Boston Anti-

Issue # 31 March 2010

Authoritarian
M o v e m e n
A General Anarchist Union in the Boston Area
t

General Strike
in Greece:
Over 2.5 million pour
into streets to protest
World Bank austerity
program. Page 6

Blockade
Boston Stops
Protests VT’sParty
Tea Yankee
Tools The
Why Case of
the Cops
Dorchester
Against Gitmo Nuclear
Page 4 Plant to the
HateBelgrade
Cell 6,
Eviction,
Prison Page
Page 3 Close, Page 3 Page
Phones5 Page 10
BAAM Newsletter - 1
 in housing as a human right,
Banks Get Bailed Out, has, in most cases, kept the
banksters at bay and willing
People Get Thrown Out! to re-negotiate. Indeed, few
evictions have taken place
with CL/VU’s organized
by Adrienne
community intervention.
Had it not been for such
an intervention, Friday,
19 February might have
gone very differently for
the Nguyen family. In the
02124 part of Dorchester,
the zip code hit hardest by
the foreclosure crisis, the
ongoing economic shit-
show adversely affected
their family business. Bank
of America [trustee] and
JP Morgan Chase [ser-
vicer] foreclosed the home
the Nguyens purchased 13
years ago. They would not
accept rent and began evic-
tion proceedings. Even
after a local non-profit
offered to buy the home
Photo: Melonie Griffith, City in cash at real value, the
banksters refused to back
Life Organizer, speaks. down. The constable was
In This Issue
-Another Successful Eviction
Blockade in Dorchester Page 2
-VT. Nuke Plant to Close Page 3
-Scott Brown and Your
Healthcare: Feel Sick? Page 3
-Corvid College and the Radical
Education Tradition Page 4
-The Belgrade 6 Page 5
-Greek General Strike Page 6
-Trans folk in Prison Page 8
-ABC on Direct Action Page 9
The BAAM Newsletter
is the monthly publication of the Boston
Anti-Authoritarian Movement, a
general union of Boston anarchists. Our
publication aims to spread anti-
authoritarian ideas and practices, and
to report on the social struggles of
workers, tenants, students, radicals,
and others resisting the repression of
the state, bosses, landlords and banks.

A
called to evict at 9AM on
s BAAM has covered in previous edi- the 19th and an eviction blockade was called
tions, there is a housing crisis afoot for 8:30AM to physically block the evic- BAAM Subscriptions
and banks are waging wars against tion. Lawyers negotiated fiercely into the In striving to make our publication
tenants of foreclosed properties that have night, eventually winning a partial victory sustainable, we are offering yearly
had the misfortune of falling into the banks’ and securing the Nguyens in their home for subscriptions, sent to your door for the
hooked tentacles. Bank of America, JP Mor- at least another week. And so the eviction sliding scale cost of $12-15. We also
gan Chase, and Deutschbank are among those blockade turned into an energizing rally provide free email subscriptions. Email
leading the way in unconscionable policy and a demonstration of community strength
Jake at Trenchesfullofpoets@riseup.net
against tenants of foreclosed properties, refus- in front of the Nguyens’ Dorchester home.
for more information, or send checks
ing to accept rent, refusing to sell the homes Though the struggle is not yet over for the
(leaving “pay to the order of” field
to families who are able to purchase them at Nguyen family or countless other families,
appraised value, preferring to let the proper- when joined together with scores of Bostonians
blank) or well-concealed cash to:
ties sit vacant and rot, which leads to further and the inspiring organizers of CL/VU, one BAAM c/o Boston ABC, PO Box
deterioration of neighborhoods already struck can’t help but be convinced of the truth in the 230182, Boston, MA, 02123
hard by poverty. chanted assertion, ‘When we fight, we win!’ •

Issue Editors
But when City Life/Vida Urbana gets in-
volved, it is highly unlikely that families will
be evicted from their homes. Dedicated to Adrienne, Jeff Reinhardt
economic justice and community empower-
ment since 1973, CL/VU’s tenant organizing Issue Designers
has stricken many a blow against predatory Jake Carman, Jeff Reinhardt
banks. Their negotiations to keep families in
their homes take place on a number of levels,
several of which are between lawyers and bu-
reaucrats. But in the face of particularly ob-
Submissions
stinate banksters set on eviction, perhaps CL/
We accept submissions for our
VU’s strongest bargaining tool is its network paper! Email articles, photos,
of hundreds of people, scores of whom will events, letters, etc to Jake at
turn out at a time to show up before the con- Trenchesfullofpoets@riseup.net
stable does. The very threat of such an evic-
tion blockade, filled with singing, chanting Boston activists blockade a
rowdies with signs and banners who believe house to stop an eviction.
BAAM Newsletter - 2

Vermont Yankee
Finally Meets
Its Match
O
by Jeff Reinhardt
n Wednesday, February 24th, the
Vermont state legislature voted
against renewing the license for the
Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, located
in Vernon, VT. By a 26-4 vote, the legislature
denied the power plant any operation beyond
2012, when its license expires.
The vote represented the hard work of
grassroots activists and groups from around
Vermont and Western Massachusetts, who
had fought the plant for several years. Nu-
merous accidents had occurred in the past
at the plant, including a collapse of one
of the main water-cooling towers in Au-
gust 2007, and the revelation (against the
managers of plant) that underground pipes
were leaking tritium into the groundwater.
The vote represents the first shut down
of a nuclear plant in over twenty years, in
the face of the Obama administration pass-
ing bills to fund more nuclear power. New
England has long opposed nuclear power
plants. The Seabrook NH plant was the last
constructed in the US to date, 30 years ago
despite a massive anti-nuclear movement. •
Painted Into a Corner:
Scott Brown and the
Health Care “Debate”
I
by Sublett
t is a truism in US politics that the range
of acceptable opinion is extremely nar-
row, even compared to other Western
nations. Democrats and Republicans agree
on virtually all issues of substance. Both
parties openly support wars in the Middle
East, the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the
“war on terror” (even if they don’t call it that
anymore), bank bailouts, and a host of other
oppressive policies. Genuine disagreements
among the ruling elite, such as whether to at-
tack Iraq or Iran first, or how to best divide
up Iraq’s oil fields, are generally handled
quietly behind the scenes. Issues like same
sex marriage, immigration enforcement, and
executive bonuses for bankers are rhetori-
cally elevated to the status of major policy
disputes in order to preserve the illusion of
conflict between Democrats and Republicans.
A central narrative generated by this dy-
namic is that of the inexplicably ineffectual
Democratic Party. The Democrats are cast
as perpetually disorganized bumblers who
mean well but can never quite squeeze out
a victory against the nastier and better dis-
ciplined Republicans. An essential compo-
nent of this illusion is the filibuster, a Senate
rule that allows a minority of more than 40
to block any proposed legislation. When-
ever the Democrats have been in power they
have relied on the threat of a Republican
filibuster as an excuse for failure to enact
any measure that might assist their constitu-
ents at the expense of their corporate do-
nors. These protestations of powerlessness
would be more convincing if the Demo-
crats ever filibustered anything themselves.
After the 2008 elections the Democrats ap-
peared to have barely retained their favorite
excuse, but when Republican Arlen Specter
switched parties and Al Franken finally won
his recount in Minnesota they were faced
with the challenge of a filibuster-proof ma-
jority, just in time for the health care “re-
form” debate. While billed as an overhaul of
the US’ famously dysfunctional health care
system, the health care bill swiftly morphed
under lobbying pressure into a giveaway to
already wealthy pharmaceutical corporations
and HMOs. Under the measure everyone
would be forced to buy health insurance, and
those who have decent health plans already
would have to pay an additional surcharge.
In other words, the health insurance industry
pulled off the enviable political feat of pass-
ing a law requiring everyone to purchase their
products and in some cases pay extra for it.
Not surprisingly, their investors approved.
Industry stock prices rose and Business Week
published an article proclaiming the bill an
industry victory.
During the debate Republican Senators
were united in their “opposition” to the bill,
secure in the knowledge that there weren’t
enough of them to actually stop it. One can
judge the integrity of their stance from the
fact that opponents of the bill have received
an average of 30% more in campaign contri-
butions than supporters since 1989, according
to Opensecrets.org. The Democrats, unable to
scapegoat the GOP as they ordinarily would,
resorted to killing off provisions favorable to
consumers on the pretense of mollifying vari-
ous “Blue Dogs” among their membership,
culminating with Joe Lieberman, an indepen-
dent who caucuses with the Democrats, elim-
inating the last remnant of a public option at
the price of not crossing the aisle and joining
a Republican filibuster. The bill thus cleared
the Senate and was in the process of being
merged with its equally objectionable House
counterpart when Scott Brown parachuted in.
Brown won the special election in Mas-
sachusetts, filling deceased Ted Kennedy’s
Senate seat by promising to be the 41st Re-
publican vote that would kill the final health
care bill. The fury of Massachusetts voters at
the Democrats’ poorly concealed scam pro-
pelled Brown into the Senate against a bet-
ter known opponent in a heavily Democratic
state. In the long term this is just what the
Democrats needed. Lieberman might be the
most hated man in the US after killing the
public option, and while he’s borne the strain
with aplomb, he’s not a long-term solution.
The Senate can’t keep trotting him out every
time they need an emergency Republican
without giving the game away completely.
The timing of Brown’s election, however,
has the Senate painted into a corner. He
can’t break his biggest (and pretty much
only) campaign promise before he even gets
his key to the mens’ room, and all 40 of his
GOP colleagues have rhetorically cemented
themselves into implacable opposition to the
“socialist” health care bill. The health insur-
ance industry is therefore left waiting for a
break in the logjam that will finally release
their windfall. They’ll probably get it even-
tually - they did pay for it, after all - but it
could well be delayed until after this year’s
midterm elections.
Fueled by the health care debate debacle
and the economic collapse, popular anger has
erupted against the Democrats as voters real-
ize they have been hoodwinked yet again. In
addition to Brown’s victory, conservative Re-
publicans have defeated conservative Demo-
crats in special elections in Virginia and New
Jersey. Several Democratic legislators have
BAAM Newsletter - 3
announced their resignations in the wake of
polls showing them trailing all of their po-
tential Republican challengers. On paper, lib-
eral politicians could take advantage of this
situation by promising things like ending the
wars in the Middle East and reversing bank
bailouts, but in real life such candidates are
starved of funding and ignored by the corpo-
rate media. The midterm elections are there-
fore likely to wipe out the Democrats’ majori-
ty in at least one house of Congress and return
them to the status of loyal opposition where
they have always been most comfortable.
While voters are correct in blaming Presi-
The “Free” School and
Boston’s Corvid College
by Jake Carman
I
n 1901, Francisco Ferrer y Guardia, Cata-
lan anarchist and teacher, began a new tra-
dition of radical education. He founded La
Escuela Moderna (or “The Modern School”)
in Barcelona. In Catholic, Monarchist Spain,
La Escuela Moderna hoped to free education
from the domination of the church and “edu-
cate the working class in a rational, secular
and non-coercive setting,” flattening the hi-
erarchy of teacher and student, and promot-
ing independence and free-thinking to those
who would one day lead the working class in
the social struggle. The only problem was, La
Escuela Moderna was so expensive that only
the wealthy middle-class could afford to send
their children.
Nevertheless, the Ferrer model began a rev-
olution in education, the results of which we
are still seeing today. In 1911, two years after
Ferrer’s execution, sister schools of La Es-
cuela Moderna sprang up across the world. In
New York City, Alexander Berkman, Emma
Goldman, and Voltairine de Cleyre opened
the Ferrer Center with nine students. Other
schools opened in South America, Cuba, Lon-
don, and elsewhere in the US, often teaching
day classes to children and continuing educa-
tion for adults in the evenings. While in Spain,
the revolution in education helped promote
BAAM Newsletter - 4
dent Obama and the Democrats for the state
of the health care system and the economy,
too many of them see the Republicans, or tea-
bagging Republican sock puppets, as a viable
alternative. The mainstream media obscures
the fact that both parties are servants of the
corporate establishment by presenting the
staged struggle between them as genuine. But
as the ongoing depression deepens, the gulf
between political rhetoric and economic real-
ity will become increasingly wider and harder
to conceal. More and more voters will real-
ize that electoral politics is a trap for suckers
and begin to create their own alternatives. •
the working class-consciousness so valuable
to the 1936 Spanish Revolution, here in the
United States, Ferrer’s ideas were influential
in reshaping the educational landscape, even
among some mainstream private schools.
Today’s Free Schools often take the word
“Free” literally, using both English meanings
(i.e., social-political freedom and at no cost).
Under this model, teachers are as free to teach
what they want as the students are to learn.
Free Schools exist from Portland, Oregon, to
New York City, to Australia. Kassie Carlson
wrote about her visit to one such school in
Whitechapel, London, for the February edi-
tion of the BAAM Newsletter: “The London
Free School Collective aims to ‘confront hi-
erarchy and inequality in education and re-
claim knowledge to develop self reliance.’
...classes include clothes making, radical
reading group, computers, self-defense, no-
madic kiln construction, class politics and
climate change, and DIY/zine publishing.”
Whitechapel, like many Free Schools, has
no official campus, but rather hosts classes
in a variety of spaces across the city. This
can be beneficial, according to Carlson, as
it “encourages many different communities
to engage in the activities.” The Manhattan
Free School offers education to people ages
Photos (above and to the left) of the
Stelton Colony Modern School (1911-
1953) in New Jersey, from the Special
Collections and University Archives,
Rutgers University Library
5-18. According to their website, “We believe
children learn best by actively engaging with
the natural world through first hand experi-
ence...We believe democratic free schools
restore childhood to children and allow chil-
dren to form healthy relationships with peo-
ple of all ages.... We believe that people of
all ages learn responsibility when they pos-
sess and can exercise the responsibility and
liberty to govern their own communities.”
This winter in Boston, a new school fol-
lowing in the tradition of radical education
begins classes. Corvid College, according to
their website, is “A college for anyone who
was or is unsatisfied with the bureaucratic,
hierarchical nightmare that is the education
industry today.” While Corvid College is
neither a descendant of La Escuela Moderna
nor a Free Skool, it is still influenced by anar-
chist politics and ideas. Their website states,
Corvid College is “Anarchic: self-managed
in spirit, horizontal in structure.” Classes
are meant for learners of all ages, and topics
range from Primitive Daoism, to Anarchism
and Religion, to the Criminalization of the
Immigrant, to the Moral and Ethical Limi-
tations of Democratic Decision-Making, to
Looking at the Sacco and Vanzetti Case: The
Uses and Meaning of History for Anarchists.
Eric Buck, one of the founders of Corvid
College, told us in an interview, “during my
years at Goddard (I) discovered the Ferrer
Schools in Spain. Slowly, as I began to read
more and more in alternative educational
experiments, I began to develop a picture of
what a college built around self-direction in
all respects might be, not just pedagogically
but financially and organizationally.” Buck
came to Boston, as he humorously put it at a
BAAM meeting last spring, “To escape Aca-
demia,” and soon got to work holding meet-
ings of anarchists and others interested in al-
ternative education. But what they came up
with is something new, different than the Mod-
ern School and
the Free Schools,
as it is infused
with elements of
traditional col-
leges. “None of
us know how to
‘do community’
anymore,” Buck
says. “I think the
college model
can be resuscitat-
ed and put to use
in revivifying the
practice of com-
munity... This is
why the college
model has been
chosen over other
educational processes, like the freeskool or
the skillshare group.”
However, while Corvid College isn’t nec-
essarily a direct descendant of La Escuela
Moderna, and it isn’t a Free Skool, its influ-
ence from anarchist politics and ideas renders
it different from traditional colleges. Corvid
College does not plan to seek accreditation.
Instead of grades and degrees, the organizers
hope students will develop portfolios. “Ac-
creditation is one of the primary means of
impersonal, professional, institutional control
over what is taught today,” says Buck. “Ac-
creditation requires institutionalization of
what we want to be free of: institutionality...
Accreditation is just one mark of the whole
system that destroys or impedes the educa-
tive impulse and standardizes human growth.
In other universities, students should be de-
manding the de-accreditation of their univer-
sity. In Corvid they won’t have to.” Students
can sign up for courses on the website: http://
corvidcollege.wikidot.com/
One criticism of Corvid College is that
some of its courses are quite expensive. A
course called The Massachusetts Legal Sys-
tem, for instance, at $500 costs almost half as
much as a course at UMass Boston. Accord-
ing to Buck, “Course fees at Corvid are set
by individual teachers, and higher costs for
a course indicate a teacher’s higher needs....
Since we find ourselves still in an economy
that is based on money and expect to for some
time, we wanted to make the college func-
tion in such a way that if someone wanted to
make a living from it, she could try. In other
words, no one is going to prevent anyone who
wants to propose a course (notice I did not
say be employed) from charging something
for it.” While the College does not intend to
provide financial aid per se, they have some
creative suggestions for the economic prob-
lem. As Buck said in our interview, “Teachers
offer a variety of idiosyncratic discounts and
The Modern School, Barcelona
cost mitigations: some are putting out a tip
jar so student can pay-what-they-can. Some
accepting goods and services in lieu of cash.
Others offer discounts when a certain enroll-
ment figure is reached, or for paying cash in
full up front. Still others are teaching for free
because they can and want to. Finally, since
we value financial transparency and direct-
ness and despise bureaucracy, students liv-
ing under financial duress should contact the
course teacher directly and see if any arrange-
ments can be made.” Even if some courses
may be beyond your means, participating in
radical education projects can only encourage
their development and growth; and if there’s
one thing the people of our region need in
these times, it’s the spreading of a new ways
of learning and teaching.
A further model of popular education use-
ful to the growth of an anarchist movement,
alternative to the mainstream model, the
traditional Free School model, and the Cor-
vid model, might be a School of Work and
Struggle. In these times of high unemploy-
ment and matching discontent, it would be
very beneficial for anarchists to create peo-
ple’s institutions where we can research and
together learn skills in the various trades of
labor (especially ones which would be useful
to us after the revolution, and are thus vital
for us to immerse ourselves in now). While
teaching ourselves and our un- and underem-
ployed neighbors how to do useful work, we
can also learn and share the theoretical ideas
of anarchism and, more practically, how to ef-
fectively organize within the labor movement
and how to create workers’ power and job
autonomy today. There is a veritable treasure
chest of historic wealth through which anar-
chists who seriously ponder where the best
use of their energy and efforts might be in
furtherance of the cause can find inspiration
in the lessons of those fellow travelers who
walked the path before. •
International
Terrorism Made
Easy: The
Belgrade 6
by Mihi
O
The Action
n the night of August 24, some graf-
fiti was sprayed on the wall of the
Greek embassy in Belgrade. Two bot-
tles (one of them on fire) were thrown at the
building, causing some minor smoke damage
and a crack in a window. A hitherto unknown
anarchist group claimed responsibility for the
attack and explained that it was a solidarity
action for Todoris Iliopulos, imprisoned after
the uprising in Greece December 2008 and
on hunger strike since July. Ratibor Trivunac
of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative (ASI, an
anarcho-syndicalist union in Serbia, part of the
International Workers’ Association) was inter-
viewed the following day. Questioned about
the events, he stated that the ASI did not use
these tactics and that he did not know the an-
archist group claiming responsibility. He did
not condemn the act, explaining that the act is
minor compared to the repression in Greece.
The Reaction
On September 3, Trivunac and three other
members of the ASI (Sanja Dojkic, Tadej
Kurepa and Ivan Vulovic) were arrested with-
out any warrants. Two more arrests followed
over the next few days (Nikola Mitrovic, Ivan
Savic). The six have remained in custody since
then. After three months, the six were for-
mally charged with “international terrorism.”
Interestingly, an attack on the US embassy in
February 2008, wherein one of the attackers
died as the building burned to the ground,
was prosecuted with much lighter charges,
BAAM Newsletter - 5
raising suspicions of a highly political trial
where action from the left is judged differ-
ently from action motivated by nationalism.
Solidarity
As soon as the arrests became known,
anarcho-syndicalists around the world started
protests. The trial is set to begin February 17,
PASOK, the governing Greek Socialist Party,
General Strike has already announced wage freezes and bo-
nus cuts worth 6.7 billion. They may push
Cripples Greece the retirement age back two years, levy a
2% tax increase, and raise fuel costs. These
moves are meant to reduce EU fears that
by Jake Carman Greece’s floundering economy could cause a

O
so the focus has switched to raising funds for chain reaction and tear the Euro down, and
the lawyers. Since the general income level in n Wednesday, February 24th, 2.5 mil- the EU with it. As Spannos writes, “Greece
Serbia is low, international efforts are neces- lion Greek workers participated in a now has to convince Brussels that these cuts
sary to acquire the money. Both the FAU in 24-hour General Strike in response are enough to reduce its budget deficit by 4
Germany as well as the CNT in France have to Austerity Measures imposed by the Greek percentage points this year.” According to
set up donation accounts. In a recent meet- Government. In
ing BAAM consented on declaring solidarity. a country of only
The following declaration was drafted: 11million people,
Activism is not Terrorism almost a quarter of
On the 3rd and 4th of September 2009, six the population par-
members of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative ticipated in indus-
(ASI) were arrested in Belgrade. Based on trial action against
sketchy evidence in connection to $25 worth government plans
of damage to a Greek embassy, they are ac- to degrade the
cused of being “international terrorists.” This quality of public
is an act of political persecution and oppres- life to appease the
sion by the Serbian state, the intent of which European Union.
is to criminalize unwanted political activism. As Chris Span-
Claiming the defendants are terrorists opens nos writes for Znet,
the door to an extreme denial of their rights. “The EU has given
Political activism is not terrorism. Therefore Greece a March 16
the Boston Anti-Authoritarian Movement deadline to show
(BAAM) declares its solidarity with the ‘improvements’ in
Belgrade 6. We demand that the charges are its budget, which
dropped and the arrestees are released. translate to reduced
Support the Belgrade 6 deficit spend-
The Belgrade 6 still need support. You ing by imposing
can support them by spreading the word further ‘auster-
about their arrest, staging actions or donating ity measures.’”
money to the
cause. To fa-
cilitate dona-
tions from the
US, a paypal
account has
been opened:
belgrade6@
hushmail.
com. Support
stickers are
in print and
will be sold
for donations
exceeding $2.
Please include the Boston Globe, “The government is under
your address Photos from the intense pressure to plug a budget deficit that
if you would February 24th Gen- equals 12.7 percent of gross domestic product
like to receive eral Strike March and to avert the first national default among
a sticker. • in Athens. the 16 countries that use the euro.” Even as
Further the strike ensued, the European Central Bank,
(Left) 40-100,000
Reading the European Commission, and the Interna-
workers march.
1.  http:// tional Monetary Fund met with Greek politi-
(Above) The
belgradesoli- cal leaders, the Globe continues, in “discuss-
Athens Anarchist ing the imposition of additional measures
darity.org
2.  http://asi. Block stretches on. to reduce the national debt - now more than
zsp.net.pl $400 billion.” However, the general strike

BAAM Newsletter - 6
was so pervasive that no one in Greece was
reporting on these talks; even the corporate
media employees had refused to work for the
capitalists on that day. Only independent and
radical media operated, and they were more
concerned with reports and updates about
social action from the enraged populace.
Both public and private workers partici-
pated in successfully crippling the country.
Transportation from and within Greece—
buses, trains, boats, planes, etc—sat idle.
Restaurants and shops sat empty, education
workers walked out, and the only schools
open were those occupied by the students,
who were earning an education in struggle.
According to the Boston Globe, this is the
second 24-hour general strike in two weeks.
But on Wednesday the 24th, Greek workers
did more than just stay home. Between 50,000
and 100,000 marched in Athens, including a
thousands strong anarchist/anti-authoritarian
bloc, reported by Athens Indymedia as the
largest contingent. On the way to Constitu-
tion Square, a plain clothes policeman was
identified and then beaten up by protesters,
who attacked numerous shops and banks
with projectiles. In Constitution Square, a
stand-off developed between molotov cock-
tail-wielding workers and tear-gas-hurling
riot police, resulting in minor injuries and
the arrest of one socialist (from the opposi-
tion Democratic Socialist Party, DIKKI, not
the ruling PASOK.) When police attempted
to encircle the workers, arresting two, the
rabble responded and freed their comrades,
surrounding and beating the police, break-
ing their shields, and running them
off. After Constitution Square, the
workers marched toward the Ath-
ens Polytechnic School, which is
currently occupied (as usual) by
students, this time protesting police
breaking the academic asylum law
by entering a Polytechnic campus
in Zografou a few days prior. On
the way, workers invaded Zonars
Cafe, a bourgeois shop that sells
cups of coffee for nine Euros (cur-
rently around $14 US), looted the
place and smashed the windows.
They then entered the upscale Pa-
pasotiriou Bookshop and distrib-
uted hundreds of liberated books to
demonstrators and passers-by. They
expropriated garments from a multi-
national clothing store in a similar
fashion. According to a Libcom.
org report from Taxikipali, who re-
ports frequently from Greece, “The
general feeling is one of great suc-
cess with the forces of repression
humiliated and the working class
having proved its will to strug-
gle against the state onslaught.”
5,000 marched in Thessaloniki.
Another massive anarchist bloc
took up the rear, led by a banner
that read, “War Against the Bosses’
War.” Members of the Greek Anti-
authoritarian Movement participat-
ed in the bloc, along with the Liber-
tarian Syndicalistic Union, holding
placards reading: “Capitalism is not
in Crisis, Capitalism is the Crisis.”
Along with thousands of leaflets
and publications distributed, the workers
scrawled their messages on the walls of shops
that did not participate in the strike, and filled
the Hondos Centre (a multinational perfume
company) store with putrid garbage, causing
its workers to join the strike. Government
buildings were also defaced before the police
attacked. Around 20 police followed retreat-
ing protesters onto a university campus, again
breaking Academic Asylum. In response,
protesters drove out the police and barri-
caded the school’s Rectorial Headquarters.
In Volos, 500 workers broke off from the
larger march and occupied the METKA (Met-
al Constructions of Greece) factory, and 120
joined a workers’ assembly there. METKA
bosses attempted to stop their workers from
participating in the strike, so workers showed
up early in the morning to blockade the gates
for the second time in February. 2,000 joined
a demo in Heraklion, Crete, called by “par-
liamentary left parties, out-parliamentary
communists, independent organisations, an-
archists etc,” according to Athens Indymedia.
In Chania, Crete, 450 participated in a dem-
onstration of independent organizations (as
opposed to the demo held by parliamentary
communists.) In Veroia, anarchists led a dem-
onstration beginning at the town’s Workers’
Center. Another march occurred in Naousa.
1300 joined the non-parliamentary commu-
nist rally in Patras city, with even more at the
parliamentary-communist rally. Patras Anar-
chists failed to make a call for the strike.
Along with the marches, members of the
parliamentary Communist Party occupied
the Stock-Exchange building in Athens, ac-
cording to Athens Indymedia, “to show to
the auditors of [the] European Commission,
Central European Bank, [and] IMF who are
in Athens where [is] the money for real and to
stop searching in the workers’ pockets.” The
occupation lasted until 2pm.
Athenian fascists tried to capitalize on the
strike by calling an anti-immigrant rally at
Amerikis Square. When anarchists and other
antifascists showed up en masse to stop them,
a solid wall of police stood in their way, in-
forming them that all demonstrations were
banned from the square. Around 800 antifas-
cist then rallied in the autonomous Kyprou &
Patision Park. Two fascists tried to attack them
with vans, and thus had their vans destroyed.
As of this writing (February 25th) the num-
ber of arrests and injuries, and the financial
damage caused by the strike and the direct
actions against corporations and state insti-
tutions are not yet known. It is also unclear
whether Greece’s anarchist organizations
and their ideas are strong enough to play a
key role in the movement of workers. What
is clear, however, is that the Greek popula-
tion will not take “austerity measures” sitting
down, that the institutional and authoritarian
left is divided and slipping from the influ-
ence of PASOK, and that a new insurrection,
broader and more profound than that of the
2008 Greek December (see BAAM # 28)
looms on the horizon. As a 60 year old strik-
ing engineer, Haralambos Dramantis, told
international reporters at the Athens rally,
“If people see the minority living a good life
and their wages plummeting, they’re going to
take to the streets...We haven’t seen the big
uprising yet, but it will come.’’ •
BAAM Newsletter - 7
 Reports and
Reviews
Transgender People
in Prison
By Adrienne
I
t was a monstrously large room at North-
eastern Law and not only was every last
seat occupied before the event began,
the walls were lined with standing bodies
and people sat in crevices where it was pos-
sible to do so and still see the four speakers.
Represented were the Sylvia Rivera Law
Project based in NYC, the Transformative
Justice Law Project based in Chicago, and
TransCEND Boston. It was heartening to see
such a huge turnout for an event on transgen-
der people in the prison industrial complex,
centralizing the experiences of trans and
gender non-conforming people of color, in-
clusive of undocumented trans people. The
three unapologetically radical organizations
represented were created and are run by trans
people who approach their work in ways that
strive to help trans people without reinforc-
ing the legitimacy of the legal system or any
other oppressive structures.
Folks in the room less familiar with trans
issues punctuated with shocked gasps and ex-
pressions the overview speakers gave of the
systemic discrimination faced by trans people
in education, housing, health care, employ-
ment opportunities, and how sex segregated
public programs can be hostile and inacces-
sible. Due to these factors and more, it is
hardly a wonder why transgender people are
staggeringly overrepresented in prisons, and
usually for crimes of survival. Horrifically,
trans people are nearly always held in gen-
der inappropriate housing, and are subject to
sexual violence at rates nineteen times greater
than the overall, perpetuated and encouraged
by guards. One by one, the speakers enumer-
ated some of the endless and unthinkably
humiliating ways in which prison staff sys-
tematically delegitimate trans identities by
enforcing ‘appropriate’ gender presentations.
BAAM Newsletter - 8
And despite the innumerable traumas that
prisons inflict specifically on trans people,
Elizabeth Marie Rivera-Valentine of Trans-
CEND Boston notes darkly that incarceration
is such an inevitable fact in the lives of many
trans women she knows and works with that,
given the stability of food and housing it pro-
vides, prison is referred to as ‘Paris.’
As in, wondering aloud what happened to
a certain individual might elicit the response
that she is in Paris.
With some of the problems outlined, the
discussion was ripe for the need to abolish
the prison industrial complex and replace it
with community-based solutions that central-
ize the needs of the offended parties in ways
that allow for healing rather than punishment.
Also addressed was the inadequacy of the
501(c)(3) or non-profit model to work toward
meaningful social change-- lawyer Owen
McCarter from the Transformative Justice
Law Project quickly summarized his orga-
nization’s disinterest in acquiring the much-
vaunted tax status by relating his collective’s
distaste for spending valuable time asking
rich people for money and then having to use
that money in accordance with the desires of
said rich people. [for more impassioned in-
formation on the non-profit industrial com-
plex, see INCITE! Women of Color Against
Violence’s anthology The Revolution Will
Not Be Funded].
Righteous energy poured out of speakers,
particularly from Gabriel Arkles of the Syl-
via Rivera Law Project, on how incredibly
harmful hate crimes legislation is to the com-
munities they were purportedly designed to
protect. The blatant hypocrisy was pointed
out, that these laws are not passed because
legislators have any enduring love for queers,
trans people, gender non-conformists, people
of color, and any intersections of the above.
That even hate crimes statutes for racially
motivated hate crimes have by and large been
used to secure longer sentences for people of
color convicted of killing white people. That
not only does hate crimes legislation fail to
address the pervasive transphobia in our so-
ciety, it manipulates our fear and grief over
the very real violence against our communi-
ties in a way that fortifies the legitimacy of
incarceration as a means of dealing with so-
cial problems while making legislators look
compassionate. That these laws do not pre-
vent anyone from committing acts of hate.
That imprisoning such persons does not pre-
vent them from committing more violence
against marginalized populations, since they
will likely be imprisoned alongside the very
communities they have harmed. Neither will
prison rehabilitate them; few people indeed
are able to leave prison more compassionate
and balanced than when they entered. Aside
from lining the pockets of politicians and cor-
porate prisoncrats, what purpose does their
incarceration really serve?
Prisoner support, particularly penpal cor-
respondences, is something I prioritize in my
own activities. But echoing in my head have
been the words of Stefanie Rivera of the Syl-
via Rivera Law Project, who spent three and a
half years in a men’s facility. She told stories
about how guards and inmates alike target un-
supported prisoners and how outside support
is largely determined by mail call, which she
called a ‘popularity contest.’
Her testimony was charged with pain, con-
cluding, ‘I’m done doing the three and a half
years, but it’s not going to leave me any time
soon.’
So if you want to get involved in the crucial
work of supporting prisoners, Boston ABC
holds prisoner support events twice a month
where you can help us send literature, fulfill
research requests, or maintain penpal corre-
spondences-- we’ve got tons of folks looking
for penpals. Hit us up at bostonabc@riseup.
net If you’re interested in supporting spe-
cifically queer and trans prisoners, check out
blackandpink.org, also based in Boston.
And to our incarcerated readers: you are
not forgotten. <3 •
A Report from the
Emerson Anti-
Authoritarians
The Emerson Anti-Authoritarian Society
is a recent addition to the Northeast Anarchist
Network, after a brief hiatus of inactivity.
We’re dedicated to bringing all sorts of radical
thinking to Emerson College, with the goal of
knowledge always in mind. So far we’ve put
together a very successful Really Really Free
Market, which attracted about 75 student par-
ticipants. Our next event was a “Know Your
Rights” training taught by the Boston Anar-
chist Black Cross. About 15 students came
for the hour-long info session and left with
a greater understanding of their rights when
dealing with the state and its agents.
Our biggest opposition so far has been Em-
erson’s property management team, who are
currently blocking us from booking rooms
with what can only be described as bureau-
cratic bullshit. We’re intent on securing our-
right to book rooms and host further events at
Emerson, management be damned. The future
looks bright for our group, and we’re all excited
and determined to bring a greater anti-author-
itarian attitude to the students of Emerson. •
 Taking Risks: Statement on Direct Action
from the Boston Anarchist Black Cross
H
ere at the ABC, we may be viewed by
some of our comrades as over-cau-
tionary, sometimes even to a fault.
While it is our role within the movement to
preach responsibility and awareness, and to
work to keep our comrades safe and away
from the clutches of the State as much as pos-
sible, we would like to clarify our stance on
the use of direct action and other risk-taking
tactics in the furtherance of The Idea.
We believe anarchists must take risks on
the road to the society we wish to build, be-
cause, as we know, the state, the police, the
army, the prisons, the environmental devasta-
tors, and the capitalists will not abolish them-
selves. For every step we take, for every thing
that needs to be changed, there are roadblocks
in our way. The entire legal system exists to
protect the power and privilege of the elite
from righteous levelers who aim to flatten
their haughty pyramid. Thus, while there are
many ways of building community power
and challenging authority that are relatively
safe and legal, it is sometimes essential to
step outside of the framework of state-sanc-
tioned activity if we are to ever fully revel in
the leveling. By participating in direct action,
we can radicalize local conflicts and help win
the small victories our struggling communi-
ties need to sustain momentum. We can learn
useful skills, develop trust and relationships
under stress and pressure, and, through the
excitement of action, sustain our own energy
and relearn the joy of the struggle.
It is true that many participate in such tac-
tics when we go to someone else’s city for big
demonstrations and summits, but it is a cry-
ing shame that such energy, excitement, and
personal dedication has rarely been present in
Boston’s local struggles in recent years. Our
neighbors and coworkers are being crushed
under the heel of authoritarian capitalism, but
they are fighting back and they could sure use
some sturdy hands. By involving ourselves in
local struggles, and finding ways of employ-
ing effective confrontational tactics, we could
be actively building a culture of resistance in
the circles and neighborhoods around us. Be-
sides, the best direct action is that which em-
powers others to adopt the tactic. When we
fight and win, even in the smallest of battles,
if we can include those around us, they will
bring what they’ve learned wherever they go.
As we have stated above, the last thing we,
as the defensive arm of the anarchist move-
ment, wish to do is to discourage anyone from
directly struggling against our oppressors. All
that we ask of our comrades who choose to
participate in such actions is to do so with
responsibility and self-discipline. Take your-
selves at least as seriously as the State will
take you. Organize yourselves into affinity
groups of people you are comfortable work-
ing with, educate yourselves on your rights
and the applicable laws, and always take
into consideration the effects your actions
will have on your immediate community,
your coworkers, and your comrades. Many
places in the world have a strong and deep-
seated anarchist tradition, and in these places
affinity groups often come directly out of
working class communities, forged amongst
people who have grown up together, some-
times even learning the skills they will use
together in play as children. We should strive
toward this strategy where we can; by taking
on risky tasks with only those whom we trust
the most and by helping anarchism take root
in our communities. However, in a city like
Boston where anarchist organizers come and
go with the season’s changing winds, it may
be the case that you do not know your most
trusted comrades for more than a year or two.
In a situation like this, perhaps we shouldn’t
be discouraged from taking action, but we
should certainly take into account the risk and
reward factors, and be very conscious of the
level of risk in general. There are plenty of
useful and strategic actions groups of intel-
ligent and thoughtful activists can take that
are directly confrontational, but require lower
levels of risk and less stringent guidelines
in communicating about them. Just always
remember there are infiltrators, traitors, and
spies amongst us, that community spaces,
phones, computers, and cars can serve as the
eyes and ears of empire, and that the entire
purpose of government is to protect itself as
the tool for domination by the elite class.
One last clarification: it is well known that
ABC maintains a community defense fund
often used to bail folks out of jail. We would
like to make clear our collective’s policy on
the use of our funds for actions that result
in arrest: If you do not plan an escape route,
plan your own bail! While intentionally set-
ting oneself up to be arrested can be, and cer-
tainly has been used as an effective tactic, it
is also an immense drain on our movement’s
resources when so many activists simply sit
down and wait to be carted off. There is no
reason why activists who plan to get arrested
cannot also plan and raise the necessary funds
to make their own bail. Our funds are reserved
for emergency cases, which occur very often
and can be very expensive. Between the costs
of bail and legal fees, and the practical ef-
fects of having our most dedicated comrades
locked up or pinned down by probation and
parole, we feel that the best actions are the
ones that not only achieve the desired effects
and further the good struggles, but keep rebel
feet on the streets and not shackled on the
capitalists’ plantations.
Keep up the fight comrades, and please utilize
us for our knowledge of rights, the legal sys-
tem, and of our community defense programs.
Disclaimer: Boston ABC would never ever
EVER encourage illegal activities. Because
illegal things are bad.
BAAM Newsletter - 9
Monthly Events: Calendar: Get Involved
Sunday, February 28th Friday, March 12th
First and Third Monday: Serving Solidarity: A Night of Greek A Celebration: The Radical Ideas of How-
Papercut Zine Library meeting, Cuisine and Uprising. Homemade Greek ard Zinn. A Black and Red Commemora-
7:30pm, Contact papercut@riseup.net food, culture, and inspiring information tion of the late Howard Zinn, with music,
for location about the situation in Greece. With ex- speeches, and a sneak preview screening
cerpts from ZNet’s documentary “After of the Sacco and Vanzetti Commemoration
First Tuesday of Every Month: the Greek Uprising.” 5pm at Lucy Par- Society’s (SVCS) upcoming video: How-
ard Zinn on the Case of Sacco and Vanzetti.
BAAM public meeting, 7pm, Lucy Par- sons Center, 549 Columbus Ave, Boston.
Endorsed by Boston ABC, BAAM, Com-
sons Center, 549 Columbus Ave. Open munity Church of Boston , SVCS, and the
meetings feature an introduction to Thrsday, March 4th Massachusetts Global Action. To endorse
National Day of Action to Defend Edu-
BAAM, reportbacks, and workshops. this celebration, email info@saccoandvan-
cation. Public Education is under attack.
Unions, community groups and student or- zetti.org. Check SaccoandVanzetti.org for
Second Tuesday of Every Month: ganizations have signed on to the call (de- updates. 7-9pm @ the Community Church,
Anarchist Black Cross meeting (defense fendeducation.org). With increased priva- 545 Boylston St, Copley Square, Boston.
and prison abolition group), 8pm, email tization, rising costs,budget cuts and union
bostonabc@riseup.net for location. busting, it is time to fight back against the Saturday, March 13th
big business agenda for education. Here in Self-Styled Anarchist Fashion and Craft
Every Wednesday: Boston, Campus unions at UMass-Boston Show. At Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave, in
have planned a rally at 12 noon outside the Chinatown, Boston on the 5th floor. 8pm.
Free Radical Film Nights, 7pm, Lucy
Campus Center. Student groups are also Back by popular demand! Watch rebels
Parsons Center, 549 Columbus Ave. helping to plan the events. The teach-in strut their stuff to raise the ABC defense
will be held from 4pm to 7pm in the Mc- funds. $5-50 sliding scale. Bring extra
Second Sunday of Every Month: CormackBuilding, third floor in room 201. money to buy food, drinks, and clothing!
2pm Industrial Workers of the World
meeting. Lucy Parsons Center, 549 Saturday, March 6th Sunday, March 14th
Columbus Ave, Boston Prison Birth Project Fundraiser. Papercut Zine Library resumes regular
(DJ and Dancing) 7pm @ the Community hours. Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and
Church, 545 Boylston St, Copley Square.
Every Friday: Monday, 2-7pm. check www.myspace.
Food Not Bombs free community com/papercutzinelibrary for additional
meal, 3-6pm, Boston Common, Park St Sunday, March 7th hours. 226 Pearl St. in Somerville (be-
ABC Prisoner Support. 8pm @ The tween Union Sq and Winter Hill), 3rd Floor.
T Stop, Boston
Broad Majestic Shannon (email for direc-
tions: BostonABC@riseup.net) Join us for Saturday, March 20th
Every Sunday: an afternoon of prisoner support. We will Mini-Zine Fair. AT the Central Square
Food Not Bombs free community meal, be writing letters, sending literature, doing
YMCA, 820 Massachusette Avenue, Cam-
3-7pm Central Square Cambridge, MA research, and more! All are welcome! bridge. 10am-all day. Free entry before
12pm. $5 entry after that. Live music.

Sunday, March 21st

Northeastern Student Teach In. 10 AM to
4 PM at Northeastern University. Students
will also be able to talk to each other about the
work and campaigns on their campuses and
Photo Below: Greek farmers protest at
learn more about the struggles that are hap-
their tractor blockades.
pening in Boston. Presented by the North-
eastern University Progressive Student
Alliance. The Anarchist Black Cross will
Police arrest Jeff teach our “Know Your Rights” workshop.
Monson, mixed
martial arts heavy- Saturday, March 27th
weight and Anar- Sacco and Vanzetti Social. Gather for a
chist, for anti-war cultural celebration, with food, drinks, info
graffiti sprayed on a about Tarek Mehanna’s case, and of course,
state property. socializing @ the Community Church,
BAAM Newsletter - 10
 Calendar: Get Involved
545 Boylston St, Copley Square, Boston.
www.SaccoandVanzetti.org
Sunday, April 4th
ABC Ice Cream Social (ABC Easter)
Come get involved in Boston ABC. Learn
what we’re all about and eat some ice
cream. Location and time tbd. Email bos-
tonabc@riseup.net
Wednesday, April 14th
We are an Image From the Future: The
Greek Revolt of December 2008. A short
film showing, followed by the presentation
of a new book by the editors, Sissy Dout-
siou and Tasos Sagris, members of the Void
Network in Athens, a group promoting
art, theory, action, and the creation of au-
tonomous spaces. 7pm at the Lucy Parsons
Center, 549 Columbus Ave, Boston.
Sunday, April 18th
Grand re-opening event of the Papercut
Zine Library. Details tbd. Come celebrate
the re-opening of the Papercut Zine Library
at a new space in Somerville! 226 Pearl St.
in Somerville (between Union Sq and Win-
ter Hill), 3rd Floor.
Help us save trees! (paper and money)
For a free email subscription, contact
Jake: trenchesfullofpoets@riseup.net
Contributors to this month’s issue:
-Adrienne
-The Anarchist
Black Cross
-The Emerson Anti-
Authoritarians
-Jake Carman
-Mihi
-Jeff Reinhardt
-Sublett
Wednesday, April 21st MAY Month of Anarchy
Cruel and Unusual: A film about the ex- Coming out of the 9th NEAN Assembly,
periences of transgender people in prison. a month of anarchist and related public
Presented by the Anarchist Black Cross and events and actions across the Northeast.
TransCEND.Boston. 7pm at the Lucy Par- Specifics TBA
sons Center, 549 Columbus Ave, Boston.
BAAM ADS
Check out and Support
these Local projects!
A Brand New Website!
P “Another World is Possible” Of-
fering over 63 EPISODES and
O more than 24 HOURS of revolu-
D tionary and anarchist recordings,
C home-made right here in Boston.
All available for free download right
A now! Just visit:
S http://AnotherWorldis
T Possible.soup.io
Remember Sacco &
vanzetti Buttons!
Commemorative buttons, $2
each, $3 for the pair.
Email to order:
info@saccoandvanzetti.org
What is Anarchism?
Anarchism is the theory and practice of a human society
organizing without hierarchy, authority and oppression. This
means that all people have equal access to the decision-
making process and to the products of their collective
labor. Anarchy can be described as true, direct democracy. It
is horizontal: i.e. workers working together without bosses,
neighbors organizing housing and neighborhoods without
landlords, and people making decisions without politicians.
There are many different ideas on how to get there and what
exactly it will look like. We can talk all we want, but only a
truly free and revolutionary people will be able to decide what
their revolution will look like. So comrades, let’s get to work!
WWW.BAAMBOS TON.ORG
BAAM Newsletter - 11
!"#$%"&'($)*&($("$+,--$(.,-////

!"#$%!&'#"()*+,-./01&)2,1/03+),+()
4-,$&)!/35
!,&6-(,')7,-./)89%%):;<
=>+.6"+&-3)?%)99)@,--013+)!&A)$#33-)?)0+)4/0+,&35+

2",&6-0+B)("10B+1)<,("),+()<3("#"()C')#3.,#)-,(0.,#1%).#3&/0+BD).-,$&1D),+()<3-"E

F?%?G)1#0(0+B)1.,#")"+&-'D);#61)&/"-")50##)C")<,+')0&"<1)$3-)1,#"D),1)
5"##),1)$33(),+()(-0+H1D)13)C-0+B)"I&-,).,1/E
J31&3+,C.=-01"6;A+"& <'1;,."A.3<K,C.C31&3+
BAAM Newsletter - 12