English

French riot police evacuated migrants from a warehouse in Calais today after ministers expressed concern that the building could become a base for those trying to reach Britain.

Up to 90 migrants, mainly Afghan, had broken through a police cordon to gain access to the warehouse, which was rented by left-wing activists opposed to the French Government's immigration policies.

The incident created a political storm in France and placed the issue of migration to Britain back in the headlines

However, many of the migrants left the warehouse in search of food on their own andthe rest were evicted by about 75 police officers.

For Immediate Release: 05/02/10

Police blockade newly-opened space for migrants and activists in
Calais.

Today, despite a heavy police presence migrants successfully entered
the newly-opened Kronstadt hangar at the invitation of NoBorders
activists. The hangar is intended to be a space for
information-sharing, debate and practical solidarity.

Together, around 100 activists and migrants broke through police lines
chanting "Freedom! Freedom!". Riot police in full body protection are
currently circling the building and threatening the migrants with mass
arrests. People are currently occupying the building.

Stephane Blois, from Calais Migrant Solidarity, explains: "When the
police cleared the jungle, they used coaches like those outside the
hangar to transport hundreds of migrants to the detention centre. What
we see here tonight is another example of repressive policing where
migrants are routinely arrested and then shortly after released
shortly. We want to work together here to resist this coordinated
strategy of cross-channel oppression." (1)

The increase in opposition to the policies of the French state in
Calais are testimont to the failure of an immigration system which
rests on using police repression to drive away migrants (2). Besson?s
attempt to make the town a "migrant-free zone" can never be succesful
because it does not acknowledge the number of factors that contribute
to migration.

Today, 5th of February, anarchists, anti-authoritarians and anti-fascists chose to keep the university administration building at Propylea open, as a space of mutual coordination and struggle.- Our aim is the molding of ideas and counter-information ahead of tomorrow’s anti-fascist gathering, which has been called for at 11 am at Propylea. ---- A gathering standing against the nationalistic and racist rabble of fascist groups, which call for a gathering tomorrow at 3pm, at Propylea. A gathering juxtaposing the solidarity of the oppressed to the statist and para-statist pogroms against migrants. ---- We stand hostile against institutionalised racism, as expressed via the citizenship bill, as well as those who with their misanthropic calls aim for the physical extermination of the migrants.

According to a report by the TVXS independent news site, 124 migrants
detained at the "center" of Venna in Thrace revolted early in the morning of Tuesday, demanding to be permitted to move to nearby Komotini or other cities, as many of them were kept there for three months without any reason.

The migrants set facilities on fire and some of them wounded themselves in protest.
The prefect visited the place, then stated that their demand was in part granted and that the prefecture does its best to improve the situation.

On 6th January 2010 the police arrested 23 people in Ankara (Turkey) by using brutal force. The arrests occurred during a demonstration and press conference for the immediate release of the imprisoned military objector Enver Aydemir. One person among the arrested demonstrators has been detained: our comrade and anarchist Volkan Sevinc has been in jail for 40 days. We protest the imprisonment of Volkan Sevinc as well as the planned conviction of 19 other comrades to prison sentences between 1-10 years on the indictment "discouragement of the people from doing military service". We're going to meet on Saturday, 13 February 2010 simultaneously in Ankara and Istanbul as not yet convicted, killing-refusing antimilitarists to do another demonstration with the aim of "discouraging people of doing military service".

We invite all comrades worldwide to join us in protesting against the fact that the lives of people who oppose killing are transformed into a prison, and the fact that they are imprisoned and tortured. We invite all refusers, antimilitarists and anarchists to protest the state and its institutions by doing demonstrations and actions on 13 February 2010, for example in front of the consulates / embassies of the Turkish state. We invite you to show solidarity with our comrade Volkan Sevinc, who is exposed state terror, and with all political prisoners worldwide.

"Only in Poland!" people sigh when they hear such idiotic stories. The story of a baker from Legnic, Waldermar Gronowski, is a well-known example of the outrageous behaviour of the state.

Gronowski owes 245,000 zloties to the tax authorities. It is more than 80,000 USD, a fortune for most people in Poland. Why did Gronowski get it trouble? Did he earn money that he didn't declare?

Actually, Gronowski got in trouble because, he decided that at the end of his day at the bakery, he would give away unsold bread to the poor and homeless. And in Poland... you have to pay VAT on that.

The links between artistic settlement of depressed urban areas and its later gentrification are well known. As the area becomes "attractive" for the consumers of cultural product, and residency there imparts one with "coolness", rents go up.

Eventually even the most non-commercial and non-affluent of the bohemian settlers may be driven out. Some of these artist settlers see themselves on the same side of the economic barricade as "the people"; not being wealthy themselves, or with some contempt for the loathed yuppies and bourgeoisie, they are well aware of and are often against the gentrification process. It is hard for them then to come to terms with their role in it.

Art and cultural enterprises may be free, "popular", on the streets - but it is mainly a commercial product. Artistic entertainment is usually a form of business, thus places connected with "the art scene" are selling and profitting from cultural capital as much as landlords. Even free art on the streets can be recuperated into the "value" of a neighbourhood and ultimately benefit those with property and capital.

* The public pronouncement from the Editorial Collective of El Libertario in mid-January 2010 on the current situation in Venezuela.

While we are still suffering from the impact of the problems which had intensified towards the end of 2009, such as the fraudulent ‘Bolibourgeois’ bankers and the ongoing malaise throughout public services, a host of measures recently undertaken by the government signal a bitter start to 2010 for Venezuela. Firstly, there was the implementation of a bulky devaluation, sure to increase inflation and submerge a large sector of the population in misery. Next came the announcement of electricity rationing throughout Greater Caracas - as had been the [i]de facto[/i] case in the rest of the country - only to subsequently be suspended due to the uproar and conflict it caused, but now pending its reintroduction when the conditions are more permissive. Let us, therefore, start with a brief synopsis of the characteristics of the current crisis:

- The Bolibourgeois bankers’ fraud: the last decade has been an era of bonanza and great fortune for the financial sector, thanks to generous subsidy from the state, whose traditional monetary policy has done nothing but work for their benefit. It is precisely because of this that the sector became the focus of rapacious speculation on the part of the Bolibourgeoisie (Fernández Berrueco, Zambrano, Arné Chacón, Pedro Torres Ciliberto and the rest of the gang), leading to its unabashed pillaging, with the public support of its official supervisors such as the Banking Superintendent and the National Values Commission (governmental organisation which oversees national capital, similar to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the UK – translator), encouragement that eradicated any sort of nostalgia for Caldera’s (Chávez’ rightwing predecessor – trans.) government and the financial crisis of the 90s, not to mention the previous eras of speculation and con tricks within the banking sector.

Press release of FAU Berlin concerning EUR 250.000 fine or 6 month of prison for the union secretaries

Kino Babylon files for disciplinary fine or arrest for disobedience to court orders against FAU Berlin

On January 12, the management of cinema Babylon Mitte filed at the Berlin county court (Landgericht) for a “harsh disciplinary fee or arrest for disobedience to court orders to be carried out against the (...) secretaries” of FAU Berlin.

Last year FAU Berlin had already been baned from using industrial action by court order and had finally been deprived the right to call itsself a “union“ or a “grass-root union”. According to the complainant FAU Berlin contravened those court orders. The punishment might be a disciplinary fine of up to EUR 250.000 (USD 375.000) or alternatively arrest for disobedience to court orders of up to six month.

A group of tenants are occupying the local housing adminstration and carrying out a hunger strike. 107 families are soon to have their gas cut off under the pretext of "saving" them from "danger". The Tenants Defense Committee intervened the first time when the city threatened to turn off the gas. During the intervention, which was filmed, the gas inspectors said that all problems with gas were minor and could be fixed very simply, within hours and one of the housing inspectors promised to do so. Despite this, the borough president intervened and put pressure on local authorities, basically saying that the gas must be turned off.

(Previous articles in English about the problem of these tenants here and here .)

It is clear from the behaviour of the politicians that the property is simply slated for development. Today tenants were basically told as much when they were told to apply for new housing. (If their house was to be repaired, they would have been told about temporary replacement housing.) All these families are about to get treated to slumlord tactics to try and harrass them out of their houses.

Today in front of the Russian Embassy was held a picket to remmber Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova who were murdered one year ago in Russia. The picket also was a sign of solidarity for the antifascist movement in Russia.

The protestors reminded people about the many murders committed in recent years by neonazis on people who they consider "foreign" or "enemies" - like immigrants, lawyers and journalists who defend human rights and antifascists. Some speeches were made and candles with photos left in front of the Embassy.

(Photos below.)

Warsaw, a city with about 2.5 million inhabitants, has only one hospital emergency room working on evenings and weekends. For the whole city. This is of course a major disaster which shows the deadly consequences of government health policy. The Voivodship has come up with a "solution" to the problem: since the one hospital cannot even cope with the number of patients it receives, starting February 1, there will be 10 emergency rooms open all night in Warsaw.

This sounds like at least an improvement. Until you find out that the National Health Fund does not intend to invest money to ensure that these emergency rooms can function.