UK Indymedia - UK Social Struggles Newswire Archive

Shouting through fences - a Campsfield report

15-05-2011 22:21

Every month a small group of campaigners gathers outside "Campsfield House", near Oxford. Inside, behind layers of tall, razor-wire fences, are 200 people imprisoned indefinitely for the "crime" of being poor, non-white, and foreign.

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GMB Union Promotes Workfare as Answer.

15-05-2011 20:55

The Leadership of the GMB Union selling out their own members and the public that have supported their anti-cuts stance

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Israeli troops murder 9 protesters at Naqba border demonstrations

15-05-2011 15:50

Today, within 2 weeks of the Gaza Flotilla massacre where 9 activists were murdered, Israeli troops have shot dead 9 protesters and wounded more than 100 across 3 different protests at the border.

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Atos Origin Protests Across the UK – full round up

15-05-2011 15:06

A successful week of actions called by disabled, claimants and anti-cuts groups protesting against ATOS Origin took place this week. Atos are the private company milking millions of tax payers money from the testing of disabled people through their tick box computer Work Capability Assessments. Over 50 groups supported the week of action which saw pickets, demonstrations and protests in every major city in the UK.

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Gaza is Crumbling. Another flotilla prepares to sail

15-05-2011 05:13

Gaza is crumbling under the weight of an Israeli siege backed by the Obama administration. Roughly 80 percent of Palestinians in Gaza now depend on aid. Vast amounts of infrastructure destroyed in the Israeli attack of 2008-2009 require repair. Thousands of families still live doubled up with relatives or are homeless.

Children are being short-changed educationally because of damaged and horribly overcrowded schools and a lack of textbooks. Their health is compromised by polluted water and food insecurity.

In response, over 1,000 human-rights workers from around the world will sail this June on a dozen boats for the Gaza Strip to highlight this human-made tragedy.

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Greece: Demo against police brutality and riots - video

13-05-2011 13:05

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B2Xj1CE5yE

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Reclaim the Fields Online!

13-05-2011 10:02

A call out for content for the RtF website.

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Forests rally on Saturday

13-05-2011 06:42

THREE key speakers will address a West Sussex protest against privatisation of woodland. Worthing Keep Our Forests Public is staging a rally and walk from Whiteways car park on the A29 near Amberley and Arundel at 12 noon on Saturday May 14. Map reference TQ 001 107, 2.25 miles south west of Amberley railway station.

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Week of Action Against Office Angels

13-05-2011 06:31

This week - the 9th to the 15th - the Solidarity Federation has called for a week of action against Office Angels after they failed to pay a worker for two days he was owed, and a day - Wednesday 11th - to bombard Office Angels with phone calls and e-mails, effectively creating a 'communications blockade'. The response to the call has been excellent, with pickets taking place and planned across the country. This article lays out the background to the dispute, as well as listing the pickets taking place this week.

Since March, the Solidarity Federation (SF) has been involved in supporting a victimised former Office Angels temporary worker. Dan worked for Office Angels in Wimbledon for three days in December of last year. He was assured by the company that the lack of a time-sheet would 'not be a problem'. However, Office Angels are refusing to pay him the wages he is owed - falsely claiming he only worked for one day, despite Dan sitting next to the manager on one of the days for which he is yet to be paid!

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A bunch of Atos-sers are occupied!

12-05-2011 20:04

Yesterday afternoon (Thursday 11/05/2011) at 4:30pm, about twenty five activists turned up to picket the Cambridge offices of a private company now infamous for issuing highly suspect medical assessments, which have seen many sickness and incapacity benefits claimants having their money cut.

Despite there being many sucessful appeals against these decisions (currently a 40% success rate), this company is still being subcontracted by the government to carry out its nefarious deeds.

Their name is Atos, and they currently reside at 24 Hills Road, Cambridge, although they seem to be ashamed to admit it, as there are no signs outside for them, only two for "Jobcentre Plus", presumably the official smokescreen Atos are hiding behind.

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Picket of Atos Glasgow May 12th

12-05-2011 19:49

Over a dozen claimants and supporters managed to get our message out about Atos, that 'They Rob From The Poor To Give To The Rich' to hundreds of shoppers and people going home from work outside the Atos offices at 45 Gordon Street in the centre of Glasgow between 5pm and 6pm. Banners proclaimed that 'Atos Are Making The Sick Pay Por The Greedy Bankers Debt.

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Picket against Atos, against privatising benefits!

12-05-2011 16:55

LEEDS - 12 May 2011. As part of a national Week of Action Against Atos Origin, pickets were held today in front of Atos's headquarters in Leeds. This is part of a growing campaign to raise awareness about the privatisation of the benefit system, in particular the role that Atos is playing to kick disabled people off of benefits - an assault that has already led to several claimants dying waiting for their appeals.

After picketing in front of Atos's headquarters, people moved to picket the offices of Best, another company involved in the privatisation of the benefit system for the profit of a few.

A transcript of the leaflet handed out is below:

ATOS ORIGIN: VICTIMISING CLAIMANTS
Atos Origin is a multinational corporation that the government is paying £500 million to carry out "work capability assessments" for everyone on incapacity benefit. The computerised tick-box test assesses people with terminal illnesses and severe mental conditions as fit for work. It's a badly disguised attempt to cut as many people's benefits as possible.

CUTS HURT
Atos Origin is being paid millions to do the government's dirty work. So far, over 40% of appeals against the test's results have been successful. But people are dying waiting for their appeals to be processed. What Atos is doing amounts to an attack on benefitsclaimants, including severely ill and disabled people.

UNFAIR WELFARE
The welfare reforms of the coalition government are part of the new "work programme," a continuation of the blair government's "welfare to work" programme. Its real purpose is to cut people's benefits to force them to go on Job Seeker's Allowance which is cheaper for the government because it's less money, resulting in people losing a third of their income or more.

CLAIMANTS UNDER ATTACK
The press are always ready to smear people on welfare as "benefits scroungers," but the reality for people scraping by on the dole or incapacity benefit is very different. Benefits claimants shouldn't have to pay the cost of a financial crisis they didn't cause.

www.afed.org.uk
leeds@af-north.org

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Greek Anarchists 2003 - 2008 photogallery

12-05-2011 16:17

Some photos from Greece

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Call-Out For Solidarity With Greek Struggle, May 13-15

12-05-2011 14:12

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Demo Against Santander (Brighton branch) - Fri 13 May 4pm -6.30pm

12-05-2011 13:53

Meet outside Santander on 56 Western Road.
Santander invests in cluster bombs.
Cluster bombs are brightly-coloured lethal bomblets which can be mistaken for toys by children. In Libya, Spanish versions have rained down on unarmed residents of Misrata.

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Solidarity actions to Simos Seisidis in London

12-05-2011 11:52

Solidarity actions for Simos Seisidis in London

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Denver, CO: “Even With Our Backs Against a Wall” anti-police march reportback

12-05-2011 11:17

http://waronsociety.noblogs.org/post/2011/05/10/denver-co-even-with-our-backs-against-a-wall-anti-police-march-reportback/#more-771

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Open letter of Christos Tsakalos Member of the r.o. C.C.F.

12-05-2011 11:14

http://actforfreedomnow.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/open-letter-of-christos-tsakalos-member-of-the-r-o-c-c-f-from-the-prisons-of-koridallos-regarding-his-attitude-and-the-persecutory-proceduresgreece/

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The serious injury of demonstrator Yiannis K. and the attempted police cover-up

12-05-2011 08:41

Regarding the extremely serious injury of demonstrator Yiannis K. and the attempted cover-up by the police

Yiannis K., who is currently intubated in a critical condition at the intensive care unit of the Nikaia Hospital in Athens having received murderous blows to his head by the Riot Police, was one of the thousands of demonstrators who participated in the General Strike demonstration of May 11th. More specifically, during the entire demonstration – including the moment when he was attacked at Panepistimiou Ave – Yiannis was in the block of the assembly of resistance and solidarity of Kypseli/ Patision.

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Cambridge Atos offices occupied

11-05-2011 23:20

The Cambridge Atos offices at 24 Hills Rd have been occupied today from 5pm onwards. Atos are a private company that has been contracted to carry out an unfair test with the aim of forcing disabled people who are unable to work onto Jobseekers' Allowance.