Feature Archives

State police, often serving as the order-preserving arms of global capitalism, 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 other totally ineffectual leftist groups that remain stridently critical of the use of violence in resisting the state. Churchill makes light of the absurdity of assuming that as long as dissent remains nonviolent, the state will be forced to follow suit. He then unveils the harsh truth that within nation-states that can mobilize violent use of force to protect ruling-class interests, the stance of absolute nonviolence has become a placebo for the progressive class, quelling their woes but changing nothing.

The story of Niccolo Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti was one so powerful that it is still lamented almost 90 years later. In 1920, the two Italian-American 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 garnered support from the far-reaching corners of the planet. Everyone knew the names Sacco and Vanzetti, and nearly everyone resented their deaths.

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. Banners 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 individuals plot and laugh heartily. These are not your typical anti-authoritarians.

In Fault Lines #21, Rubble writes:

On February 15, 2007, three years after 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 ability to broadcast, but would have made it more difficult for the FCC to raid and shut down unlicensed microradio stations.

In June of 2005, in a village called Rossport in Northwest Ireland, residents began to notice an unusual number of trucks carrying pipeline on their roads. There were so many trucks, in fact, that it was sometimes impossible to travel anywhere as these giant lorries could fully eclipse the narrow country lanes.

While the passage of the Central American Free Trade Area (CAFTA in English, TLC in Spanish) is a distant memory in the public political debate, implementation of the treaty continues to meet organized, spirited opposition in Costa Rica. In the US, activists are standing in solidarity with continued opposition and resistance.

With royal fanfare, British Petroleum just donated big money in research funds for UC Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, and the University of Illinois to develop new sources of energy—primarily biotechnology to produce biofuel crops. This comes on the anniversary of Berkeley’s hapless research deal with seed giant Novartis ten years ago. However, at 500 million dollars, the BP grant dwarfs Novartis’ investment by a factor of ten. The graphics of the announcement were unmistakable: BP’s corporate logo is perfectly aligned with the flags of the Nation, the State, and the University.