-Caveat Lector- http://www.itn.co.uk/news/20010430/britain/13maydayonline.shtml May Day movement mobilises online This year the diversity and sophistication of the protesters' websites has increased yet again. The May Day protest movement has again turned to the Internet to unite disparate groups and provide information about what will be happening and when. Ever since the June 18, 1999 riots in the City of London, technology has played a growing role in the organisation of anti-capitalist protests. Then mobile phones, text messages and e-mail had helped bring the anarchist and protest groups together for the day, and helped them keep track of plans as they unfolded. This year the diversity and sophistication of the protesters' websites has increased yet again. The central website for the London events is Maydaymonopoly.net, a very professionally designed website that uses the Monopoly game theme to great effect. Behind all the colour lies a well organised set of information, with downloadable leaflets, legal guides in case of arrest and translated versions of the website for international users. This website, and the handful of others like it, exploit the transient nature of the web to great effect, springing up as preparations gain momentum, with a minimal set-up cost to the organisers. It helps that the centre of the web world, the San Francisco Bay Area, is also home to the countercultural movements that have inspired many activists. For the angry young men and women of the 21st century 'logging on' is as natural as 'dropping out' was to their parents' generation in the 60s. The cheap availability of telecommunications has also boosted the anti-capitalist movement. Leaflets distributed at recent protest events in London also carry mobile numbers for use on May Day only. These can be discarded as soon as they have served their purpose, with information flowing quickly between those in the know. E-mail and online discussion groups played a large part in the organisation of last year's May Day 'guerrilla gardening' event in Parliament Square. Again, technology is being exploited for the May Day Monopoly protest, although as with so many interest groups online, the users are being driven further underground. The presence of snoopers, journalists and police posing as activists in these e-mail groups has made the bona fide demonstrators suspicious, and some e-mail lists that received hundreds of messages every day in the build up to last year's events are now more or less dormant. Nevertheless, the key points of where, when and why anti-capitalists from all over the country will be congregating is not difficult to find online. And it is this loosely constructed network that is helping the movement to consolidate, giving it a power and presence that belies the fragmented politics at its core. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
