Archive for Read All About It
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!
March 28, 2009 at 11:49 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by ret marut
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Over the past decade, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty—SHAC—has waged an international direct action campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences, Europe’s largest contract animal testing corporation. By targeting investors and business partners of HLS, SHAC repeatedly brought HLS to the brink of collapse; it took direct assistance from the British government and an international counter-campaign of severe legal repression to keep the corporation afloat.
In the wake of this campaign, there has been talk of applying the SHAC model in other contexts, such as environmental defense and anti-war organizing. But what is the SHAC model, precisely? What are its strengths and limitations? Is it, in fact, an effective model? If so, for what?
This analysis explores these questions in depth, charting the history of anti-HLS organizing and reviewing subsequent attempts to utilize the same tactics.
Read full piece here.
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!
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 20, 2008 at 10:25 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by ret marut
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From December 6, when police murdered 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in downtown Athens, to the time of this writing, Greece has seen unprecedented rioting. Anarchists and students, supported and often joined by significant swaths of the population, have clashed with police, destroyed corporate and government property, and occupied government buildings, trade union offices, and media outlets, not to mention the usual universities. By December 12, police had used over 4600 capsules of tear gas, and were seeking more from Israel and Germany—an ominous pair of nations, when it comes to repression.
What’s going on in Greece? Is it simply a matter of disenfranchised youth protesting a discouraging job market, or is there something more afoot?
Photos, questions, and a preliminary analysis after the jump.
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.
November 29, 2008 at 3:49 pm · Filed under Read All About It, posted by ret marut
Here’s a new poster on the economic crisis, perfect for wheatpasting in neighborhoods with a lot of foreclosures.
Everybody knows that you’ve got to have money to make money, and never is that more true than in a speculation-driven economy. As the stock market reached unprecedented heights, its connection to the nuts and bolts of the economy became more and more illusory, making a “correction” inevitable–and profitable, for some. Gambling on the correction became a money-making scheme in its own right, and continues now after the collapse, without regard for the fact that such late-game betting assures that the recession will be all the more severe. Institutional investors can afford to play this game because, for them, a collapse of the stock market just means an opportunity to gamble on bonds or currency or whatever other financial product which might benefit from the disappearance of trillions of dollars in artificial value.
But if the value lost in the stock market is artificial, the consequences for human beings are very real. The ranks of the unemployed are rising by the hundreds of thousands every month. Inflated prices for consumers goods will largely stay inflated, even as earnings decline and homes are repossessed. And while the ultra-wealthy will ride out the recession in a riot of luxury and consumption, everyone else will be faced with a new, harsh reality—one in which the means of subsistence are increasing hard to achieve.
So for all the media’s obsession with stunned stockbrokers and disgraced corporate tycoons, their suffering is distinctly abstract: paper losses to be pondered during a long and comfortable early retirement. The rest of us will be forced to wonder why the most basic needs of our lives—food, shelter, medicine—are tied to the whims of a marketplace designed for collapse.
Further reading links after the jump.
November 15, 2008 at 10:16 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by ret marut
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An analysis of the political climate following the election of 2008; a plea for anarchists to maintain vibrant networks and confrontational organizing even as Obama takes office; a discussion of what it takes for such networks and organizing to succeed; and a brief review of actions around the election, with a glimpse of what is to come.
Featuring a revision of our earlier Obama poster, and a PDF [6.2 MB] of a paper used to satirize corporate media the day after the election . . .
It’s all after the jump!
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 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.
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.
Read the rest of this entry »
September 2, 2008 at 10:32 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by pfm
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Just today we’ve sent Rolling Thunder #6 to the printer, due to arrive back in about five weeks. To celebrate, we have posted the foreword below, including the detailing of an event from last week’s DNC protests in Denver:
EXPERIMENTAL MATERIAL
True to form, we completed this issue in the midst of the demonstrations at this year’s Democratic National Convention in Denver, at which anarchists are attempting to reinvent mass mobilizations. Every day endless meetings, false alarms, tense standoffs, narrow escapes; every night, while the others sleep or carouse, endless editing and deliberation. Next issue we’ll be able to report on all this in depth; for now, the following tale must suffice.
Read the rest of this entry »
August 29, 2008 at 11:47 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by peter p
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Tonight, the convergence space in the Twin Cities was raided by police officers brandishing a warrant to search for materials that they didn’t find. Afterward, they used the entry as an excuse to harass, invade, and repress the activists gathered there. This post was originally drafted to be a simple introduction to the logistics work done in Minnesota in preparation for the RNC — but as we were preparing it, news of the raid reached us (via Twin Cities Indymedia’s rss feed) and we had to quickly append this note. Read the RNCWC’s Press Statement for more info.
As tension builds in the Twin Cities, we thought it would be fun to share one of our contributions to the logistical organizing of the RNC Welcoming Committee. There should be no doubt that members of the RNCWC in Minneapolis/St. Paul have done an incredible job meeting the larger anarchist community’s enthusiasm for convention resistance. We were happy to pitch in by helping design some of their logistics literature.
RNC Welcoming Guide (.8MB) .:. Need To Know Basis MN Legal Primer (.9MB)
We’re not trying to boast, though—we’re making these screen-readable .pdfs available to help those who can’t be there understand as much as they can about what’s going on there while events unfold.
Follow Along
twincities.indymedia.org — up-to-the-minute updates from people on the ground.
infoshop.org — for communiques and news coverage
Logistics Support
nornc.org — RNC Welcoming Committee Central Branch
tincancollective.org — RNC Communications Collective
coldsnaplegal.wordpress.com — Jail Support and Legal Collective
northstarhealth.wordpress.com — Medic and Healthcare Collective
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