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Military Decruitment, Trump 2.0 and Resisting New Empire (with Fig of About Face)

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This week, we’re featuring an interview with Fig, an anarchist and member of the anti-Imperialist US veterans organization About Face to talk about decruitment, the work of About Face and an assessment of shifts in military priority under the lead of Hegseth towards the southern US border and the Trump administration 2.0’s multi-polar spin. There’s a lot here and we’ll have a transcript in the near future. To hear the whole chat, check out our blog post or the streaming platforms at https://tfsr.wtf

Past veteran interviews on TFSR:


More Posts for Show: The Final Straw Radio

5 Months After Hurricane Helene in Barnardsville, NC

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This week we’re sharing recent chat with Jazz and Badger, two residents of Barnardsville, a small village just outside of Asheville, NC. We spoke about the community, the impact of Hurricane Helene, some lessons learned from coordinating among the neighbors and how people are faring now, nearly 5 months out from the storm. You can find their website at MutualAidBarnardsville.com

If you’re listening to the radio edition, you can find the full ep at our website or listen on various streaming platforms listed at TFSR.WTF. To hear similar stories from after the storm you can find links to past interviews here. Also mentioned were interviews recorded by Blue Ridge Public Radio: Voices of Helene.

Articles on recovery referenced:

Recent Storm Support for EKY, ETN, SWVA + WV

Recent floods in middle Appalachia in the middle of an intense winter cold snap have left many without potable water or other basic needs. ATV donation / loan / operation request to help check on people in hollers, help clear roads, drive supplies: reach out to theferalraccoon (a t) proton (d ot) me OR MutualAidDisasterRelief ( at) gmail (do t) com.

EKY

One place you can look for where to send resources is Eastern KY Mutual Aid, found on Instagram or Facebook under the name Hillbillies Helping Hillbillies. And you can find out more by visiting the website or checking social media for Mutual Aid Disaster Relief. Some of the useful links are here for those unable to use the platforms:

  • EKY Mutual Aid Patreon
  • Volunteer form if in the region
  • EKY Mutual Aid Cashapp: $SoupBeansFriedTaters
  • EKY Mutual Aid Paypal: @EKYMutualAid

In Pikeville, KY, there’s a request for food grade 5 gallon for water filtration where municipal water isn’t running or wells are contaminated there’s a request for restaurants to save buckets for water filtration. People interested can contact Cara at 859_533_0349

DROP OFF LOCATION:
Pike Central HS
100 Winners Circle Drive Pikeville, KY 41501

Other EKY sites:

  • Appalachian Crisis Aid Fund
  • The Y’all Squad TheYallSquad.org/donate

SWVA

  • SAMS Lonesome Pine Mutual Aid Paypal: @SAMSVA
  • The Care Collective of SW VA Venmo: @carecollectiveofswva
  • Cumberland Mountain Mutual Aid
    • Paypal: cumberlandmountainmutualaid (a t) gmail (d o t) com
    • Venmo: @CMMAID
    • CashApp: $CMMUTUALAID

WV

  • WVUMC Disaster Response Ministries WVUMC.org/donate
  • Bluejay Rising BluejayRising.org/donate
  • Spark of Love Foundation
    • CashApp: $sparkoflove4thekids
    • PayPal: The Spark of Love Foundation

ETN


More Posts for Show: The Final Straw Radio

Surveillance Self Defense, Encrypted Chat Apps and Securing Devices with Thorin Klosowski

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This week, a conversation with Thorin Klosowski of the Electronic Frontier Foundation about some basic tools and ideas for keeping our information a little safer online and the Surveillance Self-Defense site, ssd.eff.org . We discuss device encryption, tor-browser, vpns, encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram as well as password vaults. I’m hoping this’ll be the first of a few interviews to try to make digital security concepts a little more accessible.

To hear a longer version of this chat, check out our website.


More Posts for Show: The Final Straw Radio

CIMA on Community Defense Against ICE + Kristian Williams on the Comics of Alan Moore

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This week on the show, we’re sharing two interviews.

First up, Dulce, a member of Companeros Inmigrantes en las Montanas en Accion, or CIMA, a local organizing and advocacy group by and for immigrants in western NC about her experience working for dignity and solidarity in light of the current and past administrations. More on CIMA can be found at CIMAWNC.Org

Then, Ian speaks with Kristian Williams, author of Gang Politics, Resist Everything Except Temptation, and Our Enemies in Blue, among others, about his recent book, The Illuminist: Philosophical Explanations in the work of Alan Moore. The chat touches upon Moore’s work and its anarchist underpinnings, his legacy in and out of comics, the necessity of imagination, and the possibilities that arise from death and disaster. The book is available from emergencyhearts.com, emergencyhearts.bandcamp.com, and kristianwilliams.com. You can find past interviews we’ve done with Kristian here.

To hear the full podcast version, including Sean Swain’s segment, check out our website.


More Posts for Show: The Final Straw Radio

“From Hash Rebels to Urban Guerrillas” with Gabriel Kuhn

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Today we’re sharing an interview recorded this week with Gabriel Kuhn speaking about the West German urban guerrilla group the 2nd of June Movement, the book he co-edited on this subject entitled From Hash Rebels to Urban Guerrillas: A Documentary History of the 2nd of June Movement (from PM Press and Kersplebedb), the milieu from which it arose, how it compared to other groups at the time like the Red Army Faction, and some of the legacy of their critiques and interventions on radical politics in the autonomen movement and beyond.

For the hour we speak about the context from which the 2nd of June Movement grew (alongside the Red Army Faction, Revolutionary Cells and others) in the 1970’s, their goals and actions, the timing of the book and the legacy that these groups left to German society and the autonomous movements that continued. If you’re listening to the radio edition, to hear the full conversation plus Sean Swain’s segment, you can find it at our website or various streaming services.

• Our prior interview with Gabriel on Liberating Sapmi
• Gabriel’s blog: https://lefttwothree.org/
• A blog collecting documents of this period: http://germanguerilla.com/

. … . ..

Featured Track:


More Posts for Show: The Final Straw Radio

Asheville Nonprofit Working Wheels Pivots After Helene

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By: Kevin Eddings

Patryk Battle, news team correspondent, sat down with Eric Smythers, development coordinator at Working Wheels on the January 22nd edition of the Asheville FM News Hour. They discussed the effects of Hurricane Helene on the nonprofit sector.

For the past few years Working Wheels has been dedicated to those who are not able to get to work, school, and doctor’s appointments because they do not have a source of transportation, or those who struggle to afford car repairs. According to Smythers, everything has changed because of Helene, which forced the organization to pivot in their approach to helping people.

Smythers shares that Working Wheels was quite fortunate during the storm. “We had some water in our mechanical bay, and we lost some cars to flood-related damage, but we didn’t have any major damage to our workspace.” he said. With the nonprofit coming back, Smythers said they have two new initiatives.

In the first initiative, vehicles like pickup trucks or box trucks that are actively being used in relief efforts will be repaired for free. Smythers said, “If you’re from Mana Food Bank we have an application online. Please fill it out and we will be excited to help you get repairs to your vehicles.”

Regarding the second initiative, Smythers said, “We are taking raised money…and directly purchasing used vehicles to get [them] into the hands of people who have been most affected by the floods.” 

Helene making national news had a positive impact on donations. According to Smythers,Money is better than cars because it is easier to use, rather than transporting a car from out of state. “We had people from California calling us up saying they wanted to donate a car,” Smythers said. “I tell them that’s a wonderful idea but if they want to sell the car and send us the money [that would be best], because that’s a very specific thing they can do.” 

When asked if there’s an end goal in sight, Smythers said that they started GoFundMe for $500,000 and they have already raised over $300,000, which will help them buy thirty used cars for people who need them.

If you wish to donate to Working Wheels, you can go to their website, where there’s a link to the GoFundMe page. And if you’re local with a working car, Smythers says they will accept it if the title is in your name.

Listen to the full interview at the AFM Newshour Archive page.


More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour