Anarchoblogs

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Maggots and Men, an experimental historical narrative set in post-revolutionary Russia, re-tells the story of the 1921 uprising of the Kronstadt sailors with a subtext of gender anarchy. A thoughtful homage to Soviet silent era directors and artists of the Russian avant-garde, the film explores themes of re-invention, revolution, community, and corruption.

SYNOPSIS
The Kronstadt sailors had a long tradition as radicals and courageous fighters, beginning with the failed revolution of 1905 (the subject of Battleship Potemkin). Maggots and Men recounts some of the tragic and heroic events that occurred in March of 1921, when the Kronstadt sailors drafted a resolution that supported the factory workers on strike in nearby St. Petersburg. The Kronstadt sailors’ resolution unleashed a chain of events that culminated in a two-week long battle, which after heavy losses on both sides, ended with victory for the Bolsheviks.

The film documents the Provisional Revolutionary Committee as they transform, from cohesive to chaotic, as tensions rise in the weeks before battle. Scenes include the strikes in Saint Petersburg, community gardens on the island, life at the base during peacetime, the sailors presenting their resolution to an unwelcoming congress, and the two-week standoff between the sailors and the Red Army. Acknowledging a long tradition of homosexuality amongst sailors, the film has provocative sex scenes that evolve organically out of teamwork in close quarters.
 
WHY THIS FILM IS IMPORTANT
Maggots and Men is set in the all male environment of a Russian naval base, but cast with actors from a range of masculine gender expressions, resulting in a film that redefines male, challenges the binary gender construct, and intentionally creates confusion.

Maggots and Men positions the struggle for gender equality within a larger struggle for peace and justice. The unique intersection of subject matter brings together both transgender and queer communities as well as audiences members attracted to the political and historical content of the film creating opportunities for cross-community dialogue.

LOOK AND TREATMENT
Mimicking newsreel footage and silent era films, the film is shot on black and white 16mm and Super-8 film stock. The visual and aural texture will be reminiscent of early Soviet cinema while contemporary influences will reveal themselves upon closer reading. The soundtrack will include an original score performed by a four-piece chamber ensemble. Dialogue will be in Russian and English with English subtitles.

We misunderstand altogether the authoritarian personality type if we construe it as a function of a particular politico-economic ideology; the well-known oscillation before 1933 of millions of voters between the National Socialist and the Communist parties is no accident when considered in terms of social psychology. American research has established that this type of personality structure does not correlate easily with politico-economic criteria. It must be defined, rather, in terms of character traits such as thinking within the paradigm of power-powerlessness; rigidity and the inability to react; conventionality; conformist behavior; lack of self-reflection; and finally an altogether deficient capacity for experience. Authoritarian types identify with real power as such, prior to any particular content. Basically, they have only weak egos at their disposal, and thus need, as a substitute, to identify with large collectivities whose protection they seek.“

- Adorno, Theodor. „What Does Coming to Terms with the Past Mean?“, 1959.

Das war definitiv mein Aufreger des Tages: Heute hing eine Deutschlandflagge vor meiner Schule. Ich weiß nicht ob sie neu dort ist um dem staatstragenden Geschichts- und dem bürgerlich-kapitalistischen Politikunterricht auch optisch Gesellschaft zu leisten. Hab sie zumindest das erste mal gesehen heute.

HEUTE!

Auf Halbmast zum Anlass des Internationalen Holocaustgedenktages, beziehungsweise des Tages zum gedenken an die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus…
Mit der deutschen Nationalfahne auf Halbmast gedenkt man also der industriellen Vernichtung von Millionen von Menschen in der deutschen Geschichte.

Ein Vorschlag meinerseits zur besseren Verwendung, nicht nur an Gedenktagen:

Fun with cops…

*TV Cops Get Car Smashed While Giving Speech at University

It would be difficult to provide better entertainment: „Toto und Harry,“ two cops with their own television show who run around helping old ladies and getting cats out of trees, held a speech at a university in the city of Bochum. When they returned, they found all the windows of their car smashed and paint thrown inside. Funny enough, but Germanys finest newspaper, BILD, makes it even better with their article about the incident, in which they include a link to another article in which a speaker of the Police Union claims that „todays „chaoten“ are like the RAF“ („chaoten“ is a derogatory term usually used to refer to autonomes).
Hysteria and exaggeration at their best. Every time I read it, the main question Im faced with is: If the radical left in Germany is so strong, so dangerous, so out of control, and so menacing…are we talking about the same Germany?

*Of course, the chorus of hysteria wouldnt be complete without the cops themselves opfering around (:-)). Again…Kabul, Gaza, Athens, Berlin…apparently its all the same lawlessness.

*Speaking of lawlessness…here are some cops who clearly have trouble understanding the rules of some games. Slowly for the stupid kids here….dont bring your gun to the snowball fight. It just ruins it for the others.

Ein Aufruf des Sozialrevolutionären und Antinationalen Blocks zur Studidemo am 30. Januar in Frankfurt am Main.
Für den 30.01.10 ruft das Protestplenum Frankfurt zu einer bundesweiten Demonstration unter dem Motto „Die Uni gehört allen – Unser Leben in unsere Hände!“ auf. Auch das sozialrevolutionäre & antinationale Krisen-Bündnis Frankfurt ruft zur Beteiligung an der Demonstration auf.
Denn nicht [...]

Continue reading at no boredom - no nation …

Trotz aller Kritik an Holger Burner, die zum Teil sicherlich auch berechtigt ist, super Mobi-Track!

Die halbe WG liegt mit Lebensmittelvergiftung flach, ich schreib ein Flugblatt für eine Kundgebung, trinke Fencheltee für die Nerven und höre hervorragenden Rockjazz von Colosseum (Einbetten ist ärgerlicherweise verboten): [1] [2] (bis auf die Links sind alle Informationen in diesem Posting irrelevant)

Gestern ist meine neue Studie „Die Eroberung der Schulen – Wie die Bundeswehr in Bildungsstätten wirbt“ bei der Informationsstelle Militarisierung erschienen. Das Thema ist brandaktuell, erst im Dezember wurde eine weitere Kooperationsvereinbarung – die bundesweit dritte seit Oktober 2008 – zwischen einem Landesschulministerium und der Bundeswehr unterzeichnet. Diesmal in Baden-Württemberg. Die Armee wirbt immer intensiver. [...]

Shocking, yet true. Even if its nightmare cold and constantly dark and generally village like and shitty. We all know the only solution would be for the lake to be freed for ice skating, thus allowing me to play hockey all day and forget where I am or the pain in my ankle. Whatever, I digress pathetically…

A rare occasion to suffer the cold for a good cause:

Demonstration gegen Abschiebung und für ein bedingungsloses Bleiberecht

Zur Zeit finden zahlreiche Abschiebungen in den Kosovo statt. Der nächste Sammelabschiebeflug soll am Dienstag, 12. Januar 2010 von Karlsruhe nach Pristina gehen. Die Gefahr besteht, dass auch einige Familien aus Göttingen in diesem Flieger sitzen werden. Die Duldungen dieser Familien laufen in den kommenden Tagen aus. Die Ausländerbehörde der Stadt hat sie nur für eine Woche bis zum 11. Januar verlängert. Im Zusammenhang mit der Verlängerung kam es am 08. Januar zu einer zweistündigen Besetzung der Ausländerbehörde im Neuen Rathaus. Ein Mitarbeiter der Ausländerbehörde gab an, dass konkret zwei Familien für die Abschiebung vorgesehen sind.

Das bedeutet für diese Menschen, dass sie in der Nacht durch die Polizei und MitarbeiterInnen der Ausländerbehörde aufgesucht, in Autos verfrachtet und zum Abschiebeflughafen gebracht werden. Für Flüchtlinge bedeutet dieser Zustand ein Teufelskreis aus Angst, Trauma und schlaflosen Nächten. Einzige Möglichkeit der drohenden Abschiebung zu entkommen ist das Abtauchen in die Illegalität, also ein Leben ohne jegliche sozialen Rechte.

Die sich abzeichnende Welle rassistischer Staatspraxis betrifft insgesamt mehrere zehntausende Menschen. Wie viele genau und in welchem Zeitraum, ist bisher unklar. Sicher ist, dass mehr als 10.000 Menschen in den Kosovo, rund 7.000 SyrerInnen und staatenlose KurdInnen nach Syrien sowie bis zu 10.000 geduldete IrakerInnen in den Irak abgeschoben werden sollen. Durch die neuen Rückübernahmeabkommen sind besonders zahlreiche Aschkali und Roma durch Abschiebung in das ehemalige Jugoslawien betroffen: 64 Personen aus Göttingen sind derzeit für die Rückführung in die Länder des ehemaligen Jugoslawien vorgemerkt und der Kreistag des Landkreises konnte sich im vergangenen September nicht einmal auf eine Resolution gegen die geplanten Abschiebungen einigen.

Selbst wenn die Familien aus Göttingen nicht dabei sein werden, gilt unsere Solidarität allen Flüchtlingen, egal wo sie wohnen. Unser Widerstand richtet sich gegen diese rassistische, menschenverachtende Politik. Abschiebung bedeutet Gefangenschaft, Folter und Mord. Viele der Betroffenen leben über ein Jahrzehnt hier oder sind hier geboren worden. Für all diese Menschen ist Göttingen der Lebensmittelpunkt. Sie möchten ohne jegliche staatlich rassistische Verfolgung und Schikane hier weiter leben.

Daher gilt:
Finger weg von Flüchtlingen! Wer bleiben will, soll bleiben!
Wer kommen will, soll kommen! Für globale Bewegungsfreiheit!

Demonstration Montag, 11. Januar, um 16 h am Kornmarkt

Im very very upset. *Very* upset. Why is this?

Im upset, because on September 27th of 2002 I was intelligent enough to NOT get arrested in Washington DC. Usually, I am proud of my ability to not get in trouble (trouble, me!?), but in this case….foresight and the ability to properly analyze how a situation will develop have cost me 18,000 dollars!!!!!

On the date in question, several anarchist and anti-authoritarian groups had called for a „day of action“ in Washington DC as part of anti-World Bank protests. In theory fine and good, but in the context of what anarchists had pulled off in Washington over the last few years, relatively clearly a bad idea, of which I intended to have no part in.

You see, in 2001, together with several hundred close friends and many thousands of relatively annoying liberals, I made two visits to Washington DC. And because a story is best told in nostalgic anecdotes, here we go…

The first, on the invitation of the great and glorious Barricada Collective, was to the „Revolutionary Anti-Authoritarian Bloc“ at the presidential inauguration. The bloc ended up numbering somewhere between 700 and 1000 people. It got off to a rather disappointing start which entailed being beaten and chased by cops, then having hundreds of people from the bloc surrounded (no, not me!) and then finally being freed by the coincidence that the „Not My President“ march of reformists happened to come down the same street, creating enough confusion to allow for escape. After that mishap though, the day included glorious moments such as the plundering of a construction zone, overrunning a secret-service security checkpoint, direct confrontation with members of the secret service (who are not as tough as you might expect), and coming to within 10 meters and one final police line of spilling onto the parade route. More anecdotal, but certainly more spectacular, the day also provided two great photo opportunities. The first being the „conquest“ of the Navy memorial, replacing the military flags with red and black ones (sadly, I cant find any good pictures of it). The second, „Super Anarchist“ flying off of the Navy memorial to escape imminent arrest.

Flying anarchist glides over the cops, lands in the loving arms of „the masses“ and escapes arrest

After having their security checkpoint overrun by the black bloc, a heroic secret service agent attempts an arrest. The picture tells the rest.
(next to the car is the „battering ram“ used against the security checkpoint)

About ten months later, we paid a second visit to the city, albeit in a very different context due to the events of September 11th. What was originally to be a „North American Genoa,“ with the participation of all sorts of reformist and liberal organizations, as well as trade unions, and of course a black bloc of several thousand people ended up being a kind of suicide march of the thousand or so anarchists who refused to join the „we are all patriots now“ and „the time is not right for dissent“ chorus. After years of success after success on the streets (Seattle, Washington A16, Quebec City, and lets be honest….not few North American anarchists paid timely visits to places like Gothenburg and Genoa), we just couldnt understand that „the tide was turning.“

I have scattered memories of that last visit to Washington DC. Things like seeing a black bloc numbering less than the cops, yet armed with helmets, hammers, and in some cases even police batons. I remember that, despite being outnumbered *and surrounded* (German demonstration style) people still attacked cops just because, you know…they were there.
Most of all I remember the assistance police chief of Washington DC attempting to assert his authority be entering the demonstration with a police car, promptly getting clobbered on the head, and cops then pepper spraying each other. A moment both glorious and comedic…

And while shockingly nobody got arrested that day, post visit discussion quickly led to the surprisingly reasonable conclusion that we were probably pushing our luck. Somebody quoted something or other from I believe „The Art of War“ about swimming as a fish in the sea to attack your enemy…instead of as a really out of place and indiscreet lunatics in the city with the most cameras and law enforcement agencies probably in the world, but really some basic common sense was enough, no need for theoretical reference.

With that in mind, when not much later other crazed anarchists called for something to the effect of an „illegal“ demonstration, possibly blockades, some actions, and so forth in Washington DC, with clearly no „cover“ from any other spectrums, we quickly came to the conclusion that this was a rather bad idea. I believe my exact, typically diplomatic, words were: „These kids are fucking crazy, they will all get arrested, where not going anywhere near this thing.“

For this, my friends and I are now poorer than 400 or so other people. Why? On the technicality that the police failed to warn people to disperse before proceeding to arrest them. Nice for them, frustrating for us.

There is a good and funny poster/text on the subject on the Crimethinc page.

PS: Here is a video of the Inauguration 2001 protests, which shows the wide diversity of people who were on the streets that day.

PPS Top prize for „thats really gotta suck“ goes to the comrades who indeed went to the demonstration, and then proceeded to escape arrest (and thus 18,000 dollars) by crawling *through the sewer system.* Theres just no justice…