Notices by Alissa Azar (alissaazar@kolektiva.social)

@hakan_geijer ahhh thank you!!

I know the far right hasn’t been back in Portland proper since 2021, but this is an election year and if they decide to come back, this would most likely be the time. It may be another rally on the outskirts of town, or maybe under the guise of a “save the children” or Christian music “family event” with hate preachers, it could very well even be an all-out rally with firearms and melee weapons like A22. Regardless of how it’s presented or marketed, we know what this means, we know what they really want, and we know exactly what they are capable of and how bloodthirsty they are. Now is the time to get the conversation going, reach out to comrades of past, reconnect with your old AGs, see how everyone is feeling, maybe get together and talk & plan, start coordinating with other AGs, rekindle the flames, whatever it is, be ready.

Fascists should always be confronted and prevented from organizing, recruiting, and spreading hate. I know many folks have been dreading 2024 for years, and things are looking even worse than anticipated.

I was looking into something regarding the milkshake incident with Ngo for someone and came across so many different articles about the attack.
Most of which were at Andy's defense, and some even parroting the "I was almost killed" narrative. I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel at least a little bit dehumanizing.

When I was alone in Olympia and chased & attacked by a group of 30-50 proud boys, I was terrified. You can hear me screaming for dear life and see me struggling on the footage from one of their livestreams. I'm lucky that I got away, and the reason why I fought so hard to get away was because at that moment I knew there were two possible outcomes- one that included forced sexual violence by multiple fascists, or being killed. Their actions and the words of encouragement said as much. As I was pushed to the ground, getting my hair pulled, being groped and bear maced, I could hear other men in their group laughing hysterically and others shouting out other violent suggestions for the men who were assaulting me. I thank the universe every day that I was able to get away and for the bar staff who graciously hid me behind their bar and made sure to keep the proud boys out who were trying so hard to enter by force.

No one covered this. No one asked me about it. No one highlighted *that* violence against a journalist. I even find myself trying to avoid expressing how I was literally almost killed and the severity of the situation for fear as coming off too dramatic because I'm a woman. Meanwhile Andy calls a milkshake to the dome a murder attempt and people run with it. This isn't about wanting that attention, but to highlight the stark difference in treatment and coverage. The media will always take any chance they can get to demonize antifascists whilst simultaneously ignoring actual violence perpetuated by the right. I have no doubt that this was also largely ignored because I'm both a Syrian woman and unapologetically antifascist.

Politicians, corporations, AIPAC… all so afraid of the truth they got congress to fast track legislation to ban TikTok because the youth say Free Palestine.

It’s not a foreign interest that's pushing pro-Palestine content which is undermining US foreign policy. It’s the people who are no longer falling for genocidal propaganda and have been watching the truth play out before their very eyes for months on end. We would be seeing the exact same thing on meta if they would stop silencing people, deleting pro-Palestine accounts and posts, and falsely translating Arabic to fit their imperialist and genocidal agenda.

This is about suppressing information and stomping dissent. It’s about censorship.

Maybe it’s at a higher volume now, but none of this is anything new. Content and information about protests, fascists, and police brutality has been censored for a while now. Anyone paying attention in 2020-21 saw how much censorship there was. Posts getting removed that didn’t evade any of the terms on said platforms, leftist creator accounts and journalists being banned from platforms, etc. Anything that undermines the interests of corporations and capitalism is going to be perceived as a major threat- especially when they gain traction and wide support from the actual people.

Things are not looking great.

@aral @alissaazar correct. But I refuse to call it X out of principal. The principal being I’m stubborn

Surprising absolutely no one, Twitter allowed and hosted a 3 hour strategy meeting for nazis 🤢

Heads up if you’re still on bird app, the new calling and video message feature automatically reveals the IP address of both users. You have to manually turn it off in privacy direct message settings.

Things are very tense at the Aladdin theater protest. Will update later

People were outside of the Aladdin theater protesting when 4 police vehicles creeped up with their lights off, parked in front of the theater and immediately went after a very visible Palestinian organizer. It was a targeted arrest and is a very old police tactic to arrest visible organizers as a means of intimidation and attempt at suppression. This person didn't do a thing but use his voice tonight. PPB claimed it was in regards to something from a previous day, which makes the arrest an even more intentional target considering when & where they decided to do it. Also, cops lie.

As he was being arrested, the cops were extremely handsy and a few in particular were being super violent to people just asking why they were arresting him. The cops were mostly new faces who are protest newbies, they were visibly nervous & skittish the entire time- which tends to be a particular flavor of dangerous and violent. PPB left shortly after making the arrest. The arrest and police violence riled up the crowd and things escalated.

There was a bunch of security working for the theater, and they ended up all retreating inside after some smoke bombs went off near the doors and people pushing through the metal fencing. The entrance got barricaded and some folks were just standing in front of it. People were no longer able to enter the venue at this point. This went on for a bit until eventually the cops came back and formed a line in front of the theater allowing the security to come back out and let patrons in. People are out now and no other arrests were made.

Cops arrested a visible Palestinian organizer to intimidate people. He didn’t do a thing. Four squad cars came just to arrest him.

Now the Aladdin theater security have all retreated as the arrest riled people up. The entrance to the theater is successfully blocked off by protestors now. No more visible police presence atm

Even though this weekend turned into something else entirely with “gods army” at the Texas border, I think it’s really important for people to realize how prepared a lot of these fascist groups and militias are for a “civil war,” and the things that they are willing to spill blood over.

Neo-Nazis and Christian nationalists are becoming more dangerous and emboldened by the day. All the while gaining more support from the fascist GOP, law enforcement, and other people in this country who have actual power.

The post J6 shock and awe from liberals has dissipated. Even the more liberal MSM is still lacking vital context when reporting on fascism and white supremacy, *if* they report on it. They continue to condemn broken windows in the name of justice harder than they could ever fathom condemning actual violence against human beings by white supremacists. Violence that has been increasing at a terrifying rate. All the while the far-right GOP is getting more and more comfortable publicly associating and working with literal neo-Nazis. We’re seeing people who maybe 5-6 years ago wouldn’t be caught dead associating with certain figures publicly, now proudly taking selfies together and giving them opportunities and putting them in prominent positions.

Things are looking very grim, and I am genuinely afraid.

So far this convoy and Take Our Border Back rally has been composed entirely of people *not* from Texas. It’s a bunch of grifters, Christian nationalists, or a combination of the two. Earlier today Michael Yon (former green beret, certified grifter) was yelling about Arab & Muslim migrants, calling them terrorists who he said are being funded by “Jewish money” and crossing the border from Mexico?? Unhinged.

If you’re unfamiliar with what’s happening in Eagle Pass, Texas, here’s a breakdown:

This week, the Supreme Court sided with federal agents to remove razor-wire put in place by Texas along the Rio Grande. The state is using wire and state agents to block Border Patrol from accessing a section of the border in Eagle Pass. Biden gave a 24hr deadline yesterday to let border patrol in, and the Department of Homeland Security sent a letter to the Texas AG demanding that Texas National Guard troops allow Federal personnel into the area of Shelby Park by this Friday. Abbott already doubled down by having national guard reinforce the border with more razor-wire fencing, and national guard from at least 10 other states have already been deployed to reinforce Shelby Park.

Members of the far-right and right-wing anti government militias are using inflammatory rhetoric and conspiracies to justify more violence at the border. They are saying that there is an “invasion” at the border and thus pledging their allegiance to stand with Abbott- many of which who are planning on getting to Eagle Pass by February 3rd to “defend the border.” These militias are armed and have expressed their readiness to battle if it gets to that with the feds.

Republicans have opted out of negotiations concerning border issues. There is a high probability that this is a strategy to undermine Biden reelection, whilst simultaneously using it as a political platform for Trump. Yesterday, the 25th republican governor issued a joint statement in support of Texas, making every republican governor and half of the states in this country officially siding with Texas.

PPB posted on their insta that they’ve been out helping people in the cold and well… LOL.

As of last night, I had heard of at least 2 confirmed deaths in PDX caused by the below freezing temperatures. Anarchists, along with community members & local mutual aid groups have been distributing warm food, water, hand warmers, blankets, tarps, medical supplies, & at least 40 hotel rooms for unhoused folks. Right before this *anticipated* snow storm, PPB forcibly displaced at least one major camp.

@keithzg @freakazoid they knew this was coming. How this is considered anything less than murder is beyond me

Nature is healing <3

Activists in Portland have taken over and are blocking the burnside bridge demanding a ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Palestine

Tonight on the 8th night of Hanukkah, hundreds of Jewish folks and allies garhered on the Burnside bridge and blocked traffic during rush hour to call attention to Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people and demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. A 12ft tall menorah was lit when the sun went down.

This action was done in coordination with Jewish-led groups forming bridge blockades today in at least 8 other major U.S. cities.

A lot of people using “Muslim” and “Arab” interchangeably and it’s painful to see. Call them Arab or Palestinian. One religion does not define all the people and excludes many, from Christian Arabs, to Jewish Arabs, atheist Arabs and more.

Activists in Portland are blocking Boeing. PSL, who organized the rally, called it off and said it was successful just after an hour, but lots of folks stayed anyways. Immediately after psl left and made that announcement, Gresham police showed up. They weren’t in riot gear and they appear to have retreated for the time being