Brasileirão Round 35 or The Men With the Whistle

Sorry for the delay in posting this, busy week.

They are the most hated men in football and, in Brazil, they are working overtime to justify all that hate.

The crop of refs from this Brasileirão are the saddest bunch of insecure and arrogant bastards that ever graced the green fields. They fuck up, and insist in the error – to the detriment of the spectacle and the game.

On Wednesday, the first game of this round relegated the first team of this tournament and practically took out Palmeiras as a contender for the title. But the main name of the game was the ref Elmo Resende.

Sport started the game with dazzling speed, taking over the field in Palmeiras home turf. By the 30 min of the first half, Sport was winning 2-nil in front of an unbelieving Palestra Itália Stadium. In the second half, as discombobulated Palmeiras tried a reaction, scoring a goal in the first 20 minutes. An close to the end, they scored a second one, guaranteeing one point with the tie and sealing Sport’s fate to relegation.

It woudl have been a nice story, if wasn’t for the man in yellow. This poor fellow was so nervous that he saw offsides in the Palmeiras goal and blew the whistle before the play was concluded. Then he look up from his ass to the linesman and realized that he, who’s job is to call offsides and things of that nature, had not raised his flag. Sport’s defense had stopped, Palmeiras had send the ball to the net, and the ref started shitting his pants. He recalled the ref last week who invalidated a legit goal by Palmeiras and how much shit he got for that, so he ran to the center of the field, validating the goal. The shits hits the fan hard, Sport’s players are in open revolt, and it doesn’t get worse only because it was a call in favor of the home team, so the fans hardly complained.

It is a pattern, the horrible quality of the refs, from Brazil to whomever was reffing the game with the outrageous handball by Tierry Henry against Ireland. Refs are hated, and then they make it worse. That’s football.

Scores:

Palmeiras 2×2 Sport
São Paulo 2×0 Vitória
Coritiba 2×1 Atlético-MG
Cruzeiro 1×1 Grêmio
Barueri 3×0 Botafogo
Náutico 0×2 Flamengo
Avaí 3×1 Corinthians
Internacional 3×1 Santos
Fluminense 2×1 Atlético-PR
Goiás 3×1 Santo André

…All the while, in Flamengo…

We won, São Paulo won, so everything is the same, them two points ahead of us. We are hoping they’ll lose to Botafogo this weekend, so with a victory we would end up in first place. Like every other game in this green earth, the ref fucked up, by questioning the linesman call of an offsides in Náutico’s goal, then stopping the game for 4 FRIKKIN’ MINUTES to ask the opinion of the linesman, the other linesman, the fourth referee, his momma and my momma for good measure, and then finally annulling the (illegitimate) goal. Fucking refs.

More info on the game can be found at the FIFA’s Web site

The Practical Considerations of Building an Effective Anarchist Program Today Part III

Trying to write this as a blog post was a bit reckless of me. Although these ideas have been distilling through my brain for a while now, it is clear now that there is a lot of rewriting that needs to be done to this piece to make it readable and, most importantly, clear and understandable. I will continue to post the rest of it, and than rewrite it, though. There are two reasons for that. One is simple continuity, and secondly I hope to get criticism that can help me improve the final piece. Also, there’s gotta be a sexier name for this piece than the one I have – Huerta Grande is nice and memorable, this name would probably become some ugly acronym like PCBEAPN. Ugh!

So, here’s to part 3:

Part I here

Part II here

Tracing Goals and Methods of Achieving Goals.

The objective of a political program is not victory in a concrete, specific struggle, or even victory per se. We must not believe that a good strategy assures victory – a good strategy simply enhances our chances of victory, but there is much in our work that is unpredictable and untangle, and cannot be made work simply by our clever assumptions.

The work of the revolutionist is much like the work of the farmer. Before planting a seed, a farmer will plow the land, fertilize it and clear aggressive weeds that might kill the seed before it germinates. When the seed does germinate, the farmer must control temperature, soil humidity, pests and a number of different environmental and plant behavior. Yet, through this whole process, even if the farmer does everything right, there’s no guarantee that the plant will survive or bear fruit. The farmer works to improve the plant’s chances of survival and reproduction – the farmer does not control the process but tries to influence it.

It is the same with the revolutionary, Leninist and Guevarist mythologies notwithstanding. Revolutions are acts of collective will exacted at precise material and historic conditions. As Malatesta once put it, we see Anarchy as the ultimate end of history not because history will inevitably end in Anarchy, but because Anarchy is the goal we think history ought to lead too.

All that being said, we then see the goal of the program of the anarchist organization to help ferment the favorable conditions for the revolutionary seeds to germinate. Yet it is quite a grandiose goal, and vague – in other others, useless beyond being a guiding principle. The specific organization of anarchists need specific goals that it wants to accomplish.

Goals of an anarchist organization are different of the goals for a larger movement organization because the function of the anarchist organization is different from the movement organization. The goals of the specific anarchist organization should relate to winning as the members of the the Dielo Trouda group put it, the leadership of ideas in the struggle in which they participate.

Goals should be divided in short, medium and long term. Short term goals refer to goals of a year or so, or that refer to an specific short term campaign. So, short term goals can be about the specific strategy around supporting a strike, or a campaign around a round of budget cuts to school or city services. Here, the objectives for the revolutionary organization should be around proposing solutions to the problem faced by the movement that broaden the realm of the possible and move people towards the realization of their own power, towards direct action.

Medium term goals for the revolutionary organization involve the growth of the sphere of influence of the ideas of the organization. That includes not only creation of a base with which the organization interacts and specific theaters of struggle in which the organization will act, but also internal goals such as growth and recruitment strategies, the kind and level of propaganda activities the organization wishes to engage in, and methods of creating theory and empowering the members of the organization to be both organizers and theoreticians on their own right.

Long-term goals for the anarchist organization refer mainly, I think, about the creation of lasting, effective alliances with social movements and with other anarchist organizations, and the creation of continental or transcontinental federations and strategies.

Two asides must be added to this. First, these goals reflect only the ideas around the practices of the organization regarding itself. Social movements, as the engine and brain of the revolution, subscribe to a different process. Second, this refers to local or regional organizations. Continental and transcontinental organizations are a different kind of monster, and I don’t wish neither have the capacity to tackle it.

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Ok. So I realized two things when I finished writing this. First, there is a lot I need to explain around Clausewitz’s theories on war and how they affect my look on strategy. I think I need to write something that specifically deals with strategy – maybe still as part of this, maybe as a companion piece. Secondly, I think I am done with this line of thought as a line; this outline has been sucked dry and I cannot just pile more things on top of it in without first coming back and really reworking this thing as a whole so it makes sense. Yet, there is still a lot I want to talk about on the subject or related to it, so expect more post coming out on the question of anarchist strategy and program.

Brasileirão Round 34 or Flamengo Still is the Historic and Utmost Destroyer of Ugly, Monochromatic Squads!

I cannot stop believing that this year is the year.

Sunday Flamengo did what no other team had done so far in the tournament – they played a game worth of a Brazilian Champion. At the home of another one of our greatest rivals – our great enemy of the 80’s – Atlético Mineiro, Flamengo showed that it has the will and the football to take back the Cup home after 17 years. This was THE game of this tournament.

This tournament, with no finals, came really close to having one in this game Sunday. It was a great football game, reminiscent of the confrontations between the Atlético of Reinaldo and João Leitte, and the Flamengo of Zico, Júnior Nunes and Andrade. Not technically, but in raw emotion and in the confirming of the absolute supremacy of the Flamengo over its old rival.

Flamengo's mascot is the black vulture, the mascot for the Atlético is the rooster. The image is an allusion to the decisive games won by Flamengo in Atlético's home-stadium. One more needs to be added to it.

Much like back then when Zico led the charge from the midfield, this victory was constructed by the old warhorse Dejan Petkovic, scored his eight olympic goal in his career, the most of any player. The goal, that happened in the beginning of the first half, shook Atlético to its core.

And then the invisible man attacked. The Chilean defensive midfield Maldonado, nicknamed “the invisible man” for his effective and subtle style of play, decided to go towards the goal, passing the ball to Zé Roberto and receiving back face to face with the goalie. Mercilessly, he dribbled the defender, and, with the same skill and coolness that Andrade had when he was a player, kicked a cross ball that filled up Carini’s net. At their stadium with 60.000 of their fans watching, the first half ended Atlético 0×2 Flamengo.

On the second half, Petkovic could barely walked due to a recurring pain in his thigh. The wounded lion refused to leave the field. Aírton, our great Spartan and first defensive midfield, was also limping due to cramped legs. Atlético took the cue to advance; we lost the midfield and stayed back, only defending. But the fatal mistake of only defending is that one will eventually go through. A unpretentious ball was crossed into Flamengo’s penalty area, and danced in front of Ricardinho, their attacking midfielder. A former Would Cup winner (in 2002 with Brazil), Ricardinho did not miss that chance. Atlético 1×2 Flamengo.

But then Andrade was forced to substitute both Pet and Aírton, both from injury. And the game that seemed to be going now in favor of Atlético, switched again towards us. Toró, a defensive midfielder with a forward’s background, and El Joven Pistolero Fierro came into the game and soon we where in the offensive again. The game became frenetic, with both teams getting close to scoring goals. Then, after receiving a ball from our right-winger Leonardo Moura, the Chilean Fierro moved further along the right wing and sent a millimetric pass right into Adriano’s head. And then it was over for them, the memory of the horror they suffered in the 80’s came back and, while they desperately tried to show a reaction, the absolute silence of their 60.000 fans and the roar of the two or three thousand Flamenguistas decreed that once more, the Rooster became prey to the Vulture.

We are now perched in third place, breathing down the neck of the new leader of the tournament, the Evil Empire, São Paulo. The difference is of two points. If they fuck up, we take it in one round.

P.S.: Go get it in the net, Carini!

Forgive me a fan’s rant, but there wasn’t anything else of consequence that happened this weekend. Some times lost, other won, and some even tied, but Atlético and Flamengo was an absolute masterful display of football. If you care who won or lost, here are the scores:

Grêmio 1×1 São Paulo
Santos 3×1 Náutico
Vitória 0×1 Avaí
Sport 2×3 Cruzeiro
Corinthians 2×0 Santo André
Fluminense 1×0 Palmeiras
Atlético-MG 1×3 Flamengo
Barueri 1×1 Internacional
Atlético-PR 2×0 Goiás
Botafogo 2×0 Coritiba

Brasileirão Round 33 or It’s Alive!

This Brasileirão must be a nightmare for gamblers. The results are completely unpredictable, seldom following the logical expectation.

A clear example of this was Cruzeiro x Fluminense in the 33rd round. Cruzeiro was the clear favorite, being fifth and having the best campaign of the second half of the tournament against Fluminense, the last placed team on the tournament. In the first half, Cruzeiro scored two goals, missed a penalty kick and completely dominated the game.

Come second half, Cruzeiro payed a heavy price for its arrogance. Confident that the game was over, it was completely caught unawares by Fluminense’s fighting spirit. Led by Maicon (not that one) and the stoic Fred, Fluminense scored one, two, three goals, turning the tide against Cruzeiro with magnificent elán. Final score Cruzeiro 2×3 Fluminense.

And then Botafogo went down south, and scored a goal against Internacional right in the beginning. Then the Botafogo’s goalie decided that the game would end there and simply closed the goal against the Internacional’s bombardment. Final score Internacional 0×1 Botafogo.

São Paulo won, Palmeiras tied and they are both at 58 points. Atlético Mineiro won an away game in the last minute, and comes in third. And Flamengo…

All the while, in Flamengo…

“The fear of losing takes away the will of winning.”

These were the sage words of Santos coach Vandelei Luxemburgo (and probably the only good things to come out of that man’s mouth). They reflect a malaise that afflicts most of today’s football: teams play to not lose, instead of to win.

For a while, it seemed that Andrade had cured Flamengo from this disease.  The team played offensively, trusting Maldonado as the only defensive midfielder and Pet as the brain that moved the team forward. The team defended and attacked as a unit.

Then in the derby against Botafogo, the team scored and stopped attacking, trusting in the defense to guarantee the paltry 1×0. Mid-week, without Petkovic, the team was absolutely scrambled and lost its first game after 11 games undefeated, to the inglorious team of Barueri.

Saturday was supposed to be the redemption. With Maracanã overflowing with 80.ooo people in it, Adriano scored a goal in minute 6 of the first half. But then the team stopped, and showed clear signs of being tired. Adriano and Petkovic (who, recovering from a leg injury, hadn’t trained all week and was visibly out of shape) literally walked on the field. And Santos, this poor excuse of a squad, kept on coming, without any objectivity, surely, but offensively nonetheless.

So the ref decided to help, and gave two penalty kicks to Santos that, if taken out of context, only one would have been a penalty, but considering what happened in the game, were completely untrue. And their best player went to kick both of them, but he noticed that he was facing Bruno The Wall, and quaked. Bruno defended both. Final score Flamengo 1×0 Santos.

Next weekend we face Atlético Mineiro in their stadium, and all tickets have already been sold out. This is as close to a final that it gets; whoever loses is out of a title shot. It’s time to get back to the spirit of football, to the spirit of Flamengo’s anthem: vencer, vencer, vencer…*

* to win, to win, to win…

Samba is Beauty: Paulinho da Viola – Foi Um Rio que Passou em Minha Vida

The homage of the great master Paulinho da Viola to the greatest of all Samba Schools… Portela!

 

The Practical Considerations on Building an Effective Anarchist Program Today Part II

Part I here

Note: This is a work in progress. Many of these ideas have been stewing in my head and the heads of some comrades of mine for quite some time now, but in writing them (specially in a blog) I tend to forget things or downplay others. I’ll probably revisit and re-write this thing when it is all written (The golden rule of good writing – rewrite it!). Much of these ideas are based out of Huerta Grande, the work of Antonio Gramsci in his Prison Notebooks and several years of conversation with my good comrade Adam at Machete 408, plus others. My thoughts on strategy, I must admit, owe much to the analysis of Carl von Clawsewitz’s On War, which I guess is not a very kosher confession for an anti-militarist anarchist. And still further, some ideas of the Organizational Platform of the Libertarian Communists will make an appearance. If there is a point with which you agree, disagree or would like to see explained further, please say so, it would be very helpful. Ok, here we go again.

*  *  *

Strategical program of action based on the political analysis

Class warfare is nothing if not a war. It is the “act of force to compel our enemy to do our will.” The will is the political objective of the different parties who engage in the war. The will of the bourgeoisie is the maintain its dominant class status – our will is the elimination of class society and social hierarchy.

We are forced here to expand our idea of war to include the ideological groundwork for the actual event itself. The Iraq war was not started on March 20, 2003, with the bombing of the Al-Dora farms. In fact, the war had already started on February 5th,  when Colin Powell made his now infamous presentation to the UN security council, because the White House had already decide to go to war.

The class warfare between the bourgeoisie and the different exploited classes (peasants, proletariat, the dispossessed or lumpen proletariat, etc.) has been going on for at least two centuries, sometimes as open physical warfare, and sometimes as an ideological warfare. Antonio Gramsci defined these two situations as a war of maneuver and a war of position.

Yet the idea of war of position is too broad and vague to be of any practical use to us. It can refer to any moment from the reactionary times we live in to the eve of the “storming of the Winter Palace,” but these two situations have very little in common and we cannot fathom to use the same strategy in both cases. To be more precise, we must first decide if we are in the offensive or the defensive. It is not a question of actions being offensive or defensive, but if the overall movement of working people (be it local, national or transnational) is winning new ground or trying to defend the ground already won. The sentiment expressed by the “we are winning” tag in Seattle reflects the first analysis, while S.T.O.R.M. based its strategy on the defensive mode of the people’s movement.

The question of the movement being defensive or offensive is a crucial one, and should be analyzed in depth by the organization seeking to create a program. It is also important to understand that each situation carries a difference in outlook and a different set of problems.

Offense

If you assume an offensive view of popular movements, the primary analysis should be to detect what are the defenses of the State and which weaknesses they present.  The defenses of the State may be physical (arsenal, police, army, etc.,) or ideological (the law, “deterrents” like prisons or torture, the media and the formation of public opinion). More likely, it can be a combination of all of them in different degrees.

After detecting the weaknesses of the defenses of the State, we must proceed into using our analysis of our own power and that of allies willing to join, and create an assault plan with the possible allocation of that power to the weak point of the State machinery.

I put this forward because I am trying to create a broad how-to manual on creating a political program. I have yet to be presented with any slightly convincing argument for this view, and I find it quite dangerous to the overall health of popular movements.

Defense

Defense is the strongest form of struggle. This might conflate with some people’s romanticizing the periods in which social movements were in the offensive, such as the thirties and the sixties.Yet it is worthwhile to notice that decades after these movements were crushed by the State, their legacy remains, if a little eroded. The reason for this is that once that ideological ground is won, it is hard to be lost. It has been chipped away, perverted and attacked constantly, but the ideas that racism and sexism are bad are still a big part of the general discourse. (Clearly things are much different in practice, and the idea of racism has been stripped of all its systemic value and made into a individualistic relationship, but my point is that the need for racial equality wasn’t part of the discourse of this country until very recently.)

The aim of defense is preservation, while the aim of offense is conquest. A defensive outlook for social movements would aim first at defending the terrain won on previous struggles, such as the great labor unrests from the thirties and the civil rights struggle from the sixties and seventies. From a defensive perspective, the lack of activity is a gain.

It is also important to say that while defense aims at preservation, it cannot be its endgame. Defense aims at amassing ones forces to the point that one can then engage on a offensive. And it is paramount to find the breaches that might open in the ideological battlefield against the ruling classes, attack at those points and win them over, and then hold them.

Keeping all that in mind, the defensive or “war of position” strategy should first analyze what are the areas attacked by the State that must be defended. Priorities should be assigned based on:

1. the organization’s proximity and prior level of engagement with the struggle,
2. the prevalence of popular directive and organization against top-down bureaucratic control,
3. ability of the ruling-class of sustaining the attack and the ability of the people to defend against it,
4. The sphere of influence of the organization and the ability of it to affect change.

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Ok. Again I didn’t get to all I wanted to say. Next, I’ll talk about tracing goals, and methods of achieving goals. Also, will take about the particular difficulties that anarchist organizations face when creating a program.

October 28 – Day of the Flamenguista

Congratulations to a Nation!

The Red and Black burns eternally in our hearts!

Brasileirão Round 31 or When the Pressure Drops

By next weekend, after round 33, any of these six could be the leader of the Brasileirão.

If Palmeiras thought that they were just going to eat the pie and walk away, they were sorely mistaken. Having lost the away game against Santo André by 2-nil, the Greens have won only one pitiful point out of possible 12 in the last games. And if before the nearest competitors were also not scoring, this round all five teams under the leader won and got really close.

Stopped at 54 points, Palmeiras first saw Diego Tardelli put Atlético Mineiro right behind it with 53, by scoring the goal in the Atlético 1×0 Vitória victory. The argentine D’Alessandro scored a goal right in the begining of Internacional’s derby against Grêmio, in a uncommon mistake of their goalkeeper.

São Paulo went to the Vila Belmiro stadium to face Santos in the classic Derby, and ended up beating this pitiful excuse for a Santos  team 3×4, with the final goal by goalie and captain Rogério Ceni, who hadn’t scored a goal in over a year.

Flamengo won against Botafogo (see below) and in a away game, Cruzeiro defeated the apathetic Corinthians of Ronaldo 0×1.  Corinthians can’t be relegated or win the tournament anymore, and has already captured a seat at the Libertadores of next year, so it is officially on vacation.

At the bottom of the heap, Botafogo is back to the relegation zone and Santo André, with that win against the leader, is momentarily out of the fire.

The Scores and place in the competition, after this round (reminder, at the end, the 1st is the champion, the first four get a ticket to next year’s Libertadores, and the last four get relegated to the second division, with the first four of the second division being promoted.)

16th Santo André 2×0 Palmeiras 1st
17th Náutico 2×1 Barueri 12th
2nd Atlético-MG 1×0 Vitória 9th
13th Santos 3×4 São Paulo 4th
15th Coritiba 3×2 Atlético-PR 14th
3rd Internacional 1×0 Grêmio 8th
7th Goiás 2×2 Fluminense 20th
11th Corinthians 0×1 Cruzeiro 6th
18th Botafogo 0×1 Flamengo 5th
10th Avaí 2×2 Sport 19th

All the while, in Flamengo…

The game was shit.

In one individual play, Adriano ran over the whole Botafogo’s defense and scored. Fla 1×0 Botafogo.

The rest of the game, Flamengo just let Botafogo attack, but they are shit and our defense was really solid so nothing was going to come out of it. Until the ref invented a penalty against Flamengo (yeah, you can say is just my fan’s heart saying it, but watch the video and you’ll see). Leandro Guerreiro tried, like he has tried for the past three years, and Bruno caught it, like he’s been doing for the past three years.

That’s water under the bridge now. The next round is midweek, we’ll go to the State of São Paulo to face Barueri. With a win and some luck, we could end that round as leaders of the tournament.

Dragan “The Dragon” Stojkovic Shows that Skill Never Dies.

If  him and Petkovic were each 10 years younger, Serbia would have a kick ass team for the World Cup.

At the Restaurant: A Fable of a Biological Direct Action.

All the while, in the restaurant…

Stomach: Hey man, take it easy up there with what you’re eating. This week was fucked up. Send some veggies in here, ‘cuz things are ugly down at the intestine.

First plate (800 g): Rice, beans, chuck steak, rump cover, chicken heart and tomato.

Stomach: Are you fucking with me? Two slices of tomato? And all these rare meats? At least chew this shit up.

Second plate (550 g) Rice, ribs, rump cover, sirloin and mayonnaise salad.

Stomach: No more fucking meat, man, nothing fits here anymore. Remember that ulcer? It is really close to opening up again. Do you wanna fuck everything up? Send me some water.

Drink: 600 ml of Coca-Cola

Stomach: You idiot! I said water!

Me: Coca-cola has water in it. And helps to dissolve the meat.

Stomach: Coca-cola has Hell in it, fucker. You’re fucking up my gastric acid.

Wife: Darling, who’re talking to?

Me: Oh, nobody. Just thinking out loud.

Dessert: 300 g of pudding.

Stomach: Oh shit. It doesn’t fit anymore. Can you hear me?

Intestine: What’s going on up there? What’s all this racket?

Stomach: This guy keeps sending in food. Now is pudding. I don’t know what else to do.

Intestine: Let’s just send it straight out.

Stomach: What?

Intestine: Yep, that’s it, Operation Flush Out.

Stomach: Man, I don’t know. The brain is not gonna like it.

Intestine: Fuck the brain. He never came down here to see how things operate.

Stomach: Let’s give him a chance. I don’t think he will…

Drink 2: Coffee

Stomach: Son of a bitch! I’m gonna explode.

Intestine: Starting Operation Flush Out. C’mon, open up the duodenum, I’m already talking to the sphincter.

Heart: What’s happening down there? The adrenalin is rising really fast.

Intestine: Operation Flush Out.

Heart: Who authorized this? I didn’t hear anything from the brain…

Stomach: Fuck that gelatin! He doesn’t even have any muscles…

Intestine: Yeah, fuck that useless gelatin! Twenty seconds until the anal sphincter opens up. I wanna see his anus burn with the gastric acid.

Wife: Honey, are you ok? You’re sweating… where are you going?

Me: I need to go to the restroom, stat. Pay the bill and wait for me in the car, please.

Wife: Was it something you ate?

Me: I don’t know. I think it was the tomato.