The Rants of Issachar
Monday, October 17, 2005
Deleting comments from my blog...
I just deleted a post from my blog for the third time.
The first time, the post linked to porn on someone else blog.
The second time, the post was a inappropriately personal.
This last time the post was comment spam on this thread.
The roommates are watching Monster in Law. I'm writing about this later.
Update: Tuesday, October 18th. 4:29pm
Monster in Law was good. Back to the issue.
As I said, last night someone calling themselves "Join us!! BCTF" posted some comment spam on this entry. I deleted it because I don't allow comment spam on my blog. This is a discussion forum, not the wall of a public toilet. However, since I'm commenting on deleting comments, I've copied the full text of the deleted comment below:
Obviously it's my site and I can do what I want with it, but since I want this to be an open discussion I intend to delete as little as possible.
But why do people post comment spam like that in the first place. I know there are people foolish enough (and irresponsible enough) to buy things they read about in spam, but why the political spam? Is it supposed to be ironic? Or just childish?
Stupid behaviour just can't be avoided...
****
Here's the deleted comment:
At Mon Oct 17, 07:55:44 PM PDT, Join us!! BCTF has said...
by Northwest Anarchist Federation (NAF)
The LabourWAr begins!!!
While the post-war period brought about a relatively stable climate in which collective bargaining was widely recognized as a basic right, these days workers are increasingly forced to break the law in order to assert their rights to a fair contract. It has become evident time and time again that the provincial government will only respond to the demands of working people if we collectively withdraw our labour power. The government has done all it can to undermine this possibility, passing legislation in direct violation of international labour standards, freezing our funds, imposing enormous fines, and threatening to imprison us. When free collective bargaining has become an exception rather than a rule, it is time to re-evaluate the traditional strategies of labour unions.
History Repeats Itself
In a climate of increasing repression, the organization of job action through hierarchical structures has proved inefficient if not downright counter-productive. The union leadership provides a head that can be easily lopped off. The enormously disappointing events of last April show how the aspirations of strike workers can be quietly betrayed behind closed doors. Moreover, the official leadership of a constituted body provides an easy target in the transition from legal to illegal job action. If they are arrested, who will pick up the slack? The escalation of job action depends on the diffusion of participation and communication across the membership as whole, reaching out to other workers and the broader community. This can best be accomplished through the constitution of decentralized networks and organization.
Grassroots Traditions
In order to effectively mount a sustained opposition to the current provincial government, it is necessary to build networks of support beyond the hierarchical structures of a single union. The popular assembly presents a model that has been effectively utilized around the world in resistance to privatization, deregulation, and contracting out. It has been very effective in coordinating action through decentralized and directly democratic methods. Assemblies have formed in factories, neighborhoods, schools, and villages, enabling organization in a transparent fashion, utilizing mandated and recallable delegates.
In fact, the most successful sustained struggles in recent years have all drawn on models of popular assembly. In Latin America, for instance, such grassroots organizing models have emerged in workers movements across the continent. In 2000, plans by the Bolivian government to privatize water, raising rates by up to 300 percent, were successfully stopped as thousands came together under the slogan "All power to the Popular Assemblies!". Likewise, in Argentina, popular assemblies effectively challenged the Structural Adjustment Policies of the national government, constructing a powerful movement from below to ensure that the social system is not further eroded.
However, such organizations are also cropping up close to home. More recently, over 250,000 students shut down the college and universities of Quebec in opposition to the provincial governments cuts to loans and bursaries. In every school, general assemblies were organized in which all students were invited to make decisions regarding the course of action on a weekly or even daily basis. Through these assemblies, they were able to effectively coordinate large scale and illegal actions such as occupations.
Creating New Possibilities
As we are increasingly pushed to coordinate job actions in this province, building solidarity in the face of a common threat, we are constantly scrambling to build and rebuild networks. Where are people needed? How can we get more people involved? We are dependent on the same sources of information as decisions are effectively made behind our backs. In order to build a sustained opposition in the face of increasing repression it is vital that we construct formalized networks of organization and decision-making. The popular assembly presents an effective model for coordinating our activities in a decentralized and transparent fashion building on our diverse capacities together in active relationships rather than awaiting our orders from on high. But we cannot wait for others to create these networks, we must create them ourselves.
The first time, the post linked to porn on someone else blog.
The second time, the post was a inappropriately personal.
This last time the post was comment spam on this thread.
The roommates are watching Monster in Law. I'm writing about this later.
Update: Tuesday, October 18th. 4:29pm
Monster in Law was good. Back to the issue.
As I said, last night someone calling themselves "Join us!! BCTF" posted some comment spam on this entry. I deleted it because I don't allow comment spam on my blog. This is a discussion forum, not the wall of a public toilet. However, since I'm commenting on deleting comments, I've copied the full text of the deleted comment below:
Obviously it's my site and I can do what I want with it, but since I want this to be an open discussion I intend to delete as little as possible.
But why do people post comment spam like that in the first place. I know there are people foolish enough (and irresponsible enough) to buy things they read about in spam, but why the political spam? Is it supposed to be ironic? Or just childish?
Stupid behaviour just can't be avoided...
****
Here's the deleted comment:
At Mon Oct 17, 07:55:44 PM PDT, Join us!! BCTF has said...
by Northwest Anarchist Federation (NAF)
The LabourWAr begins!!!
While the post-war period brought about a relatively stable climate in which collective bargaining was widely recognized as a basic right, these days workers are increasingly forced to break the law in order to assert their rights to a fair contract. It has become evident time and time again that the provincial government will only respond to the demands of working people if we collectively withdraw our labour power. The government has done all it can to undermine this possibility, passing legislation in direct violation of international labour standards, freezing our funds, imposing enormous fines, and threatening to imprison us. When free collective bargaining has become an exception rather than a rule, it is time to re-evaluate the traditional strategies of labour unions.
History Repeats Itself
In a climate of increasing repression, the organization of job action through hierarchical structures has proved inefficient if not downright counter-productive. The union leadership provides a head that can be easily lopped off. The enormously disappointing events of last April show how the aspirations of strike workers can be quietly betrayed behind closed doors. Moreover, the official leadership of a constituted body provides an easy target in the transition from legal to illegal job action. If they are arrested, who will pick up the slack? The escalation of job action depends on the diffusion of participation and communication across the membership as whole, reaching out to other workers and the broader community. This can best be accomplished through the constitution of decentralized networks and organization.
Grassroots Traditions
In order to effectively mount a sustained opposition to the current provincial government, it is necessary to build networks of support beyond the hierarchical structures of a single union. The popular assembly presents a model that has been effectively utilized around the world in resistance to privatization, deregulation, and contracting out. It has been very effective in coordinating action through decentralized and directly democratic methods. Assemblies have formed in factories, neighborhoods, schools, and villages, enabling organization in a transparent fashion, utilizing mandated and recallable delegates.
In fact, the most successful sustained struggles in recent years have all drawn on models of popular assembly. In Latin America, for instance, such grassroots organizing models have emerged in workers movements across the continent. In 2000, plans by the Bolivian government to privatize water, raising rates by up to 300 percent, were successfully stopped as thousands came together under the slogan "All power to the Popular Assemblies!". Likewise, in Argentina, popular assemblies effectively challenged the Structural Adjustment Policies of the national government, constructing a powerful movement from below to ensure that the social system is not further eroded.
However, such organizations are also cropping up close to home. More recently, over 250,000 students shut down the college and universities of Quebec in opposition to the provincial governments cuts to loans and bursaries. In every school, general assemblies were organized in which all students were invited to make decisions regarding the course of action on a weekly or even daily basis. Through these assemblies, they were able to effectively coordinate large scale and illegal actions such as occupations.
Creating New Possibilities
As we are increasingly pushed to coordinate job actions in this province, building solidarity in the face of a common threat, we are constantly scrambling to build and rebuild networks. Where are people needed? How can we get more people involved? We are dependent on the same sources of information as decisions are effectively made behind our backs. In order to build a sustained opposition in the face of increasing repression it is vital that we construct formalized networks of organization and decision-making. The popular assembly presents an effective model for coordinating our activities in a decentralized and transparent fashion building on our diverse capacities together in active relationships rather than awaiting our orders from on high. But we cannot wait for others to create these networks, we must create them ourselves.
6 Comments:
Posted by: 
just wait for the Marxist spam.....
just wait for the Marxist spam.....
Posted by: 
LisaWow....that was a long winded spam....I've gotten some spam comments, but nothing like that. How does one get rid of it permanently?
LisaWow....that was a long winded spam....I've gotten some spam comments, but nothing like that. How does one get rid of it permanently?
Posted by: issacharYou don't. Unless you disallow comments from other bloggers, people can do things like that.
issacharYou don't. Unless you disallow comments from other bloggers, people can do things like that.
Posted by: caleb reedGoogle around for some of the blog spammer blacklists out there. They're not perfect but they do help.
caleb reedGoogle around for some of the blog spammer blacklists out there. They're not perfect but they do help.
Posted by: caleb reedgorman
hey man I got your voicemails last week but I was in Yosemite without really any reception.....tried to call you last night but couldnt find my phone in all the luggage crap.....hop online tonight and send me a tell will you?
reed
caleb reedgormanhey man I got your voicemails last week but I was in Yosemite without really any reception.....tried to call you last night but couldnt find my phone in all the luggage crap.....hop online tonight and send me a tell will you?
reed
Posted by: CaliforniaWell that was a long spam message.
Talking about monter in Law is a good light movie. You may watch it when you do not want to think anything, just watch :)
CaliforniaWell that was a long spam message. Talking about monter in Law is a good light movie. You may watch it when you do not want to think anything, just watch :)
