tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73665907282077296102024-03-27T16:53:04.308-07:00Surf City Revolt!surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-64963869121480207112012-03-28T13:28:00.000-07:002012-03-28T13:28:15.148-07:00The Do-It-Yourself Occupation Guide: 2012 ReduxAnonymous Submission:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">A new occupation guide, as a continuation and re-adjustment of the previous DIY occupation guide that emerged during the student movement in the fall of 2009. This guide takes into account the strategy and tactics of the previous student movement in relation to Occupy Oakland and the J28 Move-In Assembly. With various practical how-to's as well as general strategic and tactical questions, this guide hopes to further the discourse and debate on how to occupy. A .pdf is available <a href="http://zinelibrary.info/do-it-yourself-occupation-guide-2012-redux">here</a>.</blockquote><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://zinelibrary.info/do-it-yourself-occupation-guide-2012-redux"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72PkDd-MUiMUf34KLRkJshXZ51NBv90tpDQ-Q6Pw0QoA018PO0SMVzRH8rCGTYK2Gx6j4Q75y9F5Lf8oDvbmmdM268fq0X11IqYzY3MiiwDfFaOpC_doMJ-NxB7XQIowagBzcKtkBRpf7/s200/webcover.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-62477753553869732452012-02-14T12:13:00.000-08:002012-02-14T12:13:24.224-08:00"Prison Diary of a Mad Anarchist Arsonist"Miguel William Balderos started a fire at the city attorney's office on the 300 block of Church Street on July 2, 2010. He told police that he was an anarchist protesting the city's camping ban. <br />
<br />
Miguel is currently at the CDC prison in Solano State Prison serving out his 10 year 8 month sentence. What follows is a statement written by Miguel that he wished to be distributed to comrades near and far. While various tendencies may, with good reason, take issue with parts of this statement, Miguel has proven himself to be receptive to debate and critique. Moreover, he has proven himself to be an ally in the social war. If you disagree or take offense, write him. <br />
<br />
He can be reached at:<br />
Miguel Balderos F81930<br />
CSP Solano C-2-22-3 Low<br />
2100 Peabody Road, PO Box 4000<br />
Vacaville, CA 95696 <br />
<br />
He is currently asking that no one put money in his commissary, being that 55% of anything he has is put towards his restitution. Please enclose extra stamps with your letter.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">From the Desk of Mad Mike (the wonder dog)<br />
Prison Diary of a Mad Anarchist Arsonist<br />
<br />
My Anarchist Brothers and Sisters:<br />
<br />
I was convicted of being an anarchist arsonist by the fascist police state of the State of California. I got drunk and set fire to a recycling bin at the City Attorney's office (burning the doorway) of Santa Cruz, California, in protest against this Nazi asshole Barisone's oppression of the homeless of Santa Cruz (I had black out and didn't use a disguise and was caught on camera). The maximum amount of time I, by law, should have gotten for this arson is 4 years, but I was made an example of by judge Paul Maragonda (who was the Santa Cruz Deputy District Attorney that tried in vain to prosecute me for arson, burglary, and felony vandalism of city hall back in 1995). He gave me 10 years 8 months prison sentence. If I had to do it all over again, I would have done a better job of burning the City Attorney's office to the ground and City Hall too. I would have incinerated that entire block of offices (a nest of vipers) with all their asses in it successfully and would live to work on the courthouse next.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For over 40 years Santa Cruz, led by Mayors like Mike (the pseudo-progressive liberal) Rotkin, Neil (the fat fucking slob of Bookshop Santa Cruz) Coonerty and his son Ryan (the fat beluga whale forehead) Coonerty, Cynthia (the big bird looking cunt) Matthews and a buck of other maggots on the city council have made it a crime for the poor and homeless to sleep outdoors. Sleep is not a crime. Sleep, air, water, food--all the things a person needs in order to survive! Sleep is not a privilege for those who own a home, it is a fucking right irregardless of where a person does it. Animals have the right to sleep outdoors but homeless humans in Santa Cruz (and a lot of other cities in the United States of Amerikkka).<br />
<br />
I am down but not out. I am relentless and fearless. I will not rest until the oppressed poor and the homeless get justice. I've been a rebel all my life. I am a revolutionary just like my great grandfather who fought with Pancho Villa during the Mexican revolution. I have only one regret in life: that I have only one life to give to the revolution. They call me an "Anarchist Arsonist." Ha! I am more than just a rebel, more than a revolutionary. I am a freedom fighter and a true patriot. The real homeland security! And, so long as those malfeasances in Santa Cruz, the pigs, the stinking rich, the free market capitalist pigs, the tea party maggots and those right-wing nazi punks in our government oppress, repress, exploit the poor, the homeless, the middle class, the working class, the proletariat--I will stand in the breach to fight those fucking nazis back, even if I fight them all alone. Fuck the police! Kill a cop, go to heaven! Long live the people's revolution. It's on, baby!<br />
<br />
What motivated me to take action was that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired! All the oppression, exploitation, and injustice of the plutocracy, the oligarchy, the malfeasances in power and control with all the wealth made me so depressed that I just had to act, or commit suicide. I I couldn't take the shit anymore. I was also sick and tired of all the armchair revolutionaries (like Robert "the mouth" Norse) and the coffee shop anarchists (they know who they are . . .) talk about how pissed off they are and sick of it all but are afraid of getting their hands dirty doing the necessary dirty work (wet operations) of fighting the nazi assholes back. I may be crazy, a little foolish, but I am not stupid. I would rather be dead in hell for all eternity than to do nothing and let the conservative nazis win this fight over good and evil.<br />
<br />
I could have gotten 25 years to life for my silly ass faux pas. Some people in this prison have actually killed people and are doing less time than I am. That BART pig Johannes Mehserle, who murdered Oscar Grant, got a slap on the wrist in comparison to setting fire to the City Attorney's door with a recycling bin. I didn't hurt or kill anyone yet I must do 80% of this 10 year 8 month sentence. I am due to be out of prison June 25, 2018, at the earliest.<br />
<br />
I have found out this month that I have prostate cancer and I may die in captivity but I am still not afraid. God is on my side: I get strength from Allah and I absolutely fear nothing, especially from a nazi punk. Fuck 'em all in their necks and feed them refried cat shit! You gotta stand for something or you are going to fall for anything. <br />
<br />
I am continuing The Struggle in this prison waking up the brain dead prisoners here. I am writing my book on revolution, the Agent Orange Manifesto. Also, I am writing the prison diary of a mad anarchist arsonist (a true story of my life) and a fiction comedy about prison life called Concrete Momma. I hope these books will inspire people to pick up the torch (literally) that I've dropped and get busy. I would like to see more people in Santa Cruz fight those evil assholes at City Hall, on Wall Street and our government. End the sleeping ban by any means necessary including general strikes, riots, arson, random vandalism, hosing, graffiti, vigils, critical mass, protests, smash and grab merchandise from capitalistic stores (like Bookshop Santa Cruz), malicious mischief, boycotts, and whatever else it takes to force city hall to stop oppressing the poor and homeless. Also, skateboarding is not a crime either!<br />
<br />
I would like to see the younger generation stop wasting their time doing nothing and things like watching TV (kill your television!) I would like them all to get out and get more politically active. Get out and vote for Obama (the lesser of two evils). You guys need to vote those republicans in the house and senate out of office and any democrat that acts like a republican. We must not allow any of those republican nazis get into the oval office. Fuck 'em all! I would rather have Theodore Kaczynski as president than a republican. Tomorrow is your future, today is your destiny! Get off your asses and organize, plan and fight back (make sure to protect your identity; wear ski masks and gloves if you are going to do wet operations). <br />
<br />
And protect and love one another (your comrades in arms), be ready to fight, kill or die for one another. Know your enemy! They are the Tea Party, the Capitalist Free Market pigs on Wall Street, the banks, the conservatives, the american nazi party, skinheads, Hells Angels, Aryan Brotherhood and yes maybe members of your own family and your next door neighbor. Don't be afraid to fight the good fight even if you lose your life. (remember: you are going to die someday anyway but might as well be on your feet fighting than on your knees . . .) You might not believe in God but God believes in you and He got your back. Remember Jesus was a rebel and if he was here he would pick up a sword and kill them all and let God sort them out. Fight the Nazis back before it's too late. No quarter!<br />
<br />
Love, Your Brother in Arms,<br />
Mad Mike the Wonder Dog<br />
</blockquote>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-27869586409610350372012-01-15T15:59:00.000-08:002012-01-16T12:03:43.550-08:00SCR on Permanent HiatusFor various reasons, this blog won't be updated any more. We may write some kind of retrospective, however.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/X203WIT3mYk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-62786355959292734702012-01-02T19:21:00.000-08:002012-01-03T12:17:10.711-08:00New design of 'Desert', from the fine folk at SCAHAOther versions of this text are ugly and ridden with typos. The Santa Cruz Anarchist-Hooligan Alliance has re-designed the text, almost entirely for the better. Desert, a refreshing update to ecological anarchism, is a call to abandon myths of social or ecological transcendence. Nihilist Communism meets Do or Die.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container"><tbody>
<tr></tr>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?ljllh0lrcx64xlh" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirdAm_reaFTGpyT50xPmo4KFANNGyzmau0CoSryqzjzZvuG5-0gXKQxFddTc5Vzh_IKNyVDISyJdAl3qUkKSnbf4CyPHShoxZ5WVoUapNhyphenhyphen9_9HAuGmlEvh_nMH2ks46GWM3UJhrDaP4wH/s320/JPGdesertzinecover.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?ljllh0lrcx64xlh">Imposed 8.5x11 pdf</a></td></tr>
</tbody> </table>A perfectbound version of this design will also be produced in a small quantity. If you are interested in acquiring one or a number of those, SCAHA can be contacted through Serf City Revolt at <a href="mailto:serfcityrevolt@riseup.net">serfcityrevolt@riseup.net</a>.surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-34354803016208134912011-12-09T14:19:00.000-08:002011-12-09T14:50:17.861-08:0075 Hours in #75River<blockquote class="tr_bq">"Hopefully this group isn't representative of a new aggressive movement." Zach Friend, SCPD Spokesman</blockquote>The march was called only a few days before, billed on fliers as a march to picket banks and then to occupy a building (in some places it was a "foreclosed home", in other it was merely a "vacant property'). The day of the march, November 30th, people began gathering at 2pm near the Occupy Santa Cruz camp. By 2:45, when the march left, about 75 people had assembled. A mobile sound system arrived, playing among other things, a lot of Lady Gaga. The march left towards Chase bank on Water and Ocean for a brief picket and speeches. The picket felt a bit tense, with a strong sense of anticipation for the announced occupation. <br />
<br />
After the picket, the group moved back down Water, past the Occupy camp, and over the Water Street bridge. In the intersection of Water and River, the group paused. Then, instead of continuing down Water along the announced route, the group turned left on River. All of the sudden the doors of 75 River were open; people began elatedly yelling "We're in!" and a flier was distributed within the group to announce the new occupation. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPP98OS8kT9T9gjTxgbC7bHNn3Iya6dnfdHOhjvrvFoXyS-F_VXZXJZOn-YZknpgbw_oDPJ693hrx23t_n7uQ-TJSC3e5yGaMpFel8OXcWBOyJqiQrTYZqEe9bfD4Els00EXe2yf4TvsS/s1600/75-river-st-occupied_11-30-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPP98OS8kT9T9gjTxgbC7bHNn3Iya6dnfdHOhjvrvFoXyS-F_VXZXJZOn-YZknpgbw_oDPJ693hrx23t_n7uQ-TJSC3e5yGaMpFel8OXcWBOyJqiQrTYZqEe9bfD4Els00EXe2yf4TvsS/s400/75-river-st-occupied_11-30-11.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I don't think it's that we have the right to (take over property,) it's that we have the ability to do it."<br />
<a name='more'></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span id="goog_1944896390"></span><span id="goog_1944896391"></span><br />
Immediately, office furniture <a href="http://theimaginarycommittee.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/occupation-a-do-it-yourself-guide/">was re-purposed into barricades</a>. A group of individuals had gained roof access from the outside and began hanging banners. One read: " Reclaim space. Reclaim Our Lives." The other: "Oocupy Everything" (sic and <i>siiiick</i>). Soon, roof access was gained from the inside out to let these people down into the building. The building itself is fairly labyrinthine and people immediately began exploring. A group of people took over the vault to smoke a celebratory blunt while others opened up a candy machine, netting about 50 dollars in quarters. The majority of the group began organizing the space, putting up signs and moving in furniture. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuZnGtnFlM67TXZBfKWDSbS2ObfXktN8hzZITUQBzoB4CFnVnqoDy_yM2mZPNrHWU1TWWJdbNSjZsSWTJ4pNmcZAnH7dnqmd7Id6YuFfNPOWZXID0vHiFZZN3v8H2fLVFfZBO4Sm5bQc0/s1600/joe-arrested_11-30-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuZnGtnFlM67TXZBfKWDSbS2ObfXktN8hzZITUQBzoB4CFnVnqoDy_yM2mZPNrHWU1TWWJdbNSjZsSWTJ4pNmcZAnH7dnqmd7Id6YuFfNPOWZXID0vHiFZZN3v8H2fLVFfZBO4Sm5bQc0/s320/joe-arrested_11-30-11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One person was arrested for allegedly moving a traffic cone.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Hours later, at about 6:30, the police showed up in force. They immediately attempted to gain entry to the building, but were repelled at the barricades. 20 or so people were inside with about 150 on the outside. The sound system from the march was still present, providing the soundtrack for the confrontation. People linked arms against the police, three or so lines deep. The cops fiddled with the barricade, trying to gain entry. They were unsuccessful. After much verbal harassment on the part of the protestors, the police left--nominally to protect against human harm. After this, the occupation took the form it would take every night for the next three nights: one part organizing, one part festival, and constant anxiety regarding a police attack. Shifts were organized to patrol the area for police, some making forays to areas that the police might be staging in. Organization and destruction of the space happened simultaneously, racing at about a dead heat. <br />
<br />
The sound of traffic starting up again Thursday morning was the first sign that the occupation might have survived the night. <br />
<br />
<b>Thursday</b><br />
<br />
The next day, which wasn't really demarcated from the previous day, started (continued?) with a clean up from the night before. Plans were made mid-day for a social gathering that evening. The idea was to have a potluck with small group discussions, followed by dancing. What actually happened that night was a bit different. DJs started spinning at around ten with the dubstep scene out in full force. More blunts in the vault, more moderately destructive exploration of the space. A community atmosphere prevailed, if only in a vague sense. A repeat sexual assaulter was ejected from the space. A favorite new activity was discovered: pretending to rob the bank. Groups of sometimes up to twenty people would play through different scenarios. Other individuals practicing jumping over the teller counters.<br />
<br />
Late in the night, between two and five a.m., the windows along River Street were barricaded with sheets of plywood nailed to each other, backed with pallets and filing cabinets. After the first altercation at the barricades, people were fairly confident that they could hold the barricades at the doors. So the emphasis shifted to the bottom floor windows and a contingency plan for an attack from the roof. Barring extreme measures by the police, occupiers felt confident they could hold the space. Those who didn't sleep at the space trickled out at around 5am, sure the space had survived another night. At least one occupier had work as soon as 8am. <br />
<br />
<b>Friday</b><br />
<br />
Meetings were organized to clean the space ("keeping the space clean felt like carrying water with a sieve" one occupier offered). The entire space was re-organized. Shifts were drawn up for scouting and copwatch. Mid-evening, the property owner shut off power, plumbing, and gas to the building. A call-out for flashlights went out over twitter. Later that night, a scare happened when cherry-pickers were seen assembled on Ocean Street, but it was later determined that they were there to repair power poles from the last fews days of heavy wind. Occupiers slept soundly--the occupied bank had a feeling of home and, counter-intuitively, safety. <br />
<br />
<b>Saturday</b><br />
<br />
At the mid-day meeting people decided, less than unanimously, that it was time to leave the bank. The decision was multi-faceted and a bit controversial. A fear that a small group of peripheral (or just plain not-involved) individuals were going to be blamed for the whole of the occupation was central to the discussion. The incompatibility of the space with people's desires for the space seemed to underpin much of the dissonance in the discussion. <br />
<br />
Mid-evening, one last blunt was passed in the vault. A circle of twenty or so people who hadn't already left sat in a circle and shared their feelings about the end of the space. A Plains Indian who was present sung a song and shared a prayer. Then, little by little, folks trickled out. Leaving wasn't at all climactic. Some people, upon leaving, would see others still within the building and go back in. By nine or so, everyone was out.<br />
<br />
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<b>Uncontrollability</b><br />
<br />
The old Coast Commercial bank at 75 River is a fucking beast. The vision of an orderly community center was completely at odds with the unmanageably large space. The same unmanageability was also one of the most beautiful attributes of the space. Almost immediately, every person in the space felt an ownership of the occupation. Every day, one could hear others calling their friends and referring to "our occupation" or "the bank that we took over." The sense of ownership over the space was contagious and took many forms, many of which were directly contradictory. Some felt the best thing to do was to hold meetings, some wanted to party, or to expropriate, or to vandalize. The root of many of the conflicts within the space was that everyone felt like the space was theirs to use as they wanted. Some people flipped out when others asked them not to smoke (cigarettes) in the main space, some flipped out when people didn't come to their meetings. An occasional individual showed amazing sangfroid amidst these conflicts.<br />
<br />
<b>Self-Management</b><br />
<br />
An occupier activity that was fairly unpopular but overly vocal was the management of other occupier's activities. Obviously, it would be sophomoric to call every conversation about the boundaries or shape of the space "management." Moreso, it was the tendency of some occupiers to loudly judge the activity of others in some vague moral terms of "rightness", "wrongness", or, worst of all, "down-ness." This sort of behavior peaked early and had disappeared almost entirely by Friday. <br />
<br />
<b>Vandalism</b><br />
<br />
One occupier activity that was widely popular and loudly condemned was vandalizing the space. Many people didn't want their future community center vandalized. Other people had a quite natural reaction to a bank (the most common interface with the violence of capitalism)--the urge to fucking destroy it. If people ever chose to occupy a vacant prison, it would be a travesty if people <i>didn't</i> rip out all the bars and write slogans on the walls. Of course, in a nonviolent political sense, vandalism might be bad strategy. In a human sense, it is one of many beautiful reactions to the misery of the world. Also, <i>it's fun</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>Forward!</b><br />
<br />
The significance of the occupation is mostly unclear and individual analyses are widely divergent. Everyone, though, wanted 75River to inspire occupations in other locations. Some participants never wanted to set foot inside an occupied space again, many wanted to re-occupy immediately. Differences like this shouldn't be seen as frustrating future occupations. Future occupations, here and elsewhere, will depend on the autonomous actions of committed individuals. <br />
<br />
Find a space. Find your friends. Do the damn thing.surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-8822012365226788272011-12-01T15:15:00.000-08:002011-12-01T15:15:11.118-08:008pm Tonight at #75River: Potluck Discussion Dancingfrom <a href="http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/12/01/18701529.php">indybay</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">The former bank at 75 River St. has been occupied and is being re-purposed into a community center and social space. <br />
<br />
Tonight, we will gather as a community to discuss the future of our new social space and make plans for its future. There will be a potluck and discussions, followed by dancing. This space belongs to everyone who participates. Come tonight to make decisions about the future of 75 River. <br />
<br />
Bring food, supplies to set up the space, and a desire to partake in the creation of the 75 River Community Space. <br />
<br />
Questions to consider: <br />
* In the current wave of austerity, what social services are no longer provided by the state? How could we provide them ourselves? <br />
* What actions would we like to take in the immediate future? How can we use this space to organize those actions? <br />
* How can the space remain open and inclusive? </blockquote><a href="http://75river.tumblr.com/">75river.tumblr.com</a>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-28383433820750109322011-12-01T09:12:00.000-08:002011-12-01T14:35:28.244-08:0075 River St. Occupation<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Update (12/1, 1430):</span> <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://75river.tumblr.com/" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A website</a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> has been established as a clearinghouse for everything #75River. There's also a twitter </span><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/75River" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">@75River</a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">. Check back for updates.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWH5ranUoTf8OyB9yJs3Fiyzr2DFkq7f4kF8oP2rHecDXdXubV1VR4EjXpAyfkZCmqalL3YefiuQH2ofxQhn3BQk7rKejXY41x2MeCp3sG0iZPMrIa5RlMCyokUm4eWY8pvZdja-iANNSE/s1600/holding-ground_11-30-11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWH5ranUoTf8OyB9yJs3Fiyzr2DFkq7f4kF8oP2rHecDXdXubV1VR4EjXpAyfkZCmqalL3YefiuQH2ofxQhn3BQk7rKejXY41x2MeCp3sG0iZPMrIa5RlMCyokUm4eWY8pvZdja-iANNSE/s320/holding-ground_11-30-11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">from <a href="http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/11/30/18701380.php">indybay.org</a> - </span></div><blockquote class="summary" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The formerly vacant building at 75 River St. is being repurposed by an autonomous group, in solidarity with Occupy Santa Cruz. Formerly a big bank, it was bought out by Wells Fargo. Subsequently, the building closed, and has remained vacant for nearly three years. Today this group has, without breaking & entering, taken the building with intentions of using the space in a productive way that benefits the community of Santa Cruz . The property will no longer be left open by big development companies as a sign of the economic despair in this county, but will rather be used to enrich and teach the local community.</span></blockquote><div class="article" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 12px;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<br />
<br />
The Repurposing of 75 River St.<br />
<br />
Santa Cruz, CA, U.S.A.- November 30, 2011.<br />
<br />
The formerly vacant building at 75 River St. is being repurposed by an autonomous group, in solidarity with Occupy Santa Cruz. Formerly a big bank, it was bought out by Wells Fargo. Subsequently, the building closed, and has remained vacant for nearly three years. Today this group has, without breaking & entering, taken the building with intentions of using the space in a productive way that benefits the community of Santa Cruz . The property will no longer be left open by big development companies as a sign of the economic despair in this county, but will rather be used to enrich and teach the local community. </div><div class="article" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 12px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfq1hUSeIONsF-bdIKZKJEdTALOTwVhWrcI_hfv_RkN90C3JInPFpViccxUrXftv0k_XXXjv3HvxktRwp9HQ28mneIHHknae8NUPEulDLPC26ihdchQTbkL5w8JnS8fg3Tyyom1qeyr6h/s1600/door-barricade_11-30-11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfq1hUSeIONsF-bdIKZKJEdTALOTwVhWrcI_hfv_RkN90C3JInPFpViccxUrXftv0k_XXXjv3HvxktRwp9HQ28mneIHHknae8NUPEulDLPC26ihdchQTbkL5w8JnS8fg3Tyyom1qeyr6h/s320/door-barricade_11-30-11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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While the middle class quickly falls toward the poverty line, the big banks and the extremely wealthy continue to get rich at the expense of all. Across the United States 1.05 million properties were seized by banks in the year 2010. In Santa Cruz County alone 1,594 homes were auctioned off between November 2010 and October 2011. The foreclosed and vacant buildings in this country serve as a reminder of the ever-growing gap between the 'rich' and the 'poor'. As people are left without shelter and social space due to foreclosures and a declining economy; big banks and developing companies buy out space to simply leave empty.<br />
<br />
An existing time-honored U.S. and California law allows for the transfer of a property title when a property is occupied and taken care of by an alternative party for an extended period of time. This law is called adverse possession. The law was born out of the belief that society's best interests are met when land and property are utilized productively rather than sitting vacant. Today, the building at 75 River St. has been adversely possessed. No longer will the property exist only as an empty parking lot and a vacant building with a sign re-directing people to Wells Fargo across the street. It will be repurposed and used to benefit the community instead of Cassidy Turley, the large-scale commercial real estate company currently leasing the building, and Wells Fargo bank.<br />
<br />
Instead of an empty space, there will be a space for community teach-ins, an open library, and discussion forums. The space will be offered to Occupy Santa Cruz as an opportunity to have a roof over its head and allow for more organization to take place. The space will be safe, non-violent, non-destructive and welcoming. The building will be a forum for individuals in the community to learn from one another, and help the Occupy movement grow.<br />
<br />
There is a hope to see community support for the reclamation of property and space from the very wealthy, the 1%, back into the hands and benefit of the community.<br />
<br />
This action was not decided on by the General Assembly of Occupy Santa Cruz. This press release is not from the Occupy Santa Cruz media team.</div>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-57564572426823612122011-11-27T17:31:00.000-08:002011-11-27T17:31:42.375-08:00This Wednesday: March to Picket banks and Occupy Foreclosed Home<div class="fbInfoIcon fbDescriptionIcon"><span class="img sp_a8j66m sx_bd27f6">From <a href="http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/11/27/18701150.php">indybay</a>:</span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq">in solidarity with Occupy Santa Cruz<br />
<br />
Join us to picket corporate banks around downtown Santa Cruz and then to march to a foreclosed property. While many people are denied basic needs like shelter and social space, capitalism forces many spaces to remain empty and unused.<br />
<br />
Come at 2 for a march leaving by 2:30. Bring signs, all of your friends, and your own vision for a more beautiful world. <br />
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99%, rise up! Together we are unstoppable!</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4IClj8nUVupKtjFsK-eLcV7Ugd2V_CKmjEqZwc-_O8uk1dbymea4Rx0a8lhlCn9W-3WTxsQ6CXlRVDLKeVoYRbnDG1761nqOpItBOcrRKNyxqSK_qDbAkLjN67ezAu6-CRP95LgOYUj8/s1600/halfsheet+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4IClj8nUVupKtjFsK-eLcV7Ugd2V_CKmjEqZwc-_O8uk1dbymea4Rx0a8lhlCn9W-3WTxsQ6CXlRVDLKeVoYRbnDG1761nqOpItBOcrRKNyxqSK_qDbAkLjN67ezAu6-CRP95LgOYUj8/s400/halfsheet+copy.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-33771160606512336922011-11-11T08:47:00.000-08:002011-11-12T09:24:36.472-08:00#N2: The day that wasAs a blogger on Alice@97.3 (a crappy contemporary radio station, for those who don't know) so adroitly put it: On Wednesday, shit got "really, really real." Instead of a list of events or a play-by-play, here's a collection of incidents, vignettes, and encounters. Hopefully, this can come a little closer to capturing the beautiful dissonance of the day's events.<br />
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In the morning, there is a small child walking around with a hand-drawn sign that says 'schools not prisons.' "Shouldn't that say 'schools <i>are</i> prisons?'" someone comments. <br />
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A crappy bakery in the banking district had threatened employees who had asked for the day off. Mid-morning, a group of thirty-plus people went into the bakery, chanting and yelling. The manager eventually promised to let people off with full pay for the day's work. Some people stayed to picket outside. Others moved on, roaming through the carnival of downtown Oakland. <br />
<br />
Only a few blocks into the anti-capitalist march, a banner is dropped from a parking garage that reads: "This is Class War. <a href="http://youtu.be/0RAlrzcdfRY">Just win, baby.</a>"<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMCUOKsTRBlmydrC7wUDyAqz3dQaxP6fn1Tba2rDmPImWuBAyLHFUzSPQg5tn2CY86UW20mes-0deotL5F4txuhczsuMiCpNj4klDgpwRR15PE5Pcs4Su3JEFzzDouHn7OJBRAranu8PF/s1600/justwinbaby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMCUOKsTRBlmydrC7wUDyAqz3dQaxP6fn1Tba2rDmPImWuBAyLHFUzSPQg5tn2CY86UW20mes-0deotL5F4txuhczsuMiCpNj4klDgpwRR15PE5Pcs4Su3JEFzzDouHn7OJBRAranu8PF/s400/justwinbaby.jpg" width="311" /></a></div><br />
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At the last second, the Anti-capitalist march is redirected to go to Whole Foods, who had also threatened workers who tried to strike on Wednesday (which they later denied, which doesn't mean shit). Someone paints the word "STRIKE" in 8-foot-high letters on the front of the building. The conflict has four parties: the spectators, the black bloc, Whole Foods, and the peace police. Almost immediately, the peace police tackle a member of the bloc. This particular member of the peace police, later identified as <a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2011/11/04/occupy-oakland-videos-man-tackles-bank-window-smasher-man-shot-by-police-with-non-lethal-weapon/">Zach Voorhees</a> of San Francisco, proceeds to get roughed up with some black flags and the bloc-er is able to get away. This is the same peace cop who earlier tackled someone who had smashed bank windows. The anti-capitalist bloc continues through town, making its presence known at various banks and other miserable institutions. While not everyone participated in the destruction, almost everyone cheered for it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6xvEB1BRrYBUb0GtpCyRUrA5pOgQkNOvcOWpwyf9RmZnydWSRMegrBFl6FUSFmai5d1buXleFvqhHwTIVDfPP5dAOg1egRqR_WaWJJeUzHswMAeBuoNqg5q1xoBoXnvnptXYQYdjrw9x/s1600/strike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6xvEB1BRrYBUb0GtpCyRUrA5pOgQkNOvcOWpwyf9RmZnydWSRMegrBFl6FUSFmai5d1buXleFvqhHwTIVDfPP5dAOg1egRqR_WaWJJeUzHswMAeBuoNqg5q1xoBoXnvnptXYQYdjrw9x/s400/strike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
While other marches chanted "peaceful protest" and "we are the 99%", the anti-capitalist bloc chanted "Egypt was violent and so are we" and "we are the proletariat." <br />
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Even though the logical contradictions in progressive thought should be no surprise to anyone, it is still interesting to note that violence toward property was initiated by anti-capitalists, while violence against people, in defense of property, was initiated by the peace police.<br />
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The sun set that night across the bay, shining in through the cranes at the Oakland port. A banner had been hung from a signal bridge above the railroad. A gaggle of people with black flags sat atop a grainer. Someone had tagged a railroad car, with the caption "occupyin' the town 2011." At one point, the march stretched continuously from Oscar Grant Plaza to the end of the port. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yVSotQUkJgYtxNnKhahBGGvRnOXjF_X-o-XYwC8vGTh6RrggDsr3OS1dtt1vSkravA3bh1lPrSZ9co55AAELjh_jj0puqtI4vv5pf93YrndoocQ9cXjy7-6J3VqwQR3cUIwy6dRKAcdW/s1600/sunset+at+port+shutdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yVSotQUkJgYtxNnKhahBGGvRnOXjF_X-o-XYwC8vGTh6RrggDsr3OS1dtt1vSkravA3bh1lPrSZ9co55AAELjh_jj0puqtI4vv5pf93YrndoocQ9cXjy7-6J3VqwQR3cUIwy6dRKAcdW/s320/sunset+at+port+shutdown.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Barricades of potted plants, dumpsters, and trashcans are set up around the plaza. Initiated by people in black bloc, many others stepped up to lend a hand. Two or three peace police flipped their shit when people were moving dumpsters. Once barricades went up, it was often only a matter of minutes before citizen-police moved them back out of the road. <br />
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Late in the evening, after the sunset but before the building occupation, a group of people were filming a skate video on the north steps of the plaza. Before Occupy Oakland, one probably couldn't skate in what was Frank Ogawa Plaza. In Oscar Grant Plaza, this and so much more is suddenly possible. However, the filming was interrupted by one man who sometimes does security shifts at the occupation. He sat down on the 4-set where they were filming in order to prevent what, to him, was a possibility of injury. A short argument followed, sucking people in from all around. Ultimately, they stopped filming.<br />
<br />
A foreclosed building is taken over two blocks from Oscar Grant Plaza. The initial gathering of about 150 dwindles when the threat of a police attack becomes imminent and dwindles again when a barricade is proactively set afire to disperse teargas. The barricades and the building are left behind when the cops move in. The windows of the police substation at the plaza are all broken (but the building is boarded from the inside). As the police take space, general rioting ensues. Graffiti writers of all stripes are out in force and they all get ups. Businesses up and down Broadway get smashed. Fire extinguisher pieces go up at 14th and Broadway: "Smashy smashy." <a href="http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/statement-on-the-occupation-of-the-former-travelers-aid-society-at-520-16th-street/">A statement from the building occupiers</a> makes this situation (and its spectacular significance) clear:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">We understand that much of the conversation about last night will revolve around the question of violence (though mostly they mean violence to “property,” which is somehow strangely equated with harming human beings). We know that there are many perspectives on these questions, and we should make the space for talking about them. But let us say this to the cops and to the mayor: things got “violent” after the police came. The riot cops marched down Telegraph and then the barricades were lit on fire. The riots cops marched down Telegraph and then bottles got thrown and windows smashed. The riot cops marched down Telegraph and graffiti appeared everywhere. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The point here is obvious: if the police don’t want violence, they should stay the hell away.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD4NgXVOsSBoA4Py9BF-W2gKosweXOZfn3cl0XCAWkNR8q4cMtL_0cNEkqRqvkoCcNYehaZjDtckwXSrFIyZoqg6FrJGGe6YcJ-34Yv9zdYNBoOIFnZANIiEB_GwB5bOuXCqKnRmXv9PNu/s1600/smashy+acab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD4NgXVOsSBoA4Py9BF-W2gKosweXOZfn3cl0XCAWkNR8q4cMtL_0cNEkqRqvkoCcNYehaZjDtckwXSrFIyZoqg6FrJGGe6YcJ-34Yv9zdYNBoOIFnZANIiEB_GwB5bOuXCqKnRmXv9PNu/s320/smashy+acab.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0TcgFXEB572oZIi5XkudGoL32zO-DN-qoL8I_nxPNljwjwr3PCtZlyT1fG0yy-ZCnhB5_r6-ez2tIm7VZfzIn245lDjehG1RK3fSg4crWbCgIAJneqL8-epMlTG_o8JmUzEeDjqoeByL/s1600/smashy+rite+aid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0TcgFXEB572oZIi5XkudGoL32zO-DN-qoL8I_nxPNljwjwr3PCtZlyT1fG0yy-ZCnhB5_r6-ez2tIm7VZfzIn245lDjehG1RK3fSg4crWbCgIAJneqL8-epMlTG_o8JmUzEeDjqoeByL/s320/smashy+rite+aid.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; text-indent: 10.0pt;">In the past few years in the bay, Anarchists have been acting autonomously, in the absence of a social movement. Now, a social movement is fermenting, one that isn't limiting itself to the demand-form and is actively avoiding political legitimation or recuperation. Far from cornering itself, the occupy movement has a wide open terrain for its varied trajectories. Keeping the terrain open and pushing the boundaries of what actions and opinions are acceptable are important goals of intervention into occupy. Two years ago, during the student occupation struggles, "occupy everything" was a radical and marginal slogan. Now it's standard fare. In years past in Santa Cruz, marching in the streets was often a matter of contention. Now it happens without a second thought.</div><br />
We could see this shift as a sign that these tactics and positions are less fierce as they become more palatable to progressives. In a sense, this is true. But it is also proof that the acceptable arena for popular protest might be expanding, at least partly as a result of more antagonistic projects. The left in the United States is still far from where it is in places like France, where a general strike is called every year just as a way for labor to flex its muscle (a gesture that has become increasingly toothless in recent years). While it would be foolish to think having a militant left really does anything to further our project of total liberation, hopefully we can at least use it to get over all this bullshit about nonviolence. Also, as the dialogue and tactics expand, we as social antagonists can better articulate ourselves beyond one or another signifier of militancy. <br />
<br />
a total revolt for a total freedom,<br />
scr<br />
<br />
For further reading:<br />
<a href="http://viewpointmag.com/the-insurrection-oakland-style/">Insurrection, Oakland-Style</a><br />
<a href="http://bayofrage.com/">Bay of Rage</a>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-57079628960959637422011-11-03T15:42:00.000-07:002011-11-03T15:45:28.437-07:00Occupy Oakland, Nov 2some snippets from last night after people <a href="http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/statement-on-the-occupation-of-the-former-travelers-aid-society-at-520-16th-street/">took over a building</a>. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOu6jsenF5x4o1UTish9fW8g_aC-az11hR_wzmKMDF6Wp1_pNx523yvcvzUYP0zjyoJX4dmmqPi8iYfFazlfmUxaQo4zqJh-GbCPjOqq5g6FRPdVunEpgovyWzhL7a1gZfTPe_xYnLhVJP/s1600/occupy2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOu6jsenF5x4o1UTish9fW8g_aC-az11hR_wzmKMDF6Wp1_pNx523yvcvzUYP0zjyoJX4dmmqPi8iYfFazlfmUxaQo4zqJh-GbCPjOqq5g6FRPdVunEpgovyWzhL7a1gZfTPe_xYnLhVJP/s400/occupy2" width="400" /></a></div>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-56919723988946431802011-10-28T18:17:00.000-07:002011-10-28T18:17:05.942-07:00#N2: Oakland General Strike, November 2nd<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzkez6WaJTxxfUJnvTb2JyyzP_ourv7muPUV7uMenajClp-J3cdn-u-9tR9xZ_hO5Ijfd7u8wfJaOE8h2VsSf-8cfKOPVpZAuXmMUFeWLIche0JBd7qXMQrWG3tK_43nU1N9Ol5vrE80u/s1600/generalstrike_engish-662x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzkez6WaJTxxfUJnvTb2JyyzP_ourv7muPUV7uMenajClp-J3cdn-u-9tR9xZ_hO5Ijfd7u8wfJaOE8h2VsSf-8cfKOPVpZAuXmMUFeWLIche0JBd7qXMQrWG3tK_43nU1N9Ol5vrE80u/s640/generalstrike_engish-662x1024.jpg" width="412" /></a></div>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-60433147452075239962011-10-25T08:00:00.000-07:002011-10-25T08:21:23.711-07:00Occupy Oakland evicted at both sitesAt around 5am this morning, Occupy Oakland was evicted from both Snow Park and Oscar Grant Plaza. At least one participant was shot with a "non-lethal" round from a shotgun after a bottle was thrown at the police. About 90 people in total were arrested. Right about now, Occupy Oakland is reconvening at the library at 14th and Franklin to decide their next steps. <a href="http://jpdobrin.com/blog/2011/10/photography-of-police-dismantling-occupy-oakland/">This set of photos</a> was all over twitter after the raid.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oscar Grant Plaza, Occupied</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiraIziMVl6Hw82ZF4GfG8zdtvkpsEqr0iM8Jhk-KeN_KGre6M7wBukDmwLTUcX0ya51qLRenZACrHzeBzJD1fAG3L6xQZLPZh7pZjvKAyB8CQFqvv0QUpeQTUa3ctQ6sODAa6iFhLacMC/s1600/x12otb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiraIziMVl6Hw82ZF4GfG8zdtvkpsEqr0iM8Jhk-KeN_KGre6M7wBukDmwLTUcX0ya51qLRenZACrHzeBzJD1fAG3L6xQZLPZh7pZjvKAyB8CQFqvv0QUpeQTUa3ctQ6sODAa6iFhLacMC/s400/x12otb.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This morning, after the raid</td></tr>
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On a brighter note, <a href="http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/">an artist in Los Angeles</a> has done a beautiful series of oil paintings of banks on fire. The first elegantly entitled "Bank of America" and the second simply "Chase Burning."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzVf4CCra71UlcSSnjZ2PZ8laOK7_2mAfpcHtD-3qxCnhMT3R3k_P5CsoMwi6fof6pTu-uMr7_yE1V2AhA9rRQO9SKa4cWDhkYy6XM1h-qsd8cVS45bNy6t8LciQchBzZ9aHZe_lMUIIaV/s1600/bank+of+america+alex+schaefer+ebay.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzVf4CCra71UlcSSnjZ2PZ8laOK7_2mAfpcHtD-3qxCnhMT3R3k_P5CsoMwi6fof6pTu-uMr7_yE1V2AhA9rRQO9SKa4cWDhkYy6XM1h-qsd8cVS45bNy6t8LciQchBzZ9aHZe_lMUIIaV/s320/bank+of+america+alex+schaefer+ebay.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDVIxqMeiuDuyr6FYDvV1-hB60rMyXmjbAs7s6PKKAD6P6YQ5y8ENncVwiTo5NjiVEXPjyqSMPENvwlgYkSVVb7g9CF_hH_UlWuKdoOL95Ob3DZEYq_DBWW7IEe9xz3LBWYPJumMTojc6/s1600/chase+burning+alex+schaefer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDVIxqMeiuDuyr6FYDvV1-hB60rMyXmjbAs7s6PKKAD6P6YQ5y8ENncVwiTo5NjiVEXPjyqSMPENvwlgYkSVVb7g9CF_hH_UlWuKdoOL95Ob3DZEYq_DBWW7IEe9xz3LBWYPJumMTojc6/s320/chase+burning+alex+schaefer.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-66234096442249630632011-10-22T10:31:00.000-07:002011-10-22T10:56:05.358-07:00Texts from Barcelona Assembly MovementThese texts, written by anarchists involved in the occupation of Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona, are important contributions to social antagonist activity within the Occupy movement. Disseminate widely!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/file/0u301lkjyn3g4nz/againstdemocracyconsensusreform.pdf">Perspectives from the Barcelona Assembly Movement - Imposed for booklet printing</a> <br />
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By sharpening our critiques of democracy without alienating our current co-conspirators, pushing the Occupy movement to emphasize content over form (freedom over consensus), drawing lines against politicians and the police, and embracing autonomy, we can find our own struggle for total freedom within the current struggle.<i> And</i> we get to sleep in public parks.surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-19183931576783186292011-10-19T22:58:00.000-07:002011-10-19T22:58:59.131-07:00One Week Strong at Oscar Grant Plazafrom <a href="http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/occupyoakland-one-week-strong-at-oscar-grant-plaza/">bayofrage.com</a>:<br />
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<div class="postimg"> </div><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-915" height="450" src="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/I-3-Oakland.jpg" title="I-(3-Oakland" width="600" /><br />
<em>Social rebels from around Oakland have descended upon Oscar Grant Plaza and have created a genuine, autonomous space free of police and unwelcoming to politicians. Whereas other occupations have invited the police and politicians, or have negotiated with them, Occupy Oakland has carved a line in the cement. That line of demarcation says: if you pass this, if you try and break up or over shadow this autonomous space, you are well aware, as observed over the last couple of years, what we are capable of.</em><br />
<em> </em> <br />
<em>This article is a report back on the first week at Occupy Oakland, a reflection on problems we have been facing and some thoughts on moving the occupation forward; onto some next level shit.<a href="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mean_girl.jpg"><br />
<span id="more-906"></span> </a></em><br />
<a name='more'></a><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">REPORTBACK</span></strong><br />
After much organizing, logistical coordination, joy, sweat and tears, we’ve managed to hold down the first week of the occupation of Oscar Grant Plaza (conservatively known as Frank Ogawa Plaza). The police have not stepped foot inside the parameter of the occupation without an impassioned, hostile response. Likewise, the people who do enter the space have not left without an inspired and rebellious spirit – a fever.<br />
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On the first night, there was concern about how many people would show up or if any of them would feel empowered enough to stay the night. Despite the rain, at least 1,000 attended the rally and about two dozens tents were erected. After food was served, the first general assembly took place in the amphitheater of City Hall. In the form of a speak-out, an amplified sound system and an open floor made way for those in attendance to passionately talk about why they were there – why they hate capitalism, its pigs and its prisons. Here, people could speak their minds without the obstacles of an agenda or decision-making.<br />
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Different from many other occupations in the occupation movement, organizing took place for a week prior to the plaza takeover. On the very first day, the camp had a fully functional kitchen, an info-tent and a supply tent. By the end of this week there was a medic tent, art supply tent, an insurrectionary library, a free store, the Raheim Brown Free School, a media tent, a POC tent, a Sukkah, a DJ booth, and not to mention hundreds of sleeping-space tents. In addition, the rotating kitchen crew has been feeding everyone consistently from 8am until midnight and throwing spontaneous BBQs. Despite a few hiccups, these designated areas and tents have been beautifully maintained and non-exclusive – functioning to attract new-comers, leaving little prospect for anyone to feel like a spectator.<br />
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Immediately, different logistical issues that had to be dealt with spawned various working groups, or committees. These committees are in constant rotation. This “beauty in chaos” allows for a loose, flexible structure. Simultaneously, people are freely organizing and interacting with the camp however they desire. A few crucial sub-committees that the occupation hasn’t necessitated until recently, but have since been created (and experimented with) are: security (dealing with outside forces such as police, who from the beginning were not welcome), mediation (dealing with internal conflicts and dynamics), a facilitation working group (which organizes the agenda and shapes the process of the general assembly), a POC caucus that has been meeting every day, and finally, a newly formed anti-authoritarian/anti-capitalist caucus and a queer working group. People are no longer spectating the increasingly rapid destruction of their everyday life, instead they are actively participating in breaching normalized boundaries – how people relate to one another in a way that empowers everyone involved.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-909" height="200" src="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/first_GA-300x200.jpg" title="first_GA" width="300" /></div>The General Assemblies, or “GAs,” are places where the people of the occupation can get updates, have debates, plan for actions, and decide on proposals. The GA Facilitation Working Group came up with a modified consensus process where a 90% majority – instead of 100% – is sufficient to pass a proposal. However illusory or “democratic” this process functions, its strategic implementation strips power away from potentially authoritative individuals who might hijack or otherwise sabotage our ability to make decisions and move forward. Because there is a specific group working on the facilitation process, the GAs operate smoothly and are usually quite exciting. Additionally, a lot of people that speak at the GA are really fucking on point. Thus far the general assemblies (of 200-300 people nightly) have passed decisions to never endorse political parties or politicians, to send a solidarity statement to comrades at Occupy Wall Street and another to those on hunger strike in the Pelican Bay state prison. This is also a space where anti-state and anti-authority sentiments flourish, be they against the police or the city government.<br />
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As can be expected, some people say some really fucked up racist/sexist shit, but they are usually booed off stage. With what may be a perfect ending to the first week, a letter from the city (delivered en mass 30 minutes before the GA) was read aloud. The city detailed specifically what must be improved or taken care of “for our own safety” (when did the city ever care about our safety anyways?). Boldly (you could feel tension when the idea was initiated), some began chanting, “Burn it”. Without hesitation, someone took a lighter to the letter. Another person added lighter fluid to the burning, single sheet of paper. The flames raged wildly for a full minute. The crowd of at least 300 cheered and hollered with an enthusiasm unprecedented at any prior GA. <em>For some reason, we feel that Occupy Oakland is different…</em><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-912" height="225" src="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/performance-300x225.jpg" title="performance" width="300" /></div>In addition to the amazing infrastructure and the excellent facilitation that has been set up, the organized events are extremely diverse and most of the time explicitly political. Each of the events throughout the first week nurtures the overall, vengeful tone of the occupation – performances, Hip Hop shows, poetry slams and movie showings. In each case, people find time away from hard work to enjoy each other’s company. In addition to planned events, numerous impromptu ciphers, dance parties and performances break out – accentuating a generalized desire to cultivate autonomous actions. One day a SambaFunk Band marched their way into Oscar Grant Plaza, proceeded to play for almost an hour – hundreds surrounding them, dancing. This beautifully unexpected addition to the occupation, along with others like it, demonstrates a recurring spontaneity. Multiple times throughout the day you hear people exclaim how inspired they are by this occupation and what is possible here. In addition to the more creative and fun events, workshops take place during the day and have been explicitly nonconformist. The workshops range from topics such as contemporary uprisings in Greece, Chile, and Oaxaca to Occupy Everything, which connect the student occupations to what is happening here. This upcoming week, everyday from 1-5pm there are more of the same: specific talks discussing particular political topics such as “Police/State/Prison” and “Oakland schools are being shut down! What are we gonna do?” Notably, <a href="http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/the-first-excursion-out-of-occupy-oakland-an-anticapitalist-march/">the very first demonstration out of Occupy Oakland was an anti-capitalist march</a> where over 200 people marched through downtown Oakland chanting, “1, 2, 3, 4 – organize for social war!” — among other things . This march attracted a diversity of people. Over 200 rebels chanting these radical slogans chill you to the bone. The following night, a queer march left from the occupation and went to Hella Gay, a queer dance party in Oakland. Upon reaching the club, marchers demanded to be let in for free and the venue acquiesced.<br />
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Incessantly, Occupy Oakland startles and excites many with its implicit radicalism. On Saturday, October 15th, MoveOn.org (a “grassroots” organizational front for the democratic party) organized a march and demonstration in conjunction with the national occupation movement’s day of action. They attempted to exploit Occupy Oakland when they announced that it would draw to a close in Oscar Grant Plaza with a series of speakers including several mayors from around the Bay. Upon this announcement, a proposal was brought to the GA: a refusal of special treatment and/or endorsement of politicians and political parties/organizations. It passed like a maple leaf in the wind. After negotiations with MoveOn, and based on our own policies, no politicians would be allowed to speak on behalf of their party at that event and thereafter.<br />
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Surprisingly, MoveOn eventually complied with our demand. When someone broke the agreement (rather, they took advantage of a loophole) and began reading a statement from Congresswomen Barbara Lee, someone from the occupation promptly told those from MoveOn how they broke the agreement and how the democratic party is “counter-revolutionary.” At this point those who were brought to the occupation via MoveOn’s march begun to disperse and explore the camp (perhaps because it was far more interesting than hearing all of the old boring democratic rhetoric that has been said time and time before).<br />
<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ANALYSIS</span></strong><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-908" height="300" src="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mean_girl-225x300.jpg" title="mean_girl" width="225" /></div> Over the past few years, Oakland has demonstrated its uniqueness in social conflict and protest. This distinctiveness isn’t anything new; rather, it has just reemerged. To elaborate, a comrade wrote in <em><a href="http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/greedunityviolenc/">The Occupation Movement: On Greed, Unity & Violence</a></em>:<br />
<blockquote>“Oakland is currently under occupation by the police. The form of this occupation varies; the situation is much different in Temescal than in deep East Oakland. We live in a militarized space. Whether it’s police executions of Black youth, police harassment of sex workers along International Boulevard, or the city council’s racist legislation in the form of anti-loitering laws, gang injunctions or the suggested youth curfew, this <em>paramilitary occupation</em> is a project of local government to pacify and contain the city so capitalism can go about it’s business uninterrupted. </blockquote><blockquote> But Oakland doesn’t just have a violent, repressive contemporary situation; we have a vibrant history of struggle and resistance. From the 1946 General Strike to the formation of the Black Panther party in 1966 to the anti-police rebellion following the execution of Oscar Grant in 2009, Oakland has long been a city full of people that refuse to sit down and shut up. Despite every attempt by the state to kill that spirit, it lives on and will be out in full force over the coming days.”</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-911" height="199" src="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/stop_war_on_youth-300x199.jpg" title="stop_war_on_youth" width="300" /></div>Occupy Oakland reflects Oakland’s radical history. Because of this, an overwhelming anti-police sentiment guides the conversation about and the reaction to police. The GA has refused to comply with the city’s demand that we apply for permits (which we were told would automatically be accepted without charge). This lawlessness has played out when police have attempted to enter the occupation. On several occasions, many surround the approaching police and in unison began chanting “Pigs go home!” and “Cops get out!” When the police officers realize their lack of power, they have no other option but to leave. This tactic of resisting the presence of the police started spontaneously, but has since been the usual response. <em>We hope that other occupations will look to this practice and realize its significance.</em><br />
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Despite the brilliant infrastructure, there have been problems. Some extremely important committees have been slow to respond to the growing need of the camp. Some of this is due to the transient nature of the groups, where people come in and voice their disagreements and then take off, leaving the work to the people in the committees who are already stressing about getting things done. Although there is “beauty in the chaos,” it has become evident that to some degree, disciplined organization is imperative. Ideally, a harmony of chaos and composition will surface.<br />
One of the biggest problems emerging in the camp is specific dynamics of racism, sexism and other oppressive habits. In the first several days, excitement and festivity ruled the commune. This slowly transitioned into over-frequent dance parties that spilled late into the nights. Excessive drinking, unwanted sexual advances, harassment, and fights persist daily. This behavior, it should be mentioned, also exists without the presence of alcohol, but takes on a different form with alcohol. <em>[NOTE: we are beginning to see reports of delinquency, drug use and violence in the media that may begin to duplicate in other media outlets. This could be the beginning of a campaign against the occupation. We would like to mention that these problems exist everywhere, as this occupation is to some extent a microcosm of Oakland, and until there is incentive to unlearn these behaviors, “peace” cannot be actualized. Again, this is not to say that they are not serious or that they are tolerated.]</em><br />
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All of this has led to concern about the camp developing a Burning Man or Woodstock environment, devoid of almost all political content (other than the politics of culture, sub-culture and counter-culture which have a very limited potential and ultimately alienate people from one another). What is desired is a complete transformation (or destruction) of society, not just a cultural one. These dynamics are not unique to the occupation, but rather happen every day in Oakland and everywhere – they are symptomatic of a society that has broken all of us. In reaction, a mediation team has been set up to deescalate situations and allow for dialogue between those in conflict, resulting in much benefit. Despite all of this, Occupy Oakland is magnificently self-regulating – when a fool’s gotta go, a fool’s gotta go. This occupation is constantly growing and expanding – becoming more and more dissident by the day, pushing us all to our limits. <em>Let’s see what else this occupation movement has to offer…</em><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-913" height="223" src="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/321093_286962407990351_100000297812753_1102679_47112937_n-300x223.jpg" title="321093_286962407990351_100000297812753_1102679_47112937_n" width="300" /></div>Beneath the internal conflicts lies an aching desire to externalize such wrath. Hundreds upon hundreds of people simply talk and mingle, discussing politics and life. You can almost taste a collective hostility towards each individual’s own socialization. People are learning how to be human beings without the mediation of capitalism and its apparatuses. Whereas alienation and isolation rule our every interaction, it has been replaced by the crisis of remembering the last 10 names of those you’ve met in the past hour. The war on alienation and isolation is fought through complex and voluntary social experiments, ultimately revealing the gaps of power relations that are facilitated, in part, by capitalism.<br />
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Another pressing issue is that of expansion. The plaza now hosts somewhere around 150 tents on the grassy areas alone. Sunday night, 30 minutes before the GA, a letter from the city was delivered en mass to people in the occupation. It detailed the city’s intolerance to many things, among them, camping in the concrete area of the plaza. Logistically, moving to the concrete would be the most immediate remedy to the growing population density of the occupation. Are we to push that boundary? Already, a small encampment has manifested in Snow Park, which is a few blocks from Oscar Grant Plaza. Almost all of the grass is taken up at this point and if we are to push the boundaries with the city, we must be prepared to defend the spaces we select to house us next. Expansion onto the concrete would only be a temporary solution. If we are to expand to another location, we must nurture the crisis of the occupation – population density – and encourage many more from the street find a home in the occupation movement and seduce others out of their homes to do the same. <em>[NOTE: Those occupying Snow Park stand their ground against police who tell them they are not allowed to be there due to a school being nearby. Since then, to some extent, the school and its students have announced support of the occupations in OG Plaza and Snow Park. However, Snow Park is in need of a greater occupying force. As of tonight, we are unsure whether that extension of the occupation can be held through the following day.].</em><br />
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The recent letter from the City gives light to their attempt to stifle our capacity. With good reason, they are afraid. It is likely the occupation will attempt a diversity of expansion strategies through the coming week. Undercover police are naive to think we haven’t noticed their technique of dividing the occupation on already present tensions – some COINTELPRO type shit. The camp is vulnerable – bearing wide-open entrances in almost every direction. Do we look to barricades? Do we take the barricades into the street? These are questions that will be answered in either a collective, intuitive and organic response to police eviction or in much planning and preparation. One thing is certain: the people of Occupy Oakland are well prepared to defend their new home.<br />
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Occupy Oakland (as you may have gathered at this point) is unlike any other. We begin to appreciate this when we realize our potential and current condition – that we are a force to be reckoned with, a danger to the capitalist functioning of Oakland. Police attack is no more imminent than the all too likely opportunities of widespread insurgency. Strategizing in accordance to our immediate geography’s potential as well as its weaknesses is key. Unions, schools, libraries and more, they are already our allies, as we are theirs. An overpowering confidence saturates the air of Oscar Grant Plaza – a threat and a promise.<br />
Occupy Everything! Demand Nothing!<br />
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-Autonomous individuals among the liberated space known as Oscar Grant Plaza.<br />
<a href="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/barricade.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-916" height="640" src="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/barricade.jpg" title="barricade" width="480" /></a>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-30337824924285150022011-10-19T22:53:00.000-07:002011-10-19T22:53:26.046-07:00Carlo viven!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://rt.com/news/occupy-rome-protest-violent-943/"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHZmJv8CFyrFzQHGYvDt607GnQadAXJP5NwaxiD6s5b0HzVu6a0XXLpHMuZnD4L2o59ndwcGrDSI8X28dySNkgTy_qJzd8j0N8JBrByTxEPUVpgAEVY9McHFmuTH-KHSKITeEQtmf1EZg/s320/Rome-riots-15-October-crop-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>"a few thousand thugs from all over Italy, and possibly from all over Europe."</em> </div>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-44412216529133706792011-10-17T22:44:00.000-07:002011-10-17T22:44:47.960-07:00Tenants sets dogs, throw chairs at landlordFrom the Mid-County Post:<br />
<blockquote><span class="articletext">Corralitos- During an apparent landlord-tenant dispute, Kendra J. Jacobo, 29, set a pair of pit bulls on the landlord, said Sgt. Steve Carney of the Sheriff's Office. The landlord was bitten several times and as he fled, Brian W. Menges, 36, threw a chair and hit the victim. The suspects left before deputies arrived, but were contacted when they returned to the property and charged with assault. The victim was treated by paramedics and the dogs were removed by an animal control officer.</span></blockquote>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-27256020058796575162011-10-15T10:17:00.000-07:002011-10-15T10:17:48.238-07:00Blue Lights Come to Santa Cruzfrom <a href="http://news.santacruz.com/2011/10/12/blue_lights_come_to_santa_cruz">santacruz.com</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rEuWNtDmcaAVWyqCoj3O3KXe4bIdFjml4vgUc-teASEYi2Yh6q-_NdA7kFPMWRBeNVdvL4UQwRwENSTPkqyC13qXN7nQVL3kq4v-zzQU3ko7mq0kA0KsPp_e0TOY7ZZt0xr-RmvoMFt3/s1600/ellis-homesweb-300x194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rEuWNtDmcaAVWyqCoj3O3KXe4bIdFjml4vgUc-teASEYi2Yh6q-_NdA7kFPMWRBeNVdvL4UQwRwENSTPkqyC13qXN7nQVL3kq4v-zzQU3ko7mq0kA0KsPp_e0TOY7ZZt0xr-RmvoMFt3/s200/ellis-homesweb-300x194.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>For a city whose violent crime history includes four serial killers during the ’70s and early ’80s and enough stabbings in recent years that one guy started a website to track them, it’s difficult to imagine combating violence without the police. But a few community-minded citizens in Santa Cruz are trying.<br />
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“I don’t think we are anywhere near a place where we are ready to take care of ourselves without police, but that’s where I’d like to see us get to,” says Wes Modes of the Santa Cruz Community Safety Workgroup, which began meeting last year. “There are lots of things the police have never done well, such as prevention of domestic violence and taking care of people who’ve slipped through the cracks. These are areas in which it is easy for us to make a difference.”<br />
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The Blue Light Safety Project is one decentralized, do-it-yourself effort for community safety that the Workshop has come up with, and the concept is simple: Put a blue light bulb on your porch or front window to let people know they are welcome to approach if they need help.<br />
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“Female-bodied people or youth walking alone at night, people escaping intimate violence, queer or trans people who’ve been threatened, or elderly people who need a brief rest might feel supported to have a house in their neighborhood where they know they can find a temporary safe space,” says Modes.<br />
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This police alternative to community safety is also based on the simple action of getting to know your neighbors.<br />
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“I think because we rely on the police we don’t know our neighbors as much,” says Kristen Swig, who recently installed a blue light in the house she shares with several others. “My experiences with the police have not made me feel safer, and I think it’s a common misconception that the police are a symbol of safety.”<br />
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The Blue Light Safety Project is similar to light programs used on college campuses across the country, as well as neighborhood watches or “citizen patrol units” that have proven successful in bringing down crime rates in cities like Philadelphia.<br />
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more info at <a href="http://bluelightsafety.blogspot.com/">bluelightsafety.blogspot.com </a>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-12774849542526740102011-10-12T09:48:00.000-07:002011-10-12T09:48:57.903-07:00Solidarity Noise Demo<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">As much as the State wants us to forget, we want to remember. We held a noise demonstration outside the Santa Cruz county jail on Saturday, October 8th in solidarity with the hunger striking prisoners across California. People walked through downtown passing out flyers of the prisoners demands and then met up with about 35 more people outside of the courthouse. We marched to the jail, chanting. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">"Our passion for freedom is stronger than their prisons!"</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">"Santa Cruz to Pelican Bay, fighting back is the only way!"</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">"In every city, In every town, bulldoze prisons to the ground!" </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">We went onto the jail property. We hit the fences with black-flagged-dowels and read a speech while someone inside the women's detention center flashed her lights on and off in rhythm with the drums -- we were heard. We circled the jail to the front office, banging on the walls and doors while chanting and yelling. There were no encounters with the police and we left after half an hour.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfK-2_OQLBMHYgEJsUDDo2lKUqovb7rl35bDa7A9Zvk9uOrdUr_IdnDa0xYWk1_4MhjgNw8nPgAfKTP92tGhReQDaHiAQgH98wG43ze-rTXZ2IWudyE3Q03mgOszI9xZNDWFgjGdBN7z_2/s1600/6227921877_22300119cb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfK-2_OQLBMHYgEJsUDDo2lKUqovb7rl35bDa7A9Zvk9uOrdUr_IdnDa0xYWk1_4MhjgNw8nPgAfKTP92tGhReQDaHiAQgH98wG43ze-rTXZ2IWudyE3Q03mgOszI9xZNDWFgjGdBN7z_2/s400/6227921877_22300119cb.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTyJHwHbppZMYwS_1dapjEP6cI8isUkOxh_q6Xwr1i8PwPGDKzJpSwW8sJClVkhluWu1yLs9hGXYC09I0P2INIcxM5Jsk6YXc9Dgz04w0F-TFwvKpD8w8wz90kmAX3Ez4svaDbtSf39QY/s1600/frontofjail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTyJHwHbppZMYwS_1dapjEP6cI8isUkOxh_q6Xwr1i8PwPGDKzJpSwW8sJClVkhluWu1yLs9hGXYC09I0P2INIcxM5Jsk6YXc9Dgz04w0F-TFwvKpD8w8wz90kmAX3Ez4svaDbtSf39QY/s400/frontofjail.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">text from flyer:</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">OVER 12,000 PRISONERS IN CALIFORNIA ARE PARTICIPATING IN A HUNGER STRIKE resisting the conditions of torture in the SHU (Security Housing Unit long term solitary confinement.) The strike has spread to over 14 prisons. Many people on hunger strike are willing to die for more liveable conditions. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">THE PRISONERS’ DEMANDS: </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">1. End Group Punishment & Administrative Abuse </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">2. Abolish the Debriefing Policy, and Modify Active/Inactive Gang Status Criteria </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">3. Comply with the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons 2006 Recommendations Regarding and End to Long-Term Solitary Confinement </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">4. Provide Adequate and Nutritious Food </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">5. Expand and Provide Constructive Programming and Privileges for Indefinite SHU Status Inmates. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">In July 6,000 prisoners were on hunger strike with the same demands. The CDCR (California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation) has since only made conditions worse for the strikers. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">We want to let prisoners know they are not alone. We are inspired by prisoners collectively resisting the state's most brutal institution. This powerful act of defiance strengthens any struggle for freedom.</div><br />
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</span></span></div>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-29646677945323441762011-10-07T21:00:00.000-07:002011-10-07T21:00:40.164-07:00let's not forget whose land we're on...from <a href="http://dignidadrebelde.com/">http://dignidadrebelde.com</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUyjKMh6ra5DpwffgArW_IEkdX-SKEhpUAAMKzxOuewaV4_MNRM-D1zpmamlIQmKLsNZUsmo_kk3ByGMLMENaLh4yEH1fST93wLVkLJSCXb35z_sdKw2w5YMsIuqv8-syvKd_JJ_RL25b/s1600/c6d56c5ca934a6e2bdcb12fabe854a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUyjKMh6ra5DpwffgArW_IEkdX-SKEhpUAAMKzxOuewaV4_MNRM-D1zpmamlIQmKLsNZUsmo_kk3ByGMLMENaLh4yEH1fST93wLVkLJSCXb35z_sdKw2w5YMsIuqv8-syvKd_JJ_RL25b/s320/c6d56c5ca934a6e2bdcb12fabe854a.jpg" width="245" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLVGmxmOaSYvJYsDGmn6f2_MswrTKxI_19lP37gf9-S13qaR2mPTqMXa4qTA3hzgm0qiB-v_j12x-99IGinf3-fPVzkNnJVATFHprL2rWS_ziNpCfWJu-j1qLeS2oGbfQ6akMCgNN9Sj-/s1600/2af34ea390f4a5eeb8066059224b33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLVGmxmOaSYvJYsDGmn6f2_MswrTKxI_19lP37gf9-S13qaR2mPTqMXa4qTA3hzgm0qiB-v_j12x-99IGinf3-fPVzkNnJVATFHprL2rWS_ziNpCfWJu-j1qLeS2oGbfQ6akMCgNN9Sj-/s320/2af34ea390f4a5eeb8066059224b33.jpg" width="253" /></a>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-64255635070184641892011-10-07T00:44:00.000-07:002011-10-07T00:44:34.820-07:00Occupy Santa Cruz, Occupy EverywhereA flier from "some individuals from within Occupy Santa Cruz". A .pdf is available <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/file/c7sbh5546cv5unb/occupy%20sc%20occupy%20everywhere.pdf">here</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivW164qgRjPyerhXIWgvGxwG6_W1-hQutEkdYYZOSAy_tnCpAcPsrSLmf5TPzEV8hJ3kyc9HKxacTpKKxp_lkK92Mm0agymIERjfEVUARMAg_1-SUbMCCSKY1rYCG-TscZECFzeNH3gsQV/s1600/Untitled-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivW164qgRjPyerhXIWgvGxwG6_W1-hQutEkdYYZOSAy_tnCpAcPsrSLmf5TPzEV8hJ3kyc9HKxacTpKKxp_lkK92Mm0agymIERjfEVUARMAg_1-SUbMCCSKY1rYCG-TscZECFzeNH3gsQV/s400/Untitled-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dpO0_hv5bidzAHAwiOiKpxkAbLhY4vPEMVFz3axII6E53tUZeSFMcEMttlR0P0pjeon0OgMeg9tr_96WrNSu9cLLrtnqa65WewGOmp7HHo12cuIeWtZ1u7zisCh9Ik2wGQsejCwL4xK-/s1600/occupy+sc+backside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dpO0_hv5bidzAHAwiOiKpxkAbLhY4vPEMVFz3axII6E53tUZeSFMcEMttlR0P0pjeon0OgMeg9tr_96WrNSu9cLLrtnqa65WewGOmp7HHo12cuIeWtZ1u7zisCh9Ik2wGQsejCwL4xK-/s400/occupy+sc+backside.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<b> An occupation creates space for a new way of interacting with each other.</b> Rather than only coming together as co-workers or neighbors, we are coming together as people with similar ideas. In this space, we can discuss and act on our vision of the world. We have the opportunity to participate in a new and spreading social movement together with people across the country, the globe, and throughout cyberspace.<br />
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The goal of the Occupy movement should not be to “speak truth to power” or to appeal for change from politicians and the rich. The goal is to speak to each other so that our ideas and sentiments can spread widely. The Occupy movement has done this well, with solidarity occupations starting across the country. There is no doubt that politicians have the power to improve the conditions of people’s lives, but through the occupation movement we have the chance to rediscover our own power. To embrace our power is to reject theirs. <b>We aren’t making an appeal to politicians, we’re making an appeal to each other.</b><br />
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This movement belongs to all those who participate. We can be inspired by the events of the Arab Spring. In these uprisings, people came together against their common enemies. The people in Tahrir square were willing to defend themselves against the police and Mubarak supporters,and some people took it upon themselves to burn down police stations. Although the situation here is different in many ways, the function of the police is the same everywhere and conflict is bound to occur. The question worth asking is: <b>In what ways are we willing to defend ourselves?</b><br />
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<b>For total freedom</b>,<br />
some individuals within<br />
Occupy Santa Cruzsurfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-34191936514696098742011-10-06T22:01:00.000-07:002011-10-06T22:02:46.001-07:00Night of the Barricades from <a href="http://bayofrage.com/">bayofrage</a>:<br />
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<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-838" height="266" src="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/barricades_sf_1.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="barricades_sf_1" width="400" /><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">updated with pictures & links 9:30am</em><br />
On the night of October 6th San Francisco Police attacked the <a href="http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/night-of-the-barricades/occupysf.com" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">Occupy SF</span></a><a href="http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/night-of-the-barricades/occupysf.com" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #e5005b; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </a>encampment at the Federal Building on Market and Drum. After a day in which <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/05/BA121LDU5B.DTL&tsp=1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">800 people marched </span></a>through downtown San Francisco in solidarity with the occupation of Wall Street in New York and elsewhere around the country, hundreds gathered at the site of the occupation. However by evening the police had administered an <a href="http://occupysf.com/blog/19-city-of-san-francisco-notification" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;">eviction notice to the occupiers</span></a><a href="http://occupysf.com/blog/19-city-of-san-francisco-notification" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #e5005b; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </a>claiming that the police would move in at midnight alongside the Department of Public Works to clear the plaza. Roughly around 10pm the police began to gather a block away from the occupation. Word circulated quickly and as both the occupiers and the police prepared roughly 150 people assembled at the occupation. After a few hours of waiting, debate, and nervous conversations within the occupation the police finally made their first move. Marching down the street, adorned with helmets and batons, the police escorted a line of Department of Public Works Vehicles. Standing between the occupiers and the living spaces that had been created since the occupations’ beginning, Department of Public Works workers were then forced to begin eradicating the space of any materials related to the occupation. The trucks were quickly filled with the same rapidity as the mood in the air began to intensify.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><a name='more'></a><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-839" height="266" src="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/barricades_sf_2.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="barricades_sf_2" width="400" />Almost spontaneously a large wooden pallet that the vehicles had not yet managed to collect was brought in front of one of the trucks. Immediately others began to follow bringing bodies and all material left behind in the encampment and surrounded the police and Department of Public Works vehicles. People grabbed anything they could find – garbage cans, street signs, cones and even the police’s own metal barricades to prevent the trucks from leaving as well as corner the police. While the police had tried to encircle and intimidate the occupation those there quickly used the opportunity to encircle and intimidate the police. As the SFPD closed in on the trucks standing off with what was now hundreds of people on market street and beautifully constructed barricades, they began to make way for the vehicles to leave. This created a series of small scuffles. Eventually the vehicles left and the barricades stood proudly on market street between the starry twilight of 230am and the confused fright of the SFPD.<br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-840" height="267" src="http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/barricades_sf_3.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="barricades_sf_3" width="400" />The night was an incredibly powerful reflection of not only what is possible but the emergent potential of the Occupy movement. After the police announced that the occupation was going to be raided the occupiers began to decide what to do. The conversation was disparate, timid and unstable. This was directly caused by a few dominant voices controlling a decision making process in a situation that needed immediate attention. As the police came in this timidity, instability and disparity disappeared as all collectively participated in activity that reflected the needs of the immediate situation. No longer was the conversation dominated, but all voices flourished in the streets. People also held together and refused to be the targets of police violence. Instead people collectively resisted the attacks by the police by directly interfering with their ability to function as police by constructing barricades. Their antagonism towards the police was a direct reflection of the immediate goal of responding to a police raid. This act of self-defense was also an offensive direct action and strengthened both the solidarity amongst the participants and the potential for antagonistic expansion.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If these occupations are to both survive and continue they must be protected from the police by any means necessary.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.occupysf.com/blog/14-from-the-camp/20-sfpd-ordered-to-steal-from-the-poor-hungry-and-homeless" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;">Read the Statement from Occupy SF regarding the attempted police eviction last night</span></a></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As the barricades multiply almost everywhere, though within a limited perimeter, the security forces receive reinforcements from units that had until then been positioned outside the Latin Quarter and close down the area, which with each passing minute takes on an insurrectional air</em>. - <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Le Monde</em>, May 12-13, 1968</div>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-36562141653075975012011-10-06T21:49:00.000-07:002011-10-07T09:04:47.882-07:00ANARCHY IN ATHENS: art show at subrosa<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Stories, analysis, and a slideshow about anarchism in the birthplace of democracy<br />
at</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">6 pm SUBROSA 703 Pacific Ave</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWvyyrgnqg2sISKy32yKO2PxExwm29Y4lxW9a7NbvA7KKo3ecPCXPLQOPX7fDK9sXMzT1fzJ1ULVEksyja8rEs98S-zz87qSnkmzx3nWeqQDJFRybk9-GWnOgEKCW9NLXtuKvBB019zPXG/s1600/-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWvyyrgnqg2sISKy32yKO2PxExwm29Y4lxW9a7NbvA7KKo3ecPCXPLQOPX7fDK9sXMzT1fzJ1ULVEksyja8rEs98S-zz87qSnkmzx3nWeqQDJFRybk9-GWnOgEKCW9NLXtuKvBB019zPXG/s320/-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
<br />
<br />
Greece is in the midst of a major social upheaval at the hands of ordinary<br />
people. The economic crisis and rising social tensions are leading to an<br />
explosive situation, with anarchists and other radicals at the forefront.<br />
One anarchist and photographer from Santa Cruz spent a month in the<br />
anarchist neighborhood of Athens called Exarchia. Come hear about his<br />
experience with Greece's failing economy, squatted community parks, riots<br />
against capitalism, university occupations, the general assembly model,<br />
and much more about anarchist struggle in Athens.<br />
</span>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-43694308522638289212011-10-03T22:59:00.000-07:002011-10-03T23:01:47.392-07:0010/8: Solidarity Demonstration with Hunger Strike<b>Louden Nelson Park </b><br />
<b>Saturday, 10/8 @ 6:30pm</b><br />
<b>Bring Noisemakers</b><br />
<br />
from <a href="http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/03/18692075.php?show_comments=1#18692083">indybay.org</a>:<br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4Jh30IJWmDysgMhcKBMOyIVVCHvYR2QVCi8UWmAmx-8P26Kf3zNRXxa4w2lz3PNAIjOocGMqb-fYpacLeMMN2NJgAlvUKtJm-3qdwEY2In4qE_h8kpf6jV2J77jncfxZzl94BoRUVXsd/s1600/shu+demo+1up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4Jh30IJWmDysgMhcKBMOyIVVCHvYR2QVCi8UWmAmx-8P26Kf3zNRXxa4w2lz3PNAIjOocGMqb-fYpacLeMMN2NJgAlvUKtJm-3qdwEY2In4qE_h8kpf6jV2J77jncfxZzl94BoRUVXsd/s400/shu+demo+1up.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>12,000 prisoners are on hunger strike across the state of California in resistance to conditions in Special Housing Units (SHU). <br />
<br />
The prisoner's demands are simple: <br />
1. End Administration Abuse & Group Punishment <br />
2. Abolish the Debriefing Policy & Modify Gang Status Criteria <br />
3. End Long Term Solitary Confinement <br />
4. Provide Adequate and Nutritious Food <br />
5. Expand and Provide Constructive Programming & Privileges <br />
<br />
After a march through town to distribute information, we will have a noisy demonstration at the county jail to let the inmates hear that they are not alone. <br />
<br />
Stand in solidarity with prisoners everywhere. Amplify their voices in the streets where we live. </blockquote>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-23588208115639113422011-10-03T20:26:00.000-07:002011-10-03T23:03:17.360-07:00Hunger Strike Continues While Prisons "Realign"Two lines running parallel here: a hunger strike in the highest security units in California prison <a href="http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/prisoner-hunger-strike-grows-to-nearly-12000/">reaches over 12,000 prisoners</a> while <a href="http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_18973356">state realignment pushes triple-non</a> (non-violent, non-sexual, non-serious) prisoners into control programs outside the prison walls. As prisons themselves are increasingly brutal and isolating, society generally becomes more prison-like.<br />
<br />
The five core demands of the hunger strikers: <br />
<br />
1. End Administration Abuse & Group Punishment <br />
2. Abolish the Debriefing Policy & Modify Gang Status Criteria <br />
3. End Long Term Solitary Confinement <br />
4. Provide Adequate and Nutritious Food <br />
5. Expand and Provide Constructive Programming & Privileges<br />
<br />
Anarchists on the outside, though, have only one demand to articulate: the total destruction of prison infrastructure, both social and physical.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL3IZnNay8TwcEV4oo_N9EVE3Pltu2dFjmADudx5v24R_wwrNoL27in0UnO7jwXSNEvNYnl87N4Zfm9KMoNTcjzpVGTXu7HH_XFqR4gcKe7BuJ7jqgumlxC60dQ2mGdgNO2RaUkgsHWeGe/s1600/santa+cruz+county+jail+loaf.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL3IZnNay8TwcEV4oo_N9EVE3Pltu2dFjmADudx5v24R_wwrNoL27in0UnO7jwXSNEvNYnl87N4Zfm9KMoNTcjzpVGTXu7HH_XFqR4gcKe7BuJ7jqgumlxC60dQ2mGdgNO2RaUkgsHWeGe/s320/santa+cruz+county+jail+loaf.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"<a href="http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/rss/ci_16886434">Disciplinary diet loaf</a>" served at Santa Cruz County Jail to unruly inmates.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366590728207729610.post-3691049586443261182011-09-27T21:43:00.000-07:002011-09-27T21:45:38.306-07:00Communiques from 9/22 at Tolman Hall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgupmsv93CXdQFrZtQBoo_AvXU-ySHzcQj4CFndtl80K39wXMoGvMGnn9algrrJIJFVX7RPhgFQ5GZ-YztFSQqjD_FpdVQ8xJfBZSMq7CVPpDRXQlS21WRgT7h66nT0UEpoZPDlpVH6YTw2/s1600/clampy+clams+and+occupying+octopi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgupmsv93CXdQFrZtQBoo_AvXU-ySHzcQj4CFndtl80K39wXMoGvMGnn9algrrJIJFVX7RPhgFQ5GZ-YztFSQqjD_FpdVQ8xJfBZSMq7CVPpDRXQlS21WRgT7h66nT0UEpoZPDlpVH6YTw2/s200/clampy+clams+and+occupying+octopi.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>The day of action at UC Berkeley last Thursday may have been a failed occupation, a successful riot, or just another event in a laundry list of learning experiences. Whatever we choose to call it, the day seems to have filled people with a sense of power and a hunger for more, which are both beautiful things.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0pRzYZhUdW-S0l74O8E3lIzA9v2mtQWhMU_yZJTFwW5J5ttvUug0eVrWxhu0VwlaNrmXmiRApRA8c7ccna2pAFtQhugZa3cRn50M2gfM5IDkGRKjp7jW_LKGd5uhUP5pdjgkNtdKGi_C/s1600/ucb-resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0pRzYZhUdW-S0l74O8E3lIzA9v2mtQWhMU_yZJTFwW5J5ttvUug0eVrWxhu0VwlaNrmXmiRApRA8c7ccna2pAFtQhugZa3cRn50M2gfM5IDkGRKjp7jW_LKGd5uhUP5pdjgkNtdKGi_C/s320/ucb-resized.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Book Bloc in full effect. Wut?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Here's a communique from some comrades (originally posted to <a href="http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/25/18691296.php">indybay</a>):<br />
<blockquote><br />
<a name='more'></a>As with the inaugural event of the California occupation movement two years ago – when students barricaded themselves inside the Graduate Student Commons at UC Santa Cruz – the occupation of Tolman Hall was both an act of material expropriation (or attempted expropriation) and an act of communication, meant to signal, to warn, to threaten and raise the alarm. . . It was both a declaration of resumed hostilities against the university and a form of communication with comrades here and elsewhere, both inside and outside the university. It was a warning directed at the small clique of arrogant, befuddled bureaucrats who run the university, as well as their armed thugs. But also a message sent to our comrades. For our comrades, the occupation was meant to communicate first and foremost a kind of excitement: <i> Let's do this! Let's occupy everything! </i> But behind the initial thrill it should communicate, also, a few critical lessons: <br />
<br />
1)The first lesson is as clear as a geometric proof: Violence works. As with the threat of a two thousand person riot which freed the Wheeler occupiers on Nov. 20, defensive violence works particularly well. Faced with a group of largely passive occupiers, a group which seemed in no way prepared to resist a dispersal order, the police decided to enjoy their own capacity for arbitrary displays of power and bar the doors without giving any verbal warning. The occupiers, correctly, rushed the doors and tried to get out, pushing the cops out of the way and dearresting those whom the police grabbed. With over half of the crowd outside, the police finally secured the doors, throwing one of the last people to try and flee to the floor, bloodying his face and nearly dislocating his shoulder. <i>They had started a riot</i>. Outside, fewer than five officers faced off against a crowd of 30 or more in total darkness. Someone threw a metal chair at the cops. Others threw chunks of concrete and traffic cones. They chanted “Pigs just fucking try it. There's gonna be a fucking riot.” The cops were forced back into the building, at which point it seemed like only a matter of time before the crowd tore down some fencing and smashed open the doors (someone had already smashed one door). Realizing the volatility of the situation, the cops released the detainees on the inside. QED: violence works. Violence, in this case, is one of the most intense forms of solidarity. Only because of the mystification that surrounds the police, can this appear as anything other than an act of mutual aid. When a group of thugs kidnaps your friends and starts beating them, you fight back. This is common sense. <br />
<br />
2)Second lesson: the police are the enemy. They cannot be convinced, cajoled, manipulated. They have been given orders to treat every demonstration as a criminal matter, an act of burglary and vandalism. The administration has indicated in explicit terms that only the police will deal with such situations. There will be no discussion, no phone calls or visits from the Deans. It does not matter if we have the support of the inhabitants of the building. Police are the proxy owners of the campus; they will go in and militarize occupations immediately. Unlike other places where the police might wait outside for hours or days or weeks until given orders to attack an occupation, police at Berkeley act on their own initiative, autonomously, attempting to take control of a space even before they contact their superiors. The image of officers rushing into the crowd as if they were running backs pushing through defensive line would be absurd elsewhere, but here it is par for the course. This makes the “open occupation” – the occupation which attempts to claim space but allow for easy circulation in and out, creating a functioning autonomous space in which all kinds of activities take place – rather difficult. It is pretty obvious at this point: we cannot be free with cops in the room. There is no struggle against fees and debt, no struggle against austerity that is not, at the same time, a struggle against the cops. We will have to find ways to physically prevent the entry of police into our occupations, unless they are politically prevented from doing so. This is our message to the administration: <i> restrain your attack dogs or expect more riots. </i> <br />
<br />
3)A final lesson. This occupation failed for many reasons – an inability to keep police out of the building, a lack of “planning for success” (ie, having clear ideas about what we wanted to do once we were inside). All of this meant, ultimately, that there were too few people to survive the first night without courting arrest. Still, as brief and disorganized as it was, the number of people entirely new to protest and occupation was incredibly encouraging. These new folks, of course, displayed a naivete that is no doubt frustrating – wondering, for instance, why the presence of cops in the building was even an issue (they learned the answer quite quickly). But instead of engaging them, and attempting to explain what was happening, instead of attempting to help them understand the practice they were engaged in, many comrades simply left them alone, preferring to congregrate with the likeminded. This is a real weakness, one we note in ourselves. It evidences a lack of patience, and a desire to avoid uncomfortable experiences that strikes us as rather prevalent in the Bay Area milieu (and prevalent, we note, in our own behavior). Our contempt for those who stand in our way, and who do so repeatedly, is good and important. But it seems we resort to contempt even when confronted with people who oppose us not out of some deep-seated ideological conviction but out of sheer lack of experience. Let's be clear: insurrection will not occur solely as the result of intentional action by a group of already committed radicals, a group of people who already display the “correct” thoughts and actions. It will occur as the result of transformative experiences – experiences that always involve new forms of knowledge and politicial discourse – and which drive people to do things they never imagined doing before. In short, we need to get better at talking. We're pretty good at fighting. We're pretty good at writing. We're pretty good at taking care of each other. But we're not so good at speaking publicly, it seems, under pressure, at the right moment. As a friend noted to us afterwards, perhaps this is because we hate leaders and fear becoming them, fear the banal acts of persuasion and oratory upon which the left thrives, and despise those who try to dominate others through such proselytizing. But saying what you think is not necessarily domination. Sometimes it's an act of friendship. </blockquote><br />
From <a href="http://gazuedro.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/a-small-critique-on-rhetoric-notes-on-the-tolman-occupation/">Gazuedro</a>, here's a response to the communique above: <br />
<blockquote>Perhaps it’s just rhetorical poisoning that my mind has suffered through the years by the media and the movement police, but it seems reckless to say, carte blanche, that “violence works.” This is not an ethical criticism of the argument, but rather a concern for the lack of clarity portrayed by this rather brief statement. I would take it, the “critical lesson” is that given the imminent political force of the crowd outside, and the aggressiveness of the police, the use of violent force to circumvent further atrociousness from the police was effective, worth the risk, and justified. Perhaps more importantly, that as a tactic, it’s easily justifiable to a community critical of police brutality against students who were merely demonstrating, and was thus something that might help bring a community together. I bring this up only to say that this argument isn’t given a fair chance by the brevity of the original statement (i.e. violence works) or by the dramatic and defiance-infused description of events that took place. In short, does all “violence work?” No of course not, it depends on the situation. It’s clear that this statement is a reaction to the moral condemnation of what happened, but as you realize, the problem with moral condemnation is its outright ignorance of how nuanced the issue is; and how general sweeping statements (i.e. moralisms) are aggravating excuses for failing to think critically. The approach of this argument falls under that same trap of being too general.<br />
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Similarly, stating “the police are the enemy,” seems a little extravagant. Certainly they often hold the role as the enemy, and are physically present to disable you from being effective. But the police are not the capitalists. The police are (massive) obstacles that must be dealt with. They are often the racist fuckers that shoot unarmed black men face down on the platform, but they are not the ones that solely perpetuate the system of oppression. If you’re purpose is to explain to the uninitiated that the police are not our friends, then you’re a folly of your own third lesson: failing to engage a diverse crowd the right way. An argument like this won’t reach folks. This kind of message, by far, is a lesson best learned through direct action: through the realization that your attempts to make the world better (and thus by extension communize) will be struck down with a baton every time if you fail to organize yourself to resist. This statement does help justify the event for those who were present, but it stops short of contextualizing the power structure thats at fault. It’s most certainly frustrating to have people constantly defend the police and absolve them of any wrongdoing, but the medium to change that won’t be in a brief communique.<br />
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I think generally, insurrectionary rhetoric like this overuses hyperbolic language and exaggeration. It usually comes off as grating rather than evocative of romantic adventurism and adrenaline-infused, humbled righteousness. I really appreciate the perspective and analysis though — for which y’all should be much lauded.</blockquote>surfcityrevolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12383430336623650230noreply@blogger.com1