Fault Lines 21 (Summer 2007)

SUMMER 2 0 0 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS:

2: Letters to the Editors 3: Stamps, Torture Taxis, Environmental Justice

4: Biodiesel Hot Rod 5: Microradio vs. the FCC 6: Biojustice in Boston

7: Gold Mining’s Legacy of Exploitaiton 8: Indigenous Uprising in Guatemala

10: Protesting the G8 in Germany 12: Interview with Josh Wolf

13: Interview with Gabe Meyers 14: Housing Justice

16: Guerrilla Gardens in SF and Beyond 20: Arts in Action

M LINES

NEWSMAGAZINE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTER

free

MICRORADIO, HOUSING JUSTICE, & GUERRILLA GARDENS

BOTTOM ILLUSTRATION BY REZ

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

ff'i'D

02

FAULT LIMES

The San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Media Center is a non-commercial, demo-
cratic collective of bay area independent
media makers and media outlets, and
serves as the local organizing unit of the
global indymedia network.

FAULT LINES
MISSION STATEMENT

Fault Lines, the newsmagazine of the San
Francisco Bay Area Independent Media
Center, aims to give all communities the
opportunity to actively participate in a col-
lective process of media production and
distribution. By operating with transpar-
ency, this newsmagazine hopes to achieve
the goal of allowing the public, not corpo-
rate conglomerations, to set the agenda for
news coverage. Our mission is to train and
empower marginalized voices. This publi-
cation was created to be used as a tool for
radical change in our communities by ex-
posing the stories and raising the issues
that the media plutocracy seeks to supress.
We are the people, we are the media and we
are dissenting from the ground up.

GET INVOLVED

The IMC has an open door. You can write for
Fault Lines, film events and rallies, self-
publish articles to the web, take photos or
just help us run the office. As an organiza-
tion relying entirely on volunteer support,
we encourage all forms of participation.

The print working group reserves the right
to edit articles for length, content, and
clarity. We welcome your participation in
the entire editorial process.

Email:

BFBAY-PRI NTdlLI 5T5.INDYMEDIA.ORG

Home Base:

2940 1 6TH 5T. SUITE 216
SAN FRANCISCO, EA, 94103-2682

FAULT LINES VOLUNTEERS

Matt Gereghty, David Zlutnick,
Flunter Jackson, Liam O'Donoghue,
Sean McMahon, Hannah Potassium,
Nico Rahim, Rez, Sakura Saunders,
Tim Simons, Ali Tonak, Herb Sand-
hu, Chris Avilla.

FAULT LINES THANKS

Dave id, Katrina Malachowski, Media Al-
liance, the Indypendent (nyc imc), Street
Sheet, Station 40, Howard Quinn Press,
CorpWatch, Elizabeth Sy and lushorchid,
janky hellface, Lorna and AK Press, Alter-
native Tentacles, Sonoma Valley Publish-
ing, Inkworks, Khalil Bendib, Dan Raccug-
lia, Santa Cruz IMC. respect.

We’d also like to thank everyone who has donated to Fault Lines,
those who have subscribed, and the organizations and small
businesses that have advertised within these pages. Your sup-
port helps make this happen.

HEY F

Last issue we did a call out tor responses
to our letter From the editors about the
role oF radical print. Here are some oF the
responses. Thanks, and keep ‘em coming.

Dear Editors,

I read your editorial in the spring is-
sue recently and felt compelled to write
in. I wish to stress that it is impera-
tive that alternative newspapers such as
yours remain in print. I myself run a
small zine which depends largely on do-
nations. I have been publishing it since
2000. Since then I have never aban-
doned my readership to go online. I
will tell you why. A large percentage of
my readers are incarcerated. They regu-
larly have their mail and reading mate-
rial censored. When they do receive my
zine, they can read the writings of other
prisoners, political writings, and con-
tribute their own art. Prisoners have no
access to the web. Neither do the ma-
jority of homeless or oth-
erwise marginalized folks.

It is for this reason that I
keep my zine accessible.

I would implore you to
do the same. If I had not
found your paper in a lo-
cal restaurant, I probably
would not have gone to
the web to find the same
information. Instead I
read your mag and found
a lot of interesting a rel-
evant information. Here
is something I recently
published from a prisoner
in Pennsylvania: . , , .

} Making

“Zines on paper are disap-
pearing, as online publishing is easier
and more cost effective... This is a two-
pronged problem. First: as the number
of available outlets shrink, those still
trying to help are faced with the often
heartbreaking task of trying to help
all who ask, with fewer and fewer re-
sources, when the need is ballooning
out of proportion. This leads to burn-
out, as well as simple collapse, where
the help sources insist on trying to help

everybody, no matter what. The second
prong of the problem is that with fewer
and fewer places still using paper, the
Department of Corrections will have
an easier time of controlling, banning
and forbidding them. With fewer of
these voices, there will also be fewer to
join together to fight these bans and re-
strictions; again making the censorship
easier for the DOC’s. Add that to the
continual refusal to even limited inter-
net access to prisoners, and the censor-
ship picture looks bleak indeed. A new
“dark age” of information is coming, we
prisoners need to be ready and self-reli-
ant when it comes, and that’s our only
hope. Vernon Maulsby, Pennsylvania
Dept of Corrections.”

Thank you for your time and do keep
up the good work.

Sincerely,

Christopher Robin

Indymedia: The Fault Lines crew at work

Hi,

Since you asked for feedback I feel
compelled to let you know my thoughts.
I have been reading your paper on and
off as I find it on my forays into SF over
the past few years. Since I live in Marin
I have found your paper originally very
focused on SF issues and yet informa-
tive. However, with this issue, it’s defi-
nitely improved with unique coverage
of the sqautting move-
ments, CAFTA, and the
Sublime Frequencies la-
bel. It may be your best
issue yet and it would be
a shame if you stopped
publishing.

However, I appreci-
ate the difficulties you
face. When I first began
reading Faultlines I was
struck that Indymedia
would venture into “old
style” print journalism
but I understand why.
There are still many

people who appreciate the multiplicity
of news sources and still prefer to read
their news on paper. I have a broad mix
of preferences in this regard although I
am increasingly in the minority. Having
helped publish two cooperatively-run
investigative newspapers in Austin the
the ‘80-’90s myself I know the extent of
the effort required to do so and to carry
on. I want to congratulate you for carry-
ing on as long as you have.

At the same time, I want to also of-
fer some suggestions as to ways to pos-
sibly expand your appeal. Faultlines is
too clearly a newspaper for activists.
The way it looks, reads and feels ap-
peals only to a limited audience. While
the jargon has clearly been toned down
over the past few issues in favor of well-
articulated analyses and well researched
journalistic styles, your limited appeal is
bound to be causing you problems. The
question you may have already asked
yourselves is: How do we
widen our appeal without
compromising our message
and objective?

Suggestions:

1. Write with fewer pe-
gorative words. Say what
you mean instead of using
activist words as a short-
cut. For example, instead of
“struggle” or “movement”
say “the conflict over” or
“people concerned about”.
Non-activists will know
what you mean and more
likedly to find the paper
useful and worth reading
and supporting.

2. Cover broader issues that may
be less overtly political. Your review of
MacPhee’s book is great but what about
all the underground, experiemental
events and dance shows around town
I have heard about and get very little
advance info on? When you cover them
you will get a new expanded audience of
readers and possible advertisers.

3. Cover so-called green and alt
businesses such as veggie restaurants,
fair trade coffee shops, local fashion,
etc. Review their stuff and they will be
likely to hang the review in their place,
let you distribute there and eventually
pay for an ad.

4. Have theme issues with strong
local tie-ins. If there’s a music festival,
invite well-knowns to write about the
record contract scams, crackdowns on
downloads, etc.

I hope these suggestions are helpful.
I look forward to seeing the next issue.

In jubilee,

Robert Ovetz, PhD

Photo by Granny Ruth

Stamping Out Independent Media

Media giant pushes for undemocratic postal rate hikes

In an unprecedented move, the
agency that oversees postal rates in the
United States has approved a plan that
would drive many independent print
publications out of business. Earlier this
year, the Postal Regulatory Commission
(PRC) rejected a postal rate increase
plan offered by the US Postal Service.
Instead they opted to implement a
modified version of an extraordinarily
complicated plan submitted by media
giant Time Warner.

Although there was a formal review
and comment process, the matter was
so complicated and unreported that the
general public played no role whatso-
ever, and publications that could not
afford significant lobbying and lawyer
fees faced high barriers to effective par-

ticipation.

We all lose if the media system loses
numerous small publications due to mas-
sive postal rate hikes and if it becomes
cost-prohibitive for new magazines to
be launched in the future. This is not an
issue that should be determined exclu-
sively by the owners of magazines, with
the biggest owners having the loudest
voice.

Although this year’s rate increase
was somewhat inevitable, as the postal
service struggles to meet its costs, the
Time Warner plan will mean higher
costs for small publishers and discounts
for big publishers.

The Time Warner plan represents
another step (albeit a giant step) in the

gradual reversal of the Founder Fathers’
public service principles of supporting
democracy through the postal service.
It is the latest, largest move towards
abandoning these public service pri-
orities and permitting a system that no
longer favors low-advertising, political
speech — like In These Times and Left
Turn — over ad-heavy magazines like
People and Cosmo. The practical result
of this move is not only the decline of a
democratic mission, but a rate shock for
small and medium-size magazines even
as big publishers are getting a break.

Demand a formal and open accounting
of why more than 200 years of pro-democ-
racy postal policy was abandoned.
More info: www.freepress.net

“Here’s your government-
subsidized corporate media!

ACLU Sues Jeppesen For being CIA’s Travel Agent

On May 30, the ACLU announced
a lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan,
a subsidiary of Boeing Co, for its par-
ticipation in the US government’s ex-
traordinary rendition program. Ex-
traordinary rendition is the extrajudicial
transfer of suspected terrorists to coun-

tries known to employ harsh interroga-
tion techniques and often torture. In
conjunction with the ACLU press con-
ference, The Raging Grannies Action
League, South Bay Mobilization and
Amnesty International held protests
against the extraordinary rendition ser-
vices provided by Jeppesen in front of
the company’s offices in San Jose.

Although President Bush admitted
last year that the US has maintained a
global network of secret prisons since
9/11, he has refused to divulge details,
because “Doing so would provide our
enemies with information they could
use to take retribution against our allies
and harm our country.”

Fault Lines asked A.C. Thompson,
co-author of “Torture Taxi: On the Trail
of the CIA’s Rendition Flights” a few
questions about the lawsuit:

FL: How solid is the basis for this

lawsuit?

AT: There’s a lot of evidence and
more coming out. Jeppesen does flight
planning and travel arrangements for all
kinds of companies and also what looks
to be an array of CIA front companies.
The link first came out when the Span-
ish authorities were looking at rendition
flights going through their country. It
looks like Jeppeson actually booked the
hotels and ancillary travel arrangements
for some of these rendition operations. I
spoke to a source at the company, and he
said it was brought up at and discussed
directly at company meetings. When
answering questions from the media,
Jeppesen says they can’t talk about their
clients because of confidentiality rules.

FL: What have you heard about the
lawsuit’s chances for success? What is
the vibe from the legal community?

AT: The lawsuit will be successful no

matter what, because its drawing atten-
tion to the rendition program and mak-
ing accountable those involved. A major
ACLU legal victory is doubtful, but the
PR value is huge. It’s already a victory
for human rights by shedding light on
the US involvement in a torture opera-
tion.

FL: What are the implications for
this lawsuit? Is this the beginning of a
trend?

AT: The trend started several months
back when a citizen in Oregon com-
plained to the state bar about a lawyer
who set up a phony front company
called Bayard Foreign Marketing. As-
sisting the rendition program and do-
ing the CIA’s dirty work is a breach of
legal ethics, according to the complaint.
You’ll definitely see more of these cases
against accomplices of torture.

(ftp)

EAST PALO ALTO YOUTH SMACK DOWN POLLUTER

DTSC issues enforcement order against Romic Environmental Technologies

On May 30, members ofYouth Unit-
ed for Community Action (YUCA),
celebrated a California state order that
will shut down large portions of a major
hazardous waste handler located in East
Palo Alto, ironi-
cally named Romic
Environmental
Technologies.

For 43 years,

Romic Environ-
mental Technolo-
gies has operated
a hazardous waste
recycling facility

finally began to listen to the East Palo
Alto community. On May 3 1 , the DTSC
announced it had issued an enforcement
order to Romic, charging it with such
state violations such as unsafe opera-
tions (that re-
sulted in a June
2006 toxic re-
lease) and reck-
less disregard
(for the risk of
serious injury to
an employee in
March 2006).
The order pro-

in East Palo Alto. Annie Loya began organizing against Romic ten hibits Romic
Since 1991, com- V ears a 9°’ when she was 13 - l pic: R - Robertsor| I from handling,
munity residents treating and

have waged a campaign to shut it down, storing hazardous bulk liquid waste in
This year, the California Department containers greater than 85 gallons,
of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) More info: www.youthunited.net

Starbucks Pays for Anti-Union Tactics

Victory for fired barista, organizers

Starbucks has agreed to reinstate
Chicago barista Gloria Sykes and pay
her a confidential amount to settle
charges filed with the National Labor
Relations Board earlier this year. Star-
bucks fired Sykes after she told her store
manager that employees would reach
out to the IWW Starbucks Workers
Union (SWU) if management did not
address age discrimination and work
schedule issues. The Starbucks manager
responded in clear violation of federal
law that any talk of the Union was pro-
hibited and would result in termination.
Ms. Sykes, 55, was undeterred and sub-
sequently did join the SWU [Starbuck-
sUnion.org].

Starbucks, with its battered share

price, still faces significant legal scru-
tiny. On July 9, the coffee giant is set
to go on trial for extensive anti-union
violations in New York City.

Joe Tessone, an SWU member and
barista at a Chicago Starbucks said,
“Given the overwhelming evidence of
its illegal anti-union campaign, Star-
bucks should stop insulting the Ameri-
can people by claiming it respects the
right to organize.”

Starbucks workers can earn a start-
ing wage as low as $6 or $7 an hour and
are prohibited from obtaining full-time
status. While the company boasts of its
health care offering, Starbucks actually
insures a lower percentage of its work-
force than Wal-Mart, a company no-
torious for its unaffordable health care
package.

More info: www.iww.org

03

FAULT LINES OSUMMER 2007

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

(«$

04

I N

□ YM ED I A

FILIPINO NEWSPAPERS
DENOUNCE POLITICAL
KILLINGS, SUPPORT
POLITICAL PRISONERS

The Philippines News Today, a
local newspaper in the cities of San
Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver,
Canada will release a full page ad of
American and Filipino progressive
organizations and individuals calling
for, among other things, an end to
political killings in the Philippines
and the immediate release of de-
tained Congressman and labor leader
Crispin Beltran and all political
prisoners.

The Supreme Court of the Philip-
pines recently dismissed a trumped up
case against six Congress leaders in-
cluding Beltran.

Another local newspaper, Diaryo
Pilipino, based in Southern Cali-
fornia issued the same statement a
month ago. Both newspapers have a
combined circulation of 60,000 that
targets to reach the majority of Filipi-
nos living on the west coast of North
America.

manila.indymedia.org

TWO ANARCHISTS AND
A FRIEND IN PRE-TRIAL
DETENTION

On Tuesday, June 5, two anarchists
and a friend of theirs (all 20-22 years
old) were arrested after trying to at-
tack a car of the municipal police in
the neighborhood of Paleo Faliro in
Athens, Greece. During their arrest,
all three were severely beaten by the
police to the point of collapse.

After being beaten further and tor-
tured (psychologically and physically)
at the Police Headquarters in Athens,
the Attorney General ordered the pre-
trial detention of all three (up to 18
months imprisonment before the ac-
tual trial).

athens.indymedia.org

SHRAM0RE FIVE
LOCK OUT SHELL

On the morning of June 5, a
team of five protesters and their sup-
port crew successfully halted Shell’s
operation in Erris, Ireland for five
hours through the use of “lock-on”
arm tubes.

The blockade ended with the five
being cut loose from each other by the
fire brigade and arrested while a crowd

WWW.INDYMEDIA.ORCj

Microradio Blues

5F LiBeranon Radio's courr DepeaT exempLipies
By Rubble F e □ e ra l/ c □ rp o raTe comroL of airwaves

On February 15, 2007, three years af-
ter its demise, San Francisco Liberation
Radio’s (SFLR) case against the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC)
finally reached the Ninth Circuit Court.
This was the station’s third appearance
in court, and it unfortunately reached
the same conclusion as the previous
two: a decision overwhelmingly in favor
of the FCC. A victory would have done
nothing in regard to the station’s abil-
ity to broadcast, but would have made it
more difficult for the FCC to raid and
shut down unlicensed microradio sta-
tions.

With so few options for the public to
make its voice heard through the media,
many see unlicensed broadcasting
as an act of civil disobedience. A
look at the FCC’s role in radio
raises many questions and contra-
dictions.

SFLR lawyer Mark Vermeulen
argued that the station had oper-
ated responsibly as a community-
based radio resource, interfering
with no other broadcasters. He
also asserted that the public has
a right to the diversity in content
and that SFLR’s legitimate efforts
to apply for a license were twice
rebuffed.

Although Circuit Judge Clif-
ton interrupted the defense to
ask why a station openly “break-
ing the law” has any right to be in
court, Senior Circuit Judge Betty
Fletcher feigned sympathy for the
station’s plight. Fletcher noted,
“Congress made it difficult for
people who were the pioneers” by
inserting a provision in the Low
Power FM (LPFM) law banning
access to licensing to any station
that has ever engaged in unli-
censed broadcasting. He also suggested
station operators “ought to be lobbying
Congress to change the statute.” Good
advice or bureaucratic shuffle?

The crackdown on microbroadcast-
ing raises many questions: Where is the
due process when the FCC hands down
an ultimatum to either cease broadcast-
ing or pay tens of thousands of dollars in
fines? Who oversees the FCC? Should
the FCC be allowed to operate like an
FBI?

Unlicensed broadcasters have report-
ed agents questioning neighbors, stak-
ing out stations, watching and copy-
ing license plate numbers, transcribing
shows word-for-word, infiltrating
meetings and public events, pressuring

landlords to evict, and sending notices
threatening broadcasters and landlords
with major fines before heavily-armed
raids.

A look at the present state of radio —
basically a public-private political oli-
gopoly — finds the FCC presiding over
a mass of contradictions. In 2000, the
FCC voted to issue FM licenses to Low
Power stations after being unable to
eliminate them. While hailed as a vic-
tory for the movement, the celebration
was brief. An outraged National As-
sociation of Broadcasters (NAB) — an
aggressive industry lobby arm — quick-
ly got Congress to pass a “three band
space” rule requiring several dial spaces

left empty between each FM station to
avoid interference. Based on phony sci-
ence, it was overturned after a required
study showed no interference. This rule
eliminated about 75 percent of the po-
tential LPFM dial spaces and the “bad
pirate” rule eliminated all existing unli-
censed broadcasters forever.

In late 2006, the Future of Music
Coalition updated a study first commis-
sioned in 2002 supporting the need to
fight further media consolidation. Be-
fore the Clinton Administration’s 1996
deregulation bill, a radio station could
own a maximum of 24 stations nation-
wide. Clear Channel Communications
owned over 1200 stations by 2002 as a
result of the legislation. The study in-
dicates the number of companies own-

ing stations peaked in 1995 and has
declined dramatically since, as have
jobs in radio. Between 1995 and 2005,
holdings of the ten largest companies
increased by over 15 times! Local own-
ership declined from 97 percent to 70
percent, with most of the new licenses
going to the big ten, including “repeat-
er” stations, a transmitter that repeats
the signal of another radio station; most
are used to fill out or extend the broad-
casting of an existing radio station.

In addition to the problematic situa-
tion of a few conglomerates controlling
the bulk of information on the airwaves,
music fans are also losing out. The
original 2002 study highlighted a “twin
bottleneck” in which the
ten radio companies in-
teract with the five largest
record companies for 80
to 100 percent of songs
played, with local artists
completely shut out. The
dial has become a nation-
alized corporate jukebox
with virtually no news, re-
petitive Top 40 music, and
more commercials and
computerized announcer
voices. The “non-com-
mercial” FM spectrum
space is dominated by
NPR, funded and tight-
ly content-controlled
through grants from the
federal government’s
Corporation for Public
Broadcasting. NPR con-
tinues to build an empire,
buying up college and
other independent sta-
tions that can cash in for
millions of dollars for the
band space.

What about the FCC’s last attempt
at deregulation? The entire campaign
was based on the premise that more
consolidation brings more local pro-
gramming. It has since come to light
that the FCC’s own study, suppressed
and ignored, shows just the opposite.
Millions of people contacted the FCC
with over 98 percent opposed to the
deregulation that was passed and later
overturned in court. Payola continues
as a standard industry practice, report-
edly far beyond the scope uncovered by
a recent New York State Attorney Gen-
eral’s investigation. Radio listenership
has declined 22 percent from its peak in
1989. Is this the

corrnnueD on paqe 19

The crackdown on micro-
broadcasting raises many
questions: Where is the due
process when the FCC hands
down an ultimatum to either
cease broadcasting or pay
tens of thousands of dollars
in fines? Who oversees the
FCC? Should the FCC be al-
lowed to operate like an FBI?

SF CITY COLLEGE ADMINISTRATORS DECEIVE STUDENTS IN PURSUIT OF A
$200G BIODIESEL GRANT FROM THE ENVIRON MENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

On April 19, City College of San
Francisco celebrated Earth Day by
showcasing alternative fuel and electri-
cally powered vehicles on the school’s
Ram Plaza. Among the line-up of ve-
hicles was a biodiesel hot rod that some
fellow CCSF students and I built in
the school’s Automotive Department.
The hotrod is a 1974 El Camino Super
Sport that was originally gas powered
with a 350 Chevy engine. We pulled
the engine and replaced it with 6.2 liter
GMC diesel engine and filled the tank
with biodiesel.

The biodiesel hot rod project was
initiated in the fall of 2005 by a few of
us from the CCSF Anarchist Library-a
group that has maintained a lending li-
brary in the school’s Student Union for
the last five years. The group’s motiva-
tion for the project was to expose our-
selves and other working class students
to a fuel that can be made cheap or for
free with the use of the proper filtration
unit, as well as to see how fast we could
get a car going on the fuel. Another one
of our goals was to activate
our biodiesel filling station
at City College and learn
how to provide an accessible
and affordable fuel source,
which we would use to pow-
er a collectively-run moving
service fleet. This would al-
low us the ability to provide
a living wage for struggling
students as well as hooking
up a working class com-
munity with super cheap
fuel. Converting hot rods
in particular is important to the club
members, who see fit to give the current
image of eco-friendly driving some ap-
peal outside the realm of upper-middle
class liberal environmentalists.

Hence the biodiesel El Camino Su-
per Sport. This is a car that one could
throw a set of 22s on and proudly show
off. So when club members showed up
with the Super Sport for the Earth Day
event, they had no problem attracting a
crowd of car enthusiasts. After all, the

car was looking tight, with a fresh coat
of paint and an engine loud enough to
wake the block up and turn some heads.
When students found out that it was
biodiesel fueled and had the potential
to run off waste grease from the school
cafeteria, jaws dropped in amazement.

After much hard work, we had success-
fully produced a mean machine that
runs on free fuel, is better for the envi-
ronment, and better for human health.

Three days after the auto show,
MTV aired their Pimp My Green Ride
episode, in which they took a beater
‘65 Chevy Impala and did a similar en-
gine swap to the one we did. Even the
Governator himself appeared to give
a thumbs-up for biodiesel. Then they
took the Impala to the racetrack where

they raced a Lamborghini at the quarter
mile, leaving the flashy Italian racecar
in the dust. Needless to say, pimped
out alt-fuel automobiles, like all things
“green,” are ripe for the mainstream.

Despite all of this popularity, our
Biodiesel Club has been met with seri-
ous resistance from the Ev-
an’s campus administration.
Vice-Chancellor Phyllis
McGuire, the Dean of the
Evans Campus, has refused
to allow the club access to
funding for our project and
denied us a permanent space
to keep the El Camino, pri-
oritizing the project of the
Motorsports Club instead.
It is a front club started by
staff member Ron Young,
who posed as a student by
signing up for one class so he could start
a club and work his way into Student
Government. Over time, Young some-
how got his paws on $19,000 of student
activity money to buy a Kit Cobra race
car. With full support from Dean Mc-
Guire and limited student involvement,
Young managed to finally get the car
running five years later, only to total it
on Evans Campus. After teachers told
him not to drive it, he invited our school
counselor Dennis to sit passenger as he

In the end the grant money
was put in the pockets of the
administrators. Anarchist
club members were not
surprised by this swindle.

connnueD on page is

ccsf AominisTraTors accepT Huge CHecK prom the EpA

INDYMEDIA

of around thirty people cheered them
on. Shramore is the final stop on the
peat haulage route from the site of the
proposed gas refinery at Bellanaboy.

ireland.indymedia.org

THOUSANDS STRIP OFF
FOR LONDON'S NAKED
BIKE RIDE

In 2004 there were 58 riders, in
2005 a creditable 250 riders, rising to
a massive 800 in 2006. But in a scale
that surprised even the organizers,
more than five thousand naked peo-
ple took to London’s streets on June
9 to protest against oil dependency,
celebrate body freedom, and curb car
culture.

uk.indymedia.org

PROTESTERS BLOCK
HOUSTON I.C.E.
PROCESSING CENTER

At dawn on the morning of June
4, immigrant rights activists locked
themselves to the entrance gates of
the Houston Processing Center, a
private immigration detention facility
in North Houston.

houston.indymedia.org

FIGHT FOR NATIVE
RIGHTS AND SACRED
SITES CONTINUES

On Wednesday, May 30 the Unit-
ed States Department of Justice, on
behalf of the Forest Service, filed for
a rehearing and appeal in the case to
protect the San Francisco Peaks in
Northern Arizona. The 9th Circuit
Court of Appeals previously ruled in
favor of Native American tribes and
environmental groups on the grounds
that a proposed ski area development
and expansion would violate the Re-
ligious Freedom Restoration Act and
the National Environmental Policy
Act.

On June 4, 2007 a protest was held
outside the Coconino National For-
est Service office to show outrage at
the government’s decision to con-
tinue to pursue the desecration of the
San Francisco Peaks. Activists vow to
continue to fight for the defense of
native rights and sacred sites, www.
savethepeaks.org

arizona.indymedia.org

WWW.INDYMEDIA.ORCj

05

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

■ l

By Sean McMahon

orgamzeo in opposiTion

TO THe BIOTPCHnOLOCjY’S

annuaL meeTing in eosTon
Bio-acTiviSTS repuseo to
STano oown.

,ljaZAP d

BIM 1 i

Chinatown - 5.03.07

Up a dusty flight of stairs in the heart
of Boston’s Chinatown lies the arterial lining
of the Boston anti-biotech movement. Ban-
ners for the US Social Forum line the walls,
stacks of the Bioustice 2007 underground
newspaper sit prepared for distribution, and
various flyers await eager hands. Amidst
these tools of resistance, there is a murmur
of activity as a motley crew of committed in-
dividuals plot and laugh heartily. These are
not your typical anti-authoritarians.

Although over the course of the next
six days they will be met by armed oppres-
sors, today the afternoon sun shines through
the 5 th floor windows into a space ripe with
expectation. This is the Biojustice Conver-
gence Center.

Biojustice 2007 is a direct challenge to
the annual B.I.O. (Biotechnology Industry
Organization) International Convention.
Biojustice participants celebrate sustainable
food and healthcare alternatives, and resist
the tools of corporate domination: geneti-
cally engineered foods, drug monopolies,
and biological weapons.

Downtown - 5.04.07

Across town at the Boston Conven-
tion and Exhibition Center, corporate sci-
entists conspire to engineer Genetically
Modified Organisms (GMOs), produce
medical dmgs using means other than di-
rect extraction from native biological sources
(biopharmaceuticals), and build ‘biodefense’
weapons, pushing what Brian Tokar of the
Institute for Social Ecology calls a “corpo-
rate agenda of control over our food and
health.” This is not a new development.
Since the 1980s, food and drug corpora-

tions have experimented with genetic engi-
neering, the process of transferring genetic
material between living organisms. In 1982,
Genentech developed recombinant human
insulin (rHI), the first biopharm product. In
1987, the first Genetically Modified (GM)
crop of 2000 testers was planted outdoors
in Brentwood, California and subsequently
destroyed the next night by Earth Firstlers.
In 1990, the first transgenic pig produced
human milk proteins via implanted DNA.
Corporate domination abounds in the world
of biotechnology.

Further, the profit-driven attempt to
use biological agents as weapons is key to the
Biojustice movement. Central to the cur-
rent struggle in Boston is the fight against
the “Biosafety Level 4” laboratory being
constructed in the South End by Boston
University. Twenty-five thousand people
live within one mile of this highly volatile lo-
cation, where research would be conducted
on the most deadly pathogens in the world.
Carmen Nazario of SafetyNet, a Roxbury
neighborhood action group, understands
that the powers that be want to study these
pathogens in case of emergency. Today at
the Biojustice Press Conference she objects,
clearly stating “a case of emergency will be
that they are causing one.”

Blackstone Park - 5.06.07

Upon arriving at Blackstone Park, locat-
ed in Boston’s South End, I find a core group
of activists gathered around and inside the
park’s fountain, dramatically reworking the
“myths” of corporate biotechnological domi-
nance through puppetry and theater. Food
Not Bombs is serving food and coffee, a DJ
emits blasts of funk and soul, and the ever
present Boston Police force circles nearby.

Though internet chatter will later criticize
the Biojustice event as a “bio-bust,” I find
a wonderful harmony present in the park.
The relatively small gathering of neighbors
and community members is peaceful, posi-
tive, and inclusive. As a young white male, I
find that a humble and respectful approach
is best suited to productivity. Instead of at-
tempting to take over a neighborhood and
temporarily reclaim the streets, these activ-
ists networked with the local community
and the international Biojustice struggle,
and recognized the importance of perma-
nently restoring community power.

The Common - 5.08.07

Boston Common is just that: a com-
mon space for community to come together.
Originally owned by William Blaxton (often
pronounced “Blackstone,” as in Blackstone
Park), the Common was sold to the city and
over the years has evolved from a lynching
ground to battlefield to concert space to
platform for such notables as Martin Luther
King, Jr. and Pope John Paul II. Today, the
Common is transformed from a static space
to a neoliberal market in reverse, an antidote
to the mediocre and insincere. By offering
mutual exchange and providing an outlet of
sorts for self-sufficiency, the Really Really
Free Market acts as a medium of creativity
and a substitute for the mundane.

On the surface, sun shining and cool
breeze greeting us as we exit the Park subway
stop, the Common appears to be any ordi-
nary city park. Young people gather and play
games, small groups chatter idly, and couples
stroll complacent along concrete paths. Yet
there is an atmosphere of expectation, of
something waiting to happen.

As the cops patrol atop supersized

horses and V8 engines, we read poetry aloud
under a shade tree, collapse, and gather our-
selves again. The Market really was free
here, and the community was one.

It was only later that we learned that
innocent people had been detained for exit-
ing the park in a group. So what happened?
Why was the RRFM such a small, isolated
event? The Market happened later than we
expected, on a different day, so only those
who were “in” on the currents were able to be
there. Those from out of town or who were
not part of the organizing collective would
be ill-informed as to specifics, and only those
who took the time and energy to see what
this group of free-marketeers was all about
would be able to experience just how com-
munity-based, self-sufficient exchange really
works.

In my experience, I found that only
those who unsettled their comfort zone,
asked questions, and acknowledged one an-
other as fellow human beings were able to
fully participate in this idea so radical that
its physical presence had to be violated by
agents of the state.

5.09.07

As an “outsider” to the Boston anti-bio-
tech movement, I was surprised and relieved
to find a strong die-hard presence of com-
mitted folks. Although from the margins
Boston seemed to be inundated with cops
and appeared to have little to no strong mass
movement, there were a number of instances
in which I found comrades in arms in the
struggle against corporate biotechnological
dominance.

(or: a Briefing on how BioTecHnoi_ogY Has FUCKeo up THe Earm so Far)

1990 : Transgenic pigs produces human milk proteins for infant formula
1991 : DNA Plant Technology develops tomato crossed with Arctic floun-
der gene

1994 : FlavrSavr tomato created, first genetically modified food sold in
stores

1 997 : Biotech crops grown commercially on nearly 5 million acres world-
wide

1998 : Hemoglobin producing pigs patented

1999 : Science journal Nature study suggests toxins in Bt corn pollen

harmful to monarch butterfly larvae, confirmed in 2001

2000 : Monsanto begins patenting GM seeds

2002 : Biotech crops grown on 145 million acres in 16 countries

2003 : Worldwide biotech crop acreage hits 1 67.2 acres in 1 8 countries

2006 : American GM rice exports confirmed to be contaminated, and

returned

From the Biojustice 2007 Newspaper, published by The Boston Underground.

06

Photo: Sophie Yon-Gharbi

NO LOVE FOR

Golodiggers

By Sakura Saunders

From the uselessness of the final
product to the dramatic environmen-
tal and social impacts of its excavation,
modern-day gold mining serves as an
absurd illustration of the dangers and
complexity of our global economy.

Hovering at around $630 an ounce,
the price of gold is based both on its de-
mand from the world market (80 per-
cent of which is used for jewelry) and
its supply. The supply is both naturally
and artificially limited; naturally limited
by the 79 tons of waste that is extracted
for every ounce of gold, and artificially
limited by the amount of gold that is
kept in storage vaults by investors and
nations who back their economies by
holding gold reserves. It is estimated
that enough gold is stored in these re-
serves to meet the current gold demand
for 20 years.

The only thing more astonishing
than the 79 ton per ounce ratio is the
fact that this waste is largely toxic. A
portion of this waste is drenched with
cyanide to extract the microscopic flecks
of gold from the ore. The toxic waste,
or tailings, then sits in tailing ponds to
await its reuse. There have been over 30
recorded spills of this toxic substance
(in either its transport or storage) in the
last five years, resulting in massive fish
kills and drinking water contamination.
In some countries, they dump this cya-
nide-laced waste directly into the rivers
and oceans.

And the untreated ground up ore?
Well, this is likely toxic as well. Wher-
ever you find gold, you also typically
find sulfides, such as pyrite (also known

as fool’s gold), and heavy metals. These
ground up sulfides need only to mix
with air and water to create sulfuric
acid, which creates acid mine drainage.
Not only is this acid water destructive
to local plant life and water systems, but
this acid also leaches out heavy metals
- such as mercury, cadmium, and arse-
nic, which in turn pollute the air and the
water. It has been estimated that metals
mining accounts for 96 percent of the
world’s arsenic emissions.

Mining companies often claim that
only a few environmentalists oppose
mining operations at the expense of
the economic development of the com-
munities they purport to represent.
Meanwhile, the companies themselves
promise to bring jobs, build schools and
hospitals, and encourage investment
that will ultimately outweigh the dam-
age to the environment.

The reality of mining, however, con-
flicts with this false dichotomy. Mining
often relies heavily on government sub-
sidies for water and energy, the royalties
that mining companies pay are often
significantly less than other industries,
and the average life of a gold mine is
a mere 14 years. Additionally, countries
rich in gold reserves suffer from the
“resource curse” that ails most other ex-
traction industries.

The “resource curse” is a term coined
to describe how resource rich countries
have statistically lower economic growth
rates than resource deprived ones. It
turns out that countries with great ma-
terial wealth also have a high propensity
for high level government corruption
(hence the “investment incentives” and
light taxation). These large scale opera-

tions often negotiate the displacement
of peoples and destruction of liveli-
hoods directly with the national gov-
ernments, despite resistance from local
governments, such as is the case in the
Philippines, Peru, Indonesia, and Tan-
zania. Hence, you get situations like
in Peru, where a provincial mayor was
pegged with rubber bullets at an anti-
mining demonstration, or in Indonesia
and Papua New Guinea where mine se-
curity has played a role in suppressing
independence movements. In Tanzania,
Village Chairmen served 30 month
prison sentences for allegedly “inciting
villagers to reoccupy their farmlands
and mine pits,” after a Canadian corpo-
ration took over an area that was at the
time being mined and farmed by some
30,000 to 250,000 people.

The infringement of local autonomy
is most pronounced when looking at
the numbers. According to estimates
by Oxfam, 50 percent of newly mined
gold will be from native lands. For many
indigenous people, who often rely on
their environment for food and neces-
sities, mining threatens not only their
livelihood, but also their traditional way
of life. Their lands tend to be vulnerable
to encroachment because of their lack
of power within their country’s politi-
cal system; their land and water rights
are often ignored while their resources
are exploited and their environments
destroyed.

This global exploitation is backed by
both private security and military might.
Many of the same mercenaries who are
now finding work in Iraq got their start
guarding mines and oil fields. These
private militaries operate with impu-

nity in dealing with local conflicts that
often end in injuries and even deaths.
In some countries, mining corporations
will make direct payment to the police
or the country’s military to guard their
gold mine, leading to conflicts of inter-
est when those same police repress pro-
testors at anti-mining demonstrations,
as has happened in the Ancash region
of Peru.

In spite of the threat of repression,
people are wising up to the toxic legacy
of gold mining and these global opera-
tions are increasingly met with resis-
tance. All throughout Latin America,
communities with experience in min-
ing are traveling to those considering
it, sharing their stories of environmen-
tal devastation, economic depression,
and struggle so that others can avoid a
similar path. Meanwhile, more atten-
tion is being focused from within the
countries of the mining corporations,
such as Canada, the US, the UK and
South Africa, to bring attention to the
human rights abuses for which they
are responsible. Through the strength
of the local organizing, coupled with
the support of international solidar-
ity campaigns, some communities have
succeeded in chasing away the threat of
open-pit mining. However, many more
communities continue to feel the pres-
sure of global capital encroaching on
their lands, alongside the promises of
economic development, the rhetoric of
“environmental stewardship,” and, that
failing, force and intimidation.

Sakura Saunders is the North American
editor of www..protestbarrick. net.

When Barrick Gold
SUVs began to ply
the dusty roads of
La Rioja, a group
of four women
met in the town of
Famatina in March
2006 and formed
the "Self-Orga-
nized (Autoconvo-
cados) Neighbors
of Famatina for
Life." Soon a series
of smaller, inclu-
sive groups sprang
up in towns and
villages around
Mt. Famatina to
educate their
neighbors on the

dangers of gold mining - gathering enough political clout that the local govern-
ment introduced an anti-open pit mining referendum and brought the pro-mining
governor to trial for corruption. Mistrustful of the political process to save the
community from the threat of mining, the autoconvocados decided to blockade
the mining road at Penas Negras, some 9,300 feet up Famatina, forcing Barrick to
suspend activities on March 14, 2007.

Less than one
third of Indo-
nesia's military
budget comes
from the national
government.

The rest of the
money is raised
independently
from the military
itself, through
means such as
prostitution, hu-
man trafficking,
and of course...
providing security
for the extrac-
tion industry. It is
estimated that in
2002 alone, New
Orleans-based

Freeport McMoran paid $5 million directly to the Indonesian military for securing
their West Papuan mine, where they have been operating since 1967. Since before
that time, there has been an indigenous struggle or independence for Indonesia,
and Amnesty International has estimated that 100,000 Papuans have died as a
result of government-sponsored violence against West Papuans.

°7

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

FAULT LINES OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2006

in Abya Yala

"The only good Indian is a bad one.”

A report-back from the Continental Summit of Indigenous Nations and Pueblos , by Ramor Ryan. Photos by Marc Becker.

As the historic march flooded into
the old colonial central plaza, there was
a moment of great jubilation. From the
side streets flowed legions of people
from the feeder marchers, swelling the
ranks of the main body. As the rivers
of indigenous marchers merged, a tre-
mendous roar filled the air as hundreds
of smiling faces greeted each other like
long lost brothers and sisters re-unit-
ing — which of course in many respects,
they were.

Guatemala City had never seen any-
thing like it: thousands of Indigenous
people from almost every country of the
Americas coming together, celebrating
their culture, and organizing resistance.
This is the grand finale march on Gua-
temala City to top off the successful
weeklong summit at nearby Iximche.
The grey, suffocating streets are filled for
once not with smog and gridlock, but
with a blaze of color from the forest of
rainbow colored flags and banners, and
the sound of drums and pipes and ma-
racas and the multitude of voices each
with their own distinct language unit-
ing to chant and sing together. Like the
march of an army of the dispossessed —
the invisibles — reclaiming the city of
fear where once, not so long ago, they
were hunted down, disappeared, and
murdered with impunity by the state
security forces.

“After more than 500 years of oppres-
sion and domination,” proclaimed the
Bolivian speaker from the stage before

the cheering crowd, “they have not been
able to eliminate us. Here we are alive
and united with nature. Today we re-
cuperate together our sovereignty.. .Our
task is to begin to govern ourselves.”

THE INTRIGUING
ANNALS OF IXIMCHE

This Third Continental Summit of
Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities of
Abya Yala (referring to the North and
South American continents in the Kuna
language) is being convened amidst the
ebullient upsurge in the fortunes of in-
digenous peoples across the Americas.
The flagship on the rising tide is Evo
Morales presidential victory in Bolivia.
He is not the first indigenous presi-
dent elect in Latin America, but he is
the first indigenous and staunchly left
representative in office — as much part
of the indigenous revival as the Latin
American left turn captained by Ven-
ezuelan President Hugo Chavez. And
this is the starting point of this sum-
mit — indigenous, left, and premised on
the theme “from resistance to power.”

“The indigenous people have de-
cided to recuperate our identity, citi-
zenship, natural resources, and culture,”
explained one representative from Ecua-
dor, “and now we are setting our sights
on taking political power.”

This latest indigenous’ summit (the
first was held in Mexico 2000, followed
by Ecuador, 2004) is being convened in

a suitably prestigious location. The sa-
cred Mayan site of Iximche, 60 miles
outside of Guatemala City is a place
with a both lauded and turbulent past.
The great city was once the capital seat
of the Kaqchikel people. Typical of the
rambunctious nature of indigenous his-
tory in general, Iximche — founded
in 1470 — has a complicated past. The
Kaqchikel first collaborated with the
invading Spanish conquistadores led
by Pedro De Alvarado in 1524, against
their old rivals, the neighboring K’iche
states. Such a duplicitous collabora-
tion soon came undone as they learned
the true nature of the avaricious Span-
iards. The Kaqchikel rebelled, overrun-
ning the Spanish garrison in 1527. The
Spaniards in turn came back in greater
numbers and with new local allies, even-
tually vanquishing the Katchikel.

This week Iximche is transformed
from a museum of the past and a case
study for academics to being a vibrant
theater for political discourse and cul-
tural dynamism. Foremost on the minds
of the organizers is to cleanse the space
of the bad vibes left by President Bush,
who visited here two weeks earlier while
on his monumentally doomed Latin
American tour, despite widespread pro-
test. In an elaborate cleansing ceremo-
ny — signifying ignominy for the US
President — the Mayan priests purify
the space to replace “the politics of war
with a politics of life, dignity, equality,
transparency, inclusive democracy, and

indigenous people’s unity founded on
a sustainable co-existence with Mother
Nature.”

In the shadow of the old ruins, huge
tents have been set up and a flurry of
activities is going on as workshops and
plenums take place in multiple loca-
tions. It is an autonomous space, con-
trolled for the duration of the summit
by the people themselves, without the
presence of cops or authorities from the
state.

Among the hordes of colorfully
dressed delegates, the most prominent
are the enthusiastic 70-strong Bolivian
delegation, wearing distinctively beauti-
ful textiles and the women in their sig-
nature bowler hats. The press is all over
them, snapping away photos, knowing
that this exotic indigenous eye-candy
sells.

But as Ecuadorian Blanca Chancosa
points out in her opening address - “We
are not just for folklore or adornment,
we want to be authors and constructors
(of our own destiny).”

So each day, after the pre-dawn spir-
itual ceremony, such cosmological im-
materialism is overshadowed by hard-
core anti-neoliberal political discourse.
The themes highlighted by the summit
and its numerous workshops and panels
include: land and territory, the depletion
of natural resources, the environment,
climate change, autonomy, migration,
and privatization. Concrete campaigns
and struggle against neo-liberalism,

militarization, the US war and the US
border wall were consolidated, as well
as specific campaigns such as promot-
ing economic alternatives, legalization
of coca leaves and opening up Bolivia’s
access to the sea.

Bolivia’s foreign relations minister
David Choquehuanca sets the tone of
the discussions, quoting a Chotewanka
by saying, “Our minds are colonized,
but not our hearts. It is time to listen to
our hearts, because this is what builds
resistance.” Indigenous people, he said,
should look how to “live well,” to seek
a “culture of life” rather than the one-
dimensional development.

“Our world is not for sale,” contin-
ued Blanca Chancosa. “Bush is not wel-
come here. We want instead people who
support life. Yes to life! Imperialism and
capitalism have left us with a historical
debt and they owe us for this debt.”

Bush is not welcome, but the US
contingents are warmly received. Mak-
ing the link between struggles north and
south — across the despised Rio Brava
wall — a representative from the West-
ern Shoshone people said, “The indig-
enous here are facing the same kind of
issues we are facing in the North, and
face the same threat by the multi-na-
tional corporations such as mining and
environmental contamination. These
affect the traditional foundation of our
nations which is the land, the air, the
water, and spirituality.”

Linking the environmental and the
political is a constant underlying theme
here in this construction of a “culture
of life.” Capitalist neo-liberalism is
fueling environmental destruction, as
Miguel Palacin from Peruvian peasant
organization CONACAMI empha-
sizes: “They are trying to create eco-
nomic blocs to impose treaties based on
the exploitation of nature. But now we
are becoming visible, because they are
messing with Mother Earth, and we are
organizing in order to respond. “

From the panels discussing Territory,
Natural Resources, and the Indigenous
People, Magali Rey Rosa, of the Gua-
temalan Madre Tierra organization has
the final word: “Mother Earth is not

bearing up any more with the kind of
use that the dominant civilization is im-
posing on its ecosystem. Development
is smothering life. If we continue with
this boss,” she said wittily, “our Earth
will not survive.”

THE ZAPATISTA NO-SHOW

The set up of the indigenous summit
is modeled on the World Social Forum,
both in method and style. There is the
usual elaborate registration process, ac-
companied by the ubiquitous parapher-
nalia — t-shirts, shoulder bags, glossy
brochures, and posters. Oxfam and oth-
er NGOs are footing the bill. Consider-
ing that the political formation of many
groups and organizations is old-school
Left, the methodology of the summit is
centralized and hierarchical.

There is little of the new methodol-
ogy of the more anti- authoritarian ele-
ments of the movement — no horizon-
talidad or Zapatista-style assemblies.
Indeed the absence of a Zapatista del-
egation is telling, being so close to Chi-
apas. Chavez and Fidel are the non-in-
digenous inspirations here, not Marcos
or Flores Magon. Said one Guatemalan
delegate hailing from a group linked to
the ex-guerrilla URNG, “We think the
Zapatistas have ceased to have any sig-
nificance.”

So the dominant political overture
is about constituting a new democratic
Left. The new Continental-wide radi-
cal indigenous resurgence is marked by
a division between the Zapatista mod-
el — anti-Capitalist, anti-electoral, and
focused on building grassroots auton-
omy — and the Bolivian model — anti-
neo-liberal, constitutional, and seeking
power by uniting social movements in
a common electoral platform. While
many people in the attending the sum-
mit would probably position them in
varying degrees between the two poles,
the final documents and declarations
clearly assume the latter line.

And going down the constitutional
road in an effort to take political power
necessitates a strong central leader-
ship. As Bladimir Painecura, Mapuche,
points out, “The maturity of the leaders

participating today and the solidity they
bring to the discussions [is the strong-
point of this movement]. As a result of
this maturity, the movements have been
consolidated and bring social transfor-
mation to the nation-state, as witnessed
in Bolivia. Indigenous peoples have ad-
vanced and have continued resisting, so
much so that they have arrived at power,
and are administering well.”

TECPAN : BUILDING A
CULTURE OF LIFE FROM
THE RUINS OF WAR

In a vast old rustic town hall, thou-
sands of delegates join with the local
townspeople to celebrate the finale.
Although Tecpan is a racially evenly
mixed town, it’s noticeable that very
few of the mestizo population have
come out to celebrate with the indig-
enous. The wounds of Guatemala’s
30-year long brutal civil war linger in
rural towns like these despite the peace
accords signed over ten years ago. The
rebels were supported predominantly by
the indigenous poor and the state by the
Mestizo middle class. Tecpan was wit-
ness to guerrilla combat, army massa-
cres, disappearances, and all the horrors
of counter-insurgency repression.

Like all encuentros of this kind,
much of the important work is done be-
yond the official panels and workshops.
At social events like this, personal and
political networking takes precedent.
And the unofficial stories emerge. For
example, why did Nobel Peace Prize
winner and prominent indigenous
rights spokeswoman Rigoberta Men-
chu not appear at the summit? She is
currently running as a presidential can-
didate in the upcoming Guatemalan
election. Although she has little chance
of winning, one would expect support
from this very summit considering she
is indigenous, of the Left, and running
for political power.

“She is a thought to be a pawn of
the Right Wing and the ruling class,” a
community leader from the Coban re-
gion tells me. “She doesn’t represent the
indigenous; she is interested in power

and has cut a deal with the Mestizos and
the rich. They tolerate her so as to show
the world that Guatemala has changed
and has stopped oppressing the indig-
enous. But it’s a lie...”

The time for speeches and presen-
tations has arrived. I discover to my
horror that they are awarding all the
different delegations with plaques to
commemorate their participation in the
event. When the moment arrives to call
the Irish delegates to receive theirs, it
seems I am the only Irish person pres-
ent to accept the award. The other two
Irish are nowhere to be seen. The truth
is that I am here somewhat acciden-
tally — a gatecrasher of sorts — and cer-
tainly don’t merit any sort of accolade.
I had been traveling across Guatemala
on my way to cover a story in Nicaragua
when my Irish magazine, Island, sent an
email to say they had folded, and there
was no more Island to write for. Fortu-
nately the photographer I was traveling
with noticed in the morning newspaper
that there was an indigenous summit
taking place nearby. So we came here
on a whim. Now I am approaching
the organizing committee who are all
smiling broadly to collect the plaque,
and I’m wondering what I can possibly
say. What have the Irish ever done to
help the indigenous of the Americas
throughout the ages? Should I quote
the infamous US General of Irish de-
scent, Philip Sheridan — the racist mass
murderer who led the “Indian Wars” in
the 1860s — accredited with the charm-
ing ditty “The only good Indian is a
dead one”?

I am spared the ordeal as someone
snatches away the microphone to make
an important announcement. I scurry
away with the impressive ornament
feeling like a bit of a shyster. Later on,
over strong local hooch given out for
free for those delegates still going strong
by midnight, a garrulous Canadian del-
egate is telling me about the militant
Six Nations struggle in Ontario where
the indigenous resurgence is gaining
ground, and he re-quotes Sheridan.
“You see, buddy, the only good Indian is
a bad Indian!” Yo, high five — slap!

(ftp)

09

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

Heiligendamm Report Back

By David Zlutnick

This year’s meeting of the Group of 8
(G8, the 7 richest nations in the world:
Great Britain, United States, Germany,
France, Japan, Italy, and Canada, plus
Russia) was held in the resort of Hei-
ligendamm, Germany from June 6-8.
At the meeting, the 13 percent of the
world’s population was “represented” to
decide policies that will have tremen-
dous effects on the other 87 percent of
the world.

In response, tens of thousands of
demonstrators arrived in the area in an
effort to shut down the summit. The
reasons for such a confrontation include
the G8’s policies on aid to Africa, the
propagation of neoliberal economic
globalization, the neglect of the fight
against AIDS, the inherent and rabidly
undemocratic nature of the G8 itself,
among many others.

Repression

On May 9, state repression of anti-
G8 organizing exploded with the raid of
40 sites including private homes, social
centers, and the alternative web provid-
er S036.net. Police searched the sites
of what were to be convergence centers
in Hamburg and Berlin to stop leftist
groups from allegedly forming “terror-
ist groups.” However, after the police
admitted they had made no arrests and
found absolutely no evidence of a ter-
rorist plot or any illicit materials, it be-
came quite obvious that the real reason
behind the raids was simply to smash
the infrastructure that had formed to
counter the G8 summit. But the plans
of the German police failed as, follow-
ing the raids, thousands spontaneously
took to the streets in cities across Ger-
many to denounce the raids and public
support for the G8 opposition grew tre-
mendously.

Around the actual site of the sum-
mit in Heiligendamm, a 12 km security
fence was built at a cost of $17 million
in order to protect the grounds from
protests, and a no-go zone was created
to keep people from getting anywhere
near the fence. In May, the Kavala (spe-
cial police) banned most of the planned
permitted demonstrations. After law-
suits were filed for reasons of unconsti-
tutionality, many were then re-permit-
ted, only to be banned once again days

before the G8 began.

Another measure the German state
took to repress the anti-G8 movement
was the use of travel bans and the clo-
sure of relatively open borders within
the European Union. This same tactic
was used to defend the G8 in Genoa in
2001, where activists were turned away
at the French border and prevented
from entering Italy.

This power that was granted under a
supposed“State
of Emergency”
was, in actual-
ity, used less
than many
people thought
it would be.

But there is
one case worth
mentioning in
which a group
of Polish an-
archists were
stopped on a
train while at-
tempting to
enter Germany.

The group was
told that if they
entered the
country they
would be immediately arrested, and in
response they occupied their train car,
hanging banners out the windows, and
were soon joined by five Germans. After
hours of threats, the group left the train
when the German border patrol said
that an anti-terror unit would board the
car if they remained.

Hamburg and the AS EM

Conference

The international demonstrations
began on May 28 in Hamburg, the first
day of the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting
(ASEM). ASEM is an inter-regional
forum consisting of the European Com-
mission and the 27 members of the EU
and the 14 members of the ASEAN
(Association of Southeast Asian Na-
tions) Plus Three regional grouping.
The “Three Pillars” of the ASEM con-
ference are political dialogue, security
and economy, and education and cul-
ture.

At least 5,000 people — several thou-
sand in the black bloc alone — marched

from the St. Pauli neighborhood of
Hamburg. The original route of the
march was changed last minute by the
police, despite the demonstration orga-
nizers having secured proper permits.
Thousands of riot police (almost out-
numbering protesters) lined the march,
completely surrounding it, and numer-
ous police vans, water cannons, and ar-
mored tank-like vehicles used for clear-
ing barricades, followed closely behind.

The spirit
was lively as
the black bloc
led the march
through the
city streets,
followed by a
diverse crowd
of marching
bands, dancers,
and various
leftist groups
and parties.

As the
march neared
its destina-
tion — the
Hamburg city
hall where the
conference
was taking
place — riot police cut off the demon-
stration. Some of the black bloc ended
up on the other side of the police line
and watched quietly while riot cops
kept back the rest of the march.

Soon scuffles broke out between
demonstrators and riot police, as the
latter began to forcibly end the march.
From that the situation escalated un-
til a small riot broke out. Bottles were
thrown at police vans and riot units, and
snatch squads chased after small groups
of black-clad protesters. A molotov
cocktail streaked through the sky but
missed its target of a police van below.
Fireworks were popping off from all di-
rections. And water cannons soon raced
through the streets, blasting away as the
crowd dispersed.

Close by, other groups from the black
bloc had successfully made their way to
the city hall, and small street battles be-
gan with the police at the security fence.
At one point a riot cop — who had taken
off his helmet and armor — was caught
alone outside his van as the riots drew
close. And in a moment reminiscent of
Genoa and the death of Carlo Giuliani,

the officer drew his gun. But just as he
raised his gun in the air, the back win-
dow of his van exploded from behind
him by some flying object, and he re-
treated to cover.

The police eventually withdrew, after
taking 86 prisoners throughout the day.

Back at Rote Flora — the huge squat-
ted theater serving as a social center and
convergence point for the G8 demon-
strations — there was an excited atmo-
sphere as the militant march had largely
been able to hold its ground against the
repressive police measures, and people
anxiously discussed their journeys to
Rostock, where the anti-G8 movement
would be based.

Rostock Convergence Center

Many months before anybody came
to Rostock for the G8, German activists
moved there in order to prepare the nec-
essary infrastructure needed to oppose
such a summit. Rostock lies roughly 30
km from Heiligendamm and served as
the main point from which the protests
were to be centered. Amazingly, the city
(slightly disgruntled at the enormous
costs of having such a summit nearby)
donated a school building for use as a
convergence center.

The Elm-Welk School was a four-
story building with three wings, covered
ground to roof in revolutionary murals,
banners, and graffiti. It housed a large
Indymedia Center, equipped with com-
puters and video editing stations, as
well as a radio broadcasting over three
continents. There were also two press
groups operating, sending press releases
to thousands of media outlets in over 35
countries. There were numerous rooms
were set aside for sleeping, a large kitch-
en, a bar, a cafe, art room, and outdoor
bike workshop, among other facilities.
Despite threats of Nazi attacks and po-
lice raids, the convergence center func-
tioned throughout the summit and was
a valuable asset for the demonstrations.

Many times a tense atmosphere
hung over the school during periods
where police or Nazi raids seemed a se-
rious risk. Only on June 7 was there any
serious confrontation, however. A large
group of local Nazis, numbering from
50-70, gathered at the Convergence
Center. Soon, organized anti-fascist
groups from the surrounding camps ar-

During the 1999 anti-WTO
protests in Seattle, the small
black bloc was generally
thought of as a success by the
more confrontational wing of
the radical movement, and that
was possible because the
massive nonviolent blockades
detracted most of the police
attention. Here the situation
was exactly the opposite.

Protestors are completely enclosed by riot police as they
march through the St. Pauli neighborhood of Hamburg.

rived at the school to form a counter-
presence. Police then arrived, surround-
ed the Nazi group, and acted as a buffer.
Despite pledging not to raid the school,
the police did set up a checkpoint for
anyone entering or leaving the building
and conducted mandatory searches, al-
legedly looking for “weapons.”

June 2nd- Make Capitalism History

The Riots in Rostock-

June 2 marked the first day of action
against the G8 with the Make Capital-
ism History march bringing together a
very diverse crowd of tens of thousands
from NGOs, trade unions, Communist
groups, various leftist organizations, a
5,000-person black bloc, and 13,000
German police.

The riot police attempting to control
the demonstrations were pelted with
bottles and rocks as cobble stones were
torn up from the street for additional
ammo. Cars were flipped and one set
alight for use as barricades, as well as
dumpsters and other objects. One police
van was destroyed after being caught on
the wrong side of the street fighting.

Police used pepper spray to keep back
anyone who got too close, including
nonviolent activists and even the large
numbers of press present with video and
still cameras. As things progressed, they
used water canons and tear gas. By the
end of the day, over 125 protesters had
been arrested in Rostock, and according
mainstream press accounts over 500 in-
jured — 433 of them police officers.

This last figure is widely believed to
be extremely exaggerated by police and
media. But it is certain that many more
injuries than reported were sustained by
demonstrators, as they were typically
treated by the medical collectives who
do not cooperate with the authorities,
or simply not treated at all. It is also
fairly safe to assume that the protest-
ers’ injuries were far more serious than
those of the police for lack of protective
armor and helmets, and weapons to in-
flict damage.

June 6th

On the morning of June 6, people
began to leave the camps to head to-
ward different blockade points as part
of the coordinated Block G8 effort.
Police attempted to stop the different
convergences, but it proved impossible
as protesters dispersed throughout the
fields. By the time the first main group
reached the no-go zone they numbered
5,000. Police helicopters hovered over-
head but generally did not engage the

demonstrators below.

Surprisingly, police harassment was
not as severe as was expected. They
searched some buses and detained oth-
ers, but the massive repression that had
been expected never came to fruition.

Later, however, as about 2,000 peo-
ple trekked through fields towards the
security fences, police chased them with
water cannons and tear gas. Helicop-
ters occasionally landed teams of riot
units to control the demonstrations,
but overall, direct confrontations were

rare. By afternoon, the blockades were
deemed to generally be a success as over
10,000 people participated. Five thou-
sand blocked Gate 2 alone after skirt-
ing police lines, and most of the roads
into Heiligendamm were blocked either
by protesters or police. Around 2:30pm
about 500 participated in dismantling
part of a NATO-constructed security
fence.

Riot police crushed several of the
smaller autonomous blockades later in
the afternoon, brutally arresting dozens.
Police officially cleared the West Gate
at 5pm after a snatch squad had encir-
cled a group of clowns.

The large blockade at Gate 2, how-
ever, was still present by nightfall at
around 9pm. The group numbered
around 1,000 decided to stay overnight.
By this time around 200 people had
been arrested during the day, about 60
of which happened in a parking lot near
the Rostock-Laage airport.

June 7 th

At 9:30am, a group of 2,000 began
their walk north towards the fence.

Meanwhile the blockade at Gate 2
was still active. Supporters arrived with
food and supplies early in the morning.
The police presence was strong but at
around 11am twenty police vans and a
tank left the gate — presumably to head
towards the abandoned Gate 1 where
the march from Reddelich was expected
to arrive.

Around noon water cannons arrived
at Gate 1 just in time to meet the Red-
delich march as they emerged from the
woods and scattered into the fields.
About 200 protesters were at the gate
and surrounded by police as they gave
the first order to disperse. By 1pm al-
most 3,000 people were present at Gate
1. The police attempted to push two
groups together in order to clear the
road. Scuffles broke out as police used
water cannons, tear gas, and batons to
push the crowd and the demonstrators
pushed back using banners to try re-

connnueD on paqe 19

Roadblocks were a daily presence, from protestors
blocking foreign dignitaries to police blocking protestors.

Police meet demonstrators as they exit the train leading 3

into Rostock. £

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II

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

Anti-G8 Fallout: Learning from Past Actions

Fault Lines interviewed Josh Wolf and Gabe Meyers, the two people targeted by the federal and local authori-
ties after the July 8, 2005 Anarchist Action Anti-G8 demonstration. Anti-capitalist protests and demonstrations
against the G8, WTO, and other institutions that represent neo-colonial domination and corporate globalization,
have always been met with more aggression and hostility than normal marches for peace. Granted, these demon-
strators are often much more militant. With a police officer injured and a police car damaged, the authorities felt
a need to subpoena and prosecute. Here are their stories...

12

By Nico Rahim

Fault Lines: The consensus is you were
committing an act of journalism, and were
protected under the California Shield
Law. In some interviews you said that the
Feds were on a witch-hunt. What kind of
witches do you think they were after?

Josh Wolf: It seems they were after an-
archists and anarchism in general. But it
also seems like a multi-level attack on civil
dissent, and on anyone who demonstrates
against this administration going all the
way up to the US Attorneys who were
fired. Which couldn’t be that much far-
ther from anarchism.

FL: Were you surprised at the support you
received from the mainstream media?

JW: Yeah, I guess pleasantly surprised
would be a good way to sum it up. It didn’t
seem shocking; it seemed sensible. It sort
of mitigated some of my distrust around
the mainstream media, and its entirely be-
ing fucked to the core.

FL: You have described your video blog as
transparent journalism, transparent in that
your biases are open and transparent to all.
What is the significance of radical media,
independent media, and other media that
is not afraid about taking stands in social
justice movements?

JW: When it comes to civil dissidence,
the mainstream media only covers from
the cops’ perspective - to reinforce the sta-
tus quo. Half of the dialogue is missing,
so independent media and the alterna-
tive press fills in the other half of the
conversation...

The mainstream news sources do
serve a purpose, but if you look at it like
there is a pie of information, that’s just
one-eighth — one slice — out of the giant
pie of things that we, as educated and in-
formed people, should really stay abreast of

FL: Going back to the Anarchist Action
demonstration in San Francisco against
the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles, it
seemed like two police officers in one cop
car were the catalyst of the violence, by
breaking ranks and going after the pro-
testers instead of letting it die down on its
own.

JW: That’s partially right. It’s not that the
two police officers broke ranks with the
tactical police force covering the demon-
stration; they were actually on duty patrol-
ling the Mission. They were responding
to a 911 call about vandalism by people in
black, which was not at that time known
by the dispatch to be a part of the dem-
onstration.

FL: Not to justify violence against the
police, but was the fallout caused by the
police being overly aggressive in trying to
disburse the remaining demonstrators?

JW: When you look at the policemen,
you have to look at Shields and Wolf, who
were the police officers involved in that
thing, arriving on the scene. Prior to that
[the police] were almost respectively. . .it
was weird, when they called over the loud-
speakers to disperse, they were like, “The
officers from the San Francisco Police De-
partment order you to disperse. Failure
to do so will result in you being arrested.”
That sounded like something they don’t
say, it was far different from their normal

San Francisco police officer Peter Shields on the ground with a fractured
skull after receiving a blow to the head while clubbing protestors.

shouts. Then Shields and Wolf showed
up and I guess got freaked out and decid-
ed that the best approach was to acceler-
ate the car in the hopes it would force the
protestors to disperse. Which is obviously
a highly dangerous tactic. And their re-
sponse to that was to chase after the two
people they almost hit. . .was just obscene.

To give some context: The year prior
there was a Reclaim the Streets demon-
stration on June 8, 2004, to correspond
with the G8 Summit in on Sea Island.
The police mass arrested 120 people.
They surrounded everyone at 5th and
Market and then arrested everyone who
was there— there was no disperse order or
anything. A number of those people did
not want to give their names to the police
so in a jail solidarity action about 40 peo-
ple identified themselves as Jane and John
Doe. The government refused to release
the protestors until they gave their names.

They eventually worked out a deal
that they would drop the charges, prior
to them giving their names, which would
be retroactively reversed if they didn’t give
their names. So here we have a situation
where some government entity was prob-
ably seeking the names of protestors on
June 8, 2004. So this just reinforces the
thought that this was again just some sort
of witch-hunt to identify those who were
protesting.

FL: So the reason you stayed in jail for
so long was not because you didn’t want
to release your unpublished video, but be-
cause you did not wish to testify in front of
the grand jury about your video?

JW: They wanted the footage because
they wanted all of the intelligence they
could gather, but what they really wanted,

which never really came out in court, was
for me to testify and give the identities of
those on the footage. After we had lost
the fight in the 9th circuit level to protect
the footage, we actually offered to show
the US Attorney that there was nothing
on the tape. We submitted a declaration
saying there’s nothing on the tape. [My
lawyers said] how about we just turn over
the tape and you let Josh go. [And the US
Attorney responded] “No, we need his
testimony.”

FL: What do you say to those who say
that your case was a waste of time because
you weren’t protecting anything?

JW: There are some things that are worth
fighting for, but when you lose the fight
seeing that you are only protecting the
right to fight it, you might as well just
show them that you have nothing in your
hand. It’s kind of like when you’re playing
a poker game, you might want to bluff a
hand, but when it comes to all in and you
really have nothing, then there’s no reason
to stay all in.

FL: It seems the federal government will
continue to crack down on civil dissent, es-
pecially on those who should be protected
and aren’t professional journalists. Do you
see anyone else being put through the or-
deal that you were put through in the near
future?

JW: It will probably be someone related to
the something like the Wen Ho Lee case,
and I imagine it will be highly unlikely
that it will be an independent journalist.

Josh Wolf served 226 days in prison, longer than any other journalist in US
history. He is pictured above with videocamera in hand.

Photo: Steve Rhodes

ad imerview with cjaee meyers

By Matt Gereghty

Fault Lines: What happened after the
squad car started toward the crowd?

Gabe Meyers: That guy was just driv-
ing through there like it’s the Indy 500
or something. And I don’t really see any
reason he would drive into this crowd
other than to run people over. . .1 ran out
of the way and dropped my sign. It went
under the wheels and that’s when he hit
the brakes.

His partner got out, chased me, tack-
led me, strangled me, and put me in a
chokehold in front of all these people, and
people took a picture and it was on video-
Josh Wolf’s video. Then the driver [who]
had barreled into a crowd, he gets out of
his car — and this is even confirmed in the
police report — and he starts using his ba-
ton on some people... So somebody hit
him over the head.

He’s gotten a lot of sympathy because
he got his skull cracked, which has kind
of made him out to be the good guy. I
mean, just because that happened to him
shouldn’t get him off the hook for trying to
run people over with a car. . .1 don’t really
condone hitting him in the head, it could
have killed him. . .But you know, if you try
to run people over with your car, and then
you beat them with your nightstick, well,
duh, what do you think’s going to hap-
pen? Nobody’s going to put up with that
shit. . .I’m sorry the guy got beaten up but
you know, he initiated the whole incident.

When they talk about it in public,
with the media and so forth, the real story
is not being told. . .All that you saw on TV
was ‘whatever, it was a violent anarchist
protest and this police officer had his head
cracked in and his police car was set on fire’
and, you know, that’s not the whole story
there — this guy started the whole thing by
trying to mn people over.

FL: So what exactly were the charges they
tried you for?

GM: This is really weird; getting charged
with lynching is pretty rare and most of
the time when people get charged with it
they’re trying to
do it to somebody
else. Meaning
they’re trying to
take someone out
of [police] custo-
dy. . .This police
officer who was
photographed
and videotaped
trying to strangle
me ‘til my face
was bright red —
this guy decided
to charge me
with a felony of lynching myself— in other
words saying that I tried to take myself out
of his custody by trying to incite a crowd.
By saying the words “help me” while he
had me in this chokehold.

FL: How long were you detained?

GM: I was only in custody for less than
a week

FL: What was it like after that?

GM: It was a major pain in the ass. Hav-
ing to show up for court. Other than that
it was just kind of psychological, even
though I knew it was bullshit. . .

The police were mad because they
didn’t catch who they were looking for,
and they wanted a scapegoat and they
wanted it to be me. I was the only person
they charged with a felony.

FL: Did you feel like you had a lot of

support during all of this?

GM: I got some supporters who came
out. There were a lot of hearings. There
were always a few people, and I think that’s
where you really see who your friends are.

I think a criticism of some of the or-
ganizers is that
they didn’t
show me that
much sup-
port. I didn’t
really see a lot
of them show
up. But I had
some good
people show
up, some of
the grand jury
resistors. It’s
important. I
think it’s really
cool when people show their support. You
really can build a bond through a thing
like this.

I was just some guy who got arrested
and got caught in the wrong place at the
wrong time. I think they just want to be
mean and harass you for 18 months and
shit like that. I just had to put up with this
shit and watch everything else go down,
like Josh Wolf.

I kind of feel like Josh Wolf wouldn’t
have been in prison if people would have
spoken up more. In hindsight I think I
should have made more noise about it as
well. But my lawyers had advised me just
to keep quiet. There were a lot of witness-
es who saw the cops beating on people. I
saw a lot of stuff posted on Indybay. I saw
one legal observer, who was also a law-
yer, had made a statement at one of Josh
Wolf’s first appearances in federal court
and in a press conference, and basically he
said what happened— that they just drove
into the crowd and started beating people

To me going into a working-class neighbor-
hood like the Mission and causing chaos
and smashing windows, even though those
are corporate structures and so forth, we’re
still in a neighborhood— I think the energy
could have been directed better... I think a
lot of people in the Mission, just because
they might not want these big corporations,
they don’t necessarily want all this chaos
going on.

www.flnorchijf

ac t | orv,o»

Pictures above (clockwise) : An-
archist Action sign that led the
march. Newspaper boxes litter the
street of the Mission. Officer Wolf
with Gabe Meyers in a choke-hold.
Masked activists holding anti-G8
sign. PG&E office with paint splat-
tered windows. Activist with Anar-
chist Action pamphlet in hand.

with batons and choking people — well,
me. But I guess that’s the whole thing
with the media control issue — that those
sorts of things were able to get hushed up
or played down even though people were
saying them publicly. There just wasn’t
enough people saying them.

Maybe I should have started getting
the story out earlier, it’s just hard when
there’s charges coming against you.

FL: Having been the one person blamed
for the actions of an entire group of people,
what did you think about the behavior of
the rest of the crowd?

GM: To me, going into a working-class
neighborhood like the Mission and caus-
ing chaos and smashing windows, even
though those are corporate structures and
so forth, were still in a neighborhood — I
think the energy could have been directed
better. . .1 think a lot of people in the Mis-
sion, just because they might not want
these big corporations, they don’t neces-
sarily want all this chaos going on.

I don’t necessarily have a problem
with people being militant but you’ve got
be smart about it. I want those corpora-
tions out of the Mission. I don’t like their
domination here in trying to take every-
thing over. That’s one of the effects of the
G8, and it makes me want to protest. It’s
good to go to the Mission and say, “Get
out of our neighborhood, we don’t want
you taking everything over and exploiting
people.”

But I think that just to go in there and
kinda go nuts and throw things through
windows and shit like that, I mean there’s
people inside there too. . .It could be a per-
son that lives here in the Mission that’s
working this shitty job because they need
the money. I guess it’s just one of those
things that you’ve got to be smart about.

pq

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FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

The housing situation in San Fran-
cisco is a prime example of the great-
est evil of capitalism. Only those who
can afford it get to be housed. Everyone
else lives on the streets. They get trash
talked by neighbors and politicians alike
for the sin of being homeless. They are
arrested or cited with “quality of life” ci-
tations.

The situation couldn’t be worse —
unless you throw into the mix the fact
that landlords in San Francisco have the
ultimate weapon against tenants they
want to get rid of: The Ellis Act. Even
with all of the tenant protections, rent-
ers have in a “progressive” enclave such
as San Francisco, one can be tossed out
into a housing market where rents are
astronomical, just because some specu-
lator wants to turn a building into over-
priced tenancies-in-common (TICs,
pronounced like the bloodsucking crit-
ter).

Various solutions have been proposed
for the housing crisis in San Francisco.
Most of these options involve band-
aiding a system that is problematic to
begin with. Real change will only come
by changing how we do housing in
America. That means housing can no
longer be a commodity. As long as it is,
there will be a basic inequity: those who

can afford to rent or buy versus those
who can’t. Housing is a basic human
need and should be guaranteed, just as
healthcare is in many countries.

In the meantime before we get to
that point, however, there are things
that affordable housing advocates in
San Francisco can fight for. They’re still
band-aids on a sick system, but they
will give working-class and poor people
more of a chance at affording to live
here. They include:

1) A moratorium on market-rate
housing. The last thing San Francisco
needs is more housing for the rich.

2) A moratorium on condo conver-
sions. Every condo that is converted
from the rent-controlled stock is the loss
of a unit that’s price is controlled while
the tenant lives there — not to mention
displaces a person paying low rent.

3) Vacancy control, which puts price
restrictions on a unit after the ten-
ant moves out. Under vacancy control,
a landlord can only jack up the rent a
small percentage for the next tenant.
Right now, it’s prohibited by state law
(Costa-Hawkins).

4) Community land trusts. The land
is purchased by a nonprofit entity and
taken off the market forever. The ten-

ants who live there either rent or pur-
chase at 30 percent of their income. It
is similar to a co-op, only there is no
equity in a land trust.

5) Squatter’s rights. If a building is
vacant, why can’t people make use of it?

A radical \ southern Italian, working-
class queer, Tommi Avicolli Mecca works
by day for the Housing Rights Committee
of SF, a tenant’s rights organization.

IN SAN FRANCISCO, TENANTS HAVE RIGHTS!

By the San Francisco Tenants Union

MOST HOUSING UNITS IN SF ARE RENT CONTROLLED. IF YOURS IS, YOUR LANDLORD CAN ONLY EVICT YOU FOR A 'JUST CAUSE.”
YOUR LANDLORD CANNOT EVICTYOU JUST BECAUSE THEY FEEL LIKE IT. IF YOUR LANDLORD IS TRYING TO EVICT YOU, GET HELP!

•Your landlord can never force you to sign a new lease that is different
from your original lease. (Your landlord can evict you for refusing to
sign an identical lease.)

•Your landlord must provide you with a habitable residence. "Habit-
able” means, among other things, that your unit is in good, safe condi-
tion with a sturdy front door and heat. Leaks, infestations, electrical
problems, and mold— if not caused directly by your actions— are the
landlord's responsibility to repair.

•If your building is sold, you do not need to sign a new lease. Your old
lease is still valid, and (if your building is covered under rent control)
your landlord still cannot evict you without a just cause.

•You do not need to let your landlord into your apartment, unless
he/she is completing a necessary repair or showing the building to
prospective buyers. Your landlord needs to give you 24 hours written
notice under those circumstances, and you can negotiate fora reason-
able time.

•If you are a rent-controlled tenant, your landlord can only raise your
rent by a small amount every year. (It's usually around two percent.)

•Master tenants are considered landlords when there is a conflict with
subtenants. Certain "just cause” regulations apply to them. It is illegal
for master tenants to charge subtenants more than a fair pro-

portional share of the rent. Master tenants must disclose the full rent
of the apartment, if asked by a subtenant.

•If an original tenant (lease-holder) moves out, and additional room-
mates stay on, the landlord cannot evict the roommates.

•Your landlord cannot retaliate against you for asserting your rights!
Keep a record of landlord (and building manager) activity. Keep a
record of everything you do, too. Put requests for repairs and other
communication in writing so that you have a good record, just in case.
(Email is fine.)

•If you request it, your landlord must inspect the apartment during
your last two weeks there and provide a list of all the damages that
he/she plans to charge for. This gives you a chance to do any needed
cleaning or repairs before moving out and avoid deductions from the
deposit.

•Rent Control applies to all units in San Francisco that were con-
structed before 1979. However, if you live in a single-family home,
your landlord can raise your rent to any amount for any reason. If you
live in a condo (recently renovated) unit, or live with your landlord, you
are not covered under rent control. Illegal units (units that are not up
to housing code standards) and residential hotels are covered under
rent control.

For more info, contact the San Francisco Tenant’s Union by phone at (415) 282-6622), check out their website at http://www.sftu.org/ or drop by 558 Capp St. in SF

14

photo by miLes “otis” Mcsreen

What Do More Condos
Mean for the Mission?

By Emma Gerould

At a time when affordable family
housing is on the political agenda, Sev-
en Hills Properties is pushing a condo
development through the planning
process for 60 new condos and anoth-
er Walgreens Drug Store. The site in
questions is 3400 Cesar Chavez Street
(at Mission), now a empty parking lot
where day laborers wait for work daily.

Mission Anti-Displacement Coali-
tion (MAC) and others from the Mis-
sion and Bernal Heights are opposing
the condos because the project does not
reflect the community’s needs - afford-
able family housing and mitigating ris-
ing land costs.

The proposal is not an isolated de-
velopment. Condos are being built
throughout the Mission. Recently,
condos went up on Mission and 29th
Street and many more, like 700 Valencia
Street, are in the pipeline.

Based on the projected cost of the
proposed condos, less than 10 percent
of the neighborhood earns enough to
move into one. What does it mean
when over 90 percent of residents can-
not afford to buy these new condos? It
means that residents of this tradition-
ally low-income neighborhood will be
priced out of their own community by
sky-rocketing land values. The Mis-
sion, along with the Castro and the
Haight, has one of the highest levels of
Ellis Act* and owner-move in evictions
in San Francisco.

Seven Hills Properties claim that the
3400 Cesar Chavez condos will be avail-
able for local families. Nothing could be
further from the truth. To be able to af-
ford such a condo, a family or individual
must make a median annual income of
$203,000. The median income in the
area stands at $44,000. The majority
of the condos would be one bedroom
apartments. The few affordable hous-
ing units proposed in the development
are not a gesture of goodwill, but the 15
percent minimum required by law. Only
four units would be for family housing.
Despite the developer’s claims, these
units are not affordable. In fact, they
cost too much to qualify for assistance
through the city’s Downpayment Assis-
tance Loan Program.

Mission residents and community
groups have simultaneously been creat-
ing an alternative plan for the site that
would prioritize the community’s needs
and includes affordable housing and
community services.

More condos for the Mission mean
higher eviction rates and pricing families
out of their homes. Testify at the Board
of Supervisors to stop the Cesar Chavez
Condos: affordable family housing not
market rate condos. To stay informed
email jmartin@bhnc.org

For more info, call (415) 206 2140
ext. 155.

THE ELLIS ACT DEFINED

The Ellis Act is a state law that says
landlords have the unconditional right
to evict tenants to “go out of business.”
For an Ellis eviction, the landlord must
remove all of the units in the building
from the rental market. The apartments
cannot be re-rented, except at the same
rent the evicted tenant was paying, for
five years following the evictions. There
are no such restrictions on converting
them to ownership units (e.g., tenancies
in common or condos).

EEis Act evictions generally are used
to “change the use” of the building. Most
Ellis evictions are used to convert rental
units to condominiums using loopholes
in the condo law.

BEWARE OF ELLIS THREATS:

Filing an Ellis Act with the Rent
Board means that the re-rental restric-
tions will be recorded on the deed of
the property. Thus landlords are mo-

tivated to issue Ellis “warnings” and
“advisories” to the tenants. These are
not legal eviction notices but nonethe-
less are perceived as eviction notices by
tenants — don’t move based on a bluff!

FIGHT THE ELLIS: Defenses
may be limited, but tenants who fight
the Ellis eviction win surprisingly often.
Tenants who don’t win often drag out
the eviction for well over a year and get
into a position where they can settle on
their terms.

From the SFTU website— www.sftu.org

SB 464 is a bill before the California
State Senate that would limit use of the
EEis Act. The bill would require three
years of ownership before EEis Act evic-
tions, Emiting the abEity for speculative
realtors to buy up rent controEed hous-
ing and evict people for a profit-sadly a
huge business in the Bay Area.

Former Tenant Pickets as Realtors Try to Sell House

By Susan

Currendy, I am picketing the building
I was Ellised* from in 2001 by specula-
tors Michael Gallin and Elba Borgen.
The apartments were sold as TICs*, in
2003 and 2004 after the building sat
empty for almost two years. Three of
the four apartments are for sale again as
TICs. The purpose of the picket is to

make sure prospective buyers know the
building’s history. While an EEis Act
eviction must be recorded on the deed,
many realtors try to hide this informa-
tion or omit it in their initial advertis-
ing.

At the first open house I attended
I discovered this was indeed the case.
People I spoke to told me the realtor
was being vague. While I was stand-
ing in front of the budding, the realtor
told me herself “weU, these people [the
current owners] didn’t do an Ellis.” I
pointed out that it made no difference
who did it. The effect was the same-
tenants were evicted.

By the second week, she had totaEy
changed her tune. She was revealing it
before being asked, although stEl trying
to minimize the fact by saying that her
clients didn’t do it. A few people have
asked me why I bothered to picket the
house. I have observed people change.
On one Sunday, at least ten different
people thanked me, said they wouldn’t
buy it, wouldn’t go in, etc. One person I
spoke to was another real estate broker,
and even he thanked me because he said
his client didn’t want to buy where ten-

ants had been evicted. I have seen the
change in media coverage of Ellis evic-
tions. I have taken part in other pickets
and have seen the looks on peoples faces
when you teU them who used to live in
the building they are looking at. Many
of them express disgust and walk away.

According to the Rent Board, there
has been a 20 percent drop in Ellis evic-
tions since Proposition B-the proposi-
tion which mandated disclosure of se-
nior and disabled evictions-passed in
June 2006. Disclosure works.

What is unusual about 1879 Oak is
the timing of this picket. The former
tenants are still around, six years later. I
would encourage people to continue to
attend pickets, ask questions, and gen-
erally raise doubt about the solidness
of TICs as investments. In real estate
terms, buildings that take longer to seU
result in lower prices. Taking the profit
out of evictions is the only thing greedy
real estate speculators understand.

’"Ellised: Evicted by a landowner
evoking the “Ellis Act” (see text box).

* TIC: “Tenancy In Common” hous-
ing unit. Can be used to technicaEy ap-

ply an Ellis Act eviction in order to evict
tenants of a rent controlled unit.

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15

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

16

Who owns the land that you live on?
Who controls the space around us, be-
tween the street and the walls of anoth-
er rented building? Who gets to decide
what happens on a long neglected street
corner? These questions cut to the root
of a battle our neighborhood fought to
save a street-side garden and claim a
little bit of land as a commons for all
to enjoy.

In the middle of our neighborhood
sits a vacant lot. For decades this land
grew nothing but weeds and trash and
neighbors grew more disgusted by the
sight of the overgrown land. Actually
it’s remarkable that this plot was never
developed, sitting catty corner to Gold-
en Gate Park, in the inner Richmond,
the land is just a shade too small to be
buried under another apartment build-
ing.

In January 2007, in the midst of our
driest winter on record, some friends
got together and planted fava beans.
We took some old shovels and turned
the encrusted Earth that sat inches
from the well traveled sidewalk of Ful-
ton Street. With no fence to separate it
from passersby this land represents a bit
of an anomaly. The sight of folks dig-
ging and planting seeds drew more than
a little attention. People on the street
stopped to stare, many smiling and a
few talking with us about the land.

Fava beans are a good way to start a
garden. They are easy to grow and after a
good night of soaking they need almost
no water. Favas help fix nitrogen from
the air into the soil. They can be eaten
at almost any stage, fresh greens for sal-
ad, green beans in a stir-fry or big soup

beans when fully mature. But mostly our
favas were growing the idea of a garden.
With little effort these plants changed
the appearance of the lot just enough
that people knew something was hap-
pening. Our experiment was a success
and soon every time we stepped foot on
the land to check on our growing bean
crop neighbors came out of their houses
to see what was going on. People were
happy to see something finally hap-
pening with the lot. Everyone knew
something
about the
place. We
heard sto-
ries about
when it had
been a love-
ly yard 30
years ago
and about
all the
things that
had hap-
pened to
bring it to its current state of neglect.

We tilled more ground and soon rows
of lettuce and potatoes grew amongst
garlic and peas. The lot started to look
more like a small farm and we attracted
more attention than ever. The more
time I spent in the garden the more I
realized that what we were really grow-
ing was community. I eventually came
to know dozens of people on our block;
people that I had lived next to for more
than a year and never had the opportu-
nity to meet.

Along with the gratitude expressed
we heard ominous tales of the land
owner. Several long time residents

knew the landlady, Aileen O’Driscoll.
They warned us not to go above her
radar. We heard stories about spiteful
evictions and it seemed that contact-
ing her was out of the question. Our
hope was that by the time she found out
about the garden it would be amazing
and beautiful and there would be no way
she could deny that it was an improve-
ment to the land. Fortunately for us she
spends most of her time at her house in
Hawaii, so it was fairly easy to dig in

undetected.

We had
several big
community
work days
where doz-
ens of peo-
ple showed
up to pull
weeds, sow
seeds, hang
out and play
music. Our
little street
corner became a community commons.
We brought out picnic tables and chairs,
made big salads to share with neighbors
and declared our plot of land a free
state. Never before had I seen such an
amazing response to a garden project.
People were coming out of their houses
to see what was happening in this place
that we all walked by everyday but no
one ever seemed to notice. Interestingly
enough no one seemed too concerned
that we had no permission to use the
land. As far as everyone on our street
cared we had their permission and that’s
what really mattered. One of the resi-
dents of O’Driscoll’s adjacent building

even gave us a key so that we could wa-
ter the garden.

At this point the garden became
much more obvious. Previously, people
may have been able to pass by and not
differentiate between the rows of garlic
and the tall grass. The untrained eye
might have missed to garden all togeth-
er. But after several big cleanup days it
was hard to ignore the transformation
happening inches from the sidewalk.
We hung signs declaring the land a
community garden; it seemed that now
was the right time for our work to be-
come really obvious.

It wasn’t long before our bold move
attracted the attention of the Citywide
Property Management, the company
hired to collect rent and supposedly
maintain the lot. Several neighbors
received a letter from Citywide regard-
ing the garden and a few of them were
passed along to me. The letter was
from Matt King and basically said that
the garden had not been approved and
that if it became a problem they would
be forced to remove all the plants. I
immediately called Matt King on the
phone and was relieved to find out that
the letter was simply a formality, it not
meant to be threatening and as long
as the landlady didn’t find out or care
everything would be fine. He warned
me about O’Driscoll but reassured me
that from her house in Hawaii she was
unlikely to notice our little garden. It
seemed time to celebrate we had the
unofficial blessing of the very people
who might have ripped out our plants.
But celebrations were cut short as I re-
ceived another call from Citywide the
next day saying that the landlady was in

Revolution is based on land.
Land is the basis of all
independence. Land is the basis
of freedom, justice and equality.
-Malcolm X , November 10, 1963

Before you dig into that piece of abandoned soil you've had your eye on, here
are some important things to remember.

Plant in the early winter. In our mild climate, many plants will spend winter
growing deep roots that will sustain them through the long dry season.

Soak your seeds. Many crops such as beans, peas, corn, squash, and most
other large-seeded plants will benefit from overnight soaking before planting.
This should give them all the water they need to sprout and is much more ef-
ficient than watering the soil around them.

Choose the right plants! Don't plant watermelon in the middle of a dry
spell. There are many food plants that will "naturalize" in our region and require
little care. Here are some suggestions.

Kale (Brassica oleraceaj is as tough as it is nutritious. Sow the mustard-like
seeds in moist soil in winter or early spring. Once they are established these
plants can live for years and spread their own seed around the garden.

Fava beans (Vicia faba) are a large bean that can be grown in the winter.

Soak a handful of beans (available at most health food stores) overnight. Plant
them about one inch deep. They take about two weeks to come up so be patient.
Favas are great because you can eat them at every stage of growth and nitrogen-
fixing bacteria on their roots provide free fertilizer.

Jeruselum artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus), a close relative of the sun-
flower, are perhaps the world's toughest vegetable. Once established, these
plants will never go away. Plant a piece of their knobby root anytime between
January and May and within a few weeks thick green leaves will push their way
up. Be selective when choosing where to plant these aggressive tubers— they'll
destroy native habitat or an established garden, as well as pavement.

town. She had seen the garden and was
outraged. To this day I question Matt
King’s honesty and wonder why she
would have made an unexpected visit to
check on her neglected property. Most-
ly she was offended by our pea trellis,
decorative logs (that also served to keep
cars from driving across the vegetables)
and our use of water from her building.
We removed the logs, wrenched the
trellis out of the firm grasp of the pea
tendrils and stopped watering. But this
was not enough. Soon O’Driscoll was
calling for the removal of the garden.
We told citywide that we would be hap-
py to negotiate with the landowner, but
she continually refused any contact with
us. Obviously we were dealing with
someone who wanted to distance her-
self from any conflict. With Citywide
doing her bidding there was no reason
she had to deal with us.

Now it was time to organize. We
went door to door all over the whole
neighborhood, talking to people about
the garden and circulating a petition.
Soon many neighbors and friends were
doing the same thing. All and all we
gathered more than 300 signatures in
support of the garden. Most of all this
was a very good excuse for us to go to
every house on the block and meet our
neighbors. People usually approached
with caution, when they saw us standing
on their stoop with a clipboard and fly-
ers. But as soon as we introduced our-
selves and explained what we were do-
ing, everything changed. People lit up
at the mention of the garden and were
concerned to hear about its threatened
destruction. No one could figure out
why O’Driscoll would want to destroy
something so good for our community
that essentially was keeping her lot from
becoming urban blight. Our negotia-
tions with Citywide became more frus-
trating. They had no idea how to deal
with us. They couldn’t understand why
we just wouldn’t leave, or rip out the
garden ourselves. Eventually our talks
broke down and I realized I couldn’t buy
anymore time, the garden was slated to
be destroyed. We got together with
neighbors and friends, garden organiza-
tions and community groups and orga-
nized a protest.

On the morning of the slated de-
struction about 20 people came out wav-
ing banners, playing music and carrying
garden tools. When Citywide showed
up to rip out our plants we were going
to be there to stop them. That whole
day we waited. More neighbors came
out, some brought us food and water.
We called the media and did TV, radio
and newspaper interviews. We passed
out Citywide’s phone number and soon
their office was flooded with calls to save
the garden. Our occupation went on for
five days. From morning to night we
stood guard over the garden. We had
minimal contact with Citywide during
this time, they knew we were there, but
were trying not to deal with us. After
five days it seemed that O’Driscoll had

bent to the public will. The calls from
community groups and garden organi-
zations as well as hundreds of neighbors
and friends had overwhelmed the prop-
erty managers who thought it easier to
just not deal with us. We had sent a
clear message: if you destroy our garden
we are going to make things very hard
for you.

So the garden remained. After two
weeks we continued planting veggies
and cleaning us the lot. We celebrated
quietly. At this point it seemed more
strategic let the clamor die down and
let O’Driscoll forget all about this little
piece of land. But everything changed
on April 30. I received a call from my
elderly neighbor Kathleen, one of the
many people watching over the garden
night and day. She told me some men
were at the garden ripping out all the
vegetables and when she tried to stop
them they yelled at her, saying they had
their orders. When I returned home
that evening the garden was gone. Our
plants had been cut to the ground and
the rows of tomatoes and mustard greens
had been ripped out by the roots. The
land looked as if a plague of locusts had
descended from the heavens to destroy
our crops. The Earth looked barren and
lifeless. As I walked where the mulch-
laden paths once had been, I recalled
all the amazing times digging in with
friends and neighbors and I cried. All
that work and effort, all those hundreds
of people who care about this place and
this one person, who’s only relationship
to this place is the money she makes off
it, has the power to destroy something
we all love. The calls from neighbors
started pouring in. Some people called
for the replanting of the land, others
suggested new spaces to garden, all of
us were angry. By morning, the dissent
of the neighborhood had appeared on
the sidewalk. Erie messages scrawled in
spray paint read “Where did the garden
go?” and “Fucking Bastards!”

Now the lot sits vacant. Only the
shadow of our garden remains as Je-
rusalem artichokes resurface along
with our rows of potatoes. It is obvi-
ous that Citywide has no other plans
for the land as it once again returns to
its blighted status. Now we get to see
two distinct possibilities for this land.
One of bare dirt, awaiting the arrival
of trash and weeds, the other a place
where neighbors gather to take care of a
piece of land, growing healthy food and
beautifying their home. This brings up
some important things for us to con-
sider, mainly who gets to control space
in our neighborhood? Is it an absentee
landlord who may never step foot on
this piece of land or the people who
live here and want to create a safer and
more beautiful neighborhood for all of
us to enjoy? We need to come together
to show O’Driscoll, Citywide and peo-
ple across San Francisco that we are the
ones who get to decide what happens
in our neighborhood, and this garden is
only the beginning.

Top to Bottom: Farmers present a cornucopia of fresh
produce at the South Central Farm (RIP). Neighbors and
gardeners gathered in support of the now defunct garden
at Stanyon and Fulton. Fava beans grow with little water
and add nitrogen to the soil.

: 7

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

Indigenous Resurgence in Abya Yala

connnueD prom page 09

The Declaration of Iximche: From
Resistance to Power

Back on the central streets of Gua-
temala City, the thousands of marching
delegates are joined by thousands of lo-
cal indigenous peasant farmers from the
CNOC, CUC, and CONIC organiza-
tions. These are groups formed by war
victims, refugees and support base of
the 80s resistance, and the remnants of
the near genocidal state onslaught that
claimed more than 100,000 lives, mostly
rural indigenous. I remember being here

in this same city in the early 90s staying
at a human rights house, feeling petri-
fied as police agents tailed us and death
threats were left on the phone. To be a
“bad Indian” in those days meant death.
Now, here they are — the rebel indig-
enous, re-emerging from the shadows
and re-claiming public space one more.

Amidst spiritual ceremony and music
and dance spectaculars, the celebrated
“Declaration of Iximche” is read out, to
“announce the continental resurgence of
the Pachacutic (the return) along with
the closure of Oxlajuj Baq’tun (long
count of 5,200 year), and as we approach
the door of the new Baq’tun, we journey

together to make Abya Yala a “land full
of life. ’’Then the declaration gets down
to the hard political specifics: against
the FTAA (Free Trade Agreement
for the Americas), against transgen-
ics, against multinational mining and
resource extraction, against Bush’s war
and the US border wall and condemn-
ing the practices of the Inter American
Development Bank, the World Bank,
and similar global institutions who ma-
nipulate the indigenous. The document
stands firmly for indigenous peoples’
sovereignty, autonomy, and self-de-
termination, ratifying historical rights
to stolen territories, and consolidating

unity between the different indigenous
groups.

To the somewhat mysterious and
haunting epitaph, We Have Dreamt
Our Past and We Remember Our Fu-
ture, the demonstration and the summit
concludes, and the multitude disperses
into the ominous dusk of the dangerous
and insecure city. The departing mood
is not triumphant but resilient and qui-
etly optimistic. Despite everything —
500 years of colonization, dispossession,
poverty and migration — the resurgent
indigenous of the continent have sur-
vived and are looking to the future.

Pacifism Summer

connnueD prom page BacK cover

edition of Pacifism points out that
in “colonized/neo-colonized” Third
World countries, there has never been
a successful campaign against the op-
pressive state without resorting to vio-
lence, which often begins for defensive
purposes. The use of violence is em-
pirically indispensable when dealing
directly with state oppression. But here
in the First World we are dealing less
with direct oppression and more with
forces of alienation and the remorse of
ineffectuality. “Pacifism” makes the case
that no matter what logic you use to
condemn it, violent resistance has his-
torically been the threat that forces First
and Third World states alike to cave to
the demands of nonviolent resistors.
In this way, both groups are necessary
for change to occur. Churchill cites the
case of the Black Panthers, who polar-

ized the left and allowed those in the
nonviolent movement to feel like they
had made a bigger difference than they
could have alone. In the process, Pan-
ther members faced heavy and in some

cases fatal persecution.

In a post-Seattle, globalized atmo-
sphere of resistance, the nonviolent
tactics of decentralized mass mobili-
zations have had some success where

they’ve been able to catch police off
guard. However, ample funding and
the sophisticated militarization of mu-
nicipal police have picked up the slack
against the current movements, and we
have seen that when successful, even the
tactics of relative nonviolent resistance
are not tolerated. Throwing rocks at
multi-million dollar armies or symbolic
destruction of property is branded as in-
excusable violence and “justified” perse-
cution ensues. This persecution tells us
that tactically, someone is doing some-
thing right. But historically we know
that successful resistance can bear grave
consequences. Revolution Summer , if
anything, reinforces the need posed by
Churchill to consider creative violent
resistance to achieve social change. It’s
just too bad that the hopeless shallow
dimwits considering it never make light
of the scope or history of such resis-
tance.

Clean Burn

18

connnueD prom page os

stepped on a stuck gas pedal and then,
stepping on a brake line that snapped,
he crashed into a pole and they were
both hospitalized. Dennis suffered se-
vere head and knee injuries and hasn’t
returned to work since the accident,
which was in November.

The accident was quickly swept un-
der the rug and all negative focus has
remained on the Biodiesel Club. In
fact, City College Police harassment
got so bad that we had to get auto-
motive teachers who were fed up with
the cops’ harrassment to convince the
Board of Trustees and the Chancellor
to step in on our behalf. That got the
police off our backs, but administration
found something new to hassle us about
when we decided to move club outreach
out from faculty advisor David Dias’

hands and into our own. Club mem-
bers wanted to post fliers that reflected
our concerns and interests. The first
flier we posted focused on class issues
rather than environmental, picturing
Mickey Mouse flipping off the bosses
of oil companies. The flier was up for a
day before Dias found it and instructed
all fliers to be torn down, as it reflected
poorly the message that he wanted to
portray about biodiesel being better for
the environment. In one day our flier
brought in more people to a meeting
for new members than all of David’s fli-
ers put together in the previous year. It
was a diverse crew of working class folks
ages 20-60, even one GI and a city col-
lege landscape worker. Dean McGuire
then instructed Dias to formally censor
the club, denying us all rights to adver-
tise or be our own media contact. We
then decided to get rid of David and

go with Transmissions Instructor Barry
Lynch as the club’s new advisor.

Weeks later, David approached us
saying that the EPA was planning to
give the garage a biodiesel grant of
$200,000. Apparently the EPA had
seen what we did with the El Camino
and considered it cutting edge, while
the administration acted as though
they were supporting our project. The
Biodiesel Club was lead to believe that
the grant money would benefit the stu-
dents, and we were asked to get the car
ready for a press conference. Spending
money out of pocket and backtracking
on the project, both club members and
faculty made the car picture-worthy.
In the end the grant money was put in
the pockets of the administrators, with
a small portion to go toward a biodie-
sel workshop that CCSF students are
not allowed to attend. Anarchist club

members were not surprised by this
swindle. Unfortunately it left other
students and faculty upset for being
lied to. If anything, this latest scandal
validates the anarchist standpoint that
we, the working class, must take pro-
duction of bio-fuel into our own hands
and not concern ourselves with going
mainstream in hopes of getting the ap-
proval of big oil, and automotive and
transportation industries.

connnueD prom page 1 1

pushed back using banners to try re-
gaining the road.

Thousands of protesters spread
themselves out along the fence through-
out the afternoon in an effort to disperse
police. The cops were unable to control
the entire crowd due to the area covered
and so were unable to forcibly disperse
the demonstrators.

Meanwhile, at Gate 2, water cannons
stood by as the blockade continued.
Cars with G8 delegates were delayed
extensively and some eventually had
to turn back. At around 5:30pm, water
cannons dispersed the crowd. The same
began at Gate 1 where police violently
attacked the blockade with water can-
nons and batons. Several injuries were
reported, one of which was extremely
serious and the street medics asked for
help from the police medics to transport
the victim to the hospital.

Throughout the night, police at-
tacked protesters with water cannons
as they tried to hold the blockades. By
midnight five people were injured badly
enough to be hospitalized, mostly as
a result of the water cannons. As the
night became morning, the blockades

were completely cleared by police.

Conclusion

The blockades seemed to have been
the most effective aspect of the week,
which was surprising for many who had
opted out of participating in favor of
conducting more militant actions that
never really manifested. It will no doubt
be used by strict pacifists as an example
of successful nonviolent direct action.

But it is important to look at the diver-
sity of tactics and how they compliment
each other.

During the 1999 anti -WTO pro-
tests in Seattle, the small black bloc was
generally thought of as a success by the
more confrontational wing of the radi-
cal movement, and that was possible be-
cause the massive nonviolent blockades
detracted most of the police attention.
Here the situation was exactly the op-
posite. The massive nonviolent block-
ades were largely successful because of

autonomous blockades and the employ-
ment of more confrontational tactics
that took police presence away from
the main gates. But time will tell how
these events are analyzed and lessons
are learned.

All in all, over 700 people were ar-
rested during the protests against the
G8 summit. Many had already faced
their “fast-track” trials by the time the
conference ended and had been sen-
tenced to long prison terms — up to ten
months without probation in a number
of cases — for crimes such as throw-

g

■$. ing rocks at the police. The repression
9 against the anti-G8 movement was
J extreme to say the least, and will most
likely continue for a long while follow-
ing the conference.

As this summit has drawn to a close
we must remember to take the fight
back home and keep up the militancy
generally exhibited in the streets and
camps surrounding Heiligendamm.
What we saw in Germany was a week
of intense action, but what we didn’t see
was the massive organizing effort and
sustained resistance to repression that
made the counter actions possible. We
must always be working against the G8
and the system they represent.

connnueD prom page 04

result of more media choices or just
bad radio?

Then there’s the media democracy
movement lobbying against further
attempts to deregulate media. Elimi-
nating the “three band space” rule
and filling the dial spaces with “legal”
LPFM stations will only make the cur-
rent unlicensed broadcasters extinct by
eliminating unused frequencies. The
entire LPFM licensing bill is targeted
at non-profit organizations, with most
of the licenses going to churches in
small, rural markets. The few broad-
casters who do get on have to follow the
same self-censorship process as others
to avoid arbitrary, excessive FCC fines
intended to drive them off the airwaves.
Meanwhile, Clear Channel shock jocks
continue to inflame problems such as
racism, sexism, and homophobia, and
some have even sponsored pro-war ral-
lies. Do these corporate lackeys have the
sole right to define public discourse?

Unlicensed “pirates” have little inter-
est in limiting themselves to corporate-
sponsored models of polite speech or to
stay within liberal/progressive political
discourse. “Advocacy journalism,” in

which broadcasters choose content as an
activist tool, is under attack as we read
insulting corporate newspaper debates
about whether or not local journalists
such as Sarah Olsen and Josh Wolf
have any legal rights because they are
not employed by a big media company.
Activists want to go beyond the liberal/
progressive limits on issues and pro-
gram radical politics. Music program-
mers want to play all kinds of music, as
they and listeners want less repetitive
formats and more local music played.
Independent programmers do not want
play lists, station managers, fund-rais-
ing bureaucrats, or government officials
telling them what and they can and
cannot broadcast.

The corporate-government powers
are naturally afraid of losing advertising
revenues, but political motivations are
obvious despite continued FCC denials.
SFLR started broadcasting in the early
90s, along with Free Radio Berkeley in
the East Bay, to report on the criminal-
ization of the homeless in San Francis-
co — a population that had absolutely no
voice in the media.

In 2002, SFLR moved to a loca-
tion high in the hills above the Castro,
expanding its signal and broadcast-

ing hours to provide clear listening for
the central and south parts of the city.
When the bombing and occupation of
Iraq started in 2003, SFLR provided
numerous independent anti-war voic-
es while a licensed radio broadcaster
was fired for uttering a word against
it. Indymedia activists assisted with a
nightly news show otherwise relegated
to the web. As activists shut down San
Francisco for a day with street protests,
web-based Enemy Combatant Radio
initiated internet broadcasts in real time
with cell phone call-ins describing the
street actions. SFLR broadcast this for
several days, and other micro stations
outside the area were able to stream it,
allowing activists with Indymedia sta-
tions around the world able to tune in
live via the web.

Another example of the organizing
potential for radio is community mem-
bers in Oaxaca, Mexico using radio
to rally solidarity among US activists.
Freak Radio Santa Cruz has done phone
interviews with activists directly from
Oaxaca, as well as direct reports from
immigrant actions around California.
Berkeley Liberation Radio provides a
platform for homeless activists. Imagine
the possibilities if every town and every

Independent Media Center had a right
to dial space? What if activists had ac-
cess to airwaves for event-specific cov-
erage — such as when Houston-based
activists set up a public service broad-
cast in the Astrodome after the New
Orleans tragedy? Can people-to-people
communications happen outside of the
Internet without the filter of corpora-
tions and government agencies?

SFLR chose to engage the authorities
and got nothing. They have not broad-
cast on the airwaves for over three years.
Since then, Pirate Cat Radio (87.9FM)
andWest Add Radio (93.7FM) haveleft
the SF airwaves after receiving written
FCC threats, leaving the city without a
microradio station. Berkeley Liberation
Radio and Freak Santa Cruz continue
broadcasting in their respective towns
despite threatening notices and armed
raids. The FCC has announced another
deregulation process with a bad LPFM
component. Several bills have been de-
bated in Congress for LPFM access not
under control of the FCC, but none
have made it to a full Congressional
vote, and the FCC continues dragging
its heels on licensing stations. Mean-
while, real microradio continues as an
act of civil disobedience.

FAULT LINES SUMMER 2007

ARTS IN ACTION

Revolution Summer through the

lens of Churchill's “Pacifism as Pathology"

State police, often serving as the or-
der-preserving arms of global capital-
ism, have a simple formula for dissolving
groups that pose a threat to that order.
This formula has been documented for
decades in the US and has even been
applied against completely nonviolent
groups. According to Ward Churchill
in “Pacifism as Pathology,” reissued this
year by AK press, the existence of such
a formula brings up an inherent flaw in
the logic of American Liberals and oth-
er totally ineffectual leftist groups that
remain stridently critical of the use of
violence in resisting the state. Churchill
makes light of the absurdity of assum-
ing that as long as dissent remains non-
violent, the state will be forced to follow
suit. He then unveils the harsh truth
that within nation-states that can mo-
bilize violent use of force to protect rul-
ing-class interests, the stance of abso-
lute nonviolence has become a placebo
for the progressive class, quelling their
woes but changing nothing.

In the police state we live in, under-
standing this reality does not lead to any
particular solution. Pinned between a
rock and a hard blow to the head for
even nonviolent assembly, we continue
to choose from the ever-increasing list

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of state-sanctioned ways to rebel against
the system — marching in permitted
protests, signing petitions, calling your
local legislator, wearing buttons espous-
ing your political views, and making an
annual trip to Burning Man. Some-
times we’ll even end up in jail for some
symbolic action that hopefully gets de-
cent press and allows us to cope with
our relative helplessness. But the fact

PACIFISM AS
PATHOLOGY

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Trill. Si ■ i i ill l Vs u u \ JL' fllj ■

V/Jiflr l“hi i firm i
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remains that our tax dollars pay for the
very batons that come cracking down
when we stick our necks out to ask if
this is really necessary.

Concerned citizens, and even a Fox
News reporter, were asking this ques-
tion at MacArthur Park on Mayday in
LA after what seemed to be a real-life
episode of Cops Gone Wild (Youtube
it if you haven’t seen it yet). That day,
police were apparently given orders to
do their stomp and smash robot march
during a peaceful immigrant rights rally,

clearing the park, battering kids, taunt-
ing old ladies, and trampling news me-
dia. Yes, they are trained to do that. Yes,
they would do it to you.

That same week at this year’s San
Francisco International Film Festival,
a packed Kabuki Theater watched the
premier of Revolution Summer , a dark
indie feature examining the lives of
young hipsters coping with life in a dis-
mally repressive world. The film, pro-
duced and shot here in SF and Oakland,
portrays a couple impassioned morons
fetishizing vague revolution in a vague
plot to use armed violence against the
vague state. Through the lens of “Paci-
fism,” the film is thematically germane,
glorifying an earnest desire to react, and
considering armed plots as a means to
do so. However, a slow drawn out plot
in which a couple of angry kids plan
some kind of haphazard offensive and
have to face grave consequences — get-
ting beaten and interrogated before they
even carry out the action — seems like a
pretty incoherent assessment of the di-
lemma of repression for the privileged
dissident.

An essay by Mike Ryan in the new

connnueD on page 1 8

rallies.

The story of Niccolo Sacco and Bar-
tolomeo Vanzetti was one so powerful
that it is still lamented almost 90 years
later. In 1920, the two Italian -Ameri-
can anarchists were convicted of murder
outside of Boston and held for seven
years before their execution in 1927. To
the authorities’ chagrin, the execution
resounded as an electric shock heard
‘round the world, as the two had gar-
nered support from the far-reaching
corners of the planet. Everyone knew
the names Sacco and Vanzetti, and
nearly everyone resented their deaths.

In 2006, Peter Miller directed a
documentary about the plight of Sacco
and Vanzetti. Laid upon the backdrop
of black and white footage from 1927,
Miller skillfully combines interviews
with historians, including Howard
Zinn and Studs Terkel, and icons like
Arlo Guthrie (whose father wrote songs
about the duo), in addition to folks who
were then only children but still re-

It is a true challenge to recreate the
feelings of anger and injustice that ac-
companied the trial and death of these
anarchists profiled for their ethnicity
and political beliefs. But Miller achieves
this through his masterful storytelling
in addition to the connection that we all
feel to this kind of repression, whether
the enemy is profiled as anarchists or
communists, Italians or Arabs.

In this sense, the film is not only
about Sacco and Vanzetti. It resonates
as a universal illustration of prejudice,
fear, hype, and hatred. Our Sacco and
Vanzetti of today could easily have
slightly darker skin and headscarves
instead of bowler hats. But the poten-
tial for scapegoating is still there, and
that’s what makes Sacco and Vanzetti
such an important film. Today’s genera-
tion growing up in a time of endless war
must know that there were folks who
fought before them and that the strug-
gle still continues. °