The March For A World Without Police and Zombies by Phillip Reynes

It was a beautiful fall night this past Saturday as people gathered for the third anuual March For A World Without Police. The police presence was oppressively heavy which made me wonder at the judgment of our new lair and chief; oh, excuse me I mean Chief of police, who supposedly is a reformer but to anyone here this night seemed to want to provoke trouble. Chief White has a credibility problem with this community ever since the march in February where he at his press confrence fragrently lied about the arest and the reasons for it at the March. COIMC took over 1,1oo pictures on that march and nothing he said about water balloons full of urine or excrement was true!! That was not a good start for Chief White and this march just serves to show that he thinks dissent can be quelled through intimidation.

Occupy Denver is holding a Stop The Empire Action at the Presidential Debates as I type this. 
Naturally the Green Party has acted quickly to take advantage of this for their own political agenda.
Jill Stein’s vision may offer more equality, but it WILL NOT bring about more freedom.
Jill Stein’s plan is to reduce spending via military cuts & preventive health. But she still wants a military. She still wants doctors to maintain the position of secular priests that every day people hold in reverence.

Jill Stein wants to leave the archaic institution of marriage intact, but give the “right” to people the dominant order considers “gay” to marry. She is not interested in destroying the institution of marriage that serves the Dominant Order or dismantling the social identities that are necessary for the Dominant Order to function.
She also had the audacity to claim the American Revolution “threw off corporate rule” although the American Revolution did not even benefit the great majority of colonists, slaves, indentured servants, women or anyone who wasn’t a rich, white property owner. (In other words the American Revolution only benefited the 1%)
She also wants to increase spending on public schools – these are the very institutions that indoctrinate young Americans into the values of the 1%!
I commend the brave people who are taking direct action against the Dominant Order. I just hope they don’t allow themselves to be manipulated by a rich, white, Harvard educated woman with a political agenda every bit as brutal as Obama and Romney’s.
 

Come check out the amazing Fly Away Zine Mobile when it comes to the Denver Zine Library! Look through the zines in this mobile collection and join us for a possible impromptu zine reading!

Thursday, October 4 at 7pm
2727 West 27th Avenue, Denver CO

The Fly Away Zine Mobile is a free lending library, self-publishing skill-sharer, and mini reading room that travels around North America, organizing/supporting events around literacy and self-publishing and hosting open library/reading hours. There are currently about 1,500 zines in the collection; current sections include Do-It-Yourself/How-To; Healing and Wellness; Prisons/By Prisoners; Personal/Autobiographical; Comics/Drawings; Cooking/Food; Field Guides/Place-Related; Political; Parenting; Zines by Kids; Poetry; Librarian-Made Zines; and Animal-Related Zines.

http://zinemobile.wordpress.com/

Stop The Empire

Protest the Presidential Debates @ Denver University

Wednesday October 3rd 5:30pm

March Meet up Location: McWilliams Park

@ E. Yale Ave & S. Steele St.

The first of the three Presidential “debates” will take place in Denver, Colorado on October 3rd. We have no doubt that this charade will produce plenty of false promises, lies, empty platitudes and misleading statements. The conversations at these “debates” are designed to divide people into polarized camps, reinforce the illusion that we are dependent on our elected officials, and divert our attention from addressing the root problems this nation is facing. The American Empire, although few outside of academic circles would dare to call it that, is one such problem.

Join the coalition to Stop the Empire as we march to the presidential debate to let the two corporate candidates know we are finished listening to their meaningless conversations that do nothing except maintain the current power structures that are morally and fiscally bankrupting this nation and communities across the world. Democracy or the American Empire? We can’t have both. The only way to avoid the fate of all empires is to admit that America is exactly that, a full-blown Empire; and to start honestly discussing and understanding within our communities why American imperialism, financial colonization and capitalism are creating more terrorism, eviscerating our Constitutional rights here at home, and violating international law abroad.

The 2nd issue of the new Anarchist Journal Modern Slavery - A Liberatory Critique of Civilization is coming out soon.

http://modernslavery.calpress.or... Issue 2 includes: An Introduction to Modern Slavery (Part 2) by Jason McQuinn Curtains of Blood: A Peek behind the Phenomena of the Grand Guignol by Paul Z. Simons p.11 Raoul Vaneigem: The Other Situationist by Jason McQuinn p.25 A Surreal Interview with an Anarchist: Ron Sakolsky Oppositional Currents: Anarchy in the UK: Chapter 2 of The Old World is Behind You by Karen Goaman The Greatness of my Hostility: Chapter 2 of Strangers in an Alien World by Wolfi Landstreicher Slavery & Slack: Part 1 – Slavery by J.T. Winogrond p.104 AND MUCH MORE

Join us for Denver's Third Annual International October Day of Action Against Police Brutality.

Saturday October 20th, 7:00 PM
Sonny Lawson Park at 24th and Welton

This city is under attack. A powerful gang roams the streets – organized, brutal, and extremely dangerous. Their colors are blue and black. They carry guns and engage in organized crime: from prostitution and dealing meth to selling illegal weapons.(i) They rape, beat, and kill with impunity.(ii) When their deeds are brought into the open, they conspire, under the guise of a brotherhood, to maintain a strict code of silence. They control everything that goes on. The city's leaders are in their pocket. The City is Denver. The gang goes by the name of “the police.”

Tuesday August 21st

6:00pm

La Alma Park (13th and Mariposa)

Justice for Kevin Ryberg!

End Denver police terror!

Free Amelia Nicol!

Solidarity with those resisting state repression in the Northwest!

On July 31st, metro area police murdered yet another unarmed person. 22 year old Kevin Ryberg was shot multiple times while being held in the back of a Denver police cruiser while it was en route to the District 2 police station in Northeast Denver.

Ryberg is alleged to have assaulted the officer driving the car. Police claim he was able to slip out of his handcuffs and somehow get through a metal and plexiglass security wall that specifically exists to protect a police officer from a passenger attacking them. A second police vehicle came up alongside the car. It is unclear which officer shot the suspect, and how the events transpired.

At least one of the officers involved in the shooting, Randall Krouse, has a history of lying about suspects assaulting officers, not to mention using racially inspired epithets against suspects. According to the Denver Post, “In January 2006, Krouse used a Taser on the neck of a handcuffed drunk, Kenneth Rodriguez, 46, who ended up serving four days in jail after Krouse filed a report falsely accusing the suspect of assaulting another officer. A videotape of the incident showed Krouse asking, "Understando Taser?" before using the Taser while escorting the belligerent but unarmed Rodriguez into a holding cell.”

The dust has barely settled on this most recent shooting, but already it is hard not to think of the various incidents in recent history where Denver area law enforcement have killed unarmed suspects. The names of Alonzo Ashley, Oleg Gidenko, Marvin Booker, and Emily Rice are but a few that most in Denver might be familiar with.

on july 9th in response to the second anniversay of the murder of marvin booker in downtown denver's detention facility two banners were dropped and revolutionary graffiti was put on walls. one banner on highway 93 said "no tears for dead cops vengeance for marvin booker" in regards to an anti-police brutality rally cancelled out of "respect" for a denver police officer killed breaking up a fight in park hill.

another banner was hung demanding freedom for amelia nicol, who had a court date on july 9th after being arrested and jailed for squatting more than six months ago. graffiti demanding the freedom of several other anarchist prisoners along with anti-police slogans were also sprayed on several walls.

july 9th, the day marvin booker was killed, should always remain a day of struggle, conflict and agitation towards the police and state. it is with regret that this was all that was mustered.

don't be pacified by populism and big tents. refuse the left's theft of confrontational oxygen and rhetoric. occupy is dead!

Approximately two years ago, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI attempted to seize the Colorado Indymedia server because somebody posted a communique here taking responsibility for the breaking of windows at an ICE office. If you want to read more about the incident and our response, see our article at http://colorado.indymedia.org/no...

I filed Freedom of Information Requests to the Loveland Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and a couple other agencies to find out more about the investigation that almost took our site offline. I received a couple dozen pages of records. Because of the contents of these records, we now have conclusive proof the DHS/FBI agents that visited the organization that hosts our server (Denver Open Media) lied to them about having a warrant to seize the server. While I am not in the least bit surprised that they lied about this (and they are certainly allowed to under the law), we now know for certain that it was a lie. This serves as another reminder that you should always double-check the claims that police make.

I've posted the records here in case anybody else may find them useful in researching political repression in the area. Please note that you cannot use any personal information from the records of Loveland PD or other state agencies for business/solicitation purposes per C.R.S. 24-72-305.5 (see http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit...).

Records from CIAC (Colorado Information Analysis Center/Fusion Center)

http://colorado.indymedia.org/fi...

Records from the FBI

http://colorado.indymedia.org/fi...

Pictures of the vandalism from the Loveland PD:

http://colorado.indymedia.org/fi...

Loveland PD Records

http://colorado.indymedia.org/fi...

The summer without police violence event planned for 6/30 has been canceled because of the memorial service that day for the police officer killed at city park. It will be rescheduled at a future date.

Summer Without Police Violence Vigil & Protest

Saturday, June 30, 2012
12:00pm until 2:00pm
Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center (490 W. Colfax Avenue) and Police Admin Building (1331 Cherokee Street Denver, CO 80202)

Historically, racial profiling and police violence drastically increase over the hot summer months. The month of July commemorates the deaths of Paul Childs, Marvin Booker, Alonzo Ashley, the beatings at Denver Diner, and other incidents at the hands of Denver law enforcement. We are coming together to remember these victims of police violence, to demand accountability, and to put Denver law enforcement on notice. We are letting the City and law enforcement know that we are keeping a close eye on them this summer.

The action will serve to commemorate victims of police violence AND to launch a July campaign that includes Know Your Rights trainings, Community Racial Profiling Clinics, and much more. Take a look here for more information.

http://progressivecoalition.org/...

This action is being organized by the Race to Justice Coalition, a coalition of groups working on police accountability in Denver. These groups include the American Civil Liberties Union, Colorado Progressive Coalition, National Lawyers Guild, Community Reentry Project, GLBT Center, Colorado Latino Forum, and NAACP.

More about the Race to Justice Coalition
Race to Justice is a broad ACLU of Colorado campaign to address systemic problems with our state’s criminal justice system. Law enforcement practices, sentencing policy, conditions of confinement and recidivism all fall within the scope of this campaign. However, the current events involving Denver’s police and sheriffs have led us to start with addressing the most glaring problems of profiling and excessive force.
 

Ward Churchill will be before the Supreme Court of Colorado on June 7th.  In a very encouraging move, the Supreme Court has agreed to consider all of the plantif's questions without qualification, which is very rare.  The Westword article has a good interview with the atorney David Lane about their chances, and you can also see the recent article from the Daily Camera.   For a very in-depth look at the case, visit wardchurchill.net.  See you in court!

June 7: Colo. Supreme Court Oral Argument

Thursday, June 7, 2012      1:00 pm

New location:  Old Supreme Court Chambers

 
Wild Roots Feral Futures is an informal, completely free and non-commercial, and loosely organized event operating on (less than a) shoe-string budget, formed entirely off of donated, scavenged, or liberated supplies and sustained through 100% volunteer effort. 

This year, we are reaching out to the greater community in an appeal for funding donations. All proceeds go directly to acquiring essential collective supplies and food, as well as reimbursing trainers, speakers, teachers, performers, medics, and others who are traveling long distances to provide us with their services, knowledge, skills, and expertise.

Donation records & expense reports will be openly reviewed on the ground at Wild Roots Feral Futures by the organizers' collective and any other attendees/participants interested in such transparency and accountability.

Every dollar helps. Thank you in advance!

Anarchists attacked a Wal-Mart with paint and smashed up a bank and ATM May 16th in a northwest suburb of Denver. This action was carried out in full solidarity with all anarchist prisoners held by the state and all combatants waging war against capital.

Fuck the police, fuck the bankers.

May 2012

Trotskyism vs. Social Democracy and Anarcho-Liberalism

The Left, Labor and Occupy


Occupy protesters in Portland picket Terminal 6 on December 12. (Photo: Rick Bowmer/AP)

Six months after Occupy Wall Street began – when a few hundred people sparked worldwide protest with a march and sit-in in lower Manhattan against political corruption and corporate greed – OWS was back. And four months after Occupy encampments were brutally evicted around the country, the police were there to greet them. Demonstrators chanted “this is what democracy looks like” as cops dragged scores out of Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan. More accurate would have been “this is what a police state looks like.” At the same time, the sharpening internal contradictions within the Occupy movement were also on display.

Like many, prehaps most, prisoners Caveman is not too bright. He has other virtues, among them a great sense of humour and that is important when you find yourself serving life in prison. Caveman didn't rape or kill anybody. He is instead one of a large number of non-violent offenders to be serving a life sentence as a habitual offender in Colorado's state prison system. He says it happened like this. Like many, probably most, prisoners Caveman has a drug problem. In his case with meth. Because meth is expensive, Caveman has sold a lot of it over the course of his life. He never became a big drug dealer but he managed somehow to pay for his dope habit. He also managed to get himself arrested, repeatedly, and go to prison, repeatedly. The last time Caveman was out of prison he decided he was going to make the stuff himself. Other prisoners had told him how easy it was to make meth on your stovetop and he resolved to do just that. Did I mention that Caveman isn't too bright? He must have forgot one of the steps in the receipe, or something, because Caveman, much as he wanted to, did not make meth on his stovetop. He made fire. Of course he tried to put it out. But he didn't have a fire extinguisher, and when he threw water on the blaze he created on the stovetop it just got bigger. Maybe if he'd made it to highschool he would have known not to throw water on a chemical fire, but he hadn't and so he did. So instead of making meth on his stovetop Caveman burned down his landlords house.

My livestream had been down for a total of 15 minutes as the radicals of Occupy Denver rounded off their direct action march targeting businesses who support the Urban Camping Ban and who are deeply invested into the ideals of the 1%, when the Denver Police decided to kidnap me. With press credentials around my neck, my comrade Tim and I had just crossed the street with a banner that read "We Didn't Start The Class War", which I was supporting him in carrying until I could get to my battery replacement back at the Civic Center Amphitheater where the march began from. With a red light holding the traffic in the perpendicular direction we crossed the street. When we got no more than 20 yards away from the rest of the march, a high ranking officer said "take them" and told us "you're going to jail". We were stuffed into an unmarked car quickly before the rest of the march could get more involved. All of a sudden I remember how at one of the stops the march had at Wells Fargo just an hour before an officer had told me, that "press doesn't matter" (See footage here: http://ustre.am/_1vt0y:16eT) to try and prevent me from covering any arrests. Well, I was one of the arrests. The official charge is "Obstructing Traffic" which, at the time of arrest, the only ones obstructing any traffic were DPD officers. Of course that would come second to the fact that there was no traffic to speak of. It was a red light some 100 yards away. I have requested representation from the Nation Lawyers Guild and like most other charges to Occupy protesters, and in this case a journalist, I'm expect the case to be dismissed. Follow me on twitter for more: @Starrstream

There are plenty of reasons why a homeless person might actually prefer not to go to a shelter--contagious diseases, tainted food, sex offenders, abusive practices by shelter staff, and better alternatives, like sleeping in one's own car.  Despite all these, shelters remain continuously full, and people are turned away every night of the year.  That's because there are so many homeless--more than 12,000 in Denver alone.

Homelessness is one of the few "growth trends" in our present economy.  And it is, indeed, a purely economic phenomenon.  Nobody chooses to be homeless.  Kerouac was talking about low-budget tourism--a very different thing.  This is not tourism, not a vacation, not camping.  Let's be clear about that.

The three leading causes of homelessness are job loss, the high cost of housing, and break-up of a family.  Mental illness and substance abuse do not cause homelessness.  There are plenty of people who have these problems and yet have a roof over their heads.  They have housing for the same reason you do.  Either they have the money to pay for it, or someone who has the money is willing to provide a home for them.  Those are the only reasons why anyone has a home.

Four persons were arrested and a two-year-old child was hit by a bicycle-riding cop yesterday during Denver's May Day March.   According to witnesses, the behavior of one or more of the parade marshalls contributed to the problems, rather than mitigating them, and marchers abandoned their arrested comrades, rather than assisting them or otherwise showing solidarity.

The problems commenced after one marcher began dancing in the street.  A marshall came up behind the marcher, seized him, and attempted to push him along, instead of approaching him face-to-face, and using verbal communication.  The dancer, taken by surprise and unable to see who was pushing him, began resisting what must have seemed like an attack.  Cops then closed in and arrested the dancing marcher, though they did not arrest the marshall.  The original charge was jaywalking, which is not an arrestable offense.  This charge was later changed to obstructing traffic.

During the incident, a cop, apparently unable to control his zeal at the prospect of participating in an arrest, ran his bicycle into a little two-year-old girl.  The child's father then began speaking out very strongly in defense of his daughter, only to be rebuked by the same marshall who had caused the original problem.

Later in the march, another person was arrested, also for jaywalking, changed during booking to obstructing traffic.  This person  had been slated to perform later that day in the General Strike activities at Civic Center Park.