The Multitude Against the Empire
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Friday April 25, 2003 06:42
by Peace Activist
by Luca Casarini
These acts of disobedience and boycott are referencing a new language: the movement has become substantive because it is implementing its own laws, from below, in order to end crimes against humanity. It is implementing blockades of the merchandise of war, sanctioning those who are speculating in the war, breaking off diplomatic ties with political representatives of the governments at war. That movement is dreaming up another possible world, and it knows that, in order to achieve that world, it must remove the dimension of unjust and cynical legality of the market of war, in order to make room for humanity.
Originally published in Spanish by Rebeldi'a
*******************************
Translated by irlandesa
Rebeldi'a
Issue #5
http://www.revistarebeldia.org
Throughout Italy: The Multitude Against the Empire
Luca Casarini
Throughout Italy, ever since the beginning of the bombing of Iraq, there have been continuous, nonstop demonstrations against the war. Marches
around military bases - our country is, unfortunately, full of them - thousands of persons laying siege to US and British consulates and embassies, strikes by students, occupations of universities. Rallies, sit-ins, the blocking of highways and railroad tracks, meetings in workplaces, marches with torches, prayers by Catholics in churches, motions for peace approved by town councils.
The reasons for such a constant commitment by so very many persons - despite the fact that the war has already begun - must be sought in what
happened prior to this phase.
What must be analyzed, above all else, is what happened, here and in the world, before Bush and Blair's bombs exploded. A multitudinous movement, millions and millions, who simultaneously invaded all the plazas of the
planet, in order to try - preventatively - to stop the war. All of us hoped that what the Washington Post had described as "the greatest moment of rupture between the governed and their leaders" - or, according to the New York Times: "The birth of a new superpower, Global Public Opinion" - would be enough to interrupt the tragic plans of the White House and Downing Street. We hoped that, by demonstrating in the plazas and by carrying out very radical actions prior to the war, the forceful position
taken by humanity could combine with those conflicts which had arisen within the empire's constituents, among leaders of nations that were not at all peaceful or pacifist, like Chirac, Putin and the Chinese government.
Nonetheless, the war began, without consensus among the people, nor among all the powerful. This tragedy causes one to think, it should make one reflect. We are faced, in reality, with a Coup within the Empire, and the consequences will be suffered by not only the old diplomatic and political institutions, like the United Nations - which has been completely shattered - but, above all, by humanity and its means of constructing a new democracy. We must trust that the people, so numerous, will continue
mobilizing for this as well: they are perfectly aware of the fact that the war has a global objective, although the Iraqi civilians are suffering it materially, and that objective is the construction of a new permanent model of domination in the world.
The leaders of the United States have transformed September 11 into the new Pearl Harbor. There were two possibilities: this one, that is making the world think that the World Trade Center killings were caused by an
enemy attack from the outside. The other one, which is taking hold every day, especially in the consciences of millions of US citizens, concerns the economic system of dictators, fundamentalists and CIA officials, oil
men, bankers, financiers, sometimes friends and sometimes enemies, sometimes competitors in the global market, other times allies. The idea
that this system has collapsed, exploding from within, in the exact same place where it was produced. If the Pentagon's propaganda had wanted to transform September 11 into Pearl Harbor, the war in Iraq could be Hiroshima: the affirmation through force of a model which they want to impose on a global and permanent basis. The most worrisome aspect of all of this is that, exactly as in Hiroshima, it is base!
d on war against civilians. Ever since Hiroshima, throughout all modern wars, civilians have made up between 70% and 80% of the victims. The same ones who had been previously granted dictators, sanctions, blockades, all
kinds of suffering, and who are then bombarded, always at the hands of the same, extraordinarily generous, soldiers of good.
The truth is that global public opinion has not managed to stop the war, but it has become established as a new public space, as an alternative to the single belief system. The very concept of war has been transformed,
as war against civilians. The concept of peace has also changed, since it is no longer the period of time between one war and the next. How, then, can we refer to a situation as peace which, even without bombings, causes millions of deaths every year from hunger, thirst, AIDS, pollution? These changes in the perception of war and peace were evident during the great demonstrations prior to the attack. Many people had signs and posters which associated the universal "stop the global war" with slogans
against neoliberal globalization. For the activist, global public, being against the war means fighting against the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the group of 8
(G-8).
The paths which lead from Seattle, from Genoa, are intersecting with those which are just beginning to be followed in an attempt to stop the barbarity of the bombs. The global war is broken down into different levels of intensity. There is a perpetual state of injustice, of lack of liberty and dignity, which is caused by the multinationals and neoliberal policies. These decisions are made around the sanctuaries of the Empire, and this condition is already being perceived as a real war, since it causes millions of deaths and devastating consequences throughout the world. The movement which is fighting against the war has defined the
conflict in Iraq as a war for oil, and the Bush administration is identified with the multinational Exxon, which sells fuel to the
Anglo-American troops. The multinationals of arms, which sold Saddam everything necessary for massacring Kurds and Iranians, are now speaking
through the voice of Donald Rumsfeld, the minister of the North American war. The people know all of this. And they know that the war for
water has begun alongside the war for oil. Almost two billion people throughout the world do not have access to sources of clean water. In
September, the next WTO summit will be promoting the privatization of water sources. Opposing it, blockading it, it will be the same for all
those who are opposed to the global war.
The movement against the war has established itself as a global and activist public, unifying, in fact, those experiences which have been accumulating throughout the world in the struggles against the neoliberal policies of the Empire's great economic summits, with the ethical
dimension of condemnation of the genocide of humanity. Catholics and laypersons have found themselves together in this terrain, and this fact is relevant and unprecedented, most especially in Italy.
The fact that the bombing started despite the uprising of millions of persons, did, however, bring about an energetic debate on the methods of
the struggle. If marching and refusing to accede to the governments would have been enough, then that would have represented a great and positive novelty for everyone. What is happening, unfortunately, emphasizes the
fact that the degree of authoritarianism, of dictatorship, in the makeup of the Empire, is extremely high , and it is reducing, as never before, the real spaces for democracy. According to those who rule, public
opinion is not heard, it is created. If it is favorable to the new emperors' plans, it is used in order to create staged public spaces, in
order to support the actions of the sovereigns. If it is opposed, it must be annihilated. In any manner. With television and clubs, with bombs and with Hollywood. How, then, are we going to oppose such a reality? Obviously, the question is still without any definitive answers, but it is essential for us to begin positing it throughout the
world. It is essential, in the universities in Arab countries throughout
the world, that they begin to shout "Stop the War!" before "Allah is
Great!" It is also essential that it is understood in the west that
conflict, direct action, the methods of rebellion, active civil
disobedience against the war, are not the romantic details of some
antiquated revolutionary dreamers, but the only way to think, in this
context, that another world is possible.
But how can we preserve and broaden a public space, a substantive public
opinion against the Empire (and one which is also quite fragile from the
blows which it receives from the sovereigns), and at the same time
traverse that space with methods of struggle appropriate to a substantive
movement capable of change? It is a dilemma, but there has already been
some experimenting, and there will be much more. The fact is that those
who say it was enough to march, or vote, or participate in the decisions
of power, have very little voice in the discussion.
The Italian Practice of Train Blocking
During the period which preceded the war, there were two moments in Italy,
among many others, of extraordinary importance for the beginning of a
response to that question. The first moment was undoubtedly, as it was
throughout the planet, February 15, the day of the global uprising against
the war. In Rome, millions of persons from throughout the country
occupied the city. It was something which had never been seen before, a
multitude of people, aware of being part of something quite large,
enormous, which was occupying all the capitals of the world at the same
moment. A river of people, united in condemnation of the war, who dreamed
of being able to stop it. The fact that this took place based on a call
which had been made from Porto Alegre presents us with the idea of the
intertwining of the movement of the movements and the new "Stop the War"
sentiment. Hours of demonstrations, with the city completely stopped and,
at the end, the reading of a new letter from the Su!
p, read by the mother of Carlo Giuliani, our brother who was assassinated
in Genoa by the carabinieri in the battle against the G-8. It should be
emphasized that, in addition to the incredible strength of this multitude,
was how everyone wanted to know how many people were marching in other
place s in the world. How many in the United States, how many in South
Africa or in the Philippines, how many in London or in Mexico.
Communication went from being something technical to something political,
becoming the means of organizing directly and simultaneously. Without
belonging to a single organization, being one single multitude.
Satellite television and radio channels were turned on, connected
throughout the world, in an attempt, among other things, to speak to the
Iraqi people. The red zone of information was violated, through direct
production, outside the official media. In Italy, GlobalTV and
Globalradio were the disobedient means for being inside that multitude.
Still impressed by something which we had never seen before, and something
which had taken place before, and not after, the outbreak of the war, a
few days later we experimented with the substantive potential of the
attempt to stop the war. All of us had listened to Marcos' words and
those of our brothers and sisters from the Selva, and we always had the
same question in our minds: How to avoid the easy trap of believing that
it was enough that we were many and to produce great events, while the
powerful still continued to move forward in their path of death? How to
do everything possible in order to stop and to attack that machine of
death, without separating ourselves from that huge multitude? How to
build conflict and consensus, how to transform a symbolic movement into a
substantive one?
The occasion presented itself to us with the beginning of the transfer of
US war machinery from a base in northern Italy to the center, using three
Italian trains. The Italian government had authorized it, thus marking
its direct participation in the organization of the war. It used trains,
ports and airports for the North American army without a debate in
Parliament. We learned from reports from railroad and information workers
among activists that trains were en route, carrying weapons. In a small
station in the province of Padua, on the line to the south, at seven in
the evening, two hundred disobedients occupied the station, blocking the
train traffic, including the train of death. Fires were set on the
railway, as a large number of anti-riot police began arriving. The news
was heard immediately, thanks to Globalradio, which began transmitting 24
hours a day, via satellite, the Internet and modular frequency. The train
was blocked, but what was extraordinary was t!
hat thousands of persons, throughout the 300 kilometers from one base to
the other, upon hearing the news, began organizing blockades, in case the
police had attacked the first group.
That is how the biggest act of disobedience against the war began,
organized by communication, and developed around an impressive number of
different methods, whose central objective was blocking the trains of
death. That action, which continued for 7 days, without interruption,
involved very many, and a wide variety, of persons. From those who
provided information about the arrival of the trains and about the police
movements, to those who organized stoppages of other trains, activating
the emergency brake in order to stop traffic and to allow activists to
organize. After workers refused to drive those trains, the government had
to militarize them. A debate began throughout the country, and also
within the movement, because the State obviously considers blocking trains
to be an illegal action. The discussion, however, became quite
interesting, since waging an illegal and illegitimate war was much worse.
One of the most interesting aspects was the use of communication as a
means of organizing the initiative. Everyone turned into an activist:
from the railroad workers who explained the trains' paths to us, to the
passengers on the other trains who called the radio if they saw anything
strange. From the young people who were willing to sit down on the
railroad tracks day and night, to the retired workers advising us as to
how we could block the traffic through small acts of sabotage.
Globalradio no longer had just an information role. It was directly
organizing the most extensive action. The radio itself was action, heart
and collective head for the multitude in action. The train blocking
initiative - called train-stopping - demonstrated that the war was inside
our country, and that it is completely just to disobey laws in order to
obstruct it. It secured the enforcement of humanitarian laws, the
prohibition of the transporting of military apparatus to be utilized in I!
raq, against the laws of the Empire imposed by the Italian government
against the views of its citizens.
At that moment, the movement not only turned rebel, but also substantive.
As in all wars, all of us turned into deserters, and resistance begins at
precisely that point, with desertion, with rejection. The powers had to
show their true face: the trains, after many days, had reached their
destination, in Tuscany, protected by an army, conducted by soldiers and
with blockades on all sides. Then blockades began of civilian airports,
as well as incursions into military airports, both of which were being
used for the transportation of North American troops. The soldiers often
had to carry out transport operations of war materiel cargo in the ports,
because the civilian personnel refused.
The Practice of Disobedience Becomes a New Language
War is a complex machine, this war especially. In addition to being
different from old wars because it is directing its terror and destruction
against civilians and not against armies - which are useless in the face
of the appalling technology of death - it is made up of commercial,
political and communications mechanisms which have already been revealed,
made public. For example, always within the framework of actions
attempting to block the war, we discovered that the General Markets of
Padua, in northern Italy, were earning millions of dollars for warehousing
fruits and vegetables for US soldiers in the war. The North American
military administration even had their own commercial contract agencies in
that public market, and they were sending the products to military bases
throughout Europe through private companies. The disobedients have
already, on two occasions, blocked that market. The slogan, "No food for
killers," has been joined with the more well-known one of !
"No blood for oil," which underlines the importance of the role of oil
multinationals in this war. In this context, the Esso gas station chain,
Italian affiliate of Exxon, has been boycotted and sabotaged in Rome
during a public action by the disobedients. Five of them, disobedients
from the Corto Circuito social center, were jailed.
At the same time, in Venice and Falconara (central-east), disobedients have blocked Esso's storage facilities for an entire day. Many bank agencies, such as the National Bank of Labor and the Bank of Italy, who are investing money in large weapons company actions, are being blocked during demonstrations, and they write on their windows: "Armed banks." British and North American consulates and embassies are, of course, being laid siege to, protected by the police and surrounded by thousands of people in the marches. These acts of disobedience and boycott are referencing a new language: the movement has become substantive because it is implementing its own laws, from below, in order to end crimes against humanity. It is implementing blockades of the merchandise of war, sanctioning those who are speculating in the war, breaking off diplomatic ties with political representatives of the governments at war. That movement is dreaming up another possible world, and it knows that, in
order to achieve that world, it must remove the dimension of unjust and cynical legality of the market of war, in order to make room for humanity.
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Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10De Multitude a guens de Empire by Peace Activis Fri, Apr 25 2003, 5:41am by Luca Casarini Dese acts uh disobedience an' boycott be referencin a new language: de movement has become substantive because it be implementin its own laws, from below, in orduh to en' crimes a guens humanity, an shit. It be implementin blockades uh de merchandise uh war, sanctionin those who be speculatin in de war, breakin off diplomatic ties wit political representatives uh de guvernments at war. See what I'm sayin? Dat movement be dreamin up anothuh possible world, an' it knows dat, in orduh to achieve dat world, it mus remove de dimension uh unjus an' cynical legality uh de market uh war, in orduh to make room fuh humanity. Originally published in Spanish by Rebeldi'a ******************************* say agind by irlandesa Rebeldi'a Issue #5 http://www.revistarebeldia.org Throughout Italy: De Multitude a guens de Empire Luca Casarini Throughout Italy, evuh since de beginnin uh de bombin uh Iraq, dere be continuous, nonstop demonskrations a guens de war. See what I'm sayin? Marches 'roun military bases - our country is, unfortunately, full uhdem - thousands uh persons layin siege to US an' British consulates an' embassies, skrikes by students, occupations uh universities. Rallies, sit-ins, de blockin uh highways an' railroad tracks, meetins in wukplaces, marches wit torches, prayers by Catholics in churches, motions fuh peace approved by da hood councils. De reasons fuh such a all da time commitment by so very many persons - despite de fact dat de war has already begat - mus be sought in what went down prior to dis phase. What mus be analyzed, above all else, be what went down, here an' in de world, befo Bush an' Blair's bombs exploded. A multitudinous movement, millions an' millions, who simultaneously invaded all de plazas uh de planet, in orduh to try - preventatively - to stop de war. See what I'm sayin? All uh us hoped dat what de wuzhinton Pos had described as "the greates moment uh ruptua between de guverned an' deir leaders" - or, accordin to de New York Times: "De birth uh a new superpowuh, Global Public Opinion" - would be enough to interrupt de tragic plans uh de White crib an' Downin Street. We hoped dat, by demonskratin in de plazas an' by carryin out very radical actions prior to de war, de forceful position taken by humanity could combine wit those conflicts which had arisen witin de empire's constituents, among leaders uh nations dat wuz not at all peaceful or pacifistI'm down wit dat Chirac, Putin an' de Chinese guvernment. Nonetheless, de war began, witout consensus among de people, nor among all de powerful. Dis tragedy causes one to think, it should make one reflect. We be faced, in reality, wit a Coup witin de Empire, an' de consequences gonna be suffard by not only de old diplomatic an' political institutionsI'm down wit dat de United Nations - which be completely shattard - but, above all, by humanity an' its means uh conskructin a new democracy, an shit. We mus trus dat de people, so numerous, will continue mobilizin fuh dis as well: dey be perfectly aware uh de fact dat de war has a global objective, 'doe de Iraqi civilians be sufferin it materially, an' dat objective be de conskruction uh a new permanent model uh domination in de world. De leaders uh de United States has transformed Septembuh 11 into de new Pearl Harbor. See what I'm sayin? Dere wuz two possibilities: dis one, dat be makin de world think dat de World Trade Centuh killins wuz causet by an enemy attack from de outside. De othuh one, which be takin hold evary day, especially in de consciences uh millions uh US citizens, concerns de ducket system uh dictators, fundamentalists an' CIA officials, oil men, bankers, financiers, sometimes friends an' sometimes enemies, sometimes competitors in de global market, othuh times allies. De idea that dis system has collapsed, explodin from witin, in de exact same place where it wuz produced. If de Pentagon's propaganda had wanted to transform Septembuh 11 into Pearl Harbor, de war in Iraq could be Hiroshima: de affirmation trough force uh a model which dey want to impose on a global an' permanent basis. De mos worrisome aspect uh all uh dis be dat, exactly as in Hiroshima, it be base! d on war a guens civilians. Evuh since Hiroshima, troughout all modern wars, civilians has made up between 70% an' 80% uh de victims. De same ones who had been previously granted dictators, sanctions, blockades, all kinds uh sufferin, an' who be den hittined, always at de hands uh de same, extraordinarily generous, soldiers uh good. De truth be dat global public opinion has not managed to stop de war, but it has become established as a new public space, as an alternative to de sinle belief system. De very concept uh war be transformed, as war a guens civilians. De concept uh peace has also changed, since it be no longuh de period uh time between one war an' de next. How, den, can we refuh to a situation as peace which, evun witout bombins, causes millions uh deaths evary year from hunguh, thirst, AIDS, pollution? Dese changes in de perception uh war an' peace wuz evident durin de great demonskrations prior to de attack. Many folk had signs an' posters which 'soshe-ated de universal "stop de global war" wit slogans a guens neoliberal globalization. fuh de activist, global public, bein a guens de war means fightin a guens de World Trade Organization (WTO), de International Monetary Fun' (IMF), de World Bank, de group uh 8 (G-8). De paths which lead from Seattle, from Genoa, be intersectin wit those which be jus beginnin to be followed in an attempt to stop de barbarity uh de bombs. De global war be broken down into different levels uh intensity, an shit. Dere be a perpetual state uh injustice, uh lack uh liberty an' dignity, which be causet by de multinationals an' neoliberal policies. Dese decisions be made 'roun de sanctuaries uh de Empire, an' dis condition be already bein perceived as a real war, since it causes millions uh deaths an' devastatin consequences troughout de world. De movement which be fightin a guens de war has defined de conflict in Iraq as a war fuh oil, an' de Bush adminiskration be identified wit de multinational Exxon, which sells fuel to de Anglo-American troops. De multinationals uh arms, which sold Saddam everythin needed fuh massacrin Kurds an' Iranians, be now rappin through de voice uh Donald Rumsfeld, de ministuh uh de North American war. See what I'm sayin? De folk noed all uh dis. An' dey noed dat de war for watuh has begat alongside de war fuh oil. Almos two billion folk troughout de world do not has access to sources uh clean water. See what I'm sayin? In Septembuh, de next WTO summit gonna be promotin de privatization uh watuh sources. Opposin it, blockadin it, it gonna be de same fuh all those who be opposed to de global war. De movement a guens de war has established itself as a global an' activis public, unifyin, in fact, those experiences which be accumulatin troughout de world in de skruggles a guens de neoliberal policies uh de Empire's great ducket summits, wit de ethical dimension uh condemnation uh de genocide uh humanity, an shit. Catholics an' laypersons has foun'demselves togethuh in dis terrain, an' dis fact be relevant an' unprecedented, mos especially in Italy. De fact dat de bombin commensed ta despite de uprisin uh millions uh persons, did, howevuh, brin 'boutan energetic debate on de methods of the skruggle. If marchin an' refusin to accede to de guvernments would be enough, den dat would has represented a great an' positive novelty fuh all yall. What be happenin, unfortunately, emphasizes de fact dat de degree uh authoritarianism, uh dictatorship, in de makeup uh de Empire, be extremely high , an' it be reducin, as nevuh before, de real spaces fuh democracy, an shit. Accordin to those who rule, public opinion ain't heard, it be created. If it be favorable to de new emperors' plans, it be uset in orduh to create staged public spaces, in orduh to support de actions uh de sovereigns. If it be opposed, it mus be annihilated. In any manner. See what I'm sayin? wit television an' clubs, wit bombs an' wit Hollywood. How, den, be we goin to oppose such a reality? Obviously, de question be still witout any definitive answers, but it be essential fuh us to begin positin it troughout de world. It be essential, in de universities in Arab countries troughout the world, dat dey begin to shout "Stop de War!" befo "Allah is Great!" It be also essential dat it be understood in de wes dat conflict, direct action, de methods uh rebellion, active civil disobedience a guens de war, ain't de romantic details uh some antiquated revolutionary dreamers, but de only way to think, in dis revlant, dat anothuh world be possible. But how can we preserve an' broaden a public space, a substantive public opinion a guens de Empire (an' one which be also quite fragile from de blows which it receives from de sovereigns), an' at de same time traverse dat space wit methods uh skruggle appropriate to a substantive movement capable uh change? It be a dilemma, but dere has already been some experimentin, an' dere gonna be much more. De fact be dat those who say it wuz enough to march, or vote, or participate in de decisions uh powuh, has very li'l voice in de discussion. De Italian Practice uh Train Blockin Durin de period which preceded de war, dere wuz two moments in Italy, among many others, uh extraordinary importance fuh de beginnin uh a response to dat question. De firs moment wuz undoubtedly, as it wuz throughout de planet, February 15, de day uh de global uprisin a guenst the war. See what I'm sayin? In Rome, millions uh persons from troughout de country occupied de city, an shit. It wuz somethin which had nevuh been seen before, a multitude uh people, aware uh bein part uh somethin quite large, enormous, which wuz occupyin all de capitals uh de world at de same moment. A rivuh uh people, united in condemnation uh de war, who dreamed uh bein able to stop it. De fact dat dis took place based on a call which had been made from Porto Alegre presents us wit de idea uh de intertwinin uh de movement uh de movements an' de new "Stop de War" sentiment. Hours uh demonskrations, wit de city completely stopped and, at de end, de readin uh a new lettuh from de Su! p, read by de mothuh uh Carlo Giuliani, our homey who wuz assassinated in Genoa by de carabinieri in de battle a guens de G-8. It should be emphasized dat, in addition to de incredible skrength uh dis multitude, wuz how all yall wanted to noed how many folk wuz marchin in other place s in de world. How many in de United States, how many in South Africa or in de Philippines, how many in London or in Mexico. Communication went from bein somethin technical to somethin political, becomin de means uh organizin directly an' simultaneously, an shit. witout belongin to a sinle organization, bein one sinle multitude. Satellite television an' radio channels wuz turned on, connected throughout de world, in an attempt, among othuh thins, to rapp to de Iraqi people. De red zone uh information wuz violated, trough direct production, outside de official media. In Italy, GlobalTV and Globalradio wuz de disobedient means fuh bein inside dat multitude. Still impressed by somethin which we had nevuh seen before, an' somethin which had taken place before, an' not aftuh, de outbreak uh de war, a few days latuh we experimented wit de substantive potential uh de attempt to stop de war. See what I'm sayin? All uh us had listened to Marcos' words and those uh our brothers an' sisters from de Selva, an' we always had de same question in our minds: How to avoid de easy trap uh believin dat it wuz enough dat we wuz many an' to produce great events, while de powerful still continued to move forward in deir path uh death? How to do everythin possible in orduh to stop an' to attack dat machine of death, witout separatin ourselves from dat huge multitude? How to build conflict an' consensus, how to transform a symbolic movement into a substantive one? De occasion presented itself to us wit de beginnin uh de transfuh of US war machinery from a base in northern Italy to de centuh, usin tree Italian trains. De Italian guvernment had authorized it, thus markin its direct participation in de organization uh de war. See what I'm sayin? It uset trains, ports an' airports fuh de North American army witout a debate in Parliament. We learned from reports from railroad an' information wukers among activists dat trains wuz en route, carryin gats. In a small station in de province uh Padua, on de line to de south, at sevun in the evenin, two hundred disobedients occupied de station, blockin de train traffic, includin de train uh death. Fires wuz set on de railway, as a large numbuh uh anti-riot po'lease began arrivin. De news wuz heard right nowly, thanks to Globalradio, which began transmittin 24 hours a day, via satellite, de Internet an' modular frequency, an shit. De train wuz blocked, but what wuz extraordinary wuz t! hat thousands uh persons, troughout de 300 kilometers from one base to the othuh, upon hearin de news, began organizin blockades, in case de po'lease had attacked de firs group. That be how de bigges act uh disobedience a guens de war began, organized by communication, an' developed 'roun an impressive numbuh of different methods, whose central objective wuz blockin de trains of death. Dat action, which continued fuh 7 days, witout interruption, involved very many, an' a wide variety, uh persons. From those who give upd information 'boutthe arrival uh de trains an' 'boutthe police movements, to those who organized stoppages uh othuh trains, activatin the emergency brake in orduh to stop traffic an' to allow activists to organize. Aftuh wukers refuset to drive those trains, de guvernment had to militarizedem. A debate began troughout de country, an' also witin de movement, because de State obviously considers blockin trains to be an illegal action. De discussion, howevuh, gets quite interestin, since wagin an illegal an' illegitimate war wuz much worse. One uh de mos interestin aspects wuz de use uh communication as a means uh organizin de initiative. all yall turned into an activist: from de railroad wukers who broke it down de trains' paths to us, to de passengers on de othuh trains who called de radio if dey seen anythin skrange. From de young folk who wuz willin to sit down on de railroad tracks day an' night, to de retired wukers advisin us as to how we could block de traffic trough small acts uh sabotage. Globalradio no longuh had jus an information role. It wuz directly organizin de mos extensive action. De radio itself wuz action, heart an' collective head fuh de multitude in action. De train blockin initiative - called train-stoppin - demonskrated dat de war wuz inside our country, an' dat it be completely jus to disobey laws in orduh to obskruct it. It secured de enforcement uh humanitarian laws, de prohibition uh de transportin uh military apparatus to be utilized in I! raq, a guens de laws uh de Empire imposed by de Italian guvernment a guens de views uh its citizens. At dat moment, de movement not only turned rebel, but also substantive. As in all wars, all uh us turned into deserters, an' resistance begins at precisely dat point, wit desertion, wit rejection. De powers had to show deir true face: de trains, aftuh many days, had reached deir destination, in Tuscany, protected by an army, conducted by soldiers and wit blockades on all sides. Den blockades began uh civilian airports, as well as incursions into military airports, both uh which wuz bein uset fuh de transportation uh North American troops. De soldiers often had to carry out transport operations uh war materiel cargo in de ports, because de civilian personnel refused. De Practice uh Disobedience Becomes a New Language War be a complex machine, dis war especially, an shit. In addition to bein different from old wars because it be directin its terror an' deskruction a guens civilians an' not a guens armies - which be useless in de face uh de appallin technology uh death - it be made up uh commercial, political an' communications mechanisms which has already been revealed, made public. fuh example, always witin de framewuk uh actions attemptin to block de war, we discovard dat de General Markets of Padua, in northern Italy, wuz earnin millions uh bucks fuh warehousin fruits an' vegetables fuh US soldiers in de war. See what I'm sayin? De North American military adminiskration evun had deir own commercial contract agencies in that public market, an' dey wuz sendin de products to military bases throughout Europe trough private companies. De disobedients have already, on two occasions, blocked dat market. De slogan, "No food for killers," be joined wit de mo well-known one uh ! "No blood fuh oil," which underlines de importance uh de role uh oil multinationals in dis war. See what I'm sayin? In dis revlant, de Esso gas station chain, Italian affiliate uh Exxon, be boycotted an' sabotaged in Rome durin a public action by de disobedients. Five uhdem, disobedients from de Corto Circuito social centuh, wuz jailed. At de same time, in Venice an' Falconara (central-east), disobedients has blocked Esso's storage facilities fuh an entire day, an shit. Many bank agencies, such as de National Bank uh Labor an' de Bank uh Italy, who be investin duckets in large gats company actions, be bein blocked durin demonskrations, an' dey write on deir windows: "Armed banks." British an' North American consulates an' embassies is, uh course, bein laid siege to, protected by de po'lease an' surrounded by thousands uh folk in de marches. Dese acts uh disobedience an' boycott be referencin a new language: de movement has become substantive because it be implementin its own laws, from below, in orduh to en' crimes a guens humanity, an shit. It be implementin blockades uh de merchandise uh war, sanctionin those who be speculatin in de war, breakin off diplomatic ties wit political representatives uh de guvernments at war. See what I'm sayin? Dat movement be dreamin up anothuh possible world, an' it knows dat, in orduh to achieve dat world, it mus remove de dimension uh unjus an' cynical legality uh de market uh war, in orduh to make room fuh humanity.
not repeating the train blocking of the 1970s
and for that I thank them.
in the 1970's mass mobilisations of the Italian Marxist and Anarchist Left led to the first acts of civil disobedience in blocking trains, from those days came the extremism of the Red Brigade, and many assasinations of both Capitalists and Activists.
This time the Italian movement carried their agenda without that emergent quality of "armed resistance".
That is something I have yet to see discussed by disobedienti on their websites, and I doubt it will be, it is a "non-sequitur" (relax I'm not tripping today so won't be quoting Latin again), but it is something for us all to think about.
We are repeating the social conditions which between 1968 and 1974 led to armed struggle in many European countries and US cities.
-Yet this time we have not "neutralised" by being drawn into those types of conflict.
and that for me at least is one achievement of the movement for which Luca Casarini has proved to be such a good spokesman.
& he speaks English quite well not with the accent the first commentator used, imagine if we all went the Irving Welsh way of reproducing accents and intonation?
Have any of ya read the book 'Empire' by Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt, this is just lifting from their work.
it should be required reading for the morons who publish 'articles' in their party 'papers' and 'journals' etc.
I've read it but would not recommend it. The research is sloppy and the conclusions reached are laughable. Don't read it.
or he will really see sloppy research and most times no research just soundbites and slogans!
Luckily Professor Negri acedemic discipline has prevented this and his conclusions are far more in tune with reality than most 'left wing' fantasies.
that that was wide band pitching
like look at the website :-) ooer.
nomodology = nodology
dat book¿?¿?
god & of course the naomi too no?
far too many "=" signs about.
hey look photos!
i think quite a lot of the book is there.
by the way Negri is a total genius, he makes all these SWP people here look like total amateurs, the guy helped direct and start the italian workers movement and had to spend over 14years in jail even though he was eventually proven innocent.
I would reccomend the book to anyone, even if you don't agree with me at least read it before you judge.
NEGRI=OPERAIO LAVORO.
=REVOLUZIONE ITALIANA
at least the guy actually stands for something clear, these left wing parties here are all over the place.
i think quite a lot of the book is there.
by the way Negri is a total genius, he makes all these SWP people here look like total amateurs, the guy helped direct and start the italian workers movement and had to spend over 14years in jail even though he was eventually proven innocent.
I would reccomend the book to anyone, even if you don't agree with me at least read it before you judge.
NEGRI=OPERAIO LAVORO.
=REVOLUZIONE ITALIANA
at least the guy actually stands for something clear, these left wing parties here are all over the place.