This is RevLeft, not ReformBullshit.
Results 1 to 20 of 63
This is RevLeft, not ReformBullshit.
Terribly sorry but if I can't drink then its not my party
March at the head of the ideas of your century and those ideas will follow and sustain you. March behind them and they will drag you along. March against them and they will overthrow you.
Napoleon III
Yay, lets knock over some bins and colour our hair!
As much as I like some of the stuff CrimeThInc. puts out (namely "Expect Resistance"), I am not interest in going to this. I get tired very quickly of smelly white kids with nasty dreads. Plus, I enjoy good food. The only time I've ever had anything good from Food Not Bombs was when they brought a 5 gallon bucket of hummus.
The defeat of the revolutionary movement was not, as Stalinists always complain, due to its lack of unity. It was defeated because the civil war within its ranks was not worked out with enough force. The crippling effects of the systematic confusion between hostis and enemy are self-evident, whether it be the tragedy of the Soviet Union or the groupuscular comedy.
formerly Species Being
Well I'm going to go. I'm not sure what I'm going for or why, but I feel compelled to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. I mean why not? If it sucks then it sucks not a big loss for me. Truth be told I'm more of a communist than an anarchist anyways. I shall see where this takes me.
Please see my avatar.
i'll probably go to that. it sounds like fun. and i always appreciate a chance to rediscover places i just pass by. it's not crimethinc i can't stand but the train kids that want to talk about it. or the kids that live 10 to a house and work part time and get food stamps and ***** about how fucked up things are.
frankly, screw all these lazy hippies dressed as punks. i bust my ass for every cent i make that keeps me doing alright. therefore i refuse to bring those assholes any food. i bartend and they don't give me one single fucking dime when they come in. what do they want me to do, serve them AGAIN?
pittsburgh food not bombs tries to keep it real though. i respect them for not backing down when it comes to giving people free and delicious food.
Activism: Group at odds with PDP over Market Square meals for the homeless
On the afternoon of June 8, the activist group Food Not Bombs delivered free vegetarian meals to the homeless and other Downtown visitors in Market Square -- as it has been doing for years. The only thing that made this weekend's meal notable was what happened the week before.
Volunteers with the Pittsburgh chapter of FNB, a nationwide antiwar/antipoverty group, say the group has been serving free food to people of all income levels every Sunday in the Downtown area for the past 14 years. But on Sun., June 1, a book fair was slated for the Square's stage area at the same time, and a fair organizer told the group that since they had no permit, they had to leave.
"We ignored her, started serving our food, then the police came ... and pushed us all the way to Forbes Avenue. We weren't able to see or read a permit," says James Robinson, an FNB volunteer.
The book fair was sponsored by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, a nonprofit organization representing Downtown businesses and dedicated to making the area more vibrant.
"Our goal has been to program the space in Market Square to make it a positive place," says PDP spokesperson Hollie Plevyak. Plevyak says that FNB's amorphous, grass-roots structure made it hard to negotiate with the group. "Because there was no leader for FNB, there were not many other things the [book fair] could do but call the authorities."
Plevyak says that, until the June 1 incident, the Partnership had been unaware of Food Not Bombs' activities in Market Square.
"We've given their safety ambassadors and clean-up people food, and we've given them contact information as well," counters Brian Johnson, another FNB volunteer. The only way the PDP could be surprised by his group's activities, he says, is if "they don't talk to their own people."
Plevyak says the Partnership's concern is purely a matter of legal liability. If something harmful happens or refuse is inadequately disposed of while a separate event is being held simultaneously, she says, the group holding the permit can be held responsible. That said, Plevyak adds, the PDP's scheduled activities and permits through Sept. 15 all take place in the morning -- which shouldn't conflict with FNB's early-afternoon lunch service.
"As an organization, we are not going to stop them," says Plevyak. "We are nonprofit and we do not have the authority. I see it being a non-issue."
It wasn't an issue on June 8, anyway. Food Not Bombs set up, fed its guests and dismantled its two-hour feeding operation without a hitch. And for their part, volunteers say they can relocate temporarily for events like a "Berry Festival" slated for June 29.
But it's clear that the June 1 incident sparked misgivings in some quarters. According to the PDP, flyers began appearing Downtown on the morning of June 8. The flyers claim that the Partnership wants to "displace homeless people by kicking them out of Market Square," and wants to re-route Downtown buses to "make black and poor people unseen." No author is identified on the flyers though the PDP suspects that they're the work of Food Not Bombs members -- an allegation FNB denies.
In the past, Food Not Bombs has repeatedly rejected suggestions to join forces with city-sponsored homeless-outreach programs, citing the advantages of a more grassroots approach that avoids the stigma of accepting charity and promoting a sense of community.
"If we came as individuals giving somebody food, is that prohibited?" asks Johnson. "Who is allowed, who isn't, and how do they determine it?"
pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A47828
FYI yall, This thread/forum is for advertising and discussing upcoming events, if you're not going to the event/don't care about it then please stay away - members should be able to advertise/promote events without having to put up with insults/abuse from other members.
To be honest I thought that article was very interesting unlike some of their other sutff. In Spain prior to 1936 most Anarchist men and women gave up smoking and alcohol as they realised that it was a method of control.
"Direct Action is a notion of such clarity, of such self-evident transparency, that merely to speak the words defines and explains them. It means that the working class, in constant rebellion against the existing state of affairs, expects nothing from outside people, powers or forces, but rather creates its own conditions of struggle and looks to itself for its means of action. It means that, against the existing society which recognises only the citizen, rises the producer. And that that producer, having grasped that any social grouping models itself upon its system of production, intends to attack directly the capitalist mode of production in order to transform it, by eliminating the employer and thereby achieving sovereignty in the workshop – the essential condition for the enjoyment of real freedom.” Emile Pouget
well shoot, not everyone's a crimethinc-er but if you're in the area it's bound to be some kind of fun. not everyone attending is going to be balls to the wall about it, especially if they're local. it's something to do. spend time outside away from your computer screen. interact with real people.
as a bartender, i agree with that article for the most part. when i was a waitress, i drank all the time. now that i'm a bartender, i'd rather not drink. occasionally i go to the afterhours, but never for very long.
everyday at work i see the false intimacy that boozed up people think is the forming of a "great friendship". a great friendship that pretty much ultimately leads to their wives getting pissed off at them when they get home at 11 and have to wake up at 5 the next day. or the sleazeballs i have to kick out who are so jacked on pills that they keep spilling their beer that i don't want to clean up.
but you also have to consider that it's like a playground for grownups who need a place to vent about work so they don't take all the trash home. it's like a liminal zone where almost anything goes and that's what's so nice about it. i think the article is saying the real threat is dependency. there's no harm in moderation. you shouldn't keep people from fun times.
of what import are brief, nameless lives....to Galactus?
That's what I'm saying. Not everyone that is going to show up is gonna be some snot nosed train rider punk. I mean all walks of life are welcome! Just to go an talk and hang out with somewhat like minded people for free sounds like fun, so I'm trying it out.
Also I really appreciate the forum mod. for posting that, it is annoying when people on a forum of supposed "open mindedness" and generally promoting the spirit of cooperation seem to always be at odds with the concept.
I'm from buffalo and going so if anyone from the New York area is going hit me up and I'll come talk to you!
There are legitimate criticisms of this event, though, criticisms that should be discussed. It's not a matter of leaving Crimethinc alone if we happen to have no interest in the event or no plans of going. It's a matter of the Crimethinc convergence disrupting working-class communities and sabotaging the local anarchist movement by dragging their hedonistic cop roadshow into a place where people live, instead of the middle of nowhere
More information:
Anonymous Pittsburgh Anarchists: Crimethinc Convergence “an excellent insertion point into our communities for the security apparatus”
I'm a big fan of a lot of the stuff Crimethinc has printed in the past, and all of the outreach and excellent propaganda work they've done. But events that have counter-productive results should be criticized.
I don't think this is really an accurate description of how crimethinc events function. The one in Milwaukee, at least, wouldn't fit with this. Certainly it brings more heat in and is a good place for infiltrators and provocateurs to start from. But if the cops aren't on your shit anyway, then you probably aren't doing much of anything.
'heavens above, how awful it is to live outside the law - one is always expecting what one rightly deserves.'
petronius, the satyricon
That's a pretty weak excuse, in my opinion, for something that obviously puts local activists at a disadvantage in planning and preparing for G-20 martial law, all for an event that RevLeft users on this thread have only chosen to defend using the word "fun", an event that serves no foreseeable material purpose other than networking, a.k.a. a party. Crimethinc is being very immature and self-centered, putting their own infantile desires before the needs of their alleged comrades.
The Crimethinc convergence last year didn't take place in the same place as the RNC (a much bigger event) and that certainly didn't stop the police from infiltrating, throwing around conspiracy charges, etc, etc, etc. If you're organizing openly as an anarchist, especially around protests where violence will be likely, you're going to attract a whole lot of pig attention and the Crimethinc convergence isn't really going to change shit.
You don't think networking and event partying are an important part of political work? And I imagine there will be plenty of workshops, etc to refine theory and practical skills.
Wasn't the conference announced before the G20?
'heavens above, how awful it is to live outside the law - one is always expecting what one rightly deserves.'
petronius, the satyricon
i was looking at their blogsite again. it seems they have absolutely ZERO idea where they are going to all be sleeping and won't "disclose" the convergence center location yet. as in whiskey tango foxtrot?
these guys have their heads so far up their asses i can't believe it. they're having heart attacks over an "urban hunting" workshop meanwhile they consider themselves "ex-workers" while the rest of the world is busting their asses. it seems like they put more weight on being self-righteous and prioritizing not eating meat over the human condition.
we've all been to fucking festivals. we know in the campground there's always a no drugs/booze policy but like that is going to stick anyway. these guys are going to be smoking sinaloan weed full of pesticides and doing colombian blow and shooting crystal cooked by babyraping bikers.
and frankly, reading the exclusionary policies on sexual assault? did a fifteen year old boy write this?
their proposition to resolving rape is to have to two parties sit down and have mediators present. they also say, people who give someone else's info to the police is going to be expelled. really? we all know calling the cops on any kind of assault is a hassle and just as bad an experience. but this could mean calling the cops and saying you were sexually or otherwise assaulted could get you expelled from the convergence.............am i interpreting correctly?
how does this sentence apply to the situation? nobody should let these people deal with ANYTHING!
of what import are brief, nameless lives....to Galactus?
in short, terribly disorganized and unrealistically conceptualized.
of what import are brief, nameless lives....to Galactus?
In years past the sober space rule has been more or less kept by everyone. Those who wanted to drink or whatever left the area.
No, their proposition for it is to abide by the survivor's wishes.
Its been working pretty well for three or four years now.
'heavens above, how awful it is to live outside the law - one is always expecting what one rightly deserves.'
petronius, the satyricon
well can you tell exactly what the accomodations are from the site?
and if they do abide by "survivor's" wishes maybe they ought to try a little something most writers use called "revision"
of what import are brief, nameless lives....to Galactus?
