The stake-out was almost comical in its absurdity: On April 4, 2007, undercover police counted how many times Eric Montanez, a 22-year-old volunteer with Food Not Bombs, dipped a serving ladle into a pot and handed stew to hungry people. Once Montanez had dished up 30 bowls, the police moved in, collecting a vial of the stew for evidence as… return to article
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Reader Comments (16)Page 1 of 1 pagesThis could be just an over reaction on the part of persons unknown with the police doing what they are hired to do —enforce the law. Or a chance for S.T.O.P. to capitalize on a situation to promote their group. A lot of people are being funded to do feel good kinds of jobs.
Paying someone to Walk-for-Whatever-Cause would make more sense if the participants were doing something constructive, say getting a donation for each window washed or bag of trash collected, but....
Solutions seem so simple that there must be underlying motives on each side.
OK, there’s a problem. Where’s the logic in this stupid situation?
The city would probably be liable for any ill effects from food distributed on city property. Remember when there were teeter-totters, swings and steel slides in city parks?
If a pot and ladle were left out for people to serve themselves would it pass for thievery,? How about just having the Health Dept. inspect the “kitchen”?
The fact that the “perp” was released says someone sees the arrest as futile.
Everything is interrelated, now more than ever and on a larger scale.
In Illinois 400,000 mental patients who were OK as long as they got their meds regularly were released. They didn’t get their meds and guess what — we had a big increase in homeless people.
When we were told NAFTA would only cost the low-end jobs we made no provision for shipping the people who held those jobs here to foreign parks and fields, so guess what — they’re here and they still need to eat.
Posted by whattheheck on Oct 10, 2007 at 7:47 AM Tis but the tip of the proverbial iceberg of poverty yet to engulf your nation, sub-prime mortgage slide into bankruptcy syndrome inflicting much of America will further enhance the need for ‘soup kitchens’ much like what happened prior to and a long time after the ‘infamous’ devastating depression of 1929.
Have you ever checked out the facts behind that? The cretins [a certain grand-pappy Bush is a hint] behind the banks who called in loans and mortgages and became super rich while the country starved for jobs, food, and a place to call home.
Don’t forget, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Sad, so so sad; it’s already too late. But you can http://ecosyn.us/Bush-Hitler/Blogspot/Samuel_Bush/Remington_Arms.html
Follow the Money!
Posted by neilemac on Oct 11, 2007 at 9:45 PM neilemac,
It looks as though you and I may soon have the same limited choice of candidates to rule over us as a behind the scenes economic scheme plays out.
NAFTA is progressingly merging us into an amalgam of Mexusda. I had a couple of years of Spanish, guess I’ll buy a few French tapes and phrase books.
We’ll get your government health care and you’ll get our government debt. Sorry about that.
At least now that the two dollars are equal it will save time figuring the bills.
Posted by whattheheck on Oct 12, 2007 at 7:01 AM ..."you’ll get our government debt.”
For sure, and that would be paid to the Federal Reserve. Every dollar spent by the US is paid back with interest to them.
Apart from the debt about to consume both our nations, your ‘Constitution’ and our “Charter of Rights” will become redundant. With the way ‘the decider’ has ‘in-lawed’ torture and a host of other liberty robbing policies, those corner stones of our democracies are probably already gone.
Some seem to think that Al Gore may now enter the race for President; can’t say it will make a difference; ask Gore Vidal....
*"I say very mildly, we have only one political party in the United States, the Property Party, with two right wings, Republican and Democrat.
*see The Nation article http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040913/vidal
Posted by neilemac on Oct 12, 2007 at 1:32 PM neilemac,
While I don’t like to use labels since they seem blurred from what they should indicate, I guess it is fair to say I have been a life-long conservative. (Most self-employed get that way if not born so.)
I assume your use of “redundant” is the same as our London friends — retired or obsolete. My occupation became redundant as “globalization” and price trumped loyalty and service.
I have reread our Constitution many times in recent years and noted how far we have strayed from the short statement of purpose known as the “Preamble”.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
(Interesting which words they chose to capitalize.)These are the things I wish to conserve.
In my nearly 70 years too many of those in governing positions have taken to pushing their ideas of how power should be used. Whether left or right, capitalist, communist or any other “ist” — no organization can do essentially good things while diminishing or ignoring the rights of individuals.
Hitler tried it “for the good of the Fatherland.”
Mao tried it “for the good of China.”
We now know from experience what should have been obvious — democracy can’t be imposed “for the good of” anyone.
There have always been those who get on the band wagon for personal gain, but when greed runs rampant a country loses its nationhood and regresses into those with and those without. It has been happening at an increasing pace and seems now to be of international scope.
Posted by whattheheck on Oct 13, 2007 at 7:36 AM neilemac,
In fairness I should add that not everyone who thinks globalization is a good idea is consciously putting one over on us.
I have read a friend with a degree in economics who keeps quoting from his ancient textbooks the benefits of comparative advantage, the problems of a transition from agriculture to manufacturing, etc. He retired before NAFTA and other policies made price the only criteria.
Another friend was in banking as a trust officer and is maintaining the view that there is no alternative due to “market forces.” Neither one has lost any portion of their livelihood or net worth, nor have their children...yet.
We are just beginning to see the effects through inflation in the U.S. due to faulty government statistics hiding reality until it no longer can.
Do Canadian numbers report inflation “minus food and energy” or include them. Somehow I have yet to figure how to live without either for very long.
Posted by whattheheck on Oct 13, 2007 at 10:33 AM ‘whattheheck’
Sorry for taking so long to respond but I did not have an answer to your query…
“Do Canadian numbers report inflation “minus food and energy” or include them?”I wrote a post discussing the article and posed your question in hope that one of my blog friends may have an answer.
This morning I received the following answer from ‘moonwoman’ on this post on my site.
http://neilemacview.blog.ca/2007/10/14/am_stymied_for_an_answer_want_to_comment~ ~3132092
neil E mac view - Am stymied for an answer—want to comment???“I’m not an expert on statistics since I only have a couple of courses on it. However any statistical evidence can be twisted and used to whatever slant a person wishes to use… that much I do know.
The other thing I know for sure is that what is reported on federally is supposed to be transparent or Sheila Fraser will get ‘em… go Sheila! So you might want to look at the gov.ca website to see what they include in the reports.
It sounds to me like your friend is discussing GDP?
By the way, my mother is a member of a retirement village in Florida. I sent the food article link to this article to her. She’ll get the raging red hat granny group after the Florida justice system.” [end of answer]
‘Moonwoman’ is a brilliant voice in blogsphere, and my dear friend too. Hope it helps answer your query.
Please don’t forget to post a blog today…
It’s ‘Blog Action Day’ on the ‘Environment’ today...Oct. 15/07.
Posted by neilemac on Oct 15, 2007 at 7:37 AM neilemac,
Thanks for the referrence — I’ll check it out.
My oldest son has a degree in statistics and worked for several years at a consumer research firm. The company insisted on being allowed to design all surveys rather than let the client use their report as a means to “prove” the result they desired. It is obvious our government is not one of their clients.
I won’t exactly say our government makes a practice of hiding the truth in the official economic reports; anyone willing to search can find the more accurate data on such sites as The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. However, through the convenience of media sound bite reporting and short term comparisons we just don’t get the WHOLE story.
My friend may indeed have been thinking in terms of GDP, but like the job numbers, Consumer Price Index, etc. that too is skewed to look good (or at least less bad).
In 2000, Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, wrote a book “The Future of Success”. I would argue that several of his assumptions presented are too rosy. But the following statements from the introduction show he is on to something.
“An economy should be judged by how well it supports and enhances the deepest values of a society.”
and “...the rewards of the new economy are coming at the price of lives that are more frenzied, less secure, more economically divergent, more socially stratified.”
I suspect he has become even more concerned due to his latest book, “Supercapitalism”. So far I have only read the reviews at amazon.com and wish every candidate for the presidency would read it thoughtfully.
Posted by whattheheck on Oct 15, 2007 at 12:25 PM Hi whattheheck,
“An economy should be judged by how well it supports and enhances the deepest values of a society.”, from your quote of Robert Reich.
This is actually a little disheartening, because an economy that’s buoyed up by finagled number-data, cheap and maybe hazardous imported junk, fast-food and all its analogies beyond foodstuffs, thyroidal automobiles, outsourcing of every possible facet of production while crowing Buy American to the customer-base, and poorly delivered services, might actually support and enhance some very salient American “values”.
Not really the values we’d like to associate with America, but I mean ones like going after the quick buck before all else, investing oneself (as well as IN oneself) to only to the barest minimum, convenience-uber-alles purchase decisions, and prizing image over substance. To whatever extent those values characterize early-21st century America (and I fear that’s a lot), I guess the economy supports and enhances them.
Oh yeah, I forgot oil-war militarism, which maybe you and I won’t agree on, but I bet we do agree on the other things mentioned.
But hey, at least the Dow is up. Whoop-ti-do.
Posted by Kuya on Oct 15, 2007 at 11:29 PM Hi Kuya,
I’m sure Reich was thinking of those values itemized in the Preamble to our Constitution. I wish those in power positions would.
As for making a buck today — the Dow is in dangerous territory as is our whole economy.
I think we agree on quite a lot. While I don’t approve of war for oil (We should have cut dependence after the mid 1970s embargo.) I believe it is inevitable regardless of who is in the White House. For other countries too and rapidly adding to the competition for it.
Making (keeping) a buck:
To guard against the longer term inflation which is already begfinning —I’m short the dollar, long on gold and oil with a smattering of shorter term Treasuries in case of deflation.Unless someone devises another bubble machine (food? emerging mkts?) this could get messy on a global level soon.
---------
P.S. Cheap and dangerous imports:
I saw a bit on TV last night saying the FDA (who checks less than 1% of imports) has been giving 5-figure bonuses to top level employees already making 6-figures!Forget the Tea Party — Wake me when the revolution starts!
Posted by whattheheck on Oct 16, 2007 at 7:07 AM It’s the same old shit. The pigs continue to work for the capitalist elites, the people continue to go along with it, and this society continues to get worse. This is a serious injustice which is happening when people are arrested for feeding the homeless. More than that, its inequality, and shows who has power in this country, and who has control.
The statist, centralized and hierarchical form of organization produces indifference instead of involvement, heartlessness instead of solidarity, uniformity instead of unity, and privileged elites instead of equality. More importantly, such organisations destroy individual initiative and crush independent action and critical thinking. It is no wonder that society looks upon the homeless so scornfully, it is too stupid to think for itself. Deep down inside I would guess its envy more than anything that they themselves, have to work while the homeless don’t. As Proudhon noted: “the centralist system is all very well as regards size, simplicity and construction: it lacks but one thing—the individual no longer belongs to himself in such a system, he cannot feel his worth, his life, and no account is taken of him at all.”Homelessness is just one more product of the Capitalist society which we live in, and so many continue to obey. Is it not sad that there is such obedience? Does it not bother those of you who obey that you are slaves? You are not free, freedom is a mere illusion that your masters give you in order to keep you in this dream world where you won’t question your position, and realize, you don’t need them. We submit ourselves to employers, to management, to the State, and the other hierarchical forms which exist in this society. Our police are supposedly there to protect us, yet, when someone tries to do a simple task of feeding the homeless people, something which is done as a result of direct action, it is seen that the authority in this world is not needed, and is threatened with actions like this, thus the pigs seek to remind us of our slavery and who owns us, reminding us that we are not free. This isn’t about the city being sued, it isn’t about the city wanting to look out for the interests of the homeless, it is about a City, a State, a Country, a System and Hierarchical authorities which do not give a shit about the people they have put on the streets. They take no responsibility for their actions, and when others try to fix their mistakes, they get arrested for it and put in jail. How wonderful. And then apologists such as those who are on this site, come out defending the City and the Police because they have to reaffirm the illusion that they have been taught by authority their whole lives, and convince themselves that we need this authority.
We do not need these authorities though, we do not need masters, we do not need to be enslaves. History shows us that this concept of hierarchy, and the laws and restrictions which come with it, are recent, and mankind has existed for most of the time on this Earth without this. Government, hierarchy, they are merely ideas which the people have to come together to agree to. We are agreeing to our own slavery, and then when our masters fuck up, we take to the streets to try and undo their fuck up. We go through the hassles of trying to convince authorities to not go to war, to not bomb this country, to not commit human rights violations, to not get rid of our civil liberties, etc etc. And on top of all this, we are forced into work, the most unproductive thing that exists on this planet. You would think with all of this, we would realize by now that it is the majority which fixes the mistakes of society, not the minority. Yet we rely on the minority, we rely on elites. For what reason? Because society would be in chaos without it? There are examples like these that show the contempt that government has for the people, and the apathy those in power have towards their fellow man, vs the compassion those who are not in power have. There are many societies that exist to this day without hierarchy, rules, laws, and restrictions, societies that operate off of the voluntary cooperation of people and mutual aid. Yet we continue to blindly follow a system which is based off of violence, hatred, and disregard towards people, a system in which inflicts all of those things more and more towards people the farther down the class chain that you go, towards people who are different creed, race, sexual orientation, and beliefs.
We discuss societies that had political prisoners, yet, it is this very system in which everyone is a political prisoner. This system creates crime as it restricts our freedom, our care, our equality, and furthermore restricts our ability to live life. Our lives are torn down to work, resting from work, preparing for work, and recovering from work. Work has become our reality. We have no lives, we are slaves. We live to obey. To obey laws ,restrictions, rules, regulations, and only seek to fuck everyone else over in order to gian more for ourselves. And yet, this society looks scornfully upon those who do not wish to comply with the status quo, that do not wish to be enslaved. Those who do not want to become indifferent and the same apathetic drone as everyone else, but want to live life! People who want to be happy, who want to love, and truly experience life. Those who squat, those who shoplift, those who fall through the cracks of the capitalist system on purpose in order to escape this bullshit mundane life. We live in a society based on force and coercion, among other things and those who do not respond to either are treated hostile by those in power.
Perhaps, it is the effects of all these regulations—regulations that almost always assume that normal relations between individuals
are mediated by the market, and that normal groups are organized hierarchically— that don’t seem to emanate from the government’s monopoly of the use of force, but instead from the largeness, solidity, and heaviness of the objects themselves.
What are we doing on this Earth? Do you truly believe you are here to simply obey and comply? To serve others in their pursuit of greed? How about we create a society with a different kind of greed, one based on the greed of freedom, the selfish want for freedom for everyone, and the disregard for anything but ultimate freedom. No, this is not about the freedom to murder, don’t twist my words. This is about the freedom to live. Why can’t we have a society based on mutual aid, on freedom, on peace, stability, solidarity, and voluntary cooperation? Why not an actual direct democratic system that does away with the authority? Why not Anarchy? There are many of you who will dismiss this automatically and say no. You will say “it won’t work” and shake your head, but how do you know? How can you dismiss it? Other societies operate this way, why can’t ours? Simply because the powers that be tell you it can’t? They tell you it can’t becuase they don’t want you to realize it can, because if it can, they lose, they are out of power, and there is a way for mankind to live in peace, without their power, without their force and violence. Anarchy is a society where crime, and war, are obsolete. You are saying it’s utopian. But why can’t it be? You who will say it won’t work are bound to say that it is because of everyo ne else that it won’t work. You yourself, you would go along with it, but society at large won’t, right? Why don’t you stop thinking so highly of yourself? What makes you think you are so special and perfect but the rest of mankind is so flawed? If human beings were half as heartless and cold as you believe they are, then there is no way that anyone would join the peace corps, there is no way organizations such as Amnesty International and the Red Cross would exist, now is there (yes they are hierarchical in structure and I oppose them for that reason, but the point is, they exist)? The crime which you speak about in this society always includes those who are not in authority, but you fial to recognize the extreme amount of criminal behavior that exists within the authorities you obey. The difference being is that their crimes are far greater, and include the deaths of many more and the theft from many more. They aren’t prosecuted though. That crime is a result of giving power to one man over the other, as is the crime committed by the slaves in this society, which is merely a backlash that is the result of the conditions created by this society. Wake up, we don’t need this State, we don’t need this system. We need freedom, equality, and peace, none of which exist within this society, non of which exist within hierarchical societies. Liberate yourself, no one can do it for you. Stop obeying these laws which enslave you, stop believing in the system that oppresses you. Be warned, the nature of your oppression is the aesthetic of our anger, and we will not stop until we achieve a society that is based on Anarchy and Freedom. The time for revolution is now, and it cannot be postponed any longer.
www.infoshop.org
www.crimethinc.com
(everything said within this are the opinions of myself only, and should not be taken as the opinion of every anarchist, nor the opinion of infoshop.org or crimethInc.
Posted by Anarcho1345 on Oct 17, 2007 at 7:40 PM Anarcho,
You claim, “Anarchy is a society where crime, and war are obsolete.”
Name one society where this is so.
Posted by whattheheck on Oct 18, 2007 at 1:13 PM Anarchy means that if my daughter gets raped, the only possible responses are acceptance or vendetta.
It means my gang of friends will target and destroy as many of our enemies as possible. After all, we’ll be on our own, having to make our own “justice” as best we can. Hell with justice, we’ll just focus on survival.
It would probably be most efficient if we kill off their kids too. What was it that guy at the Sand Creek massacre said? “Nits grow into lice”..?
It’s not laws, it’s unjust laws, and laws that are unevenly enforced. It’s not court systems, it’s money and media warping what takes place in court. It’s not cops, it’s unregulated, unaccountable cops. It’s not legislatures, it’s legislators whose votes and influence can be bought. Those are the problems.
Anarchy will make vendetta and gangsterism the only options. Urban warlords and rural vigilantes. Peacefulness will become defenselessness, will become victimization.
It’s not that human nature is unalterably bad. It’s that some people are bad.
Posted by Kuya on Oct 24, 2007 at 3:12 AM Why don’t we just read the handwriting on the walls, buy ourselves some guns and gosh darn blow away all those poor, hungry, tired immigrants and low lives… it’s the NEO AMERICAN way isn’t it, so wave the red,white and blue and blast away.... and BY GEORGE, be proud to be an American… a one stop shop for global atrocities that starts right here at home.
Feeding the hungry is about feeding the hungry - don’t like the trash they leave behind: CLEAN IT UP.
Don’t like the thievery involved with the programs? Take THEM to court.
Don’t like the government that stops you from feeding the hungry? They’re the trash that needs to be taken out. NOW. BY ANY MEANS.
Posted by annarovita on Nov 1, 2007 at 4:04 PM “Up on Housing Project Hill, it’s either fortune or fame.
You can pick one or the other, though neither are to be what they claim,
And if you’re looking to get silly, you better go back to from where you came,
‘Cause the cops don’t need you, and man, they expect the same.”
----B. Dylan
Kuya,
Anarchism will only come about if individuals band together in mutual aid societies, not un-like softball or bowling leagues, literary salons, running clubs, co-housing arrangements, worker owned cooperatives, intentional communities, democratic independent industrial and trade unions, FNB, etc., that provide fundamental physical needs for all members and cultivate their fundamental spiritual need for personal creative expression, and if these discrete societies construct strategic arrangements developing mutual inter-dependence with other groups. There are already billions of existing mutual aid associations between human beings. Having this conversation is one. It is only by a gradual shift of consciousness and experience that we will progress to a point where heirarchic norms of governance may be shed like a butterfly’s cocoon. Maybe.
We already have rape, gangsters, and vigilantes. There isn’t any way to determine if a society organized according to mutual aid, would be worse. However, it only seems reasonable it is feelings of alienation, impotence, and the heightened existential pressure resulting from a society constructed on exaggerated self-interest, where freedom is construed to mean one is on one’s own and the conditions of one’s life, dis-connected from external circumstance, are one’s own clean-up, that oft drives people who suffer from bad circumstances to do bad things. Would such feelings and concomitant bad behavior decrease in a society where every individual is cherished and valued for their real and potential contribution within strong voluntary social networks?
I don’t know, but it might be worth finding out.
Posted by luminous beauty on Nov 4, 2007 at 9:43 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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