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A Report of the Leiden PGA conference from a UK participant

Ned Ludd | 18.10.2002 14:35

Peoples' Global Action is a non-hierarchical network of activists, organisations and communities resisting capitalism, neo-liberalism and other forms of oppression. Since 1998 it has called International Days of Action and organised conferences. This is an account of the recent European Conference in leiden (Netherlands), 31 August-5th September 2002.

(Note, this article has also been published in the Earth First! Action Update, www.eco-action.org).

‘There is a hippy living in the parking lot. She made a worshipping place where she organises strange ceremonies. She was also present at the demonstration in Amsterdam where she tried to put little dots of mud on people’s foreheads.’ (From the daily PGA conference newspaper, 2nd Sep 2002)

Oh yes – over four hundred European activists – from Ireland to Israel and Moscow to Milan – had gathered in the historic city of Leiden for the second European conference of the mighty, mighty network known as Peoples’ Global Action (PGA).

During the middle ages the fanatical preacher John of Leiden had turned the city into an extreme Christian commune, burning private property and proclaiming God’s Law. That episode ended with an invasion by Dutch troops and wholesale massacre of the inhabitants. The PGA conference made a different kind of history, despite the best efforts of some of the UK contingent (you know who you are).

Leiden is a cathedral city of around 140,000. Home to the elite University of Leiden and it’s ultra right-wing student society ‘Minerva’ and also to the EuroDusnie squatting collective, whose two social centres provided the venues for the conference. EuroDusnie are famous for their pieing actions – a flan in the face to ridicule the people in power. After one of their past targets (anti-immigration politician Pim Fortyun) was assassinated by a gay-hating Christian animal rights activist, their squats were attacked by gangs of fascists.

But from the 30th of August to the 5th of September the city was ours, as groups of eco/anarcho/peacenik/hippies wandered around the cobbled streets, eating ice cream and talking to each other about their projects back home.

And an inspiring set of projects they were! A run-down of the participants shows the diversity and breadth of activities; this is what PGA is all about – not an organisation that tries to build itself up, but rather a common space for people who are taking action to talk, share info and co-ordinate their struggles as much or as little as they like.

Background, from the PGA website (www.agp.org)

“From the 23rd to the 26th of February of 1998, grassroots movements of all continents met in Geneva to launch a worldwide coordination network of resistance to the global market, a new alliance of struggle and solidarity called ‘Peoples' Global Action against 'free' trade and the World Trade Organisation’ (‘PGA’). That was the birth of this global tool for communication and coordination for all those who fight the destruction of humanity and the planet by capitalism and build local alternatives to globalisation.
The defining documents of the PGA are its five hallmarks, its organisational principles and its manifesto.”

The PGA hallmarks are a guide to what kind of activities fall inside PGA and what kind of groups can participate in PGA. For example, many right-wing groups are against ‘globalisation’, yet PGA is not for them! The hallmarks are:

1. A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive globalisation;
2. We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human beings.
3. A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker;
4. A call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social movements' struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximize respect for life and oppressed peoples' rights, as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism;
5. An organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.

There have been three Global PGA conferences – in Geneva, Switzerland (1998), in Bangalore, India (1999) and in Cochabamba, Bolivia (2001). One thing that tells us something about the impact of PGA are the Global Days of Action, from 1998 to 2001, that have been called by PGA.

This was the second European conference, the first being held in Milan in March 2000. The conference packs that EuroDusnie produced included a list of those groups that had signed up to be participants in the Leiden conference. There were…

Environmental groups – like ‘The ecologists of Chios Island’, Earth First! (UK) and Groen Friont! (EF! in Holland).
Anti-military groups – like Campaign Against the Arms Trade (UK) and ‘12th Grade Army Refusers’ (Israel).
Free Space/autonomous zone groups – like German, Dutch and French info-shops, co-ops from the UK and Croatia and squatting groups from all over.
Workers’ group – like Barcelona CGT (Spain/Catalonia) and Sindikalisterna (Swedish anarcho-syndicalist union).
International Solidarity groups – connecting us with Bangladesh, Colombia, West Papua, Turkey and many more.
Anarchist groups – like A-infos Israel, Croatian Anarchist Federation, Federation Anarchiste (Belgium), ‘Nihilist Assault Group’ (Norway, and with a cool name!).
Alternative Media and Culture jamming groups – like Indymedia Centres from across Europe, the European Newsreel, Art in Action (Norway), Adbusters groups and the Tactical Media Crew (Italy).

This is just a tantalising taster, of course, and the workshops that these groups put on were of an equally broad and interesting quality.

‘”What is a boy, what is a girl?” said a sign found on the doors of both the men and women’s showers at the campsite. “It’s definitions are made up by society and it discriminates against people somewhere in between…Queer Up!…A special commission has now ordered to open a third lavatory, accessible for ‘in-betweens’ only…According to another source, the use of toilet paper has taken on unsustainably high levels…’ (PGA conference newspaper, 3rd Sep)

Workshops covered areas such as:
Actions – like the anti-NATO actions in Prague, Nov 2002; anti-WEF actions in Salzburg; anti-DSEi in London, 2003.
Alternatives – like Radical Routes (co-ops in the UK); Recycled Estate, a land co-op in Croatia; Free Zones Europe-wide.
Past actions – like Strasbourg No Border Camp, anti-summit actions of the last two years.
Info-sharing and awareness raising – like the talks on ‘Repression in the EU’, against activists and refugees; ‘Support for undocumented women’; ‘The war against Iraq and the US economy’; ‘Sustainability and the disappearing computer’; ‘A radical history of food’; ‘Using cryptography’…

Look, I didn’t have time to go to everything, ok? This is just a list that I hope looks cool! And then, of course there were the strategy discussions, about sharing general ideas on things like ‘democratic decision making’, and the feared ‘PGA process’ meetings, about how to structure this monster network of ours…

‘Naomi Klein has returned from alien abduction! Apparently her return is connected with some witchcraft happening outside in the parking lot. Unfortunately for her lover, the Dutch Crown Prince, Klein has decided to spend the rest of her life in the transgender bathroom with an inhabitant of the planet Wrossjk.’ (PGA conference newspaper, 4th Sep)

Another interesting initiative discussed in Leiden was the ‘European Social Consulta’; a massive outreach project. Based on events like the Zapatista community consultations and the Barcelona Consulta it will spread out through different ‘promoter’ groups that will recruit new groups and reach out into their local area. See www.consultaeuropa.org or e-mail  uri@riseup.net for more info.

The upcoming European Social Forum (ESF) in Florence was also discussed at the PGA conference. This huge anti-globalisation meeting follows on from the World Social Forum (WSF) of last year, in Brazil and inspires both hope and a large chunk of suspicion. The main groups involved in organising it are ATTAC, a liberal economic campaigning group, plus big NGOs, trade unions and even political parties! The main mobilisers for the ESF in the UK are the Socialist Workers’ Party. All in all, a mixed bunch of people will turn up to the ESF, most of them sincere believers in a better world. Therefore in Leiden an ‘autonomous space at the ESF’ was planned.

This PGA gathering produced some suggestions for how PGA should be organised. There is already a North American PGA network, which has ‘hubs’ in various regions that act as contact points. The ‘PGA process’ workshops eventually reached consensus on encouraging the setting up of similar contact points across Europe. These will distribute PGA publicity and help groups to co-ordinate their activities by holding regional PGA meetings.

What now?

PGA is an important network, globally, but also at a regional level. Through going to Leiden I met people from the UK and Ireland and heard about communities and struggles that I had never known existed, including many that are not part of the EF! network. There may be a PGA gathering for the UK happening near the start of next year. To find out more, join the UK Peoples’ Global Action e-mail discussion list by e-mailing  ludred@hotmail.com and saying that you want me to put you on the PGA-UK mailing list. Alternatively, join the European-wide discussion list by e-mailing  caravan99@lists.riseup.net

You can also find loads of info at www.agp.org.

So far the only local PGA info points I know about are the Radical Dairy ( radicaldairy@hotmail.com) in Stoke Newington and LARC ( info@londonarc.org) in Whitechapel, both in London. Look out for PGA meetings and events in your area. Hopefully PGA info-points will start sprouting across these islands soon!

“Do you sometimes, after a meeting, feel you have no idea of what was actually said? Are you looking forward to the final plenary with dread? The solution may be the PGA bingo!…Well in time before the meeting fill in the grid of squares from the attached list…Whenever a word in the grid is mentioned during the meeting but NOT BY YOU, you are allowed to cross out that word in your grid. Whenever you have a complete line either horizontally, vertically or diagonally, YOU ARE THE WINNER!…Suggested keywords:

network
autonomous
decentralised
Chiapas
Argentina
Seattle…”
(Conference Newspaper, 4th Sep 2002).

Ned Ludd
- e-mail: ludred@hotmail.com

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Dossier Nigeria (Top Secret)

18.10.2002 16:42

Dossier Nigeria
(Top Secret)




by Juan Francisco Delgado



I am a detective journalist active in the field of occult sciences. In 1989 I carried out investigations into Umberto Eco's Foucault Pendulum and, eight years later, I discovered Frank Ripel, today's the most enigmatic figure interested in Mystery. In this regard, I wrote an article entitled Interview with Antichrist that has been put on a Website (www.geocities.com/arpocrate).

In Spring 1998 I left for Italy, destination Triest. My intention was to meet the elusive Frank Ripel, the head of the most powerful esoteric association in the world. We met in a famous café in Triest, the town located on the Umbilicus Mundi, the centre of the world that gives the power to dominate and govern all the natural strengths of our planet.

Secrets and revelations beyond every expectation emerged from that meeting… including the last disconcerting sentence: "The Earth will change soon and a New Dawn will come". It is true, the world has really changed since 11th September 2001, but what did Ripel mean with that enigmatic sentence? My question remained unanswered and I decided, therefore, to visit him again.


Talking with the Master.

In Autumn 2002 I wrote Mr Ripel about my wish to meet him again and He answered that he would be pleased to have me as his guest in his house. A few days later I informed him that I was coming. Mr Ripel received me politely and invited me to take a seat in a small parlour. After a short wait the Master came in, the look in his eyes was resolute… his face more disquieting than ever. We greeted each other and after the usual exchange of courtesies he lead me to the Sancta Sanctorum, the Master's secret room.

We sat in two comfortable armchairs and started to talk. Making reference to our first meeting, I asked him what he meant with that enigmatic sentence. He answered that the sentence related to the events taking place on Earth and gave me an exhausting explanation. We went on talking. Suddenly the telephone rang. He apologised himself and asked me to wait a couple of minutes, for he had been awaiting a call. I was left alone in the Master's secret room… surrounded by disquieting paintings on the walls, in front of me the rich book shelves with esoteric works, the writing table in the corner. I got closer and saw a dossier on it, with the following title:

Dossier Nigeria (Top Secret)

The plot of the thirty - six Elders of Sion for the conquest of the world.

(Printed version of a file reserved for the Twelve Heads of the O.E.K.)


Particularly for a detective journalist like me, concerned with occult sciences, the temptation to examine the dossier was too strong. I opened it and I found some papers. Instinctively, I took my pocket - book from my jacket and started to write down notes.

The first six sheets were Frank Ripel's writings - reserved for the Twelve Heads of the Order of the Enlightened Knights - that revealed the plot of the Thirty-six Elders of Sion.

The first sheet contained historical notes that reconstructed the history of the Protocols of the Sion's Elders. They reported a series of twenty-four programme - declarations for the conquest of the world. In 1905, the same declarations appeared in a book by Nilus.

On the second sheet I found historical notes on Baron Rudolf von Sebottendorff, the founder of the Thule Society (the esoteric society from which Adolf Hitler derived his spiritual and political formation). The notes reported that, during the 1912-1913 Balcan war, under the protection of the rich Termudi family (Jewish traders and refined scholars in the Cabbala), the baron was elected head of the Rosary Order. Moreover, they added that a member of the Termudi family, browsing through the Baron's papers, found and copied a piece of writing: the secret Plan of the Thirty-six Secret Heads of the Temple's Order.

The third sheet was the Jewish plan for the conquest of the world. It stated that in 1917 the Termudi family - drawing inspiration from the Protocols and the secret Plan - decided to establish a secret corporation, called the Thirty-six Elders of Sion (capitalist - Jewish), with the aim of gradually gaining control over all secret services through the recruitment of infiltrators (operatives). By doing so, they would be in a position to stir up conflicts in order to block everything and fish in troubled waters. Their ultimate end was the fulfilment of all the prophecies of St. John's Apocalypse.

The fourth sheet, dealing with the political power of the Thirty-six Elders of Sion, reported that since 1948 the power of the Thirty-six Elders of Sion had increased dramatically thanks to their infiltrates into the secret services. By 1981 it had become considerable, yet it was not enough: the Thirty-six Elders were afraid… that the Secret Plan of the Thirty-six Invisible Men (the Secret Heads of the Temple's Order) could come true. Manipulating the Left politically, they decided, therefore, to exploit a renowned Italian writer. Without the latter's knowing, in the space of seven years they passed on to him fundamental information to write a 'pitfall - book' that, in the form of a novel, acted as a decoy. They wanted to ascertain whether somebody would be able to complete the jigsaw puzzle… somebody did so and the world started to change.

The fifth sheet described the plot of the Thirty-six Elders of Sion to conquer the world, i.e. the plan that would allow the fulfilment of the prophecies of St. John's Apocalypse. On the sheet it was written that in the year 2000 the decision was taken to use Usama Bin Laden (identified as the beast rising from the earth) - the head of Al Qaeda (the terrorist organization based in Afghanistan). Moreover, it was decided to use Saddam Hussein (identified as the beast rising from the sea) - the Rais of Iraq (the old Chaldea where Babylon was founded). In the end, in 2001 it was decided to use Him, the great Scarlet Dragon, the ancient snake, the one called Satan (literally "accuser"). But to trap the Dragon a clever trick was needed… the dossier Nigeria.

In the sixth sheet I found the plan to trap the Great Scarlet Dragon. The sheet told that in Summer 2002 Mr Ripel was contacted, with the aim of involving him in Arab terrorism. By e-mail, a one Mr Mustapha Hamzdy, Managing Director of a front-line stock-brokering company based in Nigeria proposed to him to invest twenty - four million dollars in Italy. It was an alluring proposal, but it contained a clever, conjurer-like trick that, later, would make it impossible for Mr Ripel to provide evidence of the lawful provenance of the money. As a result, Mr Ripel would be arrested and suspected of being the "deus ex machina" of Arab terrorism. To make everything credible, around Mr Ripel an apocalyptic scenario was to be created.

The papers included e-mail messages and faxed documents, from the N.N.P.C. (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) and the Federal Ministry of Finance, to authorize the transfer of twenty - four million dollars in favour of Frank Ripel, through the C.B.N. (Central Bank of Nigeria).

On the last sheet but one I found a comment by Frank Ripel and wrote it down: "In those days - early August 2002 - the Ark of the Heavenly Alliance went into play: floods, earthquakes and the like… the preamble of the beginning of the End had started". And it went on saying: "I received payment of twenty - four million dollars from the N.N.P.C. for the delivery and installation of pipes, dating back to 4th March 2001, which I had never effected. All that seemed to me a trap (coded: 10, 4, 80, 4. Bloc 15, Format IWP. Lin. 6, 7, 8, 10, 11). Before the trap sprang shut I took an unforeseeable move: I declared to my financial advisor - I suspected that my statements were being tapped by the secret services - that I had a file ready, to be put on the Internet, to report the facts to the police. That declaration would allow me to stop everything and the Thirty - six Madmen of Sion would never be able to execute their wicked plan… a true masterstroke on the chessboard".

On the last sheet there was a list of the elements that were meant to make up the apocalyptic scenario which, in turn, was to involve the Dragon into a grim event… and a conclusive comment on his part.

1. In Nigeria the financial interests of Usama Bin Laden are very strong.

2. The Italian secret services maintain that in Italy there are Westerners who have embraced the cause of the Arab terrorism.

3. The Italian secret services warn against the real hazard of attacks on Christian religious targets.

4. A handful of Moslems who were planning to blow off a bomb in a church were arrested in Bologna (Frank Ripel's opinion: "After the Dragon's move the entire operation could not be blocked, yet it could at least have been deflated").

5. Eleven Arabs were arrested for receiving money from Arab terrorist organizations.

6. George Bush is ready to wage war against Saddam Hussein.

In the framework of the "jigsaw-puzzle theory", Frank Ripel's conclusive comment presented a revised vision of the story. According to that version, Frank Ripel had been given twenty-four million dollars and, a few days later, a bomb was to go off in a church in Bologna. Investigations were to disclose the transfer of a considerable amount of money, of suspicious provenance (Nigeria is a country where Usama Bin Laden's interests are very strong) and unknown origin to Mr Ripel's bank account (Mr Ripel's records would turn out to be forged and, therefore, would be useless). Mr Ripel was to be arrested under charges of embracing the Arab cause. Dulcis in fundo, the arrest of the eleven Arab citizens for receiving money from Arab terrorist organizations was to take place. As an antichristian, Frank Ripel was the ideal target… he was to become an absolutely plausible figure in the eyes of the public (see the Internet sites on Mr Ripel, entitled "Frank G. Ripel's esoteric philosophy, the Antichrist, the son of Satan, with his plan to wage war against Christianity…"). Everything appeared to be perfectly regular… and that was the convenient justification offered to George W. Bush to declare war, together with the European allies, against Saddam Hussein. But at the last moment the justification was missing… and Mr Bush declared: "We know that Saddam Hussein is guilty, but we don't have the justification for waging war against him".

The Dragon's writing ended with a message addressed to the Thirty - six Elders of Sion, which I wrote down on my note-book: "Ah, you cry, you defeated, and a word comes out of your corrupt lips, a cry of hope: Redemption! Redemption from what, old Madmen, you shouldn't have tried to play the leading role! You have been punished, with your very arts. You have tried to deceive the Scribe of Illusion in the belief of being just onlookers, but you have fallen into the trap. You have tried to change the novel of the world, and the novel of the world ensnares you into its plot, which you have not decided, and clutches you firmly to it. You Fools! If only you were never born!".

The steps of the Master on the corridor distracted my attention. I closed the dossier and sat back in the armchair. The Master came into the room, apologised for the long interruption and we resumed our conversation. In the end, I reminded to him that a question had remained unanswered, for he had promised me to tell me the rule of the oscillations of the Pendulum. With his hoarse voce he revealed the rule: "The Pendulum oscillates from the right to the left and from the left to the right, but what matters is who sets it in motion".


Copyright © 2002 by Orion

Juan Francisco Delgado
- Homepage: http://www.o-c-i.org


Thanks for the plug

18.10.2002 17:43

.

Ecologists of Chios, Greece
- Homepage: www.geocities.com/j18hellas


Spamoo

18.10.2002 18:17

Could the IMC moderators please remove the long piece of occultist garbage that has been posted as a 'comment', please?

Ludd