CRAP vs. the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army

T Bag

At approximately 4pm this afternoon [Oct. 18, 2004] a (so-called) pro-capitalist group calling itself CRAP (Capitalism Represents Acceptable Policy) broke away from the anticapitalist bloc of the march to go on a little wander through central London………

This small group of (almost) smartly dressed men and women set off through Covent Garden on the 5th Annual March For Capitalism, waving banners declaring “ Tax the Poor” , “Bombs not Bread” , “War is Good for the Economy” , “I Love My SUV”, “Climate Change? Bring It On” and “Money Is My Life”.

They applauded Starbucks and Pizza Hut (much to the confusion of the staff) and encouraged shoppers to keep on consuming, chanting slogans such as “Free Trade not Fair Trade!” “More War!” “More Blood for Oil!” and “More Oil for My SUV!”

Upon reaching Leicester square the “pro capitalists” we greeted by a cheering, slightly bemused, but laughing crowd (who had actually come to see stars arrive for the premiere of Johnny Depp’s new film).

All of a sudden the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army leapt out from behind the Depp fans and attacked the pro-capitalists using tickling sticks and bad jokes.

A raging battle ensued and eventually the “pro-capitalists” were forced to flee in the face of the Clowns vision of an anti-capitalist utopia where eveybody’s nice to each other, money isn’t everything and everyone wears colanders on their heads.

The Depp fans applauded, the police looked confused and the Clowns chased the pro-capitalists all the way to Trafalgar Square where some people didn’t get the joke.

… Nevermind

Toronto Anarchist Bookfair

Oct. 23-24, 2004

Welcome Party Friday 22 Oct 2004
* Arriving in Toronto early?

* Visit Uprising Books and Infoshop, 6 Kensington Ave

* In Kensington Market, a fresh food marketplace

* Inexpensive places to eat and drink

Bookfair Saturday 23 Oct 2004

* From 10 am - 4 pm

* At the 519 Church St Community Centre

* Introductory workshops at 519 Church

* And above This Ain't The Rosedale Library, at 483 Church St

"Biofeedback:
Give Me Back My Lab and My Freedom of Speech!"

A Benefit for Steve Kurtz and Critical Art Ensemble

New York City, Oct. 21, 2004

Featuring Tony Conrad / HangedUp, Christian Marclay / Dj Olive / Dj North Guinea Hills, Tyondai Braxton, New Humans, Dub Trio, Talibam and others T.B.A.

Thursday October 21, 8pm, $12 (two floors of music)

Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street (between Rivington and Delancy)

CONTACT: Dion Workman, 212-358-7501

The Benefit

"Biofeedback: Give Me Back My Lab and My Freedom of Speech!" is an energetic round-up of musicians, entertainers and visual artists who are creating loud and clear feedback in support of Steve Kurtz and Critical Art Ensemble (CAE). This benefit will help raise money for Kurtz's legal fees in a case of FBI harassment and silencing dissent. To date, the CAE Defense Fund has raised an impressive $30,000, but the total costs are estimated at $150,000. There is still hope that the court will realize the absurdity of the case and dismiss Kurtz of charges in December; if this does happen, the fund will be used to help others who may find themselves under similar political scrutiny.

Black Women Writers Dissecting Globalization:

An International Conference on Literature by Women of
African Ancestry

NYU, Kimmel Center for University Life

60 Washington Square South

Organization of Women Writers of Africa

October 12-16, 2004

It's a small world after all, as the growing buzz
surrounding the concept of globalization makes clearer
by the day. However, the people of the African diaspora
have experienced its beauty and ugliness for centuries,
chronicled in Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka's tragic
tales of British colonialism, Alain Locke and Frantz
Fanon's scrutinies of blackness on a world stage, and
the lives of Richard Wright and James Baldwin, expats
criticizing a culture that rejected and humiliated
them. With few exceptions, males have dominated this
early examination of blackness on a global scale.