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UK Newswire Archive

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Disney Corporation Promotes Treekilling

20-11-2013 16:25

ABC Disney is involved in propaganda for the treekilling industries.

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Foxtons Outfoxed

20-11-2013 16:13

Just think, dear Foxtons,
how will you ever know again if that rich lady or gent coming in to look at all the expensive flats
is a real customer or an actor about to lead you on another hunt?

Article with pictures here:
 http://spacehijackers.org/html/projects/foxtonshunt/index.html

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Radio Calais - La voix des "sans papiers"

20-11-2013 16:08

Calais Harbour and Lighthouse viewed from Fort Risban
The SOAS Ceildh Band visit Calais...

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Email Action against German Vivisection Lab 'LPT'

20-11-2013 13:28

LPT is a German Vivisection Laboratory with labs in Hamburg and the area around Hamburg. It is one of the most important german Contract Research Organisations and is internationally connected. Thousand of animals are murdered inside LPT - among them rats, dogs, mice, monkey, birds, cats and rabbits. Since June, Animal Liberation Activists are protesting against the lab.

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Frack Free Nottingham

20-11-2013 10:55

Last night there was a public meeting at the Maze to discuss the prospect of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, coming to Nottinghamshire. There was a very informative presentation given by a member of Friends of the Earth Nottingham and then there was a passionate debate about what could be done to stop fracking here in Notts. See below the fold for a rundown on the current situation.

According to the British Geological Survey there is a potential for shale gas and coal-seam gas in large parts of Nottinghamshire, particularly the northern and eastern parts of the county. A company called Dart Energy has retained the exploration licenses and has acquired planning permission for an exploratory well near Retford. It looks likely that work could start there at some point in the near future.

 

Nottinghamshire County Council is currently reviewing its minerals extraction policies and the consultation is ongoing. You can read (and object to) their proposals here until the 18th December.

 

If you want to get involved in campaigning three meeting dates have been set:

Monday 25th Nov at 6pm - Free screening of Gasland 2 at the Broadway - meet for drinks afterwards in the Mezzanine Bar

Monday 2nd December 7.30pm - Provisionally at the Peacock pub, Mansfield Rd

Tuesday 17th December 7.30pm - Provisionally at the Peacock

 

There is also a facebook group here.

 

We can win! No fracking in notts!

 

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Catholic Worker invites Mother Agnes of Syria to Speak after she is "No Platformed" by StWC

20-11-2013 10:19

The Catholic Worker, a small anarchist pacifist community in Harringay London has extended an invitation to Mother Agnes to address its members on a two day retreat next week. Mother Agnes was recently pressured to withdraw from addressing the Stop the War Coalition meeting in London on Nov 30th.

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Syria, Egypt Reveal Erdogan’s ‘Hidden Agenda’

20-11-2013 09:51

Erdogan obviously is seeking to recruit Muslims as merely “soldiers” who will fight not for Islam per se, but for his neo-Ottomanism ambitions. Early enough in December 1997, he was given a 10-month prison sentence for voicing a poem that read: “The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers;” the poem was considered a violation of Kemalism by the secular judiciary.

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War Comic Script: Mainlandia Invaded in ‘Exercise Southern Katipo 2013′ – Timaru

19-11-2013 08:41

This article mocks uncritical mainstream media coverage the mock-worthy multi-force military exercise currently taking place in New Zealand's South Island. It also draws attention to two participating country's who both have a history of state-sponsored terrorism, France and the United States. It suggests that the NZ-led military coalition has Fiji in its sights.

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Curzon cinema workers campaign continues with another Mark Thomas stunt

18-11-2013 23:32

Dayglow protest
The London Mayfair Curzon last night was the target for a stunt as part of an ongoing campaign for union recognition, better contracts, the living wage, and the return of concession tickets. The union BECTU appear to be on the verge of a deal as a result of pressure on the cinema chain's management.

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Mark Kennedy sought advice from STRATFOR

18-11-2013 23:07

One of many STRATFOR emails published by Wikileaks shows former spycop Mark Kennedy making enquiries.

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Stop Bedroom Tax Evictions - Protest On Thursday

18-11-2013 22:55

On Thursday 21 November, the court hearing will decide whether to grant a possession order to Bedroom Tax tenants – paving the way for evicting some of the most vulnerable people in Nottingham

Our campaign has repeatedly asked Nottingham City Council to follow the example of Broxtowe Borough Council and agree not to evict tenants in arrears because of the Bedroom Tax. The city council has refused to do this and have now made a claim for possession against some tenants in Bedroom Tax arrears.



We need to show Nottingham City Council that the people of Nottingham are against Bedroom Tax evictions

Nottingham Crown and County Court

Opposite Broadmarsh Bus Station

Thursday 21 November. 1 – 1.45pm





 

Why are Nottingham City Council, a Labour council, threatening to evict

tenants when the Labour Party has said it will scrap the Bedroom Tax?

What should Nottingham City Council Do?

* Use all means possible to cover the Bedroom Tax shortfall

* Use all of its Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) budget and apply for more from the govern-

ment. In August it had only used 20% of its budge

* Put £700,000 of reserves into DHP budget (as permitted by government)

* Refuse to take tenants through the eviction process – saving £6000 per attempted eviction,

avoiding unnecessary homelessness, strains on social services

* Use its reserves (£133m) to temporarily cover the shortfall

* Work out the time, monetary and social costs of implementing the Bedroom Tax and present

this to the government to show that it is imprudent to spend £6000 to evict each household and

incur even more costs

* Build a campaign with the people of Nottingham. Work with other councils and social landlords

to demand that the government covers the shortfall for the Bedroom Tax to prevent these costs

* Don’t set up the community against each other by saying that they will have to cut other public

services, or increase Council Tax in order to prevent evictions - Fight for full funding for ALL services

How much are the council prepared to spend attempting to evict

vulnerable people to implement this unfair policy?

*What is a Suspended Possession Order?

The council do NOT have the right to remove you immediately from your home - A suspended possession order means the court has decided you must leave your home if you don’t pay your rent and repay your arrears in a time decided by the court. If this happens, the council can apply to evict you.

Get help paying your Bedroom Tax - Everyone is entitled to apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP). The council should tell you this. Ask for a form from the City Council or an advice centre. You will need to ask an advice centre to help you fill in the form.



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Anarchist Federation Day School in London

18-11-2013 22:15

Upcoming Day school on ideas of Anarchist Communism

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First action in Glasgow

18-11-2013 10:55

Today’s action marks another important milestone on EPTAG’s long-term journey to improve private tenancy rights in Scotland. In the first move to reach out to other cities in Scotland EPTAG members and local private tenants met up today to kick-off a campaign against a letting agency in Glasgow.

read more

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Solidarity with Assange and Manning as Australia finally takes on the US and wins hands down!

18-11-2013 00:26

16 November: Solidarity vigil at Rugby League World Cup Quarter Final in Wrexham.

As Australia geared up to meet the USA in the Rugby League World Cup 2013 quarter-final match in Wrexham last Saturday, we joined the crowds outside the ground to talk with fans about Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning, to sell raffle tickets for the football signed by Assange and collect donations to the Pvt. Manning Family Fund. Our last effort, at the Wales vs USA first round match on 3 November was covered prominently in the Australian magazine Rugby League Week. Text of article can be read in this post.

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No Platforming continues

17-11-2013 22:10

Research carried out by Owen Jones.
After the threats from Jeremy Scahill and Owen Jones, Mother Agnes has withdrawn from Stop the War Coalition antiwar conference.

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Budget protest at County Hall

17-11-2013 20:55

On Wednesday 13th November, Notts County Unison held a protest at County Hall against the cuts being proposed at Nottinghamshire County Council.

On Wednesday 13th November, Notts County Unison held a protest at County Hall against the cuts being proposed at Nottinghamshire County Council.

The council reverted to Labour control in May, but this has made little difference to the austerity programme in the county which continues apace.

The protest was held to coincide with the council's policy committee which was considering the budget proposals announced the previous week. These foresee £154 million of cuts over the coming three years with around £37.3 million in the first year (2014/15).758 staff are currently "at risk" with more likely to go.

Despite planning the event to coincide, policy committee had actually already agreed the report before the protest begun, having dealt with the various discussions in around one and a half hours. That's about one minute for every £1.7million.

Around 90 people turned up to the protest, with workers from around the county, as well as community members, local activists and other trade unionists. This isn't an amazing turnout, but it is worth bearing in mind that Unison has been holding protests like this since November 2009 and it is not surprising that people feel powerless in the face of these attacks.

It is possible that the union's attempt to walk the line between a strong anti-cuts position and fully legal "responsibility" resulted in a not entirely inspiring position: calling for a one-year no cuts budget (using reserves etc.) to create breathing space in order to launch a united campaign against the ConDem government.

While an interesting attempt to spin the needs-based budget position, I'm not sure how far this will resonate with many people, particularly when the emphasis occasionally seemed to fall on the one-year budget, rather than the need to confront central government.

It was certainly noteable that the largest cheers of the day were reserved for the last speaker who was also the most radical, condemning councillors as self-serving or money-grabbing, and calling for people to refuse to pay their council tax.

What received less note was the large hole in the budget report. Even in the first year, the 37.7million cuts fall far short of the council's projected £62.9 million defecit. The rest will (presumably) have to be made up from a council tax rise (only likely to raise around £5 million) and by dipping into reserves. Self-evidently, once reserves have been used they will not be their in the future so it isn't unclear how long this strategy can be continued in order to "balance the books".

No doubt the Labour Group would insist that this budget was "realistic", but in reality all it does is kick the can down the road. It does nothing to address the real issue: centrally imposed austerity. If they want to do anything about that, it means picking a fight with central government and that puts councillors' comfortable positions at stake. So don't hold your breath.

Unison had (controversially) invited Labour Group leader Alan Rhodes to speak at the demonstration, supposedly to "explain his position", but Rhodes bottled it.

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Conduit Search goes aggressive on your browsing

17-11-2013 20:07

Conduit Toolbar
The Conduit Company working in the sphere of online services promotion has adopted the tactics that slide on the verge of legitimacy...

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Support for San Sebastian Bachajon

17-11-2013 14:45

The struggle of the compañerxs is of great relevance at a global level for the proposal for an autonomous struggle, based in their indigenous worldview ) and for the freedom of the indigenous peoples. National and international support is essential such as the letter campaign promoted by the by the UK Zapatista Solidarity Network.

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Stop The Killing Of Cyclists - Protest at TfL HQ on Friday 29 November

17-11-2013 11:24

After 13 deaths and innumerable injuries on London's roads over the last year, (5 deaths just in the space of ten days this month), London's cyclists have had enough.

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List of events for Free School next week at 195 Mare Street!

16-11-2013 19:01

195 Free School: 18th-24th November
18th-24th November: 50+ events over 7 days now organised! 195 Mare Street, Hackney, London.

The week has been split as follows:

Mon 18th Resistance / Awareness
Tue 19th DIY / Cooking
Wed 20th Technology / Ecology
Thu 21st Housing / Benefits / Practical Squatting
Fri 22nd Queer and Feminist
Sat 23rd Arts / Music / Creative
Sun 24th Arts / Music / Creative