Author Archive
July 1, 2009 at 9:28 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by b. traven
This year’s CrimethInc. Convergence is a mere three weeks away. In Pittsburgh we are busy stock-piling foodstuffs and getting together a child-care collective, amongst other numerous tasks, but we wanted to announce a few things we’ve got in store for this year; rest assured that these are just the beginnings of the mad schemes and maniac plots we’re devising for the end of July. Our aim is that this year’s convergence opens up the space for new and exciting experiences, inspiring conversations, and connections with new and old friends alike. To facilitate this environment, we have a schedule of workshops and events, to which much more will be added in the coming weeks. Of course, every one of these workshops and events is contingent upon the active participation of those who attend.
Anyone with questions about what they need to bring or what items could be useful to our organizing can consult the list here, and those who want to share ideas beforehand or are looking for rides can coordinate on the Convergence forums. Any queries, concerns about the accessibility of the space, or offers of help can be sent to info@crimethincconvergence.com. Our website will be updated frequently in the next three weeks.
What follows is a initial list of some of the workshops that will be offered this year. Don’t think this gets you off the hook. We ask that everyone who plans to attend, in fact we demand, that each and every beautiful and unique individual coming to Pittsburgh doesn’t sit passively listening to others talk or perform; we couldn’t bear not being graced with your exceptional talents or insights as well.The convergence is like a giant potluck of epic proportions, and it requires that every single person bring something to share. If you are used to talking a lot in front of crowds and being in charge, challenge yourself further by supporting the efforts of others, or even presenting or performing something that goes beyond the limits of what you’ve done in the past. If you have a workshop to present please post on the forums or e-mail cwc.booking@gmail.com.
That said, here’s a preview of what to expect:
June 24, 2009 at 7:35 pm · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
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For as long as anyone can remember, the FBI has infiltrated radical communities in hopes of framing people on criminal charges. This has intensified in anarchist circles over the past few years. A handful of unfortunates now languish in prison, serving up to decades for actions they never carried out and probably would never have even considered were it not for the efforts of agents provocateurs. How does the government choose who to target? What factors put people at risk? Most importantly, what can we do to protect ourselves and each other?
This is required reading for anyone going to the impending Earth First! Rendezvous in Oregon, the CrimethInc. convergence in Pittsburgh July 20-26, or, for that matter, any other radical gathering or protest. We’ve also added a guide to security culture to our online library, which we hope everyone will read as well.
Read on after the jump!
May 28, 2009 at 1:49 pm · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by b. traven
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Following the death of an anarchist alleged by corporate media to be transporting a destructive device, a wave of government repression is sweeping Chile. We extend our heartfelt condolences to those who mourn the loss of a friend, and our support to all who still suffer under a repressive apparatus that has not fundamentally changed since the reign of Pinochet. We fear the worst is yet to come, as the Chilean government will likely use this as a pretext for further raids, arrests, and harassment.
As a humble gesture of solidarity, the next issue of our biannual journal Rolling Thunder will include a report on Chilean resistance movements over the past decade; we hope this will provide more context for and awareness of the Chilean situation for readers around the world. As we did for our coverage of the Ungdomshuset and G8 protests, we are soliciting anonymous accounts from participants in the past decade of social struggles in Chile to fill out our coverage.
If you have experiences you are willing to share or can direct us to publicly available narratives, please contact us at rollingthunder@crimethinc.com. Those who have privacy concerns should consider starting a new email account on a public-access computer.
Please circulate this statement anywhere it may be relevant. Thank you.
En Español After the Jump
May 10, 2009 at 7:56 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by b. traven
Meet at the Northside Commons (W. North Ave. and Brighton) by the pond, on Monday, July 20. Write to info@crimethincconvergence.com with workshop proposals, offers of assistance, and accessibility concerns.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the first CrimethInc. convergence in August 2002. We’ve witnessed a protracted war and occupation, an economic crisis, and most recently a change—however superficial—of rulers. We have come full circle from being isolated dissidents in a time of patriotic consensus to seeing our radical critique co-opted by politicians at the very moment our neighbors are becoming aware of the injustices of capitalism and empire.
Seven convergences later, we have reduced the limitless possibilities of the format we first tested to a precise science. We’re in a different social context now, and it’s time to debut a new experiment.
As the economic downturn affects the geography of urban centers, tremendous spaces are opening up that could become new sites of autonomy and struggle. This year, rather than gathering in a wilderness setting to nurture our subversive desires in seclusion, we will stage our convergence in the decaying metropolis of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We hope that this event can contribute to building long-term infrastructure for our culture of resistance.
This will be nothing like the urban anarchist conferences of the past decade–no antiseptic university setting, no dispersing to isolation in individual meals and housing at the end of the scheduled programming. We will actively contest the city environment in an effort leave a permanent mark upon it, just as we hope to contest the rituals and informal hierarchies of the anarchist milieu.
All spring, rumors have circulated about the secret plans of the contingent in Pittsburgh organizing this event. What’s this about squatting a castle? Is it true that they’re buying a giant warehouse in the city center? Will we be building a hammock village spread across empty lots? There aren’t actually catacombs in Pittsburgh, are there?
We’ll have more news here shortly. In the meantime, here are fliers announcing the event {2-up Handbill [2.6MB] & Full-page Flyer [2.4MB]}–please disseminate them everywhere you can. There also a rudimentary website at www.crimethincconvergence.com, which will be expanded soon.
Finally, here are the policies for this summer’s convergence, which have been thoughtfully revised by the locals bottomlining the event. If you are frustrated about any of them, please organize your own event!
Policies after the jump.
April 14, 2009 at 12:45 pm · Filed under Hot Off the Presses, posted by b. traven
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We now have the CD version of the From the Depths “Germinate” recording in stock. They are packaged in letter-pressed gatefold chipboard sleeves, hand-made by the band and their friends. For those who regard ownership of a physical object to be a needless hassle, the download version of the recording is still available, and significantly cheaper.
From the Depths just completed their West Coast tour, which went smashingly, and extend their deep appreciation to everyone who helped them along the way. They expect to return to the road in autumn.
March 4, 2009 at 9:34 am · Filed under Hot Off the Presses, posted by b. traven
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The seventh issue of Rolling Thunder is back from the presses—a mere five months after the previous issue, which is a record for us! We lost a lot of sleep working on this one; it’s definitely our best effort yet. We’ll also be losing money on it, but there was no way around it—so much happened in the second half of 2008 that we had to put off all our other content and add an extra 8 pages to cover it all.
Rolling Thunder #7 examines the events of those busy months in careful detail. Anarchists coordinated mass mobilizations against the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, provoking major clashes at the latter; the global economy collapsed, and radicals are still scrambling to find appropriate responses; Greece experienced an anarchist-organized insurrection in response to a police murder; and at the beginning of 2009, Oakland, California was shaken by similar unrest in response to a similar killing. Our coverage pushes beyond the surface of events to offer insight into the organizing structures and historical background, fleshing out timelines and analyses with personal narratives and cutting-edge cartography, and drawing on this material to pose questions about long-term strategy. In addition to all this, the issue includes an exploration of the relationship between the punk subculture and the anarchist movement, complemented by interviews with bands and collectives from beyond the white punk ghetto, and ends with a primer on small-town organizing using Winona, Minnesota as a case study. No advertisements or pleas for funding; an unprecedented 24 pages in full color; 114 pages, altogether.
February 19, 2009 at 7:03 pm · Filed under Hot Off the Presses, posted by b. traven
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Anarchist punk band From the Depths, currently on tour in the US, have just finished their debut album. Recorded at Mars Studio (known for recording Catharsis, Undying, and scores of more famous hardcore bands), “Germinate” comprises 7 songs in 36 minutes, an epic paean to self-determination and resistance.
Hearkening back to the days when anarcho-punk was characterized by bands as diverse as Crass, Chumbawumba, and Contropotere, the songs on this album combine d-beat power, slower and faster hardcore, harsh noise, and even a passage from a traditional Italian anarchist folk ballad. This is intense, defiant, dark music, but it is based in compelling melodies; you can scream these songs at the top of your lungs in a riot, but you could also sing them quietly to yourself in jail to maintain your spirits.
From the Depths was formed at the beginning of 2008 by members of Catharsis, Requiem, Network of Terror, Auryn, and Balaclava. Traveling in a van donated by Winona’s Really Really Free Market after their vegetable-oil-powered truck died mid-tour, they performed for fellow demonstrators outside the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions; they’ve also played benefit shows for RNC arrestees, Green Scare defendants, and other prisoners in the anticapitalist struggle.
We’re trying a new experiment with this release, making it available via online downloading. We’re hardly convinced that the internet is a positive thing for humanity, but we recognize that it is one of the primary ways people get music these days. In order to offset the tendency of internet downloading to separate music from the context that gives it meaning, the download includes all the lyrics, artwork, and liner notes.
The band paid $3100 to record the album, and mastering cost another several hundred dollars. Presuming that at least 1000 people are interested in the record, we’re requesting that people donate $4 in return for downloading it. If you have particular access to resources, consider donating more to cover those who have less; to do so, simply increase the number in the “Quantity” column of your order. As soon as the recording and mastering expenses are covered, we’ll make downloading free; thus any donation goes towards making this available to everyone. If you can help the band break even on the costs of recording, that will also help them to play more benefit shows so as to contribute more than music to the public.
More info and tour dates after the jump.
December 25, 2008 at 11:32 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
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We are pleased to present one of the first inside reports from participants in the upheavals that shook Greece after the police murder of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in the anarchist neighborhood of Exarchia on December 6.
This is only the first set of answers to come in from our Greek comrades. We hope shortly to receive further perspectives from other elements of the Greek uprising, so we can provide a comprehensive background on the context and dynamics of the revolt. If you or someone you know is situated to give your own answers to these questions, please email them to us at rollingthunder@crimethinc.com.
Questions and answers after the jump!
December 17, 2008 at 12:02 pm · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by b. traven
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After a busy summer of touring the midwest and performing outside both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions—which was only possible thanks to the donation of a van from a Really Really Free Market (thanks Winona!) when their original vegetable-oil-powered truck died—anarcho-punk maniacs From the Depths are finally preparing to record an album. They are also in the process of booking a tour to the West coast and back, and are still seeking contacts for a few of the dates (marked with asterisks). Here are the tour dates; anyone interested in helping should email booking@fromthedepths.info.
November 2, 2008 at 9:36 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
The British magazine Last Hours recently presented a glowing review of the fifth issue of Rolling Thunder, which we present here:
Rolling Thunder #5
September 24th, 2008 · review by Tom Fiction
I first encountered CrimethInc. some years ago as I sat in a cramped living room chatting with friends. On the coffee table lay a truly battered and well thumbed copy of Days of War, Nights of Love (CrimethInc.’s flagship publication). I was a young punk kid lightly politicised by the threat of war in Iraq but with no real knowledge of radical culture. Anarchy was just a word printed on the sleeves of my parents old punk records. The text and images I found in those faded pages offered something new and engaging that I had never experienced.
Read the rest of this entry »
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 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.
September 24, 2008 at 10:31 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
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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.
Read the rest of this entry »
September 11, 2008 at 5:42 pm · Filed under Read All About It, posted by b. traven
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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.
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