Grand Rapids Anarchists

On August 17, U.S. Senator Carl Levin was hit by a pie that was thrown by an anti-war protestor objecting to Levin’s support for Israel’s occupation of Palestine and his support more generally for U.S. policy in the Middle East. Now the woman who threw the pie is being held on ridiculous charges with a [...]

Read Full Post »

We saw this piece of anarchist street art the other day while walking around Grand Rapids. Street art and graffiti (and especially stencils) have traditionally been used by contemporary anarchist movements as a way of getting their message out quickly and effectively. For examples, see the websites Media Dissent, Just Seeds, and Not My Government [...]

Read Full Post »

The G20 protests in Toronto experienced some wonderful victories.  The black bloc tactic that was implemented in Toronto was one of the many components of the protest that helped make it a success. To put this video in context it’s worth reading about the black bloc. http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=2010black-bloc-g20

Read Full Post »

Earlier this week, two activists in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula were arrested at the site of a sulfide mine near Marquette. The activists are members of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community—one of the many groups that have actively opposed the construction of the sulfide mine. The group had occupied the site of the mine for nearly [...]

Read Full Post »

Last week, we posted a few items about anti-Olympic protests in Vancouver (read more: here and here). In the past week, a few really good analyses have been published online that look at the politics behind the organizing and evaluate the effectiveness of the tactics being employed. They range from discussions of how specific actions [...]

Read Full Post »

Nick Griffin—a member of the British National Party (BNP) and a longtime figure on the racist right—was scheduled to speak at Michigan State University (MSU) on February 18. The talk—booked as part of a brief tour of the United States that would take Griffin from Lansing to Washington, DC for speaking engagements at colleges and [...]

Read Full Post »

I’ve been following the anti-Olympic actions for a bit now. Here’s an update from yesterday’s happenings. Go team! Also a nice article about the protest

Read Full Post »

Protests against the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver are starting today with a march planned to protest the Olympics opening ceremonies and then another day of protests tomorrow to mark the start of the games. The protests on Saturday include the anarchist organized “2010 Heart Attack: Street March to Clog the Arteries of Capitalism.” Even before [...]

Read Full Post »

Earlier this week “the RNC 8”—eight organizers who were arrested for their involvement in helping to facilitate anarchist protests against the 2008 Republican National Convention (RNC) in the Twin Cities—won a major victory in their ongoing legal case. The eight will be tried in a single trial rather than the separate trials sought by prosecutors [...]

Read Full Post »

One of the great things about anarchism is that as a political ideology and practice it places considerable emphasis on autonomy, self-determination, and action. Consequently, collectives, ad-hoc groups, and individual anarchists are generally free to act how they wish in pursuit of anarchist goals—there is no need to get actions approved by central coordinating bodies. [...]

Read Full Post »