1 5DD.
email: punkfuckinrocker@yahoo.com

---------------------

Review:

Mayday Monopoly game guide.
This long awaited pamphlet explains how to play =91Mayday Monopoly=92 the l=
atest
day of action under the banner of anti-capitalism. The production values of
the pamphlet are excellent but the contents are a mixed bag, in part
reflecting the way politics of temporary coalition tend to become vaguely
liberal.
The aim of the guide is to encourage people to organise their own actions o=
n
May 1st in London. The introduction and some of the articles are well
written, talking of the class nature of capitalist society and how to get
organised. But the main bulk of the pamphlet is about how to play the Mayda=
y
Monopoly game and listing targets in London for each square of the monopoly
board. This part is much weaker, mostly being made up of lists of =91bad=92
companies like banks and shops owned by multi-nationals, some being given a
star for being extra bad.
This is moving away from the fact that capitalism is a social relationship
which affects us in our everyday lives, and shows that the aim of Mayday
monopoly is to protest against the worst aspects of capitalism. Nothing
wrong with that, but all sorts of liberals and leftists also have problems
with some aspects of captialism and will seek to reform it, not destroy it.
To get rid of capitalism will take more than a day of protest - a
revolutionary social movement based in our workplaces and communities needs
to be created.

Available for a 41p stamp from:
BM Mayday, London, WC1N 3XX
or the text is online at:
www.maydaymonopoly.net

---------------------

INSIDE INFORMATION

Another S26 show trial took place in Prague on April 3rd. This time, two
anarchists, Salvador Aczon and Miguel Oliv, were both sentenced to two year=
s
for the heinous crime of throwing stones at the windows of Interbank causin=
g
approximately $125 in damage - damage which the fat cat owners can obviousl=
y
ill afford. To send messages of support contact:
P Houdek, PO Box 41, 565 01 Chocun, Czech Republic, email abc@csaf.cz


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