This Spring, Paul Wolfowitz, the President of the World Bank Group and the architect of the War in Iraq, will be convening
the biannual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), bringing together at the table the two capitalist tools of global exploitation -- the wars of military might with the strangleholds of economic imperialism. The World Bank and the IMF, which have been the principal players in the economic devastation of the Global South through Structural Adjustment Programs (currently referred to as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers), will meet again in downtown Washington, DC to schmooze with the private sector, laugh in the face of the world's poor, and live off the fat of other people's land.
This year, however, we are going to force them to see the resistance that is alive in our hearts, in our minds and across the globe. Seeing our faces, or ours masks as the case may be, will be a requisite part of their weekend activities. We will be at their doorsteps, behind their limos, at their parties and in their yard. From blockades to home demos, interruption to disruption, we'll be there, following their every move.
We urge everyone to come to Washington, DC the weekend of April 21-23 to take part in these historic protests against the World Bank and IMF. Say no to Capitalist globalization and yes to the power of the people and the power of direct action!
This call is brought to you by the Farragut Squares Collective, a local ad hoc group of individuals fed up with the Bretton Woods Institutions and capitalist globalization. We fully support a collaborative, open, and non-hierarchical organizing relationship with all who wish to join us in taking action. Send any inquiries or shows of support to farragutsquares@gmail.com.
No one knows who is on the otherside of that email address. We can also be sure that the NSA/FBI will be monitoring that email address. Shouldn't direct actions be planned only with people you know personally?
This is the way tyrants win.
They persuade the majority that they must remain silent and hide, alone and in fear that they might be *noticed*.
We outnumber them a thousand to one.
To para phrase Franklin, we either hang together or we will hang one at a time. And the ones who don't hang will live and die on their knees at the privilege and whim of their rulers.
As farm animals, not humans.
Hi, I'm a non-anonymous member of the Farragut Squares Collective, also with the DC Anti-War Network (DAWN). You can verify me at
http://www.dawndc.net . We're also working with several people from Mobilization for Global Justice.
So that you know, logistically, we have a convergence space at St. Stephens Church at 16th and Newton Streets in DC, with housing for hundreds.
We're working on other logistics tasks.
Normally, MGJ puts out these calls, but they are not going to bottomline a mass mobilization, but since we knew that people were coming for the last meetings in DC for quite some time, we felt a real need to put something together (hence the ad hoc group). We are focusing exclusively on direct action, though anyone who comes into town is more than welcome to do as they please.
Many of the people putting this together put together the successful Adopt-an-Intersection action during the September meetings. In fact, I was there, and we blocked delegates in the Mayflower Hotel for almost 4 hours, forcing them to walk to the meetings, in one case blocking a taxi cab for over half an hour.
We aim these actions to be more ambitious and daring.
I hope that answers some of your worries.
Jim Macdonald (send me an email if you want to verify it's me or see
http://jsmacdonald.blogspot.com)
Washington, DC