Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Put A Donk On It!

While we were busy worrying that screamo crunk was simultaneously the new "it" music and the end of civilization, it seems kids in Wigan/Bolton, England have come up with something quite possibly worse: Donk!

It is dance music for chavs-on-steroids descended from "Scouse House", which should say it all.

I am no fan of Vice Magazine or anything related to them but this VBS Donk documentary blew my fucking mind. It is a must see!






For follow up, check out the interview Fucked Up conducted on the subject of donk.
(Ya, ya, I know... If Fucked Up and Vice have both had their domes popped re; donk, I am a little late on the hipster bandwagon.)
_____

On a sorta related note: I was in the local Borders Books today loitering amongst the magazines. Every rock and/or metal magazine has been overrun with fuckin "emo" and the same fuckin 2 haircuts! It was disgusting and sad.
I didn't even look in AP which looks to be the bible of screamo crunk. I couldn't be seen holding that shit magazine.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Burma Superstar Oakland

One of my very favorite restaurants is opening a location in Oakland!
Burma Superstar 4721 Telegraph (between 47th and 48th)

Maybe they will even take reservations! Or have a large enough dining area!
Well, at least Oakland is nowhere near as cold as the godforsaken area of SF that Burma Superstar currently resides in with insane winds.


(thanx Mel)

Saturday, March 28, 2009

"Fuck The Police" or "Cop Killer"

It might be difficult for people to grasp outside of Oakland. (I wouldn't have thought so, but have found that to be the case.)
When Lovelle Mixon killed 4 Oakland Police, a lot of people in Oakland... the Oakland I encounter... had no remorse. People aren't crying over dead cops.


It is quite possible that Lovelle Mixon had no thoughts of Oscar Grant. Lovelle was a parolee out from prison for assault with a deadly weapon. He had apparently violated his parole, and a warrant for his arrest was issued. Maybe he just didn't want to go back to prison. But in the minds of many Oaklanders, the two horrific shootings - that of Oscar Grant and that of five Oakland officers - were connected.


That the incident started with a routine traffic stop may point to another trend that fuels resentment.
It all adds up to the sense that parts of Oakland have become a permanent war zone pitting the cops against the citizens, regardless of the fact that it pits working people against each other in the struggle to make sense out of senseless violence.


The combination of power and authority without any accountability perpetuates this attitude on the part of many police officers that goes unchecked.

Our enemies have latched onto this incident and these deaths to further their push for power. We can't ignore it.

We must be ready.
It is crucial that we build and organize and prepare now. A storm may be coming and it would be foolish to wait for the storm to hit to jump into the fray.

"Cop Killer"
"Fuck The Police"

Oh ya, I forgot... TORTURE DOES NOT WORK

CIA torture of "high value" prisoner led to false leads.

The methods succeeded in breaking him, and the stories he told of al-Qaeda terrorism plots sent CIA officers around the globe chasing leads.

Apparently UK Has Anti-Terrorist Precogs

British Police Identify 200 Children As POTENTIAL Terrorists

Two hundred schoolchildren in Britain, some as young as 13, have been identified as potential terrorists by a police scheme that aims to spot youngsters who are " vulnerable" to islamic radicalisation.

Tiger Bone

First, watch this YouTube clip of N.O.R.E. talk about going vegan and hyping up Tiger Bone.


After watching that, I had to try me some Tiger Bone!
I found some online, paid way too much, and taste tested it with Mel, and Ben Edge.

Shane:
Smells and tastes like flat ginger beer with a STRONG aftertaste. I am not a fan of ginger beer and I feel almost like I just drank medicine.

Ben Edge:
I get angrier with each sip. I want my money back.

Mel:
I only had 3 sips. Here’s a timeline of my reaction:
1: This smells like something my grandfather would drink.
2: It tastes like bad ginger beer and licorice.
3: This is what I remember alcohol tasting like.
4. My mouth and throat feel warm.
5. My stomach feels warm and is starting to hurt.
6: My mouth tastes like I’ve been chewing on Tylenol and my tongue feels numb. I don’t feel very virile. Failure!


"killing capital is worse than killing people...duh"

Just yesterday I was thinking about the double standard these douchebags have. With all of Glenn Beck's ranting about the Obama administration coming down hard on citizens, taking away rights, and eventually locking people up, I wondered if they would rally to the defense of the AETA 4. Afterall, the 4 are hardly terrorists by ANY stretch of the imagination. More importantly, I naively thought, here was a material example of the government locking people up... not just some delusional rightwing nightmare.

Well... here it is...


All of a sudden, the crying about rights being trampled is thrown out the window. ELF is held up as REAL TERRORISTS that do millions of dollars worth of damage. Not at all like the right wing militias which actually harm and kill people but who apparently deserve our support.

BECK: "I mean, we called the FBI. The FBI has four ELF members on their most wanted list — four. But there's not a single person from a militia. Congressman Paul, do you believe this is some sort of a setup? I mean, why all of a sudden the interest in these militias?
...ELF has done unbelievable damage, 2,000 crimes since 1979 and over $110 million in damage, but nobody seems to be looking at radicalized terror groups like ELF. Why is that?"


(I am not trying to insinuate that the AETA 4 are, in any way, connected to ELF. I am just using these examples as an illustration of how the Rightwing nuts are not at all actually concerned with our rights.)


(thanx Orcinus)
(and thank you Mel for the title quote!)

AETA

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

AETA 4
Local animal rights activists, Joseph Buddenberg, Maryam Khajavi, Nathan Pope, and Adriana Stumpo, pleaded not guilty March 19 to charges of using threats and violence to interfere with University of California animal researchers, in violation of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA).

DRIVING ACTIVISM UNDERGROUND:
"The AETA has backfired, causing an increase in underground activism," says Los Angeles-based activist Jerry Vlasak, whose inflammatory language against animal researchers was quoted extensively during the 2006 Congressional hearing on AETA. Vlasak is a media contact for the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, which operates a Web site featuring anonymous "communiqués" sent in by clandestine activists. In a posting dated March 6, a group called the Animal Liberation Brigade takes credit for burning the car of a Los Angeles primate researcher. "We will come for you when you least expect it and do a lot more damanage [sic] than to your property," the message reads. "Where ever you go and what ever you do we'll be watching you as long as you continue to do your disgusting experiments on monkeys And a special message for the FBI, the more legit activists you fuck with the more it inspires us since wer're [sic] the people whom you least suspect and when we hit we hit hard."

FUCK THE ACLU:
The American Civil Liberties Union didn't oppose it after an amendment was added guaranteeing that it wouldn't restrict First Amendment rights.

FUCK DIANE FEINSTEIN:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein cosponsored AETA along with Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), saying it would "ensure that eco-terrorists do not impede important medical progress in California." Before the bill passed, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) voiced the lone complaint against it. "I am not for anyone ... damaging another person's property or person. But I am for protecting the First Amendment and not creating a special class of violations for a specific type of protest." No one else was persuaded. The bill was bundled with other legislation deemed to be noncontroversial then passed by voice vote.

USL vs. MLS

I always assumed The United Soccer League was North America's 2nd tier of football or just the neglected stepchild (step parent?) of Major League Soccer. However, the more I learn of each league's inner workings and the fact that there is actually no relationship between the two leagues, the more I favor USL as a more proper model for North American football.

David J. Warner wrote an excellent open letter to St. Louis that illustrates USL vs MLS.
READ IT HERE

Revolutionary conditions will not fall out of the sky on to our laps, we have to reach up and rip them from the sky or live a life of perpetual misery

Does Satan Exist?

Of course not but you can watch these hilarious idiots tell us why they need to believe in him.



(I am no fan of Deepak Chopra but he can't help coming off awesome against such idiots.)

thanx Videogum

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Right

I am always torn on how much I should even report on the rightwing and all their bullshit. I think it is crucial that we are aware of their action and influence. However, I also strongly believe we can't get weighed down focusing on them and our efforts would be better spent toward positive radical/revolutionary change. So while we are destroying this system and building a new tomorrow, let us also realize what we are up against.
_____

Rush Limbaugh might have the loudest megaphone but...
Glenn Beck is the rabid dog of rightwing extremism.
He continues to hype up rightwing militias and is producing a culture that will result in violence.
(Search 'Glenn Beck' just to sample what a fuckin' nut he is! I love him crying in front of the US Constitution.)



Sometimes it is hard to attack and dissect these rightwing windbags while not entirely defending the Obama administration.

It blows my mind how the fear and insane paranoia of the rightwing media is so baseless. They did nothing but act as cheerleaders as Bush helped actually eliminate civil rights. These douchebags also have no idea the attacks the real revolutionaries and their allies suffer, nor do they care. Theirs is a pretend totalitarianism. We feel the blunt force of it actualized.

Links:
Orcinus
Media Matters
Crooks and Liars

Monday, March 23, 2009

The State: Anarchy vs. Leninism

Tom Wetzel wrote a piece I previously mentioned that is the precursor to this piece.

The Anti-Statism of Marxism compared/contrasted to the anti-statism of anarchy is something I find very interesting (
and something I have touched on before). It is also a discussion that could be very important in the actual creation of an anti-authoritarian socialism society.

I encourage you to read on.

The disagreement between Leninism and social anarchism isn't over some statement about a far-off state of society but about the means to social change, and in particular the means to liberation of the mass of the people from oppression and exploitation.

Most libertarian socialists agree that some sort of polity or system of self-government is necessary in society. Libertarian socialists believe it is possible for institutions of popular power -- a form of polity built up from the direct democracy of assemblies in workplaces and neighborhoods -- to replace the hierarchical state in a self-managed socialist society, or such a society in the process of being built, without the hierarchical state apparatus.

Marxists sometimes argue that if the working class creates a new polity to replace the state and uses this polity to engage in coercion, such as against armed attacks on the new social arrangement, this makes the new governance system necessarily a "state." But any polity or governance system enforces its rules, and needs to be able to use coercion, if necessary, against anti-social criminality. Even tribal societies in ancient times could some times use coercion against wayward individuals. The ability of a society to defend itself does not require a hierarchical state apparatus rather than a form of democratic self-governance under direct popular control.

Leninists seem to imagine that you can consolidate decision-making power in a state administrative layer and then expect that they will easily give up power later. But any group that acquires the position of a dominating class is likely to work to keep their power and privilege and to also develop an ideology to justify their position...and they can easily call it "socialism".

Now it should be obvious that a structure that can make rules for the society and has enforcement powers is a polity or government. From the Spanish anarchist point of view, this would not be a state because of the direct control over the armed militia -- the main armed body in society -- by the organized working class, and also because of the transfer of legislative power to the grassroots congresses and the direct worker management of the economy. The people's militia would be close to what Engels called a "self-acting armed body of the population."

Nowadays there are those like John Holloway -- a libertarian Marxist writer -- who argue it is possible "to change the world without taking power." I think this is best understood as a reaction against the failure of various forms of statist socialism -- both social-democracy and Leninism. But as long as power remains in the hands of the dominating classes, the majority of the population won't be free, but will continue to be dominated and exploited. It's hard to see how the self-emanicpation of the oppressed and exploited can take place except through gaining control over the decisions that affect them. And this needs to happen not only in workplaces but through figuring out a way to evolve goverance of public affairs from the hierarchical state to a form of popular power, directly controlled by the population. But precisely because liberation requires social empowerment of the majority, capturing the state isn't a plausible route as the state is the wrong kind of institution for popular self-management of public affairs. A different form of polity is needed.

_______

This conversation is an important aspect of what makes an anarchist vision of the future so dynamic.
I encourage any comments that wish to continue the dialogue.

Is Chuck Norris a Terrorist?

Will Potter of Green Is The New Red wrote more eloquently about this than I probably can, so I will just post what he wrote.


Chuck Norris says it may soon be time to violently overthrow the U.S. government, and he’s organizing “cells” around the country.

He says he and Fox’s Glenn Beck (who says the Obama administration will put conservatives in FEMA internment camps) have organized a telecast called “We Surround Them,” in which “thousands of cell groups will be united.”

I can barely process how hilarious and absurd and infuriating this is. Chuck Norris is advocating violent revolution, and having a conference call about it.

If an animal rights activist, environmentalist, anarchist, or any other “domestic terrorist” had put out an oped like this, and organized a conference call with cells, A CONFERENCE CALL WITH CELLS, the Joint Terrorism Task Forces would be kicking in doors RNC-style.

Geez, an American Idol star was labeled a “terrorist” for giving money to the Humane Society.

Animal rights activists in California have been indicted as “terrorists” for home protests. Activists in Utah have been arrested as “terrorists” for releasing mink from fur farms. Environmentalists have been sentenced to 20 years in prison for “conspiring” to destroy property. And none of those people have harmed anyone, advocating harming anyone, or armed themselves to harm anyone.

This isn’t an isolated example of the blatant hypocrisy of the War on Terrorism. Right-wing groups, for example, aren’t on the Department of Homeland Security’s list of terrorist threats.

So why isn’t Chuck Norris a threat? Because the government crackdown on activists as “terrorists” has nothing to do with crimes or the potential for violence, it’s about prosecuting ideology and chilling dissent. Even though Chuck Norris is using extreme rhetoric, the ideology behind the rhetoric–religious fervor, capitalism, empire–isn’t a threat. It’s not dissent. It’s the norm.

And that’s why, no matter how powerful his roundhouse kicks, and how many “cells” he organizes, Chuck Norris is less of a threat than animal rights activists with chalk.

One Day Of Zionism

Gaza war crimes investigation: Guardian uncovers evidence of alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza
Medics and ambulance drivers said they were targeted when they tried to tend to the wounded. Sixteen of them were killed. According to the World Health Organisation, more than half of Gaza's 27 hospitals and 44 clinics were damaged by Israeli bombs. Two clinics were destroyed. In one incident, paramedics were fired on by a tank using a shell filled with 8,000 lethal metal darts as they were carrying a wounded man to an ambulance.

Medics and ambulance drivers said they were targeted when they tried to tend to the wounded. Sixteen of them were killed. According to the World Health Organisation, more than half of Gaza's 27 hospitals and 44 clinics were damaged by Israeli bombs. Two clinics were destroyed. In one incident, paramedics were fired on by a tank using a shell filled with 8,000 lethal metal darts as they were carrying a wounded man to an ambulance.

Israeli deputy defence minister: conquer parts of Gaza
"We need to conquer the areas from which mortar shells are being fired," Vilnai said at a conference held by the Institute for National Security Studies regarding lessons learned from Operation Cast Lead in the field of civil defense.

The Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) group on Tuesday said that IDF soldiers had violated medical ethics during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip.
The report alleged that in several instances "not only did the [army] not evacuate besieged and wounded families, it also prevented Palestinian [medical] teams from reaching the wounded".

Israeli soldiers admit shooting dead civilians during Gaza war
"The sharpshooter saw a woman and children approaching him, closer than the lines he was told no one should pass. He shot them straight away," he said. "I don't think he felt too bad about it, because after all, as far as he was concerned, he did his job according to the orders he was given. And the atmosphere in general, from what I understood from most of my men who I talked to ... I don't know how to describe it .... The lives of Palestinians, let's say, is something [that seemed] much less important than the lives of our soldiers. So as far as they are concerned they can justify it that way."

Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai called for another incursion into Gaza on Sunday, negating the opinion of his superior, Ehud Barak, who is generally in favor of securing a ceasefire with Hamas.

"All the articles had one clear message," one soldier said. "We are the people of Israel, we arrived in the country almost by miracle, now we need to fight to uproot the gentiles who interfere with re-conquering the Holy Land." "Many soldiers' feelings were that this was a war of religion," he added.

An Israeli military college has printed damning soldiers' accounts of the killing of civilians and vandalism during recent operations in Gaza.
One account tells of a sniper killing a mother and children at close range whom troops had told to leave their home.
Another speaker at the seminar described what he saw as the "cold blooded murder" of a Palestinian woman.
In another cited case, a commander ordered troops to kill an elderly woman walking on a road, even though she was easily identifiable and clearly not a threat.


IDF soldiers ordered to shoot at Gaza rescuers, note says
"Rules of Engagement: Open fire also upon rescue," was handwritten in Hebrew on a sheet of paper found in one of the Palestinian homes the Israel Defense Forces took over during Operation Cast Lead. A reservist officer who did not take part in the Gaza offensive believes that the note is part of orders a low-level commander wrote before giving his soldiers their daily briefing.
One of the main themes in news reports during the Gaza operation, and which appears in many testimonies, is that IDF soldiers shot at Palestinian and Red Cross rescuers, making it impossible to evacuate the wounded and dead. As a result, an unknown number of Palestinians bled to death as others cowered in their homes for days without medical treatment, waiting to be rescued.



courtesy of Lenin's Tomb

The End Of It All

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Custom Pumas

Puma now offers customized kicks via their Mongolian BBQ site. The amount of stuff you can customize (including fabrics!) impressed me so much I ordered a pair:


I would have killed to have non-leather old school Pumas in 1993!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Israeli Defense Forces T-Shirts



-"Better use Durex," next to a picture of a dead Palestinian baby, with his weeping mother and a teddy bear beside him

-a pregnant Palestinian woman with a bull's-eye superimposed on her belly, with the slogan, in English, "1 shot, 2 kills."

-Palestinian baby, who grows into a combative boy and then an armed adult, with the inscription, "No matter how it begins, we'll put an end to it."

-a young woman with bruises, and the slogan, "Bet you got raped!"

-"We won't chill 'til we confirm the kill"

-harming religious sites, or female or child non-combatants.

-"Let every Arab mother know that her son's fate is in my hands!"

-"Everything is with the best of intentions."

-a vulture sexually penetrating Hamas' prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh

-'Kahane Was Right'

-a drawing depicting a soldier as the Angel of Death, next to a gun and an Arab town

-an image of a child with the slogan "Smaller - harder!"
_____________________________

The UN is basically saying Israel's recent destruction of Gaza constitutes a war crime.
...Does the UN have any power to do anything to these sadistic stormtroopers?


(Thanx Pranjal)

Eat The Rich!

Battlestar Galactica Is Over

NO SPOILERS


Tonight Battlestar Galactica came to a close. It wasn't just an end. It was a pretty satisfying conclusion. (One big exception... I would have really preferred it to end without the last scene.)

I won't even attempt to go into what happened in what was a 3 hour broadcast tonight (including last week's 1st part of the finale) nor will I try to explain the series as a whole.

I will say this- If you have any interest in themes of religious fundamentalism, slavery, occupation/resistance, government, military, civilization, or mortality, check this series out... especially if you like sci-fi!


(thanx to Sergio for turning me on to BSG!)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

GQ on LA Punk

GQ Magazine is doing a series on Los Angeles rock. Part of this is a round-table interview/discussion between Keith Morris, Henry Rollins, John Doe, and Exene Cervenka on punk.

Go find the GQ Radio podcast on the subject. You get to listen to some of the tales told by this group, some good tunes, and a lot of dilletante jabbering by GQ editors.
__________

In a bit more real punk news:
Keith Morris put some vocals on the new Trash Talk track, "East Of Eden."

This Is Not Socialism

Sorry folks. This is not socialism. This is not a slippery slope towards socialism. This isn't the road to socialism. This isn't even liberal social democracy!

Don't be fooled!
The Right do not understand socialism and have no desire to.

Billions of dollars of public wealth are being transferred to private corporations. Socialism? Uh... no.

The problem is that an outlook that has been so marginalized in this country now leaves the country grasping at anything to prop up and call socialism. And why does the right need to bring in socialism out from the cold? It is not due to radical political progress (they tend to ignore that). It is only because the fascist fanatical right needs a real life boogeyman.
We will not be your boogeyman!

It is NOT in the interest of socialism or radical struggle for so-called Socialists to begin appearing in the news.
Remember, don't talk to strangers.

Vegan Junkfood in East Bay Express

The East Bay Express has published a story about vegan junkfood.

Not only was said article written by Cassie Harwood but it features quotes from plenty of my good vegan compatriots.

"Deep-fry that shit and cover it in sugar. It's not supposed to be good for you — it's supposed to taste good."
-Mike Thorn

Vancouver in MLS!

Vancouver was awarded a Major League Soccer franchise for the 2011 season!

Vancouver Whitecaps owner Greg Kerfoot leads the Vancouver ownership group. NBA star Steve Nash is also involved along with San Francisco Giants co-owner Jeff Mallett and Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Luczo.

The Vancouver Whitecaps play some amazing football in the USL. It is possible that the MLS club will be the Whitecaps. A sort of pay-for-promotion if you will. haha

Steve Nash is awesome and has a very interesting connection with football. I like seeing him involved... Even if he supports Spurs.

Y'know, the more I learn about the USL's relationship (or lack thereof) with MLS, the more I feel like the USL deserves better.
___________________________________________

Portland is expected to get the other MLS franchise spot.
The Northwest will be runnin' shit! Go Timbers!

Hip Hop: Got Me Geeked

Here's 2 new hip hop videos that got me geeked for different reasons. I hope you all can appreciate.

BUGGIN' OUT 09
If you wasn't around in the early 90's and ain't into ATCQ like you should be, this genuis is gonna be lost on you.


CHILDREN OF THE SUN (REMIX)
Damn, Pinoys sure know how to make 'the struggle' cool. (Ya, "massline")

Monday, March 16, 2009

Solidarity with Tristan Anderson







Storm The Gates

People are pissed. They stole our money... They keep stealing our money.

Why aren't people storming AIG and Wall Street?!

Our vocal outrage forced the Obama administration to pay some lip service. Just think what action could bring.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Philippines: Junk The VFA


November 2005, U.S. Lance Corporal Daniel Smith and three other U.S. Marines were accused of raping a Pinay (Filipina woman), tossing her out of a van, and driving away. Smith was convicted of rape by a Philippine court in 2006 (the other three—Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier—were acquitted on the grounds that they were either “only” watching in the van and cheering Smith on or could prove they were buying pizza when the incident happened).

Despite being convicted, Smith never spent a day in a Philippine jail. Instead he’s been detained in the U.S. Embassy.

Fast forward to February 2008 when the Philippine Supreme Court declared Smith’s detention in the U.S. Embassy illegal and that he should have instead been serving time in a Philippine jail; they called for his transfer to a Philippine jail, just like the rest of the criminals who break Philippine law. The U.S. government countered by citing a provision in the so-called Republic of the Philippines-United States Visiting Forces Agreement (1999) which allows the U.S. custody of erring American soldiers (aka “Those who done F%#*D up while on duty…and actually get caught, usually by someone other than U.S. Military”).

Interrupting American Analogy for Illustrative Purposes: You know how Paris Hilton was convicted and was sentenced to 40+ days of jail time, but instead of serving it she was able to be detained in her home instead? Why? Because she’s a celebrity with status and money—she’s not just “cute” (so up for debate), she’s also the heiress of the Hilton fortune. Boo. Foul-play. You suck! Not fair, right? If you or I did what she did, we’d be serving our time…no doubt.

Anyway…folks in the Philippines are calling for an end to the unjust Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), a decade old treaty which was unfair to begin with, supported by Former President Fidel Ramos, and put into effect during Former President Joseph Estrada (one of two Philippine Presidents to be ousted for abusing their power and prioritizing the interests of the U.S. and others before those of the Filipino People who “elected” them…the Filipino people are working on adding a third President to that list). In addition to protecting American Soldiers who break Philippine Law, the VFA also:

-exempts U.S. military from visa and passport regulations in the Philippines,
-exempts the U.S. military from paying Philippine taxes on imported goods,
-and allows unrestricted movement of U.S. vessels and aircraft within Philippine “sovereign” space.

check out this petition and consider signing it:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow/

(courtesy Sergio/Cell68)

Support The Filipino struggle to get OUR military out of their country!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Tyson (film)

"Zero"

The Yeah Yeah Yeah's.

I <3 San Francisco.
(Big ups to Nako!)

Marxist/Anarchist Anti-State

Paul D'Amato recently wrote an interesting piece on Marxist versus anarchist views of THE STATE/ANTI-STATE. Although most anarchists are probably as quick to write off Socialist anti-state views as Socialists are to write off anarchists, the article illustrates something of a bridge between the two. I find a lot of contradiction-sharpening hair-splitting sectarianism between strains of liberation socialism to be counter-productive. This article provides a basic useful analysis.



Marxism and anarchism do have different conceptions of the state, and, therefore, of what should be done about it. Both anarchists and Marxists seek a stateless society--the anarchists because in the state they see the root of all oppression and exploitation, and the Marxists because the state, as the instrument for the maintenance of class rule, must fall away when class rule is done away with.

As, therefore, the state is the chief evil, it is above all the state which must be done away with and then capitalism will go to hell of itself. We, on the contrary say: do away with capital, the appropriation of the whole means of production in the hands of the few, and the state will fall away of itself.



Anarchy=“it is above all the state which must be done away with and then capitalism will go to hell of itself”
“the anti-authoritarians demand that the political state be abolished at one stroke, even before the social conditions that gave birth to it have been destroyed. “

What is important here is “before the social conditions that gave birth to it have been destroyed”
Capitalism as established itself as such an entrenched social force and reinvented society in its image that simply doing away with its custodian (the state) will not kill it. It would live on in the hearts and minds of the people and, whether they wanted to or not- whether it would be beneficial or efficient to whatever circumstance they find themselves in, people would continue to reproduce the competitive individualistic society of capitalism.

Socialism=” do away with capital… and the state will fall away of itself.”
“public functions will lose their political character and will be transformed into the simple administrative functions of watching over the true interests of society”

It is also overly optimistic and naïve to think ‘power’ ceases to exist where capital or class have died. I actually think this position is less naïve than the anti-authoritarian argument presented just because if a society/state removes the incentives of hierarchy, “power” becomes less hierarchical power and more function. With that said, a state is still power removed from the people and will not whither away. One could apply historical materialism to realize that! Would a Socialist state be easier to demolish than a capitalist state?



Engels concluded by arguing that revolutions are, by definition, authoritarian, because they involve one part of society (the majority of oppressed an exploited) imposing its will on the other (the minority of exploiters and their supporters).

I think I would agree with Engels about what he defines as the “authoritarian” aspect of any revolution… and I have no problem with that. There is a fundamental difference between fighting against oppression and fighting for oppression. I suppose this is where some strains of anarchy shout “authoritarian!” or Leninist!” or where those more along the lines of Post-Leftism (and even Nihilists?) insist that any attempt at “forcing” a social order, even a non-hierarchical one, damages the anarchist notion of free will/free association. I find those perspectives seriously lacking in any realistic credibility. They seem to exist more in the realm of philosophy than struggle.

The question then arises: How can a new society be built if the new revolutionary power refuses to establish a new power, i.e., a state, to prevent the old order from regaining its foothold?

Part of what is a crucial strength of anarchy is that the ends do not justify the means. If they did, we would just continue to create societies in the image of the ones they were born out of. However, even if a stateless non-hierarchical society was created (assuming that we could get that far given the resources one could surely count on fighting against it), how would it expand rather than contract and/or die at the hands of global power? We, as anarchists, cannot look to the Spanish Republic as a model because this is exactly where it failed. At what point does this organized defense look more like socialism and less like anarchism?

What this all serves to illustrate to me is that despite the distrust or hostility existing between Socialists and anarchists (and sometimes for good reason while mostly for divisive pontification), each foundation has strengths and shortcomings to build upon. I won’t abandon anarchist principles or anti-authoritarian socialism. I do so as a concrete means of struggle and not as any form of philosophical wankering.
________

Please Note:
Above I tried to use Socialism with a capital 'S' to signify a more orthodox Marxist Socialism. I used socialism with a small 's' to signify a socialism not tied to any specific ideology.

Social Anarchy v. Individualist Anarchy v. Leninist Socialism

In the current atmosphere of anarchy, a great interest of mine and something I believe is crucial to our struggle as anarchists is the 'divide' between social anarchy and lifestyle/individualist anarchy.

I came across an interesting (if maybe a little wordy) critique on the subject of Social Anarchy v. Individualist Anarchy v. Leninist Socialism by Tom Wetzel.

READ HERE

"Individualist anarchism was influenced by the classical liberal conception of the person as a kind of atom whose core personality or identity is separate from social groups. The idea of absolute personal autonomy, which is a feature of hyper-individualism, is built on this."
"The individualist conception comes close to agreeing with Margaret Thatcher's slogan, "Society doesn't exist, only individuals exist."

Friday, March 13, 2009

Tristan Anderson shot by IDF

Tristan Anderson, from Oakland California, was critically injured in the village of Ni'lin after Israeli forces shot him in the head with a high-powered tear-gas canister.

Tristan was shot as Israeli forces attacked a demonstration against the construction of the annexation wall through the village of Ni'lin's land. Another resident from Ni'lin was shot in the leg with live ammunition. Several other demonstrators against the wall have been killed or rendered brain dead as a result of IDF use of rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition in the villages of Ni'ilin and Bil'in.

The Israeli soldiers were standing on a hill looking over the demonstration firing tear-gas canisters. Tristan was hit and fell to the ground. He had a large hole in the front of his head and his brain was visible. He was bleeding heavily from the nose.


wow...
The genocidal state of Israel brutally kills Palestinians daily. Tristan's life is worth no more than theirs but it does hit a little closer to home for some of us.
No rock should be left unturned. Any and all resources should be used against the raging Zionist monster of Israel... and the teet of The USA from which it suckles!

"call out those who kill us- and those who fund it!"

7,141 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since September 2000.


(thanx Harjit)

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Anti-Colonial SNL



To illustrate the nature of imperialism, Hawaiian politicians are upset with this skit. They fear it could harm industries based on the subjugation of the island people and their natural resources.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Samuel L. Jackson Is Right On!

I have been a big fan of Samuel L. Jackson's acting since School Daze. I had no idea he was so down!
You gotta see/hear this:

"buying guns with stolen credit cards"
"trying to get ready for it"
"the gap between the have and the have nots is getting greater and greater..."
"the people who are dying are the people who don't have a voice anyway"



(thanx Sergio)

Watch Watchmen Again?



The film adaptation of Watchmen might be in trouble in terms of Hollywood blockbusters. Maybe it is a result of Alan Moore’s chaos magyk but no giant blue cock can solve this one (if, indeed, it is a real “problem”).
No matter how loud fanboys jizzed in their pants, most reviews have been mixed or just indifferent. Word is that the box office drop from opening weekend is significant. Now I am sure Watchmen has made a lot of money and can continue to make tons more. However, in Hollywood terms, if the film doesn’t break records (couldn’t even break 300’s opening weekend) and there is more than the projected drop going into the second week, the vapid press and studio execs will write it off. This will begin an echo chamber effect that labels Watchmen a “flop.” In turn, less people/flocks of sheep will go see it. A self fulfilling prophecy if you will.

What of the film and its reception? The professional critics have been unmoved. These professionals are quick to dismiss the blog reviews which have been far far more positive (and represent a more accurate representation of the film’s audience). However, the general movie going public wants to see a Spider-Man type of super hero flick. I don’t know if a densely involved drama involving costumed “heroes” is as palatable. Herein lies one of the film’s major marketing issues. Should Watchmen be able to survive and prosper on the merits of the story, acting, and direction? Plenty of dramas are successful in their arena. However, most dramas don’t have insane budgets spent on crazy special effects. Most successful dramas don’t have a main character who is computer generated. And so, Watchmen must be marketed and survive in the arena of adventure blockbuster and face it- Watchmen is much more cerebral than other films in that arena.

With all that said, can Watchmen survive, and more importantly prosper, on merit alone? Does ANY film prosper on merit alone? No. Hayter’s plea to fans is not much different than a filmmaker’s hope pinned to Academy recognition for box office results (except that fans are a less elite and vested group than The Academy). David Hayter’s plea for fans to go see it again smells a bit of desperation. Whether or not there is any real financial trouble, he sure sounds like there might be… unless we save it! Haha! In some ways, I am uncomfortable with how genre films are marketed like fanboys/fangirls are indebted to the film. At least Watchmen remained fairly true to the source material (instead of drastically departing from it and still expecting all original fans to show up).

I might be more inclined to pay to see Watchmen again if Hayter didn't come off as such a douchebag. Afterall, he favorably likened viewing Watchmen to a rape, “You'll come back, eventually. Just like Sally."


…and I really liked the film too!


(thanx Videogum, Sergio, & Frank)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Zionists Drive Out Semi-Critical Candidate

Caffeinated Comics

Where are all the Peanut Butter Builder's Bars?!

If you are a Clif Builder's Bar enthusiast as I am, you would have noticed the peanut butter flavor has disappeared! This began around the time fo the peanut butter/salmonella scare and I figured it was related. However, I also figured I would be able to find my favorite flavor again soon after.

Well, I have received word from authorities at Clif Bar. They have temporarily suspended all production on products containing peanuts. We can expect the return of Peanut Butter Builder's Bars in two months.
I hope I can last that long.

Sunday, March 08, 2009

International Women's Day




WOMEN HOLD UP HALF THE SKY

Friday, March 06, 2009

Watchmen: I Approve

no spoilers


Last night, in the middle of the night, I watched The Watchmen.
This is NOT a superhero movie. Despite the commercials and marketing and it coming from a comic book, this is not X-Men 2. I think we already knew that. This film is a mix of mystery, dark sci fi, action, and drama. It could most closely be compared to The Matrix films (more heavily on 2 and 3 but far better than both).

I wonder what the average non-comic book fan will think. There is plenty of action but it is a VERY dense film. It deals with as much or more of the human condition(s) as it does with ass-kicking. 2 of the 6 friends I saw the film with had not read the book. Both felt it all made perfect sense and was, if anything, overly explanatory (which could have just been due to the narration of Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach).

The story and visuals really pulled me in. The dense-ness didn't work against it and I didn't feel like it was a truncated version of a book. The character complexity came across well too. I won't get too specific about my 'likes' as to not post any spoilers.

What about the ending? The one thing that deviates strongly from the book. I will be honest- I was not happy with it upon first hearing about it. In the film, it does flow seamlessly though. After the film, I talked to someone who had not read the book and could not conceive of a giant space squid in place of the film's ending. We got out the book and examined that last segment. Guess what? We discussed it and this more-objective-than-I person pointed out holes in the original which were just as big as the holes I found in the film version. So... I now support the film's version as legit.

I approve.

(comments could contain spoilers)

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Fanboy Boner

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Honeymoon Period

Let's pretend you have two friends in a relationship. Turns out the dude beat the living shit out of his girlfriend. He seemed like a nice enough dude but damn! The girl won't press charges and seeks refuge with her family. When you confront dude, he starts talking about how he found god and is going to work on his shit. Look, I hope he does work on his shit but he sure as hell don't get a free pass.

All of a sudden a mutual friend of everyone's convinces the girl it would be a good idea to move into an isolated house with dude. Of course, she still loves him and thinks it sounds like a good idea. When is it ever a good idea to remove a victim of abuse from friends/family and isolate them with their abuser?! That is classic cult-type shit.

It all begins to look an awful lot like the definition of every abusive relationship.



Beckham: Timeshare

Utterly ridiculous!

Now, I can't wait for him to come to SJ. I want to ruthlessly boo his sorry ass... Actually, no... I have more respect for Beckham than I do for MLS.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

WonderCon 2009


Once again I attended my favorite event of the year, WonderCon in San Francisco.

I arrived 2 hours before kickoff in order to score a wonderful seat for the Watchmen panel. With Watchmen opening next weekend, this was the only major push at a convention prior to release.

Director Zack Snyder was there with most of the cast (except my favorite, Carla Gugino). Dave Gibbons was also there. They played 20+ minutes of the film!! We got to see the entire opening sequence which was total fanboy boner. Then they showed a scene of Rorschach in prison which had me screaming it was so good. Everyone at the Con got Comedian buttons too.

The only other panel I decided to attend was Star Trek. To even get a seat, I had to sit through the preceding panel for RW Goodwin's Alien Trespass. ugh. RW Goodwin was just a total oldman douchebag who couldn't stop dissing actors and talking about how much better the world was in the 1950's.

JJ Abrams came out for Star Trek and really knew how to work a crowd. He was a bit annoying. He premiered the new trailer for us. If the teaser trailer was a nod to fans of original Trek, the new full length trailer was nothing but the typical Hollywood action adventure preview. It was confusingly jarring and uninteresting. Again, we got almost the entire cast. Everyone loved Zachary Quinto. I realized they had nothing interesting to say (unlike Zach Snyder), so I left.

The convention floor was jam packed as usual and being solo, it was difficult to get as many photos as I woulda liked at times.
The 'it' costumes this year were Rorschach and Silk Spectre.

We still had the geeks doing the Heath Ledger Joker though.

A testament to my age was the amount of women my age with children I saw. haha
I got yelled at for taking photos of a Mack movie poster and a sick painted dagger. What do these vendors expect?


A highlight of my day was recognizing Annie Cruz walking the floor and asking for a photo. I don't think anyone was recognizing her at all. Her nice boyfriend took the photo of us between talking about his Misfits cover band to people in Misfits t-shirts.

The only purchases I made were an Arthur Adams sketch "book" (realizing I was not going to get an original sketch) and a tiny Ragnar print.


for all my full size photos, check out Flickr