A nutter recently released from a psychiatric hospital wreaked the film night and proceeded to keep the whole street awake until almost 5am when an ambulance finally managed to take him away. We had shut down the screening after just an hour when his torrent of shouting reached the point of physical threats and spent the next couple of hours trying to talk him down before eventually ejecting him from the building after he attacked somebody with a vacuum cleaner. However the trouble didn't end there as he remained outside the building and barricaded the door and the street with a wheelie bin and rubbish bags while all the time screaming blue murder. One of the neighbors must have called 999 as an ambulance tuned up about an hour later but left without him after another half hour or so. They said they didn't have the powers to section the guy and he wouldn't go with them unless the police turned up. The ambulance crew said they had called the cops but they refused to come as they only had one vehicle on duty and it was busy. For the next several hours the man remained outside the rampART, smashing at the doors and yelling. He repeatedly stopped cars and passersby and told them that there were terrorists in the building and that they must call the police. Surprisingly it was another two or more hours before police turned up, just two of them in a car. They spoke to the man for less than a minute and got back in their car and drove off while the man yelled that he would kill the "mother fuckers" if they didn't come back and arrest him. He continued to plea for people to call the cops to have him arrested and threaten to smash car windows. However, the police never came back. Eventually at about 4.30am an ambulance came and took him away.

One would like to think that was the end of it but he came back on Friday night and freaked out again till the wee hours.

On Saturday evening one of us look out of a window after hearing some noise and found three police cars and two police vans and the street full of cops. The man had bashed in the door to one of the houses in the street and got himself arrested for attempted burglary.

It seems unlikely that we'll have heard the last of this guy and the experience has made us think twice about putting on events when we don't have sufficient numbers to deal with such incidents. We considered canceling the Thursday night screenings as the pyscho is a regular and is likely to try to come back. However, we'll try to continue for now and see what happens....

so, on with the show!


+++ Screening of "Steal This Movie (2000)"
Date: Thursday, March 16
Time: 8pm
Place: rampART , 15-17 Rampart Street , Whitechapel , E1 2LA
Entryr: FREE

On March 18th there is yet another Stop The War march in London. To mark the occasion we are screening 'Steal This Movie', a film centered on the anti-war movement during the USA war in Vietnam. The main thread of the plot is a journalist researching and writing a story about the founder of the Yippie movement, Abbie Hoffman who went underground to avoid a prison sentence. Hoffman contacts the reporter to get out the story of the FBI's program to wreak activist groups by harassment and inciting of violence they then blame on the Left. The skeptical reporter interview's Anita, Hoffman's wife, a single mom on welfare in New York City; Hoffman's attorney, Gerry Lefcourt; and others. As they talk, we see Hoffman's career in flashbacks, from early civil rights organizing through the trial of the Chicago Eight. While underground, as mental illness takes its toll, he meets Johanna Lawrenson, and an odd family develops: Abbie, Anita, their son, and Johanna. The reporter eventually hits the crackpot, and the rest, as they say, is history!

If you haven't seen this and don't know about the legacy of Abbie Hoffman and the yippies than please do come an watch. With the momentum of the anti-war movement in a pitiful state at the moment, perhaps this film will inject a spark of inspiration in you which will infect other.

We'll also be screening a mini newsreal of some recent actions and protests (if you've edited a piece in the last couple of weeks, let us know).


+++ Screening of "The Cycle of Peace (2005)":
Date: Friday, March 17
Time: 8pm
Place: rampART , 15-17 Rampart Street , Whitechapel , E1 2LA
Entry: FREE

"The Cycle of Peace", a feature-length documentary about a unique journey from London to Jerusalem.

In August/September 2004, a group of up to 25 international activists cycled from London to Jerusalem. It was a unique seven-week physical challenge through Europe and the Middle East. Throughout Europe the aim was to raise public awareness of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and how it affects the lives of the people in the region, and to call for an end to this occupation as stipulated in United Nations Resolution 242. In Palestine and Israel the aim was to show solidarity with those who continue to live in fear and turmoil as a result of the occupation and in particular, to call for justice for the Palestinian people as being the only way to a lasting peace for all people in Israel and Palestine. 'The Cycle of Peace' is about this journey.

In 2006, a second ride is being organised with the same aims, but taking a different route from London to Jerusalem. The Peace Cycle is currently recruiting cyclists to participate for as much or little of the ride as they can. Watch 'The Cycle of Peace' and choose whether you want to support The Peace Cycle 2006. +++



+++ Jewdas and New York's Heeb Magazine present Punkpurim:
Date: Saturday, March 18
Time: 9pm
Place: rampART , 15-17 Rampart Street , Whitechapel , E1 2LA
Entry: FREE

From the 1890s until the First World War a group of renegade Jews were active in the heart of the Yiddish East End. The Jewish anarchists opposed hierarchy, imperialism and the state, and also defined themselves against the Jewish establishment, holding Yom Kippur balls, featuring pork, music and dancing. They even had their own newspaper the Arbeter Fraint, until the Jewish establishment closed it down. This radical tradition has remained dormant for almost one hundred years, as Anglo-Jewry has become increasingly suburban, conservative and dull. Until now.

Radical Jewish culture returns to the East End as The New Rabbis of Liberty head down to rampART, a squatted social centre in the heart of Whitechapel. Bringing on the spirit of Yiddish subversion with klezmer hip hop/drum n bass bands Ghettoplotz and Emunah; Radical Torah will be taught by a motley crew of Jewish renegades; films and art showcasing the best of revolutionary Diaspora culture; and djs spinning the speeches of Ariel Sharon.

Punkpurim is Jewish hipsterism meets Israeli hardcore metal meets UK anarchist collectives meets anti-nomian Chassidism. It reclaims the carnival heart of the Jewish festival of Purim. Think of it as the meeting of Walter Benjamin, Noam Chomsky and Barbara Streisand in a Brick Lane Bagel Bar. Think of it as the revenge of subversive diasporists everywhere.

dresscode(optional): hassidic
Extras: DJs, bands, art, projections, food, drinking… you know

Currently confirmed:
live music from Ghettoplotz and Emunah
poetry from angry sam, adam cohen
radical torah from Jeremy schonfield, simon eder
film curated by Charlie Phillips

VJ Miki Grahame (ghettoplotz)
slides curated by Sarah maxwell (heeb magazine)
Deconstructive megilla from florian

Punkpurim is brought to you by:
jewdas.org the focus point of radical Judaism in the UK and beyond. Promoting hemisiche culture on acid, jewdas whips up Talmud, satire, heresy and cream cheese into a chicken soup of underground Diaspora culture. Jewdas fully supports the Anglo Jewish establishment and would never criticise the state of Israel .
Heeb is a New York based Jewish Culture Magazine. It is the roiling product of so many drunken postmillennial nights on the mean streets of the Lower East Side . It is an ambitious antitrust investigation into the monopoly on God. It is a sweaty prizefight between hip hop and sushi in this corner and klezmer and kugel in the other. It is the bastard love child of Emma Goldman and Lenny Bruce. It is a plague on modern-day pharaohs replete with miraculous jailbreaks and a nice little riot or two. It is a Carnival cruise to the Garden of Eden with all-you-can-eat cheesecake and Parliament as the house band. Hallelujah.

For more info, contact us at  info@heebmagazine.com +++



Things you might be interested in:

+++ BE creative and learn how to make your own clothes.
Date: Wednesday, March 15
Time: 8-10pm
Place: rampART , 15-17 Rampart Street , Whitechapel , E1 2LA
Entry: FREE

Unpolished GEMS of fashion DESIGN, this is your chance to find your SHAPE! Tailor your dreams onto your skin.

Everyone interested is welcome on Wednesday, 8th March to organise the course according to your ideas aims and the level of your previous knowledge.
Please send us an email to  rampart@mutualaid.org to take part.

Additionally the Costume Studio will be open on tuesdays and thursdays from 8 - 10pm. Bring your own material (scissors, pins, fabric, cotton, patterns...)
We will be able to give you are short introduction in how to operate the machines, but this is not a sewing course, but only for people with previous experiences.
Beginners should come wednesdays for the Dressmaking and Tailoring workshop. +++



+++ Yoga with Jupiter:
Date: Friday, March 17
Time: 6-8pm
Place: rampART , 15-17 Rampart Street , Whitechapel , E1 2LA
Entry: FREE

Jupiter comes from Friday, 3rd March to teach yoga at the rampART Beginner or advanced, practice together and share skills.

Give your stiff, rundown bodies a work out after the long winter break. Join the yoga class!
Every FRIDAY from 5 - 7 pm, starting on FRIDAY, the 3rd March 2006.

We aim to form a group that is working together, so please, everyone interested, please contact us:
 rampART@mutualaid.org +++



+++ Hacklab: Open Software Sessions:
Date: Saturday, March 18
Time: 1pm-8pm
Place: rampART , 15-17 Rampart Street , Whitechapel , E1 2LA
Entry: FREE

Just to let people know, we now have fast stable internet at Rampart hacklab. Provider is Be There www.bethere.co.uk and is ADSL2. Don't know exactly how fast it is yet but somewhere between 8 and 16Mb/s download and about 1.2Mb/s upload. The very good upstream speed should help matters for Rampart Radio, which will relaunch soon.

The hacklab now has about 8 well functioning computers, 500MHz and above with 17" monitors and not a bit of microsoft in sight. They have a variety of software including Open Office, Scribus (desktop publishing), various graphics programs including Gimp and Inkscape which is a vector graphics app, video editing and VJ'ing with LiVES and kino and associated progs, web development with Mozilla Composer and Nvu. And we have carpet and a cupboard with tea, mugs, a kettle and usually biscuits.

Saturday is drop in day from about 1pm for internet, email and whatever workshops are going on.

If anyone has any particular wants please let us know and we will see what we can do to accomodate it.

The next stage of development for the hacklab is to become a centre of knowledge of free software applications. We are now looking for people who know individual applications and if possible their Windows counterparts. The idea is to be able to show activists and others how to achieve with free software what they are used to doing with Windows programs. +++



+++ Self Defence:
Date: Monday, March 20
Time: 7.30-10.30pm
Place: rampART , 15-17 Rampart Street , Whitechapel , E1 2LA
Entry: FREE

the self defence sessions have started and will continue to be every monday from 7.30 - 9pm in the yellow room, 1st floor and from 9 - 10.30pm in the main hall.

every session will be:
+ warming up and stretching
+ selfdefence, martial art, boxing, stickfighting and kickboxing
+ relaxing with massage and meditation

at the end of each session, three people will volunteer to take on preparing the next session.

If you are interested to participate, please contact us:
 rampart@mutualaid.org +++


Last but not least:

+++Radio- Meeting:
Date: Monday, March 20
Time: 7.30-10.30pm
Place: rampART , 15-17 Rampart Street , Whitechapel , E1 2LA

Meeting to relaunch the radio stream at the rampART.
+ structure
+ server/ stream
+ sharing of content, up- and downloading of content, archive
+ network
+ contributions
+ distributions

We hope that as many people come to help rollin' the radio back rockin'... +++


Wish List:
guillotine for cutting paper (although one for cutting off aristocrats head would be okay)
Toner for our Brother Laser HL1250/1450 Printer