Official G20 Coverage Thread

[Ele'ill]

This will be the official G20 summit thread mainly because I said so.

News updates can be posted here. Pictures and videos may also be posted if the mods approve of it.

This thread is so the restricted members can give their input.

[Ele'ill]

The twist being someone else is going to have to keep it updated because I cannot.

(for obvious reasons)


Let's go left

[Havet]

I haven't really keeping up with it, but a quick look at youtube makes me think it's more of the same:

+ YouTube Video

+ YouTube Video

+ YouTube Video

[Ele'ill]

I have a feeling the events in Pittsburgh will be a little different.

Twelve police cars were disabled at the police HQ and the summit had not even started.

There will be so many police officers and other security personnel and road blocks both by demonstrators and the police that the city will shut down without much of anyone's control.

As usual- I hope nobody gets seriously hurt and I hope everyone that gets arrested has thought it all through before hand and is willing to be in that position.

[Ele'ill]

+ YouTube Video

[danyboy27]

i always wondered what kind of messages protester try to transmit to the working class by attacking the police and breaking up stuff at protest.

i am a leftist, i am a worker and still dont get it at all.

[#FF0000]

They are more often than not acting in self-defense, danyboy.

[danyboy27]

They are more often than not acting in self-defense, danyboy.

dosnt change the fact that i still dont get the message they are trying to send me.

[#FF0000]

dosnt change the fact that i still dont get the message they are trying to send me.

They aren't trying to send a message. It's self-defense.

[bcbm]

i always wondered what kind of messages protester try to transmit to the working class by attacking the police and breaking up stuff at protest.

i am a leftist, i am a worker and still dont get it at all.

We contend that property destruction is not a violent activity unless it destroys lives or causes pain in the process. By this definition, private property--especially corporate private property--is itself infinitely more violent than any action taken against it.

Private property should be distinguished from personal property. The latter is based upon use while the former is based upon trade. The premise of personal property is that each of us has what s/he needs. The premise of private property is that each of us has something that someone else needs or wants. In a society based on private property rights, those who are able to accrue more of what others need or want have greater power. By extension, they wield greater control over what others perceive as needs and desires, usually in the interest of increasing profit to themselves.

Advocates of "free trade" would like to see this process to its logical conclusion: a network of a few industry monopolists with ultimate control over the lives of the everyone else. Advocates of "fair trade" would like to see this process mitigated by government regulations meant to superficially impose basic humanitarian standards. As anarchists, we despise both positions.

Private property--and capitalism, by extension--is intrinsically violent and repressive and cannot be reformed or mitigated. Whether the power of everyone is concentrated into the hands of a few corporate heads or diverted into a regulatory apparatus charged with mitigating the disasters of the latter, no one can be as free or as powerful as they could be in a non-hierarchical society.

When we smash a window, we aim to destroy the thin veneer of legitimacy that surrounds private property rights. At the same time, we exorcise that set of violent and destructive social relationships which has been imbued in almost everything around us. By "destroying" private property, we convert its limited exchange value into an expanded use value. A storefront window becomes a vent to let some fresh air into the oppressive atmosphere of a retail outlet (at least until the police decide to tear-gas a nearby road blockade). A newspaper box becomes a tool for creating such vents or a small blockade for the reclamation of public space or an object to improve one's vantage point by standing on it. A dumpster becomes an obstruction to a phalanx of rioting cops and a source of heat and light. A building facade becomes a message board to record brainstorm ideas for a better world.

After N30, many people will never see a shop window or a hammer the same way again. The potential uses of an entire cityscape have increased a thousand-fold. The number of broken windows pales in comparison to the number broken spells--spells cast by a corporate hegemony to lull us into forgetfulness of all the violence committed in the name of private property rights and of all the potential of a society without them. Broken windows can be boarded up (with yet more waste of our forests) and eventually replaced, but the shattering of assumptions will hopefully persist for some time to come.

also, cuz fuck cops.

They are more often than not acting in self-defense, danyboy.

Conversely: "They acted in response to the police repression." While this might be a more positive representation of the black bloc, it is nevertheless false. We refuse to be misconstrued as a purely reactionary force. While the logic of the black bloc may not make sense to some, it is in any case a pro-active logic.

http://www.geocities.com/kk_abacus/ACME.html

[danyboy27]

tanks both of you to make this clear for me.

maybe i am a sociopath or i suffer from apathy but i dont actually feel personally touched by that message, and i am an exploited worker.

[bcbm]

Ever wanted to punch your boss?

[danyboy27]

Ever wanted to punch your boss?

not really. i doubt about its abilities to make the buisness work but i never felt the urge or need to punch him.

[bcbm]

But you can probably understand why somebody would want to punch their boss?

[danyboy27]

But you can probably understand why somebody would want to punch their boss?

yes, why?

[bcbm]

That's why some people break windows at demonstrations. You can't punch the G20, but you can still get the sentiment across.

[danyboy27]

That's why some people break windows at demonstrations. You can't punch the G20, but you can still get the sentiment across.

if its make them feel better then good for them.

i guess g20 demostration are more like a personnal thing rather than a political statement.

like when people break stuff at sport event. people feel the need to express their emotion.

just dont express your emotion in my appartement windows and all will be fine.

[bcbm]

i guess g20 demostration are more like a personnal thing rather than a political statement.

Our enemies are holding a large meeting to decide how to further their war against us. Obviously any conflict over this is a political conflict.

just dont express your emotion in my appartement windows and all will be fine.

The targets of violence at protest events are almost always large corporate stores, government offices or exceptionally bad local businesses, not people's homes.

[Rusty Shackleford]

The protesters in should know not to attack homes. also like bcbm said, banks, corporations, and large scale or bad businesses are the targets of their fury.

Also, in the early 20th century, many rural americans were anti-bank because they saw it as a threat. rightfully so because the bank would evict farmers who couldnt produce a successful crop. even if it was due to a bad season. Now the bank can still evict you for not affording rent, and can make more money off you if you are in debt to them. A bank is not good for the people if it manipulates and steals from them.


Also what ever people lose from a bank due to damages is federally insured. and a bank can more than afford to repair a branch. and a window at mcdonalds or starbucks(i do like their coffee though, but i couldnt care less if they went under) being broken is a way to attack a company. if you imagine a company as a person, breaking a window is like stubbing its toe. instead of blood, it has money. the more money a business is forced to use to repair itself the weaker it gets.

how does this effect the working class? it doesnt really. it is more of a means for anti-capitalists to fight back against the enemy. this is the time for action for them. not for propagandizing. after the protest their energies may be put elsewhere.

I just hope no one dies or gets seriously hurt at the events.

[danyboy27]

you know what would be popular when there is a g20? distribute anti-g20 pins and small flyers people could put in their windows to express their discontent worldwide.

that something that might interest the working class. The working class will always be alright to express their discontent, they just dont have much time to do it, with the kids, the house etc etc