Category Archives: Prisons

Anarchist, General, Police, Prisons, repression, Sean Swain

Sean Swain, Blackjack + The Army of the 12 Monkeys

Sean Swain
Sean Swain
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This week’s show is about the case of two prisoners in Ohio. In 2011, the staff at Mansfield Correctional Institution (MANCI) became aware of a nascent guerilla sabotage movement starting among prisoners called the Army of the 12 Monkeys (A12M). A12M sabotage and organizing manual and propaganda began circulating among prisoners. Cells were searched in detail and James “BlackJack” Dzelajlija was found to have angry hiphop against prison he’d written and also a book on Ericco Malatesta, the long-dead Italian anarchist. Sean Swain, an outspoken anarchist prisoner and jailhouse lawyer at the same institution, was found to have an article he was writing criticizing the privatization of the prison system. Neither were found with A12M materials. As time passed, 2 other prisoners were accused and assented to membership in A12M and that Swain and Blackjack were unaffiliated. Ohio’s prison court, however, disagreed. Now this movement has spread throughout multiple facilities in Ohio, such as Noble, Lake Eerie and Toledo.

This episode is a conversation with Blackjack and Sean Swain, both serving in high security at Youngstown (OSP), and also with Ben Turk of Redbird Prison Abolition and supporter of Sean Swain. We talk about Sean’s activism and writing, how the A12M case has effected Sean & Blackjack, the targeting of anarchists within prisons and more.

http://seanswain.org for Sean’s articles, posts, zines, comics and news on Blackjack, A12M as it relates to Sean and Blackjack and more!

http://www.redbirdprisonabolition.org for info on prisoners in Ohio and prison abolition.

Sean Swain 243-205
Ohio State Penitentiary
878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd.
Youngstown, OH 44505

James Dzelajlija 530-144
Ohio State Penitentiary
878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd.
Youngstown, OH 44505

activism, Anarchist, Art, Ben Turk, General, Police, Prisons

Ben Turk on Insurgent Theatre + Prison Abolition (October 27, 2013)

Ben Turk in "Know Your Enemy"
Ben Turk in “Know Your Enemy”
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This week’s episode is a conversation with Ben Turk. Ben’s a co-founder of Insurgent Theatre, the decade-old theater troop that has presented a number of original and refurbished theater workshops and performances around the country. Topics of IT’s works have ranged from discussions around Militancy framed through Homer’s Odyssey to Administrative Segregation to a Terrorists Fairytale.

Insurgent Theatre’s current play is called “Know Your Enemy.” The play is a one-person presentation based around a community liaison cop with a liberal heart of gold. As the play goes on, the cop begins to question whether he can actually do his job and help the community. A psychological study into the head of the “good cop” and community/cop relations, it also serves as a history of policing in the United States (ala “Our Enemies in Blue by Kristian Williams) and a discussion of safer practices when interacting with cops (a sort of Know Your Rights presentation).
http://insurgenttheatre.org/acab/acab.html

“Know Your Enemy” is touring with the second film by D Jones in the “The Great Incarcerator” series. That film, “The Shadow of Lucasville” includes some eye opening just came out and a preview can be found online at:
http://darklittlesecretmovie.com/the-great-incarcerator-part-2-the-shadow-of-lucasville/

We also talk a bit during the hour about art and theater in the modern U.S. and how they can and/or do(n’t) intersect. He has a theatrical and theoretical project meant to play out his views on the role of art in revolution. http://artscab.net/

Finally, we speak about prison abolition. Ben has been involved in Redbird Prison Abolition, doing support work for and with prisoners (and those in revolt in particular) in Ohio where the project is based. These include the Lucasville Uprising prisoners, Sean Swain and others. http://www.redbirdprisonabolition.org/

Playlist

General, Hasan, Lucasville Uprising, Ohio, Prisons, Racism

A conversation with Hasan, who survived the Lucasville Prison Uprising

Hasan and Bomani
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This week, we spoke with Imam Siddique Abdullah Hasan who is facing the death penalty for his role as a negotiator during the prisoner uprising at the SOCF facility in Lucasville in April of 1993. Hasan, as well as 4 other prisoners, have become known as the Lucasville 5. 4 of them are charged with the death of a prison guard by the name of Bobby Vallandingham as well as 9 inmates considered to be snitches.

The riot began as negotiations between Sunni prisoners, of which Hasan was one of the leaders, took guards hostage in hopes of bringing state attention to the problems at the prison. In particular among their concerns was the imposition of a TB test that was in contradiction to their religious beliefs and for which an alternative was readily available. Soon, other prisoners began to take space and control. Fearing a bloody outcome like was seen at Attica in New York, representatives of the Sunni community, the Aryan Brotherhood and the Black Gangster Disciples at Lucasville began negotiations with the state to bring a peaceful resolution to the uprising. Graffiti displayed within the prison began speaking of “Convict Race” and “Black and White Unity”.

After the end of the uprising, the state, under pressure from Vallandingham’s family, railroaded the five. The call for blood was great, but since the Lucasville Disturbance, so have been the calls for justice in the case of the Lucasville 5.

www.lucasvilleamnesty.org/ is a great site listing info on the case and how to help.

http://www.redbirdprisonabolition.org/ is a group in Ohio involved in supporting the Lucasville 5

http://www.re-examininglucasville.org/ is the website for the conference that happened this year around the case

http://darklittlesecretmovie.com/category/projects/ is the website for the recent documentary on the subject, which is touring the country

activism, Ed Mead, General, George Jackson Brigade, Hunger Strike, Political Prisoner, Prison Strike, Prisons, repression

CA Prisoner Hunger Strike roundup with Ed Mead

Court Rally Flyer
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This week William talks with Ed Mead, editor of CA Prison Focus magazine to discuss the results of the hunger and work strikes that swept west coast prisons since July, resulting in one prisoner death and at one point including the participation of 30,000 hunger strikers. The strike, the third over two years, was meant to bring attention to and pressure against the state for it’s practices of indefinite detention in solitary confinement without recourse, the silencing of prisoner activists, lack of programs for prisoners to prepare for the outside world, the institutionalization of snitch-culture through “debriefing”, group punishments and not providing adequate and nutritive food. More info can be found at: http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/

This Thursday in Oakland, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) will be holding a press conference following a legal hearing around posing a class action lawsuit around inhumane conditions in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay. Show up if ya can! Details at: http://ccrjustice.org/pelican-bay

http://www.prisons.org/
http://www.prisonart.org/

The second half of the show features new metal and punk tracks from Primary Stress, ANCST & more.

Playlist

activism, Anarchist, Earth First!, Environment, Fracking, General, Grand Jury, North Carolina, Police, Prisons, repression

When THE MAN knocks, health in the coal fields of West Virginia and METAL/PUNK!

FBI cartoon
freeze…
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This week’s show features two interviews. The first is a conversation is with Mark of Croatan Earth First! about the recent visits by JTTF/FBI to anti-fracking activists on the East Coast, climate-change activists on the West Coast and and GJ-targetted Anarchist communities in NYC.

The second conversation takes place between our friend, Wren Awry (AFM news hour) and Dustin Steele about Dustin’s work with the Beards Fork Health Survey to gather information on the health effects of surface mining in West Virginia with an eye toward mutual aid.

The last half of the show features new songs from Bellicose Minds (PDX), Anniversary (D.C.), Wiccans, and Criminal Damage. And more!

http://www.croatanearthfirst.com
http://www.jerryresists.net
http://ccrjustice.org/if-agent-knocks-%28-booklet%29
https://www.nlg.org
https://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/
http://www.sals.info/

Playlist

activism, General, Immigration, North Carolina, Prisons, Racism

Luis Leon of the Dream 9 (August 25, 2013)

Protest in Charlotte to release Luis Leon
Protest in Charlotte to release Luis Leon
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Luis Leon was born in Veracruz, Mexico but has been living in the U.S. since the age of 5 with his parents. In 2011, after graduating high school in Marion, NC, Luis self-deported to Mexico because of the high cost of higher education to undocumented immigrants here. In July, he and 8 other immigrants who’d been living in the U.S. attempted to publicly re-enter from Mexico.

This week’s episode features a conversation with Luis about his experiences in Western NC, moving back to Mexico, being detained in Arizona and now being back in the U.S. and fighting for the chance for higher education.

The National Immigrant Youth Alliance: http://theniya.org/
NC Dream Team: ncdreamteam.org

Playlist

activism, Anarchist, California, Earth & Animal Liberation, General, George Jackson Brigade, Hunger Strike, Krow, Political Prisoner, Prison Strike, Prisons, repression, Wisconsin

West Coast prisoner strikes of July 8 and eco-resistance in northern Wisconsin (July 7, 2013)

Pelican Bay Hunger Strike Solidarity
Pelican Bay Hunger Strike Solidarity
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This weeks episode features 2 conversations. The first is an interview with Ed Mead, editor of CA Prison Focus newsletter, an ex-con and a media outreach person as re the CA prisoner hunger and work strikes beginning tomorrow, July 8, 2013. If you’ll recall, there were hunger strikes that spread throughout dozens of prisons around the western portions of the United States. The main demands of many of the prisoners included more an end to collective punishment, ending the debriefing/snitching system, ending long-term solitary confinement, provide adequate and nutritive food and other things. William of the Final Straw discusses the demands and plans of the current campaign and solidarity actions that are planned to coincide with Mr. Mead.
https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/

The second half of the episode is a conversation with Krow of Penokee Defense. Krow talks about the area she lives in in Northern Wisconsin, the Penokee Hills, and the danger being posed by a potential iron-ore/taconite pit mine as well as the spectrum of resistance that project has faced and how folks across the country can contribute to pressuring the company to give up the project and save this beautiful and important place.
https://penokeedefenders.wordpress.com/
http://www.alecwc.org/

activism, Anarchist, Antifa, Feminism, gender, General, Nazis, Police, Prisons, Queer, repression, Russia

The Struggle Against Fascism in Russia, pt 2

Free Alexey Gaskarov
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This week’s show features the second half of the conversation with Ukrop. Ukrop is a longtime anarchist, antifascist activist and documentarian from Moscow. This show features conversations about the rise of the new “Cossacks” movement in Russia, a rural militia with anti-Semitic and xenophobic perspectives receiving support from the government. We also talk about who participates in Antifa in Russia, specifically relationships between the Antifa movement and Feminist movements, LGBTQ movements and Immigrant populations.

The first show can be found linked here

http://avtonom.org/en
http://en.gaskarov.info/

activism, Anarchist, Antifa, Environment, Feminism, gender, General, Immigration, May Day, Nazis, Prisons, Queer, Racism, repression, Russia

The Struggle Against Fascism in Russia, pt 1

Antifascist Attitude
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This week we speak with Ukrop, an anarchist, antifascist activist, and maker of the documentaries “Antifascist Attitude” & “Actions vs. Repressions”. This is part 1 of a two part interview, in which they talk about the history and context of Nazi influence in formerly-Soviet Russia and the rise of radical anti-fascism. Ukrop also discusses how the internet effected punk and anarchist subculture in Russia in the 1990’s and the first decade of the 21st century. In the conversation we cover overlaps between police and prisons and nazi’s as well as how the education system in that country feeds into nationalism and capitalism.

To keep updated about ongoing things in Russia, check out the following websites:

http://avtonom.org/en
http://khimkibattle.org/?lang=en

Stay tuned for part 2 next week!

The playlist for this episode can be found here

activism, Anarchist, Anti-Civ, Cleveland 4, conspiracy, Earth & Animal Liberation, Earth First!, Environment, General, Grand Jury, June 11, Marius Mason, NATO 5, NATO5, Prisons, repression, Security Culture

Grand Jury in NYC; also, Marius Mason and June11

Marius Mason
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This week, William speaks to Dave about Jerry Koch. Jerry is a New York Anarchist resisting (for the 2nd time) a GJ in NYC.

JerryResists.net

Also, Bursts speaks to Bella about Marius Mason, long term ecological, animal rights, labor and anarchist activist. Marius is also serving a 22 year sentence. Bella also talks about the upcoming day of Solidarity with Marius Mason, Eric McDavid and Other Longterm Anarchist Prisoners on June 11th. We also talk about the despicable snitch, Frank Ambrose (more info on the below sites).

supportmariusmason.org
june11.org

Playlist can be found here.

(Also, the song after the Jerry Koch portion is Arianna Staiger’s song for her parent, Marius Mason)