We’ve just finished a new poster, as a humble effort to support those who were caught up in the repression that accompanied the Republican National Convention earlier this month. Please print these out and put them up wherever people might see them. Better yet, organize benefits to raise funds and awareness for the organizers being charged with felony “conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism” and others facing serious charges.
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Report courtesy of the Center for Strategic Anarchy, in cooperation with the CrimethInc. Free Marketeers. The CSA will begin posting regularly again on their blog shortly.
What the hell is going on with the economy? As part of our commitment to serve all the investors, bankers, and realty agents who rely on this site, we’ve solicited a brief introductory analysis.
Capitalism without failure is like religion without sin—it just doesn’t work. Far from abnormal, the boom/bust cycle is as predictable as the furious scapegoating and wild-eyed cheerleading that accompany it. But every situation, even the most predictable, presents unique opportunities. We present this analysis in the interest of deriving strategic advantages from our enemies’ temporary imbalance.
Today, Hollywood’s take on the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle, Battle in Seattle premiers in cities across the US. Strangely, one of the most important events in recent anarchist history is about to be re-broadcast to the world through Hollywood’s lens. Though the director of the movie claims his aim is to accurately represent the events of the protests, there are obviously some holes to be filled. We’ve composed a flyer to be distributed wherever the movie is shown, to help give movie-goers a better sense of where the anarchist movement is now, 9 years later.
Feel free to print this out and distribute it outside of movie theatres, or compose your own flier. Especially if this movie gets picked up for wider distribution, it will be crucial that we are there to present our side of the story, and to fan the flames of inspiration for anyone who may be excited to learn about what happened 9 years ago in Seattle.
Download the printable PDF here [1.5MB]
Complete list of screenings at http://www.battleinseattlemovie.com/tickets/
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This is the English version of an interview appearing in the new issue of Brand, a quarterly Swedish anarchist paper founded in 1898. It explores the complexities of challenging capitalism from outside the economy, clearing up much of the confusion around the infamous anti-work stance associated with CrimethInc. To order a copy of Brand, contact distro@anarkistisktidning.org.
The theme of this issue of Brand is work. CrimethInc. calls itself an “Ex-Workers’ Collective.” What does “work” mean for you and why have you left it behind?
It’s not so much that everyone involved with CrimethInc. has permanently left work behind, but that we focus on what we can do outside our role as workers in the capitalist economy. Identifying as ex-workers is a way to emphasize that we want our lives to revolve around what we do freely outside wage labor and capitalist competition.
Rolling Thunder, the biannual journal covering anarchist activity and direct action in North America, is seeking submissions for our coverage of the protests at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. If you have access to photos or other documentation, or can write an account of your experiences, please contact us: rollingthunder@crimethinc.com.
Please make an effort to help us get good material on these events, so we can pass on an accurate picture to others around the world (and to posterity). It’s especially important that we get a broad sense of what occurred at the DNC and RNC protests so our community can learn from these experiences in order to act strategically in the future.
PHOTOS: Please send the original full-size camera files, so they will look good in high-resolution printing.
ACCOUNTS: We’re interested in practically everything—anecdotes from jail, narratives from lockdowns and black bloc actions, first timers’ first impressions, perspectives from within infrastructural organizing groups (medics, convergence center, etc.), descriptions of police raids, everything.
If you are concerned for your privacy, just go to an internet cafe and open a new email address from which to write us. Rolling Thunder is a no-profit project, but we can at least provide free copies of the issue to contributors. Thanks so much everyone!
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As of September 2 practically all of the predictions in our most recent feature, “What to Expect from the Conventions” have been borne out by reality. Despite millions of dollars of security, thousands of riot police and national guardsmen, and a dramatic series of preemptive raids and arrests, authorities were powerless to prevent massive direct action from disrupting St. Paul during yesterday’s Republican National Convention. The day began with hard blockades all around downtown and several different marches, including a black bloc that destroyed police cars and corporate property. A full nine hours of street conflicts ensued, involving a broad diversity of participants and tactics.
At both the DNC and RNC, anarchists showed themselves to have seized the initiative to determine the character of street demonstrations. The US anarchist movement has survived several years of repression and attempted co-optation, proving that the upsurge associated with the anti-globalization era was not a flash in the pan: if anything, we are stronger today than ten years ago.
Read our predictions and analysis here; absurd local media coverage here; corporate media coverage here; and legal updates here.
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Just today we’ve sent Rolling Thunder #6 to the printer, due to arrive back in about five weeks. To celebrate, we have posted the foreword below, including the detailing of an event from last week’s DNC protests in Denver:
EXPERIMENTAL MATERIAL
True to form, we completed this issue in the midst of the demonstrations at this year’s Democratic National Convention in Denver, at which anarchists are attempting to reinvent mass mobilizations. Every day endless meetings, false alarms, tense standoffs, narrow escapes; every night, while the others sleep or carouse, endless editing and deliberation. Next issue we’ll be able to report on all this in depth; for now, the following tale must suffice.
