Archive for August, 2014

Episode 65: Direct Action Gets the Goods

Posted: August 19, 2014 in Uncategorized
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Image from @akaWACA: https://twitter.com/akaWACA/status/500054368222056448/photo/1

Listen to this episode and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. You can also listen to this episode on Stitcher, Cyber Ears or download it on MediaFire (35MB). 

There has been widespread opposition to Israel’s bombing of Gaza and Occupation of Palestine. This has included direct action in the UK (which we covered on episode 64), which has now spread to Australia and the US too. We’re joined by Sam Castro from the Whistle blowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance (WACA), who discusses the direct action they carried out with a bunch of other groups in Melbourne against Elbit systems, a company profiting from the bombing of Gaza. This is the action pictured in the image above and you can find more photos from the action here. Sam also discusses the importance of direct action and gives advice to others looking to take direct action. We encourage people to check out WACA’s site waca.net.au, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Before we get into the interview, we discuss our new blog progressivepostings.wordpress.com, feedback on Nick’s article on Israel/Palestine, disputing the “can’t we all just get along?!”/“Kum Ba Yah” approach to Israel/Palestine, information from Jewish Voice for Peace, and links between Israel and South Africa, including an article from 1989 arguing that South Africa shouldn’t be singled out. We also introduce the new segment ‘Taking the “o no” out of ec-o-no-mics’, including government information revealing the Abbott government’s budget hits the poor the hardest, Joe Hockey’s apology, and the book Battlers and Billionaires by Andrew Leigh. Shout outs to Stic’s album The Workout as well as to the Melbourne Street Medic Collective for promoting our show at the Melbourne Anarchist Bookfair! Check out our 57th episode to hear Coggo from the Melbourne Street Medic Collective discuss their World Record Breaking protest, which they carried out with WACA and other groups.

This episode is brought to you by “Cashed Up Kathryn”. You can hear Kathryn’s great talk on social work and animals on Team Earthling podcast. Thanks a lot to Kathryn for becoming a member of our show – you can become a member and sponsor an episode too!

Clips:

WACA ‘Elbit Systems You Can’t Hide!’, Pink Floyd ‘Another Brick in the Wall’, Peep Show ‘Series 2, Episode 2’, South Park ‘Kumbayah’, Interview with Sam Castro from WACA – part 1, NOFX ‘The Marxist Brothers‘, CNNNN ‘Series 1, Episode 1’, The Guardian ‘Joe Hockey Sorry’, Interview with Sam Castro from WACA – part 2, Rage Against the Machine ‘Killing in the Name of’.

You can listen to a short (9 minute) version of this episode, which features a shortened version of our interview with Sam Castro, here: Direct Action for Palestine in Australia! You can subscribe to these short versions of our episodes through Omny.

Episode 64: Nordic Model is Nor Good for Sex Workers

Posted: August 8, 2014 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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decriminalise sex work

Image from: thealternative.in

Listen to this episode and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. You can also listen to this episode on Stitcher, Cyber Ears or download it on Archive.org (37MB). 

Advocates for the Nordic Model for sex work argue that this approach does not target sex workers themselves, only their clients. However, Jane Green and Cameron Cox dispute these claims and argue that it is decriminalisation that leads to the best outcomes for sex workers. Jane Green is a sex worker who is on the Executive Committee of the Scarlet Alliance. Cameron Cox is a sex worker who is involved in a sex worker outreach organisation. Beyond the Nordic model and decriminalisation, Jane and Cameron also discuss the “rescue industry”, transphobia, unions for sex workers, and sex work phobia/whorephobia – follow @AnarchaSxworker for more on whorephobia. Part two of our interview with Jane and Cameron is featured on episode 105 (sorry for the delay!). For more on sex work, you can listen to our 44th episode: Rethinking Porn and Sex Work.

We also give some updates on Israel/Palestine, which we covered on episodes 62 and 63. We mention that Israeli products have a barcode of 729, for those looking to boycott Israeli products as part of the BDS movement. We also mention other actions being taken beyond BDS, such as an Israeli arms factory being shut down in the UK – update: these activists have since been arrested. Other updates include: Israel admits Hamas was not responsible for the kidnapping and killing of Israeli teens, Amnesty International challenges Israel’s claims about Hamas using civilians as “human shields”, BBC bias over Israel leading to a BBC journalist resigning (a journalist from the Sydney Morning Herald has also resigned for similar reasons), the use of social media by Palestinians – see here and here for examples of tweets, the Israeli government paying uni students to circulate pro-Israeli information on social media networks, and cartoons portraying Hamas and Israeli’s spark outrage. For more on Israel/Palestine, check out our last two episodes and also the article ‘Busting Israeli Occupation One Liners’ by Sara Saleh, Amnesty International Australia’s spokesperson. You can also read Nick’s article on Israel/Palestine, the first on our new blog!, here: ‘A Response to Sam Harris Blaming Muslims for the “Careful” and “Compassionate” Killing of Palestinian Civilians‘.

Also covered on the episode is our new “studio”, comments from our listeners on the story ‘Church of England Votes to Allow Women to Become Bishops’, new “counter-terrorism” measures proposed by the Australian government, the Girls on Film Festival, and really important issues such as the upcoming David Brent movie and Nick turning 30. Shout outs to the Queer Punx Podcast!

This episode is brought to you by “Cashed Up Kathryn”. Thanks a lot to Kathryn for becoming a member of our show – you can become a member and sponsor an episode too!

Clips:

Frank Turner ‘Photosynthesise’, Green Day ‘The Grouch’, Dead Prez ‘Scar Strangled Banner’, Part 1 of our interview with Jane Green and Cameron Cox, Austin Powers, Subhumans ‘No’ (live).

You can listen to a short (9 minute) version of this episode, which features a shortened version of our interview with Jane and Cameron on the Nordic Model, here: Nordic Model is Nor Good for Sex Workers. You can subscribe to these short versions of our episodes through Omny.