Category Archives: Antifa

Anarchist, Anarcho-Syndicalism, Antifa, Belgrade, Protest, Rio Tinto, Serbia, Transcribed, zine

Ecological Uprising, Antifascism and Anarchist Organizing in Serbia

Ecological Uprising, Antifascism & Anarchist Organizing in Serbia

Crowds block a bridge in Belgrade, Serbia during the December 2021 Ecological Uprising
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Serbia has been rocked by recent, mass blockades in the streets to challenge changes to the Law of Expropriation which would allow the state to take farm lands and other private property to open space for constructing mega projects and extraction like the proposed Rio Tinto lithium and jadarite mine in the Jadar Valley. This is building off of earlier ecological protests in 2021 against the building of private mini hydroelectric power plants along rivers in Stara Planina (aka the Balkan mountain range) threatening access to and health of drinking water. These protest in December forced the 12-year ruling right-neoliberal SNS Party to backtrack and modify plans for the Expropriation and public Referendum laws and put an undefined pause on Rio Tinto’s mine.

For the hour, we speak with Marko about those protests, the influence of western NGOs in politics, the Linglong Tire Factory scandal, labor and solidarity organizing with the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative of which hes a member and which is a part of the Internatioal Workers Association IWA-AIT and challenges faced by leftist anti-authoritarian organizers in former Yugoslavia. He also speaks about his experience of the covid pandemic in Serbia, the politics of anti-lockdown protests, anti-vaxers and the far right in general around Serbia, the impact of US-born neo-nazi Rob Rundo of the Rise Above Movement and Media2Rise who has returned to Serbia despite being deported to Bosnia and has been organizing fight clubs, international ties and solidarity between various fascistic groups around Belgrade.

Covid Mutual Aid in Serbia

Belgrade 6

Ecological Uprising

Labor Issues

Anti-Fascism

Continue reading Ecological Uprising, Antifascism and Anarchist Organizing in Serbia →

Anarchist, Antifa, Belarus, Communism, Prisons, repression, Russia, Transcribed

The Russian Political Landscape and Anarchist Prisoners

The Russian Political Landscape and Anarchist Prisoners

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This week we’re featuring 2 guests speaking about Russia. First up, John spoke with author and journalist Dmitry Okrest about the state of anarchist and antifascist movements in Russia, the politics of Putin’s United Russia party, nazis and the far right in Russia and successes of the Communist Party in electoral politics. Then, Moscow Anarchist Black Cross member-in-exile, Antii Rautiainen, adds some more detail on repression in Russia, including the hunger strike of Network Case prisoner, Victor Filinkov, calls for solidarity from mathematician Azat Miftakhov and others.

Rad Russia-ish Links:

Dmitry Okrest’s Books:

Russian Limbo, Podcast about prisons: https://open.spotify.com/show/3tyBLCEQnvkY9L3DdrGry1

Antii Rautiainen’s podcast links:

Past interviews on repression in Russia:

Continue reading The Russian Political Landscape and Anarchist Prisoners →

Antifa, General, Self-Defense, Transcribed, United States, zine

Firearm Safety and Education with Comrade Center

Firearm Safety and Education with Comrade Center

"Comrade Squid" color logo with a squid holding a lamp, sheaths of grain, an AK-47, red and black stars and flags and a large cog in the background
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This week on the show, we spoke with folks involved with Comrade Center, a leftist project focused on accessible education around armed self-defense in so-called New Hampshire. They were formerly known as Southern New England Socialist Rifle Association and while they’re no longer a chapter of the SRA, they are working with groups like that and individuals to purchase and maintaining a space for armed self-defense education outside of the right wing milieu in their area. For the hour we talk about mainstream, reactionary gun culture in the US, the impact of the NRA, the importance and empowerment of education around fire arms and other topics. You can learn more about the project at ComradeCenter.Org

Comrade Center links:

Other organizations we would like to shoutout:

Continue reading Firearm Safety and Education with Comrade Center →

A-Radio Berlin, Antifa, Autonomy, Germany, Immigration, Nazis, Police, Racism, Transcribed, zine

“If You Want To Fight Fascism, You Cannot Rely On The State”: Sonja on NSU-Watch and Autonomous Anti-Fascist Research

Sonja on NSU-Watch and Autonomous Anti-Fascist Research

A banner reading "nsu morden | der staat macht mit | der NSU war nicht zu dritt", or "Nazis murder | the state participates | the NSU was more than 3 people"
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This week on the show, we share an interview with Sonja, an antifascist activist and researcher based in the state of Hessen, Germany, and involved in the network known as NSU-Watch. For the hour, we talk about the case of the National Socialist Underground terror group which killed 9 immigrants of Turkish, Greek and Kurdish immigrants between 2000 and 2006 and were only discovered in 2011. Sonja tells about organizing with those who lost their loved ones in the attacks, the uncovering of government knowledge of the networks that produced the NSU and the milieu and international nazi scene it arose from, autonomous antifascist research.

We then speak about the ongoing case of Franco Albrecht, the former German military officer who is presumed to have been planning a false flag attack to draw ire to immigrant communities in Germany, as well as the network of military and police involved in the coordinated “Day X” plot to overthrow the German state. In some ways this interview was meant as a corrective to the New York Times podcast entitled Day X, one which de-centers state agency, opacity and collusion in the plot.

Many thanks to the comrade at Anarchistisches Radio Berlin for support in researching this interview!

You can find more about NSU-Watch’s work at NSU-Watch.info/en/ or follow them on Twitter (@NSUWatch) and Instagram (@NSUWatch). More links in our show notes

Links:

Continue reading “If You Want To Fight Fascism, You Cannot Rely On The State”: Sonja on NSU-Watch and Autonomous Anti-Fascist Research →

abolition, activism, Anarchist, Antifa, community, Feminism, gender, Misogyny, Sexism, Transcribed, zine

Combating Movement Misogyny

Combating Movement Misogyny

Anti-Fascist Action flag logo shaped like a heart
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This week on the show, William and Scott are presenting an interview with Alice and Dolly, who are two people working toward Disability Justice and Mad Activism (among other things), about the prevalence of movement misogyny in antifascist currents, world building as antifascist and as community defense, ways to rethink harmful patterns in movements, and some things we can do to make each other safer. The show initially got in touch with these guests based on a Twitter thread that they co-authored about these issues. Check out our podcast at our website later today for a longer conversation.

You can follow Alice on Twitter @gothbotAlice, and to read Tema Okun’s work which Dolly was referencing on unmasking and addressing white supremacy culture you can follow the link in our show notes – or – search “White Supremacy Culture” on your search engine and follow the results to the pdf on the dismantlingracism.org page.

Further reading

  • Intentional Peer Support (alternative mental health support structure)
  • adrienne maree brown: http://adriennemareebrown.net/
    • also our recent interview with them: https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2021/02/14/adrienne-maree-brown-on-cancellation-abolition-and-healing/
  • Audre Lorde: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audre_Lorde
  • Tema Okun’s essay “White Supremacy Culture“: https://www.dismantlingracism.org/uploads/4/3/5/7/43579015/okun_-_white_sup_culture.pdf

Continue reading Combating Movement Misogyny →

AK Press, Anarchist, Antifa, Antisemitism, Author, History, Nazis, Shane Burley, Transcribed, zine

Shane Burley on “Why We Fight”

Shane Burley on “Why We Fight”

Shane Burley
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This week, we present a conversation with Shane Burley, author of the new AK Press book, “Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse”. For the hour, we speak about the contents of the book, anti-fascism, toxic masculinity, pushing racists and fascists out of cultural space, antisemitism (including in the left), conspiricism, right wing publishing and other topics.

Bursts references a couple of podcasts at various points:

You can find Shane’s writings at shaneburley.org, support them and get regular articles on patreon.com/shaneburley or find them on twitter at @Shane_Burley1

Continue reading Shane Burley on “Why We Fight” →

Anarchist Media, Antifa, ChannelZeroNetwork, crimethInc, ItsGoingDown, media, Nazis, repression, Spencer Sunshine, Transcribed, United States, Washington DC, zine

The Security State, Far Right and Media Post-January 6th

The Security State, Far Right and Media Post-January 6th

Banner from Portland Protest "We Don't Want Biden, We Want Revenge for Police Murder, Imperialist Wars, Right Wing Massacres"
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This week on the show, you’ll hear two segments: chat with Spencer Sunshine on the far right and the government’s reaction following the riot on January 6th in DC and some perspectives on political content removal and social media from anarchist media platforms ItsGoingDown and crimethInc.

Spencer Sunshine

First up, anti-fascist researcher Spencer Sunshine talks about the aftermath of the January 6th putsch attempt in DC, mainstream media and Democrat narratives of concerning domestic terrorism, reporting of participation of law enforcement and military in the riot, anti-fascist research, what the stepping down of Trump has meant for his radicalized base and Spencer’s thoughts on claims of rehabilitation by former White Nationalists like Matthew Heimbach. There was a good article published by IGD on the state’s response to January 6th and what it can mean to anti-repression activists here. Also, a great place to keep up on what’s going on in the far right in the so-called US, check out IGD’s “This Week In Fascism” column, soon to be a podcast.

CrimeThinc. and ItsGoingDown

Then, you’ll hear the main host from the ItsGoingDown Podcast and a comrade from CrimethInc (both affiliates of the Channel Zero Network) talking about implications for anarchists and antifascists of the silencing of far right platforms and accounts and how similar moves have silenced the anti-authoritarian left. We talk about perspectives the media may have missed around “deplatforming” by tech giants like Patreon, Facebook and Twitter and how easily the normalization of ejecting non-mainstream narratives follows the trail of profit and power, and the importance of building our own platforms and infrastructure.

Continue reading The Security State, Far Right and Media Post-January 6th →

Antifa, B(A)D News, Črna Luknja, Greece, Radio Fragmata, Slovenia, Washington DC

Daryle Lamont Jenkins: Defend DC, December 11 and 12th (plus Updates from Slovenia and Greece)

Daryle Lamont Jenkins: Defend DC, December 11 and 12th

"Yes to solidarity in DC Dec 11 & 12" from DefendDC.org
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This week, you’ll hear a full show, with an update on antifascist resistance in the US by Daryle Lamont Jenkins, updates from Greece and Slovenia (more below). Plus, a segment by Sean Swain [00:01:38 – 00:07:54]

Defend DC, 12/11-12/12

[00:07:52 – 00:51:28]

Our main content is a conversation with antifascist organizer Daryle Lamont Jenkins of the One People’s Project and IdaVox to talk about his views of the state of the far right at this time in the US, their Stop The Steal rallies and the November 14th Million for MAGA March in DC at which three BLM and anti-racists activists were stabbed, what the shift in regimes will mean for anti-racists and the importance of our participation in December 11th and 12th to counter a rally called for by the Proud Boys. You can find Daryle’s work up at OnePeoplesProject.com and at IdaVox.com and more about the December 12th counter demo at DefendDC.Org

B(A)DNews November 2020

[00:51:28 – 01:07:01]

Then, you’ll hear some audios from the latest episode of BAD News, the montly, English-language podcast from the A-Radio Network, of which The Final Straw Radio is a member. In that block, the first audio is an update from Greece by Radio Fragmata, a longstanding pirate station based in Athens. Then, Črna Luknja shares updates from Slovenia, including notes on the repression of the autonomous squatted factory, Rog, in the center of Ljubljana. You can hear the whole episode, plus any past ones, up at A-Radio-Network.Org and finding the BAD News link.

A few links to subjects mentioned:

  • Antifascist Unity Coalition’s Days of Unity site where they talk about their January 2nd mobilization to bring in donations to foodbanks nationwide

  • POPMOB, a Portland-based group building a mass movement against Fascism

  • The documentary “Alt-Right: Age of Rage” which features Daryle Lamont Jenkins can be watched on Netflix or Amazon and likely elsewhere. The feature film “Skin” in which Jenkins is depicted while attempting to help a former white supremacist move out of that milieu is available on youtube for rental. There is also a short film by the name of “Skin” by the same director from the same year that features Daryle which can be viewed on YouTube for free.

. … . ..

Tracks featured during this episode:

  • “Kick Push (instrumental)” by Lupe Fiasco
  • “It’s Gonna Be Me (instrumental)” by N’Sync
Anarchist, Antifa, Bail Funds, Police, Prisons, Protest, Racism, repression, United States

Resisting State Repression Panel

Resisting State Repression Panel

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The following is a conversation between folks involved in anti-repression work in 5 parts of the so-called US. The goal was to present a zoomed out vision of scope and patterns of repression since the Floyd Uprising of this summer, particularly as the US sits in a period of heightened tensions around the elections and continued killings by police. Please consider sharing this chat around. We need to be ready to push back against repression and support the mostly BIPOC folks facing heavy charges for hitting the streets against white supremacy.

You’ll hear from:

Stolen Lives

In the conversation, we hear about a few cases of folks attacked and/or killed by police in the communities our guests come from and whose memories contributed to the Uprising where they were. These include:

  • Rodney J. Freeman (killed by Dane County Police in Wisconsin);
  • Elliot T. Johnson (killed by Monona Police in Wisconsin);
  • Jacob Blake (brazenly injured by Kenosha Police);
  • John T Williams (killed by Seattle Police);
  • Charleena Lyles (killed by Seattle Police);
  • Kevin Peterson, Jr. (killed by Clark County Sheriff deputies in Washington State);
  • Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal (killed by Salt Lake City Police);
  • Atlanta: Rayshard Brooks (killed by Atlanta Police);
Antifa, General, media

Alexander Reid Ross on Conspiracy, Disinformation, the Far Right and the Hard Left

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This week, we have two portions to the show. First, we catch up with Mitch from Red Strings and Maroons podcast about some of what they saw at the A2 rally in Richmond on January 20th, about antifascist intervention and the effectiveness of intervening to call out white nationalists in gun advocacy spaces. More of their work available at RedStringsAndMaroons.com.

Then, we spend the remainder of the show speaking with Alexander Reid Ross. Alexander is a PhD candidate in Portland State University’s Earth, Environment, Society Program, a Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right, and the author of “Against The Fascist Creep“, which you can get from AK Press or our affiliate Firestorm Books!

For the remainder of the episode we speak about conspiracy theories, how they wind their way into some leftist approaches to critique, bleed-over between left and right anti-establishment critiques and media that hold a pro-Kremlin position, the ideas of Alexander Dugin, ways of combating disinformation and some of it’s sources. More of his writings and interviews can be found at AlexanderReidRoss.net and this article that we reference a bit is called “Fooling The Nation: Extremism and the Pro-Russia Disinformation Ecosystem”.