Tag: radical politics

Posted on

Communique 006: Marky Mark & the Dunkies Bunch

Communique 006: Marky Mark & the Dunkies Bunch

Elias goes deep with writer, storyteller, and musician Thom Dunn on Hollywood commercialization of tragedy and the militarization of local police forces in the years since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Is there room for reflection in the culture industry, or is it all toxic schlock? How can the stories we tell make the world a better place? Can Mark Wahlberg just fuck off already?

Talking points: Brother West on militarized policing, a different kind of reading, Sean Boo-urns, stories are about people–they’re people!, reading our Miranda July Rights, reflection in the mainstream, obscuring the lesson, whom does optimism benefit?, Darth Vader police chic, cooks with AR-15s, state vs capital: a lover’s spat, a very American Hustle, talking tragedy profiteers and merchandising, Thom and Elias are friendly dummies, what kind of lefty are you?, toxic schlock, Heavyweights with SWAT LARPing, we believe the children are our dystopian future, fun in a bleak way.

Relevant links:
Thom Dunn on the WWW, Twitter, and Facebook
The Unsettler on Twitter and Facebook
Review – Patriots Day (Sean Burns, North Shore Movies)
Was the police response to the Boston bombing really appropriate? (Radley Balko, The Washington Post)
Does ‘Boston Strong’ Mean Anything Anymore? (Kyle Scott Clauss, Boston Magazine)
Marathon Bombings Play Finds A ‘Finish Line’ Beyond The Tragedy (Jeremy D. Goodwin, wbur.org)
Lawyers raising questions about Watertown home searches following Marathon bombings, shootout (Jaclyn Reiss, Boston.com)
Tactical-Life advertising piece using the Marathon Bombings to promote the LenCo BearCat Armored Vehicle

Posted on

Events & Actions: Monday 4/3-Sunday 4/9

Monday, April 3rd

Tuesday, April 4th

  • 3:00-4:30 p.m. – We March On: Continuing the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr at the Parkman Bandstand (50 Chestnut Street) in Boston. I”n 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King led a march that ended at the Boston Common Parkman Bandstand. We will carry his legacy for social justice forward by hearing from movement leaders and workers demanding a livable wage at 3:00PM at the bandstand. At 4:00 PM, we will march to the State House to call on elected officials to support our movement.”
  • 4:00 p.m. – Next CBA subcommittee meeting (to discuss CBA proposal w/ USNC working group) at Community Action Agency of Somerville (66 Union Square)
  • 6:00-7:15 p.m. – A public address by Dr. Moncef Marzouki (Former President of Tunisia, 2011-2014) at the John F. Kennedy, Jr. forum (79 JFK Street) in Cambridge. Moderated by Tarek Masoud, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations. Middle East Initiative Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Kennedy School
  • 7:00-9:00 p.m. – 350 (Boston Node) Meeting at First Church on Eliot Street in Jamaica Plain.

Wednesday, April 5th

  • 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. – Immigrants Advocacy day at the Statehouse. The day will start with a speaking program from 10:00-11:00 a.m., followed by the lobbying visits to legislators. “We (DSA’s contingent) will meet at 10:00 at the bottom of the steps opposite the State House in Boston Common (corner of Beacon St. and Park St.), marked on the map below. We will be there from 10:00-11:00 a.m. for the speaking program, and then move into the State House to visit legislators.)
  • 6:00-8:00 p.m. – Help welcome new Bikes Not Bombs Executive Director, Elijah Evans, at 5 Alveston Street in Jamaica Plain
  • 7:00-8:30 p.m. – Commission on Energy use and Sustainability at 167 Holland St in Somerville.
  • 7:00-9:00 p.m. – Boston Food Not Bombs has its weekly planning meeting during this time at Encuentro 5 (9 Hamilton Pl Suite 2a) in Boston. This is, of course, the long-running, non-sectarian, but definitely radical free food organizations that’s been serving in MA for decades now.
  • 7:00-9:00 p.m. Black & Pink has weekly volunteer drop-in hours on Wednesdays, as well. They’re at First Baptist Church (633 Centre St) in Jamaica Plain. “Bring a laptop, if you can. If not, you can help write birthday cards!”

Thursday, April 6th

  • 5:30-8:30 p.m. – Union United Monthly Meeting at 246 Washington Street in Somerville. “Union United is a coalition of stakeholders in Somerville…working together to create a community benefits agreement – a contract we can sign with the master developer and the City that will create a diverse, sustainable, and equitable Union Square.”
  • 6:00-7:00 p.m. – Zoning meeting at Somerville City Hall where folks will be protesting the waiver of affordability inclusion at Assembly Square.
  • 6:30-8:00 p.m. – Unheard Voices of Immigration in Jamaica Plain at 361 Centre Street Join JPNDC and Hyde Square Task Force for an evening of storytelling, testimonials and knowledge building that center the experiences of immigrant people. Free and open to all (snacks provided). For more information please contact Samantha
  • 6:30-8:30 p.m. – Cambridge Democratic City Committee meeting at Attles Auditorium (85 Bishop Allen Drive)
  • 7:00-9:00 p.m. YUM: A Taste of Immigrant City presented by the Welcome Project at the Somerville Armory. “Mayor Curtatone will be the keynote speaker and speak to the 30-year history of Somerville’s status as a Sanctuary City.”

Friday, April 7th

  • 10:00 a.m.-Saturday, April 8th at 10:00 a.m. – The 24-Hour Boston Hassle Telethon at SCATV to benefit the Boston Hassle and BRAIN Arts Org. BRAIN is a local org dedicated to bringing news about art and culture events to folks in the Greater Boston Area. They have a monthly paper (The Compass), they book shows (as The Hassle), they co-produce Black Market, etc etc. Show your support–tune in and donate!
  • 6:00-9:30 p.m. – Feminist Fiber Art Craft Fair at the Democracy Center (45 Mount Auburn Street) in Cambridge. Come check out some spooky art, make some art, and drink some tea with us! This small exhibit focuses on witchcraft. There will be spooky art on display, witchy pins, patches, and stickers for sale, and tables set up for you to make art with us!

Saturday, April 8th

  • 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. – Food Not Bombs cooks for its Saturday Central Square Meal in Cambridge. E-mail us for details.
  • 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. – City Live/Vida Urbana volunteer canvassing. http://www.clvu.org/volunteer?page=26
  • 12:00-3:00 p.m. – Black & Pink holds drop-in volunteer hours at this time each week at Swissbakers (168 Western Ave) in Allston.
  • 12:30-4:00 p.m. – Food Not Bombs’ Central Square Meal is served at this time each week.
  • 5:00-8:00 p.m. – A Night of Music and Solidarity: Show Up for the ACLU at Aeronaut Brewing (14 Tyler Street) in Somerville. Show Up invites you to an evening of music, beer, and unity to help raise money to support the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The event will feature: live music provided by: Erica Leigh, Nwasoul, and Miss Fairchild, hourly raffles of items donated by local businesses, a mailbox and postcard table to write to your local officials about what’s important to you, an art sale featuring the donated work of local artists, a Solidarity Photo and Video Project sharing with the world what you Show Up for, and booths featuring local organizations where you can get more information about how to get involved in making change in your own community.
  • 6:00-11:00 p.m. – Food Not Bombs’ Haymarket Produce Rescue happens during these hours each Saturday. Volunteers meet up near Faneuil Hall at Haymarket (corner of Blackstone and North, across the street from a Hard Rock Cafe) to rescue and sort produce destined for the compost heap or landfill and deliver it, by car, to shelters in the Boston/Cambridge area to stock them with food. Volunteers with cars are especially needed.
  • 9:00 p.m.-Sunday, April 9th at 1:00 a.m. – Persisting – Songs Written By Women at the Midway Cafe (3496 Washington Street) in Jamaica Plain. People are gathering to play their favorite songs written by women, and there are still slots left to fill: https://goo.gl/SzwIxF. 21+, $10. All proceeds to benefit Jamaica Plain Music Festival. There will be a raffle & food (more details to follow).

Sunday, April 9th

  • 12:00-1:30 p.m – Boston Homeless Solidarity Committee weekly meeting at Encuentro 5 (9A Hamilton Pl in Boston). All are welcome, including people who are currently experiencing or have experienced homelessness. For an idea of what will be discussed, including the proposed agenda, or to be added to their mailing list, please contact massbhsc@gmail.com.
Posted on

Communique 005: Feel Your Eatings (Hot Commodities)

Art by Nikki McClure

Communique 005 is up for streaming and downloading!

This week, Elias sits down with Kristina, an activist and friend of the show, to talk about food, culture, and politics. We touch on the commodification of sustenance, the non-profit industrial complex, and more!

Talking points: Eat yr feelings/feel yr eatings, holy macaroni, hot commodities, vedgelord shitposting, kraft nopalitos and cheese, tradition®, contradict-heads, deadwhiteguyism, if I can’t eat potato chips it’s not my revolution, subversive mending, the revolution will not be broadcast, Phil Collins–if you’re reading this–we’ve got baked goods for you, #philcollins, shitting the pantsuit, 100 years gulag for the Metro, STOP: hammer (& sickle) time–break it down, ar-archives, drain the Cambridge swamp.

Playlist:
tUnE-yArDs – Water Fountain

Relevant links and graphics:
No Gluten Required
Cook Food Every Day, Edited by Kristina
What Trump Did for the Communist Party USA in the Boston Metro
Email Kristina here
Email us here
Three points of leftist unity:

Posted on

Today on the Unsettler: Communique 004 goes LIVE at FIVE

This afternoon, we’ll have Caitlin of Seek & Find Boston in the studio to chat about her upcoming zine, which will compile local self-defense education resources for women in the Greater Boston Area, as well as her work organizing and promoting low-cost and free events in and around the city. Plus: it’s vernal equinox! Fight for equal rights on this equal night, and listen in at 5 p.m. ET.

Posted on

Events & Actions: Monday 3/20-Sunday 3/26


(Photo credit: FANG Collective)

Monday, March 20th

  • 5:30-7:00 p.m. – City Council meeting for Cambridge at City Hall–there will be a vote on including more affordable housing in future development plans.
  • 6:00-7:00 p.m. – Know Your Rights Training for Immigrants at The Parenting Journey (366 Somerville Ave). The Political Asylum/ Immigration Representation Project – PAIR is co-hosting this event for immigrants and supporters. There will be interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole. RSVP to info@parentingjourney.org
  • 6:30 p.m. – Community meeting with Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez on the 6th floor of MCPHS University (670 Huntington Ave.) in Boston
  • 7:00 p.m. – The Community Church of Boston (565 Boylston Street, Boston) is showing “Thirty Seconds to Midnight,” a movie which covers three threats to all life on this planet: nuclear weapons, nuclear war, and the ongoing climate catastrophe. It features interviews with activists and authors as Dr. Helen Caldicott; Ray McGovern; Chris Hedges; Ann Wright; Peter Kuznick; and David Vine.  Regis Tremblay, the director, will be at the showing.

Tuesday, March 21st

Wednesday, March 22nd

  • 6:00 p.m. – Future City Building Projects & Net Zero Goals at Somerville High School (tentative)
  • 6:00-9:30 p.m. – Intro to NVDA for POC, presented by the FANG Collective at their office in Pawtucket, RI (545 Pawtucket Ave – Park in the lot and enter building through lots entrance and follow the wolf signs!). This is a brief workshop for People of Color ONLY that offers an introduction to the history of Nonviolent Direct Action and its implementation as well as examples of intersectionality within our community/movements, affinity groups and their formation, consensus decision making, and a discussion on self-care and community care. Register here: https://goo.gl/forms/QuTsyfLkPG5q3S4U2 and contact Sherrie for any childcare/accessibility needs.
  • 6:30-8:30 p.m. – Boston CosechAllies monthly meeting at 120 Boylston St, 10th Floor. If you’d like to join or start a circle but don’t know where to start, this is the meeting for you! IMPORTANT: For this location, we’ll need an RSVP list for the building, so definitely let them know if you can make it & they’ll add you!
  • 7:00-8:00 p.m. – DSA electoral group meeting at 1370 Cambridge Street in Cambridge w/ Mike Sylvester, DSA member and Maine State Senator, speaking about his experience running for office.
  • 7:00-8:30 p.m. – Commission on Energy Use and Sustainability meeting (every two weeks on Wednesday) at 167 Holland St, Somerville
  • 7:00-9:00 p.m. – Boston Food Not Bombs has its weekly planning meeting during this time at Encuentro 5 (9 Hamilton Pl Suite 2a) in Boston. This is, of course, the long-running, non-sectarian, but definitely radical free food organizations that’s been serving in MA for decades now.
  • 7:00-9:00 p.m. Black & Pink has weekly volunteer drop-in hours on Wednesdays, as well. They’re at First Baptist Church (633 Centre St) in Jamaica Plain. “Bring a laptop, if you can. If not, you can help write birthday cards!”

Thursday, March 23rd

  • 12:00 p.m. – Boston City Councilor Andrea J. Campbell & Prisoners’ Legal Services Present: Mariposa & the Saint, a play about ending prolonged solitary confinement written by longtime friends and current collaborators, Sara (Mariposa) Fonseca and Julia Steele Allen, through the prison wall, crafted only by letter over the course of three years. The play will be presented in the Ianella Chamber on the 5th Floor of City Hall (1 City Hall Square, Boston).
  • 6:30 p.m. – Community meeting with Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez at First Baptist Church (633 Centre St.) in Jamaica Plain.
  • 6:30-7:30 p.m. – Healthcare 101 – Teach-In for Single Payer and how to make a difference presented by Mass-Care at their office (9A Hamilton St) in Boston. Learn about  the History of Single Payer, Republican health reform plans, Speaker training, Questions to ask at Town Halls, Volunteer opportunities with Mass-Care.
  • 7:00 p.m. – Educational Forum on Immigration at Greater Framingham Community Church (44 Franklin St.): a forum on the issues faced by immigrants and refugees in our community and how we can advocate for them. Several community resource partners, including MetroWest Legal Services and MetroWest Workers Center and a representative from Cosecha, will be presenting.
  • 7:00-9:00 p.m. – Somerville Alderman’s Regular Meeting (every 2nd and 4th Thursday) at Somerville City Hall (93 Highland Ave).

Friday, March 24th

  • 5:30-7:00 p.m. – Rally at the State House in Boston to demand that the United States government recognize the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria as a legitimate political unit, and to end all support for the Turkish government and its war on the Kurds. Supported by members of the local Turkish and Kurdish communities and sponsored by the New England Kurdish Association, HDP Boston, and Boston Friends of Rojava and Syria. This is part of the International Michael Israel Week of Action, during which friends remember Michael Israel, a volunteer from the United States fighting alongside the SDF, who was killed in a Turkish airstrike conducted from a warplane provided by the United States.

Saturday, March 25th

  • 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. – Food Not Bombs cooks for its Saturday Central Square Meal in Cambridge. E-mail us for details.
  • 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. – MassAlliance Grasroots Campaign Training (day one of intensive two-day training). Location TBA (in Greater Boston).
  • 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. – City Life/Vida Urbana volunteer canvassing.
  • 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. – Anti-Trump Rally to Counter-Protest a MAGA Event at 193 Salem St in Boston. Few details have been provided, and while there is a MAGA event listed on Facebook and elsewhere on the internet as happening that day, it is unclear if there are any organizations backing this. While we have no reason to believe the folks who created this event are not sincere in their intentions, please keep your wits about you and scope the scene before joining in.
  • 12:00-3:00 p.m. – Black & Pink holds drop-in volunteer hours at this time each week at Swissbakers (168 Western Ave) in Allston.
  • 12:30-4:00 p.m. – Food Not Bombs’ Central Square Meal is served at this time each week.
  • 6:00-10:00 p.m. – Break the Chains: the semi-monthly, all-ages, all-gender radical dance party hosted by queer riot-folker Evan Greer is happening at Make Shift Boston (549 Columbus Ave). This installment will feature Amor Prohibida, DJ Lady Spindrift, Lady Mariposa, and Absinthe Rose. $10 – 20 sliding scale suggested donation to support touring queer artists. No one turned away. Wheelchair accessible.
  • 6:00-11:00 p.m. – Food Not Bombs’ Haymarket Produce Rescue happens during these hours each Saturday. Volunteers meet up near Faneuil Hall at Haymarket (corner of Blackstone and North, across the street from a Hard Rock Cafe) to rescue and sort produce destined for the compost heap or landfill and deliver it, by car, to shelters in the Boston/Cambridge area to stock them with food. Volunteers with cars are especially needed.

Sunday, March 26th

  • 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. – MassAlliance Grasroots Campaign Training (day two of intensive two-day training). Location TBA (in Greater Boston).
  • 12:00-1:30 p.m – Boston Homeless Solidarity Committee weekly meeting at Encuentro 5 (9A Hamilton Pl in Boston). All are welcome, including people who are currently experiencing or have experienced homelessness. For an idea of what will be discussed, including the proposed agenda, or to be added to their mailing list, please email them.
  • 5:00-6:00 p.m. – Black & Pink Family Dinner at Encuentro 5 (9a Hamilton Pl, Suite 2a) in Boston. Food provided by Food Not Bombs. A monthly dinner (last Sunday of each month) during which volunteers and everyone involved with Black & Pink can meet, talk, and share joys and struggles.
Posted on

Communique 003: Liberal Snowflakes and New England Blizzards w/ Raechel from Feminist Killjoys, PhD

 

Communique 003 is up for streaming and downloading!

FKJ, NEU, the East Coast Family.

Talking points: Our deepest anarchist sympathies, bourgie in the bubble, confessions of a former liberal, trolls on the fascistbook, commies in the classroom!, Agitate/Educate/Shitpost, namaste outta this, our lifestyle politics determine our movement’s deathstyle :(,  radical xmas in May, a hierarchy of who’s least hierarchical, get off my lawn, strike while it’s hott, supporting Trans Women of Color.

Relevant Links:

Posted on

Events & Actions: Monday, 3/13-Sunday, 3/19

Monday, March 13th

Tuesday, March 14th

  • 350 Boston Node Meeting for climate action at First Church in JP (Eliot Street).

Wednesday, March 15th

  • 6:00-8:00 p.m. – Somerville Ward 2 Committee Meeting at NU Cafe and Juice Bar in Somerville (195 Washington Street)
  • 6:00-9:30 p.m. – Intro to NVDA for POC, presented by the FANG Collective at their office in Pawtucket, RI (545 Pawtucket Ave – Park in the lot and enter building through lots entrance and follow the wolf signs!). This is a brief workshop for People of Color ONLY that offers an introduction to the history of Nonviolent Direct Action and its implementation as well as examples of intersectionality within our community/movements, affinity groups and their formation, consensus decision making, and a discussion on self-care and community care. Register online and contact Sherrie by email for any childcare/accessibility needs. 
  • 6:30-9:00 p.m. – Matty’s St. Paddy’s at American Fresh, Assembly Row (301 Canal Street) in Somerville. This is Ward 1 Alderman Matt McLaughlin’s annual fundraiser. Food will be served. Donations gratefully accepted. If you cannot attend please consider making a donation online.
  • 7:00-9:00 p.m. – Boston Food Not Bombs has its weekly planning meeting during this time at Encuentro 5 (9 Hamilton Pl Suite 2a) in Boston. This is, of course, the long-running, non-sectarian, but definitely radical free food organizations that’s been serving in MA for decades now.
  • 7:00-9:00 p.m. Black & Pink has weekly volunteer drop-in hours on Wednesdays, as well. They’re at First Baptist Church (633 Centre St) in Jamaica Plain. “Bring a laptop, if you can. If not, you can help write birthday cards!”

Thursday, March 16th

Friday, March 17th

Saturday, March 18th

  • 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. – Food Not Bombs cooks for its Saturday Central Square Meal in Cambridge. E-mail us for details.
  • 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. – Movimiento Cosecha’s allies group is holding its first CosechAllies day-long retreat in Boston! Trainings will clarify the role of allies within the movement to provide permanent protection, dignity, and respect for the 11 million undocumented workers in the US. Participants will also learn about and join working groups that will support Cosecha’s national expansion. Please register here.
  • 12:00-3:00 p.m. – Black & Pink holds drop-in volunteer hours at this time each week at Swissbakers (168 Western Ave) in Allston.
  • 12:30-4:00 p.m. – Food Not Bombs’ Central Square Meal is served at this time each week.
  • 2:00-4:00 p.m. (tentatively) – Boston DSA Annual Meeting and Local Elections at the 32BJ SEIU 615 office (26 West Street) in Boston.
  • 6:00-11:00 p.m. – Food Not Bombs’ Haymarket Produce Rescue happens during these hours each Saturday. Volunteers meet up near Faneuil Hall at Haymarket (corner of Blackstone and North, across the street from a Hard Rock Cafe) to rescue and sort produce destined for the compost heap or landfill and deliver it, by car, to shelters in the Boston/Cambridge area to stock them with food. Volunteers with cars are especially needed.

Sunday, March 19th

  • 12:00-1:30 p.m – Boston Homeless Solidarity Committee weekly meeting at Encuentro 5 (9A Hamilton Pl in Boston). All are welcome, including people who are currently experiencing or have experienced homelessness. For an idea of what will be discussed, including the proposed agenda, or to be added to their mailing list, please contact them by email.
  • 1:00-5:00 p.m. – “Buy Art. Support Resistance.” Activist Art Pop Up Market at Aeronaut Brewing Company in Somerville (14 Tyler Street). Activist artists, groovy tunes, delicious beer – all for a good cause! Vendors are donating to: Planned Parenthood, ACLU, Flint Water Crisis, Standing Rock, Black and Pink, and more!