Friendly Fire Newsletter: May 08

Now that our project has gotten off the ground we've been discussing how best to keep people in the loop. In the past couple weeks we've added some new material to our site and since our goal is to bring this to as wide an audience as possible, we figured a monthly newsletter would be the best method to do this.

What you'll find in these newsletters are links and short summaries of all new material we've posted since the last update, projects and events our collective is working on, and also a calendar of Bay Area events which have grabbed our attention and we would like to share with you all. But keep in mind, we will be updating our site on a weekly basis so please check back often.

After finishing our first original piece—an analysis of the M19 actions in San Francisco (http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/17/m19-the-reconstruction-of-an-anti-war-movement)—we've begun to work on other content which we hope to release soon. In the meantime we hope you enjoy the following articles, short films, and audio that we have found particularly inspiring and/or insightful.

--The Friendly Fire Collective
http://www.friendlyfirecollective.info

----------------------------------Articles----------------------------------

"The Art of War" by Eyal Weizman
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/25/the-art-of-war

The military strategy of the Israeli Defense Forces has been heavily influenced by contemporary philosophy, critical theory, and modern architectural theory. Contemporary military theorists are now busy re-conceptualizing the urban domain. At stake are the underlying concepts, assumptions and principles that determine military strategies and tactics. But also at stake are of course the real-life consequences of any military campaign—human lives.

"A Phoenix Rising?" by Roberto J. González
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/32/a-phoenix-rising

In July 2005 the U.S. Army initiated a $20 million counterinsurgency program called the Human Terrain System (HTS). The program consists of five-person "human terrain teams" featuring anthropologists and other social scientists embedded with combat brigades. One team was deployed to Afghanistan in February 2007 and five more to Iraq in summer 2007. Some of the social scientists wear combat fatigues and carry weapons.

"Storming Heaven: 1968 Revisited" by Tariq Ali
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/26/storming-heaven-1968-revisited

"A storm swept the world in 1968. It arose in Vietnam, and then blew across Asia, crossing the sea and the mountains to Europe and beyond. The signs and portents had been there for some years, but the speed with which it spread was not foreseen." This is how Ali begins Storming Heaven, a personal account of the uprisings of 1968, arguably one of the most dynamic, inspiring, and tragic years of the 20th Century.

"May Day 2008 Statement from the Iraqi Labour Movement"
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/33/may-day-2008-statement-from-the-iraqi-labour-movement

On May Day 2008 representatives of the Iraqi labor movement issued a statement to the international community listing a series of demands relating to the US occupation, coinciding with the international day of recognition for working class struggle.

----------------------------------Video----------------------------------

"Estamos Aqui: Workers Strike Back at UCSC" by Colectivo Media Insurgente
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/30/estamos-aqui

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) initiated a one-day strike at all University of California campuses in April of 2005. The impact of the strike at the UC Santa Cruz campus was especially strong due to the support the union received from the student body. Together students and workers physically shut down the campus for hours as thousands blocked the two entrances.

Emma Goldman
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/28/emma-goldman

This is a short clip from Anarchism in America, a film by Steven Fischler and Joel Sucher. This segment includes a short portion of a rare interview with legendary anarchist Emma Goldman and a brief summary of the immigrant anarchists who made the movement so vibrant and powerful.

The New Power Game: Iran vs. the USA
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/27/the-new-power-game-iran-vs-the-usa

People & Power, a news-feature on Al-Jazeera English, questions the shifting balances of power between the West and the Middle East, focusing on Iran as an emerging regional power. This clip offers interesting insight into the economic war quietly being waged beneath alleged War on Terror and the reasons we may not see any downward trajectory anytime soon.


----------------------------------Audio----------------------------------

The Squatter Movement: Seizing Housing
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/29/the-squatter-movement-seizing-housing

An interview on KPFA's Guns and Butter with journalist, squatter, and housing activist Frank Morales. Morales tells of the direct action campaigns for housing in the South Bronx and lower east side of Manhattan in the late 1970s. His analysis is top-notch as he discusses the banks' redlining of loans to certain neighborhoods, government reports outlining the deconcentration of the urban poor from inner-cities as a counter-insurgency strategy, and the creation of the modern shelter system.



----------------------------------Bay Area Calendar----------------------------------

BUILDING A POPULAR ANARCHIST MOVEMENT IN IRELAND

Irish anarchist intellectual and labor organizer Andrew Flood will be coming to San Jose and Oakland as part of his North American speaking tour.
Flood is a long time member of Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM) and has participated in the anarchist movement's development from a handful of dedicated organizers into a directly democratic anti-capitalist movement that has spread across Ireland. Join the discussion of what anarchist organizing like the WSM's could bring to our communities here.
This experience should be beneficial to anarchists and non-anarchists alike and will hopefully contribute to the existing political imagination about "what is possible".
Flood will be speaking at the AK Press Warehouse-

Date: Tuesday May 13th
Time: 7:00-9:00pm
Location: 674-A 23rd St. Oakland, CA
Near Grand, between MLK and San Pablo, a ten-minute walk from 19th Street Bart.

MOBILIZE FOR CHEVRON ANNUAL SHAREHOLDER MEETING

Chevron:
Fueling Human Rights and Environmental Abuses Across the Globe
From Richmond to Ecuador, Nigeria, Burma, Philippines, Alberta and Iraq
Mass Action and Demonstration at the Shareholder Meeting!
We Demand: Peace, Respect for Human Rights and the Environment, Climate Justice!

Date: Wednesday May 28th
Time: 7am
Location: Chevron World Headquarters San Ramon, CA
Transport (Bus, carpool, bike, BART) info coming soon
check http://bayareadirectaction.wordpress.com/ for updates

CRITICAL MASS!!!

Bicycle! Bicycle! Get on your bikes and ride!
Date: Friday May 30th (and the last Friday of every month!)
Time: Gather at 5:30pm, leave at 6:00pm
Location: Justin Herman Plaza San Francisco, CA


RECLAIM THE STREETS: RENTERS RISE UP!

San Francisco renters will be taking to the streets on May 31st to reclaim public space and call attention to the urgent need to protect tenants' rights in this ever-gentrifying city. The action has been timed to raise awareness about the urgent need to stop Proposition 98 and save rent control in the June 3rd election.
Reclaim the Streets: Renters Rise Up! is being organized by a collective of artists, teachers, tenants' rights activists, students, union organizers, and renters. The group will gather at Dolores Park in the Mission District and will then depart to an undisclosed location. The action will festively proceed through the streets of San Francisco, complete with music, performers, moving sound systems, spontaneous art, and dancing. Reclaim the Streets organizers will not obtain a permit for this action, because we believe that we should not need permission to use public space in our city. Control of our neighborhoods should be in the hands of people who live in them, not high-paid developers, elite politicians, or hostile police. When we stand together, we can reclaim public space and fill it with art and celebration.
Reclaim the Streets: Renters Rise Up! is about reclaiming public space, by taking to the streets in "unpermitted" celebration and by fighting to ensure that San Francisco remains a vibrant, multicultural city welcoming to more than just the rich. All are invited to attend, especially Bay Area renters, and we encourage participants to bring games, music, costumes, and stunts.

Date: Saturday May 31st
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Dolores Park in the Mission District San Francisco, CA
http://www.reclaimsf.org

EVERYONE IN CALIFORNIA: VOTE(?) NO ON 98 AND YES ON 99 ON JUNE 3RD!

Okay, so this will probably be the only time you will ever hear the Friendly Fire Collective telling you to vote. We hold absolutely no faith in the electoral system to bring any sort of positive, meaningful, or lasting change (unless you're a rich white guy).
But, that said, if Prop 98 passes it would eliminate rent control and make it easier for landlords to evict tenants. This statewide proposition threatens to erode hard-won tenants' rights, displace entire communities, and push countless renters out of San Francisco (and other areas with rent control including Berkeley and Santa Monica). If this passes San Francisco will drastically change within a matter of years, forcing out the city's working class and people of color in record numbers in record time.
This is a STATEWIDE proposition so, please, ALL California voters to vote NO on Proposition 98 and vote YES on Proposition 99 (a proposition put on the ballot to undo the damaging effects of Proposition 98, in the event it were to pass) even if that's all you vote on in this election. It's not too late to register to vote.
For more info:

Full Text of Proposition 98:
http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/initiatives/pdfs/i684_2007-05-03_07-0015_Initiative.pdf

Western Center on Law and Poverty's Analysis of Prop. 98:
http://www.sftu.org/071220%20Western%20Center%20Memo.pdf

State Campaign for No on 98, Yes on 99:
http://www.no98yes99.com/

SF Campaign to Save Rent Control
http://homepage.mac.com/davegun2/SFSaveRentControl/

Also—for San Francisco voters—vote YES on F, NO on G for affordable housing in the Bayview.
And we'll take this opportunity to officially condemn both the Republican and future-Democratic presidential candidates in advance… to maintain some street cred.