Anarchist Solidarity
Jock Palfreeman has been in jail in Bulgaria for about 10 years. Inside the prison he set up the Bulgarian Prisoners Association and campaigns for human rights inside the countries harsh prisons. We interview two anarchists who work to support Jock and keep his case in the public eye.
Bad Cop No Donut begins with a funny issue Victorian police are having with their uniforms, and we discuss the on going situation in Australia’s offshore detention centre on PNG’s Manus Island.
And the big announcement that we are now part of the Channel Zero Network of anarchist podcasts.
Listen Online
Music
| Heaven 17 – Fascist Groove Thing | info |
| The Basics – The Lucky Country | info |
| Phil Monsour – Who Killed Reza Berati? | info |
| Chumbawamba – Give the Anarchist a Cigarette | info |
Words
Jock Palfreeman petition (you don’t have to be Australian to sign)
Bad Cop No Donut
Victorian police officers have called for new pants after reporting their current uniforms are splitting at the crotch when they are trying to arrest people.
Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said members had reported poor-quality and ill-fitting pants.
“The material used in manufacturing the pants is particularly unpopular with members, who have advised that the material does not breathe, and that the pants cause excessive sweating particularly in summer,” he said.
Mr Gatt said some officers had complained the excessive sweating had caused them medical problems.
He said the trousers limited police movements when they were trying to make arrests.
“Our members tell us that the cut of the pants limit their movement when they are required to execute some of the defensive techniques they are trained to perform, and are particularly limiting when they are required to complete routine policing tasks, such as jumping fences,” he said.
Western Australian police have released a promotional video made to publicise its “Goodbye Graffiti” campaign.
The video has gone viral but for all the wrong reasons or maybe that was the plan.
It depicts a young couple walking through the streets of the inner-city Perth suburb of Leederville and buying coffee.
“Thank you so much for today — what’s the special occasion?” the woman asks.
“Remember those guys who were tagging the bus stop?” her companion says, as the video cuts to a scene of youths spray painting a bus shelter as sinister music plays.
“I got sick of them doing it and tagging, so I reported them,” he says. “I didn’t realise it, we got a reward.”
The WA Police campaign offers rewards for those who provide information about people who graffiti, in an attempt to save some of the estimated $25 million graffiti removal costs the State annually.
Victorian police take almost twice as many sick days now than they did 2 years ago.
Breaking down the stigma of mental health problems within the force has been suggested as a cause of this with more police feeling as if they can reach out for help.
The Victorian Police Association also noted the community’s continual mistreatment of law enforcers on the beat.
Refugees
For Manus updates follow Behrouz Boochani on Twitter.
The Can’t Stand By network exists to make the Australian government’s regime of mandatory detention of refugees so economically, politically and socially expensive that they have no choice but to abandon this policy.
CSB is designed such that it will continue to operate until all offshore detention centres have been closed, the worst of the Australian onshore detention centres have been closed and there is a 30-day limit placed on detention in Australia with periodic judicial review of any detention after that. CSB will continue to apply pressure until these demands are not just an agreement but an operating reality.
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