Fellow Poundling, Simon Black wrote about the prison hunger strikes a few weeks back for Babylon System. To catch yourself up on what has been going on, read Simon's thoughts here. Since then, the strikes have only intensified with more and more prisoners getting involved.

The demands of the strikers seem relatively tame, which gives us some insight into the level of repression. The five core demands are:

1.     Individual instead of group responsibility. 
2.     Abolition of the “gang-debriefing” policy, which endangers both those who debrief and/or their families. 
3.     An end to long-term solitary confinement. 
4.     Adequate food
5.     Constructive programs, such as art, phone privileges and the like.

A sub-demand is adequate natural sunlight. These men are risking their lives for fresh air and sunlight. Can you imagine having to fight with your life to get acces to sunlight and fresh air? These men need our support. To find out more about the hunger strikes and to learn how you can support their cause, click here.

Mumia Abu-Jamal is a political prisoner in Pennsylvania who has been on death row since 1982. Through the wonderful efforts of Noelle Hanrahan at PrisonRadio.org, Mumia is able to record commentary on current political issues and have it spread across the internet and played on radio shows worldwide.

On July 17th, 2011, Mumia recorded his thoughts on the Pelican Bay prison hunger strikes.

Listen below.