Police provocateurs (or possibly fascists of the Golden Dawn/Χρυσή Αυγή) line up alongside riot police in Hania, Crete, to threaten those protesting against the state, police brutality and the senseless slaying one year ago of fifteen year old Alexis Grigoropoulos.

Anyone getting a sense of déjà vu..?

(Tip o’ the titfer: TeacherDude)

This video from today’s protests in Iran (the exact location is unconfirmed), posted on Facebook, shows hundreds of protesters chanting, ” Basiji! How much money do you get to wield that baton?”

A young participant who witnessed and participated in the protests today at Tehran University and Amir Kabir University noted the increase use of force by the Basij. “Normally, the riot police hit people to break up groups from forming,” he said, but today, the Basij were indiscriminate in their use of force, apparently hitting any and everyone in sight.

Society is, and always has been, at the mercy of its leaders. Though rebellions, riots, and revolutions have occurred throughout history, there is no denying the amount of control that is held by those in government positions. The thought of having intelligent, decisive, and respectable leaders at the head of societal responsibility has been, and should be, a comfort to basic citizens who have simply set out to live their lives. However, when circumstances change and become more dire, will those decisions made, in people’s “best interest,” always be best? The idea of nonconformity as a felony seems ridiculous in this day and age, but how close is the world to handing over even the simplest of freedoms in order to retain the comforts that society has become accustom to. What circumstances could force the world to take such a turn for the worst? Feelings such as fear and hopelessness demonstrate the possibilities of such circumstances. Although fictional, media works such as “Children of Men,” “V for Vendetta,” and “’Repent Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” a short story by Harlan Ellison, demonstrate how such societal qualities can lead to tyrannical submission.

Fear is a very powerful emotion. It can be, in fact, one of the most powerful emotions; pushing a man to do irresponsible, reckless, and even dangerous things. Harlan Ellison’s “’Repent Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” is  a story that paints the picture of fear leading mankind into an abyss under the rule of one person whose character is strong than the rest. The ticktockman holds the power to control the lifespan of society based upon their punctuality throughout life. The fear this power instills in people to follow schedules is undeniable. “Somewhere nearby, he could hear the metronomic left-right-left of the 2:47 PM shift, entering the Timkin roller-bearing plant in their sneakers. A minute later, precisely, he heard the softer right-left-right of the 5:00 AM formation, going home,” (Ellison, 292). With the installation of fear in people’s hearts, society falls in line and conforms to the precise schedule set out for them. Another example, the film “V for Vendetta,” is a perfect example of a person’s use of fear in order to obtain leadership, control, and conformity from the population. With the skillful manipulation of a virus, leaked into the population then suddenly controlled with the promise of order and control, the people look to the leader (and in this case, the villain at the same time) as their hero and savior from an otherwise scary, unknown problem. As stated previously, these examples are merely fictional. Nevertheless, these stories exemplify, if not magnify, human nature under the presence of fear. This human condition is one of the characteristics that would will society to submit to any power to retain the possibility of order, stability, and safety in their lives; even if individuality may be the sacrifice.

The second theme that is noticeable is hopelessness. When people feel there is nothing left to fight with, or for, is another instance when they would hand over simple freedoms to regain comfort. The film “Children of Men” is a perfect example of such feelings of hopelessness. Mankind is facing the brink of extinction, as women have succumbed to the inability to reproduce. Beginning with the death of the world’s youngest man, the world that is demonstrated for the audience is a bleak one. Individuals pass by one another with sadness, fear, and even vague disinterest in the world around them. With no hope of continuing the generations that mankind had come to treasure, the people submitted to the ruling of border closure, the weeding out of immigrants, and quarantines of anyone deemed dangerous or viral to be around. Throughout the movie, the examples of violence, discrimination, and tyrannical power only proves humans desperation in the face of no hope for the future.

Although the world is not filled with such terrifying, dire circumstances that have backed mankind into a corner, continuing to follow leadership blindly without education, questioning, or resilience may someday lead society down a similar path. The previous examples are all works of science fiction, but it would be ignorance to say they do not speak themes of truth that are applicable to present day. Society may require leadership and government, but it does not have to be done blindly. Without education, faith and confidence, humans will fall victim to the consequences of fear and hopelessness, and everything that had been worked for will be lost in a new order.

Works Cited

Children of Men. Dir. Alfonso Cuaron. Perf. Clive Owen and Julianne Moore. Universal Pictures, 2006. DVD.

Ellison, Harlan. “”Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman”" Decades of science fiction. Lincolnwood, Ill: NTC Pub. Group, 1998. 290-300.           Print.

V for Vendetta. Dir. James McTeigue. Perf. Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. Silver Pictures, 2005. DVD.

Originally Posted Dec 31st 2007 via blog.myspace/daglovester

10.

Lifehouse ” Who We Are”

- Lifehouse, great band, but upon venturing into this album I really had no expectations. The album opens with “Disarray” and shows you this album is a different one for Lifehouse and also reminds you of how great Jason Wade’s raspy voice truly is. What follows are truly great songs such as “Broken” which is a simplistic song that gets it just right. “Easier to Be” is a song that shows just why this CD is so good, just basic melodies and lyrics that you can’t help but enjoy listening to; if any further proof is needed see the songs “Make Me Over” and “Mesmerized.”

9.

Timbaland “Shock Value”

- No matter how many times I play this album I can’t help but tapping my feet and turning the volume up a little louder. This is Hip-Hop; it’s so hard anymore to find feel-good rap albums that are truly classics. The combination of artists on this CD is spectacular, Justin Timberlake with Nelly Furtado are spectacular in “Give It To Me.” The song “Bounce” featuring Dr. Dre and Missy Elliot is simply amazing. “The Way I Are” is an incredible song that never loses its flavor even after the radio attempted to bastardize it. “Kill Yourself” is sadistically wonderful and probably one of my favorites. The OneRepublic song “Apologize” had a huge jumpstart on this album. The songs with the Hives and She Wants Revenge are very unique and really fun to listen to. I can’t help but loving the song with Fall Out Boy specially with a classy chorus like “wipe that smile off your f*cking face…”

8.

Jimmy Eat World “Chase This Light”

- I don’t even know where to start on this album…its fantastic. Its simply pure, enjoyable music that I am excited to hear every time I put the album on. I have always like J.E.W. and played “Bleed America” in high school till everyone around me wanted to kill me. Every song on this album is fantastic. The album as a whole has a great combination of a light punk sound with a pop-like influence. Songs like “Always Be” , “Feeling Lucky”, and “Here it Goes” are music just the way I like it. I was instantly drawn to the song ” Gotta be Somebody’s Blues”, its simply amazing and a good shift in tempo for the album. This album defiantly showed how mainstream rock can be done right and other artists should pay close attention.

7.

Miranda Lambert “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”

-If I were to ever question my reasoning for listening to country music (which I won’t ever)…this is the kind of album that would remind me why I do. I was not sure if she could follow up her last album “Kerosene”, which I will vouch as one of the best modern country albums, but this album passed with flying colors. This girl is epic country at its true best; catchy songs with a little sass and soul. Miranda’s voice is such a joy listen to and she really uses it to portray a certain feeling to each of her songs. Songs on this album like “Famous in a Small Town” are why I will forever enjoy the country genre, simply incredible. “Gunpowder and Lead” is hilarious and is classic country. My Favorite track is probably “Desperation”, which is lyrically and musically as good as it gets. This is the only country album on my list and really deserves it, fantastic.

6.

The Fratellis “Costello Music”

-Its not often you will here music like this anymore sadly…very refreshing album. The Fratellis garage-band and indie styling is really enjoyable to listen to. From the bands very popular “Flathead”, featured on an Apple commercial, to some very different songs like “Ol Black n’ Blue Eyes”….the Fratellis debut album is outstanding. I feel that this band could be very big and really deserves more public attention. Songs like “Whistle for The Choir” and “Creepin up the Backstairs” are some of the better songs I have heard in awhile. Great Album, great band, very interested to hear more in next few years.

5.

Radiohead “In Rainbows”

-I originally had this album a lot higher on this list…but it was brought down to my dismay. This album may sit at number five….but it’s truly one of the better albums in years. Every song takes you on a different trip through musical and lyrical perfection that only Radiohead can bring. The album progresses from seemingly upbeat songs like “Bodysnatchers”, arguably one of my more favorites on the album, to truly wonderfully harmonious songs like “All I need” and “House of Cards”; the latter two probably being some of my favorite songs in the last several years. Album may be a little different for some of the diehard Radiohead fans, but I think its truly amazing……listen to “Jigsaw Falling into Place” kids…trust me.

4.

Paramore “Riot!”

-I bet that not many of you were expecting this one; I sure wasn’t. So why is this album number 4….um…. its pop/punk rock done so well that I was found speechless after listening to it. Not many bands that attempts an album like this have such a perfect blend of musical composition, every guitar solo…every change in the drums…every lyrical progression is dead on…I am not joking… its perfect. Add to that lyrics that simply are drilled into your head and a voice like Hayley Williams, who I thought had a simple voice until a song like ” When it Rains” or ” We are Broken” came on, and you get something that is simply great. If you can’t tell already, I really took a liking to this album…I simply can’t stop playing it. With so many women leading rock bands recently, it’s so refreshing to see one that really does it right. Congratulations Paramore and congratulations world for popular music that is actually good.

3.

Maylene and the Sons of Disaster “II”

- If there is some sort of metal or rock god out there…the messiah has come to save us. This album has so much power, so much aggression, so much ….well just plain “in-your-face” rock. I imagine that if guitars could sleep, they would dream of being played like they were on this album. Right from the start with “Memories of the Grove”, Maylene hits you hard and doesn’t stop until the last track is over. This album makes you want to bang your head, drive faster, and find someone to punch……its fantastically refreshing. I am not the dearest fan of harder rock and usually only take it in small doses, not with this one. This is southern rock at its finest….even on softer songs like the last two on the album, this band’s talent shines. Buy this album….buy it … put it in and turn the volume to 11.

2.

Ryan Adams “Easy Tiger”

-Welcome everyone to good music down to a science. Upon first getting into Ryan Adams, I felt as if I was turning into my father…Ryan Adams has a similar sound to country influenced music of the 70’s with a very unique twist added in occasionally. I now find myself consumed by this album; it literally has changed my view on all music. This album is filled with pure songs like “Goodnight Rose”, “Everybody Knows”, The Sun Also Sets” , and so many others that are such enjoyably melodies to listen to. Ryan Adams’ voice combined with old fashioned lyrics make this album a true classic and one that I can’t wait to hear every time I play it. Everyone that respects real music should have this album and also the “Follow the Lights” album with the Cardinals.

1.

Josh Ritter “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter”

I am going to quickly take a moment and pause so that you may go purchase and listen to this album…literally…do it now………ok….. u got it?…..goood….. I am not sure really how to describe this album….so I’ll give an example…it’s kind of like if our world was to be adducted by aliens who wanted some proof that the human existence was worth sparing…you would give them this CD; and we would be saved. It’s truly a stunningly beautiful collection of songs that have certain hints of Elton John at times mixed with a little country, some blues, and even a little Keith Green occasionally. You don’t hear songs of this type much in the last several decades. This album at first found its way in the middle of the list, but after listening to it more and more, I realized that she was the one. So there it is, my top album of the year….many will disagree…but then again…..most people are wrong so….

]]> http://lyrpstuff.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/last-ones-up/ Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:36:36 +0000 lyrpstuff http://lyrpstuff.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/last-ones-up/

The last journal requiered for the class is fianlly here. It’s about music, so enjoy!

Baby, I think i’ve figured you out.

PARAMORE v. THE GAME & TRAVIS BARKER
“Misery Buisness” & “Dope Boys”
http://fairtilizer.com/track/67257

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T_W_♥_O_H_A

Hopeline

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-frail.limb.purity

By Aquil Akhter

A picture is worth a thousand words that is the motto of photojournalist, a photojournalist attempts to produce straight, truthful and realistic photography of a particular subject, most frequently pictures of people.

According to Mark M. Hancock, a professional photojournalist, “is a visual reporter of facts. The public places trust in its reporters to tell the truth. The same trust is extended to photojournalists as visual reporters.This responsibility is paramount to a photojournalist. At all times, we have many thousands of people seeing through our eyes and expecting to see the truth. Most people immediately understand an image.”

Photojournalists are doing really a great job over the world for humanity, they are working for peace, for human rights, for raising humanity problems and issues, for pointing out the people living below the bottom line of poverty, for raising awareness about educational and child labor issues and much more… Our today’s post is about Inspirational Documentary and Photojournalism Photos. In this post we showcase 35 powerful, touching and emotional photos that do not just display state of affairs, but also tell a story.

We express sincere appreciation of the hard work of all photojournalists who are working for humanity, sometimes risking their life for the sake of their duties and responsibilities. This article is a tribute to all of them and their accomplishments and works.

Photojournalism & Documentary Photos

Man mutilated Rwanda

World Press Photo of the Year: 1994 James Nachtwey, USA, Magnum Photos for Time. Rwanda, June 1994. Hutu man mutilated by the Hutu ‘Interahamwe’ militia, who suspected him of sympathizing with the Tutsi rebels. About the image Nachtwey says his specialty is dealing with ground level realities with a human dimension. He feels that people need photography to help them understand what’s going on in the world, and believes that pictures can have a great influence on shaping public opinion and mobilizing protest.

Losing

In this picture, Lurlena cries in the back of the family car after losing the contest for Carnival Princess at her school. She spent the day getting ready, with a new white dress and new shoes. The winner was decided based on whose parents bought the most tickets, and Lurlena’s family could only afford eight dollars worth.

Hard Work in Hong Kong

tbaur

Sally Mann
This photo, titled Candy Cigarette, not just displays something, it tells a story. It is both emotional and beautiful. This is what the originality of black-and-white-photography is all about.

Pilgrim
Tibetans believe, once in their life, a pilgrimage to Lhasa is of exalted purpose and moral significance. Therefore, we see people like this, especially in spring and autumn, on their journey of faith, sometimes thousands of miles long, kowtowing every few steps.

Arirang Mass Games
Even during the Arirang Mass Games in North Korea, the ultimate expression of the state ideology, an individual can still sometimes stand out from the crowd and break free of the collective. If only just for a moment. (Photo and caption by Brendyn Zachary)

Iguazu falls in Brazil
“On my second day visiting the astounding Iguazu falls on the Brazilian side I was forced to change to my telephoto lens as my wide angle had been damaged by the water vapour. In had rained solid for 10 days prior to my arrival and so the falls were at their most spectacular. Standing on the elevated viewing platform I was able to shoot this school group who stood transfixed, emphasizing the incredible size of the falls. (Photo and caption by Ian Kelsall)”

Malawian boy running after 4×4
“I took the photo while on my one-month stint in Malawi Africa where I mainly worked in orphan day-care centres, also visiting Mulanji Hospital. The photo was taken from the Mulanji Hospital four-wheel-drive ambulance, travelling on the extremely rough roads from village to village, visiting the sick who were unable to reach the hospital.” Photo taken by Cameron Herweynen.

Sewing Machine

A damaged sewing machine after the cyclone hit, Amtali, Patuakhali, Bangladesh 19 November 2007. EPA/ABIR ABDULLAH

Shelter

Child takes shelter with his mother before the cyclone hit. Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

New Year’s Eve, St. Jacques, Perpignan, 2006

This picture of a five year-old gypsy boy was taken on New Year’s Eve 2006 in the gypsy community of St. Jacques, Perpignan, Southern France. For Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the men would gather in the Café in their best suits to drink and dance while their wives would prepare dinner at home. It is quite common in St. Jacques for little boys to smoke.

Riot in the city

Riot in Toulouse, France (March 25th, 2007) after the campaign of a politician.

Jump!

Pain and Beauty

Bhopal Disaster
This photograph from December 4, 1984 shows victims who lost their sight in the Bhopal poison gas tragedy as they sit outside the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, India.

From the series “Children of Black Dust”, Dhaka, Bangladesh

A woman holds her child, blackened by carbon dust. His nose bleeds due to infections caused by exposure to dust and pollution during play in the workshop in Korar Ghat by on the outskirts of Dhaka. Many women bring their children along so they can look after them while working.

New York City

USA. New York City. September 15, 2001. Signing a memorial in Union Square.

Hhaing The Yu

Hhaing The Yu, 29, holds his face in his hand as rain falls on the decimated remains of his home in the Swhe Pyi Tha township, near Myanmar’s capital of Yangon (Rangoon), on Sunday, May 11th, 2008. Cyclone Nargis struck southern Myanmar a week ago leaving millions homeless and has claimed up to 100,000 lives.

Culture

Sandra Gil

A long line of visitors forms in front of Sandra Gil outside the Krome Detention Center in Miami where her husband, Oscar Gonzalez, is being held. On the morning of November 8, Immigration and Customs Enforecment (ICE) officers arrested the family at their home. They detained Gonzalez and released Gil with her son, American born Joshua Gonzalez, 5, with orders to leave for Colombia within weeks, The family was denied asylum after seven years living and working legally in teh country.

Memories

Sitting alone on a little place surrounded by cars traffic. Self-isolation. Waiting for nothing. He talked to me for about an hour. Of a lost life. An ordinary life like mine, like many others. And now…

Tap-Tap

Tap-tap buses waiting to get full and depart for their regular route in the downtown of Port-au-Prince.

Swiss pilot Yves Rossy

Swiss pilot Yves Rossy, the world’s first man to fly with a jet-powered fixed-wing apparatus strapped to his back, flies during his first official demonstration, on May 14, 2008 above Bex, Switzerland. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

María A.C. (ernieland)

Unknown

Gold Price

In Wall street, a man holds a placard of ” We Buy Gold”, as gold price has increased due to the current financial crisis or economic melt-down.

New York, Oct 13 2008.

Child Labor In Egypt

Construction worker, Soweto Township

Final construction at the Maponya mall in Piville township, Soweto. The 650 million Rand mall is one of the largest shopping centers in South Africa, and its opening is a sign of the commercial awakening of Soweto.

Child Labor. Bangladesh

Child labor is not a new issue in Bangladesh as children here remain one of the most vulnerable groups living under threats of hunger, illiteracy, displacement, exploitation, trafficking, physical and mental abuse. Although the issue of child labor has always been discussed, there is hardly any remarkable progress even in terms of mitigation. 17.5 percent of children aged 5-15 are engaged in economic activities. Many of these children are engaged in various hazardous occupations in factories.

Aftermath of Earthquake in Balakot, Pakistan. 2005

This image was taken about one month after the earthquake in Pakistan. People were still coming down from the mountains trying to find shelter and were suffering from trauma. Winter was on the way and the need for shelter was urgent. This father with his child had been collecting food. I spent ten days in Balakot documenting the situation after the quake. People were still digging for their family members.

Seen in Ludwigsburg, Germany

Huge Wave

Kerby Brown rides a huge wave in an undisclosed location southwest of Western Australia July 6, 2008, in this picture released November 7, 2008 by the Oakley-Surfing Life Big Wave Awards in Sydney. Picture taken July 6. (REUTERS/Andrew Buckley)

The Head of a Male Student

The head of a male student, still alive, trapped under the debris is pictured at the scene of the church school that collapsed on the outskirts of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, November 7, 2008. At least 30 people were killed when the three-story La Promesse school building collapsed while class was in session and some of the walls and debris crushed neighboring homes in the Nerettes community near Port-au-Prince. (REUTERS/Joseph Guyler Delva)

Starving Boy and Missionary

Wells felt indignant that the same publication that sat on his picture for five months without publishing it, while people were dying, entered it into a competition. He was embarrassed to win as he never entered the competition himself, and was against winning prizes with pictures of people starving to death. (World Press Photo of the Year: 1980 Mike Wells, United Kingdom. Karamoja district, Uganda, April 1980).

Afghan Girl

And of course the afghan girl, picture shot by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry. Sharbat Gula was one of the students in an informal school within the refugee camp; McCurry, rarely given the opportunity to photograph Afghan women, seized the opportunity and captured her image. She was approximately 12 years old at the time. She made it on the cover of National Geographic next year, and her identity was discovered in 1992.

Sichuan Earthquake

A man is crying while he flips through a family album he found in the rubbles of his old house.

Credits & Resources

Verve Photo – A New Breed of Documentary Photographers

Magnum Photos

Boston

World Press Photo

The Best of Photojournalism (BOP)

Jan Sochor Photography

Lightstalkers

Abir Abdullah

Chad Stevens

Shehzad Noorani

Rene Burri

Paul Fusco

Susan Meiselas

Abbas

Briansokol

Brentstirton

David Snyder

Danny Ghitis

Q. Sakamaki

Mat Moyer

Edward van Herk

Heather McClintock

Maciej Dakowicz was

GMB Akash

John Loomis

Lucia Nimcova

Pieter Ten Hoopen

Hatschiputh

Noesunjoc

Mads Nissen

Allianz Knowledge

San Francisco Sentinel

Keith Harris

Kevin Carter

Karl Schuler

Today is the first anniversary of the killing of fifteen year old Greek boy Alexandros Grigoropoulos at the hands of the police. A series of protests are planned. It’s likely to get very hairy over in Hellas in December.

If you are on Twitter the hashtag #griots seems to be back in use. If you are not, here’s some useful online resources:

• After The Greek Riots (activist eyewitness blog in English, French, German, Spanish, Turkish, Russian & Polish)
• Amor Y Resistencia (activist blog based in the Americas, but reported on Greece a lot last December, and might do so again)
• ClandestinEnglish (English language blog, based in Thessaloniki)
• Garizo (Greek news aggregator blog, with some posts translated into English)
• GiaNt (Greek language blog, good for links and pictures)
• Greek Solidarity Map (mapping demonstrations & occupations across Greece and around the world; seems to have been inactive since last December but might be revived)
• Katalipsis Xolis Theatrou (Greek language blog from those who occupied the Theatre School in Salonika)
• LibCom (UK anti-authoritarian site with updates from Greece)
• Social War In Greece (English language activist blog, translates some of the material coming out; inactive since July but might come back)
• Teacher Dude’s Grill & BBQ (British teacher & frontline citizen journalist in Thessaloniki)
• WOMBLES (UK-based anti-authoritarian newswire)

Updated: 6/12/09 @ 2329 GM

I reached the city just before dawn, and it lit up the sky like a miniature sun. It glowed an unnatural orange as flames devoured its homes, its chapels and its markets. Screams erupted from within its walls as what was left of the watch desperately tried to create some semblance of order. Troops were stationed on the front gate, cutting anyone down who tried to flee. The city, Antaros, Jewel of the Seven Rivers and pride of the Reiden Empire had become a death-trap, a blazing inferno from which there was no escape.

I withdrew my bow and watched, tears plastering my face and my heart pounding with a mad desire for vengeance, as the soldiers slaughtered a young Antarian couple as they tried to escape the destruction of their home. I notched an arrow onto the string and pulled it taut, aiming at the soldier closest to me who seemed like the sergeant in charge of the group. I released the string, arrow whistling unheard through the pre-dawn air until it found the soft fleshy target of the soldier’s neck. The other soldiers didn’t notice their leader was dead until his body fell to the ground, but by then I’d already loaded and fired another three arrows and they quickly joined him.

I emerged from the shrubbery that ringed the city and ran to the now undefended gate. The doors were slightly ajar, wide enough for me to fit, and I wormed my way in and found myself in the market district. I’d hardly ever visited the area as a child, my mother doing the shopping and I instead entertaining myself in the gardens and ruins of the old city. But I remembered this place well enough to know that to my left was where Donnell the smithy had his shop, across the road from a long row of low-lying buildings that housed the tailor, the solicitor and the tavern on the corner, amongst other things. It was a narrow road that led up and away from the market to the town centre, and to my right was the opening where travelling merchants would set up their stalls to sell their wares. On better days the market would be teeming with bodies as people bumped into one another searching for basic goods or weapons. Today, almost all the buildings were on fire, and people were fighting in the streets.

But they weren’t just normal citizens brawling; the King’s Capes were fighting with the civilian populace, and even the occasional town guard. It was a bloodbath moreso than an even fight as the skill and strength of the Capes saw them simply wade through the desperate punches and kicks of most of the populace. But for every one of the Capes that dotted the market quarter, there were at least five civilians savagely throwing themselves at the enigmatic soldiers, and they wore many of them down through sheer weight of numbers. Against the town guard the fight was a bit more even, though they still needed at least two or three to be any real threat.

Wal-mart greeters learn the hard way that when their break is over, their break is over!

Those fellows are weird anyway.

What is happening in the picture? Tell us in the Comments

Picture by: dunno source Caption by: lyds1012 via Advanced Lol Builder

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Rock and roll baby, don’t you know that we’re all alone now, I need something to sing about.

Paramore – Crushcrushcrush

Coming out of High School, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Visions of traveling the world floated through my mind. Those were quickly followed by dollar signs that I didn’t have. An opportunity presented itself north of Toronto, ON. Here, I worked as part of the Property Management Team. We maintained the property, cut trees, hacked through the forest making new trails, and built a bridge. That week of experience made me a man. I cried a lot, but it made me a man. That was almost 10 years ago. That bridge is still standing.

Similar to building bridges, Student Leadership teams are a constant building project with 3 distinctive needs.

Needs Reinforcement

Those bridges that we built were built to last. We built them with the idea that we won’t have to rebuild them again. Anchors, walls, nails, screws and the odd mixture of cement have proven, to this day, that we did our job – and we did it well. Student Leaders need the constant and consistent reinforcement in order for the seed that has been planted to stick. No matter what may come their way.

Needs Diversion

I didn’t believe it when I heard it. It was only when I saw it that I was taken back by the reality of the situation. Seeing a huge slab of ice rolling down the river, taking down everything in its path, is a scary thing. In order to protect our bridge, we built diversion walls to break apart the slabs before they got to the bridge. We must protect and divert all attacks against our student leaders. Leadership is tough enough already. Let us teach our students how to love, forgive and love some more, before the battle begins.

Needs Maintenance

My favorite thing to do while I was up there was to spend the day painting the bridge. There’s nothing like taking a day, listening to the babbling brook, and painting a bridge. Strangely enough, it’s quite relaxing. However, the second time I had to do that, it wasn’t that enjoyable. Student Leaders, no matter how enjoyable it may or may not be, need that constant maintenance. It comes down to accountability, love, prayer, and relationship.

How is your bridge doing today?

Ten years ago today, I was thirteen years old and sitting with my grandpa who was bed ridden with parkinson’s disease.  An avid news fan, the television was turned to the 24 hour station that was specific for the pacific northwest region.  On the screen, there was a scene that I had never witnessed before.  Seattle was out of control. 

My WWII veteran grandfather didn’t say much that night.  One of my memories is that while I was watching the tear gas fly and the protestors scurry, he asked me to retreive some apples from the kitchen so I could “share them with the boys.”  It was obvious that he was having one of his many war flashbacks.  I sliced him an apple and he refused to eat any until everyone else had eaten theirs.

I soon returned to the recliner next to his bed and began to eat the apples he had my slice.  Sitting there for over an hour and a half I got the courage to ask a question.  As his frail body shook uncontrollably I asked him “what do you think of this?” Referencing the event that was beyond the comprehension of my 13 year old mind.  Without missing a beat my grandpa responded with phrase that, next to my grandmother, was his most valued companion; ”It’s a waste of time.”

Ten years later, I am amazed at how much that night has changed my life.

Listen to Democracy Now’s commemorative tenth anniversary coverage.

1.  Flood

2.  Fire

3.  Drought

4.  Riot

Basescu: ‘I will never grant pardon or amnesty to those responsible for the miners’ riots’

(source)

More on political riots here and here. More on the game here. More political jokes here.

MPTY ZINE sustine si recomanda:

Utolso Alkalom (ska/punk-Ungaria)

RIOT (metal/punk-Romania)

11 decembrie 2009

ora: 20.00

bilet: 7 lei

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CLUJ NAPOCA

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Riot

We don’t usually do much commentary, instead letting people’s actions speak for themselves, but there are some news stories that we absolutely cannot let go reported in the way the media would have it. This is one such story.  The following piece is not as complete and thought-out as we want; it’s a piece we’ve worked on for about a week since the news hit the press, but we’d like to work on it more.  Look for a better version in the next issue of ’til it breaks.

Last week the Denver Police Department made a mass arrest of 34 black youth and it seems like nobody has blinked an eye.

The 34 suspects were rounded up because, according to the cops, they are suspects in a series of downtown muggings.

Last we heard, 30 of those individuals have been charged with things like assault and robbery–many of them felony charges.  The police did not make it clear how they identified and rounded up the suspects, but “most of [them] told police they were associated with either the Rollin’ 60s Crips gang or the Black Gangster Disciples gang.”  The police keep dossiers on gang members; apparently they used their lists to round up individuals, throw them in jail, and begin interrogations.

All this ought to raise some kind of resistance from radicals who are also tracked by the police.

Anarchists, especially, should take notice when this shit goes down, cause we’re in gangs ourselves.  It’s true.  All it takes is a crew of folks who have each others’ backs to be a gang.  Our forms of social organization are atypical, and they are our greatest strength.

Even if you don’t think you’re a gangster, the cops already do.  The police in Denver have been using their Gang Units to track anarchists for years.  To them, we’re gangs.

Not only were individuals rounded up after-the-fact on the basis of alleged gang membership, they are being held on $1 million bond for each count.  That is an impossible sum to raise, and also far higher than the bond that would normally be set for crimes like assault and robbery.

We don’t deal with shit anywhere near this serious.  Not yet anyway.  So why is state repression coming down so hard on gang members, even if they did the shit they’re accused of?

Repression of ways of being

It is not so much our individual selves that the state criminalizes, but our ways of being–how we be.

Anarchists charged with conspiracy–facing years in prison for daring to draw breath together.  Black youth rounded up for gang membership–for being so bold as to come into a mass.

And it’s damn right that proletarian youth getting organized should make any rich fuck quake in his shoes.

It is our collectivity they are making a crime.  They know, as we do, when we are weak and isolated, they know that we grow powerful together.

It’s true they jail and charge and imprison us as individuals.  The legal process separates the individual from her source of strength, ties her up in proceedings of what precise acts she as an individual has committed.  But our crimes are for the ways in which our bodies and breathing interact, merge and feed each other, the ways we roll on our enemies.  Those are the patterns that their squads and patrols and the eyes of surveillance sweep for, what the warrants yank us out of.

Cause if the proles get together, God help us all.

Crime pays when cops get shot

The ‘gang threat’ and the War on Drugs have been used as excuses to criminalize urban proletarians, especially black and hispanic youth.  Racist policing and incarceration serve the interests of the ruling class in many ways, including the repression of proletarian populations, the reinforcement of class division along lines of race, and the production of a slave work force in prisons.

Criminalization is a process that involves not only the surveillance, policing, profiling, and arrest of specific populations but also the social factors that produce their criminality.  We criminals have been produced as such by the government and its laws.  What actions and activities we engage in that are defined as beyond or against the law.

For black and Hispanic urban youth, a systematic exclusion from the wage economy has produced high incentives for involvement in illegal economies.  In turn, the state brings heavier policing and prosecution on gang members.  So while most working people hate their bosses and experience the police as somewhat worse than an annoyance, people with criminal lifestyles see the cops and the state as their number one enemy, while bosses are mostly irrelevant.  (In reality, the bosses are behind the violence of the state.)  This could be why, when proletarian uprisings have exploded after police shootings or beatings, they have often seen the central participation of gangs and other criminals.

While some on the Left propose that the ’solution’ to the ‘gang problem’ is to reinsert gang members into the wage economy, we believe that would replace one form of oppression with another.  Gangs themselves have, in moments of insurrection, expressed quite different desires through their actions–specifically, the destruction and looting of capitalist property.  It is not a desire for inclusion in the capitalist system that these express, but a desire to destroy it.

Gangs and insurrection

Gangs have been at the heart of the largest uprisings in the modern United States.  We’re thinking of the Watts (Los Angeles) Rebellion of 1965, and South Central L.A. again in 1992.  These were moments when the U.S. saw insurrections powerful enough to shake the foundations of bourgeois society, times in recent memory when uprisings were put down by massive military force.

Not only were gangs active and powerful in the rebellions, they may have been the reasons they happened at all.  It is important to note that each uprising was preceded by a truce made between rival gangs in L.A.  In other words, the cessation of violence between gangs somehow opened up an orgy of violence against cops, businesses, et al.

We are not trying to glorify gangs.  The role of gangs during the normal (i.e. hellish) functioning of modern society is of course absolutely fucked up.  We’ll offer no judgment, but will make the observation that in times of normalcy, everyone plays their part in keeping this terrible machine running.  That includes activists, leftists, revolutionaries, workers, whatever you think of yourself as.  Uprisings, insurrections are massive breaks with everyday life.  They are moments–the only moments–when we can all escape and attack normality.

If gangs are not revolutionary by nature, but rise to the occasion of an insurrection, how is it that they have had such a powerful role?  And how have their truces sparked social uprisings, while revolutionaries can hardly claim such successes?

This year after anarchist comrades in Oakland fought in the streets in the Oscar Grant riots (January ‘09), they advised us that we need more preparation, our crews need to get ready to fight when something explodes as unexpectedly as that rebellion did.  We need to seek ways to sustain and expand insurrection when it flares up.

We are still on training wheels. Some of the other gangs in our cities, by contrast, are already a war machine.  When an insurrection comes, they are organized, trained, materially equipped and mentally prepared.

Furthermore, gang members’ relationship to the police is one of militant antagonism.  This antagonism is, as argued above, the result of their position in the relations of capital and the state.

Proletarian violence

Media reports have been quick to follow the lead of the police in all sorts of ways.  No surprise there.  What’s really interesting is the media’s sensationalizing the assaults in question as “racially motivated.”

The gang members are all black and their victims have reportedly been white or Hispanic.  The police reported that the gang members used racial slurs in the attacks, but then declined to say how they knew that.  The media even quoted a ‘victim’ saying he was the victim of a “hate crime,” because he felt he was attacked for being white.

The liberal objective of proliferating “hate crime” status has been critiqued elsewhere at length–including predictions that hate crime laws would used to claim reverse racism or reverse whatever more often than not–so we won’t go into that here.  But let’s call this kind of crime for what it is.  Mugging is not racially motivated.  It is motivated by the need for money, which class society creates.  There are a diversity of people walking around in LoDo in Denver, and a whole lot of them are yuppies, but we’re still talking about random muggings.  If it hasn’t happened to you, it’s happened to ten people you know, and it fucking sucks.  It’s broke-on-broke crime.

Broke-on-broke crime means people aren’t robbing banks, or even stealing computers from art galleries, they’re ripping off poor and working folks for the little money or possessions they have.

Nevertheless, if the media can be trusted, none of the assaults targeted black folks.  And that wouldn’t be surprising.  Black youths’ consciousness has been formed in an environment where it is very clear that black people are getting fucked over.  Nobody likes someone who rips off their own people.  But we believe that race alone is a limited, even false, view of who your people are.

The Black Disciples and the Crips have their roots in revolutionary liberation struggles and in black nationalism.  Unfortunately, nationalism has limited ability to overthrow the entirety of oppression and class society, because that struggle must be beyond and against borders and nations, and also because nationalist groups reproduce domination and hierarchy internally.

In the context of a white supremacist society, it makes sense for black folks to organize together against white supremacy, even in exclusive ways.  But while race-based membership might be useful, race-based violence and crime never is.  We need to save the struggle and violence for our real enemies–those who stand in the way of our liberation and self-determination.  Hopefully, the “stop broke-on-broke crime” slogan will catch on.  Ditto bank robberies, boss-napping, and proletarian rioting and looting.

The solution to inter-proletarian violence is proletarian violence.

One more thing should be made clear.  Not all these people who were mugged were working-class.  A lot of them were yuppies.  Whoever they are, they have enough collective power and clout to bring the state down hard on these gangs.  And they get to say stupid shit about “hate crimes” in the paper, while the gang members themselves are silenced.

Nothing here but silencing

What do the 34 individuals have to say?, I would like to know.  But there is nothing here but silence.

Shortly after the arrests began, 9News reported that one suspect had called the TV station before turning himself in to the police.  They did not report what he said to them.  Nor did any news outlet report any statements from the suspects or their families.  Contrast this to the arrest of our comrade Ariel Attack in August.  In that incident there was one arrest, not 34, and journalists were constantly calling and harassing Ariel’s friends, roommates, supporters, family members, and any random ‘radical’ in Denver, in a desperate attempt to solicit a comment.  (They didn’t get a statement from anyone except Glen Spagnoli, who felt entitled as a self-appointed representative of Denver radicals to talk shit about the action Ariel was charged with.)

It is no secret that gangs are consistently denied a voice.  Why is that?  What would they have to say?

The fact is that the few statements that gang members have made publicly have been intelligent, revolutionary, and community-based in content.  For example, in the context of the L.A. rebellion, “The Human Relations Conference, against the advice of the police, gave a platform to sixty black gang leaders to present their greivances.  To the astonishment of the officials present, the ‘mad dogs’ outlined an eloquent and coherent set of demands: jobs, housing, better schools, recreation facilities and community control of legal institutions.” (Mike Davis, City of Quartz, pg 300).

But the police can’t have gangsters’ voices being heard.  They need to wage a war against gangs, and that would be bad PR.

The silencing of gang members opens up space for others to speak on their behalf.  News outlets didn’t interview the individuals who were arrested, but they did interview and publish lengthy statements from an ‘expert,’ a ‘representative.’  Clearly they will not allow gang members to speak for themselves, but are hungry for a more ‘official’ perspective.  The statements came from Reverend Leon Kelly, who runs a Denver gang-prevention program.  To settle any question of what side this Reverend is on, he stated that the arrests “will confirm to these kids that there is a consequence.”

Our task

If L.A.’s rebellions of 1965 and ‘92 were both preceded by gang truces, and these rebellions are real threats to bourgeois society, it would follow that the state’s interests would lie in the repression of gangs, fostering their infighting, and preventing the organization of another truce.

The evidence supports this thesis.  In June of 2009, a former gang member and gang truce organizer named Alex Sanchez was arrested in Los Angeles.  He is being held without bond on charges of being a gang member and allegedly being involved in some of the crimes that gang allegedly committed.

If we desire proletarian insurrection, we would be wise to note that it may all hinge on gangs.  Those of us who are also criminals, who roll in crews, have some things in common with gangsters.  At the very least, we share criminality, ways of being, antagonism to the police and the state, militancy, and a desire to riot and loot.  Everything indicates that we need to get organized, and everything seeks to prevent this from happening.

Anarchists need to know our hoods & our neighbors first and foremost.  Where are our relationships to the gangs in our city?

We do not mean to argue that relationships to gangs are more important than other reliationships in organizing in our ‘hoods, but that organizing our ‘hoods is where it’s at, and gangs are an important piece of the process.  Our ‘hoods are where we live, the places that we stand in struggling for liberation.  But they are also the places we know the least about.

This is, in part, a recognition of that everything about the insurrectionary process remains to be built.  It is also an admission that here we will stand and fight, so let us really begin to learn the territory of the coming battles, and prepare them for war.

War happens elsewhere, we have been taught.  In other places, in others’ lives.  Social peace is the ‘reward’ that comes with our privilege, our position of world dominance.  It is eminently dependent upon war elsewhere, war for others.

But some of us have recognized that something like war is being waged against us every day in the conditions of our existence.  In the cops who are arresting, beating and killing our friends and neighbors.  In the eviction notice from the landlord.  In the fact that we have to work in order to survive.  In the paramilitary attacks by racists, rapists, queerbashers, police of every stripe, who we often find living under our own roofs.

We are already at war.  The lines have already been drawn.  We have yet to recognize where we stand, and we have yet to find each other, our allies. We are divided against ourselves rather than united against our enemies.  We have yet to feel ourselves as a force.

The cops, the media, mediators and representatives of all kinds will do everything to prevent this from happening.

So it must be our task.

of interest:    Free Alex Sanchez:  wearealex.org //   LA ‘92, and the role of gangs: libcom.org/library/la-riots-aufheben-1

As if radical injustice is not enough – I’m now at my last straw, because I’m sick of media stories leading the black community around like obedient lap dogs. Media conglomerates realized long ago, that racially charged stories were pure gold. These stories generate viewership, which equal profits. All that’s needed is a racial event and anoint a black hero and start a fight. So many people use race conflicts to generate money – comedians, politicians, salespeople and entertainers. Police and media will exploit a simple local story of a black shoplifter and boldly proceed to use the story for leverage at city meetings, boldly stating how crime is taking the streets (pointing to any minority arrest) and request unplanned tax dollars and hire 12 additional cops. Money that would be used to improve schools instead funds needless guerilla police troops. The media company then plasters the black community “leader” on national news and the fiscal quarter moves from red to black with increased advertisers. Everyone watches, because at any moment, something big might be going down – white communities watching the coverage go out and buy every gun within reach. Now profits are up for other industries – it doesn’t end there, everyone is out to gain something from exploiting race tension. It doesn’t matter – race sells. I see white fear, and it supports a billion dollar gun industry buying artillery and guns by the truckload. Black fear is no better, somehow the community feels better, if a cop is fired or some executive loses a job – I suppose it’s calming – because it feels like there is some justice out there. But these few people going down in the race crimes are just black and white causalities, subject to the exploitation game. In reality, the only thing that matters is keeping the black community in a useful position. “The only justice is profit and profit by any means”. How is it progress when the race formula is repeated continually? Think back, this is the same old game, once the cameras are off, the big race story disappears. We act as lap dogs, responding to the master’s call, moving exactly and squarely to the spot designated. Give it a few hours, we return to poverty and self depreciation. There is self deception in the white and black community; I suppose that is one thing these communities do have in common. Fear is exploited on all sides and the poison is used to raise power and money. It’s true, I am at my last straw, but I fear this is the way it will be, so I better get more straws.

A Beijing court jails Chinese rock star Zang Tianshuo for six years for inciting a riot in which one person died…. From BBC News. Full story

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