Guide – Dark Nights

CAUSING MAYHEM WITH FIRE EXTINGUISHERS (in your own room of course!)

Posted on 2024/06/19 - 2024/06/19 by darknights

We love promoting new ways to express your art (and defo not to cause enormous paint covering in speciesist businesses) so if you have been wondering about how you can paint places quickly, we have a great recipe for yo: How to fill fire extinguishers with paint!

Note that PalAction actually wrote an amazing guide which you can download at the end of the article. Whilst we give an overview of the steps to convert a fire extinguisher into a weapon of mass paintaction, it is not only inspired by their guide but you should actually follow their guide as it has all the details we cannot fit into a short post.

STUFF YOU NEED:

Extinguisher
Paint, water, funnel
Air compressor or high quality pump.
Hack Saw, rubber mallet.
A metal 1/4” BSP Taper Male Thread x 1/8” BSPT Female Thread Hex Bush.
A 1/8” BSPT Male Thread High Pressure Schrader Valve.
Barbed Hose Joiner, Barbe Hose Tail End Connector (check PDF for sizing)

LET’S GET THIS DONE!  
1- Discharge the extinguisher. Ideally on some bailiffs, but if you can’t then remember foam and water extinguishers are full of shit, discharge in a bucket then empty into a toilet for fowl sewage disposal. CO2 and dust are “less” harmful.

2- Tie the operating leavers together. Then with force (or a rubber mallet) push anticlockwise on the leavers to release them. Unscrew full and pull valve and syphon tube out. Make sure you properly clean the innards of that fire extinguisher!

3- Remove the syphon tube filter. Either unscrew it if it lets you, or cut it out (as low as possible to not reduce length!

4- Unscrew the pipe from the valve assembly. In its place, screw the Hex Bush with a few layers of PTFE tape. To the Hex Bush, screw the Schrader Valve (that’s where you’ll pump the air in!!!!)

5- Fill the extinguisher with a mix of Matt emulsion and Water at equal parts. Please measure the volume of watered down paint and ensure you only fill up to the volume of the fire extinguisher and no more.

6- Screw the Valve assembly. Ensure that the leavers are fully engaged and tied/taped. Use your air compressor or pump to depressurise the system to the middle of the green zone on the pressure gauge. That should be around 14-15 BAR which will be perfect for your arts and crafts.

7- Release the operating leavers, either untie, un tape or whatever else. This will then hold the pressure inside, if you don’t do this you’ll end up covered in paint in the next step!

8- Unscrew the air compressor pipe, then with an adjustable spanner wind the Hex bush anticlockwise to disconnect it.

9- Modify the hose nozzle. Please read about this on PalAction’s PDF. Once the hose is good, screw it into the operating valve. You can tighten it a tad with a spanner.

10- Insert the pin and secure the extinguisher by taping that pin in place. Only remove it when you’re up to no good painting your room!

DOWNLOAD THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER GUIDE BY PAL ACTION HERE:

PDF: Fire Extinguisher

Source: Unoffensive Animal

Strategies for Countering Police Access to DNA Data

Posted on 2023/03/23 - 2023/03/23 by darknights

Chapter 10: OPSEC for Informational Self-Determination

Source: Counter-Surveillance Resource Center

Via: Act for freedom now!

Languages: German

Download: PDF (read, A4 booklet, letter booklet) • TEXT

OPSEC is military and intelligence jargon for “operational security” and refers to techniques designed to prevent their people being caught during or after an “operation”.

The fact that we have to talk about such things at all when it comes to issues like exercising the fundamental right to freedom of assembly or small acts of civil disobedience is a clear indication of how far the state’s mania for security and collection has already developed. It is generally better to invest resources on pushing back the security apparatus than in a technical arms race with state agencies.

Nevertheless, there is of course nothing wrong with trying to avoid giving unnecessary material to state authorities and exercising the right to informational self-determination. To prevent or at least significantly limit leaving casual traces, it is necessary to wear new gloves, a face mask, a hair net or, even better, closed headgear (e.g. a swimming cap) and washed clothes with long sleeves and pant legs^[1]. Continue reading “Strategies for Countering Police Access to DNA Data” →

Communiqué #2: Sabotage of an EHV pylon in France/Grand-Est

Posted on 2023/02/21 by darknights

Source: lille.indymedia

Via: Bure Bure Bure

In December 2022, in solidarity with the prisoner hunger striker Alfredo Cospito, we sabotaged an EHV pylon and partially removed its bolting (https://lille.indymedia.org/spip.php?article35371&lang=fr). The sabotage of a high voltage line is not without danger and, even if it is done without error, there is always a certain risk. However, we found this risk acceptable and the action entertaining. Since direct action is always an attempt to motivate and inspire other contexts, we had already announced our intention to give some technical advice:

Choice of target: When choosing the mast, make sure that the insulators (the ceramic coils to which the cables are attached) are vertical! A diagonal or horizontal position indicates a tensile load in the corresponding direction. Choose the most insulated location possible. Make sure that there are no people between the object and the nearest towers (e.g. busy roads crossing the line). Choose your escape route so that it cannot be blocked by the falling line.

Risk assessment/mitigation: It happens regularly (although rarely) that electricity pylons bend or fall, even without sabotage. This can occur, for example, due to storms, the weight of snow, or simply material fatigue or inadequate maintenance. The result is a risk of premature tilting of the mast. This risk increases with each screw loosened and exponentially with each foot completely unscrewed. It is up to you, as a group, to decide how far you want to go. In all cases, plan the action with the possibility of the mast falling while you are still there. Both at the base of the mast and where the cables touch the ground, there is a potentially lethal tension on the ground within a certain radius! Move away from the object as quickly as possible in the opposite direction of the fall. Ensure that your body remains in contact with the ground at all times (grounding), walking with small “shuffling” steps. Make sure that the weather conditions are favorable. Under no circumstances should you perform this action in strong wind, heavy rain or snowfall!

How to proceed: During the reconnaissance of the object, we noticed with some annoyance that the thread projections of each screw were destroyed by drilling (photo). An anti-sabotage measure of RTE which we do not know if it applies to all EHV lines or only to this one. In retrospect, we can see that it is certainly more tiring, but that it is still possible. For the screws, we concentrated on the ones that connect the mast to its foundations (50 mm key). On the inside, a short handle of about 20-30 cm is enough, as it gets stuck in the structure of the foot. On the outside, you will need a strong tube extension to increase leverage. For ease of transport, it is recommended to use several tubes that fit into each other. For some screws, we needed up to 2 meters of leverage. Before the actual action, we sprayed the screws with penetrating oil (WD 40) and let it work for several hours. We repeated this operation at the beginning of the unscrewing. The last few screws were significantly more difficult to remove, which we interpreted as a sign that the mast was already starting to lower. For this action, you will need at least 2 to 3 people on the object. You can count on about 3 hours per foot (16 screws at a time). If you find a pole with undamaged bolts, it will probably go faster.

Tracks: It is almost impossible to work for several hours in the same place without leaving many tracks! Check regularly during the work if your body is still completely covered (e.g. between sleeve and glove). In any case, get rid of your clothes and shoes after the action. Keep your workplace clean and store your tools in such a way that nothing is inadvertently left behind, even if you have to stop the action before it is completed. Continue reading “Communiqué #2: Sabotage of an EHV pylon in France/Grand-Est” →

France: We’re being watched: poke their eyes out

Posted on 2021/07/07 by darknights

via: IAATA (https://iaata.info/Moudenc-nous-surveille-creve-lui-les-yeux-4052.html)

A guide to putting Toulouse’s cameras into early retirement.

This guide only deals with methods of destroying camera cabling. To destroy the camera itself you have to knock down the mast or climb to the top to break the camera, this requires heavy and cumbersome equipment (disk cutter, ladder …) and is therefore another story.

1 – Scouting

The location:

Movement of people and vehicles, cameras (public or private) with a view of the targeted camera, nearby cops/vigilantes/etc.

What the camera is attached to:

On a wall, on a mast, the type of mast (old style light grey or dark grey and smooth for the new ones).

Cabling:

Cabling outside the mast, protected by a simple sheath (flexible or rigid), cabling inside the mast.

The fixing of the trap door (in the case of wiring inside the mast):

Allen type screws, triangle type screws, hatch doubled (or not) by metal clamps.

2 – Preparation

The route:

Ideally, don’t take the same route on the way there and on the way back, plan routes that avoid as many cameras as possible (especially on the way back) thanks to the website toulouse sous surveillance (https://toulouse.sous-surveillance.net/), depending on the number of people present for the action and the layout of the place, plan small roadblocks to slow down the cops.

Be careful, scouting on the internet is good, scouting in real life is better. Google street photos are often several years old, and on the website toulouse sous surveillance some cameras may be missing.

Clothes:

For the action, wear gloves, something to mask your face (but really well because their cameras are full HD), disposable clothes (black and without distinctive markings). Then “normal” clothes under the disposables, and discreet shoes (important because it’s not practical to change them).

Mobile phones:

NO MOBILE PHONES. Or at the very least turn them off, but several kilometres before arriving at the site because downtown there are telephone antennas everywhere, you can see them here (https://www.antennesmobiles.fr/). Continue reading “France: We’re being watched: poke their eyes out” →