The Danish arms-trafficking ship "Leopard" has been hijacked by pirates.

The Danish freighter Leopard, which is apparently carrying arms or explosives, has been hijacked by pirates in the Bay of Aden.

The company "Shipcraft" - www.shipcraft.dk (from the North Copenhagen suburb of Hoersholm) - which specializes in cargoes like arms or nuclear waste - closed down its home page a couple of hours after the news - apparently in a hush-up attempt.

Also in the 1980s, such rogue shipping companies - probably with CIA connections - were active in arms smuggling to South Africa and in the Iran-Contra affair - but were protected by the government. 

 

birdseye

Beer and Revolution Archives: The Greek Insurrection audio is up!

Monday, October 11, 2010

With the debut of Beer and Revolution "Season Two" last night, featuring Anarchy Magazine contributor and editor Lawrence Jarach, it seemed like a good time to get off our asses and put up some more audio from last year's sudsy symposiums. A couple weeks ago I posted the audio to John Zerzan's presentation at last January's Beer & Rev and this week I finally got around to adding the presentation on the Greek insurrection by Sissy, Tasos and Peter (which was a big hit). Below I've embedded the first part of what was a wide-ranging and very entertaining discussion below.

The more I reflect on the Greek tour, especially having spent some time with them (and quaffed more than a few beers together here and in the Bay) and seeing their presentation twice, I think it is very likely that their visit will be remembered as one of the more remarkable and influential events in recent American anarchist history. Already I have heard the "Cops, pigs, murderers!" chant ring out at more than one anarchist action across the country. In a time where police murder seems more and more the norm, I expect to hear it a lot more. I certainly feel lucky to have had the chance to learn from our Greek comrades about their struggle.

Follow the link back to our youtube page for the rest of it (it's almost two hours total). As usual, to get the full experience, you really need to come to the event. Since it takes place in a very social atmosphere, the sound quality on the recording is not always the best, especially during the q and a. All the more reason to come out and join in the conversation yourself! While you're at our youtube page, check out the favorites section, because there's some interesting talks there that we think are worth checking out. We add to it periodically, so check back from time to time.

Last night's B&R with Lawrence drew a little more than forty people and was a raucous affair. I hope to have that online for your enjoyment in a few days if all goes well. As usual, if you're coming to town or if you're already here and have something that you think may fit in the Beer & Rev format, hit us up. Maybe we can work something out. These are irregular affairs, in that rather than stick to an arbitrary calendar, we do them when we think there's something worth talking about. As of right now, we do have another tentatively planned for March or April. We'd love to do another one (or more) before that, so hit us up if you're interested.

One of the things we want to do with Beer & Rev is to encourage the discussion of anarchist ideas and the development of critical anarchist thinking here in Phoenix, and to do it in a social way that breaks out of the stale lecture model that so often dominates the genre, as well as to challenge ourselves and our ideas. Suggestions, tips, criticisms and comments are always welcome.

Attacks against police targets in Bristol

Anti-police actions on the nights of the 8th and 9th October.

1. Avonmouth police garage was a soft target with 30 rocks thrown over the fence at vehicles.

2. CID regional HQ, Kenneth Steele House, Feeder rd. Plainclothes vehicles, including one sports car, smashed with rocks.

3. Fishing line strung up at 9ft for the mounted police of Bower Ashton mounted police and dog section.

Pick your moment, your terrain. Ambush.

Some angry people are not content to stagnate in silence. We recognise our brains as weapons. Wouldn't it be nice if more people broke away from the British tradition of sitting back and taking shit from cops in the U.K and actually fought back for a change?

Solidarity with all those inside and outside the prison who fight the system.

This is for all those beaten, abused and murdered by police.

@

 

Protesters clash with British police

October 10th, 2010

The EDL are living in a dream

 Published: Sunday 10 October 2010 16:49 by @@

"According to the BBC there were 2500 EDL supporters and a few hundred UAF."
Let's have a look shall we:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-11510138
"Seventeen people were arrested on Saturday after about 1,000 English Defence League (EDL) supporters held a rally in the city"
EDL bullshitting again.
Not too interested in the number of people on the UAF protest. Most of the anti-EDL crowd weren't anywhere near it.
"The general public are actually concerned about islamic extremism which is why the uaf has such little public support"
The UAF has so little support because they are a front group for the Socialist Workers Party, because they cosy up to all the political parties and because they have a history of shopping anti-fascists to the police. Jog on troll.
The general public don't subscribe to the same paranoid loony fantasies that the EDL do and most recognise a racist mob when they see one. That's why Leicester rejected you.
Out of interest, how exactly did the Leicester demo fight "islamic extremism"?

Inappropriate comment?

Disagreed...

Published: Sunday 10 October 2010 17:30 by Anchoredwunderlust

I was stood at the point they broke out of. It was shitly guarded, but there were waaay over a hundred broke out easily. I'd say quite a few hundred. They chased about 30 local Asians and the first lot were followed by about another 60 but then there were tonnes more EDL. They were like a tsunami of signs and traffic cones up in the air. They started trying to pick off the locals that weren't trying to engage with them. They tried to hit my mate who was taking photos coz he is Asian as they ran but I butted the edl guy out the way. Luckily he carried on running. I say "luckily" because there were certainly no UAF around. Only about 20 anti fascists dotted around. The ones I was with were not really fighters and of a certain age. As I saw one of them hit a black/Asian man who was on the phone on his own, they ran and shouted "kill the nigger". There were about 20 chasing him. I started to run but all the locals were way ahead, and looking behind me noone was following but the EDL so I stopped. It wasn't till about 5 minutes on that the police moved from the spot and a good ten before the vehicles followed them. I honestly thought it would riot into the night. It's a shame in a way that they didn't get to highfields because if they had then they would have been outnumbered. Perhaps not entirely by people willing to fight but they don't have to know that!

AP
A far-right group known for staging violent protests against what it calls the spread of Islam in Britain clashed with police on Saturday in a northern English city.
Four people were arrested and a police officer had to be hospitalised.
Nearly 1400 police officers, including some in riot gear and on horseback, were called to contain about 1000 activists from the English Defence League who gathered in Leicester for a demonstration.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Police said missiles were thrown at them and one officer was taken to hospital. Some protesters – many of them young men – broke away from the designated protest area at one point to confront gangs of local youths.
Supporters of the English Defence League, a right-wing group set up last year, began travelling around the country demonstrating against what they call the spread of sharia, or Islamic law, in England last summer.
The group insists it is peaceful, but critics say it is racist and tends to stir up unrest. On Saturday, about 700 members of a leftist group called Unite Against Fascism called a counter-demonstration nearby.
The two opposing groups had clashed during similar rallies last year in northern English cities such as Leeds and Manchester.

 

 

 

Gay rights march in Belgrade triggers riots

 

Protesters clash with police protecting Gay Pride march

10 October 2010 

Serbian police have clashed with protesters trying to disrupt a Gay Pride parade in the capital, Belgrade.
Police used tear gas against the rioters, who threw petrol bombs and stones at armed officers and tried to break through a security cordon.
A garage attached to the headquarters of the ruling Democratic Party was briefly set on fire, and at least one shot was fired at the building.
Around 40 people were injured, including at least two police officers.

 

A riot policeman stands beside a protester injured during clashes in Belgrade October 10, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Djordje Kojadinovic

By Aleksandar Vasovic

BELGRADE | Sun Oct 10, 2010 10:33am EDT

BELGRADE (Reuters) - A gay rights parade in Belgrade descended into violence Sunday as thousands of police deployed to protect marchers clashed with gangs of anti-gay protesters, sparking riots, injuries and dozens of arrests.One official said that 90 police officers required medical attention and two had been seriously wounded in the violence, which spread to other parts of the capital as nationalists and skinheads lashed out at targets unrelated to the parade.
Firefighters extinguished a blaze at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of President Boris Tadic, and witnesses said some in the building were wounded. A Reuters witness said others had tried to climb up scaffolding into the parliament building, but were chased away.
"It's a really sad day for Serbia," Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac told reporters.
The violence highlighted the intolerance that still pervades Serbian society a decade after the country ousted strongman Slobodan Milosevic, ending its pariah status.
The parade, the first of its kind in Belgrade in nearly a decade, had been seen as a test of Serbia's readiness to become a more modern, open society after years of war in the 1990s fueled by ethnic hatred.
The clashes occurred two days ahead of a planned visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who wants to highlight Washington's support for Belgrade's EU aspirations.
BLOODIED POLICE
Gangs of tough-looking youths threw stones at police sporting riot gear, smashed windows of cars and buses and looted kiosks. Others sang nationalist songs.
Bloodied police could be seen leaving the scene and witnesses heard gunshots fired toward security forces. Police said at least one gay rights activist had been beaten unconscious and more than 100 people had been detained.
Debris lay scattered across the main streets in central Belgrade and clouds of white tear gas rose from the ground.
"It is a shame for me to march, to stand for what I am, and to have thousands of cops protect me from hysterical nationalists," said Milena, 36, a lesbian activist.
Susanne Simon-Paunovic, a German married to a Serb who attended the rally said: "It was more like death march. The atmosphere was terrible."
In addition to the headquarters of the Democratic Party, a police officer said rioters had also attacked the premises of the Socialist Party, a coalition partner.
Sutanovac described the violence against his party's headquarters as an attack on "Serbia's European path and democratic values."

Molenbeek - Trap against police with stones and molotovs

MOLENBEEK - Around 23h, police was called on a spot in Molenbeek for a 'theft with violence'. Once arrived, the police patrol bumped into a fence which was put on the road. They sensed something was wrong and then stones, sticks and molotov cocktails started to rain on their car and another police patrol car. Police said they have catched one person, 19 years old, who would have participated in the trap. The person had already been arrested earlier that day for rebellion against the police. He will now face charges for assault, armed gathering and criminal association.

---

BRUSSELS - Compared to last year, more policemen have been attacked during controls. Police speaks about a "total lack of respect for the uniform" with 77 policemen of the central zone of Brussels which have been wounded during confrontations. The other police zones of Brussels didn't communicate any numbers. Police are speaking about people not accepting anymore to get an identity control (they try to run away or attack the cops straigt away) and more rebellions during arrests on the spot of a crime.

6.09.2010

Picket in support of Vavilov collection

Thu, 02/09/2010

August 31 Pavlovskaia experimental station, the commission came from the Chamber to the closed doors to determine whether it is a unique collection of plants Vavilov retained, or to land occupied by the collection, sold by luxury villas. In response, the anarchists staged an unauthorized picket. The activists stood in front of the station, holding a banner "Biofond importantly profit!" and banners reading "Where the money solves - nature die?" and "Save the Vavilov collection. Despite the presence of policemen in plain clothes and their prevention, nobody was detained. Formally part of the land, carrying her unique varieties of plants that scientists have already taken away, explaining that the area is used for other purposes.Besides revealing that members of the commission, which returned a verdict of "misuse" sites did not enter any specialist, somehow versed in selhozpromyshlennosti that indicates a lack of adequate analysis of value of the collection. We believe that these decisions are incorrect and should be abolished and all lands with a collection of plants should be preserved for scientific research tsentorm. Recall, a collection of Vavilov is the largest in Europe Field gene bank of fruit, fodder and fruit crops.The famous collection was created over 80 years. Hundreds of thousands of scientists made expeditions to collect samples at the experimental station of plants from all over the world. Some species do not already exist in nature and are saved only here - in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. All over the world, scientists are asked today Pavlovtsi class to Vossestablish, the lost plant varieties. Source: http://piter.indymedia.org/ru/node/9979

Assailants attack Russian embassy in Minsk with fire bombs

Assailants attack Russian embassy in Minsk with fire bombs

08:54 31/08/2010

© Photo Website of the Russian Embassy in Belarus

Unknown assailants attacked the Russian Embassy in the Belarusian capital of Minsk with fire bombs late on Monday, a local emergencies spokesman said.
"At around 10:50 p.m. local time (19:50 GMT), two fire bombs were thrown onto the territory of the Russian Embassy," the spokesman said. "One of them hit a car parked on the premises."
There were no casualties, he added.

The Russian Embassy in Minsk attacked anarchists

Thu, 02/09/2010 - 21:19 — editor

Responsibility for the recent attack on the Russian embassy, caused a stir in the press, claimed a group of Belarusian anarchists. Quote the statement posted on the website of Indymedia: In the evening on August 30 a group of anarchists was conducted attack with Molotov cocktails at Russian embassy in Minsk. Was damaged one of the official cars. By this action, we express our anger and protest against the arrests and repression against social activists, who defended forests Khimki Moscow. Our friends are beaten by mercenaries from among the fascists, riot police chases and screws all in a row, threats, detentions and arrests have become the norm.Our friends are forced to endure the hardships in the dungeons and live in fear of being planted, because it stood for truth, for the people, for the right to a normal environment. But bureaucrats and capitalists concerned only kickbacks and profits, they do not care what will happen tomorrow and they are ready to virulent measures to suppress any protest, any dissatisfaction. What's next, death squads? We stand in solidarity with our comrades, and support only direct methods of struggle, because they are afraid only of force on the rest of them do not care. It's funny to read reviews and discussions about the campaign on Internet forums.We are equally repugnant to all the mafia clans under the names "the rulers of Belarus" and "the rulers of Russia." A simple working people of both countries does not shine anything good from this political bickering for power, should not behave like this mendacious politicians. People, wake up! Can not do without conspiracy theories to justify any act of protest and discontent? Every day we see theft and lawlessness, but around only downcast glances and timid kitchen conversations.It's time to gather their strength and to believe that we deserve a better life. Freedom for all prisoners! No political repression! Down with the officials, gangsters and cops! Human rights and social justice!

http://belarus.avtonom.org/?p=15171

Geneva private bankers targeted in attacks

Two people have been injured after corrosive liquid was sent in letters to several private bankers in Geneva and their families, police said on Wednesday.

They confirmed a report of the attacks which appeared in the city’s Tribune de Genève newspaper.

Geneva became a centre for private banking 200 years ago and the western Swiss city is now said to manage around ten per cent of international private savings.

“I can confirm the information that appeared on Wednesday in the Tribune de Genève,” said police spokesman Thierry Brandt, who added that a judge had been appointed to lead an inquiry.

Neither the police nor the Geneva Private Bankers’ Association would disclose the identity of the banks or bankers targeted as the case is now a matter for criminal investigation.

Police have contacted other financial institutions in the city urging them to be careful of any suspicious packages.

swissinfo.ch and agencies

Greek Suicide Rate Has Nearly Tripled Since '09

The lorry drivers’ strike in Greece ended a few days ago. The tragic news was published in a local newspaper of the city of Volos (original article in Greek here) on July 23d, a few days before the strike. According to the article the 67-year old, who had been working as a truck driver for four decades, had tried to sell his truck recently without luck. Early on the morning of July 22nd he hanged himself off a bridge crossing over a motorway, where he was later found by passers-by.

Image: PIAZZA del POPOLO

We've focused on the strikes and riots that threaten to derail Greek austerity. But what about the Greeks who aren't fighting back, and instead have given up?The suicide rate in Greece has surged, approaching triple last year's rate, according to non-profit suicide helpline organization Klimaka. They think the rise is based on the financial crisis.
Kathimerini:

Klimaka, which operates the 1018 telephone helpline, said it was receiving around 25 calls a day, compared to an average of 10 per day last year. Asked whether the spike in suicides was linked to the financial crisis, Violatzis said he believed it was a contributing factor. “Suicide is a multifaceted phenomenon – we cannot link it exclusively to the crisis,” he said, noting however that the environment influences our actions. As for the profile of most victims, Klimaka said they are chiefly “productive people with responsibilities, financial obligations, families, loans.” According to Violatzis, many of the victims are “men who are no longer earning enough money to provide for their families and feel they no longer have a role to play – people who are going through an identity crisis.” There are also many who take their lives due to deep-seated psychological problems or depression, he added.

Remember the Greek debtor who immolated himself inside a bank?
See who gets screwed in a Greek default -->

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/greek-suicide-rate-has-nearly-tripled-since-

Death toll rises at the greek borders

16 immigrants were found dead in the last 48 hours at the greek-turkish borders, near the Evros river (9 in Greece and 5 in Turkey) – two more were found dead on Saturday 26th June.
The number of immigrants that died in June in the Evros river remains unknown as more dead immigrants were discovered on June 8. Three more were found dead on May 27.
On the 16th of June, a 19-year-old Afghan refugee was found dead, hidden in the fuel tank of a truck, inside the ferry “OLYMPIC CHAMPION”, traveling from Patras to Venice.
…killed by a bilateral agreement…
On June 29, greek and turkish officials met in Athens in order to examine the progress of the bilateral agreement signed by the Greek Minister, Michalis Chryssohoïdis, and by his Turkish counterpart, Besir Atalay, on May 14.
According to the agreement, a border office is to be set up, near Izmir, which will be used for the readmission of irregular migrants.
Also, a readmission protocol will be put into force, according to which immigrants will be deported from Greece to Turkey and then to third countries.
MSF Report
On June 15, MSF (Doctors Without Borders) presented a report that “documents the unacceptable living conditions in the three detention centers in Greece where MSF intervened and presents data from psychological counseling sessions as well as individual testimonies.
Frontex press conference
On June 16, Frontex Deputy Executive Director Gil Arias-Fernandez announced that 88 percent of illegal immigrants – almost nine in 10 – that entered the EU in 2009 had come via Greece. During the first third of 2010, EU authorities arrested 3,500 illegal migrants at land borders and 2,900 at sea, indicating a shift in patterns of entry from the sea to the land borders. This shift was also reflected in figures unveiled by the Greek citizens’ protection ministry last week, showing a 50 percent decline in arrests of migrants in the northern Aegean and and 65 percent decline in the southern Aegean. By contrast, arrests on land borders in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace increased by 167 percent (from 2,416 to 6,459). In Epirus, arrests went up from 5,616 in the first third of 2009 to 7,889 in 2010.
Fernandez also confirmed that the first regional Frontex Operations Office will open in Piraeus later this year – with the office opening in July but only launching full operations in October. Until the end of 2011, it will operate as a pilot project employing 13 experts from various EU countries, and it will subsequently be decided whether to continue its operation.
Meanwhile in Athens
Attacks by fascist groups aligned with shopowners against immigrant street vendors on central streets have not ceased. But neither will actions of solidarity to immigrants:
Below is a leaflet that was distributed during a gathering outside Athens Chamber of Commerce

WORKING AND LIVING BY THE SWEAT OF OUR BROW!
We sell things on the street because we don’t have an alternative way of making a living.
No work is refused in order for us to make a living.
These people that you see on the street , these people that you keep harassing, are people who are familiar with most trades and professions.
Even though we are only vagrant street vendors, we are the ones paying for the houses that were had locked up for a long time, houses crying for a human presence.
A house can’t live by itself. It needs souls, it needs lives.
Water, power, telephone, means of transport and everything else we need to live are not for free.
You will never see one of us involved in affairs of the night and the underworld.
We are honest people, very sociable and open to everyone and everything.
We have obligations, but we also have rights.
We are only asking for understanding and tolerance.
Immigrant street vendors

Journalist shot dead outside his house ATHENS GREECE

Journalist Sokratis Giolias was shot dead at 5.20 am this morning, in front of his house in the area of Ilioupoli.
According to the information that has been confirmed until this time, one of the assailants - the police estimates that they were two or three - rang Giolias' doorbell and told him that his car was being stolen. When Giolias arrived at the front door of his apartment building, the assailants killed him with 6 bullets at least. Police has reportedly collected more than 20 calibers from the scene of the crime.
Police believe the assailants escaped the scene with a stolen car which was found burned a few hours later, not far of the area of the crime.
Giolias was 37 years old and currently working at the Proto Thema radio station. He was also linked as one of the creators of the blog "Troktiko".The murder of journalist Socratis Giolias has been linked to terror group Revolutionary Sect following ballistic tests on cartridges collected from the crime scene.

Giolias, 37, was riddled with bullets outside his home in Ilioupolis by unidentified individuals in the early hours of Monday morning.

The ambush killing was quickly condemned by the country's political leaders.

"Democracy and freedom of speech cannot be muzzled, terrorised or threatened," government spokesman George Petalotis said, adding that the authorities have already taken action to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice. GREEK MEDIA...

What planet does the BBC correspondent in Athens live on?

He writes: A Greek investigative journalist has been shot dead outside his home in Athens.

Right, newsflash for you, mr. Brabandt: Giolias was not an “investigative journalist”. In fact, he was not even a journalist (he was not part of the Athens journalists’ union, he did not have a press pass). But regardless of this, his blog, troktiko, was and remains a well-known website feeding info straight from the police HQ and from fascist groups.
 

Rip off the existant

THE POSTER: IN ENGLISH

Wednesday 10 June 2009

We don’t expect anything from this society anymore. What it imposes on us disgusts us; what it offers us doesn’t interest us. We don’t want to submit anymore to the routines of work just for a few crumbs in exchange for our obedience; we don’t want our only dreams to be whatever television shows us.

They’ve already killed us thousands of times. In school, where they pound into our heads the idea that just following along with the flock is better than stubbornly believing in going your own way. At work, where the rhythms of production and the exigencies of money suffocate our beating hearts aspiring to freedom. At home, where antidepressants and family traditions drown us in the habit of resignation. In prisons or detention centers, where society confirms our status as undesirables. In churches, mosques or synagogues, where the promise of a paradise purchased in exchange for an authoritarian morality makes us forget that we live in the present. This society is in love with death and represses life.



This society has the whole world on a leash; it’s just a little longer sometimes. We’re not the kind to fight for a looser collar, a higher wage, a less brutal police force, more honest and concerned politicians. We just want what any being held on a leash wants: we want to cut the leash, set the fucking cage on fire, and crush everyone that’d tried to keep us on that leash, or would like to.



This explosion of passion for life isn’t some great final moment to patiently await; it’s a everyday thing, and it gets more and more intense as it accelerates and spreads. Maybe it’s confused sometimes, not always knowing where to strike so as to break the chains of slavery to and membership in all this, but it’s alive. Revolt, the scream of life against a society of the dead, expresses itself in thousands of rainbow colors: from attacks on the police that section off our streets, to injuries inflicted on oh-so-sacrosanct property; from sabotage against the structures of domination like banks, temp agencies, supermarkets, and institutions of all kinds, to clear and plain refusals to let ourselves be controlled, humiliated, regimented.



The revolt isn’t simply about disgust; it’s also about joy. The joy of affirming that in spite of all we are ALIVE. That in spite of the reigning alienation, our pathways of revolt are still crossing, and the possibility of building ties of complicity are never entirely annihilated.



In the fury of action, we forge our dreams of a world without masters or slaves, little by little. They’ll necessarily be attacked because they create fissures; but desires are what undermine the social edifice.



May the winds of freedom blow.

May the tempest of insurrection rage.