UK Newswire Archive
Diggers2012: Permaculture Open Day @ Runnymede Eco Village this Saturday
18-07-2012 17:57
Sylvia Major Slip of the Tongue
18-07-2012 15:47
This video is supplied by an anonymous source.Even after this lengthy passage of time, it seems totally inexplicable as to why this particular woman would attend the High Court in London (700 miles from her home) having been named as an perpetrator of these vile allegations. It must be noted Major and Dragon claimed to have been suffering from trauma as a result of the allegations at Robert Green's trial. It seems too coincidental that only two weeks later she had made a remarkable recovery and went to London a day earlier for other business and just happened to walk to the High Court to attend the hearing, to which she was not a party.
NO TO WORKFARE - Protestors picket Primark in Edinburgh
18-07-2012 14:55
Anti workfare protestors descended on Primark in Edinburgh's city centre on Saturday 14 July. The Princes Street store was picketed by protestors declaring their opposition to the government's work-for-your-benefits schemes.
Refugees on hungerstrike across three city's in Germany
18-07-2012 14:37
First joint press release of the refugees on hungerstrike in Würzburg, Regensburg and Düsseldorf in GermanyAristocrat landlord’s garden opencasted!
18-07-2012 12:39
Mr Tommy Robinson!
18-07-2012 12:14
Photos of Oxford torch relay protest
18-07-2012 12:10
Take action to stop deportation
18-07-2012 10:59
UKBA breaching own guidelines on detention of torture victims ~Sudanese man’s hunger strike reaches 56 days ~ PLEASE CONTACT AIRLINE TODAY TO STOP DEPORTATION TOMORROWFinsbury Park Radiation Walk
18-07-2012 10:43
Come to Finsbury Park this Saturday, 21 July, to explore radiation levels and discover what type of radiations we are exposed to on a daily basis.EF! Summer Gathering Workshop timetable
18-07-2012 10:32
We've got workshops on mobilizing for next years G8, the state of the anarchist movement in the UK, discussions around feminism, patriarchy, solidarity and community organising. As well as campaign presentations from Boycott Workfare, Frack off and Smash Edo. Plus much much more.
French Embassy action for Noureddin Mohamed
17-07-2012 21:55
Smash EDO: Andrew Feinstein talk and London CAAT action
17-07-2012 21:08
Smash EDO upcoming events update.Who was Fred Hill
17-07-2012 21:03
Fred Hill died While in Jail for Refusing to Wear A Motorcycle Crash HelmetGenoa 2001: two of the activists sentenced last week are untraceable
17-07-2012 20:35
snooping legislation - local petition handover
17-07-2012 16:55
around a dozen local people joined organiser thomas cooper and 38degrees representative, sondhya gupta, to hand in a petition to jeremy corbyn MP against proposed government snooping legislation which is currently in committee stage at westminster.
click on image for larger version. 'some rights reserved' - free for credited non-commercial use, otherwise contact author for permission
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38degrees is a UK organisation with more than a million members utilising the internet to create a powerful voice able to influence government or big business with people-powered campaigns.
they decide on campaigns through an open system of proposals and polls and are funded by donations from their members.
their most notable success to date was the campaign against the selling off of vast tracts of public forest land. the ensuing campaign included a petition of half a million people, and thousands of emails to MPs, as well as an advertising and poster campaign. the result was a huge government climbdown over the privatisation plans.
among their current campaigns, 38degrees are working to publicise government plans for draconian legislation to access everyone's phone, email and internet use without scrutiny or warrant.
the campaign has already attracted more than 140,000 signatories, and in order to maximise and personalise the impact, 38degrees are asking people to organise local hand-ins to individual MPs. to date there have been dozens of these events.
in islington north, thomas cooper took up the baton and organised a meeting to hand in the uk petition and to represent the 926 local votes already registered against the bill.
despite last-minute diary clashes delaying mr corbyn, around a dozen local people joined in the event this morning at his constiuency office near finsbury park. when he arrived, jeremy assured the group that he was firmly against the legislation, and listened to a range of comments and observations from the group.
these included basic concerns of privacy, the right to freedom from intrusion into personal life, the dangers of databases, and the power of corporations, as well as the effect such legislation would have on the UK's right to pressure oppressive states.
after about half an hour of lively discussion, the MP officially accepted the petition and agreed to keep in touch as the bill progresses through parliament.
after mr corbyn left, people continued to share information and ideas about privacy, including alternative search engines such as startpage, the 'trackmenot' (TMN) plug-in for firefox browsers, the use of VPNs such as btguard, and the 'tor' anonymiser system.
EDO MBM shut-down after activists lock on to police cordon
17-07-2012 16:37
On Monday 16th July anti arms trade campaigners held a mass ‘citizens’ weapons inspection’ of the EDO MBM arms factory in Brighton.Jimmy Mubenga - no charges
17-07-2012 13:59
G4S employees in charge of Jimmy Mubenga on the flight when he collapsed and died will not face any charges despite counsel finding that his treatment constitued a "breach of duty". Instead the case will go to a dead-end inquest, like the inquest into the Iraq War that is still being dragged out.Omar Khadr: Canada must repatriate him immediately
17-07-2012 12:55
The betrayal and abuse of Omar Khadr has gone on for far too long: don't be a party to it, take action and add your voice to international calls for his immediate repatriation to Canada
Please take a few moments to add your name to the two petitions below to the Canadian government and copy and paste the letter to the relevant Canadian minister and Canadian High Commissioner to the UK
Take action now!
Omar Khadr, 25, is a Canadian prisoner who will have been held by American forces for 10 years on 27 July 2012; on this date in 2002, aged just 15, he was captured in Afghanistan. Shot, blinded, threatened with rape and other forms of physical and psychological abuse at Bagram and Guantánamo Bay, Omar Khadr is the only child soldier to have been tried as an adult before a military tribunal for war crimes allegedly committed as a minor since World War II. In October 2010, in a secret plea bargain and subject to the use of torture evidence approved by the military tribunal, Omar Khadr pleaded guilty to throwing a grenade that killed one American soldier and wounded another. As part of the plea deal, Omar Khadr was to have his sentence slashed to just eight years, of which he could serve the final 7 years in his native Canada. He has been due for release since October 2011. Although extradition proceedings have been commenced by the US and Canada in his case, Canada has not formally sought his return from the US; the US, on the other hand, is keen to return him, as it fears that the delay in honouring its side of the deal could deter other prisoners from entering similar plea bargains, on the basis that they may not be released eventually. Indeed, given Canada's foot-dragging, last week the US released another convicted prisoner to Sudan.
Canada has been constantly criticised for its failure to act in Omar Khadr's case. In 2010, the Canadian Supreme Court stated that the Canadian government had violated Omar Khadr's constitutional rights. Canadian Senator Roméo Dallaire, the retired army general who led UN forces in Rwanda during the genocide in the mid-1990s and an outspoken advocate for child soldiers, described his country's treatment of Omar Khadr as reflecting "Canada's moral drift" in 2010. The UN Committee Against Torture condemned Canada's stance in June 2012 and demanded the country seek the immediate repatriation of Omar Khadr.
The LGC has taken action for Omar Khadr with a letter writing campaign, along with an Amnesty International group, during the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 http://www.muslimdirectory.co.uk/viewarticle.php?id=484 and a demonstration and petition to coincide with his trial: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/08/456827.html and http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/dangerous-international-precedent.html The LGC also spoke at an Amnesty International UK screening last week of the documentary "Four Days in Guantánamo" (the trailer can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZrERVO19Dg).
At the very latest, Omar Khadr should have been returned to Canada at the end of May this year. Omar Khadr's lawyers are now taking his case to court to force the Canadian government to take back ONE Canadian citizen, who has spent almost half his life in illegal detention. WE CALL ON YOU TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION AND ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE ON THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT TO HONOUR ITS OBLIGATIONS AND DUTIES TO ITS CITIZENS AND UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW.
1. Add your name to the petitions (and then get your friends, family and colleagues to do likewise):
Senator Roméo Dallaire has put together the following petition to Public Safety Minister, Vic Toews, who has to sign the letter for Omar Khadr's release: http://www.change.org/omarkhadr
The following petition has also been put to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper: http://www.change.org/petitions/prime-minister-stephen-harper-repatriate-toronto-born-omar-khadr-to-canada-and-rehabilitate-him
2. Send letters to Minister Vic Toews and the Canadian High Commissioner in London:
Amnesty International UK has put together the following letter. Please add your name to it and send or amend/personalise it and send it off. Please let us know if you get a response:
Letter:
I urge you to take swift action to approve Omar Khadr's pending request to be transferred out of Guantánamo Bay and back to Canada.
July 27th 2012 marks the 10th anniversary of Omar Khadr being taken into custody by US soldiers in Afghanistan, where he was held for three months before being transferred to Guantánamo Bay, where he has remained ever since. He has endured a decade of human rights violations, without relief or remedy. Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed concern that Canada has failed to intervene to ensure that Omar Khadr's rights were properly safeguarded. As a result, numerous serious concerns, including his rights as a child soldier, detention without charge or trial, credible allegations of torture and ill-treatment, access to legal counsel and family visits, and fair trial provisions, have been disregarded by US officials.
The plea deal agreed to by Mr. Khadr in October 2010 was based on the understanding that, as of October 31, 2011 he would be eligible for transfer back to Canada. The Government of Canada acknowledged and accepted that transfer was integral to the plea deal by means of a diplomatic note provided to the US government at the time. In November 2010 former Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon stated that "we will implement the agreement that was reached between Mr. Khadr and the government of the United States." US officials have indicated they would support the transfer and are in fact eager to see it go through to encourage other detainees at Guantánamo to enter into similar deals. His transfer application has been with your office for well over a year; and all necessary approvals for his transfer have been finalized by US officials. Your prompt approval of this transfer application will demonstrate that the Canadian government is now taking a strong stand for full and proper protection of Mr. Khadr's rights.
Yours Sincerely
Please send copies to:
The Honourable Vic Toews, (address: Dear Minister:)
Minister of Public Safety,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6
Canada
E-mail: vic.toews@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Gordon Campbell, High Commissioner for CanadaHigh Commission of Canada to the United Kingdom in LondonMacdonald House
1 Grosvenor Square
London, W1K 4AB
Fax: 0207 258 6333
Other useful information:
Palestinian territories: Is it the 'Native American Reservation' of our time?
17-07-2012 12:50
Focusing on how illegal settlements continue to destroy Palestinian lives, with some new information, including first hand quotes received by Noam Chomsky and Human Rights watch, in addition to a clear explanation on Zionism, with interesting historical references of land purchases.