UK Newswire Archive
Bradley Manning back in court – Solidarity in Cardiff
26-04-2012 09:09
Article in defence of lifestyle politics
26-04-2012 08:23
In the last edition of Shift Magazine, Josie Hooker and Lauren Wroe wrote an article suggesting we ought to abandon the idea of lifestyle politics. Here, MATT WILSON responds to their concerns and goes on to argue that lifestyle is a fundamental part of social change.Rain of Words
26-04-2012 05:43
Anything is a message from anyone to anyone else if a pattern of variation is agreed upon, and when oppression leaves no space for agreement or disagreement any pattern that finds no space for variation is a message to anyone that this is so. Because it is infertile to the possibility of agreement, any other message that comes from oppression is itself a pattern of oppression. Yet the variation of agreement that leaves no space for oppression can only become the message that this is so when the patterns of oppression are being replaced with agreement and disagreement. Therefore the existence of oppression is the message that our species is involved in a self-inflicted experiment not even worth its own risk. The hypothesis that is being tested in it is just as obvious as the oppression itself: Its claim for progress over the rest of the biosphere.Harrods Bombarded With Human Body Hair
26-04-2012 00:13
Harrods, the luxury department store has been the latest target of a new tactic adopted by animal rights activists.Noam Chomsky on America's Declining Empire, #Occupy and the Arab Spring
25-04-2012 21:04
https://www.alternet.org/alternetbooks/28/occupy/ , Chomsky looks at the central issues, questions and demands that are driving ordinary people to protest. How did we get to this point? How are the wealthiest 1 percent influencing the lives of the other 99 percent? How can we separate money from politics? What would a genuinely democratic election look like?
Nottingham industrial action roundup
25-04-2012 20:55
Today has seen the third day of strike action by teachers in Nottingham. Further strikes are planned next week as part of this campaign. This is happening at the same time as a number of local disputes are coming to a head. With national action planned by Unite members in the NHS for May 10th and the possibility of a strike by tanker drivers still on the table there appears to be a small, but very welcome, surge in industrial action.
Teachers
Thousands of children in Nottingham have stayed home as teachers staged a third one-day strike over changes to school terms.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) is opposing council plans to switch to a five-term academic year.
The union said the action could be followed by a further two-day strike next week after it complained about a lack of progress in negotiations.
Teachers are against the plan to move to a five-term academic year with a shorter summer break.
The authority said the move would lead to a more balanced work and rest pattern but the NUT said there was no evidence to support this.
The third strike has seen 15 city schools shut and another 40 partially closed - a similar number to the two previous walk-outs on 29 March and 17 April.
The union had called a three-day strike from Tuesday to Thursday next week in response to a perceived unwillingness to negotiate by the council.
It has now revised this to a two-day strike after the authority agreed to a meeting on Monday.
Ian Stevenson, from the NUT, said: "The fact we've got exactly as many schools on strike today as on the first day of action shows there's been no weakening in the resolve of teachers.
"We're hoping for a positive outcome on Monday but are still ready for more action if it is needed."
Another teaching union, the NASUWT, which has not so far taken industrial action, confirmed it was prepared to ballot its members if the council did not review its "entrenched" position.
Striking teachers met in Market Square at 11:00 BST before marching to the Mechanics Institute in Sherwood Street.
Source: BBC News
East Midlands Trains
Drivers at East Midlands Trains have announced a series of one-day strikes.
Drivers' union Aslef has voted for action over plans by the company to reduce pension fund contributions for both workers and the firm.
The action, due to take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the first three weeks of May, is likely to disrupt services to London and Lincoln.
An Aslef spokesman said: "East Midlands Trains is proposing to reduce its contributions into the scheme despite the turbulent economic climate which is likely to have reduced the fund's assets since the last valuation.
"The company's short term cost-cutting measures will have long term implications for all staff and their pensions."
Strikes are due to take place on 1, 3, 8, 10, 15 and 17 May.
Source: BBC News
Imperial Tobacco
WORKERS at Imperial Tobacco are set to take industrial action over the workplace parking levy.
Members of the GMB union have voted to work to rule – meaning they will not work overtime or cover any additional duties – for the first week of May.
Imperial Tobacco, based at the Lenton Industrial Estate, has said it plans to charge staff around £100 of the annual cost.
But the GMB union says workers will have to pay £192 each.
Chris Needham, GMB representative for Nottingham, said: "Imperial Tobacco is a big, successful company, and shouldn't be asking its workers to foot this bill.
"We will have a ban on over time and only do our set jobs in protest."
Industrial action is set to last from Tuesday, May 1, to the end of Sunday, May 6.
An Imperial Tobacco spokesman said factory managers had still not received notice of the planned action, but the union denies this.
Source: Nottingham Post
Occupy Nottingham: the end of the beginning?
25-04-2012 18:55
On Sunday 22nd April, Occupy Nottingham packed up its camp in the Market Square after 190 days. This brings to an end a six month occupation in which they have faced down threats from the far-right, extreme weather, the council and random drunken hordes on the weekends. Despite their decision to leave, the campers are keen to "make it quite clear that although we are leaving the Market Place, we are not packing it up or giving in, we realise there is a lot more work to be done and many more people to be reached."
On the newswire: Occupy Notingham Withdrawal Announcement 21.04.12
Previous features: Possession Hearing in Court for Nottingham Occupy | Nottingham Occupy Camp get court hearing papers | Occupy Nottingham: Council serve notice | Occupy Nottingham: 100 days and counting | Occupy Nottingham: Xmas and New Year in Market Sq | Occupy Nottingham: Two months in | Student photographer hassled by Notts Police | Occupy Nottingham: No plans for eviction. Yet. | NSAFC Report on @OccupyNotts 36 Days In | Occupy Nottingham: Still there | Occupy Nottingham: Moved but still in occupation | Nottingham Occupation Continues | Nottingham is occupied
A Report on Sizewell Camp 2012
25-04-2012 16:36
Barclays 2012 AGM, Friday, 27 April, London
25-04-2012 12:49
Barclays 2012 AGM will be held at 11:00 (UK time) on Friday, 27 April at the Royal Festival Hall in London.Seems like a prime Target Barclays opportunity for Londoners.
Insurrectionary anarchist action news update (Global)
25-04-2012 11:48
Responsibility claim for vandalism of school property by anarchist students "Disturbance of Urban Quietness" in Athens, 31/03 (Greece) // Claim by "Friends of the Earth / Informal Anarchist Federation" (FAI) for 14/04 arson of 2 luxury cars in Buenos Aires (Argentina) // Report from anarchist rally in solidarity with Greek anarchist prisoners on hunger strike, 19/04 in New York City (USA) // Communique for 22 & 23 April sabotage of 10 ATMs in Heraklion by anarchists (Crete) // Responsibility claim for 24/04 vandalism of Church, Portland (USA) // Communique from "Severino. Di. Giovanni Nihilist Cell / FAI-FRI" for explosive attack on ATM in Lima (Peru) // Report of 27/04 solidarity gathering for the anarchist hunger strikers in Kapnikarea area of Athens (Greece) // A few updates on comrades’ hunger strikes (ongoing) (Greece)Target Barclays in Brighton, Sat 28th, 1pm
25-04-2012 11:20
There will be another Smash EDO, Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity and Brighton and Hove PSC target Barclays demo outside Barclays in North Street, Brighton, this Saturday (the 28th) at 1pm.Come along to make it as lively as the previous ones.
Protest & Vigil At Shenstone Drones Factory 3pm Fri 11 May
25-04-2012 11:12
There will be a protest and vigil outside the drones factory in Shenstone, supported by a number of groups, including Friends of Sabeel, Stop the War and WMPSC.Smash EDO: The Summer of Resistance starts 1st of May
25-04-2012 10:50
On May 1st we will be holding a big noise demo at EDO/ITT startingat 12pm.
Flyer:
http://smashedo.org.uk/events/event/demo-to-mark-the-start-of-the-bsummer-of-resistrance Please come along and help kick off the Summer with a
bang. Bring pots, pans, musical instruments and sound systems.
The economy's double dip recession - an anarchist perspective
25-04-2012 10:50
Confront the real terrorists: demo at arms dealers' dinner today
25-04-2012 10:14
April 25 2012, 6.30pm at the Royal Garden Hotel,2-24 High Street Kensington: nearest tubes High Street Kensington and Knightsbridge.
An Olympian Inspiration
25-04-2012 09:47
With the Olympic Games and Paralympics only months away, Hussein Al-Alak introduces some of the key competitors of the Paralympics.This is what effective antifascism looks like!
25-04-2012 08:55
Bristol antifascists, still buzzing from the huge success of the cracking antiracist gig the night before in Bristol, joined the opposition to the nationalist March for England in Brighton on Sunday 22nd April. This march is about fascists taking to the streets to air their racist, bigotted views under the guise of “national pride”. They complain that Brighton is a city of “reds” and speak of the need to target left wing organisations and others they see as “anti English”. Other than that, they don't really have much to say for themselvesYOUTUBES - Launch of Veterans for Peace UK at Giuseppe Conlon House, London, Apr
25-04-2012 08:53
YOUTUBE (3 mins 42 secs) Individual Veterans for Peace (UK & USA) introduce themselves at launch. http://tinyurl.com/brkgvd4 Statement regarding Olympic ASBO
25-04-2012 00:55
My name is Simon Moore. I was recently served with an Interim Anti Social Behaviour Order on my way out of HMP Thamesmead following imprisonment after a peaceful demo at Leyton Marsh. I feel compelled and obligated to make a public statement about it.
On April 14th I was served with an Interim Anti Social Behaviour Order (IASBO) on leaving HMP Thamesmead following four days of incarceration. I was imprisoned along with two friends: Dan & Anita. We had engaged in peaceful civil disobedience at Leyton Marshes, where the Olympic Delivery Authority have organised the construction of a basketball training facility on open, communal land without the consent of the local people. The action which began the chain of events (resulting in imprisonment) involved sitting in front of a lorry carrying cement at the entrance to the construction site on Leyton Marshes and refusing to move when asked to do so by a police officer. I have no remorse about my actions. I was doing what I know to be right.
The IASBO which is in effect until a court hearing on May 3rd at Westminster Magistrates Court (when a hearing for a longer term ASBO will take place) prohibits engaging in certain activities. It warns that should I do any of the prohibited activities I may be liable 'on conviction or indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or a fine, or to both'. It is signed by a Justice of the Peace from Westminster Magistrates Court and has been sought by CO11: the Metropolitan Police's Public Order Unit.
The prohibitions contained with the IASBO relate primarily to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, although they also include the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, the State Opening of Parliament on 9th May 2012, the Royal River Pageant and the Trooping of the Colour on 16th June 2012. For the exact wording of the prohibitions, please see below.
The prohibitions are worded in such a way which suggests the possibility that its authors believe that the recipient may be intending to disrupt the events mentioned above. This suspicion is most clearly evident in prohibition 4 which reads: ''Taking part in any activity that disrupts the intended or anticipated official activities of the Olympic games or Diamond Jubilee Celebrations''.
I am taking this opportunity to respond publicly to this IASBO.
I have never intended to disrupt any of the ceremonies mentioned above nor would I. This IASBO was given to me following peaceful demonstration and civil disobedience at the Leyton Marshes construction site which happens to be a proposed Olympic training venue. The fact that the destruction of a communal green open space in the heart of a densely populated, deprived urban environment happened to be in the name of the Olympics was not what led me to engage in peaceful civil disobedience there. My activities at Leyton Marshes are not intended to be 'anti-Olympics'. They are intended to highlight what I see is a gross failure on the part of public bodies to represent the needs of the local people in the areas that are being used to host the games. The decision to build on Leyton Marshes is showing that the current nature of the organisation and delivery of the Olympics in London 2012 is undemocratic and unaccountable on many levels. The needs of the local people in Hackney and Waltham Forest have gone completely overlooked and their rights have been infringed on. They have not been consulted on a matter which is important to many of them nor have they had any say. They currently have no access to an open space which is vital to people's health and well being. And rightly many are concerned that they may lose this right for good. I came to Leyton with other like minded people with a common aim to support local people who had decided to do anything peacefully in their power to protect a treasured space. Our activities were soon criminalised by the application of laws which placed the needs of anonymous public bodies and corporations above those of the local people.
The Olympics need not be carried out in this way. There is an alternative which would leave a positive legacy for Londoners. Currently this is not being fulfilled. The situation at Leyton Marshes is proof of this.
With respect to the IASBO, it established prohibitions that I regard as unjust and unnecessary. It also infers that I am going to engage in activities which I have no intention of engaging in. Regardless of this fact, in order to prevent these anticipated activities It criminalises activities which are ordinary and usually considered lawful. For example the 1st prohibition: ''Entering or remaining within 100 yards of any existing or proposed Olympic competition or practice venue or route or participant's residence within England and Wales''. I am currently participating in a 24 hr/day ongoing demonstration outside Lea Valley Ice Centre on Lea Bridge Rd (in front of Leyton Marsh) with tents and banners etc. Lea Bridge Rd is one of the major Olympic routes (one which the Olympic torch is intended to travel down). I protest there with friends to raise the attention of the local population to the situation at Leyton Marshes (not to disrupt the Olympic Games). Sometimes I may walk around the construction site on the Marshes to see what is happening to it. Under the terms of the IASBO, both of these activities are illegal. Prohibition no.3 declares: ''Not to trespass on, or without the permission of the owner to interfere with, any building or land''. I have camped (and will likely do so again soon) on the grass verge next to Lea Bridge Rd next to signs that explain that the Waltham Forest Council (the landowner) do not grant permission for anyone to camp there and demand that we (occupiers) leave. Normararilly this is a civil matter which would have to go to the High Court for an eviction order/injunction to be granted before we could be removed. Because of the IASBO, I can be arrested simply for standing on the verge. Even if I or anyone else was intending to disrupt the Olympic ceremonies or events (which I am not), I would still regard these prohibitions as unjust. Can it be called just to criminalise lawful activities on the grounds that someone may commit a crime later?
By continuing my participation with the campaign at Leyton Marshes I have been placed with a choice between doing what I know to be right or obeying a law that deems my activities criminal and thereby ending my participation. I choose to do what I know to be right. If this means breaking the law then that is what I will do openly and transparently. If I am arrested and or imprisoned as a result, I know that I have not broken my own sense of what I see as just which is truer to me than any law no matter who has created it. Being in prison doesn't change that.
I echo the sentiments of many past and present in saying that if the law says that something you are doing is wrong which you regard as right, then break the law. Likewise if the law requires you to do something you regard as wrong, then break the law.
The prohibitions are as follows:
"1. Entering or remaining within 100 yards of any existing or proposed Olympic competition or practice venue or route or participant's residence within England and Wales.
2. Entering or remaining within 100 yards of any road being used on that day for the passage of the Olympic torch, or on which any Olympic competition or practice venue is taking place - e.g the marathon - within England and Wales;
3. Not to trespass on, or without the permission of the owner to interfere with, any building or land;
4. Taking part in any activity that disrupts the intended or anticipated official activities of the Olympic games or Diamond Jubilee celebrations;
5. Obstructing the movement or passage of any Olympic participant between their residence, practice venue or place of work and venues being used for Olympic competition or cultural purposes and vice versa.
For the purposes of this Order:
'Olympic' or 'Olympics' shall be construed as referring to both the Olympic and Paralympic Games being held in England and Wales in 2012;
'Diamond Jubilee celebrations' shall be construed as referring to the following dates only
- State Opening of Parliament on 9th May 2012,
- The Royal River Pageant and other Jubilee associated events on 2nd - 5th June 2012 inclusive and
- Trooping of the Colour on 16th June 2012.
'Participant' shall be construed as including competitors, accredited officials, spectators at or in the vicinity of venues at which Olympic events are taking place or are anticipated to take place and the workforce engaged in work associated with the Olympics, paid or unpaid.''
Trouble, but NOT end of the world
24-04-2012 22:26