Robin Banks

The Landlubber Pirates

Once upon a time there was a band of pirates. At least, they called themselves pirates, and they wore what they thought were pirate outfits -- black eyepatches, filthy bandanas and hats, worn-out parts of sailors' uniforms, and so on. They spoke in slang that they believed to be quite piratish: "Arr, matey! Shiver me timbers! Walk the plank!"

J20: Perspective of a Nonparticipant

Later we heard that the black bloc had replaced some flags along the inaugural parade route with black flags, and that they had broken through police lines once again to sit down in the middle of the parade route. Indymedia (and several mainstream media sources) reported that the Presidential motorcade had to alternately slow to a halt and speed through the streets due to actions of the protesters. Indymedia also reported that enraged anti-Bush protesters far outnumbered Bush supporters, which only seems natural given the numbers of the last election.

The Violence of Capitalism in Genoa

The death of the young Italian anarchist during the anti-G8 protests in Genoa was inevitable.

MAN BITES DOG! A Tale of Reverse Discrimination

A long time ago, in a land far, far away -- a land so far away that it could not possibly be relevant to our land, "our land" being a funny way of saying "the land that we stole from the natives a long time ago, so long ago that everybody has pretty much forgotten about it and all the natives are nearly wiped out anyways" -- there was an epidemic going on.

Man Kills Children: Is It News?

An Associated Press story from May 8, 2001 described a man who, while "rambling and saying religious stuff," stabbed four children at Mountain View Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska. The story goes on to say that the attacker was subdued by police, who fired three rubber bullets at him before taking him into custody.