Communique 017, the last on Boston Free Radio, airs today!

Good morning, Unsettlers. Apologies for the lack of updates here! A few weeks back, The Unsettler became a twice-monthly podcast, rather than a weekly podcast, as there was simply too much research, art-making, and prep work to be done between communiques. As of August, The Unsettler will be on hiatus from regular broadcasting, doing DIY communiques as inspiration strikes and time allows.

Don’t fret! The backlog will stay available via SoundCloud and iTunes, even as the show moves away from live material.

Please tune in for our final BostonFreeRadio installment this evening at 6 p.m. ET to hear a great interview with candidate for Somerville Ward 3 Alderman, Ben Ewen-Campen that covers radical and progressive battles in and outside of local mainstream politics.

New schedule for live communiques, podcasts

Hello Unsettlers!

You may have noticed a lack of activity here, which is the result of other projects taking up a good portion of my time this month. I’m scaling back The Unsettler to accommodate these other creative outlets, and hoping to keep (improve, even) the quality of future installments of the NEU.

The 1st, 3rd, and occasional 5th Monday of each month, you’ll be able to catch The Unsettler on BostonFreeRadio.com at 5 p.m. ET; 2nd and 4th Mondays will be reruns. That means you can expect new podcast updates twice monthly on our SoundCloud and iTunes (leave a review and rating, if you have a moment).

Thanks for your support!
Eljasz

Communique 012: The Carceral State of the Nation

Stream or download on SoundCloud or iTunes.

Elias sits down with Dr. Christopher Petrella, a Lecturer in American Cultural Studies and Associate Director of Programs for the Office of Equity and Diversity (OED) at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and contributor to Boston Review and Black Perspectives (African American Intellectual Historical Society) to discuss his work on exploring and exposing the private prison industry, which has previously been featured in The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, The Nation, Boston Review, and The New Yorker, has appeared on ESPN and NPR, and has been debated in the U.S. House of Representatives. Strap in, Unsettlers, this is a good one!

Talking points:

Renown Scholar Forced to Discuss The Onion; a town with more prisons than stop lights; when private prisons become ubiquitous, are private prisons “normal”?; “mass incarceration” vs “the carceral state”; you don’t have to be in prison to be imprisoned–how are bodies criminalized?; immigration becomes a crime–crossing the Streamline; detainment as a “market”; bed quotas and minimum occupancy requirements for ICE and prisons; “if you build it, you will fill it”–empty prisons lead to uncomfortable questions; banks built the prisons; don’t get it twisted–“state-funded” prisons aren’t “better”; our previous “victories”; why stocks for private prison corporations surged after Trump’s win; race and the state; weaponizing a census; “real estate companies who dabble in incarceration.”

Related links:

Communique 011: Human Tater Tots of the Alt-Right

Stream or download on SoundCloud or iTunes.

Another bullshit week in suck city with Elias and Athena.

Talking Points: Starting on time is weird; maker space? I barely even know her space!; DIY stab vests; Athena enlists in the Pride military; the top of my nose; disingenuity; LAN party politics; Mother-Daughter Forklift Race 2017; National Mamas Bailout Day; FRIT ain’t SHIT; Wake Up the Earth; Reportback: Rally Boston to Stand Against Hate; the human tater tots of the alt-right; Comey sent homey; Spicer beats around the bush; once, twice, three times *totally not* under investigation; comrade Trump?!; community engagement; Rate! That! Praxis!; interesting reads; the return of Hoagy Carmichael.

Related Links:
Black Lives Matter is bailing out women for Mother’s Day (Brandon E. Patterson, Mother Jones)
Somerville Got Astroturfed (Matt Lavallee, Medium)
A free speech clash on the Common (Nicole Fleming, The Boston Globe)
Drinking From the Cup of Fascist Tears: Boston Report Back (It’s Going Down)
After James Comey’s Firing, Who Will Stop Trump’s Tinpot Dictatorship? (Mehdi Hasan, The Intercept)
After Trump fired Comey, White House staff scrambled to explain why (Jenna Johnson, The Washington Post)
Trump to send arms to Kurdish YPG in Syria (Al Jazeera)
Richard Spencer Was My High-School Classmate (Graeme Wood. The Atlantic)
French workers protest by ‘booby-trapping’ plant (Al Jazeera)

 

Communique 009: It’s Gonna Be May Day

HAPPY MAY DAY! Elias and Athena bring you a brief history of May Day in Massachusetts and beyond, and discuss state efforts to subvert the holiday, the Janarchists of Fyre Festival, prank calling ICE, gay frog week, another awful beverage ad, and more!

Stream or download on SoundCloud or iTunes.

Talking points: Untouched by an angel; that little guy? I wouldn’t worry about that little guy; a-Maying grace; moderation is involved; open yr fresh can; Athena doesn’t like it; the Duke of Fuck-You vs Lord I-Do-What-I-Want; feedin’ the cedar meter; Puritans HATE him–click to see why!; the storied Malorkus’s of Braintree; the “Haymarket thing;” 1919: Boston PD become Hot Cops; kill Mayor Whitey; gargling foie gras; the Albert Parsons Project (oy); Loyalty Day, Law Day, and Labor Day; it’s okay if you keep laboring thaaanks; live every week like it’s #gayfrogweek; Rise of the Janarchists, climb in a megafauna and sautee a mouse in yr pee; spam on ICE; somebody’s Heiney is crowding my nice talks; Family Double Dare in a warehouse with alcohol and racists; literally “hold my beer;” painting Chase Bank on fire is not a crime; elaborate heist maps; Dali the chrono-terrorist; M’aidez Rhonda.

Relevant Links:
The incomplete, true, authentic and wonderful history of May Day (Peter Linebaugh, LibCom.org)
May Day 2017: Nothing is Over, Forward We Continue (It’s Going Down)
The Next 100 Days: May Day and Worker Resistance Under Trump / Los Próximos 100 Días: El Primero De Mayo Y La Resistencia Obrera Bajo Trump (Black Rose Federation/Federación Anarquista Rosa Negra)
Not to be a downer, but here’s a reality check on ‘Loyalty Day’ (The Los Angeles Times)
Activists stage sit-in to protest detention of immigrants (Lisa Wangsness, The Boston Globe)
Lizard People of NY and TruthBang.net
I Worked at Fyre Festival. It Was Always Going to Be a Disaster. (Chloe Gordon, New York Magazine)
$12,000 luxury Fyre Festival is basically a disaster zone (Alex Young, Consequence of Sound)
The Heineken Ad Is Worse Than The Pepsi Ad, You’re Just Too Stupid To Know It (DiDi Delgado, Medium)
Of Mead And Molotov (Rhyd Wildermuth, Gods and Radicals)
Alex Schaefer’s Paintings Of Burning Banks From His ‘Disaster Capitalism’ Series (Mutant Space)
Paganism, Anarchism and May Day (The Final Straw Radio)
The History of May Day (Resonance: An Anarchist Audio Distro)

GUESS WHAT?

Communique 009 airs tomorrow, MAY DAY, at 5 p.m. ET on Boston Free Radio. Tune in to hear about recent events, May Day celebrations in and around Boston, and a little bit about the history of May Day. Below are some happenings to consider:

Un Dia Sin Inmigrantes – ALL DAY
Everywhere
“Unéte al Dia Sin Inmigrantes/Join the Day Without An Immigrant: www.lahuelga.com

El primero de mayo, Cosecha invita a los trabajadores que dejen los campos, la maquilas, los restaurantes y los hoteles para paralizar la economía y demostrar los millones de dólares que los inmigrantes contribuyen a este país cada día.

No vamos a trabajar. No vamos a la escuela. No vamos a comprar. Te uniras?
——————————————–
On May 1st, Cosecha invites workers to leave the fields, the factories, the restaurants, and hotels to paralyze the economy and demonstrate the millions of dollars that immigrants contribute daily.
We will not go to work. We will not go to school. We will not buy.

Will you join us? http://www.lahuelga.com/home

People’s School – 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Arlington Street Church, Boston, MA 02117
Led by the Boston Educators Circle in coordination with Dia Sin Inmigrantes, for youth ages 5-18 and their families. Click
HERE for the program.

Festival de Cosecha – Harvest Festival – 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Maverick Sq, Boston, MA 02128
“Join us May 1st to commemorate International Workers Day and participate in the 1st Cosecha/Harvest Festival! We need to continue to demonstrate our power with “A Day Without Immigrants” – by NOT going to work, NOT going to school, and NOT buying anything. INSTEAD come and learn about Cosecha, and participate as a community with music, dance, art and many other fun activities. We have to show this country that it cannot function without immigrants. This is just the beginning of our fight for permanent protection, dignity, and respect!

——————————–lahuelga.com——————————

¡Únete al 1ro de mayo para conmemorar el Día Internacional de los Trabajadores y participar en el Primer Festival de Cosecha Boston! Vamos a seguir demonstrando nuestro poder con “Un Día Sin Inmigrantes” NO iyendo a trabajar, NO iyendo a la escuela y NO comprando nada. PERO vengan y participen en el FESTIVAL para conocer más sobre Movimiento Cosecha y compartir en comunidad con musica, baile, arte, y muchas mas actividades divertidas. Tenemos que demostrarle a este país que no puede funcionar sin inmigrantes. ¡Esto es sólo el comienzo de la lucha para obtener protección permanente, dignidad, y respeto!”

#HereToStay Rally in Support of the Safe Communities Act – 11:45 a.m.
Steps of the MA State House, Downtown Boston, MA 02117

Workers and Students United for Sanctuary – Harvard Rally – 4:00-5:00 p.m.
Widener Library, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA

On May 1st, International Workers’ Day, we will stand together to call for clear commitments from Harvard to protect marginalized members of our community. This rally brings together labor organizations and student groups from across campus in Harvard Yard at 4 pm. The list of speakers is TBA. We will then head over together to the 5 pm city-wide rally at Boston Common to show our solidarity with the broader Boston labor, immigrant, and people of color community in our fight to protect those vulnerable among us and to protect our ability to organize. We have a long fight ahead to continue to build solidarity around these issues, and we will have a follow-up meeting in early May to discuss goals for the summer and for the next year.

Boston May Day Mass Mobilization – Resist the Racist Deportations! – 5:00-8:00 p.m.
Boston Common, Boston, MA 02108

Followed by March to Copley Square…

The government in Washington has launched a generalized assault on our lives, rights, and living conditions. From the racist attacks on Muslims, Migrants, and African Americans to attacks on our healthcare, women, and LBGTQ folks, to our environment and education — working and oppressed people are under fire. The inauguration of the Trump presidency has sharpened the already deplorable situation for undocumented people and migrants of color.

On International Workers Day, “May Day” we call on all progressives, defenders and extenders of democratic rights, anti-racists, anti-fascists, and everyone willing and able to take this struggle to the centers of power. Our oppressions and exploitations are connected, so too must be our liberation! An injury to one is an injury to all!

Seguido por Desfile a Copley Square…

El gobierno de Washington ha lanzado un asalto generalizado contra nuestras vidas, derechos y condiciones de vida. Desde los ataques racistas contra los musulmanes, los migrantes y los afroamericanos, hasta los ataques contra nuestra salud, las mujeres y la gente LBGTQ, e incluyendo nuestro medio ambiente y nuestra educación — los trabajadores y los oprimidos están bajo fuego. La inauguración de la presidencia de Trump ha agudizado la ya deplorable situación para los indocumentados y los migrantes de color.

En el Día Internacional de los Trabajadores, “Día de Mayo” hacemos un llamamiento a todos los progresistas, defensores y extensionistas de los derechos democráticos, a los anti-racistas, a los anti-fascistas, y a todos los que quieran y puedan llevar esta lucha a los centros de poder. ¡Nuestras opresiones y explotaciones están conectadas, así también debe ser nuestra liberación! ¡Una herida para uno es una herida para todos!

Many, many more Massachusetts May Day events are listed here, as well. Happy May Day!

Communique 008: Happy Belated Inhalants Day!

Aaand we’re back! Elias and Athena bring you another weekly roundup of late capitalist fuckery as the masses clamber for fully automated luxury queer space communism. Download or stream Communique 008 on SoundCloud or iTunes!

Talking points: Post-Patriots; Back from the Brink; Narcy Narc; Running Far, Slowly, for Free; .8 of a host does 0% research; internshit; sway (not power); floor sweepings in the Nazi cola; Raytheon–whatta crazy feelin’; Trump: war profiteer; when a Father of All Bombs and a Mother of All Bombs love each other very much; energy chunks; vote for Ben Ewen-Campen; shocking developments; libertarian municipalism; Make AntiFa Sexy Again?!; who’s in their lane; Happy Belated Inhalants Day; Happy Slight Dehydration Day; the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; small acts of resistance; Athena’s upcoming show; Bill O’Reilly got fired!; more like Henry Dolt, amiright?; s/o to Chapo; nuke volleyball; the Alex Jones meat sweats; don’t get directions from Trump; will Mass get a non-racist flag?!; let’s take down Casey Affleck next.

Related Links:
Sorry, Pepsi Haters, But Social Justice Needs Capitalism (Samuel Hammond, LiberalCurrents.com)
Donald Trump personally profited from missile-maker Raytheon’s stock jump after his Syria attack (Tom Boggioni, RawStory)
Trump’s For-Profit Presidency Takes Ugly Turn as He Makes Money by Attacking Syria (Hrafnkell Haraldsson, PoliticusUSA)
US drops ‘largest non-nuclear bomb’ in Afghanistan area populated by Isis members (Tom Batchelor, Will Worley, Mythili Sampathkumar, The Independent)
Father of All Bombs (Wikipedia)
Ben Ewen-Campen for Ward 3 Alderman, Somerville
Prospects for Social Democracy in the US: Insights From a Syndicalist in Sweden (Enrique Guerrero-López, Adam Weaver, Truthout)
IGDCAST: Louise Rosealma on Berkeley and It’s Implications
4/20 Is Bourgeoisie Bullshit, Proletariats Don’t Smoke Pot We Do Inhalants! (William Todd, Clash)
Remembering the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (Marcus Barnett, Jacobin)
Bill O’Reilly’s publisher stands by him after Fox sacking (Danuta Kean, The Guardian)
Chapo Trap House – Episode 100: Chapo Goes to College
Alex Jones’ first day in court went just great (Sam Barsanti, A/V Club)
Activity Spotted at North Korea Nuclear Test Site: Volleyball (William J. Broad, The New York Times)
Changing views may lead to re-examination of state seal (Andy Metzger, The Lowell Sun)
“All Star” By Smash Mouth But All Instruments Are Bill O’Reilly Saying His Name

Communique 007: In the Pocket of Big Parpo

Download/stream here, or find it on iTunes!

Elias and Athena with the week in bullshit: tone-deaf ads, war-mongering politicians, confusion in the White House, and more.

Talking points: Technical difficulties, “that’s too high,” there’s no such thing as a free information, 3 Infinite Jests’ worth of documents, the black pants-ers?, the Pepsi® blues, highly irregular products, Big Parpo, 6th-grader-birthday-size soda, the most orange of the Grey Champions, Right Hand Bansquantch, Steve the shitty dungeonmaster, Post-Nunes, why does anyone believe in anything?, V for Vagina Dentata, BORED–NEXT!, Somerville People’s Protection Units, extremely dense, don’t be a tankie, foreign policy negging, a different kind of shitty, what’s your favorite anti-North Korea military exercise name?

Relevant Links:
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Pepsi Pulls Controversial Kendall Jenner Ad (The Daily Beast)
How Devin Nunes is Threatening the Constitution (David Corn, Mother Jones)
Steve Bannon Believes The Apocalypse Is Coming And War Is Inevitable (Paul Blumenthal, JM Rieger, Huffington Post)
Syria’s war: a 5-minute history (Max Fisher, Johnny Harris, Vox)
Trump’s Options for North Korea Include Placing Nukes in South Korea (, ,

Playlist:
Talking Heads – Don’t Worry About the Government
Parquet Courts – Careers in Combat
Television Personalities – How I Learned to Love the Bomb

Aaaand the ad, as promised: