#Worldwide #Information #Blogger #LucSchrijvers: #Update: #anarchist #news and #information from all over the #world - 11.01.2020

Today's Topics:

   
1.  France, Union Communiste Libertaire AL #301 - International,
      Catalonia: A new breath for independence mobilization (fr, it,
      pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  wsm.ie: Remembering Bob Kavanagh (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
3.  alternativa libertaria fdca: Israel arrested Jonathan
      Pollack, anarchist activist against the wall (it)
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
4.  US, black rose fed: "The Greatest Purveyor of Violence":
      Black Rose Statement on U.S. Aggression Against Iran
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
5.  France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL - state of the
      struggles n° 5: There was no truce (fr, it, pt)[machine
      translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
6.  wsm.ie: Cork shows fascism the door in Rally for Peace
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


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Message: 1






The political conflict between the Catalan separatists and the Spanish state is once again taking to the streets. Demonstrations, blockades
and strikes have responded to repression against the organizers of the referendum of 1 stOctober 2017. A movement split between reformist
ambitions and institutional perspectives and emancipatory. ---- Two years ago began the immense political and social mobilization on the
occasion of the organization by the government of the Generality of Catalonia of a referendum on the question of independence, decreed
illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court. The repression against Catalan civil society led to a large uprising, which, over the months
has diminished in intensity, with the emergence of illusions about a resolution of the conflict by a dialogue with the Spanish State or by
the intervention of '' a third party from the European Union or an international organization.

The heavy prison sentences handed down in October 2019 against the leaders, politicians and activists of the Catalan social movement)
revived the mobilization.

The revolt in Catalonia in autumn 2019 looked like a wave: started on October 14, 2019 it fell back in mid-November 2019. In September 2019
there were raids on the Guardia civil with civil society activists who are members of the Catalan independence movement. Six people accused
of belonging to a terrorist organization and of manufacturing explosives were sentenced to prison without the possibility of bail.

A week of direct action
October 14 penalties against the separatist leaders on the initiative of the referendum 1 stOctober 2017 were announced. Students from the
main Catalan universities then called a general strike the same day and demonstrations were organized throughout Catalonia.

The defense committees of the republic, self-managed collective citizens, then carry out protest actions. This movement is mainly
concentrated in the major Catalan cities. The democratic Tsunami movement through its platform, calls for the blocking of Barcelona airport
which will last all day.

The following day the mobilizations continue and Barcelona ignites. There are riots every night. The marches for freedom bring together half
a million Catalans in Barcelona during the general strike on October 18.

The repression in one week was heavy: 582 wounded, 4 of whom were left stranded; 202 detainees and 28 imprisoned, including one person
expelled from the country. However, the mobilizations did not stop. # PicnicPerlaRepública calls for sporadic blockades in front of the
Sagrada Familia, the Sants train station and in front of the police station of the Guardia civil to demand the release of the detainees.

CDRs block the main freight routes on a daily basis. The aim is to prevent the trivialization of repression, to demand an amnesty for
political prisoners and prisoners, the return of exiles, the free exercise of the right to self-determination and to denounce the
centralist, authoritarian and fascist of the Spanish state.

The week of October 14 was experienced by the Catalan people January 2 as a stOctober as popular self-organization was again able to defeat
the repressive apparatus of the Spanish State. The strength of the response of the social movements was proportional to the injustice of the
announced sentences while the representative power of the parties and the Catalan government was blocked by legal threats. Jordi Cuixart
(Catalan activist and political prisoner) announced from his prison: "La reposta a la sentència, reincidència !"(In the face of repression,
let's do it again !).

On October 21, Franco's body was exhumed from his tomb in Valle de los Caídos. This exhumation was in fact an opportunity to offer him a
national funeral, scandalous for a state that claims to be democratic, broadcast live all day by all the Spanish channels. The Franco family
was thus accompanied by the Spanish Minister of Justice Dolores Delgado. The colonel who carried out the failed Franco coup of February 23,
1981 was one of the VIP guests at this funeral.

Political negotiations and negotiations
The general elections of November 10 are marked by the rise of the far-right Vox party and by the absence of a majority which leads the PSOE
(Spanish PS) to propose a "governability agreement" to the "radical left" party. Unidas Podemos, who accepts it. To get the head of the
government, Pedro Sanchez also needs the abstention of the Catalan independence party ERC (Left Republican of Catalonia).

The latter demands in exchange for negotiations on the Catalan question with as requirements: a drop in repression and recognition of the
existence of a political conflict between Catalonia and Spain. This negotiation process is only a pantomime to calm mobilizations and an
excuse to grant sharing of class powers. The end of the repression and the amnesty of the prisoners should have been the prerequisites for
its implementation and not the demands to be discussed.

Catalan people cannot speak freely as equals with the Spanish government if it can use prisoners as hostages to brandish repression as a
threat. The political parties are closing from the heights of the Madrid offices all the perspectives opened by the base by three weeks of
revolt in the street.

Victory before the EU Court of Justice
On 19 December, the Court of Justice of the European Union has disavowed the Spanish justice by recognizing Oriol Junqueras, vice president
of Catalonia during the referendum of 1 stOctober and current political prisoner, parliamentary immunity as an MEP. This means that Carles
Puigdemont, President of Catalonia and Lluis Puig, Minister of Culture, both exiled in Brussels and also elected to the European Parliament,
will also be able to benefit from this immunity and cross the Spanish border without being detained.

There are currently, in connection with the independence movement since 2017, 16 political prisoners (the presidents of two Catalan
associations and former members of the Catalan government, sentenced for certain to 12 years in prison) and 9 exiles (activist Adrià
Carrasco, former members of the Catalan government and rapper Valtonyc). These people are accused of serious crimes such as sedition or
collaboration with a terrorist organization for having organized a referendum or participated in demonstrations.

If the current political negotiations devitalize the Catalan movement, nothing is settled or appeased and it is likely that in the coming
months new popular explosions will erupt. There is nothing to say whether or not they will take emancipatory directions. The aspirations to
take back one's life in hand, to self-organize, the anti-capitalist, feminist and anti-racist dimensions nevertheless exist there.

Jordina and Anaïs (UCL Montpellier)

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Un-nouveau-souffle-pour-la-mobilisation-independantiste

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Message: 2






Ireland's activist community was left in deep shock as news spread of Bob Kavanagh's sudden and untimely death in late December. Bob is
remembered as both a committed political activist, a very talented musician, a great friend and loyal comrade. Many of us got to know Bob
from the pivotal role he played in the long running Shell to Sea campaign from 2005 onwards. The campaign which pitched a rural community
against a global oil company took place in Erris in western Mayo. Bob was one of the first who took the decision to move to Erris to stand
with the local community against Shell. Those involved in the campaign will always remember Bob's political dedication which was offset by
an often needed wry sense of humour on picket lines on cold Mayo mornings.
A founding member of the Rossport Solidarity Camp he worked tirelessly with the people of Erris to build a democratic community based
campaign to resist the onshore refinery at Ballinaboy. While the campaign was ultimately unsuccessful in stopping the project, it was
successful in adding large costs for Shell, and arguably made it less likely for other companies to consider similar projects worthwhile.
Modest by nature Bob never appreciated his influence both within in the Shell to Sea campaign or the impact his activism had on wider Irish
politics. Anti-fracking campaigners, who successfully prevented the introduction of fracking in Ireland built on the experiences of the
Shell campaigners. Indeed the political networks built in those years of struggle have had been mobilised successfully in other spheres,
most recently in the Repeal campaign. Bob was also a dedidated, committed and active anti-fascist unwilling to tolerate racism or fascism in
any guise, something that also came across through his music.

\Following his involvement in Shell2Sea, Bob moved to Cork and joined WSM in mid-2008. He was an active branch member for a number of years,
helping to organise public meetings and to write for the paper, Workers Solidarity. For a number of years he was a member of the editorial
committee. In terms of anarchist ideas he was close to the the ‘class-struggle' tradition. He was someone who lived his politics. Writing on
class in 2008 he outlined his vision of successful political activity 'Our experience of working cooperatively under capitalism prepares us
to take control, and victories in our everyday struggles to improve working and living conditions teach us confidence'.

Between 2009 to 2012 he was particularly involved with the founding and running of Solidarity Books, the anarchist led bookshop and meeting
space located on Douglas Street in Cork. In June 2010 he spoke at the Victoria Hotel, Cork at a WSM public meeting 'Ireland Can't Afford
Capitalism - Why We Need a Revolution'. This event saw WSM posit system change as an alternative to the option of electing a new set of
politicians to the Dail who would simply ‘manage austerity' for the IMF and the Troika. A large crowd turned up to meeting and the speakers'
contributions were met with rapturous applause.

Other WSM members who worked with Bob during this period speak of his ‘quiet resolve and commitment' around the issues of the day and the
need to resist austerity. ‘A really reliable comrade', was how another described him. In 2011, Bob was instrumental in helping start a
Galway Branch of WSM. Although he ended his full membership of the WSM the next year he remained committed to anarchist ideas and played a
part over the next number of years in a range of campaigns including the successful anti-water tax campaign, the Marriage Equality
Referendum and Repeal 8th/ Together 4 Yes.
Music was one of the great loves of Bob's life. His interests were wide and varied - everthing from hardcore punk to jazz caught his
attention. This said he had a special love for ska and Oi!

He played with a range of bands: The Dogboy Conspiracy, Fuktifino, Riastradh, Only Fumes and Corpses, Section 4, Good Time Fun Boys, The
Jollars, The Maori John Wayne, The Hacklers to name a few. In recent years he played with The Hacklers who toured regularly in Europe and
the UK and were working on a new album. He was also played with The Jollars who performed occasional gigs in Ireland and Europe. Musically
he was difficult to pin down but he was probably closest to the punk tradition. Although he disagreed with the use of the term punk, he
loved the music. Musicians who played with Bob mention in particular ‘his amazing bass playing' and it will probably be as a bassist that he
will be remembered by those who heard him play. However, he also was an accomplished guitarist and often sang with the bands he played in.
Occasionally, and at the most unexpected moments, he was also known to whip out the clarinet.

He is greatly missed.

http://wsm.ie/c/remember-bob-kavanagh

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Message: 3






Israeli long time anarchist activist Jonathan Pollack was arrested on Monday January 6th. Jonathan was one of the earlier refuseniks and one
of the founders of Anarchists against the wall. He had been denounced by an Israeli right-wing organization for his participation every
Friday, since 2003, in the demonstrations of the Palestinian popular committees, which have continued the nonviolent struggle against the
separation Wall/fence dividing the Palestinian villages from their fields and sources.
A big hug to Jonathan, and let him be free immediately!
http://alternativalibertaria.fdca.it/wpAL/blog/2020/01/08/israele-ha-arrestato-jonathan-pollack-attivista-di-anarchici-contro-il-muro/

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Message: 4






U.S. Army paratroopers being mobilized to the Middle East. ---- Statement by members of Black Rose/Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation "The
greatest purveyor of violence in the world: my own government." -MLK ---- Black Rose Anarchist Federation / Federación Anaquista Rosa Negra
unequivocally condemns the U.S. assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq. This is a provocation and an act of imperialist
aggression that adds to a long history of U.S.-led military and economic violence in the Middle East, including the recent crippling
sanctions which most severely impact poor and working class Iranians. This assasination has every possibility of escalating into a large
scale armed conflict - something that would undoubtedly lead to the immiseration of millions in the region.

We share the view of fallen Black freedom fighter and Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. that "The greatest purveyor of violence in
the world: my own government. I cannot be silent." Much of the world has become a scorched battlefield for over two centuries as the dark
shadow of U.S. imperialism, resource extraction, and capital accumulation first spanned the continent, then the globe. Through the
colonization of indigenous peoples in the Americas to imperialist expansion around the world, this great purveyor of violence has displaced,
imprisoned, tortured, enslaved, and killed untold millions. It is no surprise that in our time, through an endless "war on terror" that the
darkest areas of this shadow have engulfed the broader Middle East.

We stand in solidarity with the people of Iran and the Middle East who have suffered greatly from U.S. imperialism. The 1953
CIA-orchestrated coup that ousted Iran's first democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and brought the oppressive shah back
to power made the ground fertile for the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Since then, the U.S. has been directly involved in destabilizing both
Iran, and later, Iraq; first starting with the Iran-Iraq war (1980). The Gulf War of 1990-91, the intermittent bombings as well as the
sanctions and blockade that lasted through the 90s, the 2003 invasion and ensuing occupation, and the battle against ISIS can more
accurately be viewed as a three decade long war waged by the U.S. Intermittent threats of war against Iran, crippling economic sanctions and
drone warfare have finally come to a tipping point. The world waits in horror as lines are drawn in the sand and Trump openly threatens to
commit war crimes in Iran through the targeting of cultural sites. Millions of people who are desperately trying to escape the clutches of
this endless war have fled their homes: the U.S. is guilty of creating the largest refugee and humanitarian crises since WWII. We demand:
U.S. Out of the Middle East!

Image of recent uprising and street protests in Iran.
As working people and revolutionaries in the U.S., we harbor no hostility toward the working people of Iran. In fact, we recognize that
working people in both Iran and the U.S. have far more in common with one another than we will ever have with our respective governments,
bosses and ruling classes.

We also recognize that General Soleimani was no friend to the people of the Middle East and North Africa. Our comrades in The Anarchist
Union of Iran and Afghanistan made as much clear in a recent statement that they released on his assassination:

"Qasem Soleimani was a genocidal man that has killed thousands of men, women, and children in the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. He
lead sieges for Assad and recruited Afghan refugees in Iran, many of them children, to die in the Syrian civil war. This state assassination
was carried out by the United States in the obvious interest of Donald Trump's election and what was done has not been and will not be in
the interests of the people in the Middle East"

- Anarchist Union of Iran and Afghanistan, Jan. 3, 2020
As revolutionary anarchists we condemn U.S. imperialist aggression. We also condemn supporting the political program of the Islamic
government in the name of a bogus "anti-imperialism." We must recognize that governments, nations, politicians, and uniformed authoritarians
will never fight for our collective liberation.

Treating revolution as an exercise in rooting for one side or the other in geopolitical contests has been an abject failure for working
people in all countries. Instead, we stand in solidarity with those who mobilize against Iranian austerity measures, with feminists,
socialists, anarchists, and labor militants who have fought and continue to be repressed by the Islamic Republic. We also stand with the
recent popular rebellion in Iraq as well as the besieged peoples in Syria and Rojava. We see all of these movements from below as part of an
international struggle for liberation. One of the greatest dangers of Trump carrying out this assassination is that it will undermine the
popular movements in Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon.

Our responsibility goes beyond simply condemning U.S. imperialist escalation in the Middle East as well as the political program of the
Islamic Republic of Iran. We also must recognize and learn from the failures of the antiwar movement of 2003, which produced some of the
largest protests in human history yet failed to stop the war in Iraq. Today we are left with the U.S. remaining in Iraq, which it has nearly
continuously bombed or deployed troops to for almost thirty years. Generic calls for peace, petitions, symbolic mobilizations, canned
speeches, appeals to the ballot box and pushing within the Democratic Party have to be put aside in favor of mass direct action advancing
the demands of working people who face class warfare every day.

Poster mobilizing for May Day 2008 shut down of West Coasts in protest of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We assert that the only way to stop a war machine is to shut down the economy which enables it through mass disruption of business as usual.
This would look like workers in strategic positions going on strike, social movements blocking or occupying railways, sea ports and military
bases, and mass appeals to those in the military to refuse orders. There is recent precedence for this. During the war in Iraq,
demonstrators shut down the financial district of San Francisco during a mass direct action in 2003, activists in Washington State
temporarily halted military shipments by shutting down the Port of Olympia (the military has not used that port since 2007), 10,000
longshore workers went on strike against the war on May Day in 2008 in all 29 ports on the West Coast, and countless soldiers refused orders
from officers, refused deployment, or went AWOL. While these forms of direct action should be celebrated as small victories, in order to
effectively grind down the gears of the war machine, actions like these need to happen on a mass scale.

We call on all revolutionaries, working people, students, all people of good conscience, both young and old, to build capacity in their
workplaces, neighborhoods, schools, and places of worship in order to materially oppose a war with Iran, and lay the groundwork for
meaningful opposition to future wars. We call on U.S. soldiers to refuse and resist any orders to aid in this escalation and to evade
deployment to Iran or the broader region. They will be enthusiastically welcomed and provided sanctuary and support in popular movements
from below in the US (just as they have in the past). We recognize that it may seem social movements and the left are a long way from
realizing these actions but by pointing to recent examples and building capacity we make these more likely to happen.

While Trump brazenly brags about a two trillion dollar military budget, and weapons manufacturers and the ruling class continue to line
their pockets, those of us from below continue to struggle. People enlist in the military to escape poverty or to unshackle their debt from
student loans, thousands die every year in the U.S. from lack of health insurance, millions are homeless while many more millions of homes
lie empty. We do not want any more wars between nations, but we know that wars between classes are fought every day. It's time to push back
- in Iran, in Iraq, and in the heart of the greatest purveyor of violence in the world.

https://blackrosefed.org/statement-on-us-aggression-against-iran-2020/

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Message: 5






The strikers held during the holidays ---- It had been said, it was done: there was no "Christmas truce" for the strike in transport. The
rates of strikers have stayed the same or have fallen slightly, but nothing that allows us to approach a return to normal ! ---- SUMMARY
---- There was no truce --- Strategic perspectives ---- download State of struggles n ° 5 in pdf ---- The strikers held during the holidays
---- It had been said, it was done: there was no "Christmas truce" for the strike in transport. The rates of strikers have stayed the same
or have fallen slightly, but nothing that allows us to approach a return to normal ! ---- Many other work collectives also continued to
mobilize during the holiday season. ---- As for the education sector, the school holidays obviously brought a halt to mobilization.

At the start of the school year, the situation is therefore visibly similar to that before Christmas. Obviously only, because the strikers
have an additional 15 days on strike, and because a lot has happened.

We should already point out that it has been two weeks of more difficulty, not only for the displacement of Ile-de-France residents, but
also for trade. There is an attempt to make believe that they are the most precarious the main victims of the strike, but the tourism sector
and all that is linked (hotels, restaurants, museums, department stores ...) takes big economic blows in this moment.

Equally important: power has already shrunk in the face of mobilization: (cops, age at which counter-reform began to apply, dancers from the
Paris opera house ...). And even if it's setbacks are limited, it shows that it can still back off. The mobilization is stagnating, and yet
these tactical setbacks have not resulted in the collapse of the mobilization !

And finally, obviously, the support for mobilization in the population cannot be denied ! We certainly see it in the polls, but we see it
especially when we talk directly to our colleagues, to our neighbors in the markets, on the street, etc.

The balance of power could therefore be more in our favor now than before the end of the year holidays.

The intersyndicale sends strong signals
The inter-union CGT-FSU-Solidaires-FO-CFE CGC calls for 3 days of mobilization in a row, on January 9, 10 and 11, and not only for a "high
point" on January 9 as we feared. This historically unprecedented initiative taken by the inter-union says something about the depth of the
mobilization and the pivotal moment of this beginning of 2020.

This call for 3 days breaks with the strategy of "high points" which does not allow the strike to be massively renewed, and therefore to
free up time for the movement's self-organization.

Reluctant sectors
For several weeks, the entry into the battle of the petrochemical industry, and in particular the blocking strike in oil refineries, has
been announced. This strike is more difficult to put in place than these few incantations. It may be growing, but at the moment it has no
significant effect on the availability of fuel in petrol pumps.

The resumption of mobilization in education is unknown, as are the forms of this resumption. Mobilization on the big interpro dates only or
going on a renewable strike, at least in some hotbeds of contestation ?

The culture sector has been very active during the holidays and could continue. In addition to the iconic Paris Opera, many libraries,
museums and tourist sites have carried out media strikes.

STRATEGIC OUTLOOK
Act everywhere, everyone
That we make food show in certain districts, that we block bus depots with the support of people who are not on strike (because National
Education, students, unemployed people ...), everything that is good and useful, but does not build the strike. However, SNCF and RATP will
not hold out indefinitely. We must put all the forces into the battle to breathe new life into the mobilization.

We are facing a situation of strike by proxy based on three sectors (SNCF / RATP / Education with the problem of holidays), but with an
active minority of wage earners as such (and which is not limited to its fringes leftists) determined to wage a fight, which explains the
foci of strikes here and there.

But we can not pretend that, at 33 th day of the strike, we were still in the construction phase of a general strike. The challenge is that
on the 9th, 10th and 11th, a maximum of direct actions take place in the country. Strikes and walkouts are direct actions, as are blockages
and sabotages. Everything is legitimate, as long as it is decided by collective workers who want to put all their weight in social protest.

The time is not only to support the struggle of the SNCF and the RATP, but the struggle itself, of all and all, according to the
possibilities of the different sectors. Everything must be put in the balance to force the government to withdraw from the reform.

Allow strikers to decide for themselves
We can never repeat it enough: it is when it is the strikers who decide that the strike has the best chance of continuing to spread and to
anchor. The strikers must decide everything: the modalities of action for their struggle, and the demands. This is how new demands may
emerge, beyond the retirement of the pension counter-reform: wage increases, retirement at 60, management of social security ...
Refuse political recuperation
As always, the few government setbacks (which do not resolve anything) since the beginning of December are the result of the strike. It is
the strikers who will win. Quite a few politicians are running behind the movement, wanting to spread the idea that they and they need it to
change. This allows you to take advantage of a historic moment, historic because of the strikers, to advance ideas that are not those of the
strikers, and take advantage of the window of media attention. In this period of campaign for the municipal elections, it is a boon ...

But the real political outlet is in the victory of our social class by direct action, in the promotion and satisfaction of self-managing
demands participating in a break with the capitalist system, in the self-organization of the struggle by those who lead it: the strikers !

Activate positive proposals
It is essential to make audible positive proposals. The current struggle has been built "against". Against the pension reform, against the
government and Macron, against this system that crushes us at work. We must now give reasons to fight "for" something, for anti-capitalist
alternatives.

But these proposals must imperatively be articulated with the ongoing struggle to be audible and appropriable by the strikers, so that each
and everyone can endorse these proposals.

This is a perfect opportunity to talk about Social Security. Retirement money, like health insurance money, is taken from our wages: social
security contributions. This money does not go through private boxes, but goes directly to finance our accidents in life and our pensions.
It is the socialized salary, pooled in solidarity. But much more could be socialized as well !

On the contrary, the government wants to reduce premiums so that employers pay lower wages. This always implies more force-feeding of those
who exploit us, and always less means for our lives. On the contrary, the more we socialize a large part of our wages, the more we will keep
for ourselves, directly, the fruit of our work.

But who decides on the distribution of this money which belongs to us ? Who decides on the amount of pensions, reimbursement of medicines,
family allowances, conditions of access to unemployment ? Who decides what is done with our money, which is the fruit of our labor ? Today,
it is the leaders, who work for the bosses ! Well let's refuse that ! Let's take control of our lives collectively. We work, we decide !

The movement's self-organization must echo the demands of direct democracy and self-management at work: those who work decide on working
conditions. It is by linking economic demands to democratic demands that we can bring a singular voice.

Build a student and high school student movement
GAs that fill lecture halls, canceled partials, blocked faculties ... Some events of this kind make us think of a beginning of mobilization
among students.

The themes seem diverse: breach of equality for the passage of partials in the Paris region due to the strike of urban transport, student
insecurity, pension reform ...

There is still significant mobilization work to be done, as well as the structuring of claims.

But we know that a massive entry of students into the movement would be a heavy blow for the government.

And now what's going on ?
The days of January 9, 10 and 11 will certainly be days of strong mobilization. It will be necessary to take advantage of this sequence of
days to make fire of any flame, certainly, but especially to anchor the work collectives in a movement in the duration. If it is urgent to
join transport in the renewable strike, these 3 days are an opportunity to really put the debate at work not to resume as if nothing
happened on Monday 13.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Il-n-y-a-pas-eu-de-treve

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Message: 6






Cork showed the far right the door on January 4th as about 300 anti-fascists turned up at city hall to face down afar right rally of about
that peaked at about 70.The anti-fascist rally was called by Cork Rebels for Peace, "a broad spectrum of left political & community
activists from across the city and county and we've called upon a celebration of diversity, inclusiveness and solidarity.We have come
together to show the far right that Cork city will not succumb to intolerance." ---- The inital far right presence was tiny, only 7
people,However the fascists were running a national mobilisation so that number grew as buses arrived from other cities, perhaps reaching
70.From photographs we've recognised known fascist organisers from Wexford, Kildare and Galway.The crowd turning out to these protests runs
from known fascists, often openly recruiting to their parties to the conspiracy theorists who they prey on for funding.As journalist Bryan
Wall noted some of the latter carried "placards accusing the HSE of killing elderly people with lethal doses of medication in nursing
homes."One National Party live stream wandered from trying to recruit people attending to boasting about the aid Americans were giving to
trying to build a fascist movement in Ireland to the anti-semetic 'cultural marxists run everything' conspiracy theory with in this case the
claim that cultural marxists had even taken over the catholic church.Classically fascism has always used conspiracy theories as part of the
cement to hold movements together, for example the post WWI 'stab in the back' in Germany, or the concept of judo-bolshivism which the
'cultural marxism' conspiracy theory is adopted from.

While the paranoia comes across as laughable the reality is that those who hold these ideas have been incited to carry out arson attacks,
attack peoples houses and physically assualt people on the street.The fascist movement in Ireland is small but as we've seen elsewhere even
small movements can engage in murderous violence and incite individuals to carry out truly horrific attacks like the New Zealand mosque
killings where 51 people were murdered.Fascist movements don't need to be big before they should be taken seriously.

The anti-facist mobilisation in Cork saw a local crowd of about 200 that rapidly grew to 300.Pretty much all of these were from Cork and its
surrounds as unlike the fascists across the street there was no need to run a national mobilisation to build numbers.Although there have
been a few small token counter demonstrations in all cases where anti-fascists have seriously mobilised, even just on a local basis, they
have outnumbered the fascists 3 to 1 or 6 to 1.This visibly demoralises the fascists who in many cases have fooled themselves that their
hate filled heads are somehow representative of what most ordinary people really think, the reality as we have seen from their election
failures is that only about 1 in 20 go along with their hate, even when they run candidates with national profiles.But it should be the case
they are being outnumbered 20 to 1 and better - people who consider themselves anti-racists need to step up and not leave it to others to
face down fascism whereever it appears because if they can organise more of the 5% of haters you may not be able to do so tomorrow.

Photo Kevin Doyle, Kevin said after the protest "The big successes of today's protest was outnumbering the racists and holding the City
Hall. But this fight goes on. "

Addendum: What defines fascism?
There has been some debate about whether these protests are fascist.The fascists are not stupid, they know if they call an openly fascist
protest complete with swastika waving skinheads doing nazi salutes they'd mobilise considerably less than their core membership.So they have
imported the US fascist strategy of calling their rallies 'free speech' protests.Anyone who researches those attending realises this is
ludicrous, the very same groups and individuals opposed the repeal of the blasphemy laws, call for the silencing of LGBT people, the
deportation of all migrants, and even the execution of 'traitors' by which they normally mean the left, broadly defined.If fascists call a
'free beer' party what is important is not the free beer but the fascism.

What makes a fascist protest a fascist protest?A German expression we've seen a lot recently on social media suggests "If ten people and one
nazi sit down for lunch then you have eleven nazis sitting down for lunch". There is a usefulness to that in terms of underlining why
fascism is so different that there should be no toleration for it.But with the far right rallies we have directly monitored you are not
talking of a 11 to 1 ratio. Depending on the event its ran from 80-90% fascist to 30%+. We have multiple, if small, groups of organised
ideological fascists who are already carrying out acts of physical violence and arson against opponents as well as sustained campaigns of
intimidation. We've identified some of those people in the photos from Saturdays far right protest in Cork.

Todays fascists look different than the uniformed seig heliers of the 80s, in part because they once more have the backing of billionaires
and hence PR advisors telling them to smarten themsleves up and tuck the open fascism under the carpet, for now.Today in Ireland they are a
blend of youngish misogynist hipsters, often outraged at the empowerment of women through feminism andquite elderly enraged reactionaries
swallowing all sorts of conspiracy theories. That later segment who held a 'let women die' position in the Repeal referendum have been
unable to accept that the changes in Ireland that and the Marriage Equality referendum represented have arise because new generations
rejected their hard right clerical policies of the past.

The talking points used by many of these figures (great replacement theory, pseudo nationalism, cultural marxism) are straight out of the
Nazi political playbook. Whether these people openly self identify as fascist is beside the point. Using basic intuition it's not hard to
understand the ideology behind the rhetoric and conspiracy theories.

They are attempting to foment a far-right political movement by using lies and half truths to appeal to people's fears. They are
anti-historical in that they are deliberately dishonest about their political lineage, which far from Irish patriotism is in fact UK and
European fascism and US conspiracy theories. This is the same shite the Nazis were up to, and it is extremely irresponsible for people not
to take that seriously.

While they try and encourage liberal to allow them to organise by promoting the idea that 'both sides' are extreme its only if one takes
modern corporate capitalism and the earth destroying shit show that it is as a reasonable centre ground then sure, the left are also
extreme. Otherwise in essentially every respect the anti authoritarian left is the polar opposite of these far right grifters and the gross
ideology behind them.

On the question of "who" it is appropriate to label fascist, it's absolutely an important consideration, where nuance is key. While
individuals always will have 'hot takes' that may be problematic for lots of reasons, we'd reject the notion that the left in general 'goes
around labelling anyone they don't agree with' as fascist. That's nonsense, and is more often than not a defense offered by those on the
far-right allowing them to attepmpt to cloak their views and sentiments as mainstream or popular.

Looking at ideological fascism as a cultural phenomenon rather than something which is 'done' by fascists or simply a problem of having too
many fascists around, we should understand that the ideology is psychologically based in the notions of hierarchy/authority and sancticy (of
state or nation). These are tendencies of thought in all humans, however when monopolised by cynical actors attempting to develop personal
and political power, as history shows repeatedly it creates a toxic politics and culture (to be understated), at the expense of other
innately human ideas such as egalitarianism and care. Under far right ideologues we end up with a putrid politics of exclusion (and often
systemitised murder based on 'purity' of race, religion, belief etc), all while the billionaires make out just fine.

So the question becomes how do we navigate/oppose people seeking to build a political base on the former tendencies of 'purity/sanctity' and
authority? One way is to stop them from building that base in communities by disturbing their political meetings.Yes, we understand that in
the abstract this runs counter to the liberal idea of freedom of speech or 'market place of ideas'. But it is derived from an analysis of
power and real politik - direct experience of how the far right operate, and what will happen to those in marginalised communities if they
grow and prosper.

http://wsm.ie/c/cork-shows-fascism-door-jan4th

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