Category Archives: Transcribed

activism, Cindy Milstein, Colonization, Israel, Jewish, Palestine, Racism, repression, Transcribed, United States, war, zine

Against Genocide: A Palestinian Solidarity Panel

Against Genocide: A Palestinian Solidarity Panel

Art by Heba Zagout, Palestinian artist killed with her two young children in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza on Friday, October 13, 2023. Art shows doves in front of a red sky with a cramped, organic yet blocky cityscape and stylized waves in the foreground + "TFSR 10-29-2023 | Against Genocide: A Palestinian Solidarity Panel (Firestorm Books)"
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This week on The Final Straw, we’re excited to share a panel discussion recorded at Firestorm Books entitled Against Genocide: A Palestinian Solidarity Panel, recorded on Sunday, October 22nd 2023.

From the event description:

“With the “iron-clad” support of the United States and other Western powers, Israel has made explicit its plan for the systematic destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian people. At this event, participants—including Palestinian and Jewish activists—will discuss the history of the occupation and the present campaign of dehumanization that’s paving the way to genocide. We’ll also explore the radical solidarities that are necessary to stop the assault on Gaza and secure a just peace.

This event is a fundraiser for The Hebron International Resource Network (HIRN), an organization based in the West Bank that is working to house Gazan workers deported to the West Bank by Israeli forces. Please consider bringing a cash donation! Firestorm will additionally be donating the net proceeds from all sales in-store and online.

Art by Heba Zagout, Palestinian artist killed with her two young children in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza on Friday, October 13.”

Zines suggested by Milstein

Sean’s Segment

We’re linking here to Sean Swain’s most recent segment on the history of violence before the most recent escalation of war on the people of Gaza coming from the state of Israel.

Announcement

Support Former Political Prisoner Zolo Azania

Former Black political prisoner and friend to many of us, Zolo Azania, needs our financial assistance to pay for important repairs on his car. He uses his car to drive to work. Details below. Please be generous.

Zolo recently had a new transmission installed in his car along with other necessary repairs. The total bill came out to $4,659.51. He had put aside $1,200 for car repairs, therefore he needs another $3,459.51 in order to reclaim his car.

After spending nearly 37 years in Indiana prisons, Zolo has been free for nearly 7 years now. After facing many challenges on the outside, we’re very happy to say Zolo now owns a house! Of course he needs to pay a mortgage and pay for repairs and upkeep on the house. After working 5 years at low paying jobs, Zolo was recently able to obtain a better paying job with benefits. This job requires a commute which is difficult on public transportation.

Zolo would like to avoid excessive charges for the dealership to store his car. If Zolo cannot pay this repair bill he risks losing his car altogether.

Zolo appreciates any donation but please be as generous as you can.

You can send donations to him via Zelle, Venmo or Cash App ($ZoloAzania5). His accounts are under “Zolo Azania”

Bad News #72 Online Now!

You can find the October 2023 episode of the English-language BAD News: Angry Voices From Around The World podcast produced by the A-Radio Network online now, featuring a short version of our interview about the December 8th case in France, updates from Greece by way of the comrades in Thessaloniki at 1431AM Free Social Radio, and Frequenz-A about the about the Karl Helga Wagenplatz in Leipzig, which is under the threat of ever-present forces of gentrification.

Continue reading Against Genocide: A Palestinian Solidarity Panel →

Anarchist, Armenia, Asia, Azerbaijan, Feminism, History, Russia, Transcribed, Turkey, United States, war, zine

Armenian Anarcha-feminist on Genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenian Anarcha-feminist on Genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh

"TFSR 10-22-23 | Armenian Anarchafeminist on Genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh" featuring a picture of protestors in Yerevan sitting with signs in front of a line of riot cops
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This week on the show, we’re featuring an interview I did recently with Sona, an anarcha-feminist from Yerevan, Armenia, about her experience of anarchism and some of the solidarity efforts related to supporting Armenians expelled from Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave within the borders of the neighboring country of Azerbaijan.

Recent crimethInc articles:

From crimethInc “Anarchist Voices…” Article:

a list of NGOs to support refugees in Armenia:

  • The space Letters and Numbers and the Armenian Food Bank have opened a humanitarian aid collection point. Please bring non-perishable food items and clothing to St. Tumanyan, 35G, Yerevan.
  • Volunteer fund for helping victims of the war “Ethos” St. Khorenatsi 30, Yerevan.
  • Sasha Manakina’s collection can be found at this link. Sasha is one of the heroines of the new zine Alarm!
  • The Viva Charitable Foundation has been providing medicine, rehabilitating the wounded, and helping Artsakh since 2016.

Announcement

Support for Jorge Yorch Esquivel

From his support site:

We call for solidarity with our comrade Jorge Esquivel, Yorch, to demand his immediate release and the dismissal of charges against him.

  • Attending the rally during their next hearing on Monday, October 23. The appointment is at 9 a.m. in front of the Orient Prison
  • Organized to make noise and agitation
  • Spread your case
  • Go, call or write to nearby Mexican embassies and consulates to demand their freedom
  • Or any way they like to stand in solidarity so that we can rip our comrade from the clutches of the state and its prisons.

Yorch is imprisoned for crimes fabricated against him as part of a montage that seeks to criminalize the Che Squat / Okupache and its members. He has been held hostage by the Mexican state in Mexico City’s East Reclusion for more than 10 months.

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • Wishing (instrumental) by Pete Rock from My Own Worst Enemy (Instrumentals)

Continue reading Armenian Anarcha-feminist on Genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh →

activism, Middle East, Rojava, Syria, Transcribed, Turkey, United States, war, zine

Updates on Rojava Revolution (with ECR)

Updates on Rojava Revolution (with ECR)

Mourners next to a grave for fallen martyrs in Rojava "TFSR 10-15-23 | Updates on the Rojava Revolution (ECR)"
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This week on the show, we’re featuring an interview with 3 activists involved in the Emergency Committee for Rojava about recent developments in Rojava, escalation of violence from the Turkish state and the KDP party-led Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq, experiences of recent visits to the region, updates on the US relationship to aggressive regimes in the region and other topics.

Links

Announcements

Midweek Release on the December 8th Affair in France

If you didn’t hear, we released a podcast in the middle of last week with anarchists involved in anti-repression in France concerning the conspiracy case known as the December 8th Affair, where the French state surveilled and arrested a YPG veteran who goes by the name Libre Flot, as well as comrades and acquaintances on the accusation of building a terror network following the Movement for Black Lives uprisings of 2020.

Support for Palestinians

If you’re looking for a way to support folks in or from Palestine during the unprecedented and genocidal violence of the Israeli settler state one non-profit we’ve heard is good for distributing funds to people in need is Hebron International Network, which can be found at https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/donate_hirn . Surely there are more out there, but be careful to vet where you send money due to precedent set by the US government of pursuing charges against nonprofits funding people in Palestine by claiming they’re supporting terrorists, even when they aren’t, as in the case of the Holy Land Five.

Michael Kimble

Anarchist prisoner Michael Kimble is fundraising right now to help cover legal costs as he attempts to gain freedom from prison after decades behind bars. You can find more info at his support site, anarchylive.noblogs.org and make donations via the link at fundly.com/help-michael-kimble-hire-a-new-attorney

. … . ..

Featured Track:

Continue reading Updates on Rojava Revolution (with ECR) →

Anarchist, conspiracy, CounterInsurgency, France, Police, repression, Rojava, Transcribed, zine

December 8th Affair Trial in France is Under Way

December 8th Affair Trial in France is Under Way

Green, black and white poster about the case featuring a fox crawling through a hole at the top and appearing at the bottom, as if chasing it's tale + the words "TFSR 10-12-23 | December 8th Affair Case"
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Hey listeners, this mid-week release features the words of anarchists involved in or doing support for the December 8th Affair in France, in which 9 people were arrested at the end of 2020, following Movement for Black Lives protests took place around the world to challenge police impunity and racism. The French state is asserting, based on some pretty flimsy arguments, that 7 radical and anarchist folks were a part of a conspiracy to engage in terrorism based on their common connection to an activist recently returned from the supporting the YPG’s fight against Daesh or ISIS in Rojava. This activist goes by the name Libre Flot, or Free Flow, and he shares some words here as well.

The court case runs from October 3rd until 27th and can use international solidairty demonstrations, support for those defending themselves, and more that you can find information below:

Continue reading December 8th Affair Trial in France is Under Way →

Anarchist Media, Author, Elia J. Ayoub, Film, games, Palestine, Philosophy, Politics, Transcribed, zine

Imagination and Solar Punk (with Elia J. Ayoub)

Imagination and Solar Punk (with Elia J. Ayoub)

Elia J. Ayoub

This week we’re sharing a recent interview with Elia J. Ayoub, host of The Fire These Times podcast to talk a bit about #solarpunk. He was on the show with Leila Al-Shami some years ago to speak about revolution and civil war in Syria, uprisings in Lebanon and Iraq.

For the hour, we speak about the importance of radical imagination, the artistic genre known as solar punk, technology and it’s role in societies based on pleasure and leisure, utopian movements of the past and the decentering of the imperial cores in an anti-imperialist visioning.

Announcement

Legal Fees Fundraiser

On October 9th, join comrades for a youtube stream to help fundraise for our incarcerated comrade and homie GZ’s legal fees. This is a great way to participate in Indigenous Peoples Day from home- the stream content will being centered on connecting between decolonization and abolition, featuring dialogue and performances by artists and MCs including Bigg Villainus and Ant from Savage Fam, as well as FD Signifier, and poetry by GZ. Stay tuned for more info and the full schedule, and please help us boost this and circulate the fundraiser: https://tinyurl.com/gzlegalfund

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • Mercy, Mercy, Mercy by Cannonball Adderley from Rock Instrumental Classics, Vol 4: Soul

Continue reading Imagination and Solar Punk (with Elia J. Ayoub) →

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, Atlanta, Forest Defense, Georgia, Protest, repression, Transcribed, United States, zine

Stop Cop City Movement RICO Indictments (with Matt Scott of ACPC)

Stop Cop City Movement RICO Indictments (with Matt Scott of ACPC)

Antique map of Atlanta with the words "Block Cop City" repeating across vertically
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This week, we’re featuring an interview with Matt Scott of the Atlanta Community Press Collective update us on the movement to Stop Cop City in light of the recent indictment of 61 people on Racketeering charges by the state of Georgia at the end of August and the legal shenanigans of the city to block a public referendum on the police training center that would destroy the south Atlanta forest and river. We’ll also hear about recent non-violent civil disobediences and the call for a mass action on November 13th, 2023 (with a multi-city info-tour in the buildup).

Follow ACPC:

Other DTF / Stop Cop City Movement Media:

Then, you’ll hear a segment by anarchist prisoner, Sean Swain on alien abductions.

Belarusian and Ukrainian Anarchist Perspectives

We released a recording of a panel from St-Imier, Switzerland, this July where Belarusian and Ukrainian anarchists talked about their experiences in the last few years since the uprising against Lukashenko and the escalation in the Russian invasion.

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • They Want Efx (instrumental) by Das efx

Continue reading Stop Cop City Movement RICO Indictments (with Matt Scott of ACPC) →

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) →

A-Radio Network, AK Press, B(A)D News, Josh Davidson, Political Prisoner, Prisons, Radio, St-Imier, Transcribed, United States, zine

Oral Histories of Political Prisoners + The Role of Anarchist Radio

Oral Histories of Political Prisoners + The Role of Anarchist Radio

book cover of "Rattling The Cages" featuring the drawing of a hand reaching from the dark to pull a string and turn on a bare, hanging light bulbThis week, we’re sharing 3 segments.

First up, Josh Davidson from the Certain Days: Freedom For Political Prisoners Calendar talks about the upcoming book that he co-edited with political prisoner Eric King from AK Press entitled  RATTLING THE CAGES: Oral Histories of North American Political Prisoners, containing over 450 pages of first hand experiences of resisting from within the belly of the beast across generations and movements in Turtle Island. And you can find out more about the Running Down The Walls events at ABCF.Net/WarChest [00:01:22 – 00:28:15]

Then, we’re sharing Sean Swain’s segment on Goyaałé, aka Geronimo. [00:29:14 – 00:38:27]

Finally, we’ll be sharing a panel discussion by members of the A-Radio Network recorded on Saturday, July 22nd 2023 at the International Anarchist Gathering at St-Imier, Jura, Switzerland on the history and role of radio in anarchist and anti-authoritarian resistance, mostly in Europe. If you’re listening to the live radio edition, you’ll hear about 1/3 of that segment, but can hear the whole thing at our website, TheFinalStrawRadio.NoBlogs.Org or at A-Radio-Network.Org [00:38:27 – 01:36:45]

. … . ..

Featured Tracks:

  • Let The Music Play by Arpeggio from Disco Boogie Funk Italo Rare 1970 – 1980

Continue reading Oral Histories of Political Prisoners + The Role of Anarchist Radio →

abortion, activism, Asheville, Bookfair, Health, History, Transcribed

Diane Stevens of Jane Collective (ACABookfair 2023)

Diane Stevens of Jane Collective (ACABookfair 2023)

"Jane, The Underground Abortion Service - Friday 11, 7pm - 8pm @ Different Wrld" featuring a photo of someone holding a mug shot of a very young Diane Stevens from the 1960s
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This week on TFSR, we’ll be airing a presentation by Diane Stevens, a member of the Jane Collective in Chicago in the 1960’s. This presentation was recorded at the 2023 Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair in so-called Asheville, NC.

From the presentation description:

The Abortion Counseling Service, now better known as Jane, started out as a referral service in Chicago in the late 1960s, providing counseling and support to women before and after their procedures. Members of the group learned to do the abortions and then were able to do the procedures for whatever the women could afford to pay. Seven women were arrested and charged with the felonies of abortion and conspiracy to commit abortion. These charges were ultimately dismissed. It is estimated that about 11 thousand abortions were preformed before the group disbanded in 1973.
Diane Stevens was born in Chicago. She went to school in the suburbs before moving back into the city where she joined the Abortion Counseling Service.
Following the Roe v Wade decision and dismissal of all the criminal charges, Diane went on to have a career in health care and worked as a nurse practitioner in a variety of settings. Her work for reproductive justice has resumed with joining the Reproductive Rights Coalition in Charlotte and being a clinic escort.

You can hear another presentation we recorded from the ACABookfair 2023 in this week’s IGD Podcast, which is sharing Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin and JoNina Abron-Ervin in conversation with William C. Anderson.

Continue reading Diane Stevens of Jane Collective (ACABookfair 2023) →