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Nov 28, 19

This Is America #97: #NotAgainSU, Project FANG, NYC Radical Tech Conference

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Welcome, to This Is America, November 27th, 2019.

In this episode, first with speak with someone from Project FANG, about their project and current fundraising appeal, which seeks to provide direct support and material aid to earth and animal liberation, as well as Standing Rock prisoners.

We then speak with several participants in an upcoming radical digital security and privacy conference entitled, Hackers Next Door, which will take place in New York in December.

We then launch into a discussion about moving beyond simply “mobilizing” in an age of social media and also a continuing analysis of the Trump impeachment crisis.

All this and more, but first, let’s get to the news!

Living and Fighting

On campuses across the US, black students and their accomplices have been organizing occupations, walk-outs, and militant marches in face of a string of racist and white nationalist incidents. At UNC, students organized a walk-out against Trump’s former campaign manager speaking on the campus. In Lynchburg, Virginia, hundreds of students organized a walkout in response to a “Mexican themed ‘fiesta’ party” on campus.

In Syracuse, New York, students launched an occupation for over a week and a militant march on the home of the Chancellor of the university. This march followed a mass walkout of a forum after the Chancellor refused to sign onto a list of student demands. Students are demanding action in the face of a string of racist incidents and white nationalist graffiti on campus. Follow #NotAgainSU for further updates.

Also in Denison, Iowa, over 100 students walked out of class after the wife of Republican State Rep. Steven Holt, used a racial slur while teaching. These actions follow a string of high publicity far-Right and neo-Nazi acts of racist vandalism and graffiti.

Back in Indiana, an investigation by Reveal has exposed a coverup by Amazon and government officials, following the death of a fork lift driver and other labor violations in 2017. As the Indy Star wrote:

[An] Amazon worker was killed by a forklift in a Plainfield warehouse in 2017, [and] the state of Indiana’s investigator found the company was at fault. The state [also] cited Amazon for four major safety violations and fined it $28,000.

But an investigation by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has found that, as Gov. Eric Holcomb sought to lure Amazon’s HQ2 to Indiana, state labor officials quietly absolved Amazon of responsibility. After Amazon appealed, they deleted every fine that had been levied and accepted the company’s argument — that the Amazon worker was to blame.

Meanwhile Amazon workers in Staten Island protested outside of a massive Amazon fulfillment center, demanding breaks and transportation to their work sites.

In Arizona, Scott Warren of No More Deaths was found not guilty for the so-called crime of harboring two undocumented people. The trial is the State’s second failed attempt to find Warren and other humanitarian aid volunteers guilty.

As Warren stated outside of court:

Everyone here did diligent, detailed, and amazing work. And regardless of the verdict our preparation and commitment has always paid off. I love you all. And to those who aren’t here because they are keeping up the humanitarian work in the desert, I love you, too.

And to local residents who have always provided the stranger at their door with food, water, and humanitarian relief—you know I love you as well. Both in and out of court our work here has been to educate. To explain the complicated context of the border with clarity, and to bring an understanding of the humanitarian crisis to those who will listen.

Another No More Deaths volunteer stated:

We live near a border, along the lines that the state uses to determine citizenship, to define whether or not you belong. Global migration patterns are going to intensify. The climate crisis will lead to more and more displaced families. This wall being built on stolen land is not just an attempt to stop those currently walking in the desert, it is being built to try and stop the thousands who are coming seeking refuge. Now is a moment for orientation. Know where you are, and give orientation to those who don’t. Know who you are, and how you will respond, and never let any government or law challenge that. In our communities, we know where we are, and we are so much deeper than any border can define. We know what resilient people and communities look like.

New documents shine light on the degree in which Indigenous people in so-called Canada are under surveillance by the Trans Mountain corporation, which the Tiny House Warriors are fighting.

According to Yahoo News:

The federally owned Trans Mountain Corporation is monitoring pipeline opponents and designating some as persons of interest who warrant closer scrutiny, according to internal records provided to CBC News.

The Trans Mountain documents show its security officials recorded the names of individuals who posted anti-pipeline videos and statements on social media, along with the names of those tagged in the posts or who shared the content.

“New information…confirms the Tiny House Warrior Camp is attracting some fringe and more extreme activists,” the document says.

Also in Tucson, Arizona, people disrupted a Trump campaign event with anti-ICE slogans while actions across the US continue against Amazon’s investment in ICE.

In Indiana, graffiti slogans reading, “No Bigots Allowed” were painted on bridges at a university where a professor had posted an online rant against women.

In Wisconsin, the State passed new laws further criminalizing anti-pipeline protest as a felony, while in Oregon, people descended on the state capitol building and occupied the governor’s office against a proposed LNG pipeline.

In Oakland, people marched against landlords and for affordable housing and a tent village was set up in front of city hall, before being evicted by riot police early the next morning. Meanwhile in nearby Sacramento, antifascists continued to flyer the neighborhoods of active white nationalists.

Upcoming Events

 

  • November 28th: Fall Festival, Community Meal, and Noise Demo. South Bend, IN. More info.
  • November 29th: Day of Action for Free Mass Transit. More info.
  • November 30th: International Night of Music to Benefit Rojava. More info.
  • November 30th – December 1st: Seattle Anarchist Bookfair. More info.
  • December 4th – 17th: CrimethInc. west coast tour! More info.
  • December 7th: New Orleans Anarchist Bookfair. More info.
  • December 14th: Humboldt Anarchist Bookfair. More info.
  • December 14th – 15th: Hackers Next Door Conference. Radical security and privacy. NYC. More info.

 

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In search of new forms of life. It's Going Down is a digital community center and media platform featuring news, opinion, podcasts, and reporting on autonomous social movements and revolt across so-called North America from an anarchist perspective.

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