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The Street Tactics Thread
On the day the invasion of Iraq starts, resistance in the streets obviously wont rely on tactics like the single Black Bloc, headed for obvious targets. They wont work. The element of surprise will have been totally lost. The cops will be ready. There will be a rapid encirclement, followed by mass arrests. Mass arrests are not productive.
So what might people do instead? Enquiring minds want to know. This thread is devoted to the subject. Put your speculations here. Do NOT make suggestions. That's illegal. Speculating about what people *might* do, is not. Speculate, don't suggest.
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...Don't get hooked.
We could fund raise to send some pacifists or ANSWER march monitors to Iraq. A few have already gone from the U.S., but our gov't doesn't care if they die. In Europe it's a different situation. A lot of English and Italians have gone in there, and if U.S. elites blow them up, maybe the rulers will face some sort of unpopularity, or Blair will get bumped out of office and they'll get a Tory.
A week after the January 18th breakaway, Ruth Rosen had lots of criticisms of the adolescents pitching a fit by the INS building while mature people listened to the Worker's World party speeches and played hackey sack.
I saw one naked person at this march, and none on the January 18th one, yet it seems that this is what the media loves, and Ruth Rosen confirms that this is what we'll have to buckle down and do to get in the newspaper - especially if you're female. CNN also emphasized the one naked person.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/02/18/ED89714.DTL
I saw one naked person at this march, and none on the January 18th one, yet it seems that this is what the media loves, and Ruth Rosen confirms that this is what we'll have to buckle down and do to get in the newspaper - especially if you're female. CNN also emphasized the one naked person.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/02/18/ED89714.DTL
. . . to follow the advice of baseball great Wee Willie Keeler:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2002/12/1552852_comment.php#1553028
http://www.indybay.org/news/2002/12/1552852_comment.php#1553028
Yes, I was talking with someone who lives in the Oakland hills, and they had experiences that matched mine with regards to police effectiveness on normal days. Personally, I envision that in a future better society, there still will be a role or job position for employees of the rest of society to control unsafe vehicles, or stop violent people such as spouse abusers. I've encountered enough antisocial people, even in the upper class, to suspect that violence won't ever go away.
Police right now aren't that effective in controlling either of these things. Once, a block from where I live, suddenly about 8 police cars came rushing towards a parking lot, and they were looking around, and one asked me if I had seen an officer around there a minute earlier - they had just received a call that an officer was being attacked and needed backup. I could only speculate that the schizophrenic man up the block who is famous for making false reports to the police that other people on the block are child molesters and drug dealers had just made another delusional report. My acquaintance in the hills says he hears this sort of thing on the police scanner all the time - when there is an officer in distress call, they all drop everything and rush to that spot. But they aren't helpful in sorting out conflicts between neighbors or family violence.
However, the rest of the time they seem to have their time consumed by useless things like reporting to false burglar alarms that they aren't useful for preventing violence or out of control vehicles. I made the decision once to call the police when a woman across the street had been screaming at someone inside the house for 20 minutes "darryl, I'm going to kill you" and pounding on the door, and then when she got a piece of metal and was starting to try to break the windows, I decided that I didn't want to peacefully watch someone get hurt across the street while staying silent. Yet, 30 minutes later when the police arrived, the woman was gone, and the police seemed to think that this was a false report or that it was an exaggeration of the situation.
Police right now aren't that effective in controlling either of these things. Once, a block from where I live, suddenly about 8 police cars came rushing towards a parking lot, and they were looking around, and one asked me if I had seen an officer around there a minute earlier - they had just received a call that an officer was being attacked and needed backup. I could only speculate that the schizophrenic man up the block who is famous for making false reports to the police that other people on the block are child molesters and drug dealers had just made another delusional report. My acquaintance in the hills says he hears this sort of thing on the police scanner all the time - when there is an officer in distress call, they all drop everything and rush to that spot. But they aren't helpful in sorting out conflicts between neighbors or family violence.
However, the rest of the time they seem to have their time consumed by useless things like reporting to false burglar alarms that they aren't useful for preventing violence or out of control vehicles. I made the decision once to call the police when a woman across the street had been screaming at someone inside the house for 20 minutes "darryl, I'm going to kill you" and pounding on the door, and then when she got a piece of metal and was starting to try to break the windows, I decided that I didn't want to peacefully watch someone get hurt across the street while staying silent. Yet, 30 minutes later when the police arrived, the woman was gone, and the police seemed to think that this was a false report or that it was an exaggeration of the situation.
I don't have any thoughts on street actions - I would never participate in a illegal street action. I'd rather lick boots. But my friend thought of some other things.
One thing my friend was thinking is to target billboards, a billboard brigade. I would never do that myself, but he actually lives in another country, where there aren't any biollboards, so he can think these things up. These messages are in our face day in and day out and why the f*** should we have to endure the messages of a**hole corporations but we can't get our OWN community messages out!!!
Plus, he thought of addressing that issue directly - if billboards had messages posted over a bunch of them that say simple but demeaning things like 'verizon pays no taxes for you to look at their ads every day - but you sure do!' or 'You've looked at this billboard every single day, haven't you? Sucker!' 'Imagine, you pay Clear Channel to look at this billboard with your taxes. Your $ ->govt -> Clear Channel.'
Or, he said, messages could relate to the war, or to actions in the city - legal ones only - or whatever.
If billboards were always targeted, soon - for national security reasons, of course - guards and cameras would have to be posted to protect them. It would become even more obvious how corporate capitalists are having to protect themselves from the people.
Billboards are an easy way to reach tons of people in a short time. Maybe they could even be warned to stay home when the bombs fall, since the city will be grinding to a halt. Most people probably don't know what to do when bombs fall. This would be a simple way to reach them, my friend said.
One thing my friend was thinking is to target billboards, a billboard brigade. I would never do that myself, but he actually lives in another country, where there aren't any biollboards, so he can think these things up. These messages are in our face day in and day out and why the f*** should we have to endure the messages of a**hole corporations but we can't get our OWN community messages out!!!
Plus, he thought of addressing that issue directly - if billboards had messages posted over a bunch of them that say simple but demeaning things like 'verizon pays no taxes for you to look at their ads every day - but you sure do!' or 'You've looked at this billboard every single day, haven't you? Sucker!' 'Imagine, you pay Clear Channel to look at this billboard with your taxes. Your $ ->govt -> Clear Channel.'
Or, he said, messages could relate to the war, or to actions in the city - legal ones only - or whatever.
If billboards were always targeted, soon - for national security reasons, of course - guards and cameras would have to be posted to protect them. It would become even more obvious how corporate capitalists are having to protect themselves from the people.
Billboards are an easy way to reach tons of people in a short time. Maybe they could even be warned to stay home when the bombs fall, since the city will be grinding to a halt. Most people probably don't know what to do when bombs fall. This would be a simple way to reach them, my friend said.
Me too. It's *so* sexy.
But if I was going to attack a billboard, which I'm not, I get me a bunch of old light bulbs, drill a hole in the base of each one, fill them with paint, and tape the holes shut with duct tape.
Then I'd use them as paperweights, while I stayed safe home, getting down on my sweet honey's toes.
Oooh, yeah.
If that don't stop the war, nothing will.
But if I was going to attack a billboard, which I'm not, I get me a bunch of old light bulbs, drill a hole in the base of each one, fill them with paint, and tape the holes shut with duct tape.
Then I'd use them as paperweights, while I stayed safe home, getting down on my sweet honey's toes.
Oooh, yeah.
If that don't stop the war, nothing will.
I heard that in some countries, far away, these tripod structures are sometimes erected quickly, locked into place with some sort of cables, then abandoned before anyone can actually respond. This technique is practiced simultaneously all over the local remote village, and donkeys are brought to a halt from many directions at once.
But I may be mistaken.
But I may be mistaken.
i think i saw this movie once where people took buckets of paint and dumped them in the streets.. it was quick and easy to do, got everyhwere, and hard to clean up.
anyone seen this movie? i forget what it's called
anyone seen this movie? i forget what it's called
And I think it was all red paint. They couldn't ride the horses on it either, and cars driving through it drove red all over everything. Plus shoppers didn't like it one bit.
Wasn't there a part in there about paint balloons thrown at vertical things also?
But I may be thinking of something else.
Wasn't there a part in there about paint balloons thrown at vertical things also?
But I may be thinking of something else.
If, instead of a person in the tripod, there was a bucket hung from the top, the authorities would have to assume the might be Something Awful in it. They couldn’t just yank the tripod apart to clear a way for traffic, because the bucket might spill Something Awful all over them. They would have to send for a cherry picker and a guy in a moon suit to get it down. This would tie up traffic for a long time. There are a limited number of moon suits available, let alone guys qualified to deal with potential Something Awful spills. So if a lot of tripods went up at once, it would take a very long time to clear them. If they were strategically located, it would tie traffic in knot all over the Bay Area.
Even after they had figured out that there wasn’t Something Awful in the buckets they had taken down so far, they’d still have to take the same precautions which each and every one because one of them *might* have something awful in it. Of course, nobody we know would ever put Something Awful in a bucket like that, who knows, maybe Tom Ridge and John Ashcroft are right, and the terrorists really are everywhere. In that case, a terrorist might be reading this right now and be thinking, hey, what a great way to get some cop to spill a bucket of Something Awful on his head and instead of blaming terrorists, he’d blame peaceniks. Terrorists are really evil people. Sometimes they even commit acts of terrorism that then get blamed on somebody else.
Let’s hope something like that never happens around here.
Even after they had figured out that there wasn’t Something Awful in the buckets they had taken down so far, they’d still have to take the same precautions which each and every one because one of them *might* have something awful in it. Of course, nobody we know would ever put Something Awful in a bucket like that, who knows, maybe Tom Ridge and John Ashcroft are right, and the terrorists really are everywhere. In that case, a terrorist might be reading this right now and be thinking, hey, what a great way to get some cop to spill a bucket of Something Awful on his head and instead of blaming terrorists, he’d blame peaceniks. Terrorists are really evil people. Sometimes they even commit acts of terrorism that then get blamed on somebody else.
Let’s hope something like that never happens around here.
Someone once told me that naked people also really slow down traffic, when they're in places were traffic can closely view them, like bike overpasses. But these days I doubt that would really be effective since everyone is in such a rush anyway.
But being naked sure attacts a lot of attention.
But being naked sure attacts a lot of attention.
where someone talked about the idea of obscuring the view of people who wear those plastic face shields with a spray application. That person was talking about one form which I would never approve of - paint. I could see maybe silly string, or cool whip, or aftershave, but I guess anyone getting close enough to use those would be beaten senseless. I did think the idea of a dispensor so big it had to be on a dolly was a nice touch. Maybe a shopping cart would do.
But this would never be something I would do because I support war and police. Those are sort of the same, aren't they? Guvment, guns, cops, money. Like em all.
But this would never be something I would do because I support war and police. Those are sort of the same, aren't they? Guvment, guns, cops, money. Like em all.
bart has ads requesting that you report them.
Red, white and blue body paint, in a stars and stripes pattern. That way, if the cops beat you, they'de be desecrating the flag.
Aslo, it'd make for some hella fine photo ops.
Aslo, it'd make for some hella fine photo ops.
the media vans could clog up traffic on their own.
So the question arises. If you were a fellow worker who had to commute to work to make a living, which would p*ss you off worse, getting hung up in traffic on the way to work, or getting hung up in traffic on the way home?
So people are planning on tipping off the media in advance? If so, isn't this a clever way to make sure that those vans are where you want them to be, and not where you don't want them to be? How many of them do you think would fall for it? How many of them could afford not to fall for it, and risk getting scooped by the competition?
Have a sign saying "No Wet Tickets."
I wonder what that means.
I wonder what that means.
Maybe someone will post a list of people in the media to contact.
that nobody causes a black out by hitting some high tension lines with a bola made from dog chains and fishing weights. That would be terrible. There might even be looting.
what if everyone woke up that morning, and noticed that someone had spread a <b>white powder</b> all over the business centers in all of the bay area? what if the media and the police noticed that there was something like flour which somebody had spread around on the freeway, or from the top of a windy building, and the media thought it was terrorism? Who would go to worK? But I suppose no-one is that evil to do a thing like that except those horrible terrorists that we hate so much. Oh, and long live king george!
such as cones and blockades can be found all over the city. much of it is not even locked up. hmmm....
...caution tape can be purchased anywhere....
...caution tape can be purchased anywhere....
webs of string, yarn, wire, and other materials can create a chaotic mess of an intersection
Duct tape makes for better symbolism.
http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/03/1580041_comment.php#1580078
(snip)
With London on a high terror alert the cops were also looking at the action as a possible toxic attack!! It was explained that the blood was just red food colouring and wallpaper paste,
(snip)
(snip)
With London on a high terror alert the cops were also looking at the action as a possible toxic attack!! It was explained that the blood was just red food colouring and wallpaper paste,
(snip)
http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/03/1580989_comment.php#1581015
(snip)
didn't fall for the trap
(snip)
riders kept on rolling when police picked people off, thus thwarting their efforts to keep the ride immobilized.
(snip)
(snip)
didn't fall for the trap
(snip)
riders kept on rolling when police picked people off, thus thwarting their efforts to keep the ride immobilized.
(snip)
when the main body began to move out of CC Plaza, the breakaway march took off in the precise opposite direction? What would the cops do? Wouldn’t they have to split their forces?
What if it turned out that the breakaway marchers were all peaceful, just noisy, and the people who wanted to f*ck sh*t up (PWWTFSU) were were actually mixed in with the main march, and then once enough cops had begun to pursue the breakaway the PWWTFSU coalesced into a tight formation and took of at right angles from the main march and headed in a third direction? How fast could the cops react?
What if the PWWTFSU weren’t even *at* the demo downtown? What if they were at, oh say, Stonestown or Union St. or Pacific Heights, or someplace like that, dressed to blend in, not attracting attention, and listening to their police scanners, waiting to hear that the SFPD was suddenly very busy downtown? Wouldn’t that be a fine kettle of fish?
What if it turned out that the breakaway marchers were all peaceful, just noisy, and the people who wanted to f*ck sh*t up (PWWTFSU) were were actually mixed in with the main march, and then once enough cops had begun to pursue the breakaway the PWWTFSU coalesced into a tight formation and took of at right angles from the main march and headed in a third direction? How fast could the cops react?
What if the PWWTFSU weren’t even *at* the demo downtown? What if they were at, oh say, Stonestown or Union St. or Pacific Heights, or someplace like that, dressed to blend in, not attracting attention, and listening to their police scanners, waiting to hear that the SFPD was suddenly very busy downtown? Wouldn’t that be a fine kettle of fish?
Rumour has it the resonant frequency of the human schpincter is about 3hz. 3hz is a fairly difficult audible frequency to generate. However in some alternate universe where it would be possible to generate a constant 3hz tone and directionaly aim it, one could theororheticaly cause spontaneous opening of the sphincter, and possibly a general evacuation of the bowels behind it, though I dont think that it would work in our universe, nor would I want to smell the partialy digested meat as it dribbled down the uniformed legs of our gorillas in blue, it'd be way to embarassing, and I'd never want to cause that to them.
http://www.forteantimes.com/articles/153_sonicweapons.shtml
http://www.schizophonia.com/installation/trauma/trauma_thesis/
http://www.sectionz.com/home_detail.asp?SZID=209
http://www.spacedog.biz/infrasonic.htm
http://alternative-technologies.org/security.htm
http://theblog.hypermart.net/thurstonia/acoustics.shtml
http://carlisle-http://www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/96autumn/stanton.htm
http://www.raven1.net/jwalltil.htm
http://secrettruth.net/Weapons2.htm
http://www.schizophonia.com/installation/trauma/trauma_thesis/
http://www.sectionz.com/home_detail.asp?SZID=209
http://www.spacedog.biz/infrasonic.htm
http://alternative-technologies.org/security.htm
http://theblog.hypermart.net/thurstonia/acoustics.shtml
http://carlisle-http://www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/96autumn/stanton.htm
http://www.raven1.net/jwalltil.htm
http://secrettruth.net/Weapons2.htm
What if everyone was to break South after 20 minutes and head straight for Baja? If everyone did that then it would most likely be very difficult for the police to stop the majority of marchers. Once in Baja, everyone might get naked and frolic in sexual pleasure... I doubt anyone would care that a mass of people would take part in such action way down there - not to mention is might make it easier for those same masses to get deported to Iraq where they would have a larger amount of opportunity and be safer from gov't. officials and oppression. I for one would not, if placed in such a position, attempt to subsequently leave Iraq because friends an family could be put in jeopardy (rape and detention if not death).
I was made aware of this forum via a referal log (my site being linked to as a source for information on the topic). In response to the potential use of non-lethal acoustic weapons; no, it's not going to work. Especially not any of this 3hz rumor-mill material, which I can say with great confidence will not achieve the effects suggested.
Not only are such accoustic weapons notoriously large (when one does the math a resonant open ended tube would have to be nearly 8 meters long), require horribly large power sources (sometimes needing to be explosively pumped), but they can also not be focused. That is, frequencies that low spread out in a spherical manner and will not be a 'beam'. And finally, the effect of infrasound (x<30hz), and the various resonance frequencies of organs within the human body have not been well documented, if any exist.
I would not persue, hypothetically of course, this line of research unless I was willing to spend a great deal of money for very useful return. I'd just stick to (the idea of) blaring bad music over loudspeakers if I were you.
Not only are such accoustic weapons notoriously large (when one does the math a resonant open ended tube would have to be nearly 8 meters long), require horribly large power sources (sometimes needing to be explosively pumped), but they can also not be focused. That is, frequencies that low spread out in a spherical manner and will not be a 'beam'. And finally, the effect of infrasound (x<30hz), and the various resonance frequencies of organs within the human body have not been well documented, if any exist.
I would not persue, hypothetically of course, this line of research unless I was willing to spend a great deal of money for very useful return. I'd just stick to (the idea of) blaring bad music over loudspeakers if I were you.
For more information:
http://theblog.hypermart.net/thurstonia/ac...
I noticed that the action on the GGB yesterday with only 12 people apparently drew huge numbers of cops - anyone have any info or pictures? Apparently they simply stopped when they were told to, but in the mean time, caused some stir.
Drawing cops to prominent locations en masse with few numbers of people who don't actually do anything (and are thus available for elsewhere) seems like an good tactic.
That is, if someone were to support such things, which I don't.
Drawing cops to prominent locations en masse with few numbers of people who don't actually do anything (and are thus available for elsewhere) seems like an good tactic.
That is, if someone were to support such things, which I don't.
what does it mean? (" riders kept on rolling when police picked people off, thus thwarting their efforts to keep the ride immobilized.")
it means the cops usually neutralize the ride when everyone stops to wait for their friends. the cops get to stay in strength and when the citations are finally over they just pull us over again. we're never in the streets.
this time each time the cops cited us a few would stay to observe and the rest kept riding.
it's a very different situation from the breakaway marches but the same idea can apply. when the arrests were happening on mission people could have started marching leaving the police spread thin and unable to repress everyone, just some.
if everyone keeps moving with a purpose eventually most of them will fulfill their purpose.
it means the cops usually neutralize the ride when everyone stops to wait for their friends. the cops get to stay in strength and when the citations are finally over they just pull us over again. we're never in the streets.
this time each time the cops cited us a few would stay to observe and the rest kept riding.
it's a very different situation from the breakaway marches but the same idea can apply. when the arrests were happening on mission people could have started marching leaving the police spread thin and unable to repress everyone, just some.
if everyone keeps moving with a purpose eventually most of them will fulfill their purpose.
if someone you know gets arrested, get the contact info of those who saw it.
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