Tasers in Nottingham and elsewhere
25-08-2010 21:45
Tasers are becoming an increasingly prominent tool in the arsenal of police in Nottinghamshire and elsewhere. This should raise important questions, regardless of whether you accept the anarchist critique of the police as a tool of state control, view them as a necessary evil or actually regard the boys in blue as good for society. However, these questions do not seem to be asked. Despite a number of high profile incidents when tasers have been deployed, we continue to creep towards a situation where police are routinely armed without any public debate on whether this is actually what we want or not.
Climate Camp: Breaking the Bank
20-08-2010 05:55
The Camp for Climate Action is happening now on a site right next to the Gogarburn Headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland near Edinburgh. RBS is one of the world's largest investors in oil, gas and coal and recipient of a £50 billion bailout from public funds. Climate Campers secured the site on Wednesday night in advance of the announced 'swoop' and the camp is now well underway. Everyone is invited to join in four days of training and direct action from 21-24 August.
Reports on the newswire: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Photos: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Other camp links: | Website | Call-out | Twitter | Directions | Timeline |
Climate Camp Cymru
14-08-2010 04:41
Evicted Climate Camp Cymru now on new site
Climate Camp Cymru, which was due to continue until Tuesday 17 August at Glyn-Neath in South Wales, was evicted by the police on its second day (Saturday 14th) over alleged complaints about possible damage to the site chosen by the campers, a Roman Hill Fort. The camp was re-established by Sunday 15th on a new site on the Gower Peninsula near Swansea. On Tuesday, the last day of the camp, activists invaded Nant Helen opencast coal mine.
PFI Turns Into Ongoing PR Disaster for Barclays
12-08-2010 22:24
Having spent £25m on the branding rights to London's new cycle hire scheme, the bright sparks in the Barclays marketing department have started a dialogue with the public which could last for several years. The scheme is part of a private finance initiative providing thousands of rental bikes in return for painting London's roadways in the bank's corporate colours.
Only minutes after the bank unveiled the bikes-for-rent in partnership with the city's Conservative administration, situationist guerrilla teams struck in the night to add their own mobile advertising messages under the Barclays logo. One of the messages, "Funding depleted uranium birth defects in Iraq", was particularly timely. New studies suggest that the ongoing genetic damage caused by the U.S. attack on the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2004 may be worse than that caused by the atom bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 65 years ago.
Barclays was also targeted in Cambridge on Friday 30th July 2010.
Nottingham Pride 2010
12-08-2010 22:24
Nottingham Pride continues to go from success to success, this year's event was for the first time held at the Forest Recreation Ground, a step-up from the Arboretum where it has been held previously. Following on from last year, the event was preceded by a well-attended march. Encouragingly this year, there was an explicitly political fringe event, with a number of speakers including prominent gay rights activist Peter Tatchell.
On the newswire: Nottingham Pride: more than a walk in the park? | Nottingham Pride 2010 | Nottingham Pride - Political Speakers | Nttm Gay Pride now underway on Forest Rec Ground | Nottingham's Gay Pride Parade | Anti-gay Bollocks, stickers appearing in town
Previous Coverage: Pride 2009 | 'My Big Gay' LGBT Nottingham photo | Pride 2008: 1 | 2 | Nottingham Gay Rainbow Heritage Exhibition | Pride 2007: 1 | 2 | Pride 2006: 1 | 2 | Pride 2005: 1 | 2 | Pride 2004
Dissident Island Radio's 3rd anniversary
11-08-2010 22:49
Mostly from London Action Resource Centre the capital's most cheeky radio crew have netcasted a lively radio show every other Friday for the past three years.
On Dissident Island's third birthday, the crew brought a nice mixed bag of happenings from the UK and beyond.
In the History corner this week we have Martyn Everett discussing the life and work of revolutionary Frechwoman Louise Michel.
We hear about the upcoming anniversary of Sean Rigg's death in police custody as well as some of the inspirational and defiant speeches from last week's vigil for Ian Tomlinson.
Finishing off the talking we had an exclusive follow up with members of the Belgrade 6 on their acquittal. Ronin rolled up to the studio at around 10 to help us celebrate our birthday in style - raise a toast to three years of radical radio!
Check it - click here to download (132 mb),
SchNEWS 734: Grassroots Struggle
05-08-2010 22:14
Yet another independent festival has been cancelled after a concerted campaign by bureaucrats, nimbys and the fun police.
The Grassroots Feastival is a small volunteer run event due to take place in Cambridgeshire in early September. Organisers had lined up three days of revelry, running from poetry to Drum 'n' Bass and culminating in a communal banquet replete with juggling waiters.
The Feastival faced determined opposition from the very start. According to one of the organisers, Mooney, when the application process began in January the council made it clear they would do all they could to stop the festival taking place. Martin Ford from the police licensing board went one step further and told organisers, “I'd rather put pins in my eyes than have this festival in my county.”
Crown Court rules against Surveillance of Meeting
29-07-2010 01:18
The Crown Court cleared three activists of the charges of "obstructing the police" on Friday.
The Inner London Crown Court ruled that police surveillance of a public political meeting had not been proved to be lawful and that the police had failed to provide any evidence that they were pursuing a "legitimate aim". The three activists were arrested at a meeting called by London NoBorders in June 2008 when they protested against the surveillance of the meeting by "Forward Intelligence Team" - Report.
Ian Tomlinson death: police will not face charges
29-07-2010 01:16
Protests were held in London and Manchester after the Crown Prosecution Service announced that the police officer who was caught on video striking Ian Tomlinson,who later died, during the G20 demonstrations in London in April 2009, would not face criminal charges for Ian Tomlinson's murder.
Quite a few people took the opportunity to express their anger and grief, about Ian Tomlinson and everyone who has died at the hands of the police.
In London, after a short halt at Bank, the crowd went to Cornhill to have a minute of silencein memory of Ian Tomlinson.
Read Last Hours timeline and a report.
London Class war have called for people to gather outside the offices of Keir Starmer the DPP next Friday 30th July from 12-2pm. Ian Cameron of the George Davis Defence Campaign will be speaking there.
No more democracy village
29-07-2010 01:06
80 days ago the democracy village set up on parliament square. Now it has gone. After losing the court hearing on 16th July (press release), and sending a call out to stand up for democracy, the eviction started just after 1am on Monday night. The public square was fenced in and democracy out (pics | video), and the two people in D-locks couldn't stop this. No one was arrested, but calls were made for a day of non-violent direct action today and a people's assembly this Saturday 1pm.
See the democracy village newswire at
london.indymedia.org/about/democracy_village
