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In the Streets

March 8, 2002 - 9:26am -- jim
News
In the Streets

The fellow workers of the CNT AIT (the French anarcosyndicalist
organization) are squatting the old "Bourse du Travail" for almost two months. They are facing eviction at any time. They need active support !

The 10th of January, at 6 o'clock the morning. A group of militants retake possession of a neglected building, just at the center of the town of Bordeaux : the old "Bourse du Travail", at 42 rue Lalande.

The Syndicalist Struggle (Combat Syndicaliste), the French anarchosyndicalist newspaper, made this quick interview:

March 4, 2002 - 8:35am -- jim
Announcements
In the Streets

Anarchist Resistance Legal Defense Fund

infoshop

abolish the bank

During the World Economic Forum, more than 200 people from all over the world were arrested and are facing criminal charges for participating in protests against the exploitive agenda promoted by this concentration of the world's wealthiest and most powerful people. The vast majority of the charges are baseless and were trumped up by the police. These protestors
were arrested for simply expressing their beliefs. Even if any of these charges are factually accurate, they are illegitimate attempts by the state to punish political expression.

February 25, 2002 - 9:25am -- jim
Analysis & Polemic
In the Streets

My name is Nathan Moore, and I'm working on an undergraduate thesis
project at West Virginia University about the current "anti-globalization"
movement. If you could take a few moments to answer the following questions, it
would be much appreciated. Please email your responses to nmoore5@wvu.edu and
pass the survey along to any friends and appropriate listservs.

Since my research calendar is limited, please try to have responses back
to me by March 10, 2002. Responses received after March 15 or so will
probably be too late to be tallied.

Please do NOT include your name unless you feel moved to. Your identity will be kept strictly confidential, and your email address will be deleted as soon as your responses are cut and pasted. Names and specifics in your responses that could lead to your identification will be altered if used in my final research presentation.

February 25, 2002 - 8:59am -- jim
Events
In the Streets

the hippie writes: We're trying to get the word out about a march we at the newly-founded Chicagoland Activist Collective are organizing. It will start at noon on March 23rd in Schaumburg, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) at the Denny's there and will march down Golf Road to Woodfield Mall.

Our purposes are:

1)to spread the word about the Chicagoland Activist Coalition;

2)to stand firm against our lives being used as pawns for an elitist class's greed;

3)to block off Golf Road and disrupt business as usual in the Woodfield Mall business district;

4)to bring an enthusiastic message of peace into the suburbs.

Any questions? Contact the hippie

February 14, 2002 - 10:58am -- jim
Analysis & Polemic
In the Streets

Open Letter to Those Involved in the Black Bloc

From Willful Disobedience, #12

The anti-globalization movement has brought with it an increase in
public confrontations with those in power. Of course, anarchists have
been there. One of the tactics anarchists have used in these situations
is that of the black bloc. I am not interested in going into a thorough
discussion of the effectiveness of this tactic or discuss its merits as an
anarchist practice. Rather I want to deal with a somewhat troubling
recent development that has made its appearance in discussions about
the black bloc. In the Summer/September 2001 issue of Barricada and
in the October 2001 issue of Tute Nere there are articles discussing the
tactics of the black bloc. This is certainly not surprising, nor is it
uncalled -- for after two years of regular summit demonstrations as well
as other demonstrations in which black bloc participates were involved.
What bothers me is the direction in which the examination of the black
bloc has gone.

It has been said over and over again that the black bloc is not an
organization, but a tactic. The organizational framework in which it has
operated has been the affinity group (or at least, the small group of
friends -- each such group can decide for itself to what extent to which it
has made a determined effort to achieve true and deep affinity). The
purpose for wearing black has been anonymity and a visual statement
of solidarity, not the formation of an anarchist army. I am convinced that
this informality has been the real strength of this tactic, providing
flexibility and leaving real choice of action in the hands of individuals in
relation with others of their choosing. The tactical organization here
reflects the aim of a world without delegation or hierarchy, a world
where the separation between decision and action has disappeared, at
least to some extent.

February 12, 2002 - 8:43pm -- nomadlab
Analysis & Polemic
In the Streets

hydrarchist writes "

Amidst all the hype and shadow-boxing around the WEF meeting in New York next weekend, simple questions relating to the purpose and effectiveness of collective action are being ignored. Much recent activity takes place in a deracinated context which while tragetting the lofty and distant centers of power, remains disconnected from local space and the everyday life. For this reason, I though that the following history of the OCAP might serve as interesting document to read as a positive counter-example to such trajectories.


A Short History of OCAP

OCAP has its roots in a struggle around welfare reform in the late 1980s. At
that time, the Liberal Government of David Peterson was under considerable
pressure to introduce some improvements to the Province's welfare system. As a
stalling tactic, it set up a review committee that held extensive public
hearings and, finally, recommended a number of measures that included an
increase in welfare rates (depending on the category of recipient) of between
10% and 20%. During this period the London and Toronto unions of unemployed
workers had been campaigning for a 25% increase in the rates. After the release
of the review committee's report, a broader formation came together and decided
to press for the Government to implement the proposals of its own committee. A
three pronged march from Windsor, Sudbury and Ottawa was organized on the
Ontario Legislature to fight for this.

February 5, 2002 - 5:14pm -- hydrarchist
Analysis & Polemic
In the Streets

hydrarchist writes " Amidst all the hype and shadow-boxing around the WEF meeting in New York this weekend, simple questions relating to the purpose and effectiveness of collective action have been ignored. Much recent activity takes place in a deracinated context which while tragetting the lofty and distant centers of power, remains disconnected from local space and the everyday life. For this reason, I though that the following history of the OCAP might serve as interesting document to read as a positive counter-example to such trajectories.


A Short History of OCAP

OCAP has its roots in a struggle around welfare reform in the late 1980s. At
that time, the Liberal Government of David Peterson was under considerable
pressure to introduce some improvements to the Province's welfare system. As a
stalling tactic, it set up a review committee that held extensive public
hearings and, finally, recommended a number of measures that included an
increase in welfare rates (depending on the category of recipient) of between
10% and 20%. During this period the London and Toronto unions of unemployed
workers had been campaigning for a 25% increase in the rates. After the release
of the review committee's report, a broader formation came together and decided
to press for the Government to implement the proposals of its own committee. A
three pronged march from Windsor, Sudbury and Ottawa was organized on the
Ontario Legislature to fight for this.

February 5, 2002 - 12:06pm -- jim
Announcements
In the Streets

george writes "e-mail: libasoli.bremen@gmx.de

http://www.libasoli.de

Urgent call for international support (27.01.02)

Campaign for Solidarity with stateless Lebanese Kurds

Deportation of 550 stateless Lebanese Kurds from City of Bremen
After 12 years of settlement in Bremen, going to school, having found
employment or businesses established a group of 550 of our colleagues,
friends, neighbours and schoolmates have been served with deportation
orders.
For two years, a solidarity campaign could win time again and again, but
by now things have been worsened.

We now need any support from any level to get through the obvious
solution: a right to stay on humanitarian grounds.

We need YOUR protest fax or email from wherever in the world you are
based. The authorities need to understand that they are watched by many.
So, please take some minutes to write a protest note to the addresses
listed below.

January 30, 2002 - 3:30pm -- jim
Announcements
In the Streets

The Institute for Applied Autonomy has posted "ISee", a surveillance-camera-avoidance mapping router for urban demonstration purposes. Visit it on-line at ISee

January 29, 2002 - 3:38pm -- jim
Announcements
In the Streets

Topple the WEF with puppets and props! We have some amazing art happening, but there is so much to be created/finished and rehearsed in the coming days. The more vibrant, explosive, and theatrical our pageant, the more successfull -- and powerful -- it will be. These are some of our best tools to get our messages out in a positive way. Please mobilize yourself and your friends this week to do street theater and make puppets! All of these elements will be key in making the WEF actions effective. We also really need people who can pick up cardboard tubes from garment or fabric stores/shops and big flats of cardboard. Anything you can contribute: time, paint, fabric, music -- everyone is welcome!

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