My Port of Beirut Lamia Ziadé Translator: Emma Ramadan Pluto Press ISBN: 9780745348124 CW: Graphic descriptions of the aftermath of extreme violence, including in the context of genocide. I am staring at a watercolour. The soft hues are gentle on my eyes, the blue of the doctor’s scrubs, even the red of the blood that dominates the image.  Like those cardboard shades that dim your vision enough to allow you to look at the sun without averting your eyes, these watercolour renditions of real photographs dilute the impact of the violence and devastation on my senses, and they allow my gaze ..read more

Palestine Action again targets a supplier for Israel’s weapons industry. Solvay in Wrexham manufactures components for Elbit’s Hermes 450 drones. After three activists from Palestine Action were convicted of ‘criminal damage’ worth over £20K against Solvay, the Judge gave them one of the lowest possible sentences possible.  They were only ordered to pay £600 each in court costs and fines, which would go towards the fire service costs during the actions. No compensation costs for Solvay were ordered.  The three activists dubbed the ‘Solvay 3,’ were on trial at Caernarfon Crown C ..read more

Translated from Actualité de l’Anarchosyndicalisme. Content warning: contains accounts of war crimes, including rape. In the previous issue of Anarchosyndicalisme, the CNT-AIT echoed the call for solidarity from anarchists in Sudan. Since a terrible war broke out on 15 April 2023 between two military factions – the Rapid Support Forces (or Janjaweed militias) against the official army – civilians have been living in a climate of “pure terror” because of a “ruthless and senseless conflict”, denounced by the UN with general indifference. At least 15,000 people have died, and more than 26,000 h ..read more

Four locals were arrested during a blockade of Leicester’s Elbit drone factory, UAV Tactical Systems. Without any substantial basis, the four were arrested for an array of offences, including criminal damage, obstruction of the highway and threatening words or behaviour. Others responded to arrests by blockading the police van with those arrested inside.   UAV Tactical Systems is majority owned by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons firm. The factory’s flagship product is the Watchkeeper drone, modelled on Elbit’s Hermes 450 after it was “battle-tested” on the Palesti ..read more

Jason de Souza examines the monopolisation of media and its effects. Examining who owns and thereby controls the mass media is one of the most strident reminders that Western democracy is largely a farce that represents and serves hegemonic interests. It’s hardly a secret that the mass media have long wielded immense power, but their level of influence, control and impact has reached unprecedented levels, and this power is now concentrated in fewer hands than at any other time in modern history. 50 companies held sway over the US media in 1983. By 2006, that figure had fallen to less than 10 ..read more

from ItsGoingDown On August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse crossed across the continent of North America, with the peak of its totality in Makanda, IL, 15 minutes south of Carbondale, IL. On April 8th, 2024, another total solar eclipse crossed through southern Illinois, with the paths of both eclipses intersecting right in Makanda, IL. On the eve of the first eclipse, a joyous march happened in Carbondale with a banner that read, “This Empire too will be Eclipsed.” After the first eclipse, a small group of earthlings took on a very serious mission to build autonomy between the eclipses in So ..read more

The fascist right is obsessed with ways to oppress the LGBTQ+ community. Notes from the US have reported almost every month recently on laws and measures designed “at best” to marginalise LGBTQ+ young people in particular and, at worst, to see them lose their lives. Last month, the soi-disant progressive daily, The Washington Post, used data provided by the FBI to examine the impact over time of attempts to prevent school pupils from living according to their gender identity. It found that in states where LGBTQ+ rights are now curtailed or have been removed, an average of 90 hate crimes took ..read more

Palestine Action and Youth Demand again bring disruption to Central London and the facilitators of genocide: Palestine Action and Youth Demand have teamed up today to paint the Ministry of Defence headquarters in London while other supporters marched through London. They are demanding an end to the Ministry of Defence’s contracts with Israel’s largest weapons firm, Elbit Systems and an end to all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK, including revoking oil and gas licences issued since 2021. Activists from each group sprayed r ..read more

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. The circled A is a symbol so widespread, so widely recognized and disseminated that it has come to be taken as a traditional symbol of anarchism, seeming to have existed forever. Some rumours trace its origin back to the Spanish Revolution: young anarchists are more accustomed to seeing a circled A than the clearly discernible target painted on a militiaman’s helmet as seen in a photo with Durruti. Some believe it refers to Proudhon, encapsulating his idea of Anarchy in Order. In fact, it is a recent phenomenon in libertarian iconography: the circled A w ..read more

Following the October 7 attacks, some of the first victims of Israel’s indiscriminate vengeance against the people of Gaza were thousands of Gazan workers who had permits to work in ’48 Israel, following strict screening by Israel’s Shin Bet. Since crossing was tough, they used to stay out of the strip for weeks or months. In one day, all their work permits were abruptly annulled, and the army and police started a manhunt, badly beating anyone who was caught. Thousands of workers were thrown into provisional detention centres without any legal status. In these pens, they were systematically t ..read more