Whats hot and not G82007 Heiligendamm
whatshotandnot | 12.06.2007 19:46 | G8 Germany 2007 | Globalisation | Social Struggles | World
From the streets, blockades and bars- the self- elected unrepresentative group of 8 that make up the whats hot team have this report.
G82007 Heiligendamm
What's hot and not
Wandergesellens
An itinerant crafts people with a tradition dating back to the 12th century. Not only do they sport shapely, double zipper cords and sexy hans solo waistcoats but they also created the most incredible camp at Reddlich. We were all feeling the spacious showers, the capacious bar and the bodacious children's playground.
-From geek to chic in an astonishingly short space of time
Widening the cracks*
The resistance metaphor du jour and an 'an endless source of smirks, giggles and wise-cracks'. ho ho! . From the five fingers* widening the cracks of the G8 summit itself to the anarchist teapot for widening the cracks of activist music dogma.
-cracks were widened everywhere.
*the word crack has several meanings, in this case it is provoking giggling as it is a slang word for the part between your buttocks.
*the five fingers tactic was the tecnique used to break through the police lines and worked incredibly effectively. Upon reaching a police line the mass of people would divide into five fingers- becoming an ungovernable mass.
The unsung heroes of the resistance
It was not all about front-line glory – from the guy who spent every afternoon picking up the litter, Carlos Camper who fielded the worlds media at the gates to the people that held the front-line of porta loo hygiene. None of it would have been possible without them.
Tandems- the new buddies
Concierge-Welcome tents are so last year
Centralised washing up systems
A massive leap forward in camp hygiene and a possible explanation for this years lack of Dissent!ry
Pink and black international brigade t shirts
This seasons must have essential commodification of our resistance
Out of Action barrio
Providing medical help, chill out, support spaces and great coffee!
Mobile Kitchens at the blockades for feeding the front lines
The hedonist international
For squatting extra land at Rostock, for the old skool hay bale rave and for mobilising the musical cavalry to the demo's and blockades
Working with the local communities
Never goes out of fashion, there was not enough but what there was, was hot
Dry nights before actions
BLOCK FIRST – DRINK LATER
Slightly undermined by all the other bars everywhere but a great idea.
Forest, poppies and relentless sunshine
The blockades
Both mass and autonomous- huge, diverse, sexy, inspiring- Que scorchio!!!!!
You could not see the five fingers in action without it stirring your loins so many tales of caring, sharing, solidarity, dignity and grace under pressure. Having a plan made a big difference we hope to be seeing more of this in seasons to come.
And last but by no means least
A marked improvement from 2005- the main event was stopping the G8 from happening rather than welcoming them to do more--- Hot!
What's not
Lack of queer male wandegesellens- although the what's hot team have it on good authority that there is one joining in six months time
Insurectionary ManArchists
Aggressive,unreasonable, and a constant source of movement strife. Can you please go and insurrect someone where else and come back after you have had some gender awareness workshops!
“Confusing tactics with political principals”
Gender balance in Turbulence- other wise it would have been on the Hot list.
Shitting by the sides of the blockades- Companer@s please!!!!!!
Peter Wahl from Attac
Can you take any more distance please?
Chemical toilets and the absence of compost toilets
Silo guarders
A big thank you to all the people that put there time and energy into protecting the strategically important grain silos. Not only were our our beautiful Mexican companer@s not allowed up there but the Queer barrio took action against the silo guarders due to reports that they had their binoculars trained on the showers during women's showering hours...
so not hot
Queer Identertarianism- kind of defeats the whole point no?
Camera Paranoia
There is helicopters flying over head with technology beyond our imaginations, cops on every demo with a plethora of cameras and everyone has a mobile with a camera on it anyway. It is pointless to go intimidating and in some cases attacking movement based independent journalists.
Suicide Block
For going 100m away from the camp to the small village of reddlich, taking down some garden fences, dismantling a rockery garden, throwing some mollies around then going back home to bed. Oh and bringing the riot cops home with you. A lot of posturing for, well, nothing really.
Counter summit for taking place on the 6th of June- the same day as the mass blockades
Past what's hot and not
World Social forum 2007
hot
*Southeast Asian peasant hats (you have to see it to believe it)*
*China is the new imperialist, boo! (Fahamu rules)
*Slums and slum dwellers' associations* (Korogocho and Kibera chic)
*Pakistani food vendors* (Anticapitalist curry was very hot)
*Biofuels*
*Repudiation (of debt)*
*Dag Hammerskjöld ‘What Next?’ series
*Getting your hands on a programme
*The Weather
*Disability rights
*LGBTI activism in Africa (the Q-Spot was the ultimate f@#k you to the Catholic CARITAS tent across the road)*
*Spontaneous freedom singing (except from the CARITAS tent)*
*Western Sahara (the new Palestine)*
*Dedan Kimathi and the Mau Mau*
*African Hip-Hop sung by disadvantaged yoof from the slums, innit*
*Direct action at the WSF itself (who’d have thunk it?)*
*Desmond Tutu* (token Nobel Laureate is still in this year)
*Tusker Beer (medium bodied with a nose of honeysuckle and melon and a candied apple finish).
not
*Sunburned Dutchies flaunting Palestinian accessories ( ie 'we are all Palestinians!' badges… yeah, whatever mate!)*
*Jambo! (touristy bastardization of Kiswahili greeting)*
*Wangari Mathaai* (proof that single issue campaigning is a bad idea)
*Che Guevara gear (I mean really, still!?)*
*The CARITAS tent (made songs of praise look like the Rocky Horror Picture Show)*
*One Plank bridge over the river Smeg
*Oxfam driving around in their SUVs
*Chômage (French unemployment is sooo last year)
*'Out of Africa' film screening (“What? It's got
Africa in it….”)
*Spontaneous freedom drumming
*LGBTI activist being heckled at the WSF closing ceremony (that's just not cool)
*Climate change (it may be hot but not at the WSF)
*WSF Organisers* (wouldn’t want to be one just now).
*Chanting 'Who let the war out? Bush, Bush and Blair!'
to the tune of 'Who let the dogs out? (thanks loser
Stop the War person from London, you know who you are!)
*North American Indymedia activists from the West
Coast (How many hugs do you need?!)*
*Celtel – ‘Making life more irritating!’
Whats not at the 2004 ESF and Automous Spaces.
Find out what's been sizzling hot, and what's strictly sub-zero at this year's forum.
HOT
Make capitalism History
Venezuela
Green Pepper (all new, all sexy)
Squatting
Chunky Necklaces
Daughters of Famous Revolutionary Leaders
Dissent! (trapese)
Climate Change (making a surprise comeback)
Old Skool Trakky bottoms
Precarity (que scorchio!)
Horizontal
Both feet out
Hula hoops and hooping
Permanent War
Organisation of Womens Freedom in Iraq
Clowning (Circa, Crap)
Peoples Golfing Action
We are all over the place!
Political Poetry
Queer Arabs
Flash Mobs
Bumping into everyone you ever slept with (at the ESF)
NOT
Make Poverty History
Bolivia
Red Pepper (we were there first!)
The Millenium Dome
German anarchist trousers
GLA (SO OUT!)
"G8 Alternatives" (Globalise Resistance, we know you are!)
Casualisation of Labour
Spanish Squat Mullets
Diagonals/vertical
Both feet in
Fairy Wings
War in Iraq
Samba
Beyond Peoples Global Action
We are everywhere!
Political Ranting
Campesina Dykes (dropping down from last year)
Mass Mobs
Arguing with all your ex lovers in public during the ESF
reclaim the streetcred
what's hot and what's not in the ESF 2003
hot
*GLAD
*Argentinian squatted factory scarfs
*Italian indymedia sunglasses and hairstyles
*Bolivia - the new Argentina
*migrant activism
*Mediterranean Free Trade Zone (pronounced mefftezz)
*Monbiot bashing reaching an all new high
*Tall scandinavian blondes flaunting palestinian accesories
*Re-evaluating Empire
*Campesina dykes
*Public transport campaigns, especially fare dodging
*Mass Parisian metro subvertising by Intermittents du spectacle
*Precarious workers
*Attac(k) Germany
*Wildcat strikes (miyaow)
*bride swapping between free spaces
*DISCO anarchism
*the berbers - oppressed ethnic group of the moment
*calf length black boots
*Asturias
*rural riotin
*meeting hand signals' evolution
*activist/sex industry crossover
not
*Italian indymedia activists
*Argentina
*no border camps
*PGA European process (painful, but watch this space)
*Barcelona
*Linux and any other good techie idea that doesn't work
*pompous punctuation
*Anarcho primitivists
*Ska punk
*Samba activism
*Greek riots
*large squat incest
*Palestinian scarfs (except on hot scandinavians)
*EF! Brighton
*formal consensus
What's hot and not
Wandergesellens
An itinerant crafts people with a tradition dating back to the 12th century. Not only do they sport shapely, double zipper cords and sexy hans solo waistcoats but they also created the most incredible camp at Reddlich. We were all feeling the spacious showers, the capacious bar and the bodacious children's playground.
-From geek to chic in an astonishingly short space of time
Widening the cracks*
The resistance metaphor du jour and an 'an endless source of smirks, giggles and wise-cracks'. ho ho! . From the five fingers* widening the cracks of the G8 summit itself to the anarchist teapot for widening the cracks of activist music dogma.
-cracks were widened everywhere.
*the word crack has several meanings, in this case it is provoking giggling as it is a slang word for the part between your buttocks.
*the five fingers tactic was the tecnique used to break through the police lines and worked incredibly effectively. Upon reaching a police line the mass of people would divide into five fingers- becoming an ungovernable mass.
The unsung heroes of the resistance
It was not all about front-line glory – from the guy who spent every afternoon picking up the litter, Carlos Camper who fielded the worlds media at the gates to the people that held the front-line of porta loo hygiene. None of it would have been possible without them.
Tandems- the new buddies
Concierge-Welcome tents are so last year
Centralised washing up systems
A massive leap forward in camp hygiene and a possible explanation for this years lack of Dissent!ry
Pink and black international brigade t shirts
This seasons must have essential commodification of our resistance
Out of Action barrio
Providing medical help, chill out, support spaces and great coffee!
Mobile Kitchens at the blockades for feeding the front lines
The hedonist international
For squatting extra land at Rostock, for the old skool hay bale rave and for mobilising the musical cavalry to the demo's and blockades
Working with the local communities
Never goes out of fashion, there was not enough but what there was, was hot
Dry nights before actions
BLOCK FIRST – DRINK LATER
Slightly undermined by all the other bars everywhere but a great idea.
Forest, poppies and relentless sunshine
The blockades
Both mass and autonomous- huge, diverse, sexy, inspiring- Que scorchio!!!!!
You could not see the five fingers in action without it stirring your loins so many tales of caring, sharing, solidarity, dignity and grace under pressure. Having a plan made a big difference we hope to be seeing more of this in seasons to come.
And last but by no means least
A marked improvement from 2005- the main event was stopping the G8 from happening rather than welcoming them to do more--- Hot!
What's not
Lack of queer male wandegesellens- although the what's hot team have it on good authority that there is one joining in six months time
Insurectionary ManArchists
Aggressive,unreasonable, and a constant source of movement strife. Can you please go and insurrect someone where else and come back after you have had some gender awareness workshops!
“Confusing tactics with political principals”
Gender balance in Turbulence- other wise it would have been on the Hot list.
Shitting by the sides of the blockades- Companer@s please!!!!!!
Peter Wahl from Attac
Can you take any more distance please?
Chemical toilets and the absence of compost toilets
Silo guarders
A big thank you to all the people that put there time and energy into protecting the strategically important grain silos. Not only were our our beautiful Mexican companer@s not allowed up there but the Queer barrio took action against the silo guarders due to reports that they had their binoculars trained on the showers during women's showering hours...
so not hot
Queer Identertarianism- kind of defeats the whole point no?
Camera Paranoia
There is helicopters flying over head with technology beyond our imaginations, cops on every demo with a plethora of cameras and everyone has a mobile with a camera on it anyway. It is pointless to go intimidating and in some cases attacking movement based independent journalists.
Suicide Block
For going 100m away from the camp to the small village of reddlich, taking down some garden fences, dismantling a rockery garden, throwing some mollies around then going back home to bed. Oh and bringing the riot cops home with you. A lot of posturing for, well, nothing really.
Counter summit for taking place on the 6th of June- the same day as the mass blockades
Past what's hot and not
World Social forum 2007
hot
*Southeast Asian peasant hats (you have to see it to believe it)*
*China is the new imperialist, boo! (Fahamu rules)
*Slums and slum dwellers' associations* (Korogocho and Kibera chic)
*Pakistani food vendors* (Anticapitalist curry was very hot)
*Biofuels*
*Repudiation (of debt)*
*Dag Hammerskjöld ‘What Next?’ series
*Getting your hands on a programme
*The Weather
*Disability rights
*LGBTI activism in Africa (the Q-Spot was the ultimate f@#k you to the Catholic CARITAS tent across the road)*
*Spontaneous freedom singing (except from the CARITAS tent)*
*Western Sahara (the new Palestine)*
*Dedan Kimathi and the Mau Mau*
*African Hip-Hop sung by disadvantaged yoof from the slums, innit*
*Direct action at the WSF itself (who’d have thunk it?)*
*Desmond Tutu* (token Nobel Laureate is still in this year)
*Tusker Beer (medium bodied with a nose of honeysuckle and melon and a candied apple finish).
not
*Sunburned Dutchies flaunting Palestinian accessories ( ie 'we are all Palestinians!' badges… yeah, whatever mate!)*
*Jambo! (touristy bastardization of Kiswahili greeting)*
*Wangari Mathaai* (proof that single issue campaigning is a bad idea)
*Che Guevara gear (I mean really, still!?)*
*The CARITAS tent (made songs of praise look like the Rocky Horror Picture Show)*
*One Plank bridge over the river Smeg
*Oxfam driving around in their SUVs
*Chômage (French unemployment is sooo last year)
*'Out of Africa' film screening (“What? It's got
Africa in it….”)
*Spontaneous freedom drumming
*LGBTI activist being heckled at the WSF closing ceremony (that's just not cool)
*Climate change (it may be hot but not at the WSF)
*WSF Organisers* (wouldn’t want to be one just now).
*Chanting 'Who let the war out? Bush, Bush and Blair!'
to the tune of 'Who let the dogs out? (thanks loser
Stop the War person from London, you know who you are!)
*North American Indymedia activists from the West
Coast (How many hugs do you need?!)*
*Celtel – ‘Making life more irritating!’
Whats not at the 2004 ESF and Automous Spaces.
Find out what's been sizzling hot, and what's strictly sub-zero at this year's forum.
HOT
Make capitalism History
Venezuela
Green Pepper (all new, all sexy)
Squatting
Chunky Necklaces
Daughters of Famous Revolutionary Leaders
Dissent! (trapese)
Climate Change (making a surprise comeback)
Old Skool Trakky bottoms
Precarity (que scorchio!)
Horizontal
Both feet out
Hula hoops and hooping
Permanent War
Organisation of Womens Freedom in Iraq
Clowning (Circa, Crap)
Peoples Golfing Action
We are all over the place!
Political Poetry
Queer Arabs
Flash Mobs
Bumping into everyone you ever slept with (at the ESF)
NOT
Make Poverty History
Bolivia
Red Pepper (we were there first!)
The Millenium Dome
German anarchist trousers
GLA (SO OUT!)
"G8 Alternatives" (Globalise Resistance, we know you are!)
Casualisation of Labour
Spanish Squat Mullets
Diagonals/vertical
Both feet in
Fairy Wings
War in Iraq
Samba
Beyond Peoples Global Action
We are everywhere!
Political Ranting
Campesina Dykes (dropping down from last year)
Mass Mobs
Arguing with all your ex lovers in public during the ESF
reclaim the streetcred
what's hot and what's not in the ESF 2003
hot
*GLAD
*Argentinian squatted factory scarfs
*Italian indymedia sunglasses and hairstyles
*Bolivia - the new Argentina
*migrant activism
*Mediterranean Free Trade Zone (pronounced mefftezz)
*Monbiot bashing reaching an all new high
*Tall scandinavian blondes flaunting palestinian accesories
*Re-evaluating Empire
*Campesina dykes
*Public transport campaigns, especially fare dodging
*Mass Parisian metro subvertising by Intermittents du spectacle
*Precarious workers
*Attac(k) Germany
*Wildcat strikes (miyaow)
*bride swapping between free spaces
*DISCO anarchism
*the berbers - oppressed ethnic group of the moment
*calf length black boots
*Asturias
*rural riotin
*meeting hand signals' evolution
*activist/sex industry crossover
not
*Italian indymedia activists
*Argentina
*no border camps
*PGA European process (painful, but watch this space)
*Barcelona
*Linux and any other good techie idea that doesn't work
*pompous punctuation
*Anarcho primitivists
*Ska punk
*Samba activism
*Greek riots
*large squat incest
*Palestinian scarfs (except on hot scandinavians)
*EF! Brighton
*formal consensus
whatshotandnot
e-mail:
whatshotandnot@gmail.com
Additions
'manifestation'
12.06.2007 21:23
I wish the word 'manifestation' would have been in your list. Personally in the not hot list: it took me ages to figure out what that word, appearing on notes, action announcements etc meant.
I was very disappointed when I realised that German activist had aimed to communicate the appearance of something far less inspiring and mystical at the end of a demo, than what I thought a manifestation was. It seems they simply had used a weird dictionary and somehow taught each other...
oww
I was very disappointed when I realised that German activist had aimed to communicate the appearance of something far less inspiring and mystical at the end of a demo, than what I thought a manifestation was. It seems they simply had used a weird dictionary and somehow taught each other...
oww
flashRadio
MaskedUpRockThrower.co.ck
13.06.2007 08:59
"This seasons must have essential commodification of our resistance"
You said it!
You said it!
Nathan Barley
what's also hot
13.06.2007 09:48
Swimming in the baltic sea was very cold but great in the hot days, and I really liked the East German lack of multinational corporations in that area.
Also hot: infopoints of protesters at nearly every major crossroads in nearly every small and bigger village, Japanese squatters, action bikes to borrow out, the Zapatista barrio and as usual Anarchist Teapot's good food and going round police blockades.
And very nice were also the locals living at the campsite, who put up stalls and gave away the infrastructure such as water and electricity - including a local butcher, who wasn't targetted at all by animal rights activists, which I found amazing. So tolerance is also up.
I really liked that at the end of the week the atmosphere was so good, I softened up quite a bit, and I wish it could be like that forever.
Oh, and I quite liked the infoboards which were going up everywhere, even at the blockades, with the paper timeline of events in all locations.
What was not hot was the PGA banner going up in the Zapatista barrio with the hallmarks at the end of the week, it was kind of a) very late timing b) authoritarian and c) very obvious that sexism and racism would not be tolerated and d) quite simplistic and e) taking advantage of totally different projects to promote an unassociated group and f) very negative banner as it only said what was not wanted.
So would say PGA was so not hot at this event...(sorry guys!)
What was not hot at this year's protests from my opinion was also:
- Plan B
- unpolitical people who only went to the gigs but not to the protests
- too many and too long talks with a kind of complicated decision-making system (when, where, what, why, who? I still don't know)
- overenthusiastic false alarms of camp security in the middle of the night (really, it was only 1 police car taking the wrong turn!!!)
- neonazi threat (and nearly attack of the convergence centre)
- all the courtcases in order to have demonstrations and protests (kinda weird!!!)
- lack of people taking on infrastructure and responsibilities reliably and in advance and letting go of participating in actions, esp. at Rostock Camp
- initial lack of computers and connectivity and lack of electricity
- lack of ethnic minorities involved and present at the camps, protest was very "white" (and sunburned)
ab
info for action - most impressive info infrastructure - red hot!
13.06.2007 11:05
Most impressed by the emphasis put on inflo flows.
Not just action tents with flyers in them, but a plethora of info boards distributed not only in the campsites and convergence centres but also at the info points in villages and at cross roads nearer the blockade locations.
And the main point is that they were not lunched out....
So often someone sets up an info board and it becomes a patchwork of useless out of date info. Not so with the german mobilisation...
Using all available info feeds - the three radio webstreams, the fm action radio broadcasts, the pmr walkie talkie info channel and the indymedia latest news, every time there was an update, within a few minutes a new piece of paper was hand written out in german and english and pinned to the appropriate part of the board...
'imc reports 3000 blocking at blah gate'
'radio says new blockade at X'
'blockade Y needs more people to stay overnight'
'food and water needed at Z'
'cars needed to collect released prisoners at Y'
'nazi demo planned at convergence centre, people needed urgently'
There were also action info hotline you could call to find stuff out when you were out and about....
All in all a super effort despite all the mobile phone weirdness courtesy of the cops.
Not just action tents with flyers in them, but a plethora of info boards distributed not only in the campsites and convergence centres but also at the info points in villages and at cross roads nearer the blockade locations.
And the main point is that they were not lunched out....
So often someone sets up an info board and it becomes a patchwork of useless out of date info. Not so with the german mobilisation...
Using all available info feeds - the three radio webstreams, the fm action radio broadcasts, the pmr walkie talkie info channel and the indymedia latest news, every time there was an update, within a few minutes a new piece of paper was hand written out in german and english and pinned to the appropriate part of the board...
'imc reports 3000 blocking at blah gate'
'radio says new blockade at X'
'blockade Y needs more people to stay overnight'
'food and water needed at Z'
'cars needed to collect released prisoners at Y'
'nazi demo planned at convergence centre, people needed urgently'
There were also action info hotline you could call to find stuff out when you were out and about....
All in all a super effort despite all the mobile phone weirdness courtesy of the cops.
losted
Not hot: nicking a puppy from the locals
13.06.2007 14:31
not sure if this is a trolling piss-take or not, but on the German info-list is a request for help to return an 8 months old cute, cuddly and friendly Rottweiler puppy, which apparently lived on one of the industrial little areas nearby Camp Reddelich.
He went missing on the 7th of june and his name is Klitschko and he is really missed by the local people there.
So if one of you thought that the doggy would not be happy there and be made to be an evil protection dog and animal-liberated him by accident, that's not the case so you could really return him and the owners seem very forgiving, so please get in touch with the Gipfelsoli group.
gipfelsoli@nadir.org
He went missing on the 7th of june and his name is Klitschko and he is really missed by the local people there.
So if one of you thought that the doggy would not be happy there and be made to be an evil protection dog and animal-liberated him by accident, that's not the case so you could really return him and the owners seem very forgiving, so please get in touch with the Gipfelsoli group.
gipfelsoli@nadir.org
ab
