Subversion #1312

I recently recorded the voice over for a video called The Age of Democracy produced by AntiMidia from Brasil. It's a great take on voting and elections emphasizing that for real change we need to organise horizontally.

Over the last 15 years, several social movements and anti-capitalist groups have answered the call of the Zapatista National Liberation Army and the entire Zapatista Movement for a campaign "from below and to the left" for radical changes. Since the first march that traveled through 32 Mexican states in 2006, Zapatists have proposed listening to communities and promoting values such as anti-capitalism, horizontalism, and equality.

Our proposal, like the original Otra Campaña, is to offer a vision of politics beyond the parties and the institutional left that, financed by the rich and the state itself, flood the streets and the media with their propaganda and the notion that only through the state institutions can we promote profound changes.

Many of the major movements and revolutions underway in our times share the idea that it is better to change the system in a direct, popular, self-organized way and without the instruments of state management and repression. Only practice and debate that considers these experiences can show people that politics exists beyond voting and bourgeois representative democracy.

For this reason, Antimídia and Facção Fictícia present "The Age of Democracy," a video and an article designed to stimulate debate on the origins of democratic voting, its limits and proposals for overcoming it and building a truly egalitarian and free world - a world where many worlds fit!

We echo the words of Sub-Commander Moses, who reminds us that "we don't tell you to vote, nor do we tell you not to vote. We simply tell you to organize".

Well it's been a while since I've uploaded a podcast. I've been taking a break partly due to the craziness in the world and partly because I want one.

The sedition was actually produced for the 4ZZZ program Eco Radio.

First up on the show is an interview with Izzy Brown about the protest and festival at the Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia.

The protestival was planned for the end of July but because of COVID-19 has been postponed until the end of September.

I went the the Vomit Cabaret the previous night so I play two performances from that. The song by The Songs Of Tom Smith leads nicely into a discussion about Ursula Le Guin's book The Dispossessed.

The final major issue covered is the refugees who are detained in hotels in Brisbane and Melbourne.

Here in Brisbane there's an ongoing blockade at the Kangaroo Point Central Hotel where activists are demanding freedom for the 120 men locked inside.

One of the men who is locked in the Mantra Hotel in Melbourne is Farhad Bandesh.

Farhad is a musician and artist. Being detained offshore and onshore for seven years has not stopped him making music and art. The show ends with his song Friendship.

With protests continuing in cities all over the world, the Channel Zero Network has some reminders on how to support those who have been arrested, and those who may be arrested in the future. More info available here -https://rebelsteps.com/episodes/6-jail-support.html

No-one in Australia can go to a pub right now but Andrew Leavold is still hell bent on making a film called PUB.

The film which is in production is about St Kilda artist, satirist, and musician Fred Negro (real name).

It's also about the changing face of that Melbourne suburb and the Australian music scene.

Andrew called into the show and we found out all about the film which is currently the subject of a crowd funding campaign.

This film can give us a hope for the future. One day the pubs and live music venues will open again and we'll be able to watch PUB in a cinema somewhere.

"For me it's a character study of a neglected, misunderstood and under-appreciated Aussie character who has never received his dues (not to mention a very old mate of mine, so I know EXACTLY the right stories to tell).

It's also a love letter to St Kilda itself, former bohemian haunt and Mecca of Musical Excess, now tarted up and gentrified to the point where those pockets of grunge that gave St Kilda its disreputable character, its very essence of being, exist as tiny pockets of True Believers. In a very real sense, Fred Negro is like a Davy Crockett and the bars he and his keepers of the Rock'n'Roll flame fiercely protect are the Alamo, surrounded by "Mexicans" in $100,000 sports cars and Gucci suits."

This is a special bonus interview sedition of Subversion #1312. It features an interview I did with American singer/song writer David Rovics who is currently in so-called Australia.

David is an indie/folk political sing/song writer. He identifies as an anarchist.

Since the 1990s he's been writing songs and touring the world performing them. My friends and I used to joke that no matter what the topic David Rovics has written a song about it. War/peace, refugees, free media, workers' rights, students rights, renters rights, and even children's songs.

This show is a banger! We have an interview with Izzy Brown about BHP Billiton and their plans for the Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia.

This will be the third time the lizard is returning to Roxby Downs. Olympic Dam and Arabunna and Kokatha country. So yeah, this is this is volume three of the Lizard. Well, BHP is being very sly they, are pushing through for an expansion, have been doing it in a very uncouth manner with the help of the South Australian government, they're expanding the water usage and potentially the pipeline into Arabunna country and around Lake Eyre [Kati Thanda ]. They're upping their daily rate to 50 million liters of water per day from the Artesian Basin.

This is just crazy isn't in a time where, you know, water is in shortage and something that we should be preserving. The South Australian government has given them in the green light to expand on their water use, expand on their underground mine, and also build new tailings dams. Dams that don't reach reach the requirements of the new global standard that BHP has signed on to since those last disasters in Brazil.


A report back from the Brisbane muscians and community rally for refugees on Saturday, and we'll hear from one of the detainees.

Plus Bad Cop No Donut which includes a first hand report from Izzy about the police incident at the Reggae Stage during the Sydney Street Festival in Melbourne.

Plenty of music to smash the state by as well.

The picture is of the Mound Springs which have been affected by BHP Billiton's activities taking 35 billion litres per day out of the Great Artesian Basin.

During this sedition of Subversion #1312 we are joined in the studio by members of Brisbane's all abilities, all inclusive Whoopee-Do Crew.

Tom Smith created the Whoopee-Do Crew and it combines his passion for music and caring for people.

Tom and Nigel joined us to share their stories because the Crew are launching their new album All The People Cheer Me Up. Surprise is too that Colin Young our co-host is also in the Whoopee-Do Crew.

Tune in to find out about this grassroots initiative which gives people in the community a sense of belonging and creative outlet.

Also Bad Cop No Donut and some reflections on borders inspired by news that there is a quasi border close to where this show is recorded. That being an Australian Border Force alternative place of detention at Kangaroo Point Central Hotel Brisbane. There's a musicians and community rally on Saturday Feb 29.

This sedition of Subversion #1312 features an interview with Mutual Aid Disaster Relief member Jimmy Dunson.

So-called Australia where this show is - as was predicted - feeling the brute force of climate change. When I conducted this interview fires were and had been destroying large parts of the country, now there's been huge destruction caused by floods.

Brisbane where I live and Australia in general does not have an organisation like Mutual Aid Disaster Relief but we really need one. That's why I did this interview.

The members of Vomit Cabaret join us this week to read the play The True Story of Karl Marx by Bernadette Le Goullon.

One thing striking in this play is how Jenny Marx did a lot of work on Das Kapital but received little credit.

In among the play is new songs from Anti-Flag, The Songs of Tom Smith, and Mau Power.

Police brutality and misconduct is reported in Bad Cop No Donut.

Radio play of The Real Story of Christmas by Bernadette le Goullon.
This play was performed at the final Vomit Cabaret of 2019 @ Backbone East Brisbane Bowls Club.

Also during this show we play Peter's pre-recorded report back from the Extinction Rebellion occupation of a Brisbane Bridge. He has some good analysis of the potential outcome of XR appealing to the government to do 'something' about climate change.

Nauroze Anees is in the heart of the beast that is the Australia Immigration Detention Network.

Earlier this year he made a claim that he had been told by a fellow detainee $80 000 cash could 'buy' a visa. The detainee who is alleged to have said this is a convicted drug trafficker from New Zealand now living on the Gold Coast.

Under legislation introduced by the current Liberal/National government a person can be refused a visa if they fail a character test which revolved around criminal activity.

In this interview Nauroze discusses the details of his case and of his allegations regarding 'cash for visas'.

The day after this interview was recorded further allegations have been revealed in an article of Buzzfeed.

The major thing to celebrate this week was the 20th anniversary of the 'Battle in Seattle' protesters shut down the WTO meeting in 1999. We play a soundscape editing together from a documentary called Breaking the Spell.

Gerald Keaney and I discuss the Seattle success and the other major convergences which happened around the country and world last decade.

This special sedition of S #1312 features a surprise debate between Linda and Gerald Keaney in which Gerry announces 'neither Tehran nor Canberra'.

It's a debate which started at the end of last weeks show about whether one could hold a radical poetry reading in Iran as freely as one can in Tehran.

This sedition features the debut of Mic Smith's production Mozart and Coltrane. A former prime minister is the target of satire in The Parky Warky Show. Election Loser, Tony Ibbitt.

Also a reading of Gerald Keaney's short story The Perfect 21st Century Murder.

Hear Linda's new Punk Flamingo song 'Just say Fuck the Police'.

Stick around til the end when Linda and Gerry fight over whether civil liberties are worse in Australia or Iran (or the same).

For this sedition I'm joined by Jeffrey Tan and Colin Young.

Jeffrey is the director of Open Homes a theatre production which features everyday people in their own homes, telling their own stories.

Colin who has joined us before as part of Vomit Cabaret is one of the story tellers welcoming guests into his home with An Essential Guide to Becoming Fab.

During the hour we talk about how this production came to be, Colin's show and surrounding issues including anarchy and community.

Towards the end with present the Bad Cop No Donut segment about police misconduct.

About Open Homes -

'The doors of local homes will be flung open over three weekends as residents invite us into their private spaces and enchant us with personal stories, histories and anecdotes. Facilitated by Brisbane-based theatre-makers, each 30-minute performance will deliver an intimate view of the heartbreak and humour, comedy and chaos, and domestic dramas and dreams that take place in our apartment buildings, Queenslanders and neighbourhoods across the city.'

This program features members of the Queer Anti-Colonial Action Bitchez a Brisbane based group who were active recently at the Climate March and Pride Rally.

Queer Anti-Colonial Action Bitchez are a collective of queer and trans artists, workers, students, families, and community organisers who have come together to help resist the ongoing occupation of First Nations lands and waters by the Australian settler-colonial regime.

We discuss the issues surrounding the Brisbane Pride March welcoming police and corporations.

At the end of the program police misconduct is discussed with Bad Cop No Donut.

*Warning* real live musicians in the studio.

Brisbane band The Songs of Tom Smith join Linda in the studio during this sedition.

Song writer Tom Smith assumes characters in different iterations of The Songs on Tom Smith. The band featured in this podcast is The Songs of Tom Smith - Bent Cop. Dodgy cops are a frequent topic on Subversion so it's the perfect band for the show.

We also talk about anarchism and what members of the band think it is. And other projects they are involved in including a weekly open mic night and music workshops with homeless people.

Brisbane artist Anthony Jigalin recently returned from Berlin and wanted to come and talk about his experiences including meeting Ai Wei Wei, cheap food and freedom he says is not found in Australia.

We also talk with Gerald Keaney and other members of Vomit Cabaret an anarchist cabaret night which happens monthly in Brisbane.

This episode is the culmination of our coverage of Emma Goldman's birthday as we interview Jessica Harrison who recently returned from a trip to North America during which she attended a symposium on Emma Goldman and visited a few other anarchist sites.

Also mentioned is the campaign to save the Djab Wurrung sacred trees in Victoria.

And a bit of critique of Extinction Rebellion with Dissident Island Radio and the Green Anticapitalist Front

And Bad Cop No Donut

Hosts Linda and Mark got fancy and went to the theatre on Sunday night. They were so enthralled by the story and show they invited two of the devisors of the show to join them during this program.

Their guests are La Silhouette director/devisor Daniel Gough, and actor/devisor Esther Dougherty from the Sui Ensemble.

La Silhouette was an immersive theatre experience set inside a Brisbane cabaret club. The audience was inside the club setting and interacted with the performers and environment.

La Silhouette explored the queer history of Brisbane, revealing the dark past when homosexuality was illegal, and the current days when the fight for acceptance continues.

Corruption and police corruption are pretty strong themes in the show, as they been in Queensland for a long time.

Also Linda spoke to Robin Taubenfeld about a picnic on July 4th American Independence day held by the fictional character Granny Smith. Granny Smith 'celebrates' American imperialism in 'Ausmerica' and the world.

Music from Faggot Fairys, Punk Flamingo, Love Moves ,and more.

We were lucky enough to be chosen for this rare candid interview with Donald J Trump.

June 27 is the 150th anniversary of Emma Goldman's birth.

To celebrate Linda made a track called Troublemaker. This is her debut track performing as Punk Flamingo.

In Brisbane 4ZZZ Anarchy Show (Subversion #1312), Brisbane Anarchists, and Blackcurrent Anarchist Distro present..........

2019 Anarchist Ball .......

June 29 East Brisbane Bowls Club

Brainbeaux,
Pink Mouse
Wheatpaste
Nemat Maleki
The New Middle Class

4pm start for film, food, and discussion
6pm start for music. Suggested entry $10
Solidarity fund for Bandung (Indonesia) May Day arrestees.

In this sedition of
Subversion we pay tribute to Brisbane graffiti artist, musician and personality Magnus McTavish by playing some songs which were on his playlist.

Magnus and Linda did a hip hop radio program called Outlawzzz Radio together in 2014 on 4ZZZ.

Jen and Mark are in again this week and talking about Trump's visit to England, the fashion, and the latest baby leech set to drain the public purse.

Plus Bad Cop No Donut.

Have you heard of Larry Davis? His story really has to be one of the greatest cases of resistance to the police state. Ever.

This episode includes a special about Larry Davis, plus a brief run down on Direct Action... Which Australia needs to get into after somehow the conservative government got voted back in.

"When he became a symbol of resistance in New York in the 1980's, he became a black folk hero, an urban legend, because he fought back at a time when African-Americans were being killed by white police officers." Said Mr. Kuby, who was a junior member of the defence team.

Larry Davis aka Adam Abdul-Hakeem was from New York, at the age of 15 the African American male was coerced into a life of crime by the NYPD.

According to David and his defence the NYPD had engaged Davis to sell drugs for them.

At the age 18, Davis had a change of heart and decided to spill details about the extent of the corruption in the Bronx 41st Precinct also known as Fort Apache.

The police then resorted to "silence" Davis by staging a raid at the residence where he was located. Their story was that he was wanted for the murder of suspected drug dealers.

The house belonged to his sister and there were children present when they stormed in without a warrant and basically immediately opened fire.

Subsequently, the media frenzy that followed was a result of the shootout at the residence and a 17­-day manhunt of Davis. Six police officers were hit by gunfire during the incident.

He was on the run for almost three weeks and eventually negotiated his surrender with the FBI.

The Davis case is interesting because it demonstrates the involvement of police in distributing drugs, the way the media sensationalise and frame people as guilty without trial, and what happens to someone once they get on the wrong side of the police.

Larry Davis was murdered by a fellow inmate in 2008 and died. Some say he was about to do a tell all interview in the process of writing a book.

Good evening Subverters a warm welcome to this (anti) Australian Election podcast. The polling date is this Saturday May 18 and it's boring as fuck.

Whoever wins we still have to fight you'll get no anarchist don't vote arguments from me but you're not going to get an reformist do vote arguments either.

Do whatever knock yourself out ..... and I'll see you at the barricades.

Subversion #1312 recently spoke with Yelling At Racist Dogs conspirator Tom Tanuki to have a chat about the different types of racist dogs getting around the place pissing on anything they don't like.

Tom also chats about ways the left could respond to touring racist dogs as a way to avoid pushing the narrative they are trying to ride on.

We also get the low down on the latest YARD t-shirt and future plans for the group.

Do you remember why Assange was forced to go into hiding?

You'd be forgiven for forgetting about the sexual assault charges laid against him in Sweden.

Obviously Wikileaks exposure of war crimes with the Collateral Murder videos is important and as is fact the US has charged him with conspiring to hack a government computer, but sexual assault charges are important too.

Especially considering how often they are minimised and women's trauma is ignored.

Assange's arrest last week was for skipping bail on sexual assault charges.

There's much speculation around this case. Were the charges dropped? Was it the victims that dropped the charges? What about the statue of limitations and what the fuck is that any way.

To answer these questions Subversion #1312 spoke to academic, researcher, and anarchist Jasmina Branković.

It's also pertinent to keep up-to-date with police brutality and misconduct so tune in the Bad Cop No Donut.

At Subversion #1312 we totally love music but we hate racists.

Another announcer from 4ZZZ Marty is from New Zealand where former Panterra frontman Phil Anselmo 's shows were cancelled shortly after an Australiangunman murdered 50 Muslims inside a mosque in Christchurch. Since Anselmo was booked the play in Brisbane Marty felt it important to question to wisdom of letting a man who has promoted racism on stage since at least 1995 perform.

This turned out to be a good topic to discuss on the program. Marty, and local musician, and anarchist Gerald Keaney join me to discuss racism, music, and pragmatism.
While it is well documented that Anselmo has been known to have promoted white supremacy on stage he has also denounced racism in Rolling Stone, and says made donations to organisations which assist people of colour.

Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition which deals with a problem in a sensible way that suits the conditions that really exist, rather than following fixed theories, ideas, or rules.

Is Anselmo confused? Are his actions pragmatism to appease his fan base? Music is a business so how does capitalism play a part?

This discussion leads into the next part of the show Peter's and I pre-recorded a segment on racism and pragmatism, in the context of international relations. with Peter talking first about the fall of Daesh (ISIS) and the Kurdish forces reliance on the US military.

Do you struggle with the idea of sex work as legitimate work? Or whether feminists can be sex workers?

In light of International Women's Day this week we air an interview with a sex worker and advocate. She tells us about the concerns sex workers have with legislation.

Monday was International Sex Worker Rights Day and in Brisbane there was a rally held in King George Square. The main focus in Queensland is sex worker safety, in jeopardy because of State laws.

Elena Jefferies is a doctor of political science and international studies and a sex worker. She is the Queensland coordinator for advocacy group Respect Inc.

The rest of the show is dedicated to good music, and talking about all the things Australian Minister for Home Affairs has fucked up. And signs of his imminent downfall.

One of 4ZZZ's original journalists passed away quietly mid December 2018.

This special sedition of the Anarchy Show is dedicated to Jon. Linda was is joined in the studio by Jon's brother Jamie, nephew Joshua, and life long friend Ben.

Jon helped establish Locked In (then called Inside Information). His coverage of the Boggo Road Riots won national awards. 4ZZZ broke the story and was able to provide exclusive coverage due to inside information accessible because of Jon's sources inside the notorious prison. The mainstream media used Jon as a source during the infamous uprising.

Among other demands of the inmates was the right to listen to 4ZZZ, a vital lifeline to the outside world for those inside (then and now). While many of the changes which occurred as a result of the riots have since been eroded, the right to listen to 4ZZZ still stands and if you listen to the station from 6-8pm Monday the show Jon helped establish is still on-air.

When Jon travelled to England his voice could still be heard on a series of reports named London Line.

Back Australia in the 90's Jon rejoined the newsroom. The programs Brisbane and Beyond, and Brisbane Line were enriched by his journalistic talent and passion for social justice. When he left Australia again to teach English in Taiwan and then China he still appeared on the station giving intermittent reports for the Anarchy Show (Subversión #1312). He wanted his reports from China called Behind the Bamboo Curtain.

Always ready for a party and some mischief Jon was a great supporter of Brisbane music and venues. And even in Chengdu, where he taught at a university he enjoyed huge punk gigs some of which were broken up by police.

Jon had a gift for story telling and comedy. Now's the time for us to remember him by telling stories about him, no holes barred, as he would have done to us.

Ever wondered what it is like to be a refugee held in offshore immigration detention? In No Friend But The Mountains Behrouz Boochani masterfully takes us into the core of the ghastly system. After reading his poetic descriptions of locations within the Manus Regional Processing Centre I can almost feel the atmosphere there through my skin. Radio producer Ros Elliot embarked on a project to record some excerpts from the book to play on her radio program The Bubble broadcast from Tribefm 91.1 in South Australia and has kindly allowed my to use those in this podcast. The excerpts are read by Leo Gortz. Between the segments from the book I've added some of my collection of songs about refugees. MOZ All the Same COMBAT WOMBAT Asylum UNITED STRUGGLE PROJECT Life is A War EYE Refugees PATAPHSYSICS Asylum is a Crime

Anarchists are opposed to the police because their primary purpose is to protect the interests of the owners of capital and the state. On S1312 we regularly report on police misconduct and brutality because the poor, working class, vulnerable and minorities are targeted most by the police. We/they are victims of police violence, and misconduct at a much higher rate than the rest of society. There's never any shortage of stories for our Bad Cop Not Donut segment, and this entire sedition is reporting on the police. All the stories plus some are published here with links. In between reports there's some well cool songs.

Putting your health information on a database on the internet what could go wrong? We know a lot these days about how much data is worth to companies - insurance marketing etc. My Health Record and how to opt out of it is something you need to be fully informed about. This interview is with Chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia Lyndsey Jackson. Lyndsey has been active in web and digital media for ten years. A committed advocate of the protection of individual rights, she works to facilitate accessibility for people with disabilities and to ensure that the use of digital does not create procedural or administrative issues that contribute to unfairness or disadvantage in civil society. When speaking nationally and internationally on digital rights, Lyndsey focuses on the need for equitable citizen access to technology, and on the engagement of non-technologists in technology and accessibility matters

On September 3 newly formed group No Gatton Women's Prison staged a small protest which aimed to bring the issue of women in prisons to the fore. Four women blocked the access road leading from Southern Cross Correctional Centre. Women are currently being transferred to this new women's prison which will be privately run most likely by Serco. Linda Rose spoke to Meg Rodaughan from the group about the group and the issues they seek to address.

An interview package produced for the Subversion #1312 program/podcast. The Balkan route is the path many refugees choose or basically are forced to take to get the safer countries in Europe. It is a hazardous journey which involves crossing the sea and remote dangerous areas on land. Also as this mass migration from war torn and brutal countries continues to grow it has prompted countries along the Balkan route to shut their borders, and deploy police to enforce them. Bosnia has emerged as a new underground route for travel to Europe. At least 7000 have arrived in the country this year. Bosnia does not have adequate facilities to accommodate this number of people. Remembering their recent conflict some Bosnians are sympathetic to the travellers but many don't want to be reminded of the pain they endured during the civil war in the 1990s. The Bosnian government is becoming less and less welcoming, with the foreign minister saying last last month the country can not become a migrant reception centre. Our correspondent Riot Turtle from Enough is Enough is in a camp near the Bosnia/Croatia border, with Cars of Hope building facilities for the camp and helping in whatever way they can. He is also doing interviews and reports and sent me this interview with an Iranian mother, who with her family is trying to reach Europe. As part of a small group the family crossed into Croatia, but were intercepted by police after a farmer reported them. This interview is distressing and listener discretion is advised. The mother's voice has been altered for her safety.