Letters to Forest Defenders

from Instagram

On Sunday, February 18 at 5pm we are hosting a letter writing event for Jack Mazurek, a forest defender from Atlanta who was recently incarcerated. Bring pens, paper, envelopes, and stamps if you have them!

Beehive Design Collective Presents MesoAmerica Resiste! and The True Cost of Coal

from Making Worlds Books

Join Beehive Design Collective as they present their newly released 10 Year Anniversary edition of “MesoAmerica Resiste!”, their new book, “The True Cost of Coal”, and even a peek into their work-in-progress about California: “The Callegory”.

Advance registration strong recommended.

The Bees use their massive, collaboratively produced, and intricately detailed fabric murals to tell complex global stories of stories of resistance, resilience, and solidarity. Packed with nature metaphors, peoples histories, and teeming with biodiversity, these images offer the foundation for an event of participatory discussion, poetic storytelling, and popular education. “MesoAmerica Resiste!’ focuses on stories from Mexico to Colombia. A map drawn in old colonial style depicts the modern invasion of megaprojects planned for the region… and opens to reveal the view from below, where communities are organizing locally and across borders to defend land and traditions, protect cultural and ecological diversity, and build alternative economies.

“The True Cost of Coal” tells many stories from the frontlines of Southern Appallachia who fought mountaintop removal for coal extraction for decades. This graphics campaign reflects the complexity of the struggles for land, livelihood, and self-determination playing out in Appalachia, and was made with the intention of honoring the tremendous history of organized resistance and the courage of communities living in the shadow of Big Coal.

  • Sunday, February 11, 2024
  • 5:00 PM 6:00 PM
  • Making Worlds Bookstore & Social Center 210 South 45th Street Philadelphia, PA, 19104 United States (map)

No pipelines. No borders. No genocide.

Submission

We hung up banners over the Schuylkill Expressway condemning BlackRock for their investment in both the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and Elbit Systems.



“If the Cops Kill Me I Want You to Riot”

Submission

“If the cops kill me I want you to riot
Burn down their stations and set their cars alight
Know that I went out fighting and wish we all
Could just have peace and be free
We cannot have peace until this empire falls. Even then, peace takes work and freedom is a constant struggle. If the cops kill me I want you to riot, to kill as many of them as you can.” – Tort’s diary p. 121
Tortuguita lived and died fighting for the dispossessed, the wild, and the feral; against the world of empire, prisons, and police. It was a true warrior who made the forest its home, devoted their life to the struggle, and was willing to die a revolutionary death rather than be captured. We invite all those who knew Tort, and all who were impacted by its life from afar, to take the anniversary of their death as an opportunity to reflect on our own commitments and deepen our resolve, so that we might invigorate and intensify our conflictuality.
Rather than retreat into the bounds of comfort and safety, let us allow our memory of Tort to remind us of what it means to truly act in accordance with our values, and to challenge ourselves to follow through. We are rendered harmless only when we allow our fear of the enemy to eclipse our desires to defend the land and reduce this capitalist hellworld to ashes. Remember that the mechanisms of subjugation and control encroach all around us. Wherever you are, you need not venture far to find the veins of industry; go out and sever them.
We need not be concerned with optics and media portrayals. We have no interest in seeking validation, recognition, or understanding from the same media outlets — agents of the society we wish to destroy — that deadname and misgender Tortuguita and relentlessly whitewash its life as one of nonviolence and passivity. Additionally, to contort our actions to render them acceptable to the general public is to inevitably dull them to the point of irrelevance. To work only within the confines of the existent is to disarm ourselves completely. As anarchists, we are able to speak to each other in a language all our own. When we redecorate walls, shatter windows, and set fires, we speak to each other in ways that the media and the general public need not understand; we become beautiful. When we refuse legibility, when we refuse sympathy and demands, we refuse cooptation, we refuse recuperation, and we seek out life.

Avenge Tortuguita — Avenge the Forest

Two Excavators Attacked at North Bartrams

Submission

We attacked two excavators that were demolishing the street dept warehouse in north bartrams. When we arrived we were delighted to realize that someone had already damaged the machines! In addition to smashing the machines, we poured quick-setting concrete into the exhaust pipe of a machine. We choose this method because of its simplicity and ease. The other machine we used various techniques that can be found in warriorup.noblogs.org. Good luck finding what we did!

Weelaunee Worldwide Mass Action Speaking Tour

from Instagram

Tuesday 10/10 at 7pm we’re hosting the Weelaunee Worldwide mass action speaking tour! Come learn about ongoing and upcoming actions to block Cop City, despite RICO charge repression!

Forest Defense Screening!!

Submission

Comrades, we are having a “Forrest Defense Night!” It will be featuring two films on different ongoing struggles. In the on going struggle in so-called Atlanta against cop city and in the wake of other cops cities being proposed, it is crucial for us to become familiar with forest defense and how to fight against the state and police violence that comes along with these forms of resistance. We will be meeting at Iffy Books. We look forward to seeing you all! ^^

Skill Shares and Block Cop City Speaking Tour

Submission

Not sure if you all heard about this already but figured I’d pass it along. They seem open to people tabling fyi

Call to Struggle Around Bartram’s and Against the Proposal for “Cellicon Valley”

Submission

Development is officially moving forward – though very slowly – in destroying the alluring wastelands of Bartram’s North, the wooded riverside area just north of Bartram’s Gardens in Southwest Philly. For years, this area has been a favorite hangout spot for anarchists, ravers, feminist nude sunbathers, and other companions in being up to no good. Within the past eight months, a fence has gone up – twice – around the fields adjacent to the bike path that runs through the area, and a nearby building is slated to be demolished at the end of July. Earlier that month, three surveillance cameras were installed high up along Botanic Ave, the street that leads up to Bartram’s North. An unpermitted rave at Bartram’s in mid-July was reportedly broken up by police, which was to our knowledge the first time cops had kicked a party out of that location.

Resistance to the project has also been moving along, but slowly. According to websites like Philly Anti-Cap, over this calendar year so far the following events and actions have taken place:

– January: A zine is released entitled “Fuck a ‘Cellicon Valley’: Against the Proposed Development of Bartram’s North and South.”
– February: “Fuck Cellicon Valley” graffiti goes up along with “No Cop City” slogans.
– February: A Valentine’s Day-themed communique entitled “ISO Fence4Fence” notes that the fence around Bartram’s North has been broken down and is accompanied by anti-Cellicon Valley graffiti nearby.
– February: Iffy Books hosts a zine launch and social to publicize “Fuck a ‘Cellicon Valley.'”
– March: A communique claims the sabotage of a machine at Bartram’s North that was in the process of destroying “one of our favorite post-industrial wildernesses.” Bleach was poured into the tanks and tools were stolen.
– March: An anarchist assembly meets to discuss the various ecological and place-based struggles across the city, connecting the proposed struggle at Bartram’s with other campaigns like Save the Meadows, Save the UC Townhomes, No Arena in Chinatown, and the fight against the Cobbs Creek golf course.
– March/April: Anti-development and other anarchist graffiti goes up in Bartram’s North, including “Land Back” and Developers GTFO (A).”
– April: A communique posts photos of graffiti at Bartram’s North (with slogans including “fuck in the forest (A)” and “developers GTFO”) “for those Sexy Elves and Fairies out there in the Sex Forest. Let’s make the space more fun and cute while we defend the land. ;-)”
– May: A “work party” takes down most of the fence around the Bartram’s North fields for a second time and puts up more graffiti.
– June: “Feral gnomes” write a claim taking responsibility for pouring grit into the lubricating system of an earth-destroying machine at Bartram’s.

The proposal for “Cellicon Valley,” part of the Lower Schuylkill Master Plan, threatens to build a biotech campus at the sites of Bartram’s North and Bartram’s South. As well as demolishing the green spaces in those areas, the proposal also likely involves razing Bartram’s Village (the project housing nearby), and displacing its residents to build a new road to the Bartram’s South site.

This proposal is part of an ongoing effort by Philadelphia’s city planners to attract tech investment and brand the city as a new tech hot spot in competition with innovation hubs like Boston, the Bay and Silicon Valley itself. The city has been trying to do this kind of thing for a while, with mixed results, for example with Philadelphia’s failed attempt around 2018 to win the bid to house Amazon’s second national headquarters.

It is critical that we help them continue to fail in this goal. The effects of gentrification have already been devastating, and taking it to this level would make the city unlivable for everyone except a newly arrived generation of yuppie tech gentry.

The city is still looking for a partner to actually carry out the development process at Bartram’s. The PIDC (Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation) is reportedly in conversation with three development firms: Quaker Lane Capital, Gattuso Development Partners/AR Spruce, and Lincoln Property Company. The latest information we have, from February 2023, says they expected to select a partner and negotiate a development agreement by the second quarter of 2023.

It is much easier to intimidate potential developers, discouraging them from committing to the project in the first place, than it is to dissuade companies that have already signed a contract. Waiting until a developer is actually chosen might galvanize resistance by helping publicize the project and showing people it’s a real threat, but do we really want to wait til the deal is done, mainstream media has decided to start talking about (i.e. advertising) it, and everyone else on the opposition has been put on point to promote the project and squash resistance?

At this time, it’s not certain that any of the above development firms will even decide to commit to the project. If we act now, we can make this potential failure a reality. If we wait til later, we can still make construction a problem for the developers, but we’ll be at more of a disadvantage.

We don’t need to rely on our opposition’s timeline or their media; we can create our own. At this moment, we have the chance to widely publicize the project *ourselves*, spreading the information we want to see spread and finding potential accomplices, while the city waits around for their side of things to get finalized. It might not feel like it, but the time in which it’ll be most effective to act is now.

Who’s Responsible:
– PIDC (Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation), a non-profit founded by the city of Philadelphia and the Chamber of Commerce that funds development, is the main vehicle of this project
– Anne Bovaird Nevins, President of PIDC
– Angie Fredrickson, Vice President of Real Estate Services of PIDC (oversees the group’s marketing efforts in the Lower Schuylkill)
– Tom Dalfo, Senior Vice President of Real Estate Services for PIDC (oversaw the implementation of the Lower Schuylkill Master Plan)
– Colliers Life Sciences, “elite” real estate advisors leading the effort to solicit developers for the biotech campus
– Joseph Fetterman, Executive Vice President
– Clifford Brechner, Vice President
– Matthew Barkann, Associate
– William Penn Foundation, funders of the Lower Schuylkill Master Plan, along with the City of Philadelphia
– PennPraxis, local advisors and facilitators for the Lower Schuylkill Master Plan
– PHA (Philadelphia Housing Authority)
– Urban Land Institute (ULI) Philadelphia – assembled the panel of experts in 2021 (sponsored by PIDC) that recommended and specified suggestions for the development of Bartram’s
– All development firms that have shown interest in the project

Some ideas:
– Counter-information about the project (on site and in general)
– Actions against people responsible for development
– Work parties
– Dare to dream >:)

Running Down The Walls 2023!

from Philly ABC

RDTW 2023

Philadelphia Anarchist Black Cross and MXGM Philly invites you to our sixth annual Running Down The Walls (RDTW)! Join us for another revolutionary 5K run/walk/roll and day of solidarity amplifying the voices of our comrades behind bars, lifting them up in their struggles, and maintaining material support. If you would like to participate in light yoga and warm-up stretches before, please arrive by 10am and bring a mat if you can.

Running is not required! You can also walk, roll, or cheer. 5K is two loops around the park and at a walking pace will take about 45-60 minutes. Light refreshments and socializing will take place in the park afterward.

This year’s event will benefit the ABCF Warchest, and community and Weelaunee forest defenders facing repression from the ongoing efforts to #StopCopCity. Join us as we once again raise energy and funds for the freedom of political prisoners and the struggles they are caged for.

Cop City Will Never Be Built!

Vive vive Tortuguita!

#StopCopCity #DefendWeelaunee #JusticeForTort

This year marks a milestone in the Warchest program as we surpassed $205,000 in funds raised! Due to the abominable conditions that political prisoners and freedom fighters are subjected to, and the prevalence of health issues from medical neglect, they need our support now more than ever. Join us as we celebrate our successes this last year and build momentum for the struggles ahead!

If you cannot make it to the event or would like to make an additional contribution, please sponsor a participant either outside prison, inside prison, or one of each. Contact us for more information on sponsoring!

We will ship official shirts nationwide to people who register to participate remotely, pay online and leave their shipping address in the comment box!

Proceeds will be split between the Warchest Program and legal aid to support arrestees from the movement to Stop Cop City. The ABCF Warchest program sends monthly stipends to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have insufficient, little, or no financial support.

[Sunday, September 11, 2022
11 am sharp (Yoga warm-up at 10am)
FDR Park

Deadline is September 3rd. Don’t wait until the last minute!]

Solidarity Graffiti

Submission

Some graffiti in Solidarity with Weelaunee forest defenders in Atlanta was spotted in Philly. It reads “Avenge Atl Forest!” – Love to all the anti-capitalist vandals out there! Keep it up! Defend the forest everywhere!

Earth Destroying Machine Sabotaged At Bartrams

Submission

On June 1, under the moonlight, some feral gnomes poured grit into the lubrication system of an earth destroying machine – paralyzing it before it kills more of the post-industrial wild habitat in Bartram’s. The goal of this earth destroyer, and the developers in power of it, is to raze the land, killing and displacing all of the wild and free life from the area in order to make way for a Biotec Campus who markets a sanitized version of life. That life includes the torture of nonhumans and displacement of humans and nonhumans alike for it’s concrete pathways and steel buildings.

 

We will oppose every destroyer, every tool of power and development that seeks to capture, kill, torture, and displace all our lives. The feral land, trees, nonhuman and human animals will not be bulldozed with ease.

STRUGGLE, SOLIDARITY AND RAGE ¡VIVA TORTUGUITA!

from Unoffensive Animal

[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]

On January 18th police murdered a forest defender, Tortuguita. Immediately, a call was put out for a “night of rage”. The rage was instead was not limited to one night, nor only retaliation.These actions have been claimed in honor, memory, vengeance, revenge, for, or in solidarity with Tortuguita.

From January 18th onward across the USA people held vigils, built barricades, attacked a realty office, attacked banks, smashed the windows of the skyscraper housing the Atlanta Police Foundation, torched a police cruiser, vandalized cars in a Porsche dealership, attacked UPS shipping center, set construction equipment on fire, and attacked the offices of those responsible for cop city. Across turtle island we felt it from California, Illinois, North Carolina, Minnesota, Colorado, Michigan, Atlanta, Georgia, Oregon, Pennsylvania, OregonMichigan, New York, Colorado, Indiana, and Minnesota.

In February across the USA, banks were attacked, excavators in Weelaunee forest were set on fire, Amazon delivery vehicles vandalized, Atlas offices targeted, a Norfolk Southern rail line sabotaged, the home addresses of employees of Atlas were published, in France a transmission pylon was set on fire. Rage was had from California, Brooklyn, New York, Georgia, South Carolina, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, to Bure France and back.

In March during the week of action in Atlanta, GA USA, a demonstration of 300 people stormed and destroyed a construction site and police staging area, and later that week machinery in Weelaunee was destroyed. More construction equipment was sabotaged and, offices vandalized. In late March the home addresses were published of several Judges, a Police Investigator, an Assistant Chief of police, and a GBI Special Agent.

By carrying our friends in our hearts and actions they live on in spirit and in memory. With Love and Rage, we carry on those who have been taken from us.

 

In Defense of the Pinelands: Jersey Anarchists Tackle Dumping Problem in So-Called South Jersey

from Jersey Counter-Info

Sometime in the spring of 2023, some Jersey anarchists and our comrades got together to address the pervasive issue of littering and dumping in the Pinelands. Thanks to already-existing mutual aid networks we were able to gather supplies and start collectively rehabilitating dumping spots in the region.

The Pinelands are part of Lenapehoking and were once in the care of Unami-speaking Lenape before it was subjected to hundreds of years of settler-colonialism and capitalism. And for what? The forest and land has been destroyed, dotted with reminders of long-dead munitions, glass, iron, and steel factories. Industry barons like the Whartons established massive extractive operations and company towns that put a stranglehold on the area. Now, just a few generations later they are nothing but crumbling monuments to corporate greed. The land was stolen from its traditional caretakers just to become a sacrifice zone for the state, corporate entities, and reactionary individuals. Whether it’s the military leeching PFAS into the soil and water, businesses poisoning waterways by dumping construction waste into streams, or individuals dumping personal trash, it all contributes to the destruction of the Pinelands.

We don’t have any faith that the state or capitalists are going to take responsibility for poisoning the Pinelands, so it’s up to us and every day people who respect the land to do so. While there is an overwhelming amount of work left to do, we found it pretty easy to mobilize and take action.

We started out by first doing some prep work and identified known dumping sites and the type of dumping happening at each location. (Depending on the kind of waste you are dealing with whether hazardous, medical, or construction for example, your approach, supplies, and tactics may vary). Next, we gathered needed materials and supplies for each site.

At one site, which was not frequented by the public, we filled over 15 garbage bags with dumped items and hauled away roughly 100 lbs of garbage. For this particular location we made sure to bring plenty of trash bags and wear gloves and pants as the risk of being both bitten by ticks and coming into direct contact with poison oak was high.

A few of the 15 trash bags equaling over 100 lbs in total we hauled away from one dump site in the Pinelands.

At another site, which is frequented by the public, we permanently installed a garbage can, a 50 gallon plastic drum, and stuffed it with bags to encourage shared community responsibility over the flow of trash.

The 50 gallon plastic drum took some prior modification to get it ready for the site however, so if you are looking to try this out this is what you will need to do: 1. Find a 50 gallon plastic drum. There are many ways to easily acquire them from liberating them from a local park to even checking dump sites as they are an item that is sometimes discarded. 2. Acquire a cordless drill to do needed modifications (most cordless drills will do the trick). 3. Drill drainage holes in what will serve as the bottom of your barrel to prevent water accumulation and stagnation. 4. If the top is still on your barrel or some trimming is needed you can use a saw to take it off (even a basic handsaw can get this done simply). 5. Find a way to secure your barrel at the dumping site. In our case we used a heavy duty ring and some other materials. 6. Decorate (if you want) and secure the barrel.

 

The drainage holes we put in prior to installing the barrel at the dump site.

 

Prior to decorating it, we took measures to secure the barrel from being stolen or removed.

 

The finished, modified 50 gallon drum-turned-garbage can.

This process overall could take some trial and error but is easily replicated and can be done pretty much anywhere with a small budget. It may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to what other things that need to be done but it’s a small step toward building dual power within our communities. We hope that others will take similar action, since there is no barrier to entry, and that trying to improve our relationships to the land and to each other is worthwhile.

In the words of comrade Lorenzo “Orso” Orsetti “Every storm starts with a single drop. Try to be that drop.”

-some anarchists

HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE

from Twitter

SATURDAY 4/15 7PM RITZ FIVE We are hosting a screening and Q&A for the Philly opening weekend of HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE with @neonrated, @ArielaBarer (writer/actor) and Daniel Garber (editor) – we could not be more fucking psyched for this.

The screening is open to the public but we have some free tix available – email us at cinema.philly@gmail.com for more info!!!