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UK Analysis Feature Archive

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Information and encouragement to use the Freedom of Information Act 2000

12-10-2005 22:51

Audio
The FOI Act is only part of the new openness package. Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs), which implement an EU directive, come into force at the same time. These provide a more powerful right to information about pollution, conservation, the natural environment, land use, road building, genetically modified organisms, air and water-borne diseases, food contamination and many other issues.

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Mark Curtis to talk at the University

06-10-2005 11:18

Campaigner, historian, author of 'Unpeople' and 'Web of Deceit', and former director of the World Development Movement; Mark Curtis, will give a talk at Nottingham University on Tue 18th Oct. The talk, entitled 'Government Propaganda and the Reality of UK Foreign Policy' will be at 5pm in the Portland Building, room B9. All are welcome, and the event is free. The talk is promoted by Nottingham Student Peace Movement.

Links: Mark Curtis website | Nottingham Student Peace Movement | Previous Indymedia coverage: Mark Curtis on the G8 (audio) | How the G8 Lied To The World On Aid | Web of Deceit book review

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SouthCoast Perspective on the DSEi Action

26-09-2005 09:35

The South Coast had a contingent present at the recent succesful blockades of the DSEi Arms Fair held at the ExCel centre in East London. A critical mass bike ride left the Bank of England shortly after 9 o'clock and held up traffic throughout East London for 2 hours before managing to clog up one of the main roundabouts and routes to the ExCel centre.

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Post Protest - vision making actions bloom

05-09-2005 21:05

Vine and fig tree planters
Show, don’t tell. Don’t explain, make it evident." "proactive resistance materializes visions and morals. This nonviolent incarnation happens inside military bases, companies, prisons. Nonviolence is to imprint.

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Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans, Lo. USA

01-09-2005 01:10

Reports from New Orleans state that "things were so crazy: it was all poor black people and old white people - the people who couldn't afford to get out." William Quigley, a Law Professor at Loyola University has said that " They are estimating that it may take several days to evacuate these people - water, electricity, food, security all will be gone by then." Indeed, enforced evacuations began yesterday - following a mass exodux from the city in advance of the hurricane - but initial estimates that expected them to be complete by the evening of August 30th were overly optimistic. And, while outside agencies struggle to help, thousands remain stuck - including inside hospitals [ 1 | 2 ].

[New Orleans Weather Warning (28th August) | Democracy Now! reports (Aug. 30th) | Explanation about Hurricanes (MP3) | Further analysis: 1 , 2 , 3 | Insane looting? - Not at all! ]

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Iraq-o-mat: Cleaning Dollars for Corporations

11-05-2005 12:23

Corporations profiting from Iraq
Much of the post-war corporate activity in Iraq has come under heavy criticism from many different fronts. There are accusations of corruption, bribery and nepotism as well as simple incompetence - the jobs just aren't getting done... So what is all the `reconstruction' activity in Iraq really about? Supposedly post-war Iraq is a neo-liberal utopia, an economy freed of the tiresome and inefficient burdens of government regulation. Yet an examination of this same economy may lead one to conclude that the system as it stands is rampant with inefficiency. Indeed Iraq's economy today looks less like an economic utopia than a giant money-laundering operation...

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Pedal Powered Revolutionaries

29-04-2005 10:25

In 1992 in San Francisco cyclists started riding together monthly to assert themselves as traffic in a ride that became known as Critical Mass. Since then Critical Mass has spread to over 300 cities around the world and become a common feature of protest culture.

To celebrate 10 years of critical mass, over 800 cyclists took to the streets in London last year with a bike samba band, live guitar from a rickshaw, multiple sound systems, mad bikes the like of which have to be seen to be believed. It was massive, and it happened again on Friday April 29. At least 500 cyclists, rollerbladers and skateboards joined the 11th Annivesary in London [photos 1, 2, 3, report]. There will also critical masses in Glasgow, Liverpool and Nottingham [photos] - and probably other cities around the country as well.

On Saturday 30th April there was a successful mass "against climate change, pollution and the G8" in Worthing, Sussex. Meanwhile, in Sheffield on June 11th and the 15th there are more rides to coincide with an anti-war demo and the G8 meeting of Justice and Interior Ministers in Sheffield taking place 15th/17th.

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Argentina: Workers Defend Zanon Occupied Factory

23-04-2005 20:21

zanon workers
Neuquen: The workers of Zanon and other social organizations mobilized in front of the central courthouse on April 21 to defend their factory against mounting attacks. At a moment when the courts and government must make a “political and legal decision” concerning the ceramics factory that has been producing under worker control since 2001 – legal attacks, death threats and physical attacks against the workers have increased.

A delegation of 30 workers traveled some 1,200 kilometers to manifest their determination to defend the factory at all costs. Inside the courthouse a small delegation of workers presented a petition with thousands of signatures from all over the world in support of the workers of Zanon who have set an example that workers can produce and manage even better without a boss or owner.

Read more...

Background
Zanon Kidnap/Torture: [en][es][fr][de][gr]
March for Expropriation Law: [en][es][it]

Links: [Zanon/FaSinPat Site][Grupo Alavío] [Argentina Indymedia][WorkersWithoutBosses.net][Zmag: Argentina]

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The Burngreave Masterplan

23-02-2005 20:52

Proposed building and the existing pub

Let the People Decide! (Says planning minister...)

People Power! Suddenly, it seems, it's all the rage. 'Let the People Decide!' declares a press release from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), which lauds the democratic credentials of the recent Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act.

And here's the ODPM again: “Community involvement in planning should not be a reactive, tick-box, process - it should enable the local community to say what sort of place they want to live in at a stage when this can make a difference.” (1)

Not only that, but the Home Office seems bent on turning us all into 'Active Citizens' who will “define the problems they face, and tackle them in partnership with public bodies.” This vision is, we're told, “at the heart of the Home Office's vision of life in our 21st century communities.” (2)

At the heart of it, huh?

Enter the Burngreave and Fir Vale 'Masterplan': a radical plan to renew Burngreave's housing.

Participation | 'Not all neighbourhoods can be preserved...' | Poor council | Get participating!

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Rage Against Hallam

11-02-2005 22:47

NCPM

Join the televised rally at 6pm on the 14th Feb at The National Centre For Popular Music, when Hallam will be re-opening the centre as a students union. The NCPM was built from lottery funding it is considered by some that its true ownership is that of the people.

The National Centre for Popular Music (NCPM) was built over five years ago as a visitor attraction centre for Sheffield using over £18 million of public money. The original project failed for various reasons and for a number of years this iconic building has been abandoned largely empty and unused at the heart of Sheffield's Cultural Industries Quarter — an area in which Sheffield's creative and digital industries are concentrated.

Action update: 1

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Some Hutton puzzles

05-02-2004 00:00

The Hutton report has provoked an enormous debate about the culpability of
the government and the BBC - a debate which has hinged upon the accuracy
and completeness of its findings. Much has been written about what Hutton
'didn't say'. Surprisingly little detailed analysis, however, has dissected
what he did say. The following, based upon an admittedly cursory reading of
the report, suggests that

1) the report's conclusions reflect a pattern of biased and selective
consideration of evidence 2) The report's avowed refusal to comment upon
the actual WMD issue conceals sufficient comment upon the issue to give the
government the opportunity to forestall further criticism.

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Leeds Market Madness

27-01-2004 23:39

Kirkgate Market

People from Leeds ARC, the city's new direct action group, have been finding out the low down on big changes to the well loved Kirkgate Market. Last Saturday and Monday, people gave out leaflets, talked to stall holders and got hundreds of people to sign letters of protest to the council about the planned changes which add up to a 'yuppification' of the market.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if the market closes or the shops get more expensive. I rely on it for cheap food, clothes and household goods. It’s just another example of the poorer people being pushed out of the city centre, isn’t it.”

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Oxford Man in Afghanistan

16-01-2004 00:00

An Oxford citizen has left in September for Afghanistan, where he is now a United Nations volunteer. He reports about the deterioration of security, the lack of democracy, the American control of Afghanistan and the UN incompetency. As British politicians talk about how democracy is being supported and security is maintained in Afghanistan, this personal point of view from inside the UN, from someone on the ground in Afghanistan is very interesting and disturbing.

Here are his reports: For more information about the state of affairs in Afghanistan after the war, visit this feature from Cambridge IndyMedia.

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What happened after the war on Afghanistan?

15-01-2004 23:00

Bande Amir: Reconstruction after the war in Yakawlang (Sep 2002)

On 7 October 2001, the US and UK began air attacks on Afghanistan. At that time, so soon after 11 September, there was some support for military action (1). On 7 December 2001, Kandahar, the last Taleban stronghold, fell prompting those in the West to declare the war to be won. (2).

But what was the end result of this war? Certainly Osama Bin Laden wasn't captured, though some Al-Qaeda infrastructure may have been destroyed. In the immediate aftermath of the war, it appeared that the UK and US' most obvious achievement had been the overthrowing of the Taliban - harbourers of Bin Laden, supporters of Al-Qaeda and oppressors of the local Afganistan population. So what did this mean for the people of Afghanistan?

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Guatemalan Elections Update

09-11-2003 22:27

justice-ballot
Elections have just been held in Guatemala. Polling in the number 3 spot is former dictator Gen. Efrain Ríos Montt who came to power after a coup in 1982. Analysis and results, with links and video from Guatemala in Spanish and English.

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Reporting the Wall

04-08-2003 09:40

No Apartheid Wall
For a year now, Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists have been calling attention to the building of the Separation Wall by Israel in Palestinian areas. Although it is the most acute threat to Palestinians, getting bigger as we speak, the US sponsored Road Map to peace nor the corporate media paid attention to their pleas. But, it seems that this month the world is finally starting to listen. Dozens of pictures on the mainstream newswires and heated debates on Indymedia UK, and yes, protests too!

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GM Debate? The People Speak

19-07-2003 19:39

During the last six weeks, unknown to most people, there have been a series of public debates up and down the country about whether the government should allow the commericalisation of GM crops in the UK. The deadline for public input is now over - did you have your say?

In an exclusive film made for Indymedia, people from all over the country reveal that the public consultation was a poorly advertised, ill concieved and miss-managed farce that failed to engage ordinary people. The film also demonstrates that much of the public believe that the decision has already been made to push ahead with GM (regardless of the will of the people) and that the government is an undemocratic tool of U.S. interests and big business.

Watch the video,

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Solway's Silver Bullet

08-07-2003 13:44

The Gulf War started a long time before we saw it on outr t.v.'s. Depleted Uranium contamination shows the contempt the British State has for the people of Scotland - and the time for opposition is now.

"Unborn children of the region are being asked to pay the highest price, the integrity of their DNA."
Ross B. Mirkarimi1

A new kind of nuclear war is being waged. It's already being fought in Scotland and the combatants are you and me. Our attackers are the Ministry of Defence, a force which has already poisoned its own soldiers and threatened the health of the civilian populations of the former Yugoslavia, Kuwait and Iraq.

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Freedom of Movement is Our Right! Support Refugees!

25-01-2003 23:00

with the introduction of “The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act” on January the 8th, 2003, thousands of refugees will have their support withdrawn and will be pushed into poverty, crime, prostitution, begging and discrimination.
Also new plans include to abolish the right of permanent settlement for those granted 'Refugee Status' or 'Subsidiary Protection'.

statewatch report
full story
Support refugees!
new law
statement of the NCAD

More links:

[National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns | Refugee Council | BarbedWireBritain | Noborder ]




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The new variant number 16 is out

19-01-2003 23:00

The new edition of the "cross-currents in culture" magazine variant number 16 is now available for free from following outlets: Articles recommended for reading are in particular "Making waves" about the Save our Pool Community Campaign to resist closure of the Govanhill Swimming Pool in Glasgow, "Communities in resistance" about the autonomous Zapatistas Communities in Chiapas, Mexico, and Noam Chomsky's article about "Antisemitism, Zionism and the Palestinians." The content of Number 16 will be available on the web soon, about 2 month after publication of the newsprint edition.
[ variant ]