Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

A discussion about environment, feminism, homosexuality, and our rotten culture as represented in the movie.

SPOILER ALERT!!!! We encourage you to read this after you've seen the movie.

Article and art: The Shape of Water (a Discussion of the Movie) by Tsunami & Hoon

Linksunten.indymedia.org, the main independent media website in Germany, was banned by the German government's Ministry of Interior on August 25. Maintaining the website and using its logo are now considered criminal offenses in the country. Linksunten volunteers are also being prosecuted as a "club," which means that administrators are considered responsible for everything that has been published. Administrators are also being accused of being members of a terrorist association. This represents a new step in the repression in Europe. The last time something of this significance occurred was in 1995, when the German central power banned the newspaper "Radikal", which sparked demonstrations all over the country.

Full story: Solidarity with Linksunten Indymedia from Indybay

Also: State Repression Against IMC Grenoble and IMC Nantes from Indybay

The monthly Activist Support Circle in Santa Monica featured as its guest author Pat Thomas, whose book, "Did It! From YIPPIE to YUPPIE: Jerry Rubin, an American Revolutionary," comes out September 5.

Our discussion delved into Rubin's entire life from childhood, to involvement in the Free Speech Movement in Berkeley to co-founding the yippies, to his involvement with John Lennon, to his relationship with Abbie Hoffman, to his work at a brokerage firm on Wall Street (it's not widely known that he was selling solar technology in the early '80s).

Story: Reflections on Jerry Rubin (the Yippie) at Activist Support Circle by R.P .

More:: Pat Thomas discusses Jerry Rubin on Pacifica's Letters and Politics (2-5-18)

In this bilingual play, recently performed at Debs Park, Alicia travels into the Arroyo Seco's past to help her deal with the present. Representing the past are the spirit of Toypurina (who in the 1780s instigated a revolt against the San Gabriel Mission) who's Alicia's guide (she and Alicia are pictured at left) and Charles Lummis, who shares his dreams about the future of the area. The play's setting on hiking trails surrounded by mostly native plants also imparts the Arroyo's past.

Arroyoland also consists of Lewis Carroll-inspired characters (although in this case Humpty Dumpty sitting on his wall resembles Trump, and Bill the Lizard comes out as homosexual).

Story and photos: Alicia in Arroyoland by R.P.

The corporate culture produces “just war” narratives to satisfy an insatiable appetite for violence, exactly what Star Wars delivers, except this time, I would argue, it’s been turned upside down in the service of a real empire: The US Empire.

I am not saying that The Force Awakens was intentionally made as an imperial piece of propaganda for US wars, but it’s hard not to make the connections between Disney’s history of racism and xenophobia, the total absence of the Dark Side’s politics (other than ISIS like nihilism), and the way in which the “good guys” are always innocent and being attacked by an evil force that literally hates their freedom. The Dark Side in The Force Awakens is reconstituted as The First Order that explicitly engages in an act of mass terrorism to destroy the Republic, i.e democracy.

Review/commentary: Why Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a Parable that Supports US Empire by Chris Burnett Spoilers!

On Thursday, May 15th, three dozen people rallied in 102 degree heat outside the FCC field office in Cerritos, CA to #OccupyTheFCC in favor of net neutrality. Protesters waved signs bearing messages such as "FCC -- Don't Nix Net Neutrality," Don't Neuter the Net," and "Neutralize the Threat, Not the Net."

This Southern California FCC field office is located in unmarked suite 660 of a large industrial park also housing a for-profit college. Despite chants of "Hey, FCC? Come out! We've got some stuff to talk about!" no employees appeared to address the assembled citizens.

If the FCC approves paid Internet "fast lanes," websites that pay hefty fees will be easier for the average consumer to access. On the flip side, small businesses, start-ups, and anyone who can not afford the large fees will have their Internet traffic sent to the "slow lane." #SaveTheInternet refers to the campaign to keep the Internet free from discrimination and defend the principle of net neutrality.

Or, in the words of Thursday's rally, "Google fast, my blog slow? To that I say: no, no, NO!"

Full story and photos: Los Angeles Joins Nationwide #WaveOfAction Occupation of FCC Offices to #SaveTheInternet by Los Angeles People's Media

The Indigenous movement, Idle No More, now several months old, has been ignored by the mainstream media. On Friday March 15, over 50 people stood in front of CNN, drawing attention to this. The event lasted four hours and coincided with rush hour. With traffic often at a standstill, we literally had a captive audience who had time to read our signs and take flyers. Initially, CNN said they would come out, take pictures, and interview some of us about our concerns, but we were ignored (except when they didn't want us too close to the entrance).

One of the several speakers said the media doesn't want to cover the movement "because we are waking up. We're waking up, and this is just the beginning of Idle No More."

Article and photos: CNN, Do You See Us Now? by Ross Plesset | | Video: CNN's Media Blackout! by Naui Ocelotl Huitzilopochtli

Update: Idle No More Returns to CNN by Ross Plesset