UK Indymedia - UK UK Newswire Archive

islington starbucks ukuncut actions yesterday - report & pics 1 of 2

09-12-2012 12:57

two starbucks branches were closed down by ukuncut activists in islington yesterday afternoon as part of nationwide tax-avoidance protests against the company. this is a report on the first action.

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small determined workfare demo in holloway, london yesterday

09-12-2012 12:17

london activists targeted businesses in holloway yesterday, handing out employment rights and solidarity information leaflets to workers exploited under the government 'workfare' scheme.

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Anti-Austerity Protest, Manchester Report and Pics

09-12-2012 00:02

Over 350 demonstrators marched through Manchester city centre today,
Sat 8th Dec, in opposition to the continuing Government Austerity measures.

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UK Uncut protest against tax dodgers Starbucks

08-12-2012 23:39

Today, on the 8th of December 2012, UK Uncut protesters successfully occupied and shut down two Starbucks branches in Birmingham city centre.

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Save the NHS this Christmas

08-12-2012 22:55

Broxtowe Save Our NHS target local MP Anna Soubry

This morning in Beeston the Broxtowe Save Our NHS campaign delivered its Christmas spectacular. A giant Christmas card was brought into Beeston, on which people were able to send their messages of seasonal goodwill to their MP, Anna Soubry. These messages were of course somewhat infused with the feelings people have about the NHS, and the damage being inflicted on it now by Soubry and her Tory and Lib-Dem friends.

Don’t forget that the Health and Social Care Act is now beginning to tear strips off the NHS - the juicy profitable strips that is, that the Tories' business friends can make a killing out of. Soubry is junior health minister, and this is the Act that was described as “an embarrassment to democracy” by nearly 250 leading doctors in a letter to a national newspaper. Nurses, Occupational Therapists, patient's groups, and pretty much everyone else are equally opposed.

Belting out the Christmas cheer, the Clarion Choir sang a number of carols specially adapted to the theme of defending the NHS. The busy town centre was filled with the sound of political choristry. Free tea, coffee and mince pies were on hand to warm everyone up, though the sun made a brave effort too. In between the choir’s sessions, a small sound system played Christmas songs from reggae, punk, and all kinds of other musical traditions.

The Christmas card soon filled up, and plenty of people took postcards for their friends and neighbours. Anna Soubry will certainly have a big Christmas post bag.

The Health and Social Care Act could prove fatal to the NHS as we know it. But don’t forget it could also have the potential to unite and mobilise large sections of the general public, service users, as well as the Trade Unions, with the potential to culminate in a “poll tax moment” for the government.

Merry Christmas One and All.

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Broadmead Park St & Clifton Down Starbucks closed

08-12-2012 22:55

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100 people at #Sheffield @ukuncut #Starbucks Action

08-12-2012 22:41

Thanks to everyone who joined our Refuge for The Cuts. At one point, including those people who joined to talk and listen from the amazing parade of humanity that is Fargate, we had between 80 and 100 people. What struck us as most significant about this action was the amazing interaction with our fellow public in Sheffield; people seem genuinely interested to find out what they can do fight companies like Starbucks in their tax dodging. We had well over 1000 leaflets and flyers that all went to eager eyes. Thanks to all you amazing musicians that entertained and the people who made the coffee stall what may possibly have been the busiest coffee joint in town. And the only free one... There's no way we would have expected such an action to happen even a year ago; our message is making more and minds yield to and understand the anti-austerity message.

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Workfare’s Christmas Bonus For The Bosses

08-12-2012 21:55

Saturday 8th December marks the start of a week of action against workfare [1] and shops that profit from the free labour supplied by the taxpayer. The national day of action is focusing on charities, however as there aren't many charity shops in the city centre and since a protest last month outside British Heart Foundation who announced they were stepping back from workfare[2] it was decided to take action over companies that profit from free Christmas temps at our expense. In Birmingham anti-workfare protesters gathered outside Poundland, a local company using workfare. As the protest began to grow with people joining after coming from the nearby Starbucks tax dodging action the group decided to move off in search of other shops using workfare. They didn't have to walk far when round the corner they arrived at Argos, a particularly unpopular shop amongst Birmingham Workfare activists. In Birmingham last year, Boycott Workfare was told by someone who applied for a temp job at Argos, but didn’t get it and then subsequently got sent there on workfare that they had more people on workfare than paid temps. In light of this the group made the decision to occupy the shop. The occupation was more successful than expected, security - the same people who a week earlier had assaulted a protester by punching them in the face at the occupation of the Adidas shop[3] – had obviously been told to back off and not go round punching people, let the occupation carry on as long as the occupiers wanted. After the queues at Argos had become visibly shorter the group decided that there were other shops who needed to be targeted and so ended the occupation. The next stop on the Workfare tour was Superdrug where flyers were handed out before moving on to the last stop on the tour McDonald’s. Here the protesters were joined by Birmingham Food not Bombs activists who set up a stall outside McDonald’s and began handing out free vegan burgers.

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People and Parliament Revisited

08-12-2012 20:55

By Alastair McIntosh In the run-up to Devolution in 1997 I was concerned that the level of political debate was not going deep enough. There was much talk about politics [...]

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Scotland in Europe

08-12-2012 20:55

By Alyn Smith Scotland and the EU is the Brigadoon issue of Scottish politics: it appears, disappears, reappears, goes quiet, explodes onto the front pages again only to then recede [...]

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Leith stuck at bottom of Edinburgh litter league despite improvements

08-12-2012 20:55

In July we noted that Leith and Leith Walk wards were languishing at the bottom of the Edinburgh litter league table, according to an independent assessment undertaken by Keep Scotland Beautiful in June.

Police places pressure on relatives and friends of jailed Russian antifascists

08-12-2012 19:59

Antifascists Alexey Sutuga and Alexey Olesinov have already been in the"Butyrka" prison in Moscow for more than half a year. Investigator Y. Egorov, who is conducting the investigation, is expected to modify the criminal case into a more serious one.

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Thoughts On The EDL’s South West Regional Meeting

08-12-2012 19:10

Last weekend the EDL held a south west regional organising meeting. here's a bit of info and thoughts.

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Bristol Defendant Solidarity fundraiser weekend

08-12-2012 18:55

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The rich remain rich

08-12-2012 15:47

An open letter to the government

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Bradley Manning Hearing: Notes from the courtroom 7 December

08-12-2012 10:25

CWO2 Denise Barnes, who made the decision to remove Manning's underwear at Quantico Brig, took the witness stand in Bradley Manning's unlawful pretrial punishment hearing on Friday 7 December (see Tweets below and reports from Kevin Gosztola [ 1 | 2 ]. This is the last day of the second week of the hearing, unlike the first week when the court sat on Saturday and Sunday. The hearing is scheduled to continue Monday 10 to Wednesday 12 December. Defence has not yet finished cross examining Barnes.

For other court reports from this hearing, see notes from the courtroom: 6 Dec | 5 Dec | 1-2 Dec | 30 Nov | 27-29 Nov | Bradley Manning's Testimony.

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UG#595 - An Antidote To Forgetfulness (The Great New Zealand Fire Sale)

07-12-2012 23:40

This week we review the wholesale privatization of New Zealand carried out in the 1980s and 90s. We hear a radio adaptation of Alister Barry's 1996 documentary, Someone Else's Country and conclude with a few words from Chapter 7 of David Graeber's Debt, The First 5000 Years.

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UG#596 - Lifting The Lid on The NSA (Secret Rooms, Infiltration, Menwith Hill)

07-12-2012 23:38

This week we learn more about NSA, which no longer limits its activities to mere intelligence gathering. Whistle-blower Mark Klein tells how he broke the NSA's unwarranted wiretapping scandal, Kevin Zeese speaks on a century of political infiltration of US political movements, and infiltration of Occupy movements and we conclude with researcher Steve Schofield on the NSA's largest base in Europe.

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UG#597 - The Psychology of Transition (Undoing Millennia of Social Control)

07-12-2012 23:36

This week three speakers on the ongoing transition. Bruce Schneier begins by speaking about threats to the internet and social change, Robert Jensen speaks on the naturalization of violence against women, Rob Hopkins speaks on transition culture. We conclude by returning to Debt, The First 5000 Years.

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UG#598 - Incredible Edible (Local Food, Environmental NGOs, GM Labels)

07-12-2012 23:33

This episode we compare the output of the agribusiness industry with locally grown food. In our first hour Pam Warhurst, a founder of the "Incredible Edible" movement, focuses on growing local food as a way to grow community. After pieces on why US doesn't label GM foods and on how large environmental NGOs work with big business, we conclude with news of a 7 acre food forest in Seattle.