Meeting: 8:30pm Thursday, February 23, 2012

Our next meeting will be this Thursday at 8:30pm at a REAP member's apartment. For the address email cuareading@gmail.com. We will be discussing whether or not REAP would like to host the Platypus Affiliated Society for an on-campus event. The suggested background readings are to provide information about Platypus. A criticism of Platypus will also be posted.
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Readings:

A reading to counter the positions of Platypus -

http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/q-what-is-a-platypus-a-an-american-eustonite/

Here are some articles suggested to become familiar with Platypus taken from an email from Greg

"Dear all,

First of all, this is Platypus's mission statement:
http://platypus1917.org/2007/11/01/platypus-review-editorial-statement-of-purpose/

Here are some interviews with anarchists, such as Chomsky or Graeber:
http://platypus1917.org/2010/10/08/history-and-possibility-an-interview-with-noam-chomsky/
http://platypus1917.org/2012/01/31/interview-with-david-graeber/

Here's a recent one with Zizek:
http://platypus1917.org/2011/12/01/occupy-movement-interview-with-slavoj-zizek/

This is an article that was written by a member of Platypus on art and resistance. A very topical, and interesting essay, I think:
http://platypus1917.org/2011/08/31/antinomy-of-art-and-politics/

Finally, (feel free to browse through whatever you're interested in btw, every issue of the PR is online and free) these are a couple of these "controversial" articles that are regarded as pro-imperialist, but, as I believe, are simply critiques of the short-sightedness of contemporary "anti-imperialist" movements:
http://platypus1917.org/2008/10/01/iraq-and-the-election-the-fog-of-anti-war-politics/
http://platypus1917.org/2009/02/03/nothing-left-to-say-a-critique-of-the-guardian%e2%80%99s-coverage-of-the-2008-mumbai-attacks/
http://platypus1917.org/2009/12/06/the-poverty-of-pakistan%e2%80%99s-politics-ppp/

A related article would be the following, which they regard as one of the major impulses that have led to the founding of Platypus. It's written by Prof. Moishe Postone, Cutrone's former mentor, and deals with the political disorientation of the anti-Iraq War movement:
http://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/postonemoishe_historyhelplessness.pdf

Solidarity,
Greg"

Meeting: 8:30pm Thursday, February 16, 2012

Hey,

The next REAP meeting will be this Thursday, February 16, at 8:30pm. It will take place at a REAP member's apartment located at 202 E Chalmers, #116, Champaign, IL.

The reading for this week is from a section of Michel Foucault's book History of Sexuality: An Introduction. The section we will be discussing is chapter 2 "Method" (17-27). It is recommended that you read the first chapter "Objective" which starts on pg. 6 to help contextualize the discussion of power in the second (or, at least doing some wikipedia reading to get a feeling for the background), but this isn't necessary for the discussion. The reading can be downloaded here: http://ifile.it/vxlfgun

Meeting: Feb 2, 2012 8:30pm at Espresso Royale

Our first meeting of the Spring 2012 semester is tonight at 8:30pm at the Espresso Royale on Oregon in Urbana.

Sorry for posting this after the starting time. Future meeting times will be posted in advance.

Event: The New Age of Conspiracy: An Introductory Look at the Use of Conspiracy Charges Against Social Movements and Radicals

Please join Radical Education for Autonomous Persons (REAP), this Wednesday, November 6th, at 6 PM as we welcome Lena Mercer. Lena will be visiting the UIUC campus to discuss the use of conspiracy-related charges as a means of repressing social movements and politically radical individuals.

The New Age of Conspiracy: An Introductory Look at the Use of Conspiracy Charges Against Social Movements and Radicals (e.g. the Asheville11 and RNC8)

Where: Illini Union, Room 407 (1401 W. Green Urbana)
When: 6 PM - 8 PM

Conspiracy charges continue to be issued against social movements and politically radical individuals. These charges have long-term implications for the target individuals and movements, ranging from exaggerated felony accusations with excessively high bail to media exposure that makes it difficult for the accused to find employment or housing later in life, to public stigmatization of the movement.

Lena Mercer will discuss two recent cases that involve conspiracy charges - the Asheville 11 case and the case of the RNC8 - as well as the meanings of these charges and their implications for future political organizers.

Background information about these two cases is below.

Asheville 11

On May 1, 2010 eleven people were arrested and charged with nearly $20,000 worth of damage to store front and car windows in a tourist section of downtown Asheville. Picked at random the eleven were swept off sidewalks and into waiting police vehicles. They have become the targets of egregious attempts by the Asheville Police Department to show it maintains control.

What began as ten misdemeanor charges and $10,000 bail for each person, quickly ratcheted up to $65,000 bail with an additional three felonies added to every person. Each are facing over five years in jail; a higher penalty then often found in domestic violence cases.

In a clearly desperate act, the state is aggressively persecuting these eleven by charging them with every crime they can muster, demanding exorbitant bail and publicly slandering the defendants. With no evidence against them the presumption of innocence has been completely abandoned by the media and police.
(taken from http://asheville11defense.com/)

RNC 8

The RNC 8 are: Luce Guillén-Givins, Max Specktor, Nathanael Secor, Eryn Trimmer, Monica Bicking, Erik Oseland, Robert Czernik and Garrett Fitzgerald. Their case has proceeded as follows:

All were preemptively arrested prior to the 2008 RNC in response to their political organizing. They were falsely charged with Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism under the Minnesota PATRIOT Act.
Later that year, prosecutors added charges of Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Damage to Property in Furtherance of Terrorism, as well as both charges without the terrorism enhancement, for a total of four felony charges per defendant.
In early 2009, facing mounting political pressure, prosecutors removed the terrorism enhancements, leaving each defendant with two felony charges each.
In August 2010, Erik Oseland accepted a plea agreement to a single gross misdemeanor charge. In September 2010, all charges against Monica Bicking, Eryn Trimmer, and Luce Guillén-Givins were dropped, leaving four defendants to face trial beginning on October 25, 2010.
(taken from http://rnc8.org/)

Funding for this event is provided by SORF. This event is sponsored by Radical Education for Autonomous Persons (REAP), a registered student organization at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Meeting: Wednesday, September 7th, 7pm

This Wednesday (September 7th) we'll be meeting in the Courtyard Cafe at the Illini Union at 7pm.

The reading for this week is: Anarchy 101 by Bob Black (link)

Meeting: Wednesday, August 31st, 6PM

Of those that responded to the Doodle survey, the best time to meet is Wednesday evenings. So, we'll be meeting this Wednesday, August 31st, at 6PM in the Courtyard Cafe at the Illini Union.

At this meeting we'll get to know each other, and decide what we want to do this year with REAP. Some things we may want to discuss include: how to pick what we read, what topics to cover, how often we should meet, social activities, and anything else that comes to mind!

WHAT: First REAP meeting of the semester
WHEN: Wednesday, August 31st at 6PM
WHERE: Courtyard Cafe in the Illini Union