Joaquin Cienfuegos

Nick Diaz!

2012-01-27T23:32:00.000-08:00

Shit MANarchists say

2012-01-27T13:32:00.001-08:00

Watch "shit MANarchists say" on YouTube

"I Live, I Die, I Organize": The Oakland Commune

2012-01-24T18:14:00.000-08:00

"I Live, I Die, I Organize": The Oakland Commune

Dos Heridos por Pistoleros de Minera Canadiense en Ocotlán, Oaxaca

2012-01-19T22:48:00.000-08:00

Recibimos, con la urgencia de las redes sociales, esta denuncia:

“Los compañeros de la Coordinadora de Pueblos Unidos del Valle de Ocotlán informan que fueron reprimidos en la comunidad de San José del Progreso, hay 2 heridos con arma de fuego: Bernardo Méndez Vázquez y Abigail Vázquez, por un grupo de pistoleros al servicio de Fortuna Silver–Minera Cuzcatlán, en San José del Progreso, Ocotlán, Oaxaca; en complicidad con el presidente municipal. Esto cuando buscaban impedir obras hidráulicas en su comunidad para que la minera consuma el agua de la región. Ambos compañeros se encuentran muy graves.”

En Ocotlán fue la Sexta Asamblea Nacional de Afectados Ambientales.

Las fotos de quienes han defendido a la mina:

How Nonviolence Protects the State, Peter Gelderloos Interview

2012-01-16T14:52:00.000-08:00

Cherán: gestación de la autonomía popular

2012-01-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

TU RITUAL VIRTUAL

Radio Indígena ¡En vivo!

Desde las ruinas del ciberespacio, retransmitimos mensajes de la radio comunitaria de Cherán, Michoacán, la Radio Fogata.

En Tu Ritual Virtual: Cherán, gestación de la autonomía popular.

Por www.radioindigena.com, voces de las comunidades indígenas de México, y más allá.

Mantente conectado con el círculo de la conciencia, porque, finalmente, todos somos nativos de nuestra Madre Tierra.

Jueves 12 de enero | 10 pm México | 8 pm California

¡Salud!

Rompiendo el Silencio...

a John Brown Moment - A real white ally

2012-01-11T00:12:00.000-08:00

Beyond Fighting to Survive.

2012-01-10T19:31:00.001-08:00

The only way to go beyond just fighting to survive, and actually live, is to fight the system.

Ana Tijoux - Shock

2012-01-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

Fight for the people.

2012-01-04T12:10:00.001-08:00

Fight and organize because you love the people not because you're in love with yourself.

Paolo @ Decolonize Oakland: Nonviolence vs Diversity of Tactics

2011-12-20T23:56:00.000-08:00

Indigenous Women of the Movement Statement on Non-Violence

2011-12-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

"Nonviolence as a mass political strategy was never part of our traditional ways of being on Turtle Island. We laid siege to forts, we picked up arms, we mounted riots and uprisings and full scale guerilla wars against colonial governments, militaries, corporations. We ate the hearts of our enemies. We did not curry favour from rich white men, we fought and killed them."

Posted on:

http://bermudaradical.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/indigenous-women-of-the-movement-why-we-wrote-the-statement-of-apology-we-wish-had-been-written-by-the-defenders-of-the-land-organizing-committee/

Indigenous Women of the Movement: Why We Wrote the “Statement of Apology” We Wish Had Been Written By the Defenders of the Land Organizing Committee

April 28, 2011

It has been seven days since we published a satirical “statement of apology“, from the organizing committee of Defender’ of the Land. A group of women and grassroots land defenders wrote the statement, because our voices had been silenced. We feel that what we have to say here must be heard, and so we will continue to speak.

In Spring 2010, we blocked consensus of a “June 24th Day of Action” call-out for a march during the G20 week in Toronto. We were ignored and silenced. That march was the only indigenous-led event for that important week of public dissent. We had one day for our voices to be heard in the streets. We believe in consensus as a traditional way of guarding against elitism and privilege in our communities, and we believed that by blocking consensus, especially as a group of native women, we would at least be given the chance to speak and be heard. Not only were we ignored and silenced, but the organizing committee blocked communication between us and several native communities. We were told they were “afraid” of us, as though indigenous peoples need protection from each other when our voices speak different opinions.

We blocked consensus because we felt that the call out for the “June 24th Day of Action” (which was sent out by Defenders of the Land) would criminalize and disempower grassroots land defenders and erode our autonomy to defend ourselves and our land and communities. We felt that the heavy use of “non-violence” wording was a slippery slope toward co-operation with the Canadian government and police…who also desire us to be “non-violent” so that we are less of a threat to the realities that we face daily: our children being stolen, our lands being exploited for profit, murder and brutality at the hands of police and racist settlers, the disappearance and murder of thousands of indigenous women.

We felt that this was not an issue of semantics, that this was deliberately being taught to our peoples, our youth and our communities by the interests of government and corporations, who we began finding out more and more, were actually helping to fund well-paid activists who ran well-funded workshops, training and retreats on “non-violence” and “civil disobedience”. Some of this was traced back to funding which came from “ethical oil” strategies, and that’s when we started realizing the sickening accuracy of our premonitions.

The June 24th “Day of Action”, although well attended and successful in bringing people together to demonstrate resistance, was also extremely compromised. Undercover police and informants who came to the organizing meetings were “justified” in being there, people were told that because of “trouble makers”, we should cooperate with the police. These “trouble makers” were several indigenous people who were standing up and questioning the way the organizing was being increasingly straitjacketed.

“Non violence” was used to narrow the parameters of our ability to speak and express our struggle: we were barred from wearing camoflage, barred from wearing masks, barred from carrying the Unity flag or from any “warrior” images or symbols. On the day of the march, undercover police were permitted by the organizers to infiltrate the march, and those of us who had questioned the organizers were told that we would be turned over (by the march’s own security team) to the police.

That has been our experience and involvement with the organizing committee of the Defenders of the Land, a network that began with the dream of a woman: a clanmother and Elder from one of the most exploited communities on Turtle Island which has been devastated by mercury poisoning and logging: Grassy Narrows.

We believe in honouring the dreams of women, in freeing ourselves from judgement and bias, decolonizing our minds and our hearts. We believe in being action-oriented, not paper-oriented. We don’t need Canada’s approval or consent, and we don’t need government or corporate funding. We have always had what we will always need: the Kaianerenkowa, the Medicine Wheel, our teachings, our clan systems, our languages, our ceremonies.

We can empower ourselves, we don’t need to wait for an NGO or a suit to tell us how to feel empowered. We aren’t the ones who need “non violence training”, the ones who need to stop using violence are the ones in power: police, government and corporations.

We absolutely believe in non-violence: when the cops lay down their weapons, the mining and logging companies abandon their industries, when the government returns the land to the people who belong to her, when racist settlers lay down their racism and patriarchy, when we vomit up the internalized racism from generations of abuse and torture at the hands of the government and can feel good in our own skin, can feel loved by each other, comforted, proud of and nourished by our beautiful brown skin, instead of vying for the attention of white thighs, settling for the white lie.

When the violence against us stops, maybe then we can begin to return to a time of peace. But to adopt a strategy of non-violence during a time of war is suicide: and we already have enough children and youth killing themselves because their innate resistance to genocide is stifled by white Canadian education, media, foster homes, jails and poverty food. Native children and youth do not need to be taught how to defend themselves: they need to be given the freedom to do what their spirits already understand is necessary.

Nonviolence as a mass political strategy was never part of our traditional ways of being on Turtle Island. We laid siege to forts, we picked up arms, we mounted riots and uprisings and full scale guerilla wars against colonial governments, militaries, corporations. We ate the hearts of our enemies. We did not curry favour from rich white men, we fought and killed them.

The most successful military campaign against Amerikkka was waged and won by the Oglala Sioux at Little Big Horn in 1876 and in 1973, they defended it again against the FBI, military and goon squads. Our people were often were masked in ceremonies and in battle, just look at the indigenous Zapatista movement–”masking up” is a practice rooted in indigenous movements and indigenous resistance.

Non-violence may be one strategy, and true to our nature, if it works, we’ll use it. If it doesn’t, we won’t. The bottom line is that we defended our land and our families with whatever we could. We owe our very existence to our ancestors who resisted total extermination and genocide by fighting back, and we will continue to honour those who gave us life by resisting the ongoing colonization of our lands and our peoples. If we have breath, we owe each one not only to our ancestors but to the land they fought and died to protect, and to the next seven generations.

-Indigenous Women of the Movement

Los torogoces de morazan, vamos a la lucha

2011-12-20T02:07:00.000-08:00

Sur Centro

2011-12-19T23:17:00.001-08:00

Sur Centro, I miss you.

Tenants Win Battle Against Slumlord in South Central

2011-12-17T14:55:00.000-08:00

If you pick up the L.A. Times today you can read about my old building in South Central we organized to expose landlord and brought city council to investigate corruption. What the story doesn't say is that all the tenants are getting 10-18 thousand to relocate. There is also a pending law suit on the landlord, John Callaghan.

You have to organize where you're at, and let these slumlords and other parasites of the people know: "Do not fuck with us, because you're fucking with the wrong people!" :)

I'm the tenant that moved in the Fall of 2009 :)

Here is the story:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-illegal-housing-20111217,0,5010679.story

Tenants ordered to relocate as officials investigate safety of converted home
The landlord turned a single-family house into more than 40 rental rooms, raising questions about how the project passed inspections and received permits.

Emanuel Borris has lived in the converted home since February. Tenants say the landlord crammed more than 40 rental units into the house. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times / December 15, 2011)

By Jessica Garrison and David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times
December 17, 2011

Three years ago, landlord John Callaghan was granted city permits to enlarge a South Los Angeles single family home, creating three apartments.

But he didn't stop there. He crammed as many as 44 rental rooms into a warren of narrow hallways, tiny, shared bathrooms and communal kitchens.

Now, as the holidays approach, dozens of renters who paid as much as $500 per unit are being ordered to vacate the burnt orange three-story complex, in a neighborhood about a mile from the Coliseum.

"What's Christmas this year?" asked tenant William Pack, 35. "To get an eviction notice, where it's not our fault.… It has already spoiled the holidays."

Tenants and city officials agree that the place is potentially unsafe, but some city officials are asking what took inspectors so long to figure it out.

"Clearly, someone was not doing their job," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents the area where the building is located and has demanded a formal inquiry.

Adding to questions surrounding the case of 443 W. 49th St. is that the owner received an updated permit allowing occupancy in the building last month from the city's Department of Building and Safety. That permit, which department officials say cleared up a clerical error, was reissued despite repeated orders to correct violations discovered by the city's Housing Department, which regulates multiple-unit apartments.

In a court proceeding just this week, Callaghan's attorney cited the new occupancy permit as evidence that the apartment building was legal, according to Sonia Pflaster, a lawyer for the tenants. The case, seeking to evict one of the tenants, was continued.

"It makes me incredibly frustrated," said Pflaster, noting that the new permit appears to be completely at odds with the city's orders to correct violations at the property. The building's owner "is using these documents as a shield, and he is abusing tenants and renting extremely hazardous units." Callaghan and his attorney declined to comment.

The latest inquiry involving the Department of Building and Safety comes on the heels of a federal undercover sting operation. Earlier this year, two department inspectors pleaded guilty to taking bribes in exchange for issuing city permits. Records show both inspectors worked on preliminary stages of the construction at 49th Street, although no evidence has surfaced of bribery in this case. The

Housing Department has also had issues recently. Last year, a clerk working the front counter of the agency's Koreatown office was charged with 11 counts of taking bribes. She eventually pleaded no contest to a single felony count.

Construction began on the 49th Street building in 2008, records show. The city issued a temporary certificate of occupancy in 2009 for three units. It's not clear when the owner transformed the interior, a third-floor attic and a carport into a hive of rented bedrooms and shared kitchens and bathrooms. Pflaster, the attorney for the tenants, said she has spoken to one tenant who moved in as early as the fall of 2009. By the summer of 2010, according to tenants at the building Thursday, the third floor, which the city has found is illegal, was occupied.

Attorneys for the tenants said they believe the building has 44 units. City officials said they cannot confirm that because they do not recognize them as housing units since they are illegal.

By last winter, tenants began to organize, complaining about cockroaches, a lack of heat and the landlord's requirement that they clean common areas, among other issues. They teamed up with organizers and attorneys from the Inner City Law Center, which advocates for tenants' rights, and began filing complaints with the Housing Department.

City records show that the Building and Safety Department received a complaint April 18 — from the city's Housing Department — that a single family home had been illegally converted into multiple units.

A Building and Safety Department inspector visited the property, according to spokesman David Lara, and "observed what appeared to be an apartment building." The inspector saw that the building had valid permits to be three units and — without entering it — determined that it could be three units, Lara said. The case was referred back to the Housing Department.

The Housing Department sent its own inspectors, who found a host of problems, including unpermitted units, and unpermitted plumbing and electrical work. In June, September and November, the department issued abatement orders for structural hazards, fire safety violations and "unapproved construction," among other issues.

But the owner did not fix the problems, according to housing officials.

This week, Housing Department officials asked the Department of Building and Safety to make sure the building wasn't an immediate danger.

On Wednesday, inspectors from Department of Building and Safety determined that the building was not an "immediate hazard," Lara said. But they could not determine "if that foundation can hold the third floor," he added.

The next day, Housing Department officials descended on the property to post 30 day notices, telling the landlord that he must empty the units, bring the property up to code and pay relocation assistance to displaced residents.

Perry, who is running for mayor, introduced a motion Friday demanding that officials from the Department of Building and Safety come before the council and explain how the property "was allowed to grow to this size without permits, and when and by whom the site was inspected."

Perry said she also wanted to know why the department reissued the certificate of occupancy last month — well after the housing department had found evidence of illegal units.

Lara, the Department of Building and Safety spokesman, acknowledged "there might be instances where the department could do a better job of communicating. We are working on it. But we handle thousands of permits on a daily basis."

He said the department is planning improvements.

As of now, the tenants say they are hoping they can quickly get relocation assistance so they can begin looking for new places to live.

Perry's spokeswoman said the cash-strapped city may have to front tens of thousands of dollars and try to recoup the money from the landlord. Housing advocates believe relocation payments for all the tenants could reach $300,000.

A Gnawing Hunger For Justice

2011-12-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

Posted on: http://nothingtobegainedhere.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/a-gnawing-hunger-for-justice/

By Vagabond

Oscar Lopez Rivera POW by vagabond ©

Oscar Lopez River is a US held Puerto Rican Political Prisoner and Prisoner Of War. He has been in prison since 1981 serving a 70 year sentence for seditious conspiracy to overthrow the United States government. Over twelve of those years have been spent in a solitary confinement in a cell specifically designed for sensory depravation. Oscar was a member of the FALN – Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacíon Nacional – Armed Forces Of National Liberation a clandestine armed organization that fought to free the island nation of Puerto Rico from US colonial rule. The FALN took the position that the US has no jurisdictional rights or power over Puerto Rico and under UN Declaration 1514 a colonized people have to right to use whatever means they choose to extricate themselves from colonization, including the use of armed force.

Despite the nature of his conditions Oscar has remained steadfast to his ideals and has remained both politically and artistically active behind the walls. So it’s no surprise to many of us who know about Oscar that he has been keeping up with the Occupy Wall Street movement. It’s no surprise that he sent this message just yesterday about his decision to begin a hunger strike in support of the occupy movement… It’s no surprise that all these years in prison have not broken him, it’s no surprise that he remains defiant “from the urns of hell”…

“I’ll be fasting on the 10th of December – International Human Rights Day. i’ll start it the evening of the 9th. i’m inviting every person who loves freedom and justice and believes that a better and more just world is possible to join me. The person can fast for as long as s/he can. The fast is in solidarity with the OWS movement and the celebration of international human rights day. If we are indignados, who believe in the power of righteous indignation, we should be supportive of the OWS movement. This movement has been able to galvanize the people’s righteous indignation and has successfully activated and mobilized a mass force that has shaken the foundation (Wall St. and Washington) of the one per cent that controls the wealth and the political power at the expense of the 99 percent that doesn’t have any wealth or any control of the political power. The one percent is already using its muscle to try to repress the OWS movement and to disorganize it. Our solidarity is crucial. If you aren’t an indignado or occupier there is no good reason why you shouldn’t share your solidarity with the OWS. If you want a better and more just world then you have to dare to struggle to make sure it becomes a reality. At this particular juncture OWS represents the possibility of a movement for a better and more just world in the usa. Show your solidarity and use the power of your righteous indignation to struggle for a better and more just world. Join the fast or be an indignado/occupier. En resistencia y lucha, OLR.”

Join the Campaign To Help Free Oscar Lopez Rivera
Coordinating Committee
National Boricua Human Rights Network
2739 W. Division Street
Chicago IL 60622
www.boricuahumanrights.org
Follow us on Twitter: olrcat
Comité Pro-Derechos Humanos
www.presospoliticospuertorriquenos.org

Oscar is not the only one who is making the connections between capitalism and colonialism… i’m working on a new film called PAWNSHOP DREAM that was inspired by another now former Puerto Rican Political Prisoner And Prisoner of War Dylcia Pagan. PAWNSHOP DREAM is an exploration of where capitalism and colonialism interest. Right now we have begun a campaign to try and raise funds to make the film… For more information on the campaign check out PAWNSHOP DREAM…

NYM Presents: Take Back the Solstice! Dec. 25th, 2011

2011-12-15T02:06:00.000-08:00

Native Youth Movement Presents:

http://www.facebook.com/events/202596873158115/

Take Back the Solstice:
Reclaim Indigenous Ceremony

Commemorating the Dec. 22, 1997 Zapatista Massacre and the Zapatista Uprising January 1st, 1994

Opening with Native Drum & Dance troop "Red Boy"

with music by:

Hector Guerra - (Pachamama Crew - Bolivia)

Cambio - (Quilombo Crew - (Watsonville, CA)

ZXL (Zipactli Xlahun)

Hosted by Guerrilla Queenz

$5 suggested donation

Food and drinks for sale

Doors open at 5pm

Maravilla Handball Courts501 N. Mednik Avenue (between Floral & Cesar Chavez Ave.) East Los Angeles, CA 90022

Hector Guerra de Pachamama Crew desde Bolivia performing on Dec. 25th!

Defend Yourself! Fuck the Riot Police!

2011-12-14T07:14:00.001-08:00

http://www.scribd.com/doc/75310569/Coptech-Letter

Vikki Law: Resisting Gender Violence Without Cops or Prisons

2011-12-12T13:05:00.000-08:00

All I Want Is You (People's Remix) - Rodstarz of Rebel Diaz and Baron of...

2011-12-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

Cherán - Hueso, Héctor Guerra, Lengualerta, Moyenei, Rocco, Rubén Albarr...

2011-12-08T01:22:00.000-08:00

para toda mi gente de raises P'urhe'pecha!!!!!!!

Ride or die gyrl!

2011-12-07T22:20:00.001-08:00

I need a ride or die gyrl! ;-)

Immortal Technique and Dead Prez - Angels and Demons

2011-12-07T09:35:00.001-08:00

Watch "Immortal Technique - Angels & Demons [The Martyr]" on YouTube

Mapuche occupy Apache oil plant in Argentina

2011-12-02T14:38:00.001-08:00

http://indigenousnews.org/2011/11/26/argentina-mapuche-community-occupies-plant-of-u-s-gas-and-oil-company/

Posted on 26/11/2011 by Ryan Seelau

Beginning on Tuesday, November 22nd, and continuing for several days, the Mapuche community of Gelay Ko has been occupying a compressor plant of the Apache Corporation — a U.S. company based in Houston, Texas — claiming that their operations are taking place on Indigenous lands and arepolluting the local water supply.

The protests are occurring in the Neuquén province of Argentina and did result in at least temporary loss of services to some local communities. Although there have been no reports of violence as of yet, there is a strong police presence in the region now and both the protestors and company employees have alleged threatening behavior.

According to the lonko (leader) of the Gelay Ko community, Cristina Lincopán, and declarations put forth by the community, the Apache Corporation is operating on traditional Mapuche territory and is drilling without consultation. They have demanded that the corporation to stop these actions. In doing so, the Community also alleges that Apache is contaminating the local water supply. The Community has sought an end to the drilling without consultation and wants the creation of an entity that will oversee and report on the pollution produced by Apache.

According to Lincopán, it is the provincial government who is “lacking the commitment to resolve these issues.” The Community has expressed a desire for dialogue, but according to Gelay Ko’s werken (spokesperson), Martín Maliqueo,the provincial government continues to grants concessions without the support or consideration of the local community. And according to community member Norma Lincopán, the pollution from these concessions is increasingly visible in both the water and the pastures where the animals graze.

Various media accounts of the protests suggest different levels of demonstration. There have been allegations that power lines were cut and nails were spread on the road by at least one news source. Others, however, suggest that the Mapuche protestors have blocked the entrance to the plant, which resulted in a temporary work stoppage and an inability to continue drilling a new hole. There have also been allegations that the protestors damaged vehicles, but the Community has explicitly denied these claims, stating they have been made to make the protestors “appear like a bunch of delinquents.”

It is clear, however, that police were sent to the area to prevent any violence from occurring. The provincial government also sent in mediators to “restore good relations” between the parties, although no reports have been made on whether this tactic has been successful or not. The presence of police hasbrought its own set of allegations from the Community who indicate that they have been threatened and that shots have even been fired into the air to intimidate those assembled.

According to a spokesperson from Apache, the protests had resulted in the plantoperating at 70% of capacity. Services were interrupted for some smaller communities, but had been restored although the company warns of the possibility of further problems depending on how the protesters proceed.

The Apache Corporation is a U.S. company that is headquartered in Houston, Texas. They have been operating in Argentina since 2001, with plants in Rio Negro, Tierra del Fuego Mendoza, and Neuquén. They also have interests in three major Argentinian oil fields: la Neuquén, la Austral, and la Cuyana. According to the Apache website, the company reported record production last quarter with earnings approaching US$ 1 billion. Additionally, although their mission statement does not mention Indigenous peoples specifically, they do state, “We derive benefit from the Earth and take our environmental responsibility seriously.”

The protests come just days before the U.N. Special Rapporteur, James Anaya,visits Argentina for the first time. Anaya is scheduled to be in Argentina from November 27th through December 7th, and will be in the province where the protests are taking place — Neuquén — during his visit.

The Takeover: Top People of Color Occupations

2011-12-01T04:00:00.001-08:00

http://writinghistorywithoutapen.tumblr.com/post/13467210342/peopleofcoloroccupation

Contrary to popular belief, occupations are not a new thing. In fact, Black and Brown communites have been in the foreground of taking shit over since the civil war. Here are the highlights.

Fort Monroe- Fort Monroe was a Union garrison located in Virgina. Led by General Butler, Fort Monroe was a site of a major occupation when three Africans Frank Baker, James Townsend and Sheppard Mallory ran from their plantation to Fort Monroe to escape slavery. General Butler declared the three contraband and shielded them from their master who came to “retrieve his property.” Word spread about the men’s brave escape and within a week over 100 families came to Fort Monroe. There they established “contraband camps.”

I Hotel- The International Hotel was one of the last remnants of San Francisco’s Filipino community. As a hub for working class immigrant families, it was targeted for demolition to expand San Francisco’s business district. Activists from “The Red Guards” ( a Asian group inspired by the Young Lords) and the Asian Community Center fought developers and helped rehab the aging hotel. In 1977 activists barricaded t themselves inside, but after two months of struggle, the city of San Francisco gained the upper hand and evicted the tenants from the I Hotel.

Lincoln Hospital-Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx was known as the “butcher shop.” Hundreds of people died there and staff was largely burnout from an uncaring administration. In 1970, members of the Young Lords, Black Panthers and Health Revolution Union Movement took over the public hospital. Based on a 10 point health program, the organizers set up a TB clinic and later established the first acupuncture treatment center for heroin addiction (organized and led by Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member, Dr. Mutulu Shakur.)

City College- Known as “White Rhodesia” the City College of the City University of New York with close to 95% white despite being located in Harlem. Black and Puerto Rican students led a two week long occupation and strike at the school.The result was the establishment of Black Studies and open admission, a program guaranteeing a free college education to any high school graduate in New York City.

Alcatraz- Native American activists occupied the famed prison, once home to Al Capone and abandoned by the federal government. The occupiers demanded the land to establish Native American institutions. During the 19 month occupation, sympathizers sent food and supplies by boat while activists slept in cells. At one point, the leadership offered to sell back Alcatraz to the government for $24, a tongue in cheek reference to Manhattan Island.

Weinstein Hall, NYU- Little know (or recognized) in the Stonewall Rebellion that launched gay liberation, was the role of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Riveria. These two transgender activists were on the leading edge of the rebellion, battling the police, and coining the term “Whose Streets, Our Streets!”.
Johnson and Rivera later lead the takeover of Weinstein Hall at New York University after the campus cancelled gay dancing there. Rivera said ““All we fought for at Weinstein Hall was lost when we left upon the request of the pigs…. You people run if you want to, but we’re tired of running. We intend to fight for our rights until we get them.”

Statue of Liberty- Watch the crown! Puerto Rican activists took over lady liberty, unfurled the national flag and demanded freedom for political prisoners. The action, 1 year after United States bicentennial, renewed focus on the colonial status of Puerto Rico. One year later, Jimmy Carter released five of the main Puerto Rican political prisoners.

Birmingham Bus-Occupation usually means a crowd but on Dec.1 1955, one was all that was needed to set off the civil rights/ Black Power movement. Rosa Parks a tireless organizer refused to give up her seat on a rush hour bus. The action lead to the Birmingham bus boycott and the rest is people’s history…

Decolonize Oakland: Creating a More Radical Movement

2011-12-01T03:35:00.001-08:00

Decolonize Oakland: Creating a More Radical Movement

Oakland is home to many communities. To better reflect the multiracial dimensions of our city, the Queer People of Color/People of Color Caucus propose that the name be changed from ‘Occupy Oakland’ to ‘Decolonize Oakland.’

Oakland is the ancestral homeland of the Chochenyo Ohlone, an indigenous community that has no collective territory of their own and no recognized legal status or rights. As detailed in The Memorandum of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, which the General Assembly passed with 97% support on 28 October 2011, the Chochenyo Ohlone have survived a brutal colonial history and ongoing occupation, which makes them strong members, allies, leaders, and guides to the movement of the 99%. In passing that memorandum of solidarity, we “declared that ‘Occupy Oakland’ aspires to ‘Decolonize Oakland’ – to ‘Decolonize Wall Street’ – with the guidance and participation of indigenous peoples.” Let us honor that memorandum and work in meaningful solidarity to “initiate a new era of peace and cooperation that will work for everyone, including the Earth and the original inhabitants of thisland.” Let us heed the encouragement of our native sisters and brothers, elders and youth, to choose a name that reflects the society and culture we plan to build: Decolonize Oakland.

As members of the 99%, we want to spread our message, swell our ranks, and use political language that is inclusive of our many communities. We want to open our movement to even greater participation. For many of us, including our local native communities, the terms ‘occupy’ and ‘occupation’ echo our experiences under colonial domination and normalizes the military occupations that the U.S. is supporting in places such as Iraq, Palestine, and Afghanistan. Colonization, occupation, segregation are still active forms of violence in our communities. Our neighborhoods exist under a police occupation. Gentrification, which is pricing poor families out of their homes, is colonization under a new name. Segregation continues in education, as wealthier families send their children to private schools while our public schools suffer and shrink.

This name change is not about words but about deeds. At the now dismantled Ogawa/Grant encampment, we created a home for all, providing food for the hungry, medical treatment for the sick and injured, and counseling for those of us suffering from depression, addiction, and fear. We offered workshops on preventing foreclosures, resisting police violence, and organizing against corporate capitalism. We hosted healing circles and talking circles. All of our efforts were geared at actualizing gender, economic, and racial justice. We will continue this work whether or not we rebuild the encampment. In both words and deeds, we have been practicing decolonization at Ogawa/Grant Plaza.

Decolonization means connecting to the land and each other by growing and sharing food. It means connecting to the traditions of our ancestors and creating new forms of authentic human connection. Decolonization is a practice of healing from violence in forms such as slavery, occupation, and poverty. It is about raising our children to find beauty and meaning in their cultural identities. Decolonization means telling stories that emancipate our minds and dreams. It is education as a practice of freedom, not a lucrative career path.

While we know that "Occupy" is the terminology used around the country to explain and unify this movement, it does not address the real issues of colonization that happened in this country and particularly to Oakland and the Chochenyo Ohlone residents of this city. For years the Bay Area and Oakland have been the birthplace of revolutionary movements and innovations in movement work.

Changing the name to "DeColonize" is an innovation that would also speak to the brilliance and community of OO to address the current issues of gentrification in Oakland and the social problems that gentrification have perpetuated as well as pay homage to our revolutionary ancestors who fought for a better, more inclusive and respectful Oakland.

We want to deepen our efforts at political transformation by using language that heals, unites, and educates our communities. This name change signals our deep and lasting commitment to liberation and meaningful political education against corporate and capitalist violence, which are rooted in colonial relations.

The divisions that exist between the 99% and the 1% are built on colonial relations. It is our lands, our labor, our bodies, and our voices that have been stolen; at the encampment at Ogawa/Grant Plaza and in our local neighborhoods, we have come together to decolonize our minds, restructure our relationships to oneanother, and build political institutions that meet the needs of all people. What we are doing is decolonizing Oakland. Let us choose a name that reflects our actions and beliefs. Decolonize Oakland! Liberate our communities! Practice freedom!

Corrina Gould, Morning Star Gali, Krea Gomez, and Anita DeAsis

_________________

from white ally Michelle Steinberg:

Hey everyone- I’d like to encourage you all to consider coming out to the Oakland General Assemblythis Sunday December 4 at 2pm to support the passage of a proposal changing the name of the local Occupy movement to Decolonize Oakland instead. This promises to be a contentious debate in which many voices appear poised to fight against this critical step towards acknowledging the concerns of local Indigenous peoples, whose land has in fact been occupied for over 500 years.

While the space at Oscar Grant Plaza and its transient satellite locations in no way reflect truly decolonized areas, this reality is precisely why we must aspire to a clearer articulation of what we are actually attempting to accomplish in Oakland’s chapter of this now international saga. Though the ease with which the GA passed a unanimous measure last week supporting the annual Black Friday protest in Emeryville against the desecration of an Ohlone Shellmound is commendable, several recent issues make it even more imperative that the GA take this opportunity to demonstrate that it is can pay more than just lip service to the notion of solidarity with Native peoples- and People of Color more broadly.

The complete lack of inclusion of local, historically significant land occupations, such as those at Alcatraz and (the very timely) Sogorea Te/Glen Cove in this past weekend’s discussion of the “History of Occupations in the Bay Area", is an egregious reminder of the continued marginalization of both local Indigenous activists and the history of Native-led struggles. Further, the potential erection of a tipi in OGP, characterized as somehow reflective of ”historic struggles of the Sioux Indians on the Plains of the U.S.” is outrageous, when precious few of the usual GA suspects can likely cite the names of California Indian tribes, let alone their traditional dwellings. I was led to understand that this movement was meant to reflect the concerns of local communities, so the collapsing of the vast diversity of Native cultures with the flagrant use of this stereotypical pan-cultural icon is ridiculous.

A vote to support this resolution set forth by California Native people, including a member of the Ohlone tribe on whose land OGP sits, would not only demonstrate long overdue respect. It would also allow a group of primarily white GA participants (which includes myself) to suggest that they might have the ability to act truly in solidarity; a central tenet of which is supporting motions put forth by marginalized peoples, rather than attempting to continually impose one’s own framing of what those needs and concerns might be or only invite said communities to join one’s own struggle in predetermined ways at opportune moments (or engage in creepy cultural appropriation!)

I’m not much for the social media outlets, but feel free to forward this information around as you see fit. The exact language of the proposal is below. Hope to see you this Sunday, 2pm at Oscar Grant Plaza (14th & Broadway, Downtown Oakland.) Thanks! Michelle Steinberg

****update:

Hey all- So you may notice that there is now a dead hyperlink in my last email about the plan to erect a tipi at OGP. In the last few minutes, folks have swiftly addressed the problematic language that was on the Occupy Oakland website... That's a good sign- appreciation to those who orchestrated it.

Also, another consideration on this issue of changing the name to Decolonize Oakland is that arguments suggesting that it will somehow create disunity among the "Occupy movement" fail to address the central role that Oakland can have in encouraging other cities to take similar steps. In fact, several places across the country have already done so and it stands to reason that given the militancy originally shown by OO, this would be an important continuation in the right direction... Just sayin. -Michelle

Video: Riot Police Evict Occupy LA

2011-11-30T12:10:00.001-08:00

Watch "Riot Police evict Occupy LA" on YouTube

41st & Central

2011-11-29T01:23:00.000-08:00

Free Ebook: Critical Analysis of the Left

2011-11-27T21:51:00.001-08:00

Free Ebook PDF Link:

"Critical Analysis of the Left: Let's Clean House"

by Joaquin Cienfuegos

http://ebookbrowse.com/joaquin-cienfuegos-critical-analysis-of-the-left-lets-clean-house-a4-pdf-d63824240

Un-Occupy Our Lands! Shut Down ALEC! Nov. 29 - Dec. 3

2011-11-23T23:32:00.001-08:00

Call for Indigenous Convergence to Resist ALEC! - November 29-December 3 - Onk Akimel O'odham Lands (Scottsdale, AZ)

Un-occupy Our Lands!Indigenous Peoples Gathering in Resistance to Corporate & State Terrorism

Tues. Nov. 29, 6PM - 9:30PM

At Serena Padilla Residence

Onk Akimel O'odham Nation (Salt River)

9312 E. Thomas Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85256

This is an opportunity to share, connect, and build solidarity.

Dinner will be provided. Please bring your own chairs.

Camping for Indigenous participants available.

Please RSVP with oodhamjeved@gmail.com.

Allies and supporters welcome.

Greetings.

My name is Serena Padilla. I live in Occupied Onk Akimel Jeved, now known as the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community.

I am in support of an Indigenous convergence before and during the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference, scheduled for November 30-December 2, in hopes to share, connect and build solidarity amongst all the Indigenous Nations that are affected by ALEC.

At this time, I am opening my grounds to accommodate all Indigenous participants coming to our territory due to the ALEC Conference. I am opening my grounds for camping and access to my outside kitchen.

I hope this gathering will strengthen our connections as Indigenous Peoples, now and for the future generations to come.

More information: www.azresistsalec.wordpress.com

Energy/Mining Companies & ALEC: http://azresistsalec.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/energymining-companies-and-alec/

---

In Oaxaca, Mexico we're mourning for Cairo, Egypt / En Oaxaca, Mexico sentimos luto por el Cairo, Egipto.

2011-11-23T22:28:00.001-08:00

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oLEXxpR2cMGAOVo2-sAvCsQ4ghUl7mzvZRIVn40xXdg/edit?pli=1

In English

Communique # 1: November, 22, 2011

In Oaxaca, Mexico we’re mourning for Cairo, Egypt

Comrades, Brothers and Sisters

In Oaxaca, we understand, well, what it means to demand the end of a tyrannical government. This demand by the people is just and legitimate, and we know very well how the governing elites of the towns will answer, they don’t care about our demands, they only care to maintain power, especially when you’re demanding the end of military rule. We know how difficult it is to resist and work collectively in the moment you’re now living. The dignified and rebellious people of Oaxaca show our solidarity with the more than 46 assassinated (people of Egypt) and we say don’t be intimidated by the force of the police and military state.

We believe that we are not wrong in working together for a better future. May the good vibes of the rebellion always stay with you. Know that our eyes see in your eyes your indiginity, and our conscience together will show the way to decide how we want to live and this gives peace and justice to the comrades who were assassinated by the tyrannical government.

We would like to be physically present with you comrades but we can’t go there because in each place there’s something pending to be resolved with the damned government that represses us, kills us, hurts us and jails us, but we still send you our best energy that will contribute to fortify the heart and the necessary wisdom to continue with your fight. The road to obtain change is very long, far from the fall of the military government, which is only the beginning of the germination of a new society. Put your wager on changing the base and do not depend on government structures to decide our destiny, and the solidarity that cloaks the people of Egypt is the same as that which cloaked Oaxaca in 2006. Go onto the street and proclaim that there is a different way to live.

Fight with your head held high, let the assassinated comrades be one more bastion for resistance, for us to continue the fight, some fall for the dream of others but the path continues and we don’t have to forget the demand for justice for their death, and to think of kneeling only when the moment comes to tell our dead that we have achieved the dream of all.

An enormous embrace and stay strong comrades

From a place really hidden in Oaxaca de Magon

With fraternity

VOCAL
CASOTA
Colectivo Espanta pajaro
Colectivo Mano de Obra
Hormigas Libertarias
CACITA

En Espanol

Communique # 1: Noviembre, 22, 2011

En Oaxaca, Mexico sentimos luto por el Cairo, Egipto.

Compañer@s, herman@s

En Oaxaca sabemos bien que es pedir fin de un gobierno tirano. Que es una demanda justa y legitima de un pueblo, y sabemos bien cuál es la respuesta de las elites que gobiernan sobre los pueblos, que no importa nuestras demandas sino mantenerse en el poder, mas aun si se trata de exigir el fin de un gobierno militar, sabemos tambien lo mucho que cuesta resistir y trabajar de forma colectiva en las circunstacias en las que estan viviendo en estos momentos, El pueblo digno y rebelde de Oaxaca nos solidarizamos por los mas de 46 asesinados y les decimos que no se dejen amedrentar con la fuerza policial y militar del estado.

Creemos que no erramos cuando cominamos juntos por un mejor futuro, Que la buena vibra de la rebeldia les acompañe. Sepan que otros ojos miran sus ojos de indignación, que sea pues la conciencia de decidir nuestro rumbo de como queremos vivir la que nos guie, y le de paz y justicia a los compañeros que fueron asesinados por ese tirano gobierno.

Quisieramos estar presentes fisicamente con ustedes compas pero no podemos irnos para allá porque en cada lugar hay algo pendiente que resolver con los malditos gobiernos que nos reprimen, nos matan, hieren y encarcelan, pero si podemos enviar nuestra mejor energia que contribuya a fortalecer el corazón y la sabiduria necesaria para que no cesen en su lucha, que el camino es largo largo para obtener cambios. Pero sobre todo vislumbren que mas alla de la caída del gobierno militar es germinar una nueva sociedad, apuesten pues a hacer un cambio de base, mas que esperar a que las estructuras gubernamentales decidan nuetro destino, que la solidaridad con el pueblo de Egipto lo arrope de igual manera que lo hizo Oaxaca en 2006, salir a la calle y decidir que si hay un modo distinto para vivir.

Luchen con la frente en alto, que sean pues los compañeros asesinados un bastión mas de resistencia, por la cual continuar la lucha, unos cayeron por el sueño de otros pero el camino continua y no hay que olvidar exigir ahora justicia por sus muerte, y pensar arrodillarse solo hasta que llegue el momento de decirles a nuestros muertos que hemos ganado el sueño de tod@s.

Un abrazo enorme y no decaigan compañeros.

Desde un rincón profundo de OAXACA DE MAGON.

FRATERNALMENTE

VOCAL
CASOTA
Colectivo Espanta pajaro
Colectivo Mano de Obra
Hormigas Libertarias
CACITA

Bambu - The Queen is Dead

2011-11-19T22:59:00.000-08:00

LA CRISIS DE EE. UU. SE CEBA CON LOS HISPANOS - RT

2011-11-18T20:46:00.001-08:00

Entrevista con RT en Espanol

-Joaquin Cienfuegos

http://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/ee_uu/issue_32210.html

Publicado: 10 nov 2011 | 01:58 MSK
Última actualización: 10 nov 2011 | 07:39 MSK

El número de personas que vive en condiciones de pobreza en Estados Unidos ha alcanzado el récord de los 49 millones, y los hispanos son una parte significativa de todos ellos, según cálculos recientes de la Oficina del Censo.

En los dos meses transcurridos desde la difusión de las últimas estadísticas, la cifra de los ciudadanos que viven bajo el umbral de la pobreza aumentó en 2 millones y medio.

Para los hispanos, la pobreza alcanzó casi un 30% y ahora son más de 14 millones de afectados. El número de latinos ha superado por primera vez al de los afroamericanos en la estadística de la pobreza.

Los activistas apuntan como una de las posibles causas de este fenómeno la prioridad que el gobierno da a las grandes corporaciones. "Hemos visto que los gobernantes siguen los intereses de las corporaciones. Mucha gente pensó que Obama iba a cambiar las cosas, que iba a ser distinto que Bush pero en medio de la crisis él decidió dar billones de dólares a esas mismas personas que roban a la gente", afirma el organizador comunitario Joaquín Cienfuegos.

Dado que el voto hispano representó casi un 7% del total en 2010, el apoyo de este colectivo se antoja clave para los intereses de Barack Obama en los comicios presidenciales del próximo año. Sin embargo, la creciente pobreza en este grupo étnico podría tener un efecto contraproducente.

Articulo completo en: http://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/ee_uu/issue_32210.html

Occupy Atlanta: Bloods and Crips Come Together

2011-11-15T02:05:00.001-08:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/07/occupy-atlanta-bloods-and_n_1080477.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=falseGang affiliations are oftentimes set in stone, with members choosing sides and vowing to remain loyal to their selected group. But two members of the infamously rival gangs the Bloods and the Crips, have put aside their differences in favor of one common cause: Occupy Atlanta.According to an article written by Occupy Atlanta participant Tim Franzen, Sherrod Britton and Shabaka Addae Guillory have become best friends despite their opposing associations.Guillory, a 20-year-old who joined the Crips at age 14 met Britton, a 29-year-old Blood member, during an impromptu freestyle rap session at Occupy Atlanta."I saw him in the park, saw his colors.," Guillory told Franzen. "There was no mean mug or rivalry because we realized that what's happening here is so much bigger then gang rivalry."Both men were attracted to the protest and its purpose. Guillory joined the movement after hearing about it on the news. Britton, who was passing the demonstration one day, said he stopped to get more information and never left."I stayed for the common cause, speaking for the people," Britton said. "I feel strongly that we have the right to jobs, health care, and affordable higher education."This isn't the first time the rival gangs have put their problems aside to fight for a common cause. In August 2010, both active and former members of the gangs came together for the Heal the Hood Peace March in Denver.The groups also showcased their solidarity during a rally for Sean Bell, the New York man who was killed by police leaving a strip club after his bachelor party.Now these two members have forgotten their differences in support of a cause that has swept the nation. At one point favoring violence bloodshed for rivals who crossed into enemy turf, Britton said the two now share a tent at the Occupy Atlanta base."We are connected through music, faith, and Occupy Atlanta."

Black Mask

2011-11-15T00:39:00.001-08:00

This week on Black Mask we will have an interview with Joaquin Cienfuegos of Copwatch LA and the Native Youth Movement, on Copwatch and autonomous organizing by oppressed communities, recorded by Sharmeen Khan of Upping the Anti; we will also play a segment of Fear of a Brown Planet on the topics of racism and violence. Hosted by yours truly... Tune in at 5 pm CST to 95.9 FM today, or wait a few hours and download the show from the website below.

http://ckuw.ca/programs/detail/black-mask/

Link to Radio Show
http://station.ckuw.ca/24/20111026.17.00-18.00.mp3

Black Mask is an anarchist radio show that has been broadcast since 1999; revolutionary struggle and class politics. To the barricades!

Black Mask broadcasts every Wednesday from 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM.

Indigenous Resistance Against Mines

2011-11-14T23:58:00.001-08:00

http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/video/indigenous-resistance-against-mines/8858

Just one day after the tragic death of Ashlie, a resident of Occupy Vancouver, and just hours after Mayor Robertson called for the end of the camp, the mood at the Vancouver Art Gallery was mournful, yet defiant.

That energy carried on through the day as hundreds of protesters joined with indigenous people to oppose destructive mining practices on their territories.

The Second Indigenous Assembly Against Mining and Pipelines called for the rally to coincide with a pro mining conference organized by the Canadian Aboriginal Mining Association.

Response to On Occupation and its Critics

2011-11-14T23:34:00.001-08:00

I think the difference from today's times and the 60's, is the level of combativity in the people, but it's a totally different situation today. We won't be able to use yesterday's tactics today. Today we have the potential to take things further than before.

I disagree with you with the position that a revolution from those at the bottom will mean defeat or putting those people out there to get smashed. Revolution can only come from the oppressed at the forefront, doesn't mean they are the only participants. Revolution is a popular process, can only succeed in this way, but it depends who's "leading it." These middle class white liberals are the leadership of the occupation movement, and they are really controlling the direction of where that goes. At the same time I am not trying to dismiss everyone who is at the occupations, there are many people who are out there who have good intentions (but that's not enough). There is also great potential, I agree, but can it come under the current structure and process at Occupy LA in particular and other occupations in general?
The people at the bottom: the oppressed people of color, working class, unemployed, homeless, women, queer, migrants, etc. etc. etc., are already getting fucked over and have been facing a depression for over 500 years. Face a similar situation today than they did in the 60's, so that is not that different. They have no illusions about the police and other state institutions. That's why I said they need to be at the forefront. They need to be the ones speaking and participating in the process, but they are systematically being excluded from this so-called movement. I know because I've seen it, and comrades all over are letting me know, in particular women - POC folks have been excluded and pushed out.
I agree with your sentiments: struggle educates, but do I want to focus my energy and time on the education of the white middle class? No! I think I rather apply that same principle to the working class oppressed communities. That would be a movement that would be unstoppable, instead of relying and tailing the white middle class liberals - and wait for them to become radicalized, if we wait for that to happen, we might miss on this opportunity, for a revolutionary popular movement, because it might take years, or decades for that to happen. On the other hand the oppressed in rebellion will be the biggest threat to this establishment, because they don't have, in the words of Paulo Freire, "the false generosity" or "domestication" of the privileged group of people who make up the leadership of this "movement." There should be folks working with them, "educating" them, for sure, as part of the process of struggle. I, however, don't feel that is my role. I rather focus my energy on organizing my community, and raising the level of combativity in my peoples.
I think folks that are making criticisms, most are coming from their experiences being there. I tend to agree with the position that people shouldn't criticize from the sidelines, but it doesn't mean people shouldn't be critical either. How else will these white liberals know they are alienating the people who should make up the movement? Wouldn't that be part of the education process?

I haven't been there every day, but I been there enough, and have heard from enough compas to know, OLA is not a safe space for us. I think if the movement were to go anywhere, those oppressed communities not only need to be part of the process, but part of building the vision and strategy. It needs to be taking place in those communities, not city hall - accross from police station, with police and city funding, and with their permission. That is why I say it is a sham movement.
I think the position you are taking of the only way to build a movement is to enter these existing movements, structures and processes and change them. How can you change a process in the occupation movement or even other organizations, when there are people who are in control of those organizations, and processes? It is pretty much impossible, it's just like an authoritarian organization, practicing democratic centralism, telling people they are in command, but in reality decisions are made by handful of people beforehand.

My approach, is if I don't agree, then I will take the initiative to create something new, independantly and definitely lead by example. I think we are dealing with an entirely new situation, so a lot of what our strategy will come from trial and error, unfortunately. So we can't be afraid of failing and making mistakes, we just got to be able to accept criticism (if it's constructive), and be critical ourselves bro (there is nothing wrong with that, in fact I think it's healthy). I don't think this process is alienating OUR people at all.

always in struggle,
Joaquin

Immortal Technique - Rich Mans World (1%) (The Martyr) {Produced By Shuko}

2011-11-14T22:54:00.000-08:00

Sham Movements

2011-11-14T11:08:00.001-08:00

Any "movement" that works with the police and the state as a whole is a sham.

Cop Watch LA Presents: Mano Vuelta Film Screening and Presentation by Simon Sedillo

2011-11-11T20:28:00.001-08:00

Cop Watch Los Angeles Presents:

Wednesday, November 16 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm

at the Southern California Library: the People's Library

6120 S. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90044

+ Mano Vuelta Film Screening

“Contra el Silencio”
(26 Minutes) 2011 Playa Vicente, Veracruz, Mexico

The 10 year old son of community organizers and musicians in Playa Vicente, Veracruz, Elias Barradas , walks us through the 8th annual “Festival del Tesechoacan” as the fictional character “Sub – Lieutenant Coco”. While Barradas remains in character as Sub-Lieutenant Coco throughout the film, he takes us through different spaces and activities for organizing this tremendous traditional music festival. Elias reminds us in the film that culture, music, and media in the hands of communities are important elements of the resistance against the loss of identity and community roots.

"Oaxaca en Resistencia"

(30 minutes) 2011 Los Angeles Pueblo Nuevo, Oaxaca, Mexico
Since the 2006 Oaxacan Peoples’ Popular Assembly (APPO) uprising, the face and body of Oaxaca’s popular social movement has changed into many different projects, collectives, community organizations, strategies and struggles. Manovuelta’s films look at the movement from a different perspective and have been instrumental in identifying different personalities within the social movement who do not necessarily fit into the boxes assigned by foreign activists, journalists, academics, and intellectuals; from an entire family who participated as musicians at the barricades in the film “La Familia Raíces”, to a hip hop heroine and several young men who gain life-changing political formation defending their city in “Xip Xop Oaxaca”, and to the different projects from the traditional Son Jarocho music movement in Veracruz, Mexico. “Oaxaca en Resistencia” brings several Oaxacan and Veracruzan artists together with Xip Xop artists, barricaders from the neighborhood the film is set in, and chicanos and chicanas from all over the US to take one more collective look at the face of Oaxaca’s resistance.

with: Simon Sedillo

Simón Sedillo is a community rights defense organizer and film maker. He has spent the last 8 years documenting, producing and teaching community based video documentation in Mexico and the US. Through lectures, workshops, and short films, Sedillo breaks down the effects of neoliberalism, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and militarism on indigenous communities, immigrant communities, and communities of color in the US and Mexico.

Is this a revolution?

2011-11-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

A Mother's Tough Love

2011-11-07T17:18:00.001-08:00

Growing up my mom would tell me, "Son, don't get into fights, but if you do, make sure you win, otherwise when you get home I'm going to give you another beating." My mother's love made me into a strong person. Somos Michoacanos/P'urhépecha... We're Read P'urhépecha/Michoacanos :)

Wall Street is War Street 1967

2011-11-05T07:15:00.000-07:00

Occupying Wall Street in 1967

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/2011/10/black-mask-wall-street-1967.html

Posted by Rollo Romig

“The next target is Wall Street,” an anarchist collective known as Black Mask wrote in its January newsletter, 1967. On February 10th, around twenty-five members of the group, wearing black balaclavas and carrying giant skulls, took to the streets of the financial district and handed out this statement:

WALL STREET IS WAR STREETThe traders in stocks and bones shriek for New Frontiers—but the coffins return to the Bronx and Harlem. Bull markets of murder deal in a stock exchange of death. Profits rise to the ticker tape of your dead sons. Poison gas RAINS on Vietnam. You cannot plead “WE DID NOT KNOW.” Television brings the flaming villages into the safety of your home. You commit genocide in the name of freedom.
BUT YOU TOO ARE THE VICTIMS!
If unemployment rises, you are given work, murderous work. If education is inferior, you are taught to kill. If the blacks get restless, they are sent to die. This is Wall Street’s formula for the great society!

The photographer Larry Fink was there. “They had nothing but their own stealth, and no support,” Fink told me. They hoped to stoke a revolution. “They were working from a massive historic misinterpretation,” Fink said.
Fink thinks that today’s Occupy Wall Street protests are different. “We’ve gone past the time when utopia seemed like a viable option,” he said. “There’s no hope for some kind of Marxist future, so it seems formless. They just know that it can’t go on like this: the greed, the inequality. It can’t go on, so we’ll sit here.”
Here’s a look at Fink’s photographs from Black Mask’s Wall Street march, followed by more of his protest pictures from the Vietnam era.

#generalstrike: protesters spray-paint "Strike" on ... on Twitpic

2011-11-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

#generalstrike: protesters spray-paint "Strike" on ... on Twitpic

Polarization

2011-10-30T18:34:00.001-07:00

Being polarizing is a good thing, it's part of the struggle.

Nick Diaz!

2011-10-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

Nick Diaz is hood and keeps it real, one of the greatest fighters of all time.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/10/30/everyone-boards-the-nick-diaz-bandwagon-including-champ-georges/?a_dgi=aolshare_facebook

Everyone Boards the Nick Diaz Bandwagon, Including Champ Georges St-Pierre

By Mike Chiappetta

MMA Writer

LAS VEGAS -- It doesn't matter what Nick Diaz says, you want to hear it. It doesn't matter who he fights, you want to see it. It doesn't matter if you want him to win or lose, you have a strong opinion either way. In a matter of weeks, he has become the most riveting, polarizing man in MMA.

Soon, he might become its biggest star.

That may sound a bit illogical right now, but excuse me, I've spent the whole week absorbing the philosophies of the 209's most famous export, and I'm sold. Illogical is the new normal.

There are obviously several stars in the UFC sky that eclipse Diaz in the popularity department, from Brock Lesnar to Anderson Silva to Georges St-Pierre. But that could change.

Diaz's allure is two-fold. In the cage, he's a tremendously skilled athlete with unshakeable belief in his skills and unbreakable stamina. Outside of it, he is a fascinating subject with a unique world view and an inability to hold back from saying what is truly on his mind.

In the past, the only thing holding him back from real stardom was a lack of visibility. After Diaz left the UFC in 2006 -- after two straight wins, by the way -- he began an odyssey of fights around the world, in promotions from PRIDE to EliteXC to DREAM to Strikeforce.

No matter how well he fought -- and he went 11-1 with 1 no contest since the start of 2007 -- the perception existed that he was cleaning up in the B leagues. Now back in the UFC, that argument is no longer valid.

Just a few months ago, Penn was fighting top welterweight contender Jon Fitch to a draw. On Saturday, Penn, could do little with Diaz, especially after the first round. According to FightMetric, Diaz out-struck Penn by an overwhelming total of 218-58 in the last two rounds. He also bloodied and bruised him in a way we've rarely seen.

Diaz also may benefit from his own counter-culture behavior. Polarizing is always good. Many sports superstars are loved and hated in equal measures, including LeBron James and Tiger Woods. Diaz isn't a bad guy, he's just a different breed. Like all great athletes, he is intensely driven. He doesn't have a chip on his shoulder; he has a boulder.

But he does make us scratch our heads. As you're probably aware, he missed two press conferences leading up to UFC 137 that cost him a title match and led to a matchup with Penn that he didn't especially want. The switch angered Diaz, but it also helped raise his profile. People who supported him rallied around him. And those who didn't know much about him invariably spent time trying to to learn more about him and whether he was self-destructing or simply didn't play by anyone else's rules.

By the time the UFC 137 conference call came about, and Diaz was late, he had become such a story that he was a worldwide trending topic on Twitter. And by the time his fight with Penn came about, certainly nearly anyone with any hint of interest in MMA had his interest piqued.

"He blew up out of nowhere," UFC president Dana White said. "Part of it is his attitude, but I think people love a real fighter. He's definitely a real fighter."

Diaz's words and actions are so magnetic that it appears there's no one he can't pull into his forcefield. After beating Penn, he hung out bait for welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

"I don't think Georges was hurt," Diaz said. "I think he was scared."

Don't Assume those who confront the police are agents provocatuers.

2011-10-29T17:10:00.001-07:00

Don’t assume those who break the law or confront police are agents provocateurs. A lot of people have good reason to be angry. Not everyone is resigned to legalistic pacifism; some people still remember how to stand up for themselves. Police violence isn’t just meant to provoke us, it’s meant to hurt and scare us into inaction. In this context, self-defense is essential.

Assuming that those at the front of clashes with the authorities are somehow in league with the authorities is not only illogical—it delegitimizes the spirit it takes to challenge the status quo, and dismisses the courage of those who are prepared to do so. This allegation is typical of privileged people who have been taught to trust the authorities and fear everyone who disobeys them.

From:Crimethinc - Dear Occupiers: A letter from Anarchistshttp://unpermittedla.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/crimethinc-dear-occupiers-a-letter-from-anarchists/

I Voted to Strike by Tia Katrina Taruc Canlas

2011-10-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

I Voted to Strike

http://www.ellabakercenter.org/blog/2011/10/i-voted-to-strike/

by Tia Katrina Taruc Canlas on Oct 28, 2011

On October 25, 2011, I biked from my office at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights to the Oakland Public Library to show my support for Occupy Oakland.
About four hours later, the Oakland Police Department attacked me (and other peaceful protesters) with tear-gas. Pissed off but resolved, we came back the next day and we voted[1] for a GENERAL STRIKE in Oakland on November 2, 2011.
Last night, Occupy Oakland split into groups to develop a strategy to organize the GENERAL STRIKE. I had to choose between four groups specializing in media, community/door-knocking, union organizing, and student-outreach. I chose media.
The media group split into “production” and “distribution.” I joined the “production” group and immediately started collecting pictures and reasons-to-strike. I had amazing conversations with teachers, attorneys, youth, and some Veterans for Peace. I am going back to the Oscar Grant Plaza later tonight to take more pictures and collect more comments.
If you would like to help us recruit strikers, please take a picture of yourself and send it with the reason why you are going on strike to oakstrikemedia@gmail.com. Then, “like” OakStrikeMedia’s facebook page and find your picture posted to share with your friends and family.
As for me, I support the strike because my mom raised me to love other people.

[1] The voting process went like this:

Somebody went on stage and proposed a General Strike.
A group of about 1,500 amazing people split into groups of 20.
The groups of 20 discussed the pros and cons of a General Strike.
The group of about 1,500 amazing people reconvened.
The representatives of the groups of 20 declared their concerns.
The group of about 1,500 amazing people split into their groups of 20 again to vote on the amended proposal.
The group of 20 designated a voter counter.
The voter counter, counted the votes.
The voter counter brought their 20 votes to the stage.
1,484 people voted “yes”
76 people abstained from voting.
46 people voted “no.”
With a 96.9% approval, Occupy Oakland decided to go on a General Strike on November 2, 2011.

I'll Cover You

2011-10-28T09:27:00.001-07:00

"Revolutionary Tourism"

2011-10-24T03:07:00.000-07:00

Check out this video, it's good satire regarding u.s. Imperialism in Mexico as well as poking fun at "revolutionary tourism" from u.s. activists: revolutionary tourism is not solidarity.GringoYowww.gringoyo.com

A Letter To The Occupy Together Movement by Harsha Walia

2011-10-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.racialicious.com/2011/10/15/a-letter-to-the-occupy-together-movement/

By Guest Contributor Harsha Walia

I wish I could start with the ritualistic “I love you” for the Occupy Movement. To be honest, it has been a space of turmoil for me. But also one of virulent optimism. What I outline below are not criticisms. I am inspired that the dynamic of the movement thus far has been organic, so that all those who choose to participate are collectively responsible for its evolution. To everyone – I offer my deepest respect.

I am writing today with Grace Lee Boggs in mind:

The coming struggle is a political struggle to take political power out of the hands of the few and put it into the hands of the many. But in order to get this power into the hands of the many, it will be necessary for the many not only to fight the powerful few but to fight and clash among themselves as well.

This may sound counter-productive, but I find it a poignant reminder that, in our state of elation, we cannot under-estimate the difficult terrain ahead. I look forward to the processes that will further these conversations.

Occupations on Occupied Land

One of the broad principles in a working statement of unity (yet to be formally adopted) of Occupy Vancouver thus far includes an acknowledgement of unceded Coast Salish territories. There has been opposition to this as being “divisive” and “focusing on First Nations issues”. I would argue that acknowledging Indigenous lands is a necessary and critical starting point for two primary reasons.

Firstly, the word Occupy has understandably ignited criticism from Indigenous people as having a deeply colonial implication. It erases the brutal history of genocide that settler societies have been built on. This is not simply a rhetorical or fringe point; it is a profound and indisputable matter of fact that this land is already occupied. The province of BC is largely still unceded land, which means that no treaties have been signed and the title holders of Vancouver are the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Tseilwau-tuth, and Musqueam. As my Sḵwx̱wú7mesh friend Dustin Rivers joked “Okay so the Premier and provincial government acknowledge and give thanks to the host territory, but Occupy Vancouver can’t?”

Supporting efforts towards decolonization is not only an Indigenous issue. It is also about us, as non-natives, learning the history of this land and locating ourselves and our responsibilities within the context of colonization. Occupation movements such as those in Boston and Denver and New York have taken similar steps in deepening an anti-colonial analysis.

Secondly, we must understand that the tentacles of corporate control have roots in the processes of colonization and enslavement. As written by the Owe Aku International Justice Project: “Corporate greed is the driving factor for the global oppression and suffering of Indigenous populations. It is the driving factor for the conquest and continued suffering for the Indigenous peoples on this continent. The effects of greed eventually spill over and negatively impact all peoples, everywhere.”

The Hudsons Bay Company in Canada and the East India Trading Company in India, for example, were some of the first corporate entities established on the stock market. Both companies were granted trading monopolies by the British Crown, and were able to extract resources and amass massive profits due to the subjugation of local communities through the use of the Empire’s military and police forces. The attendant processes of corporate expansion and colonization continues today, most evident in this country with the Alberta Tar Sands. In the midst of an economic crisis, corporations’ ability to accumulate wealth is dependent on discovering new frontiers from which to extract resources. This disproportionately impacts Indigenous peoples and destroys the land base required to sustain their communities, while creating an ecological crisis for the planet as a whole.

Systemic Oppression Connected to Economic Inequality

In creating a unified space of opposition to the 1% who hold a concentration of power and wealth, we must simultaneously foster critical education to learn about the systemic injustices that many of us in the 99% continue to face. This should not be pejoratively dismissed as “identity politics”, which for many re-enforces the patterns of marginalization. The connection between the nature and structure of the political economy and systemic injustice is clear: the growing economic inequality being experienced in this city and across this country is nothing new for low-income racialized communities, particularly single mothers, all of whom face the double brunt of scape-goating during periods of recession.

The very idea of the multitude forces a contestation of any one lived experience binding the 99%. Embracing this plurality and having an open heart to potentially uncomfortable truths about systemic oppression beyond the ‘evil corporations and greedy banks’ will strengthen this movement. Ignoring the hierarchies of power between us does not make them magically disappear. It actually does the opposite – it entrenches those inequalities. If we learn from social movements past, we observe that the struggle to genuinely address issues of race, class, gender, ability, sexuality, age, and nationality actually did more, rather than less, to facilitate broader participation.

In order to this we need to critically examine the idea of “catering to the mainstream”. I do not disagree with reaching out to as broad a base as possible; but we should ask ourselves: who constitutes the “mainstream”? If Indigenous communities, homeless people, immigrants, LGBTQs, seniors and others are all considered “special interest groups” (although we actually constitute an overwhelming demographic majority), then by default that suggests that, as Rinku Sen argues, straight white men are the sole standard of universalism. “Addressing other systems of oppression, and the people those systems affect, isn’t about elevating one group’s suffering over that of white men. It’s about understanding how the mechanisms of control actually operate. When we understand, we can craft solutions that truly help everybody. ” This should not be misunderstood as advocating for a pecking order of issues; it is about understanding that the 99% is not a homogenous group but a web of inter-related communities in struggle.

Clayton Thomas-Muller, Tar Sands Campaign Organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network, wrote to me: “Our own Indigenous Rights movements are gaining momentum which means that we all must continually be educating new folks getting politicized. We can all be working towards a larger convergence that is strongly rooted in an Anti colonial, Anti Racist, Anti Oppressive framework.” In a similar vein, Syed Hussan writes, “Understand that to truly be free, to truly include the entire 99 per cent, you have to say today, and say every day: We will leave no one behind.” Just as we challenge the idea of austerity put forward by governments and corporations, we should challenge the idea of scarcity of space in our movements and instead facilitate a more nuanced discourse about inequality.

Learning from History and Building on Successes

While it is clearly too early to comment on the future of the Occupy movement, I offer a few humble preliminary thoughts based on Occupy Wall Street and the nature of the Vancouver organizing. Those who us who have been activists rightfully do not have any particular authority in this movement and as many others have cautioned, more experienced activists should not claim moral righteousness over those who are just joining the struggle. But we also cannot claim ignorance either.

It must be re-stated that Occupy Together is brilliantly transitional. As has been repeatedly noted, it is has been a moral and strategic success to not have a pre-articulated laundry list of demands within which to confine a nascent movement. Peter Marcus writes “Occupy is seen by most of its participants and supporters not as a set of pressures for individual rights, but as a powerful claim for a better world… The whole essence of the movement is to reject the game’s rules as it is being played, to produce change that includes each of these demands but goes much further to question the structures that make those demands necessary.” Similarly Vijay Prashad says that we “must breathe in the many currents of dissatisfaction, and breathe out a new radical imagination.”

The creation of encampments is in itself an act of liberation. Decentralized gatherings with democratic decision-making processes and autonomous space for people to gather and dialogue based on their interests – such as through reading circles or art zones or guerrilla gardening – create a sense of purpose, connectedness, and emancipation in a society that otherwise breeds apathy, disenchantment, and isolation. This type of pre-figurative politics – a living symbol of refusal – is a ways to come together to create and live the alternatives to this system. I am reminded of the modest (Anti) Olympic Tent Village in our own city in the Downtown Eastside last year, which was deemed ‘paradise’ and a place where ‘real freedom lives’ by many.

One issue I would stress is building awareness about police violence and police infiltration. In some cities, Occupy organizers have actively collaborated with police. While many do this on the principle of ‘we have nothing to hide‘, the police cannot be trusted. This is not a comment on individual police officers who maybe “ordinary people”, but their job is to protect the 1%. The police have a long history of repression of social movements. Plus, people who are homeless, racialized, non-status, or queer routinely experience arbitrary police abuse. We must take these concerns seriously in order to promote participation from these communities. We must also learn to rely on ourselves to keep ourselves safe and to hold ground when police are ordered to clear us out. This seems insurmountable, but it has been done before and can be done again.

In the heels of the Olympics and G20, a recurring issue is diversity of tactics. Despite a history in community-based movement-building, based on a debate about diversity of tactics with an ally whom I respect, there has been unnecessary and misinformed fear-mongering that those who support a diversity of tactics “fundamentally reject peaceful assemblies”. For me, supporting a diversity of tactics has always implied respect for a range of strategies including non-violent assembly. As G20 defendant Alex Hundert, who has written extensively about diversity of tactics told me, “It is important to recognise that a belief in supporting a diversity of tactics means not ruling out intentionally peaceful means. These gatherings have been explicitly nonviolent from the start and in hundreds of cities across the continent. Obviously this is the right tactic for this moment.”

It is noteworthy that Occupy Wall Street has not actually dogmatically rejected a diversity of tactics. It appears that the movement there has understood what diversity of tactics actually means – which is not imposing one tactic in any and every context. The Occupy Wall Street Direct Action Working Group has adopted the basic tenet of “respect diversity of tactics, but be aware of how your actions will affect others.” In my opinion, this is an encouraging development as people work together to learn how to come keep each other safe within the encampment, while effectively escalating tactics in autonomous actions.

Finally, we may want to stop articulating that this is a leaderless movement; it might be more honest to suggest that We Are All Leaders. Denying that leadership exists deflects accountability, obscures potential hierarchies, and absolves us of actively creating structures within which to build collective leadership. Many of the models being used such as the General Assembly and Consensus are rooted in the practice of anti-authoritarians and community organizers. There are many other skills to share to empower and embolden this movement. As much as we wish we can radically transform unjust economic, political, and social systems overnight, but this is a long-term struggle. And there is always the danger of co-optation. Slavoj Zizek warned Occupy Wall Street that “Beware not only of the enemies. But also of false friends who are already working to dilute this process. In the same way you get coffee without caffeine, beer without alcohol, ice cream without fat, they will try to make this into a harmless moral protest.” Which means that we will need to find ways to do the pain-staking work of making this movement sustainable and rooting it within and alongside existing grassroots movements for social and environmental justice.

“We have begun to come out of the shadows; we have begun to break with routines and oppressive customs and to discard taboos; we have commenced to carry with pride the task of thawing hearts and changing consciousness. Women, let’s not let the danger of the journey and the vastness of the territory scare us — let’s look forward and open paths in these woods. Voyager, there are no bridges; one builds them as one walks.”
- Gloria Anzaldua

Occupy the Hood!

2011-10-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

The revolution will not be led by white middle class liberals or the professional-careerist-super activists... #Occupy The Hood! #Decolonize the Barrio!

http://www.facebook.com/OccupyTheHood

Why I support Occupy The Hood by Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin

2011-10-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Why I support Occupy The Hood

by Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin

The new mass movement, Occupy Wall Street, has already birthed a number of movement of oppressed peoples of color:Indigenous/African/Carribbean, etc. They are DeColonize OWS, the People of Color Working Group, and Occupy the Hood. It is Occupy the Hood, which is an actual Black working class political tendency, which has the most promise as far as Africans in America are concerned. They are not only trying to pressure the white majority to make a place the for voices of Black/POC people, but also organzing an independent tendency which can organize inour communities around issues effecting us especially. it is that latter dimension which really excites me.
For years, I have heard, but not seen a Black revolutionary mass movement in the hip hop era, which is free of middle class conventional politics or being manipuated by some power-hungry preachers/politicians. This movement has the potential to create a genuine mass movment of the poor and oppresssed, based in the urban inner cities. It is a youth centered movement, but seems to understand if it raises issues of oppressed peoples in Harlem, North Philly, South Memphis, or other hoods in other places, they can bring a true majority together, an army of the poor.
In order for that to happen, they have to put the people and mass grassroots politics in command, and be based totally around popular issues. In saying "politics", I am not talking about electoral politics, which I considere virtually useless and weak, I am talking about putting the Black poor together as a class, and then using their numbers to confront the white capitalist government and its financial sector in an anti-capitalist protest movement.
It is this what made the Black protest movement of the 1960's so dynamic, not just a number of small militant groups fighting isolated in various communities. Black Power was a widespread, but decentralized mass movement which superceded the civil rights phase, even before the assassination of Dr. M.L. King. Groups like the Black Panther Party, League of Revolutionary Black Workers and others had become mass movements in their own right, instead of tailing after white radicals.

This can happen again, and in my mind, Occupy the hood is that movement best situated to make that hapen in this period. They are part of the Wall Street tendency, and can unite with other POC tendencies and even anti-racist/anti-colonial whites to wage an internal battle inside OWS to make it accountable to POC's instead of just white middle class workers who have lost their jobs, homes, or money in this period. We have suffered far worse.
Over 1 million Black/POC people are in the prison system, which destroys not just the prisoner but his family and community. We have the highest evels of unemployment in the USA, "officially" 16.7%, but actually far higher at Great Depression levels of 26%. We have the highest number of urban homeless. We have record levels of infant mortality, approaching the 3rd world. On and on we are catching hell more than anybody, and we are the class of surplus labor that all economists speak of who have considered the matter.

But we need to organize, not not just bemoan our fate or curse our luck. We can change everything with out all-out struggle, on our own terms. We do not have to be shackeled by the racism and backwardness of white workers. Through a movement like Occupy the Hood, we can orgnize not only our own communities, but through that organize the world who would unite with our struggle. So, to end this, I see the potential of this movement more than anything else to come along in the hip hop era. They seem to "get it", and understand instinctively that they can organize their peoples to not only destroy Wall Street, which is based on our slavery and exploitation, but the entire system of capitalist oppression. Memphis has been designated the poorest city in the USA. I'm honored to be part of this movement in anyway, and will do everything I can to push it forward. I am not interested in "leading" it, they seem to have already gotten founders and collective leadership that can do the job at this early stage. I hope tht all power will continue to rest in the local communites, and that they shut out all m anner of political opportunists seeking to become the next Obama or politician using the movement as a launching pad. Only if power is in the hands of the people will it succeed.

The police are not the 99%...

2011-10-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

The police are not part of the 99%, they are the army of the 1%!

Struggles for freedom from Montreal to Los Angeles | rabble.ca

2011-10-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

Struggles for freedom from Montreal to Los Angeles | rabble.ca

The October 2011 edition of No One Is Illegal Radio lends a focus to local struggles against deportations, on movements against police killings, and organizing for rights for temporary workers and workers in temp agencies. Also a historical and current account of people of colour organizing in Los Angeles, U.S.A..
Featuring:
Rosalind Wong of Solidarity Across Borders discusses the recent deportation of Mexican refugee mother of two, Paola Ortiz, who had been living in Montreal after fleeing violence in Mexico. Rosalind also provides perspective on importance of directly supporting those facing deportations in the struggle to create a world in which people have the ability to migrate freely.
Joey Calugay of Montreal's Immigrant Worker's Centre, discussing the intersections between temporary work agencies and the exploitation of migrant labour in Montreal and across Canada.
Joaquin Cienfuegos of Copwatch L.A. and the Native Youth Movement, provides his perspective on autonomous organizing by people of colour in Los Angelas against police brutality, the history of gangs in L.A., and how these issues intersect with the Black Power movement. This audio is from the second International Copwatch Conference, which took place in Winnipeg in July 2011, from on a panel entitled "Gangs and the Police".
Bridget Tolley, an indigenous woman living in Kitiganzibi, and co-founder of Families of Sisters in Spirit discusses her struggle for truth and justice following the killing of her mother on her reserve by the police, and the importance of supporting families in this situation. She invites people to join Montreal's second annual Justice for Victims of Police Killings March & Vigil on October 22nd, organized by the families, friends, and allies of people killed by the police.

Paulo Freire

2011-10-13T14:44:00.001-07:00

"[T]he act of rebellion by the oppressed (an act which is always, or nearly always, as violent as the initial violence of the oppressors) can initiate love." Paulo Freire in Pedagogy of the Oppressed

To Occupy and Unoccupy

2011-10-13T03:02:00.000-07:00

http://nothingtobegainedhere.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/to-occupy-and-unoccupy/

To Occupy And Unoccupy

Posted on October 7, 2011

7 Votes

UNOCCUPY PUERTO RICO by vagabond ©

“This is a war that’s been going on since the invasion of North America.”
- Rev. Pedro Pietri
With the ongoing Occupation movement on Wall Street and the growing occupation movements going on around the US, this is just a reminder that some of us have been dealing with occupation for centuries now. Although we support the ideas behind Occupy Wall Street and the other Occupation movements we want those who have chosen to use the terminology of “Occupation” to be aware of the hidden and unrecognized history behind that word when it comes to non-white peoples.
Those of us who are not white have had to deal with this “occupation” in one form or another since 1492 when Columbus “discovered” America, for himself. That discovery opened the door for other European nations hell-bent, fighting and tripping over themselves to colonize, rape, plunder and enrich themselves at the expense of indigenous peoples. From the genocide of the native populations in the Caribbean, North, Central and South America that this “occupation” brought to us over 500 years ago to the holocaust of the trans-Atlantic African slave trade and subsequent rampant colonization of Africa. The story of the occupation of indigenous lands doesn’t just end with wholesale murder but continues today in new forms of violence. The eradication of native peoples language, culture and history is the new “occupation”. With the success of the forced occupation of native peoples land, the only thing left to occupy is the minds of those who managed to survive…

UNOCCUPY TURTLE ISLAND by vagabond ©

The greatest misconception that white people have is that only non-whites have to deal with racism. What whites have failed to realize is that racism is only the frosting on the cake of class warfare. What is done to non-whites under the guise of racism is a test run for what they will eventually do to you. The irony of the situation is that we non-whites who have been dealing with this “occupation” for over five centuries were the canary in the coal mine. But you refused to see the graffiti on the wall. Now that you have lost your homes to banks and your livelihoods to unemployment and your once bright white futures have been painted black, (pun intended) and you are beginning to feel what we have lived with for more than half an eon.

UNOCCUPY HAWAII by vagabond ©

If you ever wonder why more people of color haven’t yet swelled your “occupation” ranks it may be because historically, once you have what you want, you’ll go back to occupying the comfortable role of white privilege that led you to believe that racism was different from classism. What you are experiencing is old hat for us, the forced removal from your homes, the inability to find work that pays a living wage, the police brutality, frivolous arrests, and your adventures with the justice shitstem, even your homeless encampment are just a few of the things we have lived with for longer than you would care to imagine. We have lived with a knowledge of things that you are now, only beginning to realize.
This is a warning to you that your “Occupy…” movement will fail unless you reach out to those who have a lot more experience with “occupation” than you ever will have. Let me reiterate that people of color support your ideas in striking back at this ongoing class warfare but this movement will fail if it doesn’t realize that this didn’t begin with the collapse of the financial shitstem in 2008… it began long, long, long, before then. Unless you begin to deal with the roots of this occupation that began 500 years ago you’re current occupation will fail.
This is also an invitation for you to open up your dialogue to non-whites who have been at the frontlines of this “occupation” and have suffered the most casualties because of it. If you want to succeed in creating a more egalitarian society then it would behoove you to reach out to the ones who have suffered the most inequality. Otherwise you risk becoming the very same occupation that we have come to hate, and that you are only beginning to feel, and you risk changing nothing.

No One Is Illegal Montréal Personne n'est illégal Radio

2011-10-13T02:52:00.001-07:00

Getting ready to tech No One Is Illegal Montréal Personne n'est illégal Radio. Robyn Ro Byn has put together a great show, with Yougotthewrong Wong (Rosalind Wong of Solidarity Across Borders), Joey Calugay from the IWC, Joaquin Cienfuegos on gangs and policing from the Copwatch conference, & Bridget Tolley with an appeal to attend the Justice pour les victimes de bavures policières: Vigile, manif et marche (October 22). Listen live at ckut.ca or 90.3FM in Montreal.

http://www.facebook.com/NoOneIsIllegalMontreal

Somos Los de Abajo

2011-10-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

Alex Soto on Occupy Phoenix

2011-10-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

As an Tohono O'odham, who lives in Phoenix, let alone an Indigenous person of this region, we live through the nightmare of the 1% total disregard of Indigenous self-determination and overall Human Rights. I would HOPE all who are now mobilizing in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, would stop and think about what does that mean? Is Occupy Phoenix solidarity symbolic in meaning (i.e. rallying against Bank and the overall financial system downtown), or is it very intentional in challenging the destructive behaviors that the capitalist system, and all those in power that horde it (the 1%), release towards our communities? If the second (which I get from the comparison to Arab Spring by the Occupy Wall Street site), then we ALL need to address colonization, because if not, then this is just another "white" revolution, that perpetuates the initial destruction of the 1% (i.e. European setters), that nearly wiped the 99% population of Indigenous folk off the continent. I would hope any mobilization against Capitalism here in AZ starts with local and regional context, and provide space for those who have been fighting capitalism (the 1%!) for 519 years(Indigenous People, who contrary to popular belief, ARE STILL HERE!).

My people are fighting against the proposed two billion dollar South Mountain Freeway (out on the Gila River Indian Community, ) and Border Militarization (on the Tohono O'odham Nation). THESE two examples stem from Neo-Liberal projects, such as NAFTA! Freeways, Border walls all benefit capital (i.e. Wall Street). Walls regulate the flow of goods, manage labor and destroy communities with roads paved to transfer capital from Mexico to Canada (CANAMEX trade corridors). Believe it or not, the Financial system (Wall Street) benefits off this shit. My people are stuck in this nightmare! So if you want to challenge the 1% (the rich who benefit off this destruction) with Occupy Phoenix solidarity, PLEASE…provide space, then address capitalism (colonization) here, and be in solidarity the first 99% of resisters, us Indigenous folk…

http://www.solidarity-project.org/
http://oodhamsolidarity.blogspot.com/2010/04/movement-demands-autonomy-oodham.html
http://nosouthmountainfreeway.wordpress.com/
http://survivalsolidarity.wordpress.com/
http://truesnow.org/
http://oodhamsolidarity.blogspot.com/2011/06/border-patrol-headquarters-occupation.html

Some thoughts on the Occupation Movement

2011-10-05T01:14:00.000-07:00

"The only thing more irritating than people doing absolutely nothing to make the world a better place are those actively trying to make it worse, but coming in a strong third? Those whose well-meaning efforts to make the world better are so misguided that they make things worse by default."

-Keli Goff regarding "Slut Walk" can also apply to the Occupation "movement"

http://loop21.com/content/slutwalk-more-harm-than-good-keli-goff

"Let’s begin by approaching the name of the first encampment, Occupy Wall Street, by stating what we feel should be obvious: every city on the continent is occupied indigenous land. Wall Street was built on Algonquian land, and has been occupied ever since. After African slaves built Wall Street for European settlers, it was home to the slave market, and eventually became an African burial ground for up to 20,000 bodies. Since its arrival on this continent, capitalism has always been a system of exploitation based on race."

-http://disoccupy.wordpress.com/

"The organizers of Occupy L.A. have been working in cooperation with the LAPD since the beginning."

-Some Thoughts on Occupy L.A. General Assembly by Victor

http://disoccupy.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/some-thoughts-on-occupy-l-a-general-assembly-by-victor/

"We ALL need to address colonization, because if not, then this is just another "white" revolution, that perpetuates the initial destruction of the 1% (i.e. European setters), that nearly wiped the 99% population of Indigenous folk off the continent. I would hope any mobilization against Capitalism here in AZ starts with local and regional context, and provide space for those who have been fighting capitalism (the 1%!) for 519 years(Indigenous People, who contrary to popular belief, ARE STILL HERE!). "

-Alex Soto on Occupy Phoenix

"I hope you would make mention of the fact that the very land upon which you are protesting does not belong to you – that you are guests upon that stolen indigenous land. I had hoped mention would be made of the indigenous nation whose land that is. I had hoped that you would address the centuries-long history that we indigenous peoples of this continent have endured being subject to the countless ‘-isms’ of do-gooders claiming to be building a “more just society,” a “better world,” a “land of freedom” on top of our indigenous societies, on our indigenous lands, while destroying and/or ignoring our ways of life. I had hoped that you would acknowledge that, since you are settlers on indigenous land, you need and want our indigenous consent to your building anything on our land – never mind an entire society."

-An Open Letter to Occupy Wall Street Activists by JohnPaul Montano

http://mzzainal-straten.blogspot.com/2011/09/open-letter-to-occupy-wall-street.html

Some of my thoughts on the Occupation Movement and Occupy L.A.

-Joaquin Cienfuegos

I wasn't too excited about occupyla and the occupation movement in general, it seemed to me like a white middle class movement, and most of the folks leading it, I have doubts about their intention, seems like a "take back america" for the white middle class struggle.

Hearing from comrades all over, just countless stories about oppressed people being excluded.

I think there are some genuine people involved there who want to see change happen and were hoping that this was going to be the revolution and are being duped by the leadership, who is working with the police and the state.

The only way i think it's going to go anywhere is if the oppressed people are in the forefront, and make it about the people (the oppressed) not about their own ego or liberal issue. The revolution isn't going to come from the privileged sectors of society or liberals.

Unchecked privilege in the movement makes it harder for us to achieve our goals.

-Joaquin Cienfuegos

Decolonize Wall Street

2011-10-02T18:07:00.001-07:00

Occupy Wall Street: The Game of Colonialism and Further Nationalism to be Decolonized From the “Left”

OCTOBER 1, 2011

http://bermudaradical.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/occupy-wall-street-the-game-of-colonialism-and-further-nationalism-to-be-decolonized-from-the-%E2%80%9Cleft%E2%80%9D/

by Enaemaehkiw Túpac Keshena

By Jessica Yee

The “OCCUPY WALL STREET” slogan has gone viral and international now. From the protests on the streets of WALL STREET in the name of “ending capitalism” – organizers, protestors, and activists have been encouraged to “occupy” different places that symbolize greed and power. There’s just one problem: THE UNITED STATES IS ALREADY BEING OCCUPIED. THIS IS INDIGENOUS LAND. And it’s been occupied for quite some time now.

I also need to mention that New York City is Haudenosaunee territory and home to many other First Nations. Waiting to see if that’s been mentioned anywhere.

Not that I’m surprised that this was a misstep in organizing against Wall Street or really any organizing that happens when the “left” decides that it’s going to “take back America for the people” (which people?!). This is part of a much larger issue, and in fact there is so much nationalistic, patriotic language of imperialism wrapped up in these types of campaigns that it’s no wonder people can’t see the erasure of existence of the First Peoples of THIS territory that happens when we get all high and mighty with the pro-America agendas, and forget our OWN complicity and accountability to the way things are today – not just the corporations and the state.

Let me be clear. I’m not against ending capitalism and I’m not against people organizing to hold big corporations accountable for the extreme damage they are causing. Yes, we need to end globalization. What I am saying is that I have all kinds of problems when to get to “ending capitalism” we step on other people’s rights – and in this case erode Indigenous rights – to make the point. I’m not saying people did it intentionally but that doesn’t even matter – good intentions are not enough and good intentions obviously can have adverse affects. This is such a played out old record too, walking on other people’s backs to get to a mystical land of equity. Is it really just and equitable when specific people continue to be oppressed to get there? And it doesn’t have to be done! We don’t need more occupation – we need decolonization and it’s everyone’s responsibility to participate in that because COLONIALISM AFFECTS EVERYONE. EVERYONE! Colonialism also leads to capitalism, globalization, and industrialization. How can we truly end capitalism without ending colonialism? How does doing things in the name of “America” which was created by the imposition of hierarchies of class, race, ability, gender, and sexuality help that?

I can’t get on board with the nationalism of an “American” (or now “Canadian!”) revolution – I just can’t. There has been too much genocide and violence for the United States and Canada to be founded and to continue to exist as nation states. I think John Paul Montano, Anishnaabe writer captured it quite well in his “Open Letter to Occupy Wall Street Activists”:

I hope you would make mention of the fact that the very land upon which you are protesting does not belong to you – that you are guests upon that stolen indigenous land. I had hoped mention would be made of the indigenous nation whose land that is. I had hoped that you would address the centuries-long history that we indigenous peoples of this continent have endured being subject to the countless ‘-isms’ of do-gooders claiming to be building a “more just society,” a “better world,” a “land of freedom” on top of our indigenous societies, on our indigenous lands, while destroying and/or ignoring our ways of life. I had hoped that you would acknowledge that, since you are settlers on indigenous land, you need and want our indigenous consent to your building anything on our land – never mind an entire society.

I will leave you with this new art piece from Erin Konsmo (also pictured above), our fabulous intern at The Native Youth Sexual Health Network she created on “OCCUPY: THE GAME OF COLONIALISM”. Hopefully you get the picture now.

An Open Letter to the Occupy Wall Street Activists

Thank you for your courage. Thank you for making an attempt to improve the situation in what is now called the United States. Thank you for your commitment to peace and non-violence. Thank you for the sacrifices you are making. Thank you.

There's just one thing. I am not one of the 99 percent that you refer to. And, that saddens me. Please don't misunderstand me. I would like to be one of the 99 percent... but you've chosen to exclude me. Perhaps it was unintentional, but, I've been excluded by you. In fact, there are millions of us indigenous people who have been excluded from the Occupy Wall Street protest. Please know that I suspect that it was an unintentional exclusion on your part. That is why I'm writing to you. I believe that you can make this right. (I hope you're still smiling.)

It seems that ever since we indigenous people have discovered Europeans and invited them to visit with us here on our land, we've had to endure countless '-isms' and religions and programs and social engineering that would "fix" us. Protestantism, Socialism, Communism, American Democracy, Christianity, Boarding Schools, Residential Schools,... well, you get the idea. And, it seems that these so-called enlightened strategies were nearly always enacted and implemented and pushed upon us without our consent. And, I'll assume that you're aware of how it turned out for us. Yes. Terribly.

Which brings me back to your mostly-inspiring Occupy Wall Street activities. On September 22nd, with great excitement, I eagerly read your "one demand" statement. Hoping and believing that you enlightened folks fighting for justice and equality and an end to imperialism, etc., etc., would make mention of the fact that the very land upon which you are protesting does not belong to you - that you are guests upon that stolen indigenous land. I had hoped mention would be made of the indigenous nation whose land that is. I had hoped that you would address the centuries-long history that we indigenous peoples of this continent have endured being subject to the countless '-isms' of do-gooders claiming to be building a "more just society," a "better world," a "land of freedom" on top of our indigenous societies, on our indigenous lands, while destroying and/or ignoring our ways of life. I had hoped that you would acknowledge that, since you are settlers on indigenous land, you need and want our indigenous consent to your building anything on our land - never mind an entire society. See where I'm going with this? I hope you're still smiling. We're still friends, so don't sweat it. I believe your hearts are in the right place. I know that this whole genocide and colonization thing causes all of us lots of confusion sometimes. It just seems to me that you're unknowingly doing the same thing to us that all the colonizers before you have done: you want to do stuff on our land without asking our permission.

But, fear not my friends. We indigenous people have a sense of humor. So, I thought I might make a few friendly suggestions which may help to "fix" the pro-colonialism position in which you now (hopefully, unintentionally) find yourselves. (Please note my use of the word "fix" in the previous sentence. That's an attempt at a joke. You can refer to the third paragraph if you'd like an explanation.)

By the way, I'm just one indigenous person. I represent no one except myself. I'm acting alone in writing this letter. Perhaps none of my own Nishnaabe people will support me in having written this. Perhaps some will. I respect their opinions either way. I love my Nishnaabe people always. I am simply trying to do something good - same as all of you at the Occupy Wall Street protest in what is now called New York.

So, here goes. (You're still smiling, right?)

1) Acknowledge that the United States of America is a colonial country, a country of settlers, built upon the land of indigenous nations; and/or...

2) Demand immediate freedom for indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier; and/or...

3) Demand that the colonial government of the United States of America honor all treaties signed with all indigenous nations whose lands are now collectively referred to as the "United States of America"; and/or...

4) Make some kind of mention that you are indeed aware that you are settlers and that you are not intending to repeat the mistakes of all of the settler do-gooders that have come before you. In other words, that you are willing to obtain the consent of indigenous people before you do anything on indigenous land.

I hope you find this list useful. I eagerly await your response, my friends.

Miigwech! ( ~"Thank you!" )

JohnPaul Montano

http://twitter.com/jpmontano

Calle 13 - Latinoamérica

2011-09-27T23:17:00.000-07:00

Arrests Made at Occupy Wall Street Following Troy Davis March

2011-09-27T03:23:00.000-07:00

The Specials

2011-09-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

Working for the Rat Race... You're no friend of mine

Gangsters

The state Lynching of another innocent Black man

2011-09-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

The state Lynching of another innocent Black man

No rest til we bring some justice, death to this system and those who oversee it

We shouldn't be mourning for Troy Davis, we should be burning!

D'
"Things have happen to me in my 29 years that I could NEVER imagine would happen to me. So when I say "I am Troy Davis" it's much more than being symbolic or empathetic. This is reality. A reality for black males in particular. It's easier for me to step outside of my door and guaranteed myself the death penalty or life in prison then it is to guaranteed myself a seat in a four year collage. How can we not feel powerless knowing that our reality does not have to be like this?"

Alex
"I just need to say this now: Dear white people saying, "we are all troy davis," no, no you are not. You have racial privilege. Just like I do. Troy Davis was black, and he got slaughtered because he was black. He was black in a white supremacist state that targets black people. You will never be Troy Davis. You will never be black. Nor brown, nor red, nor yellow. I love that you care. But, no. You ain't all troy davis. But you can make Troy Davis's spirit live forever if you tear that system down. Fuck the USA. Imperial Beast."

Public Service Announcement by First Nations Warrior Society

2011-09-19T23:34:00.001-07:00

Watch "Public Service Anouncement By First Nations Warrior Society" on YouTube

Antifa: Chasseurs de Skins (English Subtitles)

2011-09-18T04:26:00.000-07:00

"Expropriate!" by Ricardo Flores Magon on this Mexican "Independence Day"

2011-09-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

On this so-called, Mexican "independence day" I want to share this piece:

"Expropriate!" by Ricardo Flores Magon ‎(our relatives down south aren't free yet/nuestras relaciones en el sur aun no estan libre).

...I'm a hopeless romantic ;)

http://books.google.com/books?id=JHOd18yUxrAC&pg=PA178&lpg=PA178&dq=expropriate+-+ricardo+flores+magon&source=bl&ots=4mzST4w3r_&sig=RQkQlE9Wrt8py1Gpk7X8QMkqD2I&hl=en&ei=z9lyTqmvF9PRiAKP3dztDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Also read "Outlaws" by Ricardo Flores Magon: http://books.google.com/books?id=JHOd18yUxrAC&pg=PA241&dq=outlaws+-+ricardo+flores+magon&hl=en&ei=T-RyTpyBKOfQiAKD7ZHyDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Link to writings by Ricardo Flores Magon in Spanish

SEMILLA LITERARIA

Flores Magon, Ricardo

http://www.senado2010.gob.mx/docs/bibliotecaVirtual/1/2625/2625.htm

Testimony by John Trudell. Free John Graham!

2011-09-15T23:37:00.000-07:00

Free John Graham, he is innocent!

http://www.aimovement.org/moipr/graham.html

Snitches get Freedom?!

Testimony of John Trudell in the
Trial of Arlo Looking Cloud
February, 2004
MR. McMAHON: John Trudell.

JOHN TRUDELL,

called as a witness, being first duly sworn, testified and

said as follows:

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. McMAHON:

Q. State your name, please?

A. My name is John Trudell.

Q. Where do you live, Mr. Trudell?

A. In Los Angeles, California.

Q. How long have you lived in California?

A. Since about 1979.

Q. What is your occupation?

A. I am a writer and a performer, actor, speaker, in that area.

Q. You currently have a band?

A. Yeah, Bad Dog.

Q. Have you been an entertainer for quite a while?

A. Twenty years.

Q. Where were you born and raised?

A. I was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and I was raised in small

communities around Omaha, and my reservation is Sante in

Northern Nebraska. So I enlisted when I was seventeen, and up

until that time maybe I had lived in both communities, both

worlds equally.

Q. You did what at seventeen?

A. I enlisted in the Navy.

Q. In the Navy, okay. How long were you in the Navy?

A. Four years. Three years and ten months.

Q. Where did you go after that?

A. I stayed in southern California, because I was home

ported in Long Beach. I went to school for a while in San

Bernardino, and figured out that wasn't really working out for

me, and then I went to the Alcatraz occupation in 1969.

Q. What do you had mean by the Alcatraz occupation?

A. In 1969 collective native community, we called ourselves

Indians of all Tribes Alcatraz, but we occupied the former

prison under the 1868, in relationship to the 1868 Fort

Laramie treaty about surplus government lands reverting to

native use.

Q. About 1969 or so did you become somewhat of an activist?

A. Yes, 100 percent.

Q. How old are you now?

A. I will be 58 next week.

Q. Have you ever been involved with the AIM organization?

A. I was chairman of AIM from 1973 to around 1979.

Q. What did you do as chairman of AIM?

A. Me, I think basically I acted as a spokesman. You know,

really what, I mean the title is chairman, but in reality I

acted as a spokesman. I looked at that as what my role was.

It wasn't so much, because AIM at that time with the

leadership, you know, we all had different supporters. I mean

each leader had their own group of people around them, but I

never really looked at my role as being an order giver, it was

more to speak, because that is, I always felt that's why.

When I was nominated to be, actually was named cochairman, and

there was an incident and I became chairman, but I always felt

it was the people liked my analysis of things.

Q. Did you know Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash?

A. Pardon?

Q. Did you know Anna Mae Aquash?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. When did you first meet her?

A. I met her at, I think it was in Minneapolis, but it was

at an Indian education conference in Minneapolis. I think it

was the summer of 1970. July or August, something like that.

Q. Did you become friends with her?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. Did you see her occasionally off and on since 1970 then?

A. I didn't see her again until in the summer of '70, and I

think the next time I remember seeing her was in 1974 at the

Means-Banks trial in St. Paul.

Q. Did you ever see her in 1975?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. What time of the year did you see her?

A. I saw her in, at the Farmington AIM conference or

convention in, that would have been in June of 1975. I saw

her then, and then I saw her again in September of 1975 in Los

Angeles.

Q. So when you saw her at the Farmington convention did you

have any conversations with her?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. Was she concerned about anything at that time?

A. She was concerned because she had been accused of being

an informant, and because we had some discussion about that,

but at the time my feeling was, what I got out of it, she was

just more angry. I didn't sense really it was about fear, but

she was really upset that people were making this accusation

to her.

Q. After the Farmington convention, when was it that you

saw her next?

A. Pardon.

Q. When did you see her next after that convention?

A. After that I saw her in Los Angeles, I think it was

September of '75.

Q. Where was that that you saw her in LA?

A. Anna Mae and Miwak (Nilak) Butler had arrived in LA and had

been detained at LAX, and Miwak (Nilak) Butler was taken and

locked up at the civil brand center, and Anna Mae was cut loose. So I

spent time with her. There was a Chuck Salazar, Ernie Peters

and myself, and the White Bear family.

Q. I am sorry, the what?

A. White Bear. So, and at that time because Miwak had been

arrested, and all of this was going on in relationship to the

fire fight in Oglala the previous summer. Between Chuck and

Ernie and myself we tried to, one of us always stayed with her

as much as possible just to act in the capacity of being security.

Q. Who was Anna Mae staying with while she was in

California then?

A. Between White Bear's and I think maybe one evening or so

she might have spent at Chuck Salazar's, and but basically at

the White Bear family.

Q. What was her state of mind at that time?

A. At that time she, it was about more than being angry,

she was afraid.

Q. Did she leave while you were still there?

A. Pardon?

Q. I mean did you, were you in California when she left

California, let me ask it that way?

A. Chuck Salazar, Ernie Peters and myself, we took her to

the airport.

Q. You know where she was going?

A. She was going to Denver.

Q. You know why she was going to Denver?

A. No, I don't know why she was. She didn't say, but

somebody had gotten in touch with her, and I don't know who it

was, but someone had gotten in touch with her to go to Denver.

Q. Did you ever see Anna Mae again?

A. No.

Q. So September of '75 would have been the last time that

you saw her?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you ever talk with her on the phone after that?

A. No.

Q. How did you find out she had been killed?

A. I found out that she was killed, it was in a

conversation I had with Dennis Banks in Berkley some time in

'76. February, March, some time in '76. At this time I

didn't know there had been a body found, and Dennis mentioned

to me, he said, well, that body they found in Pine Ridge or

Wanblee, he said I think it is Anna Mae. This was the first

that I had known.

Q. Now prior to discovering that she had been killed, did

you ever receive anything that made you believe she was in danger?

A. Well, two things. I mean in September when I saw her,

because she was afraid, and she told me at that time, you

know, she had had a run-in with David Price and that Price was

trying to get her to tell about the Oglala fire fight, and in

the course of that she swore at him, and then he said to her

that he would see her dead within the year. And she was upset

about that. So when she came and I saw her in September, she

said to me, you know, that if you ever want to, if you had to

go somewhere, she would go, there was an island where she grew

up, and that would be the place she would go that would be

safe for her. Then she told me to, that in the rain, she

loved the rain, and to always remember her in the rain, and we

had this conversation, and at that time her fear was about

that. She was angry because still accusations, name calling

about her being an informant or a pig, she was angry about

that, and then now, but then now the element of fear has been

added because of this dialogue she said that she had. Then

after she had been arrested in the mobile home incident in

Oregon, so this would have been around the end of November or

December, I don't remember the exact time, but I got a letter

and a ring from her that was delivered through Mathalene White Bear.

Q. Who's ring was it?

A. It was Anna Mae's ring.

Q. How did you know that?

A. Because Anna Mae and I had an understanding that just

because the way things were at that time if she needed to

communicate with me, that she would send this ring, because

then I would know somebody wasn't playing a bunch of games.

Q. You also said you received a letter.

A. Yes.

Q. Do you still have that letter?

A. No, it burned down in my, there was a fire in my home in

1979 and it burned.

Q. Do you know Arlo Looking Cloud?

A. I have met Arlo once that I can remember.

Q. You see him in the courtroom today?

A. Yes.

Q. Would you point out where he is seated, please?

A. Sitting right there. (Indicating).

MR. McMAHON: May the record reflect he pointed to

the defendant. Your Honor?

THE COURT: It may.

BY MR. McMAHON:

Q. Have you ever had an occasion to visit with Mr. Looking

Cloud about Anna Mae's death?

A. One time, in 1988.

Q. Where was that at?

A. My band, we were on tour with a band called Midnight

Oil, and we played in Denver, and I saw him then after the

show.

Q. How is it that you had a conversation with Mr. Looking Cloud?

A. Troy Lynn brought him, Troy Lynn had said to me that

Arlo wanted to talk with me.

Q. Troy Lynn Yellow Wood?

A. Yes. So she brought Arlo to where I was at.

Q. And where were you at when you saw Mr. Looking Cloud?

A. I think it was in my hotel room in Denver.

Q. Who was present during this conversation?

A. Myself, Troy Lynn and Arlo.

Q. Did Mr. Looking Cloud talk to you about what had

happened to Anna Mae?

A. Yes, he did.

Q. What do you remember about him telling you what had

happened to her?

A. Well, first, I mean I was surprised that he was coming

to talk to me about this.

Q. You didn't know him at that time?

A. No, I may have met him. But, no, I didn't know him. So

he told me that he and John Boy and Theda, they had taken her

from Troy Lynn's house in Denver, and that they brought her to

a place in Rapid City, they took her to one house, one place,

and then from there to an empty apartment or house, and that

this house belonged to Thelma Rios, and that they kept Anna

Mae there for maybe a day. And that while she was there that

Laurelie Means and Madonna Thunder Hawk and Thelma Rios and

John Boy and himself, between them, somebody always stayed

with her, and she was kept in that house not free to leave.

Q. Did he ever mention to you why Anna Mae had been taken

to South Dakota?

A. To be questioned.

Q. About what?

A. Being an informant.

Q. Did he tell you where they went once they left Rapid City?

A. The best I can remember what he said was that they were

in Rapid City maybe 24 hours, a day or so, something along

that time line, and then they took her to a house near the

Indian hospital in Rosebud.

Q. Did he say what happened at that house in Rosebud?

A. During this whole process that Anna Mae was trying to

get them to let her go, talking to them about letting her go,

and that she was very afraid. Then they took her, so then

when they went to this house near the Indian hospital, then

Arlo stayed in the car with Anna Mae and John Boy and Theda

went in the house.

Q. Did he say if Anna Mae and he had any type of a

conversation?

A. Is that she was just asking them to let her go. She

wanted to be free, she was afraid, you know, and basically it

was that kind of, but I don't know if that is really a

conversation. She is saying to him she wants to, would he let her go.

Q. Did he ever mention to you that they had also stopped in

Pine Ridge?

A. I don't remember him telling me that.

Q. He didn't ever mention to you that they stopped at a

house in Allen?

A. I don't, I truly don't remember it. I mean he may have

said it, but I don't remember that.

Q. So what did he tell you happened once they left the

house in Rosebud?

A. Well, John Boy and Theda came out of the house, and that

they got in the car and they basically drove up to the place

near Wanblee where she was shot.

Q. Did he tell you what happened at the site where she was shot?

A. That they had, that he and John Boy and Anna Mae got out

of the car, and that they walked Anna Mae to a spot where she

was shot, and in the course of this walk that Anna Mae was

crying, praying, talking about her daughters. She didn't want

to lose her daughters, and what were they going to do, please

let her go, and things of that nature, and then she knelt,

that John Boy had her kneel down, and John Boy shot her in the

back of the head.

MR. McMAHON: That's all I have.

THE COURT: Cross exam.

CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. RENSCH:

Q. Morning, sir. Or almost afternoon I guess it is. In

this conversation that you had with Arlo, what year was that?

A. 1988.

Q. Who else was present during that conversation?

A. Troy Lynn.

Q. Was she adding to the conversation at all?

A. Pardon?

Q. Was she talking at the time?

A. She may have been, but I don't really remember that.

Q. You had spoken to Troy Lynn prior to meeting with Arlo,

had you not?

A. Yes.

Q. And she had told you what she thought Arlo would say to

you, isn't that correct?

A. No, that's not correct.

Q. Did she tell you anything about?

A. She said he wanted to talk to me, that he wanted to talk

to me, but it was about what happened with Anna Mae, it was in

relationship to Anna Mae.

Q. Where did this conversation take place with Arlo?

A. In a hotel room.

Q. In a hotel room?

A. Yes.

Q. Is there any possibility it took place in a car?

A. We may have went down to the car from there, but

basically because they came to my room.

Q. First of all, you didn't write any notes of this or

anything like that, did you, sir?

A. No.

Q. I suppose that through the years because you knew

Ms. Pictou-Aquash that if something comes out on this subject

you would read it if you could?

A. I would what?

Q. Read something that comes out on this subject, isn't

that correct?

A. Well, maybe, because it depends on who is writing it,

because a lot of people write things that have no basis to reality.

Q. It seems to me that at some point in this case you have

made a statement to somebody to the effect that it is kind of

hard to keep it all straight, what you have read and what you

have heard and things like that. You recall anything like that?

A. Yes, I do, and it was in regard to a specific statement.

Q. Now when we are talking about then what Arlo is telling

you in this vehicle, or in the hotel room, as the case may be?

A. In the course of the evening.

Q. When ever he was there. Can you, as you sit there

today, specifically recall him telling you names of people in

Rapid City, or could you have filled that information in?

A. He told me the names, because I did not -- he told me

those names, there is no mistake about this.

Q. There is no mistake about that?

A. No mistake about this.

Q. And this conversation occurred I think we have

established was it '88?

A. In 1988.

Q. 1988, okay. Did he ever say anything to you about

wanting Ms. Pictou-Aquash to die?

A. No. I mean no, he didn't say that. The impression I

got was that he didn't know what the end result was going to

be. That I will say that, but it happened, and he played his role.

Q. When you were speaking to him, was it clear to you that

the fact that she was killed was a surprise to him?

A. I got the impression, I don't know about surprise, but

up until the time they left that house. See after they left

that house, I don't know about surprises any more, alright,

because somebody said to do this, but up until the time they

went to that house I don't think he expected that she would be killed.

Q. You just said at that house somebody said to do this?

A. Yes.

Q. What are you referring to?

A. Well, John Boy and Arlo and Theda, they weren't decision

makers. I mean they couldn't give this kind. It wasn't their

idea to go down there and pick her up, it wasn't their idea.

They did what they were told.

Q. You have told us what Arlo told you already, and I don't

recall you saying anything about him saying that someone

issued an order or said anything at that house. Do you recall

him saying that anybody at that house said anything about

Ms. Pictou-Aquash being killed?

A. John Boy and Theda went in that house, and when they

came out it was with the instructions to kill her.

Q. That's what Arlo told you?

A. I almost say it verbatim in those exact words, but that

was the impression of what I got out of what he told me.

Q. I am not trying to nitpick with you.

A. I understand.

Q. I nitpick with you, but it is very, very important. I

want to know if you heard from Arlo's mouth something about

him knowing that she was going to be killed in advance of her

death? Did you hear anything in that regard?

A. Up until the time they went to that house, my opinion he

didn't know she was going to be killed, but when they left

that house they knew.

Q. Arlo told you they knew?

A. They took her out and shot her. Somewhere in there, so

I mean --

Q. Well, we are here about what Arlo said, and did Arlo

tell you that he knew, or are you making that assumption?

A. I am very careful about making an assumption on this.

It is just that when John Boy and Theda came out of that

house, because Theda took Anna Mae's jewelry, took some of her

jewelry.

Q. So as you are talking to us now you remember Arlo saying

something about Theda taking Anna Mae's jewelry?

A. Somewhere in the course of that, yes.

Q. Is that something that you could have read, sir?

A. No. Certain things I remember because I had not heard

them before. I can't remember the point that you are going

to, but there was something I had been asked, and I wasn't

sure if I had read that part.

Q. Mr. McMahon had asked you what Arlo had said, and I

don't recall you saying anything about jewelry. Maybe I missed it.

A. Maybe I forgot to say it to him, but the deal is --

Q. Because you and I have had a telephone conversation?

A. Yes, we have.

Q. Didn't you say to me that this is a situation of Arlo

being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

A. That's my feeling.

Q. Didn't you say to me that from everything Arlo told you

that this was a complete surprise on his part?

A. Something to that effect.

Q. I guess I am asking you if you would say something to

the effect that from what Arlo told you, this was a complete

surprise on his part, why the change?

A. I don't think I am changing. See, because it all hinges

at that house, alright, because I think there was a complete

surprise to him that that decision had been made.

Q. Well, do you know at what point he became aware of the

decision, did he tell you?

A. When he got out of that car and started walking to where

she was killed.

Q. What did he say about that?

A. They got out of the car, and they had the gun and they

walked to the thing. So now I am making an assumption, okay,

I am making an assumption he knew by then that something was

going to happen.

Q. You use the word they, it includes a lot of people?

A. John Boy and Arlo got out of that car with Anna Mae and

walked her to that spot.

Q. Arlo never said he had the gun, did he?

A. No, he never said he had the gun.

Q. He didn't know that John Boy had the gun, would you agree?

A. No, I can't agree or disagree with that.

Q. You don't know?

A. Right.

Q. And that John Boy shot her, and that was a surprise to

Arlo that she would be shot?

A. I don't know.

Q. Did he say that to you?

A. Did he say that it was a surprise to him.

Q. It was a surprise when she was killed?

A. No, he didn't use those words.

Q. What words did he use that led you to say to me that

something to the effect this was a surprise to him?

A. He was picking Anna Mae up in Denver and taking her to

the house, wherever she was held here in Rapid and then taking

her to the house in Rosebud, alright. I had the feeling that

none of those three that took her up to that point really knew

what the outcome was going to be, because somebody was telling

them what to do. But when they left that house, somebody

amongst them knew what was going to happen. So to me I would

say that the surprise, Arlo was surprised that this happened

to her, but it was after that visit to that house.

Q. You just said that you think that somebody knew what was

going to happen when they left that house, right, sir?

Somebody in that car?

A. Somebody did.

Q. But Arlo didn't tell you that he knew what was going to

happen when they left that house, did he?

A. The best I remember what he said was that when John Boy

and Theda came out of that house, they took her where she was

shot, and then he and John Boy got out of the car, alright,

and walked her to where she was at, alright, and John Boy had

her kneel down and shot her in the back of the head. And if I

remember correctly, there was something about maybe a blanket

or something, but I may be confused about that.

Q. So you are telling us what he said, you are remembering,

you are visualizing him talking to you wherever it was you

were talking and trying to tell us also what he said?

A. I mean he said what he said to me, yes, he did.

Q. As you recounted all this you didn't say anything about

her begging for her life, or saying please don't shoot me, or

mentioning anything about her kids?

A. Say this again.

Q. As you just told us what you he said happened?

A. He told me about her begging for her life and her kid.

Q. Is your position he told you she was begging for her

life on the walk out to the ravine?

A. Yes.

Q. And sir, you don't know whether she was begging when

Theda and John Boy went in to this house by the Indian

hospital from his conversation?

A. No, she was.

Q. You are telling us that he told you she was begging when

they went in to the house, is that right?

A. Yes.

Q. And that when the other two of course went in the house

he would be in the car alone with her?

A. Yes.

Q. I want to ask you if you, now you have spoken with an

individual about this matter and that was tape recorded, have

you not?

A. Yes.

Q. You know an individual by the name of Neil (Serle) Chapman?

A. Yes.

Q. He interviewed you about this, did he not?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you know he was taping it as he was interviewing you?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you say this to him, and I am at page 8.

MR. McMAHON: Excuse me, Your Honor, I believe this

is improper impeachment, he can refresh his recollection?

THE COURT: True.

MR. RENSCH: Can we approach for a moment, please?

THE COURT: You may.

( Bench Conference)

MR. RENSCH: This is a prior inconsistency, it need

not be under oath. I can ask him if he was asked the question

and he denies it, then he has access to the document. I am

looking at a prior inconsistent statement in this interview

and it's my intent to ask him if he made the statement.

THE COURT: You haven't asked him yet.

MR. RENSCH: No, I haven't, I think it's my choice

if I want to let him refresh his recollection or ask him outright.

THE COURT: You were referring to the pages were you

impeaching him before you asked the question.

MR. RENSCH: I was just doing that so counsel would

know where I was at. Do you want me to do some other

procedure, I think I can, but I think I am allowed to say did

you say this, and if he didn't, he can deny it, and it would

be my option to bring in the person who made the statement to

tie it up. I don't think I have to throw it in front of him

to ask him the question.

THE COURT: You haven't asked the question yet, I

think that's the point.

MR. RENSCH: Do you want me to put it in front of him.

THE COURT: What you do is up to you, but you

haven't asked a predicate question yet that you have either to

refresh him with or impeach him with.

MR. McMAHON: I thought he was going to try to

impeach him, and there wasn't anything pending.

THE COURT: That's what I thought, too, but I think

we have that ironed out, I think.

MR. RENSCH: So everybody knows, the predicate

questions I asked him about him claiming that she was begging

in the car, that's what this impeaches, that's why I was

asking those previous questions.

THE COURT: Let me look at what you are looking at.

MR. RENSCH: Right here.

MR. McMAHON: I don't think that even talks about it.

MR. RENSCH: I think a prior inconsistent statement.

MR. McMAHON: Why is it inconsistent?

MR. RENSCH: Because he said she was begging in the

car, here it says she wasn't. It says what ever she was

stating to him when she was by herself with him in the car.

MR. McMAHON: What ever she was saying, it doesn't

say she wasn't saying.

MR. RENSCH: If she wasn't saying, that would imply.

THE COURT: I don't think so, but you can do what

you want, but that doesn't mean I am not going to sustain an

objection, we will see.

(End Bench Conference ).

BY MR. RENSCH:

Q. Sir, you have just indicated to us that

Ms. Pictou-Aquash was saying things to Arlo while he was alone

in the car, and that's what Arlo had reported to you, okay. I

would like to ask you if you made this statement on another

occasion. Page 8. Statement by you. And he and Anna Mae

stayed in the car, and what ever he was saying, and I don't,

see what I think is I don't think that whatever she was saying

to him when he was by himself with her in that car, I think

she was saying the same things to the rest of them when they

were going. Did you make that statement, sir?

A. Say that again, it's confusing.

Q. Here, let me show it to you. So much for that.

A. Yeah, I probably said that, but I don't, I am confused

by the question.

Q. You don't really remember where it was that Arlo was

saying Ms. Pictou-Aquash was asking to be let go, do you, sir?

A. No, I do remember. It was in the car, because when John

Boy and Theda went in to that house, alright, she was having

this conversation with him not to, about to let her go, her begging.

Q. What did he say his response was to her?

A. That he couldn't do anything.

Q. Did he say anything to her about not thinking that she

was going to be killed that you recall?

A. No, not that I recall.

Q. Do you know an individual by the name of John Graham?

A. Yes, I do.

Q. How do you know him?

A. Well, I met John Boy, I know him as John Boy, but I met

him in the spring of 1976.

Q. Okay. You sundanced with him, didn't you?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. What does that mean to sundance with somebody?

A. I can't say what it means for everybody. For me, you

know, it is like, it is making an offering, it's an offering

of yourself either in return for help that has been given, or,

so it is a personal physical sacrifice that is part of a

mental psychological sacrifice that you make to the people for

this endurance.

Q. Do you do that in a circle?

A. Yes.

Q. Was John Boy in the circle?

A. He was sundancing, yes, he was.

Q. After that point did John Boy take on some position of

prominence within the American Indian Movement?

A. Not that I recall. I mean when you say position of

prominence, I can't say that.

Q. He continued to remain active in the American Indian

Movement ?

A. See, during this time in '76 the Butler Robin (Robideau) trial on

the FBI thing was taking place in Cedar Rapids, and then I

went to the sundance. Actually maybe it had already, the

trial was over, and then I went to the sundance. And John Boy

was there, because I had some involvement with him there at

the sundance, and then I don't really remember seeing John Boy

again until 1980. I am not going to say I didn't, or '79 and

'80. So he kind of, I mean see I lived in my own reality, my

family was in Nevada, and I was doing what I was doing. So I

wasn't around a lot of activities, but I don't remember seeing

John Boy again until about '80, '79 or '80.

Q. If you were friends with Anna Mae, why, if Arlo said

these things to you in '88, why didn't you call the police and

do something about it?

A. Because I told Arlo that I would say that what he said

to me he said in it in confidence. And I have to respect

that, because I felt it was something he wanted to get off his

chest, and the reality of it is what he said to me, I had to

respect the confidentiality, but at the same time I wanted to

know, because up to that time there had been many rumors Anna

Mae had been spotted here and spotted there, there had been

many rumors around '75, '76, but nobody really knew what

happened. But when I talked to Arlo, it made it more concise

to me. I mean go to police, pragmatic, I mean no offense, but

my relationship with the United States government isn't a real

good one. I have no basis to be trusting police, I don't want

to be a pawn and be used against my own people. No, I don't

want that, and what if what is being said is a mistake. So I

can't just, yes. I wanted to know what happened to Anna Mae,

and I kept my agreement to Arlo until later when I see it in

the News From Indian Country these are the things that Arlo

has said, and somewhere because I wasn't the source of that

information, and then I knew alright, I can now publicly do

this.

Q. Let me ask you, based upon what you heard as you looked

in to Arlo's eyes as he was telling you these things, was it

your impression that he wanted her to die?

A. Was it my impression that what?

Q. Arlo wanted her to die based on what he said?

A. No.

Q. Was it your impression that he wanted to help see that

she died when he told you what had happened?

A. No, because he wouldn't have told me if he wanted those

things to happen, but those things did happen.

MR. RENSCH: Thank you, sir. That's all.

REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. McMAHON:

Q. Mr. Trudell, you remember the fact that Mr. Looking

Cloud told you Anna Mae was begging for her life in the car?

A. Yes, I do.

Q. You remember that?

A. I remember that.

Q. And you remember the fact that he was, she was begging

for her life all the while she was walking out to that cliff

with them?

A. Yes, I do.

Q. And she begged them not to kill her?

A. Yes.

Q. She talked about her two daughters?

A. She was saying what are her daughters going to do. See,

Anna Mae love her daughters very much, because the time I knew

her whatever went on in her family and her daughters, I knew

that was a very traumatic thing for her to not have her

daughters, so she talked about them, I mean before this. Her

daughters were a very focal point in her life, and that night

when they were walking her, yes, she was talking about her daughters.

Q. I think you said in response to a question by Mr. Rensch

that once they came out of that house on the Rosebud they were

under instructions to kill her?

A. Somebody was.

Q. And they went and did that?

A. Yes.

MR. McMAHON: That's all I have.

THE COURT: Anything further?

RECROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. RENSCH:

Q. And Arlo told you that, that somebody gave instructions

for her to be killed?

A. I don't remember the exact words, alright, but they came

out of that house. John Boy, or Arlo told me John Boy and

Theda came out of that house and they drove from there and

took her out and walked her and killed her. Maybe he didn't

say the exact words you are trying to get me to say, but

basically he said that, because see, they weren't --

Q. Is it possible?

A. It's not something they thought up on their own.

Q. Is it possible what Arlo was describing to you was him

sitting out in the car, these two coming out of the house,

getting in the car, driving to a point, stopping the car, and

then this activity took place?

A. Say that again?

MR. RENSCH: Forget it, nothing further.

THE COURT: Anything further?

MR. McMAHON: No, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Thank you, you may step down. We will

take our noon recess now, and I went a little longer because I

wanted the witness to be able to finish his testimony. So you

are excused, thank you. So we will be in recess until 1:30

this afternoon, thank you. Please stand for the jury.

(Recess at 12:20 until 1:30).

La Voz Mapuche

2011-09-10T10:28:00.001-07:00

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Attica is All of Us!

2011-09-10T10:25:00.001-07:00

Attica Is All Of Us from Freedom Archives on Vimeo.

Monty Python- The Annoying Peasant

2011-09-10T00:54:00.000-07:00

Ha, classic, "We are an anarco-syndicalist commune..."

I'm not waiting out the economy...

2011-09-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

I'm not waiting out the economy, hoping it gets better, I'm hoping capitalism falls.

...Hoping to fan the flames of people's revolt until this system is no more and we replace it with the people's institutions. :)

Upping the Anti Interview

2011-09-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

http://tao.ca/~sharmeen/robyn/interview.mp3

Upping the Anti Interview at the International CopWatching Conference

PAPERS By SHINING SOUL ( extended version)

2011-09-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

Shining Soul will be performing on 9/11 at the Maravilla Handball Courts

for

No Borders! Stop u.s. terrorism on indigenous people!

"I Live, I Die, I Organize": What is hacking?

2011-09-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

"I Live, I Die, I Organize": What is hacking?

NYM Presents: No Borders! Stop U.S. Terrorism Against Indigenous People

2011-09-03T01:45:00.000-07:00

Time
Sunday, September 11 · 6:00pm - 10:00pm

Location
Maravilla Handball Court
501 Mednik (cross Street is Chavez)
East Los Angeles, CA

Native Youth Movement (NYM) Presents:

No Borders: End U.S. Terrorism Against Indigenous People

Hip Hop, Speakers/Presentations, and BBQ

O'odham Struggles 101
-Indigenous Nation in Resistance to the "U.S./Mexico" border

Speakers from the Native Youth Movement and indigenous struggles from all over.

Performance by:
Shining Soul with DJ Lingos-Phoenix, AZ
Cozmobrown and DJ Lingos-Tucson AZ
Guerrilla Queenz
Sherman Austin
WarClub
and more...

Pupusas for sale

Fundraising Event for: the space and indigenous communities and ceremonies

Illinois Man Faces 75 years for Recording the Police

2011-09-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

It's Illegal to film Police in 12 States WE HAVE TO BE OUTLAWS!

Grassroots Gathering to Resist Proposed Pipelines

2011-09-02T17:58:00.000-07:00

Report Back from Unist’hot’en Gathering, Wet’suwet’en Territory

By Gord Hill, August 22, 2011

WarriorPublications.wordpress.com

From August 12-15, 2011, members of the Unist’hot’en clan of the Wet’suwet’en nation hosted their second gathering to oppose industrial threats in their traditional territory. Specifically, they are opposed to two major pipelines that will cut through their territory, the Pacific Trails Pipeline and Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline system.

According to the Wet’suwet’en organizers of the camp, these pipelines threaten their way of life by endangering land and water along the proposed route, which roughly parallels Highway 16. In Wet’suwet’en territory, the pipelines are proposed to be built directly alongside the Morice River (Wedzin Kwah in Wet’suwet’en). The river remains pure and pristine, despite extensive logging in the region.

The Unist’hot’en Camp is located some 66 kilometres south of Houston and alongside the Morice River. Over the previous year, a large log cabin has been built at the site in the route of the proposed pipelines. At this year’s gathering, a “No Pipelines” banner was placed in trees near the entrance and wire fencing constructed. A previous cabin built at another site was burned to the ground last year, and the Wet’suwet’en are taking measures to increase their security at the camp.

Approximately thirty people attended the gathering, ranging from independent journalists & film makers to hardcore anarchists from East Vancouver. Discussions were held in the cabin and around camp fires, focusing on organizing strategies to mobilize grassroots opposition to the Pacific Trails Pipeline. The Wet’suwet’en also conducted a traditional welcoming of guests, shared songs and stories, as well as food from their territory.

Who Are the Wet’suwet’en?

The Wet’suwet’en are closely related to the Dakelh, or Carrier, and were once referred to as the Western Carrier. There are four main communities of the Wet’suwet’en: Burns Lake, Palling, Hagwilget, and Moricetown. The current population of the Wet’suwet’en is approximately 3,000.

According to Mel Basil, a Gitxsan/Wet’suwet’en who helped organized the gathering, “The Wet’suwet’en have five clans, Tsayu (Beaver Clan), C’Iltsehkhyu (Unist’hot’en Night Hawk and Big Frog Clan), Lihksilyu (Caribour and Small Frog), Lihkts’amisyu (Fireweed and Killerwhale Clan), and Gitimt’en (Bear Clan).
“We were known to the settlers as the Western Carrier, but prior to contact we knew ourselves as Yinka Dini. The eastern Nuutseni’s called us Wet’suwet’en.”

Oil and Gas Stolen from Native Land

Like most of BC, Wet’suwet’en traditional lands remain unceded Indigenous territory, over which BC and the federal government lack jurisdiction. Having failed to legally extinguish Aboriginal title, BC today constitutes an illegal state entity occupying sovereign Indigenous territories, in violation of Canadian and international law. As is the case historically, however, the real imposition of colonial control is achieved through force, and for nearly 150 years state-sanctioned resource exploitation and settlement has occurred on Native land.

As early as the 1880s, Natives in BC began protesting this blatant theft of land. By 1927, the Indian Act was amended to outlaw land claims organizing. During the 1960s and 1970s, Indigenous peoples throughout North America began to mobilize to defend their lands. Along with direct actions carried out by grassroots radicals, band councils began litigation in the courts to change laws and policies (i.e., the Nisga’a land claim).

In 1987, the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en launched their joint land title court case known as Delgamuukw (a hereditary title). The case was accompanied by rallies and civil disobedience-style blockades, most often carried out by the band councils (the Office of the Wet’suwet’en was formed during this court case, essentially a tribal council).

After appealing to the Supreme Court of Canada, the Delgamuukw case was concluded in December 1997. The court recognized the prior existence of Aboriginal title but that it must now be accommodated with the assertion of British sovereignty. Negotiations were encouraged to resolve this difference. Nearly 15 years after the Delgamuukw decision, however, there has been a rapid expansion into the most remote Indigenous territories by corporations in search of new resources to extract.

Along with mining, the oil and gas industry has seen record-breaking growth. In 2008-09, the industry contributed some $2.3 billion to the provincial revenue. In 2010, there were some 20,400 oil wells in the province. This growth has been stimulated by increased demand from US and Asian markets. In 2011, PetroChina invested $5.4 billion in Encana to secure supplies of natural gas. In order to transport all this oil and gas from northeastern BC and northern Alberta, several major pipelines are now planned, many of which cross through Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous nations territories.

No Go for NGOs

Noticeably absent from this year’s Unist’hot’en gathering were delegates from environmentalist Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). One reason for their absence may be that, unlike the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, which will transport Tar Sands bitumen, the Pacific Trails Pipeline is intended to carry natural gas from the Prince George area to Kitimat (some 463 kilometres). The Enbridge line, which has seen significant opposition from Indigenous peoples, environmentalists and NGOs, would comprise two pipelines running some 1170 kilometres, from northern Alberta to ports in Kitimat. These would cross two mountain passes and 733 rivers, creeks and streams, carrying up to 525,000 barrels of bitumen each day from Alberta to Kitimat. There, it would be shipped out of the long arm of Douglas Channel by supertankers bound for Asian markets. The estimated cost is some $5.5 billion. Its link to the Tar Sands has made it the target of NGOs, whose single issue focus remains Enbridge. According to some critics, this is the because their funders—some of whom are funded by oil corporations—dictate their campaigns.

According to Basil, “There are 4 pipeline companies proposing to infiltrate our territories, they are Pacific Trails Pipelines, Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline, Pembina, and Kinder Morgan. The latter three propose to construct two pipelines each totaling all four companies proposed impacts at seven pipelines.

“Pembina and Kinder Morgan have enjoyed clandestine proposal and a lack of resistance to their pipeline construction proposals, as has the Pacific Trails Pipeline. It appears that the large resistance to the Enbridge provides the Pacific Trails Pipeline a smokescreen. Too much focus on the loser Enbridge is allowing the three other corporations to establish themselves with little to no resistance.”

Facts and Figures

Officially, the Pacific Trails Pipeline is referred to as the Kitimat-Summit Lake Natural Gas Pipeline Looping (KSL) project. It will move natural gas from Summit Lake (near Prince George) to Kitimat using an underground 36 inch diameter pipeline with an 18-metre right of way on each side. It is planned to have a carrying capacity up to approximately 1,000 Mmcf/d (million cubic feet per day).

Near Kitimat, a Liquid Natural Gas processing facility will be built (at Bish Cove, on a Haisla reserve, approximately 650 kilometers/400 miles north of Vancouver). The facility is planned for an initial output capacity of 5 million metric tonnes per annum. From ports in Kitimat it will be shipped by oil tankers to Asian markets. The total cost of the pipeline is some $1 billion, and it is planned to be operational by 2015.

According to the Pacific Trails Pipeline website (www.pacifictrailpipelines.com),

“Pacific Trail Pipelines will provide a direct connection between the Spectra Energy Transmission pipeline system and the Kitimat LNG terminal for the transportation of natural gas from Western Canada to Asian markets.”

The current Spectra natural gas pipeline runs from the far north-east corner of BC (the Horn River area, located within Treaty 8 lands) to the lower mainland. Much of this natural gas is acquired through fracking, a highly destructive method of extraction that pumps liquid into rock layers to create fractures through which gas or oil is removed (also referred to as hydraulic fracturing).

Pacific Trail Blazer for Enbridge?

According to the Wet’suwet’en and others, the proposed Pacific Trails Pipeline has a similar right-of-way to Enbridge’s pipeline. Originally permitted to take natural gas into the tar sands, the proposed pipeline flow has since been reversed, and is now proposed to serve to transport natural gas from shale deposits extracted through fracking in north east BC to export markets via Kitimat. The Pacific Trails Pipeline is slated to measure nearly a meter in diameter, with a wide right of way on each side. Because it is liquid natural gas, it has also faced less regulatory hurdles and has slid through with barely any opposition expressed. A very real danger is that the Pacific Trails Pipeline will serve as a trail blazer for Enbridge; after all, why oppose a pipeline if there is already one built (a common argument used by industry in other areas)?

During a recent May 2011 interview with Fox News’ Mad Money host Jim Kramer, Enbridge CEO Pat Daniel discussed Enbridge’s move into the natural gas market and its collaboration with other corporations, including the possibility of joining their respective pipeline projects (Enbridge’s Gateway and the Pacific Trail Pipeline).

“We think we’re in a very strong position with regard to exporting Canadian natural gas in particular. We’re currently putting forward our credentials to the proponents – EOG, Apache, Shell and others – that are working on moving Western Canadian natural gas out to the West Coast; and we would hope to be able to see some synergies with the right-of-way that we’re working on with our Gateway pipeline out to the West Coast. So, yes, we’re very interested in doing that and we would hope to be the the pipeline provider for one or both of those alternatives” (see http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000021773, which includes a transcript of the interview on a sidebar).

Band Councils Cash In

While many NGOs and band councils have opposed the proposed Enbridge pipeline, the Pacific Trails Pipeline is actually supported by 15 band councils along the planned 463 kilometre route. An agreement signed in 2009 gives these bands a combined 30 percent stakes in the pipeline. Some of the supporting bands include Burns Lake, Stallat’en First Nation, the Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council, and the Wet’suwet’en First Nation.

According to Chief David Luggi of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, the 15 bands “could realize cash flows of $540 million to $570 million over the life of the 25 year deal” (http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/lakesdistrictnews/news/119278949.html ). The bands will also receive $18 million each over the next two years from Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC). This funding will be used to train some 600 Aboriginal people to work in the construction of the pipeline (Pacific Trail Pipelines Aboriginal Skills Employment Partnership). 300 have already begun training, according to Luggi.

Know Your Enemy: Pacific Trails Pipeline

The three major stockholders of the Pacific Trails Pipeline are Apache Canada Ltd. (40 % and operator), Encana (30 %) and EOG Canada (30%). The Kitimat processing plant will be jointly owned by Apache and EOG.

Apache Canada Ltd. is a subsidiary of the Apache Corporation, which is based in Houston, Texas, with regional offices and operations in the US, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Egypt, and the UK North Sea. In 2010, its market capitalization was approximately $30 billion. The proven reserves at the end of 2009 totaled 2.37 billion barrels of oil equivalent, roughly half oil and half natural gas. The company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as APA, and its website is www.apachecorp.com.

EOG Resources Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of EOG Resources, Inc. based in the US with operations in Canada, the UK, China, and Trinidad. It is traded on the NYSE as ‘EOG’. The company’s website is www.eogresources.com.

Encana is a Canadian natural gas corporation created by Canadian Pacific Railway and later merged with the Alberta Energy Corporation in 2002. It is based in Calgary, Alberta. Its operations have been opposed in Alberta and northern BC, where its pipelines have been subjected to explosive attacks by persons unknown near Dawson’s Creek. Encana’s US subsidiary has also been criticized for its fracking practises (which it also uses in northeastern BC. It is traded on the NYSE and Toronto Stock Exchange as ECA. For more information, visit the company’s website: www.encana.com

The Final Conflict

Today, the BC Central Interior and far north are facing a renewed onslaught of mining and oil & gas projects, as well as infrastructure to support these (i.e., power lines, roads, etc.). As the global capitalist system continues to decline, facing growing economic and ecological crises, it is also experiencing resource depletion. Some analysts believe we have already reached peak oil, a vital necessity to industrial capitalism, and that in the next 1-2 decades there will be significant disruptions to the entire capitalist system.

As a result, corporations and government are turning to the most remote and previously inaccessible sources of gas and oil, as well as minerals. The Alberta Tar Sands, the largest industrial project in the history of the world, is one aspect of this. Proposals to drill for oil in the Arctic, the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, and offshore drilling, also arise from the depletion of resources and the capitalist’s need to acquire more. Despite plans to develop railway ‘pipelines’ by CN and CP Rail (to Prince Rupert and Vancouver, respectively), pipelines are the main method of transporting oil and gas from northeastern BC and Alberta to either US or Asian markets.

Since the early 2000s, however, numerous Indigenous peoples have been organizing to oppose many of these industrial projects. In 2008, the Tahltan won a temporary victory when Shell announced it was suspending its plans to drill for coal-bed methane gas in the headwaters of the Skeena, Nass, and Stikine rivers. The proposed Kemess North mine in Tse Keh Nay territory was also turned down after significant opposition to the company’s plan to turn Amazay Lake into a tailings pond. Most recently, the Tsilhqot’in organized opposition to the proposed gold and copper mine at Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) and succeeded in temporarily halting it. In these struggles, as well as that against the Enbridge pipeline, there has been significant alliances built with non-Native settlers in the region.

Along with organizing against major industrial projects there has also been a campaign by Native peoples to raise awareness about the over 30 missing/murdered women (most Aboriginal) along Highway 16, also referred to as the ‘Highway of Tears.’

When asked to summarize his opinion about the ongoing struggle to protect Wet’suwet’en land and territory, Basil stated:

“We can drink straight from the river Wedzin Kwah [Morice River] and we aim to maintain that for thousands of more years and will escalate in our resistance to viciously protect our future generations and their relationship with our world that is largely governed by laws of respect!”

For more info:

http://unistotencamp.wordpress.com

Unist’hot’en Wet’suwet’en Contacts:

Freda Huson at 250 847-8897 or her email at fhuson@gmail.com;

Mel Bazil at 250 877 2805, or his email gitksanmanoct6@gmail.com

See also the article “In BC, Pipes Spell Double Trouble,” by Dawn Paley at http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/3990

Los Ilegales - Ricardo Flores Magon

2011-09-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Los Ilegales (Ricardo Flores Magon)

El verdadero revolucionario es un ilegal por excelencia. El hombre que ajusta sus actos a la ley podrá ser, a lo sumo, un buen animal domesticado; pero no un revolucionario.

La ley conserva, la revolución renueva. Por lo mismo, si hay que renovar hay que comenzar por romper la ley.

Pretender que la revolución sea hecha dentro de la ley, es una locura, es un contrasentido. La ley es yugo, y el que quiera librarse del yugo tiene que quebrarlo.

El que predica a los trabajadores que dentro de la ley puede obtenerse la emancipación del proletariado, es un embaucador, porque la ley ordena que no arranquemos de las manos del rico la riqueza que nos ha robado, y la expropiación de la riqueza para el beneficio de todos es la condición sin la cual no puede conquistarse la emancipación humana.

La ley es un freno, y con frenos no se puede llegar a la libertad. La ley castra, y los castrados no pueden aspirar a ser hombres.

Las libertades conquistadas por la especie humana son la obra de los ilegales de todos los tiempos que tomaron las leyes en sus manos y las hicieron pedazos.

El tirano muere a puñaladas, no con artículos del código.

La expropiación se hace pisoteando la ley, no llevándola a cuestas.

Por eso los revolucionarios tenemos que ser forzosamente ilegales. Tenemos que salirnos del camino trillado de los convencionalismos y abrir nuevas vías.

Rebeldía y legalidad son términos que andan de la greña.

Queden, pues, la ley y el orden para los conservadores y los farsantes.

Viva Tierra y Libertad

Vyacheslav Molotov Cocktails

2011-09-01T22:55:00.000-07:00

Posted by Rebecca

Celinicus (spelling?), a Syrian, invented the first Molotov Cocktail in 672 AD. Later, it was named and the Euros took all the credit.... wiki has no history of the Syrian but an interesting read about the naming nonethelessi:

"The Molotov cocktail is a term coined by the Finns during the Winter War, as a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons. ... the Soviet air force made extensive use of incendiaries and cluster bombs against Finnish troops and fortifications. When [Stalin's 1st Deputy] Vyacheslav Molotov claimed in radio broadcasts that they were not bombing, but rather delivering food to the starving Finns, the Finns started to call the air bombs Molotov bread baskets. Soon they responded by attacking advancing tanks with "Molotov cocktails" which were "a drink to go with the food". According to Montefiore the Molotov cocktail was one part of Molotov's cult of personality which he highly disliked."

(I've been watching Netflix historical docs again... this one is called "Ancient Inventions: War and Conflict." I really recommend checking it out) http://movies.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=70199863&trkid=4377511 or if your don't have netflix watch it here:

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v14081295CS7KtjC2

Evolution of the Hipster lol

2011-08-31T20:36:00.000-07:00