The Final Straw Radio

This week we share as our main feature an interview with longtime anarchist, musician, anti-racist & organizer from Texas, scott crow. scott is the author of numerous books, including "Black Flags & Windmills: Hope, Anarchy, and the Common Ground Collective" & "Emergency Hearts, Molotov Dreams: A scott crow Reader". At the end of 2017, PM Press published "Setting Sights: Histories and Reflections on Community Armed Self-Defense". Bursts caught up with scott about a month later and they chatted about his experiences of an abusive household, his anti-racist organizing and engagement in community self-defense from white supremacist militia in the Algeirs neighborhood of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. scott also chats about the text, about community armed self-defense, violence, militarism, masculinity, patriarchy, the chilling effect of displayed weapons and more. To find more of scott's writing and other interviews, please check visit scottcrow.org . Announcements Check out the April episode of B(A)DNews from the A-Radio Network, just released! For more of the episode, check www.a-radio-network.org . Support for Those Arrested in Newnan GA! This weekend there were large counter presences to a national socialist movement rally in the small town of Newnan Georgia, about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta. This group, which was formerly known as the American nazi party, has been called one of the most active white supremacist groups in the US, and was gathering to celebrate the birthday of one dead white power a-hole. Despite the protesters outnumbering the wp group by as much as 10 or 20 to 1, militarized police heavily repressed the diverse coalition of anti racist activists by using extreme physical force resulting in over 10 arrests. From the support page: As feared, cops attacked and arrested people with absolutely no justification - particularly people of color and other marginalized individuals. So far, we're aware of up to 13 arrests, some of whom are dealing with serious medical conditions while in jail. We need to get them out as soon as possible, and we need a lot of money to do it. Together we have the power to free them! From an update posted this morning: We have several protesters free already thanks to bail contributions! We have contacted everyone still in jail, and have learned some concerning things: Some protesters are being given trumped up felony charges, despite video evidence showing they did nothing. We believe the charges are intended to make it longer/more expensive to get them out. We have also learned that some protesters have been put in the same cell block as NSM members (a Nazi group). This makes it even more urgent that we get folks out as soon as possible. To donate to those still in custody and for contributing legal support, you can visit the support webpage here. From the Neighborhood Anarchist Collective in Eugene, Oregon "For this May Day, the Neighborhood Anarchist Collective will be hosting an International Workers' Day Solidarity Share Fair on Tuesday, May 1st!   The event will be at First Christian Church* from 2-6PM.   This free market is a project organized by NAC to provide free goods and services from local organizations and community groups to the unhoused and working class communities in need of these basic necessities, along with food, live music, and a chance to know other folks in the community – and it's all free! The collective is also still accepting donations and volunteers! If you or your group, business, or organization would like to provide goods or services at this event or lend a helping hand, please contact  resources@neighborhoodanarchists.org  to get connected. Your contributions are greatly appreciated! Check out our Fedbook event page or our website at neighborhoodanarchists.org for more information.  " For info on May Day events in Santa Rosa, CA & in Asheville, NC, stay tuned for the April 29th , 2018, episode of The Final Straw for interviews with organizers of events in both of those places. Certain Days Calendar For any artists or folks in touch with artists out there, heads up reminder on this: The Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar collective is releasing its 18th calendar this coming fall. The theme for 2019 is 'Health/Care,' reflecting on the overlapping topics of health, care/caring, and healthcare. We are looking for 12 works of art and 12 short articles to feature in the calendar, which hangs in more than 3,000 homes, workplaces, prison cells, and community spaces around the world. Deadline is May 18, 2018 (and June 8 for prisoners) and submissions can be sent to info@certaindays.org or check out certaindays.org for more information. ACAB 2018 pushes back it's deadline For anyone interested in giving a presentation or looking to table at the 2018 ACAB, or Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair in Asheville from Thursday, June 21- Sunday, June 24, 2018, there's been an extension of deadline. Sign up for either or both of those things or find more information at https://acab2018.noblogs.org And now a couple of repression announcements: Herman Bell back on track to parole! In some good news, the lawsuit to block the release of political prisoner Herman Bell, former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army POW in New York State, has been thrown out by a judge, so he should be released on his scheduled parole after nearly 45 years inside. Thanks to everyone who sent letters & emails, made phone calls and spread the word about Herman Bell's case. We wish him a welcome back to the outside. Free Them All! In some not as good news from Hamilton, Ontario, so-called Canada: As some of you may have heard, our beloved friend, Cedar (Peter) Hopperton has been arrested and charged in relation to the property damage that occurred on Locke Street in Hamilton. In the very early morning hours of Friday, April 6th, the Hamilton SWAT team broke down the door of Cedar's house, threw in a flash grenade, and entered with assault riffles drawn. Cedar was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offense (unlawful assembly while masked). While a publication ban is in effect that prohibits us from sharing the details of the crown's flimsy case, we can say that this is clearly a political prosecution: Cedar is being targeted because they are a visible face to anarchist organizing in Hamilton, and because of their self-affirmed and proud anarchist politics. As we learned from the G20 in Toronto, and again more recently with the J20 defendants in the US, conspiracy charges are ambiguous and deeply political. This is no different. On Tuesday, April 10th, having already been in custody for 5 days due to stall tactics used by the crown, Cedar was, devastatingly, denied bail. Despite the fact that they have no history of violence and have never been charged with a violent crime, Cedar will remain indefinitely in jail, a place that is profoundly violen t and leaves lasting trauma. In addition to the routine violence of jail life, Cedar, as a gender nonconforming person, faces additional harm from the institution, the guards, as well as the other prisoners. Please visit https://hamiltonanarchistsupport.noblogs.org/ for more information or to make a donation to Cedar's legal defense fund. Also consider writing Cedar. Keep in mind all correspondence will be screened by guards. Use ink only – no glue, fragrances, glitter, stickers, etc. Sending books is prohibited. Staples are also not allowed. Peter (Cedar) Hopperton c/o Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre 165 Barton St E Hamilton, ON L8L 2W6  ===== Show playlist is here.

25 Years After Lucasville: Two Perspectives on the Uprising This week is the 25th anniversary of the longest prison uprising in US history in which lives were lost.  The rebellion, which lasted 11 days, took place at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, more commonly know as “Lucasville,” in April 1993.  The disturbance broke out on L Block, which housed over 400 people.  Over the course of the uprising one correction officer being held hostage and nine prisoners were killed. The most immediate cause for the riot was a group of Muslim prisoners’ refusal to take a tuberculosis test which was going to be administered in a form that would have violated their religious beliefs.  But serious grievances had simmered under the surface at Lucasville for many years, and ultimately the prisoners’ demands far exceeded Muslims’ opposition to TB shots, addressing concerns about conditions of confinement held by the entire inmate population. After 11 days a negotiated surrender ended the siege. Prisoners gave up control of L Block in return for the state’s concession to a “21 point plan” responding to their demands.  Afterwards, authorities engaged in widespread retaliation, including the targeting of five individuals who were perceived as leaders for capital offenses.  To this day, the Lucasville 5, as they are called, sit on death row for murders that numerous investigations have proven they did not commit. Prisoners still facing repercussions for the Lucasville Uprising include: Siddique Abdullah Hasan, Jason Robb, George Skatzes, Bomani Shakur & Greg Curry.   To reflect on the Lucasville uprising 25 years later, Disembodied Voice spoke with two individuals who were involved in the event in very different ways.  First, we hear from Mosi Paki, who was present on L Block during the rebellion and served 19 years, most of it in isolation, after the siege ended. We will then hear from attorney Niki Schwartz, who represented prisoners during their negotiation of the 21 point plan that ended the siege of Lucasville.   You can visit http://lucasvilleamnesty.org/ for more information and for updates on how to get involved.    To hear past episodes we've aired with interviews of former Lucasville Uprising prisoners or other topics, check out our site.   An Update on ICE Raids around Asheville This is from an official press release which came out this morning regarding continuing activity concerning ICE raids in Asheville NC: News began to arrive early this morning that ICE was continuing their activity throughout Buncombe County. Local organizers have been monitoring unmarked vehicles that have been driving through West Asheville neighborhoods and the surrounding areas. Due to these mobilization efforts, no one has been detained. CIMA and the WNC Sanctuary Movement encourage community members who fear for their safety to remember your rights. You may refuse to open your door or let ICE agents in unless the agent has a warrant signed by a Judge. If they have a warrant, you may ask for them to slide it under your door, and it must have both your correct legal name on it as well as your correct address in order for it to be valid. Only a court and /or Judge warrant is enough to enter your premises. Do not lie or show false documents and do not sign any papers without speaking to a lawyer. You may also ask for an interpreter. Consider coming out and supporting members of affected communities this evening at the Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s immigration forum, “For You Were Once a Stranger in the Land of Egypt – Immigration: Why We Care and What We Can Do.” The forum is being held this afternoon, April the 15th at 5:00 pm at St. Eugene Catholic Church (in Asheville). Mayor Esther Manheimer and Sheriff Van Duncan are invited to attend. Come voice your concern about ICE ripping families apart in our community. We appreciate your support and for more information please follow the CIMA (Compañeros Inmigrantes de las Montañas en Acción) and Nuestro Centro Facebook pages online. If you have any information which would contribute to helping keep affected communities safer in the Asheville Area, the hotline to call is 1-888-839-2839. Please make sure that the information you have is both verified and up to date if you call this number! You can also check out CIMA or Nuestro Centro NOT on fedbook. Update for Herman Bell's Parole   The hearing began around 3pm. The Judge relayed at the outset that he did not plan to issue a decision today, and that the temporary restraining order would remain and not be lifted until a decision was rendered. The Judge also asked that the hearing be focused primarily on standing. The question is whether a member of the victim’s family (Diane Piagentini) has “standing” in court and in this case. Without standing, the case cannot go forward. Each side then had around 10 minutes to give their arguments on that issue, which they did. Again, no decision was rendered, and there wasn’t much indication of how the Judge would rule. The Judge did say that he understood the urgency of the case and that Herman‘s liberty was at issue, and that he would begin making a determination on Monday. June 11th is Every Day The folks who are organizing the worldwide day of action and solidarity with Marius Mason and all long term anarchist prisoners have released their announcement for the scope and prisoners (including ones in Germany, Chile, Greece, and the U.S.) alongside a message for this year. We’re just going to excerpt the very end of the call-up here, but here’s the end of it and you can find the whole thing at june11.noblogs.org June 11th is an idea, not just a day. June 11th is every day. And ideas are bulletproof. Let’s breathe life into the rest of the year and renew the celebration of anarchist prisoners’ lives by carrying on their struggles alongside them. In short: It’s a call-out, so we’re calling on you! June 11th is what you make of it. Follow your heart and fill the world with beautiful gestures. There is no action that is too small or too grand.   Playlist here.

Bursts spoke with a comrade y’all might recognize, a Camille who lives on the ZAD, or Zone To Defend in Notre Dame De Landes, Britanny, France. Camille and Bursts spoke in January upon the announcement of the French government’s decision to cancel the building of an airport to replace the one in Nantes. After literally decades of struggle, and nearly a decade of squatting and on and off fighting of the cops who attempted to evict the community, the ZAD protests won. Sort of. Camille and Bursts spoke on Friday the 13th, 2018, about the ultraviolence of the police in their destruction of 30 squats, profuse use of rubber bullets, tanks, tear gas, stun grenades and flash bangs, the resistance and injuries to ZADistes, farmers and elders who’ve come in to support, and other mostly depressing topics.  The translation of the ZAD legal team response to the beating is now available here. As of Saturday the 14th, there were 30 additional injuries in 3 hours reported officially by medics due to police violence (our guest calls this a conservative estimate). Some other coverages we think are worth checking out to get some images and video of the proceedings and keep up on events as they unfold are: ZAD main site Radio Klaxxon donation link pending, keep an eye out on our blog post for this show, we'll post when we get it Crimethinc's photo essay Unicorn Riot's article A call for solidarity up on IGD ZAD Legal Team response to attack of March 20th pending post

This week, we have a few goodies for y'all! First, we'll feature some words that friends in central NC recorded of Elijah. Elijah was born and raised in Durham, NC, who was imprisoned in Alabama. Elijah was among many who showed up to resist a threatened march in Durham by the KKK after people began rising up and taking down white supremacist statues last falls. Elijah talks about incarceration, guilt, organizing and about getting out. Secondly, William reads a statement about possible evictions by police beginning tomorrow on la ZAD (Zone A Defendre) in Notre Dame-de-Landes, Brittany, France. See the text below. Finally, we are happy to be sharing a conversation that Bursts recently had with glo merriweather, ash williams & jamie marsicano. The three reside in occupied Waccamaw Siouan and Catawba territory, also known as Charlotte, North Carolina. glo, ash & Jamie speak about the events that led up to the Charlotte Uprising of 2016, the tumult after the police murder of Keith Lamont Scott, the police killings of black and brown bodies in the U.S., gender and state violence and resistance, the killing of Justin Carr, the police accusation of Rayquan Borum for that death and the repression being faced by glo merriweather and others at the hands of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. You can find out more about the work ash, Jamie & glo are doing by visiting the Charlotte Uprising FedBook, website or twitter.  glo has a trial date coming up on May 7th.  One way you can show support for them is to visit gofundme and donate to GetGloGoing! On this episode, we're gonna try a new thing with our announcements, by putting them at the end. Let us know what y'all think of this experiment. Keep listening after the final episode for some events we want to feature. Evictions on la ZAD Some months ago in January of this year, it was announced that the French government was abandoning the airport construction in Notre Dame Des Landes. As many listeners know, the defense project which is known world wide as the ZAD (Zone a Defendre or Defended Zone) has been the decades long collaboration between anarchists and anti authoritarians with farmers who have lived on the land for generations. In that time, the ZAD has become more than a defense project, it has evolved into a vibrant community with its own unique infrastructure, home to many people from many experiences and unregulated by the government. This morning we got word that evictions are scheduled to be underway on the ZAD starting tomorrow. It may come as no surprise that the original decision to abandon the airport did not come without its own price tag, and conditions stipulating the boundaries and terms of continued occupation were leveled at residents. These conditions were a clear attempt on the part of the French government to regulate this community of resistance through manipulation and back channels, it was seen as such and people on the ZAD began preparing for eviction. There are currently 2500 riot police on the ZAD itself, with 1500 more standing by in nearby cities, and the much photographed barricade road has been taken by the police. What is not currently clear is how the international community can help materially. This situation is still unfolding, and we are sure that there will be explicit calls for aid and for solidarity in days and weeks to come. What is clear us is that the government feels the threat of intentional communities very sharply, feels threatened by communities and trends it cannot control. We have seen it time and time again from ZAD to Standing Rock to resistance to the Mountain Valley Pipeline: what does it say about government when a group of people defending the land provokes such an extreme response? We think there is something worth exploring here however it makes sense, with whatever tools you and your community may have. To learn more about the ZAD, you can visit http://zad.nadir.org To hear interviews that The Final Straw has conducted about this topic over the years, you can visit our website. Stay tuned to your favorite anarchist news sources for updates and further analysis on this situation! Sean Swain Update Sean's off of hunger strike.  We got news last week after the episode aired that he was on due to his communications being messed with.  But, he's back to eating and ranting and out of segregation.  Get ready to hear more from here next week.  If you miss the sound of his voice, check out his segments dating back to February of 2014 at archive.org Announcements: Punk Jeopardy in Asheville for J20 Defendants This Tuesday, April 10th from 7-10pm at the Lazy Diamond bar in Asheville, there'll be Punk Jeopardy  to benefit J20 defendants. From the flyer: "Come out and show your support for the homies who went hard protesting trumps inauguration! Come out, drink, hang and test your knowledge of punk culture. Prizes for winners! Donations at the door." 25th Anniversary of the Lucasville Uprising The 25th anniversary of the Lucasville Uprising is upon us, with folks still facing the death penalty for actively trying to bring a peaceful resolution. We hope to bring you more reflections on the events of April 1992 soon. More info and ways to get involved can be found here. Certain Days 2019, Call for Submissions There's a call out for art submissions for the 2019 Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar. The theme for 2019 is 'Health/Care,' reflecting on the overlapping topics of health, care/caring, and healthcare. They are looking for 12 works of art and 12 short articles to feature in the calendar, which hangs in more than 3,000 homes, workplaces, prison cells, and community spaces around the world. They encourage contributors to submit both new and existing work. They're also seek submissions from prisoners – please forward to any prison-based artists and writers. The deadline for art submissions is May 18th 2018. Check our show-notes for this episode for the full submissions request. Stockholm Anarchist Bookfair The 2018 Stockholm Anarchist bookfair will take place on June 2nd and third. They are launching a new fundraising campaign for the bookfair. The campaign will run from the first of April to the 13th of May on the Firefund radical crowdfunding platform. It is a crowdfunding campaign so they need as many people and organizations as possible to spread the word. They would appreciate it greatly if your group could share the link to the campaign as well as to their website in your own social media. Thank you for the help and we look forward to seeing you at bookfair. Firefund campaign link: https://www.firefund.net/bookfair playlist

In this week’s episode of The Final Straw Radio, we have three segments on two subjects. This week there’ll be no Sean Swain segment due to technical difficulties, but we hope to be hearing his clarion call towards dancing around the ashes of swivelization next week. In part one, I spoke with Friday, a former J20 defendant and a supporter of the remaining 59 facing charges. We talk about the arrests, the case so far, what we saw come out of the first trial group in November of last year and the upcoming trail date set for April 17th, 2018. On Monday and Tuesday, April 2nd and 3rd there will be a call-in campaign for the for U.S. Attorney Liu to #DropJ20 and on Tuesday, April 10th there is a call for a day of solidarity with the J20 defendants. More info on that can be found in this episodes show notes or up at defendj20resistance.org alongside printable pdf’s plus ideas for solidarity actions alongside the #’s and scripts for the call-in campaign. In part two of this episode, we’ll be airing a statement from episode 24 of the Hotwire. Here, you’ll hear LX, an anarchist and sex worker in the Midwest, where they’ll talk about their perspectives about the impacts of the laws, as well as views of recent struggles among strippers in NYC, NOLA & RVA, tools sex workers have made for themselves to share information, as well as words of encouragement for sex workers and ways that non-sex-workers can offer solidarity . You can find a full transcript of what LX has to say, alongside the rest of the Hotwire episode which we recommend giving a gander and listen, at their website. Following LX’s breakdown of the law and some of the views around it, you’ll hear William Budington in the inaugural episode of season 2 of the occasionally weekly tech podcast from an anarchist perspective, #error451. William (a tech expert and trainer who is employed at the Electronic Frontier Foundation) breaks down the development of SESTA (which has been folded into the now-passed FOSTA (or Fight Online Sex Trafficking)) ACT, which awaits Trumps signature. The bills posed as anti-sex or human trafficking laws, however William argues, as do many groups who fight against sex trafficking in the U.S. plus consensual sex workers and their advocates, that FOSTA will hurt adults engaging in erotic services and drive them into the shadows where they in fact face more dangers, that FOSTA will take tools from their hands in keeping safer, and that even the US Department of Justice has warned that the Act will making finding and prosecuting actual human traffickers much, much harder. Though there’ll be some overlap in what is said between William and LX, we wanted to keep the two presentations intact. A few links that both folks mentioned to pay attention to include: Tits And Sass ; SWOP ; Tech Dirt #157 ; Strippers organizing in NOLA ; Desiree Alliance ; Survive The Club ; An informative IGD article we pulled some links from with MORE INFO. A quick announcement about former black panther and political prisoner, Herman Bell. Herman has been in prison for 45 years for the killing of two police officers during his time with the Black Liberation Army. He has expressed remorse for the killings and family members of one dead cops has expressed that they want Herman released. He has been granted parole to be released on April 17th but there has been a pushback by the Policeman’s Benevolent Association in NY state and they’ve been backed by Mayor deBlasio and Governor Cuomo in attempting to block Herman’s release. If you want to help press back, you can: Here are THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW to keep the pressure on in support of Herman Bell:: CALL New York State Governor Cuomo’s Office NOW 518-474-8390 EMAIL New York State Governor Cuomo’s Office https://www.governor.ny.gov/ Script for phone calls and emails:   “Governor Cuomo, my name is __________and I am a resident of [New York State/other state/other country]. I support the Parole Board’s decision to release Herman Bell and urge you and the Board to stand by the decision. I also support the recent appointment of new Parole Board Commissioners, and the direction of the new parole regulations, which base release decisions more on who a person is today than on the nature of their crime committed years ago. Returning Herman to his friends and family will help the heal the many harms caused by crime and decades of incarceration. The Board’s decision was just, merciful and lawful, and it will benefit our communities and New York State as a whole.” TWEET at Governor Cuomo: use the following sample tweet: “.@NYGovCuomo: stand by the Parole Board’s lawful & just decision to release Herman Bell. At 70 years old and after more than 40 years of incarceration, his release is overdue. #BringHermanHome.”  Before we start, we want to share the great news that we can now be heard Mondays at 8pm on the airwaves of KRJF-LP on 92.3FM in Santa Rosa, California! Hella hello, buddies!! We also can be heard on air Sundays on WSFM-LP in Asheville (NC), Mondays on KWRK in Fairbanks (AK) and KWTF in Bodega Bay (CA), Tuesdays on KOWA-LP in Olympia (WA) and Sundays at WCRS in Columbus (OH). If you are hearing this show and want it up on your local airwaves, please consider visiting our website and clicking the Radio Broadcasting link for details and ideas about how you can make that happen. The more stations our free radio show airs on, the more people get to hear the voices we’re presenting. We’d like to remind you that if you appreciate the Final Straw, you can show that appreciation by sharing this show with your friends (we are on most of the crappy social networks out there), by rating us on iTunes, by sending us an email or a letter with suggestions and feedback, and also by making a onetime donation via paypal or a recurring donation via Patreon. Your donations help us to pay for equipment and attend events like the upcoming A-Radio Gathering in Germany from which we’ll surely bring you voices you won’t hear anywhere else. Thanks and have a great week!

Hebron Documentary This week we got the chance to speak with Yousef Natsha, who is a Palestinian filmmaker and activist about his new documentary called Hebron. In this interview we talk about how he got into making this documentary, some historical and present day context for this series of struggles in Hebron City, and some suggestions for action. You can learn more about Yousef, see more of his work, and donate to the documentary by going to his website http://yousefnatsha.wixsite.com/yousef-natsha (interview starts at 26min) Announcements Local We’ve been skipping out on announcements, so here’s a few to play catchup: First, in local news: Next Sunday, April 1st at 5pm is the monthly political prisoner letter writing event by Blue Ridge ABC at Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Rd in West Asheville. All the necessary materials will be provided as well as a curated list of political prisoners in the U.S. with upcoming birthdays. Following letter writing, at 7pm EST, we’ll be showing the latest episode of TROUBLE by sub.media. This 30 minute-long documentary about struggles against patriarchy around the world will be followed by a discussion on the film. More details up at brabc.blackblogs.org ACAB2018 Bookfair Signups ANNOUNCING, the second annual Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair aka ACAB 2018. Hosted in Asheville, NC over the weekend of June 22-24. Last year, hundreds of people from the southeast and beyond participated in workshops, talks, panels, community building, skill sharing, and celebrating resistance. Dozens of presses, publishers, radical and anarchist groups displayed their books, zines, artwork, and promoted their projects. This year will be even better, as we continue to build sites of resistance, structures of counter-power, and networks of solidarity across the region and the world. Do you have skills to help build the future we want to see? We want to offer a diverse and comprehensive range of activities that could include analysis and theory, models of organizing, anti-repression, environmental resistance, physical and community self-defense, technological offensive & defensive practices, abolition & transformative justice, and more. Sign up for vending and workshops is now open! The form for workshops can be found at

For this week’s episode, Bursts spoke with Ray Luc Levasseur, longtime activist, Vietnam War vet, revolutionary and former political prisoner in the U.S. Ray was a reputed founder of the Sam Melville / Jonathan Jackson Unit, later known as the United Freedom Front which conducted sabotage, expropriations and attacks against profiteers and symbols of American Imperialism and oppression abroad. After 9 years of activity in the group and living underground, members of the group were apprehended and became known as the Ohio 7. Ray was paroled in 2004, about 20 years after his arrest. Here we present half of our interview with Ray, which covers some of his political development. The other portion of this interview will air soon. Now, though, we’ll hear about Ray’s organizing with prisoners after his own political incarceration for organizing and possession of small portions of marijuana for sale, the organizing of SCAR (Statewide Correctional Alliance for Reform), meeting Tom Manning, the process of going underground and why they chose this route and the formation of the underground movement later known as the SM/JJU. Then, Ray speaks about the case of his still incarcerated co-defendants, Jaan Laaman, and in more detail about co-defendant Tom Manning. Tom has been kept off and on in solitary confinement for very long periods of time, has been summarily transferred, has received inadequate medical care for the injuries of incarceration and aging inside of prisons. He was producing artwork until 2010 when he almost lost his leg due to an injury while being held in Florida. He was recently transferred from the Medical Facility at Butner, NC, to USP Hazelton in West Virginia. Tom Manning has only recently been able to start drawing again because he finally relieved some medical care relieving some of his pain & there’ s an art room at Hazelton with some supplies. If you’d like to correspond with Tom, you can write him at: Thomas Manning #10373-016 USP Hazelton Post Office Box 2000 Bruceton Mills, West Virginia 26525 If you want to check out Tom's art while monetarily supporting him, consider getting "For Love And Liberty" We’ll have more info on the case of Jaan Laaman, the other member of the UFF still in prison soon. Jaan’s birthday is coming up on March 21st, so send him a birthday greeting if you want. Jaan Laaman #10372-016 USP McCreary Post Office Box 3000 Pine Knot, Kentucky 42635 To keep up on support for Tom, Jaan and other political prisoners in the U.S., check out the for The National Jericho Movement Fedbook page, or signing up for the Freedom Archives Political Prisoner News list.  Also, you can check out 4StruggleMag, which Jaan helped to found. If you're in NYC, the National Jericho Movement (website & fedbook) is having it's 20th anniversary gathering on March 24th (as Ray mentions in the chat). Here's a link to the JerichoNYC page for more details. Playlist

In this podcast special, I spoke with Antti, Antti is a member of Moscow Anarchist Black Cross, which does anti-repression work for anarchists and anti-authoritarian antifascists. Many members of Moscow ABC are now living abroad and doing their work from there due to intense repression by the government of Russia and it’s client states. For March 11-18 there has been a call out for international solidarity with Russian anarchists and anti-fascists facing repression, and Moscow ABC has specifically called for solidarity on March 18th, which is the first round of elections for the Russian Presidency. During this hour, Antti will speak about the cases of anarchists repressed in Penza, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Crimea, Sebastopol and elsewhere as well as the situations of imprisoned Russian anarchist and anti-fascists. For more information on the work of Moscow ABC, organizing and resistance in Russia, check out the website avtonom.org If you like what you hear on The Final Straw, please consider making a donation to us via Patreon to help us expand our reach and increase the quality of this podcast. Other donation methods will follow soon.  We won't create a content paywall for our materials, but any dough you can share would be appreciated! News sources mentioned in the episode include: https://therussianreader.com/   https://en-contrainfo.espiv.net/2018/03/06/solidarity-with-russian-anarchists-action-week-on-march-11-2018/   https://www.opendemocracy.net/   https://avtonom.org/en/news/review-repressions-against-anarchists-russia-2017-and-first-months-2018

Interview with Michael about the recent WV Teacher’s Strike In this interview, Bursts spoke with an anarchist teacher and IWW labor organizer in West Virginia, Michael Mochaidean, about the work that went into the recent teacher strikes that went slightly Wild Cat and ended in a partial victory for the teachers after 12 days of walk outs by public school teachers across the state and has inspired labor organizing among communication workers in West Virginia, teachers across Oklahoma, Arizona, New Jersey and elsewhere.  They cover Right To Work regimes in the U.S. South, the organizing model of the IWW, dual union membership, #generalstrike2018, #55strong, and where Michael sees things moving forward. Interview about the Southeast Trans and/or Women’s Action Camp Next we have a short interview with Miel, an Asheville resident and co organizer of the Southeast Trans and/or Women’s Action Camp, or SETWAC, which will take place outside of Asheville from April 26th thru 28th. We talk about the camp and the importance of having an eco-struggle space be centered away from cis-masculine genders. We also talk about this group’s fundraising platform and the troubles they’ve had there, plus a link for a new fundraising push and how to get involved. To learn more about this project, you can visit https://setwac.blackblogs.org, and to donate you can go to http://paypal.me/SETWAC2018 Podcast special: International Solidarity against Repression of anarchists and antifa in Russia If you want even more audio in your ear, check out our website for the interview Bursts did with Antti, a member of Moscow Anarchist Black Cross, about repression of anarchists and anti-fascists in Russia & Crimea, including the frame-up of criminal conspiracy, torture, disappearances and criminalization of supposed statements on social media.  There has been a call for international solidarity actions with a-team and antifa in the Russian Federation from today, March 11th through the 18th, as well as a day of solidarity specifically on the 18th called for by Moscow Anarchist Black Cross in the run-up to the first round of Russian Presidential elections. Presentation at Firestorm  Also, if you’re in Asheville this week, at Firestorm on Thursday, March 15th at 6pm there’ll be a presentation by another Russian anarchist comrade entitled, “The Western Left and Media Politics of Russia in the Context of the War in Ukraine”.  This event is free, wheel chair accessible and will be followed by a question and answer period. You can see the Fedbook event here! ————-   Playlist here.

The Final Straw is excited to share with our listeners an episode of the podcast, Shades of Green, which describes itself as “a podcast exploring environmental justice from unceded Mi’kmaq territory.” (correction to our intro, we say "liquified natural gas", when in fact the facility would just store "natural gas."  Apologies for the confusion.) This episode features voices of the Mi’kmaq resistance to the building of an liquified natural gas storage facility by Alton Gas in salt caverns under and around the Sipekne'katik River in so-called Nova Scotia, potentially resulting in salt pollution and likely seepage of the gas into the river. The episode, a cleverly produced montage, features indigenous words about their lifeways, relationship to settlers, settler society and government and what it means to live in treaty with another community and the earth. Much of the conversation sits around the Truckhouse and Treaty Camp along the banks of the Sipekne'katik River, which provides shelter, a space for organizing. You are prompted multiple times, dear listener, to reflect on whose land you are on and what your relationship is with them. What is decolonization and what does living in treaty with the land and your neighbors mean? Thanks to the friend in Nova Scotia for passing this our way, thanks to Sadie Beaton for permission to air and to those voices we hear on the recording. We hope you enjoy. More information on the struggle can be found at Stop Alton Gas