The Final Straw Radio

Gord Hill on Art and Resistance Gord Hill is an indigenous author, anarchist, antifascist and militant, a member of the Kwakwaka'wakw nation living in so-called British Columbia, Canada. Gord is also graphic artist and comic book author who most recently published The Antifa Comic Book, out from Arsenal Pulp Press, and runs the website Warrior Publications and sometimes publishes under the nom-de-plume of ZigZag. For the hour we speak about his writings documenting indigenous resistance history in the so-called Americas (mostly with a focus on Turtle Island), antifascist organizing, intersections of indigenous struggle and anarchism and critiques of Pacifism (see Gord's "Smash Pacifism" zine). Some of the points of resistance that we cover include Elsipogtog (Elsipogtog in 5 Minutes video at sub.media), Idle No More, The Oka Crisis ("The Oka Crisis in 5 Minutes" video at sub.media), Stoney Point/Aazhoodena (another 5 minutes video by Gord), Gustafsen Lake (we didn't talk about but another 5 minute video), the Zapatista Rebellion and the Unist'ot'en Camp resistance to pipelines in so-called B.C. (Sean Swain at 3min 55sec, Gord Hill at 11min 27sec, announces at 57min 29sec) Rayquan Borum Trial Update In a brief and sad update to last week's interview on the case of Rayquan Borum, we'd like to read a statement from the fedbook page for Charlotte Uprising: We are deeply saddened to report that Rayquan Borum has been found guilty of possession of a firearm and second degree murder with him being sentenced to 25/26 years in a cage. We knew it would be difficult to receive a fair trial in the same court that allowed Officer Randall Kerrick to walk free for the murder of unarmed Jonathan Ferrell. We know the police will continue to kill Black and brown folks and escape accountability. We suffered extreme suppression from the judge from the start of the trial. Even though the medical examiner testified there was a 51% chance that ANYTHING else killed Justin Carr, Judge Hayes would not allow any testimony naming the police. Of course, it is far easier to scapegoat a random Black man than to launch an investigation into the same police force that killed ONLY Black people in 2015. We also know that Justin Carr would be alive were it not for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department murder of Keith Lamont Scott (no trial for that officer, of course). We know that the Mecklenburg County Courts disproportionately sentence Black and brown bodies to time in cages. We know that CMPD disproportionately arrests Black and brown folks. Black people are 30% of Charlotte's population and make up about 70% of the jail population. Heinous. We know that this is the American Way. In response, we will continue to rise up and resist this colonized nation and work toward building a more decolonized world, for all of us. Forward, together #CMPDKilledJustinCarr #CagesFixNothing #FreeThemAll #CMPD #RayquanBorum #MecklenburgCounty #NoMoreKIllerCopsOrJails Announcements A few house keeping notes about the show. We're happy to announce that The Final Straw is now available on the Pacifica Radio platform for affiliate stations to pick up more easily. If you, dear listener, live in an area where we aren't on the radio but there's a community station that airs programming from the Pacifica Network, you now have a WAY easier IN to bug the station's programming director with. If you want us on your airwaves, check out our "broadcasting" tab on our website and reach out to a local radio station. If you have questions or want help, reach out to us and we're happy to chat. We hope to have a some more terrestrial broadcast stations to announce soon. Actually, yah, that was the only note. Tee hee. Otherwise, if you want to hear Bursts dj'ing a 2 hour set of punk, goth and electronica on AshevilleFM, an archive is linked up in our show notes that's available until March 12th. Asheville Events If you're in the Asheville area, there're a few events coming up on March 16th of note. At 11am at Firestorm books, a participant in the Internationalist Commune, a self-organized collective in Northern Syria, will join us for a video chat about the revolutionary movement to transform Kurdish territory into a stateless society. Later, across town, there're a couple of Blue Ridge ABC events at Static Age on Saturday, March 16th. From 3-5pm there'll be an N64 Super Smash Brothers tournament with vegan philly cheese steaks and fries available, and then from 9pm onward an antifascist black metal show featuring Arid from Chicago, plus local bands Rat Broth and Feminazgul. Then, a reminder, that on March 22nd at the Block Off Biltmore is a benefit for info-sharing between Southern Appalachia and Rojava. The event will include a discussion, a short documentary showing, vegan desserts and nice merchandise. For more info, check out the flyer in our shownotes from March 3rd, 2019. And now a couple of prisoner announcements Chelsea Manning Imprisoned U.S. Army whistleblower and former Political Prisoner, Chelsae Manning, has been jailed for criminal contempt for refusing a subpoena to participate in a Federal Grand Jury in Virginia concerning her 2010 disclosures to Wikileaks of U.S. drone killings of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. A support committee called "Chelsea Resists!" has been set up and updates will be coming from the website xychelsea.is and there's a fundraiser up at actionnetwork.com for her as well. We hope to feature members of her support as well as former Grand Jury resisters who've been on this show before in an episode soon. You can write to Chelsea at the following address: Chelsea Elizabeth Manning AO181426 William G. Trusdale Adult Detention Center 2001 Mill Road Alexandria, VA 22314 Some quick guidelines to keep her safer while writing are in the show notes Address your letter exactly as shown above send letters on white paper use the mail service to send letters include color drawings if you'd like sparingly send 4x6 photos, as she may only keep 10 at a time Do not send cards, packages, postcards, photocopies or cash Do not decorate the outside of the envelope do not send books or magazines Exonerated Vaughn 17 prisoners transferred out of state As the cases proceed against the Vaughn17, 17 prisoners on trial in Delaware for a prison uprising following the election of Trump as president, an uprising sometimes compared to the Lucasville Uprising, repression continues. The uprising was as follows: prisoners took over Building C at the Vaughn prison in Smyrna, Delaware, and took three prison guards and one prison counselor hostage. Demands issued during the hostage standoff included that Delaware Governor John Carney investigate poor living conditions at the facility. One correctional officer who was taken hostage, Steven Floyd, would later be found dead after police re-entered the facility. The case can be followed at vaughn17support.org as it enters it's third trial group. A few words from the support site note the continued repression of some of the court-exonerated prisoners: The State of Delaware retaliated against defendants in the Vaughn uprising trial last week, by moving them out of state to Pennsylvania. Kevin Berry, Abednego Baynes, Obadiah Miller, Johnny Bramble, Dwayne Staats, and Jarreau Ayers were all transferred to solitary confinement at SCI Camp Hill, a maximum security facility. They joined Deric Forney, who was transferred weeks earlier in January. Berry, Baynes, and Forney have all been fully acquitted on all charges. "It's unusual to move prisoners with short terms left in their sentence out of state," said Fariha Huriya, an organizer working closely with Vaughn 17 prisoners. "They're being held in solitary confinement, with no showers, no access to commissary, and limited phone calls. It's the same inhumane conditions that they faced at James T. Vaughn." "The State's vindictiveness will cost them," said Betty Rothstein, who also organizes with the prisoners. "The Vaughn 17 have resisted these charges, and will continue to resist and expose the corruption of the DOC and abuse on prisoners." There are nine defendants who are still awaiting trial. New trial dates for groups 3 and 4 are scheduled for May 6th, 2019, and October 21st, 2019. . ... . .. Playlist

Anarchists In Conflict: Rojava + Yellow Vest Movement (Sean Swain at 6:28, interviews begin at 14:05) This week on The Final Straw, the episode's theme is anarchist interventions in struggles around the world. We'll be sharing audios from comrades in the A-Radio Network, which just had it's 5th Annual Gathering in Zurich, Switzerland. The A-Radio Network is made up of stations around Europe, plus a smattering in South + North America. We have been a member of the ARN for 4 years now, which over the last year and a half produces the monthly B(A)DNews: Angry Voices From Around The World news podcast in English, made up of contributions by A-Radio member-projects. You can find past episodes at our website. In lieu of this month's BADNews, the gathering produced an 8 hour radio show last week and elements of this broadcast. We'll present here two interviews from that broadcast concerning the struggle for autonomy in the social revolutionary region of Rojava, in northern Syria. The first is with a fighter with the Tekosina Anarsist (Anarchist Struggle, starts at 42:49) and the second with Zaher Baher, a member of the Kurdish Anarchist Forum in London (starts at 57:04). well as one from another an interview conducted a week ago with an anarchist in Paris, France, involved with the Yellow Vest (Gilets jaunes) social movement in France for some updates and perspectives. But first, we'll be airing audio from another member of the A-Radio as well as Channel Zero Network projects, Dissident Island Radio from London in the U.K., with an interview about the geopolitics of Rojava and leadership within the Kurdish struggle with a comrade participating in the annual 'Long March' in solidarity with Abdullah Öcalan (starts at 14:05). We apologize for the audio quality. We invite you to note the differences of opinion between the anarchists who've witnessed, lived in, or fought for the Rojava Revolution, as somewhere within and between their perspectives I believe lies some of the truth of the complex situation there. Announcements Happy Birthday Yona Unega (Oso Blanco) From occupied Cherokee territory in so-called western North Carolina, we'd like to wish a happy birthday on February 26th to wolf clan Cherokee/Choctaw political prisoner, Oso Blanco or, in Cherokee, Yona Unega. Oso is in for armed robberies, where he expropriated from U.S. banks and sent funds to Zapatistas communities in the Yucatan in Mexico. You can write to Oso to write him a happy birthday by addressing letters to his state name: Byron Chubbuck #07909051 USP Victorville PO BOX 3900 Adelanto, CA 92301 And more info on Yona Unega's case and efforts can be found at https://freeosoblanco.blogspot.com Blue Ridge ABC events Friday, March 1st is the first Friday of the month and therefore the Trouble Showing at Firestorm Books and Coffee in Asheville, NC. Episode 18, entitled ACAB (for All Cops Are Bastards) airs at 6:30pm and will be followed by a little over an hour of discussion. Then, on Sunday March 3rd, as the 1st Sunday of the month, BRABC will hold it's Political Prisoner letter writing event, again at Firestorm. The event begins at 5pm, letter writing materials including stamps, prisoners names and stories, addresses and help in writing. If you've never written someone a letter or someone in prison in particular, no worries. It's a nice social time. The event runs from 5pm to 7:30pm. Finally, on Saturday, March 16th, Blue Ridge ABC is holding a double-header at Static Age Records in downtown Asheville. First up, from 3-5pm, a Super Smash Brothers benefit tournament, with vegan cheese-steaks and fries available. Double elimination, best 2 out of 3 rounds. For more info, check out https://www.smashprisonssmashbros.eventbrite.com. Then, from 9pm til late at Static Age, get ready for a lineup of anti-fascist metal including Rat Broth, Arid, and Margaret Killjoy's project Feminazgul, plus more to be announced. More on all of these events can be found at brabc.blackblogs.org . ... . .. Playlist

A Story of Leonard Peltier This week, Paulette D'auteuil speaks about the life and case of Leonard Peltier. Peltier is one of the best known political prisoners currently held in the U.S. Paulette is the Director of the International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, based near Coleman, FL, where Leonard is incarcerated and also is an advisor to the National Jericho Movement. For the hour, Paulette tells about Leonard's life, his case, his health, the resistance that Leonard was and continues to be a part of, COINTELPRO, and Leonard's art. You can learn more about Leonard Peltier by visiting the ILPDC's website, http://whoisleonardpeltier.info, where you'll find lots more info, Leonard's artwork, ways to plug in and do events to raise awareness of Leonard's case and keep up on updates. You can also find the ILPDC on twitter and fedbook. Interview begins at 9 min, 14 sec . ... . .. playlist

This week, we feature two segments on the show: an interview with a Russian anarchist about the recent ramping up of torture and repression by the FSB in Russia against anarchists and anti-fascists (00:14:13); and a chat with Patrick Strickland, author of "Alerta! Alerta!: Snapshots of Europe's Anti-Fascist Struggle" (00:34:17); plus anarchist prisoner Sean Swain on his bid to "Build The Wall" (00:08:27) FSB Torture of Radicals First up, Bursts spoke with Tania, a Russian anarchist, a member of the crew who runs the RUpression website documenting Russian state agencies like the FSB's use of torture to extract stories to build conspiracies to legitimize their tightening of restrictions on public gatherings, chill the political and media landscape, and sustain a state of sense of fear among the populace. We discuss the death of Mikhail Zhlobitsky in a bombing of an FSB office in October, the current state of anarchist organizing in Russia, and the past political repression since 2012 and the cases in Pensa and the 2017 "The Network" conspiracy case (which we've spoken of in this show in the past here and here). In February 2019, a situation unfolded where Azat Miftakhov disappeared, came back tortured, and accused of taking part in an anarchist terrorist plot. Azat was released by court order only to be re-arrested by another police agency (well documented in this crimethInc article, alongside some downloadable posters for pasting around your town). You can learn more about the case by reading and following rupression.com Patrick Strickland on European Anti-Fascism Secondly, William had the chance to interview Patrick Strickland, who is a journalist and author, about his recently released book "Alerta! Alerta! Snapshots of Europe's Anti-Fascist Struggle". This book follows the stories and lives of 5 European people who do broadly defined antifascist work or struggle. For this interview we talk about Strickland's journalism, the experiences of compiling this book, and about understanding elements on the far right that might enhance antifascism, in the so called US, Europe, and elsewhere. Follow him on Twitter @P_Strickland_ for news and upcoming projects! Announcements Show Up For Rayquan Borum! If you are in Charlotte NC tomorrow, Monday the 11th, consider showing up to support Rayquan Borum, who is a Black activist arrested during the Charlotte Uprising, a days long protest to mourn and rage against the police murder of Keith Lamont Scott in 2016. From charlotteuprising.com/statement : "The uprising in Charlotte is a direct response to sustained police and vigilante violence against Black people in this city and across the country: Keith Lamont Scott, Jonathan Ferrell, Aiyana Stanley, Jones, Tyre King, Korryn Gaines, Janisha Fonville, Terence Crutcher and so many more. These are names of victims we know and deeply mourn, understanding there are so many other people who have been unnecessarily taken from us." The arrest of Rayquan Borum was a direct attempt by police to frame Mr. Borum, and he is finally going to trial after 2 years being held in and out of solitary confinement. The trial will be held starts February 11th, and will start at 9:30am in room 5370 at the address 832 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC, which is the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. You can follow the Charlotte Uprising on twitter, facebook, and tumblr for more ways to get involved and support the folks facing ongoing repression from the Uprising. And here is a link to a useful court support quicksheet made specifically for this trial! Court solidarity needs for Rayquan are ongoing, so plug in when you can. Federal Prison Postal Changes Survey Lawyers & activists doing prisoner support have been concerned with new Federal Bureau of Prisons' rules limiting the type of mail people in prison can receive -- for example, rules that people in federal prison can only get white paper / envelopes, and no cards or drawings. There is work being done to look into what is going on across the country on this issue. If you have heard anything, they'd love to hear about it. They are also trying to collect evidence of what is happening at all the different federal facilities. If you have any of the following (or if you feel comfortable asking for any of these types of things from people in prison you are in contact with), that would be super helpful, including: Any memos from federal prisons detailing new mail restrictions Any program statements from BoP detailing new mail restrictions Any Institutional Supplements from BoP detailing new mail restrictions Scans of federal mail rejections based on new restrictions (color of letter, color of envelope, use of mailing label, greeting card etc) Scans of envelopes with rejected stickers detailing reason for rejection Scans of grievances from prisoners regarding the mail restrictions If you are interested in potentially working with us around this issue, let the folks at Certain Days Calendar know, and they can reach out with info about their next meeting. Get in touch at: info@certaindays.org Free Tibet celebration in Scotland and around the world If you're listening in Edinburgh, Scotland, there'll be a March on Sunday March 10 from The Mound in support of 60th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising to the invasion and occupation by the Chinese communist regime forces. On the subject of resistance and the Tibetan Diaspora, there'll be guest speakers making speeches and then a march to Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. TBA there may be a film screening afterwards. The event is scheduled from 12-2pm UTC More can be found on fedbook by searching "Tibetan Community in Scotland". . ... . .. Playlist

Updates on FOSTA and Digital Harm Reduction with Norman Shamas This week, we continue our look at sex, work and the state with guest, Norman Shamas. Norman Shamas is an activist and educator whose work focuses on human-centered information and digital security and privacy. Now, Norman is not a lawyer but shares their insights about the legal situation around FOSTA, or Fighting Online Sex Trafficking Act that passed into law in the U.S. last year and it's implications for sex workers, for those trying to fight sex trafficking and for people communicating desire without coercion or monetary exchange, folks looking for a hookup. This interview was conducted for our Error451 podcast, an occasional project focusing on digital security and tech from an anarchist perspective, but because of the prescience of Norman's words, we wanted to share it as an episode for the airwaves. Later in the interview we talk about Norman's writing a bit, including issues around queer dating apps and how they've been used to persecute folks for their sexualities and genders in various parts of the world and how we can pressure app developers and platforms to take the security of their users more seriously. Sean Swain begins at 7 minutes, Norman Shamas at 13:20. Red Umbrella Tech Collective: https://redumbrellatech.com/ Safer Nudes from Coding Rights: https://www.codingrights.org/4/ Hacking // Hustling (incl. a recording of the panel): http://melissagiragrant.com/hackinghustling/ Open Privacy: https://openprivacy.ca/ CWTCH platform and protocol: https://cwtch.im/ Guide on Harm Reduction and WhatsApp: https://blog.witness.org/2018/11/harm-reduction-whatsapp Announcements Denver Prisoner Letter Writing Event On February 13th, 7PM at Hooked on Colfax in Denver, CO, folks'll be sharing love and solidarity with political prisoners with letter writing. There'll be a presentation from the Anarchist Black Cross with tips for writing a letter and the February birthdays. The event will be excitedly co-hosted by many local groups including the Denver Anarchist Black Cross, Denver Black and Pink, Denver IWW, Femme Left, and the Denver CryptoParty. Prisoner Left Cold at Brooklyn MDC If you're in New York, there are rolling demo's at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center where it was discovered that prisoners have been held with limited heat and electricity for days now during this time of record-breaking cold, as reported in the New York Times on February 1st. To keep up on actions around this, one can check out IWOCNYC, the New York City Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee where demo's are being announced. If you're concerned for the health and safety of the over 1,000 prisoners at the MDC Federal jail but can't make it to a demo, the group Sunset Park for a Liberated Future has called for a phone zap. Those wanting to participate can call Warden Herman Quay & Associate Warden David Ortiz at 718-840-4200. You can also call Nicole McFarland, US Marshall Assistant Chief at 718-840-4200 ext. 41740. A sample script from Black and Pink NYC reads: "I'm a resident of NYC and am very concerned about the situation at MDC. People are living in intolerable conditions without heat or hot meals. This is unacceptable and a violation of human rights. I believe this poses serious harm to the health and safety of people at MDC and fails to meet Eighth Amendment standards prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. What is your action plan to stop this immediately? What do you commit to in ending this suffering of people in your custody?" . ... . .. Donate or Get TFSR Swag . ... . .. Playlist

Sex Worker Outreach Project Behind Bars w/ Dr. Jill McCracken This week, William spoke with Jill McCracken, codirector of SWOP Behind Bars, or the Sex Worker Outreach Project, Behind Bars chapter. Jill is also a professor at University of South Florida at St. Petersburg teaching rhetoric and gender and sexuality studies, with a focus on sex work, prostitution, and trafficking in the sex industry. For the hour we'll hear Jill speak about the work that SWOP and SWOP Behind Bars do, FOSTA/SESTA and some realities faced or worked through by sex workers in the U.S. The mission statement for SWOP Behind Bars reads: "SWOP Behind Bars is a national social justice network dedicated to the fundamental human rights of people who face discrimination from the criminal justice system due to the stigma associated with the sex trade. We advocate for full decriminalization of consensual sex work, ending cash bail, drawing attention to the effects of generational poverty on sexualized violence against marginalized and vulnerable women while providing services and support with a focus on ending violence and stigma through education and advocacy." More about SWOP Behind Bars can be found at https://swopbehindbars.org and more about SWOP in the U.S. in general can be found at https://swopusa.org with other groupings findable online. You can email Jill's group at swopbehindbars@gmail.com, find them on twitter or fedbook! One person name dropped by Jill during the interview was Magali Lerman, a consultant at Reframe Health + Justice consulting, who said that a product of FOSTA was to destroy the middle class of sex workers. Announcements Blue Ridge ABC events First, a reminder that Blue Ridge ABC has a plethora of events this coming weekend here in Asheville starting 6pm sharp on Friday, Feb 1st at Firestorm with a showing of Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal about the prisoner, his writing and struggle for freedom. Then at 8pm, VVITCHGANGCoven will present a showcase of local talent from their crew and beyond at The Mothlight. Local Hip Hop and Beats, ya know? It's a benefit for Blue Ridge ABC, so come visit the table. And on Sunday from 5-7pm at Firestorm, BRABC will host it's monthly political prisoner letter writing event. Resist the KKK in GA, Feb 2nd If you've got the means to travel, on Saturday February 2nd in Stone Mountain Georgia there will is a call for people to oppose white nationalists at Stone Mountain, GA and their call for a rally there. The racists don't have a permit and are pissed off that they keep losing their racist monuments around the South. For those opposing, we interviewed an organizer with Front Line Organization Working to End Racism (or FLOWER), about what it's all about and what to expect. You can hear that on our January 13th episode. Jason Reynard Walker still facing repression Jason Reynard Walker is a prisoner who has been punished by prisoncrats in Texas again. He was transferred on January 11th to the Allred Unit and his supporters are very concerned about the welfare and health of Mr. Walker. He reports being denied his prescribed medications; being forced to stand outside in the rain; being denied basic necessities of blankets, sheets, toilet paper, soap, etc.; being served food he is allergic to; being denied requested medical services. All these abuses must be corrected immediately. You can find info on how to support Jason up at the IGD article entitled "Abuse at the Allred Unit". Sean Swain is Back! Sean Swain's segment is back! Listen in and he'll update us on how he's been. Past segments, all available for listening, broadcasting and sharing, can be found here. You can write to Sean Swain at his NEW / old address at: Sean Swain #243-205 Ohio State Pennitentiary 878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd, Youngstown Ohio, 44505 To read more of Sean's writings and keep up on his case, check out seanswain.org . … . .. Playlist

Support Anarchist Prisoner Eric King This week Bursts spoke with the wife of vegan, antifascist and anarchist political prisoner, Eric King. Eric was was convicted of attempting the September 11, 2014 firebombing of the Kansas City office of a Missouri Democratic Congressman in solidarity with the Ferguson Uprising that kicked off after the killing of Mike Brown in Ferguson, MO. The office was attacked at roughly 3am when it was empty. Eric took a non-cooperating plea agreement for 10 years in Federal prison with no chance of parole. Recently, prison administrators at Florence and later Leavenworth Federal prisons have been abusing, isolating and moving Eric around and his support crew have initiated a call-in campaign, which we mentioned last week. Visit SupportEricKing.org for more details and to keep up on what's happening. Here are a few articles on subjects spoken of in the episode including Daniel McGowan's recent story published by the ACLU entitled "What the Government Shutdown Really Means for Federal Prisoners". Here is a link to the situation unfolding at Florence CI. And this is a link to Eric's call in campaign, including all relevant phone numbers and a script! To write Eric King, you can address letters to: Eric King # 27090045 USP LEAVENWORTH U.S. PENITENTIARY P.O. BOX 1000 LEAVENWORTH, KS 66048 An Update with A-Radio Berlin on the Mapuche Caravan in so-called Chile Before the main interview tho, we are pleased to present audio from the recent episode of B(A)DNews: Angry Voices From Around The World, the monthly podcast of the A-Radio Network. This time, Crna Luknja from Ljubljana, Slovenia spoke with a member of A-Radio Berlin who is traveling with a media caravan through Mapuche Territory to cover news there, and to offer media equipment and trainings to communities in Wallmapu, in so-called Chile and so-called Argentina. You can find the full episode of B(A)DNews at a-radio-network.org and click the menu option to the upper left of the screen. There you can also learn more about A-Radio Network, the participating projects and how to get involved. A Few Upcoming Events in Asheville Tranzmission Prison Project would love for you to join them on January 24nd, the 4th Annual International Day of Solidarity with Trans* Prisoners, to send letters and drawings of support, love, cheer, and solidarity to incarcerated trans* folks and incarcerated folks with trans* experiences and identities. Cards will be provided, as will envelopes, stamps, and snacks — just bring yr undying desire to end the Prison-Industrial Complex. . ... . .. On Friday February 1st at 6pm sharp, Blue Ridge ABC will be viewing "Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey With Mumia Abu Jamal." This is 2 hour documentary from 2013 about former Black Panther, journalist, author and activist who many believe was framed up on charges of killing a cop by the Philadelphia PD in 1981. Mumia has always held his innocence. In any instance, the case betrays biases in the court and policing system of that great city that held a man on death row for nearly 3 decades, a man who has fought from within to document America's excesses and for the rights of the oppressed inside and outside of prison. . ... . .. After the movie, starting at 8pm at the Mothlight, VVITCHGANGCOVEN presents a showcase of local hip hop and beats including Vvitchboy x Akuma, Scarlaween, Cool World Order, Herb Da Wizard & Xor. The show is a benefit for Blue Ridge ABC and more details can be found on pricing and such at brabc.blackblogs.org. This show is a must see for lovers of dreamy, alien, fierce, witchy hiphop so come out! . ... . .. Playlist here.

Front Line Organization Working To End Racism Firstly we're presenting a conversation that William had with an organizer with F.L.O.W.E.R., which stands for Front Line Organization Working to End Racism, about opposition to a neo confederate rally scheduled to take place on February 2nd at Stone Mountain Park about half an hour's drive outside of Atlanta, Georgia. We talk about the longstanding history of this rally, which originally was a KKK event, its resurgence alongside the rise of far right activity, and some of what's been done to oppose it in recent years. We also talk about what to keep in mind when standing against this event and how to learn more and plug in, plus much more. This group is @flowerunited on Twitter, and that's a great way to get rapid updates as February 2nd draws nearer. Also a great way to keep updated and read more about the history of this event, plus to see a long list of endorsing groups, you can go to https://flowerunited.org/ Kim Kelly on metal, anarchy and antifascism Next up, Bursts spoke with journalist, metalhead, anarchist, and antifascist Kim Kelly. Kim is an editor at Noisey, the VICE music site and has contributed radical content to Teen Vogue and many other platforms online and in print. For the rest of the hour we spoke about the upcoming "Black Flags Over Brooklyn" antifascist and antiracist heavy metal festival that Kim and others are organizing January 25 and 26 in New York City alongside a day-long anti-authoritarian leftist gathering. We also talk about the culture wars in metal, taking radical space in mainstream publications and more. You can find much of Kims work at noisey.vice.com, more about Black Flags Over Brooklyn and how to get merch or participate by just searching it on the web or finding its kickstarter or eventbrite. If you want to hear our interview with one of the headlining bands, Dawn Ray'd about politics and extreme music check the link in our shownotes. Oh, and we mentioned Red + Anarchist Black Metal blog Suggestions of good things by Kim ala metal with not terrible (even good) politics! Labels: Alerta Antifascista, Halo of Flies, Sentient Ruin, Tankcrimes, Gilead Media, Tridroid Records, An Out Recordings, Eternal Warfare, Blackened Death Records, Get Better Records, Yehonala Tapes, 20 Buck Spin Sites doing good work: Toilet Ov Hell, Astral Noize, Metalsucks, No Clean Singing, Invisible Oranges Update from Unist'ot'en Camp Here's an official update from the Unist'ot'en Camp about the raid on the Gidimt'en Access Point we talked about on last week's episode of The Final Straw. Eric King Comms Blocked, Possible Hungerstrike A post up at SupportEricKing.org that we read from in the episode starts with an announcement that Eric has been denied his monthly call with his wife who is recovering from surgery, was assaulted by staff at FCI Florence and transfered to FCI Leavenworth (though still under Florence's jurisdiction) and away from his daughters and wife, is coming up on 5 months in solitary and may have begun a hunger strike. There is a request for call-ins. Here is a sample script: Hi I am calling about Eric King, #27090045 to demand that his phone restriction be lifted. It is unacceptable to take away a prisoner's calls to his wife and family without any notice and without him being brought up on any charges. Supporters are asked to call and email: FCI Florence Call: 719-784-9100 Ask for: The warden/assistant warden, the legal department, Counselor Quintana, Counselor Rivera. If denied demand the person answering the phone take down a message. Email: FLF/ExecAssistant@bop.gov BOP North Central Regional OfficeCall: 913-621-3939 Ask for: Director Jeffrey Krueger. If denied ask to speak with his assistant. If denied again, demand the person answering the phone take down a message. Email: NCRO/ExecAssistant@bop.gov Yiddish Anarchism Conference Also coming up in NYC, on Sunday January 20th there'll be a free conference entitled "Yiddish Anarchism: New Scholarship On A Forgotten Tradition". The conference will be conducted in English, will be free, run from 10am to 8pm at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research at 15 West 16th St. More info can be found at yivo.org/Anarchism The latest Error451 This week we released a new Error451 episode into our podcast stream, this time an interview with Kali Kaneko about Leap Encryption Access Project, about VPNs and psuedonymity online. If you haven't, visit our website and take a listen. Or, better yet, subscribe to our podcast by visiting "podcasting" link and following the instructions there! Support Our Work If you appreciate the work that we put into making this show happen, week after week, sometimes more than once a week and if you can afford to help us out, please consider donating to The Final Straw. If you visit our website, you can click the Donate/Merch button and there you'll find a few options. We can take one-time donations via paypal or venmo, we can take ongoing donations via liberapay, you can buy t-shirts, stickers, buttons and more via our bigcartel store or become a sustainer via patreon and make monthly donations. The patreon option has a lot of options for thank you gifts including what's already been mentioned, plus homemade mixtapes and an option to get a zine made of any interview we've conducted, getting those words into the hands of translators and folks who have hearing impairments! If you can't afford a monetary donation, no worries, tell your friends about the podcast, share an episode on social media, write us an email or a letter to suggest content. You could also contact your local community radio station and say that you want us on your airwaves. We have a weekly, 59 minute and FCC-friendly episode out every Sunday afternoon up for radio stations to download and use. More info on that can be found at our website by clicking the radio link at the top of the site. As an aside, we've just started sharing Political Prisoner button mixpacks for Blue Ridge Anarchist Black Cross. The buttons feature the faces of 54 (and more to come) political prisoners held by the U.S. government. The sales go to benefit the activities of BRABC. Prisoner support sites and distributors should contact blueridgeabc@riseup.net for deals on the buttons. If you want to make your own and have a button maker, the pdf's of the button images are up at https://brabc.blackblogs.org/pp-ppow-buttons/ for download for free. . ... . .. Playlist here.

This week, we'd like to share a conversation had a little bit ago with Kali Kaneko, from LEAP. Leap Encryption Access Project, like pEp featured in our prior Error451 interview, is an open-source project meant to ease... access to encryption (and it's a project). At a point in the past, LEAP had an interest in shifting paradigm of email but is now focusing mainly on distribution, upkeep, and improvement of it's VPN service, Bitmask. Bitmask is partnering with Riseup Black and Calyx (and hopefully other trustworthy projects) to expand access to free, psuedonymized web traffic with ease. Here're a few links Kali sent my way for sharing and further investigation: a recent study about a cryptanalysis of protonmail (technical) https://eprint.iacr.org/2018/1121 some guy's ramblings on the 'whatsapp affair' I think we mentioned. I quite agree on his take. https://www.evilsocket.net/2017/01/14/Thoughts-on-WhatsApp-E2E-Encryption-AKA-Security-is-real-only-if-it-s-the-default/ a nice guide by the eff about choosing a vpn https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/choosing-vpn-thats-right-you a link to the newest beta of RiseupVPN, the new hot (customized) bitmask stuff https://riseup.net/en/vpn/betatest a link to the ubuntu store for that https://snapcraft.io/riseup-vpn I don't really know if we talked about the generics of e2e crypto or not, but I find this article always comes in handy https://crimethinc.com/2017/03/08/end-to-end-encryption-101-what-does-e2ee-do-and-does-vault-7-mean-its-useless a link to my public profile https://github.com/kalikaneko The song for this episode was "Crashing The System" by ¡Tchkung! from the album Post World Handbook.

This week we feature two segments, the first on anti-pipeline resistance at the Gidimt'en Camp in Canada and second with JR from sub.Media about Mental Wellness and the recent Trouble episode on the subject. Wet'suwet'en Pipeline Resistance, so-called BC First up, we'll hear from Delee Nikal, a Wet'suwet'en community member from the Gidimt'en clan and the Cas Yikh House, a First Nation in so-called British Columbia, Canada. In 2009, Wet'suwet'en members of the Unist'ot'en clan (also of the Wet'suwet'en nation) began actively blocking pipeline workers and government officials from accessing their land without prior and fully informed consent of the nation on the land. Over the years, Unist'ot'en has become home to various structures to not only block the passage of the pipeline but also to create opportunities for indigenous folks to heal themselves and promote their culture. On December 14th, the Canadian Supreme Court pushed through an injunction on behalf of Coastal GasLink (owned by TransCanada) threatening the Wet'suwet'en community defending its land at Unist'ot'en with police invasion. Following this, a public statement was made by the 5 hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en for all of the clans to block pipelines on their land. The Wet'suwet'en people have no treaties with the Canadian or provincial government, their land is unceded and sovereign territory within the bounds of what's claimed by Canada. According to United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Article 10: "Indigenous Peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories." This includes RCMP, and/or military removal of Indigenous Peoples occupying their territory , say the land defenders. They also point out that the 1997 Supreme Court of Canada ruling in the Delgamuukw/Gisdaywa court case affirmed that Wet'suwet'en title, based on the traditional clan governance system, was never extinguished. In the days since this interview was recorded, an update to the injunction by the Canadian Supreme Court was released that updated names and places to be targeted by police action and the chiefs were informed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, a Canadian Federal police force that their people and their spaces would likely be attacked by the RCMP in coming days to move forward on the building of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The Wet'suwet'en resistance to the pipeline is asking for native folks to come to help defend the land from further Canadian incursion, for allies and accomplices to engage in solidarity actions to pressure and embarrass the Canadian government and spread word of the resistance of Wet'suwet'en people on their sovereign lands in defense of the earth, air and water that all of us share on this planet. You can inform yourself more by visiting wetsuweten.com and keep up on updates via their fedbook page named "Gidimt'en Checkpoint visit: Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gidimt'en Territory". Here's a short video about the access point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3OjGB4sDCw as well as a link to their gofundme campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/gitdumt039en-access-point A great article breaking down a bunch of the history can be found at the Earth First! Newswire's site from which we've poached some of the links and which has some great ideas of how to signal boost the situation, fundraising ideas and other ways to give and more! International Call to Action for Gidimt'en Access Checkpoint for Tuesday, January 8th, 2019 JR of sub.Media on Mad Worlds and Trouble And secondly, we are going to present an interview with JR, who is a member of the subMedia collective about their recent Trouble episode called Mad Worlds. Trouble is a monthly mini documentary series from this collective which highlights different aspects of life and struggle on the far left. It's meant to be watched in groups to promote discussion and counter the increasing isolating aspects of modern day existence. The episode "Mad Worlds, Redefining Sanity Through Struggle" explores the concept of sanity and how this is intrinsically linked to the white hetero settler colonialist patriarchy, and also gets into the psychiatry industrial complex and what it could mean to be on either side of that structure. This is the first time that me and Bursts have interviewed someone together, so let us know what you think of that! To see more from subMedia, including It's The End Of The World And We Know It And I Feel Fine, also called The F*cking Show which features anarchist news analysis and reporting from the infamous character of the Stimulator, also they do a semi regular anarchist/antifascist hip hop workout show called Burning Cop Car (which we've drawn on multiple times for music to score The Final Straw), and of course Trouble, you can see all that at https://sub.media. They are in the middle of a fundraising push right now, and you can see info about that at sub.media/donate to liberate your dollars. You can donate here . ... . .. playlist