UK Newswire Archive
5 pm Friday March 16th. *"Free Bradley Manning" Vigil at U.S. Embassy, London
07-03-2012 13:13
Vigil Outside U.S. EmbassyGrosvenor Square London
Friday 5 pm March 16th.
Demanding All Charges be Dropped Against Bradley Manning
UK Coal in the Pont Valley
07-03-2012 12:55
There has been good news for the campaigners against UK Coal. The Pont Valley Network and Durham County Council have successfully prevented UK Coal mining half a million tonnes of coal from Bradley when UK Coal appealed the decision made against them last year.
For articles about the original planning application last year see [1] and [2] for background and [3] for the councils decision. UK Coal have been unsuccessful with attempts to overturn the councils decision see [4], [5]
The inspectors report was published on Thursday 23rd February which rejects the appeal, by UK Coal. Durham County Council unanimously rejected the application a year ago. The appeal took three weeks and ended in November last year. There were excellent contributions from the council's speakers and a large number of people from the local community.
The news came just before the Dirty Coal Infotour organised by people resisting coal developments in Scotland.
ACTION ALERT: Tell Eastbourne Council That Horses Are Not Slaves
07-03-2012 12:20
Eastbourne Council has announced its plans to introduce horse drawn carriages on the seafront of Eastbourne as a ‘tourist attraction’. Cllr Neil Stanley has already expressed that he is ‘excited’ about the plans to introduce horse drawn carriages. Animal rights groups have objected to the proposal. The understanding is that Animal Aid are giving a presentation against the horse drawn carriages proposal.The Open Place: London's newest anti-social centre?
07-03-2012 09:51
On Friday 02/03, Londoners were invited to the opening of the 'Open Place', a "radical social centre" at 27 Acre Lane, SW4. They were promised " three films (not sure which ones yet but they'll be good) and a social evening with some grub and home made wine and beer."
On Sunday, 'Peckham squatter commented that the number didn't work, and that several people had attempted to find the centre and failed. Ian couldn't understand how that happened, as apparently "plenty" did find the place and a good night was had by all.
No-TAV Solidarity Action
07-03-2012 00:55
On Sunday a group of protestors did a banner drop from the Tate Modern in solidarity with the 25 Italian comrades who were arrested during a massive police operation across Italy on 26th January 2012, including raids on 54 homes.
On Sunday a group of protestors did a banner drop from the Tate Modern in solidarity with the 25 Italian comrades who were arrested during a massive police operation across Italy on 26th January 2012, including raids on 54 homes. Nine comrades are still in prison. The operation was carried out against the No TAV (Treno ad Alta Velocidad) movement which is protesting the construction of a high-speed train line from Turin to Lyon, passing through the Susa Valley in northwest Italy. This comes during a period of intensified police repression which has existed since a No TAV demonstration on 3rd July 2011.
On Mon 27th February the police started to clear the land to make way for the train line. On the same day Luca Abba, a local farmer, climbed up an electricity pylon to try to block the police operation and to prevent the expropriation of the land. The police followed him up the pylon, forcing him higher and higher until he was electrocuted and then fell from a height of over 10 metres. It took nearly an hour for an ambulance to arrive, as usual delayed by riot vans blocking the road. Luca is still in hospital after being in a coma for a week, and today we've heard that he's on the road to recovery and has started speaking again.
Solidarity has been taking place since the 27th February including actions and blockades in more than 60 cities across Italy.
Blame and shame to all the cops involved in the operation under the direction of officer Manganelli, who was also the chief of police in charge of the brutal operation during the G8 in Genoa and the death of Carlo Giuliani. This won Manganelli a promotion and a pay rise (currently earning 600,000 euros p/a).
Fuck the expropriation of land for profit
Fuck the police
Freedom to all prisoners
Solidarity continues...
No TAV Resiste !!!
http://www.notav.info/
http://strugglesinitaly.wordpress.com/
http://anarchistnews.org/content/val-di-susa-every-city-no-tav-updates
Campaigners condemn city council budget decision
06-03-2012 22:55
Campaigners condemn city council budget decision
Campaigners from Nottinghamshire Save Our Services (Notts SOS) have condemned the budget, voted through by councillors on Monday 5th March.
Councillors overwhelmingly voted for the budget which included a 3.49% council tax increase; the sell-off of Portland Leisure Centre; the closure of two centres for older people, Marlstones Elderly Person’s Home in Bulwell and the Willows Centre in Beechdale; the closure of the Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard; the ending of food waste collections; the closure of nine recycling centres; and a reduction in funding to Connexions, a support service for young people.
There were only four votes against - the city's few remaining Tories voting who have no particular objection to cutting services, but opposed the council tax increase.
Notts SOS held a joint protest with Nottingham City Unison outside the Council House at lunchtime and another for people coming from work at 5pm.
The group also handed in a petition to the council calling on the council not to implement a cuts budget. This was presented by Councillor Alex Norris during the budget meeting.
Tom Unterrainer from Notts SOS said, "Labour councillors made a lot of speeches, all of the 'with a heavy heart' variety. Piffle. If they had any heart - or backbone - they'd have set a no cuts budget and taken their fight to the government with action not hot air."
Richard Smith from Notts SOS said, "This is not the end of the campaign. This is the fourth year in a row the city council has cut its budget and they already expect to slash a further £24m by spring 2015. Sooner or later, something's going to give. Hopefully it's some of the local Labour councillors rather than any of Nottingham's residents."
Notes for editors
1. Notts SOS was set up in the autumn of 2010 to campaign and oppose all cuts to services in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. We have been fighting council cuts on many levels since then, including organising a 1,200 strong march to the city centre in November 2010.
ENDS
Victory against UK Coal!
06-03-2012 22:55
The Pont Valley Network and Durham County Council have successfully prevented UK Coal mining half a million tonnes of Coal from Bradley when UK Coal appealed the decision made last year.
The inspectors report was published on Thursday 23rd February which rejects the appeal, by UK Coal. Durham County Council unanimously rejected the application a year ago. The appeal took three weeks and ended in November last year. There were excellent contributions from the council's speakers and a large number of people from the local community.
The inspector wrote,
155 ... [T]here is a strong and unequivocal conclusion that the winning
of coal by surface working at Bradley would have a material and detrimental
effect on the settled environment of the Pont Valley and the wider Derwent
Valley.'
'159. The community benefits are not sufficient to outweigh the harm and, in the
case where this accords with the local view, this must carry extra weight...In a nutshell, approaching a 15-year period to achieve what UK Coal contend would be equivalent status, would
deliver a mere 3-days national coal supply. This does not seem to be a fair
balance of harm to need, where no national policy need is identified.'
It was felt that if this application were to have been successful then there would have been a continuous cycle of extensions and further mines sought in the area. The area contains important ecosystems and is well used by local people, including those studying historic mining methods. Local young people added to the debate, pointing out that this coal would provide the UK grid with 3 days worth of coal which could be obtained from sustainable sources or proved unnecessary by energy efficiency. A local farmer showed how areas which were open cast were seriously depleted, as the soil ecosystems were destroyed, when compared to areas which have not been mined. The Coal Action Network also contributed to the voices against the mine with experiences of how coal companies really act once mining has been approved. The Pont Valley Network and local people were successful in proving that the valley has far more to offer, to locals and tourists alike, as it is rather than the 'restoration' offered by UK Coal.
Well done to those who fought this case.
The article about the original rejection of the mine by Durham County Council can be seen at http://northern-indymedia.org/articles/1389
New Hereford Heckler website & shop now online
06-03-2012 21:21
The Hereford Heckler is taking a new form...
Latest Updates from Protect the Wilderness & Reclaim the Fields
06-03-2012 20:18
Nottingham City Council Budget £20m Cuts Protest
06-03-2012 16:55
5 March 2012
Meeting 12:30 in the Market Square, people gathered to protest Nottingham City Council plan to shave yet another £20m of the budget for thier provision of public services.
Nottingham City Council met to agree its budget for 2012-13. The council is planning £20m of cuts among the proposals which were discussed:
increase council tax by 3.49%
encourage staff to volunteer to reduce their hours from 37 to 35 hours a week
realign management and cut 195 jobs
close the Museum of Nottingham Life (Brewhouse Yard), except for group and school visits
close two centres for older people, Marlstones Elderly Person’s Home in Bulwell and the Willows Centre in Beechdale
sell-off Portland Leisure Centre
cut food waste collection and close nine recycling sites
reduce funding to Connexions, a support service for young people
A petition was to be presented to council officials. However, Cllr Norris was to have public received it, but ran away inside the council house before it could be presented. Protestors jeered! No other councillor found it possible to explain their position.
Another report on the events of the day:
Protest against Notttingham City Council budget
http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/2452
+++
PRESS RELEASE Notts Save Our Services 1st March 2012
Campaigners to protest at city council budget meeting On Monday March 5th, Nottinghamshire Save Our Services (Notts SOS) will protest outside the Council House when Nottingham City Council meets to vote on its budget for 2012-13.
From 12.30pm-1.30pm, campaigners from the group will join with members of Nottingham City Unison, demonstrating against the cuts to jobs and services being voted through.
Protesters hope to present a petition against the council’s cuts during the lunchtime demonstration.
The budget being discussed at the meeting includes a 3.49% council tax increase alongside 195 job cuts.
The council are looking at selling-off Portland Leisure Centre; closing two centres for older people, Marlstones Elderly Person’s Home in Bulwell and the Willows Centre in Beechdale; closing the Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard; cutting food waste collections and closing nine recycling centres; and reducing funding to Connexions, a support service for young people.
The council had also proposed reducing redundancy payments for laid-off staff to the legal minimum, but has subsequently withdrawn this proposal.
In total the council hope to save £20m to cover a shortfall arising from reduced government funding as a result of the coalition government’s austerity drive.
The council has also said that this will not be the end to the cuts, with an additional £24m of cutbacks required by the end of the spring 2015.
Notts SOS believe that the cuts agenda is ideologically driven and are urging councillors to stand-up to central government.
Claire Taylor from Notts SOS said, “Council Leader Jon Collins and Deputy Leader Graham Chapman have been vocally critical of central government and often with good reason. Now it’s time for them to put their money where their mouth is and refuse to pass the cuts onto the people of Nottingham. Even a single council refusing to implement a cuts budget would shake the coalition government.”
Contacts
Email: nottssos@gmail.com
Website: http://nottssos.org.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nottssos
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/nottssosfb
Notes for editors
1. Notts SOS was set up in the autumn of 2010 to campaign and oppose
all cuts to services in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. We have been
fighting council cuts on many levels since then, including organising
a 1,200 strong march to the city centre in November 2010.
ENDS
Notts SOS
http://nottssos.org.uk
Nottingham City Unison
http://nottinghamcityunison.org.uk
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@indymedia.org
Web: http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
<ends>
London cops attempt another murder of African
06-03-2012 16:55
London police haven't learned from August Rebellions: police shooting leaves another African fighting for life
According to several imperialist media reports and an official article on the Met Police website, a man (identified by the press as from Ghana, but now living in Forrest Hill) was tasered before being shot by SO19 marksmen on the morning of Sunday 19th February.
It is believed that of the 5-6 rounds fired, three of these struck the victim's torso, but it has not yet been reported whether all rounds were fired from the same gun.
Fortunately for him, and perhaps unfortunately for the police involved in this shooting, this particular African victim survived the attack and remains in a condition described by police as "critical, but stable."
The Metro Police's story is that this 25-year-old young African confronted police with a "large bladed article," which has also been described as a "knife" and a "Sword" in these same articles.
If the shooting of Mark Duggan in August last year is anything to go by, we will no doubt hear the story continue to change in the press with no question from the press as to its validity.
Mark was initially claimed to have fired at police triggering a shoot-out and after numerous changes in the account from the IPCC and media, it emerged that a gun was found some feet away from his body in a sock and was not fired.
Things that have so far not been mentioned in any of the allegedly "impartial" British news media so far several days after this incident are:
Independent reports that this situation actually occurred right outside the victim's home
Independent reports that the car that is referred to in the first instance belonged to his next door neighbor
Witness reports that the victim was lying semi-nude in the street surrounded by at least eight armed policemen with around 14 police vehicles at the scene.
The victim was taken to Kings College Hospital (4.1 miles and 15 minutes away) as opposed to the local Lewisham Hospital, which is a mile and a half down the road and only takes four minutes to get to by car.
The lack of information being made public around this shooting by the police has given rise to outlandish and dangerous speculation, ranging from immediate slander and criminalization of the victim himself to disgustingly offensive white nationalist postings on the comments sections underneath the articles on the internet.
Police shootings are part of government's public policy of police containment of the Black community
InPDUM recognizes that the attack on this particular African, and the immediate slanderous response to it by the national and local imperialist press which has been used to whip up white nationalist and anti-African sentiment is nothing new to the African community.
In our community we are all too familiar with the public policy of police containment, which maintains its presence unchallenged through the British State's outright lie of a "war on drugs, knives and guns" that never seems to lessen no matter how many dawn raids are carried out on our homes in the housing estates all over this city as well as up and down the length and breadth of the country.
The so-called "war on drugs, knives and guns" is nothing but code for what is really an ongoing war on the African community here in the UK, just as the so-called "war on terror" has been nothing but a failed exercise in an attempt to recolonize and impose the will of European and U.S. white power on oppressed people in Afghanistan.
The same inflammatory slander has been used time and time again against our community to criminalize us whenever it looks likely that the true nature of our relationship to the State could be exposed.
We are in fact not the criminals, but the victims of police terrorism! This is no less true now than it was when Ricky Bishop and Derek Bennet were killed by Lambeth police in 2001 under the watch of the Borough Commander and now London Mayoral hopeful Brian Paddick, or when Demetre Fraser was killed by West Midlands Police last May, or when Mark Duggan was killed by these same SO19 marksmen in what appear to be extraordinarily similar circumstances.
Just like the case with Mark Duggan, the police shot this brother when there was no need to. Reports from witnesses indicate that there were at least eight policemen surrounding the victim and around 14 police vehicles at the scene! All of this for an alleged attempted car break-in by one individual, supposedly carrying knives?
The government uses police terror to solve its crisis at our expense
With the deepening of the British government's financial crisis and an increasing loss of confidence from the general population in its institutions, the government's policies against the black community intensify. Despite the announcement last year by Boris Johnson of a freeze on recruitment for the Met, opting for a voluntary service approach to police terror, the mayor of London has recently announced the deployment of 70,000 extra police troops over this summer for the controversial and much anticipated 2012 Olympics.
Aside from the fact that the Olympics themselves are an excessive waste of money (£24bn) that should be put into housing and other services that have been taken away from the people, the resources raised from the Olympics essentially benefit the interests of the white ruling class. The police merely serve as foot soldiers to protect the smooth extraction of wealth. Very often created by Africans ourselves. Are people clamoring round their TV sets to watch the British archery team or Usain Bolt? We all know the answer.
The relationship between the African community and the State
This is a historical and material reality. Our relationship to the British State was born parasitic. That is to say that Great Britain found greatness through sucking the life blood of Africa. Slavery, colonialism and worldwide terror were the tools used to build this nation and the same tools were used to destroy African identity and memory of self-determination from our collective consciousness.
The sad fact of the matter is we could name many more that the Police let alone the Government has never and will never be held to account for by an "independent" Police Complaints Commission, which has no more independence than a hand from the arm it belongs to!
Nor will the police or the government be forced to pay for this particular crime or any of the other ongoing attacks we experience by the same old slick talking, white power in black face puppet politicians, preachers and careerist activists that the imperialist media wheels out as representative of some kind of leadership in our community. These forces are as redundant and bankrupt as the system that has given them their legitimacy.
We hold no faith in their courts which are used to reinforce the oppression we experience by upholding the legality of it and criminalizing resistance to oppression. Remember, slavery was legal too.
Call to join InPDUM for organized mass resistance!
In August of last year, in the "Black August Rebellions," we saw the spark of resistance from young African workers in London in response to decades of oppressive government policies that our community has suffered. It was an inspiration to others oppressed by the State and also latched onto by certain opportunist elements, but the reality is that consciously or not, Africans like Chelsea Ives who was pictured hurling a brick at a police car took a righteous stance against oppression in the only way they could see how to at that time.
They took that stance in the absence of seeing any honest organizational leadership on the ground in our community to enable them to resist beyond spontaneous actions.
We say it is correct to resist oppression! It is logical to resist oppression! It is completely illogical to continue to experience constant pain and act like this is a perfectly normal state to be in just because someone tells you it is normal.
It is not normal. Look around the world and it is clear: where there is oppression there is also resistance. In Palestine, there is oppression, and there is resistance, in Egypt, there is oppression, and there is also resistance. In Congo and Senegal right now there is oppression, and there is also resistance.
We are calling on all Africans who want to see an end to these vicious attacks on our communities to join and support InPDUM to build its capacity and be the functioning mass organization of the African community that it needs to be.
We are also calling on all freedom loving, honest and progressive forces regardless of National identity, religious or political belief to be on the right side of history and unite with the following demands:
· End the code of silence: Reveal identities and dismiss all police officers involved in the shooting
· An end to military style occupation: Removal of SO19 armed police from the black community
· Statements of apology be published by all local and national media who have actively participated in slandering and fueling the inflammatory anti-African sentiments being made about this victim in particular
· Reparations to this victim of organized police terror imposed on the African community
Defeat the public policy of police containment!
Africans have a right to resist!
London cops attempt another murder of African
06-03-2012 16:47
Maya Evans freed from prison
06-03-2012 15:56
Maya Evans was freed from Bronzefield prison today after serving seven days out of a 13 day sentence for anti-war activism.From Plan A for Austerity to an Anti-Capitalist Plan C: An Interview with David
06-03-2012 13:04
Shift Magazine: There has been much talk of finding an economic ‘plan B’ in the media recently, notably with the New Statesman publishing nine respected economists’ suggestions for George Osborne in October. Could you briefly outline what you see plan A as being and the politics of those calling for plan B?Anti-nuclear bike ride & picnic, Heysham Sat 10/03
06-03-2012 10:55
We'd like to invite you to two events this coming weekend to mark the anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and our opposition to the plans to build new nuclear power stations in the UK.
Fri 9th March, 8pm, upstairs in the Gregson, Lancaster: film evening
Sat 10th March, 11am antinuclear bike ride to Heysham, followed by picnic at 3pm at the power station
SAT 10 MARCH: NO MORE FUKUSHIMAS
11am Family bike ride. Meet at Lancaster Priory (the church next to the castle). For directions and Location Map see: http://www.citycoastcountryside.co.uk/things-to-do/lancaster-priory-parish-church-p1792
1pm Gather at Heysham Nature Reserve Hut and Car Park.
Map attached to this email and another map also at the bottom of this web page (http://heyshamobservatory.blogspot.com/)
Heysham is one of the eight proposed sites for nuclear new build to go ahead, in addition to the 4 reactors already in operation. On Sat 10th March 2012, to mark the anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, we will gather at the so called nature reserve outside Heysham power station for an anti-nuclear picnic.
Join us for cakes, conversation, workshops explaining how nuclear reactors work and the risks they pose, what really happened at Fukushima, and what's planned in Britain. For those who want there'll
also be a walk around the perimeter.
Bring things to share: tea, coffee, cake, lunch, blankets - anything you need to have a fun picnic in a fake nature reserve. Musical instruments welcome! The picnic will be on a lawn in the nature reserve right next to the power station, with a good view of the place.
GETTING THERE
For the family bike ride, meet at the Priory Church on Castle Hill at 11am.
Heysham is easy to get to by bus, but those of you who fancy it, join us for a bike ride from Lancaster via Morecambe. We'll be leaving Lancaster at 11am. It's about 7 miles each way, by cycle path off road, and we'll be cycling at a leisurely pace.
BY CAR from Lancaster: From Lancaster city centre take the A589 towards Morecambe, at the second roundabout turn off onto the A683. Keep on the A683 through White Lund Estate until you reach the 3rd roundabout. Carry on straight ahead onto Rothesay Road and take a left at Money Close Lane. The nature reserve reached by the first road to your right off Money Close Lane.
BY BUS: Buses 2A, 4 and 5 from Lancaster and Morcambe stop near the roundabout between the A683 and Rothesay Road, from where it is a 5 minute walk to the site..
BY RAIL: Heysham Harbour railway station is located in the dock area. Walk back toward the town along Princess Alexandra Way and turn right at Money Close Lane.
If you'd like any more information or would like to offer help either on the day or before please get in touch:
<contact@heysham-anti-nuclear-alliance.org>
-------------------------------------------------------------
FILM NIGHT
Please note change of venue:
Friday, 9th March, 8pm The Gregson Centre, Moor Lane, Lancaster
Donations welcome
FILM: INTO ETERNITY
Watch 2 minute trailer here: http://vimeo.com/17558265
Every day, the world over, large amounts of high-level radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants is placed in interim storage, which is vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters, and societal
changes. In Finland, the world's first permanent repository is being hewn out of solid rock a huge system of underground tunnels that must last the entire period the waste remains dangerous: 100,000
years. Once the facility is full it is to be sealed off and never opened again. Or so we hope, but can we ensure that? And how is it possible to warn our descendants of the deadly waste we left behind?
How do we prevent them from thinking they have found the Giza pyramids of our time, mystical burial grounds, hidden treasures? This film follows experts in their quest to find solutions to this crucially
important radioactive waste issue to protect humans and all other species now and in the very distant future.
PLUS FILM CLIPS FROM THE RECENT OCCUPATION AT HINKLEY NUCLEAR POWER STATION
Anti-nuclear bike ride and picnic at Heysham this Saturday
06-03-2012 09:04
Fri 9th March, 8pm, upstairs in the Gregson, Lancaster: film evening (more info below)
Sat 10th March, 11am antinuclear bike ride to Heysham, followed by picnic at 3pm at the power station