Bloc Party: It’s In The Cards

Originally posted to It’s Going Down

Well, it finally happened everyone. 2015 finally fucking died and we could not be more thrilled. Yes, there were some bright spots for all of us bad kids. There were also some dark and difficult days, weeks and months across the board. We know how ridiculous and trite New Year’s resolutions are and we wouldn’t dare bore any of our friends with them. Instead, we have decided to kick off 2016 with something extra special.

We are humbly presenting you, as a gift of sorts, with a tarot reading done by bad kids, for bad kids. We enlisted the help of the best tarot reader in all of anarchy land and collaborated on this reading. So from our wintry living room to yours, here is a look at our anarchist future for 2016:

This card represents all of us. Don’t worry. The fool isn’t as lame as they look. Yeah, we know they are looking a little lifestyle-ish with the hobo knapsack, dog in tow and feather in their hair. But, this card means we are all at the beginning of a new journey with unlimited potential. We had the same “oh dang,” reaction to flipping this one during last night’s reading. New year and new opportunities arise. We have a strong feeling that this year is going to be filled with the kinds of bad kid adventures that our crusty anarchist hearts had nearly given up on in 2015.

Before we talk too much about the future, we need to take a good look at our past. The nine of pentacles isn’t a rough past. We’ve worked hard. We’ve made gains in a lot of areas. We also may have been a little too self assured about our accomplishments. When you find the nine of pentacles in a past card position apparently it means something about your childhood. Well, our childhoods must have really been something since we’ve all landed in that spot of “fuck you, dad” and have become career level delinquents in all black everything. Though maybe we should take a hard look at our dodgy past as edgy hipsters with philosophy degrees doing some weekend warrior-ing. Just kidding! We really aren’t doing too bad, but there is always room for improvement.

What is the future looking like, you ask? Goddamn golden. Our expert tarot reader explained the three of pentacles to us and said that we are all adhering to our calling, even going so far as to call this our “sacred work.” Pretty much. In all seriousness, we know how real this work is. We know how many of you are spending endless hours doing what you can to tear down prison walls, get friends free, get ourselves free and so much more. We know how heartbreaking it can be and also how thrilling. It is more wonderful than we imagined when we taste, however briefly, a victory. Though it is so much more bitter than we ever feared when we lose. So we tip our hats to every last one of you. Tip your hats to yourselves too please.

This next card, king of cups, falls into the position of advice about this year. What should we be on the lookout for? What should we be doing and working towards? Aside from the obvious goals of tearing this whole motherfucker down. To be honest, we took one look at this card and got scared because this guy is looking like something straight out of the lizard people playbook. Good news though friends, this isn’t a signal of the patriarchal-reptilian takeover! This card is all about emotional balance. We don’t want to get too into feelings here, but we should be certain to take care of ourselves and each other amidst all of the badass work we’re doing. We can find ways of being total hooligans while still having each other’s backs on the hard shit.

What is the outcome for 2016? This card ain’t no joke. Eight of wands is basically a giant, cosmic seal of approval on everything we’re working towards. By cosmic we mean the endless abyss of nothing of course. There isn’t some perfect way to get it done, friends. There is no fucking road map. We may never be able to fully breathe, filling our lungs to capacity, but we can catch our breath together while we fight so fucking hard.

Now that you’ve got the lay of the land, let’s get to some news and updates:

While the Bundy kids grabbed headlines for pushing for more access to public lands for ranchers and environmental destructive business, Obama has launched a wave of ICE raids that targeted workers in three states. The Guardian wrote:

The early morning raid came at the beginning of a sweep over the weekend by the US Department of Homeland Security in which at least 121 people were taken into custody to be deported home. Those apprehended – in Georgia, North Carolina and Texas – were mostly women and children and mostly Central American immigrants fleeing violence whose asylum claims had been refused. After the raids, pro-migrant groups said on Monday, panicked calls from immigrants to hotlines and attorneys surged.

Latin Times wrote:

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers raided homes in Georgia and Texas over the weekend as part of a targeted sweep of Central American migrants slated for deportation. The raids, which affected at least 11 families according to the L.A. Times, could be the beginning of a larger effortfirst reported by WaPo by the Obama administration to deport recent migrants who have been denied asylum. Those recent migrants include thousands of women and children, who immigration advocates say are fleeing violence in Central America and should be counted as refugees.

The Prison Books Collective’s poster for January birthdays for political prisoners is out. Print off a bunch, post them around your town, get some friends together and write some cards. There are a lot of birthdays this month, but you can do it.

January 22nd is rapidly approaching and a few months back Marius Mason made a call for a day of solidarity with trans prisoners. You can take a look at the full site for Trans Prisoner Day of Action for the full callout, information on events already scheduled as well as lists of prisoners you can get in contact with.

You can also order some beautiful postcards to be used in conjunction with whatever you have planned for this day of solidarity:

January 22, 2016 will be the first International Trans Prisoner Day of Action and Solidarity.  If you are planning a letter writing event for trans prisoners, feel free to order a stack of postcards featuring paintings by Marius.  This series was specifically designed by Marius and friends to be used for January 22nd.

Orders can be made by writing to doriszine(at)yahoo(dot)com

Over on Jeremy Hammond’s support site they just posted some new photos from the inside. This one is our favorite:

Send Jeremy a letter and let him know you’re digging his appropriate use of sledge hammers:

Jeremy Hammond #18729–424
FCI Manchester
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 4000
Manchester, KY 40962

One of Eric King’s support crew was recently on Political Prisoner Radio talking about Eric’s case. This episode of the podcast also features updates on Mumia’s ongoing medical neglect issues. The podcast is a good one! While you listen you can drop Eric or Mumia a line:

Eric King
27090045
CCA Leavenworth
100 Highway Terrace
Leavenworth, KS 66048

Mumia Abu-Jamal
#AM 8335
SCI Mahanoy
301 Morea Road
Frackville, PA 17932  

Jay Chase of the NATO 3 has been dealing with a lot lately. From obscene medical neglect of his battle of with Huntington’s Disease to continued targeting of him by the prison through adding new charges. He has a pre-trial court date on February 3rd and his support folks had this to share:

When: February 3, 2016, 9am
Where:Cook County Criminal Courthouse, 2650 S California Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60623
RSVP to facebook event here.

Jared “Jay” Chase has a pre-trial hearing coming up soon. He is being targeted by the same prosecutor (Anita Alvarez) he faced during the Nato 3 trial for alleged assault charges pinned on him by guards while he awaited trial for two years back in 2012-2014. These same guards were allowed to testify against him during the Nato 3 sentencing in a somewhat successful attempt to bring a harsher sentence and now they will likely testify against him in this case.

As some of you may know Jay was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease while in captivity in Cook County Jail and the ongoing brutalization and isolation he has faced has contributed to a noticeable and alarming deterioration in his health. In fact, at his last court date, Jay came to court with noticeable bruises and a black eye. When the Judge asked him what happened, he said he ‘had a bad week’.

This trial is not just about a few extra years being tacked on to his current sentence which is coming to an end in May. The State has made it very clear through this obviously vindictive prosecution that they want to ensure Jay lives out his days in their cage.  Please be there and show the State that we stand with Jay and let Jay know that we have not forgotten him or his struggle. He needs our love and support as he stands in defiance of this ongoing persecution.

Jay will be in attendance at this court date and could use some friendly faces in court.

Jay’s support folks have also asked for a flood of letters of support to be sent out. Please send something to Jay and let them know that he is never alone. Also, if you have some leftovers on that Amazon gift card your Auntie gave you, consider sending something from Jay’s wishlist:

Jared Chase
M44710
P.O. Box 99
Pontiac, IL 61764

You can also check out this podcast with more information about Jay’s current situation.

Puerto Rican Political Prisoner, Oscar Lopez Rivera turns 73 today, and has been in federal prison since 1981. Take the time to check out this short documentary on Oscar Lopez, and then check out the website here to learn how to show support.

Oso Blanco has a new address. Be sure to make note of that and send Oso a letter of support! There is also an ongoing call for funds you can find out more details on at his support site.

We currently have some cities raising money for an Oso Blanco Legal Fund – Denver, Portland, Atlanta, NYC, St. Augustine, Cincinnati, Chattanooga thus far. We need more cities on the list!!! The more cities the less money each city has to raise. Please sign on today! Any amount you can raise will help. We will report all fundraising to Oso Blanco. Contact [email protected] if you would like to get involved or simply raise the money and donate on this front page. Also, click on the Fundraising Tab for more information and specifics. Share that page far and wide. Maybe you don’t have time to raise funds at this time but you can distribute the fundraise page on social media. THANK YOU.  UPDATE: We are over halfway to our goal of $4,500! Keep going, stay the course and if your city hasn’t signed up, please consider it.