False Flag Over Ukraine?

I dunno.

A Malaysian Airlines plane with 298 passengers and crew was shot down over the rebel areas of Ukraine this morning. No one took immediate responsibility, but Twitter and Facebook accounts attributed to "Strelkov" -- said to be the military commander of the Donbass rebels -- announced a shootdown shortly after the Malaysian plane was lost.

There is some question of whether these posts were made by Strelkov, as they were deleted shortly afterwards.

As we've known for some time, it is more than possible to manipulate social media accounts for the propaganda and social engineering purposes.

We'll know soon enough how this horrible, indeed inexcusable, incident is used beyond its propaganda value. Is this a false flag to ensure NATO enters the conflict directly? Is it further provocation of the Russian Bear?

Was it a tragic accident? Intentional? Stupid?

We'll see. I doubt it will end well.

From the AntiFa Trenches, c. 1938 (contd)

IWW Poster c. 1934

The San Francisco Waterfront Strike of 1934 was really what put the fear into the Overclass. From then on, the gloves came off. Our Betters figured they had little more to lose than what they'd already lost in the Depression, so why not take their fears and frustrations out on Labor?

From "The Peril of Fascism," Magil and Stevens, 1938; International Publishers.

A ... reign of terror prevailed ... in the coal and iron mines of the Birmingham (AL) region. In the spring of 1934, five strikers were shot and killed and many wounded in a strike of iron ore miners against the Unite States Steel and the Republic Steel companies. Assisted by the Birmingham police, a terrorist band called the White Legion was organized with the avowed purpose of "driving Communism out of Alabama." By Communism, the White Legion meant not only workers' political organizations but even A. F. of L. unions.

In Florida, fascist gangs organized by employers kidnapped, tarred, feathered and beat trade union organizers and in many cases murdered them and buried their bodies in swamps or abandoned mines. Describing the reign of terror conducted by Florida citrus and tobacco interests against trade unionists, the veteran newspaper columnist Junius Wood wrote:

Flogging, tar and feathering, and even death are not unusual as a means of disposing of persons who are disturbing to certain interests or what is vaguely called "social order." They are not carried out under any law in the Florida statutes, but by persons who believe such methods are for their own public good, and their political influence is so great that court trials, or even arrests, rarely follow.

... Supplementing this terrorist campaign, reactionaries launched a drive for legislation to outlaw militant working class parties, to restrict the rights of trad unions and to limit free speech, press and assemblage. ...Significantly, most of the bills [in Congress] were introduced by politicians from Southern states where an embryonic form of fascism was already in the saddle.
...

In four states --Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana and Tennessee -- the reactionaries succeeded in pushing through laws excluding from the ballot political parties advocating "sedition," "treason," or th "forcible overthrow of the government." These laws are so worded that, in the hands of zealous reactionary officials,  they can be effectively used against any people's party which questions the beneficence of duPont-Hearst rule.
...

Even more sinister than this drive for repressive legislation was the secret underground campaign of the large corporations to strengthen their private armies and place them on a firmer military basis.

Sometimes, as we have indicated, these armed forces were organized as "vigilantes," or armed "patriotic" and "law and order" groups, recruited from business circles, professional jingoes and riff-raff from the underworld. Such groups began to appear in nearly every center where large corporations or plantation owners felt themselves menaced by strikes or trade union organization campaigns. In some cases, these groups had only a temporary existence and disappeared after termination of an industrial crisis. In other cases, they were orgaized on a more permanent basis. In Cleveland, Cincinnati, Hollywood and other centers, local posts of the American Legion or local officials began organizing and drilling armed contingents. The government encouraged this process by giving the American Legion 75,000 allegedly "obsolete" army rifles.

More frequently, however, these employers' armies took the form of company police or of trained bodies of professional gangsters, spies and strike breakers supplied by national detective agencies. Both the company police and the detective agencies are comparatively old American institutions, born in the formative years of monopoly capitalism; but during the anti-labor drive of 1934-36, they assumed vaster proportions than ever before, vesting new powers in the hands of the industrial titans and constituting a grave menace to the remaining liberties of the American workers.

Within the army there was a steady growth of fascist sentiment among high officers who clamored for a stronger military machine, not only to support the foreign policy of the United States, but to quell more effectively what they euphemistically called "domestic disturbances." At the end of 1933, in his annual report to the President, Army Chief of Staff General MacArthur (who led the troops in Hoover's famous victory over the bonus marchers at Anacostia) lengthily discussed the state of general social unrest in the country and concluded:

In the obvious state of unrest now prevailing throughout the world, evidences of which are plainly visible even in our own country, an efficient and dependable military establishment constantly responsive to the will of the government, constitutes a rock of stability and one of the nation's most priceless possessions.

Assistant Secretary of War Harry Woodring was even more explicit than the hero of Anacostia. In an article in Bernarr MacFadden's Liberty, Woodring. with all the zeal of an amateur soldier wrote:

Let me speak frankly! If this country should be threatened with foreign war, economic chaos or social revolution, the army has the training, the experience, the organization and the men to support the government and direct the country in the national interests... Our army happens to be the only branch of the government which is already organized and available not only to defend our territory, but also to cope with the social and economic problems in an emergency.

A "basic field manual" distributed to the army contained detailed tactical instructions for use against "mobs" and "crowds." The most effective methods for shooting, gassing, and bombing unarmed workers were discussed with fine scientific precision. "Blank cartridges should never be used against a mob, nor should a volley be fired over the heads of a mob even if there is little danger of hurting persons in the rear..." "Airplanes may be used for the purpose of keeping rioters off roofs by means of machine gun fire and, in conjunction with other arms, by dropping tear gas and high explosives..." "Hand grenades, especially those filled with chemicals, will be quite an essential part of the equipment." These and other bits of military wisdom were carefully set down for tje guidance of strike-breaking troops. Following the classic pattern of Italian fascism, the manual also instructed commanders in "disturbed areas" to establish contact with the American Legion and "other local organizations of law and order."

The fascist leanings of the army hierarchy responsible for these instructions is reflected in the following definition of democracy contained in the army's Training Manual No. 2000-25, distributed from 1928 to 1932 to youths taking military instruction:

Democracy: A government of the masses. Authority derived through mass meetings or any other form of "direct" expression. Results in mobocracy. Attitude toward property is communistic -- negating property rights. Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether it is based on deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse without restraint or regard for consequences. Results in demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy.

Finally, the most ominous symptom of the growing fascist tendencies among the rulers of America was the appearance of a large crop of fascist and semi-fascist organizations, some openly controlled and directed by big business, others indirectly controlled, and still others, starting out as "independent" middle class movements of protest, but diverted  by unscrupulous and corrupt leaders into fascist channels.

...

The largest and most influential of the new host of reactionary organizations were either openly controlled or directed by prominent financiers and industrialists, or disguised so thinly that they were soon exposed. Among the organizations of this type were the American Liberty League, the Farmers Independence Council, the Sentinels of the Republic and the Southern Committee to Uphold the Constitution. This whole network of organizations, controlled by the most reactionary financial groups, uniformly operated under the slogans of "liberty" and "democracy, attempting to utilize America's strong democratic traditions to rally popular support for their anti-democratic program.

History, said Marx, repeats itself first as tragedy and then as farce. So with the Liberty League and its host of affiliates. The spectacle of the duPonts and the Hearsts, clothed in the cloaks and cocked hats of the revolutionaries of 1776, was political farce so broad that only those blinded by hatred for democracy and progress could miss it; so broad that it defeated the purposes of its authors. The Liberty League and its affiliates -- in spite of their vast financial resources -- failed to win popular support because they were openly controlled by the most hated men in America, by men whose ruthless exploitation and suppression of the people, in the daily course of their affairs, belied their professed belief in liberty and democracy.

So we see, everything old is new again, and if we think about it, we realize that the rightists and fascists are repeating themselves (as farce if you like) under the rigid tutelege of the oligarchs and plutocrats -- many of whom are the descendants of the same class sponsoring fascists in the 1930's. (The name Bush comes to mind, but we won't go there for now.)

What is different is that the "left" so called no longer exists as a political and/or proto-revolutionary force. All politics in this country these days is more or less rightist and much is clearly on a fascist pathway. "The Peril of Fascism" is a frankly Communist polemic from the era when Communists and Socialists and Leftists actually had a political structure and their agitation and demonstrations could and did have a political influence. Nowadays no such thing can occur. The opposition to the fascist tendendices in this country today is almost entirely confined under the Occupy rubric. While there are some elements of Marxist thought and economic analysis within the Occupy framework, from a political standpoint, Occupy is revolutionary but not "leftist." Nor is it "rightist." It consciously stands outside those categories and presses for something better than either.

At the moment, Our Rulers do not feel particularly threatened by the Occupy Movement cum Revolution, largely because it doesn't seem to be "doing anything" overtly to cause more than minor disrution of the looting and pillaging underway.

But we can see in Magil and Stevens' reports that there are more than a few seriously disabling and disrupting tactics the Overclass can easily bring to bear if need be to preserve their power and position.

We haven't seen anything yet...

Happy Fourth, Brief Note on Events in Philadelphia, Travel Day

Yes, I'm headed back to California this morning; should arrive tomorrow evening. May catch the parade in town before I leave, but I've missed it (by "that much") in the past, and that may happen today as well. If my memory hasn't failed me, this is the second year in a row that I've traveled on the Fourth; what I recall of the journey is that there are a lot of motorcycles and hot rods on the highways, and that's always cool, daddy-o. (Note to youngsters, yes, we really did say that in the 1950s, though when we did, it was usually with a wink....)

A brief note on yesterday's extended march in Philadelphia: a couple of chants got things into a muddle. The "A-Anti-Anticapitalista!" chant has become very popular because it is so energizing and fun, but it appears that many people don't understand it and as they try to repeat it, or even start the chant, they garble it. This happened several times in Philadelphia. The first time I heard it, a woman started the chant with something like this: "Ah-a-tea-a-tea-a-lee-a-lees-ta!" Well, the rhythm was right anyway. It took a while, but eventually some people who knew the correct chant joined in and cleaned it up.

The second time I heard the "A-anti..." chant in Philly,  I laughed out loud. It went something like this: "Ah, I need, I need a slice of pizza!" That was great, but few joined in, sorry to say.

Then I heard the "A-anti" chant again, done very dramatically, at the Comcast or Verizon headquarters, starting out very soft and low, with the crowd crouched down. It built to a crescendo, as everybody jumped up and down and shouted lustily in an echo-y canyon of tall buildings. If the people in the offices above could hear the plebes below at all, I'm sure they were perplexed if not stunned.

Finally, near the tail end of the march yesterday, someone tried to start the chant again and mangled it, much as happened the first time I heard it in Philadelphia. I was watching Nate's livestream, and he became impatient with the woman who was trying to start the chant. He said, "You know, it's 'A-anti-anticapitalista!" She tried it and mangled it again. Nate again tried to demonstrate the correct chant, and several people nearby picked it up. The first woman still couldn't get it quite right. Nate tried again, and then, exasperated, said, "Anticapiltalista! It's 'anticapitalist' in Spanish."

"Ohhhh," said the woman, and from then on, she got it right. This tells me that somebody needs to explain what this chant means...

Then there was the "Shit's fucked up, shit's fucked up and bull shit!" chant, which I've heard several times during the Philadelphia festivities. It is often joined in quite lustily by the crowd, other times not so much. During yesterday's march, the chant was started and joined in by the crowd as they marched along, and I saw a bicycle cop grab onto a guy in the crowd and say something to him. The guy seemed stunned and said something to the people nearby but I couldn't hear what he was saying. The chant got quieter and then stopped as the guy ran ahead to the front of the march. Eventually Nate caught up to him and asked what was going on. The guy said, "We were passing by a daycare..." Oh. Heh heh. Maybe not the most appropriate chant then... (actually, I imagine kids would love it.)

Despite occasional intense encounters with the "Po-Po" in Philadelphia, the Occupy National Gathering seems to me to be for the most part a very festive event, one that celebrates the success of a Movement Becoming Revolution (or Revoluja, as the Reverend Billy would put it) that came out of nowhere and is blazing the trail to the future.
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The Fourth always puts me in mind of my father's birthday. He would be 111 years old tomorrow -- if he were alive. Born on the Fifth as it were, and yes, he made jokes about it. He was both a patriot and a rebel, something Americans still have trouble reconciling. He gladly served in both world wars (though let it be said, not in combat) yet he was eager to denounce injustice in America. He rebelled against convention and institutional corruption, defied the Church and at least part of his community, lived his own life and died his own way.

Tip o' the hat, Dad.
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When I heard the rotors in the distance yesterday evening, at first I thought it was some kind of strange thunder. It's Monsoon season after all, and there was heavy cloud cover in the east and south. But thunder doesn't keep on and get louder, and I could tell at some point this wasn't thunder, there were Chinooks in the sky, though what they were doing in my neck of the woods was anybody's guess.

The rotor-noise got louder and louder, shaking the windows. There must be four of them at least, I thought. And my God, are they going to land? What the holy fuck! As the rotor-thunder got louder, I knew they were directly overhead, and I peered out the side door to see just how low they were. Sure enough, through the drought ravaged tree branches, four, then five Chinooks, painted non-reflecting black, made their stately way across the sky, maybe 1000 ft above the ground, shaking everything below, an unfathomable convoy in the air, headed west, perhaps back to Kirtland. Or... somewhere. I've seen these black helicopters (and they are painted black, if anybody is wondering) in this area before, flying in low formations over the fields and houses for reasons that are never clear. They always feel like a threat.

"Paranoia strikes deep...

"Into your life it will creep..."

More and more reports are surfacing of censorship and internet interference in Occupy Wall Street and related efforts in New York and around the country. I'm trying to assemble a list of incidents, and any that anyone can share with me would be appreciated.

At the Liberty Plaza (Park/Square) site in New York, there have been frequent reports of downed communications and WiFi hotspots going dead. Anyone who's tried to follow the events in New York on Livestream knows they've had a terrible time staying online, far worse it seems than the demonstrators in Egypt had during the height of the revolution in Cairo when the Mubarak government was actively jamming the internet.

"It starts when you're always afraid..."

The narrative of the Brooklyn Bridge Incident is now widely accepted among the demonstrators and their sympathizers as a matter of deliberate police entrapment (myself, I think it was more spur of the moment panic).

"You step out of line, the man come..."

Strange "notices" keep cropping up about rules and violations and demands; nobody really knows where they come from.

"...the man come, and take you away."

So far, I haven't seen any reports of "disappeared" activists, but with so many occupations going on in so many places, there will undoubtedly be missing people as this action continues.

One of the hot button issues that's got people all riled up right now is the planned "Occupation Art Exhibit" at the JPMorgan Building on Wall Street. Uh. Oh. Sell outs!!!!

All I would say is that the building has not housed JPMorgan for years, and it is operating now as a private art gallery. From what I can recall, this exhibit started planning early in the Occupation and has been announced at Working Group and GA meetings repeatedly.

Just a little from the Occupy Wall St. Facebook page about it:

Occupy Wall St.
Hey friends of the 99% we need our artists out in NYC in force for the upcoming event on the 8Th of October. We have access to the J.P. morgan building across from the exchange to do an art show! Anyone from the tagging or printing or any artistic background should contact Robert Grodt (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1171303463) to try and secure a place in this historic show.... and who could really pick a better canvass than Wall St. for a bit of graffiti?.... repost as needed
Robert Grodt
Like · · Reshare · 3 hours ago

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Monica Dyer ‎"Don't forget who you are as the illusions are thrown at you. Corporatists are masters of illusions. That's the most powerful weapon they have. That's how they sell products you don't need and convince you to justify accepting atrocities for the sake of products Don't fall for it. Otherwise, your cause will be lost. Be wary of large donations from special interest groups or non-profit corporations that were not involved this movement from the inception. Special interests groups are not your allies. Non-profit corporations are still corporations, and unfortunately, too many of them care more about donations than doing the right thing. Killing a movement with kindness is easy." http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Foccupywallstreet%2Fcomments%2Fkyjo2%2Fan_open_letter_and_warning_from_a_former_tea%2F&h=OAQD8ErbvAQAPrMQmjUceux5yIgv41Ksbw-JiuzIVUK0A9g
3 hours ago · Like · 4 people
Monica Dyer in other words, DON'T TAKE CANDY FROM STRANGERS!
3 hours ago · Like · 4 people
Derek CrabLegs Baxter I have a solution, if you don't like where the show is being held DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT
3 hours ago · Like · 2 people
Jennifer Mcculloch my idea for a sign: a cop with a billy club, dragging a protester, in silhouette, with a red ring and slash thru it. Meaning no police beattings. And the words "If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em.
3 hours ago · Like · 1 person
Amanda Drewniak ‎@Kevin you are missing the point. That is the problem
in this country. We can't step left or right with out being coporately involved. We need to show these people we want small businesses! We want the truth and absolute freedom. Taking hand outs on a scale like this is a joke.
3 hours ago · Like · 3 people
Chris King This "we are the 99%" is annoying as hell. You people do not speak for myself and many other people who aren't necessarily rich, but also don't ascribe to the socialist principles that have become the "demands" of these protests.
3 hours ago · Like
Monica Dyer JP Morgan will use this. Please don't give them the opportunity. WHO NEEDS A GALLERY, ANYWAY! Street art belongs on the STREET!
3 hours ago · Like · 8 people
Derek CrabLegs Baxter Where the 99% but 30% of that are cynical assholes :(
3 hours ago · Like · 3 people
Braeden Vincent Kelley I've been doing graffiti for almost 5 years now! I will definitely be doing this!
3 hours ago · Like · 1 person
Jon Laing I have to agree that the use of JP Morgan's space seems kind of antithetical to the message of the movement. Not trying to tell you what to do, but wouldn't make more sense to hold a guerilla art show in public space, the people's space? Just sayin...
3 hours ago · Like · 10 people

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One of the things I noticed watching some of the videos shot from within the crowd on the Brooklyn Bridge when the march was stopped and the police began to arrest the demonstrators was how passive they were. They didn't know what was going on, and they didn't panic. For the most part, they didn't do anything. When it came time for each one to be caught and taken away as it were, they went, quietly. And this behavior started making me very nervous. Many analogies come to mind...

Censorship?

I'm seeing notices on Twitter that indicate both Twitter and Facebook are censoring both @OccupyWallStNYC and other #occupywallstreet posts and photos.

Sigh.

The social media have been crucial for the success -- or at least progress -- of the many other occupation and revolutionary movements elsewhere, and governments did their best to interfere with social networking Over There.

In this country, there is a decreasing difference between the Government and the Corporate interests that sponsor and to a large degree control it, including the corporations that own and control the social media. Like Twitter. Like Facebook. And the others.

A question that is going to come up -- because there is no way to avoid it -- is whether #occupywallstreet and all its many offshoots is some kind of black op.

I sure hope not. So far, I don't see any sign that it is. But our Rulers don't have the best reputation for, shall we say, disinterest in popular movements.

Harrumph.