While the response to the discount action has been quite honestly even better than we expected, more than one person has complained about our timing. Starting late in the month, and ending at the end of the month is of course not particularly helpful to the many who face constant end of month crisis situations (we include ourselves…). So, for this reason and also just because we can, we are extending the discount action for another two weeks, until the 15th of November.
What is also coming soonish on Fire and Flames…Urban Classics!
This means 10€ each on the sweatjackets, and 15€ each on reversible jackets and „Fire and Ice“ jacket. Why? Simple…We have projects, they need financing. You help us, we help you.
Facing away from the Cops, towards other demonstrators
Despite all the previous negative experiences with them (quite a few of them first hand, living in Greece and during the uprising of December 2008), I have to admit to still holding a bit of naive hope that, in this time of generalized discontent and resistance, they would finally throw their considerable weight on the side of revolution (or at the very least on the side of „the people“), and maybe not act as the States Fifth Column inside the resistance movement.
The KNAT protects the parliament, the Cops watch their backs…
How wrong this hope was could not have been demonstrated any more clearly than on the second day of last weeks General Strike. Faced with demonstrations of an unprecedented size, a huge wave of anger that threatened to roll out of control, and masses of people ready to attack the police protecting Parliament and the politicians inside… the KKE, and more particularly the KNAT, mounted a human barrier around parliament and armed with helmets and batons attacked anybody who tried to attack the Parliament. They did this in co-ordination with the cops, even mounting joint attacks against anarchists and anti-authoritarians together with the cops.
(It should also be noted that, for somewhat over 10 years, the KKE/KNAT/PAME have almost always organized their own demonstrations, away from all other sectors of the left-wing or anarchist movement. We can only imagine why they chose to break with that line at this particular moment in history).
Again, this is not about anti-communism or „red baiting,“ or sectarianism, or what have you. But the facts, pictures, videos, and acts speak for themselves. Whatever side these people are on, is definitely not ours.
A small update from the Fire and Flames clothing world, quickly summarized for the short attention spans of the Twitterdamaged: All of our jackets (Retro Red / Blue, Red Heat/Red Stripe, Reversible „Work 2.0,“ Reversible „Deep Blue,“ and the winter jacket „Fire and Ice“) are very discounted for the next 10 days.
This means 10€ each on the sweatjackets, and 15€ each on reversible jackets and „Fire and Ice“ jacket. Why? Simple…We have projects, they need financing. You help us, we help you.
Not necessarily our own, but here are some thoughts from some people who have had the time and peace of mind to articulate some of what one might want to say.
Very briefly summarized though: It needs to step away from the very damaging anti-political stance (explained very well in the WSM article) and develop at least a minimal coherence. They also should do well to examine the socioeconomic makeup of their participants and think about if a group of overwhelmingly white middle/upper class white people should be calling themselves „99%“ of society. And of course, as long as it remains basically a prolonged campout, it will never be nearly as interesting as what is happening in Greece, where the state faces resistance from a broad spectrum of social groups and organizing forms, from the „indignants/occupy“ to labor action, to marginalized sectors of society. Not to mention of course the very important and in the occupy „movement“ completely absent industrial and workplace action in the form of strikes. In that regard, you can see that again very interesting things have been happening the last few days in Greece by way of strikes and occupations. Tomorrow begins the next general strike…it should be a very interesting week.
This should of course not at all mean that the „Occupy“ phenomenon is to be written off. Anytime people organize and take to the streets to express their discontent with the status quo is at the very least positive in that it represents an opportunity to engage with people and hopefully move the „movement“ in a more radical direction.
The long awaited new release from Madrids finest antifascist streetpunk/oi/hardcore (we cant really put a finger on it) combo Non Servium, titled „El Rodillo del Kaos“, has finally seen the light! What to say about it besides that is definitely on the level of, if not better than, „NSA“ and „El Imperio del Mal,“ which were both spectacularly good!
For those of you, shockingly, unfamiliar with the band, here is the video from „El Imperio del Mal“
