How riot control works:

Riot Control Tactics

The tactics used to control riots in the past were simple -- they were based on the fact that the police were almost always better-armed than the rioters. The tactics they used basically consisted of forming a line and charging into the crowd. Today, the police are still well-armed, but tactics have advanced significantly in hopes of preventing injuries.

When a riot is in full swing, police will deploy in a square formation with a command team at the center. The command team is protected on all four sides by echelons of troops deployed in groups of 10 or 12 officers. There is also an arrest team at the center of the square.

This tactical unit is very mobile and able to adapt on the fly to changes in the situation. If a threat suddenly appears behind or to one side of the unit, then the echelon facing that direction is designated the front of the unit. The entire team can then change the direction it's facing without a lot of maneuvering. Also, the echelons can cover each other when the team moves to take advanced positions. If the unit is under attack, the whole team does not move together: One echelon moves while the others provide covering fire or an actual physical screen (with riot shields). Then another echelon moves up into position.

The echelon is not meant to be an impenetrable wall of cop. In fact, the riot squad often leaves an escape route to let rioters run past the squad. The officers can adopt a passive position, in which they spread out and leave several yards between each officer. The crowd can then easily filter through them. If a particularly violent group moves toward the officers or they spot specific suspects they want to arrest, they can quickly close the gaps and form a tight line.

As the unit moves forward into a crowd, it will prod and push at anyone who doesn't respond to requests to move away by the time the front echelon reaches them. If they still refuse to move, the unit continues moving forward, but the front echelon opens up and passes around the protestors. Once the protestors are inside the square, the unit stops, the front echelon reforms and the arrest team processes the rioters. When they're done, the unit can continue moving.

Crowd-control Philosophy: Conflict

If a crowd gets unruly and starts taking violent action, then the police will switch to a more aggressive attitude. Their actions here reflect the fact that almost all riots are incited and lead by a few individuals who feel strongly or have something to gain from a violent confrontation. The majority of the people present either show up because something exciting is going on or are bystanders who got carried into the mob mentality. Faced with the possibility of arrest or confrontation with police, most of them simply want to escape and go home.

The first step is simple intimidation. Riot officers stand in strict formations and act with military precision. Once they form echelons -- lines of officers that effectively work as barriers -- the officers tap their batons on their shields or stomp their feet in unison. The result can be quite frightening to unarmed civilians -- it looks and sounds as if this group of armed and armored officers is getting ready to come crashing down with clubs swinging. In truth, this display is meant to scare off as many of the rioters as possible without the officers ever getting near them.

Police do not try to arrest every rioter. Their first targets are those who are leading the riot, because often the crowd will disperse without their leaders firing them up and encouraging them. All people who are spotted breaking a law are also targeted for arrest, especially if they injure or kill another person.

When it gets to the point where officers are actually in conflict with the rioters, the goal is still to disperse the crowd. A combination of advancing lines of officers and the use of noxious gas is used to direct the crowd in a certain direction or keep them away from a certain area. The crowd is never pinned down -- rioters are always given an escape route, since the whole point is to get them to run away.

Source: "How Riot Control Works" by Ed Grabianowski | howstuffworks.com

Horia Pătrașcu:

Un miting autorizat e ca un barbat fără testicule. [...]
Să ceri autorizație pentru a demonstra împotriva autorității e ca și cum un ateu ar cere binecuvântarea Patriarhului. Ca și cum ai fugi de-acasă în dormitor. Ca și cum ai renunța la școală, dar numai după absolvire…
Obligația de a autoriza un miting este de fapt o interzicere explicită a acestui drept la exprimare. Că mitingurile autorizate, organizate „conform cadrului legal”, nu sunt decât niște fake-uri penibile, niște caraghioslâcuri tolerate de Putere tocmai pentru că sunt complet inofensive am văzut la ultimele „demonstrații” organizate de sindicate sau de partidele politice. Un miting „legal”, desfășurat într-un anumit interval orar, cu baloane colorate și fluierașe de bâlci, cu muzichie și șepci cu sigle pare un hibrid între o procesiune religioasă și o paradă gay. Un asemenea miting – legal – nu este unul real. Mitingurile reale sunt mitinguri – precum cele pe care le vedem zilele acestea – ilegale, neautorizate, „anarhiste”. Și prefer infinit mai mult un asemenea miting – ilegal, dar real – celui legal, dar ireal, ireal de ridicol – precum dansul pinguinului-profesor „organizat” de niște sindicate din învățământ ajunse de râsul curcilor.

Sursa: "Și eu sunt un anarhist" | contributors.ro

Tor: surf anonymously

Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security known as traffic analysis.

Tor protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world: it prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites you visit, and it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location. Tor works with many of your existing applications, including web browsers, instant messaging clients, remote login, and other applications based on the TCP protocol.

Download Tor here

Abbie Hoffman:

'You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists.'

Tribler

While the file-sharing ecosystem is currently filled with uncertainty and doubt, researchers at Delft University of Technology continue to work on their decentralized BitTorrent network. Their Tribler client doesn’t require torrent sites to find or download content, as it is based on pure peer-to-peer communication. “The only way to take it down is to take the Internet down,” the lead researcher says.

The Tribler BitTorrent client is no newcomer to the BitTorrent scene. It has been in development for more than 5 years and has delivered many innovative features, which have mostly been ignored by the masses.
Today, however, Tribler is more relevant than ever before.

Developed by a team of researchers at Delft University of Technology, the main goal is to come up with a robust implementation of BitTorrent that doesn’t rely on central servers. Instead, Tribler is designed to keep BitTorrent alive, even when all torrent search engines, indexes and trackers are pulled offline.

“Our key scientific quest is facilitating unbounded information sharing,” Tribler leader Dr. Pouwelse tells TorrentFreak.


According to Dr. Pouwelse, Tribler is fully capable of resisting any pressure from outside, and it will still work when all torrent sites and trackers are gone. It simply can’t be shutdown, blocked or censored, whatever laws politicians may come up with.
“The only way to take it down is to take The Internet down.” Pouwelse told us.


While the Tribler client only has a few thousand users at the moment, for avid file-sharers it must be a relief to know that it’s out there. No matter what crazy laws may pass in the future, people will always be able to share.
Those who want to give it a spin are welcome to download Tribler here. It’s completely Open Source and with a version for Windows, Mac and Linux.

Sursa: torrentfreak.com

STOP ACTA:

Vreau sa cobor

Reprogramează-te

Anthony Burgess:

"Unii dintre noi trebuie să lupte. Tradiţia libertăţii trebuie apărată. Nu sunt un om de partid. Unde văd infamie, caut să o stîrpesc. Numele partidelor nu înseamnă nimic. Tradiţia libertăţii înseamnă totul. Omul obişnuit o va trăda, o, da. Vor da libertatea pe o viaţă mai liniştită."

Anthony Burgess, "Portocala mecanică"

Iuri Bezmezov:

Cei patru paşi de urmat pentru răsturnare a puterii unui stat, în viziunea KGB, sunt demoralizarea, destablizarea, criza şi normalizarea.


1. Demoralizarea dă rezultate după 15-20 ani, timp în care apare prima generaţie în minţile si valorile căreia au fost implantate, prin propagandă, influenţare, contact direct, aliniere şi racolare sectară sau religioasă, elementele care defăimează, demonetizează si subminează constant valorile împământenite.
Sindicatele fac politici sindicale, poliţia devine un represor iar infractorii sunt simpatizaţi, credinţa devine propagandă, iar propaganda devine credinţă, media se îmbâcseşte cu mediocritate şi cretinism, la şcoala nu se mai învaţă fundamente, ci debilităţi; încet şi criminal, valorile sunt substituite în vederea declanşării destabilizării.

2. Destabilizarea impune intoleranţa, radicalizarea, decredibilizează şi cretinizează instituţii, oamenii nu mai discută între ei, sunt susţinute doar certurile, pun mana pe armă şi se împuşcă unii pe alţii (deocamdată cu bile de cauciuc); apar lideri din neant, grupuri de activişti, ONG-uri, purtători ai diverselor "lupte legitime", media devine total opusă societării, antagonismul atinge un maximum iar agenţii conservaţi ani în şir devin activi şi militanţi, conducând "grupurile legitime" ce aduc societatea în criză, acuzând prin vocea societării civile corupţia şi incompetenţa celor de la putere. 

3. În criză apar comitetele revoluţionare, emanaţii, comitetele nealese dar înfiinţate de "prietenii care ştiu de ce", iar lumea disperată aşteaptă un Mesia care să le dea păpică, muncă, linişte şi "normalitate".
Criza se termina numai când are loc o acţiune de forţă din partea autorităţilor, sau degenerează în război civil ori invazie. 

Toate comitetele şi toţi luptătorii, pe timp de criză, sunt convinşi că sunt legitimi, societatea colapsează, este aşteptat liderul cu mână forte, salvatorul care nu va întarzia decât dacă nu au avut loc invazia sau războiul civil, ori intervenţia în forţă din partea statului, nu neapărat din partea aceloraşi membri ai guvernării. 

4. 'Normalizarea' este etapa în care deja puterea a fost luată de un grup recunoscut pe plan extern, cu legitimitate în faţa sponsorului extern al evenimentelor. E etapa când agenţii, 'profesorii', propagandiştii, promotorii, conservaţii si foştii lideri tac, sau sunt eliminaţi; statistica arată ca se prefera eliminarea acestora.
De regulă, cei care preiau puterea  vor stabilitate si linişte, vor "normalizare", şi de aceea elimină pe cei care au fost înainte la cârmă, şi pe cei care sunt consideraţi pericole potenţiale.

 de aici

Sapun pentru creiere

Take the red pill

"Plans will change, but don’t lose the structures that enable you to change them in unison."

"Remember that the police won’t be able to make mass arrests unless they have lots of plastic handcuffs and vans or buses in the area, so these can be a good tip-off for what to expect. The same goes for chemical weapons; if they’re ready to use tear gas, they’ll all be wearing gas masks themselves."

"The police are restricted in what they can do by what public opinion will decree about it; you are limited in what you can do by a similar question, for whenever you move up to a more confrontational tactic the police will immediately upgrade their tactics to a level higher than yours.
[...] we always permit our opponents the more powerful tools, in order to keep the violence from getting too out of hand - and, of course, to show off how much more noble and courageous we are! If the papers read (as they have before) “Violence erupted when activists began throwing back tear gas canisters fired by the police,” it will be clear to everyone what’s going on."

"Whether or not an action is illegal is a poor measure of whether or not it is just [...]
To object to an action on the grounds that it is illegal is to sidestep the more important question of whether or not it is ethical. To argue that we must always obey laws, even when we consider them to be unethical or to enforce unethical conditions, is to suggest that the arbitrary pronouncements of the legal establishment possess a higher moral authority than our own consciences, and to demand complicity in the face of injustice. When laws protect injustice, illegal activity is no vice, and law-abiding docility is no virtue."

"If [surveillance] cameras are necessary on every corner, then something is fundamentally wrong in our society, and getting rid of the cameras is as good a starting place as any."

"In the collective unconscious of our society, the police are the ultimate bastion of reality, the force that ensures that things stay the way they are; to fight them and win, however temporarily, is to show that reality is negotiable."

from crimethinc.com

Tax resistance

Tax resistance is the refusal to willingly pay a tax because of opposition to the institution that is imposing the tax, or to some of that institution’s policies.
Some tax resisters refuse to pay all or a portion of the taxes due, but then make an equivalent donation to charity. In this way, they demonstrate that the intent of their resistance is not selfish and that they want to use a portion of their earnings to contribute to the common good.
For instance, Julia Butterfly Hill resisted about $150,000 in federal taxes, and donated that money to after school programs, arts and cultural programs, community gardens, programs for Native Americans, alternatives to incarceration, and environmental protection programs. She said:
I actually take the money that the IRS says goes to them and I give it to the places where our taxes should be going. And in my letter to the IRS I said: “I’m not refusing to pay my taxes. I’m actually paying them but I’m paying them where they belong because you refuse to do so.”

sursa: wikipedia.org

The Black Bloc

The Black Bloc is not an organization. It has no leaders. Like a spectre, it simply appears out of nowhere, wreaks havoc, then vanishes.

Nobody speaks for anybody in this group. They’re totally organic structures of people that come together in a certain time and place, and then they dissolve. Their actions are reactive to the police presence as well as the tenseness of the situation. "The Black Bloc" is sometimes incorrectly reported as being the name of a specific anarchist group. It is rather a tactic that may be adopted by groups of various motivations and methods.

Tactics of a Black Bloc can include vandalism, rioting and street fighting, demonstrating without a permit, misleading the authorities, assisting in the escape of people arrested by the police, administering first aid to persons affected by tear gas in areas where protesters are barred from entering, building barricades, and attacking police. Property destruction carried out by Black Blocs tends to have symbolic significance: common targets include banks, institutional buildings, outlets for multinational corporations, gasoline stations, and video-surveillance cameras.

Each participant of a Black Bloc wears somewhat of a "uniform". The clothing is used to avoid being identified, and to appear as one large mass, promoting solidarity or creating the illusion of a larger group. If every single person in the Bloc looks relatively alike, it is hard for the police to determine which individual did what. For instance, if a Black Bloc participant throws a brick at a store window and runs into the Bloc, he will easily blend in with everyone else.

The black hooded sweatshirt offers great protection in many ways. It protects the back of the neck and sides of the head from pepper spray and other chemical agents. Police often occupy rooftops and use helicopters in order to gain overhead perspective when filming and photographing the Bloc. The hooded sweatshirt helps protect you from these perspectives by covering your head and therefore making it difficult to draw any distinctions. All logos, patches, or anything else that can help the police distinguish you from anyone else should be removed or left at home.

Average black workers pants are fine. Black military-style cargo pants are extremely recommended. The cargo pockets can hold any items of use that you may have. All distinguishing characteristics must be removed.

The mask is one of the most important aspects of the equipment. The mask you wear should show nothing more than your eyes.

Ski Mask: We recommend the masks that only have holes for your eyes. If you can only find the kind with the three holes, then that will work. Just take a black piece of cloth and fill the mouth hole.

Bandana: An average black bandana that is tied around your mouth will work too. When choosing this mask, wear something over the top part of your head, such as a simple baseball hat or hood. If your hair and rest of your upper head are exposed, it is not hard to tell who you are.

Gas Mask: Useful if you plan on engaging in some heavy street combat. Tear gas is a widely used deterrent in street battles, and you should not be forced to turn away from your goal because of some gas. In most cases the ones wearing the gas masks are the ones throwing the gas canisters back at the police. Wearing a gas mask is an illegal practice and should be worn with caution.












In developing defensive-offense tactics, your bodies cant provide for everything you have to do in battle. That is why you need to be prepared with the proper tools to execute your goal.

These can include, but are not limited to:

Slingshot: Very effective when used by large groups at once. Should be used with 9 mm to 12 mm steel balls. Here is how you build one.

Smoke Bombs: They are great when dealing with illegal situations. It can shield any media or police cameras from catching anyone on film participating in an illegal act. It can also disorient the police when they are advancing on the crowd. For construction methods, click here.

Spray Cans: These are a very effective and educating method of property destruction. Slogans and symbols can be sprayed on rough surfaces such as brick or concrete walls that are a real bitch to remove. Paint applied on a riot cop's face-mask will mean he has to take it off. Wear gloves to keep the evidence off of you. Any trace of paint on your hands will make it damned hard to deny doing it.

Caltrops: Easy to make, and quite an effective way of stopping cars. To make them, simply bend together two pieces of steel rod and weld in a way that no matter which way the device falls one point is sticking straight up (picture). Make sure that these nails are both long (10 cm or longer) and thick (at least 5 mm) as car tires have a really thick outer layer. Sprinkle these across a road to prevent four-wheeled intruders. They will flatten normal police car tires in under a second.

Rope and marbles: Can be used as tangle-foot for massed riot troops or horses when well anchored off to utility poles or fire hydrants. Marbles in large numbers on hard pavement will trip a horse and panic them.

Clubs: Besides being mostly non lethal when used against the leg muscles, they are normally able to incapacitate in one or two strikes. Baseball bats are the baseline, a police collapsible baton is an excellent choice for concealment, length when extended and effectiveness in bruising an attacker to the point that they retreat or go to the ground.

Unarresting
Going to demonstrations comes with the chance of arrest, especially with the Black Bloc. Unarresting is the practice of pulling your comrades back into safety from the arms of the officers. This is a serious topic that needs to be discussed and practiced.
Most Blocs use the tactic of linking arms. This way, when an officer tries to pull one of them away, it makes it difficult to pull the individual from the arms of the other participants.

Often times, a demonstrator will get isolated from the group and suddenly be taken by an officer. Don't let anyone stray from the group. If someone does happen to stray and be detained, there are some things you can do if you act quickly: let everyone know what is happening and have your group run to the area of the situation. If the cop does not back away by the time you arrive to this situation, your group can fall on top of the person in a pile, and more people will gather around the situation. Make sure you do not harm the person you are attempting to unarrest. You can also get a few people to simply pull him away from the officer.

Remember! Unarresting someone is a very risky circumstance. In some cases, you can be given a harsher charge than the person you are unarresting.

De-Bloc'ing
At all demonstrations, it's often that people are picked up on the way from an action. When leaving a demonstration, you should always leave wearing something different than how you came. When walking away from the scene of a demonstration, remember not to ever be alone. If for some reason you came to the demonstration by yourself, just ask someone that is in a large group if you can walk with them.


Be creative. Think of some new ideas for de-Bloc'ing. Scope out the area of the demonstration before hand and find some good secure places to escape to.

Besides getting away with public criminal acts, there are other reasons to act in a Bloc. Bloc participation can be really exciting, and good for morale—acting in a mass of people who are ostensibly prepared to do what they believe is right regardless of police intimidation is often a hell of a lot more empowering than chanting weakly with the liberals; matching battle-dress is a ritual for inspiring courage that need not be abandoned to our uniformed enemies.

Sources: mlcastle.net, wikipedia, thestar.com, crimethinc.com


NOTE: Apparently, this is the one blog post that attracts most readers. Perhaps because of the strange days we are all living. Note that I do not endorse violence; all you can read in this article  is pure theory. It is meant to show that people are able to resist police abuse, not to encourage violent protests. Oh, and leave a comment while you're here.

Further reading: How riot control works
  

Deliric & Silent Strike - Demoncratie

Clipul e inspirat din filmul "They Live" din 1988.

"Only sheep need a shepherd."

The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense

Formed in 1966, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense was the largest Black revolutionary organization that has ever existed.

Famous for taking up guns in defense against police brutality, the Panthers had many other little-known sides to their work. They organized dozens of community programs such as free breakfast for children, health clinics and shoes for children.

restul aici

"Catch me if you can"