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ANTI QUANTUM DAY Reportback, Opponents of PsiQuantum Facility in Chicago Disrupt Architecture Center Event with PsiQuantum VP 

Posted on 2025/04/22 - 2025/04/22 by unsalted

Anonymous submission to Unsalted Counter Info.

We offer to you on “World Quantum Day” this report-back of recent movement building and protest against the specter of Quantum in so-called Chicago.

On the spring equinox, March 20, 2025, opponents of a plan to build the 9 Billion dollar Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park(IQMP) on the shores of southern Lake Michigan or Mishigami, disrupted an event that the Chicago Architecture Center hosted to sell the project to the public.

A dozen people rallied outside of the entrance of the swank downtown offices of the Chicago Architecture Center Thursday, calling simultaneously for the whole project to be stopped entirely, but also to make sure that the people are not forgotten if developers were to go forward with terraforming the lakefront to make room for this massive tech campus, and that there are also plans to ensure that somehow it would benefit the people currently living in the neighborhoods and the local ecosystem, not corporate profit and militarization. Colorful banners and signs held by people had the words, “Invest in People, Not Quantum”, “Quantum = Displacement: The Lake is for the People, Not Your Supercomputer” and “Love Mishigami, Hate Killer Quantum” while others played music and chanted. 

Continue reading “ANTI QUANTUM DAY Reportback, Opponents of PsiQuantum Facility in Chicago Disrupt Architecture Center Event with PsiQuantum VP “ →

Posted in General, ReportbackTagged Chicago, Disruption, Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, Quantum Computing

Fight Like a Flea: Lessons from the Casbah of Basel al-Araj

Posted on 2024/06/10 by unsalted
The occupied Institute of Politics building at University of Chicago, temporarily the Casbah Basel al-Araj, with various banners. They read "casbah bassel al-araj", "Fuck UChicago", "Free Palestine", and the demans "1. Free Palestine 2. Abolish the University 3. Land Back 4. Fuck Gentrification 5. Fuck 12"

Originally published on https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/06/04/fight-like-a-flea-lessons-from-the-casbah-of-basel-al-araj/

 

“The flea has fascinating fighting strategies and techniques…It does not kill its host…what it does is exhaust its host and consume its blood, causing constant disturbance, eventually preventing the host from being able to rest. It makes the host nervous and demoralized. […]

[T]he guerilla fights its wars like fleas…If the battle lasts long enough to exhaust the host then it will fail in the battle due to its weakness while unable to locate the flea(s)…[F]ight like a flea.” Live Like A Porcupine, Fight Like A Flea

“The beginning of every revolution is an exit, an exit from the social order that power has enshrined in the name of law, stability, public interest, and the greater good.” Exiting Law & Entering Revolution


CONTEXT

Since October 7th, Chicago has seen countless marches and actions that have been successful in bringing out hundreds and thousands of people. However, many of these numbers consist of suburbanites driving or being bussed into the city to show support, rather than a mass of Chicagoans coming together from across the deeply race- and class-segregated city. In addition, these marches have usually been put on by a small number of nonprofit organizations. They have been heavily marshaled and largely symbolic, leaving many people demoralized and looking for more.

As every day sees more Gazans murdered by the zionist entity, symbolic parades that play into respectability politics at every turn and ask the state for permission to protest are clearly a toothless and insufficient response. Small, isolated acts of sabotage aren’t enough either—it is crucial to seek more militant forms of collective action. These actions should demonstrate an understanding of the throughline between the colonial states of the US and Israel, and the need to abolish both entirely—prisons, police, military, and state bureaucracies alike—to stop both the genocide in Gaza and the daily forms of state violence here in Chicago. From within the imperial core, there’s an obligation to interrupt the material support that the “U.S.” provides “israel.”

In order to encourage more militant collective action, there is a need for a change in protest culture that is rife with peace policing liberal concerns about “outside agitators.” Contrary to what peace police, protest managers, and the heads of liberal social justice organizations would have us believe, many people are looking to take more escalated action and learn the skills to do so together. This desire clearly expressed itself in flashes at the campus encampments here in Chicago, including in the brief but impactful establishment of the Casbah of Basel Al Araj on the University of Chicago campus.

Continue reading “Fight Like a Flea: Lessons from the Casbah of Basel al-Araj” →

Posted in Free Palestine, General, ReportbackTagged abolition, Chicago, direct action, Free Palestine, Occupation, Palestine, repost, U Chicago

New Zine: UCHICAGO REPORTBACKS AND LETTER TO THE ENCAMPMENT (updated)

Posted on 2024/06/03 - 2024/06/04 by unsalted
Various tents are pitched on the campus of University of Chicago, behind plastic orange construction fencing and a sign reading "Free Palestine"

Anonymous submission to Unsalted Counter Info.

here’s a zine reportback of various encampments on University of Chicago’s campus.

Printable version here

Full text below:

29-30 April 2024
Northwestern University 2.0???

Uchi’s encampment has been very disappointing. For starters, the community agreements are not community agreements. They are rules. One silly thing that they have decided for the quad is that no one can smoke or vape when it’s the norm. They have also decided to declare that people will not engage with any form of authority while they behave as such. Organizers and marshals have formed an internal divide within the encampment. On day one of the encampment, members decided to take down the israeli multi-flag display, and marshals chased them down and took pictures of them. It says on the community “agreements” that people are not supposed to take pictures of others without consent. Does that only apply to people who do what they say? Zionists eventually put them back up with UCPD guards. If marshals are supposed to “keep the camp safe,” wouldn’t it have been a great time to block them from taking the flags down? Continue reading “New Zine: UCHICAGO REPORTBACKS AND LETTER TO THE ENCAMPMENT (updated)” →

Posted in Free Palestine, General, Reportback, ZinesTagged Chicago, Free Palestine, Occupation, U Chicago, University Encampment, Zines

Anarchist May Day Parade Storms Through Fulton Market, Chicago

Posted on 2024/05/08 - 2024/05/08 by unsalted

On May 1, 2024, a group of rabble rousers and freaks took part in an anarchist May Day parade that stormed through the Fulton Market neighborhood of Chicago. Before leaving Union Park, people danced around a May Pole in costumes, shared food, laughter and music and then hit the streets. The group of about 80 people was tailed by at least 30 squad cars as many people chanted, danced and re-decorated the highly gentrified neighborhood.

This action came together in the midst of four of Chicago’s big universities hosting occupations in support of Palestinian liberation as the Genocide continues.

Walking down Randolph street towards the original Haymarket Square, the group antagonized gentrifying zionists as they sipped their wine in the outdooor restaurants along the boulevards. The group brought noise and commotion to the Google building, Chase Bank, Starbucks and global headquarters of McDonalds — all four companies having known ties with Israel. The march culminated in a stand off with dozens of cops in front of McDonald’s Hamburger University, where some protestors were brutalized and arrested.

The cops continue to serve and protect the genocidal actions of the Israeli Occupation Forces and the US government while children die. But, a collective rage is bubbling and comrades all around the world are coming together to fight. Find your people, dance in the streets, create ruins and do everything you can to wreak havoc.

This action is dedicated to the Chicago anarchists, Haymarket Martyrs and all those who have lost their lives in Palestine.

Anonymous submission to Unsalted Counter Info.

Posted in General, ReportbackTagged Chicago, May Day, Reportback

A Report-Back and Call to Action from Madison, Wisconsin

Posted on 2024/02/21 - 2024/03/06 by unsalted
Portrait photo of University of Wisconsin officer Adam E Boardman

On Tuesday February 13th, University of Wisconsin police officers assaulted at least two UW students at a protest against Israeli arms suppliers BAE systems, CAT and General Dynamics at a “career fair” on their campus. Violent piece of shit, Adam Boardman, who makes $126,000 a year professionally beating up students, was caught on video throwing one student headfirst into a door before slamming an already handcuffed student into a wall.

We thought people might like to know a little more about Boardman, in case they want to tell him how they feel about the little rampage he went on last week:

Adam E Boardman

  • address:
    2031 Saint Albert the Great Drive
    Sun Prairie, WI 53590
  • work phone number: 608-265-0022
  • home phone number: 608-843-4304
  • work email: adam.boardman@wisc.edu, AEB@athletics.wisc.edu.

You can also tell his boss to fire him at:

Brent Plisch

  • email: brent.plisch@wisc.edu
  • work phone: 608-890-2730

UW students have protested genocidal, ecocidal and otherwise evil companies at “career fair” recruiting events in the past. They have successfully prevented companies from whitewashing their crimes by handing out flyers detailing their atrocities in front of their booth. This tactic was so successful that the unversity had to make a new set of career fair rules to specifically ban handing out literature of any kind (even though handing out resumes and brochures is literally the main point of a career fair lol).

A video of some of the assaults can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3YYETqrvoK/

Anonymous submission to Unsalted Counter Info.

Posted in Call to Action, Free Palestine, General, ReportbackTagged call to action, Free Palestine, Madison, police violence, Wisconsin

Noise Demo Outside of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago

Posted on 2024/01/02 - 2024/06/04 by unsalted
A crowd marches in the street holding banners reading "criminals are better lovers" and "fire to the prisons" with images of a burning cop car, ak-47, and circle-a

In 2024, as always, it’s time to call for the abolition of police, prisons, and prosecutors.

A banner reading "fire to the prisons" with images of a burning cop car, ak-47, and circle-a is hung from a steel girder and a traffic light near a building.

Side note: the looks we got from average people celebrating new year’s eve by bar hopping in downtown Chicago once we pulled out the “Criminals are better lovers” banner was PRICELESS. Sadly, not pictured here. Continue reading “Noise Demo Outside of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago” →

Posted in General, ReportbackTagged abolition, Chicago, noise demo, prison abolition

Zionist Rally Countered by Anti-Zionist Jews

Posted on 2023/11/07 - 2023/11/07 by unsalted

Word was spreading about a pro-zionist rally planned for the University of Michigan campus for November 3rd, and a crew of about 20 anti-zionist Jews and supporters decided to counter the shit-show.

The diag on UM campus is a popular spot for rallies and protests, but this was the most well-resourced event I’ve ever seen there, and with the largest police presence. Uniformed officers were spread throughout the crowd, and there were many plainclothes cops as well. The speakers not only had a large professional sound system, but two big-screen displays that I’d never seen used at a diag event before. There was a crowd of about 300-500 rallygoers, many with Israeli flags. It also seemed that a large number of attendees were older, probably due to the rally being planned for parent’s weekend when parents of students visit town to spend money at the M Den.

The rally’s speakers showed how close to power the rally was. We suffered overly-long speeches from right-wing former UM regent and Trump fundraiser Ron Weiser, as well as AIPAC president Betsy Berns Korn, and a separate speaker whose name I didn’t catch, but was introduced as affiliated with the “FIDF”.

The genocide denial and nationalism was coming from the halls of power. There were standard IDF talking points and conspiracy theories about Hamas command centers in hospitals and fake photos of palestinian victims. No tears were spared for the dead and captured from October 7th, and none were shed for the victims of IDF retaliation in Gaza, let alone victims of settler violence in the occupied West Bank. It seemed that the most compassionate the speakers or rally-goers got was to shrug their shoulders at how unfortunate it was that they had to retaliate by killing Palestinian children by the hundreds, as if their hands were forced. NOT killing these children however was unthinkable.

Speakers claimed to defend “Free Speech” while calling for the banning of all criticism of Israel, on campus and beyond. The existence of voices speaking against the genocide of Palestinians were blamed essentially on “the woke mob”. Intersectionality was specifically called out as dangerous for the Israeli state. Accurate descriptions of life in Gaza under occupation were claimed to be conspiracy theories. The standard lie that anti-zionism and criticism of Israel is anti-semitic was a regular feature. The crowd seemed to follow the speakers the entire way, letting out loud cheers to a speaker’s call for everyone to be “proud zionists”, and following in other pro-Israel chants. It felt almost like an Israeli MAGA rally.

Thankfully we were there to make sure this shit couldn’t be spewed in public without opposition. We held cardboard signs with simple messages like “Never Again for Anyone” or “Genocide is not a Jewish Value”. Zionists tried to cover us with Israeli flags, get close-up photos of us, heckled us calling us “nazis” and even saying one of us should be beheaded. More than once we had to physically block an angry rallygoer from approaching one of our group. Police would also intervene if it looked like a confrontation was going to become physical and not just verbal. This was almost entirely coming from the older people in the crowd, not the younger student-aged attendees who seemed to at least consider the signs as if they were totally unaware of anti-zionist Jews. It was one of the rare times I felt like physical violence was a possibility at a Diag event, but the rallygoers didn’t end up trying anything foolish. Some did try lecturing us about how Israel wasn’t apartheid, or how things “really were over there”, but quickly left when one of us who spoke Hebrew challenged them.

As the rally died down, we left as a group chanting “Free Palestine”! No physical altercations happened, and nobody was arrested or detained by police. Overall I’d call it a success. The point of the zionist rally was to conflate pro-palestinian and anti-genocide organizing with anti-semitism, which as anti-zionist Jews we visibly disrupted. Zionists were also clearly uncomfortable that there was even some resistance they had to confront.

Some lessons learned and other thoughts:

  • The positionality of being Jewish and anti-zionist in solidarity with Palestinians is very powerful right now. Use it if you have it, boost it if you don’t.
  • Having someone to film confrontations is very useful for these kind of counter-demo situations, you may want to prepare to do this while handling footage securely.
  • It can feel very empowering to have friends to protect you so you can shout down genocidal
    rhetoric.
  • Stick together, it makes managing interactions with a potentially hostile crowd easier.
  • Put messages on both sides of your signs so they can be read from the back.
  • Be prepared for media presence. If someone is willing to be public, and is good with
    media, it can help possible coverage not be one-sided (though there’s no guarantee).

Shutting down zionist rhetoric in mainstream spaces is important right now, as well as interfering in the material support for the state of Israel. This may take some nuance since in the wider world there are actual anti-semitic actors trying to take advantage of the situation, as covered in It’s Going Down. But, you can still act. Find each other! Do something!

Anonymous submission to Unsalted Counter Info.

Posted in General, ReportbackTagged anti-zionist, counter-demo, Palestine, Solidarity, University of Michigan

Drag Event Defended from Proud Boys in Portage, MI

Posted on 2023/05/28 - 2023/05/28 by unsalted
A single Proud Boy getting handcuffed by police in Portage, Michigan

Anonymous submission to Unsalted Counter Info.

This past Saturday proud boys attempted to harass an inclusive drag event hosted at a church in Portage, Michigan. A queer and anti-fascist rapid community response defended the event, outnumbering bigots and providing a strong physical deterrent to their presence.

My crew arrived around when the event was scheduled to start. One small circle of supporters was keeping watch of the quieter entrance to the parking lot to cheerfully greet attendees, while the bulk of the anti-fascist presence of about 50-75 people was at a larger entrance, watching the few proud boys across the street who arrived first and were waiting for other fellow bigots to arrive. The mood was cheerful but somewhat tense. There were free zines available, a speaker playing tunes, and overall the crowd was sociable while focused on defending the event and wider queer community. There were young people and adults, many people wearing some kind of black bloc, and others wearing typical street clothing. Immediate police presence was initially small, one marked squad SUV near the proud boys, one farther down the street, some presumed unmarked SUVs nearby, and more police farther away to serve as backup.

The proud boys hung by their car waiting for their friends in cringey bud light costumes to arrive, and finally started making their way towards the church without police escort. At this point there was approximately a dozen proud boys and affiliated bigots. The crowd of defenders started chanting in response to warn the proud boys to stay away, which unfortunately sparked some frustrating debate between a small number of liberals and the generally more militant crowd. The liberal concern and peace-policing over ‘instigating’ the anti-drag bigots would be a recurring theme over the afternoon. Whether they saw the verbal disagreements as confusion within the crowd or were simply self-confident, the proud boys approached the crowd, attempting to cross the street. At this point a scuffle broke out, with proud boys throwing the first punches, but being handily dealt with in return. The police responded quickly, but only had two or three officers immediately present and could only threaten antifascists with arrest. As police SUVs staged nearby arrived, there was quickly a dozen officers, and one of the proud boys was cuffed and taken away. No antifascists were detained or arrested, and some appeared to only suffer minor injuries. The police separated the crowds and primarily kept watch of the anti-fascists.

The quick scuffle was followed by a standoff on opposite sides of the road, with police in-between. Insults were exchanged for about an hour and a half until the proud boys eventually decided to leave. Probably because there wasn’t anything more they could do, and possibly because they had their fellow chud to bail out. As the immediate chud threat left, police also eventually left. Most defenders left after this, while some stayed back to watch for any possible returning proud boys, which didn’t happen.

Unfortunately one woman entered the event with malicious intentions, non-consensually filming children, parents, and drag performers to exploit for social media outrage fame later. This part of the event aftermath is currently playing out on social media.

Analysis

The rapid response worked fairly well for a short-notice event. In my opinion, this speaks to the strength of building ties and relationships within your own communities and with others in nearby towns and cities. These relationships enable this kind of quick action, where various affinity groups and crews can act autonomously, communicate with and support each other. It’s very handy having the gear and friends at the ready so you can quickly make a plan together, prepare support, and take collective action with people you trust.

In the case of defending an event at a fixed location such as this, controlling all entrances/exits is crucial. This was done well, with both entrances having a visible presence of supporters and defenders, with a large number of people committed to moving wherever the bigots may attempt to go to get closer. Planning to have radios or runners to call for backup if necessary is a good idea.

The police seemed mostly concerned with preventing fighting and keeping the road clear. It’s somewhat surprising they weren’t escorting proud boys initially, but they responded quickly when fighting did break out. The fact the only possible arrest was a proud boy indicates to me that they probably didn’t see arresting any anti-fascists involved in the fighting as possible due to the numbers, and may also show a “whoever throws the first punch” approach to blame. To avoid accountability, police had their badge numbers covered.

These proud boys seemed divided over interest in actually fighting versus trading insults, “triggering the libs” and live-streaming, spending most of the time shouting across police lines. They were significantly outnumbered and largely stuck together. Given the way this kind of standoff attracts attention, there was likely an opportunity for a sneakier normie-bloc crew to circle around and inspect the bigot’s vehicles, which were parked together in a known location.

The small number of liberals who sought to control the crowd (telling people to not chant, etc) were an amazingly oblivious distraction who seemed most concerned with a “peace” where bigots kept off the property and everyone stayed quiet. In the moment it seemed that this minor spectacle allowed or enticed proud boys to edge closer to the event. Debating love-based approaches to handling bigots is best done when not immediately physically defending a queer event from bigots who don’t tolerate queer existence. That said, for those willing to have the conversations, it may be worthwhile to try making inroads with said liberals. They may not ever be convinced that militant defense is correct, but they may at least be left with enough understanding and some notion of a relationship that they’ll keep out of the way in the heat of the moment.

The woman who filmed from within the event in an effort to catch her 15 minutes of fame in the right-wing outrage cycle is important to highlight. She seems to be 25 year old Olivia Claire Hickey, currently a grad student at Sam Houston State University.

https://twitter.com/antichud/status/1660333576691535872

(archived: https://archive.is/QBuEM)

Antifascists and those running or hosting drag and queer events should be aware of her to prevent her from doing the same kind of filming at other events. We need a proactive approach of keeping out known right-wing troublemakers, and probably want a strictly enforced no-photography policy, with possible exceptions for photographers who are known, trusted and invited to do event photography. This woman was unfortunately able to get footage of event-goers without their consent, to abuse for her own benefit.

What Next?

At this point it’s well established that the right is uniting around anti-LGBTQ hatred. It’s long been a feature of their politics, but has become a primary driver of action. While various GOP-controlled states compete to implement the cruelest eliminationist policy, far-right actors from proud boys to open nazis are making a point of threatening queer events on the ground. There’s indications within proud boy channels that they’ll make this a focus of their activity for the month of June, attempting to counter pride celebrations, pride in general, and even Juneteenth. It’s not hard to imagine other nazi and fascist groups doing the same.

However, the far-right’s echo chambers are fooling them. This kind of bigotry is far too popular, but less popular than they think. This gives us an opportunity. These calls to defend our community from hate groups can attract the numbers to solidly keep the bigots at bay or even run them off in the right circumstances. They’re a great opportunity to meet other like-minded people under circumstances of actually taking action to defend each other, and these experiences can also radicalize some of the liberal attendees. Defending ourselves from fascist attack doesn’t require justification, but these are nice bonuses.

These right-wing threats will become more common. Prepare for them now. Check in on your queer and radical networks, get a trusted crew together that you know well and can communicate well with, get gear ready (umbrellas, clothing, etc. 😉 ). Make plans for support, everything from jail support to snacks, rides and pet-sitting. Keep tabs on right-wing chatter, or get updates from people who do. Think about what these bigots are trying to get out of these escalations (rage-bait footage, IRL events, disrupting queer existence, …) and how to deny that to them, or make it cost more than they’re able to tolerate.

Posted in Antifascism, General, ReportbackTagged antifascism, direct action, LGBTQI+

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