Archive for October, 2008
October 28, 2008 at 10:27 am · Filed under Internal Memos, posted by pfm
The short of it is this: We’ve lowered the minimum order to qualify for UPS Ground shipping to a measly $10, down from $40, to encourage people to use it. We are also officially recommending it over all other shipping methods for U.S. orders.
Here is the long of it: Of the many things we’ve learned doing mailorder these past eight years, two principles are continually made evident: 1) The United States Postal Service is cheap, and 2) The United States Postal Service is kind of crappy. Those two go hand-in-hand and that’s why we’ll keep offering their service—if the most important thing is low cost, then the USPS is for you.
However, at this point, we’ve officially got to make a few disclosures about the USPS Media Mail service: 1) They will try their hardest to mutilate your package; it will be dropped, crushed, impaled, kicked, and left out in the rain, 2) Sometimes they will put extra effort into it and will basically destroy everything inside it, but still deliver the useless contents, 3) For extra fun, sometimes they just destroy the entire package and then deliver (and, this isn’t a joke) only the shipping label, not attached to anything, and 4) On special occasions they will just send your package into a black hole. But mistakes happen, right? Yes, but with the USPS there is no recourse: for all of the above problems there is nothing we or you can do about it. No refunds, no real tracking, nothing—you are just shit out of luck, but hey, at least you saved a few dollars on shipping, right?
Why UPS does better after the jump.
October 19, 2008 at 11:24 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by b. traven
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Last call for counter-election organizing! With the election only a couple weeks away, anarchists and other critics of representational politics should already have the ball rolling on plans to shatter the illusion of acquiescence and emphasize the possibility of more egalitarian, participatory alternatives.
As our final belated contribution to this effort, we present these two posters. Please print these out and put them up fast!
Obama: “One and One Million” [684k]
McCain: “McCain for Prisoner of War” [76k]
Further points of departure, including a flashback to the anti-electoral actions of 2004, after the jump.
October 16, 2008 at 11:48 am · Filed under From the Trenches, posted by pfm
Crap Hound has long been an honorary member of the Paul F. Maul Artists’ Group and part of the CrimethInc. design process, and recently they have come out with a new issue sure to be of unmeasurable value to us, and anti-American anarchists everywhere. Crap Hound collects an unbelievable amount of reproducible artwork in each issue based around themes, and this new issue, #7, is the first part of the Church and State theme. If that sounds like a true bonanza, it’s because it is. You can order it from, and see pretty pictures of the insides at, Buyolympia.com. Here is their blurb:
The first all new issue of Crap Hound in eight years! Featuring 96 pages of glorious religious and patriotic imagery! Despite the nearly decade stretch between new issues, editor Sean Tejaratchi has been dutifully culling the choicest hight-contrast art, lovingly lifted from vintage catalogs, advertising, obscure books, and found ephemera.
October 11, 2008 at 10:22 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by ret marut
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Nowadays, entirely apart from the question of whether you’re engaging in illegal activity, it can be important to protect your privacy while participating in public protests. Local and federal law enforcement agencies are compiling extensive files on everyone they deem suspect; if you don’t want them invading your privacy, it may be appropriate for you to remain anonymous while exercising your supposed right to free speech. The same goes double if you lack the privileges of citizenship or you fear your employer may discriminate against you for your political beliefs. In the light of the felony charges resulting from the recent RNC protests, it is especially important for activists to be aware of this.
We’ve already published extensively on this topic, most notably in the guide Blocs, Black and Otherwise. The following is largely a refresher for anyone who needs it before hitting the streets again.
Full text after the jump.
October 4, 2008 at 11:53 pm · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
One month before the elections, we present The Party’s Over, a comprehensive guide to the indignities of representative democracy and an introduction to some of the radical alternatives. CrimethInc. operatives have labored over various versions of this text for more than eight years, and we’re excited to present what we consider to be the definitive version. Those familiar with earlier versions will be glad to see new sections of text and plenty of new artwork.
The next few weeks should offer ample opportunities to distribute these everywhere people are unsatisfied with their current options and groping for something better.
October 1, 2008 at 12:24 am · Filed under Hot Off the Presses, posted by b. traven
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One month ago—to be precise, at dawn on September 1 in St. Paul, Minnesota—a bleary-eyed ex-worker gave the final go-ahead for the sixth issue of Rolling Thunder to be sent to press, before donning a sweatshirt to attend to other business. So it is that the new issue of our biannual journal has now returned from the printers, only a few weeks behind schedule. We tried a new printer for this issue, incidentally, and are quite pleased with the improvements.
Rolling Thunder #6 focuses on experimentation—the processes by which radicals invent and refine new approaches. It features an evaluation of the model activists have used to target the animal testing corporation HLS, discussing whether it could be effective in other contexts; a photoessay documenting the efforts of Swedish anarchists who, unable to defend a squat, built a social center from the ground up; a consideration of the role proper support plays in cultivating communities of resistance; a report from student strikes and riots in Colombia; and an analysis of the past decade of anarchist organizing in NYC. In addition, the issue includes an investigation of the function of gift shops in maintaining global empire, historical accounts of Bakunin’s daring escape from Sibera and the riots that killed off the hated poll tax in Britain, and lots more. As usual, there are 16 pages of full color, plenty of fun tidbits, and no advertisements or filler.
The next Rolling Thunder will be out precisely on schedule, to offer definitive coverage of last summer’s DNC/RNC protests and a great deal more.
