UK Newswire Archive
Israeli bulldozers demolishing houses in Palestine
27-11-2010 20:23
In the last few days, with a wave of demolitions, Israeli bulldozers have spread destruction and despair in the villages across the West Bank: in Qarawat Bani Hassan near Salfeet, in al-Jiftlik in the Jordan Valley, in Hizma, near Jerusalem, in Khirbet Yarza, east of Tubas, and in the South Hebron Hills.
see the original to watch the video and the photos.
Mysterious "laptop documents". Using fake intelligence to justify war on Iran
27-11-2010 19:37
A recent article by investigative reporter Gareth Porter confirms unequivocally that the mysterious laptop documents are fake.
We are dealing with a clear case of fake intelligence comparable to that presented by Colin Powell in February 2003 on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction. The fake intelligence presented to the UN Security Council was used as a justification for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Will the US antiwar movement confront Washington's plans to wage a pre-emptive nuclear war against Iran based on fake intelligence?
Report on Today's Oxford Anti-cuts demo
27-11-2010 18:56
BS comes to Nottinghamshire
27-11-2010 18:23
David Cameron has promoted the “Big Society” as an alternative to the “big state.” If we are to believe his "vision," independent groups, volunteers and cooperatives will take over many of the functions currently provided by government.
In and of itself, this doesn't sound like the worst idea in the world. Unfortunately, it is widely - and in all likelihood accurately - viewed as a transparent propaganda campaign to hide the damage being done by massive public sector cuts.
The exercise is particularly galling given the fact that among the areas being cuts is funding to existing voluntary organisations actually doing the work Cameron claims to support. In Nottinghamshire, housing charity Framework is facing a reduction of as much as 70% of its budget.
When the "Big Society Network" tried to hold a series of public meetings to promote the initiative, they were taken aback by the angry response and only held one meeting before pulling the plug.
The government has made much of the network's supposed independence, insisting that it isn't a government led propaganda exercise. However, Freedom of Information requests by the Guardian revealed that five civil servants from the Communities and Local Government department have been seconded to the Big Society Network since June for varying lengths of time. Up to 24 September this had cost £24,000.
Locally, workers at Nottinghamshire County Council were surprised when on November 1st the “Corporate Director” of the Communities Department (which covers libraries, sport, country parks and highways) appeared to announce on the intranet that he was leaving with immediate effect.
That he was going was not a great surprise, the new council structure unveiled in September, essentially abolished the Communities department, stopping some of its services and splitting any remaining functions across the remaining four departments.
With one less “Corporate Director” in the new-look council it had always be assumed that Malynn (appointed to the £118,469 a year role in late-2008) would be leaving, but this was never stated explicitly and the go ahead for restructuring is supposed to wait until the completion of three-month’s statutory consultation.
The speed of Malynn’s departure and the announcement that “service directors will work to their new respective CLT member” (i.e. the head of their department in the new structure) confirmed, as many staff had suspected, that the decision to go ahead was a foregone conclusion and the consultation a sham.
The reason for the speed of Malynn’s exit emerged on November 4th when it was announced that he “will be working directly to [Chief Executive] Mick Burrows on a strategic project on Big Society and locality-based budgeting until his departure from the authority.”
Exactly what he is doing has been kept relatively quiet, but on November 22nd, a survey appeared on the intranet to get staff to talk about what they did to contribute to the Big Society. Apparently, they don't think the public is ready for this yet and have not posted anything on the council's website.
Far from being an alternative to the "big state," the Big Society looks like an extension of the state in new forms; a realignment of capitalism which seeks to drive up profit by getting us to work for nothing, overseen by state-appointed overseers. It should not be a great surprise that Tory libertarianism only goes so far. Anybody who thinks the Age of Austerity is going to free us from the impositions of the state is likely to be disappointed.
24/11 Demo Roundup + Analysis
27-11-2010 18:22
What REALLY happened on Wednesday in Whitehall? A whole generation of london kids got a crash course in protest politics.
Wednesday wasn't a great victory for the aims of this political movement - I very much doubt there's a government U-turn coming on any time soon. But something else did happen, and it might just be a game-changer. A good number, maybe half of the people protesting in Whitehall were underage - sixthformers to skiving twelve year olds who'd walked out of school, looking for a march, some shouting and maybe to change the world. What they got was a sharp lesson in media manipulation, police thuggery and the politics of protest.
For many it was their first demonstration - and it was a rough one. Cordonned off with no access to food water or toilets for many hours on one of the coldest days of the year, the police were unsympathetic to a level that even surprised me (two portaloos eventually arrived, but you had to fight your way through the crowd for them - similarly a few dozen bottles of water). But instead of anger, the kids were smart and well-behaved. They huddled to keep warm, chanted, danced to drum and bass on a giant sountsystem someone had brought along and even tried to intervene when a few people began attacking That Police Van you'll all have heard about - photos are spreading of schoolgirls encircling the van, making a human shield as even they could understand that it was a photo op for the right-wing media. Those kids were brave, and completely understood the situation - the powers than be are willing to use every dirty trick in the book. Later, some of them questioned the police about it - the answers they got are laughable, and they did laugh.
As darkness fell and the cold became worse, bonfires began - eventually about a dozen small ones and one large. Sitting or standing round them, people talked - about what to do next, and about what had happened. All the placards and litter went on the bonfire - after notebook pages and free papers we ran out of things to burn. The soundsystem moved from dubstep to the beatles and T-Rex - has anything ever looked less threatening than a frozen crowd swaying and singing Hey Jude?
As Edd Mustill says in his excellent blog, "An eight-hour kettle gives you plenty of time to think and talk, believe me". He's not kidding. Bits of information, rumours, ideas, spread through the crowd the whole time. Not long after the kettle began, everyone knew that the news was reporting "police are slowly dispersing the protestors" - totally untrue. They knew that as evening drew on an emergency counter-protest was being called for our release - and that the various police were telling different stories about why we were being held in the first place. Everyone knew, for example, that the police were livid about being humiliated at Millbank two weeks ago, and weren't taking any chances today. Some police said we were being held in one place so all the criminal damage (hah) would be focussed in one place instead of spread round the city - we heard that heavy-handed dispersal of a group in Trafalgar Square (policehorses vs children? Nice) had inspired a couple of broken windows. Some police suggested that the protest was being made as unpleasant as possible to dissuade the kids from doing it again - "if they're going to demonstrate, then we'll give them the real demonstration experience, cold, boring and miserable", a particularly honest copper told me.
Fundamentally, this is what those young people took away with them. They took away the knowledge that in these situations, the police are agents of the enemy. They are willing to hurt you, they are willing to trick you, and they won't have any compassion. These kids will have spread the word to their classmates when they returned to school about freezing cold, thirst, and being shoved about by lines of riot police. About parents who arived at about 6pm, after night fell, pleading for the release of their children. About kids whose parents didn't know where they were, and couldn't get home. These young people are the ones who will have gone home and told their families that the TV reports are wrong, that the newspapers are lying. With any luck, they'll remember not to believe everything they read, everything they hear.
The idea of putting them off protest has backfired spectacularly. This insulting and inhumane treatment of children, this massive indefensible overreaction, has radicalized and educated a generation of ordinary London youth. Next time they'll be back, with thermoses full of soup, winter coats, and a lot to say. I'm delighted.
Jenny Bloom, vampyra1990[at]hotmail.com
Written Thursday 25th November 2010
CROSS POSTED TO MY PERSONAL BLOG AND FACEBOOK: http://vampyrasinkwell.livejournal.com/ http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=594641608
EDD MUSTILL: http://thegreatunrest.wordpress.com/2010/11/25/seeing-by-the-fires-of-whitehall/
Circus to Palestine and Gaza
27-11-2010 17:22
Recent Reports From Palestine and GazaWednesday 1st of December – Easton Community Centre 6.30pm
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989),
Article 31, recognizes
‘the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage
in play and recreational activities appropriate to the
age of the child and to participate freely in cultural
life and the arts.’
In September 2010 two clowns from Bristol went to
Palestine to spread smiles and laughter and to give children
who live under occupation and in intense conditions the
chance to play and be children.
These clowns performed throughout the West Bank
and eventually made it in to the gaza strip. They did 75 shows
in 7 weeks in refugee camps, UNWRA schools, streets and parks.
Performing to over 80,000 children.
In West bank they faced soldiers throwing tear gas got refused
entrance through a checkpoint and heard horrific stories of
many human rights violations.
After getting through the Rafah border into Gaza they drank tea
in the vip lounge with hamas officials, went to the crisp tunnel
and saw the destruction and devestation caused by the israeli
offensive.
They invite you to a reflective talk about the journey they made,
the people they met, the experiences they had and a detailed
report on the humantarian crisis that Palestinians suffer
each day
Tea & biscuits at the Cambridge Occupation
27-11-2010 17:13
Day of action against fees & cuts
27-11-2010 16:22
Second day of action against fees & cuts - BristolMeet College Green 11am
EVERYONE TRY TO WEAR BLACK SO WE ALL LOOK LIKE A TEAM!
STARTS AT 11.. AND FINISHES WHEN IT FINISHES
WE NEED TO CONTINUE THE CAMPAIGN - KEEP UP THE PRESSURE STUDENT STRIKE! ON TUESDAY 30th NOVEMBER!
first they came for FITwatch, then
27-11-2010 15:49
Cops making proposals to be able more easily to shut down sites they don't like, without oversight.Oxford antiCuts protestors close Vodaphone and Banks
27-11-2010 14:31
A piggy is for life, not just for dinner
27-11-2010 14:23
As the meat trade prepares for its annual frenzy of eviscerating millions of turkeys, Nottingham's Veggies crew rolled into Sheffield on November 25th, 2010, with Animal Aid's Friend or Food campaign.
The Friend not Food Campaign, based around a redesigned Veggies catering trailer, pretends to be selling labrador steaks, collie burgers and dachshund sausages, asking "why not ... you ear pigs and cows, and ostriches and deer, don't you?"
Following a clear run around the UK, including Southampton, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Derby and Nottingham (twice), the trailer rolled into Sheffield, pitching up on the monthly farmer's market, right by the City Hall.
Possibly on request from the ostrich / buffalo meat stall, the market manager bimbled over to ask if we had applied for a market pitch. It was explained that nothing was being sold and that the stall was just 'surveying public perceptions of meat products'. Having lent over to stick his head inside the stall, he accepted that nothing was being sold and so we could totally carry on.
20mins later, possibly on request from the ‘Fresh -N- local' dead pig stall, (complete with pretty pig pictures), he was back, together with a couple of ‘City Ambassadors'. A long, polite (and slow) discussion followed. No we weren't blocking any access, yes we had liability insurance, no we don't consider the stall to be a ‘vehicle', yes we have a right to politically protest the meat trade, no we really are not trading.
The banter clearly wasn't getting through so, moving to the empty taxi bay 5 yards away, far more productive conversations continued with the public. No for long though. In less time than it takes to read a hundred and one dalmatian recipes, a traffic warden arrived, so after a good hour and more, off we set off for the relative warmth of the Sumac Centre, discretion being the better part of valour!
Many of the questions raise by the appearance of the Friend or Food Stall have been addressed by the care2.com article 10 Arguments Against A Vegan Lifestyle, Including:
ARGUMENT #7: Animals don't have feelings.
Professor Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson said in an article about research done for his book, The Pig Who Sang To The Moon, "A pig could be as devoted, as affectionate, as good a companion, as a dog, given half a chance. Chickens, like many birds, could form close bonds with a human who took the time to get to know these fascinating animals. Sheep, who had been dismissed as stupid animals, turned out to have remarkable discriminating powers, allowing them to recognize, know and have feelings about two hundred other sheep. Goats were as individualistic and as mysterious and complex as cats, and when permitted could live in delightful harmony with humans."
Buy Nothing Day 2010
27-11-2010 14:22
Saturday 27th November 2010 saw several actions taking place in the centre of Bradford to mark Buy Nothing Day, a global day of action to raise awareness of the dangers and pitfalls of rampant consumerism. The premise is a simple one and one that has now spread across the globe: go an entire day without buying anything.
Deliberately timed to occur as the pre-christmas panic march to the shops is just getting into full swing, the event is designed to make people think about the things they consume, and the wider damage that consumption without thought for where the goods they are buying are coming from, and where they will likely end up can cause.
Latest from Cambridge occupation & solidarity
27-11-2010 14:07
Proof police did not abandon van for fear of safety
27-11-2010 13:44
Here is a video(unfortunately from Sky News) that shows the police had abandoned the van in the middle of a peaceful crowd.London, 27 November: Thessaloniki Solidarity Campaign Benefit, DJs, projections
27-11-2010 13:17
Thessaloniki Solidarity Campaign BenefitVenue to be confirmed, call info-line on the night after 7pm, 07572 626 859... "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", a benefit in an autonomous occupied London venue. Dub, bass, reggae, hip hop, techno, noise, electronica, bar and projections :: Megabitch, Dub Mark, DJ Deadlybuzz, Walid & Krank, Prisce de Cockroach; Ryan Jordan, Tonesucker, Ed Kelly, Litter Shitter
Short Video of Student Protest in Sheffield on 24th November
27-11-2010 12:28
EDL Planning Demonstration TODAY in East London at 5:30pm
27-11-2010 11:02
The hate filled racist and fascist thugs of the English Defense League are planning to demonstrate in Whitechapel from 5:30pm tonight outside the "Islamic Revival 2010" being held until 10pm at the Water Lily Business Center, 10 Cleveland Way, E1 4UF.Wikileaks: UK issues DA-Notice as US briefs allies on fresh leak
27-11-2010 09:24
As Wikileaks prepares to expose [1] a huge cache of classified diplomatic communications, the US has warned allies that new revelations may lead to public embarrassment. The cables are expected to expose sensitive foreign policy issues including corruption allegations against foreign governments and leaders, and clandestine US support for terrorism. The leak is expected to contain seven times more data than the infamous Iraq War Diaries released earlier this year.
OZ Catholic Workers Object to Cardinal Appointing General Chancellor of A.C.U.!
27-11-2010 07:51
SUNDAY NOV 28th 10.30am-1pm *Join the Catholic Worker Anti-War Vigil Outside the Brisbane Catholic Cathedral in Opposition to the Appointment of Gen.Cosgrove as Chancellor of Australian Catholic UniversityMore info Contact Sean
