Click HERE to download the full report.
Listen to a report from the recent performance by Public Enemy of Fear of a Black Planet, on the 20th anniversary of its release! We’ll hear sounds and interviews recorded at Club Soda, plus we’ll be joined by Chuck D to talk about Katrina, Prisoners’ Justice, Wyclef’s run for president in Haiti, and more!
Originally aired on CKUT 90.3FM & www.CKUT.ca on New Shit, August 23rd at 4pm.
Medieval prisons are usually depicted as cold, dirty, and grim places in which to be incarcerated and subsequently, tortured. Professor Guy Geltner of the University of Amsterdam has recently published a book that contradicts this long-held belief. Furthermore, Professor Geltner argues that punitive incarceration originated from the 14th century. By taking a closer look into the Italian city-state prisons, one can see the true likeness between our current system and the one long ago.
This documentary will focus on the Italian prisons as a whole, looking at who was in prison, how they passed their time, where these prisons came from, and much more.
Click here to download the .mp3 file.
Click below to stream it!
PRISONERS’ JUSTICE DAY IS…
…August 10, the day prisoners have set aside as a day to fast and refuseto work in a show of solidarity to remember those who have died unnecessarily — victims of murder, suicide and neglect.
…the day when organizations and individuals in the community hold demonstrations, vigils, worship services and other events in common resistance with prisoners.
…the day to raise issue with the fact that a very high rate of women are in prison for protecting themselves against their abusers. This makes it obvious that the legal system does not protect women who suffer violence at the hands of their partners.
…is the day to remember that there are a disproportionate number of Natives, African-Canadians and other minorities and marginalized people in prisons. Prisons are the ultimate form of oppression against struggles of recognition and self-determination.
…the day to raise public awareness of the demands made by prisoners to change the criminal justice system and the brutal and inhumane conditions that lead to so many prison deaths.
…the day to oppose prison violence, police violence, and violence against women and children.
…the day to publicize that, in their fight for freedom and equality, the actions of many political prisoners have been criminalized by government. As a result, there are false claims that there are no political prisoners
in north american prisons.
…the day to raise public awareness of the economic and social costs of a system of criminal justice which punishes for revenge. If there is ever to be social justice, it will only come about using a model of healing justice, connecting people to the crimes and helping offenders take responsibility for their actions.
…the day to renew the struggle for HIV/AIDS education, prevention and treatment in prison.
…the day to remind people that the criminal justice system and the psychiatric system are mutually reinforcing methods that the state uses to control human beings. There is a lot of brutality by staff committed in the name of treatment. Moreover, many deaths in the psych-prisons remain uninvestigated.
This is the theme that members of the CKUT news collective have prepared in solidarity with Prisoners’ Justice Day. Click here to download the .mp3 file.
Click below to stream it.
Peter Collins is an inmate at Bath Penitentiary in Kingston, Ontario. He is involved in prisoner’s issues such as the war on drugs, harm reduction (education, needle exchange, safe tattooing, methadone) and the promotion of Prisoner’s Justice Day (PJD). Below, are his commentaries on PJD and on prison issues.
Click here for his introduction, here for his commentary on PJD memorial, and here for his commentary on the Conservative Party.
Click here for his commentary on censorship at Bath Prison, here for his commentary on image censorship, and here for his commentary on justice.
Click here for his commentary on his Old Age Pension and here for more of his commentary on PJD.
Click here for more of his commentary on August 10th and finally, here for his commentary on who is in prison.
The Angola Three are political prisoners who were framed for crimes they did not commit and were sentenced to life in jail. Robert King, a member of the Angola Three, spent 29 years in solitary confinement. He was released February 8, 2001.
Here, he speaks about his tireless effort to free his friends and to defend the rights of political prisoners.
Click here to download.
Click below to stream it.
Sara Falconer is a member of 4StruggleMag, a zine which publishes work written by political prisoners, social prisoners, their relatives, and many others. It has existed since 2002.
Click here to download the .mp3 file.
Click below to stream it.
Kiilu Nyasha, the radio host of Freedom Is a Constant Struggle on a San Francisco radio station, is an accomplished radio programmer. The following interview focuses on her good friend, Hugo Pinell. The media labeled him as part of the San Quentin 6. He endured the longest trial of history of California, lasting over 500 days. Hugo has been in prison for 40 years, and he is the only person of the San Quentin 6 to remain behind bars.
Click here to download the .mp3 file.
Click on the arrow below to stream it.
Having spent 30 years in prison, Ken Hartman wrote Mother California: A Story of Redemption Behind Bars, a personal reflection of his experiences in various penitentiaries in California. This interview includes several exerpts from his book and Ken Hartman’s opinions on the “other death penalty” (or “death by incarceration”) and the honor yard program.
Click here to download the .mp3 file.
Click on the arrow below to stream the audio.
Recently, thousands of police have started evacuating an ancient Bedouin village, designating the land for Israeli use. Doctor Yeela Raanan, an activist in Israel, speaks about her experience with the Palestinians and Israelis.
Click here to download it.
Click on the arrow below to stream it.
Graham Usher, a former Palestine correspondent for the Economist, is now based in Islamabad. He is the author of Dispatches from Palestine: The Rise and Fall of the Oslo Peace Process.
He discusses the Pakistani’s army’s unwillingness to help the American efforts in Afghanistan among other points of interest as well.
Right click here to download it.
Click on the arrow below to stream it!
Developers in Montreal threaten to turn Parc Oxygene into condominiums. The history of the park is discussed, as are the current problems with the city government.
Produced by Jesica James with audio files from Chris Betts and gretchen king.
Click here to download the documentary.
Click on the arrow below to stream it.
If you want to support the park, there will be events happening every second Sunday this summer.
Sunday July 25, Visual art + music in the park, painting, sketching, drawing, sculpting, exhibits, 4pm-6pm, free!
To save Parc Oxygène – our endangered little green space
(west of Parc, east of Hutchison, south of Pine, north of Prince Arthur)
All visual artists welcome to come and paint, draw, sketch, photograph or just display their work.
SUMMER LOVE-IN FESTIVAL TO SAVE OUR PARK
July 25 – Art and music
Aug 8 – Poetry – open mic! with music!
Aug 22 – Dance – tango and more!
Aug 29 – Music – open mic!
Sept 5 – Mega show – music, dance, more!
(if it rains, event postponed)
parcoxygene@gmail.com
The defense of Kanesatake, also called the Oka crisis, took place July 11th twenty years ago. On July 10th and 11th, The Mohawk community commemorated the anniversary through a variety of events. One of the events was a panel presentation on what the defense of Kanasatake actually meant to the men, the women, and the children.
To download the two part panel presentation, please press here for part one and here for part two.
You can also stream part one here:
And part two here:
Twenty years after the Oka Crisis, the Mohawk community in Kanesatake marched up Route 344 on July 11th. People from within and without the province gathered in solidarity with the Mohawks to show their own support.
Gretchen King attended the event and interviewed the people who marched in solidarity. This is a mix of the sounds, interviews, and music from July 11, 2010.
If you want to download this, please click here.
If you want to stream it, click on the arrow:
On this edition of Off The Hour, the first part in a documentary entitled “The Latin American Revolution,” featuring voices from the 2009 World Social Forum. You can download it by clicking here.
AND you can stream the audio here:
