London: New week, new building

By: fawda - March 4th, 2015  Filed under: Communique, News

london_new_week_new_buildingNew week and a new building has been cracked open and occupied by Love Activists London, this is our fourth which we currently hold in and around Westminster.

Building number 15 is quite something else, three floors and a basement our initial plans are to use the space to outreach into the community and organise meetings, workshops and in general activism.

We have decided that the new building is to become a community hub only, staffed by live-in volunteers and activists and following very sadly months of dealing with homeless people who have brought with them many problems that we are unable or have the time to deal with, which in itself is a diversion from what we intended to do as a protest and campaigning group, it could be drink or drugs of some description or other and on top of being homeless, as one activist has said: “I’m not equipped to be a social worker”. [Read More]

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War against housing occupations in Florence. Let’s march this evening!

By: fawda - March 4th, 2015  Filed under: News

20150304_Firenze_evictionThe eviction campaign kicks off in order to pave the way for the approval of the new regional law on housing. While people are still resisting in via Baracca, the movements’ response gets organized. Let’s march from Piazza Medaglie d’oro at 6pm today.

A direct attack against housing struggles. Early this morning, police showed up in large numbers at the new housing occupation in via Benedetto Marcello-via Toselli corner. After the eviction was carried out, as the readily arrived solidarity picket was surging, rumors came about a massive police deployment close to via Baracca. At about 10 am some 12 police wagons closed the street in both directions, carrying out the eviction of the building located at number 18 in that street, a place that was occupied since last summer and that was hosting the social space of struggle, too.

During the eviction, the occupiers tried to crack the police blockade, stirring up a charge. Nobody was reported to be hurt. At the time of writing, some occupiers still resist inside the building. Meanwhile a picket of the Movimento di lotta per la casa (Housing Struggle Movement) assembled in piazza Puccini, close to via Baracca, calling up a march for this evening at 6 pm in order to counter the evictions, starting from piazza Medaglie d’Oro in the Novoli neighbourhood. [Read More]

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Sivens (France): Demo on March 7th… save the Forest… Support ZAD Testet!

By: freedom - March 2nd, 2015  Filed under: News

Act now… Don’t let the ZAD Testet die ! Demo March 7th

Come to save the Valley of Sivens, now or later on March 7, the day after the decision of the General Council of the Tarn !!!

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ZAD the Testet, more alive, beautiful and angry than ever, is already condemned to death by all the powers (local, regional, centra) who all said it was necessary to “eliminate” the illegal occupation of the valley of Sivens by a bunch of “peluts”, “to anarcho-terrorism”, the “jihadist-greens”, “foreigners to the region”, the “drug-assisted”, “handled by experienced activists to sow disorder at home, etc.
The qualifiers which our enemies use are extremely diverse. [Read More]

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Prague: Klinika, anticommercial cultural and social center

By: fawda - March 1st, 2015  Filed under: Communique

201501_Prague_Klinika_demoPrague is just like any other big European city in desperate need of a noncommercial community centre, of a space for cultural events (such as concerts, exhibitions, etc.), educational lectures and workshops, community gardening, cooking, library, and, above all, meeting people from the neighbourhood (or anyone interested) and also a place to support marginalized groups of people (especially people without homes) who are living in stop-gap conditions on the fringes of society.

The building of former lung clinic (that’s why the name “Klinika“) in Žižkov district, which was abandoned, unused and left to decay, was taken over by a group of squatters and activists on 29th of November 2014 in order to create Autonomous cultural and social centre Klinika. All the trash including used needles was cleaned out and the first neighbourhood event was organized. But after just 10 days, on 9th of December, the building was violently vacated by police forces. On the 13th of December big demonstration took place (about 1000 people) but after its end police corpses forced everyone to leave the place, several people were injured and had to be taken to the hospital. Since then, we were stuck in endless cycle of meetings with city and state offices and basically forced to wait. [Read More]

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London: Regeneration Is Violence

By: sisulscz - February 25th, 2015  Filed under: essay

Published on Southwark Notes Feb 21 with lots of images

How is it in London in 2015 that people who reside in public housing can be subject to such extremes of subtle and unsubtle violence? When we use the word violence what do we mean? Well for starters we mean the slow burning, long-term violence done to those who are being forced out of their homes in the name of ‘regeneration’ with it’s routine accompanying upheavals, anxieties, stresses and affects on physical and mental ill health.

[Read More]

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Dead city: torturing squatters for a cleaner Barcelona

By: sisulscz - February 25th, 2015  Filed under: essay, News

Note: Regarding this article, it is important to also read the comment about problems with the film and also two texts written as a response, currently only on es.squat.net, “Comunicado de Juan Pintos, detenido/encarcelado/condenado por el montaje del 4F” and “Cuando una imagen no vale más que mil palabras“.

Ashes, blood and orujo mingle with the rain, showering the crowd in front of Barcelona’s city hall. Diana Torres has mixed her beloved Patri’s remains with the eye-watering grape liqueur — famous for its use in invocations — and her own vital fluid. She sprinkles the concoction over just some of the thousands who have gathered in solidarity. “I want vengeance and retribution, that word we inherited from the witches,” she says over the PA, as Cindy Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ reverberates throughout the square. Then she calls for a minute of screaming, and the plaza erupts.
[Read More]

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France: Of the necessity to find ourselves – Call-out for a camp in Bure for Summer 2015

By: dolph-l - February 24th, 2015  Filed under: Communique

We come from counter-summits, Climate Action camps, No Border villages; struggles in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, the Susa Valley or in the Sivens; anti-nuclear struggles such as in Valognes, Montabot or Bure; social, feminist and anti-authoritarian struggles…

If all these struggles are singular, many of us will bear the same horizontality structured ideals and reflections to combat all forms of domination. We also find common ground in modes of life and action. These battles sometimes intersect and reinforce each other.

The capitalist logic transforms the territory, devastates our environments, seeking to reduce our lives at work and by consumption. Faced with this we respond with squatting, blockades, sabotage; by practices that acquire autonomy outside of this world. [Read More]

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London: Grow Heathrow’s 5th birthday, 27th February – 1st March

By: fawda - February 23rd, 2015  Filed under: News

London_Grow_Heathrow_ExhibitionJust days to go and we’re warming up for Saturday’s birthday celebrations.
There’s an exciting line up, and more information about workshops, activities and timings below.
Don’t forget to bring along seeds for the seed-swap, cakes for the cake competition and instruments for the jam.
There’s plenty of space for camping. Join the Grow Heathrow camping crew and bring a tent and sleeping bag. We also recommend warm layers, hot water bottles and friendly bodies to provide extra cosy heat.
If you can donate any mugs, please bring them along as we want to make sure everyone can drink tea! [Read More]

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London: Squat the lot (Aylesbury Estate)

By: sisulscz - February 23rd, 2015  Filed under: Communique

[Posted on their website Feb 20]

*We wondered where our wages went*

*We wasted most by paying rent*

*Since, we’ve learnt to change our lot*

*So now we’re living in a squat*
[Read More]

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Hamburg: Solidarity paint attack against housing cooperative office

By: dolph-l - February 18th, 2015  Filed under: Communique

Every eviction has its price! Attack with paint against the office of the ‘Bauverein Reiherstieg’ housing cooperative in Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg:

On January 26th, 2015, Heiko was evicted from his home at 10 Otterhaken in the Wilhelmsburg district of Hamburg. For a long-time he was an obstacle against the ‘Bauverein Reiherstieg’ housing cooperative because of his organising against rising rents and due to more involvement from tenants. Since Heiko paid his rent late several times, he had to be thrown out this time.

Nearly 200 people in solidarity tried to prevent this happening. The eviction was delayed by a good 90 minutes. Unfortunately, the cops then succeeded to get through a door at the rear of the building with the help of the BFEs [special units of the German police]. The stairwell was blocked by supporters, but was then violently evicted. All this in the name of the ‘Bauverein Reiherstieg’. [Read More]

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Spain: Firefighters refuse to be ‘puppets of the banks’

By: sisulscz - February 17th, 2015  Filed under: News

Spanish firefighters are refusing orders to participate in evictions because their duty is to “serve the public ” and intervene in “emergencies” and not to be “puppets of the bank or its servants in the government”.

Firefighters in Galicia, Catalonia and the Madrid region have rejected any action that “contributes to inequalities and miseries suffered by the working class,” said the CCOO union.
[Read More]

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Dublin: Housing Activists’ Cases Dismissed From Court

By: fawda - February 17th, 2015  Filed under: Communique, News

20150217_Dublin_Housing_Activists_Cases_Dismissed_From_CourtToday 8 housing activists from An Spreach Housing Action Committee and from D8HAC were up in court. All 8 were charged with trespassing on the 29th of July 2014 in a vacant flat in Charlemount Street in Dublin’s south inner city. All charges were dismissed by the court. This is a small victory for the housing groups, but the struggle continues it is not the end of the campaign to highlight the homeless and housing crisis.

An Spreach was formed to help highlight the homeless and housing crisis by methods of direct action. In the sort time of An Spreach’s existence it has been involved in helping stop house evictions; banner drops around the city; removed homeless spikes that were erected outside the Department of Social Protection (homeless people were sleeping in the Department’s doorway to try get some protection from the elements (these spikes were made from cement and bolted to the ground to prevent homeless people sleeping there); and An Spreach liberated a vacant flat in the Tom Kelly flat complex in Charlemount Street in Dublin’s south inner city. An Spreach was created by housing activists that were sick and tired of the lack of action and change from politicians and community representatives in trying to combat the problems of the homelessness and the housing crisis. [Read More]

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