Photo Credit: Mark Lentz. Viewpoint: side street in 40's near Park Ave.; 01/20/02 4:03 PM.

Notes (Roving Rube): In Thomas Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49", the heroine encounters a mysterious acronym "W.A.S.T.E.", with the accompanying explanation, "those of you who know what this means, know where to find out more." She eventually uncovers a vast underground conspiracy that uses waste baskets as an alternative to the U.S. Mail.

Fortunately, now we have the Internet, and a search on "WEF PAIN" uncovers the "NYC Anti-Capitalist Convergence" as the likely authors of these signs, which appear near the Waldorf Astoria, where we learn the World Economic Forum (WEF) will be meeting at the end of this month.

Excerpts from NYCACC's web page:

For years now, the CEOs of major corporations, hundreds of top international government officials and just plain rich people - from Bill Gates to Bill Clinton - have been meeting every year in Davos, Switzerland. This is where the real rulers of the world give the politicians their marching orders. This is where the schemes that lead to atrocities like GATT and the WTO are actually hatched. And this year, the dining club for the world ruling class will be held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Midtown Manhattan ...

We are calling for for a joyous, creative resistance to the WEF's stifling grey culture of corporate conformity; actions whose diversity of tactics will reflect the rich diversity of our city's communities ...

5. What Is The NYC Anti-Capitalist Convergence?
The NYC ACC is an anti-capitalist, anarchist and anti-authoritarian group which works on a collective, mutual-aid basis. We are non-hierarchal and have no leaders. We do not believe that capitalism can be reformed. It is inherently exploitative, working to pad the pockets of the rich while the poor go hungry. We support abolishing all debts. Won't you join us?

7. Who Are Provocateurs?
Perpetrators are police or government agents, dressed up as protestors who stir things up and destroy property at demonstrations, so that the media can portray protestors as violent. In Genoa, they went so far as to beat real protestors, causing divisions between the demonstrators. They are easy to spot, often taking the all-black uniform, or wearing T-shirts will mundane slogans like "anti-globalization."

Among the many listed endorsers of "joyous, creative resistance" are the Anti.Everything.Front (AEF) (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada), the LostCauseCollective (Marquette, Michigan), and we do not exist (n'existons pas) [no location given].