Forwarded from Strike Force
More pictures and a statement from this morning's #NYPL banner drop #AbolishICE #J20
https://twitter.com/protest_nyc/status/1349023515144499201
https://twitter.com/protest_nyc/status/1349023515144499201
Forwarded from Strike Force
Forwarded from CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective
Why We Need Real Anarchy
https://cwc.im/RealAnarchy
Politicians have come together across the aisle to decry the storming of the Capitol on January 6 as “lawless,” “anti-democratic,” and “extremist,” going so far as to misrepresent the result as “anarchy.” The problem with the invasion of the Capitol was not that it was unlawful, undemocratic, or extremist, per se, but that it was an effort to concentrate oppressive power in the hands of an autocrat—which is precisely the opposite of anarchy.
Direct action, militant tactics, and a critique of electoral politics will remain essential to movements against fascism and state violence. We must not let the far right gentrify revolt, nor permit centrists to confuse the issue.
https://cwc.im/RealAnarchy
Politicians have come together across the aisle to decry the storming of the Capitol on January 6 as “lawless,” “anti-democratic,” and “extremist,” going so far as to misrepresent the result as “anarchy.” The problem with the invasion of the Capitol was not that it was unlawful, undemocratic, or extremist, per se, but that it was an effort to concentrate oppressive power in the hands of an autocrat—which is precisely the opposite of anarchy.
Direct action, militant tactics, and a critique of electoral politics will remain essential to movements against fascism and state violence. We must not let the far right gentrify revolt, nor permit centrists to confuse the issue.
CrimethInc.
Why We Need Real Anarchy
Direct action, militant tactics, and a critique of electoral politics remain essential to our movements. Don't let the far right confuse the issue.
Forwarded from CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective
We may be entering an era when a variety of political actors will find it more strategic to be positioned outside the government, so as to avoid being discredited with it. Now that the state can no longer mitigate the effects of capitalism, people are bound to become more and more disillusioned and rebellious. Where left parties hold state power, seeking to pacify those who remain in the streets, it will be easier for right-wing groups to present themselves as the real partisans of revolt—as they have in Venezuela, for example. The insurrections of the past decade are sure to continue, but the important question is what kind of insurrections they will be. Will they put people in touch with their own collective power, setting the stage for the final abolition of capitalism? Or will they look more like what happened in the US Capitol?
In 2015, when SYRIZA, a far left party, won Greek elections on the platform of anti-austerity, we correctly predicted that they would fail and that, in their failure, they would pave the wave for a groundswell of far right movements. Looking back at our reflections just six years ago still feels helpful for thinking through the problems we face today:
https://crimethinc.com/2015/01/28/feature-syriza-cant-save-greece-why-theres-no-electoral-exit-from-the-crisis
In 2015, when SYRIZA, a far left party, won Greek elections on the platform of anti-austerity, we correctly predicted that they would fail and that, in their failure, they would pave the wave for a groundswell of far right movements. Looking back at our reflections just six years ago still feels helpful for thinking through the problems we face today:
https://crimethinc.com/2015/01/28/feature-syriza-cant-save-greece-why-theres-no-electoral-exit-from-the-crisis
Crimethinc
Syriza Can’t Save Greece: Why There’s No Electoral Exit from the Crisis
Since 2008, Greece has been a bellwether of crisis and resistance around the world: whatever happens in the social movements there is a pretty good indication of what lies ahead for the rest of us.
Forwarded from OTAS: operational thinking against the state
The Signal encrypted messenger being down off and on today is a reminder not to put all of your secure communication eggs in one basket. Though Signal holds a unique place balancing popularity with a trusted security ethic consider diversifying your secure communications so that if Signal goes down you have another means of more secure communication.
One example would be creating adding your contacts in a fallback network in the Zom Mobile Messenger app which is a fork of the original TextSecure encrypted messaging system that Signal is also based off of. It offers end-to-end encryption in a easy to use UI. Instead of phone numbers Zom uses emails to create and find accounts.
Or if you’re worried about service crashing for your burner at a demo using the Briar encrypted mesh net app so you can communicate directly between nearby phones.
One example would be creating adding your contacts in a fallback network in the Zom Mobile Messenger app which is a fork of the original TextSecure encrypted messaging system that Signal is also based off of. It offers end-to-end encryption in a easy to use UI. Instead of phone numbers Zom uses emails to create and find accounts.
Or if you’re worried about service crashing for your burner at a demo using the Briar encrypted mesh net app so you can communicate directly between nearby phones.
Forwarded from Inhabit
Forwarded from The Black Lives Revolution (BLM)
TELEGRAM CENSORS BLM-AFFILIATED CHANNELS
AFTER FAR-RIGHT DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 18 January 2021
In the weeks following the January 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol, various right-wing extremist Telegram channels coordinated a campaign to remove BLM-affiliated and anti-fascist groups from the platform by submitting false reports to Telegram’s moderators. On the morning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, owners of the targeted groups woke up to find that a number of their communities had been shut down overnight without warning or explanation. These groups were used to share information, resources and community in times of unrest and uncertainty. These groups date back to the George Floyd protests or mutual aid initiatives in the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic. Their censorship and removal are the result of a deliberate effort by white nationalist groups to silence opposition during a moment of political turmoil.
Telegram did not provide detailed notices of any kind to channel owners, instead replacing all content with a generic message alleging a Terms of Service violation. While BLM-affiliated channels were taken down, many of the extremist groups coordinating the campaign were left in place, including “Proud Boys: Uncensored” (where the Proud Boys retreated after being removed from other platforms for violent activity) and “GypsyCrusader News Network” (a non-stop deluge of racial slurs, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and a man dressed as the Joker giving Nazi salutes) as well as the group "archived1488" which gloated over the TOS announcement on one of these channels.
After several hours most of the targeted channels were brought back online. Telegram has offered no explanation for the initial shutdowns or the reinstatement of these channels. One possibility is that the spurious mass-reporting by right-wing spam accounts triggered an automatic removal violation, but no actual Terms of Service violation was found upon review by content moderators.
Attacks like these targeting non-violent groups on the left exemplify the double-standard used to silence marginalized people and their allies. Activists use Telegram to provide and receive real-time information related to protest actions, to communicate with allies across regional and national boundaries, and to share resources ranging from recipes to first-aid training. Topics of conversation range from heartbreak over news of Black deaths at the hands of police, to coordinating support for unhoused people in their communities, to organizing mutual aid efforts for those affected by the pandemic. These community resources were taken down while multiple channels openly affiliated with far-right hate groups remained online and functional.
As fallout from the Jan 6 Capitol attack continues to be felt, we anticipate increased attacks on leftist social media channels as well as political targeting of leftist activists. We vehemently maintain that there is a fundamental distinction between groups calling for justice, equity, the end of state sanctioned murder, and an end to homelessness and poverty, and groups calling for the murder and abuse of vulnerable populations to aid in the dissolution of our democracy.
That fundamental difference must be recognized by content moderators at Telegram and other social media networks, and freedom of peaceful organization and protest must be maintained. Equating groups advocating for Black Lives or Anti-Fascism with those calling for genocide, murder, and race war to perpetuate systems of white supremacy only serves to assuage a misguided sense of fairness, and lacks both moral and ethical judgement.
JPG: https://t.me/BLMProtests/9806
PDF: https://t.me/BLMProtests/9807
PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY TO PRESS & MEDIA!
AFTER FAR-RIGHT DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 18 January 2021
In the weeks following the January 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol, various right-wing extremist Telegram channels coordinated a campaign to remove BLM-affiliated and anti-fascist groups from the platform by submitting false reports to Telegram’s moderators. On the morning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, owners of the targeted groups woke up to find that a number of their communities had been shut down overnight without warning or explanation. These groups were used to share information, resources and community in times of unrest and uncertainty. These groups date back to the George Floyd protests or mutual aid initiatives in the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic. Their censorship and removal are the result of a deliberate effort by white nationalist groups to silence opposition during a moment of political turmoil.
Telegram did not provide detailed notices of any kind to channel owners, instead replacing all content with a generic message alleging a Terms of Service violation. While BLM-affiliated channels were taken down, many of the extremist groups coordinating the campaign were left in place, including “Proud Boys: Uncensored” (where the Proud Boys retreated after being removed from other platforms for violent activity) and “GypsyCrusader News Network” (a non-stop deluge of racial slurs, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and a man dressed as the Joker giving Nazi salutes) as well as the group "archived1488" which gloated over the TOS announcement on one of these channels.
After several hours most of the targeted channels were brought back online. Telegram has offered no explanation for the initial shutdowns or the reinstatement of these channels. One possibility is that the spurious mass-reporting by right-wing spam accounts triggered an automatic removal violation, but no actual Terms of Service violation was found upon review by content moderators.
Attacks like these targeting non-violent groups on the left exemplify the double-standard used to silence marginalized people and their allies. Activists use Telegram to provide and receive real-time information related to protest actions, to communicate with allies across regional and national boundaries, and to share resources ranging from recipes to first-aid training. Topics of conversation range from heartbreak over news of Black deaths at the hands of police, to coordinating support for unhoused people in their communities, to organizing mutual aid efforts for those affected by the pandemic. These community resources were taken down while multiple channels openly affiliated with far-right hate groups remained online and functional.
As fallout from the Jan 6 Capitol attack continues to be felt, we anticipate increased attacks on leftist social media channels as well as political targeting of leftist activists. We vehemently maintain that there is a fundamental distinction between groups calling for justice, equity, the end of state sanctioned murder, and an end to homelessness and poverty, and groups calling for the murder and abuse of vulnerable populations to aid in the dissolution of our democracy.
That fundamental difference must be recognized by content moderators at Telegram and other social media networks, and freedom of peaceful organization and protest must be maintained. Equating groups advocating for Black Lives or Anti-Fascism with those calling for genocide, murder, and race war to perpetuate systems of white supremacy only serves to assuage a misguided sense of fairness, and lacks both moral and ethical judgement.
JPG: https://t.me/BLMProtests/9806
PDF: https://t.me/BLMProtests/9807
PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY TO PRESS & MEDIA!
Telegram
The Black Lives Revolution (BLM)
Forwarded from Minneapolis Autonomous Index
Black & Pink Minneapolis presents: PenPal 101
Hang out with B&P Mpls and learn about being a penpal to queer & trans folks who are currently incarcerated in the midwest.
6:00 PM January 25th online here: http://umn.zoom.us/j/92173844237
More info: https://facebook.com/events/431696194849747/
Hang out with B&P Mpls and learn about being a penpal to queer & trans folks who are currently incarcerated in the midwest.
6:00 PM January 25th online here: http://umn.zoom.us/j/92173844237
More info: https://facebook.com/events/431696194849747/
Forwarded from Inhabit
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Nothing is going back to normal. The institutions haven’t held. A weak "coup" was crushed by Silicon Valley, not democracy. The uprising for black life is sold back to us as memorabilia. What is being inaugurated is not a new hope, but the next episode of a fragmenting global order.