Archive for Calling All Anarchists
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 9, 2009 at 4:39 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by ret marut
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Once again, despite ourselves, we are thrust onto the front lines of history. In the midst of an economic crisis, the leaders of the wealthiest nations on earth are meeting in Pittsburgh to discuss how to preserve global capitalism and reform the loathsome International Monetary Fund—and we are hosting our convergence in Pittsburgh a mere two months earlier.
We hadn’t planned on this—perhaps we’d forgotten that we are in a war that is constantly unfolding, that doesn’t permit truce or respite. It’s hard to bear in mind at all times how much depends on us, to remember that we are responsible for making the kind of resistance we want to participate in come about in our lifetime. At the same time, we can’t only react to our enemies, even when they are constantly provoking us—we must also take the time to develop long-term relationships and projects, or else we’ll never be able to take the initiative.
So what will the convergence in Pittsburgh look like?
Reflections, Solicitations, and Announcements 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.
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 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.”
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.
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.
September 27, 2008 at 8:42 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by ret marut
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.
Download Poster PDF [335 KB]
Poster text after the jump.
September 19, 2008 at 3:27 pm · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by pfm
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/
September 7, 2008 at 8:19 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by ret marut
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!
August 5, 2008 at 7:39 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by ret marut
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A selection of updates from the organizing to disrupt the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, including:
– A brand new Unconventional Action paper!
– National day of action against electoral politics August 10!
– Calls to action in Denver for the DNC!
It’s all after the jump!
July 25, 2008 at 9:17 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by ret marut
Today anarcho-punk maniacs From the Depths are embarking on their summer tour, taking with them tremendous quantities of books and free literature. They’ll be presenting a range of direct action, self-defense, and health care workshops, and are traveling in a truck that runs on vegetable oil so as to be able to play as many benefit shows for local grassroots projects as possible. To reach them for further information about any of these shows, or to invite them to your town, email booking@fromthedepths.info.
Lyrics, downloadable artwork, and tour updates are all available at www.fromthedepths.info.
July 10, 2008 at 8:39 am · Filed under Calling All Anarchists, posted by b. traven
The CrimethInc. Convergence is right around the corner. On July 16, hundreds of wild-eyed ex-regular people will meet in Milwaukee at Gordon Park (Locust St. & Humboldt Blvd) to begin five days of plotting, scheming, debating, learning, chicanery, and what have you.
Attendees—expect a lot from yourselves. It’s up to you to challenge yourselves and everyone else to break out of routines and into restricted spaces. Arrive with the understanding that you are responsible for yourselves—and for a lot more than that. Bring plans, bring surprises, bring infernal machines.
A shadowy international network of crazies has spent months preparing for the crowd of fugitive office workers and other assorted loons who will descend on Milwaukee. They will need as much help as they can get. Plan on helping out.
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