The CrimethInc. convergence is a self-organized gathering to circulate skills, deepen networks, and build morale in North America in order to foster a culture of resistance worldwide. Everyone who comes is encouraged to be a presenter and performer. This year’s convergence will focus on developing direct action skills such as might be useful at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions this summer, and also on creative pastimes, subversive ideas, and survival strategies that have nothing to do with them. Anarchists from overseas will also be present to offer perspectives from other contexts.

Like previous convergences, this one will be a sober, consent-based, anticapitalist space. That means no drugs or drinking on the premises; accountability processes will be in effect according to the wishes of survivors; and that camping, eating, literature, and everything else are totally free (though participants are discouraged from selling things except to raise funds for political prisoners). We’ll have more details on the policies stipulated by the local organizers shortly.

Bring camping gear, food, arts and crafts materials, literature to share, plays to perform, workshops to present, songs to sing, poetry to recite, stunts to pull off, plans to whisper, and the sort of wild-eyed romantic idealism that can make the most boring situation into a crazy adventure.

Childcare, medical services, and conflict mediation will all be provided.

RSVP: crimethincbooking@yahoo.com
Contact the local organizers: blowedupwisconsin@gmail.com

Please download promotional materials to invite people from your community.

CrimethInc. reports from some previous convergences:
2007 : 2006 : 2004 : 2003

Corporate media reporting on previous convergences—mind you, these are generally of dubious merit:
Harper’s : Elle : Athens News : Winona Daily News

Call for Workshops

If you are planning on performing or presenting this year, please send in a brief description of what you’ll be doing, so we can announce it in advance. Email it to crimethincbooking@yahoo.com.

We encourage everyone to see the CrimethInc. convergence as a space to try out ideas that would never see the light in any other context. This is a chance to risk everything, to debut brand new formats with your knees knocking together in terror! Don’t just drone through the old standards—challenge yourself and others! Draw on your passions and anomalous interests to offer your comrades points of departure they would never come across anywhere else, including in other anarchist circles. If your two true loves are lobsters and William Blake, put on a puppet show: Songs of Experience as Interpreted by Creatures of the Deep! If you’re quite comfortable discussing post-structuralist theory, try something you’ve never done before—put on a burlesque show, or do the research for a presentation on the history of anti-state responses to domestic violence, or volunteer at the childcare station all week! If we are careful and conservative in spaces like this that belong to us, we’re bound to stay careful and conservation in the rest of our lives, too. GO FOR IT!

Here are a few examples of this year’s workshops and performances. We’ll post more as they come in!

Publishing A Small Periodical Newspaper
A comprehensive crash-course in the production of a community newspaper: learn how you and 3 or 4 friends can publish a small-scale newspaper or community journal! Covers outreach-writing methodology, theme-selection, presentation, and distribution. This workshop covers the nuts and bolts of newspaper projects; the “Small Town Organizing” workshop functions well as a complement.

Small Town Organizing for Anarchists
Do you feel stuck—like you’re running in place—in a small town? Come share your experience and hear insight from our work in the field: this workshop offers a walking tour through strategic models for mutual-aid outreach, DIY-community building, public relations, literature distribution, broader network health, and morale boosting. We’ll also tackle such obstacles as poor social dynamics within small-town DIY communities, practical consensus for beginners, and how small and well-known anarchist cells can avoid being singled out as criminals.

Designing Posters and Other Propaganda
This workshop isn’t for designers only; rather, we’ll take a look at conventional anarchist design methods and style and analyze their effectiveness in communicating meaning. In addition to theory, this workshop includes some basic tutorials for both old (cut & paste) and new (digital design) schools, and offers some useful instances for both. This workshop emphasizes utilizing equipment and resources that are freely accessible to most people.

Storytelling Revisited
Security Culture meets Resistance Mythology in this dynamic workshop of storytelling and storytelling about storytelling. Learn about the elements and sequence of a good story, about the fascinating characteristics of compelling characters, enjoy irony and satire in their natural habitat, and consider how to escape moralism and encourage appreciation for good stories at the same time. Learn how to utilize these ingredients to talk your way across a border or into a building; learn how good storytelling—and listening—skills can protect participants in direct actions and simultaneously nurture momentum for resistance.

Direct Action Planning: Mock Spokescouncil
In this exercise, participants will break into affinity groups to plan a mock action via the spokescouncil model. Excellent practice for publicly coordinated actions that demand layers of privacy within and between groups.

Direct Action Role-Playing: Staying Safe in the Streets
This workshop offers real-time, real-space experience for groups to move securely together in stressful situations, to protect themselves against attacks, avoid being boxed in, stay aware in changing environments, and achieve objectives.

Performer: Testament
I am not a rapper, I am just a revolutionary who raps good. I’m taking hip-hop back to its revolutionary roots and spreading dissent through the powerful, thought-provoking rhymes. I’m here to save hip-hop from the glorified violence, materialism, sexism, and racism that the music industry creates, promotes, and markets for their own capitalist purposes. The revolution will not be signed to a record deal.

In lieu of a ride board, please post offers of and requests for empty seats to the convergence in the comments section below.

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

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.

-
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.

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

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.

-National Conference on Organized Resistance, Washington, D.C. – March 7-9

-New York City Anarchist Bookfair – April 12

The NCOR table will be the debut appearance of the new fifth issue of Rolling Thunder. The tables at both events will also have copies of Expect Resistance and other books, as well as obscure records released long ago by CrimethInc. splinter groups and—above all—tremendous quantities of free literature.

In addition, rumor has it that a new band that includes members of older bands released by CrimethInc. will be playing shows at both events–on the nights of March 7 and April 12, respectively.

We’re eager to hear your input: Should there be a convergence this summer? If so, where, when, and how? Are you interested in helping make it happen?

There are many factors to take into account when considering how and whether to organize a convergence in 2008, largely stemming from the fact that the Democratic and Republican National Conventions will be occurring this summer as well. Anarchists in Minnesota and Colorado will have their hands full leading up to the conventions, as will many other anarchists around the country; numerous consultas, action camps, and tours are already planned in the buildup to the convention protests. Additionally, federal funding for repressive measures will potentially be higher this summer than it has been for the past three convergences, so it will be especially important that if there is a convergence it is organized with experience and care. We’ve come a long way since the convergences of 2003 and 2004 were disturbed by police provocations, and we should be careful never to let them get away with that again.

One approach would be simply to let 2008 pass without a convergence, shifting the focus to other events and taking some time to consider how to experiment with the convergence format. As some participants in the 2007 convergence felt it was such a success that it was time to try something new, this could be a good time to take a step back.

On the other hand, if handled right, a convergence could contribute momentum to other events this summer. To anarchists who are not interested in the convention protests, it would seem ridiculous and exclusive for all other anarchist projects to be put on hold until the conventions are over—that would confirm the argument that mass mobilizations detract energy from other activities. Likewise, if the organizing towards the convention protests brings new participants into anarchist networks, but there are no events that focus on more general anarchist ideas, desires, and experiments in the way earlier CrimethInc. convergences have, that will be a tremendous missed opportunity.

If there is to be a convergence, it seems clear it will have to be spatially and temporally distant from the conventions. And the basic information about it will have to come together soon, so there is time to promote it. Hosting a CrimethInc. convergence requires no special skills or powers, simply a little determination and reliability—there is a national network ready to fill in the rest.

If you want to bottomline an organizational role, such as hosting the event in your area or providing food or other resources, or if you have questions for other potential organizers, email crimethincbooking@yahoo.com.
If you care to contribute to the public discussion of how and whether to organize a 2008 convergence, please post comments here. Feel free to specify whether you’ve ever been to a previous convergence and what roles you’ve played in the past, so others will have some context for your remarks.

For an extensive meditation on last summer’s convergence, consult the discussion questions released last September in lieu of a full report.

Starting next week, CrimethInc. Far East will include copies of the free paper just published by Unconventional Action detailing the context of and plans for resistance to the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. A pdf of this paper can be downloaded from the Unconventional Action website; further copies of it can be ordered via distro@unconventionalaction.org.

A follow-up to this announcement will explore the potential opportunities the Democratic and Republican National Conventions offer anarchists, and the merits of the particular strategy CrimethInc. groups are endorsing for the RNC actions. In the meantime, we urge those preparing to resist the Democratic National Convention to concoct a solid strategy proposal as soon as possible; if anarchist activities at the Republican National Convention are significantly better organized than those at the Democratic National Convention, it will be all too easy for our foes to reframe them as part of the electoral spectacle.

The RNC Strategy (as reported on infoshop.org)

On the penultimate day of the “pReNC,” a national planning consulta a year in advance of the Republican National Convention, over a hundred anti-authoritarians from around the country gathered to distill a formal strategy for disrupting the convention. Smaller working groups focused on nationwide communications, food/medical/legal infrastructure, media, coalition building, and action planning. Pouring over maps, timetables, and photographs of the city, the action working group hammered out this plan.

On the first day of the convention, participants will employ a three-tiered direct action strategy to disrupt the RNC. The tiers are organized in order of priority according to the number of participants; if a small number of participants show up, only the first tier will be carried out, but if the numbers are on hand, all three tiers will be in effect.

Tier One: Establish 15-20 blockades, utilizing a diversity of tactics, creating an inner and outer ring around St. Paul’s Excel Center, where the RNC is to take place.

Tier Two: Immobilize the delegates’ transportation infrastructure, including the busses that are to convey them.

Tier Three: Block the five western bridges connecting the Twin Cities.

Those plugging into this strategy will be free to shape their actions as they see fit, using the tactics they consider appropriate. As the specific blockade sites are established, there may be a system of delegating some sites as “red zones” (prepared for self-defense), “yellow zones” (peaceful but assertive), and “green zones” (aiming to avoid any risk of arrest) so as to accommodate a wide variety of creative tactics and involve individuals with differing needs and talents.

Over the coming months, locals will identify the most strategic blockade sites and will be available to answer questions about the terrain. If you want to participate, get your comrades together, discuss your capabilities, look over maps, and start thinking about which sites you might cover. It will soon be time for groups to adopt specific intersections, streets, on-ramps, and bridges as their own.

The nationwide communications working group is calling for local and regional groups to organize their own planning consultas over the next months, so as to be ready to reconvene in Minneapolis in summer 2008. They are also calling for a series of local actions against oppression and electoral politics leading up to and building momentum and experience for the RNC and DNC.

Though Daniel was not charged with injuring any human being or animal, he was threatened with a life sentence and held on 1.6 million dollar bail. Men who are prosecuted for domestic abuse–a small minority of all abusers–face dramatically less time in prison and dramatically lower bail. This disparity lays bare the values that form the foundation of the US legal system, not to mention government in general: inanimate property is more important than human and animal life.

Daniel spent a harrowing year facing the potential of life in prison; many of his codefendants had turned informant, offering to testify against him and others to try to curry favor with the government. However, when Daniel’s lawyer demanded that the government reveal whether National Security Agency wiretaps had been illegally used in the case, the government immediately came to the bargaining table, offering a plea bargain if the wiretap inquiry was dropped. If it had been revealed that wiretaps were used illegally, the entire Operation Backfire case might have been thrown out.

In the end, Daniel pled guilty on the condition that he would not offer information regarding anyone else. His three non-cooperating codefendants, Exile (aka Nathan Block), Sadie (aka Joyanna Zacher), and Jonathan Paul, did the same. He is now serving seven years in prison.

Over the past decade, Daniel has been a pivotal contributor to prisoner support work, Really Really Free Markets, aboveground environmental activism, and counter-recruiting efforts, among many other activities. He was in Seattle in 1999 at the historic shutting down of the World Trade Organization meeting; he was central to the organizing against the Republican National Convention in 2004. Throughout all this, he has been a good friend to all who have crossed paths with him. His gifts to all of us are truly beyond measure.

Even from prison, Daniel remains passionately committed and active. He is now authoring a blog from prison, which we recommend highly as a source of news and perspective on current events. In that Daniel has always done amazing things with every project he took on, this is not surprising, but it is surprising that anyone would be able to offer such timely commentary on our world from inside prison walls!

Please take the trouble to keep up with Daniel’s blog, so he will not be silenced despite being held captive.

• Read Daniel’s blog
• Learn more about Daniel’s case
• Learn more about Daniel himself

Every one of the non-cooperating defendants in the Green Scare has a story as compelling as Daniel’s. We hope all of them will receive as much attention and support as Daniel. Please learn more about their cases, help them raise money for legal expenses, and write letters to the ones who are still in jail or prison:

www.andystepanian.com
www.freefreenow.org
www.joshharper.org
www.supportbriana.org
www.supporteric.org
www.supportjake.org
www.supportkevin.com
www.supportrod.org
www.trearrow.org
friendsofjonathanpaul@yahoo.com
solidaritywithsadieandexile@gmail.com

The forthcoming fifth issue of Rolling Thunder will feature an extensive analysis of the Green Scare cases and what we can learn from them.

A teaser for the story ran in the fourth issue of Rolling Thunder, but the full book offers a much more complete and exciting plotline, following protagonists Connor and Moriko from their first meeting as suburban playmates to the triumphant denouement in which they earn their salt as eco-defenders. The book can be read as an allegorical retelling of the true story of the Minnehaha Free State, a years-long land occupation and environmental defense campaign that took place in the publishers’ home state of Minnesota.

The Secret World of Terijian has been warmly received in the quarterly paper Slingshot, which calls it “an enlightening look at just how the destruction of the earth’s natural habitat effects everyone, from six year old adventurers to thirty-six-year-old construction workers, from birds to elves and fairies” and suggests that “it shows just how much can be accomplished when you stand up and fight for what you believe in, no matter how insignificant you may think you are or how scared you are in the beginning.” Green Scare defendant advocate Will Potter describes it as “Bridge to Terabithia, but with balaclavas.”

The book has also received accolades from unexpected quarters. In the well-known review, GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR AMENDED JUDGMENT, widely renowned literary critic and US Attorney Karin J. Immergut and/or her dashing assistant Kirk A. Engdall praise it with the sort of glowing terms more cool-headed environmental activists reserve for adult literature:

The story line of this children’s book romanticizes the criminal activities of the Earth Liberation Front and encourages children to become involved in similar criminal conduct.

…that is to say, the book affirms what every child knows, and only the most heartless and self-deluding of adults are able to willfully forget: living forests are more valuable than corporate property rights, and one’s conscience is a more worthy guide than the arbitrary laws of the capitalist state.

The Secret World of Terijian is a benefit for all targets of the Green Scare; all proceeds after production costs go directly to earth and animal liberation prisoners and defendants. The book is $6 postage paid from:

CrimethInc. NorthStar
PO Box 40338
St. Paul, MN 55104
www.crimethinc.be
terijian@riseup.net

RIDE BOARD

In response to the several requests we’ve received for a ride board, we can now direct those looking for rides to the convergence or looking to share space in their vehicles to http://www.crimethinc.net/board/. To post there, you have to register. You could also register and post requests and offers as comments right here on this blog entry.

CALL OUT FOR DISPLAYS

In addition to the other “stations”—prisoner support, free literature, child care, and so on—there will be a “display” station, something like an anarchist version of a middle school science fair. Some of the displays already prepared include:

• a multi-panel geographic analysis of the Seattle WTO protests of 1999
• a memorial for Brad Will (a longtime anarchist and independent media cameraman who was murdered by representatives of the Mexican government in Oaxaca shortly after attending last summer’s convergence)
• a “How Did You Become an Anarchist?” display inviting participants to share their stories

. . . please brainstorm what you could add to this, and bring something exciting!

WORKSHOPS AND DISCUSSIONS

Traditionally, the workshop schedule is finalized at the beginning of each convergence, to enable maximum participation. Please put together workshops, performances, and discussions of your own to bring, even and especially if you’ve never done anything like that before! This is just a sneak preview of some of the workshops organized for this year:

“Direct Action Fast Track” Workshops
Earlier this year, at the National Conference on Organized Resistance, the Institute for Anarchist Studies presented “fast track” workshops dealing with anarchist theory. Accordingly, this year’s CrimethInc. convergence features at least two “fast track” workshops on direct action tactics for those already familiar with the basics of safe, responsible direct action. These focus on honing the skills necessary to play specific roles in affinity group action:

Direct Action Fast Track I: Communications Systems and Technology
With an eye toward upcoming mass demonstrations, this workshop provides participants with a working understanding of communications technology and tactical applications thereof. The class begins with a cursory overview and explanation of different technologies available to activists, before progressing to a discussion of which tactics might be most appropriate for a comms team to utilize. The workshop concludes with a fun, hands-on exercise in which participants can practice some of the things we’ve discussed.

Direct Action Fast Track II: Scouting and Tactical Planning
Complementing the communications technology workshop, this workshop focuses on scouting, planning carefully, stealth, achieving surprise, moving into and out of an area quickly, and thinking on your feet. It concludes with a fun exercise pitting participants against the comms workshop to utilize their skills.

. . . And More Workshops:

Stealing Your Education: Going To College For Free And Building A Network Of Education Thieves
What if education were free? Wait, it is! This workshop offers a hands-on skillshare on taking classes for free from universities that would normally charge you serious Benjamins. From picking interesting classes to approaching incredulous professors to starting an autonomous study group, this workshop covers all the bases and prepares you to learn without all the bullshit of actually enrolling. Anyone who has done this already is strongly encouraged to attend and share knowledge and experiences. If folks are so inclined, we will also discuss building a network or resource of some kind for people stealing classes, so that techniques and insider info on specific universities can be easily shared—hopefully leading to the creation of a giant, unstoppable hobo army of education thieves decommodifying education while they decolonize their minds.

Talking In Circles: Recollective and Improvisational Anarchist Storytelling from Beginner to Advanced
Discuss the history of oral traditions like Judeo-mythology and the epic of Gilgamesh, and the collective memories and myths of prison work songs like that of Casey Jones and John Henry. Learn to develop characters that listeners can relate to and effectively draw captivating story arcs. We’ll conclude by exploring the mechanics of a memorable story and the art of documenting events and actions within legendary storytelling.

Pessimism, Consciousness, Activism
Beginning a pessimistic dialog about morality, from a recovering activist.

The Outsourcing Of Coercion: Private Security Contractors And Their Implications For Anarchist Organizing
Outsourcing is nothing new. But what if instead of outsourcing call centers and textile manufacturing, you could outsource coercion? We’ve actually seen that before; corporations have used Pinkertons and paramilitaries to bust up unions for over a century. But now governments are getting in on the fun and hiring private security contractors to do their dirty work all around the world. Since 9/11, the market for private security contractors has boomed. Governments (as well as corporations) can now hire private armies that operate outside of the typical rules of engagement and are loyal only to those willing to pick up the tab. Corporate armies such as Blackwater International and Triple Canopy have been deployed in New Orleans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and many other conflict zones, and anyone organizing against war, the state, corporations, or in disaster areas will have to deal with them in the future. This workshop will consist of an explanation of the private security industry followed by a discussion/brainstorming session dealing with the practical implications of the outsourcing of coercion.

Herbal Medicine-making
. . . covering tinctures, oils, salves, teas, and basic theory and use of herbal medicines within a bioregional framework.

Anarchy and Magic Tricks
A short lecture on what magic and anarchy have in common—and why it’s just so damn fun!—followed by lessons on how to perform a few magic tricks, some sleight of hand, and basic technique. Presented by a part-time professional magician and full-time anarchist.

How to Throw Your Own Really Really Free Market
Pick it up by the heels, spin it around, increasing momentum gradually until you can’t hold it any longer, then let it fly in the general direction of the windows of the nearest Town Hall building! No, seriously, the Really Really Free Market model is one of the most successful demonstrations of gift economics in recent North American history. This workshop will cover the successes and challenges faced by some of the Really Really Free Markets around the US over the past four years, to equip participants to organize their own.

Presentation from Unconventional Action on the Democratic National Convention, 2008
No offense to animal liberationists, but it’s time to kick the donkey in the ass! By 2008 the Democratic Party will have failed to stop the huge disaster of the Iraq war, making the Democratic National Convention the perfect time and place to disrupt their political machinations and popularize radical ideas among an increasingly disillusioned American public. Thus Unconventional Action brings to you this information-sharing presentation and strategy session on anarchists’ role in the ’08 DNC in Denver, CO. This presentation will cover all the basics including a brief radical history of Denver police brutality, news and plans from local organizers in Denver, extensive city maps, strategy updates from folks around the country, and time for our own strategy and logisitics discussions.

…And Yet More Workshops:

Presentation from the RNC Welcoming Committee in the Twin Cities
Consent
Security Culture
Buddhist Meditation
Sexual Abuse Survivor Discussion Group
How To Support a Sexual Abuse Survivor Workshop

…and plenty more to be announced.

POLICIES

The organizers of this year’s convergence have some requests to make of everyone who participates. Please respect the wishes of those who have worked to make this event happen. If you don’t like these policies, use this event as a chance to find others with whom to organize your own convergence according to your own desires.

Respect — We ask for your respect for the campsite and the town of Athens. We aim to leave as minimal a trace as possible on the land we have selected for this year’s convergence. This means disposing of your trash in a manageable fashion and shitting in the designated areas. While in town we ask you use great discretion while interacting with Athens and the local community. Please no aimless graffiti or otherwise destructive behaviors.

Consent — Any interaction you have with others here, whether sexual or otherwise, should be consensual. Silence and passivity do not count as consent. If someone says no to something or is unsure and you badger them until they say yes, that’s not consent; if someone is intoxicated they may not be in a position to give you consent. If someone says you violated their wishes, that counts as breach of consent, whatever a court of law would say. By the same token, don’t define others’ experiences for them: the person who has an experience gets to decide whether or not their wishes were respected in it, and also what, if anything, the community should do about it.

Security — Security is a consent issue just as much as sex is. Don’t say or do anything that puts others at risk without their express permission: don’t speak about their involvement in illegal activity, don’t endanger them by your own actions. Be aware that you may be under observation by your enemies at all times. Don’t alienate others by speculating about whether they are informants or ostracizing them based on suspicions; at the same time, don’t put yourself at risk by trusting people just because they’re here. Also, please don’t break the law in Athens, as that will cause trouble for all of us; there will plenty of time after this week to hone your criminal skills. Food, shelter, and everything else you might want are already provided here.

Drinking and Drugs — There is a strict policy of no alcohol or drug use on the campsite. This is for several reasons, but the most important are to comply with the express wishes of our host and to avoid giving the authorities a pretext for harassing us. If you do wish to drink or use intoxicants, please do so elsewhere, perhaps in a home to which you’ve been invited. There is no judgment or morality attached to this policy; the last thing we want is an obvious division between people who drink and people who don’t.

Photographs — Don’t photograph anyone or anything without permission. This is also an issue of consent and respect.

Fires — Another request from our host: all fires should be kept inside fire rings; Athens is suffering one of the worst droughts in recent years.

Exclusion — Because we need this convergence to be a safe space for everyone, people who violate these policies may be asked to leave. In cases of breach of consent, both sexual and security, we will 1) trust the survivor and 2) abide by the survivor’s wishes. For example, if you gave information to the police about someone without their permission and they don’t want you in this space, we will ask you to leave; likewise, if you have sexually assaulted someone and they are comfortable with you being here as long as you participate in a mediated discussion about their boundaries during this event, we will ask you to do so, or else to leave*.

*This is not a matter of permanently excluding “undesirables” from the anarchist movement, but simply of making things work in a limited space for a limited time. People can be asked to leave the campsite without being exiled from our communities. If anything, this simply provides an incentive for individuals and communities to work out their conflicts in advance of events like this, so we won’t all have to deal with unresolved conflicts here.

SOME RESOURCES WE STILL NEED

If you can provide any of the following, please email crimethincbooking@yahoo.com. Thanks!

• Propane tanks
• Single burner stoves
• 5-gallon buckets
• Money and/or foodstamps valid in OH
• Free photocopying
• Tents and tarps and rope!
• Tremendous quantities of free radical literature

If you have been involved in either of these or can direct us to someone who has been (or simply to existing resources we can draw from), please email us at rollingthunder@crimethinc.com. Please pass on this request to anyone who might be able to help. The privacy needs of anyone who contacts us will be respected, of course, though if you have concerns about this you might want to start a new email account on a public-access computer for the purposes of recounting your experiences.

Thanks in advance. We hope to do our part to make sure your experiences inspire and equip others around the world.

The purpose of this tour is to stimulate the magic and intimacy already present in the communities we plan on visiting.

Froseph, the newest addition to the CrimethInc. music library, will play a set of songs, including many off “Deep Breath,” his forthcoming album. This project was painstakingly recorded and mixed in a hidden Salem dungeon by Froseph himself, harmonizing obscure vocal stylings with a hearty assortment of instrumental tactics. Having a reputation of screechy politically charged novelty songs, Froseph takes a different, more serious approach with the songs on “Deep Breath,” dealing mostly with sexual abuse, lonliness, civilization, and the denial of those repressions.

Aside from a Froseph set, and in an effort to eliminate the predictable and all too comfortable performer/audience dynamic, this tour will try to encourage participation on many levels: exciting and intimate community-building exercises and games exchanging awkwardness for empowerment and a variety of workshops—including a workshop on transforming vehicles into running on vegetable oil—to be hosted by our troupe of craftsfolk and any locals brave enough to come out of the woodwork to share skills they have. The usual CrimethInc. literature will be available accompanied by harder-to-find arts-and-crafts projects, cds, shirts, patches and zines.

Although a tour name has not been decided on, a tentative itinerary has been pulled together and it looks like we’ll be in these areas around these dates:

Nothing is confirmed, as of this post. If you or anyone in your community is interested in helping throw this event in your town, please email me [froseph@crimethinc.com] and we’ll work out the details. We’re pretty portable and low maintenance. We need a venue (lodge/park/infoshop/basement/etc) and promotional help. Also, if you live around these areas and would like us to come to your town, let us know.

To see what Froseph is all about, visit www.myspace.com/twinklepig

We really hope you’re as excited about this as we are. Together we can work magic.

In Danger,
the CrimethInc. Board of Insurrectors