Author Archive
May 5, 2009 at 10:40 am · Filed under From the Trenches, posted by pfm
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At long last, we’ve completed our 35,000-word full report on last summer’s anarchist mobilizations against the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, complete with chronological maps and painstaking documentation. Updated from the feature in Rolling Thunder #7 and expanded to include the complete text of thirteen different participant narratives, this report offers a comprehensive history of the preparations for, events of, and aftermath following the protests, and an analysis of their context and implications.
Unlike virtually every other analysis yet published from the radical community, this one utilizes subsequent internal government reports, comparing them against a wide variety of other sources. We hope our investigation and the accompanying archive of personal testimonies will prove useful both to participants still trying to understand the events of this past summer and to organizers looking to derive lessons from them for the future.
In a nutshell, we hypothesize that the chief significance of the 2008 anti-convention mobilizations was in the precedents they might set for future organizing. Anarchists took the initiative to determine their own goals and strategies for the protests, establishing decentralized networks throughout the US far in advance. This enabled them to build relationships with other organizing groups and to coordinate their actions, effectively setting the tone for the protests at both conventions. At the same time, the protests were less attended than expected, perhaps as a result of the Obama campaign detracting from street-level participation in the antiwar movement. In this regard, they were the final act of an era that has now passed.
The RNC protests met with an almost unprecedented degree of state repression, which is still playing out today even as the political climate has changed. The federal government continued its strategy of gathering intelligence and entrapping stragglers, already familiar from attacks on environmentalists and animal rights activists. Local authorities focused on infiltration, profiling, and raids, ultimately arresting over 800 people and bringing conspiracy charges against organizers. Despite all this, they seem to have been remarkably unprepared to maintain order in the streets on the first day of the RNC, and their subsequent overreaction helped discredit them in the public eye. Most arrestees have gotten off scot-free; it remains to be seen how the ongoing felony cases will conclude. The outcome of the RNC 8 conspiracy trial in particular will indicate how sustainable we can expect the organizing model debuted at the 2008 conventions to be.
Going It Alone: Anarchist Action at the Democratic
and Republican National Conventions
We Are All Legal Workers: Legal Support at the RNC and After
Accounts from the Democratic
and Republican National Conventions
March 24, 2009 at 6:52 pm · Filed under Internal Memos, posted by pfm
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We’re back from our annual bookfair trip, rested and ready for Spring, and we thought we’d start with some photos from the bookfair this year. For the first time in nine years, we noticed that less people came this year than the previous year—we’re not sure what to blame, but we’d place our bet on the combo of crappy weather and Obama. At any rate, y’all can expect more frequent blog updates from us in the coming months and more content to be added to the site.
Click through to see all the photos.
March 11, 2009 at 9:55 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by pfm
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For the 9th consecutive year, we will be attending the Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair in San Francisco (their 14th annual showing) in Golden Gate Park this coming weekend, March 14th and 15th. We’ll have two tables again this year, one chock full of free posters and pamphlets and stickers, and the other with all our books for sale, including the brand new issue of Rolling Thunder. From the Depths will also be playing shows in Oakland this Friday and in Berkeley this Sunday, so it could very well be worth your while to make it out to the bookfair this year. [Above image is from our first bookfair in 2001].
February 15, 2009 at 12:51 pm · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by pfm
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In the past, we’ve held festive gatherings far from industry and concrete: hundreds camped out in forests, underneath stars, beside lakes, rivers, streams, and creeks. Climbing bluffs overlooking rolling hills and vast plains, we fell in love, met allies, and experimented with the experience of freedom. To create the spaces where this could happen, we sought temporary escape from the cities that had in so many ways coerced and constrained our very existence.
Some of us, however, felt limited by this flight. We dreamed of building an anarchist castle out of the derelict abandonment right under our enemies’ noses. Hundreds would arrive to help us paint a masterpiece upon our canvas of rubble: workshops, meeting halls, libraries, performance spaces, gardens, and orchards would be constructed out of ruins and wreckage. We’d supply food, shelter, and so much more; like before, we would exchange stories, ideas, laughter, and dance moves with the maniac nomads, eloquent criminals, and dedicated rebels who descended upon our city for a week of chaos and feverish activity. The beauty of this dream was that at the end of it all, some of us could stay; for another week, a season, a year, or maybe even the rest of our lives. It never had to end.
We held onto this plan in secret, believing it to be impossible. Our dream was fraught with complications and seemed doomed to fail. It remained a fantastical plot we lacked the daring to attempt. Until now.
Save the date, July 20-26, Pittsburgh, PA, and stay tuned for more details.
January 24, 2009 at 8:40 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by pfm
We mailed out the last Rolling Thunder #3 yesterday, and as such, the complete PDF is now available for free download.
Download Rolling Thunder #3 PDF [9 MB]
International reports from last Mayday’s pro-immigrant rallies! Analysis of the Bush regime’s strategy to promote terrorism worldwide! Discussion of the latest wave of federal repression! Testimony from a convicted anti-war arsonist! Anarchist perspectives on and reports from the struggle against domestic violence! A tell-all interview with notorious graffiti artist(s) BORF! A shocking exposé on German pro-Zionist lunatics! A how-to guide to funneling resources out of universities! A spy’s-eye-view of immigrant labor in factory farming! A narrow escape from the flaming Pentagon on September 11, 2001! A history of direct action and rioting in queer liberation struggles! A cartoon recounting the riots at the canceled World Bank conference in Barcelona! A mad-lib for radicals with poor social skills! A satirical guide to writing reviews! Visionary storytelling, technical advice on computer security, eulogies and poster designs and more!
January 13, 2009 at 11:45 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by pfm
From freefreenow.org:
“Jeff Luers has at last entered his final year in prison thanks to a sentence reduction from his appeal. He is thinking ahead and making plans for an education and is excited to start his life again. Your help and donations are needed to help Jeff now as well as to start an education and release fund for him.
“In addition to other items, a new Free Jeff Luers benefit cd compilation is available from freefreenow.org for only $10. This CD contains tracks from some of Jeff’s favorite musicians. All the songs were donated by independent folk artists and punk rockers who are also Jeff’s supporters: Casey Neill, Tch Kung!, Dana Lyons, Spring, Desert Rat, Francine Allen, Happy Bastards, Lonesome Shack, Grand Prix, David Rovics, Mill a h-Uille Rud, and Thunder Craig.”
January 9, 2009 at 9:55 am · Filed under Internal Memos, posted by pfm
Just a reminder that USPS Priority and International shipping rates are increasing somewhat dramatically in 7 days. Any orders placed after the 16th of January will have the higher shipping rates, so if you are planning on an order, it’d be best to order by the 16th.
January 5, 2009 at 10:21 am · Filed under Internal Memos, posted by pfm
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We are pleased to now be shipping out fresh copies of Off the Map from the new sixth printing. As with previous printings, this edition has a new color ink on the inside covers, a delightful Eggplant Purple, aka Pantone 512. Otherwise, the book is identical to the last printing—in other words, a tiny, boisterous bit of narrative resplendence.
December 17, 2008 at 8:16 pm · Filed under Internal Memos, posted by pfm
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Our beautiful town of Salem may be covered in ice, and our toes might be colder than a banker’s smile, but on Monday we strapped chains to our tires and have managed to make it to the post office each day this week, and plan on continuing to do so. We know there are a bunch of you out there who might need to get some stuff for winter gifts, and if you have to bite that bullet, might as well spread some anarchist joy while doing it. All orders shipped via Priority Mail should get to their destination by the 25th as long as the orders are submitted to us by 3PM Pacific time on Saturday the 20th. Of course, the USPS doesn’t guarantee that, so the earlier you submit your order, the better. We will make sure that every Priority Mail order received before 5PM will go out on the same day—after 5PM and it will go out the next day. A couple suggestions: we find that Off the Map makes a perfect gift for just about anybody, and you can get 6 copies via Priority for $14, or for more experienced activists, it’s hard to beat a copy of Expect Resistance, of which you can get 10 copies shipped Priority for $60. Or you could just take a stand and not buy anything out of stupid, ritualistic obligation—that’s more than OK with us.
December 13, 2008 at 10:40 am · Filed under Hot Off the Presses, posted by pfm
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We’re excited to announce that we’ve printed up our two most recent posters to the tune of 20k copies each and both the Iraq Anti-Enlistment and Crisis is Business as Usual posters are immediately available in all of their two-color, jumbo-sized glory. Of course, all paid orders get one copy of each poster for free, and they are also available in bundles of 25 copies for a paltry $2. Additionally we have added them to the Poster Mix Kit which now includes 4 (or 5) copies of six different posters for a total of 25 for $2, which is pretty sweet. Unlike our other four posters which we keep in print perpetually, these will be limited to a single printing of 20k copies due to their topically ephemeral nature.
December 9, 2008 at 8:51 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by pfm
We mailed out the last Rolling Thunder #4 yesterday, and as such, the complete PDF is now available for free download.
Download Rolling Thunder #4 PDF [10MB]
The centerpiece of the fourth Rolling Thunder is a full-color photoessay chronicling the popular uprising during which the people of Oaxaca, Mexico wrested control of their city from the government for a period of months. Continuing that theme, other feature articles cover the defense and eviction of South Central Farm in Los Angeles, the Really Really Free Market as a model for reclaiming public space from capitalism and bureaucracy, the resurgence of squatting in Buffalo of all places, the university occupation movement in France, and the ins and outs of urban exploration. The remainder of the issue includes a comprehensive guide to supporting prisoners and defendants, the lyrics to “The Big Rock Candy Mountain” as interpreted by acclaimed comic artist Nate Powell, a gallery of ready-to-use stencils, and plenty of the edgy artwork and poignant prose you’ve come to expect.
December 3, 2008 at 9:55 am · Filed under Internal Memos, posted by pfm
Following the trend of the last few years, the USPS is raising shipping prices yet again on January 18, 2009—just six short weeks away. US Priority Mail prices are going up 55¢ for anything but the smallest packages, an increase of 6%. But the huge increase is for international orders: a dramatic increase of 7%-10% to the already exorbitant shipping costs, adding several extra dollars to most shipments. So, if you were planning to make an order internationaly or in the US via Priority Mail, be sure to place it sooner than later. FYI, Media Mail prices in the US will remain unchanged until May 2009. USPS rate change info here.
November 23, 2008 at 2:33 pm · Filed under Internal Memos, posted by pfm
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Just a note to anyone who was hoping to one day get their hands on a copy of Rolling Thunder #3 and/or #4, we are down to about our last 50 copies of each, and there is no way they will last through the end of the year—so, if you want one, order it now, before they are gone forever. Currently they are part of the Rolling Thunder Bundle that include issues #3-#6 for $10, a bargain that will disappear once these two issues sell out.
November 12, 2008 at 9:25 am · Filed under Internal Memos, posted by pfm
We recently received, and have begun mailing out, fresh copies from the second printing of Expect Resistance. In our endless quest for perfection, we’ve made several minor changes to this printing, resulting in a hard-fought, solid advance towards the definitive edition: 1) shifted the margins around just a smidge to allow more space on the inside margin, and more centering of text that appears on image backgrounds, 2) Switched the color of the red ink on the inside to a slightly darker tone to facilitate easier reading (from Pantone 193 to 187), 3) adjusted some images to print better, partricularly images that were printing too dark, 4) a couple design adjustments that no one will even notice, and 5) fixed a typo. All that said, there is no new content, so if you bought the first printing, don’t feel slighted—and if you’ve been waiting to check the book out, now is a great time to get a crisp copy hot off the press.
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.
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