This is a guide that was distributed by anarchists during the 2012 student strikes and social conflicts in Montreal. The document provides step-by-step instructions on how to form crews, how to create paint bombs, how to occupy a space, how to conduct a street demonstration, as well as other important tactics.
This is a communique published by Occupy Oakland in solidarity with Longshore workers in Longview, Washington. Occupy Oakland strongly condemns the actions taken by Export Grain Terminal (EGT), as the company has engaged in union busting as well as repression and recrimination against Longshore workers. Additionally, Occupy Oakland cites these actions by EGT as the reason for why it mobilized to shut down the Port of Oakland and concludes by declaring its solidarity with Longshoremen and commitment to shutting down the 1%.
Occupy Oakland, a part of the larger Occupy Movement, published this piece calling for a blockade of all the West Coast Ports in order to shut down operations and disrupt the profits of the 1%. They reflect on the success of the Oakland Port shutdown that had occurred the previous month, highlighting the effectiveness of solidarity and uniting together in struggle.
This is a step-by-step guide published by CrimethInc. on how to utilize lockboxes when conducting a blockade. Information on equipment, design instructions, planning stages, handling legal consequences, as well as other material is described and illustrated in the document.
This piece was an anonymous call to action to impose a people’s blockade on the Oakland Army Terminal and the naval facilities at the port of Oakland-San Francisco. This was in response to President Nixon’s blockading of Haiphong and the destructive air and naval bombardments he had recently ordered on Vietnam. The Oakland Army Terminal was a major loading point for U.S. troops and munitions to be sent to Vietnam, which is why these anti-war activists sought to disrupt its operation in the hopes of forcing Nixon to bring the Vietnam War to an end.
This piece describes the direct actions taken by NYC Earth First! and Wetlands Rainforest Action Group activists at the Mitsubishi International office building. The activists entered the building with multiple 600-pound concrete-filled barrels, lockboxes, and megaphones. They used these tools to lock themselves to the doors and barrels, barricade the entrances, and effectively shut down the building until police forces arrived to break it up. The blockaders demanded to meet with Mitsubishi’s president and stood their ground until the blockade was deconstructed by the police. The activists sought to raise public awareness for the destructive environmental practices of Mitsubishi and repeatedly chanted the phrase “Earth First! Profits Last! Boycott Mitsubishi!” This piece by NYC Earth First! concluded with a call for all readers to boycott products with the Mitsubishi logo and with information on how to contact the president of the Mitsubishi International Corporation.
“We made Mitsubishi’s life hell for a day and got our message out with great newspaper, TV, international newswire and internet website coverage, bringing home the message: “Earth First! Profits Last! Boycott Mitsubishi!”
This piece consists of personal accounts of three Earth First!ers during their various blockades over the course of a two week period. The blockades occurred in order to stop the continued destruction of the Bald Mountain road in the Kalmiopsis region. In each instance, activists locked arms, forming a barrier between the bulldozer and the rest of the road, temporarily halting destruction. Additionally, the second account describes how in addition to forming a blockade, Earth First!ers chained themselves to the bulldozers, halting the destruction for even longer.
“We feel in our hearts that we have contributed to a great cause, and helped with the advent of a new tactic in the protection of wilderness in America: Direct Action.”
A story from Vol. VII, No. IV of the Earth First! Journal that describes the direct actions taken by Oregon Earth First!ers in response to the Siskiyou National Forest’s reneging on an agreement to postpone logging within the North Kalmiopsis Roadless Area. While much of the wilderness in the Kalmiopsis region is protected, this action occurred to defend the hundreds of thousands of unprotected roadless areas. Activists engaged in a precedent-setting seven direct actions in addition to providing non-violent direct action training sessions to others. The piece concludes with a call to action to all Earth First!ers as well as anyone interested in participating in the direct actions the group has planned in the coming weeks to protect the North Kalmiopsis.
This article provides dated updates of the tactics of resistance used by activists against the construction of a gas plant and port at James Price Point in the Kimberley region of West Australia. The planned project would destroy endangered species like the sea turtle and their habitats, ruin the pristine natural ecosystems of the region, and have major social and economic impacts, as the Kimberley region relies heavily on tourism. The piece captures some of the disruptive actions taken by activists over the summer of 2011. These include locking themselves to bulldozers, establishing blockades of construction entry points, occupying space at the site, among others. This campaign was ultimately successful, as by 2014, the development of the plant was officially stopped.
On August 23, 1997, five activists were arrested after locking down the Old Executive Office Building to deny Al Gore access to proceed with his U.S.-South Africa deal on pharmaceutical access. ActUP activists argued that his proposed agreement unfairly limits South Africa’s right to produce and import essential drugs at affordable prices. These activists postponed the workday, as officials took hours cutting the activists’ chains. The activists’ goal was to interrupt the workday to distrust the movement on Al Gore’s harmful procedure.
A member of the Mattole Forest Defenders described the group’s actions against logging plans to cut down the remaining Northern California coastal old-growth Douglas fir trees. Blockade structures were built, trees were occupied, and reinforcements from the Mattole Forest Defenders were convoked. The piece concluded with a call to action to help defend what remains of the forest.