Skip to content or view screen version

Mayday! Mayday! This is May Day

mayday imc | 01.05.2011 06:21 | Free Spaces | Repression | Workers' Movements

With future May Days under threat, policing in the build up to this May Day has been particularly pernicious. Operations were mounted against social centres, projects and activists as the MET and other forces engaged in a series of pre-emptive arrests. In London raids took place at the Rat Star Social Centre, Offmarket Social Centre, nearby Petrosiege and The Community Project in Sipson (Grow Heathrow). The Met were also involved in raids on squats in Brighton, and Telepathic Heights in Bristol - where a police raid caused last week’s Battle of Stokes Croft - was evicted, causing further disturbances. Indymedia reported that an arrest was made in Cambridge and one in Edinburgh after groups and individuals were raided in Scotland in relation to March 26.

On the newswires:

Police Raids on social centres and projects: London 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Brighton 1 | 2 | Bristol 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Fitwatch analysis |
May Day: Event Announcements Glasgow | Brighton 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Bristol | London 1 | 2 | 3 |
May Day Reports and Repression: Birmingham | Birmingham photos | Birmingham action against banks | Newcastle | Brighton | Leeds | London | Nottingham 1 | 2 | Cambridge | Oxford | Roundup of northern Mayday events | Reports from around the world: Spain photos | Ukraine | Russia photos | Berlin photos |
Royal Wedding: Repression 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Identify these thugs | Announcements London | Newcastle | Bristol and Bath | Reports London | Oxford | Manchester | Sheffield | Newcastle | Analysis 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

Zombie wedding party arrested
Zombie wedding party arrested


Pre-emptive strikes

The “pre-emptive strikes” against “potential trouble makers” were justified as an attempt to limit disruption to the Royal Wedding, although it is believed that few anarchists were bothered about the event, despite reports to the contrary in the tabloid press. At least 50 political sites on facebook were deleted without warning between 28 and 29 April. Bristol anarchist bookfair and AntiCuts Space London suddenly found themselves without a facebook presence, along with such dangerous revolutionaries as Westminster Trades Council, Rochdale Law Centre, Save NHS and Tower Hamlets Greens.

Although some activists were arrested in the vicinity of the wedding, others marked the occasion by attending anti-royal events. In Sheffield, the Fargate Speaker invited people to an ‘Bollox to the Royal Wedding!’ Barbeque and about 90 people turned up.

May Day resistance

On Saturday, hundreds of Brightonians gathered for a May Day demonstration which avoided a kettle and broke into several groups. Later on a kettle was effected outside Top Shop which, along with Vodaphone, was targeted by anti-cuts protesters. Birmingham anti-cuts protesters were forced out of the Bullring by security who are reported to have assaulted people.

Today (Sunday) Wolverhampton will mark May Day with its 17th Workers’ Day free festival and London’s Anarchist Public Assembly will start at Clerkenwell Green at 11am.

May Day on Indymedia

Meanwhile, there have been May Day happenings in indymedia uk with the mayday collective taking direct action to protect the uk indymedia site from shutdown. This collective was formed by a group of people committed to keeping the uk open publishing newswire and site up and running in the face of ongoing efforts to shut it down, sideline it and effectively expel it from the global indymedia network.

mayday imc

Additions

Squat evicted in Taunton

04.05.2011 00:13

Not just Bristol, Brighton & London but also happening in places where new social centres are being set up. Charges are similar to others 'abstracting electricity' as well as burglary. For anyone local court is on May 12th:  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=194307937278938

Solidarity with the Taunton Two
- Homepage: tauntonsquatters.wordpress.com


Comments

Hide the following 3 comments

my mayday away

19.05.2011 18:00

A recent acquaintance, met during a festival just last year, was my point of call. There was a "sense of sadness" as we greeted, both in the knowledge that the Welsh Witch, our other new friend, couldn't be with us. Illness had prevented his journey and there was one drum spare and despair in the air. We battled through the day and cheered ourselves, with stories of old and a few of the new, drank to our absent friend and entered the trance of drum. We opened a phone line and performed for almost an hour, the moment was shared, his spell was broke and he was with us again. Later as one drum stopped, I was asleep.

The morn saw mayday arrive. The Wiltshire Runeman was morning fresh with the spirit of gardening, an effect of transition carried between the three of us since last summer, and excitement for his daily visit to his new community garden project, "it's happening", "I'm luvin it" he says. A wonderful garden it already is, I wish you all well. Later a visit to the canal and a little 'stone shop' that occupies a space there. Wiltshire buys a few new ones and we return to his before we depart again.

We decide to make the air heavy one last time, again, later a Reading of the Runes is offered, how could I say no. Whilst he was preparing the cards I blessed them with the power of Ra. Then I shuffled the Runes and offered my thoughts. My question was, 'where is all this going?' (this question was with regard to my sighting of the Eye of Ra back in 2008 and the resultant transformation within my life and recent escapade into other new worlds).

The reading

Gufu - the gift - was the rune of my question
Ing - the earth god - this was my rune
Thurisaz - the thorn - this my rune in opposition
Laguz - water, flow - my outcome rune

the other two are my past and future influences
Berkano - the birch goddess - future influence
Tiwaz - the sky god - past influence

at the end of the reading Wiltshire drew one more rune, "I don't usually" he said "it's in the spirit of the moment" he said. I said "its a message".

The card
Kano - beacon or torch, vision, revelation.

WoW, what a day.

so soya o joy


sorry forgot this...

19.05.2011 18:55

The reading
The reading

mayday photo

so soya o joy


sorry again

20.05.2011 19:55

I didn't realise it was SO big.

so soya o joy