FIRE
TO THE
PRISONS
Issue 6//Summer 09
An Insurrectionary Quarterly

*WE
ALL
WANT
SATISFACTION

*

You probably won’t win the lottery.

“If I win, I’m gonna buy a huge and strive so painfully to live that
house and let all my friends live we compromise every moment
to the future satisfaction money
in it.”
promises us one day. Images of
happiness surround us, our fami“If I win, I’ll travel the world.”
lies and friends and destroy our
“If I win, I’ll never have to work capability to dream. Is opportunity and ambition something
again.”
that can only be determined and
granted by money? Is the rotting
but subtle disappointment we
ur understanding of opporfeel in our hourly wage or wrong
tunity is limited to the amount
lotto numbers worth the patience
of money we have. Going from
we have with the “opportunities”
making $8-10 an hour, being the
we are forced to accept? Some
only person in a dry town with
people rob banks, some people
weed for sale, the ten seconds
sell drugs, some people sell their
between the first and last number
bodies to evade a few of the hours
called for the 90 million dollar
they need for money. Money
lottery: these are moments for
steals from our lives, but money
which we feel closer to satisfacis still the origin of these foretion. We feel closer to comfort,
seen opportunities. Still money
stability, more possibilities in
determines the potentiality of
life, more freedom. So we igdreams becoming reality. What if
nore our frustrations temporarily
we never get a salary? What if we
and return to the ever deceiving
never lose a rich relative? What if
faith we are taught to have in
we neverwin the lottery?
the economy and in the success
and ambition we are forcefully
Will we forever accept our lives
taught to appreciate in this sociin poverty?
ety. We work so hard to survive

O

*WE
ALL
WANT
INSURRECTION

*

You are not going to go to heaven, and even if you did, would it be worth it?

H

eaven or hell? God’s approval or my approval? The
present sucks so I hope for a better future. This is the fuel to
most of the god-fearing religious folk of the world. We accept normalcy and routine in our lives because the morality
of some alleged god tells us that if we are not to accept such
a way of living, then we will be punished eternally. On the
other hand, if we accept such a life, we will be rewarded an
after-life of satisfaction and glee. The moment is worthless,
because “god has planned your life”. It’s as if our lives are
incapable of being good without god’s plan. Some may say
that is kind of sad, or even pathetic. When something good
happens, were told that it’s a miracle, a grace of god. However, when something bad happens we are told it is part of

god’s plan to give us good things later, or we question
if there is a god, until something good happens again.
When things get hard, we are taught to pray, to never
assume complete responsibility for the moment or
the experience, never assume complete responsibility for our lives because we are all part of god’s plan.
The church is one of the most praised institutions by
the state. Religion is a tax-free enterprise that unlike
the police, serves to enforce the normalcy of government controlled everyday life on a non-physical level.
God, similarly to the state is something we don’t see,
but something that determines our lives nonetheless.
We fear questioning god because the stories we are
told of hell. We fear to question the state, because of
the stories we are told of prison. If we are to assume
responsibility for our lives, we must question everything that exists with an inherent intention to control
them. Whether or not this means atheism or burning
churches and killing priests, the sooner we are rid of
god, the closer we are to experiencing a fuller and
free life.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-We All Want-2

*

Just because your’re poor doesn’t mean your’RE supposed to be.

W

hen a cop shoots a “poor”
black kid, you generally only hear
about it if the killing was caught on
video or unusually performed (unusual being when the person was
either shot in the back or 50 times).
When white or rich people die it
becomes a news story. The economy is only bad when rich people
are losing money. A bad neighborhood means a non-white, non-rich
neighborhood. A safe neighborhood
means the opposite. White people
are expected to be rich, the other rich
people are praised for being rich,
and they are recognized as proof of
social opportunity. Whether or not
there are exceptions, whether or not
there are rap and basketball careers,
straight A’s, or modeling, everyone
knows how the social geography of
the modern world is maintained. In
American cities, the nice neighborhoods are the rich and white ones;
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-We All Want-3

the bad neighborhoods are everything else. In the globalized economic world, the stable nations are
the white ones (Western and Northern Europe, North America), the
impoverished ones are everything
else. Again there are exceptions, the
ruling class of India and China may
propose this argument, but generally speaking, we all privately recognize this. Is this not offensive? Is
this something to accept? Will heaven be different? How do we rationalize this to ourselves? Seriously,
what the fuck!?
9/11 was a big deal because it happened on American soil. Never mind
the fact that the part of the world
the attack is accused of from stemming from has been under the military pressure of western nations for
decades prior, reaching death tolls
far beyond 9/11. Will Smith, Jay-Z,
Barack Obama: this is the evidence
to opportunity for non-white born 	
					

middle class people? Is the Middle
East supposed to accept murderous
control by the west because it’s the
way things are supposed to be? If
you were born poor or non-white,
are you supposed to accept that
your life might be harder before the
economic coercion of modern survival because it’s the way things are
supposed to be? Why accept this?
Because really, if we got our shit together and reclaimed our livelihood
as healthy communities working for
ourselves and those we care about,
do you think that the ones who are
comforted by this set up would support that? The bottom of the pyramid is always bigger and it holds
the whole thing up.
We should stop blaming ourselves,
and start blaming the things separate of ourselves that control us. If
we keep blaming ourselves, we are
accepting a system that does not accept us.

*

Police

P

are

olice are cowards. They front like they’re
tough, but really they are cowards. Anytime you
stand up to the police, no matter if you were beaten, beat them, were arrested, or got away, you are
ALWAYS tougher. They’ll chase you and run red
lights, beat the shit out of you (generally if you
are handcuffed or on the ground), hop fences, and
shoot. But they are taking no risk, their pampering parent-the state- will always protect them.
When you run a red light, when you choose to
fight back you are taking a risk. When the police
beat or kill people they do it while assured of no
pre-determined consequence, they are basically
beating a blind and paralyzed 7 year old (they
probably do sometimes). They front like they’re
tough, but they ain’t shit. When they fight, they
attack with the tank that is the state. When we
fight, all we have is the tank that is our hearts, our
sense of self-respect. 				
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-We All Want-4

cowards

If I knew that I could fight a police officer without the concern of legal consequence, just the cop
backing him or herself up, I would probably have
my daily planner set up for the next year. Nobody who matters likes the police; they protect
the property of the rich, the normalcy of everyday life and the fear that mediates our relationship with the world around us. If we had the back
that they had, we would destroy them, humiliate
them and eliminate the hand that feeds them: the
state. If we had the back we would get our revenge on these cowards. Because that is what the
police are: cowards. Our back will be the rage
they produce. They are traitors to our humanity.
All cops will always be. Nice or not; its inherent
to their position. All cops are bastards. They are
the untouchable bully children of the State, but if
we were to man up, we could be the uncontrollable children of their demise.

*

You don’t have to be a punk, deviant, dork, or child of a
suburban divorce to be radical, to stand up for yourself on a big level.

S

melly hippies, prissy college students, punk rockers
and sleazy college professors make up the face painted
by the mainstream when presenting dissent. Opposition
is something specialized, we are told. We are told that
it is a privilege of the middle class, the trend of another
generation, something that has already been done or is
only feasible when one can fulfill a certain aesthetic or
identity. The origin of opposition is simple: it’s frustration, dissatisfaction. These are feelings that very accessible and are seemingly more sincere when embraced
by the less than typical revolutionary communities. We
riot when our frustration has gotten too strong, too incapable of being held in. Because our understanding of
change is within the context of politics, anything that is
not recognized as political is considered not a force for
drastic change.
Riots speak for themselves, cop shootings speak for
themselves, lootings speaks for themselves, rapists shot
in the act speak for themselves, school and workplace
shootings speak for themselves. But we are spoken to
about them by the mainstream that only recognizes opposition on its terms: through politics (the game of

power) of normalcy and patience, not through action
and struggle without compromise. So according to the
mainstream, when someone shoots as many cops as
possible before they are killed, it is not an act of opposition to the police presence in everyday life, but is
an act of “insanity”. You “protest peacefully” and we
are told this is how to get our points across. You push
the boundaries of hygiene and image and express your
frustration with the world just by responding as much as
you’re allowed to by the same world you’re frustrated
with, to the images that are presented to us by the mainstream. It is important to recognize that sub-culture and
aesthetic have nothing to do with struggle. Freedom,
and the desire to achieve freedom, has no face that can
be painted. No political ideology or identity could ever
fully encompass freedom, because freedom is made
freedom by an inability to set a limit or framework. The
desire for freedom is something that should reflect the
same logic that determines a free context, making no
face, aesthetic, or lifestyle capable of fully representing
a desire for freedom, or a desire to destroy what stands
between one from being free. You don’t have to be
weird or political to be frustrated or want
change. Real change is never political because to be political you must have an interest in working with the political forces that
exist. To be weird you have to determine
your aesthetic solely within the context of
responding to what is normal. In both cases
you are letting what you oppose determine
the extent of your opposition; in both cases
no goal could be achieved that really challenges the current, since the current sets the
precedent for what you are responding to.

Revolt is strongest when it is through a commonly recognized desire for freedom, not an
isolating need for distinct identity.

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-We All Want-5

*

We

W

all

want

satisfaction.

e don’t have the time to cook so we eat Doritos
and pre-packaged sandwiches when were hungry. We
only have the time for food when it’s fast. Our bodies
remain forever malnourished and we are constantly filling the dietary void. We are unhealthy not because we
choose to be, but because we can’t afford otherwise.
We don’t always have the time other then when were
sleeping to dream about what it is we want or where it
is we want to see our lives go, so we look to the forever
changing but always somewhat the same set of images
and ideas fed to us on television, radio, billboards, commercials, etc. Our desires are limited to an understanding of possibility by a very dreary social reality. Sex,
friendship, excitement, inspiration: these are all things
I assume people want. These are all things we yearn for
on a deep level. These are things that money sells to us
and the police mediate. We feel like we need to have
money to get sex. We judge our success in the bedroom
based on a standard of beauty we masturbate to in porn
or stare at in magazines and reality shows. We fall in
love and conclude such warmth in our lives with the
cold government recognition of the relationship known
as marriage. Our friendships may be the most important

We

all

want

insurrection.

source of comfort in our everyday lives. But our opportunities to bond are stolen from us by work and the
exhaustion of our constant strife to survive. We make
up for a lack of time with Facebook or Myspace comments, phone messages and the brief events where we
have our scheduled social experiences. Because we are
isolated by the prison of everyday survival, we feel a
need to save up a days pay so we can afford to hang out
at the bar or club, so we can AFFORD to meet people.
We go on vacations, if we have the money, where we
are told that these are the times to take risks or try new
things. We can only experience inspiration when we
can think, we can only think when we can relax, we can
only relax when we are away from work, when we are
away from the general portion of our lives. The beach is
a vision of nothingness, where everything as we know
it is gone. Maybe this is why the beach is understood as
inspiring (we are told there are resorts for this). When
our desires are told to us, or even more offensively, sold
to us, do we really have any understanding of self, of
our lives or of what it is that we want? The idea of reclaiming our desires and possibilities in life without the
rule of money or government is a very dangerous idea.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-We All Want-6

Re-examining the satisfaction
we find in spending hours of our
life miserable to eventually buy
the hottest new vintage Nike’s
or Urban Outfitter jeans is a very
dangerous idea. Re-examining our
entire understanding of desire and
satisfaction is a very dangerous
idea. Since money and government exists to keep things (us) in
order, then examining possibilities
beyond the context that money or
power produces is violating the
standard of safety or order, hence
being dangerous. If we are to be
“dangerous” in this way, we are
daring to challenge everything as
we know it. We dare to contemplate whether or not we are satisfied. Most of us feel this in subtle
ways, but most of us do drugs.
The conclusions can be so hard.
Some of us choose to challenge
money, power, or whatever it is
we see threatening our satisfaction. Unfortunately, most people that choose to do this, let’s
say, “get political” and allow the
ambition of their struggles to be
restrained to the standards and
possibility that the social reality
of money and power encourage.
They hope that politicians and
police will listen, big companies
will listen, land-lords will listen,

bosses will listen, art will listen.
They hope that the same forces
that are perceived as the origin of
their frustration will change. They
look for
the political fillers of more social
leniency- one less law, one more
national forest protected, one cop
punished by the system it works
for. If we look to change our lives
or the context we are living in,
there is no way to fully achieve
the contrary by playing by the
rules of the forces that motivate
our desire for change. Is it more
letters the politicians need to get?
Or is it more bullets? Is it more
lawsuits the police need to get? Or
is it more bullets? Is it a union our
workplaces need so work will be
more tolerable? Or is it fire? Is patience really something we should
show the forces that impoverish
our lives? Insurrection is a word
for impatient struggle. Democrats,
Republicans, communists, capitalists; such a word is not accessible
to. Insurrection is a word that is
free of the left and right wings. It
is free of everything that looks to
be patient and work or manipulate
the powers that be. Insurrection is
a word that describes a non-filler
political discourse, that looks to
destroy the powers that be, and to

*
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-We All Want-7

create the realest opportunity for
freedom: a life that we are responsible for.
Drastic change can only be
brought about through drastic
measure. Insurrection also defines a struggle that does not look
for permission. It is a word that
describes a force that does not
ask, but takes without patience
and without compromise. Our
life energy is forced to submit
to the provided means to survive
within an economy. If we begin to
look for a life to live, as opposed
to just constantly survive, we
could immediately take all of our
energy and put it towards achieving an everyday life and reality
we are comfortable with. Gangs
could become mobile street crews
wreaking mayhem on the normalcy of police mediation of neighborhoods. Block parties could become occupied streets. In a free
life, anything is possible. In a life
of survival, we are forced to accept and obey because any breaks
along the way may mean no food
on our plates.

Imagine insurrection being an
immediate break from the lives
we were told we were supposed
to have. Imagine that insurrection is an opportunity for such
a break to become permanent.
The state wants us to play politics, the economy wants us to
play the game of survival; our
lives are not games, we need to
stop playing now.

GREETINGS
I

*

A brief message from the editors.

f your publication does not go through transitions, it does not grow. What you write about
in some way reflects what you are inspired by
or interested in. Each issue reflects the individuals or communities whom contribute to
its production; the writers and those responsible for the resistance written about. We have
become more and more frustrated with politics. It is frustrating to feel like we are catering
to a specific milieu or political identity and in
the process of destroying politics, we feel the
need to remove our self from the aesthetic of
politics in the process of challenging its very
existence. But when you publish a periodical
you sadly rely on the distribution or support
of particular political groups or subcultures in
society. We feel that dropping a formal identity would help to make this periodical an inclusive forum for frustration with everyday life, a
feeling beyond politics and more specifically
beyond isolating sub-cultures.
We want this to be a forum for inspiration,
not a collectible for a unique library. With this
project we are trying to provoke a social force
that will push for more of its kind. A diversity
of attack is something we try to focus on. This
is with the intention to reach the thoughts of
different struggles and areas that experience
their own repressions in everyday life. We are
trying to challenge having a particular aesthetic or identity attached to this publication.
In the process of challenging politics, we are
interested in discouraging any political assumptions of this magazine. Those mentioned
as “political prisoners” for example, are those
imprisoned for participating in struggles we
are sympathetic to, but do not exclusively
subscribe to. Conflict with the state, conflict
with the economy, conflict with industry, all
instances of conflict excite us and are seen
as opportunities for something larger. As the
state is the sanction for politics, all prisoners
of any prisons could be considered political.

With the intention of trying to show support for campaigns we
are excited about, we try to raise awareness and encourage solidarity with those who fall victim to the state’s attempts to defend
itself. Those arrested that are mentioned specifically in this magazine are individuals actively trying to expose state vulnerabilities
by attacking what it defends or more directly its formal presence
(government buildings, police, production sites, and so on.)
We are a forum for frustration, a paper “blog” that looks to connect different tensions in society, hoping to inspire a larger desire
to radically challenge the circumstances of our everyday lives.
We are not a political party looking to have a say on the social
trajectory of politics (the game of power). We represent only our
sympathies for the physical presence of tension, acting as a force
for the social trajectory of freedom. Although anarchy is a word
that excites us, we are not representatives of a future world. We
are individuals who, along with everyone else, is stuck in the current social reality, but are looking to challenge in a real way the
presence of repression and mediation in modern everyday life.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Greetings-8

We want to encourage
conflict and agitation

by all means, therefore our content will report and comment
coming from a perspective of

pro-confrontation, pro-disruption, and proconflict. These are the

things we want to be associated
with in this publication. No banner
could capture all the possibilities
of our resistance. But a common
knowledge of how others act to
certain things we feel can help to

strengthen forces of resistance
in society, thus further help de-stabilize the forces of power
in society that prevent us from
being a fully existing 				

		
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Greetings-9

		

us

Table of

Discontent

A

s we mention in every issue; our content is intended for informational or educational purposes
only. Fire to the Prisons is in no way responsible
for the decisions those reading this publication
choose to make in response to the message perceived in the writings. Fire to the Prisons in no way
encourages any illegal conduct. We are purely providing a forum for conversation; and any attempt to
connect this publication to any illegal behavior is
a complete fabrication by forces interested in impeding information such as this.

P. 0, WE ALL WANT
We all want insurrection. We all want satisfaction.
P. 8, Greetings
A pre-face to intentions with this publication.
P. 11, Anything Can Happen
An account of the impossible by Fredy Perlman.
P. 19, “Fuck May 68’ Fight Now”
An account of resistance on and around May Day 2009.
P. 26, “All I Do is Party”
Recognizing the potential of social conflict in the defense of
“fun”
P. 29, A SOLIDARITY OF ATTACK
“We look out for ours.”
P. 33, CONFRONTING FEAR
Recognizing the emotional and logistical consequences of being
in struggle.
P. 36, Collapsing the Security Architectures
A call our for the “Summer of resistance 2009”

F

ire to the Prisons is in no-way a “for profit” publication; nor is it a formal enterprise under state
terms of legitimacy. All content in this publication
we encourage the re-printing or re-distribution of;
especially the issue in it’s entirety. Printable files
for re-distribution of this magazine (current and
back issues) are available for free on our website:
			

www.firetotheprisons.com

P. 44, TENSION REMAINS BOILING
Recognizing and learning from recent Bay Area tension between residents
and police.
P. 48, Bash Back!
Props to the anti-assimilationist queer tendency.
P. 50, PURSUING STRATEGIC SOCIAL WAR
Where do we stand? Obviously opposed to the social order.
P. 54, Conflict with Capital’s Global Conquest
Reports of native and anti-colonial struggle.
P. 60, in TROUBLE
Updates on those facing legal trouble and support for Imprisoned comrades.
P. 70, frustration on the inside
A chronology of North American prisoner resistance.
P. 79, Long live mauricio!
Preserving a memory of Mauricio Morales Duarte.
P. 80, links
Further news and knowledge for insurrection; for liberation.

P. 41, Until All are Free
For Total Liberation in Mexico.

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-T.O.C-10

anything
can
happen
“Be realistic, demand
the impossible.”

T

his slogan developed in May 1968 by revolutionaries in
France, flies in the face of common sense, especially the “common sense”
of American propaganda. In fact, in terms of American “common sense”,
much of what happens in the world everyday is impossible. It can’t happen, if it does happen, then the official “common sense” is nonsense: it is
a set of myths and fantasies. But how can common sense be nonsense?
That’s impossible.
To demonstrate that anything is possible, this essay will place some
of the myths alongside some of the events. The essay will then try to find
out why some of the myths are possible, in other words, it will explore the
“scientific basis” of the myths. The essay, if successful, will thus show that
anything is possible: it’s even possible for a population to take myths for
common sense, and it’s possible for myth makers to convince themselves
of the reality of their myths in the face of reality itself.
“American Common Sense”
-It’s impossible for people to run their own lives; that are why they don’t
have the power to do so. People are powerless because they have neither
the ability nor the desire to control and decide about the material and social
conditions in which they live.
-People only want power and privileges over each other. It would be
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Anything Can Happen-11

impossible, for example, for university students to fight
against the institution which assures them a privileged
position. Those students who study do so to get high
grades, because with the high grades they can get highpaying jobs, which means the ability to manage and
manipulate other people. If learning were not rewarded
with high grades, high pay, power over others and lots
of goods, no one would learn; there would be no motivation of learning.

It’s impossible for them to change their situation any
other way.

-It would be just as impossible for workers to want to
run their factories, to want to decide about their production. All that workers are interested in is wages: they
just want more wages then others have, so as to buy
bigger houses, more cars and longer trips.

-Even if they did unite, it would obviously be impossible for them to destroy the State and the police and
military potential of a powerful industrial society like
the United States.

-Even if students, workers, and farmers wanted something different, they’re obviously satisfied with what
they’re doing, otherwise they wouldn’t be doing it.

-Even if some people tried to change the situation some
other way, it would be impossible for them to get together; they’d only fight each other, because white
workers are racists, black nationalists are anti-white,
feminists are against all men, and students have their
own specific problems.

The Events

Millions of students all over the world-in Tokyo,
Turn, Belgrade, Berkeley, Berlin, Rome, Rio, Warsaw,
New York, Paris—are fighting for the power to control
-In any case, those who aren’t satisfied can freely ex- and decide the social and material conditions of which
press their dissatisfaction by buying and voting: they they live. They are not stopped either by the lack of
don’t have to buy the things they don’t like, and they desire or lack of ability; they are stopped by the cops.
don’t have to vote for the candidates they don’t like. 	 Perhaps they’re inspired by other fighters who held on
							
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Anything Can Happen-12

against cops: the Cubans or Vietnamese… Students in Turin and
Paris, for example, occupied their
universities and formed general assemblies in which all the students
made all the decisions. In other
words, the students started running
their own universities. Not in order
to get better grades: they did away
with tests. Not in order to get high
paying jobs or more privileges: they
started to discuss the abolition of
privileges and high paying jobs;
they started to discuss putting an
end to society in which they had to
sell themselves. And at that point,
sometimes for the first time in their
lives, they started learning.
In Paris young workers, inspired
by the example of the students, occupied an aircraft factory and locked
up the director. The examples multiplied. Other workers began to occupy their factories. Despite the
fact that all life long they had depended on someone to make their
decisions for them, some workers
set up committees to discuss running the strike on their own terms,
letting all workers decide, and not
just on the union’s terms—and
some workers set up commissions
to discuss running the factories
themselves. An idea which is pointless to think about in normal times,
because it’s absurd, it’s impossible,
had suddenly become possible, and
it became interesting, challenging,
fascinating. Workers even began to
talk about producing goods merely
because people needed them. These
workers knew that it was “false to
think that the population is against
free public services, that farmers
are in favor of a commercial circuit
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Anything Can Happen-13

stuffed with intermediaries, that
poorly paid people are satisfied, that
‘managers’ are proud of their privileges..” Some electronic workers
distributed equipment to demonstrators protecting themselves from the
police; some farmers delivered free
food to striking workers; and some
armaments workers talked about
distributing weapons to all workers,
so that the workers could protect
themselves from the national army
and police.
In spite of a lifetime of business
propaganda about how “satisfied”
workers are with the cars, houses
and other objects they receive in
exchange for their living energy,
workers expressed their “satisfaction” through a general strike which
paralyzed all French industry for
a month. After being trained for a
lifetime to “respect law and order”,
workers broke all the laws by occupying factories to see to it that
the factories continued to “belong”
because as they quickly learned,
the cops are there to see to it that
the factories “belong” to capitalist
owners. The workers learned that
“law and order” is what keeps them
from running their own productive
activity, and that “law and order” is
what they’d have to destroy in order
to rule their own society. The cops
came out as soon workers acted on
their own dissatisfaction. Perhaps
the workers had known all along
about the cops in the background;
perhaps that’s why the workers had
seemed so “satisfied”. With a gun
pointing at his back, any intelligent
person would be “satisfied” to hold
his hands up.
Workers in Paris and elsewhere

began to accept the students’ invitation to come to the University of
Paris auditoriums (at the Sorbonne,
Censier, Halle-aux-vins, Beaux
Arts, etc.) to talk about abolishing
money relations and turning the
factories into social services run
by those who make and those who
use the products. Workers began to
express themselves. That is when
the owners and their administrators
threatened civil war, and an enormous police and military machine
was deployed to make the threat
more realistic. With this crass display of the forces of “law and order”, the king stood monetarily naked: the repressive dictatorship of
the capitalist class was visible to all.
Whatever illusions people might
have had about their own “consumer sovereignty” or “voting power”,
whatever fantasies they may have
had about transforming capitalist society by buying or voting, they lost
them. They knew that their “buying
power” and “voting power” simply
meant servility and acquiescence in
the face of enormous violence. The
student revolt and the general strike
in France (like the black revolt in the
U.S., or the anti-imperialist struggle
on three continents) had merely
forced the ever-present violence to
expose itself: this made it possible
for people to size up the enemy.
In the face of the violence of
the capitalist state, students, French
workers, foreign workers, peasants,
the well paid and the poorly paid,
learned whose interests they had
served by policing each other, by
fearing and hating each other. In
the face of the naked violence of the
common oppressor, the divisions

among the oppressed disappeared: students ceased to
fight for privileges over the workers and joined the
workers; French workers ceased to fight for privileges
over the foreign workers, and joined together with the
foreign workers; farmers ceased to fight for a special
dispensation, and joined the struggle of the workers
and the students. Together they began to fight against
a single word system that oppresses and divides students from workers, qualified workers from unqualified, French workers from Spanish, black workers from

white, “native” workers from “home” workers, colonized peasants from the whole “metropolitan” population.

destroy the state and its repressive apparatus, yet they
occupied and started running the universities, and in the
streets they returned the cops’ volley of teargas with
a volley of cobblestones. This too was an exemplary
action: workers in a number of factories took courage,
occupied their factories, and were ready to defend them
from the “owners”.
--The first workers who occupied their factories in
order to take them over and start running them knew

that they could not destroy the power of the capitalist
class unless all workers took over their factories and
defended them by destroying the state and its repressive
power, yet they occupied the factories. This too was
The struggle in France did not destroy the politi- an exemplary action, but these workers did not succeed
cal and military power of capitalist society. But the in communicating the example to the rest of the workstruggle did show that this was possible:
ers: the government, the press, and the unions told the
rest of the population that the occupying workers were
--Students at a demonstration in Paris knew they could merely having a traditional strike to get higher wages
not defend themselves from a police charge, but some and better working conditions from the state and the
students didn’t run from the police; they started build- factory owners.
ing a barricade. This was what the March 22 Movement called an “exemplary action”: a large number of Impossible? All this happened in a two-week period at
students took courage, didn’t run from the cops and be- the end of May in 1968. The examples were extremely
gan building barricades.
contagious. Is anyone really sure that those who produce weapons, namely workers, or even the cops and
--Students knew that they could not, by themselves, soldiers, who are also workers, are immune?
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Anything Can Happen-14

“Scientific Basis” of the “Common Sense”
A “social scientist” is someone who is paid
to defend this society’s myths. His/her defense
mechanism, in its simplest formulation, runs
approximately as follows. s/he begins assuming that the society of his time and place is the
only possible form of society; s/he then concludes that some other form of society is impossible. Unfortunately, the “social scientist”
rarely admits his/her assumptions and usually
claims that s/he doesn’t make any assumptions.
It can’t be said that the social scientist is lying
outright: s/he usually takes his/her assumptions so much for granted that s/he doesn’t
even know he’s making them.
The “social scientist” takes for granted a society in which there’s a highly developed “division of labor”, which includes both a separation of tasks and a separation (“specialization”)
of people. The tasks include socially useful
things as producing food, clothing and houses,
and also such socially useless things as brainwashing, manipulation and killing people. To
begin with, the “scientist” defines all of these
activities as useful, because society could not
run without them. Next, the scientist assumed
that these tasks can only be performed if a given person is attached to a given task for life,
in other words if the specialized tasks are performed by specialized people. S/He does not
assume this about everything. For example,
eating and sleeping are necessary activities;
society would break down if these things were
not performed. Yet even the “social scientist”
does not think that a handful of people should
do all the eating while the rest don’t eat, or that
a handful of people should do all the sleeping
while the rest don’t sleep at all. It is assumed
that the need for specialization exists only for
those activities which are specialized in his/her
particular society. In the corporate-military society, a few people have all the political power,
the rest have none; a handful of people decide
what to produce, the rest consume it; a handful
of people decide what kind of houses to build,
and the rest live in them; a handful of people
decide what to teach in classrooms and the rest

swallow it; a handful of people create and the
rest are passive; a handful of people perform
and the rest are spectators. In short, a handful
of people have all the power over a specific activity, and the rest of the people have no power
over it even when they are learning what to do
with it until they have it. From this the “scientist” concludes that people have neither the
ability nor the desire to have such power, namely to control and decide about the social and
material conditions in which they live. More
straightforwardly, the argument states: people
do not have such power in this society, and this
society is the only form of society; therefore it
is impossible for people to have such power.
In still simpler terms: People can’t have such
power because they don’t have it.
Logic is not taught much in American schools
and the argument looks impressive when it is
accompanied by an enormous statistical apparatus and extremely complicated geometrical
designs. If a critic insists on calling the argument simplistic and circular, s/he is turned out
as soon as the “scientist’ starts “communicating” in a completely esoteric language which
has all the logical fallacies built-in, but which is
comprehensible only to “specific colleagues”.
Mythological conclusions based on mythological assumptions are “proved” by means of
the statistics and the charts; much of “supplied
social science” consists of teaching young
people what kind of “data” to gather in order
to make the conclusions come out, and much
of “applied social science” consists of teaching
young people what kind of “data” to gather in
order to make the conclusions comes out, and
much of “theory” consists of fitting this data
to the pre-established formulas. By means of
numerous techniques, for example, it can be
“proved” that workers would rather have high
paying jobs, that people “like” what they hear
on the radio or see on television, that people
are “members” of one or another Judeo-Christian cult, that almost anyone votes either Democrats of Republicans.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Anything Can Happen-15

Students are taught one set of methods for gathering the data, a second for arranging them, a
third set for presenting them, and “theories”
for interpreting them. The apologetic content
of the “data” is covered up by its statistical
sophistication. In a society where eating depends on getting pain, and thus where doing
“meaningful work” may mean one doesn’t get
paid, a worker’s preference for high paying
meaning jobs merely means s/he would rather
eat than not eat. In a society where people do
not create and control what they hear on the
radio or see on television they have no choice
but to “like” what they hear and see, or else
to turn the damn thing off. People who know
their friends would look at them funny if they
were atheists prefer to go to one or another
church, and almost anyone who knows s/he is
in a society where friend or job loss would occur if s/he were a socialist or an anarchist obviously prefers to be a Democrat or a Republican. Yet such “data” serves as the basis for
the “social scientists” conception of people’s
possibilities and impossibilities, and even of
their “human nature”.

The interviews, polls, and statistical demonstrations about people’s religious affiliations,
electoral behavior, job [preferences], reduce
people to monotonous data. In the context
of this “science”, people are things, they are
objects with innumerable qualities-and surprisingly enough, each one of these qualities
happens to be serve by one or another institution of the corporate-military society. It just
so happens that people’s “material tastes” are
“satisfied” by corporations, and their “physical urges: are “satisfied” by “spiritual tendencies” are “satisfied” by the cults, and that their
“political preferences” are “satisfied” either by
the Republican or Democratic party. In other
words everything about American corporatemilitarism fits people just perfectly.
Everything is tabulated except the fact that
a working person serves as a tool, that s/he
sells his/her living time and creative ability in
exchange for objects, that s/he doesn’t decide
what to make, nor for whom, nor why.
The “social scientist” claims to be empirical and objective; s/he claims to make
no value judgments. Yet by reducing the
person to the bundle of tastes, desires and
preferences to which they are restricted
in capitalist society, the “objective scientist” makes the bizarre claim that this
bundle is what the worker is; and makes
the fantastic value judgment that the
worker cannot be other than what he is in
capitalist society. According to the “laws
of human behavior” of this “science”, the
solidarity of students with workers, the
occupation of factories by workers, the
desire of workers to run their own production, distribution and coordination,
are all impossible. Why? Because these
things are impossible in capitalist society,
and for these “scientists” who make no
value judgments, existing societies are
the only possible societies, and the corporate-military society is the best of all
possible societies.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Anything Can Happen-16

Given the value judgments of these
experts (“who make no value judgments”), everyone in American society must be satisfied. For these
valueless “scientists,” dissatisfaction is a “value judgment” imported
from abroad, for how could anyone
not be satisfied in the best of all possible worlds? A person must have
“foreign based ideas” if s/he doesn’t
recognize this as the best of all possible worlds; s/he must be unbalanced if s/he’s not satisfied with
it; s/he must be dangerous if s/he
means to act on his/her dissatisfaction; and must be removed from
his/her job, starved if possible, and
killed if necessary, for the continued
satisfaction of the expert.
To the American social scientist, “human nature” is what people
do in corporate-military America: a
few make decisions and the rest follow order; some think and others do;
some buy other people’s labor and
the rest sell their own labor; a few
invest and the rest are consumers;
some are sadists and others masochists; some have a desire to kill and
others to die. The “scientist” passes
all this off as “exchange”, as “reciprocity”, as a “division of labor” in
which people are divided along with
tasks. To the “social scientist” this
is all so natural that s/he thinks s/he
makes no value judgments when s/
he takes it all for granted. Corporations and the military even give
“scientists” grants to show that it
has always been this way: grants
to demonstrate that this “human
nature” is lodged in the beginning
of history and in this depths of the
unconscious. (American psychologists—especially “behaviorists”—
make the ambiguous “contribution”
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Anything Can Happen-17

of demonstrating that animals also
have a “human nature”—the psychologists drive rats mad in a situation similar to a war which the psychologists themselves helped plan,
and then they show that rats, too,
have a desire to kill, that they have
masochist tendencies,…)
Given this conception of “human
nature,” the strength of the corporate-military system does not reside
in the potential violence of its army
and police, but in the fact that the
corporate-military system is consistent with human nature.
In terms of what the American
“social scientist” takes for granted, when students and workers in
France started to fight to do away
with “reciprocity,” “exchange,” and
the division of labor, they were not
fighting against the capitalist police,
but against “human nature”. And
since this is obviously impossible,
the events that took place in May,
1968, did not take place.
“Common Sense” Explodes

they’re superior to non-University
manual workers.
In such a society, WASP (White
Anglo-Saxon Protestant) workers
who sell themselves for higherpaying, easier jobs, frantically tell
themselves and their buyers that
they’re better, work harder, and
are more deserving than foreigners, Catholics, Jews, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and Blacks; black
“professionals” tell themselves that
they’re better than black manual
workers; all whites tell themselves
that they’re better then South American, Asian, or African “natives”.
Since WASPS systematically succeed in selling themselves at the
highest price, everyone below tries
to make himself as much a WASP as
possible. (WASPS happen to be the
traditional ruling class. If midgets
systematically got the highest price,
everyone below would try to be a
midget.)
To keep its relative privileges,
each group tries to keep the groups
below from shaking the structure.
Thus in times of “peace” the system is largely self-policed: the colonized repress the colonized, blacks
repress blacks, whites repress each
other, the blacks, and the colonized.
Thus the working population represses itself, “law and order” is
maintained, and the ruling class is
saved from further outlays on the
repressive apparatus.
To the “social scientist” and the
professional propagandist, this “division of labor is as natural as “human nature” itself.

The question of what is possible
cannot be answered in terms of what
it is. The fact that “human nature”
is hierarchical in a hierarchic society does not mean that a hierarchic
division of people among different
tasks is necessary for social life.
It is not the capitalist institutions
which satisfy human needs. It is the
working people of capitalist society
who shape themselves to fit the institutions of capitalist society.
In such a society, students who
prepare to sell themselves as highsalaried managers and manipuUnity among the different “interlators must tell their buyers and est groups” is as inconceivable to
themselves that, as “professionals”, the “social scientist” as revolution.

BECAUSE

ANYTHING

IS

While holding as “scientifically proved” that the different groups cannot unite in
an anti-capitalist struggle,
the expert does all he can to
prevent such unity, and his
colleagues design weapons
just in case people did unite
against the capitalist system.
Because sometimes the
whole structure cracks.

POSSIBLE

The same expert who defines the capitalist system
as consistent with “human
nature”, with people’s taste,
wishes, desires, constructs
the arsenal of myths and
weapons with which the system defends itself. But what
does the system defend itself
against: human nature? If it
has to fight against human
nature to survive, then by expert’s own language, the system is extremely unnatural.

Thus while some experts define the rebellion of France
as impossible because it is “unnatural”, their expert colleagues design the incapacitating gases with which cops
can suppress such impossible rebellions.
Because anything is possible.
			
			
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Anything Can Happen-18

-Fredy Perlmen, 1968

M

ay 1st; also known as Mayday; also
known as international workers day; it has acted as a day for the exploited, tormented, and
controlled by capitalism to feel recognized.
Although Mayday has been perceived as an
opportunity for the left to push its agendas
and maintain its limited idea of resistance by
buying protests and the attention of many conscious proletarians; many have been able to
intervene; now, and historically. In Europe we
see this most; when the first brick is thrown;
when the first barricade is built; the lines are
clearly drawn.
As the police maintain the system that coerces us to accept class; to accept work; confrontation with them can only be necessary during
this day of empowerment for the powerless.
As the labor recognized in this day produces
the cash to consume and the products to sell,
attacking stores that celebrate the social divisions that keep workers down and owners up;
attacking the symbols of wealth can only be
necessary in framing the significance of this
day. The following is a compiled list of events
from this Mayday 2009 from North America and around the world; may our attacks
strengthen our side of this fence; may this
Mayday be an implication of the coming social war. May these attacks spread; may these
confrontations re-occur; not just on designated days of dissent and distress; but everyday;
for everyday is a celebration of exploitation
and domination in this culture; for everyday is
another chance to reclaim the following one.

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-May Day-19

*setting a precedent
Mexico//April 30th: Banks,
meat markets, and luxury
cars; targeted in mayday
night of action.

-In the Xochimilco borough,
Mexico City: 2 skotia banck
ATMs were incinerated. 4
luxury automobiles from a
Jeep and Chrysler dealership
Communiqué claiming the were incinerated. 7 Telmex
corporation phones were sabaction:
otaged. 6 meat markets were
(Translation from Bite Back glued. Various churches and
magazine:
www.directac- schools were painted.
tion. info, please mind the
-In the Azcapotzalco borgrammer)
ough, Mexico City: various
Last night, April 30, as a re- paintings were done against
sponse to the call for a day of the construction of a gas staaction against capitalism and tion, against the police and in
in solidarity with the prison- solidarity with prisoners.
ers of social war, the following sabotages were carried -In Ecatepec, Mexico State:
1 window was broken and a
out anonymously:
camera destroyed at a b.b.v.a.
-In the City of Nezahualcoy- bank.
otl, Mexico State: 3 Bancomer and h.s.b.c. ATMs were in- -In Coacalco, Mexico State:
cinerated. 1 Bancomer bank 1 luxury Toyota was incinerwas sabotaged with paint on ated.
its windows.
For the expansion of
-In the Ixtapalapa borough, social war.
Mexico City: 1 Banamex
That the flame of insurATM was burned with a morection spreads everywhere
lotov.

that the powers that be tremble,
that the world of capital explodes
in front of the social uprising.
War!!! against those who exploit
nature to get rich, against those
who kill animals, against those
who murder and imprison our
compañeros and social fighters.
The virus of social control or
‘swine flu’ could not stop us, the
virus of the insurrection against
the state will expand.
These sabotages are claimed by:
The informal and inflammatory
coordinator for subversive and decentralized action.

May Day
Asheville, NC 2009

On the night of May first a down town building in Asheville North Carolina was occupied for a dance party in honor of May Day. A banner hung from the roof read “Reclaiming space to reclaim our lives. Occupy everything!” and by the time the police arrived there was about 150-200 people doing just that. As pre-determined nobody fought
for the space but instead took the party to the street.
Once the police realized their mistake they seized the sound system but it was too late.
Masks were on and the chants began. “Wu-tang Clan ain’t nothing to fuck with!”, “May
Day is our day. Can’t forget peoples history!”, “Swine-Flu! Swine-Flu!” and A... Anti...
Anti-Capitalista!”. The crowd took to the streets; breaking windows, neglecting police
demands, and setting a precedent of no compromise before the normalcy of typical protest on this day. Below is a written account of the events on this day:
1. Capitalist time is the irreversible repetition of non-events. The
regime of this time is a relationship made material and intelligible
through the subject/object fiction.
Which is to say, the playing out of
you and I being this or that identity; functioning by all the rules
we are supposed to abide by. On a
given weekend it is reasonable to
kick back, to have a few beers, to
go to a party, to engage in an interesting conversation, to get laid.
In each of these, there are moments
of potentiality, where the normal
course could continue forward, and
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-May Day-20

where it could be interrupted by an
exception. Our task is to caress this
potentiality.
2. Language is increasingly incommensurable. To speak is only to
make intelligible the taking place
of language. The gesture is the
form of vocabulary that must, at all
costs, be wildly practiced.
3. Any day can become a holiday,
any holiday can be put to use. The
eventness of May 1st must be freed
from 1886, 2001, and 2009. To protest the management of society

without attacking the relationship of
being managed and managing others is to leave both management and
society unscathed. A demonstration
that remembers our fallen heroes
of the past without passing over to
a wild use of the present plays out
the sadness of yet another funeral
dirge.
10:12 pm Friday, May 1st 2009: We
are becoming-unicorns because we
are an image from a terrible, magical future, where our inhumanity is
given a place. We are analogous to
swine flu and other pandemics because we practice the dissolution of
society into communes becomingunicorns, becoming-cats, becoming-pandas, becoming-werewolves,
becoming-that which attacks critical arteries. We are parasites, a static noise of collapsing selves, which
act with care but without remorse.
	
PARK! We are at the vortex,
subcultural capital is fully spent. For
once, having dreadlocks is not the
worst idea, yet giant traveler packs
are still a fashion “don’t.” Each
body is antsy, vibrating with potency and anxious to receive the promised “secret.” There is a circle of
bodies—it speaks, “Get into groups
of ten to fifteen!” There are no police at the park—we thought there
would have been police. Where are
the police? Groups begin diffusing
into Asheville’s nightlife. Each of
us is swept away in different lines of
flight. We play at being party-goers,
students, hippies, those who appreciate the typeface Gotham far too
much. We pass police occupied with
the arbitrary enforcement of law at
a gas station. Whispers, murmurs,
intrigue. I know little of whats going on, but I wish I knew less. How
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-May Day-21

lovely, to be fully kidnapped by the
eventness of the event.
	
Thumping beats are calling
to us—seducing us closer as they
increase in volume. “Is this the
space!? Oh my fucking god this is
the space!” A three-story monolith
is consuming every body that nears
its margins. We follow the most
fascinating haircuts as they are
sucked into the event’s singularity.
An enormous banner drapes across
the building’s exterior exclaiming, “Reclaim space to reclaim our
lives!” and “Occupy everything!” A
monstrous image of a galloping unicorn accompanies the text. A friend
of mine wears the image of Satan’s
unicorn on his forearm. The unicorn, is often associated with queer
practices. Widely circulate and appropriate: the unicorn is that which
is swift and has an edge. the unicorn
is fantasy, armed.
At the door, we are greeted by our
most cherished friends:
	
“Welcome to the party, this
is an occupied space. It’s totally illegal and stuff, would you like a gift
bag?”
	
Before its even possible to
consider the use of the contents of
the bag—a pretty explanation of
the event, a mask, some condoms,
a dental dam—we are entering
through another door of judgment.
The electronic music is turned up to
eleven. There are free expropriated
beers and bottles of water. Exuberance, post-ironic cheers, and the
terrible motions of bodies losing
inhibitions—some moving sharply,
some with composure—form nothing less than the harmony of rupture
after rupture that fills the content
of clicks and buzzes and droning
bass thrust out without regret from

speakers.
	
We dance, yet share a collective intelligence that the police will
soon be here—either in uniform or
in the form of the dancing bodies
returning to their roles as activists
or punks or community organizers
or hipsters or steam-punks. We are
prepared for just that occasion.
	
They are inside the fortress!
Police are pointing their pathetic
flashlights, making it clear that they
see what naughty things we are doing. We are out the back door, the
crowd has formed again. Smiling
mischievous faces whisper, “The
party’s not over.” The sound system
emerges. How did it get outside?
The police emerge again with their
stupid gestures of surveillance. The
speakers come to life. The crowd
goes wild. The police grab the
sound-cart. A voice shouts “Lets
party without music!” The crowd
goes wild. Moments later, the police
are left to deal with an object in a
shopping cart—we enter into a rampage against the past and against the
future.
	
We feed alongside the other
forces consuming capitalist society. We are inhuman. We illuminate
this fact to everything in our path,
“Swine flu! Wrecking You!”, “What
comes up must come down, burn
the cities to the ground!”, “Negate!
Negate! Affirm! Negate!” We give
an intelligibility to our methods of
communication, adding gestures to
“A...Anti...Anti-Capitalista!” Objects are given new places and given
flight. We make small obstructions
and interruptions in the arteries of
the petite metropolis. Things are
thrown against plate glass and plexiglass. Many bounce, some make it
to their new home.

What is achieved is a technological intercourse
with forms-of-life and objects. What is achieved
is a passing through our own limits to face and
press up against thresholds.
	
The feast of destructive gestures is not a
matter of punishment for the evil of this or that
business, but rather a rupture with the normal
relationship of capital. It is the small businesses
that employ many of us, and exploit every ounce
of our potentiality. To attack not only what we
hate, but also what we like: what holds us in this
impoverished existence without experience, and
these miserable conditions of hostility where we
never get to give the gift of our submission, is
what is at stake in the destruction of capitalism
and in the violation of the sanctity of property.
It is always a strike, but the point is always to go
beyond the strike that can have an intelligible demand to power to the strike that spreads power as
a collective and sentimental intelligence.
	
There have been no cameras, none of us
have stopped to forget the present yet. We have no
media to wash our vulgarities, but the police are
beginning to catch up with us. The old world of
identities and their policing will soon come wagging its finger and the future world of boots on
faces will soon align us in its sight. We cannot
completely reduce the police to our object just
yet, so we run faster.
	
Some are caught on the worst street in
Asheville, a terrified police officer wants to arrest
everyone, but can do so little. Another officer is
genuinely confused and wants to know why and
what just happened. Everyone leaves.
	
After everyone has fully dispersed, a
police officer identifies some of the ignoble on
another street. In a very disappointed tone he attempts to shame them, “Good job guys... I mean
congratulations on destroying a lot of personal
property.”
We add exclamations to his sentence, and
spread the good news.

May Day Pirate
Flash Mob
Wreaks Havoc
in Downtown
San Francisco
Late night May 1st:
Flash mob attacks stores in San Francisco’s wealthiest
shopping area:
Late evening May 1st; a group of 50 or so vandal
“pirates” begin to walk as one through San Francisco’s
Union Square; an area that has served to the entertainment and fashion of San Francisco’s wealthiest residents and tourists. The 50 or so pirates attacked some
of San Francisco’s fanciest stores; De Beers, Guess,
Prada, Longchamps, Macys, and Mont-Blanc were a
few of these stores. Windows were smashed, paint
was thrown into the stores, fireworks were set off, and
trash cans were thrown into the street to create the
space for this event. Mainstream reports of the events
suggest that 30,000 dollars in damage occurred from
the party.
The following is a communiqué discussing the event:
“They had Swords”, Mayday Mayhem in SF
An officer radios to his dispatcher, “I don’t know what
just happened, but they had swords”. Last night may
have come as a surprise to some, fireworks going off

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-May Day-22

at every corner, smoke hanging ominously in the humid night air, a mob
marauding through 6 city blocks,
projectiles flying from every hand
and in every direction along the
most opulent thoroughfares in the
city, but a certain amount of intention and decisiveness accompanied
us that night. We were elephants
rampaging through the Alps, only
with sledgehammers.
Distant sirens swiftly approached
and the crowd scattered through
downtown alleys, incurring no arrests while wreaking as much havoc
as possible.
De Beers, Prada, Coach, Tumi,
Wells Fargo, Longchamp, Macy’s,
Armani, Crate and Barrel, Montblanc, Urban Outfitters and Guess
were all targeted for all kinds of
boring ass political shit, but primarily because fuck them. Exploitation
is the norm of economic activity,
not the exception. We see no need
to reveal our laundry list of grievances and solidarity. The mission
was made clear: an attack on wealth
that would leave its mark.

The urge to destroy is also a destructive urge.
	
The face of an old tired-ass
police officer appears on the nightly
news, “blah blah anarchy blah blah
eleventy billion to infinity dollars in
damage”.
	
The confusion of the police
and the fear of the news anchors
was enough justification.
“Who cares about the victim if the
gesture is beautiful”
	
The weight of the economy
bears down on us in every aspect
of our lives, as such, disruption is
always appropriate. The dogma of
exchange is never truly escaped, in
the unemployment office, at work,
even in our most sincere embraces.
We have no intentions of confining
confrontation to the fringes of sanctioned demonstrations, or justifying
it with vulgar political diatribes.
Actions always occur within a social context. The most brilliant
physicists on earth have never made
a true vacuum. We are part of a limitless conflict between people and
wealth, between living activity and

dead objects. A bank, whether at an
anti-war demonstration or on your
way to a friend’s apartment, is still
a bank.
	
We see each other in passing, exchanging inconspicuous nods
and nervous glances, hoping for
someone to do something, anything
to break the monotony of daily activity. It’s nice that we’re finally acquainted. This is a model for what
determined crews, with a little planning and intention, can do without
sacrificing inclusion. Clandestinity has its place, but to generalize a
participatory violence against capital there must be more than hushed
conversations.
We intend to confront economic
relations in our daily lives, disrupting the exchange of commodities as
often as possible. We hope you’ll do
the same.
And somewhere, perhaps a million
miles from here, a young boy floats
across a sea, waiting for the next oil
tanker.
			
-RBH Crew

Milwaukee//May 1st:
A group of 20 or 30
vandals; said to have
looked like ninjas; attacked corporate businesses in the night.

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-May Day-23

Report from:
w w w. a m o r y r e s i s t e n c i a .
blogspot.com
A group of about 20 to 30
vandals, dressed in black and
wearing masks, committed
multiple acts of vandalism just
after 11 p.m on May 1st. The
group, which some witnesses
described as looking like “ninjas,” damaged the windows of
several businesses and vehicles
near the East Side intersection
of Farwell and North Avenue;
they also threw construction
barricades and smoke bombs
into the street. The police
claimed that U.S Bank, Whole
Foods, Qdoba, and Bruegger’s
Bagels all had broken windows
or damage to the property. The
Milwaukee police are looking
into whether this activity was
related to a protest earlier in the
evening by a group of self-titled
“anarchists” in the Riverwest
area, department spokesperson
Anne E. Schwartz said, “there is
no one in custody at this time.”

*

THE
WAR
GOES
ON

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-May Day-24

May 1st//Santa Cruz, CA
Wells Fargo Attacked in Santa Cruz county
Communique claiming the action:
“In the early hours of May 1st, 2009, a Wells Fargo in south Santa Cruz
county was attacked. At least 13 windows and a glass door were smashed.
Wells Fargo is a top investor in the GEO Group who runs I.C.E. prisons.
Solidarity with the “immigrants” who riot in I.C.E. prisons.
Solidarity with the First Nations warriors attacking infrastructure throughout “Canada”.
The war goes on.”
April 24th to May 1st//Barecelona, Spain
A week of sabotage against real estate offices and banks, under the slogan
“We have lost our fear”
“We have lost our fear: we won’t jump through the hoop” is the phrase
with which the actions against banks, real estate offices, and temp agencies in the city of Barcelona during the week of April 24 to May 1 have
been claimed. According to manifestos posted on Indymedia, the actions
were intended to “point out those guilty for the crisis” and motivate the
people to take part in boycotts and disobedience against these entities “responsible for our misery.”
On the night of April 24-25, 400 cash machines were sabotaged in the
neighborhoods of Sants, Gracia, Poble Nou, Clot, and Ciutat Vella. The
action consisted of covering the screens with stickers that read “ATM
out of service. No cash withdrawals possible. Please forgive the inconvenience.”
	
[Forgive nothing. Live!]
Many cash machines also had the card slots glued so bank cards could not
be introduced. Two days later, during the morning of April 27, a branch
office of the temp agency Adecco in the neighborhood of St. Gervasi was
attacked with paint and stones, causing damages in the entrance of the office. On the night of the 29th, an office of Manpower, a bank of La Caixa,
and a Social Security office in Gracia encountered the same fate. That
day, in the neighborhood of Clot, during the morning unknown persons
attacked a Tecnocasa real estate office with paint bombs. In a communique
they remarked that their daytime action was “to reaffirm the legitimacy
of our means of action against gentrification and capitalism.” In Sants,
Thursday the 30th of April, the entrances to 16 supermarkets in the neighborhood had their locks glued shut and were painted with the phrase,

“responsible for the crisis.” They were
also left with stickers explaining the reason for the closure.
According to a communique made for
one of the actions, this campaign was
intended to be a tool of “social communication and direct action to denounce
those who, having generated the global
financial crisis, are provoking a serious
social crisis.” The objective of the supermarkets, as stated in the communique,
was to oppose the monopolization of the
food supply by the major corporations,
to denounce the pressure they impose
on the food producers to lower prices,
destroying local and sustainable production.
The communique ended:
“We will do away with their circus and
the clowns that defend it.”
Translator’s note:
The full text of a communique referred
to by multiple of the groups that participated in the week of sabotage, appeared
on a color poster that appeared in the
hundreds throughout Barcelona in the
week leading up to May Day.

we
own everything—the

We

already know that

exclude the
intrusions of capital and power.
task is to

		

-”strategic social war”

The text of the poster reads:
We have lost our fear. We won’t jump
through the hoop.
Since we were born they have taught us
that the world is as it is and we have to
resign ourselves to it. Those who repeat
this to us in their classrooms, in their media, in their public announcements, are
the same ones who benefit from the situation. And this won’t change as long as
we don’t violate the norms they impose
on us and as long as we don’t realize that
the first step towards freedom begins
with a NO.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-May Day-25

“ALL I DO
IS PARTY”
S

tarting with Panda-monium,
a Panda themed roving street party
at the end of summer 2008 in New
York City, there has been a wave
of anarchist instigated petty riots
and mob attacks disguised in the
form of a simple party. Considering that whenever one of these is
claimed publicly the approaches and
sentiment of the party claiming the
party are of an anti-political and insurrectionary nature, the more political factions of the North American
anarchist milieu have brought up
they’re boring concerns. Some say
that these events are “ridiculous”,
“absurd”, “juvenile”, or “non-political”. Although all of these accusations are true to a degree, when proposing for a struggle that intends to
shatter the normalcy of everyday
life in this society, would one not
be interested in incorporating all of
these accusations into they’re resistance?
Formally political protests are contained and mediated spaces for dis-

sent; they cater to rituals and lengthen the circle those interested in being
“political” are constantly running
in. Parties such as Panda-monium,
and others we’ve reported on in the
last 2 issues and this one, open up
space for accessible and non-exclusive conflict with the state.
Special interest and ideology, two
vital aspects to political protests, are
not on the invite list to these parties.
From what we’ve read these parties
look to purely be a party, a place for
fun, where everyone would be interested in going. The situation is this:
in cities there are appointed places
for fun and once fun goes beyond
those spaces, especially if it disrupts the flow of traffic, the parties
become dangerous, lawless, and
a conflicting force with the social
framework of the city. Once these
parties choose to go beyond the set
space for fun, the police show up to
materialize the once imaginary limi
tations we were violating by raising
the stakes of fun. At this point ev-

eryone now recognizes the police,
the most common physical presence
of the state, to be the most annoying party poopers. Since these annoying bastards aren’t your typical
party poopers bringing up negative
events or stressful things coming
up early tomorrow morning, they
look to ruin the fun with arrest and
violence. Due to the forcefulness
of this forced boredom people can’t
just call the police losers and tell
them to go home to mommy, they
have a choice: to engage in the fight
the police are posing to our fun or
go home knowing the night could
have been so much better. In the
cases of these parties, success has
been seen in the general response
of people to choose to defend this
fun space. With Panda-monium
specifically, you saw people breaking away from police and building
barricades out of construction equipment to protect the fun or setting off
fireworks to let the police know that
the fun will not only be stopped
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-”All I Do Is Party”-26

but will continue to be escalated as
its violated.
We have to ask ourselves: what
is more inspiring and capable of
being generalized, people seeing
people act on account of so and so
single issue or political cause or
creating situations where people
realize what the state exists to do,
and how it personally effects the
lives of all of us? We see the potentiality of this in some of the May
Day actions and in the reports following this piece, but we feel that
the excitement some may feel from
this sets a precedent for how radicals may want to approach politics:
that being not at all.

*

The University of Minnesota is calling Saturday
night’s Dinkytown riot

“an unacceptable
display of
lawless
behavior.”

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-”All I Do Is Party”-27

A

block party near the University of Minnesota turned into mayhem Saturday night, April
26th, when revelers hurled beer bottles at police
officers, lit a fire in the street and jumped on
cars.
In the end, seven people were arrested, but not
before officers used smoke grenades, tear gas
and foam bullets to disperse the crowd of several hundred people that gathered along Seventh
Street between 13th and 14th avenues.
Several students who were at the off-campus
block party said Sunday that it was partly a
spillover from the university’s annual “Spring
Jam” event, which was planned by the student
activities office and ended Saturday night.
But other students said the large gathering had
more to do with the two keg parties at houses
along Seventh Street.
Sophomore Abe Gross, who lives a block
away, said one party was underway as early
8:30 a.m. and had already spilled into the street.
By 5 p.m., the street was nearly impassible for
motorists because of “rowdy students drinking
beer and yelling,” he said.
Officers who arrived about 8 p.m. after a report
of a large party were greeted with flying beer
bottles, rocks and other debris, Garcia said.
“At one point, someone threw a 12-pack of beer
at an officer,” he said. “There was a lot of defiance there.”
The initial responding officers were forced to
retreat and call for backup. In the meantime,
Garcia said, the crowd swelled to an estimated

April 26th//Minneapolis, MN:
Partygoers Set
Fires & Clash
With Police
400 partygoers who
“only got more incorrigible” by lighting a
large bonfire, jumping on cars and trying
to tip one over on its
side.
“They were creating
mayhem in the neighborhood,”
Garcia
said.
About an hour and
a half later, more than
50 officers —- wearing helmets and gas
masks and carrying
battalions — tried to
quell the crowd with
smoke grenades and
chemical
irritants.
The foam bullets were
used to “identify the
main agitators”

PANDA! PANDA!
A

PANDA!

PANDA! PANDA!

CAT! CAT! CAT!

pril 11th: a weekend of many exciting events. The
weekend began with New School students occupying a
school building that was occupied 3 months prior. This
occupation received an intense and dramatic response
by the NYPD as well as a courageous and bold show
of support from supporters not of the school outside.
Scuffles ensued outside of the occupation, leaving a
police officer injured, and unfortunately a few arrests.
Later that night a solidarity demonstration was held
with those arrested earlier in the day, windows of luxury cars were smashed out, the president of the occupied
New School was harassed, and traffic was blocked by
the event. This Friday set a precedent for the day that
followed. Saturday April 11th, was the day of the New
York City “Anarchist Book Fair”. An event known to
be a routine ironic celebration of anarchist sub-markets, and a gathering of folks, some like-minded, from
all across the country making it so people who feel
isolated with certain feelings can network, discuss, or
buy books. The book fair ended at 8. throughout the
event flyers regarding a street party to meet in Union
Sq. (the new youth park of Manhattan) were passed
out. The flyers said, “meow more then ever, hissterical street party, CAT-TASTROPHE, Saturday, April
11th, 9pm sharp”. By 9:30, Union Square was filled
with about 200 people: some coming from the book
fair, some coming from who knows where, and some
just walking by and gaining interest in the spectacle.
At some point, Hot97 New York’s mainstream hip-hop
radio station, blares from a few separate boom boxes.
All of a sudden people are dancing. Many seem confused, but one Cat proposes that we get on the subway.
Shortly after, people slowly make their way into the

subway, only to be bombarded by about 20 cops prepared to beat anyone who made the wrong move.
Some said fuck it and hopped the turnstile, some
bought single rides, and some had unlimited cards.
One Cat tries to get everyone to start hopping, but the
police try to make an example of him by grabbing
and trying to arrest him for not paying the 2 dollar
subway fee. Like the Cat this person seemed to be,
he swiftly escapes their hold and, with the support of
fellow cats, runs away into the night. The party
eventually makes it’s way into the subway; the train
is rowdy as fuck. CAT! CAT! CAT! are the words out
of most people’s mouths, and definitely in every person’s ears. The party gets to the 1st Ave. L stop and
leaves the subway prepared to escalate the fun. The
Cats are without police presence for one moment; immediately McDonalds is spray painted and its windows knocked out. The manager comes out and tries
to start a fight, but other then the 2 cops that are

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-”All I Do Is Party”-28

there at this point, he has no friends
and can’t do that much. People continue to party down the street, spray
painting and building barricades to
block the police from coming closer.
Luxury cars begin to get attacked in
Manhattan’s historic Lower East
Side; police are confused but begin
to try and move in by driving into
the party. The party is split as half
of it runs down a side street, attack-

ing luxury cars, as the other half
continues to march. The remaining
party swells to about 200 people.
With sirens from every direction,
Manhattan, North America’s most
controlled space, is temporarily violated with mayhem. As the march
continued, big businesses like Whole
Foods and Washington Mutual are
attacked, leaving their windows
broken. Unfortunately around 6 or

a

O

ur comradery will
be challenged by the
state repeatedly. When
we must respond to repression, when riot is
of no option, when only
the active would be concerned: we must remain
visible in the night.

*

7 arrests were made; none of which
remained felony charges. Although
this only lasted about an hour or
two, any disruption in Manhattan is
something to be proud of, especially
if it is to this degree. Although this
didn’t make it beyond most local or
anarchist news, it is understood that
many random people that night saw
the fun and joined in.

solidarity

of

attack
Week of May 3rd// Milwaukee, WI
Anarchists Target “Green” Condos in Solidarity with Arrested Comrades
Communique found
blogspot.com:

socialrupture. unwilling to accept such actions by the State.
To express our deepest solidarity with those
arrested, we attacked four condominiums in
On Friday the State of Indiana arrested two Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood. We
people in connection with resistance to the smashed windows and glued locks. In parconstruction of Interstate 69. We are entirely ticular, we targeted “green” condo

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-A Solidarity of Attack-29

on

developments. Next time we will be even
more dreadful. The most revolutionary
form of solidarity is to deepen conflict.
We have identified the same faults, and
are glad to be the contradiction that will
rip them wide open. We won’t stop until
we’ve derailed, burned and scattered the
ashes of the “unstoppable train” that is
this social order.
As always, eternal war on capital in all
of its ugly permutations and forms.
		

-The Wild Ones.

*

April 19th//Santa Cruz, CA
McDonalds Attacked by Hooligans

Communique claiming the action is below:
		
April 19. Early morning, after the workers went home. Five windows
smashed with rocks at McDonald’s on Ocean
St. An act of insurrection against work, capital,
and the colonization of daily life.
	
McDonald’s was mentioned recently in
the local news for blatantly exploiting hundreds of workers over the span of years, forcing them to work overtime without pay when
they were already working minimum wage and
denying them access to the records proving
this situation. The workers have resorted to the
bourgeois legal arena with a class-action lawsuit, but McDonald’s is profiting off the class
war every day with the cops and ICE at their
back.
	
McDonald’s is also a sponsor of the
2010 Winter Olympics that are set to take
place on unceded indigenous land in “British
Columbia” this upcoming February. The accompanying land grab and development frenzy
have been resisted by native warriors and anarchists alike with an uncompromising ferocity
and revolutionary spirit. Solidarity to the
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-A Solidarity of Attack-30

Secwepmec and other First Nations protecting
their ancestors’ lands and bones, to
anarchist rebels smashing windows and lighting fires, and to saboteurs everywhere destroying industrial infrastructure. We are part of this
insurgent momentum that crosses borders and
distances like wildfire.
	
McDonald’s is almost embarassing in
how much it symbolizes both the mainstay and
the excess of capitalism. We are not those who
denounce, protest, appeal to them to change
their behavior. Their sponsorship of the 2010
Olympics and their obvious exploitation of
undocumented workers, are not “issues” for
which we seek reform, they merely mean that
McDonald’s is the first to be destroyed in our
nocturnal attacks or in the coming riots.
	
From Alaska to Argentina, warriors
unite! Don’t wait for 2010, riot now!
	
Attack and destroy slavery and colonization everywhere!

Week of March 29th//Chicago, IL
Anarchist paintbomb Olympic billboards.

visit:

Communique claiming the action:

www.no2010.com

T

he upcoming 2010 Olympics in Canada have sparked
resistance by native and radical
communities across Canada.
For the Olympics to happen,
native land and people must be
plundered. Either by exploitation or liquidation, western
Canada will be made less comfortable for the poor and the
horrid celebration of Nationalism that is the Olympics will
be tolerated. Please visit the
site above to learn more about
projects of resistance coming
out of this anti-Olympic sentiment.

This past week has left us feeling inspired. The bus stops
ads, corporations supporting the bid, flags everywhere,
buses themselves, the Olympic spirit has gripped the
city. Never have we felt such a sense of pride in our
greater community. We owe it all to these fine people,
who have been kind enough to grace us with their presence for the week. Word got out about the soiree they
were having last night, and we felt the need to do something to show them how the city feels, much more than
dinner and drinks ever could. We couldn’t hide our passionate pride for one more day.
April Fools you fucking idiots!
Last night we paint bombed two billboard monstrosities overlooking the Kennedy expressway. They were
Olympic advertisements, just like the ones you see every time you turn your head. Except bigger. We kindly
suggest fellow citizens to find friends, some eggs, or
paint and bombard the advertisements that are trying
to sell
gentrification, police oppression, profits for the rich,
and annoying tourists.
We Won’t Pay!

*

“The gentry will grow as
they force us to move until
there is nowhere to live: until
we are dead. We will wage
war on they’re comfort on
they’re space, and all that
makes it possible.”

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-A Solidarity of Attack-31

Week of March 29th//Modesto, CA
Eviction Office Attacked
Communique claiming the action:
The sounds of breaking glass rang out as two bricks dropped two
windows owned by the eviction office in downtown modesto last
week. we attacked it because they help the pigs evict people from
their homes. we are against the foreclosures in the area and the
banks taking people’s homes away from them. the feeling that
we got from attacking them was great because we know that we
hit them where it hurts. this is just the start. the central valley is a
front line and we have taken a side. We are posting this on anarchist news because we know you love this shit.

May 18th and 19th//Mexico
“Support for prisoners by means of stones, hammers,
paint and fire.”

We know that the state will always be a staunch enemy
of those people who do not let themselves be domesticated and who leave fear behind in order to face up to
the consequences of their acts, crying out for consisThe following is a communique claiming numerous tency of ideals. Because of this, we in the underground,
sabotage conducted in solidarity with Amadeu Castel- in some place plotting the next strike, say:
las and all prisoners of the state, human and not:
No more framing of Amadeu Castellas!
Because of coordination that took place between
groups with the goal of organized direct action in Mex- We want his freedom, if not, these acts will continue
ico State as well as in Mexico City, from May 18 to 19 and will multiply! (it is not a coincidence that we have
the following sabotages were carried out: a BBVA bank attacked the Spanish bank BBVA)
was attacked, smashing the windows, an incendiary device was placed on top of an ATM belonging to another Fire to the prisons, which impede freedom at any cost!
BBVA bank, leaving it completely melted and unusable
and a note was left claiming the action, the windows of Solidarity with human and non-human prisoners!
another BBVA bank were smashed with hammers, and
red paint was spilled on the windshield and the hood -Autonomous Cells for Propagation of the Anti-authorof a truck belonging to the Lala milk company. These itarian and Anti-speciesist Offensive
actions are done in solidarity with prisioners, human
Amadeu Castellas is an anarchist prisoner who has
and non-human (animals), some imprisoned for putting
into practice their anti-authoritarian ideals and others spent 22 years in prison for politically motivated bank
imprisoned for simply being another species, but both robberies in the 70’s and 80’s. He has remained active in prison, and conducted numerous hunger strikes
are victims of the dominant system.
The human jails and prisons, just like the industrial behind bars that have motivated solidarity across Spain
farms, are full of mistreatment and inhumanity, of over- (where he is imprisoned) and the world; in the form
of physical resistance to the infrastructure that keeps
crowding and fear.
Therefore, any person or movement that claims to be Amadeu in jail.
truly revolutionary should fight actively for the abolition of both centers of mental, physical and psychologi- Write Amadeu at:
Amadeu Casellas Ramon, Hospital de Terrassa, Modul
cal extermination.
We wanted to show our support for prisoners by means penitenciari, Ctra. Torrebonica, s/n, C.P. 08227, Terof stones, hammers, paint and fire, because that is what assa, Catalunya, Spain
truly affects the powerful; direct action, individually
and collectively, will be the response they will receive Learn more about his case and history at:
www.indymedia.ie/article/88915
to their repression and prison systems.
	

“WE LOOK
OUT FOR

OURS”
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-A Solidarity of Attack-32

confronting
fear

...and recognizing the implications of being in struggle.

F

ear is the largest barrier between our internal desires and our abilities to physically
manifest them. I listen to sirens almost everyday. I’m constantly distracted by the images
of importance lighting up the metropolis that
surrounds me and I think violent thoughts,
I feel violent feelings. I envision smashing
every department store window; wanting to
let a little air of my animosity inside them. I
want to spit in the face of every suit wearing
motherfucker who floods the streets rushing
to get to their comfortable homes between
5 and 7:30. I want to beat every cop doing
their job. I want to materialize my rage. I
want to communicate my love and my hate
the same way anyone would find satisfaction in doing so: physically. The only reason
one would not is the fear of the set consequences by the state for doing this. Fear is
what makes a struggle; it is a battle between
fear and desire. A desire pushing you in the
direction to act and fear turning this need to
act into a struggle. 				
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Fear-33

Struggle is a force that acts without concern
for a set of recognized possible consequences. Fear is the stability of a mediated society.
Fear is something required to uphold social
peace and normalcy within a regulated world.
The effect and significance of a struggle is
weighed by our abilities to confront our own
fears, as individuals and as communities,
with the intention to strengthen the force of
confrontation you are posing to what you are
struggling against.
Political displays of dissent like permitted
pickets or marches are the most specific opportunities I can think of that I’ve had as an
individual and self-appointed member of an
active minority to test my fear. I attend these
events, like most similar to me, with the sole
intention to be a force for fearlessness or lawlessness. I was, have been, and probably will
always be an incredibly anxious person when
envisioning how I am to produce this force or
the possible consequences of sharpening the
threat of these events. Just like every crimi-

nal or enemy of law, I will always
be so fucking scared of me or my
friends going to jail. The morning of each time I know I might
break the law, especially when I’m
expecting to do it in very police
controlled space like a permitted
protest or state recognized space
for dissent, are horrible mornings.
Peeing constantly, being unable to
focus, or visualizing every possibility of arrest or jail time that could
happen. My hands are shaking
right up until the planned moment
begins, and right then, say when
the first window is broken or the
first dumpster or newspaper box is
thrown into the street, I ask myself,
“will I act on fear or will I act on
desire? Will I re-enter the unfortunate reality once this moment unfortunately dissolves, feeling a feeling of empowerment or a feeling of
self-hatred and regret?”
Speaking to the particularly active minority of the world that looks
to spread a recognized frustration
with everyday life (organizing riots, writing propaganda, conducting sabotage, engaging in active opposition against the current order)
after awhile, when risk is essential
to strengthening your struggle,
many begin to feel a subtle but consistent feeling of paranoia. Wondering if a car is following you, why
people you haven’t seen for awhile
or just met are so interested in certain aspects of your life, why your
cell phone is clicking, more or less
wondering why you are not in jail,
and who or what intends to put you
there, and how. Twenty year sentences for conspiracy and evidence
against arrested comrades you

never thought would of held up
makes apathy seem more appealing
then struggle.

life. Something like this, that is so
vulnerable to growth, is something
the state looks to tear apart. It’s
dumb to expose ourselves when our
Some of your friends don’t under- interests are so currently unique,
stand your anxiety. They ask you
when our numbers are weak, and
where you were or what you did and resistance is limited. Strength can
are offended when you are not com- come in an awareness and embrace
fortable sharing. Of course most
of this knowledge in struggle.
formal strikes against the current
order are claimed or written about in But how close to home can it get?
some way to guide public response When people you are close friends
to them, but people do love to war- with become headlines.
story. As fun as it is (cause it is),
sometimes our anxiety really si- When you see yourself on the news,
lences us (literally) and sometimes while police say there actively lookyou can feel isolated and alienated ing for whose responsible for so and
from everyone through distrust. so crimes.
This is what the state wants: more
isolation, more alienation, more Fear is something we must confront
distrust among more communities. internally and externally.
This is struggle and in overcoming
fear individually, it’s important to
Consequence is something that
recognize that although insurrec- must be evaded at all costs (we are
tion is something to not specialize not martyrs), but something that
in, but an all inclusive permanent must be understood when being a
holiday trip in the form of ruptures part of an active minority known to
in the social reality forced upon us; be enemy of the state.
it’s important to pay attention to circumstances. Drug dealers, thieves,
The face of fear is the police, the
and professional criminals of the ones uniformed and not, watching
like choose to keep aspects of their us from helicopters, cars, and surlives secret whether or not their veillance cameras. This is where
friends or families are offended. the risk lies; this is what I despise.
This is to help protect themselves, The aesthetic of desire is my friends
their friends, and family and keep embracing the same feelings I pastheir lifestyle going. Insurrection- sionately feel, the angry faces of the
ists look to act now. Although strikes police as we temporarily destroy an
against police, surveillance, work acceptance of their power, the emplaces, and so on are all things most powered screams of freedom felt in
people might subtly support, most that moment where risk is walked
people are not acting now. There through. For this moment to hapis an active minority that does not pen, I must make a decision. For
look to form a vanguard or social this moment to happen, we must
program, but to produce an attack make a decision.
model for the liberation of everyday
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Fear-34

“

A

f

r

a

i

d

?

Of course we are afraid; but we have always been afraid. But this way, even
if for just one second; we get to make those were scared of, afraid too.”
				
							
-Yokei Talones
Confronting my fears has always been hard,
but to confront fear is to struggle and struggle is defined by a task that is not easy. When
we challenge fear, we lose control. The forces that govern are only material at this point
because the only way for them to be existing
beyond the physical is through our acceptance of them. The conversation I’m trying
to have here is something I know we all have
with ourselves.

I know the battle becomes harder when we
read of new arrests and absurd sentences. I
know the battle becomes harder when we
hear of new informants, new surveillance
technology, new police funding, or new laws
against us. But the only excuses are excuses
because if we are to declare war against the
world as we know it, we are responsible for
accepting the position of being in a war. We
are responsible for working through the hardship and never accepting an easy way out.
Of course we should be smart, especially
since the capabilities of repression by conventional policing are so well known, but we
need to weed out the cop in our heads that
looks to fuel our anxiousness; that makes it
so our hands shake even when nothing has
happened.

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Fear-35

Collapsing
The European
S ecu r ity A r chitectu r e

E

conomic crisis has always been seen as an opportunity for radicals to conduct change; at least
in theory. As the European economy experiences
recession along with the rest of the first world; social divisions are becoming strengthened as frustration with the financial elite becomes more apparent and popularized. With this, unfortunately
unlike in the States, radicals are recognizing this
and looking to help produce the circumstances for
this kind of frustration to be comfortably embraced
and materialized. Being based out of the states we
don’t want to fetishize resistance conducted by
anarchists and radicals in Europe in this publication; as important as it is to recognize that different
circumstances and histories set the precedent for
more severe and frequent rioting or conflict with
the state in Europe; it is still important to not feel
isolated as an insurrectionary force in society; it is
also important we feel to learn how other parts of
the world are responding to the current economic
“crisis”.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Collapsing The European Security Architecture-36

Within the same few weeks France, Germany, and
Britain- three of Europe’s most prominent economic elite
nations, experienced intense rioting in response to national leaders meeting and planning around the “crisis”
and methods of maintaining the globalized order. The
G20 in London and the NATO summit on the border of
France and Germany in Straousburg, France produced
intense conflict in the city streets. In France, American
and French first ladies Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni
had to cancel their trip to the event; apparently the outside response to the political gatherings was too intense.
On both sides of the border, police and military almost
seemed afraid; confrontation was fierce; almost harsh.
Full buildings were set ablaze; the local elite hotel being
one of the many. Business streets were destroyed in their
entirety; and nothing but conflict decorated the city. In
London police were beaten with metal poles and people
of all sorts were taking responsibility for looting and attacking the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Shortly after the G20 and prior to the NATO summit in
France, we discovered an article describing state expectations and security measures created around the economic
crisis. As the state expects massive unrest over the next
year due to expected unemployment and poverty rates
increasing across Europe; the Nation-States of the EU,
with help from American models of social control; are
preparing to “keep the peace” and secure its stability, in
case people get too rowdy. The following article seemed
to be written as a call out; one that looks to recognize
the vulnerabilities and capabilities of the state; but still
to encourage insurrectionary forces across Europe to take
advantage of these times at the expense of the state and
economy. The article describes new security measures
and dialogue politicians and bureaucrats are conducting
as more and more people get frustrated. The article also
encourages strength before state intimidation, and looks
to upcoming events to set a precedent for conflict to come.
The article mentions the NATO summit described above
as being the kick-off for the summer of resistance. The

call out looks to bring on the collapse of the security architecture of
Europe; to respond to gestures of
upcoming repression with nothing
but harsher resistance.
Pictures of France and London
are included throughout the article;
the pictures provide the response
to the information mentioned in
the article; and a vision of the next
few months.

S

ince the end of the last millennium a modification of the “security architecture” within the EU
has taken place which has been accelerated by the attacks of September 11 in the United States. Visible
phenomena are the entanglement
of internal and external security, a
“pooling” of prosecution authorities and intelligence services and
a simplified data exchange.
At the technical level we are
confronted with new digital surveillance cameras; satellite surveillance, biometrics, drones,
software for intelligent search in
databases and new broadband networks to manage this huge flood
of digital data. New institutions
and authorities have been created,
including the “European Police
Office Euro-pol, the police academy CEPOL, the border agency
Frontex and the Committee for the
Management of Operational Cooperation, which encompasses all
police agencies of the EU within
its intelligence operation assessment center. At the initiative of
former French Defense Minister‎
(‫‏‬and current Interior Minister)

Michèle Alliot -Marie the “European Gendarmerie Force (EGF) was founded
and has been established in 2004. The EGF shall ensure the ‘public order’,
combat insurgency, obtain intelligence information and protect property in
conflict areas.”
The security industry is likely one of the few branches that profits a great
deal from the current crisis of capitalism and the resulting battles. Europe’s
police forces are preparing themselves for protest and resistance against
the impact of the crisis. Even the Cheif of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) Dominique Strauss-Kahn admits that more riots are expected in the
future, saying, “violent protests could break out in countries worldwide if
the financial system was not restructured to benefit everyone rather than a
small elite”. The institutions of the “leading economic nations” are forced to
re-organize themselves. The “summits” of NATO, G8 and G20 are of central
importance for this reorganization. Topics such as climate, migration and
agriculture are considered as threat to the security of a “western lifestyle”.
Within the European Union, domestic political changes are taking place
whose effects are currently difficult to predict. Every five years, the interior
and justice ministers of the new EU adopt new directives for a common
domestic policy. The Tampere Program, terminated in 1999 under the Finnish “management of migration flows”: In addition to the appreciation of the
police authority Europol was the establishment of a Task Force of EU Police
Chiefs which deals with “international terrorism” and “violent political activism”. With the Hague Program in 2004, it has been agreed upon the creation
of an “area of freedom, security and justice”. Again it was decided on intensification of migration policy, including the construction of Border Agency
Frontex and the interception of refugees already in their home countries. The
Hague Program puts the “defense of terrorism” in the center. The level of
information exchange and cooperation must now count on the “principle of
availability”. The guidelines of 2004 are already implemented by many

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Collapsing The European Security Architecture-37

EU member states: standardization
of the “terrorism” legislation, data
retention, expansion of existing databases and shared access, cross-border police cooperation for example
at sporting events or political mass
protests. Along with the police cooperation is “Border Management”,
fingerprints when application for EU
visa, starting in 2009 there will be
new biometric identifiers in identity
documents, the development of security research, cooperation in criminal matters, and police abroad. ‎The
Hague Program is running out and a
new program should be decided on in
autumn of 2009, in Stockholm under
the Swedish EU Presidency. Dur-

ing the German EU Presidency of
2007, the German Interior Minister
Wolfgang Schäuble created with the
former European Commissioner for
Internal Affairs ( “Justice and Home
Affairs”) Franco Frattini, the Future Group was created. This Future
Group describes itself as “informal
body of European interior ministers”,
which drafted guidelines for European home affairs.
To adopt the new Stockholm program, the Future Group submitted
a wish-list for “police cooperation,
fight against terrorism, management
of missions in third countries, migration, asylum and border management,
civil protection, new technologies

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Collapsing The European Security Architecture-38

and information networks.”
Priorities are the maintenance
of the “European model”,
“coping with the growing interdependence between internal and external security” and
ensuring of
“Europe-wide
the best possible data networks”. The measures which
shall be decided in Stockholm
will only be noticeable by the
member states within its ratification in a few years. There are
profound changes in the game:
development and standardization of police databases,
a central population register,
“cross-border online search”,
more control of the Internet,
better satellite tracking, risk

analysis “software, ”e-borders” and “ejustice”, common deportation planes
and flights, new refugee camp in “third
countries”, the use of the military defense of migration, more police interventions outside the EU, the expansion
of paramilitary “European Gendarmerie
Force”, more cooperation between domestic and foreign secret services, etc.
The aim is a kind of domestic NATO,‎
‫‏‬with the creation of a “Euro-Atlantic
cooperation in the area of freedom, security and justice” from 2014.
NATO also attached value to the
central role of European domestic politics. On one hand, more and more police missions in “third countries” were
launched, which perform the tasks of
the military. They strike down local
uprisings and train local police units.
NATO-strategists play the ball back to
the European interior ministers and explain that a European “Homeland Security” without a “strong defense” to the
outside wouldn’t be possible. NATO
sees itself within member countries as

the guarantor of security of “critical
infrastructure” (energy, transportation,
communication).
The strategy document “Towards a
Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World”
by five ex-generals, which are anchored
in the defense industry, calls for the expansion of “civil-military cooperation”.
Considered as “civilian elements” are
the Police, intelligence, research, academies, civil protection but also the private security industry. NATO wants to
intensify the fall back on the “European
Gendarmerie Force”. With the “civilmilitary cooperation” the militarization
of social conflicts is increasing, underpinned by domestic political rearmament and new “anti-terror” laws. The
former EU Commissioner for Justice
and Home Affairs, Franco Frattini, has
changed in Berlusconi’s Cabinet after
the elections in Italy 2008. As the new
foreign minister, he is now responsible
for the G8 on the Sardinian island of La
Maddalena. Frattini sees “security” as
the central profile of the new G8

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Collapsing The European Security Architecture-39

structures: “Europe can,
rather than just a consumer,
be a producer of safety. But
EU and NATO need to integrate, rather to interfere
with each others. We back
up these thoughts in the
context of the G8”. Italy
has adopted a “security
package” in May 2008 with
far-reaching limitations for
Migrants. After the EU already equipped Libya with
financial help for refugee
defense, Italy also signed a
new cooperation agreement.
The Italian arms corporate
group “Finmeccanica” delivers speedboats and the

Interior Ministry is pleased
that migration would now be
diminished to “zero”. Frattini
traveled in early 2009 to Angola, Sierra Leone, Senegal
and Nigeria to negotiate over
“readmission agreements” for
migrants, to equipt the countries with refugee camps, and
to introduce tamper-proof
passports. It’s again all about
the raw material and police
enforcement: in return Frattini
acknowledges an audience
with the G8 summit for the
countries, to “promote the dialogue between oil producing
and - consuming countries”.
In the delegation, Frattini and
the Italian police chief immediately implemented new contracts for police training and
cooperation procedures.
As the consequences of the
collapse of global capitalism
around the world continue to
show, more uprisings are expected. With the recent riots
in Greece, Iceland, Sweden,
Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, France, Guadeloupe and
Lampedusa, the EU became
the venue of intense contradictions and militant struggles.
The numerous movements are
covered with investigations
and prosecutions for “terrorism” as is found by “Joint
investigation teams” research
- supported by Europol - international networks. Manuals
and databases on “Troublemakers” will be bring protests
at major international events
under control.
Resistance has been seen
against the increase in surveillance and control, against repressive development of a

transnational struggle against the “security architecture” in 2009 at several
cross-border mobilizations, whether
they are timbered by the NATO, G8 or
EU.
We see the action day at the NATO
summit as the kick off of the campaign
for a “Summer of Resistance 2009”
against the global “security regime”:
and anti-riot is still stuck too much often on a national level. Therefore we
call to push the development of a transnational struggle against the “security
architecture”, in 2009 at several crossborder mobilizations, whether they are
timbered by the NATO, G8 or EU.

We see the action day at the NATO
summit as the kick off of the campaign
for a “Summer of Resistance 2009”
against the global “security regime”:

Collapse

thesecu r ity
a r chitectu r es !
www.stockholm.noblogs.org
www.euro-police.noblogs.org
www.gipfelsoli.org
www.riot.noblogs.org

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Collapsing The European Security Architecture-40

I

t is hard not to notice the constantly occurring animal and earth
liberation motivated resistance in
Mexico. Especially over the last
few years, we’ve noticed an escalation in the numbers and the
militancy of these types of attacks.
Although sometimes overtly epic,
communiques seem to always come
out and claim the actions. We’re assuming this is part of the inspiration
anonymous others have felt when
reading about these actions. Not
only have numbers and militancy
been escalated, but the rhetoric behind these communiques has also
gone through transitions. Of course
no one is aware of who writes these
things other then the individuals responsible, but we’re assuming all
of these actions are conducted in a
de-centralized style of resistance

and only connected through an informal affinity. With that said, unlike many of the ultra-militant actions conducted in the states around
animal rights, it is not as common
that rhetoric changes or the claim
goes beyond the specific company
or institution targeted. More and
more, claims of actions conducted
in Mexico recognize the entire society responsible for animal suffering,
not just a specific aspect or business
practice of it. There are limits to
clandestine resistance: the inherent
specialization of its practice being
one, communities of resistance fetishizing its effect may be another.
Yet when social stagnancy remains
before repression and exploitation
some need an outlet; some need to
manifest frustration to the public
beyond the capabilities of the pen.
Riots probably are the coolest thing

that can happen. Accessibility and
easily generalized frustration are indispensable to the riot’s occurrence.
Clandestine resistance can often be
limited to appearing as an activity
of special-interest, because it is- it
is the propaganda of those looking
to act now, with-out concern for the
judgment of politics, with out the
patience most have with the misery
of daily life. It acts as a source of
empowerment for an active minority and a precedent for a struggle
that looks to act at all times, by
any means, without concern for the
enemy’s attempts to silence it. We
recently received an anonymous
email including a list of actions
conducted recently in Mexico. Due
to the frequency of this resistance
and the sexiness of its claims, we
wanted to include it in this issue.

“We turn to the

night,

when we can’t turn to
the

public.”

			 *Until All Are Free

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Until All Are Free-41

a few of the many:
February 17th:
Planned attack on church
failed due to security. Although
tools were ditched afer fleeing;
the individuals chose to return
shortly after to leave some sort
of mark; releasing 2 hens from
the church’s quarters.

dom without having to endure
the domination of the church
or any other human being.
This is a message for all those
who want to suppress the desire for freedom; if they put
walls in our way we will jump
them, if they catch us we will
get away, and if they block
Communique claiming the ac- our path we will knock them
down!
tion:
	
In the early morning hours Neither the security cameras,
of February 17, FLA-CVN nor the police, nor the specieactivists went out for a night- sists can stop us!
time stroll against speciesists. This is not over yet, the fire
When the repressive Mexico continues to expand each time
State ‘security’ discovered us, there is more...fire to all that
we got rid of the tools to carry oppresses us!!!!
out our action. They thought
that this would prevent us from -Frente de Liberación Animal
reaching our objective, but -Comando Verde Negro
they were wrong!
When we were leaving the January 29th:
filthy station, we went with Attack on University science
more rage and more of a department. The university
yearning for freedom for two was attacked for its campus
hens who had been discov- expansion plans; that would
ered imprisoned, dominated come at the expense of the loand deprived of their liberty cal ecological reserve.
in a church. The rescue was a
little difficult without the tools Communique claimng the acthat would have helped us, but tion:
we had enough conviction and
In the early morning of Janucourage to overcome the small
impediment. We broke a fence ary 29, the submissive firethat separated the birds from fighters in Mexico City (D.F.)
their freedom and we left along quelled a fire within the premwith them under the light of a ises of the College of Sciences
beautiful moon. Now this pair and Humanities south campus
of hens enjoy complete free- (CCH Sur) of the Universidad
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Until All Are Free-42

total

liberation
in Mexico

Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
A machine which destroys the Earth was
left forever unusable, and the administration offices of the campus were burned.
The Frente de Liberación de la Tierra
(ELF) claimed this attack through a
contact; we were informed that the university had been destroying a large part of the
ecological reserve where a so-called ‘education’ center is being built, several varieties of trees and diverse plants were cut
down, considered to be in the way of their
ability to expand their facilities, and their
mastery over nature; the progress and education that they extol in their classrooms
is always based on domination and anthropocentrism. In this act by the UNAM, it
is more than clear that not only do they
wish to dominate and mold the minds of
students, they also seek to expand the same
control over the land and the animals that
inhabit her. That’s why the destructive
machine was burned, and why we also decided to set a fire on campus, now an indisputable part of the ecocide that education
implements, which only wants to produce
people who are submissive to authority
and power; they create beings who are unable to think and act for themselves and are
only educated to produce and consume.
The mass media of miscommunication,
which hid the machine which had been

burned, only now announced that
part of the administrative offices had
been burned, and that this had been
caused by Porro (shock groups)
[groups organized to discredit student movements]; we want to make
clear that the ELF/FLT is not composed of such people, who are sent
by their bosses to do absurd and
meaningless things; our reasons are
clear, as we struggle for total liberation (animal, land and human), anything that blocks us will face attack
until its complete destruction and
elimination.
	
We know that the estimated damage of this action was thousands of
pesos, but still we are not satisfied
with that, and we will continue making war on all that oppresses us and
will not allow us all to be happy-us, animals and the land.
	
This was just a little message, for
those who profit at the expense of
the ecosystem.
-ELF/FLT México

*

on its tires, and in the transporting
December 22nd:
Slaughterhouse trucks destroyed by box (made of wood), immediately
after that it was set on fire using a
arson.
pair of flares that were thrown at
Communique claiming the action: the interior and exterior of the vehicles. Within minutes our shadows
Fire has returned to illuminate the and smiles of happiness were lost
gray night on the outskirts of the in the darkness.
large city, our eyes shining against
its reflection. Two fires took the The sabotages continue, we will not
monotony out of the empty and sad stop, each time it is becoming more
streets. While the chicken murder- intense, strong and direct.
ers were resting after the slaugh- Our passion will always be our
ter, our shadows, reflected by the weapon.
liberators’ abolitionist fire, became Wait no more, you only need convisible; two trucks belonging to one viction and gasoline for action.
of the many slaughterhouses in the
City of Nezahualcóyotl, to the east -Frente De Liberacion Animal.
of the city, were set afire. In one
gasoline appeared rose-colored in- February 22nd:
side the cabin and on the seats and Attack on urban expansion equipthe steering wheel, because we had ment.
the good fortune of a window being down, in the other truck liters of Urban expansion is one of the biggasoline mixed with oil was poured gest ecological problems, with roads
being built over fertile land comes
loads of consequences such as pollution, warming of the ground with
excessive heat, massive falling of
trees, etc. The expansion of civilization and its unnecessary technology
leaves the world in the hands of the
powerful who control the repressive
state apparatus ready to stop any
kind of resistance that is put in front
of them to halt their run of destruction. It is for this reason that on the
night of February 22 we of the ELF
decided to go out at night in Mexico
State and set fire to a machine that
destroys the earth and a truck owned
by the dominators.

Stay up to date with news like this by visiting):
www.liberaciontotal.entodaspartes.net (only in Spanish)

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Until All Are Free-43

We say it once again, there will be
no mercy until the abolition of all
that oppresses us.
		
		
-F.L.T/E.L.F

Riots Cool Down,

but tension
remains boiling

O

n March 21st, Lovelle Mixon killed 4
police officers in response to a routine traffic
stop in Oakland. Lovelle was also killed in the
shoot out. There is quite a bit of controversy
around this case: mainstream reports claim
that Lovelle’s DNA matches the DNA found
from a rape and robbery earlier in the day. It’s
hard to write this article due to our disdain for
such alleged behavior, but Lovelle is dead.
The only source we are aware of providing
such information is the police and the media.
With that said, it is hard to know what to think
in regards to such accusations considering our
obvious distrust in the media and police. The
truth is, that we do not know of the truth. This
shoot out in, which 4 officers of the law were
killed, came only 2 ½ months after Oscar
Grant was murdered. In case you aren’t familiar with Oscar Grant, he is a resident of Oakland who was killed on the BART (Bay Area
Rapid Transit) train platform by a police officer. Police killing black people? Doesn’t that
happen all the time? In this case the officer
shot Oscar from behind while he was on his
stomach, unarmed. The event was also caught
on a cell-phone camera and made public to the
world. Oscar’s unusually cruel murder helped
to expose a tension in Oakland. One week after Oscar’s death, residents of Oakland staged
riots across the city, smashing windows, setting up barricades and burning cars. Tension is
still thick in the bay; people are still frustrated
and people of Oakland recognize that Lovelle
and every conflict with police that goes unreported is laced with the rage of Oscar’s death.
We first read about Lovelle after getting an
exciting text message from one of our Bay
Area comrades. After finding out about it, we
looked online for more info. It was certainly
addressed by the mainstream media, which

*

Recognizing and learning from recent
Bay Area tension between residents and
police; and showing support when no
one else will.

was sur prisingly sympathetic for 4 police officers being killed
by one man. Obviously not really sympathetic; but we were excited to notice that The New York Times, Washington Post, and
similar media was making a connection between the shoot-out
between Lovelle and the Oakland Police and an escalation of
tension with the police presence in Oakland following Oscar’s
murder. Some of the more local radical Black nationalist groups
were quick to make the connection and show their support for
Lovelle as well. It was disappointing, but not surprising, that
there was very little information about Lovelle and the implications of his shoot-out death by activist or left-wing groups. Not

*Lovelle Mixon
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Bay Area Tension-44

only was there a lack of effort to create information and
support, especially when the
mainstream is doing its best
to demonize the individual
and situation, but “radical”
political groups were doing their best to distance
themselves from Lovelle
by blocking posts on news
websites, demonizing any
attempt to create a dialogue
regarding his death, or flat
out siding with the mainstream without any consideration for the circumstances
of his death and the media’s
capabilities of manipulating
its audience’s perspective
when it serves to. We compiled a few articles that have
come out since the conflict.
We hope this contributes to a
perspective that recognizes
the importance of this type
of tension: one leading to 4
cops dead over a traffic stop
or one cop going from a cop
to a sitting duck in Modesto
or all out rioting across the
city. If it is politics you are
interested in, Lovelle does
not represent political action. If it is a sincere and
commonly felt frustration
with everyday life you look
to for comfort, then Lovelle
is an opportunity for dialogue and inspiration.

SOLIDARITY

“

				

*

with

ALL 		

COP KILLERS”

Claimed by an unknowable cell of Bash Back!

The following is a communiqué written in correspondence with a banner drop
that was conducted in solidarity with Lovelle’s death; and with a recognition
of the social tension between people and police in the Bay Area that may have
provoked his behavior. The banner was hung from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Union building on March 26th. The banner read “we love
Lovelle Mixon!”. Communique begins now:
On March 21st, Lovelle Mixon shot five police officers, killing
four before dying in the gunfire. In Oakland we see the fabric of
capitalist normalcy being ripped to shreds. Daily instances of racist police violence are transformed into rupture and thrown back
in the faces of our oppressors. In January, days of rioting followed the police-murder of Oscar Grant.
This week, people danced in the streets as cops were shot. At the
hospital, others snuck into the emergency room to chant that the
shooting was vengeance made actual upon the police. People rallied to honor the memory of Oakland’s newest folk-hero. Oakland, reterritorialized as a terrain of war against the social order.
In 1959, we fought the street-battles with the police as they harassed queers at a donut shop in Los Angeles. In 1966, police brutality against street queens in the Tenderloin mutated into queens
beating cops with their purses. In 1969, a seemingly-ordinary
police raid on a queer bar in new york, erupted into four days of
sustained rioting. In 1979 we burnt cop cars in the streets of San
Francisco. We meet queerbashers with bricks, mace and batons.
To bash back, is to reverse the flows of power and violence; to
explode the hyper-normal into situations of previously-unthinkable revolt. We thus find the deepest affinity with all who fight
back against the affective poverty and oppression of this world.
As the police and media work to defame and slander Lovelle
Mixon, we express our total solidarity.
Until every queerbasher is beaten to a pulp and police are but a
memory.

Yours for the social war.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Bay Area Tension-45

M

arch 16th: Modesto, California- a hostile crowd
	
between 20 and 60 people confronted a lone police officer. The officer decided to disrupt a street gathering
at around 2:15 am. The officer claims that he was concerned of the gathering because of a car stolen earlier on
in the night. Obviously if a group of people are hanging out in the street. They’re most likely just having a
small party, but considering the officer claims that they
were a bunch of “Norteno gang bangers”, were under
the assumption that he just wasn’t comfortable with the
group enjoying themselves in public.
The crowd threw glass bottles at the officer, and at
one point an individual allegedly punched him in the
face. When he arrived, he allegedly saw one man being
beaten up by a larger group and as soon as the officer
made his presence clear, the entire group decided to
collectively turn on the officer. At first, one man challenged the officer to a fight, the officer cowardly tried
to arrest the man (most likely in order to beat him when
he’s handcuffed). As soon as the officer grabbed the
man, the crowd attacked the officer and got the man he
was trying to arrest away from him. The crowd then
began to fully surround the officer. They stole his walkie-talkie and destroyed it, making it impossible for him
to call for back up. Witnesses claim the crowd was

m

a

y

LOVELLE and

OSCAR
rest

in

they’re

peace;

may

LIVES

be

avenged;
may

they

live

MEMORY

on

in

and

CONFLICT
to

come

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Bay Area Tension-46

I

when the tables

*

TURN

Tension travels beyond Oakland
to far East Bay’s Modesto

yelling “Shoot me, shoot me!” or “You know you’re not
going to make it out of here!” to the officer. The officer was slightly injured, but unfortunately an on-looker
called 911 for back up. Allegedly some of the hostile
crowd were listening to a police scanner during this occurrence. Once they heard that back up was contacted,
the crowd was informed and dispersed. Afterward, police claim to have found a loaded assault rifle nearby.
Six arrests were made.
After the arrests were made, numerous calls were put
out to the local paper and radio stations claiming that
arrests were falsely carried out, reactionary, racist, and
done in a violent manner. Among the same messages
was a point to recognize the connection between this
incident, the 4 officers killed just a few weeks before
and the murder of Oscar Grant. Who knows how often
this happens? We are happy to have heard about this incident; no painting could beat the face of that cop this
report painted for us.

n our last issue we included a
lengthy chapter re-capping the events
and experiences that took place the
first week of January in Oakland and
in response to the murder of Oscar
Grant by the police. The aftermath
was and is one of mourning in the
Bay. Not a mourning that looks
to forgive but a mourning that looks
to avenge his death and declare a
popular war on those responsible for
it: the police. This war is visible in
the public’s response to the shootout
between Lovelle and police, whether it be random visitors to Lovelle’s
death bed, demonstrations in solidarity with Lovelle’s death, community groups holding candle light
vigils after the shoot-out favoring
Lovelle, hundreds of calls made to

local papers and media claiming a
residential support for Lovelle as
an Oakland hero, or in the interuptions of reporters at the scene of the
shootout, where on live television
on-lookers were rushing camera
crews screaming “fuck the police”,
clearly communicating their feelings on the event.
The police are the material presence of the state and the state is the
enemy of all free people. Although
most are not comfortable with the
lack of power over one’s daily life,
most choose to just accept and obey.
Although its sad that something as
horrific and drastic as Oscar’s murder is needed to wake people up, the
tension between locals and police in
the Bay Area is a tension of potential: a tension that can spread.

because

where

there

tension
the

r

e

is

,

is

potential

No matter what your opinion of violence is; if
you don’t like the police, if you don’t like being
controlled, Lovelle, the Norteno “gang bangers”,
and all unreported things like them provide examples and inspiration for communities abused
by the police to stand up for themselves.

Post-Script from the “Oakland 100” Support Group

T

he dignified rage that exploded in
Oakland throughout January seems
to have taken place ages ago. After Lovelle Mixon assassinated four
Oakland Police Officers in March
the basic conflict between people
and control has become mystified,
turned into a general “epidemic of
violence” that “plagues the East
Bay”, a myth in which both a brutal
inner-city street culture and an underfunded police force play equally
responsible roles. But we know who
militarizes the community, who
turns Oakland into an urban warzone, hires private security guards
to patrol whole neighborhoods, arrests crowds of protestors in broad
sweeps. This can’t be brushed away
or rewritten as a simple problem
of violence. The parameters of the
conflict remain unchanged.
The police officer who killed Oscar
Grant, Johannes Mehserle, is still in
the opening phases of his trial and
there will no doubt be future uprisings in response to his case. The
possibility that he will take a plea
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Bay Area Tension-47

deal or be dealt a light sentence is
certainly possible and we must brace
to act in solidarity and support with
any ruptures that take place. Future
arrests and criminalization of youth
seem inevitable. Plan an action
in your area for when the verdict
comes in but remember this isn’t
about guilty or innocent or even Johannes Mehersle, this is about resisting police occupation and creating
moments where we come together
to take over the city, to create nights
when “we want them to be afraid”,
as someone said on January 7th.
The Oakland 100 Support Committee is still actively encouraging people to support those facing charges
from the riots in whatever way they
can and prepare themselves to support future arrestees.
Propaganda: postering, flyering,
banner drops, and other solidarity
actions are incredibly easy and effective ways to keep Oakland in the
public eye.
Funding: Contrary to some reports
most charges in relation to the riots
have not been dropped but rather

postponed, meaning the District
Attorney has up to one year to file
charges. There is a likelihood that
those who thought they were in the
clear may still have proceedings
taken against them, especially in
the event of future clashes over the
Mehserle Case. Several defendants
are still facing severe felony charges. All of this means money is still
needed and any contribution will be
appreciated. We particularly encourage social centers and infoshops to
do benefits to raise money. Those
interested in donating to us can contact the support committee directly
at Oakland100@gmail.com.
We took part in an unveiling of the
curtain in January, a breath of fresh
air. Let’s ensure that we can keep
this spirit alive and be in a strong
position to act in solidarity with future outbreaks of tension.
For further info on how to support:
Oakland100@gmail.com
http://supporttheoakland100.wordpress.com

BASH BACK
“We have

no sexual orientation, we are people

of desire.

Our taste is not objective be-

our desires are not stagnant.
We represent a world of choice and possibility. Our sexual angst cant wait
cause

for permission any longer and neither can our

rage

.”

Q

ueer struggle has for too long been restrained to
politics of assimilation and the pathetic fight for more
rights. Like feminism, most mainstream gay rights or
queer groups seek the acceptance of men or heterosexual culture. Like the bullied youth who still desperately try to be popular, queer or gay struggle have
for too long been asking to be beaten less or accepted
in a hetero-sexual world; asking for freedom instead
of taking it; looking to become part of a society inherently opposed to such desires, instead of looking to
challenge society as a whole. Liberal thinking such
as this; also known to some in the queer scene as “assimilationist politics”, has lead to delusional senses of
victory.
Is asking to be beaten less make anything less painful? Is asking to for more tolerance make anything
more comfortable? Does feeding into the power of
those who make our desires an issue really getting
anywhere? Is determining the limits of our struggle
to the standards of a male dominated hetero world allow us to really represent OURSELVES? Is being ourselves on our terms not the goal of such a struggle?
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Bash Back-48

Images from the May
21st, 1979 “White Night
Riots” in San Francisco.
Both images capture a
few of the 12 police cars
burnt that night. The riots were provoked by the
murder of San Francisco’s first gay Mayor Harvey Milk by Dan White.
The riots broke out
specifically when Dan
White, who shot Harvey
Milk with a gun, was accused of man slaighter
not murder.

Recently, as reported in our last
few issues, courageous individuals are choosing to come out of
the closets with axes not fear.
Attacks on churches, banks,
stores, and events continue to
happen frequently throughout
North America, motivated by
a hatred for a culture that celebrates sexual stagnancy and violently defends it. Although not
all attacks on notoriously homophobic churches or events have
been publicly claimed by the
name “Bash Back!”, it is a term
helping to provide a banner for
much of the anti-assimilationist queer resistance we’ve been
reading about recently.
Bash Back!, like many groups
similar to it, is not a formal organization. It is a term that helps
to connect those queer and not
willing to ask for tolerance. It
exists when resistance to heterodominated society comes about.
It is a call out; an invitation. It
is comfort for those scared, revenge for those scared, and
empowerment for those acting.
When actions are claimed, feelings of joy and satisfaction are
explicit in the message. Bash
Back! is a term and social force
setting a precedent for queer
people today: to ask or to take?
Although there is no membership with an organization like
Bash Back!, the Alliance Defence Fund, an organization acting as a front group for further
Christian attacks on women,
queers, gays, and people of color; are trying to sue individuals
allegedly part of Bash Back!
for disruptions at Mount Hope
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Bash Back-49

church in Lansing, Michigan
last fall. Twenty-three individuals were served with sub-poenas
by the FBI in Lansing and Milwaukee in alleged connection
to Bash Back! since the lawsuit
was filed. The disruption we’re
referring to was when a group
of individuals staged a demonstration outside the church,
while a group of individuals
disguised in attire of fellow boring Christians broke out of the
crowd during prayer screaming
blasphemous rhetoric, throwing
pro-queer flyer’s into the crowd,
and making out with each other (even if they both had the
same genitalia) for everyone to
see. The event was captured on
video by the way, and may we
add, the confusion and shock of
the crowd was priceless. The
lawsuit was in response to the
police not being able to charge
anyone after the event. The FBI
getting involved is implying that
the state is feeling threatened as
queers get more comfortable,
maybe also the frequency of this
resistance, or maybe its lack of
geographic limitation. As we
included in our last issue, we
wanted to include another disruption claimed via communique by Bash Back! Space is
limited so we had to also limit
the amount we could report on
regarding Bash Back! resistance,
but we hope that you remain up
to date with repression of Bash
Back!, writings associated with
the term, and future resistance
by visiting the link at the end of
this section.

*

March 11th: Seattle, WA
Sabotage and vandalism to church
hosting anti-queer conference.

Excerpts from the communique claiming
the action:
Last night the Bash Back Unwelcoming Committee greeted the Worldview
Apologetics Conference attendees. The
conference is being held today (March
11th) through Saturday at Crossroads Bible Church in Bellevue, Washington. We
looked further into the host church and
found out that Pastor Ken Hutcherson, is a
known supporter and colleague of Watchmen on the Wall, whose members are responsible for the death of Satendar Singh
(19 year old murdered in Lake Natoma,
CA for being gay and indian) 2007. As
we write these effigies, we remember the
countless others that have been murdered
as a result of the sick bigotry spewing
from Ken Hutcherson’s pulpit. He may
not have tied the noose, pulled the trigger
or thrown his fist, but his words have encouraged others to do so. The Worldview
Apologetics Conference was another opportunity for well-known queer haters to
spread their bullshit. With workshop titles
like, “The Difference Between Boys and
Girls; Exposing the Lies of Feminism and
It’s Cost to Society” and “It’s Not Like
Being Black; Why Homosexual Marriage
is Not a Civil Rights Issue”.
Starting with last night’s action, we’re rewriting the “playbook”. “Smear the Queer”
may be your favorite pastime, but honey
let me tell you, we fucking reclaimed the
word Queer 15-fucking years ago and
we’ve got a diversity of tactics. When we
wrote “Up Anarchist Queers”, “Watchmen
Are Killers”, “We Are Beauty” and glued
all the doors shut, we threw open our own
doors and tattooed those words on hour
hearts.
	
	
Welcome to our world shitheads.
Visit:
www.bashbacknews.wordpress.com

PURUSING “STRATEGIC”

SOCIAL

WAR

A War of Position

W

here do we stand? Obviously opposed to the social order. Obviously hating our jobs. Obviously disgusted by class relations. Decrying
the empty individualistic greed of consumerism, the despicable manifestations of authority in our daily lives, the insidious oppressions socialized into our behavior. We know all of the isms.
So some of us avoid shopping. Some drop out, live collectively,
eat trash, steal, avoid work. We travel, or wear dirty black clothes, or
strike out against the behemoth in the ways we know how. Our current
positions are infoshops, demonstrations, convergences, affinity groups,
reading groups, discussion groups.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Pursuing Strategic Social War-50

All of this occurs with the usual cast
of friends, acquaintances, and allies.
Many have come to terms with the
anarchist subculture—we can travel
across the country and see the same
familiar faces at each site of conflict.
For estranged enemies of capitalism,
this is a welcome comfort. Our project
has been to break with our own hierarchical socializations, and so we find
ourselves adrift, gravitating towards
the nearest sign of hope, to those few
and far between like-minded individuals among whom we can feel a little
less alienated.
The individual: the core unit of capitalism. We searched for one another as
individuals, as ourselves, estranged by
modernity—embodying our personal
ideas, thoughts, appearances, histories… our identity. And it follows that
we encountered one another as individuals, and assumed that you were
not as potent an ally if you didn’t look,
speak, or act like us. The logic of individuality determined that we could
only meet on the basis of our collective alienation. Therein contained was
the usual judgment, gossip, mistrust,
and social maneuvering we had hoped
to escape.
We thought we could free ourselves
first, gather outside of the dreadful
conditions we knew, and return to attack. We forgot that without context
we are powerless. Our context, our
position, has become the subculture.
In practice: five hundred anarchists
converge on a city for a confrontational action—property is destroyed,
resistance demonstrated, police outsmarted or repression meted out…and
the metropolis continues as if the interlude was planned all along, or as if
the interlude was part of the metropolis. With the subculture as our only
position we find ourselves scrambling
for footing.
The blind subservients of the main

stream media stumbled upon a truth when they called
us the “traveling anarchist circus.” Not because we are
strange or introduce mayhem, but because we set up
camp, put on a show, and move on—leaving the landscape essentially unchanged. Perhaps even worse, our
more stable manifestations can operate as local curiosity shops and private clubs. A yuppie couple walks by
a storefront covered in anarchist posters: “Oh honey,
how interesting, an infoshop!” Inside, a group of mostly white youth is watching Breaking the Spell. More

than likely the infoshop will disappear within a few
years, like any other presence that is unessential to the
local dynamics. The anarchist localities in the US that
continue to exist do so for a reason: relevance beyond
the local subculture, or being birthed from one that has
transcended its boundaries as such.
It is our task, then, to define a position that exists outside of individuality and outside of the non-location of
subculture. We must place ourselves—simultaneously
digging-in and preparing for our next offensive.
The Conditions of Engagement
For us, it is quite fortunate that
the social war currently exists on
many fronts: under the surface, but
indisputably present. The contradictions within capitalism and authority have always been felt if not fully
articulated. With every eviction,
every act of police violence, every
layoff, every polluted river, every
rape, we see the lines of the front
drawn more clearly. The social war
is ongoing—and we desire to constitute ourselves as a developed
force within it. Our enemies, on the
other hand, are already organized,
and they frequently recognize themselves as standing openly on the terrain of social struggle; they understand the social divide and police us
accordingly. As insurrectionists, it
is up to us (but not us alone) to expose these social and class rifts, and
to nurture the flame that rises out of
the widening chasm.
To expose and frame the conditions of open social war will require
an uncommon commitment to place.
It will take time to learn the terrain
of a locality within the metropolis.
The particular social undercurrents
of capital and power in any place

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Pursuing Strategic Social War-51

are too mystified to understand
in a month or a year. We cannot
expect to move somewhere and
comprehend neighborhood dynamics, local alliances, political
and social actors, historical context, hidden geographies—social space— within any concise
amount of time. Firsthand knowledge of the terrain is key to our
success; establishing ourselves in
places is one of the first steps in
realizing social war.
We inhabit a place in an effort to understand it. In the process, we build: relationships, infrastructure at odds with capital,
liberated autonomous zones. All
this is done outside the confines
of subculture, always collectively. As we learn more, our projects become more appropriate
and threatening, wedging open
the fault lines exposed by local
conflict. Taking into account local exigencies, we might take
over land to cultivate food, stop
paying rent, attack the police,
occupy buildings, seize material, or reconstruct the means of
production inside our expanding
stronghold. We capitalize on every misstep and weakness in the
system to deepen our collective
opposition.
Thus, the lines of the social
war are drawn.

An Opening Salvo
Eventually liberated space will become too much for power to bear. We can
expect the worst in terms of violent repression and insidious co-optation,
and this will be nothing new to us, nor the other oppressed communities
who are our allies. It is here that our war becomes defensive, conservative,
all the while actively expanding its zones of defense. The Greek anarchist
neighborhood of Exarchia birthed one of the most powerful insurrections
in recent memory; suddenly, the whole metropolis became a simultaneously offensive and defense front. Police, car dealerships, and Christmas
trees were no longer welcome, and were removed from the landscape. We
already know that we own everything—the task is to exclude the intrusions
of capital and power.
Everyone knows where they stand when the conflict erupts. In Greece,
more than just young anarchists rioted and supported the insurrection,
while bourgeois shoppers cowered in fear as stores were immolated. If they
do not know, we will involve them.
It is worth noting that there will obviously not be just one engagement in
the social war. There will be no single determining battle. We are of course
aware that “the Revolution” is a myth. One may be tempted to view the
realization of social war as an expanding singularity. On the contrary: engagements are occurring all the time, the social rift deepening with each
one. We need only to begin to pursue these particular engagements strategically.
“Everything about the insurrectionary process remains to be built.”
After the police murder of Oscar Grant in Oakland, it took a week for any
substantial response, anarchist or otherwise, to materialize. What finally
did has been mythologized as the “Oakland Rebellion”: one night of minor
rioting contained within a few city blocks, a handful of autonomous attacks
against the responsible institutions. This—while a month earlier Alexandros Girgoropoulos was killed in Athens. The whole of Greece erupted in
rage, and for more than two weeks the metropolis was torn apart and remade.
The social conditions of Greece are undeniably different from those of the
US. The history of military dictatorship has all but invalidated the Greek
national hegemony, and nearly every person there maintains a deep suspicion of state authority. We cannot re-create Greece. But if we look closely
enough, there are badly patched tears in American social life as well.
What is required of us is a jarring rip at the seams. It is these rifts where
the foundations of insurrection will be located. And in order to build an effective base, we must move beyond our subcultures and identities.
An isolated and alone insurrectionary is hardly an insurrectionary at
all, and the true power of the insurrection lies in the potential for its generalization. Can we hide in our neighbors’ houses? Can our community exist
autonomously from the flows of capital? Can we defend each other from the
police and the army? We pursue that day.

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Pursuing Strategic Social War-52

Postscript: The Realization of Social War
Over the past eleven years, the empty
lot had been transformed. What had been
a patch of tall brown weeds and cracked
pavement was now a lush garden. Rows of
zucchini, growing out into the stone pathways, strawberries just coming into bloom,
and in the far corner a full acre of corn.
The fruit trees were finally growing above
the wooden fence. After more than a decade of concerted work by the surrounding
community, they could provide themselves
with all the fresh vegetables they required.
Property values had recently increased in
the neighborhood—it was now profitable
to develop the once vacant, abandoned lot.
The community had neglected to officially
purchase the land, and the owner, of course,
wanted sell it to a well-known developer.
He had informed the coordinators of the
garden of his intention. But the community
refused to relinquish the land.
Time was up, the police had been called.
They would arrive to evict the garden within the week. The community held a short
meeting, and resolved to defend their land
through whatever means necessary.
Two days later, a dependable source
told the community that the police would
be moving in the next morning. They responded, gathering the necessary materials
for defense: rocks, empty bottles, gasoline,
caltrops, sticks, metal bars, various debris,
while others sent out the call for assistance
from their allies and neighbors.
At dawn the next morning, three police
cars and a bulldozer approached the neighborhood. As the police turned onto the
boulevard that led to the garden, a crowd of
two hundred blocked their path. The group
quickly constructed barricades while others
locked themselves to each other and sat

down. The police called for backup and issued a warning to disperse. The blockaders did not
move. A van of riot police arrived,
and began to threaten the use of
force. After an hour, the police lost
patience and pitilessly gassed the
blockade, moving in with batons.
The group withdrew, the bulldozer
cleared the barricade, and the police continued on their way.
Three blocks from the garden,
a hail of stones rained down on
the police procession. In the next
moment, the fiery arcs of molotov
cocktails traced their way through
the air, exploding across the police
vehicles. The squad cars were immobilized by the hail of rocks and
fire—the officers scrambled out of their flaming
vehicles, running for
safety. A block away,
the riot police exited
their van, formed a line,
and planned their next
move. As soon as they
had regrouped, at tacks
came from all directions—adjacent yards,
cross streets, back allies.
Officers were knocked
down by the sheer volume of the projectiles.
They fired rubber
bullets wantonly, not
sure who was an enemy or bystander.
They could not be
sure how many they
were up against, the
situation was strategically untenable.
They piled hurriedly
into the van and fled.
The next day the city
was flooded with

propaganda, posters declaring “JOIN THE DEFENSE”,
newspaper headlines reading
“HOODLUMS ATTACK POLICE”. Very quickly, normally inactive citizens made up
their minds as to which side
they were on.
The police did not give
up that day. In the following
weeks the city was torn apart,
as all the wounds of local injustice and oppression were
simultaneously re-opened.
In that city, the police now
walk in fear, the politicians
know they are ignored, and
certainly no one wants to invest.
Meanwhile, the local communities organize themselves.
An insurrection is begun.

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Pursuing Strategic Social War-53

A

s the “first world” scrambles to retain its comfort and privilege before a failing economy or growing frustrated population,
the “third class” of the “third world” continues to struggle
to survive as unrecognized citizens of the
global modern world. Capitalist society looks
to claim and profit from every facet of life and
land; constant expansion is inherent to capitalist society. For the capitalist society to operate
it must present a way of living to strive for,
suitable to profit and expansion, all life that
looks to remain free the aesthetics and desires of this model for living must
be suitable to profit and expansion. All life that looks to remain
safe,self-suffcient,
free from capital-

*

CONFLICT
with
Capital’s
Global
Conquest

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Conflict With Capital’s Global Conquest-54

ist society, or literally does, is a disruption to the trajectory
of such an economic
system and must be
either assimilated or
destroyed for capitalist society to grow.
Living in the “first
world”, it is hard to
feel connected to everyday life struggles
of the kind mentioned
after this introduction, but the fight for
safe, self-sufficient,
or free communities
is one that we see all
the time in different ways across the
world. Native and
lower caste struggles
not only expose the
inherent consequences of the system and
era we live in, they
also act as a force
of subjectivity. In a
global world so mediated by information technology and a global
economy, native communities act as evidence to possibilities of living differently from what we witness now. Migrant communities or lower caste
villages in the third
world provide examples of how the excluded organize themselves in defense of their collective
livelihood and ability to overcome
social divisions capitalist society
thrives on. They also expose the
inherent conflict between a global
economy and autonomous communities. We could only fit a few reports that caught our attention, but

struggles such as these are historic-happening now-and will
continue to exist as long as capitalist society looks to expand.
Please visit some of the links included at the end of this compilation to stay up to date with struggles and conflicts similar
to those mentioned below. We hope to encourage solidarity
with recognized citizens frustrated with the nation claiming
their existence, and the non-recognized citizens who fight
to remain free from an ever encroaching capitalist society.
these are historic-happening now-and will continue to exist
as long as capitalist society looks to expand. Please visit
some of the links included at the end of this compilation to
stay up to date with struggles and conflicts similar to those
mentioned below. We hope to encourage solidarity with recognized citizens frustrated with the nation claiming their existence, and the non-recognized citizens who fight to remain
free from an ever encroaching capitalist society.

Until the last missionary is hung
with the guts of
the last developer; all expan-

sion must be

blocked.
*

*

February 14, 2009:
Bilbao, Spain

Hundreds of demonstrators in the Basque
region’s largest city built barricades of burning dumpsters and fought police for control of
the streets. Incendiary devices were thrown at
the offices of the Basque Nationalist Party. The
provocation for the riot was the banning by Spain
of pro-independence groups from participating
in elections. The Basques are one of Europe’s
longest-colonized and least-assimilated indigenous cultures, with an equally long history of
resistance to the rule of Madrid and Paris.

*

February 15, 2009
Tongxiang,China

Hundreds of migrant workers clashed with
more than 100 regular and armed police in this
city in the southern province of Zhejiang on
Saturday, leaving six police vehicles smashed
or burned, witnesses and said. One witness described thousands of people besieging the police detachment: “the protesters, most of whom
seemed to be migrant labourers, were so discontented and indignant that they hurled almost
everything within their reach, including bricks,
stones and bottles, even when the police seemed
prepared to retreat.”

February 20, 2009
Dzongu region of Sikkim, India

Forty-three Lepchas were arrested last week in connection
to an ‘agitation’ carried out on
the controversial Panan hydel
power project in the Dzongu region of Sikkim, India. The Affected Citizens of Teetsa (ACT)

held a peaceful rally at the dam
site on Feb. 7 to mark day 600 of
their ongoing relay hunger strike
against hydro development in the
region.
ACT, along with the entire Lepcha population, maintain that the

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Conflict With Capital’s Global Conquest-55

hydro projects will displace several villages, devastate the fragile
ecology of the Khangchendzonga
Biosphere Reserve, and destroy a
sacred site that the Lepcha believe
to be the birthplace of humanity.
All of this, coupled with a

growing sense of frustration over a complete lack of
action by the government, boiled into an agitation
aimed at the hyrdo site. Several members walked out
and began to destroy machinery and vandalize buildings in the project area.
After project developers got word of what was happening they filed an official complaint with the police, who then proceeded to sweep into several Lepcha villages and arrest every ’suspect’ they could find.
Among the arrested were two youths, three monks,
and seven women.
The group of 43 was then faced with a whopping
1,558 criminal charges in connection to the agitation,
quite possibly a world record: 147 for rioting, 149 for
unlawful assembly, 436 for arson and fire mischief,
379 for theft of explosives and 447 for criminal trespass.
Following the arrests, ACT demanded the unconditional release of the entire group, saying they were
falsely imprisoned and subjected to torture.
The two youths were later released, however the remaining Lepchas are still in custody.
	
	
For more news and background, please visit:
	
weepingsikkim.blogspot.com/labourers

*

February 23:
Colombia

We included this clip to confront any sympathies for
authoritarian leftist groups such as FARC here; and
others similar to them.
Indigenous leaders issue “ultimatum” to FARC - Indigenous authorities in Colombia and Ecuador have
issued an “ultimatum” to the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC), demanding they return
the bodies of the indigenous Awa who were brutally
massacred this month, so they can be buried according to Awa tradition. Indigenous leaders issue “ultimatum” to FARC
Indigenous authorities in Colombia and Ecuador have
issued an “ultimatum” to the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC), demanding they return
the bodies of the indigenous Awa who were
(continued on next page)
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Conflict With Capital’s Global Conquest-56

*

February 20, 2009
Mindanao, Philippines

At least 400 members of the Mamanwa tribe in Surigao del Sur, northwestern Mindanao, are in their
second week of a blockade against four mining companies: Taganito Mining Corporation (TMC), Oriental
Synergy Mining Corporation (OSMC), Case Mining
Company (CMC) and Platinum Group Mining Company (PGMC).
Under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA),
Indigenous People in the Philippines are entitled to “a
royalty payment… which shall not be less than 1%
of the Gross Output of the mining operations in the
area.”
Only recently has the Mamanwa learned of this. In
a statement dated February 4, day seven of the barricade, Datu Joel Buklas from the Taganito Mamanwa
Association, notes that TMC has been operating in the
region since the 1960s, and recently “got a new contract to operate for another 25 years in the red mountain of Surigao del Sur.” “The moving truck loads of
nickel ore is a regular scene for motorist passing along
the Claver highway.” “Literally, the red mountain of
Claver is moving inch by inch every day. Sumitomo
Metal Mining Company together with TMC planned
to start this year the construction of a 30,000 ton-ayear smelting plant which would start its operation
by 2012.” Meanwhile, Sumitomo is “determined to
start the construction this year of the one-billion dollar
[nickle mining] project.”
“This is our land even before these mining companies came, we were already here, we were forcibly
ousted from these lands against our will and we hope
concerned government agencies whom we have been
asking for years will wake up.”
“Today, 4 February 2009, is our seventh day of human barricade along the highway of Taganito, Claver,
Surigao del Norte to demand before the National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) on our
share agreed for allowing the mining companies to
ruin our lives and our ancestral domain.”
With the blockade still standing, the Mamanwa report
that five of their carpenters, who helped put the blockade together, have been missing since they left the site
to harvest food for the protesters on January 29.

brutally massacred this month, so they can be buried
according to Awa tradition.
The statement warns that if the bodies are not returned
by February 23 at 6:00pm, a “Humanitarian Minga”
will be carried out by indigenous communities to enter
the conflicted territory and recover the bodies on their
own, it also calls on “All armed actors, legal and illegal,
to immediately withdraw from Awá territory”” so an
international team can access the region to clear it of
landmines.
The statement was issued by the National Indigenous
Organization of Colombia (ONIC) on February 19, two
days after FARC accepted responsibility for killing
eight Awa this month, an act they say was justified because ‘the Awa were collaborating with the Colombian
military’.

*

The claim has been used for decades to justify the
slaughter of Indigenous people, and is part of a much
broader campaign of subjugation, murder, land theft
and displacement.
In 2009 alone, it has resulted in the death 50, the
wounding of hundreds and the displacement of thousands. Awa Leadership, along with the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, further point out that a
total of 27 Awa were killed this month. They say FARC
was responsible for all of them.
	
You can read the statement (in Spanish):
http://colombia.indymedia.org/news/2009/02/98897.
php

February 25, 2009
Northern Ontario, Canada

Members of the Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario are holding a winter
road block near the DeBeers Victor Mine, in protest of the Impact Benefit Agreement
(IBA) that the First Nation signed with De Beers, a massive diamond multinational
company based in South Africa.
The members have maintained a 24-hour presence at the blockade since it first went
up on February 6.
“We feel that the people of Attawapiskat are not fully benefiting from the DeBeers operations in our territory. We are committed to ensuring that our people benefit directly.
We are poor and we need to get out of the poverty we are in. DeBeers can help us in
improving our community living conditions,” states Greg Shisheesh, a spokesman for
the protesters. The protesters want the terms of the current IBA to be revisited, so it can
address a number of pressing issues for Attawapiskat, including racism and discrimination, pay equity, a desperately-needed school and new housing. They also want the
the ratification process of the IBA to be reviewed.
“We want to ensure the membership fully understands how the IBA was ratified
and we are asking for full disclosure of its contents to the people,” says Shisheesh.
Shortly after the protest began, the Attawapiskat chief and council announced a series
of “emergency measures to encourage the resolution of the latest protest of some of its
members.”
“Those measures include an immediate distribution of the IBA to more than 300
homes, earmarking the profits from Attawapiskat-owned businesses and joint ventures
toward legal fees (up to $100,000) school and education war chest and high-level meetings have been confirmed with De Beers executives and representatives of the member
protesters with a mediator, to name a few,” notes the Daily Press.
“De Beers is a rich company with millions of dollars,” states Louttit. “The company
and the province are benefiting, but the community is benefiting only a little. We’re
still in poverty, we’re still overcrowded and we don’t even have a school.”
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Conflict With Capital’s Global Conquest-57

*

March 13, 2009
Rumieh, Lebanon

Over a hundred inmates rioted in Beirut’s
largest prison, “burning mattresses and other items to press their
demands for reduced
sentences”.
The same prison was
the scene of a mutiny
in April last year in
which seven warders
were held hostage. A
riot also broke out at
the Qubbah prison in
the northern Lebanon
city of Tripoli in January with inmates holding two wardens hostage.

*

Saturday, March 14, 2009
Manila, Philippines

Hundreds of students clashed
with police outside the U.S. embassy and Filipino Supreme
Court, demanding the immediate
withdrawal of U.S. forces and expressing rage at the Filipino Government as well. The U.S. military
has maintained a presence in the
Philippines since 1898.

*

March 16, 2009
Nairobi,Kenya

An anti-police demonstration
sparked by the police killings of a
student and two human rights activists turned into a riot in the Kenyan capital. Thousands of youth,
who have faced a rising tide of
police violence in “anti-gang”
crackdowns in recent years, built
barricades, beat up journalists,
pelted police with stones and looted businesses. Witnesses said a
rally of about 2,000 students more
than doubled in size as slum dwellers, jobless and others joined in.

*

April 7, 2009
New Zealand

Otaraua Hapu occupation of
mine reaches 17 days The Taranaki hapu of Otaraua have been
holding their ground near Waitara
for 17 days now while the Greymouth Petroleum Co still refuses
to meet with them on site. Production has been completely stopped
in the meantime.

*

April 2,2009
Chiapas, Mexico

In a coordinated effort with
“civilian aggressors”, as many
as 260 police officers tried to
evict 500 Mayan families from
a 6-acre lot of land they occupied last month, near the town
of San Cristobal de las Casas,
in Chiapas, Mexico.
The eviction ultimately failed,
but not before twelve Mayans
and fifteen police were injured
and about 100 homes were destroyed.
The attempted eviction took
place on the morning of March
26, following an order from
the Mayor of San Cristobal de
las Casas. At the prompting of
civilians from the town, the
Mayor said the Mayans have to
be evicted because the land is
owned by “the National Commission for the Development
of Indigenous Peoples” (CDI),
a Federal Agency that is supposed to “protect and promote
the interest and well-being of
[Indigenous Peoples] with due
regard to their beliefs, customs,
traditions and institutions.”
					

According to eye witnesses, the
police, who were armed with
pepper spray and riot shields,
cordoned off the area while
the civilians began to raid and
set fire to the Mayans’ homes.
The civilians were themselves
armed with gasoline, sticks and
Machetes. “They said nothing.
They began to hit us and destroy things,” said one Woman.
“They treated us like animals.”
Needless to say, the community defended itself, picking
up stones, sticks, and whatever else was on hand. The police “tried to respond the same
way” says the EFE News Service, but they finally decided to
withdraw without managing to
expel the [Mayans].” The community has since warned that
they have no intention of leaving the land.
“We’re not leaving, because we
have nowhere to live and even
if we have to die, we’re staying
here.”

*

April 8, 2009
Beijing, China

5,000 villagers clash with police
in China, laying siege to coal mine
- About 5,000 villagers clashed
with police in eastern China after
laying siege to a coal mine blamed
for damaging local farmlands, a human rights group said. The villagers had “surrounded and attacked”

the coal mine. 5,000 villagers clash
with police in eastern China. Earlier this month, some 5,000 villagers clashed with police in eastern
China after laying siege to a coal
mine, which they blame for damaging their farmlands. According to
Hong Kong’s Center for

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Conflict With Capital’s Global Conquest-58

(April 8th; Beijing; continued)
Human Rights and Democracy,
on April 7, the villagers “surrounded and attacked” the Gubei
coal mine in in Anhui province
and demanded an end to its operation. Villagers say the mine is
causing land subsidence over an
8,000-hectare region, which is affecting as many as 50,000 people.
The human rights group goes on to
say that more than 1000 paramilitary police were sent to the protest,
and that the villagers confronted
the police, smashed at least one
of their vehicles, and injured vice
chief Ma Shiping from Fengtai
County. An unnamed police officer from Fengtai, confirmed that a
protest was held, however he said
that no more than 1,000 villagers
attended the protest.

*

May 6, 2009
San Jose Progreso,
Oaxaca, Mexico

An urgent action alert issued by
Comité de Defensa de Los Derechos del Pueblo (CODEP) describes how “twenty-five hundred
(2500) members of the federal
police, AFI, judicial police, and
the bomb corps entered the mine
(during a community blockade)
with a wealth of weapons: using
tear gas, shots from various types
of firearms, police dogs, savagely
beating the people, and searching
the homes of the people who were
peacefully guarding access to the
mine.”

*

April 17, 2009
Kenya

For more than three weeks now, the Kenyan government has been engaged in a brutal campaign of violence against the indigenous Samburu
people in north central Kenya. According to Cultural Survival (CS), the
government, who claims to be chasing after “cattle bandits”, has “strafed
the unarmed villagers with machine guns” from the air and “used clubs to
beat them on the ground.” Further reports indicate that at least nine bombs
have been dropped on Samburu villages, and a yet-to-be-identified caustic
chemical was sprayed on group of children who were seeking refuge in
the bush. The government has also confiscated all of the Samburu’s cattle,
leaving them without any access to food.
A Kenyan military officer has released documents “showing that these
attacks were planned months in advance, and there is explicit mention of
the intention to ‘bring these people into the modern era.’” “Without milk
from their cattle, the community members will die,” Dan Letoiya, Director
of West Gate Wildlife Conservancy stated. “We are experiencing another
severe drought and this is their only source of protein and liquid. The milk
from their livestock makes up 90 percent of their dietary intake.”

*

April 27
Papua New Guinea

More than 300 homes were burned to the ground in a violent eviction of indigenous landowners near Barrick Gold’s
Porgera open pit gold mine in Papua New Guinea. At least
200 police and military personnel were sent to the village,
and began setting fire to the landowners’ homes. The Akali
Tange Association (ATA), a human rights organization in
Porgera, said on the day of the eviction that that no one was
given any time to gather their possessions, and “anyone who
spoke up was reportedly physically attacked by the security
forces and some were arrested,” relays protestbarrick.net.
“Increasing numbers of people are reporting injuries, as are
those who are being detained. Although the landowners received no formal warning that they were to see their houses
destroyed...”

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Conflict With Capital’s Global Conquest-59

IN TROUBLE

*

Compiled statements from the support groups of some
of those currently facing repression by the state.

The Latest on the Love Park 4
On Tuesday May 12, the remaining LOVE Park 4 defendants - Jason Robbins, Tom Keenan and Jared Schultz - appeared in court yet again. This hearing thankfully
moved in forward direction, instead of resulting in another continuance in a long line of delays dating back
almost two years.
Judge Frank Palumbo heard the State’s appeal of Judge
Marsha Neifeld’s decision from December’s court date.
She ordered the District Attorney to reveal the identities
of two undercover Philadelphia narcotics officers who
had posed as neo-Nazis in LOVE Park on July 23rd,
2007 - the day of the mysterious Ku Klux Klan rally
that never actually happened. The prosecution argued
that revealing the undercover narcotics officers’ identities would both endanger the officers personally as well
as prohibit them from participating in any future undercover investigation into the white power organization
Keystone State Skinheads (KSS). Supposedly, according to testimony given at December’s hearing by these
officers’ superior Lieutenant McConnell that is why his
officers were present in Love Park - as part of an ongoing narcotics probe into KSS.
Defense lawyers Larry Krasner and Paul Hetznecker
responded by arguing that there was no basis for the
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-In Trouble-60

State to appeal Judge Neifeld’s order, stating that the
District Attorney was unable to meet the threshold test
for the appeal. This test measures whether or not the
prosecution would be hindered if Judge Neifeld’s order
was upheld. The defense argued that in no way would
the prosecution’s case be hindered, but the omission of
the identities of these officers does indeed hinder the
defense. They argued further that police officers - specifically narcotics officers - regularly testify in open
court. Referring to Lieutenant McConnell’s testimony
from December, they also pointed that these specific officers in question have time and again testified in open
court. In response to the Assistant District Attorney’s
statement that these officers would not be able to go
back undercover with KSS if the investigation was to
be reopened, Paul Hetznecker reminded the judge that
not only has it been almost two years since the beginning of this case, but the police department itself has
said the case against KSS was inactive 6 months prior
to that date. The point here: the District Attorney’s office is attempting to use a separate - not to mention
closed - case to further impede the proceedings of the
LOVE Park 4 case.
The only other argument the Assistant District Attorney
presented for his case being hindered was that if Judge
Neifeld’s order is upheld, the District Attorney’s office

“would be forced to withdraw the charges” against the
defendants rather then reveal the identity of the undercover officers. Judge Palumbo expressed skepticism
time and time again in response to the prosecutor’s
continued repetition of that argument. It is also worth
nothing that the hearing never even got to the point of
reviewing the merits or content of the original defense
motion asking for the witnesses’ identities, as Judge
Palumbo seemed to be in agreement with defense
counsel that the District Attorney had failed to meet
the threshold test for the appeal.
In the end Judge Palumbo chose to take the appeal
under advisement, giving himself time to become familiar with the notes and transcripts from the case,
Marie Mason Sentenced to almost
22 Years

	

and also asking all of the lawyers to submit additional
briefs in support of their individual arguments. A new
court date was scheduled for June 16th. It is expected
that Judge
Palumbo will make his ruling at that time.
Jason, Tom and Jared would like to thank everyone
that took time out of their busy schedules to stand with
them in court this week. They would like to express
that the solidarity people continue to show them is
amazing!
In Solidarity with ALL Political Prisoners,
The LOVE Park 4 Defense Committee
www.myspace.com/supportlovepark4

Update as of April 22nd

We received a letter from Marie
Mason recently with updates. As
we said before, she expects to be at
Waseca for a while. She has been
assigned a job working in the kitchen (unfortunately not, originally as
she was told, as a guitar instructor).
She is working out and getting most
of her vegan dietary concerns taken
care of. She would like to receive
the following kinds of books: a calendar, a journal, language books (especially French and Spanish, which
she speaks to fellow inmates), fiction, or radical history. She also is
allowed to allowed to check a guitar
from the rec center and wants guitar
sheet music – especially “labor/folk/
earth first!” songs. There is a library
at the prison which she is able to use
Checks or money orders can be as well. That said, we are not sure
made out to “Karin Mason” and what kind political literature will
sent to:
be allowed in. Obviously, please do
Karin Mason
NOT send anything that advocates
PO Box 352
any illegal acts, as this may impact
Stanwood, MI 49346
her negatively. We called Waseca
and confirmed that individuals can
If you would like to make a dona- send in softcover books, including
tion via Paypal, please contact us used ones. No hardcover books are
for more information: supportmari- allowed. Magazines and newspapers
emason@gmail.com.
must come directly from a publisher. Please do not send stamps or
Marie was sentenced to 262 months
on February 5th for alledgedly commiting an arson against Michigan
State University’s bio-technology
offices on December 31st, 1999,
that caused nearly $1 million dollars
of damage to buildings and equipment, but no death or injuries. She
was also ordered to pay more than
$4 million in restitution. This is the
largest sentence to be passed to a
Green Scare defendant. Mason’s
lawyer John Minock has indicated
that he intends to appeal her 22-year
sentence but funds are needed to pay
the legal fees for this. Please consider making a donation so that they
can work to reverse her sentence.

stamped envelopes to her – the prison confiscates them. She can have
up to 25 pictures at one time in her
cell, but no polaroids. (One person
said the prison was rejecting envelopes with more than two pictures in
them, however.) She can have up
to five books in her cell. There is
no limit on photocopies – but you
can’t send them in a cardboard box
(which requires prior approval), it
must be in an envelope. Clippings
from magazines, etc. are accepted,
but in limited quantities – i was told
a manila envelope stuffed with them
would be returned. Nothing with
sexually explicit content. Envelopes
must have a return address on them,
and since the prisons sometimes
throw away the envelopes and give
the prisoner only the letter, you
should also put your address and the
date on the letter itself.
As far as the political content,
we’re not sure yet. With the other
prisoners, letters have been rejected
that refer to other imprisoned Green
Scare cases.
Also, what’s allowed in federal
prisons is notoriously inconsistent,
so one person in the mail room
might simply reject what another
accepts.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-In Trouble-61

Email us if you mail anything in that is sent back.
She is slower at writing back these days then when she
was at Clinton County Jail, and some of this may have
to do with the delay in the federal system with getting
funds to her commissary to buy stamps. But she loves

receiving letters and please continue to write her:

Update on Eric Mcdavid From Sacramento Prisoner
Support Below

As you know, Eric is in the process of appealing both
his conviction and sentence. We were hoping to be able
to post the appeal with this alert, but are awaiting word
from the court. Eric’s lawyer filed the appeal on May 6,
but also had to file a motion to file a brief that is twice
the length of a normal appeal. If the court accepts this
motion, then the appeal will officially be filed and we
can post it for you all to read. This is nowhere near
the end of the process, however. The government will
have a month to respond to the brief once it is filed, and
then Eric’s lawyer will have another two weeks for his
final response. We fully expect more delays (the brief
was originally due last September). We will keep you
posted as things develop. Eric has been in jail or prison
for 3 1/2 years now. His strength and courage continue
to remind us all of what it means to stay true to ourselves and the things we hold dear. Our sincerest thanks
to all of you who have helped make this journey more
endurable.

There are a few things we would like to share with
you in this update. Below you will find information on
Eric’s current situation, the tour in June, site updates,
and the status of the appeal. Eric sends his hellos to
you all. Thanks so much for your continued support.
We hope to see many of you soon!
The Mail Situation
Eric would like for us to let you all know that he is currently unable to respond to snail mail. Victorville has
recently implemented a new, illegal mail policy that requires prisoners to submit a list of people to whom they
would like to send mail. This list is kept on file in the
prison’s Trulincs system, which was originally setup as
an email system for prisoners. The BOP has since expanded it’s use of the system as a way to keep track of
prisoner phone lists, mail lists, and as a log-in system
for prisoner access to the legal library. The use of the
system for these purposes has numerous legality issues,
and Eric and a couple of other prisoners are attempting
to fight the new rules from the inside. In the meantime,
Eric will not be using the mail-labeling system set up
by Trulincs, which means he is unable to send any written correspondence. This does NOT mean that he cannot receive mail - so
please keep those letters coming.

Marie Mason #04672-061
FCI Waseca, Federal Correctional Institution, P.O. Box
1731, Waseca, MN 56093

Eric Mcdavid is currently facing 19 years and 7 months
in federal prisons for not only a crime he didn’t commit.
but a crime that never happened. Eric is one of the
many facing the wrath of this new state trend known as
“conspiracy charges”. Eric was arrested in Auburn, CA
on January 13, 2006 as part of the government’s ongoing Green Scare campaign. He was convicted guilty of
“conspiracy to destroy property by means of fire or explosives”, and was sentenced to 19 years and 7 months,
for a crime that was never committed. The conviction
was established based on the testimony of an FBI informant named “Anna”, and his 2 co-defendants, who
More dates are in the works.
chose to co-operate at his expense. Prior to his convicWe are in the process of some major additions to Er- tion he was denied bailed for 2 ½ years. During that
ic’s website. Soon you will have access to all of the time he was in solitary confinement at the Sacramento
transcripts from Eric’s trial, sentencing, the plea agree- County Jail. During that time he also suffered immense
ments from his co-defendants, and more. We are also health issues due to the Jail ignoring Eric’s dietary
adding a section for writings from Eric to make them restrictions. Eric deserves the utmost stoic and consismore accessible. Check out www.supporteric.org soon tent support from our communities.
to get the latest.
Visit the link below to stay up with his case:
www.supporteric.org
Appeal Status
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-In Trouble-62

Two Charges Dropped Against the RNC 8; A statement
from Friends of the RNC 8
In the surest sign yet of the power of post-RNC court
solidarity, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner
has dropped two of four unfounded charges against
the RNC 8. Caving to months and months of public
pressure, Gaertner dropped one count of Conspiracy
to Commit Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism, and one
count of Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Damage to
Property in Furtherance of Terrorism. “We are heartened by the fact that our supporters have won this concession,” said defendant Nathanael Secor. “It’s taken
a tremendous show of strength and solidarity over the
past seven months.”
Originally facing a single charge–Conspiracy to Riot
in Furtherance of Terrorism–Gaertner’s office added
three additional charges against the eight defendants in
December of last year. Now, two of those charges have
been dropped, clearly demonstrating that all the charges
are a matter of political maneuvering,
not a reasoned look at the evidence.
On March 28, supporters delivered to Susan Gaertner’s
office a stack of over 3,000 petitions urging her to drop
all four charges. Among other statements, a resolution
from the 17,000-member Duluth Central Labor Body
in support of the RNC 8 was also delivered. National
media attention, including an appearance on MSNBC
on Wednesday morning, has drawn significant attention
to the case at the same time as Gaertner is accelerating her campaign for Governor–having just hired fulltime staffers, opened an office on University Avenue,
and planned appearances at several DFL events in the
next month. Additionally, the broad-based RNC 8 Defense Committee has succeeded in calling widespread
attention to the Minnesota PATRIOT Act, and played
an instrumental role in applying the pressure that led to
this reduction of charges. In removing the controversial
MN PATRIOT Act from the debate at this moment, Susan Gaertner obviously hopes to defray the costs of this
unprecedented prosecution on her campaign for Governor, and to mitigate the overwhelmingly negative public opinion of Ramsey County’s repressive behavior
Tarnac 9 Related News:
Julien Coupat Released!, and the arrest of Tessa
Julien Coupat Released!
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-In Trouble-63

during and since the RNC.
“Make no mistake,” said defendant Luce GuillenGivins, “This change to the complaint against us is a
token gesture meant to placate our supporters and bolster a floundering political prosecution.” As defendant
Eryn Trimmer pointed out, “This move only focuses
attention more acutely on the outrageous nature of the
two remaining charges, Conspiracy to Commit Riot and
Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Damage to Property.”
In the months leading up to the RNC, the defendants
were involved in open, public organizing with a broad
coalition of Twin Cities activists and community members. We continue to assert that the only “conspiracy”
committed by the RNC 8 was to provide basic and necessary infrastructure for people who wished to engage
in their fundamental right to dissent.
“We’re relieved and gratified that the most sensational part of the charges has been dropped,” said St.
Paul peace and justice activist Betsy Raasch-Gilman,
member of Friends of the RNC 8. She continued, “We
hope that the conspiracy charges will also be dropped.
If planning a protest can be called conspiracy, the right
to free speech is in real danger.”
Friends of the RNC 8 asks Susan Gaertner to continue
in the direction of justice by dropping all the remaining
charges, thereby saving enormous financial resources
for the people of Minnesota in this time of rampant
foreclosures, unemployment and economic turmoil.
We also remind supporters that while we should rightly celebrate this small victory, the time for increased
action to defend the RNC 8 is now.
Visit the link below to stay up with their case:
www.rnc8.org
The RNC 8/RNC Eight are organizers against the 2008
Twin Cities Republican National Convention who have
been falsely charged in response to their political organizing: Luce Guillen-Givins, Max Specktor, Nathanael
Secor, Eryn Trimmer, Monica Bicking, Erik Oseland,
Robert Czernik and Garrett Fitzgerald.
French authorities on Thursday, May 28th, authorised
the release of Julien Coupat, who has been detained for
more than six months on suspicion of sabotaging highspeed train lines, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. Julien Coupat, 34, was arrested by anti-terrorist police in

November 2008 and his lengthy detention without charges being filed
had become highly controversial.
His arrest was part of a wider swoop
on members of what Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie described
as an “anarcho-autonomous” movement that had been under surveillance by domestic intelligence
services for months beforehand.
Coupat, the last of the 10 suspects
arrested in November to remain in
custody, has always said he was innocent but he is still under investigation for organised, terrorism-related
destruction of property. Under the
terms of his release, he will have to
stay in the Paris region and surrender his passport and identity papers.
The failure to secure any convictions after a highly publicised raid
by hundreds of police has proved
embarrassing to the government,
which has been accused of whipping
up terrorism fears to justify tough
new security measures. In a written
interview with the Le Monde newspaper this week Coupat described
his detention as a “petty revenge
which is quite understandable given
the means that were deployed and
the extent of the failure.”
The Arrest of Tessa: A Communique
from the Support Committee
At 2 pm on Tuesday [28 April
2009], a very active member of a
support committee was arrested on
the streets of Paris. The police fixed
her to the steering wheel of her car
and expelled the person who accompanied her, before taking flight
with our comrade. She was brought
to the offices of the SDAT[1] under
an anti-terrorist regime (in custody
for 96 hours and [access to] a lawyer after 72 hours).
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-In Trouble-64

This crude attempt at intimidating
those who organize against antiterrorist measures and for the support of people imprisoned in Paris
and elsewhere. The police justified
this arrest on the grounds that Tessa
was “close to the hard core” of the
group from Tarnac and “gravitated”
around the farm at Goutaillioux.
Not only has the justice system not
abandoned its stupid set-up and the
police categories that go along with
it (”cell,” “circle of influence,” “hard
core,” “circle” and “member”), but
even claims to henceforth apply
them to those who remain close to
their friends who have been placed
under examination. Legal surveillance prevents these friends from
seeing each other, indeed, from returning to them. The SDAT’s new
operations also tells them: “Your
shared friends will henceforth be
considered as facilitating communications between you and, thus, [other] members of the same association
of evil-doers; if you see them, we
can arrest them.”
This indictment, which allows the
police to pursue someone without
attributing participation in criminal acts to them, is decidedly very
useful. We see the evolution of this
business. One day it is Eric Hazan,
the publisher of The Coming Insurrection, interrogated for 4 hours.
Another day it is a member of one
of the support committees who is
carried off from the street. The operation is clear: on the one hand, it
banalizes the summoning to court
and the taking into custody for long
periods of time and without any
meaning; on the other, it generates
some mediatic[2] agitation to make
people believe that this affair will
advance when everyone has understood that, not only does it trample

upon people, but it also will never
go anywhere.
With each public statement by the
people who were indicted, by their
lawyers and by their supporters, the
accuser — the Minister of the Interior, a judge, a cop or an expert
— claims to pull from his or her hat
“exclusive” elements or other pseudo-proofs that in reality have no
legal value and that, decontextualized, are used exactly as propaganda. Besides this, what principally is
the purpose of the judge’s interrogations and investigations? Today, at
this stage of the inquest, it is The
Coming Insurrection: who wrote it,
when and for what purpose. More
than what it says, it is this text’s resonance with the current explosive
situation that becomes troublesome
for power.
Party to a spontaneous reaction
that led to the creation of a certain
number of support committees everywhere in France, solidarity is expressed ever more publicly, even in
the pages of the newspapers. Judge
[Thierry] Fragnoli doesn’t give a
fuck; and, one year after the beginning of the inquest and six months
after the incarceration of Julien
[Coupat], he still has no fear of
making himself look ridiculous by
arresting anyone, anytime, though
these people will inevitably be released. We will provide a practical
response to these petty maneuvers
in a few weeks.
You fuck with us? You will not fuck
for long.[3]
Thank you.
[1] The federal anti-terrorism task
force in France.
[2] There is no equivalent in Eng-

lish for mediatique, which not only denotes the media,
but the spectacular, as well.
[3] This slogan can be found at the end of Raoul Vaneigem’s Treatise on Living for the Younger Generations,
first published in French in 1967 and translated into
English as The Revolution of Everyday Life.

To stay up to date with the Tarnac 9 and repression
of the so-called French “anarcho-autonomous movement”; visit:
www. tarnac9.wordpress.com

BJ Viehl and Alex Hall: Arrested for Utah Mink Liberations

expires on June 30. If the Grand Jury is extended, Jordan can be held longer.

William “BJ” Viehl and Alex Hall were arrested Thursday March 5th after they were indicted by a grand jury
for “suspicion” of a raid at a South Jordan, Utah mink
farm. On August 18th 2008, 300+ mink were released
from the McMullin Mink Farm and all their breeding
records were destroyed. Spray painted slogans found
on the scene included “No More Mink, No More Murder” and “ALF: We Are Watching.” The action cost an
estimated $10,000 in damages. They are also accused
of “suspicion” of an attempted raid at a second Hyrum,
Utah mink farm in October. They were both released
after their March 10th bail hearing with the usual curfew and electronic monitoring. Interestingly enough,
they are also not allowed to have contact with anyone
affiliated with “Straight Edge” or “ALF.” Their trial
dates are set for June 27th, 28th and 29th.
Jordan Halliday, was arrested for contempt of court on
March 13. The United States Attorneys office subpoenaed him to testify in front of a Federal Grand Jury, and
provide information involving the mink liberation’s in
Utah. He refused to cooperate, because the questions
asked where not related to the investigation. He was
only asked personal questions about his friend and associations.
Grand juries are fishing expeditions that have been
used throughout U.S. history to disrupt and destroy
social movements. They take away rights to force answers to questions, without being able to have a lawyer present. Jordan was well aware of the exploitation
and abuse of these tactics and resisted the proceedings
which resorting in him being arrested. The judge ordered that Jordan will remain in custody of the Federal
Marshal’s until he agrees to cooperate or the grand jury

Send letters of support to:
Cache County Jail, Jordan Halliday, Inmate # 24836,
1225 West Valley View Highway Suite 100, Logan,
Utah 84321

2 Arrested For UCLA Campaign

Please consult Cache County Jail’s website to ensure
that you comply with the policies for inmate mail:
http://www.cachesheriff.com/Jail/jail.htm
Please speak out for Jordan and stay tuned to his support site for ways you can help Jordan and other updates. You can also financially support Jordan to ensure
he has proper legal representation. Jordan’s lawyer is a
fellow animal activist who is representing Jordan free
of charge. But so far he has spent nearly $3,000 in his
own out-of-pocket expenses. Just the last appeal alone
cost him over $1,000 in filing, copying, court costs, and
traveling expenses. We must be able to pay him his own
expenses for him to continue fighting for the rights of
Jordan. Any donations, no matter how small, will be
greatly appreciated and help tremendously.
Please send checks or money orders to:
Karen Halliday, PO Box 25581, SLC, UT 84125
To donate via mail to their support team; send a check
made payable to SLAAM to the adress below:
SLAAM, PO box 2555, Salt Lake City, UT 84110
To stay up to date with their case or donate via paypal
please visit:
www.supportbjandalex.com

participation in campaigns against
primate research at UCLA and aniLindy Greene and Kevin Olliff mal tests by the Pom juice company.
were arrested on April 16th on a 10 Kevin was arrested last year as well
count indictment for their alleged on trumped up charges related to
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-In Trouble-65

alledged petty theft and sentenced
to 6 months in jail; the circumstances of his arrest and treatment were
obviously politically motviated by
the state. His release was also men-

tioned in our last issue. Their charges are: two counts
of Threat to employee of public educational institution
71, three counts of Stalking 646.9(a) and five counts of
Conspiracy to commit a crime 182(a)(1). They are also
charged with the Criminal Street Gang 186.22(b)(1)(a)
enhancement.
Lindy was able to post bail and is now released on
house arrest. Unfortunately, Kevin was denied bail because he was on parole. As for the details of the last
court date, May 20th, the date was set to discuss the demurrer. The demurrer challenges whether a legal cause
of action exists for the facts, as stated by the complaining party, based on face value of said charges. The next
court date is Tuesday, July 14th, and the schedule for
the demurrer will be announced. The next date will be
all about the demurrer, with more motions being heard.
Four Arrested Under Animal Enterprise Terrorism

Kevin appreciates the support at his court dates, but
recognizes that July 14 will be rather uneventful and
would prefer if everyone went to the dates in the future,
after the demurrer has been introduced.
Don’t forget to write Kevin! He is requesting pictures
of the outside along with letters, for not having a window has left him with a complete lack of visual stimulation. So get to sending! If you would like to visit
Kevin, please coordinate through either the myspace
(myspace.com/supportlaural) or send a message for a
phone number to contact a coordinator.
You can write him at this address:
Kevin Olliff #1300931, TTCF 161 D-Pod, 450 Bauchet
St., Los Angeles, CA 90012

that would be considered sadistically cruel were they not conducted in
the name of science.”
In the news release and associatJoseph Buddenberg, Maryam Khajavi, Nathan Pope, and Adriana ed criminal complaint the FBI lays
Stumpo were arrested by the FBI out the basis for the arrests and the
February 19 and 20 on trumped-up case against the defendants, allegterrorism charges under the Animal ing that:
Enterprise Terrorism Act. Each faces ten years in prison if convicted. • Three of the defendants attended
The alleged crime? Attending pro- protests at the homes of vivisectors
tests in the Bay Area in 2007 and working at UC Berkeley where,
2008 against animal experimenta- “…extremists dressed generally in
tion at the University of California all black clothing and wearing banand allegedly publishing the names danas to hide their faces marched,
and addresses of UC researchers chanted, and chalked defamatory
who experiment on living animals, comments on the public sidewalks
in front of the residences.”
known as vivisectors.
According to In Defense of Ani- • Three of the defendants attended
mals, “Every year, tens of millions a protest at the home of a UC Sanof animals are dissected, infected, ta Cruz vivisector whose husband
injected, gassed, burned and blind- came outside to confront the aced in hidden laboratories on col- tivists and allegedly engaged in a
lege campuses and research facili- “struggle” with one or more of the
ties throughout the U.S. Still more protestors. Of special interest in
animals are used to test the safety of this charge are the facts that (1) the
cosmetics, household cleansers and husband appears to have initiated
other consumer products. These in- any sort of confrontation that took
nocent primates, dogs, cats, rabbits, place, (2) the defendants are not alrodents and other animals are used leged to have engaged in any sort of
against their will as research sub- struggle themselves, and (3) the bajects in experiments and procedures sis for the claim that they were even
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-In Trouble-66

present for the protest is based on
DNA evidence off bandanas seized
from a car that was alleged to have
been used for the protest.
• Two of the defendants were observed via video surveillance footage looking up public information
on vivisectors at UC Santa Cruz.
• Two of the defendants were observed via video surveillance footage standing near the location where
a stack of flyers was later found at
a café in Santa Cruz. The flyer was
entitled “Murderers and torturers
alive & well in Santa Cruz,” which
the FBI alleged in their news release
listed the names, addresses, and
telephone numbers of several University of California researchers.
The way the FBI has turned a
case that wouldn’t even warrant a
misdemeanor arrest into a Federal
felony case is by charging Maryam, Joseph, Adriana, and Nathan
with conspiring to interfere with
an animal enterprise. More specifically, the four now face two federal
charges – Conspiracy and violating
the Animal Enterprise Terrorism
Act (AETA), each count carrying a
maximum sentence of five years.

These arrests mark the first batch of prosecutions under the newly expanded AETA. The modified version
of the law was introduced in 2006 at the urging of animal industry groups and snuck through congress while
only a handful of Representatives and Senators were
present.
The AETA makes it illegal to “interfere” with an animal enterprise, in an overly vague and extremely subjective way. As a result this law not only endangers
these four defendants charged with violating the AETA
themselves, but also has the potential to have a chilling
effect on free speech and protest. In fact, the FBI news
release announcing the arrests indicated the charges
were designed to “send a message” by making an example of the defendants.
We too can send a message – whether we are animal
liberationists, civil liberties advocates, anti-authoritarians, or human beings of any sort. We will not stand
idly by while federal agents begin witch-hunts, kick

in doors, subpoena people to grand juries, and seek to
eliminate dissent wherever it threatens corporate interests. Instead we must stand tall -- continuing to speak
out, protest, and resist government repression.
While these four young people (known as the AETA4)
face the full force of the US Justice Department, they
have the truth on their side and a skilled team of attorneys to fight for their freedom. But with the deep pockets of the US Attorney’s Office opposing them, they
need tens of thousands of dollars to finance their defense. If you can offer any assistance, whether large or
small, please consider donating to their defense fund.
Donations can be sent to:
The AETA Defense Fund, PO Box 99162, Emeryville,
CA 94662.
For updates on the case or to donate online visit:
www.AETA4.org

Anti-I-69 activists arrested in Indiana
In what appears to be the culmination of a several year long case the state has been building against I-69 resistance, two Indiana residents, Tiga and Hugh, were arrested April 24th. Although the charges against the two
include individual acts, for the majority they are trumped up charges of conspiracy - fairly explicitly; conspiracy
to collectively organize, to challenge environmental and social devastation perpetrated by the state and capital
- leveled against any (not easily recuperative) movement against I-69. Although it appears that no other warrants
have been issued, that for now no other individuals will be facing the severe penalties these charges carry, it must
be noted that this brash move by the state is a most blatant affront to any initiative towards social organization.
Tiga, a long time Indiana resident, was arrested again as she appeared in Gibson County court on charges stemming from anti-I-69 actions this past summer. The arrest was made by the Indiana State Police, including Officer
Brad Chandler, a particularly slimy scumbag whose full time job is to harass environmental activists. Tiga was
being held on $10,000 cash bond by the state police on five charge: 2 counts of intimidation, 2 counts of conversion (all misdemeanors) and 1 count of corrupt business influence (a class C felony). A couple hours after Tiga
was accosted at the courthouse, Hugh was arrested in northern Indiana by a US marshal driving an unmarked
vehicle. Rather than pulling over the vehicle Hugh was traveling in, the cop trailed the car for some unknown duration waiting for it to stop, then arrested Hugh outside of a gas station. He was then taken to join Tiga in the Pike
County jail, where he was being held on $20,000 cash bond. His charges are the same as Tiga’s, though many of
the details of their warrants differ.
Both Hugh and Tiga are released now; Hugh was bailed out April 28th and Tiga was May 4th. However, money
is still needed for legal fees and to start paying back bail money.
These arrests are an obvious continuance and escalation of the harassment of anti-I-69 activities in southern Indiana. People in both Evansville and Bloomington have been systematically targeted by a myriad of law enforcement agencies from throughout the state as well as by federal agencies. Nearly 20 folks are still held captive by
the court system, facing both criminal and civil legal pressures stemming from last summer. As the state tries to
squash its opposition by ensnaring individuals in isolating court cases, by monitoring and threatening individuals
to try to pinpoint ‘leaders’ or groups responsible, it is important to recognize that every such instance of individual
repression is easily and effectively repression of all resistance. To counter such repression with honest reflection
on its functioning and on how action might challenge rather than support this repression, is to stand in solidarity
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-In Trouble-67

with Tiga and Hugh, with the best things they or we For info on who to make out money orders, email:
might fight for.
freetigaandhugh@mostlyeverything.net
You can send a check or money order to:
To stay up to date with their case or donate via paypal
The Future, PO Box 3133, Bloomington, IN, 47402. please visit:
(Please leave checks blank!)
www.mostlyeverything.net
Under nighttime’s lovely coat; Soli- natan)
darity with swedish green anarchist On the night between the 20th and
Jonatan
the 21st if April 2008 ELF claimed
responsibility for three actions in
On the 14th of October 2008 the Almhult/Sweden. A communicaswedish secret police SAPO raided tion tower connected to the depart3 houses in different places in Swe- ment of defense infrastructure was
den. They arrested the green an- sabotaged with a firebomb, a buildarchist Jonatan and took different ing crane in a urban-sprawl-project
tools, political pamphlets, his com- was sabotaged and a logging truck
puter and other personal stuff with got its security ropes and hydraulic
them. After two months in custody cables disabled.
he had his trial and was sentenced Nearly the same time another ELFto about 15 Months in Prison, but cell has claimed responsibility for
he appealed against the sentence. destroying a new luxury villa under
He is accused of three ELF-Actions construction in the forest by arson.
against Urban Sprawl.
This action Jonatan was accused of,
too. But the case was dropped.
“Urban Sprawl is the destruction of Especially when comrades take acthe natural world in order to expand tion on their own, without a group
the cities according to the ever-in- or community around them and are
creasing mode of development and faced with repression its more improgress. Middle class villas, luxury portant then ever to show them that
mansions and industry are threat- they are not alone!
ening wildlife and endangered speIn this and other cases, for excies (name one who is not?) and as ample in the case of Mikel Sykes,
this is present on a global scale, a 17 year old north american green
in every mayor or minor city, it..s anarchist comrade sentenced for
a threat to the continuation of life different ELF actions against urban
in this planet. It must be therefore sprawl to up to 10 years in prison,
be met with no-compromising resis- we have to be there, not just waittance! It must be destroyed!” (Jo- ing on the outside. We have to show
Native Youth Movement Warrior Arrest

that attacks by the state wont crush
our ideas and break us. It just gives
us more rage and strength! But solidarity is not just mutual aid!
Solidarity is a way to be a partner in struggle and crime, a way of
showing your happiness about an
action and deep affinity with a hostage of the state. Its not just about
giving a comrade infrastructural
help. Its about showing the incarcerated that she/he is not alone and
that her/his struggle was just the
beginning and will be continued on
the outside. Build up Revolutionary
Solidarity!
Let us make the time in prison for
Jonatan and all the others as short
as possible and fight for the freedom of all and against every kind
of oppression!
For social war, anarchy and total
freedom!
To find out more about how to support Jonatan please contact:
Freejonatan@yahoo.se
Abc-orkan@riseup.net

He is currently being held for ransom in the Kamloops
Regional Correctional Center (KRCC), facing chargOn Thursday May 21st, a Warrior from the Native es stemming from protecting Secwepemc mountains,
Youth Movement Warrior Society was arrested and de- Skwelkwek’welt. These Sacred Mountains are being
tained in Halkomelem Territory (near so-called hope, destroyed by Japanese company, Sun Peaks Resort Corbritish columbia, canada). Shark is a 27 year old Father poration. The governments of “British Columbia and
of 5 Secwepemc children, from the Ohlone & Chumash Canada” are illegally selling Native Land to foreign invaders, and companies. These companies develop mass
Nations.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-In Trouble-68

destruction to the land water, in turn
killing the original, natural habitat
of these mountains, including the
Secwepemc People.
Since 2000, Secwepemc people
have been taking direct action to
stop Sun Peaks from destroying
Skwelkwekwelt, their Hunting, Berry Picking & Medicine Mountains.
The People left the Indian Reserve
to take back their traditional territory and stop Sun Peaks expansion.
In 2001, the Secwepemc formed a
chapter of the Native Youth Movement. They called other Native Warriors to help Defend the Land for the
Future generations. Shark was one
of those who responded to the call.
From May to December 2001
there were over 50 arrests made
of Secwepemc People & their Allies, among them were 74 and 78
year-old women. Since then, there
has been targeting of Native Youth

THEY’LL
THEY’LL
THEY’LL

FREE SHARK! FREE PELTIER!
FREE JOHN GRAHAM! FREE MAPUCHE WARRIORS! FREE WARRIORS OF ATENCO & OAXACA!
FREE JACABO & GLORIA! FREE
MUMIA! DROP ALL CHARGES
ON POCC MOI JR. VALARY! NO
OLYMPICS ON NATIVE LAND!
NO MINING! DOWN WITH SUN
PEAKS! NO SKI RESORT IN MELVIN CREEK! DOWN WITH THE
TAR SANDS! NO INDEPENDENT
POWER PROJECTS (DAMS). NO
RAILWAY & HIGHWAY EXPANSION! IN SOLIDARITY WITH
THE MAYAN ZAPATISTA, THE
MAPUCHE, THE KUNA AND ALL
THE MILLIONS OF WARRIORZ
FIGHTING THE ENEMIES OF
Send donations ASAP to help Free THE EARTH WORLDWIDE. IT’S
Shark at:
NOT OVER UNTIL WE WIN! TAKE
Miranda Dick: Royal Bank, Shus- BACK THE LAND!
wap Ave., Chase, BC, Transit #
00880, Account # 5055447
-Native Youth Movement;
Statement to the People
May 24th , 2009
Movement and Skwelkwek’welt
Defenders. Many have been arrested
in connection with Taking Back The
Land at Skwelkwekwelt.
We are asking all those who support the struggle for the Land and
Indigenous Autonomy to make a
donation & spread the word to Free
Shark. Those who put themselves
between the Invader and the People
must be protected. A Warrior is a
special person who understands that
their willingness to protect women,
children, land & water, may result
in incarceration, injury or death,
but they do it anyway knowing that
Truth & Mother Earth are on their
side.

TRY
TO
INTIMIDATE
US.
TRY
TO
SILENCE
US.
TRY
TO
DIVIDE
AND
ISOLATE.

OUR STRUGGLE WILL OVERCOME; AS THE FORCES THAT GOVERN ARE RESTRAINED TO TYPICALITY AND GEOGRAPHY;

WE ARE EVERYWHERE!

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-In Trouble-69

A CHRONOLOGY OF
NORTH AMERICAN PRISONER RESISTANCE

16 January - Gainesville, Georgia - An inmate walked
off of trash detail at the Hall County Jail and has not
been seen since.

21 January - Butte, Montana - Two inmates escaped the
Montana State Hospital but were caught three hours
later hitch hiking on Interstate 90.

16 January - Madison, Indiana - A Jefferson County Jail 23 January 2009 - Matamoros, Tamaulipas - A fight beinmate is caught trying to climb into the ceiling of his tween five or six inmates at the Centro de Readaptacion
cell using a homemade rope.
Socieal de Matamoros spread to other wings of the facility. It took authorities from over 50 local, state and
16 January 2009 - Jamestown, California - A fight be- national agencies an hour and a half to contain the distween 60 inmates at the Sierra Conservation Center turbance, which grew to include more than 80 inmates.
continued even after code 2 responders intervened.
23 January 2009 - Topeka, Kansas - A Shawnee County
17 January - Hagerstown, Maryland - While being Jail corrections officer fell 20 feet onto a stairwell when
moved from the dining hall of the Maryland Correc- he was shoved over a second floor railing. The screw
tional Institution, an inmate escaped by climbing over suffered a fractured skull, facial fractures, a blood clot
the two razor wired perimeter fence. He was caught five on his brain, substantial bruising to the face, cracked
days later.
and bruised ribs, and seven staples to close a wound in
the back of his head.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-A Chronology of Prisoner Resistance-70

25 January 2009 - Orlando, Florida
- A “large scale” fight broke out at
the Coleman Federal Correctional
Complex until the screws opened
fire. Eight inmates were injured.

1 February 2009 - Upper Marlboro,
Maryland - At least eight inmates
at the Prince George’s County Jail
forced their way out of their jail cells
and attacked guards when the facility went on lockdown and they were
26 January 2009 - Talipan, Mexico unable to watch the Super Bowl.
- A fight between rival gangs at the
San Fernando youth prison escalat- 4 February - US Eastern Seaboard
ed when inmates set fire to clothing - Somewhere between Florida and
and bedding and climbed to the roof Pennsylvania, a cuffed and shackwith a banner reading “No more led inmate escaped from the van of
beatings.”
a private prison transportation company. The Nashville based Prisoner
29 January 2009 - North Vernon, Transportation Services of America,
Indiana - When inmates at the Jen- LLC is the largest US firm extradinings County Jail were ordered to tion company, transporting over
return to their cells, instead they 100,000 inmates each year.
jammed the cell block door shut
and destroyed surveillance cam- 6 February - Pelzer, South Caroeras while setting fire to books and lina - An inmate on work detail at
clothing. The cell block was evacu- the Perry Correctional Institution
ated and two screws were treated jumped into the passenger seat of a
for smoke inhalation as a result.
pickup truck and sped away. Unfortunately, he was caught less than 24
31 January 2009 - Pecos, Texas - A hours later.
riot broke out at the Reeves County
Detention Center for the second time 6 February - Laredo, Texas - A Webb
in two months. As many as 2,080 County Jail inmate escaped custody
rioted after an inmate who needed but was only free for 12 hours.
medical attention was sent to solitary confinement instead. Prisoners 7 February - Pueblo, Colorado - A
took over the guards’ radio commu- Colorado Mental Health Institute
nication equipment and the guards inmate escaped from the hospital
retreated from direct confrontation. but was caught over a month later in
Fires heavily damaged buildings I North Carolina.
and II. It took over 12 hours to regain control of the facility. This is 12 February - Lloyd, New York the second riot over medical atten- Three teens managed to escape the
tion in two months.
Highland Residential Center and
The RCDC is privately run by the steal a car to make their getaway.
Florida based GEO Group, which Unfortunately, they were caught
operates 59 facilities on four conti- later that day after a brief chase by
nents.
state troopers.

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-A Chronology of Prisoner Resistance-71

14 February - Waynesburg, Pennsylvania - A shackled and determined Greene County Jail inmate
attempts to escape during an emergency room visit but it caught after
a foot chase.
15 February - Eastman, Georgia Two inmates at the Dodge County
Jail escaped by tearing the wire covering off an air vent, ripping out an
iron bar and crawling through a 10”
by 10” opening but were caught a
few hours later in an adjacent county.
15 February - Arcadia, Florida - A
DeSoto County Jail inmate escaped
during the confusion of an evacuation due to a kitchen fire. Video
showed two inmates hold open a
loose part of a gate while another slipped underneath a door. He
was caught a day later after being
stopped in a stolen truck.
20 February - Cedar City, Utah
- Two inmates walked away from
a drug treatment center and were
found almost four days later in Arizona.
28 February - Fairview Township,
Pennsylvania - While being transported for preliminary hearing, a
York County Prison inmate overpowered a constable and stole his
SUV to make his getaway. The car
was found a day later with leg shackles and a handcuff restraint belt on
the driver’s seat but the inmate was
nowhere to be found. Three days
later he was recaptured after a high
speed chase with police.

1 March - Cleveland, Ohio
- An inmate escaped from
the city jail by climbing
through a vent and climbed
along until the ceiling collapsed. He fell through the
ceiling on the sixth floor of
Cleveland’s Justice Center, walked down the stairs
and out the front door. He
was caught the next day.
4 March - Cuidad Juarez,
Chihuahua - As 14 members of a gang were being
led back to their cells in a
Juarez prison, they pulled
out knives and forced the
guards to unlock up to 150
fellow members. Then a
large scale fight broke out
between rival gangs that
ended with 20 deaths; at
least two of them screws.
During the violence, inmates climbed to the roof
and burned mattresses.
250 state police and federal soldiers eventually
quelled the riot after three
hours.

5 March - Santa Ana, California - A man has not been seen since walking out of
the courthouse during his own grand theft trial. This comes six years after he and
another inmate escaped jail through a storm drain. Five days later he was caught
in San Diego.
6 March - Beaufort, South Carolina - While being driven to the Beaufort County
Detention Center, a soon-to-be inmate broke out of a pair of handcuffs and took
off running. Unfortunately, he was caught shortly afterwards.
6 March - Gulfport, Mississippi - A man slipped away from the Harrison County
Jail during a cigarette break but was caught about an hour later.
7 March - Woodbine, Georgia - A Camden County Jail inmate was caught trying
to sneak back into the jail after allegedly stealing 14 packs of cigarettes from a
Snappy Foods store. With a little help from his friends, he used a bent wire from
a broom stick to bypass the electronic lock on the back door. Jail officials have
heard rumors of that inmates had been sneaking out this way, but this particular
inmate was the first that got caught.
7 March - Cancun, Quintana Roo - Inmates responded to an order to move a
detainee with gunfire in a municipal jail. They occupied the roof and it took 500
state and federal police to gain control of the situation again. The jail, which was
designed to hold 400 inmates, now houses over 1,200. Of the 20 injuries reported,
at least one was a policeman.

5 March - Stockton, California - A man smuggled a
six inch metal spike into a
courtroom and stabbed the
judge presiding over his
trial. He was shot immediately afterwards.
5 March - Bellingham,
Washington - Two Whatcom County Jail inmates
are accused are of trying to
escape by trying to scrape
out the concrete around
their cell windows by using broken sink spouts as
tools.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-A Chronology of Prisoner Resistance-72

11 March - Carlisle, Indiana - An
inmate at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility walked out of the
prison and almost 100 miles to Indianapolis. He surrendered himself
a day later.

22 March - Tell City, Indiana - Three
Branchville Correctional Facility assaulted a maintenance worker
who was supervising them and stole
his tools, using the wire cutters to
cut through the exterior fence. They
were caught four days later in Alli13 March - Greensburg, Louisiana ance, Nebraska after leading author- An inmate escaped from the St. ities on a 64 mile chase.
Helena Parish prison when deputies
sent him on an errand to throw trash 24 March - Weatherford, Texas - A
into a trash bin near the front gate. detainee escaped while being transHe has yet to be found.
ported to the Haskell County jail.
He was handcuffed to another in18 March - Delano, California - A mate but managed to free himself
fight involving 38 inmates in the ex- and fled from the van as it stopped
ercise yard of facility B of the Kern for fuel. He surrendered himself two
Valley State Prison was quashed by days later.
guards firing teargas, rubber bullets
and 14 shots from a mini-14 rifle. 27 March - Lewisburg, PennsylvaOne inmate died of stabbed wounds nia - A woman escaped the Buffalo
and up to 16 were injured, four Valley treatment center after servfrom gunfire. Kern Valley, one of ing only two days of her 30 day sentwo state prisons in Delano, houses tence. She was caught over a week
more than 4,700 prisoners, which is later.
nearly twice its designed capacity of
2,448.
28 March - Thorold, Ontario - About
17 masked inmates took control of a
21 March - Dubois, Pennsylvania - small part of the Niagara Detention
A Jefferson County Jail inmate dis- Centre for five hours causing about
appeared from the medical center he $2,000 in damages. Demands were
was taken to to treat a leg infection. made and a negotiator was sent in
He was caught a week later.
but not details are available.

6 April - Toledo, Ohio - An inmate
stabbed four correctional officers at
the Toledo Corrections Center.

21 March - Columbus, Ohio - With
the help of a resident, a 12 year old
serial arsonist scaled the fence of a
juvenile detention facility. He has
been accused of several arsons in
Columbus since his escape.

15 April - Palatka, Florida - Two
inmates from the Putnam County
Jail escaped with the help of a bottle jack they took from a transport
van. They used the tool to jack up
the sink/toilet combination from
the wall of their cell, popping out
the bolts which held it to the wall,
opening a hole to where the pipes
run, which was obstructed by metal
bars. The jack was used to pry the
bars open far enough to “shimmy
through into a small maintenance
corridor called a ‘chase.’” After

29 March - Ukiah, California - Inmates in the “B tank,” the most secure area of the Mendocino County
Jail, set a small fire after destroying
security cameras, fluorescent light
bulbs and a television. The disturbance was triggered by increased
21 March - Durango City, Duran- restrictions imposed due to a rise
go - A riot broke out at Prison No. in the number of contraband in the
1 where the prison warden and his facility.
bodyguard were injured and another
bodyguard was killed.
31 March - Brownsville, Texas
- Eight Cameron County inmates
clog toilets and flood floors.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-A Chronology of Prisoner Resistance-73

8 April - Dartmouth, Nova Scotia - Nearly 60 inmates went on a
rampage after refusing return to
their cells at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility setting fire
to garbage cans and bookshelves,
smashing windows, using shards
of glass against the guards and ultimately causing more than $300,000
in damages.
9 April - Lancaster, Ohio - An inmate was able to escape from the
Fairfield County Jail by making his
way to a room with a window and
jumping the 10 feet. He was apprehended after a short foot chase.
9 April - Madison, Wisconsin - A
Dane County Jail inmate ran out the
fire escape door. He has yet to be
found.
11 April - Laurinburg, North Carolina - Two correctional officers were
cut by an inmate with a razor, one in
the face and one in the arm, at the
Scotland County Correctional Facility.

making their way through the chase,
they found a door that opened into
the inner perimeter fenced yard. The
pair then dug a hole, went under the
inner fence to get to the outer fence
and then squeezed between a gate
and the outer fence to escape. They
were recaptured on the 18th.

Center and made a break for it. Unfortunately, he was caught the next
day and the guards were not seriously injured. This was the fourth
escape from this facility that week.

26 April - Palmetto, Florida, United
States - A jail officer was beaten
unconscious during a cell search at
the Manatee County and suffered a
fractured jaw, left eye socket and sinus cavity.
18 April - Marion, Ohio - A fight 3 May - Portland, Oregon, United
broke out at the Marion Juvenile States - Two Multnomah County
Correctional Facility which in- Sheriff’s deputies were attacked and
16 April - Tarboro, North Carolina volved 60 of its 100 inmates.
injured at the Justice Center Jail.
- Three inmates escaped the Edgecombe Detention Center by break- 18 April - Nayarit, Mexico - 20 as- 5 May - Charleston, South Carolina
ing down a door. They were arrested sailants attacked a prisoner-transfer - A 15 year old Charleston County
the following morning after robbing convoy in an attempt to free the in- Juvenile Detention Center inmate
a bank and leading police on a chase mates. Four federal police officers, managed to scale the 15 foot tall,
through Charleston, West Virginia. two federal investigative agents barbed wire topped fence without a
and two prison employees died in scratch on him but was caught hours
16 April - Marion, Ohio - Two in- the attack but they managed to suc- later.
mates assaulted a Marion Juvenile cessfully transport the nine inmates
Correctional Facility corrections of- from the airport to the penitentiary. 6 May - Waynesville, Missouri ficer.
A Pulaski County Jail inmate fled
19 April - Decatur, Georgia - A from a doctor’s office and eluded a
16 April - Albuquerque, New Mex- DeKalb County jail inmate tried to three-agency manhunt for 75 minico - A fight erupted after a staff escape by tying together bedsheets utes before being recaptured.
member restrained an inmate at in the recreation yard, climbed onto
the Youth Diagnostic Development the rim of a basketball hoop and 6 May - Boise, Idaho, United States
Center gymnasium during a bingo scaled a wall - all without being - A screw was injured after being
event that was a reward for good seen. Unfortunately, his bedsheets attacked by an inmate in a general
behavior. More than 45 of the 100 weren’t long enough and he fell 80 housing unit day room at the Idaho
inmates were involved and six staff feet onto the roof of another build- Correctional Center.
members were hospitalized.
ing.
8 May - Florence, Arizona - An 1816 April - San Rafael, California, 24 April - Columbus, Georgia - Two year-old inmate walked out of the
United States - As many as 450 Muscogee County Prison inmates Pinal County jail while on a work
inmates rioted in the San Quentin escaped while on work detail but detail only to be captured three
Prison’s dining hall. The 20 minute were caught the next day.
hours later walking along a street
riot had one screw admitted to the
about a mile away.
hospital with an injury to his hand. 26 April - Wentworth, North Carolina - An inmate escaped the Rock- 8 May - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
17 April - Waiawa, Hawaii - An in- ingham County Detention Center United States - About 25 of the 100
mate escaped from the Waiawa Cor- by climbing through the ceiling and inmates in one unit of the D buildrectional Facility. He has yet to be dropping into the laundry room. ing of the Curran-Fromhold Corcaught.
There another inmate provided him rectional Facility refused to lock in.
with clothes that allowed him to The inmates damaged a computer at
18 April - Tarboro, North Carolina blend in with visitors and walked the guard station and phones were
- An inmate overpowered guards at out. He was caught three days later. used by inmates before the incident
the Edgecombe County Detention
was contained.
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-A Chronology of Prisoner Resistance-74

15 May - Clarksville, Tennessee - Two Montgomery
County Jail inmates escaped through their 18-inch
window by working loose the fiberglass window after
removing a metal bar holding it in place. They then
tied blankets together to help scale the 20-foot drop to
ground below. One inmate was injured in the escape
and was caught shortly afterwards, while the other,
who was scheduled for court the following Monday,
was caught on May 18th after a chase with police.
16 May - Zacatecas, Mexico - 20 gunmen in 20 vehicles stormed a prison and freed more than 50 inmates.
The entire raid took less than five minutes.
16 May - Pennville, Georgia, United States - The D
building in Hayes State Prison “became uncontrollable with correctional officers eventually having to
let the convicts take over for a while.” The prison suffered extensive damage with various items being set
on fire; cells flooded; walls painted; beds destroyed;
control room windows shattered, and tables and chairs
broken.
19 May - Mexico City, Federal District - 100 inmates
at the Reclusorio Sur prison rioted over visiting restrictions due to swine flu.
22 May - Chino, California, United States - A fight
involving about 67 California Institution for Men inmates, more than half the inmates in the yard, ended
after several non-lethal pepper rounds and one wood
baton round was used.
27 May - Gainesville, Florida, United States - A Hall
County jailer sustained serious injuries when he was
beaten by an inmate while being transferred to a disciplinary cell at the Hall County Detention Center.

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-A Chronology of Prisoner Resistance-75

But the totality of prison is is not
simply a place, it is also a condition; the antithesis of freedom. By
the same token, the absence of
freedom is prison, and only when
the latter is perceived as one’s own
condition does it become possible
to enter the destructive dimension,
without measure. The viscid altruism that dams up the free-flowing
energy of revolt disappears when
disgust for the prison institution
and its putrid essence reaches the
invisible shackles that bind us all,
turning empathy into projectuality.

Prison is not a domain reserved for ‘specialists’ such as
those who have done time themselves or have a particular rapport with individual prisoners, it is the underlying
reality of everyday life, each and every discourse of capital taken to its logical conclusion.

Now, their problem of prison must
become our problem and we must
think about it during the struggles
we carry out, if we carry them out.

All this,

of course,
w h i l e
awaiting

the next

insurrection.
Be
c
a
u
se
in
the
case
of
ins u rre c tion
it will be enough to
open up the prisons and
destroYthem
fore
v
er
.
									

-Alfredo Bonanno, “Locked Up”

LONG
LIVE
Mauricio Morales

comrade

“It was a whiplash in the heart
and stomach. Our brother died
in combat; surpassing his fear
and comfort, and facing his enemies... Burn what little we have
for ourselves; for we can lose
nothing because nothing belongs
to us. We never said that the fight
was easy, and sometimes results
are scarce. We dp mpt always get
the goals we are proposing; sometimes our enemies win the game.
But the struggle has demonstrated
that this their system is vulnerable. Despite our fear we want
to destroy all social control; their
guardians of law and order...
And you Mauri, we give you a moment of silence and a life of struggle. Do not forget. Do not forget
Nor forgive.”
-Taken from “Black Plague”; a
publication written in response to
Mauricio’s death. To view the full
publication, please visit the link
below. It is in Spanish, but can be
translated via google.
Black Plague
www.klinamen.org/textos/publimauri.pdf
For more information on Mauricio and the aftermath of his death
please stay up to date and show
support by visiting the sites below.
Unfortunately most of these are in
Spanish; translating the sites is
feasible on google.
www.klinamen.org
www.hommodolars.org
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-Mauricio-79

E

arly in the Morning of May
22nd in Santiago, Chile, Mauricio
Morales, a 27 year old anarchist,
was killed by an explosive device
he was carrying in his bag. He
will be respected by all those who
shared his feelings; his memory will
be fostered in years of resistance to
come.
Maurico’s death has sparked mourning and rage across the world. The
average schmuck would respond to
such news saying; “what an idiot”,
or even more offensive; “he did this
to himself”. We respond with a
feeling a repulsion and a saddended rage. Maurico died engaged in
a war. When you are responsible
for the trajectory of your resistance;
when you are responsible for keeping a feeling of social tension with
the state alive; you assume responsibility for the knowledge required
to do so. The military or police are
provided with specialists in bomb
and weapon development; as well
as an unlmitied supply of funding
to explore such skills. Maurico is
fighting the system that sanctions
the military and police; Maurico,
unlike the military and police is
only funded by a passion for another world; and only equipped with
misc. resources available for potential “re-production” by civilizans.
This tragic mistake will be humiliated by the mainstream, but it is our
responsibility to counter such manipulations. He did not “do” this to

himself. The state’s existence drove
Mauricio to act. He chose to not be
victimized; and instead confront the
perpitrator. Bomb attacks claimed
by Anarchists are frequent in Chile,
and even prior to his death Mauricio’s name was mentioned by those
investigating some of these attacks.
Small acts of sabotage such as these
are usually done without inflicting
injury and always against either
government or business infrastructure. The bomb Mauricio was carrying was a fire extingusiher filled
with gun powder; the police claim
he was intending to attack the
School of Prison Guards; within the
vicinity of the schoolat 1:30 am;
he died. The Chilean government
rarely catches those responsible;
unfortunately Mauricio is an exception. Surveillance footage claims to
identify another hooded individual
running from the scene when Mauricio died. The state is responding
with escalating repression. Since
Mauricio’s death; raids have been
conducted on the homes of his family, and squats across Santiago.
Threats of eviction and prosecution
against the squats associated with
Mauricio and individuals living
there are coming out through fabricated state evidence and the support
of mainstream media. La Idea is
the social space most effected; this
downtown Santiago squat has sent
a call out to the world for solidarity.
The Chilean state and media are trying to make a mockery of our fallen
comrade; let us make a mockery of
them.
If Mauricio made it to his location; prisoners across the world may
have have felt avenged; individuals
across the world may have have
been inspired; and a future generation of police may have witnessed a
warning of coming attacks.

NEWS AND
KNOWLEDGE

n
tio
c
e
rr
su tion
n
i
a
for liber
r
fo

*Online News
Fire to the Prisons Blog
www.myspace.com/alongingforcollapsepress
Anarchist News
www.anarchistnews.org
Amor y Resistencia
www.amoryresistencia.blogspot.com
Social Ruptire
www.socialruture.blogspot.com
Libcom
www.libcom.org
Bite Back: Animal Liberation Blog
www.directaction.info
Indybay
www.indybay.org
Confrontation Blog: Social Conflict in Canada
www.confrontation.wordpress.com
325 Blog
www.325collective.com
Break the Chains
www.breakthechains.info
Center for Strategic Anarchiy
www.anarchiststrategy.com
Klinamen (En Espanol)
www.klinamen.org
Direct Action in Germany
www.directactionde.blogspot.com
Social War in Greece
www.greeceriots.blogspot.com
Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-LIinks-80

*Publishing
Fire to the Prisons
www.firetotheprisons.com
Modesto Anarcho
www.geocities.com/anarcho209
Quiver
anti-politics.net/distro
Elephant Editions
www.alphabetthreat.co.uk/elephanteditions
Little Black Cart
www.littleblackcart.com
Treason
www.treason.metadns.cx
Natterjack Press
www.natterjackpress.co.uk
Eberhardt Press
www.eberhardtpress.org
Non Fides (French and English)
www.non-fides.fr
Halifax Anarchist Distro
www.myspace.com/dissenthalifax
Institute for Experimental Freedom
www.it-est-futurum.blogspot.com
4 Struggle Magazine
www.4strugglemag.org
Fires Never Extinguished
www.firesneverextinguished.blogspot.com
Longing for Collapse Press
www.myspace.com/alongingforcollapsepress

*Online Writing

Prole
www.prole.info
Situationist Archive
www.nothingness.org/si
Anti-Politics Zine Library
www.anti-politics.net/distro
Insurgent Desire
www.insurgentdesire.org.uk
Writings of Feral Faun
anti-politics.net/feral-faun
Bureau of Public Secrets
www.bopsecrets.org
Zine Library
www.zinelibrary.net

*Indigenous Solidarity

Intercontinental Cry
www.intercontinentalcry.org
Survival International;
The Movement for Tribal People’s
www.survival-international.org
NO 2010; Olympics on Stolen Land!
www.no2010.com
Six Nations Reclamation
www.reclamationinfo.com
Black Mesa Indigenous Support
www.blackmesais.org

Save the Peaks Coalition
www.savethepeaks.org
Native Youth Media/Redwire Magazine
www.redwiremag.com
Support Sutikalh!
www.sutikalh.resist.ca
Indigenous Action Media
www.indigenousaction.org/
Whenua Fenua Enua Vanua
http://uriohau.blogspot.com/
Wiinimkiikaa
www.wiinimkiikaa.wordpress.com

*Prisoner Support
Anarchist Black Cross Network
www.anarchistblackcross.org
Prison Activist Resource Center
www.prisonactivist.org
Writing Prisoners: How To
http://anti-politics.net/distro/download/
writingprisonersflyer.pdf
NYC Jericho Movement
www.thejerichomovement.com
Green Scare
www.greenscare.org
Brighton Anarchist Black Cross
www.brightonabc.org.uk

Fire to the Prisons-Issue 6-LIinks-81

Shoelacetown Anarchist Black Cross
P.O. Box 8085, Paramus, NJ07652 USA Boston
Anarchist Black Cross
P.O. Box 230182, Boston, MA 02123-0182 USA
Central Georgia ABC
Po Box 610, Roberta, GA 31078
Houston Anarchist Black Cross
P.O. Box 667614, Houston, TX 77266-7614 USA
East Bay Prisoner Support
3124 shattuck ave., Berkeley, California 94705
New York City Anarchist Black Cross
nycabc@riseup.net, NYC ABC. P.O Box 110034,
Brooklyn, NY 11211
North American Earth Liberation Prisoner Support
www.ecoprisoners.org
Earth Liberation Prisoner Support (UK)
www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk

*Legal Sources
Security, Privacy, & Anonymity
www.security.resist.ca
Midnight Special Law Collective
www.midnightspecial.net
Civil Liberties Defense Center
www.cldc.org

*

Special Thanks

Shot out to peops in Dirty
Jerz and Chi-Town for your
grammer!
Love to comrades in hometown for your patience!
Big up to the Cali encouragement!
Props to Queens for your
graphic advice!
Shot out to peops in Exarchia for your words!
Special thanks to all those
anonymous who helped to
produce the content for
this magazine. Keep writing with your actions.
Yours.
For the long run.
	

-Fire to the Prisons

THE SECRET
IS TO REALLY

BEGIN

“Here is the ultimatum of our
camp; what can be smashed
should be smashed; what will
stand the blow is good; what
will fly into smithereens is rubbish; at any rate, hit out right
and left - there will, and can be
no harm from it.”
www.firetotheprisons.com

- Pisarev