Tag Archives | resistance

House Panel Seeks To Silence Journalists

By on July 24, 2012 in News 12


Aaron Cynic writes at Diatribe Media:

Recently, House of Representatives panel discussed potentially amending the Espionage Act to prosecute journalists who report leaked information. In response to several instances where reporters have used information leaked to them by confidential sources to write stories, the panel suggested amending the law, which was enacted in 1917 to prosecute spies and others who divulge information considered sensitive, to punish journalists who do not reveal their sources. According to the LA Times, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R – SC) said “Put them in front of the grand jury. You either answer the question or you’re going to be held in contempt and go to jail, which is what I thought all reporters aspire to do anyway.”

No journalist has been prosecuted under the Espionage Act before, and the idea is more than chilling towards those who believe that one of the major functions of media should be to hold government accountable for its actions.… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 12

Strategic Missives for Agitation and Occupation

By on June 24, 2012 in News 5

Ralgis (CC)

“The proliferation of political demonstrations and resistance that gained traction under the moniker “Occupy” breathed new life into experimental political practice.

We feel that this development is poised to reinvigorate critical and political theory. Gilles Deleuze once remarked in a conversation with Michel Foucault that, “No theory can develop without eventually encountering a wall, and practice is necessary for piercing this wall.” Deleuze also emphasized that the reverse holds equally true, “Practice is a set of relays from one theoretical point to another, and theory is a relay from one practice to another.”

The arrival of the Occupy movement has broken down barriers encountered in the realm of critical theory. But as it endures and grows, it will continually encounter barriers that will only be overcome by theoretical interventions. The Supplement serves as a cartographer of experimental practices and a depository for theoretical tools.”

Download the PDF at Diatribe Media… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 5

NATO Chicago: Congratulations for Subversively Preventing Free Speech

By on June 8, 2012 in News 7

Photo: Kate Harnedy

Kate Harnedy writes at Diatribe Media:

I was born and raised in Chicago, and lived here twenty-five years. The past four years, I have been away from my city, lead by my camera to have and document new life experiences. I traveled throughout the west coast and lived in rural Oregon, which included a couple years of communal living. Even while working in a small café/bookstore in rural Oregon, people would often comment on my accent, and knew I was a Chicagoan.

On hearing Chicago would host the NATO/G8 summits this year, I decided I had work to do back home. I needed to get back in touch with people who were connected to what was happening in preparation for the summits, and I contacted an old friend, Aaron Cynic. We met at Columbia College Chicago, during the 2003 Iraq war protests, so I knew he would be active on the ground in Chicago.… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 7

Chicago #NoNATO Dispatch Day 1

By on May 19, 2012 in News 2
NoNATO Chicago

Photo: Aaron Cynic

Aaron Cynic writes at Diatribe Media:

The day kicked off in a tame but at least celebratory manner at a rally held in Daley Plaza by National Nurses United. After two hours of speeches and wandering around a square grabbing random flyers and other literature, there was no way that at least part of the 3,000 plus people standing on the square were simply going to go home. Everyone knew it, and one could feel a nervous sense of excitement wafting on the air while the last few chords of Tom Morello’s performance rang out.

As people still milled about and I waited to see exactly when an unpermitted march would begin, the Chicago police made what appeared to be a very targeted snatch and grab of a masked protester. According to reports, the police attempted to ask the man a few questions, he refused to answer and was immediately led away in handcuffs.… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 2

A Handy Guide To Crowd-Control Weapons

By on May 3, 2012 in News 5

dfae1efdd9685a8fa16348b46ac40e0b_vice_670Assuming you made it through May Day without injuries, Vice UK has a preview of the most common weapons coming soon to a riot near you:

We spoke to buddies of ours in Germany, Egypt and Israel/Palestine to get the lowdown on the weapons that British police may soon be using to pour cold water on your righteous and burning fury.

The backbone in every self-respecting riot control arsenal, tear gas, makes you cry like a baby and stops you from breathing effectively so that you think you’re going to die. Advertised as non-lethal, Sarit Michaeli, spokeswoman from the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, claims otherwise: “Vulnerable people, like the elderly, children and people with respiratory problems, can be hurt and killed by tear gas.”

[Regarding rubber bullets], “Calling them rubber bullets is quite ridiculous,” says Sarit. “They’re not made of rubber, they’re metal covered with rubber or plastic.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 5

Blind Chinese Activist Escapes House Arrest

By on May 1, 2012 in News 13

Chen GuangchengHe slipped past 100 security guards, scaled a wall and swam across a river to freedom. Reports Olivia Katrandjian on ABC News:

The U.S. State Department is being tight-lipped on the whereabouts of blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who escaped house arrest last week, but the organization that helped him escape says he’s in the hands of U.S. diplomats.

Chen, a 40-year-old human rights activist who has campaigned for disabled rights and against forced abortions, scaled a wall and slipped past around 100 security guards surrounding his house. Bob Fu, the founder and president of ChinaAid, which aided Chen in his getaway, called the escape an “extraordinary adventure.”

“He walked for hours from his own home in the middle of the night. He was wounded, wet, covered in mud. He swam across a river,” Fu told ABC News. Chen was picked up by supporters and driven to Beijing on April 23.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 13

The Infectious Escalation of Occupy Oakland

By on January 31, 2012 in News 8

402px-Occupy_Oakland_PosterNatalie W writes at Diatribe Media:

An unofficial count of 400 Occupy Oakland demonstrators were arrested Saturday, January 28, after being fired upon, beaten, kettled, and trapped by Oakland riot police.

The Occupy Oakland social movement is rooted in the lower-income, ethnically diverse Bay area city and has been a previous site of violent police repression. Oakland has been a nexus of social unrest long before the Occupation catalyzed it as an outlet for frustration.

Oakland boasts closing public schools, an annual median family income at $56,000 in 2008, and in 2010, it was listed as the fifth most dangerous in the US with a history of police brutality. With all of these simmering tensions, Occupy Oakland’s actions should not come as a surprise to anyone, least of all elected officials like Mayor Quan and Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan.

The Occupy movement is a global social demonstration aimed at overturning the interconnectivity of money/economic/political entitlement.… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 8