The Largest Minority

August 24th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Not much time to blog folks, so please excuse my brief description of a complex situation.

Denver is a complete police state, and I say that without exaggeration. The sheer number of law enforcement officers is easily more than the amount of protesters. Due to the outright promise that protesters in Denver will be beaten, arrested, and locked up in a Gitmo-style warehouse, the numbers aren’t as large as expected. However, there seems to be a strong group of Anarchists who refuse to be intimidated.

Today we demonstrated on a blocked off route, but soon moved into streets which weren’t designated areas. We completely stopped traffic as we moved between honking cars and dance in intersections. Giving credit where credit is due, the police were actually pretty tolerant until we started blocking streets near the capitol building. Officers in riot gear, holding their batons and rubber bullet guns, moved in on us. Two people were singled out and arrested but we stood our ground.

After reinforcements moved in, there formed a solid line of officers and young adults, face to face. Luckily, no one was hurt and the crowds eventually dispersed on their own terms. Throughout the demonstration someone would ask: “whose streets?”; to which the crowd would yell: “our streets”. While some might dismiss the action as meaningless chaos, we showed the authorities that they were not as in charge of Denver as they thought they were. We brought a bit of democracy to an occupied town. No doubt, they were embarrassed from the encounter. Whether they’ll try to prove us wrong with stronger shows of force in the coming days remains to be seen. The national guard is on standby and half the helicopters I spotted today were military.

I did capture video of most of the confrontation, but won’t be able to edit and upload it until I’m back at my computer in two weeks. Until then, enjoy these still photos I took today and yesterday.

These cops were actually pretty cool for agreeing to stand in front of our inflatable Liberty Bell, even though the tall one was a Tancredo man.

McKinney/Ryce in 2012? Of course not. Who the fuck am I? Cynthia was really approachable and cool to talk with. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it.

M-1/Ryce in 2012? Dead Prez performed on the steps of the capitol building. No words can describe how awesome that was.

August 23rd, 2008 by Manila Ryce

I’ll be at the Democratic National Convention in Denver starting today, then the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis the next week. I’m unsure how much access I’ll have to the internet or how much time I’ll have to blog, so expect things to be a bit slower but not dead.

And now a topic for ya’ll to discuss in my absence: Joe Biden - Obama’s running mate.

What do ya’ll think of the pro-Israel, pro-death penalty, pro-corporate, pro-wiretapping, anti-drug, anti-same sex marriage, border fence supporting Senator from Delaware whose major funds come from the agribusiness, communications, insurance, and defense sectors? It seems like Obama’s “change” catchphrase is intended to be humorously ironic. Still, don’t let my opinion sway you. Talk amongst yourselves.

August 11th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Ever since McCain’s ad comparing Obama to Britney and Paris (we’re on a first name basis), Barack has even been acting like an out-of-control  celebrity. Within his first year in office he’s now promising to accidentally flash his vagina to the press.

August 4th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

I’m proud to have been a part of this. Before going on the road to petition for the Nader campaign in Nevada I worked for them here in my home state of California to get Ralph the nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party, a feminist and socialist party which has ballot access in the state. Delegates at the statewide convention of the Peace and Freedom Party chose Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez to be their presidential and vice-presidential nominees this past Saturday in Sacramento. The results are as follows:

Ralph Nader: 46 votes
Gloria La Riva: 27 votes
Brian Moore: 10 votes
Cynthia McKinney: 6 votes

Securing the California ballot line is a huge victory for Nader/Gonzalez and will give millions of Californians the opportunity to vote for a candidacy that will shift the power from the corporations back into the hands of the people. (In 2000, 418,707 Californians voted for Nader/LaDuke–representing nearly 15 percent of our national vote total that year.)

Blocked out by the mainstream media, we’ve still polled five percent and above in four separate polls this year - including the most recent CNN poll this week putting Nader at six percent.

With California done, the Nader campaign is now on the ballot in 21 states. Continuing to climb over the barriers set forth by the Democrats and Republicans, they’ll soon be on the ballot in 30 states by August 10th, and 45 states by September 20th.

My hat is off to those young petitioners around the country who’ve been working so hard to ensure that their fellow Americans have the right to vote for a non-corporate candidate. Most Americans don’t even know you exist, or why you do what you do, but moments like this put it all into perspective. Thank you.

source

July 28th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

This excerpt came to me via the Assistant General Counsel of the Nader campaign, and is just another example of the daily harassment and obstruction these petitioners go through to obtain what should already be their right - ballot access. I’m sure the McKinney campaign is encountering similar obstacles.

Just got a call from our guys in Portsmouth. On a public sidewalk (on Congress St, in front of the Daily Democrat newspaper office — I love the poetic irony of this stuff), a cop told our guy that he could not walk and talk to people, that he could only stand still and if they stopped, then he could talk to them.

Based on the other stuff that has happened in Portsmouth, I think this should be one of our free speech cases we bring. These guys top this list.

Fascism is alive an well, not only in both corporate parties but right outside your door.

July 28th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

It appears Elvis was always the King of Rock. A 1,800-year old Roman bust that looks strikingly like Elvis Presley is set to go on the auction block in London.

The hunka hunka chiseled stone is a marble acroterion - a carved head from a sarcophagus corner - and will be part of a $2 million collection of more than 150 ancient works up for grabs Oct. 15.

read more…

Unlike the Postal Service, it seems the Romans decided to go with the old and fat Elvis over the young, toga-gyrating Elvis. In those days, people would offer peanut butter and banana sandwiches to stone likenesses of Bubba, god of the vomitorium. I must admit that this sculpture is really even more amazing than the one I found that looks like Sarah Jessica Parker. Kudos to the archaeologist who stole this thing.

July 17th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

I’m posting this because the Nader campaign really does need more petitioners (and they need them NOW), and because petitioning is really good training to become a citizen activist. If you can give even just a few days of your time, you should do it. Travel and lodging are taken care of, you get paid per signature, and you meet some really chill people. I personally can’t wait to get out there on the road with the campaign again.

Take that step so you can say that you actually did something for democracy when no one else would. Don’t listen to the corporate media. One person can make a difference. Your efforts could be the deciding factor to allow an entire state of people a non-corporate choice in the voting booth. That’s huge. Help put an actual liberal on the ballot.

Contact Mark at 202-471-5833 or email him at Mark@votenader.org

“When a cause comes along and you know in your bones that it is just, yet refuse to defend it - at that moment you begin to die. And I have never seen so many corpses walking around talking about justice.”
- Mumia Abu-Jamal

July 14th, 2008 by Manila Ryce