Ollie, Stormin' Norman & Mac the Knife...

WARNING! Another war monger is on the loose and may be headed your way. Robert McNamara, a.k.a. Mac the Knife, is following in the footsteps of Ollie "The Shredder" North, "Stormin' Norm" Swartzkopf, and others as he tours the country spewing his shit. These war criminals must be opposed every time they show their face! Like when Ollie was met by 1000 demonstrators in Seattle and 500 in San Francisco; or when Stormin' Norm got covered in 'blood' by a Seattle area vet.

Opposing these pigs is a perfect way for small forces to make a huge impact. Even if your not sure when, or if, Mac the Knife is coming to your town, thinking of how to take on these war criminals is good practice-cause there's always another one coming down the pike in the future.

• PLAN AHEAD! Know what you want to accomplish strategically, and let that determine your tactics. Know the political points you want to make.

• PLAN FURTHER AHEAD! Be sure to think through the full ramifications of the planned actions. Actions can lead to arrests which can lead to legal battles--an important arena, but one that must be undertaken knowingly and with a plan.

• Try to figure out what the scene will be like--How much security will there be? Will you be surrounded by reactionaries, or will there be sympathetic forces around? (Maybe talk to people in previous tour stops.) Also, check out the scene just before doing your action. It seems to be a common strategy of theirs to be late. Mac was over a half hour late in Seattle.

• Use the media, but don't rely on them (they may ignore you). Bring your own picture taker if possible, and publicize your actions afterward. When talking to the media, keep everything you say very sharp, short, and to the point. Experience shows that if you talk for 5 minutes the press will take the worst 10 seconds for their sound bite. Also bring your own tape recorder and tape the entire interview. It's a good way to polish your media skills and could protect you if misquoted.

• When doing your disruption, say the most critical things first in case they shut you down right away, but have more things ready in case they are caught off guard and you have a chance to go on.

• Be security conscious. Don't talk about it over the phone or with people who don't need to know. But do let some trusted people know so that in case of arrest you aren't completely isolated.

• Make sure all the tactical stuff is working. (Do you have all your supplies? Who will do what? etc.)

• Have some back-up options. If you plan to disrupt, but are unable to get inside for some reason, have a banner and some leaflets in a car so you can do something outside instead.

These are some cool things that we have heard of people doing. Bringing their own "collateral damage"--doing a die-in on stage and throwing bloody baby dolls on the book table. Decorating the area around the speaking site the night before by gluing up posters, spray painting stencils on the sidewalks, and graffiti on the walls, unfurling a banner and disrupting the speech, calling in and flooding the airwaves with the truth when they do call-in shows on the radio or TV.

It's great to have vets involved in these actions if possible, but don't feel intimidated if you don't. Everyone has every right to confront and shut down these war pigs. And remember, even though you may be in the minority where you are doing your action--the majority of the world's people support and appreciate what you are doing.