Italian anarchists try to blow up oil pipeline
Aug 3 2007 16:13
An Italian anarchist group, called the anti-imperialist group, tried to blow up a NATO pipeline near Vicenza last month using gas cylinders. Apparently they filmed their preparations and sent the tape to the cops.
Not really worthy of a news story butI thought I'd mention it.
Italian secret service then claimed to have prevented 80 terrorist attacks in the last few months. Could quite easily be fake but there's no reason to believe it isn't real.
Aug 3 2007 16:23
#2
sorry, presumed anarchist group.
Aug 3 2007 16:27
#3
presumed by whom?
Aug 3 2007 16:48
#4
revol68 wrote:
presumed by whom?
the police
Aug 3 2007 17:53
#5
So for all we know, Leninists with bombs = "anarchists" to them?
Are there any news stories you could link to?
Aug 3 2007 18:02
#6
jef costello wrote:
called the anti-imperialist group
What a crappy name.
Aug 3 2007 18:58
#7
MJ wrote:
So for all we know, Leninists with bombs = "anarchists" to them?...
...except as this is Italy, the 'Leninists' you refer to will more likely be in the government, while the 'presumed anarchists' are probably uncercover cops/secret service from several different brances of the state, all sending messages to their superiors saying "I've persuaded the others to do something really stupid so as to alienate public opinion and provide an excuse for a crackdown".
At least I hope that's what's goin on.
Aug 3 2007 21:54
#8
I got the story from a newspaper.
The name is my translation from the french: equipe anti-imperialiste. Equipe more usually means team but I thought group was a better translation.
Aug 3 2007 22:01
#9
Sill, no zazz.
Aug 3 2007 22:03
#10
It seems entirely plausible that this lot are anarchists of the mental insurrectionist variety though. Just look at the Informal Anarchist Federation.
Aug 3 2007 22:31
#11
But the Informal Anarchist Federation was fake wasn't it?
Aug 3 2007 22:45
#12
jef costello wrote:
I got the story from a newspaper.The name is my translation from the french: equipe anti-imperialiste. Equipe more usually means team but I thought group was a better translation.
maybe it's a witty play on Team America? they should have called themselves the durka durka brigades
Aug 3 2007 22:48
#13
Joseph K. wrote:
jef costello wrote:
I got the story from a newspaper.The name is my translation from the french: equipe anti-imperialiste. Equipe more usually means team but I thought group was a better translation.
maybe it's a witty play on Team America? they should have called themselves the durka durka brigades
anarchists with a sense of humour? CW Italia?
Aug 4 2007 00:46
#14
I read somewhere that this was done by Negri to boost sales of his next book.
Aug 4 2007 15:11
#15
madashell wrote:
It seems entirely plausible that this lot are anarchists of the mental insurrectionist variety though. Just look at the Informal Anarchist Federation.
Are there Englsih information sources on the informal FA?
I've only heard of them in passing.
I rather like the real FAI
Aug 4 2007 16:30
#16
Here is a document the FAI released in December 2006
http://www.325collective.com/FAI.pdf
Here is a letter from Spanish Anarchist Gabriel Pombo da Silva to the FAI
http://www.325collective.com/autonomy_letter-gabriel-fai.html
Here is an article about the situation in Italy and the repression against the movement (Operation 'Cervantes'). You can find here the 'Open letter to the anarchist and anti-authoritarian movement' which the FAI released in 2003 when they emerged.
Aug 4 2007 16:53
#17
Gabriel Pombo da Silva wrote:
On the criticism that some comrades have spilled on to you in relation to the possibility "of hurting" or "of killing", "innocent people*" (for example the mailman or secretary) [...]* On "innocent or guilty" there deserves to be written a volume for the simple-minded...
is he insinuating blowing up random workers is ok?
Aug 4 2007 17:02
#18
Quote:
4 years have passed since explosive parcels were sent to the EU and Prodi…and then some regret aroused for having had too many scruples towards some ‘innocent’ secretary…
Jesus, what a bunch of pricks.
Aug 4 2007 20:03
#19
The point Gabriel is making is that the technical methods taken have to prevent 'disagreeable surprises' (the death of a random person or worker). From all the letter bomb attacks since 2003 the only real injury was a top Carabinieri (military police) officer who had a few fingers blown off. No one from the working class has ever been injured in FAI actions.
Aug 4 2007 20:29
#20
Not injuring working class people should never be a bragging point. If it doesnt go without saying then maybe you need to have a think about what you're up to.
Aug 4 2007 21:55
#21
I want to go on record as completely agreeing with guyeabordisdead here, as it seems things just don't go without saying.
Aug 5 2007 13:42
#22
breakout wrote:
The point Gabriel is making is that the technical methods taken have to prevent 'disagreeable surprises' (the death of a random person or worker). From all the letter bomb attacks since 2003 the only real injury was a top Carabinieri (military police) officer who had a few fingers blown off. No one from the working class has ever been injured in FAI actions.
They didn't know that was how it would turn on when the bombing campaign kicked off though, did they? There are no guarantees when it comes to explosives, especially when they've been slapped together by some halfwit anarkyist.
Aug 5 2007 13:45
#23
yeah i think that was gabriel's point, that the technical means of explosives cause all us simple-minded folk to start bleating on about 'innocence,' so they should just shoot coppers instead
Aug 5 2007 16:15
#24
This is one of the oddest self-contradictory sentences I've ever encountered:
Quote:
We are aware that it will not be a well-armed minority group that will stir up revolution, and we are determined not to postpone our insurrection waiting for everybody to be ready: we are more and more convinced that a simple direct action against institutions is more effective than thousands of words
If it's not the "well-armed minority" that stirs up revolution, who commits the "simple direct action"? And with a history of over a hundred years of such actions, can they point to a single instance of the much vaunted effectiveness?
Aug 5 2007 17:08
#25
We commit the "simple direct action". All of us. Isn't it obvious? The FAI are simply saying they are sick of waiting and are going to attack now, much like most of the anarchist movement across the Mediterranean.
As for instances of effectiveness - well, the history of anarchism is in the majority a history of violent struggle against the state. If you want to stick all that in the bin as a total failure and pretend that one day there is going to be a clean non-complicated least-blood-as-possible type revolution in the future, I think you are dead wrong, I think it isn't going to work out like that at all, and neither does the police, military, state and upper class.
Aug 5 2007 18:23
#26
breakout wrote:
As for instances of effectiveness - well, the history of anarchism is in the majority a history of violent struggle against the state.
same old shit. insurrections don't just come out of nowhere, anarchism's history of violent struggle against the state is largely a history of the state repressing workers movements, not bakunin and malatesta marching into town halls/remote villages with a dozen ageing rifles and declaring them liberated. you can't just look at spain and go 'oh cool - shootouts in the street = revolution, lets do that' anymore than i can win the premiership by parading a replica trophy down my street.
Aug 5 2007 18:26
#27
Quote:
As for instances of effectiveness - well, the history of anarchism is in the majority a history of violent struggle against the state. If you want to stick all that in the bin as a total failure
Done!
Aug 5 2007 18:39
#28
breakout wrote:
We commit the "simple direct action". All of us. Isn't it obvious? The FAI are simply saying they are sick of waiting and are going to attack now, much like most of the anarchist movement across the Mediterranean.As for instances of effectiveness - well, the history of anarchism is in the majority a history of violent struggle against the state. If you want to stick all that in the bin as a total failure and pretend that one day there is going to be a clean non-complicated least-blood-as-possible type revolution in the future, I think you are dead wrong, I think it isn't going to work out like that at all, and neither does the police, military, state and upper class.
No offence, but you don't really understand why people object to insurrectionism on here, do you?
It's not out of some pacifistic objection to violence in general, it's about how and when violence is employed. Armed struggle against the state in times of low class struggle often ammounts to little more than stupid, substitutionist shit like getting into completely unnecessary (and often disastrous) street fighting with the police or utterly useless bombing campaigns.
Aug 5 2007 18:45
#29
madashell wrote:
No offence, but you don't really understand why people object to insurrectionism on here, do you?It's not out of some pacifistic objection to violence in general, it's about how and when violence is employed. Armed struggle against the state in times of low class struggle often ammounts to little more than stupid, substitutionist shit like getting into completely unnecessary (and often disastrous) street fighting with the police or utterly useless bombing campaigns.
to which the insurrectionist replies 'but if not now then when?' completely missing the point that anti-state violence in itself doesn't equal militancy, otherwise drug cartels would be a major revolutionary force. instead of playing substitutionist anarcho-hero (at least fugitives like pombo have little choice), you could do the less glamorous work of building class militancy. 'but i want teh revolution now! i want to blow shit up and wear balaclavas!'
Aug 5 2007 18:52
#30
Good point, well made.
Also:
Joseph K. wrote:
i want to blow shit up and wear balaclavas!
Tagline 
what marks them out as anarchists? I mean Anti Imperialist group could be any sort of headcases.