UK Newswire Archive
A CALL OUT FROM AMSTERDAM
14-09-2010 21:06
…and we like tools.
Why invite the pope on a state visit? PROTEST THE POPE
14-09-2010 20:50
Why invite the pope on a state visit – at a cost of millions in a time of cutbacks – when the vast majority are secular?EDL-friendly pub in Nuneaton
14-09-2010 20:42
"THE CREW" pub in Nuneaton is pro-EDL. Boycott it!Rally in support of John and Mary Flynn / Traveller Test Case at Southend County
14-09-2010 20:28
In poor health and anxious to stay with their extended family, grandparents Mary and John Flynn, among the many elder residents of Dale Farm, have refused a offer to accommodate them in a council flat.Portents
14-09-2010 18:22
Community Art Installation on College GreenPortents is one of the biggest community art installations Bristol has ever seen. A huge tent city will appear on College Green on Saturday 18th September – each tent encapsulating the hope and dreams of communities from all round the city.
For 9 days, from Saturday 18th to Sunday 26th September, College Green will be filled with 50 tents printed with images created by schools, churches, community groups, individual artists – a complete cross section of 21st century Bristol. Portents is led by John Easterby and the Pierian Centre, the team who hung the 4-metre high iWITNESS banners at Temple Meads – and is part of Bristol’s contribution to the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.
Over a thousand people have been involved in Portents. Groups and individuals across Bristol were asked to respond to the theme of Home, Histories and Hope in creating images and poems to be printed on their tent. The range of artwork is extraordinary, and includes some very moving verse and prose. Each individual tent is a real work of art, but the project only shows its true colours when the tents are brought together into one great encampment. Portents is a celebration both of the diversity of modern Bristol and of the richness and strength that results when these different elements work together.
John Easterby, the lead artist, grew up in Bristol. “I wish I’d worked on more projects like this during my career,” he says. “I’ve learnt such a lot from Portents, seen people at their finest and most dignified, worked with passionate and dedicated colleagues – and rediscovered Bristol, a wonderful, warm and diverse city that has a humanity, humour and sense of optimism unlike any place I’ve visited in recent years.”
The Launch of Portents takes place on College Green at 1.15pm on Saturday 18th September (with marquee cover if wet). This will bring together many of the participants, together with speeches, poetry and music – and is followed by the good-humoured cut and thrust of a Speakers Corner at 2.15pm. The day before, Friday 17th, will have seen a great gathering of community groups as Portents participants come together to erect the 50 tents from noon onwards.
The Portents encampment is both a 3-dimensional art gallery and a focus for meetings and activities throughout the week. There will be artists and writers in residence – and a number of special events. Tuesday 21st September is World Peace Day – and Portents becomes the focus for a range of different activities. On Friday 24th people are invited to join Stephen Williams MP to discuss community cohesion and the Big Society over lunch.
Portents is a free event, created by Bristolians and open to all. It runs from Saturday 18th to Sunday 26th September – and opening hours are 9am–6pm (Fri, Sats & Suns) and 9am–7.30pm (Mon–Thurs). For more information please contact 0117 924 4512 or info@pieriancentre.com.
AF Statement on the disassociation of Sam
14-09-2010 17:23
Sam of Sheffield Group has been disassociated from the Anarchist Federation due to a pattern of serious sexual misconduct.
An EBDA drop in (with a difference!)
14-09-2010 17:22
this Thursday 16th September at Kebele 7-9pmFor some time now East Bristol Debtors Alliance has been organising around the question of debt and what we can do about it.
We have been running twice monthly drop ins at Kebele Social Centre which are open for people who are in debt to come along, have a chat and a cup of tea and work out together what they need to do. It's not really advice, more support, although we do have experience in advice work so can offer information from our own experience.
For some time now we haven't been getting the numbers of people coming to the drop-in that we expected. One thing we want to do is to expand our members. We want more people who are experienced in debt advice, legal advice or advocacy. We also want strength of numbers so we are after people who are willing to be called up at short notice to attend an action. We also want people who have ideas on different places to do the drop in and different ways of trying to grow this thing.
So this Thursday if you are in debt , then come along and we will work with you. Or if you want to get involved then pop in and say hi.
We are also starting to ask the question 'Does Bristol need a Coalition against Poverty?'
Last Saturday at the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP ) did a workshop on direct action casework detailing examples of how they have build up a radical network taking action (and winning!) on problems with benefits, housing and work. Looking at their website (http://www.ocap.ca/) it is inspiring but for this thing to happen it needs a large amount of people willing to get involved.
During the workshop we talked about how this could work in Bristol. The tactics they use are simple. If someone is getting messed about by the benefits system, then they will send a letter asking for the correct decision to be made. If this has no response then they will picket and then if necessary occupy the office until it's resolved. They often ignore official 'appeal' procedures and bureaucracy and still get results. They are led by the people affected , this is no paternal vanguard.
As well as this they also campaign on broader issues like raising the minimum wage to a living wage.
So if this is something you are interested in then please come along on Thursday 16th September between 7 and 9pm. It's at Kebele Community Co-operative, 14 Robertson Road, Easton, Bristol, BS5 6JY
References:
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty : http://www.ocap.ca/
East Bristol Debtors Alliance: http://www.eb-da.org
What is Direct Action Casework?: http://www.lcap.org.uk/?page_id=55
Palestine Today 09 14 2010
14-09-2010 17:05
Less risk of new Opencast Mines?
14-09-2010 15:24
This press release highlights the publication of our new Briefing Note which explains why the Minorca Opencast Protest Group believe that a change in Government Energy Policy makes a successful Minorca Surface Mine less likely.
MOPG PR 78 14/9/10
CAMPAIGNERS ARGUE THAT A CHANGE IN POLICY MEANS THAT NEW OPENCAST MINE APPLICATIONS ARE LESS LIKELY TO SUCCEED
A new Briefing Note written for the Minorca Opencast Protest Group concludes its review of the Coalition Government’s Energy Policy by claiming that the special circumstances which lead to recent Public Inquiries finding in favour of the applicant no longer applies. The special circumstances were based on a ‘Need for Coal’ argument based on statements contained in the previous Governments Energy White Paper of 2007.
MOPG’s review of this Government’s Energy Policy suggests this is not the case anymore, since the Government has made it quite clear that in the short to medium term that Gas should be the preferred fuel for power generation purposes and that no new coal fired power stations are to be built unless they are equipped with proven Carbon Capture and Storage technology. This was made clear in a debate on Energy Policy in the House of Commons on July 27th when the Secretary Of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne, was asked a specific question about the role coal will play in providing the UK with energy
“Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab): Is the Secretary of State aware that at this moment in time coal produces up to 35%-at times, 50%-of the electricity generated in the UK, yet the announcement this morning did not make a single reference to coal? Will he give a commitment to the continuation of the British deep mining coal industry?
Chris Huhne: The hon. Gentleman clearly was not listening to the part of the statement that dealt with carbon capture and storage. The future of the coal industry-and, potentially, of gas-is about carbon capture and storage. It is an exciting technology on which this country has led. We have done a lot of the interesting, pioneering science on it. That, above all, will be the commitment to the coal sector.”
As the Briefing Note points out the future prospect for the coal industry in the immediate future is looking bleak indeed, as in 2015 one third of the UK’s coal fired generating capacity will have to close because it breaches EU. rules aimed at reducing levels of pollution caused by burning coal in power stations not fitted with the technology to remove Sulphuric Acid and Nitrous Oxide from their emissions.
In addition, it seems that the new Government’s pro Gas policy is now based on expectations that new safe sources of Shale Gas, possibly including utilising new reserves being currently prospected for in the UK, will continue to insure that Gas not Coal retains its new position of being the main source of energy for power generation purposes.
For these reasons the Briefing Note argues that the main planning guidance on which a decision about the Minorca application should be based is the MP3 guidance and its presumption against new opencast mining clauses.
Steve Leary, the author of the Briefing Note E1 “The Coalition Government’s Energy Policy and the Minorca Application” said
“This Briefing Note makes it clear that their has been a clean break between this Government’s Energy Policy and that of the previous Labour Government. Then we had a policy of allowing new opencast mine applications because that Government held the view that the UK faced a short term energy crisis and that coal, especially opencast coal, could fill the gap.
Our new Government has taken account of changes occurring in provision of new sources of energy, especially the development of new techniques of recovering large deposits of Shale Gas initially in the USA and potentially in the UK. In its review of Energy Policy, these new sources of Gas from politically safe and stable democracies mean that the UK need not be so reliant on coal as an energy source in the short to medium term. This is one reason why the emphasis in the new policy is a switch to Gas.
The other reason is that coal is such a dirty fuel to burn in Power Stations without the pollution controls required from 2015. It seems crazy to consider that by then, if planning permission is granted for the Minorca Application, that this coal would be being sold into a rapidly shrinking market for coal when a third of the current coal fired power stations are switched off and where prices are being squeezed because of the impact of cheap and abundant supplies of Gas.
As the Briefing Note comments
“.....The Minorca Opencast Protest Group do not consider that the short term national benefit of working this coal can now be justified when, within four to five years, the demand for coal will decline so rapidly and currently there is no problem in supplying the UK with coal. . It is not worth the destruction, blight, nuisance and disturbance to local residents that will automatically come with the granting of such planning permission. Such problems last for many years, in this case starting in 2008 with the first announcement of UK Coal’s intentions causing planning blight and lasting until approximately 2036 when the local landscape will look relatively mature again, a total of 28 years. Under these present circumstances this is too high and an unnecessary, price to pay.”
The new Briefing Note can be downloaded from:
http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/measham/mopg-briefing-notes-series.htm
END
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS PRESS RELEASE CONTACT:
STEVE LEARY, SPOKESPERSON, MOPG
tel 05601 767981,
email steve46leary@googlemail.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MOPG PLEASE GO TO:
http://www.mopg.co.uk or
"Deadly Legacy - Iraq"
14-09-2010 15:22
27th Sept 7.30pm Friends Meeting House 300 Gloucester rd BristolFilm Showing +Talk +Discussion
How Radioactive Waste is Used in Modern Warfare.
Deadly Legacy - Iraq
Since the early 1990s, wars waged by the US and UK have left a legacy of complex health problems including an upsurge in cancers and birth defects. Not only have civilian populations suffered but also allied troops stationed in those regions. A recent epidemiological study carried out by Dr Chris Busby, Malak Hamdan and Entesar Ariabi in Fallujah, shows increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia, and changes in the normal sex ratio greater than those of the A-Bomb survivors at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A likely cause of these devastating health effects is the use of uranium metal in conventional weapons systems, but serious public investigation is being thwarted by powerful Western governments and corrupt science.
Deadly legacy – Iraq is a short, but moving, Australian documentary on the birth deformities and cancers in Fallujah and Baghdad, and the terrible price being paid by women and children.
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/7/7/2828/
Joanne will then give a short talk outlining the need for greater transparency in weapon’s development, the power of the military-industrial complex. This will be followed by a general discussion and ideas for action.
Joanne co-authored
Uranium in Iraq: The Poisonous Legacy of the Iraq Wars
By Abdul-Haq Al-Ani & Joanne Baker
Foreword by Professor David MacGregor
Environmental Law Series 2 ISBN: 978-1-60042-078-8, June 2009, Paperback,
Available online at http://vandeplaspublishing.com/store/product.php?produc...id=97
Also available at www.amazon.co.uk..
New Opencast Applications likely to be less successful ?
14-09-2010 15:18
This press release highlights the publication of our new Briefing Note which explains why the Minorca Opencast Protest Group believe that a change in Government Energy Policy makes a successful Minorca Surface Mine less likely.Great solidarity shown at Oxford Cuts meeting
14-09-2010 15:01
Are Local Employment Partnerships scrapped?
14-09-2010 14:55
As per information on Business Link's web site, I went to my local JobCentre Plus to enquire about the Local Employment Partnerships scheme only to be told that it no longer existed, possibly due to 'cuts'. I decided to investigate ....SUBVERT 2010 . A Festival Of Resistance in Bristol
14-09-2010 13:59
brought to you by the Bastard Squad Collective
9/11 Truth and "Global War on Terror": Pretext to wage war is totally fabricated
14-09-2010 12:54
Concurrently, a fake anti-war activism emerged in the wake of 9/11 which broadly consisted in stating: "I am against the war but I support the war on terrorism". Meanwhile, several NGOs became actively involved in humanitarian projects in Afghanistan, in close liaison with USAID and the Pentagon.
This acceptance of the "war on terrorism" was in large part based on the acceptance of the official 9/11 narrative, namely that the US was under attack, that the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by Muslims, that the Taliban were protecting Al Qaeda and providing refuge to its illusive leader Osama bin Laden.
Ironically, many "Progressives" in America not only accepted the official 9/11 narrative, they were also involved in smearing the 9/11 Truth Movement. By slurring those who questioned the official 9/11 story (backed by carefully researched evidence and analysis), they (unwittingly) provided legitimacy to the bombing and invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq, the Palestinian occupied territories as well as the targeting of Iran, as part of the "Global War on Terror" GWOT).
Report of EDL London demonstration on Saturday 11th September.
14-09-2010 12:00
On Saturday the 11th of September about 800 EDL supporters attended a vigil outside the American embassy for the 9/11 victims. Then went onto to protest outside the Saudi Arabian embassy. There was a small muslim demo when they arrived at the embassy at about 12:30pm, but police managed to keep the two sides apart.Support the Reykjavik 9
14-09-2010 10:26
As we speak, Iceland’s first post-collapse trial is taking place. To no-one’s surprise, the accused are individuals from the most radical part of the uprising that toppled Iceland’s government during the winter of 2008 and 2009. The people – anarchists and radical leftists – are now facing somewhere between 1 and 16 years in prison, will they be found guilty of attacking the parliament.Protest the Pope on the 16th
14-09-2010 10:23
The Vatican believes it’s power and wealth puts it in a position above the law and that it need not answer to anyone for it’s actions.
This demonstration presents a once in a century chance to shatter that myth of Papal invincibility and demonstrate that no organization is above the laws of common decency and none can ignore the will of the people.
One fabulous Friday to get the city involved
14-09-2010 10:22
This Friday 17th September will see a brand new experience for bristoliansFriday 17th September will see a brand new type of event being launched in Bristol's Colston Hall Foyer, One Fabulous Friday will feature 3 floors of DJ's & performers in a massive FREE event that aims to create a safe family environment for all with the message "It's YOUR Hall, so come & enjoy it."
In July it was announced that a new independent organisation will soon be running the Hall and the event aims to attract many of those who have not yet seen the new Foyer building and experience what is has to offer. Event organiser Patrick Hart of E-Com Media said "The new foyer is a great new facility that the city should be proud of, we hope that this event will provide a brand new type of night for Bristol that will encourage families and people of all ages to experience music together. My team has in the past put on some of the cities biggest open air events in Bedminster, Kingswood and Eastville Park and we are proud to be working alongside the Colston Hall management team on this exciting initiative."
An array of local artists and DJ's will be playing everything from Jazz to Latin and Lovers Rock to classic soul with the top floor being given over to an open mic night . Already confirmed are renowned Jazz DJ Tony Clark, Bristol collective Freshblood, R&B singer I-kay and classical beat DJ's the New Parnassus team. Live 7 piece band Retrodisiac fronted by Bristol artist Paul Jennings have also brought forward their launch especially for the event.
The event runs from 6pm until 2am and is free. For further information about the night visit www.colstonhall.org.
ENDS
1. For press enquires contact Sarah Hodson, Colston Hall Marketing Manager on s.hodson@colstonhall.org or 0117 922 4667 or Patrick Hart at events@e-commedia.org
Squat / Convergence Space for the Tory Party Conference demos?
14-09-2010 09:01
Just wondering if there are any squats?