The Final Straw Radio The Final Straw Radio

Josh Hart of Feather River Action! in Plumas county joined me to speak about US Forest Service plans for an emergency thinning of forests in this north east part of so-called California and which is threatened to be reproduced in other Federal and private lands in the name of fire prevention around the country. We talk about the claims, motivations and alternative proposals of activists, scientists and community members and the upcoming Lost Sierra Forest-Climate Action Camp happening in the area at the end of May 23-29th.
Here are a few more groups working on the issue:
http://featherriverwatershedalliance.org/ http://johnmuirproject.org/

A recent chat with Jeremy White, film-maker, activist, and street medic who’s facing prison time in what has been dubbed the “San Diego Antifa” case. You’ll hear Jeremy talk about what happened on January 9th, 2021 at the Stop The Steal rally, how the police interacted with members of American Guard and Proud Boys as they assaulted passers by, the conspiracy-theory driven DA Sommers Stephan and where the case was before it resumed on March 18th, after we recorded this chat. As always, thank you for the support in getting voices like these further into the world. Jeremy also worked on a horror-comedy film called "Bitch Ass".
Fundraising on the case: Give Butter to benefit two defendants in the case: http://givebutter.com/protest-defense-sandiego Instagram: @SuperPowerToThePeople Fundraising for Tallcan, former defendant: Benefit concert Saturday, May 18th 2024 @Birdcage Comics
165 W Hospitality Lane,
Suite 17
San Bernadino, CA 92408
Doors @ 6pm / ALLAGES
$8 Suggested donation / (no one will be turned away for lack of funds)
The proceeds from this show will go to legal funds and family support.
FEATURING LIVE PERFORMANCES BY:
SEXETTE / GLORBO / THE HAIL MARIAS / DOVE / LOW SWEEP Venmo: @PUSHINGDOWNTHEWALLS
Cashapp: $PUSHINGDOWNTHEWALLS
Please put "TC" in the notes.  
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Featured Track: Comrades by Bambu from Party Worker

SCI Rockview is a prison in central Pennsylvania where incarcerated comrades have been facing repression for demanding justice in the face of impunity by racist COs and following a year of prisoner deaths due to institutional toxicity and guard violence. We speak to an outside supporter about the situation at Rockview, the reactions of administration, inside / outside relationships and solidarity that have flared up. We hope that this conversation contributes to increased and thickened ties between folks on both sides of the walls. You can read some recent posts about this situation at AbolitionistStudy.com and PHLAntiCap.NoBlogs.org and you can find audio from the wives of prisoners at SCI Rockview on In The Mix Prisoner Podcast. A few other sites of interest include StudyAndStruggle.com, DC IWOC on instagram, and In The Belly Journal.
This conversation was conducted via encrypted messages and recorded by a comrade Golem and Ash from the the MolotovNow! Podcast, so a big thanks is due to them.
Transcript PDF (Unimposed) Zine (Imposed PDF) Announcement Jorge “Yorch” Esquivel Jorge has now been held in prison for over a year without a trial, and urgently needs funds to cover legal fees and prison costs (food, water, phone calls, visits, administration fees, service costs, etc).
Jorge "Yorch" Esquivel is a beloved compañero of the punk community, and a long-time participant of the Okupa Che. He was arrested on December 8, 2022 by plainclothes police as he was leaving the campus of the Ciudad Universitaria (of the UNAM university) in Mexico City as part of a campaign of criminalization against the Okupa  or squat.
BACKGROUND
On February 24, 2016, an operative was carried out in which plainclothes policemen detained him, "planting" drugs on him in order to fabricate crimes, and accusing him of drug trafficking, as part of a campaign of repression on the squatted auditorium Okupa Che in UNAM (still existing). The whole case was plagued with irregularities. He was transferred to Oaxaca and then to a maximum-security prison in Hermosillo as a strategy to hinder his legal defense by taking him far away from his support networks. Thanks to the solidarity and legal work, he was reclassified from the crime of drug dealing to simple possession of narcotics, and was released on bail in March 2016.
Even though he was no longer in prison, he was not out of danger. Constant threats and journalistic reports did not cease; the press even reported his death and accused him of participating in organized crime. Meanwhile, steps were being taken to frame him once again and re-arrest him for the same fabricated crime.
On December 8, 2022 he was arrested in exactly the same place - a few steps outside Ciudad Universitaria, where the Okupa is located, once again by plainclothes police - with the grounds for this illegal
detention being that the Attorney General's Office appealed the decision to reclassify the crime.
The compañero's health is fragile due to an extended hospitalization a couple years back and the toll the prison conditions have taken on him.
CURRENT SITUATION
Jorge is currently incarcerated in the Reclusorio Oriente prison in Mexico City. The legal process is still in the evidence stage. Several hearings have been postponed and Jorge’s process is being delayed and prolonged to keep him in what is called “preventative imprisonment” with no sentence, which is common for cases of political prisoners in Mexico.
Despite the fact that there is no evidence to keep him in prison, the strategy of the State is clearly to drag it out as long as possible, which is a tortuous level of uncertainty for all of us close to Jorge.
Thanks to the solidarity of individuals, collectives and networks, it has been possible to cover Jorge's expenses inside the prison, which have been very high due to the corruption that reigns in Mexican prisons. We are raising funds to support his legal costs and basic needs to be able to surv

This week, you’ll hear our chat with David “Mac” Marquis, one of the editors and contributors to the recently published new book Books Through Bars: Stories From The Prison Books Movement out from University of Georgia Press. We talk about prison books projects, what they say about conditions inside, some of the value of this inside-outside organizing and what you can expect to find in the book.

This week you’ll hear from James "Jay" Ward, a long-time abolitionist who has been incarcerated in Ohio for over half his life, since he was 15. Over the years, he has participated in the national prison strike of 2018, various hunger strikes, and other movements against the abuse and mistreatment of incarcerated people.
Transcript PDF (Unimposed) Zine (Imposed PDF) One of his major political goals is to educate the public about the struggles he and other prisoners face to create systemic change. Without a sentence reduction, Jay will likely spend the next 25 years in prison as well. Jay is currently raising funds to pursue post-conviction relief so that he can reunite with friends and family and begin a new life on the outside. Despite Jay’s best efforts, he was not able to visit his mother before she died of an illness in 2022. He would like the chance to spend time with his father, who is also in poor health, before he passes.
Jay's links: GoFundMe link is here: https://gofund.me/60f1291b His ID # is A517461 for those who want to connect via GettingOut. Twitter / X: @DecarcerateUS His mailing address is:
James Ward
A571461
P.O. Box 788
Mansfield, OH 44901

This week, we’re sharing an interview with Xinachtli, an anarcho-communist Chicano political prisoner held in the McConnell Unit of the Texas prison system. Xinachtli, whose name is Nahuatl for “seed” is also known by his state name of Alvaro Luna Hernandez. Xinachtli spoke to us recently about his views on the white supremacist, colonial system of the so-called USA, the legacy of genocide of indigenous peoples in the southwest of Turtle Island, his jailhouse lawyering and his upcoming parole bid.
Transcript PDF (Unimposed) Zine (Imposed PDF) From our prior interview intro: Xinachtli is serving a 50 year sentence since 1996 in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for aggravated assault on a Sheriff in Alpine, Texas. The Sheriff was serving a warrant for Xinachtli’s re-arreast at Xinachtli’s home. When questioned on the nature of the warrant, the Sheriff pulled a gun and Xinachtli was able to disarm him and make an escape without harming the Sheriff significantly.
After a few days of man-hunt, his mothers house was surrounded by numerous local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and the house was beseiged. It was only a 9-1-1 call from Xinacthli made stating that he was not being allowed to surrender that caused the troops to stand down and he allowed himself to be taken into state custody.
The grounds for the arrest warrant have since been overturned, but based on the post-facto word of the Sheriff that Xinachtli had pointed the gun at him, Xinachtli was sentenced to 50 years. He’s been determined to be a political prisoner based on his participation in multiple cases against abuse by prison officials and police, his jailhouse lawyering, advocacy for Latinx and other marginalized people in Texas and his political stance that the US and state governments occupying the Southwest of Turtle Island is a racist and illegitimate regime.
Xinachtli links: Website: FreeAlvaro.Net Xinachtli speaking about his life and case up to roughly 2010 A few notes from Xinacthli's Support Team: Xinachtli’s support team is undergoing a transition and expansion, atm, which is why the ways to donate aren’t more formal.
Per Xinachtli’s request, donations would go to: fundraising materials, commissary, potential podcast (if the institution approves), movement building, some core team needs, jailhouse lawyer work, and for post-release support if he gets out.
If you want to donate a larger amount or have any questions prior to donating, please contact:-2024xinachtlifreedomcampaign ( at) gmail.com (preferred) or via +1  (773) 688-4329
When donating PLEASE write as a message: “X”, “Xinachtli” or an emoji that has some type of “X” in it.
Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/u/martiresmcneil Paypal: preciado.christopher@gmail.com (paypal.me/merziado) CashApp: https://cash.app/$varlam Zelle: x363823@gmail.com ; 210.780.9996 . ... . ..
Featured Track: Part III (AKA Light) Alternative Take by Duke Ellington and Mahalia Jackson from Black, Brown and Beige