UK Newswire Archive
anarchist attack action in innercity bristol for a smashing new year
02-01-2011 17:55
january the first. anarchists saw in the new year 2011 with attacks on both newfoundland road police station and the probation office on upper york street using easily found stones.Next Rising Tide meeting
02-01-2011 14:22
The next Bristol and Bath Rising Tide meeting will be on Monday 3 January, 7.30pm at Kebele, 14 Robertson Road, Easton, Bristol.Get together to talk, plot, plan and make decisions. Come along and get involved in campaigning against a new nuclear plant at Hinkley, Bristol airport expansion, new coal and anything else you bring to the table.
See you there.
Imminent eviction of Gypsies and Travellers from Dale Farm- Info night, Brighton
02-01-2011 14:13
Talk, film and discussion about practical solidarity action to support the Dale Farm Community- Brighton, 8pm, Cowley Club, London Road.Wednesday 5th January 2011
Wikileaks Scandal Hits Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo
02-01-2011 13:08
Wikileaks scandal explodes in Paraguay: president Lugo is an U.S. and USAID agentDon't use Firefox - ALF Snitch writes it
02-01-2011 11:28
Where is former Animal Liberation Front prisoner and FBI informant Justin Samuel now? Designing the internet browser you may be using to read this.Revolt at Ford prizon
02-01-2011 10:22
Revolt at Ford prizon
Rioting inmates caused heavy damage to a low-security prison on Saturday, smashing windows and setting fires that engulfed buildings and spewed clouds of black smoke. Mark Freeman, deputy general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said the riot started after some prisoners refused to take breath tests. At the time, only two prison officers and four support staff were on duty, he said.Freeman said a large amount of alcohol had been found at the prison and spoke of "how dangerous even open condition prisoners can be." "My understanding is that staff on the night suspected that some of the prisoners had been drinking alcohol and wished to, according to the policy here, to breathalise them. The prisoners refused and the other prisoners joined in that act of indiscipline and prison officers were then threatened and they had to remove themselves to a place of safety," he said. Officials said about 40 inmates at Ford Open Prison near Arundel, 60 miles (95 kilometres) south of London, began the disturbance at around midnight New Year's Eve. By midday, two buildings were still ablaze, though fires had been extinguished at several other buildings, which were heavily damaged. The prison's staff retreated and specialist officers were called in to handle the riot, the Ministry of Justice said. There were no immediate reports of injuries to staff or inmates. The prison houses up to 500 offenders with less than two years remaining on their sentences to prepare them for release. . . .
PS: It would be good to organize a solidarity demo for the ford's jail prizoners
THE PASSION FOR FREEDOM IS STRONGER THAN THEIR PRISONS
Robert Green's Latest Letter to Frank Mulholland - Solicitor General for Scotland
01-01-2011 22:22
Robert's Latest Letter to Frank Mulholland - Solicitor General for Scotland
Angry prisoners torch English jail
01-01-2011 22:08
ANGRY prisoners have torched a jail in southern England.Well fed Solidarity!
01-01-2011 21:23
Success!
The First People's Kitchen of 2011 has gone really well!
Thanks to all that supported it!
Solidarity from the Sumac Centre to all automonus centres around the world!
Keep partying on Cowley Club!!!
To the future!!!!!!
Stop the sell off of the forest of dean
01-01-2011 20:22
Rally and MarchSell off of Forest Of Dean
The Third of January sees the Hands off our Forest Campaign organising the bigest event so far to stop the sell off of the Forest of Dean. The Tories seem to think it is a good idea to sell off the Forest Of Dean to private interests in a continuation of the enclosures of the 1800's. This is a disugusting abuse of power as they actually have no right to sell off the forest of dean as it is held in trust on behalf of the common people. It is not theres to sell, but these scumbags are now trying to push the Public Bodies Bill through parliament that basically grants themselves the ability to sell off the Forest without having to seek any permission. This again stinks of the Tory Selfish Self Serving agenda and you can bet that the people looking to buy this land up will more than likely be linked to the current administration. The Foresters are not taking this sitting down, and on the spirit of the famous forester Warren James a huge programme of resistance is being planned. They will not sell off our forest. See you at the Rally.
MARCH and RALLY
Monday 3rd January from 12.30
ALL AT SPEECH HOUSE MEADOW
CAR PARKING (FREE)
STARTING AT
12.30pm PROCESSION: Through the Cyril Hart Arboretum with Forest of Dean Brass
OUTDOOR STAGE (OR MARQUEE IF BAD WEATHER)
1pm WELCOME: Rich Daniels
1.10pm SPEECH: Baroness Jan Royall
1.30pm SPEECH: Jonathon Porritt
1.40pm MUSIC: Dick Brice
1.55pm SPEECH: Ian Wardell
2.10pm SPEECH: Bishop Christopher Hill
2.20pm MUSIC: Asha Faria-Vare
2.30pm SPEECH: Eric Morris, Freeminers’ Association
2.35pm SPEECH: Commoners’ Association
2.40pm MUSIC: Mike Edwards
2.55pm MUSIC/SPEECH: Community singalong/ speeches from people in the community
3.15pm MUSIC: Max
3.30pm MUSIC: Ghost of a Dog
3.45pm MUSIC: Bob Smith
4.00pm FINISH
PLUS FIRE SCULPTURE FROM PHIL BEWS MARQUEE: HOOF INFORMATION CENTRE LETTER-WRITING STATION BAR SELLING HOT & COLD DRINKS AND SNACKS
Cardiff's Unemployed Daytime Disco Returns!
01-01-2011 19:25
NEW YEAR IN BABYLON. Don't. Miss. Out. Cardiff's MONTHLY Unemployed Daytime Disco returns for an edgy JANUARY SPECIAL in early 2011: Now is the Winter of our Discontent...!Nottingham Indymedia: Review of 2010
01-01-2011 19:23
The beginning of 2011 offers an opportunty to look back over 2010 and review how much the local activist movement has achieved. Last year has not always been easy, but in compiling a review of what has gone on, it is surprising just how much has gone on. Hopefully, this should provide a strong base for moving forward into 2011.
Previous features: Notts Indymedia: review of 2009
January
The year began with threat to the long-established Stonebridge City Farm in St Ann’s coming under threat from the Council. The Council threatened to take 10% of the farm’s land to build a car park. The local community responded quickly organising to defend this important green space.
Noottingham’s hunt sabs reported a successful season with prestigious hunts in Notts, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire sabbed.
Campaigners fighting against the closure of the Victoria Baths in Sneinton discovered that the City Council were closing the baths early. This would leave the community without leisure facilities whilst a new leisure centre was built. The move was suspected to be a cynical money saving ploy.
A popular asylum seeking family from Ghana were threatened with deportation again. Selina, Brian and Chelsea Adda, who live in the Meadows, were supported by many in their local community and the deportation was averted.
Stonebridge City Farm under threat | Busy year for Nottingham hunt sabs | Victoria Baths axed early in city budget | EDL riot in Stoke | Urgent action for Notts family facing deportation
February
The unpopular Notts police force came under pressure in February when it was announced they were to be inspected and their practices reviewed. The review came after a number of high profile cases of police malpractice, negligence and corruption, including the tasering of an unarmed man in the city centre. Needless to say, we haven’t spotted any improvement since…
The Council decided to ban legal graffiti walls at community centres throughout the city. This provoked the ire of many established graffiti artists who argued that it would take away the possibility for young artists to express themselves legally.
February was a bad month for the BNP who did badly in the Hucknall Central by-election and came under attack from a group calling itself the “Broxtowe Reds”. Party activists Nina and Dave Brown had their vehicles damaged.
Activists spectacularly shut down the Lenton premises of arms manufacturers H&K for the day by chaining themselves to gates and occupying the roof of the building. At the trial of one of the activists, the Managing Director of the company refused to deny that the premises were used to store weapons.
The first anti-cuts protests began when Notts County Council voted to sell off care homes for the elderly. Protesters gathered outside County Hall to register their opposition to the moves that will mean greatly increased fees for residents.
What’s up with Notts Police? | Campaign to save Victoria Baths takes fight to the council | Nottingham City Council to end legal graffiti | BNP difficulties in Notts | Direct action shuts down H&K | Another victory for anti-fur campaigners | Protests against county council cuts
March
There were more woes for local fascists in March, when the East Midlands branch of the National Front attempted to have a Day of Action in Derbyshire. Anti-fascists confronted them in Ripley and took their Union Jack and leaflets from them before chasing them out of the town centre.
Nottingham City Council announced that they would be cutting their budget by £18.8m. The cuts included closures of residential homes and libraries and cuts to the City Council Deaf Service. Deaf activists blocked the tram in Market Square in protest.
The City Council also announced that it would be selling the Radford Unity Complex, giving the community groups that had been using it for 20 years little time to find alternative premises. Members of the local community marched from the complex into the city centre in protest. The proposed sale fell through and now the groups are hoping to buy the building themselves.
National Front humiliated in Derbyshire | Nottingham remembers anti-Poll Tax struggle | Action against cuts in Nottingham | Nottingham celebrates International Women’s Day | Animal rights gathering in Notts | Radford community on the march
April
As the build up to the general election reached a frenzy, Notts Indymedia covered some of the more amusing stories that emerged, including a local Tory candidate getting bitten by a dog and Nick Griffin’s toilets being blocked by “Labour thugs”. Even Prime Minister Gordon Brown popped in and out of Nottingham, shielded from the general public by his security detail.
In more serious news, animal rights activists continued to protest the ‘Great’ British Circus across the Midlands. The circus is one of the few remaining circuses to feature live animals. There were celebrations when it was announced that the animals would be banned from British circuses in future.
Election madness begins | If I can’t laugh, it’s not my revolution | Busy start to 2010 for Notts hunt sabs | Protests against ‘Great’ British Circus continue | Whose Streets? Our Streets?
May
Mayday celebrations took place across the East Midlands. Nottingham’s celebration was under greater pressure in previous years with the local council imposing much stricter conditions on events and making the organisers pay for road closures.
In Leicester, activists invaded the site of a proposed animal research lab at the university. Later in the year hunger strikes took place outside the offices of constructors Wilmott Dixon.
The elections saw a lot of activity from local BNP members and anti-fascists who opposed them. A late night to the Derbyshire farm that hosted the party’s Red, White and Blue festival was followed by the announcement that the festival was to be scrapped.
Arms dealers were under attack too. The Rolls Royce Trident factory in Derby was grafittied and gates were locked shut by a group protesting the war machine.
Announcing Notts Indypendent | Mayday celebrations across the East Midlands | Proposed Leicester animal lab attracts protests | Scapegoats, Serco and Solidarity | Notts Pension Fund linked to tar sands extraction | anti-fascist news | Rolls Royce Targeted in Derby | Nottingham anti-arms trade activist convicted | JB Spray squat under threat | Anti-fascists claim victory as BNP festival cancelled
June
The massacre of aid workers and human rights activists on the Gaza flotilla shocked the world in June. Nottingham responded with a well attended demo in the Market Square. A Nottingham Trent student, ‘Tox’ Sharif, was one of those who survived the onslaught.
The new coalition government unleashed a budget full of cuts and a rise in VAT. Trade unionists and the Right to Work campaign protested in Market Square and the PCS union organised protests at lunchtime.
Nottingham Indymedia finally made the transition to our new site. It’s still going strong 6 months later and we hope you like the new features!
Nottingham responds to Gaza flotilla massacre | Nottingham hosts “first ever Vegan Beer Festival” | Nottingham Indymedia is switching to a new site | Villagers keep up pressure against Minorca mine | Hunger strike against Leicester animal lab | Nottingham responds to budget | Smash EDO solidarity in Nottingham
July
July saw protests against the Evening Post’s coverage of migration and related issues, as part of a national day of action against “racist” media.
In Keyworth, plans to build a new Tesco store generated a strong local campaign in opposition, which – at the time of writing – appears to have been successful.
At the county council, council leader Kay Cutts’ decision to have the memorial to the International Brigades at County Hall rearranged so as to obscure its political content, generated considerable anger and in July, the Trades Council organised a re-dedication event. The Radical History Group and local Anarchist Federation organised events around the theme of the Spanish Civil War to tie into this, including a discussion about the Spanish CNT union and a showing of Ken Loach’s Land and Freedom.
New Nottingham Indymedia site launched | Day of action against 'racist' Nottingham Post | Villagers prepare to resist Tesco | Nottingham remembers Spanish Civil War | Anarchism in Spain event in Nottingham
In August, the squatters in the JB Spray were expecting to be evicted and had prepared themselves for that eventuality. A court case went against them, but despite bailiffs and police checking the building out, the occupants have yet to be removed.
August also saw two stories in the local press involving use of tasers. In one a woman was shot by accident and in another, a taser was used on a dangerous dog. The lack of a wider debate about the use of such weapons has caused some concern.
On a lighter note, August also saw carnival and Pride held in the city. The latter was held on the Forest for the first time and also featured a fringe event involving actual politics addressed by various speakers including LGBT activist Pete Tatchell.
JB Spray: Ready to resist eviction | Notts Indymedia is 5! | Nottingham Pride 2010 | Nottingham Carnival 2010 | Tasers in Nottingham and elsewhere | JB Spray: eviction imminent
September
September was a relatively quiet month, at least on the newswire. Ocean defence activist Wietse briefly returned to the city and discussed what he has been doing with Sea Shepherd and the newly formed Black Fish organisation.
The Pope also visited the UK this month, generating considerable controversy due to his stances on abortion, contraception, homosexuality and abusive priests. Although he didn’t come to Nottingham, local residents were among those who travelled to London to protest against him, among them one “Cardinal Ratzarsse von Flashern.”
Ocean defence activist in Nottingham | Notts resident takes on the Pope
Notts Save Our Services was launched at the end of September, to bring together local anti-cuts campaigns and October saw the beginning of a wave of resistance which would come to define the end of the year. October saw an number of protests and several attacks on cuts related targets.
This month also saw anti-fascists facing the English Defence League (EDL) in Leicester.
On a sorer note, October also saw well-known local activist Mark Stone outed as an undercover police officer. After an anonymous story appeared on the newswire, Nottingham Indymedia was able to confirm that this was genuine.
Notttingham mobilises to save services | Antifascists to face EDL in Leicester | Nottingham revisits "Reform Riots" | EDL descend on Leicester | Notts County Council announce £72m cuts | Mark Kennedy/Stone exposed as undercover | Week of action against cuts in Nottingham
November
November was saw the tragic death of Ben Sharkey.
Protests continued throughout the month against cuts with a march of more than 1,000 people from the Forest Recreation Ground to Market Square. There was also an attack on the local Tory Party HQ’s and with students taking the lead in the campaign following the protest at Millbank, students at the University of Nottingham occupied the Great Hall in the Trent Building.
November also saw the beginning of the first of the 2 Ratcliffe Trials. These followed the arrest of 114 climate activists in April 2009. In the first case, the defendants pleaded necessity, arguing that they had to try and shut the power station down because of the severity of the threat posed by climate change.
Remember Ben Sharkey | Action against cuts continues in Notts | Ratcliffe Conspiracy Trial Begins | Ratcliffe Trial: Prosecution Opens | Nottingham students protest cuts
December
In December, the Ratcliffe Trial called an array of impressive witnesses including ex-MP Alan Simpson, Green MP Caroline Lucas and NASA scientist James Hansen. Ultimately, however, despite an extended period of deliberation, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.
Resistance to cuts continued into December, despite the end of the university occupation, with more activity planned into 2011.
It also emerged that the city council was planning on installing more CCTV in Hyson Green, with a Nottingham Indymedia reader less than impressed with the reasons given by the council.
Ratcliffe Trial: Week 2 | Notts Occupation Ends; Resistance Continues | Guilty verdict in Ratcliffe trial | More CCTV in Hyson Green
ANZUS (B52) Plowshares 20th.Anniversary "New Year Message of Anti-War Solidarity
01-01-2011 17:39
1) ANZUS PLOWSHARES introduction, action/description2) ANZUS PLOWSHARES/B52 Disarmament, Statement of Faith
3) Sue & Bill Frankel- Streit Reflections New Year’s Day 2011
4) Ciaron O’Reilly and Moana Cole Reflections New Year’s Day 2011
5) ANZUS Plowshare community member’s links
London calling...Rome burning
01-01-2011 16:57
London calling...Rome burningUS Feds raid server farm in hunt for Anonymous
01-01-2011 15:22
Federal investigators have seized servers allegedly abused to launch a denial of service attack against PayPal earlier this month.
An affidavit obtained by the Smoking Gun contains testimony by federal agents convinced that systems at Texan hosting firm Tailor Made Services are likely to contain clues in the hunt for hacktivists who launched an attack against PayPal in response to its decision to freeze an account used by WikiLeaks. The suspension of the account followed the release of US diplomatic cables by the whistle blowing site.
Racist, Fascist & Zionist Facebook pages hacked by TeaMp0isoN & ZHC
01-01-2011 14:01
A Few hours before the start of 2011, TeaMp0isN & ZHC announced that they were going to do a "Mass Clean-up" on Facebook, a few hours after the announcement, 100s of Facebook pages were hackedisraeli forces kill again in bi'lin
01-01-2011 10:01
jawaher abu rahmah murdered by israeli army