Download 2-Up Flyer PDF : Download Poster PDF

The convergence will be several days of self-organized workshops, presentations, performances, and other activities where everyone can be a presenter—so bring your own ideas, not to mention camping gear and whatever resources you can share. This year there will be a focus on coordinating for the demonstrations at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, as well as longer-range anarchist endeavors. Internationals will share experiences from overseas. Participation is free, of course, along with literature, food, child care, and camping space; the convergence will be a sober, consent-based space.

Locals on the ground in Milwaukee, putting in work for this summer’s CrimethInc. Convergence, have announced a public redirect location at Gordon Park (Locust St. & Humboldt Blvd) in Milwaukee, WI.

RSVP to crimethincbooking@yahoo.com

While we have yet to unearth the great anarchist comic of our generation, we have discovered a ’zine that satirizes the North American anarchist subculture to great effect. Allow us to introduce the Super Happy Anarcho Fun Pages, the 12th issue of which has just been released. All twelve issues are freely available online, courtesy of www.tangledwilderness.org.

The SHAFP offer enlightening takes on many subjects, including the environment…

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…animal liberation…

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…pacifism…

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…direct action…

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…privilege…

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…expropriation…

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…alternatives to anarchism…

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…cross-subcultural organizing…

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…recruiting for the cause…

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…and the utopian vision of a better world than motivates anarchist struggle:

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Suffice it to say that, should you happen to share the author’s subcultural reference points, you will find this ’zine very funny. On the other hand, if you do not, you will be puzzled as to why we directed you to something that appears to be the work of a three-year-old.

After years of planning, we finally threw our first Really Really Free Market! Organizing and promoting it was a long, arduous task. We live in a small town: Winona has only 27,000 people, and has the largest radical community of any place within 100 miles from us. It has always been tough for us to make things happen here—small town outreach work is always hard. All but one of our anarchist community are originally from Winona, and owing to our slim population, we’re fortunate enough to have a very wide social network. When we started a monthly community newspaper—think of a hybrid of a local indymedia project and Harbinger—we knew it would help us reach people that we had been struggling to connect with for years. We began promoting the ‘Free Market in the first issue, albeit subtly, and by the third issue, we had warmed up to the subject enough to devote an entire two pages inviting people to participate in the event.

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We invested a lot of energy into connecting with new social circles: we made close friends with the local homeless shelter; we knew the administrators at the food bank well enough to solicit their help distributing fliers; the punks were down to give away free bicycles; even the local food co-op was putting food aside for us. Representatives from all of these different social circles and more met four times before our first ‘Free Market to discuss logistics—we devised promotional schemes and dreamt up ideas and dispersed. When the day came, the first organizer arrived at the park 30 minutes early, to find to his surprise that over two dozen people were already there, waiting for the market to start. An hour into it, that number had grown to 200, and the event was a huge success. It went on that way for four hours: people giving away carloads of clothes, furniture, food, a box of hundreds of toothbrushes! A trash-bag full of condoms, starter plants for a garden, and five kids bikes were given away via a free raffle. We were all really inspired and pleased with the event, knowing that most of the work was out of our hands.

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We plan to bring the lessons we’ve learned to this year’s CrimethInc. Convergence in Milwaukee, WI. We’ll have plenty of examples of our community newspaper and plan to hold a workshop instructing anyone how to produce an effective, high-quality newspaper to nourish their radical community for under $250 a month. We know how difficult it can be for small midwest towns to get things off the ground—we’ve been struggling to for years. Hopefully, news of our successful ‘Free Market will motivate other small-town anarchist communities to attempt similar feats.

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The article in question details the recent case in which an FBI employee infiltrated a group of young radicals, pressured them to carry out illegal activity, and lured them to a bugged cabin, at which they were arrested when it appeared that they were not going to go through with her plan. Eric McDavid, one of the arrestees, was recently convicted by a conflicted jury and faces up to 20 years in prison.

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This sticker was in every single copy of the magazine in the store. Has anyone else come across this? Does anyone know whether this is really a retraction from the staff of Elle, or a hoax?

A pdf of the sticker is available here; as a point of reference. Please do not print this out and use it to sticker copies of Elle in other stores, if it turns out this is a hoax.

Elle magazine can be reached at:

subscriptions: elle@neodata.com
forums: http://forums.elle.com/
other inquiries: http://www.elle.com/aboutus/7939/contact-elle.html

Click here for another perspective on the article in Elle.

2 Pound Media Mail from $2.47 to $2.58
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Flat-Rate Priority Mail International Env. (Not-Canada) from $10.45 to $11.35
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Our first text in this series is the fabled Seattle Logistics Zine. Immediately after the Seattle WTO protests of 1999, many of the people who had coordinated essential aspects of the infrastructure of that mobilization collaborated on a zine exploring what they learned from their experiences. The zine covers organizing and security at the convergence spaces, volunteer coordination, the medic team, tactical communications, legal support, the squatting action described in N30: The Seattle WTO Protests, and the actual tactical and strategic planning that made the mobilization a success.

In the years since its publication, this zine has been widely sought but almost impossible to find. We expect it will provide helpful context not only to historians but also to those who are coordinating mobilizations this coming summer.

Download Reading PDF [3.5 MB] to read on screen.

Download Imposed PDF [6.7 MB] made for mass producing on copy machines and unreadable on screen.

They’ll have a great deal of literature with them, mostly free, and are eager to compare notes with other anarchist organizers and adventurists.

From the Depths: April 2008 Tour
for information: crimethincbooking@yahoo.com

Tuesday, April 8: Washington, DC
with Ryan Harvey, Ingrid, and The Surge
7 pm
the Bobby Fisher Memorial Building
1644 North Capitol St. NW, Washington DC, 20002
Four blocks from the “New York Ave/Florida Ave” Metro stop on the Red line.
Check out BFMB.ORG for more directions.
$7-10 sliding scale to benefit Elizabeth Sanders’ legal fund

Elizabeth Sanders is a member of the activist community in DC. She is being falsely charged with participation in a mass grocery walkout at Whole Foods. On the eve of the October 22nd No War No Warming actions, while outside the convergence center, Elizabeth was snatched off the street by undercover police and interrogated. She was falsely identified, based on a physical resemblance to a person the police were seeking in connection to the incident at Whole Foods.
Throughout the court proceedings, the prosecution pressed on connections between Elizabeth and Food Not Bombs, veganism, and the activist community. The judge found Elizabeth guilty because of her ties to activism, not because her involvement in a crime had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. This case has implications for all of us who are associated with activism in this city, including those kinds of activism that are supposedly 1st amendment protected rights.
This whole event has been traumatizing for Elizabeth and the legal battle has taken over a large part of her life. Her family is in debt due to legal costs, she has missed a semester of school, and she may not be able to afford to finish next year. While you may not know Elizabeth personally, chances are you have seen her at meetings, shows, or other events. To write Elizabeth a message of support, or to find out about how to help her cover legal costs, please write to supportelizabeth@riseup.net

Wednesday, April 9: Baltimore, MD
with Army of Kashyyyk, Crypt of Raix, and Cassettes on Fire
Charm City Arts Space, 1729 Maryland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201

Thursday, April 10: Philadelphia, PA
with Elder and Dissystema
Planet Mollie, 1019 S. 47th Street

Friday, April 11: Hartford, CT
7 pm
217 S Whitney St

Saturday, April 12: New York City, NY
Day: tabling at the NYC bookfair
Night: performing at John Bosch (the venue), 742 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn

Sunday, April 13: Allentown, PA
with Screaming Females, Moister, the Dynamite Plan, and Alarm Clark
5 pm matinee
Jan’s Room $6
call 610 349 6607 for info

Monday, April 14: Pittsburgh, PA
with Path to Misery, Drugdealer (x-CIC), and Auryn
7 pm
Mr. Roboto Project
722 Wood St., Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania 15221
$6

Tuesday, April 15: Columbus, OH
with Paralyzer and one more TBA
doors 8 pm, showtime 9 pm
The Legion Of Doom, 1579 Indianola Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43201

Wednesday, April 16: Lexington, KY
Shrieking Shack, 503 Oldham Ct.

Thursday, April 17: Asheville, NC
with Raccoon Party
at Gourmet Perks

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Despite maintaining an extensive network of security cameras and a police force that is among the biggest standing armies fielded by any nation, the NYPD faces serious challenges in identifying the alleged bomber. At first, the press reported that a communiqué (“We Did It”) and “rambling political manifesto” had been sent to Capitol Hill claiming credit for the bombing. This proved to be a false lead; in fact, it was simply an unluckily-timed letter from a California liberal. Officials are now pointing to alleged anarchist involvement.

Let’s accept, for the time being, the hypothesis that this was an anarchist. You know how the old joke goes: how many anarchists does it take to break an army recruiter’s window in Times Square? One to blow it up, and 10,000 to put stickers on their bikes about how blowing stuff up is cool.

But seriously, folks, we’re distressed to report that such stickers are already in circulation, discrediting our movement and corrupting the next generation. Don’t believe it? We’ve tracked down copies of the offending sticker, which you can download here. If you still aren’t convinced, print the design out, photocopy it onto sticker paper (easily available from your nearest office supply store), and stick one up yourself—on a private surface you own, naturally—to simulate the sort of unconscionable vandalism that is taking place around the country right now. Isn’t that infuriating and outrageous?

Meanwhile, as New York politicians nobly decry the cowardice and irresponsibility of the bicycle bomber, the number of documented civilian deaths from violence in Iraq since the 2003 invasion is about to reach 90,000.

Please email crimethincbooking@yahoo.com with questions—or, even better, to offer to provide resources, bottomline tasks, or introduce unknown quantities into the equation.

It’s going to be a busy summer, and we’re hoping the convergence can contribute to everything else that’s happening without losing its unique character and function. We’ve made efforts not to double-book it with other radical events, but as some have not been announced yet, it’s possible that there will be some overlap. Although the dates of the convergence are now essentially set in stone, anyone who has information about other events scheduled for this summer is encouraged to get in touch. Please circulate news of the convergence dates far and wide, as well, so others know not to double-book.

Anyway, be it hatchet job or principled journalism, here it is; the section about the convergence appears on page 62.

Critics say at least 68 deaths in Gaza in February and 62 in January are a disproportionate response to 3 Israeli deaths in a year.

Even if you don’t take into account the enforced disparities in living conditions, access to resources, and self-determination—when you compare the raw numbers, 130 Palestinians killed over two months to 3 Israelis killed over twelve, it’s hard to continue seeing this simply as a case of Israel defending itself.

Sadly, there are still some radicals who insist on that interpretation of events, against every indication. We’ve added a new text to the reading library, “Antinationalist Nationalism: The Anti-German Critique and Its All-Too-German Adherents,” addressing the way this perspective has developed in Germany. This article originally appeared in the third issue of Rolling Thunder and unfortunately remains relevant today.