Calling All LA Anarchists: Invitation to Participate in Insurgent Summer

What is this summer's most radical online project? *Insurgent Summer* is an online book reading and cooperative blog discussion of Fredy Perlman’s 1976 book *Letters of Insurgents*. This is a 800+ page book of fictional letters between two Eastern European workers, Yarostan Vochek and Sophia Nachalo, separated by twenty-five years and two continents. As they reconnect through an exchange of letters, we learn about the battles they have fought – physical, political, emotional, and moral – and eventually the ones they have left to fight.

Your reading of *Letters* will begin on *June 11, 2010*, with the first of the ten exchanges between Yarostan and Sophia. Each week, three "Guides" (DeAnna, Artnoose, and Andrej) will post discussion pieces, reflections and analysis, preparing the terrain for an engaging discussion to which everyone is invited! We will conclude on August 20, in honor of Fredy Perlman's birthday!

Though copies of the book are limited, we are happy announce that we have both audio and full-text downloads of *Letters of Insurgents* available. Insurgent Summer is an opportunity to read one of the most important books of anarchist fiction and morality of all time. Please visit *http://insurgentsummer.org/* for more information, and let us know that you're going to participate!

Also please post on websites, twitter feeds, send to friends, etc.!

Calling All LA Anarchists: August 2010 - We Are Everywhere (Dispatch from the CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective)

By now, anarchists and anti-authoritarians across the country have probably given up waiting for an announcement of the annual CrimethInc. Convergence. The truth is that as experienced organizers grow more weary of repeating themselves, and the emerging energetic anarchist communities are all tending to be less and less interested in organizing, few places seem to be appropriate candidates for this summer’s convergence. Moreover, by early spring it was already too late in the game for a community to come forward and offer to host the event, and interest simply had not surfaced.


In possibly the first great anarchist mistake of the decade, the CrimethInc. Experimental Committee was founded in late January. Their first assignment? To preserve and integrate the best elements of the convergence into a new model, adjust them to strengthen longstanding weaknesses, all the while upping the ante in a way that serves the anarchist community as a whole. At first, we thought their solution was a bad idea, so we commissioned a report and quickly changed our minds.

You’re being invited to participate in CrimethInc.’s next big experiment: a decentralized convergence.
 

THE OBJECTIVES

To create and maintain points of entry everywhere. To demonstrate our ability to work together despite internal differences and external obstacles. To invigorate anarchist infrastructure rather than lean on it. To orchestrate a show of force in solidarity with anti-authoritarians all over the world. To inspire curious newcomers without exhausting our vigor. To illuminate the map like a starchart of constellations. To remind ourselves – everyone – that we are everywhere.

 

THE CHALLENGE

Can anarchists mobilize to achieve these objectives with a tight deadline? In an effort to test and strengthen our potential, we’re inviting anarchists of all stripes and contexts to participate in a widespread and decentralized demonstration of outreach and infrastructure. To get involved, all that is required is that you facilitate or organize one or more events that will occur simultaneously across North America throughout the month of August.

THE PLAN

During August, we make anarchist principles and activity visible and accessible at a scale never before attempted. Consider it an international month of action; the activities can be of any caliber and temperament, and can appear anywhere: in the news, in the library, in the bedroom, in the supermarket, at the Really Really Free Market, on the streets, and so on. Use this as an opportunity to explore and experiment: if you aren’t typically involved in local mutual aid projects, give it a go; if you’ve never gone on a tour before, plan one with your friends; if you write zines, write banners; if you author theory, stage a reading; if you occupy classrooms, teach one for free. Whatever you do, wherever you go, wave the black flag for everyone to see –including, and perhaps especially for, our friends and comrades – and let the world see that we are everywhere.

THE SKELETON

To supplement the individual events we’re inviting people who’d like to teach workshops, perform skits and puppet shows, and share music and videos, to organize tours with their friends. The troupe could be just one person – you – or as many friends and companions as you can pack into a vehicle: whatever is doable and exciting. You could schedule events in a few towns in your region over a weekend, or cross the continent in a month. Your theme could be acute, spreading awareness about specific campaigns against mountain-top removal, evictions, state repression, the tar sands of Canada, the oil spill, oppression, or for mutual aid projects, solidarity with struggles happening here or elsewhere, or obscure theory. Or it could be more broad – raising awareness about anarchism itself.

Decentralized tours could the most appropriate and safe way for the anarchist community to achieve the objectives of the nationwide convergence. Accessible points of entry can emerge in all of the places that anarchists already are. Inspirational experiences can be had with new people. The diversity of anarchist perspectives and positions can be celebrated and affirmed in a way that allows them to work together, allowing us all to hold our commonalities close and activate our solidarity.
 
We’re pleased to announce that several tours have already signed up as endorsers: The Conspiracy Tour [USA], The Emergency Tour [USA-Midwest], and Testament & Illogick [Canada]. If you already plan on touring with a project during August, you can plug into the strategy with almost no additional effort. If you haven’t planned anything during August, please consider organizing a tour in solidarity with all those who will be organizing events in their hometowns. This goes most especially for everyone who has participated in CrimethInc Convergences in past years, and is able and willing. To help offset the price of fuel, you might consider distributing free literature for donations, and selling books and screenprinted items – if you’re partial, the Literature Distro Kit is one of the cheapest places to start.

In the next few weeks, we’ll be maintaining a list of tour dates both organized within our challenging timeframe and scheduled for the month of August. To add your project to the itinerary, please email experimental.committee@gmail.com as soon as possible, and we can publish your public events as they unfold.

THE NERVE

Drawing from the lessons of Steal Something From Work Day, our work should effectively utilize modern modes of communication and reclaim their functions when necessary.

Twitter – We can use Twitter to announce your events and simultaneously contribute to the volume of the phenomenon. If you use twitter, tag your tweets with #AnarchistsEverywhere to let people locate it in a search of the entire campaign. If we remember that these tweets are public and can function as promotional work, we can contribute to the campaign 140 characters at a time.

YouTube & Vimeo – We can upload short vignettes that promote the campaign and will be relevant for years to come. Our current recommendation is the proliferation of short 45 second clips ending in the slogan “WE ARE EVERYWHERE”. To avoid the alienation that can sometimes be felt when watching high-quality video production, it is encouraged that these clips be shot with cell phones to remind everyone that they can make their own. To contribute your video to the campaign, simply tag it with “AnarchistsEverywhere”.

Social Networking – Share this blog entry, and when more web projects and videos emerge share those too. Announce local events to everyone that you communicate with through that medium. While you’re at it, be mindful of the networks you imply on facebook.

Of course, it is also important that we create signposts in the real world too. Design posters, t-shirts, stencils, stickers, and other folk-art projects and spread them everywhere. See this appendix for helpful slogans.

THE HEART

Of course, each tour will make this campaign exponentially larger, but this August won’t be about tours. More important is what is going on in each place they pass through; if you are part of an active community – even if that community is just you –you can make your town another mark on our constellation map, which is a substantial contribution. In the context of this campaign, doing locally what tours cannot is considerably more effective than an elaborate schedule of tours. You are a part of the everywhere.
 
Ultimately, this campaign is about doing what we do every day. In working together as a decentralized concert of actions and activities we can collectively establish visibility for our local efforts and global struggles. For inspiration, check out Recipes for Disaster if you haven’t already, or you could plan a workshop, block party, public discussion group – even a bike ride. Put quite simply: if you’ve got a black flag and the will to fly it, this August the world will be watching.
 
Whatever you do, your contribution will be a part of an experiment to determine our collective power-to and solidarity-with – no amount of participation is too small, and everyone’s efforts will be counted.

THE DETAILS

Please read the arguments for decentralizing the CrimethInc. Convergence and the implications of a successful August 2010. Whether or not your project is a tour complete with a list of dates and venues, or a single event open to the public, it is still valuable and worthwhile to promote as a part of this campaign. Please email details to experimental.committee@gmail.com for help promoting your event.

APPENDIX of SLOGANS {not just a big joke}

In reclaiming and reworking modern marketing and advertisement strategies, we can re-appropriate the elements of our social conditions. Opportunities to do so will be self-evident: wherever capitalist imagery and sentiment competes for our attention. To do so effectively we would benefit from maintaining relative consistency throughout this campaign. This campaign is already built on a concept that both demands participation and refuses to be homogenized by those with particularly concentrated resources; the message is that we are everywhere and therefore the aesthetic will naturally benefit from the wide spectrum of positions from which these messages can emerge. Additionally, we cannot successfully demonstrate our prevalence without communicating things that describe our politics and the widespread nature of our resistance. That these things are true does not mean we cannot create a consistent and circular front of visibility – this can happen by taking advantage of the strategies outlined above in the nerve section and by making prolific use of, and following the various style guides accompanying, the following slogans:

1. { for use wherever possible, and most appropriate }
2. { for use in pre-august promotional material }
3. { anytime you need a clever supplement }

These are appropriate for Anarchists without Adjectives and will work well in combination with any of the others. The use of any other slogans should be supplemented with these for best use of consistency:

1. WE ARE EVERYWHERE
2. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS AUGUST?
3. GET ALL OVER THE PLACE
4. { The Circle A }

These Insurrectionist slogans are sure to be attractively confusing:

1. DOING BEING EVERYWHERE
2. PARTY THIS AUGUST
3. MAKE TOTAL ALL OVER THE PLACE

The Anarchist People of Color who aren’t surprised that you assumed they weren’t involved in planning this campaign suggested:

1. NO ONE IS ILLEGAL – WE ARE EVERYWHERE
2. THE BLOCK IS HOT, AUGUST WILL BE HOTTER
3. STOLEN LAND IS ALL OVER THE PLACE

Efficient use of these slogans are sure to aid the Anarcho-Syndicalist platform:

1. AN INJURY SOMEPLACE IS AN INJURY EVERYWHERE
2. TAKE IT OVER THIS AUGUST
3. ONE BIG EVERYWHERE

If we would stop for a minute and listen for a change, the Anarcha-Feminist might recommend:

1. OUR PLACE IS ALL OVER THE PLACE
2. TAKE BACK THE NIGHT THIS AUGUST
3. MOTHERS WORK EVERYWHERE

Anarchist Queers can pack these with their strap-ons and glitter-bombs:

1. WE WANT YOU
2. ANARCHISM IS IN THIS AUGUST
3. BASH BACK EVERYWHERE

And lastly, if someone could tell the Anti-Civ folks about these slogans, that’d be great!

1. AGAINST CAPTIVITY EVERYWHERE
2. BREAK THROUGH THIS AUGUST
3. GROW BACK ALL OVER THE PLACE

A Post Sentencing Statement From Dave Solidarity

A Post-Sentencing Statement From Dave Solidarity

     On June 1, I was sentenced to a 1 month stay in a Federal Prison, starting June 22nd, after being convicted of a 'violation of the terms of my supervised release.' To give a little bit of background, in 2006, I was convicted of 'damaging United States property' after setting fire to an Army recruiting center in the Bronx, and served 6 months in a federal prison, followed by 3 years of 'supervised release.' Last year, a few months before this term of supervised release was set to expire, I was arrested outside of the second occupation of the New School, and charged with assaulting an officer, rioting, resisting arrest and maybe a couple other things.

     While ultimately all of the State charges were dropped, my 'supervision' status allowed the federal government to pick up the slack and ultimately take me to trial on the same charges, only with a lower standard of proof ('a preponderance of evidence' as opposed to 'beyond a reasonable doubt') and with rules allowing hearsay, in this case, from the pigs called in to testify. The prosecution recommended a sentence of 9 months, plus 2 years of supervised release and some other stuff that I'll go into later, but ultimately I got the 1 month in, plus 1 additional year of supervised release, plus 200 hours of community service.

     Okay, so that's the bare bones boring stuff. Now I get to take this opportunity, as someone who already is one of the usual suspects, and unquestionably under surveillance, to say some wild shit that others trying to preserve their relative freedom would be unable to.

     Let's go point by point.

1. I am a crazy motherfucker.

     When I was first sentenced for setting fire to that Army recruiting center, part of the judge's sentence was that for the entire three years I was on supervised release, I attend weekly therapy sessions, so that "I could understand why I did what I did". At the time, I remember thinking 'it's pretty fucking obvious why..." but didn't go much deeper than that. After I got back to NYC, my PO sent me to my assigned therapist and the goal of state-mandated therapy became more clear.

     After a month of these 'sessions', I realized that not only was this therapist reporting everything I said to my PO, but my PO was telling the therapist what areas to 'probe deeper into.' Most of this involved him trying to get to the bottom of why I really had problems with authority. 'Because I'm an anarchist?- But what about your relationship with your Dad..?' So that had to end. When I got a little bit of money together to switch to a therapist of my choosing, who refused to tell my PO anything about what happened other than the fact that I showed up, the probation department took me to court, a battle that I eventually won.

     In that case, my lawyer argued that my political beliefs were being looked at as a pathology, and that the probation department was using therapy as political re-education camp. Now I am in exactly the same position-Once again, I've been sentenced to weekly therapy. At the sentencing hearing, the prosecution stressed the need for this therapy, because "I had exhibited an extreme problem with authority, particularly police officers." While at first I got angry about their characterization of me, I realized that they're right.

     The past 10 years of my life have been dedicated to fighting authority in general, whether they be the pigs, politicians or bosses. They all have to go. So, if that makes me crazy, fuck it. When I hear about cops getting attacked in Seattle, I get all jittery and excited. When I read about French workers taking their bosses hostage, I wanted to catch the next plane over. The best part: I'm not the only one who's crazy like this. Most people are 'crazy', and every day, more and more people are starting to do something about it.

2. We need to step up our game.

     One of the benefits of being an anarchist 'usual suspect' in NYC, is that it allows me a rare glimpse into the mind of the government, and I've found that there's not much going on in there. Every time something gets blown up around these parts, (you know, annually, when one of those cute little packages gets delivered from everyone's favorite cyclist) the Feds show up at my house (I'm never there) or follow me around everywhere, or call me into my PO's office, because they know I have to show up there. And every time they start asking questions, it becomes abundantly clear that they are unable to understand how anarchists operate. They keep trying to find leaders, or try to make dubious connections between above ground groups and actions that occur. Their obvious frustration is what leads to the kind of prosecution that put Eric McDavid away, which will hopefully be overturned on appeal.

     But what we need to recognize is that this shows our strength! When we stop squabbling with each other for long enough to extend our struggle, it turns out that fighting without leaders and without hierarchy actually works. Given that we're still in a period of 'crisis', this is the time we need to be hitting the hardest.

     Now, some people have been leading the way(see Mayday 2k10). Much of the negative response towards those actions falls into the 'it's only going to bring greater repression' category. Of course it is, but what the hell did you expect when you decided you were an 'anarchist'?

     This is the point where I get to pull out my 'former/pending political prisoner' card, and say people are going to catch some heat, but guess what-there's over 2 million fucking people in prison. My whole neighborhood is under police occupation. I'm going to prison for a violation-level charge of 'resisting arrest'. Shit is bad, and anyone who fights back is going to potentially subject to consequences. We have to understand this, and take calculated risks, but when they take some of our people, we hit back harder.


3. Hitting Back.

     I mean this literally. Solidarity means attack, remember? There have to be real, tangible consequences for the state or capital attacking us. However, the only way this can be sustainable is if we get out of the anarchist ghetto. This means putting our energies towards helping out with other peoples struggles, and building real relationships in the places that we live. Is your neighbor getting evicted? Well, guess what, landlords have addresses. The police are running up on your block to grab somebody? You and your neighbors have to let them know there's gonna be consequences.

     The point, however, isn't just to fight for the sake of fighting. We're trying to create some kind of liberated spaces, right? This means actually creating spaces, and then militantly defending them.
Look at how Portland is doing it-they're getting a little wild in their battle against the cops. NYC needs to catch up...

4. ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK.

     The only way we're going to be able to maintain any of our efforts at creating liberated spaces is if we go on the offensive. If by day we're running community centers, doing alternative education, fixing bikes, or growing our own food, by night we're attacking the police stations, the business owners, the real estate agencies. There is no conflict between these two ends, because guess what, Capital with the assistance of the State is going to come down hard these projects sooner or later, and if we've been on the offensive this whole time, we'll be much better prepared to fight back. We'll be building alliances and through those connections finding people with whom to go on the attack. And when the shit hits the fan? We won't be 'those crazy anarchists'; people will know who the fuck we are.

     From where I stand, what you get out of building things up in your neighborhood or town is necessary to be a complete person, whether it's helping out with childcare or whatever. The same is true of striking back against the forces that make our lives miserable in a million different ways, both large and small. The point is to make these two goals complement each other.

5. Don't get all worked up about a cracker being locked up.

     So, I gotta end this by pointing out the obvious-as a white man from a relatively "privileged" background, I'm getting a slap on the wrist. But there's over a hundred prisoners in the US from less privileged backgrounds who have been sitting in prison for literally decades. Many of these folks were part of liberation struggles in the 60s and 70s who took part in actions that make anything we've ever done look tame in comparison. Millions of dollars taken to fund revolutionary activities? Check. Assassinating cops in response to the police murdering Black people? Check. Busting comrades out of prison? Check.

     So, take a second to check out listing of prisoners done by the Anarchist Black Cross Federation, at abcf.net. Start up a correspondence with one of these folks, throw a benefit for them, figure out a way to get them the fuck out of prison. Also, check out the work done by local ABCs, especially those in Denver, NYC and Toronto at denverabc.wordpress.com and nycabc.wordpress.com or 4strugglemag.org(Toronto).

     So, in closing, I'd like to address a few words directly at the federal employees who will be reading this, particularly those in the Probation Department and our friends in the NYC Joint Terrorism Task Force (especially those fat motherfuckers that keep showing up at my court dates):

     First and foremost, fuuuuuuuuucccckkkkk you. It doesn't matter how many times you try and get my ass up in that court, or how many times you lock me up, or how many times you show up at my house (I will never be there). I'm never gonna stop. But guess what, much as you wish this were the case, I'm not a lone wingnut. There's thousands of us, all over the place, and this shit's just gonna keep growing, and we'll keep fighting.

     Finally, remember when you brought up in court that part of the communique I wrote when I was like 18, about how I was trying not only to bring down the United States, but to abolish the idea of the state itself? Yeah, I'm still on that shit.

Can't Stop Won't Stop,

Dave Solidarity

As soon as Dave's address in jail is available, it will be put out widely.

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Calling All LA Anarchists: Anti-Racist Rally in Riverside! (Dispatch from the So-Cal Anti-Racist Network)

(Editors' Note: We have received a few e-mails questioning the validity and reliability of the information below. If you, dear reader, are also experiencing this suspicion, feel free to e-mail the So-Cal Anti-Racist Network at Socal.Antiracist(at)gmail.com or us at LAanarchist(at)riseup.net for further information.)


Calling All LA Anarchists
Dispatch from the So-Cal Anti-Racist Network:



Join the Southern California Anti-Racist Network to shutdown the Nazis in Riverside, CA on Saturday May, 29 at 11:30 am.


What: Anti-Racist Rally to Disrupt Nazi Meeting


Where: Nazi Leader Jeff Hall's Riverside Home


Protest location: 5416 Lauder Court, Riverside, CA 92507


When: Saturday, May 29, 2010 11:30am (Memorial Weekend)



Jeff Hall is Sergeant of the National Socialist Movement (NSM). Hall uses his Riverside, CA home as the headquarters of the largest Neo-Nazi hate group in the United States, NSM.


Let's SHUT DOWN the Nazis!!


The last Saturday of each month Jeff Hall and his fellow Nazis gather at his home for their monthly NSM meetings.


Their "secret location" is no longer a secret!


Hall and NSM white supremacist JT Ready organized the Los Angeles gathering of Neo-Nazis in April, and worked to pass Arizona's racist SB 1070.


Let Hall know that his racist organizing will NOT be tolerated in Riverside or ANYWHERE!


Hall’s Home Address: 5416 Lauder Court, Riverside, CA 92507
Hall’s Cell Phone # 619-300-8743
Hall’s Email: cali@newsaxon.org & jeff.hall@newsaxon.org


SPREAD THE WORD!!!!



Southern California Anti-Racist Network

Socal.Antiracist@gmail.coim



*This event is strictly a NON-VIOLENT peaceful event. Do not bring weapons*

LA Anarchists Wanted to Participate in an Anarchist Survey

Survey here


Dear friends/comrades/compañer@s,
This is a project by some friends who are interested in some of the ideas and backgrounds of modern day anarchists. We thought we would turn this into a global survey so that other people can possibly use it as a reference for studies or debates. As far as we know, such a survey has never been conducted and a lot of our ideas of anarchists are only based on assumptions. Many of us have done informal surveys on Facebook; this, however, can be a much more useful one, if we want.

As anarchists ourselves, we take your concerns of privacy very seriously. We have not asked for your name, address or anything else that can be used by the authorities and furthermore have not included any questions on illegal tactics. If you are nevertheless concerned about certain questions, just don't answer them ;-)

Having spent many years within the anarchist milieu, we also know that certain questions will be hard to answer for some of you. Who wants to admit that they / their parents are rich, for instance? We urge you, however, to fill out this survey as honestly as possible. We won't point fingers at you because we simply won't be able to: it's anonymous!

Please also invite all your anarchist friends and comrades to take this survey. The more people take it, the more useful the results will be.

The survey will take most people 10-20 minutes to complete. We will publish the results on public fora so that you will be able to use the data yourself or spread it.

Thanks a lot!

PS: We know that this survey will be biased towards English-speaking people with internet access. We also know that we can't guarantee that people will fill it out honestly or that only anarchists will fill it out. Finally, we recognize that like any such project, our survey is necessarily incomplete and, to some degree, reflects our own biases and assumptions. Nevertheless, we hope you will engage it with the spirit of camaraderie with which it was created :-)


http://anarchistsurvey.com

Free Julio! (Julio Now Freed!)

4/17/2010

Sisters and brothers,

Our beloved friend and comrade Julio Rodriguez was arrested today 4/17/10 in Downtown Los Angeles, while protesting against white supremacy, by the LAPD. For those of you who do not know Julio he has been involved with Communities For A Better Environment Huntington Park, Anarchist Black Cross Guadalajara, Nahuatl education in Brown communities, and most recently helped organize the April 10th event to raise funds for Oso Blanco and the children of Chiapas. He is being held on the trumped up charge of "Assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer or fireman," which is a felony. His court date is Tuesday 4/20/10; his bail is 50,000 dollars, and he is currently in the LAPD Parker Center, located at 150 N. Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA. His booking number is #2301368. Tomorrow, Sunday, 4/18/10, visiting hours are from 10-12 and 1-3 pm. I will be able to make at least two trips to visit him tomorrow and one on Monday, if anyone has a government issued ID and wants to carpool, please contact me at MapachinABC@gmail.com . I will post the court time, address, and room number as soon as the information becomes available to me. It is crucial that as Anarchists, anti-imperialists, anti-racists, and anti-fascists we support our friend behind enemy lines, as well as his family, offering our aid in any way possible. Please circulate this message.

FREE JULIO!

Mapache

Los Angeles Anarchist Black Cross

UPDATE:

4/18/2010 JULIO RODRIGUEZ UPDATE (SPREAD THE WORD!)

Sisters and Brothers,
Today 3 of us went to the LAPD Parker Center in downtown Los Angeles to visit our brother behind enemy lines but unfortunately Parker Center only allows one visitor per day, which we were unaware of. For those wondering how Julio is doing, know that he is staying strong and positive regarding his situation and as suspected, the charge of "Felony Assault With A Deadly Weapon On An Officer" is indeed trumped up, as the original charge was intended to be "Misdemeanor Battery" until Julio's possessions were tampered with. It is important that we recognize Julio as political prisoner, and that as members of the movement he represents we are obligated to support him. For those wondering how to support Julio please spread the word and be prepared for benefit events and fundraisers. At the moment we are currently trying to find legal council for our brother as well as provide the means for people to donate as well, which I will post as time permits. I was told that Julio's first court date is Tuesday April 20th, and that he most likely will be transferred from Parker Center to Division 30, located on Temple St. between Spring and Broadway, so I will keep people posted on both his court date and transfer. He has asked that people try to make it out to his court dates to support him.
He has requested a reduction in bail, which is currently set at 50,000 dollars and we should have an estimate of what we are up against in regards to this after April 20th. Until then please, please, please spread the word that our brother is in dire need of support and be prepared to contribute in any way you can. If anyone knows of any lawyer that would be interested in taking the case, any fundraising ideas, any means to contribute, or is interested in receiving updates please contact me at MapachinABC@gmail.com

Spread the word and be ready to mobilize for our brother Julio.
FREE JULIO RODRIGUEZ!
-Mapa
ABCF

UPDATE:

4/20/2010

Today Julio Rodriguez, the activist who was arrested combating white supremacists on 4/17/10 in downtown Los Angeles, was freed from the Central Arraignment Jail located at 429 Bauchet St. After many hours of waiting we finally saw Julio go before the judge and through his public defender his charges were dropped. Julio can speak more about this on his behalf, its slightly more complex than this but be assured that he is not going to do any time. We would like to thank anyone and everyone who contributed to the liberation, support, and solidarity efforts surrounding Julio's case.

Thank you all who supported and helped to form this coalition to liberate our loved one, friend, brother, son, and comrade.
Free all political prisoners!

=Coalition to Free Julio Rodriguez=

Rodriguez Family
Anarchist Black Cross Federation
Anti-Racist Action
Communities for a Better Environment
Youth Justice Coalition
Copwatch LA
Mexico City ABC
Chicago ABC
Revolutionary Autonomous Communities
Bosque
Guillermo Suarez
Citizens In Action
And everyone else who contributed on an individual basis.

FREE THEM ALL!   

Call for Solidarity for Imprisoned Anarchist Giannis Dimitrakis

by Assembly for Solidarity (Athens, Greece) keimeno.giannhs@gmail.com

In light of the appeal on April 28th 2010, we call out for actions of solidarity everywhere.

It's been more than four years since the morning of January 16th 2006, when the anarchist Giannis Dimitrakis was arrested, heavily wounded by police fire, after a robbery at a branch of the National Bank in the center of Athens.

From the very first moment a storm of constructed information broke out, systematically supplied by the police and readily carried out by the mass media. The police constructed "the gang of thieves in black," so that other comrades could be named as members, to which was attributed a string of robberies but also a close association to armed revolutionary groups, and then it was proclaimed that the whole of the anarchist- anti-authoritarian movement is closely connected to organized crime !! Gianni's arrest, the slander and the manhunt unleashed against his three supposed accomplices (which were later on declared wanted for astronomic rewards) - four comrades known for their many years of political activity - on the one hand aims for their legal annihilation and on the other, promotes a holistic plan of stripping of meaning and criminalization of anarchists, anti-authoritarians and class struggle.

Because of his political identity, the state moved with rage against him from the first moment. Parallel to the crescendo of misinformation and impression creating by the media, the district attorney tried to interrogate him in the emergency room while he was bedridden and under pharmaceutical influence. The categories against him were based on the "anti-terror" law and enriched with six unsolved robberies, attempted manslaughter and money laundering. He was probably the first man in custody to be held at Malandrino maximum security prison, which is intended to hold convicts only, while attacks by prison guards, vindictive transfers and disciplinary sentences, the exhausting sentence of the first trial (an unheard of for a robbery sentence of 35 years) and the provocative deprivation of basic rights for the preparation of his defense at the court of appeals supplement the oppressive aggressiveness against him.

In these extreme conditions, the comrade defended from the beginning his choice to expropriate a bank, without statements of remorse and with clarity as towards his motives and intentions. He gave meaning to his act as a moment in his critique and action against the system of wage slavery and exploitation, against the antisocial role of the banks and as a part of the polymorphic social struggle.

Furthermore, in the wretched reality of the prisons, he stood dynamically and with dignity from the beginning. He participated in all of the prisoner's struggles happening the past years in Greece. Advancing to hunger strikes and abstinence from the prison meals - despite the permanent health problems given him by the cop's bullets - showing his solidarity for his fellow prisoners and fighting for the terms of his survival and existence in the difficult position of imprisonment. Along with other imprisoned anti-authoritarians he was an interactive channel of communication with the grandiose prisoner's movements in the fall of 2008.

All these reasons - and because Giannis Dimitrakis and the other three wanted anarchists are some of us, comrades and co fighters in the diversity of the struggles for freedom - fired off a mass of actions of solidarity and political defense for them in many cities in Greece. From the posters, texts and brochures to the flyers, banners and slogans on walls and from the attack actions against banks, other economic targets or government vehicles to the massive presence of people at the public events in the amphitheaters, the march in the center of Athens and the demonstrations outside of the prisons of Malandrino, Koridallos, Neapolis and Alikarnasso, the anarchists and anti-authoritarians made clear the way in which they respond to their comrades being held hostage by the state.

The appeal will be on April 28th, where the decision against our comrade will be finalized. Four years after his arrest, four years after the start of this particularly repressive undertaking, one year and some months after the December revolt, the state's constant and manic attempt to oppress, marginalize and criminalize the people of the struggle is becoming all the more clear. Our key weapon against this policy is active solidarity with all means possible.

The appeal of Giannis Dimitrakis is very important, as much for the legal outcome of his case, as for if we will allow the state's manipulations and experiments against us to flourish.

In light of the appeal on April 28th 2010, we call out for actions of solidarity everywhere. Collectives and comrades are organizing marches and actions for Tuesday April 27th, throughout Greece. However it would be significant if you also could organize actions for that day (or some day near to it) in your cities and your countries, for example demonstrations outside of Greek embassies or consulates. Many such actions would send a specific message of solidarity and would be important to us.

With comradely greetings,

Assembly for Solidarity
(Athens)

The Student Movement That Never Was

by John



Premise I: Contrary to the Skeptics, Movements DO exist but ONLY when they encompass and resonate with societies as a WHOLE.


This past Fall and during some of the Winter there was a small social uprising along the West Coast primarily concentrated at higher education public universities. (Much information at: http://occupyca.wordpress.com) Some of us who participated would like to believe that it was a well-sized phenomenon, but to many who attended those universities while actions were taking place and to the general population at large, they were small, generally isolated protests for the "students".

"Oh, those 'students', always complaining about themselves."

The reality is that the image portrayed of this small social phenomenon was one isolated to those playing the role of "student". Yes, there were moments in time in which the social uprising spread out of that box. Make no mistake, I am proud of the fury, rage, and protest that took place. I am not wishing it never happened. I only wish to point out what should be obvious by now - that it was not a Movement, only something akin to a Temper Tantrum.

As soon as the initial spontaneous wave and resonance of actions died down, the activists (bureaucrats, student activists, non-student activists, etc) came out and began to suck dry the energy and fury, relinquishing the potential to encompass society as a whole.


Premise II: As soon as the activist tames and dominates any social uprising, the opportunity for Movement is lost. The activist is like a vampire, lurking in the darkness of the status quo. When they strike, they suck the potential out of an uprising, hosting meeting after meeting, conference after conference, and evoking like a sacred ritual, the holy label of "Movement".

It has not been said enough. Beware of the activist. Beware of the bureaucrat. Do not put your faith in meetings. Do not put your faith in conferences. There may be those involved in these realms who are dying to be defected and released from its vampiric grip, but remember to steel yourself.

The moment in which they are dominating the tension and uprising is the moment they are digging a grave for the potential of Movement. The moment in which they dub the actions in hindsight as part of the "_________ Movement" is the moment in which they are putting the nail in the coffin. For this particular social uprising, the term was "Student Movement" and like monks they evoked this phrase and will continue to evoke the phrase until all rebellion is crushed. Every uprising is their Christ and they gladly sacrifice Him time and time again.

Where is their weakness? What can we do? Where is our silver bullet, our stake, our garlic?

Do not be deceived, even if a social uprising does encompass a society as a whole, you can be sure they will still rise out of the catacombs. Some say to ignore them and press onward, agitating for complete social revolution. Let them feed on themselves. Others have devised their own incantations: "Student Movement? What Student Movement!?"...

Premise III: It is the duty of the Anarchist to concern themselves with the betterment of society. This means no distinction between politics and everyday life. This also means doing whatever is in their power to help conjure Movement - to dispatch all obstacles strategically and create a state of Anarchy, a seemingly irreversible state in which the tricks of the State, Capital, and all forces conspiring against Anarchy only hasten their downfall and Communism* flourishes.

So what is our role? Where do we go from here?

Within the Belly of the Beast things seem difficult. There is mass alienation and isolation. For a long time now we no longer feel connected as a society. We have been divided so we can be conquered and it has worked thus far.

THESE CONDITIONS ARE RIPE FOR THE ANARCHIST.

If the Anarchist is concerned with the betterment of society (obviously from an Anarchist Ethics & Perspective) and building real community, real connections, real solidarity, and real interactions...WE COULD NOT BE IN A BETTER SITUATION.

When the majority of the population no longer trust the government, their neighbors, capitalism, or the media but put up with these things as a matter of fatalism...THEN WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BY AGITATING AND BEING PUBLIC ABOUT WANTING A BETTER SOCIETY.

From this vantage point there is an open landscape of paths to take. There almost aren't even paths to take, everything begins to blur into everything else.

The Student Movement never was and that's fine. There will be more cuts, layoffs, price increases, and foreclosures all around as capitalism continues to function. There are opportunities everywhere. There are connections begging to be made everywhere to encompass society.

DO SOMETHING.








"Anarchism is not a concept that can be locked up in a word like a gravestone. It is not a political theory. It is a way of conceiving life. And life, young or old as we may be, is not something definitive: it is a stake we must play day after day. When we wake up in the morning and put our feet on the ground we must have a good reason for getting up. If we don't it makes no difference whether we are anarchists or not. We might as well stay in bed and sleep."

- The Anarchist Tension, Alfredo Bonanno

*: Communism as in the act of living in communism. A state of true community, sharing; of interconnectedness. NOT State/Authoritarian Communism or Socialism government.

Kent State is Not Our Fate! A Proposal for Coordinated Action May 4th (Republished from Occupy UCI)

"March 4 just the st(A)rt!" On Humanities Instructional Building (HIB) at UCI (let it suffice to say that this banner was hung from a completely unreachable ledge, and it may be impossible to remove given current OSHA regulations!) 

At some point the rebels fighting behind the Orange Curtain exploded their subjectivities and took on an important position in the Crisis.  We saw our reflection in the dumpsters that one day, and since then nothing has been the same.  Barely 30 hours after the Fullerton Humanities occupation was raided by police, somehow breaking past double-stacked dumpsters chained to doors, and 8 days after 17 students were arrested sitting in outside Chancellor Michael Drake’s office while students outside barricaded the building; 500+ Irvine students staged perhaps the first street action in the history of the City of Irvine itself, and one of the first in Orange County as a whole.  Our police had no idea how to respond, to a situation which happens weekly and twice as big most other places.

Sure, we may not be taking over the 880 (yet) or fighting riot police trying to get on the 80 (yet), but we did get close to the 73, and we feel pretty damn proud of ourselves.  After all, Tiger Woods lives a few blocks away from campus, and neighboring Newport Beach is the most affluent city in the country.  AND, the entire city of Irvine is actually owned by a company, and was designed to be riot-proof.  We can’t even jaywalk here without being stopped by the cops, and on M4 we took over intersections.

In our experience in turning out nearly 1,000 students for militant action at a campus designed to socially atomize the student body and prevent mobilization, what has enabled the highest turnouts of uninvolved students is days of action.  Students knew about S24 and M4 without necessarily even receiving a flier or being invited on Facebook.  These actions should not/cannot replace actions in between; this assumption was the root of the failure of the October 24 conference.  But they do supplement escalation, it’s an excuse to feel our strength collectively, at one time.

So, Irvine is calling for M4: the sequel.
 
May 4 is the 40th anniversary of the massacre of students at Kent State University.

The history of Kent State and the rest of the anti-Vietnam War movement is well-known (although often times incorrectly well-known).  Unlike most other countries, we have no student days.  We have no anniversaries to rally around, no days reserved for mourning and anger.  Let’s make May 4 a day to remember, not just because of the Kent State massacre or even the Haymarket riots which happened on that day, but for the events that we will set in motion this day.  Hold funeral processions and silent marches this day; tell everyone to dress in black.  Let’s mourn not for ourselves but for the death of the university!

Original Post: http://occupyuci.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/kent-state-is-not-our-fate-a-proposal-for-coordinated-action-may-4/

Surprise, Surprise? 11 Arrested at UC Irvine for Protesting Israeli Ambassador

Why are we still surprised when something like this happens?

Why are we surprised when students get arrested for protesting representatives of murderous government? Are we still naive enough to believe in civil government? Do we still believe in their so-called democracy?

We know all about the atrocities of the United States Government, about the suffering, murder and torture perpetrated at home and around the globe each day. Then why? Why are we still surprised when something like this happens? Why?

Last fall, we saw a burdening of consciousness in the universities along the West Coast of California, abroad in Europe and other parts of the world. Knowledge of the function of universities in our societies and their role in social hierarchy and domination met power - the collective power of students! Those in training to be next year's workers and managers of society.

Yes, sadly there were many hoping and praying for reforms. Begging with their bodies for demands to be met. For a chance at having their piece of the pie - the American Dream.

But there were those who looked further and saw an absent future after graduation. Who made no demands and stepped forward and occupied to find each other. To begin scheming to build another world. This is what we need right now! This is what we must do!

Already there are those hoping that by making a hundred phone calls or writing a thousand letters that the eleven brave students will released of their charges. Perhaps they'll get off with a suspension - a mere slap on the wrist. If only we plead and pray...No!

What we need now is direct action not only to show our collective power but also to build a movement towards another world. Let us occupy and blockade to Stand with the UC Irvine Eleven, so that we may all be free!

(For more information on the arrests, see http://occupyuci.wordpress.com)

To a Los Angeles Anarchist

(Editors' Note: This is a Call that was posted on LA Indymedia last year. It was sent to us to be posted on this blog and we have decided to post it because we  feel it is still very much relevant to the current situation of the anarchist movement in Greater Los Angeles) 



To an LA anarchist
and to those in LA who still dream and scheme.
May we continue to stay afloat in this concrete sea...









Disconnected and disembodied
gridlocked in a social prison.



For years we've aged and lived here, forged in the fires pushed around and tossed about in the blazing heat of Southern California. Waiting, watching and hoping for something to change, for something to happen. Before us and in us we felt isolation and alienation - where were our comrades? Where were the anarchists?

It seemed in the US they only existed in rumors on the evening news or elsewhere - Santa Cruz, San Francisco, the Pacific Northwest, or New England.








Once a rumor and invisible
slowly growing inmpenetrable
The Coming Anarchy, The Coming Community,
The Coming Insurrection.



As the years passed and whatever tattered remnants of anarchism in LA lay to rot, far and wide it bloomed. Anarchism seemingly on the upsurge. Yet here for what seemed forever, yearly anarchist gatherings rehashed the same perspectives, the same tactics, the same workshops. Round and round in circles we went to gatherings designed to create converts rather than meet, greet and scheme.








Disfigured, we must grow
we must take shape and form
How is to be done?
How to find one another?



We cannot wait any longer. There is and will be no Messiah. There is no use in trying to convert as missionaries. We exist and we are of all ages and backgrounds. We must find each other. We must create events, spaces for us to meet monthly, bi-monthly. To meet, greet and scheme. To find commune. To break the lack of age diversity and the dress code. In spaces of neutrality, spaces of comfortability, spaces where we can come out and find each other. From there, all else begins and can begin.




One step at a time... Forward we wade... Towards a new direction.