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| <nettime> Communique from the Biotic Baking Brigade |
This is a special update as the A16 protest against the World Bank/IMF is
about to kick off in Washington. Many pie-tossers, both in practice and
spirit, will be there. Though there have been many tactics discussed in
regards to public order situations (i.e., how to prevent the cops from
shutting us down), few have considered the following tactic as related by
one of our correspondents:
"I don't know if you have in your archives of famous pie throwing the
historic incident at the Global Reclaim the Streets Party in Birmingham
this year. A "copper" who attempted, with a few other boys in blue, to
crash the party was hit full on in the face with a meringue pie... In the
face of such a tart reception the coppers all made a hasty retreat."
Food for thought....and action. See you there!
A rolling pin gathers no moss,
Agent Apple for the BBB
______________________________________
Communique from the Biotic Baking Brigade (BBB)--Ecotopia Cell
11 April 2000
After a long hiatus, we swung into action today and delivered two pies to
the kisser of Martina McClaughlin, Director of Biotechnology at the
University of California at Davis.
The General Command of the BBB met earlier today spurred by an anonymous
tip that a big biotechnology supporter was entering our stronghold of San
Francisco, CA, U$A. After agents were chosen, it was just a matter of
time before pies were to fly. BBB specially-trained agents had no problem
infiltrating the building and patiently sat through the debate on
genetically engineered organisms in the environment. As McClaughlin left
the stage, Agent Chocolate Silk delivered the first edible projectile
using the patented Pie Slam Dunk©. As she was freeing herself from an
overly aggressive biotech supporter, Agent Raspberry snuck by the crowd
and delivered a second helping of good ole cherry pie to the unsuspecting
pie-ee.
"Director of Biotechnology" is an odd title for a person who merely lies
on behalf of UC-Davis' heinous biotechnology program. According to
McClaughlin, "Unless we will accept starvation or placing parks and the
Amazon basin under the plow, there really is no alternative to applying
biotechnology to agriculture. Biotechnology should be looked upon not only
as a solution to problems but as a mechanism to improve the quality of
life and the quality of the environment." This kind of corporate bullshit
needs to be addressed!
UC-Davis is no stranger to biotechnology, having entertained deals with
Monsanto and other multinationals. Similar to most publicly-funded
universities, UC Davis relies on massive amounts of corporate funding to
keep its extensive biotechnology program alive.
UC-Davis has come under fire in the last year for their role in promoting
the dangerous technology known as biotech. Since 1999, their have been
over four genetically engineered crops destroyed at UC-Davis; among them
were Monsanto Round-Up Ready sugarbeets and GE corn, melons and tomatoes.
Despite the evidence presented to the press, Ms. McClaughlin denied the
nature of the crops instead choosing to call the crop pullers, "vandals."
UC-Davis (and the UC system in general) is no stranger to the BBB having
received visits from us on various occasions: 1998's "Operation Double
Fudge" in which we visited both UC Davis to pie Chancellor Vanderhoorf
over a deal with Monsanto, and UC-Berkeley to pie Dean Gordon Rausser and
Novartis President Doug Watson over the University's nefarious $25 Million
deal with multinational giant Novartis. Last but not least, let us not
forget the pie-ing of vivisector Russel DeValois on World Week for Animals
in Labs last year either.
"We must resist the commodification of life at all coast--and by any
means! If we stay silent while multinational corporations kill butterflies
with GE corn, clone animals and destroy the environment with their
genetically mutilated crops, than we deserve industrial society. We must
continue to fight!" said Agent Chocolate Silk. This action is dedicated to
you brave warriors out there resisting the biotech monster and changing
the way Amerikans look at GMO's. You know who you are and you're an
inspiration to us all.
In defense of pastry and all things sweet,
Special Agent Key Lime
General Command of the Biotic Baking Brigade--Ecotopia Cell
GC-BBB-EC
_____________________________________
The BBB received this message right before the N30 event. Since it
never came to fruition, so to speak, we thought it should be proposed
for A16 this weekend. Just Do It!
Subject: +Clinton +Pie =>£1000, Let Him Eat Pie!
Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 10:39:31 PST
November 30 International Day of Action - http://www.n30.org
£1000 BOUNTY ON TROUBLE-MAKER CLINT'S HEAD!
In light of William J. Clinton's impending visit to Athens, Greece, Agent
Lemon Flan, a Greek friend of the Biotic Baking Brigade, is offering the
sum of GB£1000 as BOUNTY to any being, whether man, woman, child, beast,
alien or whatever who manages to fling a PIE (of any description) or other
such food object onto Clinton's face or body, in full view of the public
and media, so as to cause him full and public humiliation. While I would
dearly love to be the said person, I realise that, as an uninvited
outsider, any pieing opportunities would be minimal. Hence the placing of
the BOUNTY, availible only during his coming trip to Athens, Greece on
November 19/20.
William J. Clinton ('Bill') was chosen, because, as president of the
United States and the most powerful man alive, he will play a key role in
the forthcoming Seattle round of debates of the World Trade Organisation.
At a time when it is not unreasonable to regard the W.T.O. as the first
ever (unaccountable, unelected) world government, the World Trade
Organisation believes that Econmic factors are more important than
Environmental and Social concerns, and that the affairs of
Trans-National-Corporations are more important than those of Governments.
Is it any wonder, then, that we, the masses are forced to take such
desperate action, but a small voice seeking to ward off the impending
storm.
This is Agent Lemon Flan, signing off.
=====================
PIE, CLINTON, PIE PIE, CLINTON, PIE PIE, CLINTON, PIE PIE CLINTON, PIE
______________________________________________________
Pie Flys at Santa Cruz City Council
Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom
309 Cedar St. PMB 14B ñ Santa Cruz, Ca. USA 95060
(831) 423-HUFF fax (831) 429-8529 e-mail Wmnofstl@cruzio.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday April 12, 2000
Pie Flies at Santa Cruz City Council!
Former Mayor Mike Rotkin Named Most Anti-Homeless
Activist, Robert Norse, gets the pie in the Pusser Instead!
At the 7 PM session, HUFF presented its First Annual Pie Presentation to
the councilmember voted the most supportive of the anti-homeless Sleeping
Ban. The Pie, a far cry from the vegan delicacies tossed at Mayor Willie
Brown last fall over his homeless policies, was a makeshift Reddi-whip
puddle in a tin pie plate. The newly formed Santa Cruz Chapter of the
Bionic Bakerís Brigade claimed credit for the drippy confection. HUFF had
promised that the Pie would be presented in a strictly non-violent manner;
and they delivered!
The Pie-worthy Candidates Mayor Keith Sugar, Katherine Beiers, Mike
Rotkin, Cynthia Matthews, Tim Fitzmaurice, Michael Hernandez, and
Christopher Krohn all had the chance to contemplate if they would be
selected the lucky winner of Bakerís backlash. Activist James Nay, has
been staffing a table on Pacific Ave. in front of the (closed) Del Mar
Theatre for the past three weeks to End the Sleeping Ban. Last week
ballots appeared on his table asking passersby which currently sitting
City Councilmember should receive their just desserts.
Following an Academy Awards style presentation given by homeless hippies
and UCSC students, videographer Becky Johnson approached the mike to
present the award with Robert Norse, wearing a chefís hat and holding a
pie. Third place went to Mayor Keith Sugar, largely for his inability to
put the Sleeping Ban on the agenda. Second place went to Councilmember
Katherine Beiers for her failure to decriminalize sleeping in February of
1999 when she had a council majority to do so.
"Rotkin was the front-runner right from the start!" reported Nay. "People
kept coming up and saying ëtheyíre all so bad, but Rotkin. He is the
worst.í" Among his homeless "credits", he voted to make two acts of
sleeping within 48 hours a misdemeanor subject to fines up to $1000 and up
to six months in jail. He personally closed the Coral Street Open Air
Shelter in December 1995. The over 200 homeless campers were offered no
shelter option other than to hide from the cops at night or get out of
town. While no one died at Coral Street in nearly two years of operation,
several of the displaced persons died within months, at least one from
hypothermia.
Interviewed by KSBW television, Mike Rotkin commented on his award: "I
would have been upset if I had not won."
At the afternoon session, the City Council voted 7-0 to accept the report
of its Homeless Issues Task Force which included among its
recommendations, suspension of ticketing under the Sleeping Ban and the
establishment of Safe Zones. However council chose to take no action at
the 4/11 council meeting and to defer comments to a meeting to be
scheduled sometime later. The National Guard Armory closes April 15th, at
which time shelter space drops by 100.
The demonstration and Pie-in were endorsed by the Frank Little Club, The
Green Party of Santa Cruz County, The Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal,
The Campaign to End the Sleeping Ban, and Homeless United for Friendship &
Freedom ____________________________________________
Solidarity with political food-tossers:
>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000306/aponline150251_000.h
tm
>
> Protesters Throw Eggs at Albright
>
> By Robert H. Reid
> Associated Press Writer
> Monday, March 6, 2000; 3:02 p.m. EST
>
> PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Secretary of State Madeleine
>Albright urged Eastern Europeans on Monday to play a bigger role in
>bringing democracy to Serbia, after drawing applause and a barrage
>of hurled eggs with her message to a university audience that freedom
>requires financial sacrifice.
> After her speech, which drew enthusiastic applause,
>Albright left the auditorium for a nearby hall, where a crowd of
>well-wishers had gathered to catch a glimpse of her. Suddenly, two men
shouted
>"death to American imperialism" and began hurling eggs. Police Capt. Zdenek
>Lubas said two 22-year-old men described as anarchists were detained for
>questioning.
>
The "accused" face a threat of two years imprisonment or a financial fine.
Anyway they will have to pay for legal costs, which can reach several tens
of thousands of Czech Crons (several thousands of US dollars).
The Czech organisation of revolutionary anarchists Solidarita stands =
firmly by our two comrades, Milan Naplava and Jindrich Lumbach. We =
organise a support campaign for our comrades at home. Media coverage is =
wide and so is a public support. We organise financial collections to =
pay for legal costs. Now we call on an international class struggle =
anarchist movement, revolutionary unionists and other libertarian =
socialists to join our support campaign on an international level. We =
urge you to organise demos at Czech ambassies and write petitions and =
protest letters to Czech ambassadors. We ask you to send financial help =
to the bank account that Solidarita set up in IPB (Investment and Post =
Bank) in the Czech Republic. The number of the account is: INBACZPP =
164035592/5100. Thank you very much.
Please, let us know of any kind of support you give to our comrades to =
this adress: mixam@volny.cz
In solidarity
Vadim Barak
International Secretary of Solidarita
______________________________________________________
>From the archives:
I was looking through the BBB files the other day, and found a flier that
sparked a memory I wanted to share. Twas a tense moment that morning when
we entered the Sierra Club board meeting, held at a posh office building
in downtown San Francisco. As we sat down and tried to somehow fit in and
look normal, I picked up a flier and pretended to read it, all the while
glancing slyly around the room to assess the situation. Then a headline
popped right out at me: "No On Pies, Says Club," with a picture of a cross
through a lovely-looking pie. The text read as follows.....
On the day before Halloween, 20 environmentalists in London threw cream
pies at Renato Ruggiero, the director of the World Trade Organziztion. He
had just given a speech at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in
London defending a WTO decision to overturn U.S. attempts to protect
endangered sea turtles from shrimp fishers. Don Seligman (in bold),
director of the Club's Responsible Trade campaign, says that even though
the Club opposes the WTO decisions, we "strongly disavow pie throwing as
an environmental tactic." According to the Associated Press coverage of
the incident, the first thing Ruggiero said was, "This is not a bad
cake."........
We took it as an omen of good fortune, and moments later President Carl
Pope received his just desserts!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Recuperation of Dissent? Has entartement been absorbed into the Spectacle?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_709000/709640.stm
Tuesday, 11 April, 2000, 16:43 GMT 17:43 UK
Flan flinging frenzy at the
Dome
Final fling: Dome pie throwers make the record books
It was pies in the sky at the Millennium Dome
as 20 enthusiastic slingers challenged the
record for the world's biggest custard pie fight.
Half a tonne of custard powder was churned
with water in cement mixers to provide
ammunition for the stunt.
A record 3,312 sticky
custard flans were
thrown in the space of
three minutes, a 236
flan improvement on
the previous world
record set at the
Roundhouse, north London in 1998.
Pie throwers, who were selected from 1,000
volunteers, were paired up with their own
'feeder' to ensure they had a constant supply
of pies to fling.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
More on the amazing womyn pie-tossers from Down Under, from today and
days gone past:
Eight women on camels pied Chuck Foldenauer, head of US-based General
Atomics who operates a uranium mine in Southern Australia. The women who
make up the Aboriginal-led organization Humps not Dumps found time in the
course of their 621 mile (1000 kilometer) trek through the Australian
desert to stop and hurl a pie at Foldenauer's face. Unconfirmed reports
maintain that Mr. Foldenauer was "secretly disappointed" to taste that the
rebel pie "contained not even a smidge of meringue."
Brisbane, 1978
Anti-porn, moral crusader May Whitehouse is pied as she speaks to an
assembly at Brisbane Town Hall. Pie-ers disguised as school girls, eager
photographers, and potential converts. She takes the purple pie (original
intended to be menstruel red) square in the chest and makes a flustered
comment about it matching her dress, as it slips down her front.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The BBB--Noreastah Irregulars report that a high school student pied his
vice-principle in charge of discipline in Nashua, NH. The story was in the
state paper.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>From one of our correspondents:
I am a member of an informal group called CLAPTRAP - the Committee of
Low-income Angry People Throwing Rigatoni at the President (it was gonna
be Rocks, but we figured if we hit him the Secret Service would either
shoot us or send us to jail, so we changed it to cooked rigatoni - it's
not dangerous, and if we are ever successful, all they can do is make up
pay for dry cleaning. No hits as of yet, but wish me luck.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>From a English comrade:
"the day i didn't pie john major"
not sure exactly when it was that i didn't pie john major, but it was
sometime last year. i was in cambridge, bimbling around enjoying having
some time on my own and munching on a hummus salad roll when i spotted
police and sleek black cars and men in suits outside heffers bookshop.
"wonder what that's all about" methought and decided to sit on the
college wall opposite to finish off my roll and indulge my curiosity. i
found out it was john major, there to do a book signing. now, there
happens to be a fabulous squishy cake shop just down the road from heffers
and i sat on the wall thinking to myself "john major ... squishy cake shop
... it'd be so easy ...!"
then i started thinking that it'd only be worth wasting amazing nadia's
cake on john major to get some publicity and i couldn't think of one thing
- not one thing - that the grey-one had done to warrant being pied ... not
one thing i could say to the press afterwards "this is why i pied john
major" ... so i didn't. and that's the story of the day i didn't pie john
major. -- http://www.eco-action.org/index.html There is no in between,
you are either free or you're a slave.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Below is a Q&A article that appeared in the Bangalore edition of The Times
of India on November 28, 1999. I am forwarding it because I think it
captures the spirit and essence of what pie-rect action is all about, and
offers ideas on how to carry on the global pastry uprising.
THE PIE-RECT SIDE OF ECO-ACTIVISM
The crusade for Ecotopia is spreading itself thick with the emergence of
the Biotic Baking Brigade (BBB). The redoubtable BBB has exemplified
underground eco-activism in recent years with its avowed goal of pie-rect
action - attacking global capitalism full in the face with pie, preferably
custard or cherry. Their Tried and Pied list of entartements includes
technocrats, policy makers, heads of trade bodies, politicians and
corporate honchos. By the BBBs own admission, the twofold path of the
modern warrior is no longer that of the sword and the pen, but the pie and
the keyboard; and, few weapons as effective to subvert an event as pie
served in unconventional fashion rounded off with a captivating press
release. But has the BBB brand of pielitical pressure paid off? In an
exclusive interview via e-mail, a leader of the movement who gave his name
as Agent Pecan minced no words on the group's mission. Excerpts:
Q: How did the idea of pie-throwing originate in the history of
remonstrations?
A: In my consciousness, pie-throwing was something that was done in the
movies to bring someone down off of their high horse. The pie had
universal visual meaning. With an understanding of the situationist's idea
of disrupting the spectacle and using the disruption to point out the
cracks in the official reality, the power of the pie was given whole new
opportunities to cast light on shadowy figures. Tasteful entertainment at
protest prices.
Q: The splashy approach seems to be a trifle too hard on the egos of your
beneficiaries. Is pie-throwing as soft as it looks, going by the media
splash you have generated?
A: Pieing is not so much a personal attack, as it is an attack on
authority, secrecy, corruption, and greed. If the ego of the person pied
is bruised, that is not the intent. But shame can be a powerful motivator,
and persuade people to change their behaviour. This, of course, is an
unintended result, for the goal is to disrupt the spectacle and expose the
lies official reality requires for its existence. In my case, State
Representative Carol Flynn, whom I pied, said the only thing that hurt was
her self-esteem. No physical injury, when a pastry projectile took her
down a notch, and exposed her violation of the law and her racist lies.
Q: Isn't pie-throwing a legal offence as in causing public nuisance? Is
operating underground the result of or the very backbone of the movement?
A: Most pie-throwers try to escape and are thus underground. Some are
caught. I chose to stay and explain my actions, so I did not run. I had
something to say, and wanted to take it to trial to say it. I was
convicted of a misdemeanour.
Q: Given an option, what other methods would you seek recourse to to spread
awareness?
A: There are all kinds of methods of raising people's awareness. Pie is a
particular tactic that is great in some circumstances, and in others, the
results would not be quite as sweet. But pie injects humour into protest,
and a visual esperanto, a universal message that is conveyed via action
that everyone understands.
Q: You prefer the electronic media for a slice of the action.
A: The idea behind pie is to spin the spectacle so that the
creators/keepers of the official reality must respond. Pie has little
effect without a wide and live audience, and the media both creates the
reality and the audience.
Q: What about allegations that the gravity of eco-policy decisions are being
drowned in splashes of pie?
A: The media does damage control mostly by focussing on the pie and the
pier and not the actions of the piee that led to the pieing. So, some may
argue that the message was lost. In my case, it never came out in the
media that Carol Flynn had admitted on the stand under oath to violating
the law, abusing the power of her office, and telling racist lies. But it
did go out over the media that she refused to hear a Bill pertaining to
the issue (not quite accurate, but nearly so). The pie forced people to
ask why someone would do such a thing, question the state's explanation,
and it created tremendous visibility for our campaign, as well as
recruitment opportunities to get more people involved. The specifics of
the issue are covered in pastry puff and undiscernible with this type of
action, but the issue in general is thrust in the face of the public. More
attention, but few specifics of the issue.
Q: How positive has been the victim's approach after the 'treatment'? Does
he
who flings the pie expect to change hearts?
A: Well, we never expect to create a change in the decision of the project
when we pie, but do intend to expose the corruption of the process in the
pieing of the individual most directly linked to that corruption.
Q: Do you still repose faith in environmental summits?
A: No.
Q: How often have you participated in the proceedings and put forward
workable proposals on environmental management?
A: Very often. I, for one, have sat on governmental advisory boards, done
electoral and issue politics for 10 years.
Q: On your opposition to the neoliberalism paradigm. What is the ideal
balance of power you envisage between corporates and governments in the
coming century?
A: The real question is do we even want to abdicate our power, our
community autonomy and self-determination to nation states that represent
the interests of the wealthy, or to corporations that represent the
interests of the wealthy? Neither. Not to corporations or governments.
Mutual aid, and an end to consumer culture. Really going back way before
agriculture. Primitivism. Take from the earth what it offers, instead of
changing the earth to fit our preferences.
Q: What is your vision of an eco-safe world?
A: Civilisation must end, and we must go feral. I just wanna be a naked
monkey on a rock. We are animals, with no more or less right to live on
this world than any other animal, plant, or rock.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Never doubt that a small and dedicated group of people with pies can
change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
PLEASE NOTE!!!!! New BBB email and website addresses: bbb@asis.com
http://www.asis.com/~bbb/
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