Category: Articles

Dear Slingshot,

I found your rag inside Growers Market. According to your \”Circulation Information\” blurb, the enclosed check should be good for eight issues sent via bulk mail.

I know this is going to sound like one of those statements that begin, \”I\’m no women\’s libber but¼\” or \”I\’m not gay but¼\” I\’m not an anarchist but you anarchists give me a little hope for the future. I\’ve worked with plenty anarchists in my life. I know John Zerzan¾I can talk to him scholar to scholar. He didn\’t get all defensive when I told him I thought people would still want a postal service. Sure, you could still have letters without a postal service, but did you read in Lord of The Rings how Gandalf tried to send a letter to the shire and it never arrived?

Hey, what do you mean \”No Poetry\”?! So poetry can\’t be part of the \”debate, discussion and criticism\”? As¼punishment (severe but deserved) I\’ve written a poem just for you:

Those Darn Anarchists

Those darn anarchists,

Breaking windows,

Creating more profits

For the capitalist

Window glass barons,

Who can thus

Go on consuming

The planet.

Those darn anarchists

Are just like

The guerrillas in Colombia,

Who contribute

To global warming

Every time

They fire their weapons.

Plus that Slingshot rag

Must kill

A lot of trees.

              –Milton Takei

La Convergence Des Luttes Anti-Capitalistes

(translation from the French)

1. The Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC in French) is opposed to capitalism. We fundamentally reject a social and economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and exchange. We reject a system driven by an exploitative logic that sees human beings as human capital, ecosystems as natural resources, and culture as simply a commodity. We reject the idea that the world is only valuable in terms of profit, competition and efficiency.

2. The CLAC also rejects the ideology of neo-liberalism, whereby corporations and investors are exempt from all political and social measures that interfere with their so-called \”success\”.

3. The CLAC is anti-imperialist, opposed to patriarchy, and denounces all forms of exploitation and oppression. We assert a worldview based on the respect of our differences and the autonomy of groups, individuals and peoples. Our objective is to globalize our networks of resistance to corporate rule.

4. Respecting a diversity of tactics, the CLAC supports the use of a variety of creative initiatives, ranging between public education campaigns to direct action.

5. The CLAC is autonomous, decentralized and non-hierarchical. We encourage the involvement of anyone who accepts this statement of principles. We also encourage the participation of all individuals in working groups, in accord with their respective political affiliations.

6. With regards to the Summit of the Americas (April 2001) and the negotiations of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the CLAC adopts a confrontational attitude and rejects reformist alternatives such as lobbying which cannot have a major impact on anti-democratic processes. We intend to shut down the Summit of the Americas and to turn the FTAA negotiations into a non-event.

Shut down the Streets of

San Francisco:

Noon, Nov. 24, Union Square!

Buy Nothing Day-November 24 this year gathering at noon in Union Square, SF-will see a new level of creative confrontation in an attempt to counter consumerism. A variety of activists and groups, including Reclaim the Streets, are hoping to disrupt the shopping district of downtown San Francisco at the height of the busiest shopping day of the year-replacing traffic and consumption with dancing and chaos.

The idea for Buy Nothing Day (BND) was hatched by Adbusters magazine. Their website notes \”Buy Nothing Day is a simple idea with deep implications. It forces us to think about the \’shop-till-you-drop\’ imperative and its effects on the rest of the world. On Buy Nothing Day enjoy a break from the shopping frenzy. Relish your power as a consumer to change the economic environment.\” (Emphasis added.) This last sentence, implying that simply by not purchasing (or perhaps buying the \”right thing\”?) \”consumers\” have \”power\” makes clear the politically confused nature of Buy Nothing Day.

Unchallenged, the myth of consumer activism risks obscuring, not exposing, the capitalist economic organization of society. This Buy Nothing Day in San Francisco will be a chance to make the connections and attack the real author of environmental destruction and human suffering-not merely the consumers who buy sweatshop products and who over-consume, but the corporations who design a world where reckless consumption is sculpted, choreographed, pre-determined. These corporations structure sweatshops and unsustainable resource extraction. These corporations spend billions on advertising to program individual humans to define themselves through what they consume.

At best, San Francisco\’s BND will be an opportunity to bring masses of people into the streets to creatively, lovingly and artfully disrupt business as usual. Dropping out from the consumer monster isn\’t the answer: vigorously tearing up a class society where a few own and rule and the majority do the work is more like it!

For a special celebration this Buy Nothing Day . . . STOP THE SHOPPING at the starting gun of the annual ad-fueled buying frenzy of the holiday season.

By disrupting shopping and actually (hopefully) preventing the exchange of money for goods, we hope that shoppers will wonder why all this passion, effort, and creativity were aimed at making their shopping day unsuccessful. Maybe they will think about how they got out of the shop without any purchases-and still survived to enjoy life. Maybe they will think about how they could do without all the hassle of the holiday season. Or, maybe they will think about how much of a pain it is to go shopping nowadays, what with all these pesky anarchist actions going on all the time, and they\’d rather stay in their own neighborhoods and hang out with their loved ones. And if that\’s the case, isn\’t it worth it for us to push them to make these conclusions? We\’d be irresponsible if we did it any other way. Now, get out there and have fun with your friends making this a true buy nothing day. Make it happen at such lovely places as the Gap, Banana Republic, Macys, Nordstroms, the Microsoft Store, etc. For possible ideas, support, and coordination of actions, contact rts_eastbay@yahoo.com, 415 820-9658.

Police warn city is too close to Eugene, Orgeon

Victoria won\’t be transformed into a war zone after all.

From Oct. 11 to 15 next year, 600 delegates from the defense ministries of 35 member-countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization were to converge on quaint Victoria, presumably at the city\’s Conference Centre behind the Empress Hotel.

Not any more.

Mayor Allan Lowe requested over $3 million from the federal government to cover anticipated policing costs. Where the feds balked on the request, the Mayor as the M.P. to pull the plug. \”The security of our community and its financial well-being is the priority,\” Lowe said.

The new site of the conference remains a mystery.

The decision to request federal funds was made \”in light of the recent experiences of other North American cities who have hosted \’globalization\’ conferences, and who have incurred significant costs as a result,\” Lowe said.

Const. Paul Battershill, head of the Victoria Police Department, submitted a report highlighting four international conferences that were targeted by \”globalization protest actions:\” the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle in November 1999; the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, DC, in April 2000; a meeting of the Organization of American States held in Windsor, Ont. in June 2000; and that of the World Petroleum Congress, held in Calgary last June.

Victoria\’s proximity \”to cities with large potential protester populations, including Vancouver and Eugene, Oregon, the center of the anarchist \’black bloc\’ faction\” was another cause of concern raised by Battershill.

As a result of this perceived risk, the police chief warned that downtown Victoria would have to be converted into an armed camp. His report outlined a proposal for an onsite \”detention facility,\” the employment of a \”relatively large number of police officers\” (1500 were used in Calgary and Windsor), and the creation and enforcement of an \”exclusion zone\” around the conference site, which would possibly require a municipal by-law in order to be legal.

\”Victoria has a unique character and tourist-oriented downtown,\” Battershill warned. \”If the NATO Parliamentary Assembly occurs the City will look very different for a 10 day period in October 2001. This will include an exclusion zone in prime tourist areas, barriers, fencing and large number of police officers.\”

An officer in charge would be assigned in November 2000 to oversea the operation. In April 2001, an \”intelligence group\” involving CSIS and NSIS (two national intelligence bodies) would be such tasks as \”targeting\” and \”group I.D.\”

The cost for the entire operation?

\”It is certainly possible that the $3.4 million is within the magnitude we may have to consider,\” Battershill suggested in his report, citing the policing figure for the Windsor conference.

It appears as though it was too much for pristine Victoria to handle. On Oct. 5, the plug was pulled and the excitement, anticipation, and fear were suddenly gone.

Plans for the Victoria mobilization were well under way. Activists in the region, planned to spend most of the next year organizing against NATO. \”The momentum was building for, I think, an enormous protest,\” Caulder said. \”We were getting support from all over the world.\”

(as published in the Martlet, the University of Victoria\’s student newspaper; see www.martlet.org)

The housing crisis in the Bay Area has reached a new plateau of desperation, with rents doubling or more in recent years. Tiny studios go for $1,500, if you can even find one. Hordes of tenants, renter\’s resumes in hand, jockey for each vacancy. If things keep going like they\’re going, San Francisco, Berkeley and maybe even Oakland will lose their diverse, vibrant quality. Each will be exclusive playgrounds for the rich, \”cleansed\” of most blacks, Latinos, and Asians¾of most of the middle and working class. The only artists or young people will be trustfunders, heirs to oil fortunes, or nouveau riche dot.comers. It\’s increasingly common for people-close friends, family members, neighbors, even this issue a Slingshot writer-to just give up on the whole Bay Area housing mess and move to another state. The more \”undesirables\” that move out, the more this area forever loses its unique character and the few who remain begin to wonder, \”is it worth it to hang on?\” Meanwhile, greedy landlords are chortling in delight-replacing single moms, taxi drivers, musicians and young people with khaki-wearing stock option millionaires, at triple the rent. Their units haven\’t improved, they\’ve spent nothing to fix up the dump, but suddenly they reap riches.

All of us tenants who hate this grim future scramble to figure out some kind of solution before its too late. Rent control laws have been weakened at the state level, and Oakland\’s attempt to pass a just-cause eviction statute failed. Some hope bans on new high rent housing will help, but this just intensifies price pressure on older, cheaper units. Building more dense urban housing helps, but takes years and most new units are built for the rich. No one is considering building enough new housing to change the market and bring prices down. Government subsidized new housing is a drop in the bucket.

Are there any other options? What have others done in similar situations? And how does class struggle over housing fit into the general struggle for revolution? In certain ways, the situation was similar in Barcelona in 1931. Their solution: a massive rent strike with direct actions to re-house anyone evicted. How many people have to get individually evicted before we realize that this isn\’t just bad luck, but a system acting simultaneously on thousands of people, and that together, it can be fought!

The Barcelona Rent Strike not only reduced rent costs for working class families, but also was an education in self-organization for thousands of workers. It, along with other struggles in the 1930s, created an organized working class that in 1936 made the most successful attempt yet to overthrow capitalism and create libertarian communism.

In the 15 years leading up to the rent strike, Barcelona\’s population had increased by 62%. The city was one of the fastest growing in Europe. Inflation was running rampant but wages had not risen. There had been rent increases of up to 150%. Only 2,200 units of public housing had been built. Barcelona was in the midst of a huge housing crisis as shanty towns grew around the city.

In January 1931, Solidaridad Obrera, the anarchist union CNT\’s paper, published an article calling for action around the housing crisis. The CNT wanted to widen the union into a real participatory social movement. They knew that only via mass organization, participation and struggle could the foundations be laid so that people would acquire the skills to construct a new society.

In April the CNT construction workers set up the Economic Defense Commission (EDC) to study the expense corresponding to each worker for wages earned in relation to rents. On May 1st the EDC presented its first basic demand, that there should be a 40% cut in rents. They also demanded that bosses hire 15% more workers to ease unemployment and that food prices would be agreed and local defense groups would weed out speculators.

After the publication of these demands workers re-installed an evicted family on May 4th. The EDC sought to encourage this action by holding meetings in working class areas of Barcelona and the surrounding towns. Large numbers of women attended and got involved as it was usually left to them to pay the bills and rent. Mass leafleting took place and a huge rally was advertised. On 23rd June an evicted family was re-housed by the local people in Hospitalet and this caused great discussion in that part of the city.

The mass rally on July 5th declared the demands of the campaign to be (1) that in July the security deposit should be taken by landlords for rent; (2) from then on rent would only be paid at 40% of the previous rate; (3) that the unemployed should not have to pay rent. If the landlords refused to take the reduced rent then they would get nothing as a rent strike was recommended.

The EDC claimed that there were 45,000 strikers in July growing to 100,000 in August. Every working class building or area became organized. The authorities did not have enough guards to prevent evicted families from being re-entered onto property.

From the end of July onwards the repression of the strikers grew, with the Chamber of Catalonia (i.e. Chamber of Commerce) ordering the arrest of all organizers. The EDC rally scheduled for July 27th was banned.

In early August the EDC began to publish a series of articles exposing landlord tax-fraud, pointing out how there was one law for the rich and another for the poor. In turn the state arrested 53 members of the CNT. This led to a riot inside the prison and a general strike outside. By October, the EDC were forced to go underground after the CNT was heavily fined for not turning over the names of those involved.

The strike was ending, however it never entirely ended in many districts. What successfully broke it was the practice of arresting tenants when they returned to their homes.

It took major repression by the state to end the strike but a valuable journey had begun. For many young people this was the first time they had been exposed to the ideas of anarchism and direct action. They would go on to join the CNT and become the revolutionaries of 1936. The rent strike was the beginning of many campaigns which established anarchist ideas and practices in the communities. People were exposed to playing a vital part in fighting their own oppression. All illusions in the Republican government were quickly shattered.

The lessons of mass action and self organization would later be put to use by the people who went on to make history in 1936. When the fascist coup happened in 1936 in Spain, the left there and in other countries called for the state to put down the fascists. The more radical Marxist groups called upon the state to \’arm the workers\’ (earlier the same demand was heard when the fascists took power in both Italy and Germany). Yet the anarchists of the CNT got out onto the streets, took the arms for themselves and immediately began to defeat the fascists.

Why did this happen? Anarchism has a proud tradition of self-activity and mass participation. The anarchists in Spain did not cry out for the state to put down the fascists. In 1936 tens of thousands of anarchists were ready to seize arms and fight the fascists. No leaders, no calls on the state, just people who knew what to do and went out and did it. This self-organization was in part the legacy of the Barcelona rent strike of 1931.

Reprinted with permission from Workers Solidarity Movement, PO Box 1528, Dublin 8, Ireland

The North American Anarchist Conference (NAAC), held in Los Angeles August 11-13, 2000, the weekend before the Democratic National Convention, attracted an unusually large media presence, including the Washington Post, the Nation, and the L.A. Times. Curiosity about anarchists has become heightened in the last year, as the anti-globalization movement is frequently attributed to anarchists by government officials, police and media commentators.

The conference brought out the need for a stronger and clearer articulation of the basic anarchist ideas. Anarchism is without government, a condition sustained by the creation of non-hierarchical social structures which are not institutionalized and so do not outlive their usefulness.

It is antithetical to anarchism to base the concept of freedom on government permission, yet some attendees presented arguments based on the assumption of legal or constitutional rights. Jay Brophy urged anarchist teachers to work in public schools, claiming that anarchist pedagogy can freely exist under state control.

At one point, the conflict between leftist and anarchist perspectives became explosive. During the panel discussion, Cris Crass of San Francisco Food Not Bombs asserted that \”A movement dominated by white men will never bring about change in this country. Never.\” He went on to stress the importance of \”developing the capacity for everyone to become a leader in this movement.\” John Zerzan, an Anarcho-Primitivist theorist, sharply criticized Crass\’s speech for its advocacy of a rights-based, leadership-based politics. Zerzan declared, \”There\’s nothing anarchist about it. It\’s leftism, not revolutionary.\”

\”The Left\” includes a range of perspectives from liberalism to communism, which seek state-directed social progress. By definition, anarchism, which seeks to eliminate the state, is not part of the left.

Nevertheless, anarchists have historically clung to the fringes of the left. Lawrence Jarech, a Berkeley anti-authoritarian, raised this issue at the conference. The anarchist presence in various left movements has been as a radical conscience, he explains. Anarchists trail after leftists trying to get them to be more like anarchists, which they don\’t want to be. Jarech urges that \”we consolidate among ourselves … as a discrete social movement with a discrete social philosophy.\”

DeeDee, an anarchist from Eugene, addressed the need for building more anarchist structures. At present, anarchists are often dependent on the resources of hierarchical leftist organizations. In joining leftist organizations, anarchists sacrifice their goals to serve the goals of the organization.

Discussion of tactics was hampered during the conference by terms of debate historically set by such left movements as pacifism. Anti-statism, if it is to be an active movement and not merely an ideological position, requires using force against the state. Without force, the state will never perish. Anarchists must employ strategies which are effective and serve the needs and goals of anarchism. But this focus has been obscured by the popularity of pacifism and nonviolence among anti-authoritarians, including many anarchists. Moreover, in the last year the term \”violence\” has been much abused, applied to such acts as property damage and shouting, in an effort to prevent genuine confrontations between demonstrators and the state from developing out of police-approved marches.

Anarchists must be able to critique our tactics if we are going to be effective and maintain any advantage over the police in confrontational situations. An anarchist from Europe commented that in Europe the black bloc is being abandoned because it no longer serves their tactical needs and the police are too familiar with it.

The NAAC enjoyed some police-provided entertainment, but the conference was held without serious interruptions. Neither the police presence nor the media presence had significant impact on the discussions or results of the conference; attendees were able to make helpful contacts and return refreshed and inspired to undertake new work.

Thousands disrupt Prague IMF/World Bank meeting

The IMF and the World Bank (WB) were created by rich nations after WWII supposedly to stabilize national economies and pull them out of poverty. Now over 50 years later they do the opposite. They continue in colonialism\’s footsteps, keeping some countries very rich while forcing two-thirds of the world\’s population into poverty. However, protests continue to gain momentum and pressure continues to mount on these institutions. They\’ve now hired public relations experts and James Wolfensohn, head of the World Bank with personal wealth of over $100 million, is quick to tell anyone who will listen how much he cares about the world\’s poor. Every four years the IMF and WB hold a giant meeting. This time the 14,000 bankers chose the Czech Republic. As an ex-communist country it is trying hard to show how much it embraces capitalism.

Organizing protest in Czechoslovakia was a challenge. There has only been an activist scene there since 1990. So with almost no funds and no NGO support a small group of Czechs and foreigners did what we could. September 26th, the first day of the meeting, we gathered at Namesti Miru (Peace Square). The government\’s threats worked to some degree: only 5-8,000 came. They were, however, the most militant protesters from all over Europe. There were 11,000 police, the entire police force of the country. The rally ended at 12:00 pm and we split into three marches. Our plan was to surround the Congress Center and block in the delegates.

The Congress Center is perched on a hill, bordered by a river and a deep valley. The Yellow march took the bridge over the valley. They were Belgian, French and others, led by Ya Basta from Italy. They used inner tubes and foam armor for protection, and at one point released balloons into police lines. They were well organized but were unable to force their way through 500 police with armored personnel carriers and pepper spray.

The Blue march went through the valley. It consisted of about 1,000 anarchists from the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Spain, and Greece. Two blocks from the center they met a wall of heavily armored police with water cannon tanks. A huge battle began. Protesters threw rocks and an occasional molotov. Police continually used water cannons, tons of concussion grenades, batons and teargas. After about two hours protesters were pushed back, and built burning barricades in the streets. Some reached the Congress Center and spray painted it.

The Pink March had several factions including many socialists. The main highway was occupied all day. In another place Spanish protesters were beaten and arrested. Pink and Silver was a big Samba Band mostly from the UK. At one point they got right up to the Center.

The delegates finally escaped by taking the subway. At 6:30 over 1,000 of us went on an energetic march downtown. At 7:30 we met another group that had blockaded the delegate\’s opera, forcing it to be canceled. At this point some people went to a main square and smashed symbols of capitalism: a bank, Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds. Others marched to the delegate\’s banquet: it was also canceled. The IMF/WB were so scared that they quickly wrapped up their meetings the next day and fled the city, canceling the last day. We shut them down. We won!

In all, several hundred protesters, 120 police and 2 delegates were injured. That day police arrested 422 people, mostly as they left protests. The second day\’s small march was surrounded by police; most were eventually let go. Police swept the city. They stopped, searched and arrested 468 more people. Once in jail, hundreds were beaten, many severely. No prisoners were allowed phone calls or a lawyer, and most were denied food, water and sleep.

On the 28th there was a protest for the release of those in jail. Riot police surrounded and arrested 70 people. They were released that night with pressure from the Spanish embassy and jail solidarity. Most of the other prisoners were released over the next few days, many with bruises and injuries. 230 were foreigners, who were driven to the border or given 24 hours to leave the country, making it hard for them to file official complaints. Six are still in jail. In all 20 face charges such as assaulting police or criminal damage.

We demand the release of the activists still in prison, and the dismissal of all charges. We further call for investigation into police actions and beatings in the jails.

Support: Solidarita, L.K. , P.O. box 13, 679 21 Cerna Hora, Czech Republic.

Phone +420603-310170.

For legal info:

www.ackerj.clara.net/oph.htm

www.praha.indymedia.org

While our comrades were battling the cops in Prague on September 26 – attempting to disrupt the IMF/World Bank meeting – thousands of people in over 30 countries were participating in a Global Day of Action to denounce the horrendous policies of these world bodies, and the global; capitalist system they promote. It would be impossible to summarize all of the actions that took place that day. Actions tok place in Adelaide, Amherst, Ankara, Athens, Barcelona, Bath, Belfast, Belo Horizonte, Bergama, Berkeley, Bogota, Boise, Boulder, Brasilia, Bristol, Bruxelles, Buffalo, Buenos Aires, Burlington, Calcutta, Campinas, Canberra, Caracas, Chicago, Cordoba, Cork, Dallas, Dekalb, Delhi, Denver, Dhaka, Dijon, Duluth, Fortaleza, Frankfurt, Gainesville, Geneva, Guingamp, Hadley, Hartford, Istanbul, Izmir, Korneva de Llobregat, Kyiv, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Malmo, Melbourne, Montreal, Moscow, Mumbai, New South Wales, Oxford, Palm Beach, Perth, Portland, Providence, Reus, Salvador, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Stavanger, Stockholm, Sydney, Tarragona, Tel Aviv, Toronto, Trick Candles, Tucson, Uppsala, Utrecht, Washington, Wellington, Wroclaw, Zagreb. We don\’t even know where all of these places are!

What isn\’t impossible to summarize is that the corporate form of globalization, in which only the rich and corporations enjoy the benefits and the rest of us pay the price, is coming up against a truly global people\’s movement. Organized decentrally from the grass roots up (the way we would like to see the world organized), the global solidarity witnessed on September 26 is the kind of \”globalization\” the world needs!

Here are some reports, chosen at random. (If you\’re city isn\’t listed, that doesn\’t mean cool stuff didn\’t happen there . . .):

Ankara, Turkey

200 students gathered around the Mc Donalds and shouted \”go home IMF\”. In the city center 400 people from the Ankara anti-globalization platform gathered for music and street theatre and \”Global Resistance Against Global Exploitation\” Another protest took place in front of the World Bank/IMF office.

Barcelona, Spain

on S23, 4000 people with a samba band blessed the vans taking people to Prague. A march from the top of Barcelona down to the sea passed banks and the stock exchange, all of which ended up more brightly decorated than usual

Berkeley, California

About 500 people successfully reclaimed the streets in solidarity with the protests in Prague against the IMF/World Bank. 400 people went on a torch-lit march accompanied by a mobile sound system past the brand new, expanded police station and jail to call attention to the connections between globalized capitalism and the expansion of the police state here at home. 100 other people on bikes, also with a bike towed mobile sound system, went on a diversionary Critical Mass Bike ride. Coordinated by radio, the two groups converged in downtown Berkeley at the place the police least expected: the place they had started. The street was blockaded for 3 hours with a tripod and trashcans while participants danced wildly to a huge sound system and ate food from Food Not Bombs. A puppet of a landlord was thrown into a huge bonfire and people played soccer in the usually busy streets. Eventually, police moved in with a fire truck to extinguish the bonfire. The group then marched through downtown Berkeley, breaking the windows of two banks (including Citicorp, target of a national protest campaign) and unsuccessfully attempting to arson McDonald\’s restaurant. The evening\’s impromptu slogan: in the East Bay, we don\’t have puppets, we have effigies! And we know what to do with them!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

3000 people protested the IMF/World Bank for hours, conducting a carnival against capitalism. At one point, 150 people simultaneously mooned the IMF.

Calcutta, India

500 people rallied for seven hours. Various speakers declared unequivocal support to the worldwide movement against capitalist globalization. A long stretch of the street was decorated with banners and placards. The speeches, songs and street dramas drew a large audience.

Delhi, India

100 people blocked the entrance to the World Bank offices for two hours. They shouted slogans such as \”We want water, not Pepsi!\” \”World Bank Agents Down Down\”, \”World Bank Quit India\”, and \”Structural Adjustment Down Down\”. The slogans were pasted on the windows and the gates of the World Bank office.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Two marches went to the World Bank offices.

Johannesburg, South Africa

500 people held an anti-capitalist festival with music and speeches and then marched through downtown, accompanied by street puppets, demanding the shut down of the IMF/World Bank and cancellation of the apartheid debt. The march stopped at various government buildings where protesters did the famous toyi-toyi. The last stop was the headquarters of Anglo-American, South Africa\’s largest capitalist conglomerate, whose security guards attacked the march with tear gas & truncheons.

Melbourne, Australia

More than 600 rallied and heard speakers despite pouring rain.

Montreal, Canada

150 people carrying banners reading \”Smash Capitalism before it smashes you!\” and \”La rebellion est un droit! À bas le capitalisme!\” [tr. Rebellion is a right! Down with capitalism!\”] paraded through the downtown streets, ending at the Stock Exchange Tower. They were blocked from going near a McDonald\’s vandalized at a recent protest.

Portland, Oregon

A Reclaim the Streets march with a sound system united with a Teamsters protest in downtown whereupon 500 people blocked streets for several hours, vandalizing police cars and throwing bottles at the police. 20 were arrested and 1 hospitalized.

Tel Aviv, Israel

1000 people assembled in the city center for 3 hours for street theater and other protest art, and then marched through the banking street.

Utrecht, Netherlands

500 people marched through the city, stopping at banks to protest the IMF/World Bank.

Wellington, New Zeland

200 protesters gave out free veggie burgers (and cups of tea) in front of a McDonald\’s before briefly occupying the Westpac Trust bank, which was targeted because of its role in uranium mining in Australia. The police attacked, arresting 14 and injuring a number. After the melee, the crowd gave out 150 free cookies with \”capitalism is crumbling\” and \”anarchy is how the cookie crumbles\” stickers. Unfortunately, the police had earlier knocked over the cookie basket and crushed many of them