UK Indymedia - UK Analysis Newswire Archive

BNP Fail In Morley But Gain Ultra-Youth Vote

07-05-2010 10:42

This is a repost of an article I found on Northern Indymedia and liked. The original can be seen at

http://northern-indymedia.org/articles/701

With the votes of the people who chose to engage with the electoral system rolling in, and the inevitable clouds looming on the horizon, here is my perspective on being in a polling booth for the very first time: assisting my employer to exercise her right of choice to vote. On one hand a strange experience for myself as an anarchist, and on the other a sobering reflection of the problems we have yet to face.

Full article

Words of wisdom: Mohammed El-Baradai on the Iranian nuclear issue

05-05-2010 21:09

As we follow the NPT Review Conference in New York and the enormous salience of the Iranian nuclear issue there, it is useful to consider some recent observations about the Iranian case by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s former Director General, Mohammed ElBaradei. Baradei was in the Boston area last week, where, among other things, he took part in an extended Q&A session with Graham Allison; the event was hosted by the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Full article | 3 comments

Psychedelic Research and the Law: Authorities Trounced in Legal Battle

05-05-2010 20:17

I have faced criminal charges as a result of engaging in psychedelic research. I am a serious scientist and an archaeologist from Cambridge in England. This article will tell you why I am engaged in psychedelic research and about the legal obstacles I have faced along the way. I hope what you are about to read, will help other people who are engaged in psychedelic research and also, be helpful in defeating any legal opposition from governments and regulatory bodies.

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The declared nuclear powers, US, UK and France defeated by the power of reason

05-05-2010 11:16

It is a fairly reliable rule of thumb that when a person refuses to listen to the argument of another, it is a sign that the person is betraying the fact that his own argument is flawed – or downright spurious.

Take the case of the US and its allies, Britain and France in particular, which allege that Iran is a threat to world peace, has sinister ambitions to build nuclear weapons and is in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Full article | 1 comment

Iran and the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) conference

03-05-2010 20:43

This year's Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference - as with previous years' - promises to be yet another battle between the developing and the nuclear-armed nations. The US insists that the Non-Proliferation Treaty needs to be rewritten so as to place greater limits on what it calls "nuclear weapons proliferation" whilst the developing nations say that the concern over proliferation is being used as a pretext by the US to avoid its own obligations under the same treaty to disarm its own nukes and to share nuclear technology with everyone else.

Full article | 3 comments

Britain's Election: Welcome to No Choice Democracy

03-05-2010 14:22

British voters go to the polls on Thursday in a general election that promises to be historic – for all the wrong reasons.

Full article | 3 comments

More racist than thou: Tory quits to stand for BNP

03-05-2010 09:21

However much David Cameron tries to outdo the other two leaders on the telly – proudly proclaiming that he’s the one to kick out the most ‘illegals’ – it seems he’s just never going to be racist enough for some Tories.

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Mayday in Parliament Square, Peace Camp, London. - Pictures

02-05-2010 12:04

As the British General Election enters its last week before the people go to the polls to elect a new Government, the Parliament Square Peace Camp swells with supporters and campaigners on the traditional workers day of Mayday.

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Gulf oil spill threatens economic, environmental catastrophe

30-04-2010 14:52

"According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig lacked a device called an acoustic switch that could have shut off the flow of oil. The remote controlled device sends acoustic impulses through the water that can trigger an underwater valve to shut down the well.

All offshore rigs have one main switch to shut off the flow of oil by closing a valve located on the ocean floor. There is also supposed to be a backup, a so-called “dead man,” that will shut down the well in the event of a catastrophe on the rig. Apparently neither of these devices worked on the Deepwater Horizon rig. The crewmembers who would have been closest to the shutoff switch are among those missing and presumed dead.

With an acoustic trigger a crew can shut down a well even if the rig is damaged or evacuated. However, BP, which reported profits of $5.598 billion for the first quarter of 2010, vigorously resisted changes to US regulations that would have required acoustic triggers on deep sea rigs, citing effectiveness and costs, about $500,000 per unit. Compliant US regulators agreed, saying other backup plans were sufficient. They called the acoustic triggers unreliable and prone to causing unnecessary shutdowns."

Full article | 1 comment

The police in Kirklees on a rampage

29-04-2010 18:49

A hard look at how the police force in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, are failing the working class, while pursuing a fanatical campaign against foreign workers in the area.

Full article | 4 comments

BNP candidate likes a toke...

29-04-2010 18:12

The BNP election candidate for Yeovil, Bob Baehr, will be remembered by older activists as a colourful member of the anti-roads movement of the 1990's. That's not news - the BNP themselves boast about his "environmental credentials". What his new BNP friends may not know, however, is that "Smoky Baehr" has one of the most prodigious appetites for cannabis in the south-west! How does that fit with the fascist party's stance on drugs, Bob?

Full article | 1 comment

Nuclear weapons & interceptor missiles:Twin pillars of US-NATO military strategy

29-04-2010 15:54

Discussions held by the NATO members on the role of nuclear arms in Europe a generation after the end of the Cold War are in line with the Nuclear Posture Review released last month by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Since 1949, NATO’s policy has obligated European member states to adhere to what is called nuclear sharing or nuclear burden sharing; that is, nuclear bombs stationed on bases in Europe are to be delivered by the host nations’ air forces.
Europe will not be free of nuclear arms until NATO is disbanded.

Full article | 2 comments

Anti election subvert in Bristol

27-04-2010 23:43

The cross in the box should provide a clue...

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Media Disinformation: Syria Threatens Israel’s Security. One Big Smokescreen

27-04-2010 18:23

In the self-sensationalising world of modern media, some truths are better witnessed than told. Over the past fortnight, major media outlets have converged on Syria’s alleged delivery of scud missiles to the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah. By examining how the story first came to limelight, as well as the manner in which media sources have uncritically covered the story, one can begin to notice the vastly degenerated state of today’s media and its deeply polarising effects.

Full article | 1 comment

Instruments of global domination:US spends billions on new global strike weapons

27-04-2010 12:36

The Obama administration is spending billions of dollars to develop new weapons systems, including powerful conventional warhead missiles capable of striking any target in the world within less than an hour.

Full article | 1 comment

Southwark Sleaze

25-04-2010 11:12

Southwark council officers are attempting to alter policy on how hustings are run in halls which are free for use for hustings.
Even more bizarre is the organisers of the hustings, Peoples Republic of Southwark, are being accused of political bias because they have Republic in their name

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Altruistic Economics: Collapse of Hierarchy

23-04-2010 21:11

Audio and slides from a presentation which traces the historical origins of hierarchy, highlighting the role of the international financier clique in financing European wars. Continues by explaining the importance of hierarchy in education and other social structures such as politics, law and business. It highlights its weaknesses such as wastefulness, proneness to subversion by secret societies & general lack of resilience to disruptions. It examines the role of psychopathic ideologies in furthering sociopathic behaviour, and looks at the hold they have over normal people.

Full article | 5 comments

Iran’s ace weapon: Why the US won’t gamble on an Iranian war

23-04-2010 13:00

Given the crescendo of veiled and increasingly unveiled military threats by the US and Israel against Iran, one has to admire the Iranians for their coolness under extreme pressure. The latest despicable – and in some legal opinion, criminal – threat by the White House that it would use atomic weapons against nuclear-unarmed Iran in the event of a conflict has been dismissed by the authorities in Tehran, who say they remain determined to pursue their civilian nuclear energy programme.

Full article | 4 comments

"No blood for opium": The Afgan War's hidden agenda is to protect the drug trade

22-04-2010 19:59

Afghanistan’s major product is opium and opium production has increased remarkably during the present war. The current NATO action around Marjah is clearly motivated by opium. It is reported to be Afghanistan’s main opium-producing area. Why then won’t people consider that the real agenda of the Afghan war has been control of the opium trade?

Full article | 6 comments

Social movement defensive battles The need to engage with politics

22-04-2010 12:26

In the South African political landscape there are some feisty social movements that have waged some hard struggles such as Abahlali base Mjondolo. However, the Left needs to be careful not to over-romanticise their contribution to a more democratic South Africa.