Category Archives: General

activism, Colonialism, General, Housing, Israel, Middle East, Nonviolence, Palestine, repression, Transcribed, zine

Mohammad Hureini of Youth of Sumud

Mohammad Hureini of Youth of Sumud

A black and white photo of Mohammad Hureini in a jacket with a Nehru collar in an olive orchard plus the words "TFSR 1-28-24 | Mohammad Hureini of Youth of Sumud"
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This week, we’re featuring a conversation with Mohammad Hureini (twitter / instagram), a young activist from Masafer Yatta, an area in the hills south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank in Palestine. Mohammad is a member of a non-violent group called Youth of Sumud that struggles to hold on to the sites and lives of Palestinian villages despite displacement by the Israeli military occupation as well as the illegal zionist settlements (like the neighboring Havat Ma’on) and their routine violence and impunity. For the hour, Mohammad speaks about the work of Youth of Sumud, their recent report co-published with The Good Shepherd on increased settler violence entitled Indigenous Erasure: How the zionist movement is using state sanctioned violence to eliminate the Palestinian communities of the West Bank, the South African genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice and other topics.

Organizations Mohammad names doing on the ground support:

Recent interviews about the conflict in Palestine

Announcements

B(A)D News #75 is out!

Check out the January 2024 episode featuring updates on support for antifascists facing charges in Budapest from February 11, 2023; reflections from an Autonomist on the ’80s-’90s journal “Radikal”; a portion of our interview with Israeli refuser Yuval Dag; and an interview from Solidarity Zones on the case of accused Russian war sabateur, Ruslan Siddiqui

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • Building Steam with a Grain of Salt by DJ Shadow from Entroducing….

Continue reading Mohammad Hureini of Youth of Sumud →

activism, Anarchist, Colonialism, General, Hunger Strike, Israel, military, Palestine, Prisons, Protest, Rashid, repression, Transcribed, Virginia, zine

Hunger Strike at Red Onion + Military Refuser in Israel

Hunger Strike at Red Onion + Military Refuser in Israel

This week on the show, we’re featuring three segments.

Image of Yuval Dag holding a poster, prisoner holding a license plate reading "Red Onion Prison Hunger Strike" with the text "TFSR 1-21-24 | Hunger Strike at Red Onion Prison + Yuval Dag, Israeli Military Refuster"
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First up, you’ll hear an interview with Shupavu wa Kirima, General Secretary of the Revolutionary Intercommunal Black Panther Party, comes on to talk to us about the ongoing hunger strike among prisoners at Red Onion State Prison in Virginia protesting the abuse of solitary confinement and the medical status of hunger striker Kevin “Rashid” Johnson. More at https://RashidMod.Com [00:01:18 – 00:25:47]

Then, Yuval Dag, an Israeli anarchist member of Mesarvot recently imprisoned for publicly refusing conscription, talks about draft refusal, opposing the war on Palestinians and the occupation and undoing zionist ideology. More at https://linktr.ee/meaarvot [00:27:31 – 01:06:13]

Finally, you’ll hear Sean Swain reading the names of people killed by US law enforcement during February 2023 [01:06:15 – 01:12:02]

Call-in / Emails For Red Onion Hunger Strikers

Who To Contact:

VADOC~ Central Administration; USPS—
P.O. Box 26963
Richmond, VA 23261

Virginia DOC ~ Director, Chadwick S Dotson,

VADOC ~Central Administration

Rose L. Durbin, Phone~804-887-7921
Email: Rose.Durbin@vadoc.virgina.gov

Beth Cabell, Division of Institutions
beth.cabell@vadoc.virginia.gov
(804)834-9967

Gov. Glenn Youngkin
(804)786-2211
glenn.youngkin@governor.virginia.gov

Red Onion Hunger Strike Participants last we heard:

  • Kevin “Rashid” Johnson – #1007485
  • Jason Barrett – #1092874
  • Rodney Lester – #1429887
  • Charles Cousino – #2213403
  • Eric Thompson – #1208012
  • Joe Thomas – 1193196
  • Nguyen Tuan – #1098070
  • Demetrius Walllace – #1705834
  • Gregory Binns – #1157265
  • P. Williams – #2103207
  • DeQuan Saunders – #1458253
  • J. Hilliard – #1988319
  • Ray Galloway – #1407902
  • Gregory Azeez – #1421616

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • One Man Army (instrumental)  by Rage Against The Machine

Continue reading Hunger Strike at Red Onion + Military Refuser in Israel →

Anarchist, Eric King, General, Josh Davidson, Political Prisoner, Prisons, repression, Transcribed, United States, zine

Eric King and Josh Davidson

Eric King and Josh Davidson

"TFSR 12-31-23 | Eric King and Josh Davidson" featuring a photo of Eric wearing a shirt with a photo of Marylin Buck on it
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This week on the show, you’ll hear part of our conversation with Eric King and Josh Davidson. Josh has been on a few times to talk about collaborative inside-outside projects he works on such as the Certain Days calendar, the greeting cards he helped make of Indigenous political prisoner Oso Blanco’s artwork to benefit Zapatista schools in Chiapas, and the Rattling The Cages book that he co-edited with Eric King.

Eric was just released in December 2023 into a halfway house in Colorado after nearly 10 years in Federal prisons across the country. Eric is an anarchist who was incarcerated for an attempt to molotov the office of a Democratic Party official in Kansas City in solidarity with the then-going Ferguson Uprising following the murder of Michael Brown by police there. An antifascist and antiracist, Eric was moved around a lot during the 10 years he was inside and pitted against nazi prisoners in fight scenarios in a few instances, and near the end of his bid he was accused of assaulting an officer and successfully defending himself from a possible 20 year addition to his time inside but suffered intense isolation, insecurity, mail / phone and visitation blocks, moves across the country and physical restraint, ending up at the federal prison system’s most intense prison, the supermax ADX in Florence, CO.

For the hour, the guests speak about prisoner support, putting the book together, the implications and effects of long term isolation related topics. You can find more of Erics thoughts and updates at SupportEricKing.Org and similarly named social media accounts.

Announcement

Hunger Strike at Red Onion State Prison (VA)

Prisoners at the Red Onion State Prison in Virginia have been on hunger strike since December 26th against the illegal and cruel use of solitary confinement at the facility in spite of procedures put into place last summer by the Virginia government. Here’re some words from the support site for Minister of Defense of the Revolutionary Intercommunal Black Panther Party, Kevin “Rashid” Johnson. From rashidmod.com :

“On Tuesday, December 26, 2023, several prisoners confined at Virginia’s Red Onion State Prison began a hunger strike to protest the continued use of long-term solitary confinement within the institution.Despite critical concern, outcry from the public and prisoner populations in the state, incarcerated people are still subjected to this brutal practice which has been renamed “restorative housing” since July 1, 2023 when measures were passed to limit its use in the state.

Leading these prisoners in this effort is longtime prison activist, revolutionary writer and artist, Kevin “Rashid” Johnson. Rashid has stated that no one will take any food at all until demands are met. Some of the strike participants have underlying health concerns that make the undertaking of such a demonstration particularly risky. Rashid, himself, is recovering from multiple rounds of radiation to treat prostate cancer as well as suffering from untreated heart disease/congestive heart failure. This is why the public’s support is especially needed. We are asking that calls, emails, and letters be sent to the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) officials as well as Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin’s office voicing support for the strikers and condemnation for the inhumane use of long-term solitary confinement/restorative housing.”Red Onion Hunger Strike Participants:

  • Kevin “Rashid” Johnson – 1007485
  • Jason Barrett – 1092874
  • Rodney Lester – 1429887
  • Charles Cousino – 2213403
  • Eric Thompson – 1208012
  • Joe Thomas – 1193196

Who To Contact:

VADOC~ Central Administration; USPS—
P.O. Box 26963
Richmond, VA 23261

 

VADOC ~Central Administration

Rose L. Durbin, Phone~804-887-7921
Email: Rose.Durbin@vadoc.virgina.gov

Beth Cabell, Division of Institutions
beth.cabell@vadoc.virginia.gov
(804)834-9967

Gov. Glenn Youngkin
(804)786-2211
glenn.youngkin@governor.virginia.gov

. … . ..

Featured Tracks:

  • Army Of Me (ABA All Stars Instrumental)  by Bjork
  • Bright Star (traditional) from H-Block, The Legacy of 1981 Hunger Strike CD
  • Helicopter Song by The Dublin Ramblers from Irish Republican Jail Songs

Continue reading Eric King and Josh Davidson →

Anarchist, Armenia, Asia, Azerbaijan, Feminism, General, Transcribed, war

Anti-Militarist and Feminist Resistance in Azerbaijan

Anti-Militarist and Feminist Resistance in Azerbaijan

"TFSR 12-10-23 | Anti-Militarist & Feminist Resistance in Azerbaijan" featuring a watercolor of a graveyard with barbed wire running between the headstones and a purple figure in the center in a purple outfit with a raised hand and a purple cloud emanating as though holding a smoke bomb or flare
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This week on the show, you’ll hear an interview with Lala an anarchafeminist in the Azerbaijani group Feminist Peace Collective about the recent war against and expulsion of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, about the Aliyev regime and patriotic elements in Azerbaijan’s reaction against anti-militarist voices, conspiracy theories and real critiques of non-profit NGO’s versus grassroots lgbtq+ and feminist organizing, and other topics. You can learn more about Lala’s group at FeministPeaceCollective.Com.

On December 19th at 8pm Caucasus time / UTC+4 (or 11am Eastern Standard or 8am Pacific Standard time) Feminist Peace Collective is hosting an online discussion with Dr. Chiara Bottici via zoom called “Anarchafeminism in troubled times” and with a focus on antifeminist and anti-queer backlash and war in the South Caucasus, central Asia, Turkey and Russia. There’s a registration link here.

Links from Lala

  • Antidoqma, posts in English, Russian and Azerbaijani
  • FemUtopia (facebook), posts in Azerbaijani
  • Transvisionary (Instagram), also posts in Azerbaijani
  • Nafas LGBT (Telegram) , in Azerbaijani
  • Queer Radar, in Azerbaijani
  • Başla, radical publishing (translates literature in azerbaijani on facebook)
  • Egalite, radical publishing (facebook)

Sean Swain

Sean’s segment starts at [ 01:06:24 ]

Announcements

Fundraiser for Emergency Committee for Rojava

There’s a GoFundMe fundraiser for the guests of our October 15th interview, the Emergency Committee for Rojava including some thank-you gifts. More details at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-emergency-committee-for-rojava-2023

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • Down 4 Life (instrumental) by DJ Muggs

Continue reading Anti-Militarist and Feminist Resistance in Azerbaijan →

Anarchist, Colonialism, General, Israel, Palestine, Protest, repression, Transcribed, war, zine

Reflections of a Jewish Anti-Zionist in Palestine + Antifascists Repressed in Budapest

Jewish Anti-Zionist in Palestine + Antifascists Repressed in Budapest

"TFSR 11-19-23 | Jewish Anti-Zionist in Palestine + Antifascists Repressed in Budapest" under the photo
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This week’s show features four segments: an announcement from IGD Podcast; an anti-Zionist Jewish voice from Palestine; an interview of two anti-repression activists on the harassment of two antifascist activists in Budapest, Hungary; Sean Swain’s segment.

Reflections of a Jewish Anti-Zionist from Palestine

First up, we’re featuring the voice of a Jewish anti-Zionist anarchist living in lands occupied by the Israeli state. We speak about some of his experiences of trying to resist the ongoing war against Palestinians, collaboration with Palestinian comrades against the occupation, the silencing of dissent during the escalation by the Israeli state and other topics. [ 00:07:28 – 00:50:13 ]

For a very thoughtful series of podcasts about the situation in Palestine, check out the two recent episodes of the Its Going Down podcast (1st and 2nd).

Link Suggestions:

Antifascists Repressed in Budapest

Following this, you’ll hear a segment by A-Radio Berlin (a co-member of the Channel Zero Network as well as the A-Radio Network with The Final Straw) about repression of antifascists recently under the far right Hungarian administration of Victor Orban. This also appeared in the November 2023 episode of Bad News, the monthly English-language podcast of the A-Radio Network. [ 00:52:10 – 01:05:53 ]

Further links

Sean Swain

Sean Swain’s segment this week airs at [ 01:05:57 ]

. … . ..

Featured Tracks:

  • We Roll (Instrumental) by Pete Rock from We Roll
  • Until Palestine Is Free by Angelic Upstarts from Bullingdon Bastards

Continue reading Reflections of a Jewish Anti-Zionist in Palestine + Antifascists Repressed in Budapest →

Anarcho-Syndicalism, Art, Capitalism, Cartoons, Comics, General, History, Immigration, IWW, Labor, PM Press, Transcribed, United States, zine

Mr. Block’s Past and Legacy (with Sean Carleton and Iain McIntyre)

Mr. Block’s Past and Legacy (with Sean Carleton and Iain McIntyre)

book cover of "Mr Block: The Subversive Comics and Writings of Ernest Riebe" featuring a drawing of Mr Block saying "Bosses know best!"
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This week, Ian talks to Sean Carleton of Graphic History Collective and Labor historian and activist Iain McIntyre about the recent release of Mr. Block: The Subversive Comics and Writings of Ernest Riebe by PM Press. After some background on their respective projects, they talk about the legacy of the IWW cartoonist, the origins and process of putting the book together, and what aspects of his work are still relevant today. Here’s a hint: just about all of them are.

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • Mr. Block performed by Utah Philips from Rebel Voices: Songs of the Industrial Workers of the World
  • Beware The Friendly Stranger by Boards Of Canada from Alpha and Omega

Continue reading Mr. Block’s Past and Legacy (with Sean Carleton and Iain McIntyre) →

Art, Author, Capitalism, Cartoons, Comics, General, Labor, Transcribed, zine

#ComicsBrokeMe and The Labor of Comics (with Shea Hennum)

#ComicsBrokeMe and The Labor of Comics (with Shea Hennum)

blood splatter with ransom note-style lettering reading "#ComicsBrokeMe"
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Ian speaks with journalist Shea Hennum about their article on #comicsbrokeme, in which workers in the comics industry shared their stories of tight deadlines, unreasonable workloads, and low pay following the death of cartoonist Ian McGinty. For the article, which appeared at solrad.co, they applied an analysis that synthesized communist and anarchist traditions in order to identify a multitude of sites of political struggle, challenge systems of domination and violence, and chart possible ways forward, similar to analysis applied in the movement to abolish the Prison Industrial Complex.

They discuss past efforts to organize within the comic book industry as well as current organization efforts, such as the formation of the United Workers of Seven Seas, a union of workers at Seven Seas Entertainment, Comic Book Workers United, a union of workers at Image Comics, and Cartoonist Cooperative, a cohort of cartoonists committed to mutual promotion, skill and info sharing, and efforts to make industry wages and practices more transparent. They also discuss possible ways for comic book readers to offer support.

Further reading and archived documents referred to in the chat:

Continue reading #ComicsBrokeMe and The Labor of Comics (with Shea Hennum) →

activism, Anarchist, Belarus, Conflict, General, panel discussion, Russia, St-Imier, Transcribed, Ukraine, war, zine

Anarchists At War: Critical analysis of solidarity in context of war in Ukraine (RIA 2023)

Anarchists At War: Critical analysis of solidarity in context of war in Ukraine (RIA 2023)

Graffiti in support of Lesho, Chia & Harris fallen fighting in Ukraine against the Russian invasion

The following is a presentation by anarchists from Ukraine and Belarus, alongside a question and answer portion with the audience, conducted in part via live translation services. This panel is facilitated in part by Nina of Anarchist Black Cross Dresden, and features presentations by Masha (Belarus) an anarchist in Warsaw, Nastya is a member of Solidarity Zone (not speaking on behalf of that group), Mira from Anarchist Black Cross Kyiv and Solidarity Collectives and Boris of Belarus Anarchist Black Cross.

The discussion, much like previous discussions by anarchists supporting anti-authoritarians joining the armed defense against the Russian invasion, was interrupted a number of times by pacifists or others who didn’t want a discussion of the complexities of joining the territorial defense forces to have space. Those interruptions were mostly not recorded as they happened off-mic, but you’ll hear the reactions to them. I felt like this audio was important to share here with the audience, particularly in spite of their silencing.

I recorded this at the 2023 St-Imier anarchist gathering on the 151st anniversary of the first anarchist and anti-authoritarian Workers International, following the purges by Marxists and Blanquists. Like the first one in 1872 hosted by the Jura Federation, this gathering was hosted in small village of St-Imier with a population of 4,000 being nearly doubled in size over the course of 5 days of workshops, concerts, discussions, food, film showings and tablings.

You can find reflections from some folks at crimethinc.com, alongside a link to recordings from the live, multi-lingual radio broadcast throughout the event and the website for the gathering where you’ll see lists of happenings from the week. Hopefully in the near future you’ll be able to find the recordings of the presentations that got recorded such as this one, some in video and some in audio.

I’ll be reflecting on some of this in an upcoming episode of the ItsGoingDown podcast while speaking with my friend and former co-host Scott Branson about how the bookfair here in Asheville went. Here’s an article (in French) about an Islamophobic scandal that occurred with members of the French Anarchist Federation (Kropotkin).

Past interviews on the subjects of:

Continue reading Anarchists At War: Critical analysis of solidarity in context of war in Ukraine (RIA 2023) →

cult, fascism, General, History, Matthew N Lyons, Transcribed, United States, zine

The Political Legacy of Lyndon LaRouche (w/ Matthew N Lyons)

The Political Legacy of Lyndon LaRouche (w/ Matthew N Lyons)

"TFSR: The Political Legacy of Lyndon LaRouche (8/13/23)" alongside a picture of a poster of a nuclear bomb with Jimmy Carter's face and the suggesting that a vote for Carter is a vote for nuclear war and "Lyndon LaRouche for President" from 1979
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This week, we’re sharing an interview with Matthew N Lyons of Three Way Fight blog about the political legacy of Lyndon LaRouche, cultic leftist turned fascist US political figure from the 1970’s through his death in 2019. For the hour, Matthew and I talk about the network of organizations and publications of the LaRouche movement, some of their approaches toward peeling adherents from the left, antisemitic conspiracy theories he innovated, methods his movement used to control followers and some of the ripples of LaRouche you can find today. We also speak briefly about the Three Way Fight book due out in the spring via Kersplebedeb and PM Press.

Continue reading The Political Legacy of Lyndon LaRouche (w/ Matthew N Lyons) →

abolition, Anarchist, Art, Author, California, General, Mwalimu Shakur, PM Press, Prisons, Transcribed, zine

Revolutionary Arts with Signal Journal + Abolition with Mwalimu Shakur

Revolutionary Arts with Signal Journal + Abolition with Mwalimu Shakur

Josh MacPhee & Alec Dunn on Signal 08

"TFSR 7-30-23, Revolutionary Arts with Signal Journal + Abolition with Mwalimu Shakur" featuring the cover of Signal 08 showing 6 Black individuals in 19th century dress firing guns in a field and a picture of Mwalimu Shakur
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First up, Ian interviews Josh MacPhee and Alec Dunn, co-editors of Signal, about the recently published eighth volume of the Journal of International Political Graphics and Culture. They discuss their motivations and experiences producing Signal for over a decade, designing print media in the digital age, and their work as part of Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative, long-running, geographically dispersed artist collective dedicated to the production of radical art for grassroots movements. [ 00:05:33 – 00:44:37]

Mwalimu Shakur on Abolition, Organizing and Education

Then, you’ll hear most of a conversation with imprisoned New Afrikan revolutionary socialist, Mwalimu Shakur currently incarcerated in Corcoran Prison in CA, about abolition, political education and the hunger strikes of 2013 in which he participated. [00:45:14 – 01:12:37]

Mwalimu Shakur Links

  • Mwalimu’s Instagram
  • Past interview with Mwalimu
  • Mwalimu’s writing on KnockLA and SFBayView (1, 2)
  • Interviews about CA Hunger Strikes in 2013 with Ed Mead of CA Prison Focus (1, 2)

You can get in touch with Mwalimu:

Terrence White #AG8738
CSP Corcoran
PO Box 3461
Corcoran, CA 93212

Sean Swain

Sean‘s segment [01:12:40 – 01:20:01

Announcements

BRABC Letter Writing

Join Blue Ridge ABC on the first Sunday of each month, next up being August 6th from 3-5pm at the NEW Firestorm spot at 1022 Haywood Road, in West Asheville. And swing by our table at the ACABookfair August 12-13 at Different Wrld to get involved, get a poster for the upcoming International Week of Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners and check out the other awesome stuff.

ACABookfair

If you’re nearby, consider a visit to the 3 days of event around the Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair in Asheville from August 11-13 with tons of speakers, publishers, music and more. https://acabookfair.noblogs.org

Dr. Mutulu Shakur, ¡Presenté!

New Afrikan revolutionary elder, accupuncturist and revolutionary Dr. Mutulu Shakur joined the ancestors at the age of 72. He was released by the state after 36 years in prison, organizing, healing, educating and inspiring despite having developed a virulent bone cancer. Dr. Shakur spent the last year on this planet continuing his work, speaking and attending events, surrounded by loved ones. Rest in power.

Ruchell “Cinque” Magee Will Be free!

Politicized prisoner and jailhouse lawyer, Ruchell “Cinque” Magee, is slated to be released after 67 years in the California prison system. Cinque is 84 years old, arrested on an indeterminate sentence around a marijuana charge from 1963, he joined the attempted jailbreak during the Marin County Courthouse shootout in which Jonathan Jackson attempted to free William A. Christmas and James McClain. Ruchell was the sole survivor and was a co-defendant of Angela Davis until their cases were split. There is a fundraiser to support Cinque’s post-release needs as an elder: https://fundrazr.com/82E6S2

Rashid’s Treatment Resumes, Thanks To Support!

As an update to past announcements from Kevin “Rashid” Johnson of the Revolutionary Intercommunal Black Panther Party, the public pressure from calls & emails apparently had the desired results and as of a few days ago he was receiving the medical treatment he needs for his prostate cancer, though he hasn’t received all of his papers so he can continue to pursue his lawsuits against the Virginia DOC since they were confiscated by prisoncrats, but he’s super thankful for public engagement to defend his health. More updates on his case can be found at rashidmod.com

. … . ..

Featured Tracks:

  • Don’t Play Around (Instrumental) by DJ Nu-Mark from Broken Sunlight Series 6
  • Black Hole by The Bulletproof Space Travelers from Urban Revolutions – The Future Primitive Sound Collective

Continue reading Revolutionary Arts with Signal Journal + Abolition with Mwalimu Shakur →