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Palestine Today 11 08 2010
08-11-2010 17:23
Santa and his elves express their dissatisfaction with DSEi arms fair owners
08-11-2010 14:26
Notts Cuts Watch #4
07-11-2010 19:25
An (incomplete) overview of how the age of austerity has affected Notinghamshire over the last week or so. This is largely culled from various local media outlets, so apologies for some of the dodgy analysis.
BBC
Friday 5th November 2010, BBC staff joined the picket outside the BBC building here in Nottingham.
Journalists from across the BBC walked out at midnight in the first of two 48 hours strikes in protest at plans to devalue their pensions.
NUJ members at the BBC started taking part in strike action at 12.01am on Friday 5 November 2010 for the next 48 hours to stop the BBC Pensions Robbery.
NUJ Strike : members picket at BBC Nottingham, Nottingham Indymedia
Campaigning
On Saturday 6 November, Notts SOS held a protest outside the Vodafone store on Clumber Street to protest their disgust at the company being remiss in not paying £6Bn, owed to the Taxman.
Vodafone “not paying their taxes” Demo, Nottingham Indymedia
Direct action tax collection?, Nottingham Indymedia
Economy
1) ALMOST a third of households in Nottingham had no one in work last year, official figures show.
Nottingham, Liverpool and Glasgow topped the “workless” league table with more than three out of every 10 households having no one aged 16 and over in employment.
The study, by the Office of National Statistics, covering 2009, showed the national average was one in five households with no one in work, with North Notts among the areas closest to that figure.
However Nottingham City Council said the figures were “misleading” and claimed it would be 28th on the list if the survey compared “like with like.”
One third of city households out of work, new figures show, Nottingham Post
2) Nottingham is in the top ten again! Unfortunately for being the sixth town or city, worst hit by the recession. According to the Sun newspaper, Nottingham has 1254 empty shops or 23% of all shops.
Sixth worst hit in UK, Nottingham is Crap
Education
1) MORE than 60 children at Gedling School have protested against plans to close it.
The county council is proposing a phased closure of the 639-pupil school from 2012 onwards.
Pupils spent yesterday morning demonstrating outside the school in Arnold Road.
The protest continued until about 1.30pm when the pupils, all on a free day, held a meeting to discuss further campaigning, including how to get other secondary schools and feeder schools involved.
Pupils Chloe Wood and Chloe Lineker, both 12, organised the demonstration on Facebook.
Pupils protest against proposed closure of Gedling School, Nottingham Post
Parents express anger at plans to close Gedling School, Nottingham Post
Gedling School could close in 2012, Nottingham Post
2) PARENTS are furious that the fare on a bus taking their children to a Hucknall school has doubled — from 40p to 80p.
There has since been a big drop in the number of pupils at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Primary School who use the bus.
The vice-chairman of the governors at Holy Cross, Christa Bales, said: “Seventy children were travelling on the school bus but the number is now down to nine.
“The bus was formerly operated by Hucknall firm, Gospel Coaches, but Notts County Council has now given the contract to the Your Bus company, of Heanor.
A spokeswoman for the county council said the authority had combined the school run with the existing Your Bus number 228 bus service to get the best value for money.
Parents rage over shock hike in school bus fares, Hucknall Dispatch
3) Another 1,000 signatures are required on a petition calling for desperately-needed investment in Newark’s secondary schools.
So far just over 4,000 people have signed the Support Our Schools petition, boosted by 500 signatures collected in Newark Market Place on Saturday.
But campaigners want at least 5,000 in time for the visit of schools minister Lord Hill to the Magnus, Orchard and Grove schools in less than three weeks.
Plea for petition names, Newark Advertiser
Fire and Rescue Service
ONE in six fire engines in Notts could be taken off the road and firefighters laid off due to Government cuts.
The Government announced in its spending review that it would cut the fire service grant by 25 per cent over the next four years. The grant makes up about half of Notts Fire and Rescue Service’s income. The other half comes from precepts set in council tax.
Notts Fire and Rescue Service could be cut back by one sixth, Nottingham Post
Forestry Commission
Rumours that the Government was planning to help balance The Treasury’s books by selling off land managed by the Forestry Commission surfaced last week, although officials refused to confirm them.
But the Government has tabled the Public Bodies Bill in Parliament which will pave the way for ministers to transform the way forests are managed.
If passed, the bill would give the Government the power to abolish the Forestry Commission, merge it with other bodies, or pass its responsibilities to other organisations or individuals.
The commission runs 18 per cent of all woodland in the UK, including the 1,335-hectare Sherwood Pines Forest Park, the largest single tract of forest open to the public in the East Midlands.
Sherwood Forest Country Park, which includes a nature reserve and the world-famous Major Oak, will not be included in the Government’s plans as it is not managed by the Forestry Commission.
Ministers launch bid to sell off parts of Sherwood Forest, Nottingham Post
Health
MORE than 700 people have joined an online campaign calling for Stapleford Walk-in Centre to remain open.
Supporters of the centre say hundreds of people have signed up to a Facebook group called Save Stapleford Walk-in Centre.
A CONSULTATION about the future of two walk-in health centres in Notts has been launched.
NHS Notts County is giving people the chance to vote for one of four options to decide what should happen to Ashfield Health Village and Stapleford Care Centre.
Together the walk-in centres see around 37,000 patients a year at a cost of £1.3 million.
Patients have say on future of two Notts walk-in centres, Nottingham Post
Hundreds join campaign to save Stapleford Walk-In Centre, Nottingham Post
Housing
On Tuesday 2nd November, opponents of funding cuts to Framework organised a “flash mob” in the Market Square.
Framework “flash mob”, Nottingham Indymedia
Law
Campaigners have less than two months to save Newark Magistrates’ Court after it was revealed it is favoured for closure.
The chairman of the bench, Mrs Pam White, who is among those fighting to save the court, said the time-limit focused their minds.
She urged people, whether they had direct influence or not, to join the fight to save the magistrates’ court and Newark County Court, which handles family and care proceedings, small claims and private prosecutions.
A decision is due on December 14 with Senior Presiding Judge Lord Justice Goldring, who is reviewing courts in a bid to save £15.3m a year in running costs, favouring the closure of Newark, Worksop and Retford.
This would leave just Mansfield and Nottingham, with Newark cases heard in the city.
Townsfolk urged to fight for courts, Newark Advertiser
Leisure
A Nottinghamshire sports centre could close as part of £3.1m of council budget cuts.
Campaigners were already fighting to save the swimming pool at Meden Sports Centre in Warsop but the latest plan would shut the centre completely.
Mansfield District Council says the closure would save £135,000 per year.
New plan to close Warsop sports centre, BBC Nottingham
Notingham City Council
1) THREE community groups based at the Radford Unity Complex are hoping to buy the building from Nottingham City Council.
It would guarantee the future of all the groups which use the centre.
The council announced its plans to close the centre last December, which would save £400,000 over three years.
But earlier this year, the Nottingham Post revealed the council only gave resident groups three months notice to move out – instead of the necessary six months.
A prospective sale to arts group Nottingham Studios then fell through as the council tried to renegotiate terms to allow the community groups to stay until they could be relocated.
Three community groups hope to buy Radford Unity Complex, Nottingham Post
2) NOTTINGHAM City Council will not be sailing the “Team Nottingham” yacht at the world’s largest property fair in Cannes next year.
This year alone, the council forked out about £20,000 towards the yacht and expenses at the MIPIM fair, which it claims brings international investment to the city.
However, Councillor Jon Collins, leader of the council, said they “cannot afford it this year” due to less interest from the private sector.
In total, the trip costs in the region of £170,000, including the costs of hosting parties, hiring the yacht to hold meetings and dinners, accommodation, food and hospitality.
However, the private sector picked up most of this cost this year – leaving a bill of £20,000 for the council.
End of the journey for council’s Team Nottingham yacht,Nottingham Post
No More Powder Monkey, Nottingham City Council LOLS
Policing
1) NOTTS Police recruitment could be frozen for up to four years, losing up to 800 new recruits.
Police stations could also close, following the Government cuts revealed in the Spending Review last week.
The Government has said it is reducing police funding by 20% over the next four years. But Notts Police have not had their grants finalised yet.
Notts Police could freeze recruitment for four years – losing up to 800 new recruits, Nottingham Post
2) Jaki Lowe was an interim director of human resources working on a plan to shave £1.2m, or 17.5 per cent, from Notts Police’s spending on staff over the next three years.
Anonymous letters sent to Notts Police Authority and the Post expressed doubts over the need for her post, and claimed it was costing £1,000 a day.
In response to the letters, chairman of Notts Police Authority Councillor Jon Collins, requested another police force look into the allegations in the anonymous letters.
But Ms Lowe has now stepped down before the inquiry was completed.
‘£1,000 a day’ police consultant set to quit amid inquiry into role, Nottingham Post
Post
BROXTOWE MP Anna Soubry has been accused of misleading Parliament by a union, after she said only two Royal Mail workers in her constituency asked her to oppose the privatisation bill.
The Nottingham branch of the Communication Workers Union claim 150 workers at Beeston mail centre have written to Miss Soubry, urging her to fight the bill.
Broxtowe MP Anna Soubry accused of ‘misleading Parliament’ by postal union, Nottingham Post
Private sector
UP to 75 staff at the Ruddington branch of pharmaceutical firm Vectura are to be made redundant.
The company has announced it is to close the branch in Mere Way. A further 30 staff will be relocated to the firm’s two other sites in Chippenham and Cambridge.
The move follows a 90-day consultation about the plant’s future. It is not known when the plant will shut.
The Ruddington laboratories develop drugs for respiratory diseases.
The closure is part of a review of its research and development operations which aims to save £6m a year.
Up to 75 redundancies as Ruddington pharmaceutical plant shuts, Nottingham Post
Quangoes
MINISTERS have begun laying plans which will allow them to sell off £18 million worth of assets belonging to the East Midlands Development Agency.
Among those which may go up for sale are 13 sites in Nottingham and Notts – including Gedling Colliery, Cotgrave Colliery and the 91-acre environmentally-friendly business park Sherwood Energy Village.
Proposals released by the Government last week laid out how development agencies like emda would be wound down over the next few years.
The bodies set up to replace them, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), will not have any central Government funding in the way that emda does.
Now the Government has made it clear many of the assets which belonged to emda may be sold off and there is no “automatic presumption” that assets or the proceeds of their sales would be passed to local councils or to LEPs.
In fact, the Government’s White Paper identified “deficit reduction” as a key factor in any decisions, hinting that proceeds from the sale would be diverted to the Treasury.
£18m of East Midlands assets could be sold off as emda is replaced, Nottingham Post
Voluntary sector
‘DEVASTATING’ cuts to Citizens Advice Bureau funding could lead to a rise in homelessness in Retford, the service’s director has warned.
Bassetlaw Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) director Stephen Saddington spoke out against cuts to the service of 67 per cent proposed by Notts County Council.
The proposals, which are under consultation, would see county council Grant Aid for the service reduced from £300k to £100k in 2011/2012.
Mr Saddington said bureaux in Retford, Worksop and Bircotes would be forced to reduce hours if the cuts went ahead.
Citizen’s Advice Bureau cuts ‘could see rise in number of homeless people’, Retford Times
Direct action tax collection?
07-11-2010 12:25
On Saturday 6 November, Notts SOS held a protest outside the Vodafone store on Clumber Street. Although the store was effectively closed even before campaigners arrived, this was far from an inspiring demonstration with the analysis leaving much to be desired.
Vodafone is potentially a useful propaganda focus for the anti-cuts campaign. At the same time as the government are making almost 500,000 people unemployed, slashing benefits and attacking welfare, they are allowing corporations like Vodafone to avoid paying billions of pounds in tax. It is clear demonstration of the fact that the cuts are neither "necessary" nor "fair."
Unfortunately, the local left appear to have confused an illustrative point (the government say we don't have any money, but are letting Vodafone and others dodge billions in tax) with a political demand (Vodafone should pay their tax). The result was a muddled, embarrassing spectacle.
"Vodafone, pay your tax!" is hardly a slogan to set the working class alight and indeed many of the passers-by (and this being Clumber Street, there were many) seemed bemused at best. At one point a Toryboy heckler reduced the protest almost literally to Pantomime ("Vodadfone owe their tax. Oh yes they do"). For me the low point was when one of the megaphone users began suggesting that the Vodafone board should meet on Monday and have as the first item on their agenda "why paying tax is important."
Listening to the speakers you got the impression that if only Vodafone paid the tax they owe (which, in an intriguing instance of lefty inflation, rose from £6bn, the figure estimated by Private Eye to be Vodafone's liability, to a baseless £7bn) the government wouldn't have to be cutting services as they are. Because they don't want really want to. The truth of course, is that this is exactly what they've wanted to do for years and the cuts constitute a deliberate policy to make the working class pay for the economic crisis caused by bankers.
As if to underline the limited ambition of the speakers, there was a bizarre focus on the cuts being made to the police and armed forces. Gone, it appears, are the demands that troops be withdrawn from Afghanistan and the money invested in social welfare. Ditto demands that the UK slash its defence spending and channel it into something useful.
The anti-cuts movement has real potential for growth as the cuts begin to bite, but if this is the best we have to offer to people dismissed from their jobs, denied welfare or evicted from their council house, then we shouldn't be surprised if they ignore us. I continue to hope that when things get going, popular anger will render the more ineffective sections of the movement irrelevant. Whether there is any real basis for this hope is another question entirely.
Notts SOS Newsletter No. 1 - November 2010
07-11-2010 11:27
You may have picked up a copy of our first newsletter from a street stall. If not, you can download it here. Send us your contributions and we'll aim to put them in the next one. alternatively email us copies of your own anti-cuts newsletters and leaflets. Contact details on website.
Notts SOS dates:
Monday 8th November: NOTTS SOS planning meeting. International Community Centre, Mansfield Road. 7.30pm-9.30pm.
Monday 15th November: NOTTS SOS planning meeting. International Community Centre, Mansfield Road. 7.30pm-9.30pm.
Saturday 20th November: NOTTS SOS march & demonstration. March from Forest Recreation Ground 11.30am. Arrive or join at Market Square, Nottingham at 12.30pm. Bring banners, placards, noisy things etc.
See website http://nottssos.org.uk for further dates and campaign info.
Protest at Vodafone in Cambridge
06-11-2010 18:47
Vodafone "not paying their taxes" Demo
06-11-2010 18:25
Vodafone Shop, Clumber Street Nottingham
2pm Saturday 6th November 2010
Folks gathered outside of the Vodafone Shop, Clumber Street Nottingham to protest their discust at the company being remiss in not paying £6Bn, owed to the Taxman.
This of course, happening at the same time that benefits and public service cuts are happening to those who can least afford it.
http://nottssos.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>
Arrests at Cambridge Vodafone Shutdown
06-11-2010 18:15
Cambridge Students Against Fees Demo
05-11-2010 20:16
NUJ Strike : members picket at BBC Nottingham
05-11-2010 19:25
Friday 5th November 2010, BBC staff joined the picket outside the BBC building here in Nottingham.
Friday 5th November 2010, BBC staff joined the picket outside the BBC building here in Nottingham.
Journalists from across the BBC walked out at midnight in the first of two 48 hours strikes in protest at plans to devalue their pensions.
NUJ members at the BBC started taking part in strike action at 12.01am on Friday 5 November 2010 for the next 48 hours to stop the BBC Pensions Robbery.
NUJ members have been working and paying into a pension scheme, the BBC have proposed ripping up the current pension arrangements and replacing them with a pension scheme that will see staff paying more in contributions and working longer and getting less in retirement.
As a result, NUJ members have been left with no choice but to strike to defend their financial futures.
The NUJ say that "already been overwhelmed by the support for the campaign so far from staff at the BBC and not just NUJ members. Colleagues in Bectu have inundated us with messages of support, with many refusing to cross picket lines to get into work. It’s clear that staff right across the BBC are keen for us to win - as it would mean a better pensions deal for all".
National Union of Journalists http://www.nuj.org.uk
BBC pensions strike - Live updates
http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=1796
For background information on the dispute leading up to the strike action -
http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=1679
____________________________________________
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>
This Week in Palestine Week 44 2010
05-11-2010 18:25
Palestine Today 11 04 2010
04-11-2010 17:00
Support Needed For Huntingdon Lane Protest Camp!
04-11-2010 15:02
The footpath is also patrolled by security working as National Eviction Team.
Full article | 1 addition | 1 comment
RBS glasgow occupied ongoing!
04-11-2010 11:36
royal bank of Scotland on Gordon st, Glasgow currently being occupied.say no to the austerity cuts!!
TItnore emergency meeting
04-11-2010 07:37
The farmer who owns the Titnore woodland in Worthing, West Sussex, that may still be under threat from the developers has issued an ultimatum to the Guardians who are still living there – leave or I’ll chop the trees down. Although this may be just an empty threat we do have to take it seriously.Musheir Al Farra speaks at the Sheffield Humanist Society Meeting
04-11-2010 00:21
Conflict in the "Holy Land".
Musheir Al Fara, Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign
What is the reality of the situation in Israel/Palestine? How did the ongoing ‘troubles’ come about and to what extent is
religion responsible for the conflict affecting the "Holy Land"?
Defending the state? Welfare cuts and the social wage
04-11-2010 00:19
Second Night of No Deer Kills in Richmond Park
03-11-2010 23:29
Yesterday evening, anti-hunt activists were again patrolling Richmond Park in London with the aim of preventing any deer being shot in the proposed cull.One of the lads
03-11-2010 18:18
Over the past few weeks the UK’s activist movement has been rocked by the revelation that an extremely active person within its ranks, who had been at the heart of many major direct action campaigns, was in fact an undercover policeman.
After being confronted by former friends, Mark ‘Stone’, whose real name is Mark Kennedy, confessed that he had been working undercover since 2000. He has since disappeared.
At a meeting at the London Anarchist Bookfair, those who’d known Mark revealed that he had been active in ecological, animal rights, anti-fascist and anti-capitalist movements. Mark was involved in setting up the direct action camp in Stirling during the G8 protests of 2005 and the first climate camp amongst other things. He was also thought to have been making links with activists across Europe and, possibly, the USA.
Because it is not often that someone so deeply embedded in activism is comprehensively outed in this way, we would do well to learn from the experience. The temptation is to become suspicious of those around us but this only weakens the strong trust that is needed to carry out effective campaigns. Whilst there will always be the possibility that agents of the state will infiltrate our networks of trust, if we can learn to be aware of the warning signs and the tactics they use, we can be more secure.
Those who had been close to Mark said that he had never spoken to them about large periods of his life. In addition, no one had ever met the family members that he claimed to have spent considerable amounts of time visiting. But perhaps more importantly than these warning signs was the realisation that very few people had ever had a political conversation with him.
He was always there to lend a helping hand, whether it was driving people and equipment or employing his climbing skills, but it seemed people took for granted the reasons for his involvement. It seems ridiculous that people would consider getting involved in serious political campaigns with people whose politics they were unclear about. It seems obvious, to me, that before embarking on anything we might regret, we should make an effort to get to know the beliefs and motivations of those around us.
I came across Mark on a few occasions, at large gatherings and events. I have to admit, I never really liked him much, despite many others going on about what a great guy he was. He was a very macho man – always showing off his hardcore activist credentials and taking an atmosphere of bravado around with him. He seemed very attuned to informal hierarchies, seeming to seek out other Big Men and looking for the in-crowds. His big mouth instantly made me suspicious and guarded around him, not because I thought he was a cop, but just because I thought he was indiscrete.
Looking back, it’s obvious to see that not only was Mark extremely good at making people trust him, his personality was perfect for getting tongues wagging. He was the kind of person who I can imagine encouraging others to brag about daring actions and someone who seemed like he’d be up for future ones. He was one of the lads; people didn’t feel the need to talk about his politics or his background because he was someone whose approval others sought.
That this machismo is extremely dangerous and destructive for activism should be obvious. Even when the Big Man isn’t a cop who is making a mental note of (and possibly recording) your every word, there are often good reasons why information about your activism should stay private. In a worst case scenario you could incriminate yourself and others but even if you don’t, there is always a risk to the security of your future plans. Serious activists shouldn’t talk loosely, spurred on by the thought of gaining the approval of people they assume to be more experienced or more daring than themselves.
Then there is the issue of why the hell anti-authoritarians should allow these informal hierarchies to exist in the first place. Quite frankly, why the hell should anyone care whether Mark or anyone else approves of what they’re doing, as long as they and their affinity groups are happy with it? Too often young and green activists with a lot of potential become disillusioned because they aren’t “in the loop” of older and/or (they imagine) more active people.
This striving to rise higher in the world of activist credentials is damaging and divisive. Most activism that goes on in the UK is not rocket science. We shouldn’t be chasing after some illusive mystique of the ‘bigger boys’. Anyone can do it themselves which is why it is, potentially, a very powerful thing. I think that being more open with new people, passing on a good security culture and empowering them to act is a good way of getting rid of the illusions of expertise that persist. It will also protect us from future infiltrators.
The case of Mark Stone/Kennedy has revealed a serious weak spot in activism – the tendency to form self-affirming cliques around hypermasculine values of daring, risk-taking and violence. It was through his role as an alpha male that Mark was able to rise through the ranks so effortlessly and gain so much trust and respect. This is very damning of the values that many within the supposedly progressive activist community hold. If there is one thing that we should learn from this sad case it is that we need to demystify masculine power within activism. We need to see this dominatory and predatory tendency for what it is and eradicate it, totally, from the movement.
This article was originally published in Ceasefire Magazine.