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The Raytheon 9 are on trial in Belfast on May 17th. I met with these good people last year in Lebanon. They are facing many years in jail for destroying computers in Raytheon's office in Derry, Northern Ireland.

Raytheon are the world's 5th biggest arms manufacturer and made a lot of profits providing missiles for Israel to blow the shit out of Lebanon 2 years ago. That's only a small part of their huge crimes against innocent civilians.

* This editorial comes from issue #53 (May-June 2008) of El Libertario, a Venezuelan anarchist voice of ideas and proposals for action. It confirms our commitment to autonomous social mobilization, which has already begun to express itself through concrete struggles from below, as in the recent steelworkers conflict.

Despite our opinion on nationalizing the company, the route that workers have taken at SIDOR, the main Venezuelan steelmaker, exemplifies the immediate task for the country’s social and popular movements to carry out: mobilizing ourselves and struggling for our own demands. For libertarian socialists, its is the militancy of all movements of the oppressed that encourages positive changes in society. Hoping that those improvements will flow down to us from the heights of power is a pipe dream, as reality over the last few years has shown. But two major straitjackets—polarization from above and the mortgaged autonomy of those of us below—have stifled the social movement actions.

Another Mayday has come, and with it the time to remember, in struggle, our comrades – five anarchist workers who died in a war between classes that we are still fighting today. They were murdered by the State because they didn't accept without resistance that they had bosses who lived off of their labour, because they didn't accept that the State and the Capital had power over their lives.

But it is not only those five anarchists – let us remember all those countless workers, syndicalists, anarchists, libertarians, proud human beings who died, because they didn't accept the idea of one human being exploiting another. All of them survive in the 1st of May as the international day of working class struggle.

Ploughshares Penetrate Waihopai Base Deflate Satellite Dome
Adrian Leason, Peter Murnane and Sam Land - the three Ploughshares who entered the Waihopai spy base near Blenheim and used sickles to cut one of the two 30-metre white domes - were denied bail and will remain in custody until at least Monday, 5th May.

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Statement Of The Waihopai ANZAC Ploughshares

They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift sword against nation; and there shall be no more training for war. Isaiah 2/4

This morning, 30 April 2008, we entered the Waihopai Spy Base near Blenheim. Our group, including a Dominican Priest, temporarily closed the base by padlocking the gates and proceeded to deflate one of the large domes covering two satellite dishes.

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At 6am we cut through three security fences surrounding the domes - these are armed with razor wire, infrared motion sensors and a high voltage electrified fence. Once inside we used sickles to cut one of the two 30-metre white domes, built a shrine and knelt in prayer to remember the people killed by United States military activity.

Approximately 800 - 1000 persons participated in Krakow's Tolerence March ( 26.04 ) which was during Culture for Tolerance Festival. Amid colorfull baloons and rainbow's flags participants walked from Matejko's Square to Market. On banners we could see slogans like : "Everyone is Different - Everyone is Equal ", "Love doesn't know gender" , "Rainbow's Familly - Happy Family" , "Two fathers aren't the same as one is" , "Everyone can love".

Members of National Polish Revival ( NOP ) and football supporters tried to disturb by throwing eggs ,petards and stones. There was - like always - the hit of NOP's boys and girls : jumping after yell: " who don't jump is fairy! ". Beyond that they yelled : " We will do with you what Hitler did with Jews ", " Death for Fairies " , "National Radicalism" , and other slogans that, as they claim "have nothing to do with nazism".Before that All-polish Youth (Młodzież Wszechpolska) realised rather rickety happening.

About 80 people took part in a protest against police brutality in Lodz on April 26. The protest was organized by the local group of the Anarchist Federation. The demonstrators wanted to call attention to the problem of police violence and abuse of power by the police with the aim of controlling people and repressing social movements. Speakers told about different instances of police abuse and violation of the law. One example was how police raided a flat in Slupsk after a demonstration at about 6 AM, beating people and using tear gas. Even people who were sleeping were arrested. Although police are supposed to tell people why they are being arrested, the victims were not told the charges until they had already been in detention more than 12 hours.

Activists also spoke about a new wave of repression against foreigners, mentioning the recent raids ona dormitory for foreign students in Lodz and refugee centers near Warsaw. In the latter case, many people were beaten or roughed up for no reason. The situation with prisoners was also presented. Recently a scandal broke when one Romanian guy, who was most probably innocent, was left to die by prison authorities. Since then, some more cases of such abuse have been exposed. Activists spoke about the deplorable conditions in prison and the fact that people are often held in remand prisons even for years before coming to trial.

While the police were heavily guarding this very peaceful demo, demonstrators pointed out passerbys how the police film demonstrators and otherwise harrass them for no reason. The city adminstration forbid the anarchists from having a moving demonstration and even invented some non-existing conditions to prevent it. The anarchists spoke a bit about the role of police in society and handed out leaflets explaining, among other things, what rights people have in relation to the police. After about an hour, people were served a nice vegan meal made by Food Not Bombs.

* This is a brief outline of the libertarian footprint in the history of Venezuela, prepared by members of the Collective Editorship of El Libertario www.nodo50.org/ellibertario. We hope that this serves as a useful point of reference for those who are interested in the subject.

Claudiu Curlic was arrested in Sept. 2007 in Krakow. He was falsely accused of stealing a wallet. The theft has occured a few months earlier but police had a description of the thieve; the pickpocket's victim turned out to be a judge.

The problem is that Claudiu, a Romanian citizen who's family is in Italy and girlfriend in Krakow, wasn't anywhere near Krakow on the date of the theft. He was on a bus on his way to Italy.

Headquaters of Polish Teachers' Union ( ZNP ) decided that 27th of May there will be warn teachers's strike. ZNP is now in the collective disputation with government.

In ZNP's opinion, this year rises for teachers ( increase of salaries from 185 to200 PLN ) are too small. Union depend increase of teachers' salaries and workors of edutacion in 50 % to 2010. ZNP wants also possibility to retire on previous rules.

Decision of ZNP's headquaters don't force teachers's to strike however.It will be there where majority of teachers gathering will want this form of protest.

Headquaters of Polish Teachers' Union (ZNP) will make decision about protests in school in Tuesday. The score of survey made by ZNP among teachers shows that 80% of them want one day's strike.

Unionists want from government to present some plan of significant salary rises.Union wants also possibility to retire at previous rules.

Irish anti-war activist Damien Moran, acquitted in Dublin Circuit court 18 months ago by jury trial of doing €2 million damage to a U.S. military plane at Shannon airport as a protest against the Iraq war, was deported from the U.S.A.Sunday by Homeland Security agents at Chicago's O'Hare airport.

As well as a a ploughshares acquittal to his name Damien Moran now has the privilege of being sent packing on a one-way flight from Chicago airport to Warsaw just 5 hours after he had landed.

Moran stated that he was "immediately detained and questioned by Homeland Security officers about our Ploughshares action at Shannon in February 2003 where we did $2.5million damage to a U.S. Navy plane."
More info. here(WarOnTrial)

He continued: "I informed them about our action and acquittal with pleasure. They were none too pleased. When the idiotic Officer Bock shouted out that deportation was the least of my problems I decided there was no point of pushing his buttons too far. I made my anti-war statement, explaining that I was en route to visit my brother in Virginia, then planned going to Colorado Springs and Nebraska to speak at anti-militarism conferences/panels and demonstrations."

Moran says that he has lost $350 dollars in flight expenses while the Global Network (www.space4peace.org) Against Weapons in Space that invited him have been setback over $1,000. Compared to the U.S. spending on the Iraq war, over $2 trillion, it's a drop in the ocean. But the fascists that control U.S. borders couldn;t give two shits about wasting working citizens and peaceful organisations finances.

Related Link: Peacenikhurler

Wednesday, April 02, 2008
SLUPSK, Poland: Residents of this northern Polish town are up in arms at the prospect of being placed once again in the front line of power plays between Moscow and Washington.

A nearby communist-era military base could soon host a disputed US missile shield that has enraged Poland’s former overlord Russia, sparking a war of words between the Cold War superpower rivals.