The flying circus tours and convergence proved to be everything we’d hoped: anarchist lore and merriment were spread far outside the activist ghetto, fast friendships were forged, kids learned in the flames of catastrophe the skills that will make future endeavors twice as effective. The final days in and outside Des Moines were almost unreal — spontaneous Reclaim the Streets actions in which the police backed off to make way for the fire breathers on stilts, mass naked dancing in public parks, locals quitting their jobs to join us, a spirit of closeness and abandon many of us had never dreamed of experiencing.

Now most of us who were involved are arriving in the communities in which we’ll be operating this fall, and we’re hitting the ground running. And so we unveil the prelude to the next stage of our resistance, the Culture Offensive: three new posters, responding to the hysteria occasioned by the anniversary of September 11, and a national wheatpasting campaign to hammer home the point that dissent and defiance are everywhere the television cameras aren’t pointing. These are available online and through the mail for all who would like to do their own redecorating of public space and psyche.

Coming next: a website dedicated to projects like this, on which poster designs will be constantly offered and exchanged, documentation of guerrilla decorating victories posted, and similar campaigns facilitated (see below news posting). A paper, tentatively titled Fighting For Our Lives, designed to introduce anarchy (as opposed to anarchism) to a wider demographic than Harbinger has reached — which will be available in time for the actions taking place in Washington, D.C. and Denver, Colorado this fall. And, shortly thereafter, the real fun begins…