Category Archives: General

Needle Exchange: Harm Reduction and Disease Prevention in WNC

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from http://www.ashevillefm.org/the-final-straw/01/2012/needle-exchange-harm-reduction-and-disease-prevention-in-wnc :

This weeks show is an interview with Michael Harney, the coordinator of the NEPA (Needle Exchange Program of Asheville) and, in a different capacity, works with WNCAP (Western North Carolina Aids Project). He’s done this work and gained notoriety and helped many to help themselves since 1994. During the hour, Michael informs Bursts about the history of these two groups, where they stand today, harm reduction in general, and the attacks and withdrawals of government at it’s many levels in illegal-izing the exchange of dirty needles (for disposal) with clean ones as politicians change.

Michael Harney, Coordinator, Needle Exchange Program of Asheville (NEPA), 828-274-8397
also works with Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP) www.wncap.org 828-252-7489 ext. 311

1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) www.cdc.gov Centers for Disease Control and Prevention â info about HIV/AIDS services, testing, condoms, needle exchange programs, STDs, and Hepatitis

www.harmreduction.org Harm Reduction Coalition
www.nasen.org North American Syringe Exchange Network
www.nchrc.org North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition

FBI raids of Almighty Latin Kings + Queens Nation of NC (12/11/2011)

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from http://www.ashevillefm.org/the-final-straw/12/2011/fbi-raids-of-almighty-latin-kings-queens-nation-of-nc

This weeks interview is with Sara Lee of the Greensboro support group for Almighty Latin Kings and Queens Nation in North Carolina. During the hour, Sara Lee talks about the history of the ALKQ Nation and it’s development in North Carolina, including being fundamental to the drawing together of Crips, Bloods, MS13 and community and faith groups in Greensboro in 2008 to draft a gang truce and common statement of the necessity for organizations of all stripes to focus on community enrichment and safety. On Tuesday of last week (December 6th) at 8AM, an elite FBI SWAT team, the ATF & the Greensboro-FBI committed synchronized and violent raids on houses and families allegedly aligned with the ALKQ Nation here in NC, rounding up 13 people and harassing their families for 3 to 4 hours.

Anarchists, like Sara Lee, are calling for support for the ALKQN defendants who they’ve worked with on anti-prison struggles here in state.

The defense network is made up of family, friends, allies and anarchist comrades. The arrested current and former members of the ALKQN organization in state are being indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on Racketeering and RICO charges.

More information on the case (as well as a link for donations for legal costs) can be found at http://alkqnsupport.com/

There will be a Noise Protest at the Detention hearings in support of the defendants on Tuesday, December 13th @ 10AM & 2:30PM outside of the L. Preyer Federal Courthouse at 324 West Market St in downtown Greensboro.

SeaSol: Direct Action against Bosses + Landlords Gets The Goods

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This week’s show is an interview with Lee and Emily, members of the Seattle Solidarity Network.

According to their website (www.seasol.net):
“Seattle Solidarity (“SeaSol”) is a volunteer network of working people who believe in standing up for our rights. Our goal is to support our fellow workers’ strikes and struggles, build solidarity, and organize to deal with specific job, housing, and other problems caused by the greed of the rich and powerful.
Join us! Let’s fight to win.”

“So You Say You Want To Start A Solidarity Network” article and pamphlets for printing

This show will be archived at www.ashevillefm.org/the-final-straw through 11/20/2011 and then on www.archive.org, found by searching “The Final Straw”

Support CeCe McDonald

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This week’s show features a conversation with Katie Burgess of the Trans Youth Support Network about the case of CeCe McDonald. Chrishaun âCeCeâ McDonald is a young African American transgender woman who is charged with two counts of âsecond degree murderâ after an incident that began when she was violently assaulted because of her gender and race. We’ll talk about some of the realities of how gender and race are dealt with by police and prisons and critiques of the effectiveness of Hate Crimes legislation.

There are 3 upcoming days of action around the case: 11am on 11/21/11 in Minneapolis, a day of call-ins/faxes/emails on 11/22/11, and court solidarity on 12/05/11.

On the Oakland Commune, with Louise Michel (October 30, 2011)

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from http://www.ashevillefm.org/the-final-straw/10/2011/on-the-oakland-commune-with-louise-michel:

This week’s show features an interview with former Asheville resident and current resident of Oakland and an organizer of the Occupy movement there. We talk about the police attack last Tuesday, the differences between the Oakland movement from other Occupy’s and the upcoming call for a General Strike.

I’ll also be talking briefly about the upcoming solidarity march (Wednesday the 2nd) here in Asheville starting at 6pm under the Lexington/I-240 bridge, and the protest this Friday in Raleigh at the Department of Corrections offices.

Tranzmission Prison Project + CA Prisoner Hungerstrikes Resume

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from http://www.ashevillefm.org/the-final-straw/10/2011/tranzmission-prison-project-ca-prisoner-hungerstrikes-resume

Today’s show featured an interview with with Bender, a volunteer with Tranzmission Prison Project. From their facebook, “The Tranzmission Prison Project is an Asheville, NC based group which offers support for queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people who are incarcerated. This support comes in the form of providing people with books, zines, resource lists and penpals.” We talk about the group, Prison Abolition and how to get people involved. Contact them at tranzmissionprisonproject@gmail.com

But, first, we talk a bit about Occupy Asheville and the resumption of hunger strikes by prisoners in CA. Prisoners there are claiming that the state officials have not implemented any of the rights demanded by hunger strikers in July. AND the CDCR (California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation) has stated that it will be punishing hunger strikers as if they were rioters. Please support their cause, starting by visiting Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity to keep up on news.

Occupy Wall Street (in Asheville?)

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(originally posted at
http://www.ashevillefm.org/the-final-straw/09/2011/occupy-wall-street-in-asheville)

200 to 300 bodies occupy the space and sleep on the street right next to Wall Street, financial hub of the east coast. To some, the place symbolizes the living and breathing Sacre Coeur of Capitalism, the highest stage of human global awareness and economy. A system offering to break down monolithic governments and swap them for more democratic ones and to scoop the ingenious and hard working out of poverty, it’s promoters often present it as a panacea. Capitalism’s detractors range from the belief that it’s a necessary evil to an alienator of communities and a destroyer of worlds.

This Friday will mark day 13 of the Occupy Wall Street protest. Those occupying the space of Liberty Plaza were definitely influenced by the occupation movements of the “Arab Spring” and the attempted anti-electoral occupations in Spain and have set off many related, if smaller, occupations around the United States (Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles…. in fact 64 listed in total so far in North American and 12 internationally found on occupytogether.org). This Friday, we’ll discuss the movement and the upcoming (Saturday, Oct 01) protest in solidarity with the occupy movement as well as other related initiatives coming out of Asheville.

An interview with some Bay Area hacktivists on political hacking (August 26, 2010)

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This weeks show is an interview with Flatline from the Hackbloc collective and Bill Silverfox about internet security, hacking, hacktivism, Anonymous and other topics. In light of recent attacks by Anti-Sec against the Arizona DPS, Anonymous on multiple targets and alleged members’ subsequent arrests, the BART protests, Wikileaks, I thought it’d be good to shed some light on a misunderstood topic. We also discuss the role of hackers in the Arab Spring movement as well as international solidarity to disrupt corrupt government censorship and activity, in the hopes of facilitating a more free flow of information around the world (Malaysia, Australia, the U.S., Morocco, Libya, Egypt, China, Iran…etc). Lots of good introductory information on internet security and history of hacking during this hour-long show. Enjoy.
Streaming live on 8/26 @ 1PM EST at www.ashevillefm.org/
Available from 8/27/2011 @ 3AM EST at www.ashevillefm.org/the-final-straw

www.hackbloc.org
www.eff.org
www.anonlg.org
www.torproject.org
www.noisebridge.net
https://hackmeet.org
https://zine.riseup.net

Police Abolition: An interview with Kristian Williams

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Today’s show features an interview with the Portland-based author and activist, Kristian Williams. Williams speaks on his first book, Our Enemies in Blue (a history of policing in America), on recent articles about community policing and the counterinsurgency training shared between the U.S. military and domestic law enforcement agencies and the growing movement calling for the abolition of police in the United States, and the Pacific Northwest in particular). The show will air at 1pm EST at www.ashevillefm.org and be archived for a week at www.ashevillefm.org/the-final-straw .

Check out www.kristianwilliams.com for more information on the interviewee