WTO Sixth Ministerial: tales from Hong Kong (1 Viewer)

[W.]

 

[La La]

two were hospitalised after the swim. one, (a 65 year old man) is still in hospital last i heard.

 

[La La]

today was pretty moving: the farmers did the 3-steps one-bow all the way to the protest site

 

[La La]

it takes a helluva lot more determination to do this for the distance they did it than fighting with cops

 

[Shine]

Jesus. they are well organised (these maoists!). Looks fucking amazing. Black bloc scares the hell outa me and maybe yes its day has passed (or not come yet)? Just ends up looking like thuggery... message gets lost. Think some people if they saw something like that bowing protest might be a tiny bit more inclined to say what's their story... In combination with the direct resistance and other tactics of course. I'm all for all forms of protest and would never knock any1 for being black bloc - it's just not for me. And blah blah this been said before. Saw the indymedia article too tnx.

btw la la - was there a huge media hype up about evil disruptors coming to disrupt your world? it's to the people that listen to and believe that stuff that i mean black bloc has no power to impact.

 

[La La]

Jesus. they are well organised (these maoists!). Looks fucking amazing. Black bloc scares the hell outa me and maybe yes its day has passed (or not come yet)? Just ends up looking like thuggery... message gets lost. Think some people if they saw something like that bowing protest might be a tiny bit more inclined to say what's their story... In combination with the direct resistance and other tactics of course. I'm all for all forms of protest and would never knock any1 for being black bloc - it's just not for me. And blah blah this been said before. Saw the indymedia article too tnx.

btw la la - was there a huge media hype up about evil disruptors coming to disrupt your world? it's to the people that listen to and believe that stuff that i mean black bloc has no power to impact.

the hype was always about the korean farmers; we never expected m/any anarchist organisations to come over if thats what you mean.

honestly today's 3 step one bow was increcibly moving; bystanders had tears in their eyes an all. had to be there to really understand i guess. these people's livelihoods are in the balance in the impregnable Convention Centre - it's pretty full on.
i have to say that witnessing this has changed my views on black bloc a bit - it's been nice to see the way they voice their issues with the talks.

 

[W.]

it takes a helluva lot more determination to do this for the distance they did it than fighting with cops

True, but south koreans are far more obsessed with fighting cops than most of the blackblocs you'll ever see. I don't understand why people are comparing the two, it's about a diversity of tactics.

 

[La La]

True, but south koreans are far more obsessed with fighting cops than most of the blackblocs you'll ever see. I don't understand why people are comparing the two, it's about a diversity of tactics.

no i agree with you; and that's why today was so surprising and to be honest, completely overwhelming. no one was expecting it

 

[W.]

was watching it on euronews, nice to get half the "black bloc" eejits to be that disciplined.

 

[Shine]

the hype was always about the korean farmers; we never expected m/any anarchist organisations to come over if thats what you mean.

honestly today's 3 step one bow was increcibly moving; bystanders had tears in their eyes an all. had to be there to really understand i guess. these people's livelihoods are in the balance in the impregnable Convention Centre - it's pretty full on.
i have to say that witnessing this has changed my views on black bloc a bit - it's been nice to see the way they voice their issues with the talks.

yeah - but disruptors are disruptors as far as most of the masses are concerned - not knowing or caring about the difference between anarchists and maoists (now- i could be way off - i dunno what hong kong thinks or knows!). Sorry weeler was just putting in my 2 cents about black bloc cos someone else brought it up... shuda quoted... and the other stuff cos i read on indymedia about hong kong and he was comparing the build up there to the build up here for maydays here - as i say - eeevil disruptors all...
Anyway - good stuff la la - thankyew bye bye

 

[La La]

yeah - but disruptors are disruptors as far as most of the masses are concerned - not knowing or caring about the difference between anarchists and maoists (now- i could be way off - i dunno what hong kong thinks or knows!). Sorry weeler was just putting in my 2 cents about black bloc cos someone else brought it up... shuda quoted... and the other stuff cos i read on indymedia about hong kong and he was comparing the build up there to the build up here for maydays here - as i say - eeevil disruptors all...
Anyway - good stuff la la - thankyew bye bye

haha yeah the media will always fearmonger with the words evil and stuff.

aaaaanyway ill be sure to keep you up to date with all this double you tea oh malarky as it unfolds.

 

[Blackenedflag]

was watching it on euronews, nice to get half the "black bloc" eejits to be that disciplined.

You want disciplin? Wait until Germany. Then you'll see disciplin!

 

[São Paulo Punk]

Yesterday, the Fox News 'Around the World in 80 Seconds' report showed footage of the fights between the Korean Farmers and the Hong Kong cops in a very neutral manner by their standards. I was almost impressed until the next news item was 20 Korean Santa Clauses on a fun park adventure ride going up, around and upside down.

Why? Fucking Why?

 

[La La]

i have just gotten in from being tear-gassed to unbelievable levels. today has been indescribable in many ways....HK has been so heavily fortified it feels like a prison. there have been alot of clashes with the cops but tonight was the heaviest, most brutal and barbaric display of ugliness from the police. i cannot believe what i have just witnessed, i've never seen people beaten so heavily with batons until this. water cannon was used for the first time today - all of it laced to the hilt with chemicals which make your eyes and skin burn. so it wasnt like having a bit of a splash around- if it got you, your eyes started burning and you couldnt breathe.
and now the tear gas was just unleashed and people were vomiting and collapsing everywhere (me included).
i've never been tear gassed before and I'd have to say it's one of the most horrible sensations.....lungs, eyes, skin....everything starts burning up uncontrollably.
there was however a great show of solidarity and organisation tonight; though sadly my pictures didnt turn out as i might have liked. however ill post a few up and then head back down to the chaos if it's still going, though i think by now things may have wrapped.

maybe the most lighthearted highlight was when a korean farmer approached me randomly, put his arm around me and asked if he could have his photo taken with me which i thought was pretty cute

 

[Janer]

Nice post La La

 

[La La]

yeah i betcha ye all wanna come here now eh

 

[La La]

ok here we go. sorry but these pix are crap quality - my camera sometimes cant focus properly. plus because today was about racing around etc i didnt take too many.
hope you guys get some sort of an idea though

as usual - i love taking pics of faces. this guy was fascinating-he looked really upset an all but i think his face has great character

this shrine has been up since day one of WTO. it's dedicated to the farmer who sommitted suicide in Cancun. the shrine is treated with teh utmost repsect; when the farmers are in front of it they bow and light joss sticks.

this one of me was taken about a minute before the tear gas was unleashed. the strange thing is, it look really peaceful, but there was total chaos all around me.

and finally, this is what it looked like when people started stampeding away from the tear gas. that cone shaped thing is a traditional farmers' hat person behind me musta been wearing (in case you were wondering)

 

[La La]

anyway tomorrow is the final day. and if today was heavy, tomorrow's gonna be even moreso. sorry about the picture quality; of course all the big wigs like reuters and afp will have better ones.

i'm off now to puke my guts up again - this tear gas stuff is making me feel really dodgy. never wanna be in that situation again...my insides are aching. terrible stuff.
nighty night.

 

[Janer]

 

[W.]

I imagine they'll be breaking out the molo's tomorrow.