Cop Watch Update -- Organize the Block!

Cop Watch Update -- by the Guerrilla Chapter of Cop Watch L.A.

Police murder is continuing on a daily basis from L.A. to Oakland, while bombs are dropping on Gaza.

The only way to hold the police accountable is to take back our neighborhoods and organize your block to observe the police and take direct action. We don't need a police state and their prison industrial complex. We need a Cop Watch culture, to stop police terrorism.

FTP All day, Every Day!

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CopWatchLA.org is currently down due to lack of funds.Please help donate to keep CopWatchLA.org online, https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=1734997
CopWatchLA will be back up shortly!
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CopWatchLA.org serves as more than just a web site but a communication network and national mobile alert system!

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Cop Watch LA Members Interviewed on the new issue of Modesto Anarcho:

http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2009/01/19/mafinal.pdf


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URGENT CALL!!!! "EAST L.A. UNDERSIEGE" "WE DEMAND THE SHERIFFS TO STAND DOWN"
18 year old salvador zepeda, was gunned down and tortured
4 houses away from his home
To the east not even 3 blocks away the CHP Station to the north less then 4 blocks
Central Station of the Great Empire Sheriffs Dept.
A small community stands alone surrounded by freeways and main streets eastern
And floral. As you drive by and blink you would miss it
Predominately Chicano Latino families.
The chilling story of a young man in his early
Thriving years of life are gone. Loved by many, known as a young man that was seen as a happy Go lucky kid, had no priors of violence.
I stop and wonder why was he killed so brutally
What could he have done? As the palabra went out into the streets and the community.
..."The neighborhood is hot, worse then a fire cracker". Don't go there!
The stories got worse as I attempted to find out who is this young man who are his
Parents and worse of all I felt in my gut a great injustice being committed. I wasted no
Time and began’ to call my sources many eager to find out and assist.
Nearly 2 weeks went by
I finally received some good leads and decided to go in myself...... ........
It was true and much more.
I saw the flowers and the love of a community standing in mourning for this young man. As I parked those standing near moved quickly and began walking away,
I called out and they kept moving fast,
I knew this was not a natural way to perceive someone asking them to come. So I followed them and said I want to help you, I am not your enemy here is my card I need to speak to the family.
Immediately after they opened up I was asked to come in.
I Felt the spirit of the young man and others about, but a peace that I had finally found
The place I had been looking for.
A beautiful family the room filled with young women and children, sad
And in question, their eyes red filled with tears mourning for their lost.
The mother I could see was strong and in pain full of questions and desperate
For answers. Others were not certain if I was a spy
Or if in fact I could assist. The stories that came to my ears were confirmed,
And horrifying
This community is under siege
And not by another gang. Nor is this place in another country of war this is here in the USA Califas. EAST LOS ANGELES
A small community in an unincorporated place.
The face of the children in fear, the women concerned and nearly paralyzed, fumed with anger of Injustice.
One young lady stated, " They Come Every Day with their helicopters and sweep the streets beat on our young People, we are all traumatized" .
The children once would say hello to the police are now in fear and you could see they
Are confused and do not trust them".
The East Los Angeles Sheriff Dept is holding this community hostage.
An unarmed young man had been harassed by one sheriff in particular,
Witness’s state that the young man was
Eventually gunned down, tortured and beat this young man Salvador Zepeda... eyewitness testify that 16 people were
Arrested as of today, on trumped up charges. Some cannot be located..... ..
This is an Urgent Call For Help" those of us that know of someone pls.
I need you to help us Help Them..... There have been continued sweeps,
Harassment, beatings and arrests to date.
Sheriffs continue to drive by and mock the death of the young man.
There is fear in the small streets
Of East Los Angeles. Not Iraq!!Our back yards.

To support and take action Contact:
Allegra Padilla allegra_padilla@hotmail.com
Amanda Perez aperez552003@ yahoo.com
Joaquin Cienfuegos morph3030@yahoo.com

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PRESS RELEASE – Brown Berets de Aztlan, Riverside County CA. 1/27/09

On January 21, 2009, Annette Garcia, a mother of 6 and a member of the Brown Berets de Aztlan, was shot and killed by a Riverside County Sheriff's deputy in the presence of her children. Annette was born October 25th 1980, and was raised in Indio, California. She was well known throughout the Riverside County by the thousands of people her life touched, she will be deeply missed.

Annette was holding a knife but posed no imminent threat to anyone. She was shot from a short distance as she was walking away. Her husband and children were detained by the Sheriffs department trying to force a statement from them without the presence of their lawyer. Further details cannot be given until an official statement is released by the witnesses.

This is considered a wrongful death and is being protested by the Brown Berets as another senseless murder b y the Riverside County Sheriffs department. The Riverside County sheriffs have had a long history of abuse and officer involved shootings, this being their latest in a series of shootouts that have left many families mourning and asking why.

Annette joined the Brown Berets in 2008 seeking to better her life and serve in her community. The Brown Berets were created in 1967 in response to the widespread police abuse that was affecting the Chicano communities throughout the southwest. Education, ending gang violence, serving the community, and protecting the Chicano community are the main priorities of the Brown Berets. It is ironic how a member of an organization that is committed to fighting police abuse was killed by a police officer.

It has been over 35 years since any of our members have been killed by a police officer. We mourn the murder of such a notable member of our organization and for this cause we are announcing a candlelight vigil to be held on Thursday, January 29th beginning at the Bobby Bonds Park in Riverside, CA. at 5 pm and marching to the Riverside County jail in Downtown Riverside. A march and protest will be held on Saturday, January 31st in the same location starting at 10 am, with a press conference being held at 1 pm.

An account has been set up to help the family cover funeral expenses. Donations can be sent to: First National Bank of Southern California
Routing # 122240751
Checking20acct # 002126443

Any support you can give, whether volunteering your time or monetary support, will be greatly appreciated.

THURSDAY JAN. 29TH:
Candlelight vigil and Press Conference at Cesar Chavez Community Center in Riverside (University Ave., two blocks west of Iowa Ave.

All actions have been called by Brown Berets de Aztlan, Riverside Chapter.

SATURDAY JAN. 31ST:
Rally and Protest at Cesar Chavez Community Center at 10m

1pm (same day) Press Conference.

March route not determined yet, possibly will meet at 10m, march downtown to police station, with press conference there at 1pm.

Contact Number: David 619-886-5334


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Please comment and repost

The Oscar Grant interview with his cousin

http://www.blockreportradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=260&Itemid=27

The Donte Story interview with his uncle

http://www.blockreportradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=259&Itemid=27

--
The Minister of Information JR
POCC Block Report Radio
www.blockreportradio.com

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Southern California Immigration Coalition

Immediate End to the Raids!
Full Legalization for the undocumented!

The Southern California Immigration Coalition is unified to bring an end to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's raids of communities and workplaces. We believe in Full Legalization for the undocumented and their right to live in liberty—an unalienable right. People should live free from persecution by enforcement of a broken immigration system. We come together to demand an end to the raids that torment our communities from living freely. Children fear that their parents will not come home from work or even the standard trip to the grocery. People open their door to police who claim to be looking for a missing person, but in fact are ICE agents. At work people fear an ICE raid because they don't know what will happen to their families. Once in custody, people are detained in facilities that are not intended for long-term use and legal representation is almost impossible for their or their family's budget. We stand with those people who have fallen victim to a broken immigration system and demand an end to ICE raids.

As a solution, we call for Full Legalization. While trade agreements in North America have allowed for goods and money to flow freely, the policies have restricted the legal migration of labor and all people in general. Aggressive foreign policies and intervention in countries around the world have caused patterns of migration—especially in the Western hemisphere. This country has enjoyed many years of economic prosperity on the backs of immigrants: The boom of industries such as the Service industry has been supplied with the labor of immigrant workers. Some of the brightest minds are AB 540 students at colleges and universities who work 40-hour weeks and fight for the passage of the DREAM Act. We realize that the immigrant struggle is a fight for equality and justice.

Join us:

What: General So.CA Immigration Coalition meeting

Who: ALL honest people and organizations are invited to this meeting!

When: Sunday, Feb. 1st, 2009. 11:00AM

Where: Centro Cultural Francisco Villa
2100 Maple Ave. LA, CA 90011 (Corner of 21st & Maple: in front of Santee Education Complex)

Items to be discussed:

1. Report-back/Debrief on the Jan. 21st action in front of the Federal Building
2. Report-back from Jan. 25th meeting at Senor Fish
3. Strategizing on how to widen the SCIC
4. Planning for the Feb. 14th action at Disneyland
5. Planning for the March 28th march in LA
6. Planning for the May 1st march in LA
7. Committee Reports

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Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times *SHOOTING:* Investigators in August examine the scene where Inglewood police killed a homeless man after a witness reported seeing him with a gun. It turned out to be a toy. A TIMES INVESTIGATION Inglewood police have repeatedly resorted to deadly force [image: Shooting scene] Email Picture Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times *SHOOTING:* Investigators in August examine the scene where Inglewood police killed a homeless man after a witness reported seeing him with a gun. It turned out to be a toy. A Times investigation shows that the problem of Inglewood police officers shooting unarmed suspects isn't new. By Jack Leonard and Victoria Kim December 28, 2008 One summer evening in 2005, an Inglewood police officer stood with his gun aimed at a schizophrenic man who had been stopped for drinking beer in public. The officer ordered Jule Dexter to put his hands on the hood of the police car, but Dexter's baggy pants started slipping.
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Three officer-involved shootings in L.A. County this weekend
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A suspected gang member is killed in Compton after allegedly pointing a gun at deputies, and two people are wounded in other incidents.

By Ari B. Bloomekatz

January 26 2009

Three officer-involved shootings in Los Angeles County left one man dead and two suspects injured this weekend, authorities said Sunday.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shootings26-2009jan26,0,6246662.story

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http://www.ktla.com/landing/?blockID=190054&feedID=171

Long Beach Police Shoot Armed Man During Traffic Stop
KTLA News
January 19, 2009
LONG BEACH -- Long Beach police shot a man Monday after he brandished a weapon and fled on foot from a traffic stop.
The man was driving on Studebaker Road north of East Second Street around 1 p.m. when officers pulled him over, said Long Beach police spokesperson Sgt. Dina Zapalski.
The man "got out with a weapon" and ran, Zapalski said. Officers gave chase, and ultimately fired and wounded the man.
He was taken to a hospital, but no report on his condition was immediately available. His name has not been released.
The police are now conducting an internal investigation.
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http://cbs5.com/local/San.Jose.Police.2.911534.html

KPIX http://cbs5.com

Second SJPD Officer Involved Shooting In 3 Days

A San Jose Police Officer shot and wounded a man who attacked him, the second officer-involved shooting by San Jose police in three days.

Related Stories
Gunman Dies In Bloody SJ Police Standoff (1/17/2009)
A person was transported to a hospital after being shot by a police officer early Sunday morning following an altercation near a local nightclub, according to the San Jose Police Department.

At about 12:50 a.m., an officer patrolling the downtown area of South Second and San Fernando streets was notified by security and management staff of Loft Bar and Bistro, located at 90 S. Second St., about a group of people walking away from the area who were making threats and assaulting employees inside the nightclub, according to police.

The officer attempted to stop the group about three buildings down from the nightclub, and a confrontation followed involving two members of the group, police said.

According to witnesses, the officer Tasered one of the suspects during the confrontation, and another suspect started to attack the officer, police said.

The officer shot the alleged attacker, who was transported to a hospital with injuries that did not appear to be life threatening, police said.

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Upland officials and residents concerned over day labor site
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 01/14/2009 05:18:53 PM PST
UPLAND - Day laborers waiting to be picked up for various odd jobs outside of the Home Depot on Mountain Avenue may not be able to do so for much longer.
The small group of workers has drawn the attention of activist groups, local residents and, recently, Mayor John Pomierski as well as council members.
"What happens with day-labor sites is they congregate every day," said Raymond Herrera, member of the Minuteman Project based in Laguna Hills. "They end up drinking, urinating and we have seen them flash us and grab their crotch and things of that nature."
Herrera and fellow activist Robin Hvidston, an Upland resident, have been tracking day-labor sites forming throughout Southern California.
A few weeks ago, Hvidston said she initially noticed the day-labor site outside the Home Depot at 250 S. Mountain Ave.
"Upland already had one very established day-labor site on Grove Avenue," Hvidston said.
"We've got new homes in our city that don't seem to be selling. If we're a town with two day-labor sites, the homebuyer can go down the road and buy a comparable house in a town that doesn't have day-labor sites."
Herrera and Hvidston addressed the issue at Monday's City Council meeting.
"I believe the entire council shares my concerns, and I would venture to say they were as surprised as I was to hear that was happening at Home Depot," Pomierski said.
"I can't speak for everybody, but I can anticipate that we're all very concerned about this, and we're not going to mess with it very long."
During the council meeting, Pomierski and council members expressed interest in an ordinance that was passed in Lake Forest that allows private-property owners to be able to request loiterers be removed by police.
Residents can expect to see an item addressing the presence of day laborers on a future agenda for a council meeting, Pomierski said.
Home Depot maintains a policy of non-solicitation at its stores by people and organizations not affiliated with the company, said Kathryn Gallagher, senior manager of communications for The Home Depot, in an e-mail.
"In the interest of safety and convenience, our policy prohibits people from loitering or otherwise creating or causing safety risks to our associates or customers," Gallagher said.
"The Home Depot continues to work with local governments as they lead in the development of enforcement policies to address violations of non-solicitation policies that protect the business community."
Day laborers have congregated for a few years at the intersection of Grove and Arrow Route on the border of Upland and Rancho Cucamonga.
Herrera and Hvidston have been monitoring the site and are concerned that another site in Upland would have a negative impact on the city.
"If you go to Rancho Cucamonga on Grove and Arrow, you will see the day labor site, you will see what is coming to Mountain Avenue. We have seen many cities like this," Herrera said. "At the Rancho Cucamonga site, we've found broken crack pipes, syringes and there are beer bottles everywhere."

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REPOST!!!
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Call for Maliki Shakur Latine! End medical neglect!
* Black Panther * Community Activist * Muslim * Prison Organizer * Prisoner of War

Demand from state officials,
In regard to inmate Maliki Latine #81-A-4469
at Great Meadow Correctional Facility,
Maliki Latine's diet must be corrected immediately! He is not diabetic but he has life-long multiple food allergies which require a very specific diet as documented and mandated by the doctors in NY State Department of Corrections since 1983. I am deeply concerned about his health at this time.
518-474-8390 NY Governor David Paterson
518-457-7072 NY DOCS Deputy Commissioner/Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Lester Wright
Maliki Shakur Latine- 81-A-4469 - has long-standing dietary needs that have been well-documented by doctors, medical staff, Department of Corrections officers, and a multitude of concerned outside observers since 1983. The sustained incapacity of Great Meadows to provide a humane and healthy diet for Mr. Latine, who is highly allergic to many common foods, is troubling.
Who is Maliki Shakur Latine?
Maliki Shakur Latine is a Bronx-born community activist who has served in organizations such as the Nation of Islam and the Black Panther Party. Latine was driven underground by repeated arrests and FBI repression, including the infamous Panther 21 frame-up, until charged with wounding a police officer in a Harlem shoot-out. Latine is currently serving 25-to-life as a Prisoner of War in Great Meadow Correctional Facility where he serves as Secretary of the Inmate Liaison Committee and helps to represent the concerns of prisoners to the administration. His role in raising concerns as well as in helping to plan a Family Day helped to land him in Segregated Housing Unit (SHU) where he is on a harmful and inappropriate diet pending a transfer to a Medium security facility.
Read more at http://www.abcf.net/prisoners/latine.htm
Background on the dietary needs and negligence. . .
Mr. Maliki Latine has been put on a "Controlled B" limited-carbohydrate diet requested on August 26, 2008. This particular therapeutic diet would be appropriate for a patient with diabetes but it is inappropriate and harmful for Latine who does not have diabetes but rather, multiple food allergies. In efforts to address this problem, Mr. Latine has complained to medical staff, "sick-call" nurse, and filed three grievances with no response. Latine has a life-long history of allergic urticaria associated with various foods (high titers of IgE antibodies against foods).
He is allergic to:
peas, peanuts, beans, soybeans, lettuce, cucumber, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, oranges, peaches, strawberries, black pepper, mustard, wheat, pork, and coffee.
Numerous doctors working in NY Department of Corrections have recommended that these foods be avoided, that a special meal plan be followed, that Latine receive vitamin supplements, and that he be allowed to prepare his own food. His restrictive diet has included Ensure supplements, goats' milk, tuna, rice, potatoes, and bananas. This diet was instituted successfully at Clinton Correctional Facility by allowing Mr. Latine to prepare his own food under the instruction of Food Service Administrator John T McCloud. A facility such as Downstate or Sing Sing should be able to accommodate Mr. Latine's needs without a problem.
Mr. Latine's dietary needs have been documented in the following correspondences available upon request if not on file in your office:
December 19, 1983 recommendation to Clinton Correctional Facility by Dr. James A Phills / August 26, 1986 memorandum to Auburn Correctional Facility by Dr. Raymond Broadus/ July 15, 1993 NY DOCS Therapeutic Diet Order Form by Dr. Recht/ July 17, 1993 Memorandum to Clinton Correctional Facility from John T McCloud, Food Service Administrator/ February 16, 1999 Clinton Correctional Facility Allergy Evaluation by Dr. Jocelyn Celestin/ August 2, 2000 Clinton Correctional Facility Interdepartmental Communication by John T McCloud, Food Service Administrator/ September 28, 2001 and November 20, 2001 Interdepartmental Communications to Great Meadow Correctional Facility by Dr. Albert Paolano/ November 29, 2001 Letter to Mr. Maliki Latine from Lucien J Leclaire Jr, Deputy Commissioner, NY DOCS
In Solidarity,
ANARCHIST BLACK CROSS FEDERATION
local contact- arcata.abcf@yahoo.com
ABCF.net
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Contact: Rebecca Robles rebrobles1@gmail.com
Angela Mooney D'Arcy angela.ucpp@gmail.com
www.savepanhe.org
ACJACHEMEN SACRED SITE PANHE SAVED! U.S. COMMERCE DEPARTMENT SAYS TOLL ROAD NOT IN NATIONAL INTEREST
PANHE, San Clemente, CA—Members of the Acjachemen Nation, the United Coalition to Protect Panhe (UCPP), and our allies in the environmental and social justice movements celebrate a tremendous victory today. The Native American sacred site Panhe and San Onofre State Park will remain protected thanks to a decision from the U.S. Department of Commerce issued earlier this morning. The Secretary of Commerce upheld the California Coastal Commission decision regarding the Transportation Corridor Agency's proposal to build a six-lane toll road in a popular state park and camp ground and one of the most historically significant sacred sites of the Acjachemen people.
"Our hearts are filled with gratitude today. I am grateful for the support of UCPP members and our allies. This victory would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of our tribal community members, Tribal Nations, and our allies such as the Native American Heritage Commission, The City Project, the Sierra Club, California State Parks Foundation and others," said Rebecca Robles, UCPP co-founder and co-director.
Angela Mooney D'Arcy, co-director for UCPP said, "Today is a significant day for Panhe, the Ancestors, the Acjachemen people, San Onofre, and the millions of people who enjoy this state park and camp ground every year. However, this process is not over. On behalf of the United Coalition to Protect Panhe, we call upon the TCA to suspend all litigation and federal lobbying activities and instead focus its resources on studying reasonable alternatives to the toll road."
Louis Robles, Jr., Acjachemen tribal member said of the decision, "The voices of our Ancestors have been heard. This is an incredible victory for Panhe and for Indigenous peoples everywhere."
Background:
UCPP is a grassroots coalition of Acjachemen people dedicated to the protection of our sacred sites. Panhe is an Acjachemen sacred site and is listed on the California Sacred Lands Inventory maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission, is eligible for listing as a Traditional Cultural Property, and is part of the San Mateo Archaeological District which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. San Onofre remains one of the most popular state parks and is visited by nearly 2.5 million people every year. The toll road would have devastated Panhe and San Onofre. In February 2008, the California Coastal Commission voted 8-2 to block a toll road that would have caused severe and irreparable harm to Panhe and destroyed San Onofre, the fifth-most visited park in California. When explaining her decision before the crowd of over 3,000, Coastal Commissioner Mary Shallenberger said that the impacts of the proposed toll road on the Acjachemen people were reason enough to deny the road.
To obtain a copy of NOAA's press release on the Commerce Department Decision go to http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20081218_tca.html

Mixed Martial Arts - Favorite Fighters

Mixed Martial Arts is effective for hand to hand one-on-one combat.

List of some of my favorite fighters/warriors:

Miguel Torres
WEC Bantamweight Champion. He is one of the pound-for-pound greatest fighters and most complete fighters. Has some of the most fluid ju-jitsu and technical striking in MMA.





Fedor Emelianenko
Heavyweight Affliction Champion from Russia. Consensus the best fighter in the world.
http://www.mmalinker.com/fighter/Fedor-Emelianenko.html




Anderson The Spider Silva
Middleweight UFC Champion From Brazil. The pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.
http://www.mmalinker.com/fighter/Anderson-Silva.html




Mauricio Shogun Rua
Light Heavy Weight (Considered one of the top Light Heavy Weights in the world)
http://www.mmalinker.com/fighter/Mauricio-Rua.html



Gina Carano
The so-called "face of women's MMA," is one of the most talented woman mixed martial artists. Women's MMA doesn't get as much attention as men fighters, but they are just as hard working and fights are usually more technical and exciting. She's definitely one of my favorite fighters.



The Diaz Brothers
From Stockton Califas, both train in Gracie Ju Jitsu and boxing. Hood as fuck, and don't give a fuck.

Nick Diaz
Lightweight Fighter
http://www.mmalinker.com/fighter/Nick-Diaz.html





Nate Diaz
Lightweight Fighter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AYJHnKQbWY



Check out this dope site for MMA Videos: http://genghiscon.wordpress.com/

BJ Penn
Light Weight/Welterweight Fighter from Hawai'i, UFC Lightweight Champion. Considered to be one of the greatest fighters of all time.
http://www.mmalinker.com/fighter/BJ-Penn.html

George Rush St Pierre
Welterweight UFC Champion from Montreal. Considered to be the most complete fighter.
http://www.mmalinker.com/fighter/Georges-St-Pierre.html



Roger Huerta
Lightweight fighter, one of the best young Lightweights out there and is getting better, and he is definitely down for la raza.




http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6091375372066322679&postID=8178566950002422421

Jeff The Snowman Monson
Anarchist Mixed Martial Artist




Honorable Mention:

Quinton Rampage Jackson



Takanara Gomi
Lightweight fighter from Japan



Diego Sanchez



Cain Velasquez

Cop Watch L.A. - GC Film Screening and Discussion at D-Q University Sunday January 25th

http://i120. photobucket. com/albums/o193/copwatchla/dqfilmshowing. jpg

John A. Imani: "On Barak Obama"

On Barak Obama

By John A. Imani

Member of the Revolutionary Autonomous Communities.


Let’s face it, comrades, we have our hands full.



With the system in shatters all around us, capitalism had played its last card: it has elected ($700,000,000) a young, gifted and black president.



At the Martin Luther King, Jr Day here in LA one could strike by two things, the first expected, the second, however, was surprising:



“Obama” was the word on many, nearly every, lip. The impact of the fact that after 400 years of captivity, then second-class citizenship and occupation of its community by a force not of that community (in our case, the LAPD) a person of color was elected to lead completely colored the air as minor celebrities echoed and led the crowd in chants of the new president’s name.



The surprising thing was that this goodwill extended to just so the occupying force referred to above. Chief Bratton and Sheriff Baca led a contingent of pigs that for some strange reason the crowds applauded them. Not just the head cops but motorcycle, horse, bicycle, Segway riding, walking armed pigs were waved to and cheered. It was like watching concentration camp internees applauding their captors.



It was inexplicable.



Then the thought hit me: Obama = State. It dawned upon me that my comrade, Joaquin, from Revolutionary Autonomous Communities (RAC) had been correct when before the election he warned that if Obama was elected, it would make it more difficult to rebel. The identification of the president, and all the good will extended by this, had somehow ‘rubbed off’ on the first and last line of defense of the state, the police. And the occupiers were seemingly transformed, in the minds of the viewers, into their defenders. This is how one might view this happenstance if one ignores the fact that the existence of the police itself is laden with a fundamental contradiction: that its interests and its existence is the protection of the state and not of the people.



There is little doubt that the Obama regime will initiate some reforms. It has no choice in this matter: it must generate purchasing power just as the Bush regime did. The difference is promised to be, however, that while Bush injected liquidity into the system with its vast purchases of arms, Obama’s medication will be prescribed in the form of extension of benefits, lower taxes on income and capital gains, workfare programs, etc. All of this in an attempt to save a system, a la FDR, teetering on the brink of self-implosion and ingesting vast sums of created public monies that are but IOU’s written on the backs of today’s and tomorrow’s workers.



On a macrocosmic level, what this means is that when he sends in more troops to Afghanistan that there will be some, who protested under Bush, will be hesitant to take to the streets. Or, when times get harder and food riots are necessitated, the televised image of concerned ‘Brother’ Obama will keep some of the hungry at home mindful of the fact that “The brother is doing the best that he can.”



Patriotism used to be the last refuge of scoundrels. Now it seems that its place has been taken by this cynical use of a black man as figurehead, standing in the same relationship to the real holders of power, the capitalist class, just as Bush II, Clinton, Bush’s Daddy, Ronald Reagan, etc. Of whom, pick your choice, it was and it would be easier to rebel against. The question is “How to critique Obama and not alienate the masses who see this presidency, perhaps in some way, as payment for our sufferings, as reparations for our pains?

Hope From People

An open letter to those seeking to build a world from below, in which many worlds are possible

We call on all anarchists, horizontalists, autonomists, anti-capitalists, anti-authoritarians, and others organizing a world from below to bring our best creative spirits to the project of a “Celebrate People’s History and Build Popular Power” bloc on January 20, 2009, in Washington, DC—or in your hometown, if you can’t make it.

As people striving toward a nonhierarchical society, yes, we can—and should—be rigorously critical of Barack Obama. It goes without saying that we want a world without presidents; we want worlds of our own constituting via directly democratic structures, not states. But not all heads of state are alike, and if we fail to recognize both the historical meaning and power of this particular moment, we will ensure our own irrelevance.

We can—and should—also be in critical solidarity with people who have been violently marginalized, who see in the Obama campaign the possibility of their own agency. The inauguration affords a unique space for us to stand with a diverse group of activists inspired by Obama, many new to political organizing, even as we maintain our views on the limits of change from above.

Perhaps, as people working to build a world from below without electoralism or statecraft, we also need to listen on January 20. It is neither the time nor the place to critique hope or excitement on the part of people who have engaged in grassroots struggles in so many ways and won a substantial victory. The inauguration marks a watershed event in the often cruel history of these United States, and the whole world will be watching, hoping that we’ve done just a little to grapple with the legacy of slavery, lynching, segregation, displacement, and racism in general, both of the personal and institutional varieties.

There’ll be a true rainbow coalition on the streets of DC, made up of exactly those people who the libertarian Left has always aligned itself with and always should: those who are not radicals but who have been exploited, oppressed, and relegated to powerlessness. So instead of breaking things, if we’re serious about building visionary social movements, doing meaningful anti-racism work, and honoring those who have resisted and dreamed before us, we should break bread with those millions globally who will feel moved by Obama’s inauguration—many of whom were also moved enough to participate politically (well beyond voting) for the first time in this election.

With our bloc—using banners, photos, artwork, zines, theater pieces, posters, armbands, and other visual expressions—let’s illustrate the many moments when people on this continent and across the world aspired to better approximations of freedom, via their own forms of collective organizations and mutual aid. Let’s create and display images of social movements, cultures of resistance, and especially our experiments to institute the new society in the shell of the old: from popular assemblies to self-managed workplaces, from freedom schools to free clinics, from autonomous villages to reappropriated land, and much more. And let’s remember all those many moments throughout history when we took to the streets, factories, schools, and neighborhoods; when we built movements ranging from abolition and civil rights to the American Indian Movement and the Black Panthers, from Zapatismo to Ya Basta!, from No One Is Illegal to anti-capitalist mobilizations, from Argentina’s factory occupations to Oaxaca’s federated assemblies; and when we reclaimed the commons and, in the process, ourselves.

For if we aspire one day to live in a world without borders and prisons, without states or capitalism—or presidents for that matter—we must stand in solidarity on January 20 with those most impacted by hierarchy and institutional oppression. Then, in the days beyond, we’ll join with millions of others in demanding fulfillment of, as Obama put it on election night, the possibility of change, as we support the growth of social movements toward a free and directly democratic society.

Points of Unity:

– We believe that human freedom and happiness would be best guaranteed by a society based on principles of self-organization, voluntary association, egalitarianism, and mutual aid. And thus, we reject all forms of social relations premised on systemic violence and hierarchy, such as the state, capitalism, and white supremacy.

– On January 20, we will actively seek to cooperate with as well as support anyone who is working to create a more liberatory world, and in fact, to learn from them and each other.

– We will gather as a bloc, unmasked and with open arms, respecting the celebratory spirit of the day—presence rather than protest—and will encourage others who want to honor social struggles from below to join us.

To sign on to this call, please send us an email at hopefrompeople [at] gmail [dot] com.

For the bloc’s meeting place and time, ideas for celebratory images, and upcoming details on the post-inauguration teach-in and party, keep checking this Web site.

The Celebrate People’s History & Popular Power Bloc will meet on January 20th at 10am at the northwest corner of McPherson Square, 15th St NW at K St NW.

[See Spanish version of this call below.]

This call is endorsed by:

Cindy Milstein, Montpelier, VT
Andrew Willis Garcés, Washington, DC
Walter Hergt, Montpelier, VT
Chris Dixon, Sudbury, Ontario
Jessica Hall, Washington, DC
Jeff Winder, Charlottesville, VA
Vasudha Desikan, Washington, DC
Pavlos Stavropoulos, Littleton, CO
Lindsey Hobbs, Washington, DC
Andrej Grubacic, San Francisco, CA
Mark Lance, Washington, DC
James Tracy, housing organizer and writer, San Francisco, CA
Ellen Chenoweth, Denton, TX (Washington, DC)
Noam Chomsky, MIT, Cambridge, MA
Staughton Lynd, Youngstown, OH
Welch Canavan, Washington, DC
Hillary Lazar, Seattle, WA (Washington, DC)
Joshua Stephens, Washington, DC
Harjit Singh Gill, Oakland, CA
Chris Crass, Catalyst Project, San Francisco, CA
Lelia Spears, New York, NY
Howard Zinn, Auburndale, MA
Ernesto Aguilar, Houston, TX
Betty Jeanne Rueters-Ward, Catalyst Project, San Francisco, CA
Brian Tokar, East Montpelier, VT
Madhuri Singh, Washington, DC
Ericka Taylor, Washington, DC
Patrick Lincoln, Harrisonburg, VA
Andrew Cornell, Brooklyn, NY
Ben Grosscup, Amherst, MA
Almah LaVon Rice, Baltimore, MD
Maria Mier, Shaw, Washington, DC
Brooke Lehman, New York, NY
Carwil James, New York, NY
Jose Palafox, Oakland, CA
Michael Friedman, San Francisco, CA
Dave Zlutnick, Friendly Fire Collective, San Francisco, CA
Petros Evdokas, Portland, OR
Karen Ganey, Plymouth, VT
Hannah Dobbz, San Francisco, CA
Janelle Treibitz, Washington, DC
Philippe Duhamel, Montreal, QC
John Hardenbergh, Washington, DC
Jean Marie Pearce, Albany, VT
Joshua Kahn Russell, Oakland, CA
Carlos Perez de Alejo, Austin, TX
LLoyd Strecker, Monte Rio, CA
Dana Ward, Claremont, CA
Bill Templer, SE Asia
Heather Pipino, Montpelier, VT
Bob Spivey, Vashon, WA
Julie Yoder, Washington, DC
Dan Berger, Philadelphia, PA
Jonathan Uss, New York, NY
Kazembe Balagun, outreach coordinator, Brecht Forum, NY
Harris Bucklin, Burlington, VT
Charlie Clements, Athens, GA
Jonathan Bates, Holyoke, MA
Samuel Meneely, Salinas, CA
Emily Forman, Brooklyn, NY
Arun Aguiar, New York, NY
César Maxit, Washington, DC
Johann Jaeckel, New York, NY
Nicole Poindexter, teacher, Santa Rosa, CA
Eugene Rodriguez, Boulder, CO
Camilo Viveiros, Fall River, MA
Marguerite Tingkhye, Seattle, WA
Ken Montenegro, technologist and law student, Los Angeles, CA
Sean Gleason, Princeton, NJ
Barry McCann, Fort Collins, CO
Mesha Monge-Irizarry, community organizer, San Francisco, CA
Liana Sweeney, Amherst, MA
Andy Kafel, Jersey City, NJ
Robert Riversong, Warren, VT
Karim-Philipp Eid-Sabbagh, Beirut, Lebanon
Maia Ramnath, New York, NY
Thomas Chen, Jamaica Plain, MA
Aaron R. McMullin, student, Sarah Lawerence College
Amber Kelly, Gainesville, FL
Friendly Fire Collective, San Francisco Bay Area
Nathan Coe, Animas SDS, Durango, CO
Caitlyn Wallace, Berkeley, CA
Michael Novick, Los Angeles, CA (ARA-LA for identification purposes)
Roxanne Lawson, Washington, DC
Elen Awalom, Washington, DC
Lis-Marie Alvarado, Wecount! organizer, Homestead, FL
Salma Mirza, United Students Against Sweatshops, Buffalo, NY
Rahula Janowski, anarchist, mediator, mother, San Francisco, CA
Jason Lydon, Community Church of Boston, Boston, MA
Patrick Vitale, student, Pittsburgh, PA
Robert Jensen, Third Coast Activist Resource Center, University of Texas at Austin
Rebecca Mintz, Washington, DC
Lasitha Ranatunga, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Christina Tzintzún, Austin, TX
Molly McClure, Catalyst Project, Oakland, CA
Louis Frederic Gaudet, Montreal, QC
Mike Zmolek, Washington, DC
Matthew Johnson, Baltimore, MD
CODEPINK Women for Peace
Namdol, New Haven, CT
Francisco “Pancho” Ramos-Stierle, Berkeley, CA
Nico Amador, trainer and organizer, Philadelphia, PA
Parag Rajendra Khandhar, Takoma Park, MD
Josh Raisler Cohn, Boston, MA
Pete Perry, Washington, DC
Christy Pardew, Boston, MA
William Thomas, community organizer and homeless advocate, San Francisco, CA
Erika Biddle, New York, NY
Amrita Wassan, Washington, DC
Wooden Shoe Books Collective, Philadelphia, PA
Clayton Dewey, Denver, CO
DC Asian Left, Washington, DC
James Ploeser, Washington, DC
Charo Mina Rojas, Washington, DC
Joaquin Cienfuegos, Los Angeles, CA
Erik Forman, Minneapolis, MN
Andrew Munn, Ann Arbor, MI
Yesenia Marquetti, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
Kathryn Hutchison, Germantown, NY
Monkey Wrench Books, Austin, TX
Unconventional Denver
Giuseppe Cavaleri, San Francisco, CA
Z. Zsido, Boston, MA

Mumia Abu Jamal: "Huey - A Memory."

"Huey - A Memory"

http://www.prisonradio.org/audio/mumia/2009MAJ/01Jan09/1-15-09HueyAMemory_B.mp3

Modesto Anarcho 10 Out Now: Includes Interview with Cop Watch LA Members

REPOST (In support of Modest Anarcho):

Modesto Anarcho number 10 is out now and is packed with more of the insurrectionary class struggle analysis and coverage you have come to expect and demand.
This issue is filled with direct action reports, repression news, articles on the election, the insurrection in Greece, and interview with Copwatch LA, analysis of the foreclosure housing crisis, and much more!

To download the publication, simply click on the image below and a PDF will come up. Feel free to make copies to share with co-workers, friends, class mates, neighbors, and cell mates.

If you want to make things more difficult for us and bombard us with more work than we probably need (just kidding but not really), please send a couple bucks to us for a hard copy at:

Modesto Anarcho

PO Box 3027

Modesto, CA 95353

For more info:

anarcho209@yahoo.com

www. myspace. com/modanarcho

link:

http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2009/01/19/mafinal.pdf

(CAMA) After 4 Years, Prisoners in Xanica Speak Out! A 4 años de ser secuestrados, los presos de Xanica alzan su voz-- español e inglés

Spanish/English
Espanol/Ingles



http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o193/copwatchla/presosoaxaca.jpg

A LAS ORGANIZACIONES SOCIALES, SINDICATOS
A LAS ORGANIZACIONES INDEPENDIENTES NACIONALES E INTERNACIONALES
A LOS MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN
AL PUEBLO EN GENERAL

Alzamos nuestra voz, nuestro sentir, nuestra rebeldía, nuestro coraje, desde
el reclusorio de San Pedro Pochutla, Oaxaca, desde la universidad del crimen, de
la violencia.

Hoy, 15 de enero del 2009, cumplimos 4 años de ser secuestrados por los que
actúan bajo el amparo de las leyes otorgándose el derecho de secuestrar,
matar, desaparecer a nuestros hermanos que están en contra de sus proyectos,
quienes les decimos a los títeres del sistema neoliberal, encabezados por el
asesino de Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (URO) y sus perros carroñeros encargados de llevar
a la práctica sus crímenes y llenar los reclusorios de gente inocente, que su
único delito es reclamar sus derechos porque, como saben, estos corazones
rebeldes jamás se quedarán callados ante las injusticias. Ni cadenas ni
grietas ni muros podrán callar nuestra voz.

URO no nos puede hablar de un Estado de derecho cuando hay centenares de
muertos sin aclarar sus muertes, y está utilizando los medios de comunicación
para atacar a nuestro pueblo, a nuestros hijos; a través de la televisión en
sus caricaturas de muertes y sangre los cultivan a ser asesinos. Todo esto lo
transmiten a través de un mensaje de violencia de las diferentes armas y luego,
en un cinismo y la más vil hipocresía, nos dicen que están actuando contra
la delincuencia. Venden nuestros recursos naturales al mejor postor, mientras
que nuestro pueblo sufre la peor miseria y luego, con cara de lástima, nos
dicen que está dura la crisis económica. Si en verdad sintieran por su
pueblo, ¿por qué no destinan la mitad del dinero que ellos se asignan como
sueldo para apoyar a la clase más desposeída de nuestro estado? Pero todo lo
contrario, el pueblo les paga todo, hasta la seguridad de sus hijos. Mientras
que esto pasa, nos engañan con migajas y nos mandan programas que nos mantienen
en la misma pobreza y anuncian que nuestro estado está progresando. Me
pregunto, ¿qué tipo de progreso? Simplemente no hay respuesta, claro.

Y por esta causa alzamos la voz y nos pagan con cárceles, amenazan a nuestras
familias por el sólo hecho de estar en contra de esta triste realidad que vive
nuestro país, nuestro estado, y esto lo manifestamos a través de un escrito, a
través de una manifestación en las oficinas de gobierno, a través de
denuncias, de una canción, de una poesía, a través de una pintura. Debemos
de tener presente, pueblo, que si nos quedamos sumisos ante esta situación,
nuestros hijos pagarán las consecuencias. Nacimos libres. Amamos la libertad.
Y por ver a todos estos hombres títeres sin cadena, no daremos tregua a
nuestra lucha. Y por todos los caídos, desaparecidos, encarcelados, ni un paso
atrás.

Y, por último, si algunos de ustedes se sienten ofendidos por nuestra forma de
pensar y expresarnos, porque tal vez somos un poco vulgares, a los hipócritas
hay que hablarles con el único lenguaje que ellos entienden. Dijo el gran
anarquista mexicano que registró la historia, Ricardo Flores Magón, que para
ser diplomático se necesita antes haber sido hipócrita.


Abraham Ramírez Vásquez

--------------------------------------


TO THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS AND LABOR UNIONS
TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATIONS
TO THE NEWS MEDIA
TO THE PEOPLE IN GENERAL

From San Pedro Pochutla prison in Oaxaca, the university of crime and violence,
we raise our voices, our feelings, our rebellious spirit, our anger and courage.

Today, January 15, 2009, marks the fourth year we’ve been held captive by
tyrants protected by laws that give them the right to kidnap, kill, and
disappear our brothers and sisters who go against their projects. We say to the
neoliberal puppets headed by the killer Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (URO) and to his
scroungy dogs turned loose on a crime spree to fill the prisons with innocent
people, that our people’s only crime is demanding their rights. As these
killers well know, our rebellion comes from the heart and we’ll never just sit
back and watch this injustice go on. All their chains and cells and walls
aren’t strong enough to keep our voice from being heard.

URO can’t talk to us about a State of law when there are hundreds dead,
whose deaths are still not accounted for. He’s using the news media to attack
our people, our own sons and daughters, raising them to be killers with those
television cartoons of blood and death. All different kinds of weapons are used
to transmit this violent message and then they have the gall and the most
nauseating hypocrisy to tell us they’re fighting crime. They sell our
resources to the highest bidder while our people bear the brunt of the direst
poverty, and then they act like they’re so concerned about how terrible the
economic crisis is. If they really cared about the people, why haven’t they
used half the money allotted for their salaries to help out the most
dispossessed class in our state? No. Just the opposite. The people foot the bill
for everything, even for the security guards that protect their children. While
all this goes on, they trick us with crumbs from the table, sending us programs
that keep us in this same wretched state of poverty at the same time they brag
about all the progress our state is making. I ask myself, what kind of progress
is this? There’s simply no answer.

This is why we raise our voices, and they pay us back with jail time and
threats to our families for going up against the dismal reality we experience in
our country, in our state. And we keep speaking out against all this, maybe in a
letter, a demonstration at a government office, a denunciation, a song, a poem,
a painting. We must always remember, people, that if we bow down to this
treatment, our children will suffer the consequences. We were born free. We
love freedom. So seeing as how all those puppets still don’t wear chains,
we’ll never slack off in our struggle. And since so many of us have been
killed, disappeared, or locked up, we can’t take one step backward.

And finally, just in case anybody feels offended by the way we think and talk,
because, yes, maybe we’re a little bit rude, all we can say is that you have
to talk to hypocrites in the only language they understand. History tells us
that the great Mexican anarchist Ricardo Flores Magón once said that to be a
diplomat, you’d have to be have been a hypocrite first.

Abraham Ramírez Vásquez

San Pedro Pochutla prison, Oaxaca, January 15, 2009.


Reclusorio de San Pedro Pochutla, Oaxaca, 15 de enero del 2009.


Colectivo Autónomo Magonista (CAMA)
Vivir para ser libres o morir para dejar de ser esclavos

Página electrónica: http://espora.org/cama

Correos electrónicos:
camadf@yahoo.com.mx
cama@espora.org
csl_rfm@yahoo.com.mx
periodicoautonomia@yahoo.com.mx

Dirección provisional:
Cerrada de Londres, no. 14, int. 1, col. Juárez, Del. Cuauhtémoc, México, D.F.
(A unos pasos de la estación del metro Sevilla)

Sacramento A Cafe

Oakland on Fire

Anarchists, Solidarity and New Possibilities in the Oakland Rebellion

Oakland on Fire

By KARA N. TINA

"I'm sorry my car was burned but the issue is very upsetting."

-Ken Epstein, assistant editor of the Oakland Post, who was finishing an article about Grant's death, watched from the 12th story of his office at 14th and Franklin streets as his 2002 Honda CR-V disintegrated in a roar of flames (Oakland Tribune)

The murder of Oscar Grant by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer Johannes Mehserle early New Year's morning sent a wave of grief throughout the Bay Area and reminded all that racism and police violence continue to be endemic components of US society. During the following days, that pain transformed into overflowing anger as multiple videos of the execution recorded by witnesses emerged on the internet and in the media. One week later on January 7, over a thousand people from diverse communities across Oakland and the Bay Area gathered to show their anger and be in the presence of others feeling similar grief. This hastily planned rally shut down the Fruitvale BART station where the shooting took place as speaker after speaker addressed the crowd. Without any plan or organization, the vast majority of those who patiently listened to speakers for over two hours took the demonstration into the streets with a spirited march that made its way towards downtown as the sun set.

As the march reached the Lake Merritt BART station and headquarters of BART police downtown, clashes immediately broke out leaving one police cruiser destroyed alongside a burning dumpster. Marchers dispersed down side streets to the sounds of police weapons discharging and the sting of tear gas in the air. The following hours witnessed waves of rioting and demonstrations throughout downtown Oakland that even forced Mayor Ron Dellums to come out into the streets and promise the opening of a homicide investigation in a failed attempt to subdue the angry crowds. Hundreds of businesses and cars were damaged or destroyed and dumpsters were left burning. The next day, a BART board of directors meeting was filled beyond capacity and overwhelmed with community members expressing indignant rage, clearly feeling validated and empowered to speak up by the previous night's rebellion.

In the days since the unrest, rumors have begun to circulate that anarchists hijacked an otherwise peaceful event and were responsible for unleashing the 'violence'. A cover story in the San Francisco Chronicle two days after the rioting quoted an organizer of the Fruitvale rally as saying that he was led to tears when his work was "destroyed by a group of anarchists." This obscures what actually transpired and why, on that evening, the streets of Oakland unleashed such a powerful show of resistance and solidarity that gave many an empowered glimpse of radical new possibilities.

It is true that anarchists were present from start to finish on Wednesday. Counter to some generalizations that assume all anarchists are white, those who were there on Wednesday come from diverse backgrounds. They participated in a wide variety of ways; from spreading the word about the rally beforehand in order to have a large turnout, to spending hours painting banners and signs, to engaging in militant street actions, to being rounded up and at times beaten and arrested. Anarchists are among the over 100 community members who now face charges ranging from misdemeanor rioting to different felonies.

African-American youth made up the majority of those involved in the actions along with sizable numbers of anarchists as well as other youth of color and activist folk who were all there side by side. During the rioting, there was a sense of unity in the air and a defiant mood of solidarity among all who faced off against the police. Anarchists tend to show up at all demonstrations prepared to act should the situation escalate, and this case was no different. Yet it is simply incorrect to suggest that there was some conspiracy of anarchists from the 'outside' who were able to manipulate the helpless youth of Oakland as part of their sinister agenda. This is a paternalistic misreading of what was unquestionably a spontaneous outpouring of rage, led by youth of color. There, temporary alliances were made as those who were motivated to act in the moment experienced a unique cross-pollination that cut across the inhibiting social boundaries of everyday life.

So the allegations of an anarchist takeover are destructively misleading.

There were some moments during which individual anarchists attempted to influence the course of events. At one point a group of black youth smashing the windows of a locally owned business were encouraged to target large corporations and banks instead of 'mom and pop' shops. They proceeded to do just that. Anarchists also un-arrested youth, and encouraged people to push dumpsters and other objects into the streets to prevent the police from advancing, a tactic that was quickly picked up and utilized. Other examples of this type of interchange involved anarchists encouraging youth participating in the riots to wear bandanas over their faces, change clothes during calm moments and other tactics to help avoid arrest or identification. Without question, the exchange went both ways as anarchists took away valuable lessons in mobility, evasion, and more as they worked together with the youth throughout the night.

None of this, however, suggests that anarchists had some sort of control or single handedly determined the events that transpired. The rage and energy that transformed downtown Oakland into a momentary battlefield came from those who are most directly affected by the racist police state regime. No one group had any control over what unfolded. It was a spontaneous rebellion that sprang organically from the streets of Oakland and in retrospect anarchists played an important yet relatively minor role.

The property destruction and rage that burned throughout downtown Oakland was at times undirected and ended up damaging many small businesses and cars along with corporate targets such as Sears and McDonald's. However, some of the most powerful moments that parralleled the destruction were confrontations with police and spontaneous gatherings of people in the street who refused to be dispersed. It was during these moments that chanting would again erupt from the crowd reminding all who were present that the direct political demands of justice for Oscar Grant and active resistance to the racist police state system in the United States were the motivations of all who took to the streets that evening.

It's important to also remember that not one person was assaulted during the actions and there were no reports of fights or scuffles amongst the groups of youth who resisted police and destroyed property into the night. In this sense, the rebellion was not violent.

On the other hand the Oakland Police Department, who everyday harass, intimidate and beat Oakland's youth, was unleashing its very real violence that night. Police opened fire on crowds with different types of less lethal projectiles and in some cases shot tear gas canisters directly into people's bodies. A Berkeley High teacher had his face bashed during arrest and spent the night in the hospital before being taken back downtown for booking. A man taking pictures was attacked by police and his bike helmet was cracked as he was beaten. During the mass arrest at the end of the night, 80 people were forced by police to lay on their stomachs at 20th and Broadway, including a very pregnant woman who was screaming in pain.

What manifested during the Oakland rebellion was a moment of interchange and revolutionary transformation that rarely happens within the rituals of left organizing in the Bay Area. Between white "community organizers" overtaken by guilt into an impotent politics of servitude, professional activists worried about annual reports and grant cycles, and vanguardist marxist sects continually looking to use the next demonstration as a recruiting drive, many radicals find themselves in a desert devoid of revolutionary activity and thought. Within this barren landscape, it is rare to find new possibilities for radical social change while combatting racism and the constant oppression of capitalism. Resisting the police shoulder to shoulder, destroying property (albeit with different emphasis), helping one another evade arrest, exchanging tactics and gestures of solidarity across racial barriers pushes the desire for a multi-racial revolutionary movement ahead, more than any speaker at a rally ever could.

Anarchists are very accustomed to accusations of spoiling carefully managed demonstrations, and in some cases this is true and necessary. The Oakland rebellion was a different story. Those who are truly committed to revolutionary change in this country need to appreciate the significance of what unfolded in the streets that night and move forward without falling into the usual sectarian traps.

This analysis was written collaboratively by a group of anarchists based out of Oakland who together were present at all moments during the rebellion.

www.counterpunch.org

Audio From News Report: Police Raid Los Angeles Anarchist Bookfair Event 11/16/08

On Sunday 11/16/08 the Hip-Hop duo know as X-VANDALS (MC Not4Prophet of RICANSTRUCTION and DJ Johnny Juice of Public Enemy) was scheduled to do a benefit show for RAC (Revolutionary Autonomous Communities) a dirt roots anarchist organization doing work in the communities that they work and live in...

The show was to be a benefit for an Anarchist Book-fair that RAC is planning...

The LAPD had other plans.... click on the link for the full story...

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/30962

AK Press Statement on Gaza attacks

feel free to post and repost.

in struggle, Jose Palafox


http://www.revolutionbythebook.akpress.org/ak-statement-on-gaza-attacks/


AK Statement on Gaza attacks (1/5/09)

By AK Press | January 5, 2009

AK Press denounces all current, past, and future massacres waged upon the Palestinian people at the hands of the U.S. supported Israeli state. We find the recent attacks on Gaza absolutely abhorrent and beyond any measure of justification. We support the Palestinian people in their struggle to live in peace and dignity, free from the physical, mental, and spiritual violence caused by occupation.

In dignity,

The AK Press Collective

* * *

Please take a few minutes to read through the following links. We encourage you to post any relevant links/information in the comments section of our blog.


* Arab Resource and Organizing Center: http://www. araborganizing.org/

* Statement from AROC: http://www. araborganizing.org/gaza

* Palestinian Mothers: http://palestinian. ning.com/

* Consecutive Statements of the Free Palestine Alliance: http://answer. pephost.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8869

* Statement from The First World Festival of Dignified Rage: English and Spanish


-- AK Press
674 A 23rd Street
Oakland, CA 94612

Phone: (510) 208-1700
Fax: (510) 208-1701
http://www.akpress.org
http://www.revolutionbythebook.akpress.org/

New Year's Resolution

Continue to Build Resistance, Rebellion and Revolution

and






Art by Emory Douglas, tattoo hooked up by the homie Marco at Ink Sessions in North Hollywood. Art is symbolic, it encourages rebellion and revolution.