The Final Straw Radio

Interviews with Queen Tahiyrah and Franklin López This episode contains two segments: 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, 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. 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 [email protected]. Submissions can be signed with your legal name, an alias, or be anonymous. Please include whatever information about yourself that you consider relevant. Art by Julie Maas (borrowed from http://www.nightslantern.ca/) Playlist

This week we spoke with Romina and César, who are two members of the Black Rose Anarchist Federation in LA. We talk about what it's like organizing in an Especifist federation model of anarchism, about anarcho-communism, and tensions and points of unity between non federation and federation organizing. We wanted to interview these folks in order to present another model of possible engagement, for folks who perhaps are looking for ways to plug in. This conversation is somewhat introductory, and we welcome any feedback you have. To see more on this project, you can visit http://www.blackrosefed.org/ Announces Events Tonight, Sunday the 5th of March from 5 to 7:30pm at Firestorm in Asheville, join Blue Ridge Anarchist Black Cross for an evening of solidarity in the form of letter writing for long term political prisoners: people who are locked up for their activism and resistance to systems of domination and oppression. Supplies will be provided as well as copies of the March 2017 prisonbooks Political Prisoner birthday calendar. More info can be found at https://brabc.blackblogs.org On Thursday, March 23rd, check out the Tranzmission book packaging party, also at Firestorm. Tranzmission prison project is an all volunteer, books-and-zines-to-prisoners project that focuses on getting materials to incarcerated LGBTQI prisoners. This event starts at 6pm. http://avlcommunityaction.com/ On Sunday March 12th at the Odditorium in Asheville, there'll be a benefit concert for folks facing charges attached to the J20 Inauguration protests in DC this January. The door is at 8pm, it's a sliding scale donation and an all-ages show. Bands include: Gullible Boys; Mother Moses; Maitland +more TBA Water Crisis in PA Prisons Since August of 2016, Mumia Abu-Jamal and other Inmates at the State Correctional Facility in Mahanoy, Pennsylvania, have been plagued with unsafe drinking and bath water. For several months now, inmates have complained about brown, oily water in both the showers and the faucets of their cells. This has been an on-and-off problem from August 2016 to this very day. One of the inmates at SCI Mahonoy, Lorenzo Cat Johnson, when asked of the matter, stated that one week the water seems good and another week, when run, the water seems to go from the color gray to the color brown. As recently as last week in a conversation with MOVE Political Prisoner Edward Africa, Eddie was asked what he did for water and he stated that he obtained his water from a hot water filter that was on his cell block. So other than the alternative to obtain a little water from a hot water filter, men are being forced to shower and wash in brown water. Eddie stated that the only time inmates can get bottled water is when they are on a visit in the visiting room. All the while, prison staff are being provided bottled water at SCI Mahanoy and are being told not to drink the water because it's unsafe. Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is suffering from a very serious skin condition due to Hepatitis C, is required to take specialized baths in the prison infirmary, but has not been able to take these baths due to the water hazard. Grievances have been filed on this matter, but to no avail--the water situation has not been resolved. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH On March 6, 2017 there will be a National Day of Action aimed at both Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel. The power is in the hands of the people; the only way to make these officials respond is through massive public pressure, so we are upping the ante. From 9 am to 12 noon, folks are being asked to call, fax, and tweet theoffice of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf. (P) (717)787-2500 (F) (717) 772-8284 (Twitter) @GovernorTomWolf From 1 to 3 pm, folks are being asked to call, email, and tweet Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel. (P) (717) 728-2573 (Email) [email protected] (Twitter) @DOCSecretary These Are the Demands: (1) Inmates at SCI Mahanoy are provided immediately with clean waterboth for their bathing and other personal needs. (2) An environmental Protection Agency testing of the water at both SCI Mahonoy and SCI Frackville. (3) Bottled water be provided immediately to inmates in all Correctional Facilities across Pennsylvania. Let's keep the pressure on to get clean water for the men and women across Pennsylvania's state prisons. For more info, people can go to http://www.freemumia.com/ http://www.bringmumiahome.com Playlist pending

Red Warrior Society Tour This week on the show we spoke with Ikmu, an indigenous activist who was involved in the Red Warrior Camp at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Ikmu is now affiliated with the Red Warrior Society and is traveling with comrades around the country on a tour to talk about their work, decolonization and the struggle against ecocidal projects like #DAPL. For the hour, Ikmu and Bursts talk about the Camps at #StandingRock, indigeneity, decolonization, the cases against Water Protectors Krow, Red Fawn Fallis and others, prayer, direct action and more. We had this conversation just after the eviction of the Oceti Oyati Camp by pol-igs of various stripes. To find out about the upcoming West Coast branch of the Red Warrior Society Ride For Resistance Tour, check out their FedBook page Red Warrior Society's legal fund Red Warrior Society's Funds Account Contacts and support for some of the folks who are still being held in custody in connection with water protection at Standing Rock are: Katie "Krow/Twig" Kloth Katie Kloth Morton County Correctional Center 205 1st Ave. NW Mandan, ND 58554 Red Fawn Fallis 205 6th Street SE Suite 201, Jamestown ND 58401 Charles "Scorch" Jordan Charles Jordan Burleigh County Jail PO BOX 1416 Bismarck, ND 58502 and Michael "Rattler" Markus Michael Markus PO Box 1108 Washburn, ND 58577 Please write to and support these folks! For more information and further ways to support these brave folks, you can get up with the Water Protector Legal Collective and the Water Protector Anti Repression Crew on FedBook. Fundraising sites for these folks can be found at It's Going Down. To check out our 2013 conversation with Krow on defending the Penokee Hills in northern Wisconsin, it starts 35 minutes, 47 seconds into the episode. Announcements Updates from Sabal Trail Resistance Following our interview last week with Karrie and Niko of Sabal Trail Resistance against the Sabal Trail Pipeline in the South Eastern U.S., the two locked down inside a section of the pipeline in Marion County, Florida to hamper the construction of the high pressure gas pipeline and demanding the release of a revised Environmental Impact Statement. (I misspeak in the podcast and claim it was under the Suwanee River. Apologies) You can donate to the legal fund for these and other Water Protectors in the South East by visiting https://sabaltrailresistance.wordpress.com/donate/ Building The Commune in Durham #BUILDINGTHECOMMUNE is a convergence organized to spread the tools and knowledge for self-defense and autonomy throughout our community in Durham, NC. We are dedicated to building a culture and space for autonomous resistance against Trump and his regime, the State, and capitalism. This convergence is happening across three different venues in Durham: Pinhook, Arcana, and the Atomic Fern. The Welcoming Committee will be setup at Pinhook (at 117 W. Main St, Durham, NC 27701) with materials/programming distributed there. Childcare will be provided with drop-off/pick-up at the Atomic Fern (at 108 E Parrish St, Durham, NC 27701). A free lunch will be provided at Pinhook by Durham FoodNotBombs FedBook. To close out the day, an Autonomous Assembly will be held at Pinhook from 4:00PM – 5:00PM. The assembly will collectively create the agenda to be discussed, but we'd like to suggest that folks come prepared to discuss: announcements and projects to collaborate on; skills, resources, and spaces we can share with one another; direct issues/crises facing the community or concerns we're feeling; and mutual aid networks (cop-watches, community medical programs, rapid-response call networks, etc.) we can begin building in Durham now. We will provide materials to help folks learn how they form affinity groups, so that they may begin autonomously building these networks themselves. You can see an entire list of workshops and events at the website http://www.buildingthecommune.com/ ACAB2017 If you are in Asheville or the surrounding area, consider participating in the first ever Asheville Anarchist Bookfair! The dates for this event are May 5-7th, and will include workshops, shows and dance parties, nature events, and a whole day of tabling revolutionary and anarchist art and literature. Keep your eyes on http://acab2017.noblogs.org for the latest in news about the fair, and also use this webiste to submit ideas for workshops, speakers, or tabling. See you there! Playlist

This Episode Sabal Trail Resistance This week we're sharing a conversation we had with Karrie and Niko, two folks involved in the initiative called Sabal Trail Resistance. The immediate goal of Sabal Trail Resistance is to block the Sabal Trail Pipeline, actually a series of 3 pipelines meant to run through Georgia, Alabama and Florida, carrying pressurized natural gas. We spend about a half an hour of this episode chatting about the route, who'll be effected, the companies behind the pipeline, environmental racism, decolonization and other related topics. Coming up, they plan a weekend of action February 23-27, including an action against prisons and in solidarity with longterm Indigenous political prisoner, Leonard Peltier. More on their project can be found at https://sabaltrailresistance.wordpress.com and http://stopsabaltrail.com AntiPolitika After that, we're spreading a 10 minute interview between comrades at FrequenzA out of Hamburg, Germany, published in English at the end of January. From https://frequenza.noblogs.org: "The interview is about the first issue of 'antipolitika', released in summer 2016 with the topic antimilitarism. The anarchist newspaper consists of statements and articles from ex-yugoslavia and greece and is dedicated towards a broader public." Updates on Sean Swain Before these words from anarchist prisoner Sean Swain, we have a quick update on his dietary situation. We've just gotten word that Sean resumed eating on his 50th day of hunger strike. He is still not being given a halal diet in line with his practice of Islam, and neither are other Muslim prisoners in Ohio, but he's said that the administration is considering the move. He's achieved the other demands that he was hungerstriking for. If you'd like to see Sean and other adherents to Islam in Ohio prisons during this age of increasing Islamophobia be able to at least eat according to their faith's dietary practices, give a call to Ohio Governor, John "JWow" Kasich. You can call JWow at 614 466 3555, that's The Honorable Governor of Ohio, John Kasich at 614 466 3555. You can also write to him via Governor Kasich 77 South High Street Columbus, OH 43215-6117 And request that Sean Swain, prisoner #243-205 who's being held at Warren Correctional, be allowed to eat according to his faith. And, now, a word from Anarchist Prisoner Sean Swain Announcements Reporting ICE Raids on Social Media As many of yall are aware, there has been a lot of concern and fear regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (or ICE) checkpoints recently. Given the rising tide of overt xenophobia and racism in this country, these concerns are valid, and there has been a lot in the way of confirmed raids and detentions by ICE. However, the use of social media in these situations is something that can both help and hurt the situation, both being an effective way to broadly communicate an issue and a platform for a whole lot of unsubstantiated claims and rumors. In an effort to battle this aspect of social media use, I'd like to plug a resource that DRUM put out some time ago. DRUM stands for Desis Rising Up and Moving, and they are a NYC based group which "is a multigenerational, membership led organization of low-wage South Asian immigrant workers and youth in New York City. Founded in 2000, DRUM has mobilized and built the leadership of thousands of low-income, South Asian immigrants to lead social and policy change that impacts their own lives- from immigrant rights to education reform, civil rights, and worker's justice. Our membership of over 2,400 adults, youth, and families is multigenerational and represents the diaspora of the South Asian community – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Guyana, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad." They have put out a very useful resource entitiled "A Brief Guide for Reporting Raids on Social Media", which we will link to directly in our blog. Basically it cautions against the spreading of unsubstantiated information and provides a step by step guide for what to do if you witness something: http://www.drumnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ABriefGuideforReportingRaidsonSocialMedia.docx.pdf To see more about DRUM you can visit http://www.drumnyc.org/ Support Krow From our comrades at http://supportkrow.org: On February 4, while supporting the No DAPL struggle, Krow (Katie Kloth) was assaulted and arrested by a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer (there is video of the incident below). She was walking on a public road, away from the Sacred Stone camp, when she was chased down by the officer. It is believed that she was specifically targeted because of her ongoing involvement and visibility within the No DAPL resistance, which had resulted in two arrests on misdemeanor charges previous to this incident. Krow was also known at Standing Rock for being an advocate for creating a unified front in fighting the pipeline. Krow has been charged with violation of felony probation and is being held at Morton County Co

Jesse Cohn rebroadcast This week we are re-broadcasting an episode which originally aired in early May 2015 with Jesse Cohn who is the author of the book Underground Passages: Anarchist Resistance Culture 1848-2011, published by AK Press. In the book, Jesse explores trajectories in literature, cartoons, comics, music, poetry, drama produced at times by and or for or just conspicuously consumed by anarchists in europe, north and south america and asia during that time period. More info on the book can be found at https://www.akpress.org/ Stay tuned next week for a conversation with an anarchist who has spent a bunch of time in struggle at Standing Rock about their experiences and moving forward with an explicitely anti colonialist approach to resource extraction resistance. But first here are some announcements: "Imperial Wizard" kicks it! To start off with some good news, yesterday February 11th the bloated corpse of KKK Imperial Wizard Frank Ancona was fished out of the Missouri River, apparently after having been there for a hot minute. This piece of human garbage white supremacist is the bonehead who was credited with saying that Ferguson protesters, showing their rage at the police murder of Mike Brown, had awakened a "sleeping giant" in the KKK and claimed unlimited violence in "retaliation". Who's sleepin now, Frankie? In whatever way this death occured, here's hoping that KKK will follow their leader in this ultimate act. Support NC #DisruptJ20 arrestees On January 20, 2017, tens of thousands of people converged in Washington, D.C. for the #disruptJ20 protests opposing the inauguration of Donald Trump. A combination of blockades, marches, and festive demonstrations made it clear around the world that the people do not recognize Trump's authority or support his policies. In response, D.C. police went on a rampage, shooting pepper spray, tear gas, and concussion grenades indiscriminately at protesters, including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. In one instance, police cordoned off an entire block and mass arrested 257 people, including dozens of North Carolinians. This attack on political dissent is intended to create a chilling effect to keep protesters out of the streets so that Trump can move forward with his divisive agenda. We owe it to the arrestees to support them through the legal process so they can get adequate representation and as fair a hearing as possible. A group of North Carolinian community organizers created the NC J20 Legal Defense Fund to quickly and efficiently support the arrestees from North Carolina. Please join us in donating, and spread the word to everyone who cares about civil discourse and the future of our world. If you are a North Carolinian arrested at #disruptJ20 and are not yet in touch with us, email [email protected] We cannot accept donations in individual's names, but all donations will be used to provide legal support to #disruptJ20 arrestees from North Carolina. You can donate at http://ncj20defense.com/ Antifa Sacramento medical support From Antifa Sacramento: One of the six antifascists who was stabbed by Neo-Nazis at the capitol building in Sacramento on June 26th, 2016 still has thousands of dollars in medical bills to pay. An artist has made a beautiful print to support this person, and it is now being sold to continue fundraising for this brave individual's remaining medical bills. They are 5 dollars each, and printed on 7×8 cardstock. If you would like one, please head over to the website https://antifasac.noblogs.org/donate/, make a donation, and email the crew to let them know how many cards you'd like and what address we should mail it to. Thank you for the support! -Antifa Sacramento Herbal Clinic at la ZAD From comrades at la ZAD, the autonomous occupation resisting the building of an airport in in Notre Dame des Landres outside of Paris, France: We're a group of people who have been working with medicinal plants on the ZAD for the past 6 years. We've made a collective medicinal plant garden and do wild harvesting to stock a small apothecary of dried plants that we distribute at the non-market or out of a house. Some of us do first aid in demos or everyday on the ground, and others do education like plant walks and workshops. In an effort to have more collective autonomy in healthcare, we would like to be able to do consultations, both individual and group. The idea is to have one day a week for free price individual consultations, and another for people to come and learn together, combining different people's knowledge while having access to plants, to figure out common acute illnesses. However, to have enough medicine for 300 people all year long, would mean full time in the garden and probably bitter burnout. Which is why we are asking for money. Just this week a group in solidarity finished building a cabin where we can dry, process, and store plants, and do consultations and workshops. We're able to get access to bulk t

This week we thought we'd take a teeny break from politics and scream it out with some new and not so new anarchist and antifascist punk, metal, new wave, and more. We'll be back next week with an anarchist take on updates at Standing Rock and how to keep anti extraction momentum going, plus strategies on how best for non indigenous folks to be accomplices in indigenous struggles. For music, as we have in the past, we tip our hats generously to the good folks at Red And Anarchist Black Metal & The Dark Skies Above Us for continuing to offer space for aggressive and not-so-aggressive anti-racist, antifascist, feminist, ecological, anti-capitalist, and generally anti-authoritarian music from around the world! Announcements These three people are being held by police in connection to water protection at Standing Rock, this information is from Water Protector Anti-Repression Crew. Rattler is a Water Protector who is currently being held pre-trial on federal felony charges produced through a grand jury indictment. Rattler's home is at Pine Ridge and he comes from a long legacy of struggle that he continued at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline and it's world. Please support Rattler as he fights these charges brought against him by the federal government. Rattler would love to receive your letters and cards of support. Rattler loves fantasy fiction and Dungeons and Dragons material. He'd appreciate something to read while he is inside. Michael Markus Box 1416 Bismarck, ND 58502-1416 Red Fawn Fallis is still being held pre-trial on federal charges as well. Red Fawn has shown her dedication to the water, the earth and all that is sacred. Her spirits remain high despite the ways in which the state hopes to squash her. Please send your support to Red Fawn through letters! Red Fawn Fallis Stutsman County Correctional Center 205 6th st. SE, Ste 201 Jamestown, ND 58401 Charles Jordan has been held in Morton County Jail since November 17th, 2016 on three state felony charges. He was initially ineligible for bond and his current conditions of release set by the court are unable to be met at this time. His brutal arrest is not the only time Morton County Sheriffs enacted such violence on Water Protectors. We have received reports of continued mistreatment while in custody including lack of medical services and hygiene access for weeks at a time. Please send Charles a letter letting him know that he is not alone! Charles Jordan Morton County Correctional Center 205 1st Ave. NW Mandan, ND 58554 We will be posting this information on our blog, and you can check out It's Going Down for this and similar news and info. Petition Gov. Cuomo not to restrict visiting hours We really need to ramp up the pressure on this horrible visiting restriction Cuomo is about to jam in there. This is an issue that affects all of our fellow Certain Days editors, David Gilbert, Seth Hayes and Herman Bell, and thousands of other people in NY state prisons. Governor Cuomo has just proposed to limit visiting at New York State maximum security prisons to 3 days a week instead of the current 7. If passed, this measure will be awful for thousands of people and their families. The Governor talks a bunch of crap about compassion and reducing mass incarceration, but this proposal will seriously escalate suffering and family disruption. Under the current 7-day system, weekend visitors (many are women with young children) often wait 2-3 hours to see their loved ones. With reduced days, the wait will be longer, the visitor rooms more crowded, the visiting days and hours even more limited. This will be terrible for everyone and impossible for many. Please email and write these people below and remind them how important visiting is and how this proposal is wrong on all levels. ***** Governor Cuomo ***** Sign: https://www.change.org/p/governor-cuomo-don-t-restrict-visits-in-nys-prisons Call (weekdays) --> (518) 474-8390 Email: https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form Write: The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 Email these people: 1) Marta Nelson, [email protected] Executive Director of the Governor's Council on Community Re-Entry and Reintegration 2) Acting DOCCS Commissioner Annucci, [email protected] 3) Senator Gallivan, [email protected] Senate Chair of Corrections Committee 4) Assemblymember Weprin, [email protected] - Assembly Chair of Corrections Committee 5) Senator Avella, [email protected] Senate Chair of Children & Families Committee 6) Assemblymember Jaffee, [email protected] - Chair Assembly Committee on Children & Families ======= Playlist here

The Inspection House This time we are rebroadcasting an episode which originally aired in March 2015 with the two authors of the book "The Inspection House", Emily Horne and Tim Maly. In this interview we talk about the book, the idea of the panopticon, the concept of security theater as a psychologically repressive tool and much more. We decided that now would be a good time to rebroadcast this particular episode because, what with a bunch of comrades and heros ramping up in righteous ways on various fronts, it might be a good idea to re-introduce this idea of panoptic surveillance with an eye to helping spark conversations in yalls communities about security culture and keeping safe in the midst of a high key surveillance state. It's believed that under Trump, the surveillance will only get more nightmarish and more fascistic, however we can and will adapt to this newer state of affairs. To get a copy of this book and to read some more about it and the authors, you can visit https://chbooks.com/Books/T/The-Inspection-House Make Airports Great for the First Time Ever If you are listening in Asheville, there is a protest called for at 4pm TODAY at the Atlanta airport - which is the busiest in the country - in response to Trump's ban on Muslim people from countries including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. This has led to folks with greencards getting detained and questioned in airports all over the U.S. If you can make the drive and want to be a part of the already massive resistance, please do! Be advised that protesting at airports is a different ballgame than in the streets, the presence of homeland security makes the possibility of being detained for lengthy periods without access to legal aid more likely. Keep yourself and your crew safe by making sure no one gets lost or separated. https://itsgoingdown.org/igd-protests-breakout-airports-trumps-immigration-ban/ Announcements Sean Swain on Hunger Strike Sean Swain continues his hunger strike against his unfair treatment at the hands of the Ohio Department of Corrections at Warren Corruptional in Lebanon, Ohio. For those who don't know Sean, here's some background. Sean Swain went to prison in 1991 for defending himself during a home invasion. He was dating and living with a woman and her kids when her abusive ex-partner and father of the kids was released from prison and came to confront Sean, who he saw as a usurper. When dude kicked in the door to the apartment Sean defended himself from what he saw was an attacker with a weapon and stabbed the man. Sean had no prior record. The home invader was related to court officials and so the case was made and Sean Swain was convicted. As time went on, Sean became politicized in prison, developed anarchist critiques and began publishing zines with the help of outside groups like Anarchist Black Cross. As time went on, Sean became a thorn in the side of the administration of his prisons by developing and implementing skills as a jailhouse lawyer, adept at filing lawsuits on behalf of himself and other prisoners against deplorable conditions. In 2012, Sean was charged with being an organizer with the Army of the 12 Monkeys, a guerrilla sabotage movement in the Ohio Prison system that spread ideas of resistance among prisoners and organized conflagrations in institutions. Sean denied his participation with what he called a self-styled Maoist organization, though he expressed appreciation of the content. Due to this conviction, Sean was shuttered away in super duper uber mega ultramax prisons. This is when our relationship with Sean began. Since January 19th, 2014, we've aired mostly weekly installments of a segment by Sean called "You Are The Resistance", in which Sean talks about his time inside, his ideas, shares his humor at the illogical world of politics and what he calls Swivelization and more. You can find these segments linked from Sean's support site, http://seanswain.org, alongside his writings and updates on his case. Sean is currently being held in a suicide cell, away from general population at Warren CI in Lebanon, Ohio, as I mentioned. He has refused to speak to administrators and refused food since December 26th of 2016, only taking water. This is worrisome as he's no spring chicken, he's hunger struck before, and according to word that got out a few days ago he's dropped in weight by 28 pounds and has crossed the 30 day threshold, increasing the danger of organ and bone damage due to lack of nutrients. Sean is striking because administration keeps throwing unwarranted charges his way and isn't providing him with functioning means of communication with his aging parents and his supporters. Here's what you can do, dear listeners: you could annoy the Deputy Warden of Operations at Warren CI by calling him at 513 932 3388 extension 2005 and requesting that he seee to the repair of all broken phones at the institution holding Sean and a regular schedule of maintenance be establishe

This week we spoke with James. James is involved in anti-fascist and anti-repression work. Over the hour we spoke about the election of Donald Trump, the need for resistance in the face of a rising autonomous ethno-nationalism in the form of the alt-right and other formations, liberal ideas of the CIA and deep-state saving us from "ourselves," autonomous community building and self-defense and more. Here are a number of texts that James suggests readers check out to be better informed: http://Threewayfight.blogspot.ca https://itsgoingdown.org/trumptheregime-resources-ongoing-resistance-trump-far-right/ http://Antifascistnews.net https://www.academia.edu/5486857/Counterinsurgency_and_the_Occupy_Movement https://itsgoingdown.org/limits-possibilities-anti-fascism/ https://media.wix.com/ugd/c1543a_b08ebbb3dd6e426eb8f9d356e11acb23.pdf

This week we feature two interviews in the show. Kamua Franklin on #ungovernable First, we spoke with Kamau Franklin, who is a radical activist, the political editor for the online publication Atlanta Blackstar, and former attourney based out of Atlanta, GA. We are speaking today about Ungovernable, which is a radical organizing platform rooted in anti state Black and POC autonomy, how it began, its directives and ideals, and how to best move forward in this political moment among many other things. From their website: "We pledge to create a resistance movement that makes Trump unable to govern our oppression; unable to deceive the people, to make the people accept his reign of hatred. We refuse to give hatred a chance to govern, a chance to roll back civil and human rights, a chance to deport millions of people, a chance to create camps and registries for Muslims, a chance to expand the prison industrial complex, a chance to expand its drone wars, or a chance to turn back the gains won by our struggles." To learn more about Ungovernable, you can visit their website at https://www.ungovernable2017.com/, also you can hit them up on fedbook by searching "Ungovernable 2017 and Beyond", our guest has also invited people to message him on the FB too, you can do that by searching his name spelled Kamau Franklin. Repression in Turkey The second segment is an interview conducted by audio comrades from the Slovenian anarchist radio project called Crna Luknja with a member of the Turkish anarchist group DAF & an editor of their newspaper, Meydan. As we announced recently on the show, the main editor of Meydan, Hüseyin Civan, has just been sentenced to 15 months in prison in relation to 3 articles in their December 2015 issue dealing with the struggles of Kurdish minorities and the resistance they offer to the Turkish state's slow genocide. The conversation was published in their January 5th episode of 2017. Though most of Crna Luknja's interviews are conducted in Slovenian, they do produce interviews in English when it's the common language shared with their guests. More content from Crna Luknja can be found here. Announces First, though a few quick, mostly prisoner announcements: Sean Swain Sean Swain, an anarchist prisoner who's generally got a featured segment on this show and has for 3 years as of this week, has been on hunger strike at Warren Correctional Institution in Ohio since December 26th and has been placed in a suicide cell. Although details are still murky, we know that Sean has been without food since December 26th. He was charged with extortion of a deputy warden and had begun a disciplinary process when he began his hunger strike and was placed in a suicide cell. We know that the prison is recognizing his hunger strike and following the associated procedures, which include taking him to the medical unit every day and weighing him and taking his vital signs. It is unclear whether they are attempting to negotiate with him in any way. Please take a moment to write a letter of encouragement to Sean and to call the following prison administrators and encourage them to negotiate with Sean and help him end this hunger strike as quickly as possible. Deputy Director of Operations Casey Barr (513) 932-3388 ext. 2005 Warden's Assistant Greg Kraft (513) 932-3388 ext. 2010 Updates on Sean can be found at http://seanswain.org Clemency Pushes There are pushes by the support crews in these last days of the Obama presidency to request clemency or commutations for the sentences of long standing political prisoners here in the U.S. The few that we've caught wind of specifically are the following: Leonard Peltier Leonard Peltier, an indigenous activist and prisoner in his 70's is continuing to serve in federal prison as his health declines despite his denial of guilt in the shooting death of 2 fbi agents during the raid on the American Indian Movement's encampment on the Pine Ridge Reservation in North Dakota in 1975. The case has been hotly debated since it was held, with many contesting the possibility of Peltier's guilt. Recently, one of his prosecutors from that case said that it was time to let him go due to his age and health. More on his case can be found at http://whoisleonardpeltier.info Reach out to US AG: The Honorable Loretta Lynch Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice Comment Line: +1 202 353 1555 Contact form: https://www.justice.gov/doj/webform/your-message-department-justice Chelsea Manning Chelsea Manning is a former intel analyst for the U.S. Military who was convicted of sharing documentation of military abuses with Wikileaks and is serving a 35 year sentence. She is also a Trans Woman who transitioned inside of military prison and because of her poor treatment on the inside has been very depressed and attempted suicide. There is hope that in his last days, Obama may commute her sentence for trying to do the right thing and to protect against the increased cruelty of the upcoming regime. Visit h

Interview This week we are rebroadcasting an interview with Peter Werbe of Fifth Estate magazine, which originally aired in February 2015. Fifth Estate is an "anarchist, anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian, anti-profit project" which is published cooperatively three times a year, and this year marks its 50th year of publication. The magazine tackles current events, issues, theory, and praxis which would be of interest to an anarchist audience. To find out more about this project, and to subscribe, you can visit http://www.fifthestate.org In this interview we talk about the magazine's historical trajectory, from its inception in 1965 as a weekly, less political periodical, to its takeover by anarchists in 1975, to what it is today. They talk about the Eat The Rich Gang and its associations with Fifth Estate magazine, as well as directions the project could take. For more on Peter Werbe's radio work, you can visit http://www.peterwerbe.com Announcements The founder of the crisis hotline Trans Lifeline is being detained by immigration authorities in Arizona after being stopped while driving home to Chicago. Nina Chaubal, 25, an India-born Chicagoan and the co-founder of Trans Lifeline (a San Francisco-based non-profit), was driving to Chicago from California on Interstate-8 with her wife and two friends when the group encountered an immigration checkpoint in Arizona on Wednesday. There, officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Chaubal and demanded she show them her passport (Chaubal was carrying her Illinois drivers license at the time, but not her passport, because she was traveling through the United States and not crossing international borders, so she provided ICE with a photo of her passport) and that she provide proof that she is married to a U.S. citizen. They then took her into custody after learning that her gender identity did not match the gender listed on her Indian passport and that she was in the country on an expired work visa. Chaubal's family and friends are urging ICE to release Chaubal, who has been held since Wednesday by ICE in two Arizona immigration detention facilities. She is currently being held at Eloy Detention Center in Eloy, Arizona—a privately operated prison with a disturbing reputation for violence against LGBT detainees. Chaubal's wife is pushing to have her released—reasoning that the well-known activist and non-profit founder should not be imprisoned and is not a flight risk—or at least transferred to another detention center with a better track record for treating LGBT people. She is also urging friends, family and supporters to help amplify her voice by contacting ICE with these requests. To hear more about this situation, and to contact ICE in various ways about their treatment of Nina Chaubal, you can visit the website http://messica.codes/freenina/ To learn more about Trans Lifeline and to donate to this project, you can visit http://www.translifeline.org/ -------------- On Jan 5th, 2017, The Odditorium in Asheville will be hosting a benefit concert for the newly-formed Blue Ridge Anarchist Black Cross starting at 9pm. Come early for a Security Culture 101/201 training where folks'll talk about things you need to keep your community safe. The lineup includes: Secret Shame, Nomadic War Machine, Kangarot & Cloudgayzer --Before this event, don't miss the Anarchist Bookfair Planning and Info Session at Firestorm from 8-9:30pm on the 5th for Asheville's first ever anarchist book fair in the summer of 2017! Come share ideas for what you would like to see at this event and for ways on how to get involved. And on Tuesday January 10th from 7-9pm at Firestorm Books and Coffee, there will be a presentation entitled Preparing for the Trump Era: An Anarchist Viewpoint. In this talk, the presenters will address various questions such as how did Trump come to power, and what does that tell us about the era we are entering? They will go on to discuss what strategies might be effective in countering repressive government policies and the rise of grassroots nationalism. Playlist is here: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/18709

Here, we present the first part of an interview with Merve Arkun, Hüseyin & Özgür, members of Devrimci Anarşist Faaliyet, or DAF. DAF translates to Revolutionist Anarchist Action and is a network of overlapping collectives in Turkey. They are based out of Istanbul and run an office and two cafe's, both called 26A, which is a meeting space and employer for collective members. This conversation was conducted on March 19, 2016, a few short hours after a DAESH (ISIS) bombing occurred in the Beyoğlu neighborhood of Istanbul, on the touristy street called İstiklal Avenue, just a few blocks from one of the collective's cafe's and their newspaper office. The bomb killed 5 people (4 tourists plus the bomber), and injured some 36 more. The tension in the city in the days before the bombing was palpable as trucks of riot police roved around the neighborhood, and embassies and foreign schools closed for security reasons. The approaching Newroz celebrations, or Kurdish New Years, were slated to take place a mere 2 days after this attack in the contentious Taksim Gezi Park so recently after the resumption of military and legal hostilities between Kurdish groups and aligned leftists and the Turkish government headed by the AK Party of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This decision most certainly would promise demonstrations and conflict between security forces and civil society around the right to the contentious park, and against the war on the Kurds both in Syria and Turkey by Erdoğan's government. Besides the 26A cafes, DAF includes an Anarchist Women's collective, a publishing project in the form of the Meydan Gazette (published monthly in paper form), and a youth collective, the Lycee (or High School) Anarchist Federation called LAF. In addition it organizes arts events and projects, and participates in labor organizing and solidarity with Kurdish resistance and the Rojava Revolution. DAF also organizes in tandem though autonomously with anti-militarist and anti-conscription activists in Turkey. Merve is an active member of the Meydan Gazette publishing crew, the Anarchist Women's collective and also in a seperate but related anti-militarist group. Hüseyin is a main editor of the Meydan Gazette and involved in the 26A cafes. Özgür is involved in Meydan & the self-defense program and the PATIKA ecological collective. Throughout this first hour: Merve, Hüseyin & Özgür talk about the collectivized economic and living structures of DAF and how that pans out to support collective members and build collectivized models for survival within and against capitalism. To see an article (in Turkish) about Esra Ankan, you can visit the Meydan Gazette's article here: Trans Tutsak Esra'yla Dayanışmaya

This week on The Final Straw Radio, I spoke with Mars Goetia. Mars is, among other things, a musician, parent and anarchist who's been doing a lot of thinking and working around conflict engagement in and around anarchist communities. In this episode, Mars and I speak about about the difficulty of language when engaging in interpersonal conflict, about state repression, expectations and more. Announces: In June we aired 2 conversations with members of the Turkish group DAF, Revolutionary Anarchist Action. Among the three voices featured was that of Hüseyin Civan, the managing editor of Mayden Magazine. Hüseyin has been sentenced to 15 months in prison by the Turkish government for Mayden articles in support of Kurdish struggles for autonomy and against state repression in Turkey. This sentencing comes amid a very troubling time in Turkey. Following the Turkish government's reversal of seeking peace with Kurdish groups in the country's eastern regions, a failed coup earlier this year, the grab at increasing presidential control and prerogerative, non-secular regime of Tayip Erdogan has resumed military incursions into Kurdish communities and purged educational institutions and media of critical voices. They even went so far as to allow Daesh fighters across their border to fight Kurds and anti-capitalists and have launched attacks across the Syrian border into Rojava. To contact DAF to offer solidarity to Hüseyin, you can visit http://anarsistfaaliyet.org On Jan 5th, 2017, The Odditorium in Asheville will be hosting a benefit concert for the newly-formed Blue Ridge Anarchist Black Cross starting at 9pm. Come early for a Security Culture 101/201 training where folks'll talk about things you need to keep your community safe. The lineup includes: Secret Shame, Nomadic War Machine, Kangarot & Cloudgayzer Playlist: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/18639

Grand Jury Resistance at Standing Rock This week we are airing two short interviews, the first is with an anarchist legal worker who has been participating in resistance at Standing Rock in so called North Dakota. This interview is specifically about the grand jury summons which was recently served to someone who was struggling at Standing Rock, we speak about what a grand jury is and how people might resist them, also a bit about what it means for this movement to have a grand jury subpoena occur at this moment. If you have been contacted by federal agents in relation to Standing Rock, please call the Water Protector Legal Collective IMMEDIATELY at area code (605) 519-8180. To donate to this collective and to learn more about the work they do, you can visit their website at http://waterprotectorlegal.org/. To look again at our guest's suggestions for further research, you can visit the noblogs site or on http://www.ashevillefm.org/, or go to igd and scroll through to the article "Grand Jury Resistance at Standing Rock". Our guest's suggestions for further research: Civil Liberties Defense Center here CrimethInc.'s don't talk pdf and support the NW grand jury resisters. Midnight Special Law Collective's Grand Jury Training pdf Freedom Archives's resource here Scott Campbell on upcoming tour of Mexico with It's Going Down The next interview we will present is a conversation with Scott Campbell who writes the Insumisión column for http://itsgoingdown.org. Insumisión is a semi regular publication which aims to highlight anarchistic and anarchist struggles and news all around Mexico. Scott and members of IGD are in the process of launching an information gathering and affinity building tour around Mexico in early next year. In this interview we talk about Insumisión and what inspired it, as well as some of the strategies and influences both North American and Mexican struggle can take from one another, among other topics. To read Insumisión and for a write up about the upcoming tour, you can visit itsgoingdown.org and click on the tab labeled "Insumisión". To donate to the tour and to see a write up about it, you can visit the rally dot org website https://rally.org/igd-mexico You can also check out El Enemigo Común (or The Common Enemy) at https://elenemigocomun.net/ From their website "[This project] is an international watchdog against state sponsored repression. It is the project of a small collective of volunteers in the U.S. and Mexico. We publish and translate communiqués, articles, and other media by, about, and for social movements. Our primary focus is on indigenous peoples, women, and youth, in both urban and rural communities in Oaxaca, but we also publish about other struggles against neoliberalism throughout Mexico". Thanks!! A quick shoutout of thanks to KFED for the lovely new image for the series podcast. Much appreciated! Playlist: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/18567

This week, we're replaying an interview that Bursts conducted with Ron Sakolsky in March of 2016. Ron had just recently published Breaking Loose: Mutual Acquiescence or Mutual Aid? From the original posting: "Ron is a poet, an anarchist, a surrealist, a pirate radio broadcaster and author and more. Recently, Little Black Cart published a small book by Ron Sakolsky entitled Breaking Loose: Mutual Acquiescence or Mutual Aid? The essay is an anarcho-surrealist critique in which Ron levels a challenge to readers to move past (or break free) from the limitations we internalize from engaging with and within (as well as with others within) the systems of domination. In the conversation, Ron revisits the essay, breaks down some terminology and eggs the listener on to exercise their imagination and act from places of inspiration to apply direct action against the status quo. The essay it's built off of can be found in Modern Slavery #1. During the hour, we discuss that book, we chat about radio and Ron's 30 years of radio experience starting in college radio in IL, later involved in the pirate station called Black Liberation Radio, publishing and promoting the building of micro-broadcast transmitters, and currently with Radio Tree Frog in the forests of Coast Salish Territories AKA British Colombia. He contributed to and edited the titles Seizing The Airwaves: A Free Radio Handbook (AK Press, 1998) and Islands of Resistance: Pirate Radio in Canada (New Star Books, 2010). A sample of featuring mostly content from the "Old Pal" show on Tree Frog radio is found here: " To hear more of our archives, dating back to 2010, check out thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org Jai "Jerry" Williams Later this week, District Attorney Todd Williams plans to announce whether or not he will be indicting Sgt. Tyler Radford for the murder of 35 year old Asheville resident Jerry Williams (no relation), who was a children's book author and father of 5. The particulars of this meeting will hopefully be made public later this week. For those who are unaware of this case, Williams was murdered in early July this year at the Deaverview apartment complex after police were called regarding an unrelated domestic dispute. In response to Jai, or Jerry, being killed by law enforcement and the discrepencies between stories of witnesses and the police narrative, Asheville experienced its first of many vigorous protests under the auspices of Black Lives Matter. It is expected that the DA, who recently received a 900 page report on the case from the State Bureau of Investigation, will deliver a non-indictment announcement, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for calls for solidarity from the Williams family and for community responses. You can also call the DA's office to express your opinion at (828) 259-3410 Kinetic Justice Needs Support There is urgent need for folks to call prison administrators at Limestone Correctional Facility, where Kinetic Justice (who was one of the main organizers of the September 9 #PrisonStrike) has been transferred in order to isolate and endanger him. He was brutally beaten on December 2, and continues to fear for his life. WE NEED TO SHOW THE PRISON THAT THERE ARE MANY EYES AND EARS ON THE OUTSIDE KEEPING TRACK OF KINETIK! Here are the numbers to call, and the script provided by IWOC: Call Limestone Prison Warden Christopher Gordy 256-233-4600 Call Commissioner Jeff Dunn & Ass Comm Grant Culliver 334-353-3883 or email Call Gov Robert Bentley 334-242-7100 Call Department of Justice 205-244-2001 or email Say this, "I am calling to demand that you release Robert Early Council from solitary confinement and move him out of Limestone Correctional Facility immediately. He was brutally beaten on December 2nd and continues to fear for his life." You can read about Kinetik's work at the Free Alabama Movement's website freealabamamovement.com Grand Jury Resistance at Standing Rock On or around December 3rd, 2016 a water protector at Oceti Sakowin received a summons to appear before a federal grand jury that has been convened in relation to the resistance of water protectors. What we know about grand juries is that they have a long history of being used to target those in resistance to the state and engaged in political or revolutionary movements. The purpose of this grand jury and all grand juries that target revolutionary people and communities is to cause division, manufacture prisoners of war, create paranoia and suspicion amongst comrades. We will not be intimidated and resistance to this is only strengthening our resolve to kill this black snake and all the others. Water protectors stand in resistance to this grand jury and all tools of state repression, be it on the ground through Morton County's violent tactics or in the shrouded secrecy of a grand jury courtroom. Indigenous people, water protectors, legal workers, revolutionaries and comrades from across the camps are actively organizing resistance to this grand jury. Camp wide edu

This week, we air 2 interviews, one about the case of the Cleveland 4 and one with members of Unicorn Riot. pt 1: The Cleveland 4 Firstly, we speak with Amanda Shemkes. Amanda does legal support for members of the Cleveland 4. The Cleveland 4, or CLE4, are 4 anarchists who're serving around a decade in Federal prisons in the U.S. on charges of terrorism. Back story is that Brandon Baxter, Connor Stevens, Doug Wright, Joshua "Skelly" Stafford and Anthony Hayne were arrested on April 30th in 2012 for attempting to blow up a bridge with the provocation of an FBI informant named Shaquille Azir. The young anarchists had coalesced during Occupy Cleveland as a group after encamping together, being involved in food distribution and activism and were targeted and entrapped by Azir who escalated their talk of direct action to the bombing plot and provided them with work, housing, drugs, alcohol, access to (fake) explosives and more. Anthony Hayne took a cooperating plea deal with the Federal Government while Brandon Baxter, Connor Stevens, Doug Wright and Skelly all received sentences of around a decade each with terrorism enhancements promising lifetime probation. Amanda talks about their case, their time inside, government attacks on social movements and how to support Brandon, Connor, Doug & Skelly, the Cleveland 4. More on their case can be found at http://cleveland4solidarity.org Also of note, Connor Steven's birthday is coming up on December 17th, so send him a bday card! Same day is Chelsae Manning's bday, actually... on that note, why not visit PrisonBooks.Info to see political prisoner birthdays for this month and sign up to receive the monthly calendar that the Prison Books Collective puts out? No good reason, I reckon. pt 2: Unicorn Riot Following this, we speak with volunteers with the non-profit, radical media outlet Unicorn Riot. Founded in 2014, UR has expanded from it's Minneapolis base to be present on the ground at struggles around the U.S. covering events as they unfold with the words of the people involved, documenting the brutality of the state's reactions and bravery in the streets and the fields of those resisting. As a platform, UR distributes regular tv episodes, podcasts and features small news briefs as well as a presence on social media. UR's coverage of the uprisings in Minneapolis around the killings and lack of justice in the killings of Jamar Clark & Philando Castille and more recently of the struggles of Water Defenders at the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota have gone viral, increasing solidarity and pressed mainstream media outlets to expand their coverage of these violent government interventions. In this second half of the episode, the plucky media rebels share their views on activism and journalism, on media paradigms, their project and some of the resistance it's participated in. A quick postscript correction Patrick misspoke a couple of times during the interview that we didn't catch. Corrections are: 1.) When describing the drone rules on Standing Rock, he meant to refer to no-fly rules from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and not the FCC (which oversees broadcast restrictions and allowances in the U.S.); 2.) When Patrick talks about Niko being flagged down by police to broadcast a police statement over Unicorn Riot, it was actually during the Justice for Jamar Clark struggle, not in the aftermath of the killing of Philando Castille. Also, a tool noted by Wendy & Pat for research into government coverup used by journalists these days: https://www.muckrock.com/ This week Sean Swain shares his thoughts on Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution in light of Fidel's death last week. More from Sean at http://seanswain.org Announcements Asheville Peace Vigil with Standing Rock Tomorrow, Monday December 5th in Asheville there's a prayer and vigil in Soldarity with Standing Rock as regards the struggle to stop the expansion of the Dakota Access Pipeline we'll be talking about later in the episode. Folks are meeting at 6pm at Pack Square. Bring an offering. Anti-klan rallies in NC/VA Also, big ups to the folk who went out to face off the kkk motorcade on Saturday the 3rd in Danville, VA & Pelham, NC. This time the KKK got their own stabby after the fact. Tragic fire at Ghostship warehouse in Oakland Of note, our hearts here at the final straw go out to those suffering the devastating effects of the fire at the Ghostship warehouse on Friday December 2nd during a 100% Silk party. According to the most recent KGO-7 news out of San Francisco at 2pm EST on Sunday the 4th of December, 24 victims have been found inside the warehouse. A list of missing people has been compiled in an article on heavy.com. Not all of those pictured are known to be among the victims of Friday's fire. To donate to relief funds, visit youcaring.com. Playlist pending

This is a podcast version of the second part of the 2016 North American Anarchist Black Cross Former Political Prisoners Panel. The first part can be found here In this, the question and answer portion, we hear from Sekuo Kombui, Kazi Toure, John Tucker and Daniel McGowan about their thoughts on incarceration in the U.S., steps forward in resistance, violence in struggle and sources of hope among other things. For info on these prisoners, check out the above link for short bios.

This week on the Final Straw, we air a conversation Bursts had with a member of New York City Anarchist Black Cross, heretoforth known as nyc-abc. For a good portion of the hour we speak about this activists views on anarchist support for prisoners and long term liberation prisoners. We also talk about the work that NYC-ABC does including: prisoner-writing nights; the Running Down The Walls event coordinated with numerous folks on the outside and incarcerated comrades; their recently unvailed Project FANG ( with help from Sac Prisoner Support) which sets aside regular visitation funds for animal and earth liberation prisoners and their loved ones; their U.S. Political Prisoner graphic guide updated monthly; and more. You can find out more about NYC-ABC on their website at http://nycabc.wordpress.com, or find them on the various and insidious social media platforms out there. For the last 10 minutes, here is a musical track to get you into the holiday spirit, and to beckon some much-needed rains in this area to put out the fires: Klarträumer, meaning Lucid Dream. This is Deluge from their album, Aether. Deluge is from Metz, Lorraine in France. More from them and other awesome dark and heavy music with good politics can be found at http://thedarkskiesaboveus.blogspot.com 2016 Former Political Prisoner Panel pt2 Podcast Also of note, in a few days we'll be releasing the second half of the Former Political Prisoner Panel from the 2016 North American Anarchist Black Cross conference in Denver. This year we heard from Sekuo Kombui, Daniel McGowan, Kazi Toure and John Tucker. To hear the first portion and check out brief bio's of these folks visit: Part 1, 2016 IWOC call for support for James Shelby When you have a minute (literally, one minute) please call WMCC Prison Warden Sherie Korneman in Missouri at (816) 632-1390 and say, "I am calling to do a wellness check on James Shelby, prisoner number 41244, my friend told me his life is in danger to medical negligence. If he was not sent back to the hospital after November 14th, he needs to be taken immediately." Again, that name and number is Warden Sherie Korneman at (816) 632-1390. #NoDAPL: Standing Rock camp threatened with eviction As many of you have probabaly heard, the Standing Rock camp for resisting the Dakota Access pipeline has recently been issued an eviction notice to take effect on December 5th (though they are *generously* granting people a so called "free speech zone" well away from the camp and sacred lands). Updates from the camp have been flying out fast in recent weeks, most notably having to do with the police and army's use of force essentially being tantamount to torture and brutality. In the wake of the eviction notice, there had been a call from standing rock for a broadening of tactics for people wanting to stand in solidarity with water protectors. To that end, there is a collection of names and addresses of people directly related to the Dakota access pipeline which you can use as you see fit; the authors of the peice are very clear to state that they do not endorse so called "illegal activity, but that the list is for education and outreach purposes only". However, I think that it is also safe to say that people should use their discretions when coming up with any actions they would like to see happen. You can see this full article, plus the list of names and addresses, check out: https://itsgoingdown.org/nodapl-indigenous-land-defense-strategic-solidarity-pressuring-power-capital/ Portland organizing Please help to build Portland's movement total and collective liberation! Please donate now! Many people have been outraged by the election, Standing Rock, Prison Industrial Complex, white supremacy and capitalism in general. We are all fed up and need to take a stand. The left movement in general is grossly underfunded and inhibits our ability to control the narrative with social media and of course trumping the corporate media. Many activists are getting arrested and charged for all kinds of things. We need to keep our communities safe. However the movement needs funds to actually move forward and fix this whole system and not because it's broken! It's because we need to build something new! Not fix broken things. It was never a broken system and was meant to do exactly what it was doing! Please help! Help spread the word! you can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/support-fund-antitrump-activists Playlist: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/18336

This week we spoke with two Asheville area anarchists, May and Julie, about THE ELECTION of all things. We talked about anarchist strategy in this day and age, the tactic of a general strike and what might prevent or incite some folks' participation, some things which are missing from anarchist and other discourse right now, the role of social media, and much much more. If you are listening to an hour long version of this conversation and want to hear more, please consider checking out the podcast version of this show, which is available via iTunes by searching The Final Straw Radio in the iTunes store or on any podcatcher device, or via our website thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org. Here is the reading list that May mentioned at the end of the interview, for people who are interested in further ideas: *Taking Sides: Revolutionary Solidarity and the Poverty of Liberalism (ed. Cindy Milstein, available as a free e-book, along with two other pertinent titles, from AK Press until 11/30 http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/…) *Pacifism as Pathology (Ward Churchill) *Nonviolence Ain't What It Used to Be (Shon Meckfessel, AK Press, 2016) *How Nonviolence Protects the State (Peter Gelderloos): https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/peter-gelderloos-how-nonviolence-protects-the-state.pdf *or, for something slightly more current from the above author, The Failure of Nonviolence: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/peter-gelderloos-how-nonviolence-protects-the-state *Three-way Fight: Revolutionary Antif-fascism and Armed Self-Defense: https://astudygroup.wordpress.com/2016/08/30/three-way-fight-revolutionary-anti-fascism-and-armed-self-defense/ *This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible (Charles E. Cobb) And for a super solid source regarding anti blackness that Julie recommends, check out Frank B Wilderson III's interview from IMixWhatILike: http://sfbay-anarchists.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/frank-b-wilderson-iii-were-trying-to-destroy-the-world-antiblackness-police-violence-after-ferguson.pdf Portland Protest Support After the election of Trump as POTUSA, cities around the U.S. have seen huuuuge protests. Portland, OR, in particular has seen over week of intense protracted street action in which people faced off with police and reactionaries in the streets. As such there have been many arrests and some are facing felony charges. There is a request for assistance in fund raising for arrest support. Mateen Abdul Shaheed is a 20 year old youth of color who was arrested on a felony warrant and is currently being held on alleged charges of 6 accounts of criminal mischeif in the first degree, which is a class c felony in relation to ongoing events in Portland. Please consider raising some funds and donating to a PDX-ABC gofundme https://www.gofundme.com/support-fund-antitrump-activists This is a great time to start developing regular fundraising strategies to support resistance and up our game. For ideas on soli-parties you could hold to raise funds and where you can raise awareness, drop us an email at [email protected] or check out fund raising needs at https://itsgoingdown.org

This week we spoke with an autonomous participant in CrimethInc. about the work of that collective around elections, about their views on the recent election of Donald J. Trump as president of the U.S.A., voter turnout, anarchist perspectives on elections, democracy, and about building on-the-ground resistance to not only this new administration but the autonomous far right that's attempting to emerge more and more these days. More from CrimethInc., including their recent audio-zines and the ex-worker podcast can be found at http://crimethinc.com The call-out to resist the 2017 Presidential inauguration of Donald J. Trump can be found here: http://www.crimethinc.com/blog/2016/11/11/no-peaceful-transition/ Former Political Prisoner Panel 2016 pt1 The Final Straw recently released the first half of the Former Political Prisoners Panel discussion from the 2016 North American Anarchist Black Cross conference in Denver as a podcast. That included introductions by former Black Liberation Army and Black Panther member Sekou Kombui who served 47 years in prison, former United Freedom Front militant Kazi Toure, former Earth Liberation Front member Daniel McGowan and anti-fascist activist John Tucker who was imprisoned as one of the Tinley Park 5. Check it out by visiting https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2016/11/13/naabc-former-political-prisoners-panel-2016-pt-1/ The Presidential Election As of today, Sunday November 13th, it seems like there has been one thing on our minds since Tuesday. People have been expressing their rage at this election in many different ways around the US, the first four days saw protests ranging from less militant rallies to night marches, burning effigies, and highway shutdowns. Here in Asheville there were four days worth of protests, one of which rallied 150 people who blocked a major intersection in downtown for a good while and held its ground by the Vance Monument, built for the slaveowning KKK member Zebulon Vance who was one of Asheville's so called white founders. Moving forward will look like a lot of different things, already we have seen at least three autonomously called for general strikes to occur around and on the inauguration on January 20th, and the amount of assemblies and strategy building infrastructure on the anarchist left is growing by leaps and bounds! If you are part of organizing and you do not see yourself represented elsewhere, please feel free to write to us at thefinalstrawradio( at)riseup.net or to William personally at stormwater( at)riseup.net with what you are doing, how it's going, what you hope to see come out of it, all that jazz. We will be happy to broadcast it, or not if you would prefer. Also, stay tuned to this and other audio projects for more ideas on how to engage. Crushing Intolerance music this episode In the last portion of the episode, we'll be hearing two tracks from the newest Crushing Intolerance compilation by The Black Metal Alliance, which is a collection of metal artists promoting equal rights for all life. This is comp #4. First off, here's Arete with Beneath The Pond. Arête is Melancholic Mountain Black Metal from the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, and the Black Hills. Finally, this is Seeds In Barren Fields with The Epitaph of the Vain and the Forgotten. SIBF is a Swedish metal band. Money from the compilation Crushing Intolerance IV goes to Canadian and Swedish chapters of No One Is Illegal a migrant justice movement rooted in anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, ecological justice, Indigenous self-determination, anti-occupation & anti-oppressive communities. More on the comp at https://blackmetalalliance.bandcamp.com/

This week (last week, actually) we spoke with Daniel McGowan. Daniel is from New York City (Queens, actually) and talks about his start in activism with Earth First!, his current views on his activities with the Earth Liberation Front, Communication Management Units in the prison systems, prison gang structures, prisoner support, the Certain Days calendar designed by political prisoners and more. You can find more about Certain Days at http://certaindays.org and more about prisoner support work in New York City at http://nycabc.wordpress.com. If you're in New York City, check out the 2017 Calendar release party this Saturday, November 12th the Interference Archive at 131 8th St, Brooklyn at 7pm https://www.facebook.com/events/631708823654677/ To check out Marius Mason, Earth Liberation prisoner, education fund: https://www.generosity.com/education-fundraising/marius-mason-s-education--2 Zolo Azania, Black political prisoner, release fund: https://www.gofundme.com/helpzolorebuild Barbara Curzi, formerly incarcerated United Freedom Front member, medical fund: https://www.gofundme.com/barbaras-loving-circle-2w49vnqs Bo Brown, formerly incarcerated George Jackson Brigade member, Medical fund: https://www.youcaring.com/bo-brown-655777 Update on Kinetic Justice As we reported last week, Kinetic Justice has been on hunger strike since October 21st to protest his transfer to Limestone Correctional Facility, which is a notoriously dangerous supermax facility located in Harvest, Alabama. Prison officials are currently denying him water, and his support network is fearing for his safety. CALL WITH DEMANDS TODAY: Call the Alabama Department of Corrections and Alabama Governor Robert Bentley's office demanding 1) that Kinetik Justice be transferred from Limestone Correctional Facility; and 2) that Pastor Kenneth Glasgow of The Ordinary People's Society be allowed to visit him and assess his condition immediately. Alabama Department of Corrections Montgomery, Alabama (334) 353-3883 [email protected] Governor Robert Bentley 600 Dexter Avenue Montgomery, AL 36130 (334) 242-7100 For more information, you can visit: The Free Alabama Movement at https://freealabamamovement.wordpress.com/ and The Ordinary People's Society at http://theordinarypeoplesociety.org/ Playlist: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/18105

Here we present the first half of the Former Prisoner Panel of the 2016 North American Anarchist Black Cross Conference. During the hour, you'll hear words from Sekou Kombui, Daniel McGowan, John Tucker, Kazi Toure. These speeches will be prefaced by some brief introductions, the texts of which can be found below. This audio will air soon as a radio episode. For more info on political prisoners in the U.S., check out denverabc.wordpress.com or nycabc.wordpress.com Sekou Kimbui: Sekou is a former political prisoner who survived 47 years of incarceration. Throughout the 1960's, Sekou participated in the Civil Rights movement, organizing youth for participating in demonstrations and marches across Alabama, and providing security for meetings of the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC), Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Sekou became affiliated with the Black Panther Party in 1967 in Chicago and New York. While in Detroit, he became a member of the Republic of New Afrika, before returning to Birmingham. Back in Alabama, Sekou coordinated community organization activity with the Alabama Black Liberation Front, the Inmates for Action (IFA) Defense Committee and the Afro-American People's Party in the mid 1970's. Sekou was also a soldier in the Black Liberation Army (BLA) during these years before his capture. In 1975, Sekou was falsely arrested and charged with the murder of two white men: a KKK official from Tuscaloosa and a multimillionaire oil man from Birmingham. There was absolutely no evidence against him, only coerced testimony from individuals who subsequently recanted their statements. The judge refused to allow the recanted statements to be stricken from Sekou's record. Sekou continued the fight throughout his time in Prison. On June 30th, 2014, Sekou was released on parole. Daniel McGowan: Daniel is an environmental and social justice activist from New York City. He was charged in Federal court on counts of arson, property destruction and conspiracy, all relating to two actions in Oregon in 2001, claimed by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). McGowan was facing a minimum of life in prison if convicted when he accepted a non-cooperation plea agreement. His arrest is part of what the US government dubbed Operation Backfire; a coordinated, multi-state sweep of over 15 activists by the federal government who have charged the individuals with practically every earth and animal liberation action in the Pacific Northwest left unsolved. Many have considered this round up indicative of the government's 'Green Scare' focus which has activists being arrested and threatened with life in prison. Many of the charges, including Daniel's, were for crimes whose statute of limitations were about to expire. Daniel was released from prison on December 11, 2012. John Tucker: John was one of five antifascists arrested in May 2012, after an altercation between white supremacists and antifascists in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park that left ten injured fascists, three of which needed hospitalization. The case of the Tinley Park 5 received an overwhelming amount of public support. Despite the fact that the meeting was organized by violent white supremacist organizations including the National Socialist Movement, Council of Conservative Citizens, and Ku Klux Klan, the state showed their cozy relationship with white supremacy by refusing the accused antifascist activist bail or a plea deal comparable to any other criminal defendant in Cook County. In January 2013 the Tinley Park Five accepted a non-cooperating plea deal. John Tucker was released in February 2014. As of September 2014, all of the TP5 are released.This audio will air soon as a radio episode. Kazi Toure: As a member of the United Freedom Front (UFF), Kazi was imprisoned for his role in 20 bombings combating Apartheid in South Africa and United States Imperialism in Central America. The UFF has been called "undoubtedly the most successful of the leftist [guerrilla groups] of the 1970s and '80s" and struck powerful blows to South African Airways, Mobil, IBM, Union Carbide, & various courthouses and US Military targets. Toure was convicted on federal charges of possession of firearms, and Seditious Conspiracy—conspiring to overthrow, put down, destroy by force and violence the US government. He is one of few, if any, New Afrikans to be charged of this act.

This week, we present a conversation with a member of CNA-DF, or Anarchist Black Cross of Mexico City. During the hour she speaks about the work of CNA-DF, prison in Mexican society, anti-prison organizing versus prison abolitionism, transformative justice, counter-repression and prisoners the CNA is working to support. More on CNA-DF at http://www.abajolosmuros.org/ Specific prisoners CNA-DF supports include: Alvaro Sebastian (Oaxacan teacher); Fernando Bárcenas (accused of burning the Mexico City Xmas Tree in 2013 during anti-fare increase demonstration in Mexico City. Publishes Cimarron newspaper, involved in punk rock, alternative health care, horizontal education and organizing in prison.); Luis Fernando Sotelo (accused of burning a bus during day of global action in solidarity with the Ayatzinopa 43, Normalista students disappeared by the Mexican State. Sotelo has received a 33 year sentence for damage to the bus. Recently on hunger strike, in prison 2 years now); Abraham Cortés (13 years for attempted murder of a cop, arrested during October 2nd memorial demonstration in Mexico City of the 1968 massacre of hundreds of demonstrating students. Recently on hunger strike w Fernando Bárcenas against: 1. Prisons, calling to revolt against the state; 2. in solidarity with the #PrisonStrike starting Sept 9 in the U.S.; 3. And against the Bárcenas & Cortés); & Miguel Ángel Peralta Betanzos (from Oaxaca, accused of attempted murder of politicians in opposition with communal indigenous council of his community). Announcements Raids at Standing Rock After a series of violent raids which saw over 100 people arrested, the most recent on October 27th at Standing Rock and other camps resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline, there has been a call for renewed and amped up solidarity for this resistance. This could include coming to North Dakota and fighting the pipeline and joining the struggle, organizing where you live and taking action against banks, the Army Corp. of Engineers, and politicians backing the project, and sending money and supplies to the encampment. Already solidarity actions are taking places, such as the occupation of buildings, solidarity demonstrations, and more. To get more ideas of what solidarity could mean, and where to send supplies and funds if you are able, you can visit https://nodaplsolidarity.org and click the tab "Support the Camps". Kinetic Justice of FAM transferred Kinetic Justice of the Free Alabama Movement has been transferred out of Holman Prison in Alabama to Kilby Correctional Facility and from there to Limestone Corrections, known among Alabama prisoners to be a "bully unit," where prisoners deemed disruptive are brutalized. This occurred one day before he was reportedly scheduled to meet with an advocate from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SLPC). This is in clear retaliation on the part of the prison system, and is an attempt to silence a dissenting voice which has been very important both in FAM and in the Prison Strike. In response, Kinetic is ending the first week of a hunger strike, to protest his treatment and bacaause he doesn't trust Limestone to not tamper with the food they give him. Keep your eyes on the free alabama movement's webpage at http://freealabamamovement.com/ for updates on Kinetic's situation and how to help. You can also follow them on twitter @freealamovement, you can also follow Freedom for Kinetic @for_kinetic Anti-Nazi march in Harrisburg, PA Lastly tho not leastly, DON'T FORGET that Saturday the 5th of Novemeber will see resistance to a National Socialist Movement rally (or more plainly, neo nazi) in Harrisburg PA. The NSM is teaming up with the Traditionalist Worker Party for this charade in the so called "heart of democracy", the TWP being the same boneheads who were responsible for drawing knives in Sacramento this past summer. Central PA Antifa and related anti racists are calling for as much support as possible at this event, to help run the nazis out of town. You can get up with this situaiton by connecting with Central PA Antifa on facebook by searching their name, you can also donate to them by visiting: https://www.gofundme.com/centralpaantifa you can also get super up to date information by following them on twitter @centralpaantifa Asheville Prison Books Cover Band show If you're going to be around Asheville tonight, Sunday October 30th, and want to get your ghoul on for a good cause, consider visiting the Prison Books Cover Band benefit. For over a decade now, punks have been showing up and rocking out to raise funds for Asheville Prison Books, a 501c3 non-profit that sends literature to prisoners. Cover bands include SubHumans, Green Day and many, many more. The show starts at Toy Boat on 101 Fairview Rd, just off Sweeten Creek Road. Playlist: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/18016

This week we spoke with members of Central PA Antifa about antifascist organizing in Pennsylvania, about some of the racial and socioeconomic aspects of that place, and many more topics but mainly about the National Socialist Movement counter protest that folks are calling for on November 5th in Harrisburg. We talk about the logistics of the event and what sorts of things to expect and what sorts of solidarity folks are asking for. To hear another interview with Central PA Antifa you can visit our comrades at itsgoingdown.org and follow the links to their podcast called the IGDcast. To learn more about Central PA Antifa you can get up with them on facebook, on which you can search Central PA Antifa, or follow them on Twitter @centralpaantifa. There is also a blog at: https://centralpaantifascist.wordpress.com/ Playlist is here: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/17929

This week on the show we decided to take a musical interlude, and I thought we would try something slightly different from what we normally do. Since it's getting all autumnal and halloweeny, it seemed appropriate to settle in with some tunes that reflect that mood, and perhaps get spooky. What I'm trying to say is that I went through and found anarchistic, antifascist, antiracist goth, darkwave, and coldwave mostly, some of which may not be explicitly those things but are at the very least liked by anarchists, antifascists, and antiracists. A HUGE SHOUTOUT to Margaret Killjoy, who generously collaborated with me on this playlist. Check out their publication Graceless: A Journal of the Radical Gothic for more information on matters anarcho goth. Here is our show today, I hope you enjoy it. Before the music, I'd like to announce that this week, October 15th thru 22nd, marks the week of renewed action for the Prison Strike. This is a struggle which is still very much alive and flourishing, and it is so so important for folks who are putting their lives, safeties, and sanities on the line to not feel abandoned or alone. On that tip, there is an all day letter writing event happening today in downtown Asheville's Prichard Park until 6pm. There will be food provided by Food Not Bombs, and it's asked that folks bring any stamps they can get their hands on. This event will specifically include information on how to write to those most affected by the Prison Strike, let's show folks that we have their backs! Full playlist is here: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/17848

This week, we spoke with Bruno Y Hinojosa-Ruiz, a co-director of CIMA, Companeros Inmigrantes de las Montanas en Accion, about some immigration situations in Western NC, organizing here and the case of Elmer Reynoso-Reynoso, a Guatemalan-born resident of Weaverville who was recently released from detention after public outcry and pressure. http://www.cimawnc.org Announcements Bo Brown support First, we would like to briefly announce that long time revolutionary and former political prisoner Bo Brown has just been diagnosed with a condition which is very similar to Parkinson's Disease. She has always worked tirelessly against racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia, and has brought awareness and attention through all means to the plight of the prisoner. Since being in prison is an experience which is designed to follow everyone for their entire lives, let's help this comrade with her current situation. For more information and to donate, you can visit: https://www.youcaring.com/bo-brown-655777 Milo Yiannopoulos, hater to appear at WCU On Wednesday, October 12th Alt-Right, anti-muslim, anti-semite, anti-feminist, white nationalist Milo Yiannopoulos is speaking at Western Carolina University. He's being sponsored by the College Republicans at WCU in Cullowhee, about an hour drive west of Asheville. To get there, one can travel West on i-40 for about 25 minutes then out US-74 South for 35 minutes. It would be a pity if this stop on the "Dangerous Faggot Tour" were to be disrupted by anti-racists. Just sayin. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/milo-yiannopoulos-western-carolina-universi... His website is here: https://www.yiannopoulos.net/index.html Playlist: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/17777

I wanted to do some announcements regarding the prison strike, but honestly so many amazing things have been going on it would be impossible to do them justice in the time we have for this segment. In brief, at Holman Prison in Atmore Alabama, where many rebels are part of the Free Alabama Movement, it was reported a few days ago that most if not all of the prison guards there had quit their jobs, either giving their notice or walking off entirely, in solidarity with the strikers. This is a huge piece of news, and I am not aware of it ever having happened before on such a large scale. It was also announced the other day that prisoners in the strike and refused to let guards lock them up and refused to go to their jobs. This is also a tremendous piece of news, it is clear that the prison strike is still going strong though it should come as no surprise that it is being quelled in mass media, which have even reported that it has fizzled out. The opposite is true. Keep your eyes on It's Going Down, Support Prisoner Resistance, Mask Magazine, and the Portland Anarchist Black Cross among other anarchist news sources for more real updates. You can also help by writing to those who have been targeted in this strike, you can find a list of prison rebels on the IWOC page. In this episode we are presenting two segments, firstly is a conversation recorded with Keith from ATL Antifa about the fast approaching occurrence of Hammerfest, which is a far right music festival, which is suspected to be taking place in Drake Town, Georgia about an hour outside of Atlanta. In this interview, we speak about how ATL Antifa got started, whether or not Trump's presence on the political stage has emboldened far right / white supremacist activity, some vague tactical advice for dealing with suspected far right activity, police ties with the KKK, some history about and advice about dealing with Hammerskins, some other struggles that are going on in Atlanta and the surrounding towns and much more. To get in touch with them, visit https://afainatl.wordpress.com/ or you can get super current updates on their twitter @afainatl The second segment is a short interview with a member of the organizing committee for the upcoming Anarchist Black Cross conference. In this conversation we talk about the history of the ABC, how the prison strike is informing this years conference and much more.

This week we'll be rebroadcasting a recent update from A-Radio Berlin on the repression called Operation Fenix in Czech Republic against anarchists there. Following that, we'll hear some music from Wildspeaker, Cara Neir and Allochiria. First, text from the intro to the A-Radio Portion: "In the context of the International Week of Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners (23.-30th of August 2016), we had the opportunity of talking to a comrade from Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) in Czech Republic. The interview gives a short summary of the repression that started in 2015 and explains the singular cases and their current development, but deals also with the problems the movement had in the beginning to show solidarity. Last but not least, you get very good advice on the topic of solidarity and what to do yourselves. Since the interview, another comrade is in prison. Lukáš Borl, who had been living underground, has been arrested by the police on September 4." More info on the case at https://antifenix.noblogs.org/ Announcements Strike Updates This was a statement originally posted to itsgoingdown.org, which we have shortened for broadcasting. It pertains to updates on the September 9th prison strike, with some thoughts about how to move forward from here. For more such thoughts, you can check out the most recent IGD cast which includes interviews with IWOC organizers and resisting prisoners in Merced, CA. One thing is not in question: September 9th is now officially the largest prison work strike ever to take place within the United States. This strike against prison slavery that began on September 9th, the 45th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising has now entered it's third week. According to organizers with Support Prisoner Resistance: "As of 9/21 we have tracked 46 prisons and jails that experienced some kind of disruption between September 8 and 21st. This total includes both lockdowns reported by officials (some of whom deny that the lockdown was protest related) and reports of protests from prisoners and supporters (some of which did not lead to lockdowns or full strikes). Of these, 31 facilities experienced a lock-down, suspension or full strike for at least 24 hours. Those 31 facilities house approximately 57,000 people. That is a guess at the minimum number of prisoners affected by the nationally coordinated strike. There is likely much more going on behind the prison gates that we do not yet know about. We receive new information on a daily basis. In some places the strike lasted a day or a weekend, but in some, it seems to be going strong 12 days in." The strike has also grown out of the original expectations of many organizers. For instance, the strike has spread into both men and women's prisons, into county jails, and has lead to not only work strikes, but hunger strikes, organized marches and protests inside facilities, expanded communication of prisoners to the outside, and full fledged uprisings. Despite a media blackout that is fueled by the advertising of corporations that make billions from prison slavery while the mainstream press drones on about politicians which vow to only expand it – the strike is only continuing and bringing more people into our networks. On the outside, thousands of people took to the streets. In Durham, NC and Brooklyn, NY, freeways were blocked. In Oakland, corporations profiting from prison labor were attacked. In Portland, streets and stores profiting from prison labor were occupied and shut down. In Austin, people shut down a facility showcasing products made by prisoners, and demonstrations, marches, and rallies were organized throughout the South. Across the US, noise demonstrations outside of prisons were organized, marches were held, and graffiti, banners, and posters were placed around the walls, freeways, and towns and cities of the US. Across the world, people also took action in solidarity with the prison strike. From Serbia to Sweden, Greece to Australia, Mexico to Spain, people released statements of solidarity, held demonstrations outside of prisons, and took action against corporations that profit from prison slavery. Moving Forward: In order to proceed, people need to develop a strategy around supporting the strike. This means figuring out if and how you can support a facility near you taking action, how you can link up and build connections with prisoners, how you could build up your organization or crew to carry out this activity, and also how you could carry out actions which push forward the strike. 1.) Support the Strikers: Holding a demonstration outside of the facility. Holding a demonstration outside of a corporation connected to prison labor in solidarity with the strike (especially if that is what the prisoners are working to create). Hold a call-in campaign to the prison to demand that the prison meet the prisoners demands and end repressive measures against them. Hold a letter writing night to make contact with the prisoners. Contact IWOC

Greg Curry This week Bursts speaks with Greg Curry, a prisoner serving time for alleged participation in the Lucasville Prison uprising of 1993 where prisoners took over the Ohio prison, leading to the death of 10 inmates and one guard. For the hour, they speak about incarceration in the U.S., intersections of race and class, the prison strikes, capitalism and resistance. More on Greg's case can be found at https://gregcurry.wordpress.com/ Prison Strike, Week 2 Here is another roundup of week two of of the National Prison Strike. This information was pulled from Mask Magazine, It's Going Down, Support Prisoner Resistance, and the Incarcerated Worker's Organizing Committee. September 12th Hunger strike begins at Lucasville and Ohio State Penitentiary, called by the Free Ohio Movement. South Carolina prisoners release video of insects in their food. Columbia, SC: Confirmed strike at Broad River Correctional Institution: Florida: More prisoner uprising broke out on Monday night. According to the Miami Herald: Florida's state prisons have resumed "normal" operations despite a disturbance Monday night at Columbia Correctional, the fifth inmate uprising in less than a week, officials said. About 40 inmates engaged in civil disobedience by refusing officers' orders and taking control of at least one dorm Monday evening. Columbia — one of the state's most violent prisons — remained on lockdown Tuesday. Since Thursday, inmates have caused trouble at four other prisons, all in the state's Panhandle, including Gulf Annex Correctional, Mayo Correctional and Jackson Correctional. The most serious melee was at Holmes Correctional, where 400 inmates destroyed several dorms on Thursday. Inmates involved in any incident have been moved to other prisons. September 13th Chelsea Manning ends hunger strike that she began on September 9th. The army has agreed to grant her demands of gender affirming surgery. September 14th Support Prisoner Resistance reports prison lockdowns in Arizona. Perryville, Yuma, Tuscon, Douglas, and Phoenix. It is unclear whether these are related to the strike, more information is forthcoming. September 16th Merced, CA: Supporters report another block joins hunger strike. You can hear full coverage of this situation on the most recent IGD Cast here. September 17th Holman Prison, AL: Free Alabama Movement issues press release calling for an end to the humanitarian crisis at the prison. They state through social media that many guards are not reproting to work and that much of the prison remains unguarded. This is from a press release which came out yesterday: A serious humanitarian crisis is developing at Holman prison as correctional officers continue to walk off of the job amid concerns about safety and apathy from Warden Terry Raybon and the office of ADOC Commissioner Jefferson S Dunn, as violence, including deadly stabbings and assaults continue to mount. Several officers expressed dismay and fear after learning that two of their fellow officers, Officer Brian Ezell and another officer, reported to Warden Raybon that they had knives drawn on them and their lives threatened, and that neither Warden Raybon, nor Commissioners Jeff Dunn and Grantt Culliver would take any action to ensure their safety. Both of these officers then quit. Several other officers have also quit in the past three weeks after witnessing a stabbing of a fellow officer in the temple and who had remained hospitalized with life threatening injuries until he was pronounced dead earlier today. This after a former warden, Carter Davenport, was stabbed in March amidst back to back riots and other violence at Holman. Now, after seeing Warden Raybon release approximately 20 people from segregation on September 13, 2016, most of whom were all in segregation for violent incidents (only to see several stabbing take place, including one critically injured and another losing an eye), a total of eight more officers have e ither quit or turned in their two week notices. Officers are expressing concern that the Commissioners of the ADOC are intentionally exacerbating violence at the expense of human life in efforts to push forward their plan to extort the public for 1.5 billion to build new prisons in next years Legislative Session. Officers have began to express support for the Non-Violent stance of FREE ALABAMA MOVEMENT and their efforts to expose corruption, violence and other issues plaguing Holman and other Alabama prisons, and have went so far as to make repeated requests to Warden Raybon for the release of F.A.M. co-founder and organizer Kinetik Justice from solitary confinement, because officers now feel that he is being wrongfully detained and because he has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to conduct peaceful demonstrations at Holman prison to bring attention to issues within the ADOC and Holman prison. We are asking that everyone call Commissioner Dunn and Warden Raybon and demand that they post daily reports of the staffing level

This week, we'll be featuring a short roundup of some of the events inside and outside of the prison walls during the beginning of the Prisoner Work Strike that started on September 9th in the United Snakes with the goal of ending Prison Slavery in U.S. prisons. After that we'll hear the last half hour of Gil O'Teen's conversation with Guy McGowan Steel Steward, an American anarcho-communist about his joining the Rojava Revolution alongside Kurdish and other folks in Northern Syria. This portion, they discuss nationalism and national identity in Rojava, the draft, the decision to adopt Federalization within Rojava and more. This is within the context of recent Turkish incursions into the Kurdish regions of northern Syria which have led to deaths among civilians and YPG/YPJ forces of the Kurdish Resistance. These deaths include foreign fighters who've joined the Rojava struggle. Happily, Guy is not among those dead. There is an interesting discussion and an homage to american anarchist fighter Jordan MacTaggart, an interview with Rojava Solidarity NYC, plus much much more in the latest episode of The Ex-Worker podcast, available at crimethinc.com/podcast that I suggest folks check out and share with friends. Some further resources concerning the YJC and YCR. and Osman Evcan, Turkish anarchist prisoner who is starting a new hunger strike. To hear our interview on this matter, visit us here. International Brigade reactions to Turkish aggressions video. And 7 anarchists arrested and accused of being members of FAI. Additionally, other arrests around FAI-accused anarchists in news from Italy. National Prisoner Work Stoppage Background and Inside Resistance As many of you are probably aware, Friday September 9th kicked off the largest and most coordinated prisoner work stoppage in the US in all history, on the 45th anniversary of the Attica Prison uprising. Organized in conjunction with incarcerated members of the Free Alabama Movement (FAM) and the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC), this work stoppage is turning a bright spotlight on the continuing condition of slavery in the United States, a slavery upon which this country's economy is cripplingly dependant. Prisoners are also forced to be responsible for running the actual prisons themselves, working in the laundry, cafeteria, and so on, pretty much in any non-administrative capacity you can think of. I don't think it should go without saying that much of this labor goes unwaged, though the on average 13 cents an hour that inmates get paid is nothing compared to the exorbitant costs of goods in prison stores. Friday kicked off the actual strike, but resistance from within prison got started well before then with fires being set at Lincoln Correctional Center in Lincoln, Nebraska on September 6th, a 4 dormitory wide riot at Holmes prison in Bonifay, Florida on the 7th which hopped from dorm to dorm in the facility keeping just ahead of the CO's attemts to quell the rebellion, creating a Whak-A-Mole type situation that I'm sure the prison officials just loved. Also on the 7th inmates at the infamous military detention center Guantanamo Bay remain on hunger strike to protest their indefinite detentions, many of whom were captured as part of the xenophobic and racist governmental response to September 11th, 2001, 15 years ago today. September 9th at noon saw a complete work stoppage at Holman Correctional in Atmore, Alabama where our comrade Michael Kimble is held captive. There is no incidents yet from prison officials, and guards and COs were forced to perform all tasks. Sit down strikes and work stoppages were also held in Bonifay, FL in the aforementioned Holmes Prison, amid the ashes of the fires set only two days prior. In Troy VA, there was a work stoppage at a women's facility, and all across this state of North Carolina prisoners refused to report to their jobs. At a women's facility in California 10 or so brave souls refused to work and effectively shut the whole prison down because of fear of a riot. Disturbances were reported at Gulf and Mayo prisons in Florida, and three guards were injured in scuffles at Tecumseh Prison in Nebraska. Yesterday saw a continuation of resistance in Nebraska at a women's facility, from all over South Carolina, and continuing resistance in Atmore. Solidarity from overseas has been flying in fast and furious, with statements from prisoners in Greece, Australia, Lithuania, and Sweden among many others. Repression of those who are striking has mostly consisted of prison lockdowns and targeting of people who have been designated the "ringleaders". It will be very important for people to recieve solidarity from those on the outside in order for this resistance to continue. Keep your eyes on itsgoingdown.org and the live updates at maskmagazine.com for current info and calls for backup. You can visit the IWOC at iwoc.org for a list of concrete anti-repression tactics to share with those who are incarcerated and ot

Tyler of PDXABC on September 9th Strikes This week's episode features a conversation with Tyler Durden of Portland Anarchist Black Cross (http://pdxabc.org) & the Portland Industrial Workers of the World (http://portlandiww.org/) about the upcoming September 9th National Prisoner Work Stoppage across the United States. September 9th, the 45th anniversary of the Attica Prison Uprsing in 1971 and is an effort by prisoners in local, state, federal & immigration facilities around the country to address issues around the nature of their confinement, racial and class disparities in incarceration, under-and-un-payed (in some states, forced) labor often described as legalized slavery. Over the hour, we talk about organizing efforts and how to clue in to the strikes as they start this week. A few quick announcements for this episode... 1.) Call for Anti-DAPL Solidarity Actions There is a call-out for acts of solidarity with the folks resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline. As we spoke about a couple of episodes ago in Gil's interview with LaDonna Brave Bull Allard who owns the land where the Sacred Stone Camp is held, resistance to the pipeline designed to carry crude oil from source through 3 states to Illinois and cross the Missouri River a number of times continues to grow. Indigenous peoples and their supporters are gathering for nonviolent, direct action protests to block the pipeline's construction and the threat it poses to the soil, animals, plants and that longest river in North America, the Missouri. From https://nodaplsolidarity.org comes the calll for #NoDAPL Global Weeks of Solidarity Action from September 3-17th. That site offers suggestions of places to target for protest. nodaplsolidarity.org also offers suggestions of banks and businesses maybe in your area that are funding the pipeline and that could be a nice place to visit to express one's distaste for the pipeline. 2.) Plug into Sept 9 actions nationwide If you're in the U.S. and looking to plug into a supporting prisoner struggle in your area, check out https://itsgoingdown.org/spreading-strike-solidarity-actions-across-north-america-september-9th/ for a partial and growing list of events nationwide. If you're planning a public event not up there, email it into info(at) itsgoingdown(dot)org for other to see. 3.) Asheville Sept 9 action Here in Asheville, folks will meet at Aston Park, at the corner of South French Broad and Hilliard in Downtown, at 5:30 to discuss a solidarity march. Bring banners, noisemakers, signs and so forth. 4.) Solidarity with Coyote Acabo From https://itsgoingdown.org/support-coyote-acabo/: Coyote Acabo , an anti-racist activist from Olympia, WA has a rough road ahead of him and could really use some support. He is currently serving 13 days on an anti-police graffiti case, and has another 22 days to serve in the very near future on a case where he was convicted of throwing a rock at a truck belonging to a neo-nazi. That's a neo-nazi that showed up with many others to counter an anti-police brutality protest that Coyote was a part of. Last year, Olympia saw a lot of spirited marches and demonstrations in protest of an Olympia police officer shooting two young black men, Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin. In response to the very understandable anti-police brutality demonstrations that were going on at that time, neo -nazis were showing up to disrupt the protesting which at times even meant neo-nazis attacking the protesters. Well, Coyote has a third case that he is currently dealing with, and for that case his trial starts on September 19th where he is being charged with felony assault. In this case he is being accused of pepper spraying a counter protester who grabbed someone who was a part of an anti- police brutality protest that Coyote was a part of. Coyote is now in the city jail in Olympia, WA and money is being raised that will go towards phone calls , commissary, and to help his family out while he is locked up. Visit the crowd funding site, here: https://rally.org/supportcoyoteacabo to learn more about how you can donate to the support fund. Also, please pass it around as well. Solidarity from near and far is so important in times like these. 5.) Call for International Solidarity Oct 8-9, 2016, with the ZAD at NDdL in France From https://en.squat.net/2016/09/02/notre-dame-des-landes-france-defend-the-zad-a-call-for-international-solidarity/: "the entire zone is due for evictions to start the construction of this absurd airport. Prime minister Valls has promised a "Rendez-Vous" this October to evict everyone who is living, working, building and farming on the zone. On October 8th, tens of thousands of people will gather on the zad to demonstrate that the determination of the movement is as strong as ever. Honouring farmers struggles from the past, we will come with wooden walking batons and leave them on the zone, as a sign of the commitment to come back and pick them up again if necessary. We will also raise a barn

Prison officials recently placed Siddique Abdullah Hasan, a death row prisoner held at Ohio's supermax, in segregation. Siddique was framed as a leader of the Lucasville prison uprising in 1993 and has been a vocal supporter of the September 9th national prisoner work stoppage. His segregation should really come as no surprise as prison (mis)managers have long waged a brutal war on truth and on the captives who tell it. What is disturbing and highly instructive is that Siddique's segregation didn't originate with the prison warden, but with the FBI. Yeah. The FBI. This further proves something I suspected in 2012 when prison officials segregated me and tortured me for having an "ideology." While I was being tortured at a state prison, the FBI was on site. In fact, the FBI assisted by providing the Ohio prison system with training manuals on how to break me. Know where the training manuals were developed? The CIA. The torture tactics that the FBI shared with state prison officials came straight out of the CIA's Counterintelligence and Interrogation Manual. So, let's connect some dots… The FBI and CIA have essentially merged, so all of the dirty, nasty terror that the U.S. used to unleash exclusively overseas can now be employed right here at home. And the meta-data -collecting snoops reading your emails who perfected torture and state terror have state prison wardens on speed dial, giving unthinkable orders to those who run the largest, most sprawling human bondage system in all of human history. This is no conspiracy theory, folks. Conspiracies are kept secret. The architects of this terror state are developing this ultimate control system right in front of your eyes. These enemies of human freedom are not saying, "We don't know what you're talking about,"—they're saying, "We have Apache attack helicopters, so what are you going to do about it?" They want you to know what they're doing. They want you paralyzed with fear. That makes you predictable. So, look. I've been invited to say a few words about why you should support the national prison work stoppage on September 9th. In doing that, I'm not going to rattle off facts and figures about how the criminal justice and corrections systems target racial minorities or how these systems serve to tip the scales in favor of social and political conservatism by neutralizing those who benefit most from radical change. I'm not going to explain how the indiscriminate police shootings of black people is just an outgrowth of the larger program. I'm going to assume that you've been awake and that you've already got a grasp of the painfully obvious. We can also forgo moral arguments about lofty principles like equality and fairness and human compassion. Others can make those arguments much better than I can. Instead, I'm going to try to explain why your own naked self-interests are served in supporting this September 9th work stoppage. Let's talk about you. As Edward Snowden revealed, somewhere in a dark government office, a national security creep is thumbing through your emails, listening to your phone calls, scrutinizing your search histories—he's sniffing through your intellectual underwear. Do you know where this mass-surveillance plan was perfected? My calls have been monitored and recorded since 1991. Hacks in the prison mail room have been reading my mail for 25 years. So, what you now experience is just a more broadly applied, slightly more complicated program of surveillance developed right here in the prison mail room. Our common enemy knows it would be too expensive to take the entire population to prison. So, instead, they brought the prison to you. They've done studies on how much rule-deviant conduct the ycan deter just through the threat of surveillance—the knowledge that the government is watching and listening. Look around. How many cameras are pointed at you? Yeah. That was exported from prison too. Again, studies on how much rebellion can be minimized… Riot response, shields and helmets and kittling—all that came from the prison yard to the college commons. Rubber bullets, pepper spray cannons, Tasers—all used first on prisoners and then perfected on you. Want to speak out against injustice? Want to peacefully demonstrate your concerns in a public setting? Yeah. Take this work. So, thanks to the ever-evolving strategies rolled out from my world into yours, you now live your butchered half-lives with a shotgun in your face. You have the right to shut up…or else. But you don't have the right to a living wage. In the current election cycle, the corporate party candidates bemoan the disappearance of manufacturing and union-scale jobs to other countries. But they don't talk about the jobs that moved down the street and over the barbed wire. Ohio prisoners performed slave labor for the Ford Motor Company and Honda for pennies a day while folks you know are sleeping in their cars. This slavery allows prison officials to run their plantations on the cheap, to

Main Event This week we'll feature a recording produced by our friends at Anarchistisches Radio Berlin of a debate that took place at the Congress of the International Of Anarchist Federations (IFA). The debate concerned the No Border camp that activists from different places had participated in in the area of Thessaloniki, Greece in July of 2016. The No Border camp was a site of active solidarity with people travelling into Europe across the Mediterranian Sea and against reacitonary and state attempts to block their freedom to move across borders. The debate about the No Border camp that took place at the IFA Congress included 2 participants from the Greek Anarchist Political Organization, Federation of Collectives, 2 participants from the Slovenian Federation of Anarchist Organizations (FAO) and one from Federation of German-speaking Anarchists. More audio from A-Radio Berlin can be found at http://aradio.blogsport.de and the site for the No Border Camp can be found at http://noborder2016.espivblogs.net/ IFA request for solidarity with DAF in Turkey Here's an announcement from the International of Anarchist Federations (IFA) as regards solidarity for the DAF, an anarchist formation affiliated with IFA based in Turkey. The Final Straw featured 2 interviews with members of the DAF in past months that can be found at thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org. This can be taken in context, not only of the attempted Coup and following repression of all who might question the AKP and Erdogan government, but also in the context Turkey committing troops and armor across the border into Syria where Kurdish militia have been fighting I.S. and, more recently, the Assad regime's troops. This stands as a concern as the Rojava Democratic Confederalist project with which many anti-authoritarian anti-capitalists have aligned themselves is considered related to forms of struggle in the Kurdish regions around Bakur in Turkey which the Erdogan government has resumed repression and tensions are escalating. Here's the IFA announcement: Since the coup in Turkey and the imposition of the state of emergency, we have seen increased repression of many groups and movements operating there. This is not only aimed at the organisers of the coup, but a wide repression of democratic, socialist, kurdish groups and including our anarchist comrades of the DAF (Devrimci Anarsist Faaliyet / Revolutionary Anarchist Action): On two occasions, in 2010 and 2012, DAF has already been investigated by the state as a terror organisation but these cases were dropped. Now, because of the state of emergency, the ability of DAF to organise is even more difficult. Their newspaper Meydan has been closed down and three new investigations have been started. This has also had serious economic impact for DAF. In recent years DAF has been involved in many struggles including Gezi Park and supporting the kurdish revolutionary process in Rojava and Bakur including refugee support. They are involved in workers' and youth movement activities, ecological actions and anti-militarism, opposing patriarchy and supporting the LGBTI movement, and have been developing practices of collective living and economy and self-organisation. IFA has already been involved in the solidarity movement with Rojava in many respects and in close cooperation with DAF. Now, due to the changed situation in Turkey, we must expand our support to DAF in more concrete ways. We also have to be vigilant of the real possibility of increased repression of DAF and the wider anarchist movement in the region and to be able to respond rapidly with strong solidarity actions. IFA is committed to this and we call on all friendly organisations to join us and also provide financial solidarity to DAF. To support the call for solidarity & concrete support, you can contact the IFA secretariat secretariat [at] i-f-a.org From Atlanta AntiFascist notes: The Hammerskin Nation, a long-running white supremacist organization, has announced that their major "Hammerfest" national gathering will be held in Georgia this October 1st. Hammerskin organizers plan to bring several bonehead (racist "skinhead") musical acts into Georgia, including one band travelling from Finland to play the event. White supremacist speakers are also scheduled — one of these speakers being a prominent up-and-coming leader in the white power movement. The early October event will draw Hammerskin Nation members and supporters from across the country, as well as militants from other parts of the white power movement. As Hammerfest approaches, Atlanta Antifascist Notes will be one source for updates and reporting. For briefer time-sensitive updates, keep your eyes on twitter.com/afainatl For more information on this event and the Hammerskins in general, you can look up this article on Atlanta AntiFascist notes at https://afainatl.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/neo-nazi-hammerfest-gathering-planned-for-georgia-october-1st/ or on their Twitter, mentioned above. Pleas

We have an hour long conversation with organizers of the June 26th antifascist resistance in Sacramento, CA, that routed the attempted organizing on the Capitol Steps by white nationalist groups, the Traditionalist Workers Party and the Golden State Skinheads (among other groups). The TWP & GSS rally was an attempt to take symbolic space and inspire further and more public demonstrations by these and affiliated groups however the 40 members who showed up were quickly routed by the diverse antifa numbering 400 or so. In the ensuing fracas, 9 antifa were hospitalized, most serious among them for stab wounds. During the hour long podcast, hear 3 organizers talk about medic preparation, what the event looked like, media responses, post-confrontation security for those hospitalized and more. It's well worth noting that money is still being raised to help cover medical costs of those injured on June 26th. To help, you can visit https://rally.org/June26th .

This week we had an interview with Dezeray about her participation in the recent Cleveland Republican National Convention protests. We talk about how it was to be there and what kinds of things this event could say about anarchist organizing in the US. If you would like to see more accounts from anarchist perspectives on this event, you can visit https://itsgoingdown.org/ and follow the links to the RNC. If you would like to support the arrestees, you can visit the Ohio National Lawyer's Guild page at https://ohionlg.com/ If you have anything to add about this event from your perspective and wish to share it with us (either for or not for broadcast on the radio), feel free to email us at the shows email address, or you can email William directly at [email protected] ======= Playlist: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/17061