This week Bursts spoke with William Budington, a digital security expert, about various topics under that heading. We spoke about: encryption for texting, email and mobile devices operating systems; about anonymity on the internet; safer practices with social media; doxxing; and more.
The conversation was ranging and a bit thick at times due to Bursts very specific style of posing questions. Thusly, the notes will be very long with lots of links embedded for further reading on the topic, posted in the Further Reading section below. If there are other topics around security that you’d like to hear discussed on this show, drop us an email at thefinalstrawradio@riseup.net and we’ll mull it over. This chat was by no means the end of a conversation. The practices and tools we talked about here are meant to keep you SAFER, but can’t promise your safety. But hopefully some of these words can get more of us to take our digital hygiene more seriously!
Announcements
Political Prisoner Herman Bell Assaulted
We received this notice after the show aired, but hope that folks read these notes and get this info. Herman Bell is one of the New York 3, the same group of defendants as Jalil Muntaqim, who we featured an interview with in our last episode:
Black Panther Party political prisoner Herman Bell was viciously assaulted by guards at Great Meadow Correctional Facility (Comstock) on September 5, 2017. While being “escorted” by a guard back to his housing unit, a guard struck Herman, age 69, in the face causing his glasses to drop to the floor. This same guard then repeatedly punched Herman about the face, head and body. Responding to a commotion, 5-6 other guards arrived and joined in the assault. One of them was able to knee Herman in the chest causing two cracked ribs. Another guard took out a bottle of mace and sprayed it all over Herman’s face, eyes and mouth.
Herman was then taken to the prison infirmary. X-rays have confirmed fractured ribs. Herman’s left eye is damaged from the mace and blows. He has bruises to his body and is suffering headaches, a sign of a possible concussion.
Herman Bell has now been charged with “assault on staff”. Defying common sense, they allege that Herman, for no apparent reason, slapped the guard escorting him. He did this, they claim, in a location out of the view of all inmates but in the presence of other guards. He is now in the Special Housing Unit (box) at Five Points Correctional Facility where he was transferred after the incident.
Herman Bell has not had a disciplinary violation in over 20 years. He was scheduled to begin a three day family visit with his wife a few days after the incident, their first such visit in over 2 1/2 years. In addition he is to appear before the parole board, for the 8th time, in February 2018.
Herman has, however, been the target of guard harassment due to his political background. Visitors report that guards processing them and in the visiting room comment that they are visiting a “cop killer” or “terrorist”. Some guards have been seen passing around the book “Badge of the Assassin” written by Herman’s prosecutor.
At this time, we are encouraging everyone to take the time to write to Herman or send him a get-well card, so that the authorities know we are paying attention and are concerned for Herman. Stay tuned for updates as we develop this campaign.
Herman Bell #79C0262
Five Points Cor. Fac.
P.O. Box 119
Romulus, N.Y. 14541
2018 Certain Days Calendar
I’d like to quickly announce that the 2018 Certain Days: Freedom For Political Prisoners Calendar has just been posted as ready for pre-order. The calendar is a joint fundraising and educational project between outside organizers in Montreal, Toronto, and New York, in partnership with three political prisoners being held in maximum-security prisons in New York State: David Gilbert, Robert Seth Hayes and Herman Bell. The proceeds from Certain Days 2018 will be divided among these groups: Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association (Palestine), Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) and other groups in need. More info on the project and where to sign up is at certaindays.org
T-Shirt Designs
For all you artistically minded listeners out there, who would like to see their art worn by people (potentially) all over the world, The Final Straw is looking for tshirt desgins! If you like the show, or love it, or just think it’s ok-ish but like to make designs then this challenge is for you.
We will be accepting submissions until the (end of November), and lest you think this is a one way street, the winner of this challenge will recieve a special prize from each of us (Bursts and William) of a personal and one of a kind mixtape which will include all sorts of audio goodies. Runners up will also get prizes, so never fear there’s no heirarchy here.
Want in?? Just email your submission and any relevant info to thefinalstrawradio@riseup.net and keep your ears peeled for the winner announcement.
Show Notes begin in vain
For a starter on COINTELPRO, check out the wikipedia page on the topic.
The Whisper Systems (Signal) case referenced concerning user data disclosure to government is explained by WS folks. Also, here’s a link to Weapons of Math Destruction, the book by Cathy O’Neil that William references.
PGP Enigmail for is an add-on to the Thunderbird email client that makes creating a pgp key set easier.
The Onion Router (TOR) produced this really great package for safer browsing called the Torbrowser package. TAILS is a portable operating system so you can operate a computer and leave less traces Signal is a phone app for end-to-end encryption available for iphones, android phones and desktops.
HTTPSEverywhere is a useful add-on for your web browser
VPNs
One VPN intro, including links to clients you can use, can be found at riseup
Various other nefarious tech the state and non-state actors may deploy
IMSI catchers, or phone spoofers, include the name-brand Stingray. The ACLU has this little site that allows you to see what law enforcement agencies they know to have (and probably use) them!
In reference to the Automatic License Plate Readers mentioned by William, here’s an article on the subject
The first conversation is with a supporter of Kara Wild. Kara is an anarchist, a trans woman, an artist and is currently incarcerated and awaiting trial in France for participation in the Nuit Debout protests that swept across France in 2016 against changes to labor laws in that country. Kara was arrested on May 16, 2017 and will finally be going to trial Sept 19-22nd and so could use some immediate support. More information on Kara’s case can be found at freekarawild.org.
* Here’s a little background on the Aachen robbery case referenced in the interview.
* And here’s a guide to writing to Lisa of the Aachen Case
* Solidarity to Aachen from International Revolutionary People’s Guerrilla Forces
* Info about the Kalimero Solidarity Group
* An article about Damien’s release
* An article about Damien being beaten
* Kara retracts her apology that she was weaseled into giving to the judge by her previous lawyer. She really regretted it and after Krem was arrested, she decided to retract her apology.
To write to Kara:
BRAULT, David (Kara) #428682,
MAH de Fleury, 7 Ave des Peupliers,
91705, Fleury Merogis, Cedex, FRANCE
Conflict in Movement
Next, we do something a little experimental. We present a conversation with a member of an anti-authoritarian movement in Europe. We don’t say what movement. We talk about conflict internal to their movement, but we don’t name the parties involved. The conversation was conducted from an anti-authoritarian perspective, in the interest of creating heterogeneous communities of struggle. The purpose of this recording is to promote a mental exercise on the part of the listener to plug in their own experiences in movements with many different trajectories inside of it. The anonymous nature of the conversation was in part to not contribute to internal conflict to the movement, conflict is better addressed between parties involved than with an outside party (our radio show) who’s interest may not be the same as the movement. I hope that this conversation is helpful, for all of it’s purposeful vagueness.
Announcements
Katie Yow
If you are in Asheville, there will be a benefit for North Carolina grand jury resister Katie Yow on Tuesday the 29th of August at the Double Crown on Haywood Road in West Asheville. There will be bbq of the vegan and non vegan sorts, plus a great lineup of bands including Margaret Killjoy’s Nomadic War Machine, Snake Musk and Wyatt Yurth and the Gold Standard.
Yow, who is a social worker with a professional past in education, has been an anarchist for over half her life. Her commitment to resist this grand jury shows a bravery in the face of the kinds of trauma and isolation that only the state can instill, yet she has named this resistance as “the easiest decision I have ever made”.
Stay tuned for an interview with Katie Yow and a supporter on next week’s Final Straw!
For more information on Yow, updates on her resistance, and many resources on grand juries and grand jury resistance, you can visit https://ncresiststhegrandjury.com/
Cvill, AVL, and Calls for Solidarity
It’s been a week and a day since the events in Charlottesville, and for me it is a bit difficult to know what to say. There have been many excellent report backs – from Solecast, It’s Going Down, CrimethInc Ex Worker, and Radical Underground podcast – definitely check those out for in depth analysis and on the ground perspectives from anarchists and antifascists. Since Cville there have been very well publicised resistances to fascism and ongoing white supremacy in Durham, Boston, and right here in Asheville where four brave community members attempted the removal of a plaque commemorating Robert E. Lee at downtown’s Vance Monument. These four folks put themselves and their safety on the line to fight white supremacy and racist, revisionist history by engaging in this act. If you want to read a statement from these folks or donate to their legal fund, you can visit youcaring.com and search for “Asheville Monument Removal Legal Fund”.
Activity seems relentless right now, with elements on both sides galvanized by recent events, marches and calls to action are coming fast and furious. It is important to mobilize, but mobilize wisely, in the spirit of complete honesty about your capacities and energy. We cannot fight longterm unless we fight alongside all our comrades, support those who put themselves or are on the frontlines, and help prioritize all levels of antifascist engagement and accompliceship.
With that in mind, I want to say that if you are interested in keeping up with these calls or solidarity keep your eyes on itsgoingdown.org for announcements and updates.
One that’d like to mention right now are a call for solidarity in Phoenix AZ. This is a “call for an anti-fascist & anti-colonial contingent against Trump’s rally on Tuesday, August 22 at 6pm at the Phoenix Convention Center.
We will converge, in the spirit of solidarity and hostility to the current order, and as a physical body ready to act in self-defense and mutual protection of each other from cops, fascists, and liberal/radical ‘peace police.'”
This rally is a reaction to Trump’s suspected decision to pardon former AZ sheriff Joe Arpaio who was recently found guilty of criminal contempt for defying a state judge’s order to stop traffic patrols targeting suspected undocumented immigrants. Those patrols were kept in place by Arpaio for 17 months after the order was issued. This same sherrif rose to infamy for his intentionally cruel and sadistic treatment of incarcerated people.
This rally will be held on Tuesday, August 22 at 6pm at the Phoenix Convention Center at 100 N. 3rd St. in downtown Phoenix. It’s recommended that people arrive and look for the black flags.
As always, keep vigilant about sources of fundraising! White nationalists are capitalists too, they will coopt anything including revolutionary momentum on the far left.
If you are in a position to donate, you can look at the sources below, all of which will directly benefit those who fought and were injured in Cville:
On August 12th in Charlottesville, many IWW and GDC members from across the country were present. Members of Metropolitan Anarchist Coordinating Committee, or MACC, from New York City also had members present at the vehicular manslaughter that occurred that day. The NYC GDC and MACC stand in solidarity with all those who oppose the growing wave of fascism around the world. Cowardly attacks will only strengthen our resolve to fight back and defend ourselves. An injury to one is an injury to all!
To support all those injured by fascist violence in Charlottesville, NYC GDC of the IWW as well as MACC are holding a fundraiser and screening of the latest episode of “Trouble” by SubMedia at Rebecca’s, at 610 Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn on Sunday, August 27th from 8pm to 10pm. “Trouble” is a new monthly documentary series that broadcasts first-hand accounts of struggles for community self-defense. Previous episodes have explored topics like water protectors fighting the construction of the DAPL pipeline at Standing Rock, anti-fascist organizing, solidarity efforts for refugees and resistance to state repression. SubMedia has encouraged groups to host screenings of the show to bring communities together and provoke discussion of tactics, struggles and movement dynamics.
The best defense against fascism is a strong and supportive community, based on principles of mutual aid, solidarity and self-defense. Heather Heyer will live in our hearts forever!
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.
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.
This week William got to speak to two people about the anti KKK demo in Charlotesville VA on July 8th, plus about the resistance to a Unite the Right gathering proposed for Charlotesville on August 12th. We speak about what went down on J8, plus things to keep in mind for A12 and who all may be attending the event.
Here is some intro text from our guests that lays the groundwork for some of the things we will speak about:
In the wake of the Charleston Massacre in 2015, the Confederate flag saw a drastic change in social tolerance, and its removal from public institutions sparked widespread reaction from scores of White Southerners, even leading to further terrorizing and violence. Donald Trump’s campaign and election saw these fires stoked further, now emboldening the more explicit White Supremacist dialogue that so many had attempted to distance the flag from a year earlier.
In late April of 2017, the city council of Charlottesville, Virginia voted to remove its statues depicting Confederate generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, and rename the downtown parks that hosted them as Justice Park and Emancipation Park, respectively. Local Confederate advocates such as the VA Flaggers and politicians like Corey Stewart had already inserted themselves into the dialogue, but they did not stop when the City’s decision was cast.
With the assistance of local white activists a court injunction was filed to challenge and halt the removals, and only a few weeks later, White Power figureheads from across the U.S. descended on Charlottesville’s parks unannounced for a day of rallies and photo-ops, in a calculated move to insert themselves into the conflict. Since May, the people of Charlottesville have been dogged by intermittent rallies, harassment, stalking, threats, and outright violence from these forces, all the while fighting to resist this fascist creep.
Just two weeks ago, on July 8th, the infamous Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan held a rally in Justice Park. Many from the city and across Virginia assembled for a peaceful counter-demonstration that sought to block the Klan from entering the park. This time, the police led a violent and one-sided escalation against those protesting white supremacy that included 23 arrests.
As the far-right and so-called Alt-Right’s campaign in Charlottesville continues, August 12th has been set for what they hope to be a culminating event, a rally to “Unite the Right” in Emancipation Park.
With a special guest line-up featuring the worst of the worst, they are counting on even greater numbers of alt-righters, Neo-Nazis, white nationalists, neo-confederates, militia groups, and even biker gangs to converge from all corners of the country, with aims not only of unification but of violent retribution against those who oppose them.
A call to action for A12 resistance and detailed information chronicling this struggle, including how to support those arrested on July 8th, can be found at solidaritycville.com, and you can contact Defend.Cville@protonmail.com for more. Use #DefendCville and #TheNewKKK for news and conversation before, during, and after A12; and most importantly, show up to support Charlottesville and help send these Nazis packing!
98FM podcast coming out soon
Keep an ear out for a special podcast segment we’ll release this week about 98Fm, Radiozones Of Subersive Expression in Athens Greece. This is the squatted pirate radio station we were going on and on about during the interview on Its Going Down. Well, as you may have heard on B(A)D News: Angry Voices From Around The World #2 last week, they’ve been having some issues with the Telecommunication Ministry, the police, a commercial pirate station and the University where they squat. So, we chat about it for about 45 minutes and they tell us about what’s going on in Greece these days. Take a peek at our website mid week for this interview.
Announcements
Updates from Comrade Malik Washington
Now a quick announcement from the dungeons of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice:
Comrades incarcerated in the “Ad-Seg”–that is, solitary confinement”–block at the Eastham Unit in Texas are reporting that mentally ill prisoners who are unable to care for their own physical health and hygiene are being utterly neglected by prison COs, and even by mental health personnel supposedly tasked with oversight functions at the prison.
Comrade Kado is an occupant of the Ad-Seg unit who has seen this neglect firsthand, related in a recent communication that his concern for one particular individual on the block has become acute. He writes, “It is known that this man is mentally ill. If engaged directly in conversation, he is able to respond, although only in very short sentences. He knows he is from Nebraska, and that he is here for “trespassing too much”… when asked why he’s in solitary, he states “they want me to do work and it’s too hard” or “the guards yellin’ all the time, I get upset”.
Each time Comrade Kado tried to engage the prison staff about getting some assistance for this man, who had been living for months in his own filth, in a roach-infested cell, he was ignored or told he can’t advocate for fellow inmates. Well-known prison activist and human rights advocate Comrade Malik Washington, who also resides on this unit, similarly tried to speak out on behalf of this person, and he, too, was promptly told to mind his own business.
A major concern is that this man could become ill from the deadly heat people in Texas prison are regularly exposed to; this is a concern for ALL Texas prisoners, but especially those who no longer (or maybe never did) possess the cognitive ability to advocate for themselves. As Comrade Malik writes, “[This man] lives only 3 cells away from me. He has no fan and really doesn’t know or understand how to ask for one, so he suffers more than the normal prisoner in ad seg…And yet from the senior warden all the way down to the lowest-ranking correctional officer, no-one sees the importance or urgency of obtaining a fan for this mentally ill humyn being!”
Officials at Eastham will not succeed in destroying solidarity amongst imprisoned people. Comrades Kado and Malik will continue speaking out for their fellow incarcerated brothers and sisters–and they need our help!! Take a minute to call Bryan Collier, Executive Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, at (512) 463-9988, to tell him that mentally ill prisoners need to be properly cared for. And if you want to learn more about this pressure campaign and about prisoner advocacy, write to Comrade Kado at:
Dare to struggle! Dare to win! All power to the people!
J20 Week of Solidarity
This is the week of solidarity with the over-200-people arrested during the protests against the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20th, known as the J20 defendants. Among the ways to get involved, one could thrown a fundraiser, attend a fundraiser, do graffiti, drop a banner, have an info-session to teach people about it, re-socialize your local Fox News outlet and read a statement on the air, plaster your social media, talk to your awkward manarchist uncle Jerry, and otherwise raise awareness that might support the support lawyers in their attempt on July 27th to get the charges against the J20 defendents dismissed. More info on events ongoing can be found at defendj20resistance.org.
Za in NYC with the Wobs for J20
If you’re in New York and wanna have some pizza about this, the New York City General Defense Committee of the Industrial Workers of the World is organizing a pizza dinner as a benefit of the over 200 people who were arrested in Washington D.C. on Inauguration Day. Here’s a fedbook post for the event, and here’s where the funds are being collected if you can’t make it but wanna give.
WHEN: Saturday, August 5, 2017 from 4 P.M. to 4 A.M.
WHERE: Rebecca’s, 610 Bushwick Ave., Brooklyn NY 11206
Fire Inside Zine & Tour
From FireInside.noblogs.org, we read an announcement about Firehawk & Ben’s upcoming rust-belt tour with a zine compiling the experiences of prisoners of the September 9th #PrisonStrike from last year in the prisoners own words, as well as info about the August 19th Millions for Prisoner Justice march this year.
July 25th day of International Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners
From IGD
Tuesday, July 25th, marks the 3rd Annual International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners. In the aftermath of the fiery protests against the G20—and the arrests of hundreds of comrades—we are again reminded that the embers of direct action need long-term prisoner support in order to keep the flame of resistance strong. Some forty G20 protesters remain in prison in Hamburg and need our solidarity.
Mike Williams
From IGD
Longtime Sacramento activist and indigenous elder Mike Williams is one of three people of color who face charges stemming from the antifascist mobilization which shut down a neo-Nazi rally in June of 2016. Only one neo-Nazi, William Planer, is facing charges, and he was only arrested after vandalizing a synagogue in Denver, CO. Mike is currently facing massive charges and a high bail. Please support him here and share the fundraising link far and wide along with this article to raise awareness of his case.
This week William spoke with Maria and Jeff, who are two long term members of the humanitarian aid group based in Arizona called No More Deaths. This group does solidarity work with those who are crossing the border in that region, as well as advocacy, legal work, and work which runs along many other vectors of solidarity. We will speak about the group and how each member got involved, the exact nature of the work and some media myths that the group gets leveled at them, along with the rise in repression that No More Deaths has faced in recent weeks, culminating in highly militarized raid on Bird Camp, a remote outpost that serves as a clinic, on Thursday, June 15. We will go on to discuss the strategy behind Border Patrol’s surveillance and repression of those who are crossing and aid workers, and will talk about asks for assistance that the group is thinking of.
You can visit NMD online at nomoredeaths.org, plus follow them on Facebook and Twitter if you want to keep up with calls for solidarity and with updates on their situation.
Those titles that Maria mentioned for further reading if folks want to learn more about the border and how it got that way are:
The first musical track in this episode is by Calle 13 with “Pa’l Norte”. They are a Puerto Rican hip hop group that often tackles themes that are oppositional to the border, border patrol, and FBI. The episode closes with a track from an Argentinian atmospheric metal band called Ruinas/Raíces with Dos Colores Fundiéndose which is the first track off their title album that just came out in April. You can find them on the blog Red and
Anarchist Black Metal.
In this week’s episode we feature two interviews. In the first, we spoke with Em, a supporter of the mass arrestees from the January 20th inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington DC earlier this year. We also speak with Jay, who was one of the arrestees. The two share first and secondhand experiences of the arrests, detention, denial of medication, rough rides and arraignment that accompanied those arrested at 12th & L that day. We also talk about where the court case is now and how to support the over 230 people kettled as Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff and other state agents attempt to give everyone 80 years in prison for alleged property destruction. More info on the effort at https://defendj20resistance.org
In the second portion, I chatted with anarchists in Hamburg, Germany about the upcoming protest against the G20 summit that is scheduled there between July 6th and 8th. The guests speak about the history of resistance in Hamburg, the state ramping up repression, it’s impacts on marginalized folks living there and on the planned protests and how to get involved. More info on this initiative can be found at https://g20tohell.blackblogs.org/2017/02/11/english/
Our blog and podcast will also host links and audio from a few songs in German meant to bring folks out into the streets of Hamburg. Here’s a video for one.
If you’re listening still on June 11th, happy day of Solidarity with Long Term Eco & Anarchist Prisoners, Marius Mason and beyond! Whatever your solidarity looks like, don’t get caught. Local events can be found at june11.org. Don’t forget to submit your anonymized and proxied exploits to june11@riseup.net. Also, check out the awesome series of interviews with prisoners, former prisoners and their supporters done by the June 11th crew that are up at It’s Going Down by searching for june 11th.
Announcements
Kevin “Rashid” Johnson
New Afrikan Black Panther, Kevin “Rashid” Johnson is a long term prison organizer and published author. Rashid is being retaliated against for his prison organizing. According to the blog PAPS Texas, “He had a shank planted on him which was used as an excuse to take away his legal materials and typewriter.
Please call the following numbers.
William Clements Unit
(806) 381-7080 – ask to speak to the warden’s office or if unavailable to property
open 24/7
Region V Director
Phone: 806-296-4500 or FAX 806-296-4521
Ask for Captain Ramirez
Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Ombudman’s office
Phone: (936) 437-4927
Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m
Follow up by emailing: ombudsman@tdcj.texas.gov”
more info, including a script you can borrow from and more in-depth descriptions of what happened to Rashid can be found at http://rashidmod.com
Editorial
As in many locations yesterday (June 10th 2017), Raleigh NC saw immense opposition to the Anti-Sharia Law marches, for the most part called for by Act for America which is a far right islamophobic group that alleges that the US is slipping into Sharia Law via whatever wingnut influence they think is going on. Like pretty much everything in this vein, this notion belies an extremely poor understanding of what Sharia is and how it functions, basically transforming it into yet another proxy for islamophobia and “patriotic”, white supremacists zealotry in the mouths of racists. Yesterday saw (as I mentioned before) nationwide opposition to this farce, with battles from Seattle and Portland to our very own North Carolina, where the anti-racist crew outnumbered the racists by about 4 to 1, demoralizing them into an early dispersal and hopefully a lowered self esteem. Keep your eyes peeled for updates and report backs on your favorite anarchist news sites, like It’s Going Down!
To editorialize for a second, at the start of this Pride month 2017 there were seemingly a lot of LGBTQ people joining the Act for America shindig in the name of protesting the alleged homophobia and misogyny under Sharia. As a gay person myself, I would say to any LGTBTQ individual who joined Act for America yesterday that you need look no further than your own home country to see brutal and systemic attacks against women and queer folks any day of the week without resorting to otherising and racist rhetoric to express your so called rage at homophobia. And before you start crying, wringing your hands, and trying to derail this statement, it’s true that patriarchy and homophobia exist everywhere, it would be ridiculous to say otherwise. That’s not what I’m talking about tho. What you did yesterday and what you are continuing to do by joining the right is lending them another facet by which they justify their own bigotries (plus I daresay expressing your own as well), and by lending them numbers. What in any case is the point of protesting this phenomenon, which the right neither understands nor knows how to interpret, other than to oppress an already beleaguered demographic of people in the States?
In closing, I’ll say that make no mistake that the far right will throw you under the bus at the first opportune moment. They historically always have. So if you like that kind of thing, then knock yourself out. If not, check your shit and examine who is telling you what, why, and at what cost to you.
Download This EpisodeThis week Bursts spoke with Rhyd Wildermuth. Rhyd is a co-editor and founder or the website Gods & Radicals, which also publishes periodical journal entitled “A Beautiful Resistance”. For the hour, we speak about paganism, anti-capitalism, race and whiteness in the context of ethical approaches towards earth-based religions as white people in a Settler Colonial society, May Day and more. You can find his projects at https://godsandradicals.org
We also repeat our announcement of the upcoming anarchist bookfaire in Asheville:
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 http://acab2017.noblogs.org for updates and info.
More up-to-date announcements and episodes will pick up along with audio from our participation in the International Anarchist Gathering in Athens, Greece, starting up mid-May, 2017. Check out our social media feeds to see and hear elements of it, including the live broadcast on April 30th from Athens.
Download This Episode
This week William spoke with a member of Eastern Kentucky Antifa about the upcoming resistance to the Traditionalist Workers Party’s event in Pikeville KY. This group, along with The Nationalist Socialist Movement, The American Freedom Party, League of the South, The Iron March Forums, and other groups which it is accurate to call neo-Nazi are converging to form The Nationalist Front.
They will gather on Friday, April 28th on private land for camping, a series of speakers, and trainings. The following day, they are planning to rally in front of the courthouse in Pikeville, KY at 2:00pm EST. They plan to retreat to the location where their camping and the conference is being hosted to hold an after party as well as a “secret event.” In this short interview, we talk about what to expect from this event, some of the history of fascist and proto fascist activity in rurual KY, and things that resisters should keep in mind.
One thing that we did not mention is that phone reception is very spotty in this area, so if you are going you should come having printed off paper maps beforehand. You can see an excellent article on this by going to It’s Going Down
After this interview we will hear some new antifascist, antiracist metal from The Dark Skies Above Us Collective out of Greece.
ANNOUNCEMENT If you’re listening in Asheville come out to a queer country show and corn dog pop up to benefit the Tranzmission Prison Project, a decade long running project which sends free books and resources to LGBTQ incarcerated folks. This event will be on Wednesday April 19th at the Double Crown at 375 Haywood Rd Asheville NC, food starts at 6 music at 8 come out! You can get in touch with Tranzmission by writing them at tranzmissionprisonproject@gmail.com or by writing PO Box 1874, Asheville NC 28806.
Interview
This week Bursts spoke with Jude, a member of the Tilted Scales Collective, about the collective’s new book, A Tilted Guide to Being a Defendant out from Combustion Books.
In this interview, they speak about the Tilted Scales Collective, which is “a small collective of dedicated legal support organizers who have spent years supporting and fighting for political prisoners, prisoners of war, and politicized prisoners in the occupied lands of Turtle Island (i.e., the so-called united states).” from their website, and about the book which is a comprehensive run down for people facing legal charges and how to cope with handling them.
The Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons (FTP) is a collaboration with the Abolitionist Law Center. FTP’s mission is to conduct grassroots organizing, advocacy and direct action to challenge the prison system
which is putting prisoners at risk of dangerous environmental conditions, as well as impacting surrounding communities and ecosystems by their construction and operation. At this time, FTP is focused on opposing the construction of a new federal prison in Letcher County, Kentucky.
FTP is inspired by the abolitionist movement against mass incarceration and the environmental justice movement, which have both been led by the communities of color who are hardest hit by prisons and pollution.Both these movements also have long histories of multi-racial alliances among those on the front lines of the struggle and those who can offer support and solidarity, which we aim to build on.
FTP has been informed by the ongoing research and analysis of the Human Rights Defense Center’s Prison Ecology Project, as well as the work of the Earth First! Prisoner Support Project and http://June11.org
FTP has just announced that their 2017 convergence will be from June 2-5th in Denton/Fort Worth Texas. It will include speakers, panels, workshops, protests and cultural activities, including an art show and hip-hop performances.
Some proposed topics are:
– Mapping Toxic Prisons
– The History and Future of June 11
– Building Mult-Racial Alliances Against Incarceration
– EJ Lessons from the Pipeline struggles
Why Texas?
Environmentalists know Texas as the financial headquarters of oil and gas empire that controls the nation’s political system, where fights against pipelines like Keystone XL and Trans-Pecos have captured the attention of the nation.
Prison abolitionists know Texas as home to one of the most brutal and corrupt state prison systems in the country, where extreme heat is coupled with tainted water, and vocal participants from the September prisoner strike like Keith ‘Malik’ Washington sit in long term solitary confinement, subjected to both.
In the first, Bursts spoke with Queen Tahiyrah about the hunger strike being engaged by Imam Siddique Abdullah Hasan and Jason Robb, two death row inmates put there by their attempt to resolved the hostage taking involved in the 1993 Lucasville Prison Uprising. During the uprising, Jason Robb and Hasan acted as negotiators for the prisoners as representatives of the Aryan Nation prison gang and Muslim prisoners, respectively, at the facility. More on their case can be found at http://lucasvilleamnesty.org. Check out Queen Tahiyrah’s podcast, entitled SiGnOtHeTiMeS. We apologize that the beginning of Queen Tahiyrah’s interview sounds crappy – that was a technical fail on our part – but it clears up after
about 2 minutes.
In the second segment, Bursts chatted with Franklin López about Submedia, the importance of anarchist media production, his upcoming anarchist hip hop podcast, and the new short documentary series they’re about to start releasing entitled Trouble. Trouble is available for public showings, so find yourself a venue in town, contact Frankie and company via https://submedia.tv/get-in-touch/, pass word of the event in town via flyers and word of mouth and antisocial media and make some friends where you’re at!
The first episode will focus on diversity of tactics at Stand Rock with a focus on the Red Warrior Camp. More work by Frankie can be found at https://submedia.tv. Oh, and there’s an announcement of a podcasting network looming on the horizon (Channel Zero Network). More to come on that in future episodes.
Announces
Benefit Shows: Help our comrades arrested at J20!
If you’re in Asheville or the surrounding area, there is a benefit show TONIGHT (March 12) at the Odditorium at 1045 Haywood Rd in West Asheville. Proceeds will benefit our comrades who were arrested during the inauguration protests in DC earlier this year.
Also, next Monday the 20th there will be a dance party to benefit J20 arrestees, come dance to mod, punk, and all the classics new and old with DJ Murphy Murph! This will be at the Lazy Diamond at 98-A N Lexington Ave in downtown Asheville.
Rebel! Rebuild! Rewild! call for submissions
The Rebel! Rebuild! Rewild! Collective has put out a call for submissions of texts about strategic lessons that can be learned from the resistance at Standing Rock. As one phase of the resistance has ended and another has begun, the idea is to compile experiences and analyses and reflect on the lessons learned from this game-changing moment in movement history.
This project is mostly for the benefit of those who were not present at Standing Rock but who might participate in something similar in the future.
The plan is to publish a compilation of thoughtful strategic analyses, both online and in print. However, seeing as it might not be possible to publish everything that people submit, the plan is to put an unedited version of everything that folks submit onto a wordpress site sometime in the future.
The call is to write about anything you’d like to, but some leading questions are:
Which actions were most effective?
Which actions were least effective?
Do you have any insights on dynamics between indigenous and
non-indigenous water protectors?
What was unifying?
What was divisive?
What can we learn from the tactics of DAPL, the police, and the state?
What can we learn from the legal battle?
What message would you like to pass on to future water protectors?
Please submit writing to rebelrebuildrewild@riseup.net. Submissions can be signed with your legal name, an alias, or be anonymous. Please include whatever information about yourself that you consider relevant.
