I've been advised as follows:

Ash has been moved to Nottingham prison prior to tomorrow’s sentencing. We’re unsure if he’ll remain in Notts after or return to Liverpool. We’ll get an updated address if he’s moved.

I challenge anyone to read these sentencing remarks and tell me it was a fair trial. He might as well have been tried by an out-and-out antifa, the judge even goads and insults him multiple times.

You know the system is evil but to see it’s naked face is something to behold.

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/R-v-Ashley-Podsiad-Sharp.pdf

They crucified him, I was honestly shocked to hear such rhetoric coming from a judge, I've heard more reasoned words being shouted at me at protests.

900-odd people viewed his letter and none saw fit to comment, or were too scared to comment, despite probably using a pseudonym?

I think that means I can forget about two-way blogs for the prisoners. It would be of immense benefit to a prisoner to have such a conversation even if it were as sporadic as replying in his next post to questions and comments on the previous one. So one-way blogs it will have to be.

New grid sheet today.

Kris is said to have written me a letter a month or so ago but I have not received anything. No worries. I know that he gets my books, cards, messages and donations, so he will likely get yours. Hopefully there will be news soon of his case which i shall post here.

I just received word that Kris likes the idea of a blog but "no chat."

He is writing another letter today.

I have suggested that he write the letter and then read it aloud over the phone, to be recorded and typed up.

If one's followers remain mere followers then they are the very definition of slacktivists. That is exactly and precisely what slacktivism is, a symbolic act by which the follower feels that he has "done his bit." Getting vetted then doing nothing more, retweeting, emoticon-ing, to the exclusion of irl activity, is slacktivism.

The leader that indulges such empty behaviour in his followers is doing them a great disservice.

^^^ Some people fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the fasces. They think that the twigs are there to support the axe, or that the axe is just the biggest and most brilliant twig. No, the axe is an emergent property of the bundle as a whole.

Without irl structure the twigs are an unruly mob, or a hindrance, a deadweight, and there is no axe.

What do you think of an online newspaper similar in approach to Justice Report, but with some differences?

Have a look: https://justicereport.news/

* Needs a bit better production values - it looks like a dog's dinner. And it needs auto-detection of screen type - In this day and age one should not need to click to see the mobile version. Also, auto-detection of screen type is important for SEO.

* No paywall - at least initially.

* Wordpress, themed for an online newspaper. Any recommendations of packages? Any WP experts here?

Anything else we should consider?

This is probably one of those projects that will demonstrate the utility of the SIAS ("suck it and see") approach as compared to BB ("Big Bang").

Previously, we discovered there was no demand for two-way prisoner blogs, Thank goodness I didn't invest any time or resources in that. However, publishing one letter from a prisoner grew the subscriber list by about one third. So one way blogs, even if in a primitive format, is a winner.

Similarly, an online newspaper can start as a mere Telegram channel or as a single scrollable webpage, or both, and what people want to see is a process of discovery, of what seems to work.

Investing time and resources in something that it turns out no-one wants, is not activism.

Today I sorted out something that isn't my job but, since I seemed to be the only intelligent adult in the room, I had to do - namely an apparent disinterest by NHS surgeons and specialists to communicate with one another in an efficient manner. During a consultation I extracted an actual plan from the specialist, that he committed to communicate to my surgeon and GP. Amazing, but it is not activism, since it has no impact on anyone else.

Also, if someone said I was a genius for accomplishing this then I would just laugh but say nothing, because such praise is REALLY not activism. 😊

04/09/23 Update. I've just had a good chat with Ash and he is still in Nottingham awaiting relocation to another prison, which is waiting to be confirmed. How long that will be is anyone's guess. He has just received one letter that I had posted to Liverpool before I knew of his move prior to sentencing, so at least that has been forwarded. He's not received the email I've sent yet and thinks at Nottingham they print and deliver the letters instead of reading them at a computer. He is in remarkable good spirits and determined to appeal and to continue fighting. Any other updates and I'll let you know. A big thanks to all that have communicated with him, he truly appreciates it.

Ever one to think aloud, I state here a compelling strategic reason to publish an online newspaper with original material such as video and reports (and indeed to pay the authors). Copyright. Such items will inevitably be forwarded/retweeted/linked to. We shall watermark any video, and to request attribution in a legally sticky way (like the GPL), thus propagating its brand.

I just had a long telephone conversation with Tyrone.

I filled him in on publicly known news about the others while only referring to them by clues rather than names.

Right now he has enough books, but longer term he would like to receive history books about late 19th to early/mid 20th century European history.

I told him that his letters will be published here if he requests it and I encourage him to do so.

He is thirsty despite drinking the water. He gets free tea bags but would like to get orange squash but it ran out and is too expensive. I said I would ask what people here might be able to suggest. Some prisoners there (HMP Elmley) complain of stomach cramps from the water.

@RevJamesCostello Tyrone wants to know: did you get the e-mail he sent three weeks ago?

Tyrone's sentencing is on 26 September. I will visit him after that.

He said that I and his immediate family are the only ones who have sent money. Please have a look in the text file and send him a donation if you can.

The amount that he is allowed to spend each week is quite limited and could be increased to "advanced" if he was working. I suggested that education/training courses, including becoming involved in prison radio/video might be counted as work.

His medications are being supplied and he seemed in good spirits (as good as can be expected).

Our prisoners are unrepentant. They might consider that they could have had better tactics, or not, but they have never recanted as far as I'm aware.

That's a good place to be, to be able to say that you have done nothing wrong, that you can stand up straight, that you don't need to apologize, and indeed, you owe your detractors and oppressors absolutely nothing whether as an individual or as a member of a people.

More than ANYTHING, that ENRAGES our enemies.

They can put your body in a cage or kill it but they cannot touch your soul. Hold that thought.

However, I do believe that having friends around you does make it easier.

What are some good (monthly or so) magazines to get subscriptions to for prisoners? We know about Heritage & Destiny, and Culture Wars. What others? Preferably local because international shipping cost is horrendous.

Hint: supporting our prisoners is real world.