The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) is pleased to announce its affiliation to the Anti-fascist network (AFN).
The HSA has always had a policy of inclusion, welcoming anyone into our ranks regardless of race, creed, gender, religion or sexuality, and has been forced over the years to confront and exclude people who have been proved to be racist or fascist.
Our active members have for years been the subject of racist (and sexist) abuse from the hunting community which only highlights that our struggle to end hunting also promotes a more ethical attitude to both humans and animals.
Both the HSA and AFN promote a policy of confronting those engaged in racism and hunting respectively, on the streets and in the countryside. To not only stop such activities continuing but also to highlight them to the wider public.
While other organisations hide their heads in their hands, hoping that a few leaflets or email shots will make the problems go away, we are clear that the only way to end both hunting and racism is confront it head on, so those who partake of such actions and attitudes are clear that we will oppose them until they stop.
For any further enquiries please contact our Press Officer here.
If there ever was a modern-day vigilante hero, so to speak, this is him. An acknowledged Antifa leader, Aleksey had been continuously hassled by the joint efforts of all varieties of Russian popo, until the “anti-extremist” squad finally managed to pin him down (under similar circumstances as depicted below) on fabricated charges in 2012.
Along with several other prominent antifascists, Aleksey had spent almost 2 years in jail awaiting a “trial” that never came. He was finally released under Putin’s bullshit amnesty only 3 months ago. Pigs however, being pigs, are obviously unable to let go of an old grudge and are now back at him in full-force (when they’re not too busy toppling neighboring states, shooting protesters from machine guns and starting WWIII.)
Today, on April 8th, 2014, a Judge of the Moscow Zamoskvorechye Court has again confined Aleksey “Sokrat” Sutuga – one of Moscow’s most prominent antifascists, to jail. He is being charged with disorderly conduct by a group of persons – a criminal offense under Part 2 of Article 213 of the Russian Constitution. Sutuga’s lawyer had pleaded with the judge for a measure of restraint that did not involve detention. Several of Aleksey’s friends had been willing to provide him with living quarters in the case of a house-arrest verdict.
Sutuga was arrested on the evening of April 5th, on his way from an antifascist concert in Moscow’s Izmailovo district . The protocol of his arrest states “hooliganism” as a premise for his detention – Sutuga was allegedly cursing loudly in public. (Although according to some accounts Aleksey had been detained by members of the infamous “anti-extrimist” squad along with riot police.)
On April 6th, however, Aleksey was already taken to Moscow’s Criminal Police Headquarters, where he was told that he is a suspected culprit in a fight that had occurred on January 2nd .
According to Aleksey, that evening he was returning from a friend’s house with another acquaintance, when he had stumbled upon an ongoing fight between a group of 6 vs. a group of 3 unknown young men. According to Sutuga , the group of 6 men was of far-right persuasion, one of them had non-lethal handgun (traumatic weapons are legal and widespread in Russia.) The six nazis are now depicted as Sutuga’s “victims”.
Sutuga says that he had intervened in the fight, intending to stop it and subdue the opponents. His testimony is confirmed by his friend, who had witnessed the incident with him. The victims later identified Sutuga through online photographs, and, according to investigators, his “overly expressive appearance .”
Aleksey’s lawyer drew attention to the fact that one of the victims had already taken part in a face-to-face recognition procedure with Aleksey, and had not declared that he was attacked by Aleksey in his subsequent testimony, as it is stated in the police protocol. In addition, at the beginning of the court session, the statutory 48 hours pre-trial detention period had long expired.
Nevertheless , the judge recognized the prosecutors’ notion that Aleksey could allegedly flee if not detained in jail, and proceeded to enter him government custody until May 6th, 2014.
As a reminder, not so long ago, Sutuga had already been detained for over a year as a suspect in a fight with nationalists in the “Vozdukh” night club. On January 10th, 2014 his case had been dismissed due to a general amnesty.
After days of spreading misinformation to the police, council and opposition groups, the National Front finally held their annual ‘White Pride’ demonstration at Swansea Castle on Saturday. By doing their best to convince residents that it wasn’t going ahead and keeping their rally point secret – it was obvious that the organisers didn’t expect any public support and were worried about the size of the opposition.
Unfortunately, one group that fell for the trick were Swansea Unite Against Fascism (UAF) who called off their counter demo after apparently being assured by police that the event wasn’t going ahead.
However by midday groups of skinheads were congregating in the vicinity of Castle Square around Yates bar, and a diverse counter-demonstration was gathering in the square itself.
Around thirty NF supporters unfurled fascist banners outside the castle, they were quickly outnumbered by around 100 antifascists on the other side of the road. The NF found themselves served with restrictions by police, and were ordered to disperse after only an hour.
As they were being dispersed a few up for it antifascists were able to directly confront the White Pride supporters. A small scuffle broke out and a fascist flag was snatched before the NF could be escorted to Ice bar on Wind St, where the boneheads consoled themselves by getting pissed and shouting racist abuse.
“I personally witnessed them shouting at a Muslim couple, who had joined the antifascist demonstration,” Al Brown of South Wales Antifascist Action told SchNEWS “They called the man a “paki” as police officers looked on. The cops did nothing to try to stop the abuse, and wouldn’t listen to the man’s wife when she tried to complain about it.”
After Ice bar, the NF were escorted up to another bar – Static on Kingsway, where antifascists kept watch behind a police cordon. A phone blockade was organised , and the bar’s management in Bristol responded by travelling to Swansea in order to have the racist crowd removed. The NF were then quickly marched by police to the station and made to get on a train.
“South Wales Antifascist Action had a 30-strong bloc and we opposed them every step of the way. It seemed like some kind of pathetic racist pub crawl facilitated by the police, who seemed content to turn a blind eye to all the harassment the NF were causing to Swansea residents. Officers could even be seen exchanging handshakes with NF supporters outside Static. It’s really troubling that they would fraternise in this way with people who were shouting racist insults and threats of violence during the day,” said Al Brown.
“I don’t think Unite Against Fascism can take any credit at all for the counter demonstration on Saturday. They took the fascists’ bait and called off their demo, then ignored other groups who had assurances it was still happening. But SWAFA, Swansea Trades Council and a lot of interested local residents went ahead without them. We want to thank everyone who took part, whatever their background, because we know that true strength lies in diversity.”
For more information please contact South Wales Antifascist Action:
A WHITE PRIDE WORLD WIDE DEMONSTRATION HAS BEEN CALLED BY THE NATIONAL FRONT IN SWANSEA ON THE 5th OF APRIL 2014. THE DEMO IS CO-ORGANISED BY AN UMBRELLA GROUP OF BRITISH WHITE NATIONALIST THAT CALL THEMSELVES ‘FOR RACE AND NATION COLLECTIVE’.
The National Front is on the rise in south Wales. In January 2014, they held their Annual General Meeting in Swansea. This meeting went ahead un-disrupted by any antifascist and/or Antifa.
Since then, people from several areas throughout south Wales have contacted the NF to organise local demonstrations. In one of them, a small group of people confronted them. However, no call out was made nationally.
In March 2013, the first UK-wide White Pride World Wide event was held in Swansea organised by the National Front. Up to 100 fascists attended and although outnumbered, they held a static demonstration with minimal confrontation or disruption. This time, they are trying to make it bigger than last year.
This were the scenes in Swansea at last year’s White Pride World Wide event for which Christopher Philips was jailed
The NF is also part of For Race and Nation Collective: a combination of multiple fascists groups who believe in white supremacy. They are co-organising this demonstration.
If they are not properly confronted again, the city of Swansea is in danger of becoming the White Pride UK Capital. Swansea is becoming the NF capital in Wales, as mentioned earlier.
Opposing the NF demo last year
This as we know, must not happen. Fascists should not be welcomed in
Swansea, Wales or anywhere on this planet. We, as anti-fascists in Wales want the National Front and all fascist groups out and out forever.
This is an urgent call out for anyone who identifies as an anti-fascist to come to Swansea on the 5th of April 2014.
This is the time when we urgently need all the support from anyone from anywhere who is against fascism and racism.
Please put the 5th of April 2014 in your diary and come to Swansea to stop the UK’s White Pride World Wide.
See you on the streets! ¡No Pasarán!
We are an independent group of antifa people who live in Wales. Our main objective is to organise resistance against fascism in Swansea. We are currently organising a counter demo.
The demo was followed in the evening by a Blood and Honour gig hosted at the Valley Commandos Motorcycle Club.
VCMC denied all knowledge of the event’s true nature, but given that their logo is an SS death’s head and they appear to have hosted neo-Nazi events before (see comments here), it does make you wonder… Hopefully they will not be repeating their mistake and hosting Nazis again.
“On Friday 10th of January Basmanniy district court of Moscow ceased criminal case against Alexey Olesinov, Alexey Sutuga, Alyon Volikov and Babken Guskasyan.
All four were accused of “hooliganism”, a criminal offense which is included in the amnesty bill, approved as a PR stunt on initiative of Vladimir Putin himself in advent of the Sochi Winter Olympics – most known amnestied political prisoners being 30 detainees of the Arctic Sunrise ship of Greenpeace, and two imprisoned members of Pussy Riot. Four anti-fascists had also other, less severe charges which fall under statutes of limitations.
Alexey Olesinov
Olesinov and Sutuga were released under traveling restrictions last summer, after more than a year in a custody. They, and Volikov who was only released last Friday were accused for having clashed with the far-right security of “Vozdukh”-club in Moscow in December of 2011 during a concert.
Guards claimed that guests of the concert had vandalized club property, they expelled audience and took some of the organizers as hostages, where waiting for their associates “to arrive in order to collect compensation for damages”. Organizers attempted to leave the venue, and guards opened fire with rubber bullets. In the resulting clash, guests of the concert prevailed.
Alexey Sutuga
Russian political police force “Center of counteraction against extremism”, exploited this case in order to have two known anti-fascists, Sutuga and Olesinov detained. Originally they were also accused of another case, where a 16-year fascist was beaten up having made a Nazi salute, but eventually only Volikov and Gukasyan were charged for this incident.
Young Nazi gave testimony against Olesinov and Sutuga, although both had an unquestionable Alibi. This is not the only case, in which a Nazi victim has given false testimony against known anti-fascists when it is unclear who has committed actions. Volikov and Gukasyan were also amnestied for these charges.
Goals of the process which has now finished were much wider than investigation two fights. For example Alina Kosolovskaya, who was interrogated as a witness of the case, was mostly asked questions about known anti-fascist Alexey Gaskarov, who was arrested last April for completely unrelated case of inauguration riot of Vladimir Putin 6th of May 2012.
Of those accused of the inauguration riots, only 4 were released under the amnesty bill, whereas 13 are still in custody (Gaskarov amongst them), two in home arrest, five under travelling restrictions and two have been sentenced. Two members of the “Left front” party are facing the most serious charges of “organising a riot”, although video footage and plenty of witnesses have provided testimony that clash had been prepared by the police.
Another Moscow anti-fascist Irina Lipskaya was also amnestied 27th of December. She was accused of two assaults against far-right concerts in years 2011 and 2012. In the same week three anti-fascists from Nizhni Novgorod were amnestied, criminal process against them proceeded for almost three years.
However, two activists from Nizhni Novgorod were forced to flee the city and hide from officials, and thus they still face charges and are not amnestied. Also, anti-fascist Igor Hartchenko, who was given a three and half years prison sentence in August in Moscow for having defended a concert against far-right attack in July of 2011 remains in prison.
Of course, not only anti-authoritarians are being amnestied. There are no overall statistics on how many people are being amnestied, estimates vary from thousands to tens of thousands. Many political prisoners of the far right have been amnestied as well.
For example 16 Nazis who attacked anti-nuclear protest camp in Angarsk in summer 2007 and beat anarchist Ilya Borodaenko till death were also charged with “hooliganism”, and thus they are now amnestied. Russian officials tend to define far-right political violence as “hooliganism”, which is why even serious crimes of Nazis are often sentenced with hooliganism charges.
But besides all faults, amnesty bill is a proof that the current Russian regime is not immune to a political protest. Due to terrorist threat, Sotchi Olympics will take place in atmosphere of military occupation and economically they are a disaster. But Olympic games and other such international projects are also a reason why Russian government is still worried for its public image, and reacts to political pressure.”
Yesterday evening’s demonstration against the EDL in Bristol seems to have gone well despite short notice.
A dozen EDL supporters outnumbered by police & anti-fascists outside City Hall (photo: @Bristol_Culture)
The local Bristol EDL had called a demonstration outside a meeting that was to be discussing an application to convert the empty Jesters comedy club in Stokes Croft into an Islamic religious and cultural centre. The event was to be for members of the Assahaba Centre group proposing the development to “discuss the objectors’ concerns and provide a better insight into the Islamic faith”. Funnily enough no one objecting to the development was interested in this and the meeting was cancelled due to lack of interest from objectors. The EDL not interested in actually hearing about the Muslim faith from some actual Muslims? Who’d have thought?
The council made the decision to approve the mosque application the day before the EDL protest.
So the EDL held a barely half hour long protest outside a meeting that wasn’t happening because they refused to go to it, before they headed back to the pubs they came from.
EDL pioneer radical new Y-fronts-as-headgear look
Bristol UAF, Bristol Anti-Fascist Co-operative and Bristol Anti-Fascists mobilised against the EDL. There were about 100 anti-fascists opposing about 30 EDL, from most accounts. Outnumbering the fascists 3 to 1 is not bad for short notice.
There was a frank exchange of views and some minor skirmishing.
For more background on the Stokes Croft Islamic centre and the EDL’s campaign against it, including multiple threats to “burn it down”, see our previous post.
This particular local struggle in Bristol may not be over yet, but this was a positive moment, showing that the EDL will be opposed wherever they raise their heads.
Info below taken from another opposition page on facebook.
“The English Defence League have announced a flash mob demonstration for next Tuesday evening at 6pm (7th January) at College Green outside the Council House. They are demonstrating outside the Council House in protest at a planning application to convert a building in Stokes Croft into an Islamic Cultural and Religious Centre. Their demonstration is clearly designed to stir racial division and hatred in the city.
Bristol Unite Against Fascism are calling a counter demonstration at College Green to begin at 530pm on Tuesday 7th. We welcome all anti-racists and anti-fascists.”
Anti-fascists are getting organised to oppose the far-right on the streets in 2014.
On Saturday January 18th the East Anglian ‘Patriots’ are holding a demonstration in Lincoln. The East Anglian Patriots are yet another faction to the right of the EDL. Yes that’s right – to the right. Apparently the EDL which its founder left because it was infested with Nazis isn’t right-wing enough for them.
Last time the East Anglian ‘Patriots’ had a demo in Lincoln, back in June, they were opposed by a resolute crowd of locals, showing they were not welcome.
Although all the EDL splinter groups are relatively small they are all friends with each other, so with every East Anglian Patriots demo we can expect the usual ragbag of fascists – the Infidels, the South East Alliance, March for England, the English Volunteer Force etc etc. Speakers at their rally include Paul Pitt, AKA Prodromou (last seen at a rally for the openly Nazi Greek Golden Dawn – very patriotic!) and John ‘Snowy’ Shaw who recently proclaimed: “I am a radical bigoted intolerant extremist and proud of it”. A charming bunch!
Luckily Lincolnites are getting organised to oppose the racist rabble. Lincoln Against Racism and Fascism have called a counter demonstration.
As well as the EDL-wannabe alphabet soup of the NWI, EAP, MFE, SEA, EVF etc. the EDL proper have also announced 3 national demos for 2014.
On February 1st they will be in Slough for no obvious reason apart from Slough has a large Asian population. Berkshire Anti-Fascists have made a national anti-fascist call-out to oppose them.
On Mar 22nd the EDL have said they will be demonstrating in Worcester and in Sheffield sometime in May. Sheffield Anti-Fascist Network have already started organising to oppose them. They will be holding a public meeting in February as a preliminary. Email sheffieldafn@riseup.net for updates.
The EDL being surrounded and outnumbered on a previous visit to Sheffield
Support these counter-mobilisations to the far-right in 2014. Get to them if you can. Spread the word. Put the dates in your diary and start making plans. Let’s make this the year the far-right are finished as a force on the streets of the UK!
-More to follow soon on the planned EDL demo in Worcester on March 22nd-
[Yesterday], the world learned of the stabbing death of Greek antifascist hiphop artist Pavlos Fissas, who performed under the name MC Killah P, at the hands of thugs affiliated with the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn. His death is just the most recent since the party’s rise in recent years, but may have tipped a country teetering on the brink of civil war into incredibly volatile territory. In response to the murder, antifascists have already clashed with police across the country, and Golden Dawn offices have been attacked.
I managed to reach anarchist contacts in Athens following a march from the site of Fissas’s murder that resulted in clashes with police, and connected with one activist long enough to get an interview. Given the reality of Golden Dawn infiltration of the Greek police, and other very grave realities on the ground, I’ve withheld my contact’s name. Below is our conversation.
So, what happened tonight?
Tonight there was a big demonstration, beginning where Pavlos was killed. It split in two directions, and some of the protesters marched toward the local offices of Golden Dawn, where they clashed with police protecting the building. The other group, which we were part of and was much larger, marched toward the police station. Obviously, we also encountered cops. There were some people in front of them – might’ve been police, might’ve been Golden dawn; it’s often hard to distinguish them – who tried to provoke us.
They were chanting Golden Dawn slogans and calling us “cunts”. Our group was a mixed bunch, but largely anarchists and leftists. The confrontation turned into a chase, with the cops pursuing us. Some of us split off down narrow streets, a lot of us were beaten and tear-gassed. There were 23 arrests, and I’m told at least one serious injury, but I don’t know details. I did see an ambulance, at one point. About 30 people – including some journalists – were let into a building by a woman trying to shield them from police violence. They’re still there, surrounded. Some of us are in online communication with them, at the moment.
How large was the initial demonstration?
About 10,000 people. Could be more, could be less. But definitely more than 9,000, which is what the radio is reporting, right now.
At this point what’s known about the murder?
Pavlos was with some friends watching a soccer game. Some reports say he made some comments about Golden Dawn, others say his attackers simply recognized him, since he was a musician and involved in antifascist activity in the neighborhood.
Beyond his music you mean?
Yeah. Neighborhood organizing. There’s information suggesting Roupakias [the killer, now in police custody] circulated in the criminal underground – drug dealing, prostitution, and so on – and that he was paid by Golden Dawn to carry out the attack. This actually happens all the time; Golden Dawn routinely hires people from criminal networks to carry out these sorts of things. So, when Roupakias showed up, he approached Pavlos and asked him the name of the street they were on – then he and the other fascists began chasing Pavlos and his friend. When they caught him, Roupakias stabbed him in the heart, making an L-shape. He was apparently very precise. It’s likely this was not his first time doing it.
So, Golden Dawn is effectively sub-contracting attacks?
Yeah. This is pretty widely known, and has been for some time. I realize it sounds like a bit of conspiracy-theory, but it’s 100% known that they pay people for these “jobs”. Roupakias is one of them.
So, there are other hits they’ve hired people to carry out…
Yeah. Most of the immigrants that have been attacked or murdered by Golden Dawn; the 18 year old Pakistani that was recently killed, for example. They have a sort of contract with an athletic company, which allows them to kind of “sponsor” thugs, by floating them clothing, weights, and so on. Their basic job is to go into neighborhoods and attack immigrants. The arrests you all probably heard about, with the antifascist motorcycle patrols? Those were in response to this sort of thing. It’s a critical detail, in that this is quite dangerous. Golden Dawn has been rather smart in recruiting underground criminal networks. They have the guns, the drugs, the resources.
It appears Golden Dawn is sort of counting on this outsourcing dynamic for a sort of plausible deniability. They initially tried to say Roupakias wasn’t affiliated with them.
Yes. After the murder, someone called his wife and told her to dispose of anything that had to do with Golden Dawn. So, in the morning, Kasidaris was arguing that they don’t know him, but the cops found his membership card and other stuff in the garbage outside his home. Initially, he admitted that he was going to Golden Dawn offices pretty regularly – he said 5 to 10 times a month, but that he wasn’t a member. Obviously, that’s proven to be a lie.
What’s the feeling on the ground, right now? Is the State responding at all?
Supposedly. New Democracy [the Right party] made a statement that angered a lot of people. They basically asked why everyone is upset about Golden Dawn violence, but never violence from Syriza [left-wing party].
But Syriza isn’t engaged in street-level violence, is it?
No. I mean, they’re in the streets all the time, but they’re not taking part in clashes or anything like that. But New Democracy wants to argue that they’re just as outlaw and outside the constitution as Golden Dawn, anyway. They’ve been saying this since the 2008 uprising; that Syriza is supporting anarchists, is secretly behind clashes that happen, and so on. They were even accused of terrorism. Needless to say, this is utterly at odds with reality. They’re just trying to downplay Golden Dawn’s violence, by whatever means. They even tried to say Pavlos’s murder was the result of a soccer rivalry, not anything political.
When we were hanging out earlier this year, you said you were worried that tensions in Athens were escalating to a point at which violence was becoming the standard, immediate response to even tiny provocations – on both sides. With the recent Golden Dawn attacks on communists, are you worried that street-level violence could slide into civil war?
That’s what we’ve been talking about, all day, actually. It’s one of our biggest concerns. Things are so fluid, right now. We don’t entirely know if we need to begin planning for that, as an outcome. Golden Dawn pursues power any way they can. It’s an extreme scenario to think about, but not really any more extreme than our current situation would’ve sounded to us five years ago.
Yeah, at the beginning of the crisis. Golden Dawn was nowhere then. We were attacked by them in street fights as far back as 2006, and when we told people, they’d ask “Who’s Golden Dawn?” Now they have chapters in every neighborhood. Have you heard about what happened in Meligalas 2 or 3 days ago?
I don’t think so.
They staged a memorial where their Nazi “ancestors” were killed during the Civil War. They seem to like bringing up that history. So do the cops. When they arrest an anarchist or communist, they say things like “We’re going to kill you, like we did back then.” It’s a reference point for both sides, really.
What are anarchists doing in response at the moment?
We’ve been disrupting Golden Dawn activity, like their “for Greeks only” food distribution. We distributed flyers at one recently saying “We don’t need charity. We need dignity and solidarity.” We’re also building our own solidarity structures. For example, there’s now a medical clinic operating out of Exarchaeia; it opened last week.
So there are projects underway building solidarity with immigrant communities?
Yes. For example, there is a new group that deals with the expansion of immigrant detention centers in Greece. They’ve been doing great work. Generally, what we’re trying to do is approach things from the principle of dignity, and these projects embody that. A year ago, we were in more violent terrain, and there was more of a preoccupation with attacking fascists. I think this murder may have shifted us into another phase. It’s hard to say what will happen. It’s possible a lot of people will want to attack Golden Dawn. There’ve already been attacks on their offices all over the country. I don’t know if that will become more personal; if people will turn to attacking fascists in the streets, beyond just attacking their offices.
It’s also hard to predict how voters who’ve supported Golden Dawn will respond to this event. Will they finally be ashamed? Will they feel like they loaded the proverbial gun?
Is there really much chance of that?
I believe so, actually. If not, we’re at real risk of losing our humanity. We’re already well on our way, inasmuch as a politician from Syriza was on TV today saying that Pavlos represents the first casualty of Golden Dawn. And he said that straight-faced, with no shame, as though the immigrants who’ve been murdered don’t count; as though Pavlos is somehow more of a person. And that sentiment is fairly widespread. I think a lot of people will be “shocked” today, as though this most recent event is some sort of a revelation.
Like a white body is somehow more jarring to the collective conscience.
Exactly. Why weren’t people equally shocked when Golden Dawn murdered a Pakistani biking home from work? The only response came from anarchists and leftists. But maybe now people will finally listen. Maybe it’ll be like when Alexis Grigoropoulos was murdered in 2008. Police kill people all the time; that uprising happened because Alexis was someone people felt connected to.
And you think Pavlos’s visibility as a musician might provoke that same response?
Possibly. I don’t want to diminish anyone’s anger. I just find this “shock” a little repulsive, I think. A musician? A white male? It’s easier for people to identify with him than with nameless immigrants, but they’ve been killed by fascists, killed in detention centers, killed in police offices, and not seen nearly the antifascist response in the streets that Pavlos’s murder has.
***
Joshua Stephens is a board member with the Institute for Anarchist Studies, and has been active in anti-capitalist and international solidarity movements across the last two decades. He writes on antiauthoritarian social movements for various outlets, splitting his time between the Mediterranean and Brooklyn, NY.
Magdeburg is a city in the east of Germany: there is disruption created by an annual parade of fascists claiming to commemorate the casualties of an allied air strike that happened during the Second World War.
The emphasis they place on the nature of these casualties as victims could have the effect of distracting people’s attention from the atrocities performed by the Nazis themselves during the war, and from their role as the instigators of the conflict.
3 Counties Anti-Fascist Alliance (3CAFA) 
You must be logged in to post a comment.