I am sorry to hear that this happened yesterday in Auckland, and I think what it shows is that we have safety in numbers, but when we are few , the police then have a chance to pounce. It is necessary to realise that the police are our enemies and we need to treat them as such; that means using smart tactics to confront them and not allowing ourselves to be cornered like sheep before being hounded off to the meat works as sounds to have happened in Auckland.

I was in Buenos Aires for mayday today and the fact that there were about 30,000 of us meant that the police didn't have a chance to pounce for if they did they would have soon seen the streets ripped up to form barricades as was seen here only 3 1/2 years ago (at the expense of 5 presidents).

Thus it is a shame that so many young activists had to have such an unpleasant experience , let's hope it can be learned from and not happen again.

YFTR Sam

15 people arrested, including many people aged 15-18 years old. Charges include disorderly behaviour, wilfull trespass, resisting police, assaulting police. All totally bullshit. Court at Albert St 9.15 Thursday and Friday.

The planet is dying
The current capitalist system is killing off our planet. across the globe ecosystems are collapsing indigenous cultures are being destroyed and animals are being tortured for profit.

Todays protest at Mc Donalds was symbolic of the wider struggle to defend mother earth. The police violence and their lies are a striking example of the lengths the system will go to in protecting its destructive ways.

The time has come for young people to stand up and smash the current system in a last ditch effort to protect what remains of this tattered the environment. Local communities must be fostered and a complete change in mindset must be brought about if the planet has any chance of surviving.

This is our world and we will use any means necessary to defend

Great to see some action from Auckland, we are with you in spirit. Mad props from all of us here in Wellington. Solidarity forever!

A thrilling excerpt: "Some of the more direct-action oriented folks there, tried to carry out some
consensus decision making, right there on the spot"

go you good things go!!!!

This is where I cut out; I had to go (for non-mayday related reasons). But I met with someone who was there back down on queen st, when the police riot occured. I guess the gist is that some uniformed pornographers came to the mcdonalds to riot and ended up kidnapping some people who where there excercising some non-violent direct democracy...

This is what she said:

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Hey,

I don't really know where to start...

Um, at around 2.30pm a crowd of maybe 25 of us went into McDonalds on Queen
Street. We stood mainly around the counter area and chanted for about 15
minutes. Some people also sat down at tables. The manager was agrivated
but didn't speak individually to any of us. He took out his cellphone
straight away.
We didn't interact directly with any of the customers.
Then four of us sat down in the doorway leaving a path for people to exit.
People also stood around us. About two minutes later we realised the police
were arriving we then decided to leave and protest outside the doors. When
we got up to do this the manager shut the gates locking us in. One
particular protester grabbed a cup of water and spilled it on the manager.
The manager pushed the protester and we all managed to get out. Four police
paddy wagons then appeared. Basically everyone was getting arrested left
right and centre. The police were violently shoving anyone who stood near
the doors. They arrested two female protesters at one point and were
shaking and shoving both of them. The police approached the situation
aggresively with no prior warnings to anyone. The force used by the police, far
exceeded what was reasonable considering the circumstances. This was a
peaceful protest. The total number of arrests at this stage is unclear but
atleast three paddy wagons were filled. The fire alarm inside McDonalds was
activated, I'm unsure by whom, and three fire engines appeared. There were
a huge amount of people crowding the footpaths on both sides of the streets
in the entire block.

Can't think of anything else...


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There you have it, I'm going down to jail solidarity at the pig pen...will post an update soon...

solidad...

Here is the first part of that last post. It was supposed to be up before the pictures. Just pretend it is:

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I recieved a phonecall from one of the arrestees inside one of the paddy-waggons,
about 25 minutes ago..

What I experienced was the first component of the protest, which began with
propaganda and soapboxing in rally form. Once 300+ people (and some dogs) had
gathered, the march moved up Queen St.

I saw all sorts of people. It was a diverse gathering of all types of
anti-capitists, students workers, and then some people who left the sidewalks and
joined the march as it moved along Queen St.

A brief stopover was made at a starbucks where some chanting and other non-violent
direct action took place. The march moved on to Albert's Park where people gathered
to rest.

Some of the more direct-action oriented folks there, tried to carry out some
consensus decision making, right there on the spot; but the police kept up a vigil
of survielance by standing right behind the huddle, gawking.

After some police/porn jokes and some harsh questions to the police about freedom of
assembly, those direct-action oriented folk agreed to meet up. Later. Somewhere
else.

police propety must suffer for this crime!