What Are Your Doing This Summer, NYC?

I'm curious to know what people are planning.

What will you be doing when the Republicans come to town?

What is the message we want the Republicans to go home with this September?

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4891866/

<snip>

Actually, I want them to go home thinking that their Red State views don't represent all of us. I want them to go home a little less smug and a lot more convinced that there is widespread hostility to the Bush vision of endless war, corporate control of the environment and lack of concern for our allies. I want them to feel uncomfortable—like their views are as foreign and repulsive as we New Yorkers believe them to be. Yes, I want their money (I'm a New Yorker first and a liberal second). But I couldn't help but feel bothered by the implication that I should sell my values for money.

"Of course you're bothered by it—Bloomberg and Koch are asking you to put aside your beliefs because the Republicans will be spending their money while they're here," said civil rights lawyer Ron Kuby, who's best known as the law partner of the late William Kunstler, the radical defense attorney who once represented Malcolm X, as well as the co-host of a local morning show with Curtis Sliwa (a wonderful guy who just happens to be a smidge to the right of Genghis Khan). "They want you to be a whore."

Kuby shared my revulsion for the "make nice" ads. "We don't need to be polite—we're New Yorkers," he said. "We need to show them that their views are repugnant, so for me, this issue is how to make them feel as uncomfortable as possible without incurring a felony."

Not to sound second-grade about this, but the Republicans started it. For years, they thought of New York as a bastion of multi-culturalism, corruption, liberal decadence, immorality, perversion and anti-Americanism (to paraphrase Woody Allen, I think of us that way, and I live here!).

But the point is, the Red States hated New York, the spiritual capital of the Blue States. And then September 11 happened. "Yeah, all of a sudden, they saw New Yorkers taking care of each other, they saw New Yorkers responding with strength. They saw the city for what it really is—the best of America," Kuby said. "So now they want to wrap themselves in that for their convention. But they still hate us."

By Gersh Kuntzman

Remember, they will be here in SEPTEMBER.

republicans will NOT enjoy it.

and, that's a good thing....

You'll let me know when it opens, okay?

NYC Direct Action Groups Bring Tactic to RNC /RNC Not Welcome.org/

Putting NYC On the Map, Direct Action Groups Bring Tactic to RNC
by Matthew Leising
Email: mleising@hotmail.com

Direct Action groups, building on the experiences of the WTO protests in Seattle in 1999 and last year's anti-war actions in the San Francisco Bay Area, are gearing up to let Republicans know they are not welcome to celebrate their agenda in NYC this summer. So, the upcoming Republican National Convention is not about the Republicans, say Mayor Bloomberg and Ed Koch, whom Bloomberg picked recently to be the public face of the convention. It’s about celebrating New York, they insist.

Try telling that to the hundreds of direct action protesters – not to mention the hundreds of thousands of more conventional activists – who plan to flood the city starting Aug. 30.

“That’s a bunch of bullshit,” says Jamie Moran, a member of the New York City-based direct action group rncnotwelcome.org. Moran and other direct action protesters have been working for over a year to make it abundantly clear, actually, that the convention is about the Republicans and their agenda.

“If you really want to make a difference, you have to be out in the street, being vocal, putting your body on the line,” says Eric Laursen, a member of the New York City-based M27 Coalition, a direct action group.

http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=04/05/03/8236222
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The Republican National Committee has, for the first time in their 150 year history, selected New York for their Convention from August 29-September 4, 2004. In a shallow attempt at exploiting the lives lost at the World Trade Center, the RNC has pushed the Convention date to September. We have witnessed two unjust wars, at least one American life lost each day overseas, a depressed economy, the collapse of the dollar, $87 billion to boost war profiteering, the closing of our firehouses, a health-care crisis, millions of children being left behind, and now this. We say, Enough!

When the vote does not place in power those who represent the will of the people, democracy must be taken to the streets. This administration's choice of New York City, historically known for its diverse population, its welcoming of immigrants from far off lands, and its radical politics will prove to be their biggest mistake yet.

http://www.rncnotwelcome.org is a collective and the opinions on this site are ours and not the voice of all activists, organizations or people opposed to the RNC coming to NYC. If you are a reporter and have questions about our site, feel free to contact us at info@rncnotwelcome.org . If you have questions about the noRNC clearinghouse meetings, contact andersonatlarge@aol.com . There are many organizations organizing against the RNC. You can view a large list of them in our directory of local organizations.

Where are the RNC delegates staying while they are in NYC anyway? Find out here. http://www.rncnotwelcome.org/delegates.html

Direct Action Handbook:
A wide range of tactical, medical, and legal resources to make your actions more effective and safe.
http://www.rncnotwelcome.org/daction.html

Street Resources

What We Know: A collection of snippets of media sources to provide a comprehensive look at what the RNC will look like. Always a work in progress. http://www.rncnotwelcome.org/whatweknow.html

Hotels: Where the Delegates are staying during the RNC.
http://www.rncnotwelcome.org/hotel.html

NYC Guide to War Profiteers- Map of corporations in Manhattan profiting off the Iraqi war & occupation.
http://www.m27coalition.org/directaction_locations.html

Surveillance in NYC: There are a great deal of cameras in our public spaces. Here are maps, guides to identifying different cameras, and a picture (so to speak) of how the NYPD operate.
http://www.rncnotwelcome.org/surveillance.html

resources:
http://www.rncnotwelcome.org/resources.html