Direct Action | Birds Before the Storm

In Russia, the anti-fascists and the environmentalists work together. This warms my heart. Right now, however, they’re under attack. In fact, they’re essentially always under attack. And by under attack, I don’t just mean that they are being arrested and charged with bullshit crimes, although that happens too.

In Khimki, a suburb outside of Moscow, environmentalists set up an eco-camp to protect an old forest from being cleared by a new highway. Masked fascists stormed the camp and brutally attacked the people there. The police then showed up and arrested the activists, not their attackers. In response, a 500 strong block attacked city hall, with the banner “we will clear the forest of fascist occupation, 1941-2010”. The police have now arrested two of the more public anti-fascists and charged them with the attack. They were not arrested at the site of the attack, and yet now the courts have changed their story and claiming that they were.

The anti-fascists in Russia know better than to expect justice from the courts, but still, they are raising money to fight the charges.

The struggle against fascism and against the destruction of the natural earth is absolutely a global one. We need to realize that these people are our friends and comrades, and that an attack against them is an attack against us, quite literally.

Below is a full account of the situation, translated from Russian:

Continue reading We will clear the forest of fascist occupation, 1941-2010 →

Fire juggler at a demonstration in Mainz, Germany, originally uploaded by margaretkilljoy.

Alright! I just figured out how to automatically post entire sets from my Flickr to this page. This should make posting photos less of a headache in the future. I step boldly into the 21st century and all of that.

These photos are of a Reclaim The City demonstration that was held here in Mainz, Germany this last weekend. There were thousands of revelers and protesters, three sound trucks playing all sorts of underground techno, drum and bass, punk, hip-hop, anything that can be danced to. We snaked through the city for hours, the crowd getting drunk and dancing, shouting along to anti-fascist music, listening to DJs who worked turntables in front of circle-A banners. The point of the demonstration was to declare that the city needs more autonomous spaces, social centers, etc. and less gentrification, and that they would take the city back for themselves if need be.

It’s an interesting contrast with Queens Day, which is similar drunken revelry in Amsterdam but with an entirely status quo outlook: celebrating the one day of freedom that the queen grants. Both are street parties, but I think that it’s important that Reclaim The City (or Streets) is one that we throw ourselves, by and for “the people,” not something given to us from up on high. Something that says that culture isn’t something that is handed down to us from the almighty radio, but is something that we create ourselves, that we participate in.

The photos trace our walk from the Wagenplatz down to the central station where the march started, then continued throughout the night.

Continue reading Photos – Reclaim the City demonstration in Mainz, Germany →