All posts by The Final Straw Radio

The Final Straw Radio is a terrestrial radio show and podcast started in 2009 featuring information by, for and about anarchists and other anti-authoritarians. The show airs weekly on Sundays from 2-3pm EST out of Asheville, NC, USA.
activism, CounterInsurgency, Environment, European Union, France, General, Neoliberalism, repression

No-TAV resistance and metal

http://actforfree.nostate.net/?s=tav
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This week’s episode features a short interview with a member of the No-TAV struggle in the Italian Alps. For decades the residents of Val di Susa in northern Italy (near Turin) have been struggling to stop the development of a 30 mile long tunnel through the mountains, across the border to Lyon, France. The project is a European Union one that is one wing of a larger international commercial venture web of restricted transit for goods that EU is attempting to push through. The actual tunneling threatens, among other things, to release enough uranium and asbestos into the air and shallow water-table of Val di Susa and surrounding areas that even the EU estimates that the damage will be measurable and irreparable.

We speak about what shapes the resistance has taken, how anarchists and others have engaged at varying times, and the repression faced from the government. Currently, there are arrests and incarcerations and investigations concerning, among other activities, a night-time raid in 2012 of the militarized construction site of the TAV which was arsoned and effectively shut down for a period of time afterwards. Some of the vocal anarchist and activist arrestees are facing terrorism charges based on Italy’s EU-adopted laws concerning resistance to government projects. The new definition basically posits that those who effectively make it so the government can’t do something (good or bad) and the EU wants it to happen, the national government is pressed to prosecute. More on the case can be found at http://actforfree.nostate.net/?s=tav

This episode’s playlist can be found at here

Anarchist, Anonymous, Anti-Civ, Author, gender, General, Hacking, Layla AbdelRahim, Prisons, Quebec, Racism, repression

Layla AbdelRahim on education + civilization, plus prisoner announcements

http://layla.miltsov.org/
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This week’s episode features the rest of a conversation with Layla AbdelRahim about her recent book, Wild Children – Domesticated Dreams: Civilization and the Birth of Education. We played the start of this conversation near the end of last week‘s show and continue it throughout this hour. Layla talks about education, domestication, patriarchy, capitalism, instrumentalism, empathy and much more. More of her writings can be found at http://layla.miltsov.org/

Sean Swain’s segment this week talks about ISIL/ISIS, the crisis in Iraq and revisits the stupidity and cruel ignorance of U.S. intervention into Iraq since the 1980’s.

We also announce two things regarding prisoners:
1st, The MOVE9’s supporters are trying to get them paroled by pressuring the Philly D.A. via a weekly call-in on Mondays. More on that can be found at: http://move9parole.blogspot.com/2014/06/move-9-mondays-hold-seth-williams.html;
For some background, check out our interview with Orie Lumumba, a supporter of the MOVE9 about the case and history of the MOVE Organization: http://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2014/02/27/update-on-the-g20-extraditees-the-move-9-parole-push-02162014/;

2nd, “On March 21st, 2012 Higinio Ochoa III aka w0rmer, was arrested and charged with hacking law enforcement agency websites and posting the personal information of police officers online, as well as being accused of defacing a government website in Alabama. Hig was part of an Anonymous crew called the Cabincr3w.” (Anon-Sweden support page). w0rmer will be released into a halfway house after 2 years of incarceration this August, however he’ll be forced to live in Austin, TX, 4 hours from where his wife and now-1-year-old son live. Support folks are trying to raise $6,000 to help cover the move and some living expenses until both find gainful employment in Austin. More info at: http://www.youcaring.com/other/help-the-ochoa-family-to-reunite/190052

A-Radio Berlin, Anti-Civ, Author, Brazil, Canada, gender, General, Health, Layla AbdelRahim, Quebec, Sports

A view from Sao Paolo on resistance to FIFA; Layla AbdelRahim on “Wild Children – Domesticated Dreams”

http://comitepopularsp.wordpress.com/
Protests in Rio against FIFA & hikes in Transit fees
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This week’s show features mainly a dubbed interview by comrades at A-Radio Berlin with a member of a Comite Popular da Copa in Sao Paolo, Brazil. The interviewee speaks about the context of resistance in Brazil and how it’s developed, public discourse around elections, the cost of living, developments around the FIFA World Cup and upcoming Olympics in Brazil. He discusses the links between politicians supporting these huge events, the political power of the construction companies, the displacement of poor, urban peoples and the further gentrification of cities under the guise of facilitating these huge events that draw short term profits but cause longterm damages. Information about the Comite Popular da Copa in Sao Paolo can be found at: http://comitepopularsp.wordpress.com/

More works by A-Radio Berlin can be found at http://aradio.blogsport.de

At about 40 minutes into the show, we begin presenting a conversation with Layla AbdelRahim about her recent book, “Wild Children – Domesticated Dreams: Narratives of Civilization and Wilderness”. She is an anarchaprimitivist who explores ideas of education, domestication and civilization in terms of childhood development and overall human health. In this portion, we define some terms and talk about instrumentalization of living things and symbolic thought and how they are used to shape the child’s mind into the civilized and non-empathic perspective. Info on the book can be found at http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca

Sean Swain, this week, talks about the corruption and enslavement involved in the construction of the Ohio State Capital building in Colombus.

Anarchist, British Columbia, Canada, Capitalism, Earth & Animal Liberation, Fracking, General, History, Indigenous, Quebec

Part 2 of Mel Bazil on Decolonization, Anarchism, Solidarity and Indigeneity (June 15, 2014)

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Before we announce the show, we want to announce our presentation of
Sean Swain’s voice on our show for the first time in 8 weeks. Sean’s
GTL (GlobalTelLink, privatized prison phone company) and JPay (private company Sean’s critiqued before which handles, among other things, emails/commisary and other profitized elements of incarceration) accounts were suspended by the OSP administration, the office of Governor Kasich & the Ohio Highway Patrol/State Police. During those 8 weeks, Sean’s segments on The Final Straw (which were ostensibly a reason for his blackout) never stopped, as Sean smuggled scripts out of the Super-Duper-Uber-Mega-Ultra-Max in Youngstown. Congrats, Sean!

This week we play part two of Mel Bazil’s presentation from the 2014 Montreal Anarchist Bookfaire. He covers an array of concepts. He talks about the Non-Profit Industrial Complex, Decolonization, infrastructure, false alternative energies and capitalism.

Mel also touches on the ideas around self-knowledge, Free Prior and Informed Consent between individuals and communities (http://unistotencamp.wordpress.com/free-prior-and-informed-consent-protocol/), and the framework of human/indigenous Rights versus Responsibilities to
the earth and to each other and to ourselves. This broadcast comes on the day that Mr. Bazil and other people struggling with the Unist’ot’en Action Camp expected an injunction against the action camp by the B.C.
government. Anarchists have been invited over the years to build relationships and struggle alongside this community and project, which brings interesting questions of overlaps and differences between anarchism(s) and indigenous cultures in resistance.

Keep informed about the camp: http://unistotencamp.com/

Warrior Publications has been publishing informative and beautifully illustrated works on decolonization, resistance and anarchism for over a decade now: http://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/

Vancouver Island Community Forest Action Network is a gateway for outside anarchists and activists to get involved in helping at Unist’ot’en: http://forestaction.wikidot.com/

This audio is from an almost hour and a half presentation that Mel gave on Saturday the 24th of May at the Montreal Anarchist Bookfaire, entitled “Anarchy, Indigenous Sovereignty, and Decolonization.” Many thanks to CKUT Radio in Montreal for sharing this content with the Final
Straw. More info on CKUT can be found at www.ckut.ca

Anarchist, Canada, Earth & Animal Liberation, Environment, Fracking, General, Indigenous, Neoliberalism, Pipeline, Quebec, Racism

Mel Bazil on “Anarchy, Indigenous Sovereignty, and Decolonization”; Imprisoned Kevin “Rashid” Johnson denied medical care

unistotencamp
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This week’s episode features a workshop by Mel Bazil, an indigenous Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en organizer, sovereigntist, and anarchist of the Unist’ot’en Action Camp. For folks in the listening audience, Unist’ot’en is located on unceded native lands in so-called British Colombia, Canada. More about the Unist’ot’en Action Camp can be found at unistotencamp.com

This audio is from an almost hour and a half presentation that Mel gave on Saturday the 24th of May at the Montreal Anarchist Bookfaire, entitled “Anarchy, Indigenous Sovereignty, and Decolonization.” Many thanks to CKUT Radio in Montreal for sharing this content with the Final Straw. More info on CKUT can be found at www.ckut.ca

This week we’ll be presenting the first of two parts of Mel’s presentation, the second will be aired in coming weeks and linked together on the Final Straw website soon.

Firstly though, an announcement about the health of longterm political prisoner, Kevin “Rashid” Johnson. The following text was found at http://rashidmod.com, where one can seek further updates on the situation.

For anyone in the Durham area of North Carolina, there is a call-out on June 13th for a Noise Demo at the jail. More info can be found at (http://prisonbooks.info/2014/05/30/jail-demo-june-13th-solidarity-with-l…)

For more info on the prisoner hunger strike at Polk CI in Butner, NC, including their demands, check out: (http://prisonbooks.info/2014/06/02/prisoner-hunger-strike-hits-polk-corr…)

Playlist

Anarchist, Anti-Civ, Asheville, Earth & Animal Liberation, Earth First!, Environment, Eric McDavid, General, Hacking, History, June 11, Labor, Marius Mason, Music, NATO3, Prisons, repression, Sean Swain

June 11th announcements then METAL

neveralone2014
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This week’s episode features a couple of announcements about the upcoming June 11th Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason, Eric McDavid and Longterm Anarchist and Eco Prisoners. For info on the cases of Eric & Marius and other folks needing support, along with ideas of what solidarity might look like, check out http://june11.org [Please note that Marius Mason’s deadname is used as this is before he publicly announced his transition]

Here in Asheville, there will be a 4pm picnic at Carrier Park where folks will talk about June 11th, Eric & Marius’s cases, solidarity and prison realities. Food will be present, but bring your own sides to share, especially if you have dietary restrictions.

At 9pm on June 11th, there’ll be a show at the Odditorium. The benefit requests a $5-20 donation. Bands include Aneides and Uninhabitable from Asheville, Burnt Books from South Carolina and Harsh Words from Georgia. Items’ll be raffled off and there’ll be plenty of info available and folks to chat with. On Fakebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1452424341665913/

For more events in your town, check out june11.org. Also announced was the online art exhibition curated by the Earth First! Prisoner Support Project and featuring the work of 23 different artists, many of whom are eco-prisoners. Check out http://neveraloneart.org for flyers and more info. It’ll be up and online from June 11th to June 30th.

Bursts read a statement by Sean on this episode concerning the U.S. economy and the role that counterfeiting money plays in it. Very informative, as always.

Following the announcements, we heard Cervidae, Ancient Oak, Deafest and more! Check out the playlist here

A-Radio Berlin, activism, Črna Luknja, General, Rebroadcast

črna luknja interviews Hana from Bosnia; half an hour of recent metal tracks

bosnia-master675
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This week, we feature audio that made it’s way to us from the Slovenian anarchist radio show, črna luknja (Black Hole). Hosts interviewed Hana, who’s originally from Mostar but lives now in Sarajevo. Hana tells of her perspectives on the protests and public plenums that occurred in Bosnia in response to the government ignoring workers and voters demands and continued to privatize industry while further precariatizing (is that a word?) the population.

You can find more material by črna luknja (mostly NOT in english) at http://radiostudent.si/dru%C5%BEba/%C4%8Drna-luknja
This week’s segment written by Sean Swain talks about the case of Krow in Wisconsin. To find out some more on it, check out our interview with Krow from last year: http://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2013/07/15/west-coast-prisone…
https://penokeedefenders.wordpress.com/

Asheville, gender, General, harm reduction, North Carolina, panel discussion, Prisons, Queer, Racism, repression

Tranzmission presents on Queer realities in prison

http://tranzmissionprisonproject.tumblr.com/
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This week’s episode features a presentation by members of Tranzmission Prison Project, an Asheville-based group. TPP is described on their tumblr as “Prison abolitionists against Queer & Trans* incarceration “. This is a recording of group members presenting their LGBTQQIA Prisoner Realities workshop recently at Warren Wilson College.

Trigger warning: This episode discusses sexual assault, solitary confinement and other torturous punishments.

For more info on this project, check out:
http://www.tranzmissionprisonproject.org/

Anarchist, General, Grand Jury, PNW, Sean Swain

Steve Jablonski on exile against the PNW Grand Jury (05/04/2014)

http://pnwgjresistance.storenvy.com/(Post Script, April 2015:  It has come to our attention at The Final Straw, and within the wider North American Anarchist scene, that Steve Jablonski’s story of evasion of a Grand Jury in the PNW was a false one.  It’s regrettable that someone would choose to gain social and economic capital by posing themselves as bravely resisting the state and it’s harassment.  As has been verified to us here at the show, Steve not only lied on this show, but in tons of personal interactions in the U.S. and Canada and took advantage of good intentions and trust while also soaking up resources that could have been used to support others actually resisting Grand Juries and otherwise experiencing State repression.  The audio of this episode has been removed.  For further clarification: http://anarchistnews.org/content/regarding-steven-jablonskis-deceptions-grand-juries-and-sensible-solidarity)

This week’s show features a conversation with Steve Jablonski, recently returned from a period of self-imposed exile in Canada as avoidance of receiving a Federal Grand Jury subpoena in relation to anti-police organizing in the pacific northwest and the May Day spree of 2012 in Seattle. Steve talks about the choice he made, the circumstances that allowed him to return, the support he received while abroad and his return to the U.S.

This week’s Sean Swain segment is read by a supporter. Sean has resumed his meals but is still being denied phone and email access. It is suggested that you take a minute and give a call to Chief Inspector Gary Mohr in Columbus Ohio at (614)752-1671 or (614)752-1677 and request that Sean be given those accesses so that he can more easily communicate with his new legal counsel, Richard Kerger. Seanswain.org also suggests calling ODRC Legal Services at 614-752-1765 and requesting to speak to Counsel Trevor Clark. Sean believes that Trainwreck Trevor is the source of his silencing.

We also announce a request by the Move9 Parole supporters that people call the Pennsylvania Parole Board from the 5th to the 9th 24/7 at (717) 772-4343 and request that the Board parole Debbie (Sims) Africa (#006307) on the grounds that Debbie has:
1.) received a positive recommendation from both the Warden and Superintendent of her prison for parole;
2.) employment and housing both set up for her if she is paroled
3.) an excellent prison conduct record.
More info can be found at http://move9parole.blogpsot.com
Hear our interview with Orie Lumumba about the Move9 case here: http://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2014/02/27/update-on-the-g20-extraditees-the-move-9-parole-push-02162014/

A great way to support legal fees and such for resisters, including Dennison Williams and Kerry Cunneen who are still in exile, as they evaded the Grand Jury AFTER being served with subpoenas, and make your walls pretty, check out http://pnwgjresistance.storenvy.com/ or http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/ and specify donations for Dennison and Kerry. Hopefully money will get to them.

Also, Steve wanted me to include info about his buddy, Amelie, who is caught up in the 5E3 prisoners in Mexico: http://fuegoalascarceles.wordpress.com/in-english-information/

A-Radio Berlin, Anarchist, Author, Chile, Feminism, gender, General, harm reduction, Health, History, Political Prisoner, Prisons, Racism, repression, Sean Swain, United States

Dan Berger on “The Struggle Within: Prisons, Political Prisoners, and Mass Movements in the United States”

98217821-young-woman-wearing-groucho-marx-mask-gettyimages
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This week, William speaks with Dan Berger – who is an author, prison activist and movement historian – about his new book “The Struggle Within: Prisons, Political Prisoners, and Mass Movements in the United States” just out from PM Press. They speak about histories pertaining to radical mileus as well as the much debated term “political prisoner” and how it relates to prison abolition and support work, among other topics. More about him and his work can be found at http://danberger.org.

Also included is a piece by comrades at ARadio Berlin entitled “Practical Self Help; An Abortion Hotline in Chile”. More of their works can be found at http://aradio.blogsport.de.

Sean Swain’s segment this week is read by The Stimulator of http://Submedia.tv, check out their radical films at that site. Sean is still refusing meals, so far as we are aware. Updates can be found at http://seanswain.org