Hi everyone,
------------------------------------------------------------
1. Introduction
------------------------------------------------------------
Every year, on or about May 1, I send out an annual report on my
work.
Approximately six months later, on or about November 7, I send
out a mid-year report.
The purpose of the mid-year report is to report on my progress on
the objectives which I have declared in my annual report. I also
report on any mid-course corrections or changes which I have made
in my yearly goals.
I sent out my first annual report six and a half years ago, in
May 1999. My initial hope was that eventually other activists
would understand the value of posting regular annual reports on
goals, objectives, progress, difficulties and lessons learned --
and that each year, on International Workers' Day, many activists
would send out annual reports and we could all read each others'
reports and everyone could see what everyone else had done, what
their priorities were and what they had learned.
This remains my hope. I believe this practice is valuable and
represents a modest, but real, step in the self-organization of
activists. Eventually we will have an organization which
represents the interests of the working class and which is
capable of mobilizing millions. And maybe also, such an
organization would encourage its members and supporters to post
their own annual or semi-annual reports. This practice would
help give activists the ability to quickly learn about one
another and to find, and mobilize for various kinds of projects,
other activists who have shared interests, convictions or
necessary skills.
It is also a good practice, from the perspective of the
management of our time, energy and passion -- to spend a few
minutes once or twice a year and review one's goals and
priorities. If we fail to do this -- then we will tend to spend
our time on whatever things happen to be in front of our face at
the time. And I believe that we can and we must do better than
this. We have the ability to be subjects, not objects. We have
the ability to consciously determine our priorities. Annual and
semi-annual reports are a tool that can help us do this. I will
probably be writing and sending our such reports for the
duration. And I remain of the conviction that eventually I will
be joined by many others.
------------------------------------------------------------
2. Status of my yearly goals
------------------------------------------------------------
On May first (I have included the post below for those who are
not familar with me or my work) I declared four major objectives
for the year, as follows:
a) Continue my "weekly focus" posts to
the pof-200 discussion list
b) Organize a modest distribution (to email lists
and Indymedia sites) of announcements or
bulletins from the Media Weapon community
c) Add functionality to our community wiki
that would allow unregistered users to
add comments to wiki pages
d) Work to develop an interactive news site
(i) create a web site for this purpose
(ii) create an email list for this purpose
(iii) create a mock-up dummy web page to
illustrate how some relatively simple
changes to Indymedia functionality
would allow readers to filter articles
and share their filters with other readers
Circumstances have required me (as they usually do) to modify my
goals.
a) I no longer make "weekly focus" posts to the pof-200
discussion list. I have switched to "monthly focus" posts. This
reflects both the limits of time and the limited audience which
is able to connect with what I have to say.
b) I did send out to about 40 Indymedia sites, and a dozen email
lists, an article on "What Kind of Organziation does the Antiwar
Movement Need?". And I sent out to about two dozen Indymedia
sites, and dozen email lists, an article exposing the plans of a
section of the Democratic Party to co-opt the antiwar movement by
making use of a phony "exit plan" that would leave permanent US
imperialist military bases in Iraq along with a government that
was compliant (if not a complete puppet) in relation to US
imperialist interests.
Both of these distributions were of some value but this value was
also limited in various ways. The article on the phony "exit
plan" drew a lot more comments than the article on organization.
I intend to do other distributions in the future -- but this may
wait until I have some help. The development of such a
syndication channel tends to go beyond what is practical for one
person with very limited time. Doing this right requires a team
effort. But such a team does not yet exist. I would like others
to see the value of developing this kind of channel. Reformist
and sectarian trends syndicate their stuff to Indymedia sites and
email lists all the time. I am certain that this could be done
better with content that was of consistent anti-reformist and
anti-sectarian character. I believe that many activists would
welcome a consistent stream of monthly (or weekly) articles of an
anti-reformist and anti-sectarian character.
c) I have more or less given up on our current wiki for now. The
wiki is designed, like most wikis, for "Neutral Point of View"
(NPOV) and it is too difficult for me to modify the wiki
software. Rather than add interactivity to the existing wiki for
unregistered users -- I intend to create a new kind of wiki which
better supports "multiple points of view" that compete for
attention with one another. My revised objective is to create a
spec and mockup pages for this new kind of wiki by the time of my
next annual report on May 1, 2006.
d) My work to develop an interactive news site has gone well. I
put a hell of a lot of time and energy into a site at:
http://NewsRefinery.com which also includes a formal proposal for
software changes that would make Indymedia far more useful.
Unfortunately, this work has so far drawn relatively little
attention. Eventually I will need to do more work to post news
of this site and the Indymedia proposal to various Indymedia
sites. Making the proposal a reality would require volunteers
with time, conviction and computer scripting skills.
The general goal of creating an interactive news site remains of
immense importance. Such a project may eventually become the
focus of the work of a large number of serious revolutionary
activists. And it is possible that the work I am doing today may
contribute to this in some modest way.
------------------------------------------------------------
3. Additional comments
------------------------------------------------------------
Those readers who find my work of interest are encouraged to read
my annual report -- which is appended below.
A new organization, the Seattle Anti-Imperialist Committee (which
I played an indirect role in creating) has emerged in the last
few months. I have worked with this organization informally (I
have refused to become a member) and given limited support to its
activity. My criticisms of SAIC, and a number of related topics,
can be found online at:
http://struggle.net/ben/2005/mass-democracy
At this time the main focus of my political work has been to
assist in the development of what I call the Media Weapon
community. At present the Media Weapon community is more of a
set of email lists than a real community. My intent is that
eventually this collection of activists who talk to one another
will emerge as a real community motivated by a common purpose and
a common focus. I believe this will eventually happen. But at
present I do not have any real evidence for this. My belief that
such a community will eventually emerge originates in my
conviction that such a community is necessary. The revolution in
digital communications has made such a community possible. The
potential of such a community to assist in the self-organization
of the revolutionary movement is immense. And eventually this
potential, I believe, will manifest itself in some material form.
And possibly my efforts to create such a community may play a
modest role in making this happen.
I will be posting this mid-year report to the Seattle and
Portland Indymedia sites and a few email lists. I welcome
comments but I must note that I will likely be unable to respond
to comments -- and it may be several days before I even have time
to read them. But I will read all comments eventually -- and I
very much welcome all activists who are interested in my work to
join me on the pof-200 and pof-300 email discussion lists. More
about them can be found on the website of the Media Weapon
community at: http://MediaWeapon.com .
And anyone who would like to receive my May and November reports
can do so by sending blank email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
You will not get spammed. The pof-100 list sends out two emails
per year. No less and no more.
Sincerely and revolutionary regards,
Ben Seattle
http://struggle.net/ben
Cartoon Guide to the Left in Seattle
http://struggle.net/ben/2005/cartoon.htm
Hit them where it Hurts! and related articles ...
Agitation for the Sept 24, 2005 antiwar march
http://struggle.net/ben/2005/924.htm
We need mass democracy
Real organization cannot be built on a foundation of sand
If we can create a mass anti-imperialist organization
where decisions and struggle are based on mass democracy
-- then we will capture the imagination of serious
activists everywhere -- and be in a position to change
the dynamics of the entire antiwar movement.
http://struggle.net/ben/2005/mass-democracy
Isolated from one another we are easily defeated.
Connected to one another no force on earth can stop us
http://MediaWeapon.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Seattle
Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2005 11:47 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 'pof-200'
Subject: Annual Mayday Report -- May 2005 -- Ben Seattle
__/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/
Annual Mayday Report
for May 2005
by Ben Seattle
__/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/
I believe it is useful for revolutionary activists to post, by
May 1st every year, a summary of their activity over the past
year and plans for the coming year.
Capitalist corporations give a public annual report to
stockholders every year. Our "stockholders" are the workers and
oppressed of the world who, by their own struggles, inspire us
and give us strength. An annual report can assist revolutionary
activists to better understand the work, activity and priorities
of other revolutionary activists. This can be a small step in
the direction of transparency and eventual greater coordination
of effort.
To set an example, and declare my work and priorities before
friend and foe alike, I submit the following:
============================================================
Contents:
============================================================
------------------------------------------------------------
1) What I accomplished in the last year
------------------------------------------------------------
a) I made a series of "weekly focus" posts to
the pof-200 email discussion list
b) I created two major essays on
(i) Proletarism as anti-revisionist Marxism, and
(ii) an essay on the political, cultural and economic
significance of an annual arts festival known
as Burning Man
------------------------------------------------------------
2) What I plan to accomplish in the coming year
------------------------------------------------------------
a) Continue my "weekly focus" posts to
the pof-200 discussion list
b) Organize a modest distribution (to email lists
and Indymedia sites) of announcements or
bulletins from the Media Weapon community
c) Add functionality to our community wiki
that would allow unregistered users to
add comments to wiki pages
d) Work to develop an interactive news site
(i) create a web site for this purpose
(ii) create an email list for this purpose
(iii) create a mock-up dummy web page to
illustrate how some relatively simple
changes to Indymedia functionality
would allow readers to filter articles
and share their filters with other readers
------------------------------------------------------------
3) Problems that came up in my work
and solutions that were developed
------------------------------------------------------------
The need to postpone of all of my goals other
than my "weekly focus" posts to pof-200
------------------------------------------------------------
4) An invitation to participate in the work to create
a mass movement directed at the overthrow of
the system of bourgeois rule
------------------------------------------------------------
In the sections below I make a few additional comments on the
above items.
============================================================
1) What I accomplished in the last year
============================================================
Over the past year I have made 37 "weekly focus" posts to the
pof-200 email discussion list.
These posts are indexed on this wiki page:
http://mediaweapon.net/mediawiki-phase3/index.php/User:BenSeattle
:WeeklyFocus
The time it has taken me to write these posts has been
considerable -- and, as a result, it became necessary for me to
postpone my other objectives. My assessment, however, is that I
have correctly prioritized my activity.
My "weekly focus" to the pof-200 email list are an important part
of building a community of activists which is (a) built on
correct principles and (b) focused on the tasks which are most
important to the revolutionary movement. This community requires
care and attention in a consistent way and over a long period of
time. I do not yet have solid proof that my efforts to develop
the consciousness and activity of activists on this list will
yield results that are commensurate with the considerable time
and effort which I am investing in the list. However all of my
work, to date, has led me to the unshakeable conclusion that the
development of a community of activists must be the primary focus
of my work.
I will add a note about how I view this matter.
The dominant intellectual pole of attraction for science-minded
students of my generation (ie: children during the tail end of
the cold war) was the Manhatten Project. This was the project
that gathered scientists from many places into a location in New
Mexico where the atomic bomb was developed. Later, as I grew up
and was influenced by the movement against the war in Vietnam --
I learned how US imperialism used nuclear weapons in war crimes
against the Japanese people and also to threaten and terrorize
peoples around the globe. Nonetheless, the image of a relatively
small group of dedicated people working to develop a
"superweapon" remains compelling.
The imagery of the Manhatten Project is very much in my mind
today -- as I work to create a community of activists -- that
will be focused on making use of "information war" -- to bring to
millions the news that a world without bourgeois rule is both
possible and necessary.
It may appear that the development of a community of activists
centered around an email list -- is small potatoes in comparison
with the awesome might of US imperialism's nuclear weapons --
which are capable of incinerating tens of millions of people in
the time it takes to read this email.
If we look at this from another direction, however, we will see
that the efforts of a few activists like me to create a community
-- are part of something much larger -- are a small part of the
efforts of many activists to make use of the emerging revolution
in communications to awaken and mobilize the entire working
class.
Today this idea may still seem strange -- but I believe that,
fifty years from now, it will be obvious to nearly everyone that
"information war" (defined as the struggle for ideas organized on
a mass scale) is more influential, more "powerful" than nuclear
weapons.
I view the work I am doing now to build a community -- as being
analogous to the first phase of the Manhatten Project. In this
phase, which began in 1939, the objective was to prove that it
was possible to create a "chain reaction" of splitting atoms that
would release vast amounts of energy. Once this was accomplished
(in a squash court in Detroit in 1942) it was clear that a bomb
could be more than a theory. That was when scientists were
gathered into the New Mexico desert.
The work to build the media weapon community is still (to
continue the analogy) in that first phase. I have poured, and am
continuing to pour, vast amounts of time and energy into my
weekly posts. To date I have not achieved a chain reaction. At
this time the success of the project remains unproven.
However I do note indications that activists on the list are
carefully following the discussion. For example, more than one
subscriber has developed a deeper understanding of the nature of
the reformist ideology and taken action to oppose the influence
of this ideology. And I have seen posts which indicate that
other activists are developing a deeper understanding of the
nature of sectarianism and the need to fight it. And there are
also indications that some recognize that the general outlook of
"information war" will become increasingly important.
These indications, while important, have not, to date, translated
into any efforts to systematically send out bulletins from our
community to other activists (ie: via email lists, Indymedia
sites, bulletin boards, etc). But it is logical to assume that
this may be the next step of development -- and maybe we will see
this step taken sometime within the next year.
============================================================
4) An invitation to participate in the work to create
a mass movement directed at the overthrow of
the system of bourgeois rule
============================================================
(what follows is adapted from my previous annual reports)
The antiwar movement has invigorated the general atmosphere of
opposition to some of the worst abuses of the system of bourgeois
rule. An increasing number of young people, in particular, are
thinking about ways to oppose the current imperialist national
mood. The necessity of a mass movement aimed at eliminating the
system of bourgeois rule will eventually make itself felt.
For those who may have found my work of interest--I invite you to
participate in this work. Check out my home page at
http://struggle.net/ben . Join the pof-200 email list (by sending
a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) and join
with a growing community of media, tech and revolutionary
activists who are gradually developing a focus on the use of
"information war" (as a struggle for ideas organized on a mass
scale) as a powerful weapon to (i) raise the consciousness of
millions, (ii) create a mass organization deserving of the
respect of the working class--and (iii) coordinate the efforts of
millions to bring about an end to the system of bourgeois rule.
And, if you are too busy for all that, send email to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] which will bring into your
email box two emails a year describing my progress (or lack of
progress) in discovering and applying the principles which will
lead to the rebirth of a genuinely revolutionary movement that is
deserving of the respect of the masses.
Sincerely and with revolutionary regards,
Ben Seattle
----//-// May 1, 2005
http://struggle.net/Ben (my elists / theory / infrastructure)
Send email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
No Spam!--Just 2 emails a year to keep you updated about my work
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Annual reports (and mid-year reports) can be seen here:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Annual report for May 2005:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-100/message/18
Mid-year Report -- November 2004
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-100/message/17
Annual report for May 2004:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-100/message/16
Mid-Year report -- December 2003:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-100/message/15
Annual report for May 2003:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-100/message/14
Mid-Year report -- November 2002:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-100/message/12
Annual report for May 2002:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-100/message/11
Annual report for May 2001:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-100/message/8
Annual report for May 2000:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-100/message/5
Annual report for May 1999:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-100/message/4
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