Reportback from Modesto Anarcho! who said:
Anarchist Cafe' last night was a large success. There was lots of free food, all of which was free - either gotten from places that throw away lots of food, or businesses that were going to throw good food out. Lots of literature and zines were taken by a variety of people. Various distros (Modesto Anarcho Distro and Wingnut's Liberation Project) had some good conversations with people. Someone from KQRP-LP (106.1 - local indymedia station) was on hand to video the event, and recordings from the Cafe (largely the band playing) will be shown on the local cable access program (channel 14) and on 106.1. Stay tuned.
The
Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra was off the hook. They played a pretty long "set" and they even got some good feedback and response from the crowd, several of which joined in to play on the "instruments". Probably the highlight of the set was when the band started marching around the downtown playing music.
Problems with police were nil. While we hate to fall back on "our rights" and the language of the state to justify our actions - we were totally within our "legal rights" to be in the downtown (as long as things were 'peaceful', we didn't sell anything, and we didn't block traffic). The police did come out, including the police chief, but since this was a "free speech" event, we didn't need a permit even though they said we should get one.
The event last night got alot of people together, talking about anarchist projects, having fun, and also just creating a space where people could connect and act with each other where we felt like we had some power. The event was also good because so many "normal" people were stopping by, eating free food, picking up zines, watching the band, etc. While the size of the "audience" for the cafe was hard to pinpoint, we'd say probably about 30-50 throughout the night, at any given time.
Thanks! Until next time, Modesto Anarcho Crew
On April 22nd, recruiters returned to UCSC. Trash was there to help with the UnWelcoming Committee. The police presence was light, and though security within the job fair was tight, the marchers paraded and demonstrated relatively unimpeded.
Out in the glorious suburb of Walnut Creek, the wealthy are able to ignore the injustice of the world. There they are distracted by promises of endless consumption; new toys, new gadgets and the latest fashion. This consumption allows them to ignore the rest of the world and ignore the fact that much of the suffering in the world is due to the existence of capitalism. Consumption of natural resources, such as oil, used to create all these unnecessary items is behind much of the world’s problems. Yet those in power are only concerned about a constant flow of oil pumped out of the Middle East and into the ever expanding consumption habits of the United States; all the while, corporations make a huge profit.
March 15th, 2008, was the third permitted anti-war protest in Walnut Creek. While the majority of the participants were obediently walking on the sidewalks, a small group of radicals took to the streets. We passed through a few parts of town that the permitted march did not, to the shock and cheers of shoppers. Afterwards we ended in the same park that the permitted march ended their rally, where we were greeted with much positive feedback from those who marched on the sidewalk. It was a small step in bringing more actions into Contra Costa County.
Hundreds of people marched down Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz on December 31st, 2007, as part of the Last Night DIY Celebration while hundreds of spectators lined the sidewalks and cheered. Leading the parade was the Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra.
A parade, a street party, Balinese gamelan, fire dancing, burn barrels in the streets, bone-shaking drums, dogs and skaters on the mall, brazen square dancing in the streets, pillow fights, bagpipes, encounters with "authority" in which the people prevailed, fireworks, sparkly lights, music, DIY street barricades, DIY everything, man oh man. What's not to like?
Trash Orchestra marched at the head of the 59th annual Gault Elementary Halloween Parade. It starts at 9am on a Saturday morning and, thanks to Trash Orchestra, woke up several whole neighborhoods.
The Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra was off the hook. They played a pretty long "set" and they even got some good feedback and response from the crowd, several of which joined in to play on the "instruments". Probably the highlight of the set was when the band started marching around the downtown playing music.
Resisting