AW@L Radio - Smash the State Report: Feb 22, 2013
From the February 22nd 2013 edition of AW@L Radio - Today's show starts with a brief report back from the 1st ever KW Anarchist bookfair (full write up below), then jumps into an update from David Cedeno, a man imprisoned at the Central North Correction Centre and isolated for his medical condition (full write-up below).
Next up is news from the injustice system, as it is revealed that the judge who issued injunctions on behalf of CNrail against rail line blockades set up during Idle No More actions in December and January, used to consult for CN in the US. To help at least counter the wrongs of this obvious conflict of interest, please support the legal defence campaign for blockader Ron Plain. Ron was a spokesman for the Amjinaang and is the only person facing legal actions for the blockades.
So long, farwell, thanks for all the fish... a super mega-pod of dolphins, number over 100 000 was spotted off the coast of San Diego by a tour boat operator. This comes as thousands of dead dolphins have been found on the beaches and off the coast of peru, which comes on the heels of expanding sonic exploration projects undertaken in the search for deep sea oil/gas. I'm calling these things related!
The Guardian paper in the UK has reported on the increasing use in canada by state agents of comparing and treating environmentalists and terrorists and labelling them security threats. The article looks at study by Queens university prof Jeff Monaghan which points to CSIS documents showing they are afraid of domestic threats more than other issues and that surveillance is the new normal when it comes to police and activist groups.
The chemical workers song leads us to two replays of reads from the Daily GRRR!, the first being written by Sakura Saunders and looks into the globe and mail's uncritical (corrupt/fluff/garbage) reporting of canadian mining giant barrick gold as more news comes out regarding the companies oversea operations. Next is an update on the legal case against the china-canada free trade agreement brought on by west coast Indigenous nation the Hupacasath.
We then update on the Camover trend sweeping the globe as reports from Peugeot sound have the first entry from north america for the worldwide anti-CCTV camera/surveillance state game/contest, that folks of all ages can enjoy!
Great news greeted many this week with another victory for No One Is Illegal and others working on the access without fear, sanctuary city campaign. Toronto city council has taken the next steps to having rules to protect undocumented or non-full status migrants, the first city in canada, toronto would join 26 american cities and 3 states. The campaign has been ongoing csince 2004 and now needs folks to ensure that the councils rules will be enforced across the spectrum of city services.
Byron's Speed River Song takes us into commentary by Mumia Abu-Jamal on former cop turned cop-killer Chris Dorner, who was killed by cops after bringing the fear to the precincts that cops bring to the citizens everyday.
And some news to inspire cooperation on the small scale - news from greece has a new weapon to counter the austerity war and that is self managed and self organised factories. One great example is the Vio.Me factory who recently opened their production lines with a huge community celebration. check out http://viome.org for more on this!
And we close the show with reporting on a report which tells us that segregated bike lanes on streets, and cars driving slower will lead to fewer injuries, deaths, and accidents on the roads. The study looked notes that european bike centres have far greater numbers of cyclists on the streets but have fewer accidents. The study also notes how building safer infrastructure and reducing the dangers around biking will increase bike use, and boost health across the region, reduce traffic jams, and lead to better air quality and less pollution produced. Its no surpirse that in a community that needs a random act of kindness day, the haters on therecord.com blast the needs for such safety measures as they proclaim the supremacy of the automobile.
KW Anarchist Bookfair Write-Up
Kitchener's first ever Anarchist Bookfair was organised for Saturday the 16th of February and hosted over 200 participants for the one day event. The busy workshop schedule included critical discussion on anti-oppression and privilege politics; ideas for anarchists to engage in decolonial struggles; understanding mutual aid in the everyday; union solidarity work, and many others. Naturally, there was plenty of radical literature, art, and Do-it-Together innovation for a better world at the vegan-fed and child-friendly event. With talk of making the bookfair annual, things wound up with a great after party featuring hip-hop, punk, and spoken word artists, along with KW's Janice Lee and the Free Radicals.
website: http://kwbookfair.noblogs.org/
Update from David Cedeno
Earlier this week, Dan Kellar was able to speak with David Cedeno, a man being held in segregation at the CNCC in Penetanguishene ontario, the same jail that AW@L radio co-host Alex Hundert was placed in, in July 2012. David told us while he did meet with the superintendent and agreed to end his hunger strike after 20 days and a promise from her that he would be able to access the schooling program that he had been doing. This promise, and others made, are yet to be honoured, and David notes that another prisoner with medical needs was recently brought to segregation and that guards have not been respecting food allergies of all prisoners.
David also let us know that no is his range are able to file complaints at the moment as the ombudsperson's phone # is no longer on the range phone, and that guards are not always delivering request forms. David, for instance, had to hunger strike just to get forms to make complaints.
Finally, David tells us that he has been trying to make something of his time in jail, something he can tell his kids he did while he was gone, finish school. However, he notes the poor treatments and discouraging and harmful actions from many guards, including not allowing him access to the educational materials, and more broadly he has witnessed or experienced threats, taunts, assaults, and pictures being taken by guards of prisoners in embarrassing situations.
Please phone the superintendent of the CNCC and demand of her:
1. to ensure prisoners' rights are being respected.
2. that they have access to books and the educational material they need.
3. access to complaint forms and phone numbers for complaints.
4. a transparent complaint and resolution process.
5. healthy food that fits peoples' dietary needs.
6. be free from guard abuse.
7. stop isolating people in prolonged segregation for medical reasons
call the superintendent of the CNCC - 705-549-9470
The Smash the State the Report is a segment on the weekly 2 hour AW@L radio (16:00-18:00est) on CKMS 100.3FM CKMS * Community * Co-op * Campus * Radio - Waterloo - http://soundfm.ca