Category: Unoffensive Reports

El Estor is a nickel mine in Guatemala owned by Solway, a Swiss mining company that is willing to go to any lengths to keep making profits.



The nickel resources around the mine happen to be just below the surface of land indigenous folk live on, and for many years there has been a serious fight to not only stop the company from digging up their home but also to stop the company’s continuous pollution that is affecting everybody’s health, murdering uncountable endangered species and destroying the land around it.



In 2009, Adolfo Ich Chaman, leader of the indigenous community, was brutally murdered by mine security. In 2016, due to the precarious conditions within the mine, an explosion injured over twenty workers and killed at least six. In 2017, during the fishermen’s protests demanding a stop to the polluting of the lake, Carlos Maas was shot dead by riot police. The two journalists that covered his murder were the only people charged with anything after his death.

A hacking group called Guacamaya decided to fight back and released 4.2 TB of internal documents showing the lengths that Solway is prepared to go to displace the indigenous community. From bribes to judges, police and government officials to creating economic dependency within the community, Solway was willing to pay their way to bulldoze the land murdering animals, plants and trees. If the indigenous community wasn’t willing to move, then they had even more sinister plans, like setting fire to key parts of the forest to destroy their livelihood or spread false rumours about the community leaders having HIV “due to their promiscuity”. To Solway, the health of the earth, the life of animals and the worth of the indigenous community were lesser than their hunger for money. The mining company has carried out many of these plans, burning irreplaceable chunks of the forest and terrorising both individuals and the whole community.



Forbidden stories broke the news at the beginning of March, releasing the work that over 65 journalists from across the globe had done analysing the data dump that Guacamaya had handed them over. 



At the same time, Guacamaya released their statement, which can be read in Spanish and is linked at the bottom of this article. Guacamaya did not stop there tho. They want you to know that everybody can do this job and they put a video together of how they hacked this multinational company, using open-source software. We have linked that video below too. 

Check the resources linked below to learn more about the hack, the indigenous peoples’ struggle against Solway and the tools and methods that Guacamaya used to hack them.



From UA, we want to echo the words of Guacamaya. “Infiltrate and sabotage with rebellious joy!”; but we also want you to think. A big part of our readers is part of the West. Have you ever stopped to think how deeply our consumption affects the earth? And if you have, have you put faces to the people that we are hurting with our insatiable thirst for progress? Watch the videos published by Forbidden Stories to meet the people affected by Solway. Solway is a Swiss-based company. They live in Europe and they profit from the destruction of the indigenous communities of Guatemala whilst comfortably sitting on their sofa at home. They are giving orders to pollute rivers, burn forests down and murder the people on the ground who resist. While this mine is far away for many of you, the people who run and profit from it are closer than you think. Are you part of the resistance?

RESOURCE LINKS:
Forbidden Stories, all articles: https://forbiddenstories.org/case/mining-secrets/
Downloadable Mining Secrets 4.2TB Datadump: https://ddosecrets.com/wiki/Mining_Secrets
Guacamaya’s communique after the hacking was published: https://enlacehacktivista.org/comunicado_guacamaya.txt
Guacamaya’s ‘how to’ video of the action: https://enlacehacktivista.org/hackback.webm

By now, you have learned quite a bit about us. We’ve explained our political background, what we do and don’t do and how people send anonymous reports. If you like the work we do there are many ways you can support Unoffensive and help us.

The first one is fairly self-evident. We created a platform so news could be spread over social media, so following, sharing and inviting others to check the content is a huge bit of help. We have had a very tumultuous relationship with the main social media channels and are permanently shadowbanned, so all interaction is positive and very much appreciated.

Secondly, as we have mentioned in previous articles, we work with submissions. People are not only welcome but also encouraged to submit both ideas and fully written articles to be published on our platforms. As long as they are not encouraging illegal activities or promoting any form of bigotry, we are always happy to publish them! We are also happy for folks to approach us with concepts for series or other forms of regular content that they would like to help with.



Lastly, supporting Unoffensive with donations is vital for us to keep going. Not only does it help us with prisoner support, arrest support and campaign support, but also it helps us upkeep website, server and domain costs. We would like to reach a point where we can support more journalistic work through Unoffensive, but unfortunately, donations to the collective have steadily declined in the past two years, and we now barely manage to do half of the money work we once did. We do not take donations for personal money, wages or anything of the like, as we all are volunteers (and more often than not end up putting money in ourselves!)



So if you think we do a good job and want to support our work, please consider donating. You have many different options, from Monero and bitcoin if you want to use cryptocurrencies to PayPal and Patreon. 



Paypal: unoffensive_animal(at)tutanota.com
Patreon: www.patreon.com/animalliberation
Bitcoin and Monero wallets can be found on our website.

UNTIL WE WIN!

UA.

By now you have learnt about what our platform does as well as what we do not do and what political background we have, and it is time to learn how people send direct action reports anonymously.

As mentioned before, we do not take part in actions, we simply serve as a platform for people to report their activities furthering the struggle. But for people to remain anonymous whilst sending reports, they need to follow a few steps so they can send information safely.

To start with, it is important that everybody understands that sending reports or submissions over Instagram, Facebook and Twitter is not safe. Those companies are data hoarding machines and even if your social media is “anonymous” you will be leaving a trace of who you are.

For that reason, we only accept reports over email.

You should always use Tor Browser to send reports. You can download it for free and use it as much as you want. If you don’t know what Tor does, please read up about it!

Once you’re connected through Tor, you have two options. You can either use our contact form on our website (which encrypts the communication on our end) or use a self-destructing email.

Examples of self-destructing emails would be https://tempr.email/ or https://anonymousemail.me/. Send your text and media to unoffensivereports(at)protonmail.com

If not, you can simply use our contact form and click send. Our contact form can be found on our website:

www.unoffensiveanimal.is/contact-us

Sending media (video or photo) is a very important part of any report. To do that safely please remove metadata. www.exifcleaner.com is a good tool you can download and use to get rid of all the pesky metadata you do not want to send. Once you have cleaned your media, you can upload it to the cloud using www.ufile.io and paste the downloading link alongside your report before sending it.

Do not send us personal details and do not expect us to answer back. We don’t want to know who you are.

Now you can report your actions if you need to, and report them safely.

UNTIL WE WIN!

UA.

There are folks in the frontlines that for one reason or another are widely known and mentioned often. Other people chip away at the enormous rock that is oppression throughout their whole life without asking for credit and without wanting notoriety. Sometimes those people fall through the cracks and only those who knew them personally remember them once they are gone.

Fernán was one of those people. Fernando Sanchez Grassa. An animal liberationist involved with the Spanish ALF (FLA), an anti-fascist, a fighter against Daesh who joined the YPG in Kurdistan and an incredible human being who is remembered by his friends with the love and rage reserved for those who truly meant something to your life.

Fernán died climbing a mountain in the Himalayas on the 4th of November 2019. A year later, an unnamed group liberated a dog tethered to a dairy farm and called him Fer.

When talking to people who knew him, they only have words of adulation. “He was incredibly sweet, a revolutionary to the core”. “He was in the riots in Italy, 2001, when Carlo Giuliani died. There are pictures of him at a mink raid, placing incendiaries at a fur farm and even some photos during a partridge farm liberation”.

And indeed, Fernán was photographed many times during FLA (ALF) raids. In 2003, after having visited a mink farm in Lubia, Spain, and having found that all the animals had already been killed, they planed and took action by setting the farm on fire. That arson would be the only recorded fur farm arson in the country of Spain. They would later dedicate the action to not only Barry Horne, but also the Palestinian people.

He was photographed cutting the fence of a game farm breeding partridges for hunters to shoot, and on a different occasion, at a mink farm raid where over 1000 mink were released before the farmer interrupted the raid.

There is no doubt that Fernán fought against oppression at a completely different level that many of us would only dream of. And after having learnt about him, we felt you too should know his name. He never took action to gain fame, but his memory should be powerful enough to still inflict blows in the oppression machine that devours the earth.

He was also a published author and we would like to end this with a quote from one of his books that perfectly explains what his life and history should do to all of us:

“We hope this article is nothing but a germ that replicates and creates more memories and love. We now pass you this weapon; take it”.

So we’ve talked about our background and our intentions and we have mentioned what Unoffensive does. If you haven’t read those two posts, head to Part 1 and Part 2 of the series. Today, we will try and clarify what we do not do.

Unoffensive is a media platform receiving anonymous reports. We cannot put you in touch with the ALF because we do not know who sends those reports. In fact, when people send incomplete reports we are unable to respond to them to clarify details or ask for photos. We do not have contact with the Animal Liberation Front.

In the same way, we do not take part in illegal actions. There is no point in contacting us to “join during an action” because we are a media hub, not a direct action group. We also do not fund illegal actions. We will discuss more how we deal with money in future instalments, but folks need to understand that donating to Unoffensive is not a way of sending money to people taking actions of liberation or sabotage.

Lastly, people must know that we do not share “sign the petition” links. For the most part, they are a way of collecting huge networks of email addresses willingly given by like-minded individuals, so it is a very easy way of creating lists of people that might take dissenting actions. On a more practical level, we would not be able to share every single petition we get sent, so we decided that we do not share any of them. There is a similar action about sanctuary fundraisers. We do not share sanctuary fundraisers but not because we do not think folks should support sanctuaries, but because sanctuaries do not need the heat that we could add to the equation. People should support animal sanctuaries without a doubt, but of the three fundraisers we have shared in the past, two of the sanctuaries were raided a week later. It is not worth the hassle because it is obvious that authorities do not understand we do not have links with illegal actions, so they blame anyone else by proxy.

So to sum it up, no, we cannot put you in touch with the ALF. No, we do not know who did x, y or z action. No, we cannot send animals to your home if “homes are needed”. We cannot fund illegal actions and we do not take part in illegal actions either.

In the next post, we will talk about how people send reports anonymously.

For now, if anyone wants to support Unoffensive, you can do so by donating on www.patreon.com/animalliberation.

until then

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT RIOT!

So now you know our political background and intentions (if you don’t check out Part 1!), and it is time to talk about what we do.

Unoffensive serves as a platform for a multitude of things, and one of them is reporting on animal liberation direct action from around the world. We receive anonymous reports submitted via secure means and publish them on the platform, allowing those taking action to explain what, how and why they took action whilst remaining anonymous. This means that individuals and groups can remain safer whilst having the opportunity to reach out to wider audiences and express themselves however they want.

We also try to help as a prisoner support hub. This translates in a few different ways. We collect (and try to keep up to date) addresses for those locked up in prison, so people can write letters. We give updates about their current situation, and we try and send money for their commissary or legal fees as much as we are able to.

But prisoner support isn’t just about prisoners! We also try to publicise court cases and sentencing of activists that have not ended up in prison, as well as help fundraising or sending money for their legal fees. This helps create a culture of solidarity, but also it is useful as a “sentencing comparison” so folks understand previous sentencing attached to actions and are able to weigh up the risk-reward factor.

Lastly, we try to also be an education hub. Be it by talking about history, or about anarchist concepts, or even about security and technology, if folks that follow us learn something new that will further expand their knowledge and help them keep fighting, that is our biggest and most important objective.

Now that you know what we do and who we are you should be able to paint an image of what Unoffensive is. In a future post, we will cover what we do not do.

Until then;

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT RIOT!

During the holidays a lot of new people found us on the internet and we believe there is a need to explain who we are and what we do. We have written a few short posts that will help new people know what we are up to and why we are here!

Unoffensive Animal started a little over five years ago as a platform to breach the gap between direct action for animal liberation and the fast-growing number of activists using social media. We felt there was a need to collect reports from the Animal Liberation Front and other groups and show them to folks who were organising above ground actions on social media but maybe were unaware of a whole other world outside of Facebook!

We set off with two objectives. To radicalise (that is, to bring it back to the roots) animal liberation activists by exposing them to direct action news and anarchist concepts, whilst putting effort into elevating animal liberation concepts in the anarchist discourse that we felt was hugely missing.

So we are anarchists (shock horror, we believe that the current system does not allow anyone to be free) and anticapitalists, we firmly believe in animal liberation as part of a much broader struggle for the betterment of our societies and of the earth we inhabit and we think that direct action is a very good tool to use in order to fight back against oppression.

We believe in total prison abolition and in the creation of systems that allow for conflict resolution and restorative justice. No one is free until all are free!

So you can see Unoffensive Animal for what we truly are, an unapologetically radical press and media platform, heavily dependent on the information submitted by people who read us that is trying to add a little dressing to the salad that is total liberation.

In future instalments, we will explain how we operate and how people can get involved, but until then;

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT RIOT!

As you might’ve read, we have been trying to raise enough funds to cover the fines to a comrade in Sweden who was sentenced after being charged with criminal damage and theft. We are very happy to announce that thanks to the incredible generosity of people, those fines have been paid in full and the person will not have to take on a loan to cover costs. We are immensely grateful to all that donated, shared and showed solidarity one way or another. Thank you!

Heading into the new year we would like to create a good “emergency” fund that can be used for situations like this. It is difficult for us to get it done because expenses are constant and because folks (be it prisoners, campaign groups or people’s sentencing) always need support, so we distribute everything that comes in and there is never some extra cash to put aside.

If you like the work we do and think you can spare a few coins, we would be really grateful for your support. In the new year we will break down exactly how we work with money and explain a bit more how we intend to create that emergency fund, but for the time being, any new patreons and or PayPal donations are very welcome. We also have a Monero and a Bitcoin wallet if you prefer to make donations over cryptocurrencies.

Paypal: unoffensive_animal(at)tutanota.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/animalliberation

Cryptocurrency wallets can be found on our website: www.unoffensiveanimal.is

We are going to continue with normal schedule, but this is probably the last UA Update of 2021, so we wish all of you a very merry fucking riot. May the new year bring the revolution, and with it, all your intention to not be a show watcher, but an action taker.

UNTIL WE WIN.

We have new merch on our website! For the first time ever we have printed designs on the front of tees and hoodies, for all of you that have asked for years to have something printed other than the back!

NoBonzo did an amazing design against vivisection where rats rebel against the cages and make mini Molotovs out of the lab’s glassware.

Praxis drew a collab design a year ago that was so popular on prints that we decided to make tees and hoodies with.

To try and support comrades, we have also agreed to sell Underground Badger Syndicate and Smash Speciesism t-shirts through our website. We do not take any of those profits and everything goes straight to their campaign work.

As well as the new designs on tees and hoodies we have printed enamel pins and embroided patches with the classic Defend Direct Action logo, so if you want to be a little more subtle, there is something for you!

Of course, loads of art prints are available the website as well as tote bags, face covers and the classic Praise Be, Defend Direct Action and Animal Equals hoodies and tees.

If you want to support unoffensive, you can do that by heading to the website and grabbing yourself some merch. Be aware that we are not a shop, you can choose what donation you would like to give for the stuff and we will parcel and post it to you whenever we are free, but be patient as we do not work on the merch stuff every day!

www.unoffensiveanimal.is/shop

Thank you for the support

UA.

So it has taken us a little while, but we have managed to restock all sizes of tees and hoodies on all designs. If you’ve been waiting to grab yourself a hoodie or a tee but we did not have your size, you can now find them on the website!

There is an important change to note about our merch. We have changed suppliers and instead of printing on Earth Positive, we are now sourcing our garments through NoSweat, which run a campaign to empower workers cooperatives and fight back against sweatshops.

Although it means we spend a little more per garment, we have not changed our prices whatsoever. It is worth noting that the size chart might change slightly, but we think the change is positive and necessary. For a transitional period, you might receive either Earth Positive or NoSweat.

There shouldn’t be too much of a difference, but if sizing does not feel right after receiving the garment you can reach out to the shop and they can see what would work best. Reach them in our email: unoffensiveshop (at) riseup (dot) net.

As well as hoodies and tees, we have restocked on flags and face coverings, we still have a bunch of beanies and a handful of tote bags and the folks at Wildfire hooked us up with a bunch more magazines so we have both volumes back in stock!

As we need to fundraise after a couple of months of not making much cash, all orders over 50GBP placed for the next seven days will receive a free print. We will choose the print at random. For anyone ordering over 100GBP, we will send a whole set with the four prints included.

You can have a look at our shop here: www.unoffensiveanimal.is/shop 

Thank you once again for all the support you folks shows towards unoffensive. Just as a reminder, all the profit turned by the collective helps support prisoners as well as supporting folks facing court cases or campaigns that might need some form of support.

SOLIDARITY IS OUR BIGGEST WEAPON!