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0 Why Can’t Addictions be Healthier?

August 23, 2013
by Comrade Black
· PE Web Zine · Radness · Uncategorized

Cartoon by Comrade Black

2 This Is The ALF! – The new resurgence of militant activism

August 10, 2013
by Comrade Black
· Columns · Events · News · PE Web Zine · Radness · Uncategorized

by Comrade Black

A spark has ignited in 2013 as nearly every day lately I have been reading about another new action taken against businesses that profit from the exploitation and murder of animals. Yes, rising from the ashes of Operation Backfire and the Greenscare, the Animal Liberation Front appears to be back in full swing again!

David Barbarash spent time in jail in the mid 90s for his involvement in the ALF, freeing cats from an Alberta lab, along with other smaller actions. He later founded the North American Press Office of the ALF, and was the official spokes-person until he retired in 2002. I asked David what his thoughts are on this recent increase in actions. “Brings a smile to my face!” he told me. “Even after all the new laws and repression animal and environmental activists are now subjected to, the spirit to resist and fight back continues. It seems there will always be a new generation willing to make sacrifices for animals and our planet, which in itself continues to give me hope for our collective future.”

If you haven’t been keeping up on the ALF news, in the last few weeks there has been nearly an action per day; ranging from low level insurgency like gluing locks and graffiti, to full on liberations such as the release of 2400 mink from a Idaho fur farm on July 28, 2013, or the release of farm pheasants on July 22. “This period reminds me of the early 1980’s when animal and earth activism was at the beginning of an upward trend, which peaked in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.” David said.
Perhaps our new adage should be an action per day keeps the Vivisection doctor away! (on stress leave that is).

I first learned about the ALF through punk songs by bands like Conflict, and DROPDEAD – back around the time David was having his house raided by the cops – I have been a open supporter ever since. The ALF has been active for over 40 years now, freeing hundreds of thousands of animals world wide, with the activity waxing and waning at numerous points over the decades. It seems to me that we have not seen this level of ALF activity in the colonized nation states of North America since the 90s, and definitely not since the FBI attack on the activist movements in the mid 2000’s. Or as David put it “After 9/11 and the FBI crackdown, activism saw a downward trend. It will never disappear, it simply ebbs and flows as all life does. Perhaps now what we’re seeing is a new cycle beginning.”

This type of resurgence of course doesn’t happen in a vacuum; a lot of other rad shit is going down! In recent years there has been an increase in interest in eco-defence campaigns and campaigns of Indigenous resistance to colonization and destruction of their lands for resource depletion. Also in the last year has been the release of

the first feature length documentary on Vivisection Maximum Tolerated Dose, which is currently on tour with the Open The Cages Tour, as well as the debut of the ALF action comic book Liberator, all of which helps to raise awareness on the issues and keep topics like animal testing or environmental destruction in popular discussion. Perhaps one of the most ironic sources for keeping the discussion open on animal abuse in the last year was the animal industries and their political front-groups, who’s recent attempt at getting new legislation passed legally banning the videotaping of animal abuse industries turned into an industry PR nightmare, thanks to the work of good dedicated journalists like Will Potter (author of Green Is The New Red), who worked to expose these bills to the public.

For those who don’t know, the ALF is a clandestine, leaderless movement of human allies who risk imprisonment to save the lives of animals. The ALF originated in the UK in the mid 1970s, formed by former Hunt Saboteurs. You can not join the ALF, rather you take actions and in doing so you become the ALF. The ALF guidelines are:

1. TO liberate animals from places of abuse, i.e. laboratories, factory farms, fur farms, etc, and place them in good

Flaming Arrows, A Compilation Of Works By Rod Coronado. Probably the best book on animals liberation ever written. Fuck yeah!

homes where they may live out their natural lives, free from suffering.
2. TO inflict economic damage to those who profit from the misery and exploitation of animals.
3. TO reveal the horror and atrocities committed against animals behind locked doors, by performing non-violent direct actions and liberations.
4. TO take all necessary precautions against harming any animal, human and non-human.

Any group of people who are vegetarians or vegans and who carry out actions according to ALF guidelines have the right to regard themselves as part of the ALF.

David was part of an earlier generation of ALF activists, a generation where they took some very serious risks, “I hope this new generation has learned the hard lessons my generation had to face and are still dealing with, and are taking security and secrecy in the most serious way” he told me. “With each new generation of the cycle, hopefully lessons of the past are learned, and strategies evolve. It’s more dangerous now to an individual’s personal freedom to participate in a resistance movement, so i hope security culture has also evolved.”

In the words of imprisoned ALF warrior Walter Bond
“Animal Liberation – Whatever It May Take!”

0 Defend the Land ~ Share Responsibility ~ Create (A) Future ~~ Call to Participate in the 2013 Victoria Anarchist Bookfair

July 26, 2013
by Comrade Black
· Events · News

~~Please Forward Widely!~~

Defend the Land ~ Share Responsibility ~ Create (A) Future
Call to Participate in the 2013 Victoria Anarchist Bookfair

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WANT TO VOLUNTEER?

We need your help! The Victoria Anarchist Bookfair & Festival of Anarchy collective is always looking for new people to help behind the scenes. We’re looking for help in all kinds of areas such as:

*postering
*welcoming & information tabling
*room set-up
*driving
*billeting
*kids activities
*counseling and safer-space support
*cleanup and more…

The Bookfair is entirely volunteer-run and helping out is a great way to get involved and meet new people. If you’re interested, please read the volunteer descriptions, our collective principles and accessibility statements on our website and let us know how you’d like to help out!

EMAIL: volunteer@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca

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The deadline to apply for a table, propose a workshop or submit an event listing for the Festival of Anarchy has been extended to July 31, 2013! See below for details:

******************************
1. Bookfair Dates & Contacts
2. How to Request a Table
3. Call for Workshops & Presentations Proposals
4. Festival of Anarchy
5. Street Newz Anarchy Issue

******************************

1. Victoria Anarchist Bookfair Dates & Contacts

September 14th and 15th, 2013
Fernwood NRG Community Hall

1240 Gladstone Ave, Victoria, BC, Coast Salish Territories info@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca

We are pleased to announce the eighth annual Victoria Anarchist Bookfair, located on unceded Coast Salish Territory in Victoria, British Columbia. The Bookfair is for anarchists and non-anarchists, with participants from all over North America and beyond. Events include book and information tables, workshops, readings, films, presentations, and much more!

The Bookfair always includes workshops on a wide range of topics. We seek to introduce anarchism to the public, foster dialogue between various political traditions, and create radical, inclusive, and anti-oppressive spaces. Participants with different visions, practices, and traditions are welcome.

Our theme this year is Eco-Defense. We aim to highlight various environmental threats and the resistance movements that have formed against them. From logging of old growth to oil development to mining, we will analyze resource-extraction from an anti-capitalist and anti-colonial perspective. We will explore how the Indigenous and settler populations can share responsibility for the challenges at hand. We aim to move beyond critique and chart creative paths toward healing the planet.

As part of Anarchy 101, we require presenters on anarchist history and associated radical theories. We also aim to provide a mix of workshops that show the breadth of issues and the diversity of opinion within anarchism. Thus, we are seeking presentations on topics of colonialism, decolonization, gender, sexuality, ‘race’, disability, food security, spirituality, feminism, class struggles, poverty and homelessness, animal liberation, primitivism, DIY, militancy, pacifism, anarchism in practice — as well as topics that connect any number of these. Whether it’s a practice-presentation, participatory demonstration, panel discussion, facilitated discussion, and everything in between — if you have an idea for a workshop, we want to hear about it!

Please consult our Statement of Principles before sending your proposal.

This year’s deadline has been extended to July 31st, 2013.

******************************

Contacts:
TABLES: tables@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca

WORKSHOPS: workshops@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca

FESTIVAL: festival@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca

VOLUNTEER: volunteer@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca

GENERAL INQUIRIES: info@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca

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2. How to Request a Table for Sept 14 & 15

The heart of the Bookfair is the main room including booksellers, distributors, independent presses and activist groups from all over BC, North America, and abroad. If you’d like to table this year, please provide a short description of your group and the materials you intend to distribute at the Bookfair.

There is no fee for tabling at the Bookfair, but we will be requesting 10% of sales after expenses in order to help us cover the costs of the venue rental.

The deadline to request a table is July 31, 2013 (we cannot guarantee inclusion on the poster or in our program-zine for late submissions).

EMAIL: tables@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca

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3. Workshops & Presentations Proposals: for Sept 14 & 15

The Bookfair organizing collective is currently seeking workshop and presentation proposals. They may be aimed at people who are curious about, or new to anarchist ideas and radical practices, or they might address a topic in some depth intended for people who are already familiar with the anarchist tradition, radical activism, or anti-oppressive practices.

Standard Bookfair workshops last for 50 minutes with a 10-minute break in between. While we are open to a variety of workshop formats, and we recommend that facilitators leave at least 20 minutes for discussion at the end of their presentations. Each year we get a lot of submissions, but if we don’t have space at the Bookfair, we still want to help make your workshop happen!

Please provide a title, and short description of the workshop’s content in your submission. If your workshop is accepted, this information will be reprinted in the program zine.

NOTE: The deadline for all workshop and presentation proposals is July 31, 2013 (after that date we cannot guarantee a timeslot at the Bookfair or inclusion in our program-zine for late submissions).

EMAIL: workshops@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca

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4. Festival of Anarchy Events: Sept 5–14 (various locations TBA)

In addition to the Bookfair, a “Festival of Anarchy” will take place during the preceding week, with diverse anarchist-themed events occurring at different venues in Victoria. You can propose any type of event or activity: the only limit is your imagination.

Festival of Anarchy events are organized autonomously from the Bookfair and, as such, venues are the responsibility of Event Organizers—that’s you!

The Bookfair collective acts as a hub to promote and coordinate these events. We’re committed to helping promote autonomous festival events to the best of our ability through the program zine and the website.

If you’re interested in having us promote your event, please provide a title and short description of your program by July 31, 2013 so that we can include it in our zine and on our website.

We strongly recommend Festival Events are NOT scheduled during the Bookfair’s operating hours. In general, contacting the Bookfair Collective about scheduling dates before our proposal deadline is a useful way to ensure the least number of event conflicts.

EMAIL: festival@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca

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5. Street Newz Anarchy Issue

Victoria Street Newz is looking for articles on anarchism for its September issue. This special issue celebrates the annual Victoria Anarchist Bookfair which takes place the 2nd weekend of September

(Sept 14th/15th).

Submit your article to: streetnewz@islandnet.com

0 Stinging Nettles & Dandelions: Towards a Delicous Decolonization of (A) Settler Diet through Re-wilding

July 5, 2013
by Comrade Black
· Columns · PE Web Zine

by Comrade Black

I have decided I want to get a tattoo of some Dandelions and Stinging Nettles, because:

a) both are considered weeds (unwanted species, pests)
b) they are super healthy, both as foods, and as medicinesc) both grew wild in the areas I grew up as well as in the Cascadian bio-region where I currently live
d) Nettles are good for arthritis, which I have a bad form of called Ankelosing Spondalitis (AS), as well as Fibramialgia which Nettles are helpful with
e) both are invasive species brought over from Europe by whites, which as awesome and healthy and healing as they can be, they are pushing out native species and taking over, so I think it is a good metaphor as a settler person who is anti-colonial.

I have also been thinking that white settlers should be harvesting our traditional foods and medicines which are now invasive here, these plants are our heritage, and thus are attuned to our bodies so they make sense for us to consume. But also because by harvesting them we could be helping to push back their spread if enough of us were doing it; and in doing so we would be helping native species to thrive which are the traditional foods and medicines for the indigenous people (both human and non-human people) who have always existed here. I think it is important to have an anti-colonial analysis when engaging with practices like wild harvesting or rewilding, as to not perpetuate colonialism. I remember a Lekwungen woman who teaches about traditional foods and the importance of Camas to her people, saying that now when she teaches settlers she tries to ensure not to teach them too much. She wants them to understand how and why it is so important, so they will respect the plant and not harm them or even to help protect them from invasives; but has learned the hard way if you teach too much people will go take them all and there won’t be any for Lekwungen people to harvest.

Learning about local ecology is important if we are going to both decolonize and to reduce our impact on the land, but I think we need to start leaving the native plants for the natives as much as possible. If you are going to harvest native species, consider finding ways in which that action will directly benefit the people who’s lands you are occupying. Examples of this could be to give a large portion of your harvest to them, especially if you know someone who is unable to harvest themselves do to time constraints or illness and disability, and of course if you do harvest native species don’t take too much so the plants can regenerate. If we are taking this knowledge on how to harvest and identify local species, we need to be giving back to those who gave us that knowledge, those who’s lands we are occupying. It is far past time we began to give back and quit taking. Settlers have taken their lands, their children to put in residential schools and foster homes, their traditions and parts of their spirituality; far more than was ever offered. If we ever hope to change our relationship to this land and the people who are still struggling to resist colonization, we need to quit taking and not act like settler colonists any more.

One way to start is by taking back what is ours instead. We live in a society where governments spend billions on war, prisons, police, and surveillance, while people starve in the streets, meanwhile there is a salad growing in your front yard, down the street and in every park and roadside on this continent. And it is waiting for you to go pick it so other species can thrive!

2 Best Advice for Dumpster Divers

June 11, 2013
by Comrade Black
· Columns · PE Web Zine · Radness · Uncategorized

by Comrade Black

Dumpster diving can be a blast, and a great way to get healthy food for many of us who were not born into class privilege. I don’t dumpster dive as much as I use to, but I have been doing it off and on since I first lived in a squat on the streets of edmonton, in 1996 at the age of 16.

I also have many friends and roommates who do the dive, and as awesome as it can be I have notice a few common trends and I feel like some folks might benefit from a little basic advice.

In Grime We Crust?

1) While there is many treasures to be found in the garbage, not everything in the bins is treasure. Often things belong in the garbage, sometimes way before they were ever thrown out. Products like Sunny D, or “Orange Beverage” which is sold for $1.00 when new, and tastes like watered down flat orange pop, belong in the garbage. Just because it is in the bin, doesn’t mean you need to take it out.

2) Leave some for other folks, you don’t need to take every scrap of edible materials from the bin. I know some approach dumpstering like it is their social mission to stop every scrap they can from hitting the landfill, but you gotta remember others might also be benefiting from that same store tossing their lunch. If you take everything, you might be taking food away from people who need it just as badly, or worse than you. If you insist on taking everything, consider going later, like 3am, after everyone else has come and gone, so that you are taking the leftovers rather than preempting others bin din.

3) Consider your social position here; if you have access to a kitchen, stove, oven, fridge and freezer – take stuff like produce which requires cooking and storing – and consider leaving products (like donuts, bagels, or pre-made meals in a package) that can be easily consumed without cooking for those who live on the streets and don’t have access to amenities.

4) Just because meat is in a dumpster doesn’t mean you have to put it in your body. Often I have seen formerly vegan or vegetarian kids start eating meat when they start binning, and rationalize it by claiming it would be disrespectful to the animal not to eat it… wait, did they actually just say it would be disrespectful not to eat an animal…? Yup that logical lunacy is a staple in the rhetoric of the ex-vegan ex. If you really respect animals, perhaps consider not viewing them as products to be consumed. Or better yet, join or start an group dedicated to animal liberation – above ground or clandestine – and take actual action to help living animals, or perhaps volunteer at the local rescues, sanctuaries, or adopt one from the shelters. There is so much work needed to be done and frying bacon out of a dumpster isn’t saving any animals, or your health, so quit making excuses. If you need to rationalize something, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.

It’s also just gross, all ethics aside. If you are consuming the flesh of animals from the dumpster, you are consuming torture. If you put torture in your body, don’t expect to get good health out. Never mind all the hormones, chemicals, and other crap. The flesh of domesticated animals from factory farms is simply toxic on so many levels. It always shocks me how people will get riled up about monsanto fucking with our food crops, or will refuse to eat soy because it is GMO, yet will fork flesh and puss (cheese) into their mouth 3 times per day.

4) Be picky. Dumpster diving is not a starvation economy, it is a fucking horn of pleanty. You can pick and choose and still bring home boxes of food most middle class yuppies couldn’t afford. So don’t eat shit, and don’t say thank you for the privilege. Take the good stuff and be healthy. Leave the garbage in the garbage.

Don’t put garbage in your body

The Dumpster Mafia – Organized Grime!

Simply eating garbage is by no means a revolutionary act, otherwise every seagull is a full fledged anarchist warrior leading the revolutionary vanguard! That doesn’t mean that dumpstering can’t be a ‘part’ of our anarchist practice. A few years back I had a roommate who really did try to make dumpster diving a revolutionary concept by applying ideashe learned from anarchist community organizing. He moved dumpstering from being just a lifestyle choice to actually using it to build community, organize, and increase food sovereignty.

He founded a group he named The Dumpster Mafia, it was organized similar to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm, and was by far the most organized and concerted dumpster diving I have witnessed or been part of. It involved a small team of volunteers, and anyone who either donated their time or a small amount of cash to cover costs, got a box of goodies hand delivered to their house every week.

The basic structure worked like this: he got a car given to him, a junker, which they would use to hit up the dumpsters, this way they could bring way more home in one trip, and could hit harder to get to bins out of bicycle range. In our backyard he set up a couple tents which he managed to get donated somehow, as well as a large chest deep freeze he got free off Craigslist. Beside the deep freeze, under the tents he had a series of good quality plastic bins, which he would use as refrigerators by filling plastic bottles with water to freeze them, creating diy ice packs, which were placed with food in the plastic bins under the tent (thus out of the sunlight). Food that needed to be frozen went in the deep freeze, produce and almond milk went in the bis, packaged goods like cereal just went in the house.

One group of volunteers would go dumpster each night of the week, using the car, and usually in pairs. They would go late so as to not take food away from anyone. They would process the entire bin, by taking out every garbage bag and piling them beside the bin, then systemically going through them one at a time taking out whatever food they could get which was worth bringing home, and finally placing the lightened bag back in the bin. Usually they managed to fill a car about 1/2 way by using this technique. They also would make sure to always leave the area cleaner than when they got there so as to not burn out their dumster supply by pissing off the stores.

The next team of volunteers would arrive in the morning, take the boxes of dumpster goods and process them: go through fruits and veggies that came in packages looking for bad ones to toss, or sometimes cutting off bad spots from fruit that could be eaten if frozen. Then they would place the food in the bins or freezer for the next group. The third group came by once per week, and would sort the scores into boxes to be distributed. Making sure to split food as evenly as possible. Finally volunteers would fill the car and make the deliveries to everyone who had contributed. Any money donated went to cover gas and insurance, although with 100% volunteer labor, very little money was ever needed, and the average volunteer only did about 2 hrs per week. It was a smooth operation for sure. And leftovers were delivered to a few local single moms down the block whenever possible, as well as to the local chapter of Food Not Bombs.

That entire year I barely bought food at all, and yet I ate fruit smoothies, stir fries, veggie bakes, and tofu scramble every day. It turned out to be a great way to build community, to get people working together, organizing, and it saved us all a ton of money. Plus we all were so healthy!

Get Dirty!
and remember, it’s even better when you do it with friends!

0 Vegan Icream Layer Cake

May 6, 2013
by Comrade Black
· Recipes Section

The last few days have been unusually hot, and with constantly rising temperatures do to global warming, it is useful to know how to make a good vegan ice-cream cake to help deal with the heat. Last night I made this exceptional vegan ice-cream cake, I had been wanting to make one for a while ever since an ex of mine brought one to a potluck a few yrs back. Here is how I did it.

1) The first layer was made with vegan store bought iceream, I used butterscotch ripple, I started by melting it, then adding dark chocolate chips. II found the cheap way to get good dark chocolate chips is to find a store that has them in bulk, and surprisingly often the dark or “pure” ones in the bulk section are accidentally vegan.The trick to making them cheap is to ‘accidentally‘ mark them down as the bin number for the shitty cheap milk chocolate chips that are usually about half the price. This way even someone on a fixed income can afford decent chocolate.

2) the second layer was made by putting Oreo cookies through the food processor to create crumbs. I normally would never buy such shit, but they are excellent in decedent baking. oreos are also one of those things that are ‘accidentally vegan,’ probably cause they don’t use any real ingredients at all… 😦 Still I used them cause they are tasty and add good texture. But don’t worry, if you don’t want to give money to shitty capitalists, just steal them. That’s why God invented shoplifting.
after this, you need to put it in the freezer until the first layers become solid.

3) This is where it gets interesting, I made the next layer by using frozen bananas, mixed with frozen raspberries, and a scoop of organic cane sugar, put through a food processor to make a variation of easy banana icecream. I get my raspberries in bulk to save money, and the bananas are easy to dumpsterdive or you can often find them cheap at small grocery stores that have discount racks. I added a scoop of vanilla flavored Vegan protein powder, I love this stuff as it is an easy way to get good nutrition, add it to baking, or cereal, or smoothies and it adds a ton of protein. It is quite expensive, but worth while. I got lucky as a friend dumpsterdived it and gave it to me.

I followed that with another layer of oreo crumbs. And then again stick it back in the freezer

4) The next layer was the best, I again used smooshed bananas, but this time mixed it with canned pinapple! YUMMY put the two in the food proccessor and added a bit of almond milk. Again you need to refreeze it after this layer before continuing.

5) The final layer was again using vegan store bought icecream, this time I used chocolate mixed with butterscotch.

6) I decided to get decedent, so I topped it off by throwing some nuts in the food processor, I used pecans and cashews, but most anything would do. However if you are gonna share it with friends or bring it to a potluck remember that tons of people are allergic to peanuts. I covered the topping with crushed nuts then sliced up some strawberries to decorate it, and froze it one last time.

This recipe took a bit of work, but none of it was difficult, and it made a lot. it was sooo worth it. Like instead of buying an overpriced cow puss ice-cream cake from Dairy Queen, I made my own, DIY Dairy Queer Vegan version!

0 BREAKING: Daniel McGowan Back in Prison

April 4, 2013
by Comrade Black
· News · PE Web Zine

Reposted from NYC Anarchist Black Cross

We got word late yesterday that Daniel McGowan was told he wouldn’t be issued a pass to go to work the next day. According to his keepers at the halfway house, this denial came at the direction of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). When he followed up, Daniel was told that it wasn’t merely a denial of a work pass, but a restriction on all movement. When asked if that meant federal marshals were coming to get him the next day, the halfway house administrators told him they didn’t know.

The state, and its for-profit halfway house minions, were clearly in collusion. This is just another way that opacity is used to mindfuck folks left to twist in the wind, not knowing what the future holds.

From our understanding, the reason for his re-imprisonment is directly related to an article Daniel recently wrote for the Huffington Post. An attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights has been to visit Daniel at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Once we know more, we’ll pass the information on.

For now, take time to send Daniel a card or letter. Let him know that regardless of how the state treats him, we have his back.

Write to Daniel at:
Daniel McGowan #63794-053
MDC Brooklyn
Post Office Box 329002
Brooklyn, New York 11232

For more information, visit supportdaniel.org

1 Open The Cages tour needs your support to end vivisection: Call for endorsements

March 23, 2013
by Comrade Black
· Events · On Tour · Radness

Last year I was lucky enough to take part in the Open The Cages Tour, which combines music, protest, film, and workshops all geared towards ending animal testing. OTC could be described like a travelling carnival of animal liberation, organized in the DIY punk tradition. OTC is continuing with extensive tour dates throughout 2013 and they looking for support from groups and individuals, like YOU! Support is easy, and doesn’t cost a cent. For real yo!

Endorsing is as simple as saying you support the tour and posting about our events and linking to our page. We get a ton of traffic on our site, from individuals, groups, media and students; we are happy to showcase other group to these visitors! Additionally we get a lot of visits from labs and universities to our website so we like to show that we are part of a network of people who are opposed to this (instead of just one small crew of people they only have to worry about for 2 days of the year when we get to town.) We know this fight is bigger than us, and we are very happy to act as a hub for the resistance to the pseudo-science that is vivisection! If you want to be part of our network, or show support for the tour, please fill out the form! Thank you so much!

If you want to know more about the tour, check out this interview we did on Profane last year with tour director Mike XvX.

The tour also includes the first feature length documentary about vivisection, watch the trailer here

Additional Information About Endorsements:

We love endorsements because they really help us to promote the efforts of local chapters and groups! We want to build up a big network of folks that share our beliefs, values and objectives so that individuals that come to our events know where to go after we leave if they want to keep being active. Having a list also gives us the ability to direct folks if they miss our events or if they come to find us after we have already been through town, or even if they are just checking out the website looking for resources.

An endorsement doesn’t have to be material in any way, but really just adds to a growing list of opposition, and proves a network and resources before, during, and after the tour stops. We just really want to highlight local crews and groups so that our reach can boost and enhance the local campaigns, not override, sit on top of, or over shadow it. If your group wants to donate materials, zines, shirts or anything to the tour that we can take with us along our route, we also accept donations that are non-traditional or outside the capitalist system. The tour will accept any donations of mech, anarchist, vegan, animal liberation/total liberation, workers-rights, feminist, anti-oppression, antifa, anti-racist, intersectional, books/zines as well as stickers, postcards, or other goods. We also are looking for places to crash, eat, or get things printed. If your group or a contact of yours has the ability to assist us in addition to your endorsement, please let us know!

All of us are vegan and we do ask that every endorsing group/collective/organization be against animal exploitation in some way, and if it is a business or restaurant we ask that they be vegan (meaning that you use nor profit from any animal exploitation -eg: use no flesh, dairy, eggs, shells, wool, leather, fur, feathers, bones, silk etc. regardless it’s origin or if it is new, used, found or dumpstered)

0 One Down – Racist Lawyer Doug Christie Dies of Cancer

March 12, 2013
by Comrade Black
· Columns · News · PE Web Zine

By Comrade Black

Hate speech proponent Doug Christie has passed away. Finally.

Most of the mainstream media articles refer to Christie as a ‘controversial lawyer‘ and some even refer to him as a ‘defender of free speech,’ saying he defended holocaust deniers and anti-semites. I find this toned down revision as sickening as the historical revisionists he defended; so I want to say this loud and clear -no bullshit- for those who appear to be tone deaf. Doug Christie was one of this colonial nation state’s most well notorious racists; known as the lawyer who has defended numerous well known neo-nazi organizers, as well as holocaust deniers, homophobes, and other anti-semites. It only seems fitting that Christie died of terminal cancer, since he himself was a cancerous creep, and an important player in an even more sick movement.

For years Christie has tried to ‘white-wash’ himself as being a ‘defender of free speech.’ Of course like most nazis who try to veil their racism to create a more socially acceptable image the only speech Christie has ever concerned himself with is that of racist who have been charged with hate speech. Christie’s dance card was full of big names in the wild wild world of white power – oh sorry I mean white pride, see that’s the term racists prefer to use when speaking to ‘the public’ so they won’t

look like racists. But as I was saying, Christie has defended such prominent hatemongers as Wolfgang Droege of the Heritage Front, Terry Long, former leader of the Aryan Nations, John Ross Taylor of the Western Guard Party and Aryan Nations, three leaders of the Ku Klux Klan in Manitoba, and Rudy Stanko of the World Church of the Creator. Christie tries to hide his hatred behind the rhetoric of ‘free speech,’ yet maintained an ad on Stormfront, the most notorious white supremacist neo-nazi website and main recruiting vehicle for vulnerable 12 year olds.

Christie also founded the so called Canadian Free Speech League, which every year would give out an award to people charged with spreading racial hatred, holocaust denial, and homophobia; dubbed the George Orwell Award. The appropriation of Orwell’s name and image for the celebration of racism is mind numbing. Orwell, an anarchist well known for his books such as 1984, Animal Farm, and Homage to Catalonia; having gone to Spain to fight the fascists during the Spanish civil war and was about as opposite of Christie’s ideology as humanly possible. Vancouver Lawyer Gary Botting worked for Christie for many years, and developed a close personal relationship to him; Botting has since severed ties with Christie and went to great lengths to distance himself from the well known racist. “it is clear to me that your Canadian Free Speech League is merely a front for an anti-semitic, Pro-Nazi agenda.” Botting wrote in a publi c letter to Christie, continuing “In the Canadian Free Speech League, the only opinions truly allowed are those which conform to your own. And those opinions, as you well know, are antisemitic and almost blatantly pro-Nazi. It is no coincidence that both you and Ernst Zundel usually celebrate your birthdays on April 20, Hitler’s Birthday. It is no coincidence that most of the Canadian Free Speech League annual awards ceremonies have been held as close to that date as possible.”

In a recent CBC radio interview, Christie claims he only defended white supremacists cause they were the only people facing government repression for what they believed. This is a sad attempt to cast himself the hero, the defender of the people; and is also simply and utterly confusing. The only people? Really? Is he that stupid and unaware of what’s going on in the world around us, or dose he just think everyone else is? When the Canadian chapter of Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty was dealing with intense police harassment and repeated arrests, as well as private security hired by corporations, I did not hear Mr Christie offering to help. How do I know? well when SHAC was in Victoria I was volunteering with them. They instead retained the services of Vancouver lawyer Peter Edelmann. If that’s not close enough to home, where was Dougie Boy when the Victoria Tent City was fighting for the Right To Sleep; as homeless activists were challenging the constitutionality of anti-camping laws in the Supreme court after a 31 day camp at Cridge Park, only about 5 blocks away from his law office. How do I know he didn’t offer to help? Again, I was one of the campers, and my legal name is on the court docs. Nor did he speak a word against the massive police/state repression of activists at the Toronto G20, many of which were arrested before the G20 even occurred! Same with the repression of activists in Vancouver at the Anti-Olympics Convergence. When the Joint Terrorism task Force showed up at my door, and I was interviewed on CBC, Christie again didn’t say a word. We could even go further back to the legendary struggles between feminist bookstore Little Sisters in vancouver and the state who was confiscating their shipments of lesbian erotica books, once again Christie didn’t offer to help. But when holocaust denier Jim Keegstra was fired for teaching his high school students that the holocaust was just a Jewish Conspiracy, Christie phoned him up to say “Hey, don’t be down-hearted.” and became his lawyer. And when George Burdi, vocalist of the white power band RaHoWa (Racial Holy War), and founder of Resistance Records – The largest white power record company in the world – was arrested, Christie “was ready to give up three months of his time away from home, and do it pro bono,” urging Burdi to let the charges go to court rather than plead guilty. So it seems clear that he was only interested in helping other racists.

Christie was also the head of the Western Canadian Concept party and later founded the Western Bloc Party, 2 far right political parties with anti-immigrant and homophobic stances as well as colonial assimilation views. The WCC website described it’s mission in part as the development of a “genuine national culture true to our existing European heritage and values.” And of course English speaking only. Another prominent nazi and former client of Christie’s Paul Fromm, ran along side him for the Western Block Party. Fromm was a one time member of the Conservative Party, until he was kicked out after comments about racial purity and immigration. Fromm who hosts a radio show on Stormfront, is a self described “Nazi Sympathizer” and “anti-immigration activist.”

Since his diagnosis with terminal cancer, Doug Christie has tried to convince the world even more that he did not share the views of his clients, but only wanted to defend free speech. I want to ensure that Christie is remembered for the racist he truly was. No ‘white’-washing.

Good bye Doug Christie, you will not be forgotten. And you will not be missed.

One less racist.

19 Calling bullshit – John Roderick doesn’t know shit about Punk

March 7, 2013
by Comrade Black
· Columns · PE Web Zine

by Comrade Black

In his March 6 article entitled, “Punk Rock Is Bullshit: How a toxic social movement poisoned our culture” blogger John Roderick attempts to analyze the political beliefs and practices of the punk scene, a group he characterizes as a disease of the soul.

Put simply, the guy has no clue what the actual punk scene is. This is apparent by a number of factors; such as he actually mentions Cortney Love, Sex Pistols and Ramones as ‘punk bands’ where as no one active in the underground scene gives a shit about any of those bands and most would laugh at the very idea of Courtney Love being thought of as punk. The only actually punk band mentioned in the article I could see was Fugazi, and even they are pretty mainstream compared to the bands who most diy kids wear patches of (Aus-Rotten, Amebix, Zounds, Discharge, Nausea, MDC, etc). One must wonder if he would even know the difference between Crust and OI!, or would have even heard of genres like D-Beat and Powerviolence. Yet he thinks presents himself as an expert in position to publish extreme condemnations.

through most of the diatribe he seems to be saying everyone should give up on punk and become a good capitalist and share in the materialistic dream (american dream) and that if you don’t, your just being immature. It is like he watched that terrible MTV Movie SLC Punk and decided to write an article parroting the subtext.

Throughout the article he makes strange constant references to Marxist imagery and ideas. I have met about 4 punks ever that were in support of the Sandanistas or thought Che, Stalin, and Mao were cool. They are all in the same band. all 4 of them… His constant attempts to connect punk wth Marxist Communism is really odd and seems totally out of left field (pun intended)

The section on Seattle is particularly out of touch.
How someone could write an article on Punk and have an entire section on Seattle and the pacific north west, without mentioning the massive anarchist crust bands (Seattle use to be the hot bed for big crust bands like Consume and Skarp) is kinda confusing. But farm more confusing is how you could write about punk and Seattle/PNW without mentioning the legendary ‘Battle of Seattle‘ (WTO riots that shook the USA and made news internationally, including the rise of the Black Bloc in North America), nor mentioning the notorious “Eugene Anarchists” is beyond me. It would be like writing an article about the economy of Alberta and Texas over the last 4 decades, without mentioning OIL!
The North West was not only huge for bands and DIY scenes, but also for actual physical action. The rise of Earth First! (eco-defense), the anti-globalization movement, and more extreme the Earth Liberation Front, Animal Liberation Front, all of which punks played part in. There was also of course the Riot Grrl movement, much of which centered on Seattle bands, only mentioned in passing as a slag by this writer. John Roderick clearly has no clue what the actual underground punk scene is, nor probably that it still is very active today. Big distros, zines, and well known underground labels, like Maximum Rock’n Roll, or Profane Existence, or event Havoc Records, are not even mentioned. In fact nothing of importance to the DIY punk scene is mentioned in this article at all. It would be like me writing an article saying why the rave scene was bullshit… Or like a Liberal writing an article on the black bloc without even doing any research.

There is a ton of other issues here, his repeated use of the term ‘primitive’ as a derogatory, which i find utterly racist. Or how he misreprestens DIY, as if hand making your demo tapes with hand drawn art, and black and white photocopied liner notes so they can be sold cheap enough that street kids and other poor folks can afford them, is the equivalent of selling tupperware. In the punk underground, DIY is about empowering people to realize we artists, we are all musicians, we all can do it. Or as Crass put it, There Is No Authority But Yourself! You don’t need to wait some big promoter; rent the hall yourself and borrow or rent a PA, make a poster and grab the tape. Kids creating art and recording their own bands or setting up $5 All Ages shows for free clearly not at all the same as vacuum salesmen or Mary Kay. I speak from experience here as someone who set up these types of shows for years working with bands from all over the world like Sweedish hardcore band Regulations, or Imperial Leather,legendary bands like Resist and Exist, Conlict, and a whole host of amazing Canadian bands like Leper, Mechanichal Separation and Mass Grave, Iskra, Self Rule, Eleutheros. All of which highly doubt John Roderick has ever even heard of.

It seems like he’s just another a mainstream individualistic guy who thinks he is alternative, whining about people he doesn’t understand who have ethics he doesn’t understand, who look down on him for being materialistic.Not all of us want big screen TV’s and 13 yr old groupies following us. Not all of us want to be rock stars. Many of us have our own visions, our own desires outside of the scripted grey future we are told we are suppose to want. If you don’t think punk has accomplished anything, you need to get your head out of your ass. Look to the Gaian Mind Institute in LA, or Dial House, to the tons of projects and ecovillages, communiy houses, and venues run by punks. Look to stuff like the SHAC Campaign, who nearly took down a horrible multinational animal testing laboratory; getting them dropped from the NY Stock Exchange, causing over 500 businesses to cut ties with them putting them nearly $90 million in debt. Most of the key organizers in SHAC – both in Turtle Island and the UK – have been punks. In fact, one of the UK Shactivists was a member of the UK punk band Active Slaughter. AK Press, the largest anarchist publisher in the world, and PM Press, were also both started by Ramsey Kanaan, who sang in the Scottish band Political Asylum, as well many other publishers like Combustion Books and Crimethinc were also started by punks.
For all your criticisms, what the hell have you done?

Ian McKaye was once asked about selling out as a way to get his message out so more people could hear their music. He replied by stating he didn’t care about making it so everyone could hear their music. It was about making it so the kids who wanted to hear their music could. Well John Rodernick, maybe you should listen – by which I mean don’t… That’s the point really, if you don’t want to hear it, fuck off. We don’t want or need your opinion. We’re too busy building the world we want to see in the ashes of this one. And as Mike XvX said, this town isn’t going to burn itself down!

If you want to read informed opinions on punk, I would suggest following the old slogan, buy books buy us, not about us. Penny Rimbaud’s book Shibboleth: My Revolting Life is a great start. Can’t get much better. The Philosophy Of Punk by Craig O’ Hara, The Day The Country Died, and Sober Living For The Revolution are also great. But of course the best way to learn the reality of what punk has to offer is to take part; go to a show, not some Bad Religion or Warp Tour kinda crap, but an actual show, in some kids basement, with bands who actually have something to say. Bands who play for nothing more than gas money so that the kids who have nothing, who could never afford a Death Cab For Cutie, or Long Winters show.

It is better to make a piece of music than to perform one, better to perform one than to listen to one, better to listen to one than to misuse it as a means of distraction, entertainment, or acquisition of “culture.”

— John Cage

Page 6 of 8

The legendary crust classic is now available once again!

We are happy to announce our next new release

WILT – “Self Titled”

Here is a track from the upcoming LP

“Sermon for the Bootlickers”

Type: image

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0 Defend the Land ~ Share Responsibility ~ Create (A) Future ~~ Call to Participate in the 2013 Victoria Anarchist Bookfair

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2 Best Advice for Dumpster Divers

0 Vegan Icream Layer Cake

0 BREAKING: Daniel McGowan Back in Prison

1 Open The Cages tour needs your support to end vivisection: Call for endorsements

0 One Down – Racist Lawyer Doug Christie Dies of Cancer

19 Calling bullshit – John Roderick doesn’t know shit about Punk