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.
Anarchist, Anonymous, General, Hacking, repression

An interview with some Bay Area hacktivists on political hacking (August 26, 2010)

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This weeks show is an interview with Flatline from the Hackbloc collective and Bill Silverfox about internet security, hacking, hacktivism, Anonymous and other topics. In light of recent attacks by Anti-Sec against the Arizona DPS, Anonymous on multiple targets and alleged members’ subsequent arrests, the BART protests, Wikileaks, I thought it’d be good to shed some light on a misunderstood topic. We also discuss the role of hackers in the Arab Spring movement as well as international solidarity to disrupt corrupt government censorship and activity, in the hopes of facilitating a more free flow of information around the world (Malaysia, Australia, the U.S., Morocco, Libya, Egypt, China, Iran…etc). Lots of good introductory information on internet security and history of hacking during this hour-long show. Enjoy.
Streaming live on 8/26 @ 1PM EST at www.ashevillefm.org/
Available from 8/27/2011 @ 3AM EST at www.ashevillefm.org/the-final-straw

www.hackbloc.org
www.eff.org
www.anonlg.org
www.torproject.org
www.noisebridge.net
https://hackmeet.org
https://zine.riseup.net

Anarchist, Bash Back, General, Prisons, Queer, repression

The Mount Hope Infinity

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In November of 2008, 13 identified individuals entered a mega-church in Lansing, MI, known for it’s active anti-gay stance and organizing. These 13, deemed the Mount Hope Infinity as the number of Jane and John Does (20) kept growing in the civil law suit that followed, threw leaflets telling the congregation (particularly the youth) that it’s ok not to be straight, kissed at the pulpit and chanted slogans. A two and a half year civil suit was subsequently brought by the Alliance Defense Fund (a legal group devoted to the end of persecution to Christians) under the auspices of the “Freedom of Access to Clinical Entrances Act” (a law passed to stop people from blocking access to clinics that offer abortions). This week’s hour is a discussion with one defendant about the case, the events and the aftermath.

Bash Back! communique on Mount Hope:
http://www.myspace.com/bashbacklansing/blog/448202823

The Mount Hope Infinity website:
https://themounthopeinfinity.wordpress.com/

General, Immigration, Police, Prisons, Racism, repression

Immigration over Coffee: a conversation with Loida (June 17, 2011)

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This weeks show was a conversation my friend Loida. Loida lives in the Asheville area, works here, was up until recently a student here. Loida is undocumented. We spend the hour talking about some of the laws recently passed around the U.S. and NC (and on their way to passage) that target folks without documentation, we discuss racism, we explore belonging and exclusion and identity.

Anarchist, Author, General, Queer

Ryan Conrad: Against Equality in Marriage (February 27, 2011)

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A live conversation with Ryan Conrad, blogger at Against Equality blog and editor of Against Equality: Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage. During the hour we discuss inclusion, mainstreaming, marriage as an institution and the “rights” that come with it. We also discuss the lobbying groups pushing for same-sex marriage.

Against Equality: Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage

Be warned, about 2 minutes of silence on this file version

General, History, Ireland, Marxism, Music, repression

“…For the love of one’s country is a terrible thing…” (January 24, 2011)


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Tonight’s show (Monday, 1/24/11 from 8-10pm EST, thanks to The Invisible Worm) will focus on the struggle for justice in Northern Ireland from Fenians through the United Men, the IRB, IRA, INLA and the Civil Rights Marches. Recognizing that this is guilty pleasure for some of us Americans of Irish Descent (myself included), allow me these two hours to play some of my favorite Irish Republican songs.

Please also understand that I do not condone the actions of the paramilitary movements (Unionist or Republican) or governments (Irish, Northern Irish or British). My understanding is that the Irish situation is a terribly complicated product of centuries of colonization, genocide and divide-and-conquer tactics of the lower classes (mostly along religious and ethnic lines) by the elite and powerful. A free Ireland, in my opinion, would be one: free of class division; free of the managing elite; free of religious persecution and the persecution of religions; free of sectarian conflict; free of racism, sexism and homophobia. A free Ireland would be autonomous from European oversight and debt and yet one in which Irish identity does not take the form of jingoistic nationalism.

For more information on some interesting Irish projects, check out the following pages:
Worker’s Solidarity Movement
Black and Red Revolution
RAG (Revolutionary Anarchafeminist Group

Anarchist, General, History, Marxism, Music, repression, Spain, Spanish Civil War

“Yo se que un dia te estarias con nosotros como querias, como querias.”

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This week’s show, during Dystopia, I presented my humble homage to the songs of the Spanish Civil War, and particularly to the Anarchist forces. These two hours feature many original recordings and beautiful readaptations, with little rants/snippets of history on the significance of songs.

I noted after the show ended that I left out the original of what is perhaps my favorite song ( “A Las Barricadas”, the CNT theme to the tune of Warszawianka 1905) from that period, available here for your enjoyment on youtube.

For some light reading on the subject, check out:
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/spaindx.html
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/scw/scw.htm

General, Police, Racism

Ben Saari on the Oscar Grant case & Police Accountability

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An hour-long conversation with Ben Saari, member of Santa Rosa CopWatch and longtime police accountability activist from the Bay Area. We spoke about the case of Johannes Mehserle, BART cop who was video taped shooting Oscar Grant III in the back by numerous witnesses. The show was not edited for FCC consumption. The playlist features many songs concerning the shooting of Grant.

Anarchist, conspiracy, panel discussion, repression

NC Rising 2: Repression + Counter-Repression

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NC Rising 2 was a weekend of shows, workshops and panel discussions that brought folks from around the United States to Warren Wilson College, outside of Asheville, North Carolina.  Below is the second half of the first panel discussion, on a Friday in 2010.

Repression and Counter-Repression brought together people from all over who had recently been coping with repression to discuss its current framework. Panelists spoke from a variety of perspectives from within “ecological,” “animal liberation,” and “anti-capitalist” struggles. The contributions of each will help broaden our understandings of how repression acts against revolutionary projects and how a practice of revolutionary solidarity can reduce some of the effects of repression and help us to construct an environment of counter-repression.

* What is the framework of repression under which we are operating?

* What is “Revolutionary Solidarity”? What is its function? What are its means?

* How, in such a paralyzing condition of surveillance and political condition of weakness, can we move towards a practice of revolutionary solidarity?

panelists included:
Hugh, who just survived a long legal battle over I-69-related charges;
Katherine, of the Friends and Family Of Daniel McGowan;
Neil, a member of Internationalist Prison Books Collective and a supporter of the Asheville 11, defendants recently accused of 112 misdemeanors and 34 felonies;
Talia, a survivor of Minnehaha Free State repression, member of the Coldsnap Legal collective, worker for the NLG, and member of the Conspiracy Tour.

This panel was moderated by an editor of Rolling Thunder magazine.

The recording of Part one was unusable.

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General

‘Sup, world.

Welcome to The Final Straw Radio Blog.  This site will function, basically, to make for easier access to the content of the show without having to search all over the place and to continue following it. First, if you happen to be watching, you’ll see past episodes come up starting with our earliest until the site is populated.  Afterwards, we’ll be posting the shows up on the site after they are no longer streaming on AshevilleFM.  Be sure to check out the other great shows on AFM and support our local, independent media project!

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Salud y Anarquia!