Here’s this week’s rundown of ways to connect with the movement in Pittsburgh!

Please let us know if there there’s an event that is not listed that you would like us to promote through our Facebook, our blog, our Twitter, and through flyers or email.

Monday (Today) – 10.23

Tuesday – 10.24

Come meet with CAN to discuss issues on our campuses and in our community and how we will work together to address them.

Additionally, we’ll be discussing the readings in the CAN syllabus: http://campusantifascistnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CAFNSyllbus1i.docx

October: What is Fascism?

Required:

Leon Trotsky, “What is Fascism and How to Fight It” https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1944/1944-fas.htm

Recommended:

Otto Bauer, “Essence of Fascism,” American Socialist Quarterly, 1939

Robert O Paxton, “The Five Stages of Fascism.” From France in the Era of Fascism: Essays on the French Authoritarian Right. 2005.

Roger Griffin, “What Fascism Is Not and Is: Thoughts on the Re-Inflation of a Concept.” 2013. http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/2211625700202008;jsessionid=P0vf1WffD1i4eggqUa42LrLu.x-brill-live-02

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/1280444435394078/ ]

This month, our short-form reading group will be focusing on selections that deal with socialist feminism, with a more specific theme of “The Body Under Capitalism.” We are all aware of body image and how it is affected by sexism and patriarchy, but how does capitalism work to commodify one’s self image as well as broader movements that spring up around the concept of the body and beauty? Readings:

[Content note for body talk; mentions of sexual harassment, abuse, and rape; disordered eating] Why the World Needs Fat Acceptance, by Lesley of Two Whole Cakes

http://blog.twowholecakes.com/2011/07/reprint-why-the-world-needs-fat-acceptance/ What Does Capitalism Have to do With Body Image Anyway?, by Grace Manger

http://www.adiosbarbie.com/2015/04/what-does-capitalism-have-to-do-with-body-image-anyway/ On Sexuality as Work, by Silvia Federici

http://www.commoner.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/05-federici.pdf Grin and Abhor It: The Truth Behind “Service with a Smile,” by Sarah Jaffe

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/14535/grin_and_abhor_it_the_truth_behind_service_with_a_smile

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/1920841068176943/ ]

Wednesday– 10.25

>>> 8pm <<<

We’ve managed to reboot PSSC in a serious way, so why stop now?!

Why do you, your crew, or your organization participate in PSSC? What could the coalition be doing better to advance all our projects? How can PSSC better apply the spokescouncil / general assembly model?

Come help re-re-reimagine PSSC, discuss/debate a proposal for further reorganization, and get those Soros checks.

Want to preview / contribute to the agenda? Ask us for a link!

>>> 9pm <<<

Weekly crew assembly, reportbacks, announcments, workshop series signup, breakouts.



Conspire with friends, play boardgames, do homework, eat dinner, announce projects, ask for support – come hang for a bit! Or don’t, it’s whatever really.

Ask a septum ring // contact PSSC for an invite.

Radical folk-punk / marching band Halloween show @ Howlers The Manx (on tour from LA)

caricature of metal played on folk instruments by mischievous intergalactic kids

https://www.facebook.com/themanxband/ May Day Marching Band

music of revelry and rebellion through original songs and music of humans around the globe

http://maydaymarchingband.blogspot.com/ Joey Molinaro

Pittsburgh’s own internationally touring grindcore violinist plays and narrates a new set

www.joeymolinaro.com



Crisp Lake

growly acoustic street music and songs of heartfelt discomfort

https://crisplake.bandcamp.com/

Stop by and chat with Alfredo Lopez, a well-known left/progressive internet activist and the co-founder of May First/People Link, a non-profit membership organization that engages in building movements by advancing the strategic use and collective control of technology for local struggles, global transformation, and emancipation without borders.

May First/People Link is calling on the movement (our own members and beyond) to gather in convergences all over the country to discuss Technology and Revolution.

The threats we face are enormous yet simultaneously the responses to them have been extraordinary and overwhelming. We are indeed at a critical juncture when the need for and possibility of fundamental social change are unquestionable. The potential for radical and systemic change is unprecedented in the modern world.

This is a time to look forward at our next steps: a time to start talking about what we have in common, what we can do together, what kind of common strategies we can develop, what resources we have at our disposal.

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/269350160251722/ ]

Thursday – 10.26

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/125589004762058/ ]

http://openaccess.pitt.edu/event/corporate-power-surveillance-and-future-open-access

We live in an information economy, and the future of democracy and equity depend on everyone’s ability to access information. Yet, even as scholars and organizations work to make scholarly work openly available, the increased commercialization of information and technology, along with the enhanced capabilities for data collection and surveillance, threaten the ability for users to access that scholarly work. In addition, persistent racial, class, and gender divides exclude growing numbers of people from the internet and knowledge commons. Panelists will examine how the growing concentration of corporate control of internet service provision and content, including policies related to net neutrality, affect the ability of all people to have access to information. The broader implications of these developments for both democracy and inclusion and for the future of scientific inquiry will be discussed, and the panel will offer steps users can take to help protect internet freedom and the knowledge commons for all. We live in an information economy, and the future of democracy and equity depend on everyone’s ability to access information. Yet, even as scholars and organizations work to make scholarly work openly available, the increased commercialization of information and technology, along with the enhanced capabilities for data collection and surveillance, threaten the ability for users to access that scholarly work. In addition, persistent racial, class, and gender divides exclude growing numbers of people from the internet and knowledge commons. Panelists will examine how the growing concentration of corporate control of internet service provision and content, including policies related to net neutrality, affect the ability of all people to have access to information. The broader implications of these developments for both democracy and inclusion and for the future of scientific inquiry will be discussed, and the panel will offer steps users can take to help protect internet freedom and the knowledge commons for all.

Poverty is an experience, not a characteristic. But for many women in the U.S. this experience is so brutal, it becomes their identity. A new documentary, titled WE WEAR THE MASK, explores the women behind the mask of social stigma and political rhetoric that so often clouds their true identities.

Come join us for a test screening for feedback. We invite Community leaders, activists, politicians, service providers, Community residents, philanthropists, etc. to hear stories of local women as they bare their souls and share their stories of surviving and managing poverty in Pittsburgh.

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/116273642334606/ ]

Friday – 10.27

Halloweekend!



Saturday – 10.28

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/347744202351450/ ]

SCORCH: Steel City Organizing for Radical Community Health

Date: October 28-29, 8am-6:30pm both days.

Pittsburgh, PA

Cost: $20-80 (sliding scale)

Register: https://goo.gl/forms/rdexltIQF9ecghA33, *We welcome folks from out of town, however, preference for the training will be given to folks within the Pittsburgh region

Street Medics provide first aid at political protests including marches, occupations, and other direct actions. This is the standard training for folks of any experience levels who wish to identify themselves as Street Medics and run in the streets.

Training topics will include:

– Street medic history

– Initial assessment/ Identifying life threats

– Scene safety/ Police tactics & Weapons

– Basic first aid for the wide range of things commonly encountered at protests

– Integrating with EMS

– Street Medics ethics and protocols

– Basic Herbal interventions

– Preventative/ Aftercare

– Self Care

– Skill Drills

– Scenarios

The training will be a full day on Saturday and Sunday. We will provide all meals.

**If you need childcare, please let us know.

Participants are expected to attend the full 20 hours of the training and to come prepared to participate in the hands on components. Please dress for the weather and bring a pack with everything you would want with you for a full day at a protest this time of year. (Let us know if any of this will be a problem so we can plan accordingly.)

———————————

A little more about SCORCH:

Who We Are:

SCORCH- Steel City Organizing for Radical Community Health is a community based, all volunteer collective of healthcare activists and street medics in Pittsburgh, PA. We provide first aid, emergency care, trainings, and other forms of healthcare resources within our area, prioritizing the needs of disempowered and disenfranchised communities in our region and to social justice movement based work. SCORCH works with a vision for the long haul of social change within our communities, preparing ourselves and community around disaster and crises based work.

SCORCH is a horizontal/non-hierarchical group where all certifications are recognized, and all voices (no matter the certification) are heard equally. To request our group’s support at an action, event, or for general information and questions, please email us at steelcityscorch@gmail.com

SCORCH Values Statement:

-We believe healthcare is a human right.

-We believe in preventive care and harm reduction- meaning we work to problem solve crises before they exist, providing care to prevent harm from happening to individuals and to our communities.

-We believe in popular education, sharing the knowledge that is within our community. We work to empower, support, and share the knowledge within our region around community health and emergency care.

-We believe in presenting an alternative method of healthcare than the one set forth by the state and corporate system.

—Care provided will be free, and we will be upfront and transparent if there is any associated cost with any of our activities, such as trainings.

We’re bringing back this study group…and just in time for Halloween 😉 !

The burning of witches, the subjugation of women, the desacralization of nature, the beginning of white supremacy and settler colonialism, and modern capitalism went hand in hand. Just what was eliminated when these women were condemned to the stake? This is what Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici examines.

Free copies will be available! We typically take our time to read and discuss the texts we’re engaging, so come in and eat some free bread and drink tea/coffee and don’t worry if you’ve never read the text before! If you have a special need (child care, transportation, etc.) please message the organizers.

full text for those interested: https://libcom.org/files/Caliban%20and%20the%20Witch.pdf

[ https://www.facebook.com/events/129047844422218/ ]

Sunday – 10.29

Antifa Soccer!

Hit us up for the details.

Click “Get Involved!” for a list of rad student groups at Pitt:



Counterinfo Projects: