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Underground Action: Los Angeles UALA (*pronounced wala) is an L.A. based group which branched out from various groups based on the principles of non violent, Eco-friendly, and communal efforts to combat the indifference of the world through art, music and conversation. By talking to people and spreading our message we aim towards an equal society of free thinkers.
Free workshops! (Freedom Skoolz)Art/music showsDIY (Do It Yourself) tipsMusic reviewsZines and much more!
Send us articles to publish, art to hang up or just say hi on our facebook! We meet every Saturday from 11am-1pm. For more info on where to meet contact us via email: undergroundactionla_gmail.com
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Every week we publish new articles from DIY to local and intl.news! Email us to get your articles published!

DIY Tip1 How to make zines

DIY Tip #1

How to make zines:Materials: Paper, pens, colors (crayons/pencils), stapler, scissors, tape, glue, pictures (magazines, old books, etc.) and a lot of fucking patience. Also needed is access to a copy machine.Step 1: Have an idea. Whether it is to write about music or the shit going on around us you need an idea. Once you have it then we can move on.Step 2: Set up your template. What I like to do is use regular printer paper folded in half horizontally and using however many pages I think I can fill. For now use 3. When folded these will become 6 pages total.Step 3: Design a title page. This means have a really dope title and draw whatever you want to draw as your title page. Step 4: Add content. You will need articles, drawings, anything you can glue down and photocopy! So it is best to glue on to a paper first then glue on to the corresponding page. That way it won't show through when it gets photocopied. Step 5: Photocopy every page. Make sure you feed it in so that it copies both sides of the paper. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT FORGET THE ORDER OF THE PAGES!!!Step 6: Once you have your pages freshly printed, simply fold and staple! Now you are ready to distribute your zine at the next show or protest or wherever it is you find people.

Things to take to a protest Contrast

Things to take to a protest

This should all be review for some of you but for those who don't know here it is! 1. WaterYou don't want to dehydrate and pass out in the middle of nowhere especially around a bunch of cops. Keep a gallon in a backpack and it might even come in handy when the tear gas flies!2. Extra shirtsYou may need an extra shirt to create a gas mask, disguise yourself or just because you are sweaty as fuck.3. CameraDocument everything the cops do. This will protect the people when shit gets crazy. BE WARNED: In LA because of Special Order 11 you can have your name taken down as a suspicious person for photographing/video recording ANYONE or ANYTHING.4. Food (not bombs)Bring fruits. Make a PBJ sandwich. Or just wait for your local FNB groups to be around at the protest!5. Lawyer's Phone NumberIn the case of a mass detention situation, be sure you write a number on your arm in marker because they will throw your shit out. Our aim is not to get caught but just in case.Any other things people take? Send us suggestions at Facebook.com/undergroundactionla or email us at undergroundactionla_gmail.com

Interview with Mano Sucia
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Meet Mano Sucia! Ska Band from Bell, CA.

This month we interviewed Mano Sucia. Check out their music at: Facebook.com/manosucia123Here is what they had to say.Underground Action LA: Hello folks just some questions quick and simple. Who is Mano Sucia?Mano Sucia: Well Mano Sucia is everybody, the working class, the poor people ,anybody who gets their hands dirty.UALA: Why that name?MS: Hmmm Gio and Robert were in economics class thinking on switching the name of the band from the previous one. And I guess it just came up.UALA: How did you become a band?MS: It all started with Gio and Jose. They wanted to just jam out, play some music. Then came Robert and Raul. We were just going to be a normal rock cover band, but things got out of control. One thing led to another and BAM. Ska came along and beat us with a stick. About a year later, we decided to add horns and a keyboard and a percussionist. UALA:Whats been the hardest part about being in a band?MS: Starting from zero was really hard. Usually bands nowadays know people around to hook them up with gigs and get the word out. We didnt know anyone from that scene. It took us a while to get out there. Here in the city, Maywood and Bell, the ska/punk scene is not really active right now. So it took us a while to get from our hometown to east los and south central, where shit gets down. Another thing is that were a nine member band. And we usually have to travel to get to play with all of our equipment that could be a bitch sometimes. But we dont really mind, were still down to playUALA: What are your songs about?MS: Our songs are about fantasy and love and things against the fucking government and well we like to put stuff that involves the universe and its wonders, sometimes we end up putting random stuff. Like Frijoles or about Crazy Sanchos. But yeah, it all sounds great in the end.UALA: How do you think your music relates to the world and do you think you can change the world?MS: Well talking shit about the government always opens peoples eyes, talking about love makes people smile, talking about how your girlfriend is a cheating slut makes people mad, but in the end, we cant change the world, all we do is go out and play music. Its really the people who listen to our music that can make a change.UALA: Who are your influences?MS: People who influence us, hmmm, different songs that we make are influenced by different people. The list goes from the songwriter Robert Zimmerman to the percussionist's ex girlfriend. Many people influence us famous or not famous. We are each other's influences.
" Our songs are about fantasy and love and things against the fucking government and well we like to put stuff that involves the universe and its wonders..."

Bobby-Mano Sucia
Flores en Tus Ojos-Mano Sucia
Frijoles-Mano Sucia

Occupy LA

http://www.facebook.com/occupyLAhttp://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=180549985355693Monday, Sept 26th 2pm, Protest during Obama Visit. Intersection Crescent Heights & Santa Monica Blvd. 7pm is General Assembly at same location, Crescent Heights & Santa MonicaAt Occupy LA's General Assembly meeting on 9/25, we have finally voted and decided on the official occupation date and location!!! ********CITY HALL ON OCTOBER 1ST!***********Bring your sleeping bags, tents, food, hygiene products, flashlights, anything else you can think of to sustain occupying overnights, and most importantly, BRING YOUR SIGNS! "We are the 99%""Occupy LA"Whatever signs you'd like, get creative!SEE YOU THERE, "WHOSE STREET, OUR STREET!" ~Occupy LA

Sept 30 Statement

READ WITH CAUTION:THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK

A statement by UALA on OccupyLA"We want a government that actually works for the people. We want a SEPARATION OF CORPORATIONS AND STATE in the exact same way as we have a separation of church and state. We want to STOP the unjust oppression before it is too late, and it will soon be too late. The Revolution is Happening.... It's Just Not in the News." -OccupyLA 1) We don't want any government. We want autonomy and freedom for communities and individuals to meet their own needs. We want a communal living style in which the people control the means of production.2) Do you want corporations to be free from restriction and regulation? Because that's the status of religion. They pay no taxes. They have special First Amendment protections. In a capitalist system, there will NEVER be a separation of corporations and state because the purpose of capitalism is to monopolize every resource and to govern as a corporation. The corporation is the state. No matter who governs, a state will always control the means of production. The means of production must be controlled by the masses. 3)There already is an unjust oppression through social stratifications so to say it will soon be too late is denying the current status quo.4)Occupations such as OWSLA do not completely address the needs of the masses. Instead we must work to eradicate the capitalist system that exploits and not seek to reform it. This comes in the form of DIY (Do It Yourself) tactics and direct action.5)As of right now, we are not ready for a revolution. The masses haven't been informed and the knowledge has been kept in the grasp of a few circles of intellectuals. To say this is to further a vanguardist agenda and we belive that in organizing, ALL people must take part in this.-If you let someone "give" you rights, they can easily take them from you.-Reforming this system will only strengthen the capitalist agenda of exploitative imperialism.-ALL the masses must liberate themselves. We cannot claim to lead them.-We are not Americans. We are first and foremost HUMAN BEINGS."Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people-they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are they liberated:they oppress" - Paolo FreireOur goal is not to create a division but merely to shine light on criticisms that might arise from this struggle. We do not claim to have all the answers, but as a collective this is how we feel.-In solidarityUnderground Action Los Angeles (UALA)UndergroundActionLA_gmail.com

WARNING TO OCCUPYLA TO OCCUPY LA (Security Comm.) and fellow comradesOctober 1st 2011 At approximately 2pm today an individual wearing a black hoodie with a red lace on the tip, baseball cap and black jeans approached a couple of our members. He is a white male around his early 20's with a strong jawline, short hair and slouches over as if hiding from someone or something. As we were standing around, the said individual asked "Where's the action" hinting at a possible disruption of events. We responded with a simple "I don't know" which was followed by "Didn't you hear? The guy said we need to do action. Let's do some shit man!" This individual came off as either very immature but also as a sketchy character to our group. As he asked us this, a female came from behind, took our picture (to which we opposed) and quickly ran off. At this point, the male insisted on "starting some shit" and we ignored him. He remained persistent as if he wanted us to help him disrupt. We do NOT condone violence and mindless acts of destruction ESPECIALLY at a protest we have not organized ourselves. This is a serious thing to us. We practice a high security culture within our group and we feel that if an individual goes out of his way to disrupt or even attempt to, this person is either: A) An undercover officerB) A paid disruptorC) An outsider agitator Luckily, we were able to take the individual's picture which will be up soon. We feel obligated to bring this up. There will be agitators and there will be undercover cops infiltrating to destroy all the progress the people have made. And we will not stand by while this goes on. Something must be done to hold these agitators accountable and to either remove them from actions or to keep a look out for them. The cops cannot be trusted because this has happened time and time again. They have sent these agitators into our activist circles and they will not investigate who is disrupting protests. They are the disruptors. They work for the interests of the bourgeois. This may sound like ranting but we are fed up with activists being negligent to this disease. What will OccupyLA do to address this issue?

Unpermitted LA -OWSLA

The General Assembly and Grassroots Democracy Posted October 3, 2011 by unpermittedla

While the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy LA movements have a great potential to bring about social change, some of us who participated in the encampment of City Hall and the Saturday and Sunday General Assemblies have become increasingly frustrated with the leadership of Occupy LA, especially concerning their collaboration with police, lack of respect for consensus process and the voices of non-straight white middle class males, and deliberate deception to solidify their power within this so-called leaderless movement.One of the more inspiring aspects of these protests has been that the vast majority of participants have never protested before, and the traditional vanguardists, despite their best efforts, have been largely unable to control the direction of the movement. However, power is continuing to be concentrated into few, albeit unexperienced, hands.As anti-authoritarians, we have little interest in controlling the movement. But we do have decades of experience. We have organized in summit protests, participated in direct actions, gone to jail, seen our friends beaten by police, organized in our communities and workplaces, studied social movements in school, and generally seen a wide variety of things that have worked very well, and things that have not worked. When we make criticisms of the General Assembly (GA), it is not because we want to instigate violence or derail the movement, it is because we have immense faith in the people to decide things collectively, by consensus, that we cannot tolerate affronts to collective process, domination of the space by the most privileged participants, the silencing of viewpoints differing from those of the leaders, and collaboration with the State apparatus, the very thing we are trying to change. If anyone is violent, it is those who continually silence and repress. Unlike others who speak in hypotheticals and speculation, we are careful to speak only from experience. Curiously, the processes that are being used (or rather mis-used), such as consensus, peoples mic, hand signals during the GA, decentralized leadership, etc. are all things that anarchists and anti-authoritarians (some of the very people criticizing the GA, even!) developed over the past two decades specifically around the anti-globalization movement and the 2000 Democratic National Convention here in Los Angeles, although many of these processes have existed in some form or another dating back to the anarchist combatants in the Spanish Civil War and earlier. Thus, to see our own processes valorized and then corrupted, and then to be attacked for trying to follow these same processes, is heartbreaking.This critique of Occupy LA and the General Assembly is formed in large part from the conversations Ive had with a variety of people the past few days and from Victors post on DisOccupy and comments made on his original Facebook post. But ultimately I can only say that it represents my thoughts, not those of my comrades or anyone else at the occupation, though they may agree in part or in entirety with what I write here.Each of the issues presented here deserve a lengthier discussion than I can provide here, but I will give each individual attention.Mic check or Peoples Mic This was developed during street actions for situations in which amplified sound was not an option, but a large number of people needed to be apprised of the situation. It typically follows a call and response model, where the crowd repeats what the speaker says so that everyone can hear. It was used effectively in Pershing Square before the march for announcements from the legal team, but during the General Assemblyas one activist notedit felt like an exercise in fascist group think. It was often used unnecessarily, and had the effect of enforcing opinions as fact through repetition.Police Liaisons It is at this point clear that the designated police liaisons are more on the side of the police than the movement. Typically, police liaisons put pressure on the police and leverage the power of the movement to negotiate with police to keep people safe and get what we want. Instead, they are taking what LAPD tells them as infallible and then try to impose and enforce these police directives on the movement. To our knowledge, they have never tried to push back. Additionally, in several cases, these directives have been brought to the attention of the GA, but as a finalized decision, not something to be decided on much less concensed upon. For example, we were informed Sunday night that the entire encampment would be moved to the North lawn of City Hall Park due to a police order; there was no opportunity to decide at the GA whether we would comply with the order, and points of order raised on this question were squashed undemocratically. Further, because these police liaisons have never been involved in organizing before, they dont realize that police lie, and that police can be negotiated with. We can see a clear example of what cooperation with police results in with the recent arrest of 700 protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge; despite promises from NYPD that they could cross the bridge, they were still arrested. This collaboration has the ultimate effect of letting the police lead the movement.Permits Similarly, the leaders have the mentality that everything must be permitted, and anything thats unpermitted must be prevented from happening. The insistence on sleeping on the cement sidewalk rather than on the grass is rooted in this logic. And just as the police liaisons view the police as an infallible authority, the Logistics Committee is insistent on getting permission from the very government we are trying to change. How are we going to win anything by asking our enemy permission to fight them, and under their rules? With all the talk of revolution at the GA, one has to wonder if they realize that Obama will never grant us a permit to revolt.Leaderlessness Ultimately, the two preceding issues are related to the illusion of leaderlessness. While the movement as a whole, and Occupy LA in particular, claim to not have leaders, in reality power is concentrated in a few hands and decisions are largely made by them before the GA. These same leaders are the same people taking orders from the police and the city and imposing those orders on the movement. It may be natural for people to take on leadership roles in movements, but here it is completely opaque as to who is deciding and what their interests are. Transparency wouldnt allow such a level of unilaterality. All of this is done under the banner of leaderlessness. When decisions-already-made were presented to the GA, we repeatedly asked, Who made this decision? It wasnt consensed on at the GA, and no one could say who made the decision or how it was made. At least the RCP is up front about who their leader is. The following issues are directly tied to the desire of these leaders to maintain their firm grip on decision-making.Individualism The leaders feel ownership over the movement and will do anything they can to prevent others, no matter how much experience or knowledge they have, from ruining all their hard work. Its all about them as individuals, not the movement.White Privilege and Tokenism We have thus far not seen any indication that the mostly white male leadership cadre recognizes or even challenges their own privilege beyond their recruitment of tokens to make announcements of police directives for them or take on public roles with strict direction from them. They are oppressed people as a human shield, a curtain to hide who is really calling the shots. Meanwhile, the direction of the movement continues to privilege white, male, straight, able-bodied, and middle class participants.Deliberate Lies Following the lawn vs. grass debacle, leaders told us that their scouts saw police moving paddywagons a few blocks away and that they heard on police scanners that the police were going to sweep the park at 10:30pm and arrest anyone who hadnt moved to the sidewalk. Our own scouts didnt see any police activity anywhere near the park, and we now know that police had no interest in arresting anyone in the park that night. We can only conclude that the leaders purposely lied to us and deceived other participants in order to enforce their will through fear-mongering and misinformation. Such behavior is absolutely unacceptable.More Lies The leaders also lied to the participants of the GA about the consequences of sleeping on the grass, for the same reason: to enforce their decisions through fear. Participating in actions for the first time can be scary, but we believe that they should be given correct information in order to allow them to make an informed decision, not further enhance their fear of action.Process Repeatedly throughout the Saturday and Sunday GAs, hard blocks and points of order have been ignored or steamrolled, proposals havent been properly dealt with, opposition has been cut short, comments have been made out of order havent been stopped (e.g. announcements made during proposal time), and unilateral changes were made to the agenda to prevent individual proposals. The consensus process is designed to give voice to everyone, but this process has been perverted and abused to deny radicals and underrepresented voices to shape the direction of the movement and keep power concentrated.Unity Throughout the GA there has been an insistence on unity, i.e. that everyone be bound by the decisions of the collective. This would be fine if the decisions were actually made by the collective rather than the leaders and LAPD, and if the decisions were made by genuine consensus. This conception of unity is also meant to stifle individual and autonomous actions that may be separated from the rest of the movement by time or space.Place and Terminology In addition to not recognizing their own privilege, the leaders also dont recognize the demographics or concerns of the majority of Angelenos. They also dont understand why the use of the term occupation (which I admit to using throughout this writing) is problematic when the encampment is taking place on colonized land (see http://joaquincienfuegos.blogspot.com/2011/10/decolonize-wall-street.html).We are the 99% This is an interesting rhetorical device which has seen a lot of traction in mobilizing people. However, this 99% is by no means a homogeneous group, and to flatten this collectivity tends to reaffirm the existing class, race, and gender dynamics of the broader society. In reality, to say that the millionaires at the top of the 99% have the same interests as undocumented women is to deny the broader social structures that lead to stratification in the first place. To emphasize the plight of the 99% keeps white straight able-bodied men in power and displaces and denies the oppression of everyone else. This rhetoric doesnt account that those in the 99% often are in the top X% when it comes to things other than tax bracket.My intent here isnt to be a cynic. There are a lot of amazing things happening in the Occupy LA organizing space, and as stated above I believe it has the potential to explode into something historic, if it isnt already. However, there are a lot of problems which are already turning people off and preventing us to move forward and be everything that we can be. This critique is meant to identify these problems. Where I refer to leaders, I truly do not refer to individuals, but to the very concept of leadership as it is existing in effect. I believe that if all of the current leaders were replaced with new people without changing the structures in place, there would be no noticeable changes. Criticism is necessary for movements, and this criticism is meant to be constructive. I know that not everyone will respond productively or take these issues seriously, but ignoring serious concerns or responding with personal attacks will hurt the movement rather than defend it.Some proposed changes have been made before the GA, and were met with inexplicable opposition, and the proposal to institute a spokescouncil was met with heckling and the ironic chant of we are peaceful meant to prevent the proposal from being heard. These proposals and others will be discussed below, again not nearly to the extent that they merit. I believe that these changes would open up many of the roadblocks we are currently experiencing and would facilitate the expansion of the movement.Formation of a Spokescouncil The spokescouncil could be created to replace the GA or exist alongside it. Rather than having a large body try to consense individually in such an environment with stacks cut off, points of order and blocks ignored, and lack of information about the proposals, the spokescouncil would be representative of the various interests and affinity groups that already exist and may emerge. Each affinity group (AG) can have representatives attend and participate in each of the committees, representing the groups interests in each, but also report back to the AG on the decisions made. This way, everyone has much more say and much more knowledge regarding what is happening. The spokescouncil would also move the decision-making structure more toward real actions and limit pontification and groupthink.Immediate dissolution of the Security Committee and recall of the current Police Liaisons, creation of Copwatch/Neighborhood Watch team, and the appointment of accountable, transparent, and pro-activist police liaisons This is related to points above. The police liaisons currently are acting in the interests of the police rather than the movement and are not acting transparently. The Security Committee (SC), which is problematic even just in name alone, has also consistently acted inappropriately. In repeated cases they have lied to activists about police activities (for example, about imminent arrest if people stay on the grass) and in one instance went into the tents of comrades who intended to defy police and SC orders to move to the sidewalk, without their consent, and may have taken or destroyed personal belongings if they werent immediately confronted. Such a Security Committee that exists primarily to police the movement rather than protect activists from the police should not be allowed to continue. Instead, a separate body should be formed to observe the police, scout, and take action to protect activists from police brutality and arrest.Child- and family-friendly spaces These currently do not exist, and would enable much greater participation from the community.Restrooms and other facilities that are accessible to all people, not just able-bodied individuals Currently, the only restrooms on the City Hall grounds are accessible only by stairs, which prevents many activists from our community from participating. It is an arrogant display of privilege not to have wheelchair-accessible restrooms.Workshops on the following topics: Know Your Rights, Legal Support, Cop Watching, First Aid, Direct Action, Unarresting, Workplace Organizing These will give participants the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about potential actions and the legal and medical risks involved.I hope that many of these proposals can be implemented without opposition, but some of these proposals will necessarily be implemented autonomously if they cannot be consensed on at the GA.

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Fall Down

Quick OWSLA Rant

Going Back to OWSLA

Before we went on October 1st, we decided to issue a statement on Sept. 30th (please read on the left for context) and now after returning, this is what we felt.-Confused-Negative vibes-Unrepresented-People were there just to take pictures-Too many hipsters-WE WERE OFFENDED-Discriminated-FUCK APPROPRIATION OF CULTURE-Racism-Hostility-REFORMISM!!!!!-Hypocritical movement. People were speaking to cops (POLICE KINDNESS COMMITTEE? WTF?!!) and it seemed to reek of infiltrators. Many did not acknowledge their own privilege and others seemed to take ownership of this movement. They denied that cops were part of the 1% and the attack on POC activists made us feel horrible lol. All of this makes us feel an inclination to a reforminst police state. It has been decided that UALA will no longer support OccupyLA (old news lol) due to their reformist fascism and their marginalization of people of color. So you heard it from us before it started. And we will say it again: Fuck OccupyLA. You aint even occupying, y'all got permits and shit. OWSLA=Hipster campout -____-hey are actually jeopardizing the safety of many. They bashed on the End Police Brutality committee and made a flier naming and showing faces of people who belonged to that committee. By doing that, they put people in danger to police harassment and they neglect the struggles of people who have worked for justice following the murders of our children by cops. They disregarded the warning we put out and a comrade who brought up the possibility of a provocateur (because we did not say he was a cop) and actually accused that person of being a cop. They have done so much to jeopardize safety. They are actually not accomplishing anything. By demanding from the govt they only legitimize govt power and restrict themselves into a lower position for them. They wish to uphold the capitalist system and a patriarchal imperialist system all in the interest of the white male middle class. But that is only my opinion. We can no longer support them. We will however support the people who are down there struggling to lead the group in a different direction (Left) but other than that we give our solidarity to no bourgeois campout. I would advise you to check it out yourself if you have time. I can only speak from my experience and this is what we have seen. Sorry for the rant. IWe're just very angry and for all the right reasons!!!!!

New Articles
DIY Tip1 How to make zines
Things to take to a protest
Interview with Mano Sucia
Occupy LA
Sept 30 Statement
WARNING TO OCCUPYLA
Unpermitted LA -OWSLA
Quick OWSLA Rant

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Send us your art at undergroundactionla_gmail.com

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