Welcome to the August 2008 Friendly Fire Newsletter!
[please forward widely]

Hi Kids!

Welcome to this month's Friendly Fire Newsletter! We're happy to be around and still kickin. Hope you are, too.

This month we don't have a ton that's new and incredible but we will point out a couple noteworthy items. One is that we're launching a new project starting this month called "Bay Area Radical History" inspired by Just Seeds' "Celebrate People's History" poster series (which can be found here). We're writing short pieces on key points in Bay Area radical history and making our own posters for folks to use as educational and inspirational art. Yeah, we know, not too original but check out our first poster on the Presidio 27! Doesn't it look fuckin rad? (no pun intended) We've also added a couple more "Fight the Conventions" posters to our image gallery so take a look at those below.

Speaking of new original content, check out the latest article by collective member Ian analyzing the spectacle of the upcoming Democratic and Republican Conventions and how radical movements relate to this type of summit. You can find this article below as well.

Last month we were hoping to put on our first event, a screening of the documentary Meeting Resistance in Dolores Park here in SF. Unfortunately we had to cancel at risk of being shown up by an already scheduled screening of The Breakfast Club (which was awesome by the way!). We were thinking about rescheduling for this month but with the upcoming conventions (we're going, are you?) and other projects/events we're working on we've decided that this month is just too hectic. (Plus look at our calendar and see all the great events already scheduled this month!) We'd really like to get that rolling and we've been promising it for awhile, so hopefully we'll have something planned for the near future.

As always, thanks for checking out our project. We're glad to have you all participating in this with us and are looking forward to growing in the coming months. Please pass on this newsletter (or any part of it) to anyone you think may be interested. We'll be talking with you next month and seeing you in streets!

Take care of yourselves,


                    --The Friendly Fire Collective
                      www.friendlyfirecollective.info


-------------------Friendly Fire Original Content-----------------------

"Smashing the Conventions: Disrupting the Spectacle of Law and Order" by Ian Alan Paul of the Friendly Fire Collective
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/47/smashing-the-conventions-disrupting-the-spectacle-of-law-and-order

This article is meant to develop an analysis of the spectacular nature of the upcoming confrontations at the DNC/RNC, and contemplates how the North American anti-authoritarian movement can relate to this specific type of summit protest. Will the movement be successful in breaking down the spectacle of 'law and order', or will we continue to be marginalized by its message?

----------------------------------Suggested Reading----------------------------------

"Revolutionary Catechism" by Michael Bakunin
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/48/revolutionary-catechism

Bakunin's "Revolutionary Catechism" was one of the founding organizational documents of anarchist political philosophy when it was published originally in 1866. Today much of what is laid out within it can be useful in developing our own vision of a future society and incorporating the values represented within it in our political organizing. This political theory and vision will hopefully inspire this generation of organizers much as it did those who were first exposed to it decades and decades ago. This was taken from Sam Dolgoff's Bakunin on Anarchism, an edited collection of Bakunin's writings.


"Return of the Gunboat" by John Ross
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/51/return-of-the-gunboat

The resurrection and imminent dispatch of the United States Fourth Fleet to patrol the coasts of Latin America invokes the bad old days of Monroe Doctrine impositions and gunboat diplomacy for many citizens of those southern latitudes. In this article John Ross examines renewed and increased U.S. militarism in Latin America as an effort to regain hegemony and maintain its grip on the region's economy.


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

"Naomi Klein's Censored Speech at the National Conference for Media Reform"
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/49/naomi-kleins-censored-speech-at-the-national-conference-for-media-reform

Naomi Klein's speech attacking Obama's 'anti-war' stance at the National Conference for Media reform was not included on the conference website. subMedia (submedia.tv) got a hold the video and put it on their site, so we thought it would be nice to distribute it as well.

"Get Your War On: The Animated Series"
http://friendlyfirecollective.info/articles/50/get-your-war-on-the-animated-series

David Rees' popular comic "Get Your War On" (which can be found here) has been turned into an online animated series. Here's the first episode entitled "The Watch List".


----------------------------------Friendly Fire Graphics----------------------------------

*The Presidio 27 - Bay Area Radical History #1*
Jpeg for Web Viewing
Pdf for Printing (large file)

*'Fight Capitalism poster #1*
Jpeg for Web Viewing
Pdf for Printing (large file)

*'Fight Capitalism poster #2*
Jpeg for Web Viewing
Pdf for Printing (large file)



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

Rally and Direct Action, Noon, Aug. 6th (tomorrow!)
South Park, (btw 2nd/3rd, Bryant/Brannan) San Francisco

Help Stop the Army's Child Recruitment Program "America's Army" Videogame Targets Children as Young as 13 South Park Game Companies Profit from Illegal Recruitment Program

Tell the companies "Break contract with the Army, No more child recruitment"
map can be found here

The US Army is recruiting soldiers with a videogame called "America's Army."  The "game" incorporates real world weapons training systems into gameplay, and it records player data in a huge database called Andromeda for potential recruitment opportunities.  Worst of all it is targeted at children as young as 13, which according to the ACLU violates the UN Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. Several bay area game companies work on "America's Army" including Ubisoft the exclusive publisher, Gameloft in SF, and DCS in Emeryville.  These companies profit from a recruitment program that sends young people off to kill and die in the illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Join us at South Park, the heart of San Francisco's tech industry, on Aug. 6th to demand these companies break contract with the Army, and the military end its recruitment program.

For more information visit actagainstwar.net or http://www.truthout.org/article/us-military-recruits-children

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Changing the Terms of Struggle: Lessons from 10 years of Critical Resistance
A Study and Struggle Event

Please join us for a discussion on lessons from the vision, strategy, and practice of Critical Resistance with longtime organizers Rose Braz and Rachel Herzing.

Wednesday August 13th 6:30-9:30
SF Friends (Quakers) Meetinghouse
65 Ninth St. SF (between Market and Mission)
Block and a half from Civic Center BART/MUNI
Wheelchair Accessible

This Study and Struggle event is focused on drawing key lessons from the experiences of Critical Resistance as a multiracial, membership based, non-hierarchical organization utilizing cutting edge strategies that work for immediate reforms and long term systemic change. CR works to create/support alternative practices to address violence and safety with the goal of developing healthy and safe self-governing communities. This is an opportunity to step back and reflect on CR so as to help all of us be more effective, dynamic, strategic and visionary in our work for liberation.

Study and Struggle is a Catalyst Project political education series designed to  bring  together  left activists, organizers and intellectuals in a non-sectarian, movement building space to help develop political theory, vision and strategy.  We'd love to have you there.  Please bring friends and comrades.

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RNC/DNC mobilizing info @ www.indybay.org/conventions2008

UA in the Bay: FINAL ORGANIZING MEETING against the RNC/DNC:
Sunday, August 10th, 3-7pm
Long Haul Infoshop, 3124 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley

UA in the Bay: BENEFIT SHOWS:

#1: Thursday, August 14th, 8pm
The Eagle Tavern, 398 12th St., SF

#2: Saturday, August 16th, 4pm
Albany Bulb, Albany

(for updates on show information, go to: www.indybay.org/conventions2008)

Disrupt The DNC: MONDAY, August 24th-28th
Denver, CO

Blockade The RNC: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st
St. Paul, MN

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*CRITICAL MASS!!!*
Bicycle! Bicycle! Get on your bikes and ride!
Date: Friday August 29th (and the last Friday of every month!)
Time: Gather at 5:30pm, leave at 6:00pm
Location: Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco, CA

Check back at friendlyfirecollective.info for more additions to the calendar as the month goes on.