Category Archives: Fracking

Appalachia, Environment, Forest Defense, Fracking, General, Health, Mountain Valley Pipeline, North Carolina, Pipeline, Transcribed, Virginia, West Virginia, zine

Continuing Struggle Against The Mountain Valley Pipeline

Continuing Struggle Against The Mountain Valley Pipeline

Protestors on Mountain Valley Pipeline work site disrupting, near a pile of timber with signs against the pipeline + text "TFSR - 7/9/23, Continuing Struggle Against The Mountain Valley Pipeline"
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This week, we’re sharing a conversation with Rose and Crystal, two comrades involved in the struggle against the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 304 mile, 41 inch in diameter liquified so-called natural gas pipeline with a possible 75 mile extension crossing many delicate waterways, slopes and communities across Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina.

Past episodes with MVP resisters found here.

This project has been off and on under construction since 2018 and was recently forced through at a Federal level as part of the debt ceiling deal by the Biden administration and Democrats. For the hour we talk about the project, the land and water it threatens, the history of resistance and how to get involved in stopping this mess.

Just a headsup, there are some audio quality issues throughout the conversation with both guests, so if you have trouble hearing consider checking out the upcoming transcript or meanwhile watching on youtube with the subtitles on.

You can find more from the folks resisting the MVP by searching Appalachians Against Pipelines on various social media platforms or check the links in our show notes, where you can also find links to our various interviews with folks from this initiative from the last 5 years.

Links

Appalachains Agianst Pipelines (Facebook) (Twitter) (Instagram):

Announcements

Sean Swain Featured in YouTube Documentary Series

The channel called Political Prisoners on youtube, linked in our show notes, has begun a series of short documentaries about Sean, the first of which you can find entitled “Part One: A Visitation Dispute”. Check it out!

Disability Pride Art Show

The Disability Pride Art Show aims to celebrate the rights of disabled individuals through the power of art. This one-day event will take place on July 30 at the vibrant venue, Different Wrld, located in 801 Haywood Rd. The show embraces the core values of acceptance and inclusivity, emphasizing the inherent worth and talents of disabled individuals. Presented by DIYabled, a local nonprofit organization, and with This Body is Worthy.

Featuring a diverse lineup of 25 talented artists, writers, video artists, and dancers, the Disability Pride Art Show promises to captivate audiences with a rich variety of artistic expressions. Attendees will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the thought-provoking documentary “Disability on the Spectrum,” created by local artist Priya Ray. The film sheds light on the experiences and perspectives of disabled individuals, fostering greater understanding and empathy within our community.

Rashid’s Continued Denial of Cancer Treatment

Check our show notes for Rashid’s message, but as noted last week, incarcerated revolutionary of the Intercommunal Black Panther Party, Kevin Rashid Johnson, is continuing to be denied his rounds of cancert treatment for prostate cancer and has been shoved in a solitary confinement cell without working lights. In the show notes and at our website you’ll also find contacts for prison officials in Virginia who need pressure applied to get Rashid the medical treatment he needs, outside of the dungeon they’ve stuck him in.

Comrades:

This is Rashid. I need all possible SUSTAINED and immediate support.
Here is a statement of my situation.

OFFICIALS DEVISE TO STOP MY CANCER TREATMENT AND BLOCK MY COURT ACCESS
(2023)

By Kevin “Rashid” Johnson

I have been going out daily since early April 2023 for radiation
treatment at the Medical College of Virginia – a total of 40 treatments – which is ongoing. On 6-29-23 upon returning to the prison from the hospital I was thrown in solitary confinement without explanation, where I remain, without any property including all my legal property.

I was put in cells without working lights, where I remain.

After constant complaints all I’m being told is I am under
investigation, but not by prison investigators. I spoke with a prison
investigator, a Lieutenant Spencer, on July 1 when she delivered me
legal mail, asking about my status and access to my legal property. She informed me, while her body camera was recording, that I am under investigation by other state prison investigators and the prison was not withholding my legal property. She said any supervisor could get my property for me which was in the property department.

Despite this everyone refuses to deliver my belongings and I have been kept in an empty cell ever since. This despite that the VDOC is under court orders to not interfere with my access to and use of my legal property and I have numerous court deadlines and a pending federal civil trial in one of my lawsuits.

On 6-30-23 officials refused to allow me to attend my cancer treatment.
My numerous written emergency complaints about this went unanswered and unprocessed.

On 7-3-23 after days in an empty cell without my things I declined to go for my treatment that one day to try and call the courts to explain and seek intervention. Officials including the warden and assistant warden refused me a legal call and are now refusing all my future cancer treatments.

The entire claim to have me under investigation is facially invalid and illegal. As any legal authority recognizes, law enforcement officials must perform investigations consistent with the search and seizure provisions of the 4th Amendment. And any “unlawful search or seizures” renders any evidence gathered therefrom illegal. Both the seizures and searches of me and my property have been unlawful from the outset. My belongings, my legal property in particular was taken and searched outside my presence, which is illegal. Prison officials may only open our legal mail and search our legal property in our presence. That is constitutional law. Here in Virginia we may only be removed from General population and put in solitary if written notice is given within 24 hours. I received no such notice.

People to contact:

CLARKE, HAROLD W(804) 887-8080 HAROLD.CLARKE@VADOC.VIRGINIA.GOV
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION (DOC/CA, 701)

ROBINSON, DAVID N (276) 524-3685 DAVID.N.ROBINSON@VADOC.VIRGINIA.GOV
WALLENS RIDGE STATE PRISON (WRSP, 735)

CABELL, BETH E(804) 834-1327. BETH.CABELL@VADOC.VIRGINIA.GOV
CORRECTIONS – DIVISION OF INSTITUTIONS (DOC/DI, 756)

*SMITH, RUTH H(434) 767-5543. Email- RUTH.SMITH@VADOC.VIRGINIA.GOV ,
NOTTOWAY CORRECTIONAL CENTER (NCC, 745)

HERRICK, STEPHEN M
(804) 887-8118
Email~ STEVE.HERRICK@VADOC.VIRGINIA.GOV CORRECTIONS – DIVISION OF
INSTITUTIONS (DOC/DI)

. … . ..

Featured Tracks:

  • Cumberland Blues by Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts from Mountain Blues: Blues, Ballads and String Bands
  • System’s Gonna Burn by Wren & Acre (based on Woody Guthrie’s “Fascists Bound To Lose”)
  • When You Think MVP by Yellow Finch residents

Continue reading Continuing Struggle Against The Mountain Valley Pipeline →

Appalachia, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Climate Change, Environment, Fracking, General, Mountain Valley Pipeline, North Carolina, Pipeline, Virginia, West Virginia

Pipeline Updates from Yellow Finch Tree Sit

Pipeline Updates from Yellow Finch Tree Sit

"Water Protectors / Mountain Defenders" photo from Yellow Finch Tree Sit
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690 days. That is how long the tree sit on Yellow Finch lane has been standing to block the progress of the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s proposed 301 mile corridor of pressurized, fracked liquefied natural gas.

This week, we speak with Dustie Pinesap and Woodchipper who are at the Yellow Finch Tree Sit in so-called Montgomery County, Virginia, who talk about the MVP, the recently-cancelled Atlantic Coast Pipeline, resistance during the pandemic, solidarity with the uprising against capitalism and white supremacist policing and a whole lot more.

Appalachians Against Pipelines:

Announcements

#DefundAVLPD protest Tuesday

If you’re in the Asheville area this week, city council will be conducting a hotly contested vote on the police and other budgets Tuesday, July 28th. According to the instagram account, @DefundAVLPD, there will be a rally that could turn protest starting at 5pm in front of Asheville city hall at 70 Court Plaza in downtown.

Phone Zap for Hunger Striking AL Prisoners

Anarchist prisoner Michael Kimble and fellow prisoner Brandon Oden began a hungry strike from all food other than water to protest the following:

the inept mishandling of the covid-19 crisis at Easterling Correction Facility

  • a lack of outside exercise time
  • a lack of access to law library
  • a lack of access to immune building foods and fruits
  • a lack of clean and fresh water
  • a refusal by administration to release all vulnerable prisoners being held at Easterling
  • a lack of proper testing and quarantining

Kimble and Oden are asking that everyone call and fax the Governor and Commissioner to demand that they seriously address and correct these problems.

GOV KAY IVEY (334) 242-7100 fax (334) 353-0004

Commissioner Jeff Dun (334) 353-3883 Fax 3343533967

Environment, Fracking, Ohio, Pipeline

Student/Community Organizing and Fighting Hopelessness with NoNEXUS Oberlin

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This week we had the opportunity to interview Isabel and Christopher, who are active in differing ways in the No NEXUS Oberlin campaign, one in a long series of anti pipeline pushes in Oberlin Ohio. This campaign is based in part around the college which exists there, but is also in strong coalition with non college attending community members in the area who have been battling  the extraction industry for years, from fighting pipelines to injection wells to fracking in this area.

We talk about what it’s like to organize as the part of a student body which seeks to break down the barriers between student and non student populations, about the NEXUS Pipeline (owned by that ever present destructive, capitalist monster Enbridge), and about the ties that direct action can have in battling political and personal hopelessness. To get in touch with this project you can write them at nonexusoberlin@protonmail.com or search their name on Facebook. The music we close the episode with is Lobo Marino, a track which is typically heard at the end of each End of the Line episode, an ongoing podcast out of Richmond on fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline. You can find them at http://pipelinepodcast.org/ for more stories and experiences from the world of fighting extraction industries.

#AllOutAugust

Much love to those who are fighting fascism in Portland, the Bay, Charlottesville, DC, and Boston this month. The police have again shown that they are firmly on the side of white nationalists, as they have countless times before, where in Portland only a few centimeters of helmet saved the life of an antifascist from a so called “non lethal” police weapon. Stay safe out there, love and care from us in Asheville, and as always, FUCK THE POLICE!

#August21

This week we also feature the voice of New Afrikan Black Panther Party (Prison Chapter) Defense Minister, Kevin “Rashid” Johnson.  Rashid is a writer, a fantastic artist, and a political prisoner currently held in Virginia but who keeps getting repressed for his organizing with prisoners around human rights issues.  He’s faced repression since 2016 directly in relation to prison strike writings.  Thanks to comrades in the south east for sharing his voice with us. You can check out Rashid’s work at his website or write him at: Kevin Johnson #1007485 Red Onion State Prison P.O. Box 1900 Pound, VA 24279 Support Anarchist Prisoner Eric King From Eric King’s support page:

The past few weeks have been rough for Eric and his family. We learned that Eric’s partner has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. On top of the solidarity EP we are promoting, we decided to also start a gofundme page for his partner. As we mentioned in the previous post, incarceration affects the whole family. Eric’s partner will now have extra medical expenses and appointments that will require time off of work, and extra childcare. The severity and treatment of the cancer is still being determined. We’re hoping for the best, and will keep people posted. Please help us to support Eric and his family – donate if you can and/or share the fundraiser. Thanks so much for everyone’s kind words and continued support.

Please donate here! . … . .. Playlist here.

Environment, Fracking, General, Indigenous, PNW, Prisons, Protest

Resisting LNG Storage in Tacoma & August 19th Prison Solidarity

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Interviews

For this week we are featuring two interviews from listeners and past contributors.

August 19th Protest in Solidarity with Prisoners

The first interview is an excerpt of a longer interview that Disembodied Voice did with with a supporter of Malik Washington about the august 19th demo in Washington to end prison slavery, the millions for prisoners march. they talk about how the march came to be and what kinds of goals the organizers might have in mind. they also discuss a rationale for approaching what might be called “reformist” tactics from an anarchist perspective, and how pathways to social change can have multiple layers.

For more information on this event, you can visit https://amendthe13th.org/ and also check out the Asheville solidarity march with this event as well on August 19th at 11:30 AM in front of Pack Square, facebook event here

Resisting LNG storage in Tacoma, WA

The next conversation, Jules holds a conversation with Roxanne Murray who is an indigenous activist involved in struggles against a Liquified National Gas storage facility proposed in the Port of so-called Tacoma, WA, which is both notably on a fault-line and first for such a populated area.

One correction for the interview, at one point it’s mentioned that the company has “12 gallon tanker trucks” when actually it’s meant that they have “12,000 gallon tanker trucks”.

They talk about lng and lng facilities, also the process by which this is extracted and some of the specifics of how fracking works, differences between this struggle and that at Standing Rock, as well as the timeline for this resistance plus many more topics.

If you want to learn more about this struggle you can visit the fedbook page for Climate First Responders.

Announcements

Radio Networks

Just a heads up, keep an ear out on our site for the August episode of B(A)D News: Angry Voices from Around The World. This is our monthly, english-language podcast from the International Anarchist Radio Network. It’ll also show up in our podcast feed, if you want to subscribe to that.

Also, Channel Zero Network finally dropped this last week! Check out our 24/7 audio stream of anarchist podcasts. Check it out at https://channelzeronetwork.com/

ACP State Regulatory Public Comment Period

from SMED
“Join us Friday Aug. 18th to tell the NC Dept of Environmental Quality to reject the 401 water quality certification for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The construction of the ACP threatens our wetlands, streams, rivers, springs and wells. Additionally it will destroy sites sacred to the Lumbee and Tuscarora peoples, and sieze people’s family farms for the private gain of energy companies like Duke Energy and Dominion. The fracked gas that the ACP will bring to market will create greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to constructing 20 new coal plants or adding 14 million cars to the road.

In the meantime please submit a public comment to the DEQ by Aug 19th telling them to reject the ACP:

Mail your own comments to:
401 Permitting,
1617 Mail Service Center,
Raleigh, NC, 27699-1617.
Email your own comments to: PublicComments@ncdenr.gov (include “ACP”
in the email’s subject line)”

To learn more about Smoky Mountain Eco Defense you can visit smed.blackblogs.org/. For more information on the ACP, you can listen to an interview that Bursts did with Whitney, who spoke about the logistical and environmental impacts the pipeline would have plus the impact on human and non human life, plus some of the context to its resistance.

Reminder: Asheville Solidarity Rally with Millions for Prisoners Human Rights
March on Washington DC

On August 19th at 11:30 AM at Pack Square Park (In front of City Hall), folks will be gathering to show resistance to the continuation of slavery in the exception clause to the 13th Amendment of the U.S. constitution and in solidarity with prisoners and the rally by iamweubuntu.com in D.C.

For more information, please check out this Facebook
event.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to spread word about another Anarchist statement against intimidation tactics by Federal Law enforcement in North Carolina. Jayden Savino, who currently lives in Asheville, published their statement on EF!J on Saturday the 12th stating that “The FBI is attempting to make myself and my community feel isolated and fearful. Unfortunately for the FBI, this harassment has done the opposite for myself, my community, and my family. This type of FBI repression is not a new phenomenon, and the state’s efforts to target activists and dismantle movements is as American as genocide. While it is unclear what exactly is being investigated, I will continue to embody my solidarity with the resilient herstory of state repression resistors, along with those who will continue to resist after my time. There is no greater betrayal or humiliation to our movement and the Earth than to cooperate with the state.” The Final Straw would love to extend a warm hug to Jaydan and all of our support.

A quick post-script to this introduction: Many of our listeners may be aware of the huge and tragic events that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, on May 11th and 12th, 2017. In the near future, we’ll be bringing some voices from that struggle against the United The Right rally attempted by such groups as The Proud Boys, chapters of the Ku Klux Klan, National Socialist Movement, League of the South, Vanguard America, and other ass-hats of the far right and alt-right. A few writeups are already showing up on ItsGoingDown.org and are worth a read. I would like to take a moment to raise my voice in praise of the people that showed up in Charlottesville despite the dangers, to the affinity groups and collectives and individuals who stood in the muggy, Virginia summer heat to face off against 500 literal fascists weilding torches on the night of the 11th around the Robert E. Lee statue, who came to those activists aide. I want to raise my voice in honor of the people who came out despite the terror of the night before to face off against these same 500 or so cowards and turned them running, who saw through transparent arguments of “free speech” meant to confuse the liberals. We wish to send love to those who pushed back against the fash, to the clergy who bore witness in the face of such a threat, to the neighbors who fought for their city against this horde of white supremacists, who cared for the injured, who loved their neighbors by defending them, housing them, healing them. Around the world, shows of solidarity are going up, with Heather Herey who was brutally murdered by an alleged Vanguard America member from Ohio who drove into a crowd of protestors, and in doing so injured about 20 more. And also, I want to raise my voice for those who struggled against the police, the police who may not have protected the fash as much this day but who are institutionally on the side of authoritarianism and still know what side their bread is buttered on. Our liberation will never come with the handshake of a cop.

If you have a few dollars burning a whole in your pocket and want to help out the folks in Charlottesville as they cover legal, medical and other costs, you can visit http://solidaritycville.com/donate/ for ideas.

Solidarity from us, friends and comrades, we will win.

#NoDAPL, activism, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Capitalism, Environment, Fracking, Mid-Atlantic, Mountain Valley Pipeline, North Carolina, Petroleum, Pipeline, Protest, Virginia, Water

Resistance to the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines

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This week, we spoke with Whitney about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline, two pipelines flowing through mid-Appalachian and the mid-Atlantic region on Turtle Island and both connect Transco pipeline in Pennsylvania County, VA. The pipelines are 48 inches in diameter and are made for transporting dangerous compressed and pressurized natural gas through many watersheds, towns and farmlands. In addition to fears of contamination of waterways and soil, through possible leaks and explosions, many people are concerned the pipeline will be carry gas for export , not even for domestic consumption.

Whitney is also involved in an upcoming podcast series to inform folks in Virginia about the history and aspects of the pipelines to be released in the run-up to the decisions by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on whether or not these projects can move forward.

As of now, there is no website address for our guest’s podcast, but their podcast’s mission statement is as follows:

“‘End of the Line’ is a pre-recorded podcast created by local Richmonders, following the developing story of two proposed pipelines in Virginia – the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Over the past year, the subject of fossil fuel “pipelines” has reached a high point of saturation in the national consciousness. While the nation watched major milestones unfold around the rejection of Keystone XL by President Obama and Standing Rock’s struggle to protect water against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, resistance to pipelines in Virginia has been building as well. Residents and landowners in mostly rural parts of the state have taken on an uphill battle to try and stop two high pressure natural gas pipelines from going through their land as well as some of Virginia’s most treasured places.

Featuring the voices of those directly affected by the proposed infrastructure, this ongoing series will examine every aspect of the local pipeline struggle, episode by episode, starting at the very beginning and working our way to the present. Through voices of those on the frontlines, we will touch on issues such as eminent domain, energy policy, industry influence on local politics, environmental impacts, and the mental health aspect of how residents are coping with this tremendous burden. Our goals are to provide listeners with the stories of Virginians who have been and are currently resisting both proposed natural gas pipelines and build a wider audience of people throughout our region who may not be familiar with all that has occurred since the summer of 2014 when the pipelines were first introduced. The built-in question we will be posing to listeners is the same many landowners are facing, “Are these pipelines a ‘done deal’?” To that end, as our episodes begin to meet up in real time with the decision-making process at state and federal levels, “End of the Line” will continue to report on developments as the pipeline saga unfolds”.

We will announce a website for this project as soon as we know!

———————–

Other, regional upcoming events related to the ACP & MVP pipelines may consider attending include the following: Beyond Extreme Energy will be putting on a convergence in Washington DC from April 26-28th. BXE was a co-sponsor of the walk across NC areas that may be affected by the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline. More info on the conference and other stuff by BXE can be found at http://beyondextremeenergy.org Delaware River Keepers have compiled “People’s Dossiers” on shortcomings of studies in the economic and environmental harms of the ACP & MVP by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC. http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/ongoing-issues/peoples-dossier-ferc-abuses-economic-harms

Another site of interest worth check out is http://www.apppl.org for the Alliance of People to Protect the Places we Live.

If you’re in the South East (or wherever), you are cordially invited to attend the 1st Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfaire, also known as ACAB2017 from May 5-May 7th in Asheville, North Carolina. The weekend of events kicks off with an a welcome table at firestorm books at 610 Haywood Rd from 3pm until 6pm with a schedule of events and ways to plug in. There are multiple musical events Friday and Saturday night. Featured speakers include Shon Meckfessel, Jude Ortiz of Tilted Scales Collective, members of the crimethInc collective as well as from the Water Protectors Anti-Repression Crew and a special appearance by author and activist Ward Churchill. Vendors over the weekend will include PM Press, AK Press, Little Black Cart, Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness, Combustion Books and many more. Consider the daytime events to be all ages. Check out https://acab2017.noblogs.org/ for updates and info.

Earth First!, Fracking, Free Alabama Movement, Ohio, Prisons, Protest

Appalachia Resist! and Uprising at the Holman Unit in Alabama (03-13-2016)

Appalachia Resist! and Uprising at the Holman Unit

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(Just noticed this hadn’t made it up on the website. This aired March 13, 2016)

 

This week we spoke with two members of the southern Ohio based group Appalachia Resist!, which is a social and environmental justice group that has been active since 2012 in fighting fracking, frack waste, and injection drilling in their area. We speak about the camp, which is going to be held next weekend, about the schedule and about how the two approach organizing. More about the camp and the group can be found at https://appalachiaresist.wordpress.com/

Announcements

Uprising at Holman Unit in Alabama

Last night prisoners took over Holman prison in Alabama. At around midnight a fight between inmates escalated to include guards and even the warden. Staff fled, and the rioting prisoners have taken over general population, lighting guard towers on fire and barricading the
doors.

News and video, here:
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2016/03/reported_riot_fires_at_holman.html

According to rumors, the incident began when an officer responded to a fight between two prisoners with excessive force and was stabbed in response. “Then they brought the warden down and the warden got to talking crazy so they ended up stabbing the warden, and then after that
all the officers ran up out of the institution, that was like 12:00, 1:00 this morning.”

The warden and officer’s injuries were not fatal. There are videos circulating on social media of prisoners burning the control towers and opening all doors. “We’re tired of this shit, there’s only one way to deal with it: tear the prison down” one of the participants stated.

At around 2 am the riot squad and police arrived. They said they were waiting on daylight to move and try to restore control of the facility. At this time, people haven’t heard from the occupied portion of the prison for a few hours, but it seems the authorities have not moved in,
either. Friends and family of prisoners in Holman are asking that people pray for their loved ones.

Holman’s capacity is 1002 prisoners, but it also has a segregation unit and death row, which are still under the prison’s control. Prisoners in segregation have not received their breakfast meal, four hours after it is normally distributed. General population at Holman consists of four
open space dormitories, housing 114 people each, plus a 200 person annex, so there may be between 450 – 650 prisoners involved in the uprising.

Alabama DOC has been increasingly unstable in recent months, incidents of violence within the institutions have been stacking up, the federal government was on the verge of taking over the system due to poor management and budgetary shortfalls last year.

An article from Jan 2016 about ADOC’s failure to operate safe and stable prisons: http://www.eji.org/node/1198

Playlist

activism, Dominion, Environment, Fracking, General, Maryland, Mid-Atlantic

Heather Doyle on Stopping Extraction + Exports Destruction (SEED)

Heather Doyle of S.E.E.D.

https://seedcoalition.wordpress.com/
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This week, William interviewed Heather Doyle, an activist involved with S.E.E.D. coalition, a mid-Atlantic-bsed activist grouping whose name stands for Stopping Extraction & Export Destruction. Heather talks about her recent harassment and assault at the hands of the Culver County Sheriff’s dept, that dept’s collusion and payoff by the Dominion corporation and more. Dominion is behind the liquified natural gas containment storage & export facility being protested by S.E.E.D. activists, which they claim endangers all of the surrounding, rural residents in case of emergency. The protests have also focussed on the role of Culver County’s facility and Dominion in the extraction from Marcellus shale gas and other nasty petroleum extraction projects and the dangers of it’s shipping via pipelines and trains across Turtle Island. More on S.E.E.D. can be found at https://seedcoalition.wordpress.com/

Heather should have the beginning of her jury trial on May 3rd & 4th in the Culver County circuit court in Maryland and is looking for court support.

A-Radio Berlin, activism, Anarchist, Capitalism, Environment, European Union, Fracking, France, General, Germany, Immigration, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey

Migrant solidarity and squatting in Calais, France

http://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/
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Calais is a port city in France that sits as the major nexus of migrants attempting to leave the French (and thus European) mainland to reach the U.K. in seek of asylum. These migrants are fleeing the effects of imperialism (sometimes war, always capital) in their home countries. They hail from Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan, Chad, Nigeria, Sudan and many other places and seek peace and stability in the EU. The irony is that the EU, like the U.S., is a major exporter of the troubles the migrants seek to escape. In many ways, the “immigration crisis” in the U.S. mirrors the reality of the “immigration crisis” in the EU.

This week’s episode of the Final Straw features a conversation with Greta, a No Border Activist living in the UK about struggles of immigrants in Calais, where over the last 2 months there have been raids that have netted hundreds of migrants seeking to leave the mainland and land in the UK with expectation of receiving a refugee status. Greta tells us about the immigration structure of the EU’s Shengen Zone (of which the UK is not a part), about the recent raids and squat evictions in Calais, and the new squat “Impasse de Saline” outside of the city. She also touches on the plight of immigrants in the UK.
http://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/

The second half of the episode features a segment recorded by our audio-comrades at A-Radio Berlin, entitled “Europe and beyond: the resistance against mega-projects”. From the A-Radio blog:

“We pre­sent an in­ter­view with Bog­dan, an ac­tivist from Ru­ma­nia. The main topic is the re­cent 4th Forum against un­ne­cessa­ry im­po­sed me­ga-​pro­jects, a net­work of major strugg­les against in­fra­struc­tu­re, mi­ning and fra­cking pro­jects (in Eu­ro­pe an bey­ond). The last mee­ting took place in May in Rosia Mon­t­a­na, Ru­ma­nia. The pre­pa­ra­ti­on, the sub­ject of the in­vol­ve­ment of po­li­ti­cal par­ties in such mo­ve­ments as well as the fu­ture per­spec­tive of this par­ti­cu­lar co­or­di­na­ti­on are at the heart of the in­ter­view, but it also gives a quick over­view of the de­ve­lop­ment of the local strugg­le against the pro­po­sed big­gest open-​cast gold mi­ning pro­ject in Eu­ro­pe.”
More at http://aradio.blogsport.de/

For past shows dealing with anti-dev struggles like the ones mentioned above, see the following links:
Hambach Forest Defense: Germany
Zone À Défendre (ZAD): Notre Dames de Landes, France
No-TAV: Turin, Italy

Playlist

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)

new_brunswick_soli
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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…)

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