Between February and May 2007 I interviewed 31 anarchists in the USA located in 17 different cities. The interviews are linked to below and provide a snapshot of the anarchist movement across the United States and anarchist attitudes towards local struggles and the US elections. The interviews were conducted during my 'Building a Popular Anarchism in Ireland' speaking tour during which I spoke at 45 locations across the USA and Canada.
Audio from Shell HQ occupyion in Dublin to protest give away of natural resources
Shells HQ on Leeson street in Dublin has been occupied by activists protesting the give away of Ireland natural resources to this corporation depriving the health and education system of billions of euro worth of needed funds.
This morning at 7.30 Dublin Shell to Sea members brought a taste of Mayo to Corrib House. Over 50 people took part in an ongoing blockade of the three entrances of the Shell HQ.
The San Jose meeting took place at the De Bug centre in San Jose and attracted 32 people. The meeting organised by Amancer was the first public event they organised in the city.
The Eugene meeting, which was small, 12-14 people, took part at the Apocalypse on Broadway warehouse in an industrial estate.
On Mayday I was in Olympia, Washington one of the few East coast ports rumored not to be shout down by the one day strike against the war. The meeting that evening in Evergreen College attracted around 18 people, we'd probably have got more was it not for the drama of the day.
Well Florida was green too buts its nice to be somewhere northern where everything is not the muddy brown of winter.
Last nights meeting at the Arise bookshop in Minneapolis was packed out, I counted over 40 people crammed into the limited space. Minneapolis is the last of the mid-west stops, its on to Seattle and the west coast today.
33 people came along to the Detroit meeting in Baile Corcaigh.
The afternoon before and the morning after I was given an extended tour of Detroit by one of the meeting organizers who has been active in the city since the 1970's. This brought home what a stronghold Detroit had been for the left, in one neighboorhood there used to be up to 15 left forums on some Friday nights. But also just how much the city has decayed since, the population of the metro area has halved since the 1970's.
Arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday, 16 people attended the talk at the Thomas Merton Center - http://www.thomasmertoncenter.org/ which has been around since 1972