"Freegan", a portmanteau of "free" and "vegan", is derived from the observation that even a vegan lifestyle is not free of exploitation. A product's veganness does not guarantee that:

Freeganism is a lifestyle based around the belief that almost all work and monetary exchanges within a capitalist economy contribute to myriad forms of exploitation - worker abuse, animal exploitation, hunger, ecological destruction, mass incarceration, war, inequitable distribution of resources, commodification of women - almost all issues addressed by social, ecological, and animal rights advocacy groups.

* Workers were not exploited in the product's production;

* Pesticides were not used in its growing;

* Non-renewable resources (such as petroleum) were not used in production and shipping;

* Rainforest was not cleared to generate plantation land;

* Wildlife was not harmed in production;

* Wasteful packaging was not used.

For these reasons true freegans avoid both shoplifting and shopping as consumption, if at all possible.

Freegans argue that people sincerely committed to living the "cruelty-free" lifestyle espoused by vegans must strive to abstain not only from eating, wearing, and using animal skins, secretions (e.g. milk and its by-products), flesh, and animal-tested products, but must strive to the greatest degree possible to remove themselves from participation in the capitalist economy altogether as workers and consumers.

Similarly to veganism, freeganism is a philosophy of living, a range of living strategies, a community, a culture, and an ideal.

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Originally by Unbeknownst Distro

Originally by Unbeknownst Distro

Originally by Unbeknownst Distro

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Food Not Bombs is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, serving free vegan and vegetarian food to others. Food Not Bombs' ideology is that myriad corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of abundance. To demonstrate this (and to reduce costs), a large amount of the food served by the group is surplus food that would otherwise go to waste from grocery stores, bakeries and markets.

Food Not Bombs is an effort to feed anyone who is hungry. Each chapter collects surplus food that would otherwise go to waste from grocery stores, bakeries and markets, sometimes incorporating dumpster diving, then prepares it into community meals which are served for free to anyone who is hungry. The central beliefs of the group are:

* If governments and corporations around the world spent as much time and energy on feeding people as they do on war, no one would go hungry.

* There is enough food in the world to feed everyone, but so much of it goes to waste needlessly, as a direct result of capitalism and militarism.

* Vegan food is both healthy and nonviolent.

Food Not Bombs also tries to call attention to poverty and homelessness in society by sharing food in public places and facilitating gatherings of poor, homeless and other disenfranchised people. There are four tenets to the Food Not Bombs philosophy:

* Recycling of food

* Decision making by consensus

* Nonviolence

* Vegetarianism / Veganism

Anyone who wants to cook may cook, and anyone who wants to eat may eat. Food Not Bombs strives to include everyone.

Direct Action is a form of political activism which seeks immediate remedy for perceived ills, as opposed to indirect actions such as electing representatives who promise to provide remedy at some later date. Direct action can include such activities as strikes, workplace occupations, sabotage, sit-ins, squatting, revolutionary/guerrilla warfare, demonstrations, vandalism or graffiti. Direct actions are often a form of civil disobedience and are sometimes illegal. For example vandalism is illegal, while demonstrations are not illegal. Less confrontational forms of this definition of direct action include establishing radical social centers, and performing street theatre. Utilizing creativity and resources within their power, direct action participants aim to either:

* obstruct another political agent or political organization from performing some practice to which the activists object; or,

* solve problems major societal institutions (businesses, governments, powerful churches or establishment unions) are not addressing.

Some direct action participants engage in "indirect actions" (voting in elections, targeted boycotts) as part of larger campaigns.

Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook April 24, 1954) is an African-American journalist, political activist, and former militant leader from Philadelphia. An early member of the Black Panther Party, Abu-Jamal was charged with the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Department officer Daniel Faulkner. Originally sentenced to death, Abu-Jamal's sentence was overturned in December, 2001. Both the prosecution and the defense have appealed the ruling. Abu-Jamal is now serving life in prison at the maximum-security SCI-Greene. Due to his political involvement and association as a black radical he was framed for the murder and is one of America's most famous political prisoners. (source - Wickipedia)

The "Sweetheart" chainring is a classic chainring set that inspired the design for the Chainring Heart logo. It was on an old cruiser at Beaterville Cafe.

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The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union currently headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. At its peak in 1923 the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict and government repression. Today it is actively organizing and numbers about 2000 members worldwide, of whom roughly half (approximately 900)are in good standing (that is, have paid their dues for the past two months). IWW membership does not require that one works in a represented workplace, nor does it exclude membership in another labor union.

The IWW contends that all workers should be united within a single union as a class and that the wage system should be abolished. They may be best known for the Wobbly Shop model of workplace democracy, in which workers elect recallable delegates, and other norms of grassroots democracy (self-management) are implemented.

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"Can we have a few million dollars for a department of peace?"

"No... we can't afford it!"

"$300 billion Iraq war, Vet. affairs $67 billion, $425 billion per yr. defense dept., $100 billion Afghan war, $40 billion homeland security..."