Author Archive
January 18, 2012 at 3:05 pm · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
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To follow up Nightmares of Capitalism, Pipe Dreams of Democracy, we present The Empire Has No Clothes, an overview of the factors we expect to shape the context of struggle in 2012. These include intensifying repression, the struggle for the internet, the crisis of legitimacy facing representative democracy, and the fault lines within our resistance movements themselves. We anticipate a new round of confrontations, more pitched than the last, and the stakes are only getting higher.
January 1, 2012 at 12:57 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
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To ring in the new year, we’ve composed a review of the upheavals of 2010 and 2011, reprising the highlights of our earlier coverage to outline why some efforts have taken off while others have hit walls. “Nightmares of Capitalism, Pipe Dreams of Democracy” serves as a prehistory of the Occupy movement, offering context for the form it has taken and the challenges ahead for all who sincerely desire social transformation. It’s the first in a series of strategic analyses with which we are kicking off the new year. We have high hopes for 2012: let’s take stock of how we got here, survey the terrain, and get ready to go for it.
December 17, 2011 at 12:51 pm · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
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It is December 17, 2011. One year ago today, Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in response to his mistreatment by the Tunisian police, setting off a chain reaction worldwide. Let no one forget that the wave of uprisings still sweeping the globe did not simply spring from the hard work of activists, however long some labored to pave the way. It did not begin with people setting out to better themselves or the world. It began with the ultimate gesture of despair and self-destruction.
Continue reading.
December 8, 2011 at 2:42 pm · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by b. traven
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This coming week, CrimethInc. operatives will be in northern California, tabling with a wide range of material and speaking about Work at the Humboldt County Anarchist Book Fair and other locations from Eureka to Oakland and Santa Cruz. We’re starting to plan events for 2012 now; if you can help, contact us via help@crimethinc.com.
Details after the jump.
December 6, 2011 at 11:48 pm · Filed under From the Trenches, posted by b. traven
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Three years ago today, police in Athens, Greece murdered Alexis Grigoropoulos, a fifteen-year-old student. This touched off the first wave of unrest to follow the economic crisis of 2008, setting the scene for the upheavals that have followed since in North Africa, Spain, and elsewhere.
To commemorate Alexis’s life and the efforts of all who set out to avenge his death, we’re offering selections from an interview we did with comrades in Greece the following year, when the riots were over but momentum was still fresh. The interview serves as a sort of historical snapshot, documenting the heady optimism of the time but also the realization of how vast the barriers to revolution still were. A great deal has changed since then; Greece has witnessed a series of new tragedies and clashes, while Greek anarchists have simultaneously seen their tactics embraced by broad sectors of the population and lost the initiative as the shortcomings of their strategies became apparent. Yet this interview is timelier than ever, as it grapples with the question of how to make the most of a high point of struggle. This may be relevant in North America sooner than anyone expects.
Read on after the jump.
November 24, 2011 at 2:00 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
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On November 22, 2011, six of the defendants in the main conspiracy case stemming from the 2010 G20 protests in Toronto pled guilty, while the other eleven had their charges dropped. The defendants just issued a collective statement emphasizing that they emerge from the court case “united and in solidarity.”
Now that the case is closed, it’s possible to speak freely about the campaign of infiltration and repression that produced it. We’ve received this analysis from comrades in Canada who are eager to pass on the lessons from this experience; the document offers valuable insight into how infiltrators managed to penetrate anarchist communities and which vulnerabilities they exploited. This concludes our comprehensive coverage of the 2010 G20 protests, which has also included an overview of the events and issues, an eyewitness account from the riots, a review of the legal fallout, and even a benefit album.
Read on after the jump.
November 6, 2011 at 7:31 pm · Filed under From the Trenches, posted by b. traven
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We’ve just received the above video, an anonymously-edited collection of footage from the general strike in Oakland on November 2, 2011. The 15-minute video includes scenes from the afternoon anti-capitalist march, the subsequent blockading of the Port of Oakland, and the occupation of the Traveler’s Aid Society building in downtown Oakland later that night.
This is a mere snapshot of the events unfolding around Occupy Oakland, which are still ongoing; much remains to be discussed and debated. We’ll present more material on the subject here soon.
In the meantime, suffice it to say–things are heating up.
September 29, 2011 at 12:25 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by b. traven
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This Thursday through Sunday, September 29 through October 2, we will maintain a somewhat improbable CrimethInc. table at the New York Art Book Fair in New York City. We will also have tables at the anarchist book fairs in Boston, MA and Carrboro, NC on November 12 and in Humboldt County, CA on December 10.
In addition, on the strength of the success of our earlier events presenting on the issues discussed in the Work book, we’re booking two more short tours: one in October that will traverse the South as far as Texas before returning east via the Midwest, another in November to New York City, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Whether or not you’ve read the book yet, please join us for one of these discussions.
If you have questions or would like to volunteer to set up a speaking date, email help@crimethinc.com.
Tour dates and promotional materials after the jump.
August 14, 2011 at 11:09 pm · Filed under Internal Memos, posted by b. traven
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This fall and winter, our operatives will be appearing around the country to speak on the subjects covered in the Work book: the ways capitalism has changed, the new forms resistance is taking, and how to formulate anti-capitalist strategies in the 21st century. If you would like to set up a speaking event, please email help@crimethinc.com.
Read about dates this August in Oregon, Washington, Virginia, DC, and Maryland after the jump.
July 4, 2011 at 11:58 am · Filed under Hot Off the Presses, posted by b. traven
“No One Is Illegal,” the latest video from Test Their Logik
Anarchist hip-hop duo Test Their Logik, fresh off G20 conspiracy charges and recently back from a coast-to-coast Canadian tour, are pleased to announce the release of their highly-anticipated debut album. Recorded, produced, and mixed by Illogik and mastered by Metalworks Studios (known for producing hip-hop acts such as Drake, DMX, and K-OS), “A” is uncompromising in both message and sound. Offering 11 new songs and 3 bonus tracks in just under an hour, it’s a lyrical explosion in the face of authority and oppression, a sonic boom in the ears of big brother, and a no-holds-barred escape into rebellion.
Ushering in a new era of subversive anti-authoritarian hip-hop, Test Their Logik delivers clear methodical rhymes alternating with rapid-fire lyrical assaults over dark bass- and synth-heavy beats. The album begins with a lyrical experiment never tried by even the most renowned lyricists: a full song only using words that start with the letter A. This title track sets the bar high for what comes next: everything from confrontation to reflection, to dancing, to imprisonment, and liberation.
Test Their Logik formed in the summer of 2009. They’ve toured extensively throughout North America, playing benefit shows for prisoners and grassroots projects and performing at anti-capitalist convergences including the protests against the Vancouver Olympics, the Toronto G20 summit, and the Cancún COP16 meeting. Their music has inspired revolutionaries around the world and been demonized by law enforcement agencies, corporate media outlets, and right-wing pundits. This is hip-hop as it should be: raw, forceful, polarizing, intelligent, and real.
June 8, 2011 at 12:11 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
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In May, a new movement spread across Spain and elsewhere around the world, with crowds occupying public spaces in an attempt to formulate a new resistance to the effects of capitalist crisis and austerity measures. We are excited to present Fire Extinguishers and Fire Starters: Anarchist Interventions in the #Spanish Revolution, a full report from a comrade on the ground in Barcelona. This report chronicles the trajectory of the movement and offers a critical analysis of the potential and limitations of the forms it assumed.
May 22, 2011 at 2:32 pm · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
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As a preview of the forthcoming tenth issue of Rolling Thunder, we present two texts about US border policy and policing:
The former, Designed to Kill, analyzes US border control policy, exploring how its actual effects and objectives differ from its ostensible purpose. The conclusions are based on several years of firsthand observation of both sides of the border by a participant in No More Deaths. For additional context, Four Stories from the Border offers glimpses into the lives of those who risk death to cross the border.
April 14, 2011 at 9:18 pm · Filed under From the Trenches, posted by b. traven
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Today is April 15: Steal Something from Work Day! Take those motherfuckers for all they’re worth. Goodness knows they’re doing the same to you! Perhaps, like countless other employees, you already do this every day; in that case, the thing that makes this day special is that today you know thousands of others are stealing in solidarity with you, imagining a better world.
In the US, April 15 is also Tax Day. The government is stealing your money and turning it into overseas occupations and death tolls; nowadays they’re cutting the few programs through which they used to give a little of it back to you. The way they’re slashing university budgets these days, next they’ll be going to schools and ripping out the copper pipes to sell on the black market. Much of the tax money they loot from you goes directly back into corporate pockets–the same corporations that are exploiting people like you! And despite the record profits the corporate sector is raking in once again, politicians claim they have no idea how to resolve their budget crises.
In this web of theft, your only hope is to redirect some of these resources to more sensible ends. Surely you and your coworkers, friends, and neighbors could come up with better uses for them! Be careful, though–unlike other days of action, Steal Something from Work Day should go by without the authorities noticing anything at all.
If you have any exciting adventures stealing from work today, write up an account and email it anonymously to us at stealfromworkday@gmail.com. Here follows a premium example of such a narrative.
Epic narrative from the Copying Wars after the jump!
April 4, 2011 at 10:38 am · Filed under Hot Off the Presses, posted by b. traven
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As we announced last week, we’re debuting a new larger size of posters as a benefit project to help us keep the rest of our prices low. Two of these are classics—the Gender Subversion and Your Life Is Your Life posters—while the third is our new poster depicting the pyramid of the capitalist economy, designed to accompany our new book, Work.
We chose these posters as a fundraiser because in contrast to our standard posters, which are designed for public wheatpasting and have to remain affordable to teenage vandals, oversize posters are a sort of luxury. We made them accordingly luxurious: they’re truly enormous (fully two feet by three feet), printed on durable, high-quality, recycled, matte-coated paper, and we mail them rolled up in a poly bag secured inside a poster tube to keep them in pristine condition. If you’re looking for a durable poster to put up in your classroom or kitchen, or if you simply want to help us keep going, feel free to order one. Even as a benefit, they’re still cheaper than anyone else would make them; and you can get a much cheaper price by ordering several, so perhaps they can serve to raise funds for your infoshop or literature distribution as well.
March 5, 2011 at 12:46 pm · Filed under Hot Off the Presses, posted by b. traven
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As seen in Wisconsin, inside and outside the occupation of the capitol building in Madison in protest against new government austerity measures, we’ve designed a new poster heralding the downfall of capitalism.
Download PDF : 864kb
To be clear, we’re not certain that capitalism is about to collapse. However, we’re convinced that it is doomed–such a volatile and destructive system cannot possibly last forever–and that it is entering a new phase of crisis. All the old peace treaties are coming to an end: unions have been outflanked by globalization, while the Fordist compromise of higher wages for obedient workforces has given way in the course of the transition to a service-based economy. These peace treaties were not simply ways to pacify resistance movements–they also served to perpetuate capitalism itself. Without the higher wages won by the old labor movement, for example, consumers can’t afford to keep rates of profit up for capitalists. Consequently, at the moment of its worldwide triumph, capitalism has run out of ways to expand, heralding a new period of instability. The next several years will surely be marked by more upheavals like the ones in Greece and Egypt; these may even reach the United States.
In that context, a poster like this is really an attempt to cast a spell, to convey a vote of no confidence in capitalism in hopes that it will be infectious. If capitalism is indeed entering a period of crisis, anarchists must not miss this opportunity to spread a vision of an alternative. It is precisely before the upheavals that we can do this most effectively: people’s idea of what is possible can change very quickly in the midst of turmoil, but their idea of what is desirable often changes much more slowly. If we miss this opportunity, we may see yet another phase of revolutionary struggles fought merely for “better democracy”–wasting an opportunity that will not come again for a generation. Therefore, we invite you to join us in covering the walls of North America with posters like this, and to brainstorm ways to escalate the conflict that point towards real liberation.
We’ve been working feverishly on further projects to this end, which we will unveil shortly.
More after the jump.
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