Category Archives: Anarchist

AK Press, Anarchist, Antifa, Author, repression, Russia

Anti-Fascist Struggle in Europe and Repression in Russia

The bookcover for "Alerta! Alerta!"
Download This Episode

This week, we feature two segments on the show: an interview with a Russian anarchist about the recent ramping up of torture and repression by the FSB in Russia against anarchists and anti-fascists  (00:14:13); and a chat with Patrick Strickland, author of “Alerta! Alerta!: Snapshots of Europe’s Anti-Fascist Struggle” (00:34:17); plus anarchist prisoner Sean Swain on his bid to “Build The Wall” (00:08:27)

FSB Torture of Radicals

First up, Bursts spoke with Tania, a Russian anarchist, a member of the crew who runs the RUpression website documenting Russian state agencies like the FSB’s use of torture to extract stories to build conspiracies to legitimize their tightening of restrictions on public gatherings, chill the political and media landscape, and sustain a state of sense of fear among the populace. We discuss the death of Mikhail Zhlobitsky in a bombing of an FSB office in October, the current state of anarchist organizing in Russia, and the past political repression since 2012 and the cases in Pensa and the 2017 “The Network” conspiracy case (which we’ve spoken of in this show in the past here and here). In February 2019, a situation unfolded where Azat Miftakhov disappeared, came back tortured, and accused of taking part in an anarchist terrorist plot. Azat was released by court order only to be re-arrested by another police agency (well documented in this crimethInc article, alongside some downloadable posters for pasting around your town).

You can learn more about the case by reading and following rupression.com

Patrick Strickland on European Anti-Fascism

Secondly, William had the chance to interview Patrick Strickland, who is a journalist and author, about his recently released book “Alerta! Alerta! Snapshots of Europe’s Anti-Fascist Struggle”. This book follows the stories and lives of 5 European people who do broadly defined antifascist work or struggle. For this interview we talk about Strickland’s journalism, the experiences of compiling this book, and about understanding elements on the far right that might enhance anti-fascism, in the so called US, Europe, and elsewhere. Follow him on Twitter @P_Strickland_ for news and upcoming projects!

Announcements

Show Up For Rayquan Borum!

If you are in Charlotte NC tomorrow, Monday the 11th, consider showing up to support Rayquan Borum, who is a Black activist arrested during the Charlotte Uprising, a days long protest to mourn and rage against the police murder of Keith Lamont Scott in 2016. From charlotteuprising.com/statement : “The uprising in Charlotte is a direct response to sustained police and vigilante violence against Black people in this city and across the country: Keith Lamont Scott, Jonathan Ferrell, Aiyana Stanley, Jones, Tyre King, Korryn Gaines, Janisha Fonville, Terence Crutcher and so many more. These are names of victims we know and deeply mourn, understanding there are so many other people who have been unnecessarily taken from us.”

The arrest of Rayquan Borum was a direct attempt by police to frame Mr. Borum, and he is finally going to trial after 2 years being held in and out of solitary confinement. The trial will be held starts February 11th, and will start at 9:30am in room 5370 at the address 832 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC, which is the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. You can follow the Charlotte Uprising on twitter, facebook, and tumblr for more ways to get involved and support the folks facing ongoing repression from the Uprising. And here is a link to a useful court support quicksheet made specifically for this trial! Court solidarity needs for Rayquan are ongoing, so plug in when you can.

Federal Prison Postal Changes Survey

Lawyers & activists doing prisoner support have been concerned with new Federal Bureau of Prisons’ rules limiting the type of mail people in prison can receive — for example, rules that people in federal prison can only get white paper / envelopes, and no cards or drawings.   There is work being done to look into what is going on across the country on this issue. If you have heard anything, they’d love to hear about it.

They are also trying to collect evidence of what is happening at all the different federal facilities.  If you have any of the following (or if you feel comfortable asking for any of these types of things from people in prison you are in contact with), that would be super helpful, including:

  • Any memos from federal prisons detailing new mail restrictions
  • Any program statements from BoP detailing new mail restrictions
  • Any Institutional Supplements from BoP detailing new mail restrictions
  • Scans of federal mail rejections based on new restrictions (color of letter, color of envelope, use of mailing label, greeting card etc)
  • Scans of envelopes with rejected stickers detailing reason for rejection
  • Scans of grievances from prisoners regarding the mail restrictions

If you are interested in potentially working with us around this issue, let the folks at Certain Days Calendar know, and they can reach out with info about their next meeting. Get in touch at: info@certaindays.org

Free Tibet celebration in Scotland and around the world

If you’re listening in Edinburgh, Scotland, there’ll be a March on Sunday March 10 from The Mound in support of 60th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising to the invasion and occupation by the Chinese communist regime forces. On the subject of resistance and the Tibetan Diaspora, there’ll be guest speakers making speeches and then a march to Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. TBA there may be a film screening afterwards. The event is scheduled from 12-2pm UTC More can be found on fedbook by searching “Tibetan Community in Scotland”.

. … . ..

Playlist

AK Press, Anarchist, Author, Cindy Milstein, community, Health

Cindy Milstein, pt1: Grief, Care, Anarchy and Vision

Cindy Milstein, part one

Download This Episode

Cindy Milstein is an anarchist, activist and author who was a touring few months back with Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work of Grief, published last year by AK Press. The book is compilation of essays by various authors about loss in it’s myriad forms experienced under cis-hetero-patriarchy, in a capitalist settler colonialism, anti-Black and otherwise racist, able-ist society. After Cindy came to speak at Firestorm Books in October 2018, we sat down for a LONG chat. In this FIRST hour, Cindy shares thoughts on the following topics and more: a prior book they put together, Taking Sides (AK Press, 2015); the process of making Rebellious Mourning and creating “brave spaces” for engaging with hard topics; prefiguration during the anarchist summer camp they help organize called the “Institute for Advanced Troublemaking”; and multi-generational care and care-taking in anarchist communities.

When I say the conversation was long, I mean that we recorded for about two and a half hours. We present the first hour here for radio audiences. We’re also going to do an out of the ordinary for us thing, which is that we’re going to release the second half along side it. You’ll find part two linked in this blog post soon, so you can listen to the both back to back if you choose. Next week, this second half will air for radio audiences but our podcast listeners will get a special treat because in place of a new Final Straw episode,, we’ll be sharing a new episode of our occasional tech security from an anarchist perspective podcast, Error451. So, stay tuned for the voice of someone engaged in spreading tools of encryption for free to help you to protect your right to whisper.

You can check out Cindy’s writings on their blog and you can find many of their books up at AKPress.org and anarchiststudies.org.

Announcements

New Broadcast, KFUG-LP!

First, we happy to announce that we’ll should be airing this Sunday at 12pm Pacific time for the first of many broadcasts on the airwaves of KFUG-LP, Crescent City in Del Norte County in California. KFUG broadcasts at 101.1fm and streams on the website kfugradio.org!

Unist’ot’en Camp Needs Help

The Canadian State has declared an injunction against the First Nations Unist’ot’en camp blocking Transcanada from building a pipeline through their unceded territory from the Alberta Tar Sands to the east.  They need folks to come and join the blockade, they have an updated asks list for donations and you can keep up by find them on social media or checking their website Unistoten.Camp

Jeremy Ricard, Prisoner Check In

Jeremy Ricard, a prisoner at David Wade Correctional in Homer, LA, has been facing repression from guards in the forms of getting maced, kept in solitary, beaten, had his personal and legal property taken and given only a paper smock for the 30 days at a time. A friend has asked folks to contact the prison and express concern about his situation and care.  Jeremy Ricard’s prison number is #511078 and the Warden at David Wade is Jerry Goodwin. Warden Goodwin can be reached at (318) 927-0400

Donations & Support

If you care to support The Final Straw Radio, please consider a one-time donation via our paypal or a recurring donation via our Patreon or librepay. We have items on the Patreon and our BigCartel webstore to thank supporters including stickers, buttons, t-shirts and zines, great for the socially required gift-giving holiday season. We never charge for our audio work, so if you feel like you can kick back some cash our way, we really appreciate it! Find more info at our website by clicking the Donate/Support Button.

. … . ..

Playlist

Anarchist, Capitalism, Colonialism, Colonization, Drug War, Feminism, Immigration

Solidarity with the Migrant Caravan; 2 on the ground perspectives

Download Episode Here

This week William had the opportunity to speak with two people who are doing active support work for the folks involved in what’s being called the “migrant caravan”, a group of 7,000 or so people primarily from Honduras fleeting violence of many kinds. Firstly we’ll hear from Chris, who is an organizer with Enclave Caracol, a social center which stands in solidarity with migrants in Tijuana. This center sprang from Tijuana Food Not Bombs, and you can learn more about them via their Facebook page or via their wordpress site.

To donate to them, you can visit the Al Otro Lado donate page and mark a donation for Enclave Caracol!

In this interview, we get into how it’s been for Enclave Caracol (The Snail Enclave in English) to do support in Tijuana, some of the history regarding this particular situation, how the various cop organizations in the area have been treating folks, responses by the public and the government alike, and basic ways of how to support. Let us know what you think or if you have a perspective on this issue by writing to us! You can also write us here.

The second interview is with Elana, who is an anarchist lawyer doing support for the people in the caravan. In this interview we talk about their experiences and some about the complex legal situation that a lot of asylum seekers are faced with, plus ways to re-contextualize this caravan in anti-imperialist terms.

. … . ..

The audio quality cuts out in some portions of these interviews, so apologies in advance for that.

. … . ..

To learn more about the history of what is going on right now, and
specifically the recent history of Honduras which gave rise to this
present day situation, we recommend the Alliance for Global Justice’s webinair on Honduras, which was passed to us by a comrade. It is a longer listen, and brings voices together who have been paying attention to this situation for many years, some of whom are directly impacted by it.

. … . ..

Show playlist here.

AK Press, Anarchist, Author, Conflict, harm reduction, Prisons, Rebroadcast

Walidah Imarisha on Angels With Dirty Faces (rebroadcast)

Walidah Imarisha on Angels With Dirty Faces (rebroadcast)

Download This Episode

This week we are rebroadcasting an interview that William and Disembodied Voice conducted with Walidah Imarisha, who is an Oregon based writer, educator, public scholar and spoken word artist about her book Angels With Dirty Faces: Three Stories of Crime, Prison, and Redemption, her 2016 book out from AK Press and IAS, which highlights three distinct experiences that are all in different degrees tangential to the realities inherent to the prison industrial complex. This book won the Creative Non-Fiction Award in the state of Oregon earlier on in 2017.

In this interview we got to touch on a wide array of topics, mostly centered on Angels With Dirty Faces but also on accountability processes and what might have to change in order for them to feel more effective, her relationship to anarchism, and some upcoming projects and appearances.

We also get to touch on the book Octavia’s Brood, a compilation of speculative fiction that Imarisha co-edited with Adrienne Maree Brown, who also wrote the book Emergent Strategy.

More about Imarisha, her work, and upcoming events can be found at http://www.walidah.com/

New York Anarchist Mental Health Conference 2019

First tho, for all of you who enjoyed our interview with Mango and Marin about anarchist approaches to psychiatry and mental health, there is going to be an Anarchist Mental Health Conference in New York City on Saturday February 23rd 2019 at Judson Memorial Church at 55 Washington Square South, New York NY 10012

The call for proposals reads as follows:

“1. Are you an anarchist (or other leftist anti-capitalist anti-authoritarian)?

2. Are you a mental health provider (psychotherapist, counselor, peer specialist, or psychopharm prescriber)?

3. Do you have something to share with anarchist mental health workers? (a critique of the field, a skill you have, or a resource we need to know about)?

If the answer to these questions is yes, please email an accessible language abstract of 100 or so words to nycamhc@protonmail.com describing what you want to share, why it’s important, and what conference participants will take away from the presentation. Separate from the abstract, please also specify how much time you need (45 minutes max) and what format you’ll be using (lecture, workshop, roundtable, longtable, etc)

Please submit proposals to nycamhc@protonmail.com by December 31st 2018.”

Thanks to everyone who reached out to us about the interview about anarchist mental health, your comments and feedback were truly wonderful to hear! Keep an eye out for further interviews with Mango and Marin, on this and other anarchist and anti authoritarian media platforms.

Support the Vaughn Prisoners!

We also would like to report on a very concerning and terrible event which took place recently. For the second time this month, someone connected with the James T. Vaughn prison uprising trials has died.

For a bit of context, from a support flyer at It’s Going Down, “On February 1st, 2017, inmates at the Vaughn Correctional Center in Delaware took control of their unit and held staff hostage in an uprising that lasted 18 hours. They called the media, released a list of demands, and explained their actions as motivated by their conditions of confinement as well as the election of Donald Trump as President. One prison guard, Steven Floyd, was killed by inmates during the uprising.”

The remaining prisoners are still facing charges associated with the riot.

Kelly Gibbs, the man who passed, was not a defendant in the first trial, but his name was mentioned during that time in connection with the uprising. The implications of these two deaths are all too apparent; prison workers and wardens often take matters into their own hands in retaliation for acts of prison rebellion. Now it’s important to support the Vaughn uprising! We will link to an updated flyer that includes all the names and addresses of the remaining people, as well as to articles for further reading.

From the Philly ABC, calling for court support of the Vaughn 17 back in October:

In many ways the demands of the Vaughn 17 anticipated the 2018 National Prison Strike, calling for increased wages for their mandatory labor, and the introduction of rehabilitation and education programs. These comrades positioned their struggle inside against the threat posed by Trump’s election, which has now been realized in the increasing detention of immigrants and the rise of fascism on the outside. Since the occupation’s end, they have been subjected to extreme repression and violence, including beatings and the denial of basic necessities, including having their water shut off. Yet in the face of these hardships and the betrayal, 17 of the defendants are standing together, unwavering in their solidarity.

Here is an updated resource on the Vaughn prisoners and how to support.

Here is an article on the recent passing of Kelly Gibbs.

. … . ..

Playlist here.

Anarchist, Disaster Relief, Durham, Mutual Aid, North Carolina

Nuancing Disaster Relief with MAD Distro NC

Disaster Relief Moving Forward

Download This Episode

This week we had the chance to talk to Sascha, who is a community organizer in the triangle area of North Carolina, about ongoing organizing to help rebuild and continue to aid folks after the multiple hurricanes recently hit this region.  This interview went in directions that we couldn’t have predicted, and really went on a deep dive of how to conceptualize of disaster relief in our changing climate, in addition to more practical topics. We hope you enjoy it!

To get in touch with the project that our guest is talking about, and if you have extra monie$ to spare, you can visit maddistronc.org for ways to donate or drop by to 800 Henderson Street in Durham if you’re in the area.

To hear the interview that we referenced about halfway through, you can go to our website and search “Indigenous Activist”, it should be the first item in the search results. You can also hear a 10 minute edit of this interview with Vanessa on how to be better accomplices to Lumbee folks in Lumberton NC in the October episode of B(A)D News, Angry Voices From Around the World which you can find both at our website or at aradio.blogsport.de.

B(A)D News is a monthly news collaboration between projects in the A-Radio Network, which includes anarchist radio from Chile, various places in Eastern and Western Europe, and right here on Turtle Island. Keep your eyes peeled to our feed for when this show updates!

Announcements

Blue Ridge ABC events in Asheville

If you’re in the Asheville area this week, Blue Ridge Anarchist Black Cross has two upcoming events.

TROUBLE showing at Firestorm

On Friday, November 2nd at 6:30pm at Firestorm Books & Coffee, BRABC will be airing the latest episode of Trouble, the mini-documentary series by sub.Media. This month’s episode is focused on the J20 inauguration conspiracy case that ended some months back. This’ll be followed by a brief chat about the film and the case. This event happens the same time, same place, on the first Friday of every month and is a great way to start of your weekend.

Political Prisoner Letter Writing

On Sunday, November 4th at 5pm, just a little after next week’s episode of our show of this show, BRABC will also be hosting their monthly Political Prisoner letter writing night at, you guessed it, Firestorm! ABC will be bringing info on prisoners whose birthdays are upcoming or who are facing repression or coming up on parole, will provide the materials and a friendly atmosphere and help in writing letters to prisoners. If you’ve ever thought of writing someone in prison before but been overwhelmed by the prospect of it, this is a great way to get started.

Recent Violence from the Far Right and What to Do

We don’t frequently comment on this show about ongoing events we aren’t either announcing or featuring on the episode, but this is a rare example.  This last week saw a couple of racist attacks that we want to mention in case you missed them, in order to point to the continued and intensifying need for anti-racist and anti-fascist organizing, research and street presence. On October 24th, a white man named Gregory Bush allegedly failed to break into a black church in Louisville, KY, and instead decided to shoot a black man (Maurice E. Stallard) inside of a Kroger and a black woman (Vickie Lee Jones) in the parking lot, killing them both. The shooter told a witness “Whites don’t shoot whites.”

Yesterday, on Saturday October 27th during shabbat services, a gunman with white nationalist ties named Robert D. Bowers, entered the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA, and killed 11 congregants while wielding an AR-15 and two handguns, injuring 3 more congregants. These are just two recent examples of white rage acting out against others, a visible trend and not out of sync with the settler-colonial and anti-black violence of the United States, yet undeniably horrendous. The victims families are in our hearts, as are all of the many unmentioned victims of reactionary violence. On this note, we’re including a couple of anti-racist announcements folks can join in on if they care to.

To literally steal a line from the latest Hotwire episode from crimethInc, “To mark the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht and to push back against the uptick in anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and xenophobic violence around the world, there’s a Jewish call for International Days against fascism and anti-Semitism.” The call reads:

“On November 8–11, we will sing out and celebrate the survival of our peoples. We will say Kaddish for those who gave their lives in the fight against fascism. We will engage in acts of Kherem and ritually excommunicate those Jews who aid and abet the fascists of our time. And we will march on the institutions, the political parties, and the private businesses that collaborate with their genocidal agenda. At the same time, we will show the world that the real threat to our security as Jews isn’t our Muslim neighbors, but “Western Chauvinists,” Christian supremacists, and white nationalists – the would-be pogromists of our day. Starting now and continuing through [the year] 5779 and beyond, we will (re)build an international network of anti-fascist Jews and our allies. From the streets where we live to the places we work and play, we will organize to defend all of our communities from those who would exterminate us. We invite you to join us in the fight: For a world without pogroms. For a future without fascism.”

The call is using the hashtags #AntiFascistFall, #CancelThem, and #OutliveThem. More info at outlivethem.wordpress.com. https://itsgoingdown.org/international-days-of-action-for-a-world-without-pogroms-for-a-future-without-fascism/”

Call for solidarity from Atlanta

Atlanta Antifascists are asking folks to contact Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School about one of it’s students, Casey Jordan Cooper. Cooper has made explicit lynching threats against black students, has organized Alt-Right efforts around the school and has documented connections to white nationalists like Sam Dickson. Alongside a bunch of really amazing research that AFAinATL has done, you can find more about Casey Jordan Cooper, including a video and 500+ page dossier on him, the request for a call-in on Monday, October 29th to the University and a script up at atlantaantifa.org. We don’t need anymore nazi lawyers and this school should be ashamed to continue to hold Cooper as a student considering it’s lip service to the importance of it’s students providing non-prejudicial service to their clients.

WNC undercuts Patriot Front

A big ups to comrades in WNC who, very carefully and soberly, infiltrated a new chapter of the white nationalist grouping Patriot Front and were able to disrupt their activities during an attempted banner drop. This sort of high level of engagement is dangerous and not to be taken lightly, but can be quite effective at gaining intelligence on the enemy and ruining their days. More info on this can be found on this IGD post!

Support Malik and Rashid!

In prisoner news, two affiliates of the New Afrikan Black Panther Party Prison Chapter are in the news. Keith “Malik” Washington, whose supporters we’ve had on the show before, shared that he’s on a hunger strike at the McConnell Administrative Segregation Unit in protest against his continued repression and repeated medical endangerment. More info can be found at comrademalike.com. Also Kevin “Rashid” Johnson who we spoke to in September. He has been refused medical aid by guards at Sussex II, denied the ability to send or receive mail, including legal mail. He has been threatened with dogs while chained up, kept in his cell 24/7 and other terrible circumstances. Visit rashidmod.com for more details and the numbers and officials that you can call to protest on his behalf.

. … . ..

Playlist here.

Anarchist, Cartoons, Donald Rooum, History, UK

“It Didn’t Occur To Me Until It Occurred To Me”: Donald Rooum, Pt2

Donald Rooum, part 2

Download This Episode

This week on The Final Straw we’ll be airing the second half of our interview with anarchist, author and cartoonist nonagenarian, Donald Rooum from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Donald has written introductions to anarchism and has been a leading organizer in movements in the U.K. against nuclear war, the death penalty and the use of corporal punishment against children in schools. This summer, Bursts and William found their way to London and were delighted to sit down and chat with Donald in the East End hear his stories.

In the first portion of this chat, which aired on July 29th, 2018, Donald spoke about his beginnings in anarchism, his art studies, his time creating the Wildcat comics for which he’s best known, anarchists of his time from the 1940’s through today and his activism mentioned above.

Now, you’ll hear about Donald Rooum’s “15 minutes of fame” in which he was nicked on his way to a demonstration against a visit to London by King Paul of Greece and Queen Frederika in 1963 and charged by Detective Sergeant Harold “Tanky” Challenor for carrying a brick to the demonstration. The problem for Donald is that the brick was placed in his pocket by Challenor while he was in police custody. The problem for Challenor is that Donald was smart enough to realize this, collect the proof of the framing attempt and successfully defend himself in court against the charges. In what became known as the “Challenor Affair”, Donald’s self-defense shook the public trust in policing in the U.K. and lead to the Detective Sergeant’s downfall for corruption. Donald also talks about the case that overshadowed the “Challenor Affair” at the time, known as the Profumo Affair. After that, Donald defends the work of Max Stirner on Egoism, Benjamin Tucker’s translation and it’s mistakes, Eddie Shaw (mentioned in this libcom article) and the Glasgow anarchists of the 1940’s, multi-generationality in anarchism, human nature and anarchism, Rojava, and Murray Bookchin. Of note, Donald confuses Murray Bookchin’s “Social Ecology” ideas with the “Deep Ecology”, which Bookchin railed against.

Check out our website. There you can find our past episodes going back to 2009, as well as easy ways to subscribe to our podcast so that you never miss an episode of The Final Straw, our occasional tech security podcast Error451 or B(A)DNews: Angry Voices From Around The World (our latest here), an English-language podcast from the A-Radio Network of which we are a part. You can also find our contact information, info about following us on the various anti-social medias, as well as how to donate.

Announcements

Support The Virgin Island 3

Philly Anarchist Black Cross is asking people to write letters in support of the Virgin Island 3. The Virgin Island Five (aka Fountain Valley Five) are group of activists wrongly convicted of murdering eight people in 1973 at the Rockefeller-owned golf course in St. Croix. They were all in their early twenties when they were rounded up with hundreds of others and forced confessions were obtained. Because now only three are held in prison, they are now referred to as the Virgin Island 3. There is a campaign to commute the sentences of Abdul Azeez (aka Warren Ballentine), Hanif Shabazz Bey (aka Beaumont Gereau) and Malik Bey (aka Meral Smith) as they have been in prison for 46 years for a crime they deny committing. You can find more on this, including addresses to write and numbers to all and more about the campaign at https://phillyabc.wordpress.com/vi3-campaign/

. … . ..

playlist

Anarchist, Anarchist Media, Climate Change, community, Disaster Relief, Food Sovereignty, Racism

Mutual Aid in the Wake of Hurricane Michael

Download Episode Here

This week on The Final Straw Radio, we feature a conversation with Pearson, an anarchist resident of Tallahassee, Florida, and is involved in storm relief mutual aid work in the wake of Hurricane Michael. Pearson is also the co-host of the leftist podcast “Coffee With Comrades”.

For the hour we talk about Hurricane Michael, which just passed through the Florida Panhandle and up through the Carolinas, affecting Georgia and Alabama as well. Within a 36 hour period, the hurricane ramped up from a Tropical Storm to a category 4 or 5 hurricane (depending on who you talk to). Michael was the strongest hurricane to hit that part of Florida ever on record, making landfall on Wednesday, October 10th in the morning and may be the third largest to hit the U.S. mainland with winds surges of up to 175 miles per hour and sustaining at 150. Because of the quick increase, localities in the storms path found themselves under prepared for such a devastating catastrophe. The state of Florida Department of Corrections refused to evacuate about 12 prisons that were in the Mandatory Evacuation areas in the path of Hurricane Michael despite a call-in campaign by Fight Toxic Prisons.

For the hour, we talk about the immediate response efforts in Tallahassee, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, anthropogenic or human-caused Climate Change and it’s various impacts on the residents and environs of Florida, and a bunch of other related topics. Later, Pearson shares about his podcast, “Coffee with Comrades”, available at http://coffeewithcomrades.com/

Here are a few links for info if you’re in Florida as well as ways to donate from a distance:

Florida People’s Advocacy Center in Tally is a safe space for people to come for disaster relief (trans inclusive and very supportive of undocumented individuals)

Tallahassee DSA Fund:
http://gofundme.com/dsa-tlh-hurricane-relief-fund

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief:
https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org/donate/

Amazon Wishlist for the Panhandle:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3QUS9SLT7QD3/ref=cm_wl_huc_view

Announcements

Anti-Racists in Greenville, SC

On Saturday, October 13th in Greenville, SC, there was a racist “Build The Wall” anti-immigration rally organized in support of Trumps xenophobic policies. Naturally, there was a counter-demonstration. Two anti-racists were arrested for picketing ordinances and another for disorderly conduct. If you’d like to help them, there’s a paypal where donations are being collected for legal and any medical fees attached to this at paypal.me/upstatesc

Connor Stevens post-release fund

First, Connor Stevens, one of the convicted Cleveland 4, is up for potential parole as soon as November, 2018! From the fundraizr for Connor:

“Connor Stevens is one of the Cleveland4. He is being released soon so we’re raising funds to help get him basic necessities when he is released! It’s possible he’ll even be released by November!

Click here if you are out of the US and would like to donate via Paypal

The Cleveland 4 were four Occupy Cleveland activists who were were arrested on April 30th, 2012, accused of plotting to blow up a bridge. But it was the FBI, working with an informant, that crafted the plot, produced the “explosives,” and coerced these four into participating.

Connor took non-cooperating plea deals and pled guilty to all charges. The judge applied a “terrorism enhancement” to their sentences, elongating their sentences as well as subjecting them to harsher prison conditions. Connor served 8 years 1 month—all to be followed by lifetime supervised release.”

You can find his post-release fundraiser at: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/d1PY2c or by searching “Welcome Home Connor Stevens” at fundrazr.com.

To hear our past coverage of the Cleveland 4 case, including an interview with Connors mother, you can check out (our website and search Cleveland 4)

Zak Kostopoulos

Zak Kostopoulos, an 33 year old lgbtq+ drag performer and activist who worked against prejudice faced by folks who are HIV positive was beaten to death in a homophobic attack near Omonia Square in Athens, Greece on September 21st. Zak lept into a jewelry store in order to avoid a nearby brawl when the emergency shutters descended, trapping him inside. He was then set upon by the owner of the shop and others who were heard uttering homophobic and hate statements against those with HIV. After escaping the store, by smashing through the window with a fire extinguisher, he was followed out by the owner and another thug. Zak was beaten to the ground while surrounded by mostly male onlookers. When police showed up, they handcuffed Zak. The murder was captured on camera. The shop owner was only arrested after the video went viral and he was only charged with manslaughter, not murder, as he claims to have been protecting his property, which is absurd. Following news of the murder, an emergency anarchist assembly was called and a march of 500 took the streets of Athens with smaller marches happening in nearby cities. Marches followed that week.

Apologies for the wait in announcing this sad news which a listener sent us after the murder took place. We are thankful for being informed.

Mumia Abu-Jamal

There is a call for supporters of Mumia Abu-Jamal to fill the court room and the streets on October 29th from 8am til 11am in Philadelphia at the Criminal Justice Center, 13th & Filbert. Mumia is a former Black Panther, is a journalist and Political Prisoner who was put on death row for decades for the killing of a cop he says he did not commit. Mumia’s trial has been recognized internationally, including by Amnesty International, as a political show trial. More info up at http://mobilization4mumia.com

Certain Days Calendar benefit show

On October 19th at the Pine Box Rock Shop, 12 Gratton Street in Brooklyn, NY, there’ll be a benefit for post-release funds by the organizers of the Certain Days: Freedom For Political Prisoners Calendar.

From Certain Days:

In the last year, we have been fortunate enough to welcome home a handful of political prisoners from US prisons. Our movements have not exactly been prepared for this good fortune, and so support committees, families and friends of these folks have been forced to scramble for funds for basic living expenses. In addition to that, many of these people have been targeted in the media and beyond by various law enforcement unions and organizations, making open fundraising online a difficult proposition.

We need to step up our game and aid not only the handful of political prisoners that have been released this year but also, the people who may be leaving prison soon.

The show will feature performances by Despairwolf, MAAFA_Hardcore, High Cost, and Trophy hunt, and we understand that the door fee will be VERY reasonable for a show in NYC.

. … . ..

Playlist here.

Anarchist, Capitalism, gender, Health, Prisons, Queer, Racism

Anarchist Approaches to Psychology and MAD Camp with Mango and Marin

EF! MAD Camp with Mango and Marin

Download Episode Here

This week we are very pleased to present an interview with Mango and Marin, who are mental healthcare workers based in New York City. We are going to get into a lot of topics, including anarchist critiques of psychiatry, ways that anarchists can be comrades with people who have survived the psych industry, and the Earth First MAD Camp. Shoutout to Jayden for setting up this interview!

We had to cut a bunch out of the broadcast version of this interview but check out the podcast up on our website and streaming on all the apps, for much more information about how to access open dialogue style therapy and tips on how to start a MAD Camp. Also you can check out our blog for a list of further reading material from our guests, again at our website.

Links for further reading from our guests:

The Self and Those Who Tend It

The Self

Homosexuality and the DSM

2018 Protest of the APA in NYC

Mad In America

Critique

Outside Mental Health, Will Hall (free book download)

Hearing Voices Network NYC

Icarus Project

BRUJAS

Withdrawal Project – Laura Delano

National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy

Shamanism

Disability Incarcerated

International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis

Association for Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society

Drug-Centered Model – Joanna Moncrieff

Fountain House centers

Family Justice Centers

Open Dialogue UK

Open Dialogue, Framingham MA

Open Dialogue, VT

Brujas

Announcements

Prison Strike protest in Raleigh

On Monday, October 1st at 8am sharp in Raliegh, NC, there’ll be a protest at the North Carolina Department of Public Services, which oversees prisons in the state demanding the release of prisoners from solitary confinement accused of participating in the non-violence 2018 Nationwide Prison Strike and as a reminder that people are paying attention. The DPS can be found at 831 W Morgan St in Raleigh. This jumps off a week of activity state-wide to support prisoners on the inside as a follow up to the 2018 Prison Strike.

AVL Blue Ridge ABC events this week

For folks in the Asheville area, this week will have two Blue Ridge ABC events y’all should consider taking part in. On Friday, October 5th, there’ll be a showing of the latest Trouble by sub.Media about Hip Hop as Resistance from 6:30-8 and will be followed by a discussion. Two days later on Sunday, October 7th at 5pm, BRABC will also be putting on a letter writing to reach out to political prisoners whose birthdays come up this month as well as prisoners in NC facing repression for alleged participation in the Nationwide Work Strike.

Podcast recommendation!

If you want to hear a great, recent podcast on the repression since the #PrisonStrike, check out the September 21st episode of Kiteline Radio. Kiteline is a weekly radio show that covers prison from inside and outside, and is a member of the Channel Zero Network of Anarchist podcasts. We’re excited to announce the addition of Rebel Steps to CZN.

. … . ..

** Correction on the song announce, the first track heard was “Ghost of a Chance” by Danny Dolinger from the 1997 cassette, “Rome Wasn’t Burnt In A Day” out from Barnstorm Music**

Playlist here.

Anarchist, Author, Race, Racism

William C. Anderson: On Blackness and Anarchy

William C. Anderson

Download This Episode

This week on The Final Straw, we are super pleased to present a talk given at the most recent Asheville Anarchist Bookfair by William C. Anderson, who co authored the book As Black As Resistance with Zoe Samudzi. The talk he is giving here is based heavily on the first chapter of the book called Black in Anarchy, and in addition to laying the groundwork of how he and Samudzi wrote the book, he speaks about the truly conditional nature of so called “citizenship” that many people living in the US face, the continuing evolution of race and the reliance of white supremacy to Black subjugation, and he places Blackness in proximity to Anarchy, and much more.

From the back cover: “As Black As Resistance makes the case for a new program of self-defense and transformative politics for Black Americans, one rooted in an anarchistic framework that the authors liken to the Black experience itself. This is not a book of compromise, nor does it negotiate with intolerance. It is a manifesto for everyone who is ready to continue progressing towards liberation for all people.”

We hope you will enjoy this talk, and if you are curious about the book As Black As Resistance by Zoe Samudzi and William C. Anderson, you can head over to AK Press to learn more!

Announcements

Phone Zap for Prisoners at McCormick CI

IWOC announces that prisoners at McCormick CI in South Carolina are being forced to march around the square in only their boxer shorts, including in front of female staff.  Among these prisoners are the Muslim prisoners whose religion demands that they cover their bodies.

Check out the above link for a number and call script.

Charlottesville Solidarity

There has been a request for legal support for an anti-racist comrade who was arrested on August 12th, the year anniversary of the resistance to the United The Right rally on A12 in Cville in 2017.  This trans comrade was arrested with the help of active doxxing efforts of a far-right troll this month, he was “genital checked” (read fondled and assaulted) by police without any non-police witnesses, and arrested and could use funds to help in court-support.  You can donate to the legal support via a friend at https://paypal.me/lara757 , request that the police and city remove the comrades dead name and photo from their website and follow @SolidCville for future court support in September for this person.

There is also a call up to support Toby & Veronica, two anti-racist organizers from Cville in court on August 23rd at 9:45 AM at the Charlottesville General District Court at 606 E. Market St, Charlottesville, VA.

If you want to see analysis on antifascist events that have occurred thusfar, in DC and Cville, you can head to crimethinc.com and read interviews done with folks who were on the ground there, as well as listen to the most recent Hotwire episode which deals with these topics.

Maya Little Solidarity in Chapel Hill

On Monday, August 20th at 7pm at Peace & Justice Plaza at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, there will be a demonstration in support of Maya Little, an anti-racist activist who faces charges for allegedly throwing paint and her own blood on a confederate statue on UNC campus known as “Silent Sam.”

#August21

AAAnd DO NOT FORGET that in just a few days will kick off the 2018 Prison Strike, scheduled for August 21st thru September 9th. Coming just two years after the largest prison strike in US history, this one has the potential to be even bigger. If you would like more resources and ideas on how to get engaged with this strike and to learn about the striker’s demands, go to prisonstrike.com, and additionally you can listen to the Rustbelt Abolition Radio episode entitled Prelude to the 2018 Prisoner Strike done with two members of IWOC Oakland.

#August21 meetup in Asheville

On Tuesday, August 21st from 5pm to 7 or so at Firestorm Books & Coffee, join Blue Ridge Anarchist Black Cross for a series of updates and discussions concerning the Nationwide Prison Strike from August 21 – September 9th, 2018.  BRABC will talk about the repressions that have already occurred as prisons around the country ramp up in fear of prisoners flexing their collective muscles by putting down their tools, educating each other, organizing and refusing meals.  They’ll provide you with some tools and knowledge to help you amplify the voices of those on the inside.  For a list of events around the country to support #August21, check out igd or PrisonStrike.Com.

Hunger Strike at Sterling Correctional in Colorado

Denver ABC passed on information about a hunger strike that’s started at Sterling CI in Colorado.  The demands of the prisoners and updates can be found at the DABC website.

NAABC Conference Fundraiser in AVL

Also, on August 29th at The Odditorium in Asheville, BRABC will be hosting a benefit concert to raise funds for travel costs for formerly incarcerated folks and former Political Prisoners attending the North American Anarchist Black Cross conference in Colorado this fall.  The show will feature performances by Too Bad (from Florida) and the local talents of Autarch, Good Grief & Harsh Mike.

. … . ..

Playlist pending

A-Radio Berlin, Anarchist, Anti-Racist Action, Antifa, Charlottesville, Virginia

A-Radio Berlin: Hace un año (Charlottesville (EEUU) y el asesinato de Heather Heyer)

Hace un año: Charlottesville (EEUU) y el asesinato de Heather Heyer

Para Descargar Este Entrevista

El 11 y 12 de agosto de 2017 fascistas de diferentos tipos organizaron una manifestación en Charlottesville, Virginia, que llamaron Unite the Right, unificar la derecha. Antifascistas y otra gente organizaron una contraprotesta y lograron parar ese evento tan horrible. Sin embargo un fascista entró con su vehículo a la contraprotesta, lesionando más de una docena de personas y matando a Heather Heyer en el proceso. Ahora es el primer aniversario.

Hace un año tuvimos la oportunidad de hablar con un compa de los Estados Unidos (de The Final Straw) que participó en la protesta antifascista. Hablamos del evento Unite the Right como tal, pero también de los diferentes tipos de fascistas allí, de la contraprotesta antifascista, del trágico asesinato de Heather Heyer así como de la infraestructura médica y de apoyo de trauma en pie por activistas antifascistas. También tocamos el tema del debate en los Estados Unidos sobre el autoarmamiento así como las perspectivas desde aquí.

Duración: 30 min

Aquí el audio: archive.org (mp3 | ogg).