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Do not listen to IOF propaganda. This happened last year and it contributed to near-total silence on the suffering of people in north Gaza: the occupation claims civilians are gone, and the world believes them out of defeatism. The IOF once again claiming there are no civilians in north Gaza does not mean they have all been killed or expelled, it means the IOF is lying. There are still thousands of innocent people in north Gaza. They still deserve to live and they still need you to loudly fight for them. Buying into their lies makes it even easier for them to commit atrocities with yet more impunity.

Do not look away from north Gaza.

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people get so mad and think it’s a gotcha when you can’t dream up some easy and simple universal alternative to voting that produces immediate results. they’ll also say its unrealistic and too risky to engage outside of electoralism while ignoring the inherent risks of voting.

what kills me is when they insinuate that people are just “lazy” but are themselves too lazy to even bother with imagining or implementing these alternatives, because it’s too much work, doesn’t produce automatic results, or they’re immobilized with their own cynicism and fear. the same arguments they love to lob at non-voters, with no self-awareness.

it’s wild too bc when your favorite capitalist flunky candidate doesn’t win, that’s not viewed as a waste of time or energy when it definitely is…you put all that effort into their campaign, and what do you have to show for it? Not shit.

there’s so many excuses... “You want everybody to be perfect!” No I don’t, I want a system that actually works and doesn’t favor a few individuals. “You just want to do nothing and let XYZ party take over!” No I don’t, I’m an anarchist. I think parties are obsolete. “You just gotta keep voting, things won’t change otherwise!” Incorrect. We have more things we can do outside of electoral politics and begging for representatives to have a conscious.

but all this never gets through. bc voting leads to more voting which leads to more voting, and they’ll even admit as much if pushed. there’s no actual desire to overturn or meaningfully challenge the class dictatorship and social hierarchies that undergird this form of “democracy”. they don’t want to hear about options that don’t legitimize the states control over our lives and bodies.

It’s a lot easier to give into the myth of there being some significant difference between these politicians except for branding and the corporate sponsors. they’re all rich and believe capitalism & nationalism is good. this never seems to change no matter how often we vote. but it doesn’t matter to the vote or die folks, because that isn’t their main issue.

what matters to them is that someone who acts the way they want them to and says all the nice buzzwords gets a turn on the stage. it doesn’t matter how violent their policies actually are, how often they go back on their promises during campaigns or whether they collude with the same boogeymen they love to use as an excuse to guilt trip people into voting.

“We can’t let XYZ win! Vote ZYX instead! both of them had dinner together last night and had a lovely time.

The differences are insignificant in the wake of capital interests and preserving the state’s domination. voting won’t change their interests. they have multiple tactics that are used to ensure that their economic power doesn’t disseminate. true change, not impotent reforms, comes as a result of mass action and social pressure, not from shuffling a deck of cards with blue or red dollar signs on them in perpetuity and expecting different results.

people who vote aren’t just dumb dummies, of course, but they’re definitely severely lacking in imagination if they believe votings the only good solution to a growing fascist and reactionary system doing what its always been designed to do. we’re running out of time to waste on this broken record of excuse after excuse for a system that’s not ever represented the masses. we’re worn out sand tired of being the scapegoat for fascists and the social problems killing us.

~

Voting Vs. Direct Action

Voting Is Not Harm Reduction

No More Presidents

Your Democracy Is A Sham

The Myth Of Human Nature

The Party’s Over: Beyond Politics, Beyond Democracy

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In dark times, should the stars also go out?

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It’s still true

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Every star on the American flag is a confession of genocide.

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"Kamala only lost because she's a black woman" Biden is a white man and he would have lost even worse. Kamala lost because her campaign was ass and the administration she is a part of is immensely unpopular. Maybe it has less to do with "the US not being ready for a woman president" and more with her saying "I wouldn't have done anything different" about a president hated by most of the country, just a thought.

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Solidarity: A weapon against spy cops

Last Monday, the 30th of January, we woke up to an article published by La Directa, where they revealed that an agent of the National Police had for years been infiltrating different autonomous and libertarian spaces in Barcelona. La Cinètika, an autonomous, anti-capitalist and feminist occupied social centre, located in the neighbourhood of Sant Andreu de Palomar, Barcelona, is one of the spaces affected by this operative.

Once again, the State has deployed its mechanisms of control and repression to persecute militant people and their spaces.

The infiltration of our lives by one of its agents was done with the objective of extracting information about the activities carried out by the autonomous and libertarian movement. This type of operation usually has a strong impact wherever it takes place, causing fear, demobilisation and paranoia.

La Cinètika has operated in an autonomous and self-managed capacity for years. We try to be a politically and culturally open space for the community to confront and transform capitalist reality, through the everyday practice of mutual aid, solidarity and non-transactional relationships. By applying these practices for more than 6 years of occupation, we have been able to build a constantly growing community that is inclusive, open and politically conscious. Now this community is facing a dire situation, which has left us feeling attacked and vulnerable. However, we will not submit before this repressive onslaught and we will continue to confront institutional violence with the collective force that we have built.

We condemn all repressive strategies of the State and its mechanisms of surveillance, control and oppression, which have exposed the patriarchal system that operates within it. We will not allow our ideas and practices to be threatened by the police harassment to which we are systematically subjected.

We also understand that these repressive structures are an intrinsic part of the State and therefore they will always be available to the government, regardless of which party controls it. Because of this we will reject any attempt by those who share power with the government, or aspire to seize it, to use us for their own purposes.

We know that we aren’t the only protagonists of this story, many people have been affected by this both personally and politically. Consequently we want to express our unconditional solidarity and to ask for absolute respect for all those affected, to avoid rumours and hearsay and to take care of ourselves and each other.

We once again reiterate that, for the time being, we will not speak to the press. We support the communiques published by many different collectives and individuals over the past few days, but this communique should be understood as the first and only public statement published by us as a collective.

We are neither the only ones to be targeted, nor are we the first. And although we know that we probably will not be the last, we will continue to work alongside each other to make it so.

Espionage without conscience, solidarity without limits.

Together, strong and ungovernable.

Last of all, as fervent advocates of collective practices and mutual aid, we invite you all to make our communique yours and adhere to it as a collective that supports us. By seeing ourselves in each other, we will feel stronger together.

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A Demonstrator’s Guide to Body Armor

Protecting yourself against blows, batons, bullets, and more

https://cwc.im/bodyarmor

This guide reviews a wide range of protective gear, exploring the advantages and disadvantages of each so you can pick out what’s best for you.

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A Demonstrator’s Guide to Responding to Gunshot Wounds

https://cwc.im/GunshotWounds

Even with no medical training, there are many things you can do to maximize the likelihood that a person who is shot in your vicinity will survive—like learning the location of the nearest trauma center. Working with an array of medics and medical professionals who have witnessed or treated gunshot wounds in the course of political conflict, we have prepared this guide for a general audience.

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Here is a guide to helmets, reposted from Black Powder Press's instagram.

the militant demonstrator's guide to helmets

• helmets are risk mitigation, not risk nullification! there is no such thing as a concussion-proof helmet. but any helmet is better than no helmet! the best helmet is the one you wear.

• if no one else is wearing helmets, and you don’t want to be singled out, consider a concealable or inconspicuous helmet, like: a “bump cap” baseball cap; a bike helmet; or a skate or motorcycle helmet concealed under your hood

• if lots of people are wearing helmets, wear the best helmet you can get your hands on

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THE BUMP CAP

(low key)

A baseball cap with some hard plastic and padding inside. The ultimate in better than nothing. Inconspicuous. It protects you, a little bit. Way better than nothing. Way less than a dedicated helmet.

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HARD HATS

(not the best)

Most hard hats are designed to absorb impact only from above. They also lack any kind of chin strap and fall off easily.

Better than nothing!

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BIKE HELMETS

(also not the best)

Use crushable foam to protect from impact, meaning they are destroyed by impact. They usually have very thin shells that barely protect from projectiles and can themselves shatter and hurt people!

They’re nonthreatening and inconspicuous and way better than nothing! Also cheap as hell: because of certification systems, cheap bike helmets are as good as expensive ones at impact protection.

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SKATE and SNOW HELMETS

(now we’re getting somewhere)

Skate helmets ALSO use crushable foam, which still isn’t the best for repeated impact! But skate helmets that meet certifications (unlike bike helmets, not all do!) are rated to resist multiple impacts. They tend to have a thicker plastic shell than bike helmets. They also protect more of your head, and are low profile enough that they can (awkwardly) be concealed under a hood.

Snowboard helmets are basically the same thing but without ventilation.

This might be the best dirt cheap option.

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MOTORCYCLE HELMETS

(mixed bag!)

Motorcycle helmets are rated even tougher still! But they still use crushable foam, making them less suitable for repeated impact (like a baton on your head). They’re also more expensive. A full-face helmet (with a chin bar) limits visibility and mobility without any real advantage and limits the ability to wear goggles and respirators.

Half-helmets and 3/4 helmets are useful if you have one lying around! 1/2 helmets are cheaper than 3/4 or full.

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SPORTS HELMETS

(is good)

Unlike other helmets, sports helmets are designed assuming the wearer will be hit. Instead of crushable foam, most use multilayered padding: one layer for impact absorption and one layer to fit better.

Lacrosse helmets without a chin bar and with the mask removed, and hockey helmets without the mask, are the most traditional for protesters. Football helmets can work without the mask (makes wearing respirators harder, gives opponents something to grab). Batting helmets lack a chin strap but are rated against pretty serious impacts. Whitewater helmets are built this way too!

Many sports helmets might be hard to pair with respirators because of their cut but this is conjecture.

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TACTICAL/BALLISTIC HELMETS

(the best probably)

If you want to attach cameras or comms units or noise-gated headphones, you need a tactical helmet. If you want to have a chance of surviving handgun fire to your head, you need a ballistic version.

Airsoft/paintball helmets are cheap clones ($40+), not certified at all, probably terrible. If you go this route, replace the padding with real ballistic padding (another $40+).

Bump helmets ($150+) are certified against impact but not bullets. Make sure the padding is good.

Ballistic helmets are certified against handgun (not rifle) bullets. Very expensive ($350+). Some can be found on the surplus market. Again, make sure the padding is good. Not all come with side rails or the mount on the front.

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OTHER HELMETS

Equestrian helmets are designed like skate helmets, with crushable foam, but are also rated to protect against a sharp blow from a hoof, so that’s cool. Only wear if you own one already.

Rock climbing helmets come in all types! All are probably pretty good. Many use suspension systems like hard hats but also a lot of foam or padding.

If medieval helms can survive impact weapons without serious deformation (unknown), and they are paired with appropriate padding (not just a suspension harness) they would be perfectly good! But we’re not sure yet what a baton round does to a various gauges of steel hat so we cannot yet recommend. Try 14ga or thicker.

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Final Notes!

This information has been gathered through extensive research and from talking with frontlines demonstrators, but it has not been rigorously tested and should not be taken as the last word on the subject.

Very, very few helmet certifications take “shot in the head with a tear gas canister by a cop drunk on power” into account in their testing systems.

A helmet has two purposes: to prevent penetration and to absorb impact. The shell prevents penetration, the padding (or suspension) absorbs impact. You need both.

Be water. No bad protesters, no good cops.

We keep us safe.

Black lives matter.

(brought to you by some anarchists)

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Sex workers (as well as people who use and/or sell drugs) have always known they can’t rely on police for protection because cops regularly use laws that criminalize prostitution, drug possession, and living outside to harass, coerce, extort and arrest them. Research shows sexual misconduct and sexual assault is endemic among police officers in the United States. A 2017 study based on interviews with 250 women selling sex on the streets of Baltimore found that 71 percent reported “abusive” encounters with police. Police get away with it because the law is currently on their side, and their position as law enforcement officers with powerful unions almost guarantees that they will not be held accountable.

Spellman said police are notorious for extorting money from sex workers in exchange for “protection” from being arrested. However, that protection only extends to the officers who get paid off, and with others, it’s a “crapshoot.” And what about protection from abusive clients and other risks that come with working on the street?

So, sex workers have developed practices for keeping each other safe and providing mutual aid outside the purview of the state, providing models for addressing public health safety without police. Activists say their knowledge and experience should be centered in conversations around defunding the police, redistributing those resources to communities and dismantling police altogether:

Sex workers need to be at the center of talking about alternatives to policing when it comes to addressing violence.

Sex working communities have been creating different ways to keep each other safe from those who wish us harm (INCLUDING THE COPS) for decades.

— The Prodigal Whore (@MPDreamWhore) June 7, 2020

“In the face of criminalization and whorephobic violence, sex working people have always sought to create our own systems of support and protection outside of the cops, criminal legal processes and societally accepted channels because most sex workers know those systems will never bring justice and have no interest in listening when harm happens,” said Red S., an organizer with a mutual aid organization for sex workers in Chicago and New York City called Support Ho(s)e, in an email.

read more

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This is some general guidelines on how to organize a 20 hour street medic training in your area. This information was written out by Atlanta Resistance Medics (ARM) after hosting street medic trainings with very limited resources.

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Anyway American trans friends, now's the time to put "be gay do crime" into practice and the first step is to get onto secure communication channels so you're not discussing details of what you're doing and how on the public internet.

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i need to update the "how to participate in political theatre" post with the recent confirmations that the US "never sought a diplomatic solution" for hamas (so all the ceasefire talk was definitively a lie) and the acknowledgement that israel assassinated nasrallah after he had accepted a ceasefire proposal, and their recent confirmations that biden encouraged israel to go to war with lebanon despite publically claiming the opposite, and that the US is no longer seeking a diplomatic solution in lebanon either but instead trying to install a regime change in lebanon (which, if you know anything about lebanon, means they're trying to incite a civil war). this is after israel doubles down on targeting healthcare workers in lebanon, which was once controversial but after gaza is an acceptable war crime because there is no war crime israel can commit that is unacceptable now

but im a bit too busy today to track down and cite all the sources for them, so i'm just letting you know for posterity

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The gall of white Americans to accuse anyone of electoral interference anywhere in the world, let alone people from countries subject to their blood-stained imperialism, or the Black people your state unfairly mass incarcerates in order to use them for modern slave labor and to take their voting rights way.

Talk to me about voting interference when your demographic group is subjected to soldiers pointing rifles to you so that you'll "vote correctly" during a real life or death referendum like it happened in Chile in 1980 by the fascist cunts your country installed into power here, which got us the Pinochet constitution we STILL can't get rid of.

You bitches fantasize so fucking hard about being oppressed but you couldn't handle 1% of the shit the rest of the world goes through.