UK Newswire Archive
Children beaten up by Syrian teachers
28-09-2010 11:20
March on Parliament for a Zero Carbon Britain
28-09-2010 11:13
Challenge the government to take the action we need to meet the climate threat.
Archbishop Rowan Williams is inconsistent and hypocritical
28-09-2010 10:21
“Rowan Williams is inconsistent. Although he says he is willing to accept a gay celibate bishop, he blocked the appointment of the celibate gay cleric, Jeffrey John, as Bishop of Reading,” said Peter Tatchell of the gay human rights group OutRage!Will Brown 1959 – 2010
28-09-2010 09:53
It was with great sadness that we heard that Will Brown had passed away recently. Will had been active in many groups throughout Bristol and the South West. He also helped Indymedia to put on events where he used his astute analysis of the economic system to highlight the injustices that were occurring as well as sharing with audiences his personal experience of the miners strike and other historical events. We would like to send our deepest sympathies to all Will's family and friends. He will be a sorely missed. Below is a contribution from Will's friends and details of his funeral if people wish to attend, it is an open event.Will Brown was a doer and a thinker. An active campaigner from his teenage years
(NUSS) he was an energetic force in CND and the Labour Party in the early eighties. During the Miners strike of 84 / 85 Will drove the campaign in South Bristol supporting Cynheidre Lodge in South Wales, collecting food and money for the striker’s families. Whilst he had his own political views, he was never judgemental, believing that those directly in struggle should control their own dispute and that supporters should provide assistance to allow this to happen. He often said that the lessons we learnt during that year long dispute, how to organise and structure campaigns and opposition, were invaluable.
He became interested in economics, believing that you could not challenge or change capitalism unless you understood how it worked, and co published a booklet “We’ve cracked it “ in the 80’s which still reads well today.
He became a trade union branch secretary whilst working as a technician at the University, where he built links with other Unions in Bristol at a local branch level.
He championed green issues, and the environment, cycling, a non oil based economy, and art. He also worked in the field of mental health as he struggled with his own and art. He also worked in the field of mental health as he struggled with his own episodes of anxiety and depression.
He was one of those people who brought different groups together. He was active in Transition Towns whilst co - organising an event on the legacy of the miners strike with Bristol Radical History Group. He ran a group on World Economics at Kebele Social Centre which was based on discussion and shared learning. He brought radical postal workers together with anarchists to organise support. He was one of those people who was able to make those around him feel inspired to carry on doing what they are doing. This is a rare quality.
He was an original member of the group who organised the Totterdown Front Room Art Trail, an idea which has now spread throughout the city. He loved being outside. He had run marathons, cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats, was keen on astronomy ( think of him when you see the evening star !) loved butterflies and moths and trees and football ( Paul Gascoigne and the Rovers ). He loved walking and being with his many friends, and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Funeral Friday 1st October at South Bristol Crematorium, Bedminster Down.
3.30 – 4.30
Followed by a buffet / drinks at The Oxford Totterdown from 5.30
All are welcome.
Naxalites hold cops hostage
28-09-2010 06:36
NAXALITE rebels in India have killed three policemen and are holding another four hostage in the impoverished Bastar region of the Chhattisgarh state.More police violence in Philadelphia: Justice for Askia Sabur!
28-09-2010 03:30
Manchester Anarchist Bookfair - Full List of Talks
27-09-2010 21:33
Set Brum City Centre alight...with fun and frolics!
27-09-2010 20:44
This is OUR city and these are OUR streets. We WILL march, we WILL party (as we did years ago, see poster from 1999) and we want YOU to be there too!
Another day, another twitter virus...
27-09-2010 19:54
Another malicious worm hit Twitter over the weekend, days after the micro-blogging site reached near-meltdown from a technically similar attack.
This time around the danger came from clicking links contained in micro-blogging messages beginning "WTF [URL]". Last week's more serious onMouseOver problem struck when users moved their mouse cursor over an infected tweet. These messages contained hidden JavaScript code that exploited a cross-site scripting problem - in the case of the WTF worm a CSRF (cross-site request forgery) technique is in play.
Mayall Road is gone, long live Mayall Road!
27-09-2010 19:53
This morning the famous squatters of 144 Mayall road had their second eviction notice. The first eviction date saw friends and neighbours turn out en masse to a lovely street breakfast with no bailiffs even trying to show their faces. This time they did show up, supported by the cops. While the first attempt at repossessing the council property was again unsuccessful, they did make a couple of arrests. And left...
Find out what happened next...
Again neighbours as well as other supporters were on site, but any attempt at dialogue remained fruitless. After the defenders of the right of private ownership (uh, rather council ownership of empty properties) left, people dispersed, some setting up an impromptu rally at Brixton police station, trying to find out where the arrested had been taken.
But alas, the knights in their not so shining armour returned, furnished with a ram and power tools. It took them around an hour to get in, and they only did get in after taking out the door frame from the outside. At least one more person was arrested and then the house finally returned to its rightful state of emptiness and neglect.
Though the number of homeless people has risen again today, after council, bailiffs and cops took peoples' homes away, the day did feel like a little victory. The neighbours and local kids were amazing, and it was obvious that evictions can indeed be prevented. As long as people stand together.
National Eviction Team & Scottish Coal Visit Happendon Wood Action Camp For Nose
27-09-2010 18:37
National March for Farmed Animals (W.Mids coach transport)
27-09-2010 18:17
On Saturday 2nd October, we are going to march in London to make it clear that it is not acceptable to farm animals, and hope you can join us.
http://www.veganmidlands.org.uk http://www.farmedanimals.org.uk
BNP offer watches for membership!
27-09-2010 17:59
This is a mass email sent out today by the BNP encouraging people to sign up for lifetime membership for a one of fee of £500. Not only do you get the peace of mind of knowing you are helping to reclaim Britain, but you also get a shiny new watch!Palestine Today 09 27 2010
27-09-2010 17:54
Native Spirit Film Festival
27-09-2010 17:21
Ahmadinejad’s UN 9-11 Speech
27-09-2010 17:20
President Ahmadinejad’s 9-11 speech at the UN merely advances 3 logical, testable, scientific hypotheses about 9-11 but has immediately elicited hysterical, egregiously dishonest, anti-science and anti-truth responses from Western leaders and Mainstream media.
Dust a problem if Minorca goes ahead
27-09-2010 17:13
This Press Release describes why MOPG believe that visible black coal dust will affect the daily life of local people as MOPG publish its 3rd objection.
PR 81 27/9/10
Visible dust will be a problem for local residents if the Minoca plan goes ahead says MOPG.
If the Minorca Application goes ahead local residents can expect ‘nuisance dust’ to affect their daily lives. This is the conclusion from a professional assessment of both submissions by Wardle Armstrong / UK Coal on their application for an opencast mine on the Minorca site between Swepstone and Measham.
In the third objection to the plan published by the Minorca Opencast Protest Group (MOPG) today which deals with Air Quality and Dust, MOPG state
“The general quality of the addendum (UK Coal’s July 2010 submission) is highly disappointing”
“In the supplementary report there has been no change to the initial concerns raised about dust and air quality. No further monitoring has taken place.”
In the first set of papers submitted in July 2009 Wardle Armstrong admitted that ‘short term daily levels (of visible dust emissions) could be experienced ‘.
Our Professional’s Assessment is that
“As the distances between the site boundary and the eight nearest receptors (houses) identified in the assessment is between 14 and 190 metres this impact is a realistic supposition”.
Much is made in UK Coal’s submission of how the Air Quality and Dust issues have been handled at the recent Long Moor site by UK Coal and that this therefore provides a yardstick on which to base predictions about the affect of working the Minorca site. We consider, in the light of the evidence presented to MOPG by our Professional Assessor, that such data is misleading for two reasons.
The monitoring done to assess the impact of dust generated by working the Long Moor site was undertaken at 100m and 200m away from the site because no houses were closer to the site than 200m. At Minorca eight houses are within 200m. Secondly our Assessor maintains that there is a degree of confusion over where the actual Air Monitoring took place at Long Moor with Wardle Armstrong’s documentation stating that it occurred West of the Long Moor site and other evidence suggesting that it occurred East and North East of the site. If the latter is correct then our Professional Assessor passes this judgement on the quality of the submissions
“If this is the case then the statement remains incorrect and further undermines the poor quality of the technical information presented”
In conclusion, on the issues to do with Air and Dust Quality MOPG state
“……it is our opinion that the dust and air quality impacts have been assessed very poorly. The contrast of the material, likely deposition rates, incorrect information regarding PM10 monitoring locations, and therefore inconclusive impacts on sensitive receptors mean that the application should be refused until a period of at least 3 months of PM10 monitoring has been undertaken at an operative site similar to Minorca with receptors similar to those at Minorca, before any sensible conclusions can be drawn.”
Steve Leary speaking for the Minorca Opencast Protest Group said
“This all sounds highly technical stuff, which it is, but it contains important information on how this plan to mine coal will, in our opinion, affect the daily lives of too many local residents. According to this Professional Assessment, the likelihood is that local people will have to deal with deposits of visible black coal dust – that this is a ‘realistic supposition’. In practice this means that local people will have to make a judgements on possibly a daily basis based on the strength of the wind and the wind direction whether it will be safe to put the washing out, do outside painting or enjoy a Bar B Q. In addition, car washing and cleaning windscreens will be a regular occurrence. This would be an intolerable imposition on peoples’ normal quality of life.
Much is made of the Long Moor experience, but Minorca and Long Moor are not comparable sites as we MOPG has already explained “
(See our Press Release “It will have twice the impact at half the distance” (PR 13, 2/6/09 and the full article in Issue 16 of the Minorca Protest News both available from
http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/measham/information-about-the-minorca-op.html)
“There the nearest house Long Moor Farm was 200m away from the site and we believe that as this property was owned by UK Coal it was left vacant whilst the work was underway. Here the situation is entirely different with numerous house owners living close to the site boundary. Because of the risk of Nuisance Dust being so great, this application should be rejected on these grounds alone.“
This is the third of MOPG’s objections published so far. You can read the rest at:
http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/measham/mopgs-2010-set-of-objections-to.html
The Minorca Surface Mine Application is due to be heard at a meeting of Leicestershire County Council’s Development Control and Regulatory Board on Friday October 15th .
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.leicestershirevillages.com/measham/minorca-protest.htmlHow do we connect activism in Leeds and grow?
27-09-2010 17:11
How do we connect all this great activism in Leeds together? How do we grow as a movement so that we can demand, not ask, for change? How do we build our power? And how do we get from A to B?
Callout: Anarchists Against The Cuts [1]
27-09-2010 17:10
It's Not Business, It's PersonalThis is a call-out to the Anarchist community in the UK to get involved with the building anti-cuts movement. We call for anarchists and other more militant/radical members of the left to start a campaign of direct action, demonstrations, outreach and civil disobedience against the cuts and the state as a whole.
The foundations of a major anti-cuts movement are already in place with campaigns, groups and alliances forming across the country with particular activity in the south west and north east of England.
In Bristol and Bath the unions and the mainstream left have formed anti-cuts alliances. As stated in previous articles on this site we should not seek to create a separate parallel campaign to these groups, on the contrary we encourage the Anarchist and radical community to have a visible (and vocal) presence at all their meetings and demos.
We must work together towards our shared goals while at the same time brining with us our own politics, tactics and ideas.
If we do not act not to establish ourselves as a viable part of a movement which has all the hallmarks of something not seen in the UK since the Poll Tax, then we risk being smothered by union bureaucracy and those who seek to use this opportunity to seize power for their own means.
A large proportion of Anarchist activities are based around single issue campaigns. We see Anarchists Against The Cuts as a banner these groups and individuals can unite under to form a visible and uncompromising part of the fight against the cuts. We do not have a membership, we do not have a fancy logo, we do not have formal meetings, we do not have newspapers to sell or a Facebook group to like. We are simply a campaign with one aim "No Cuts, No Compromise, By All Means Necessary!"
Full Story | Demo against cuts - Swindon, Oct 7th | Cutz: This Week in Bristol | Right to Work Demonstration at the Tory Party Conference
How To Contribute Articles A Brief Guide | Donate |Publish an Article/Event | Help Guide | Calendar | Indycycle | Bristol Just Living Positive Guide to Bristol | Get Involved with Bristol Indymedia
We should not waste energy to duplicate efforts already made by other groups. It you want to know what is going on and what you can do please attend the meetings of your local anti-cuts alliance or IWW branch meeting. (If there is not a group near you, form one). We are encouraging as many groups as possible to post their events and meetings on Indymedia.
Anarchists against the cuts are looking however to produce some straightforward jargon free literature.
We encourage Anarchists to attend the arranged meetings and demos, get involved with the campaign, distribute your own (or other groups) literature and take autonomous actions against the cuts.
See you on the front line & see you in the meeting room.
Anarchists Against The Cuts.