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UK Newswire Archive

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Direct Action Against Nottingham City Cuts Budget

07-03-2011 20:24

On Monday March 7th, Nottingham City Council met to set it budget for 2011-12, slashing millions of pounds from vital services. Campaigners protested outside, occupied the viewing gallery and challenged council leader Jon Collins.

Protesters gathered in the Market Square from around 12.30pm and held a demonstration outside. Although probably slightly smaller than the demonstration in the same place the previous Saturday, the turnout was not awful for an lunchtime demo on a workday.

The plan had been to present a petition to the council calling on them not to implement cuts. However, when somebody went to reception to arrange for a councillor to take the petition, they were initially told nobody was available. This situation soon changed when it was explained that the press were outside waiting to record the handover and deputy leader Graham Chapman hurried down.

Protesters were then "honoured" by the presence of councillors Chapman, Hassan Ahmed, David Mellen and possibly a few others who went around glad-handing.

The meeting began at 2pm, as people went in and others drifted back to work after lunch, numbers did dwindle in the afternoon.

The meeting had been going on for about an hour when people began challenging the councillors, shouting from the galleries. The meeting was soon suspended. Campaigners were asked to leave, offered a meeting with the leader of the council provided they left immediately, an offer they refused.

Initially the matter was dealt with by council security, then some CPOs were sent in and eventually the police arrived. The galleries were cleared after about an hour and closed to the public so that the meeting could continue.

After the eviction, there was a constant guard on the door maintained by a combination of police and CPOs. After a number of people made enquiries about getting into the viewing galleries again, somebody decided to close the doors to the Council House.

A token presence remained outside the Council House, but protesters remained for a second push from 5pm, hoping to pick up anybody leaving work. Again numbers were disappointing and by about 6pm, people were beginning to drift off.

A number of rape alarms were thrown onto the balcony at the front of the Council House in the (probably vain) hope that they could be heard in the chamber.

The BBC arrived to do a report for the 6.30pm broadcast. When somebody from Notts SOS went to offer an interview the BBC refused and explained that they were only there to interview council leader Jon Collins.

Shortly thereafter, protesters realised that Collins was being interviewed on the other side of the square, just down from Speaker's Corner. People ran over and began shouting, almost immediately forcing the BBC to abandon its interview. Many of the campaigners remained to challenge Collins on his failure to stand up to the Tory-led government.

While many protesters were arguing with Collins, the BBC tried to do a piece-to-camera in front of the Council House, but, angered by the BBC's cowardly refusal to allow anti-cuts protesters to tell their side of the story, campaigners quickly disrupted this as well. This forced the BBC to retreat into the Council House, which precipitated the first of several attempts by campaigners to rush the doors.

After a while, Collins too retreated to the Council House. Campaigners continued shouting and chanting, making a particular effort when the BBC appeared on the balcony.

For some reason, at this point, Collins decided it would be a good idea to come out again. He walked over to where the interview had been and invited 2 homeless people into the Council House. Demonstrators spotted a rat, pointing out that Collins' supposed concern for these 2 gentlemen was a stark contrast to the many homeless people he was letting down  by slashing the Supporting People budget, taking millions from charities like Framework.

When he tried to get back into the Council House, campaigners blocked the doors, leading to an extended exchange with the council leader. During this he claimed that he was fighting the cuts (this was received as might be expected) and intended to go on the March 26 demonstration.

Eventually he left the campaigners and returned to the Council House. At this point the police started hassling a kid who had allegedly made an offhand remark about "bombing" Jon Collins' house. When other protesters pointed out that this was harassment and that the police had no right to ask for his details, the police decided to take him to their van for questioning.

Inevitably, this attracted all the protesters who gathered outside the van, arguing with the assembled police officers until the kid was released. At this point, the protest came to an end at approximately 7.15pm.

While not as big as it should have been this was one of the most inspiring demonstrations in Nottingham for a long time. The council will almost inevitably pass their cuts budget, destroying services with all that entails. Nevertheless, they cannot now claim ignorance about how angry people are about what they're doing. Hopefully this will be at the front of their minds as the election approaches in May and when they come around to thinking about next year's budget.

We are not going to go away. This is only the beginning.

(Photos to follow.)

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Radioactive Particles- Big Footprints

07-03-2011 20:23

Each tide that washes into the beautiful "Energy Coast" of Cumbria brings toxic gifts that will reverberate down through the generations. These gifts are courtesy of Sellafield and the latest "discovery" of measurable radioactive particles was found on Harrington Beach near Workington.  

Full article | 1 comment

US and allies step up military and intelligence operations in Libya

07-03-2011 20:09

The report that eight members of the UK’s Special Air Service (SAS) were briefly detained in Benghazi provides confirmation that the US and its European allies are stepping up their efforts to establish firm links with elements of the opposition to the regime of President Muammar Gaddafi and secure control of Libya’s oil resources.

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Solidarity Day ~ 10-3/2011

07-03-2011 20:07

300 MURDERS OR LEGALIZATION
Worldwide SOLIDARITY action day
with the 300 immigrants-workers hunger strikers
Thursday, March 10th

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Egypt humanitarian delegation enters Gaza

07-03-2011 19:31

Their aim is to enter the beseiged Palestinian terrirtory with as many Egyptian volunteers as possible. This in order to highlight that Egypt's economic blockade of Gaza continues and must end following the fall of the Mubarak regime.

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What happened to the hope-inspiring 'sweet bird of youth' of Ernst Bloch?

07-03-2011 16:42

Who does not expect the unexpected will never find the anticipatory New, never be the emancipatory New.

Full article | 3 comments

Anti-arms activists to petition 10 Downing Street "This is NOT OK"

07-03-2011 16:41

A press release about CAAT's call for an end to government support for arms sales and for the DSEi arms fair

Full article | 4 comments

hundreds of protesters arrest county court judge - mar 7th

07-03-2011 16:34

Protestors have "civilly arrested" a judge at Birkenhead county court.
A crowd of several hundred people has massed around the court.
Police have begun forcibly ejecting protestors from the court in chaotic scenes.
Made up of people from across the UK, the marchers say they are excerting their "ancient right to lawful Rebellion under Article 16 of Magna Carta."

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Palestine Today 03 07 2011

07-03-2011 16:02

Audio
Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Monday March 7, 2011

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David Rovics - West Midlands IWW benefit gig

07-03-2011 14:20

Industrial Workers of the World presents David Rovics (Portland USA), with his hard hitting political folk and acoustic, for a West Midlands Industrial Workers of the World benefit gig.

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60 Seconds to Save Portland Works!

07-03-2011 13:29

Sheffield's Portland Works is threatened with closure and conversion into flats. Here's how you can help!

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Banker's bonus 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 on top of 2 5 0 0 0 0 salary.

07-03-2011 13:23

British banker's seem to be real pharaos of our times! But do we really want to worship them?

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Defence contractors are screwing the whole country

07-03-2011 13:21

Defence spending - down at the nuts and bolts level
No doubt people will have heard much about how defence contract overspend is the norm - contracts always delivered late and costing far more than the initial quote. What is less known though is just how much markup the contractors charge and also that much military equipment is ordered, paid for, filed away in military stores and then never ever used. Eventually the equipment may find its way onto the surplus market via auction sales for just a tiny fraction of its original cost. Here's an interesting piece of navy surplus that I came across. It's described as a panel screw - a simple countersunk brass screw about the size of your little finger and probably used to secure something not very critical such as an electrical panel in a ship. Now it's true that this is hardly an industry standard screw so you certainly wouldn't find it on the shelf down at B & Q. However it's such a simple item that any small machinist could knock a few up on a lathe for about 2 quid each and in quantity the price would probably drop to just pence each. Read on for the actual price charged.

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Are we the next to be labelled a 'Barrier to Enterprise"/

07-03-2011 12:52

In our new press release "Are we the next to be labelled 'A Barrier to Enterprise' "(PR 101) links the publication of our latest Briefing Note "Energy Policy and the proposed National Planning Policy Framework" (E2) to what the Prime Minister said in Cardiff yesterday to conclude that the outcome predicted in "Energy Policy and the proposed National Planning Policy Framework" that rules governing the approval of opencast mines predicted in E2 is now even more likely.

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Rally & protests against City Council cuts

07-03-2011 00:26

Saturday 5th March

Gathering at 1.00pm, about 150 or so folks braved the rain at the anti-cuts rally in the Market Square.



Gathering at 1.00pm, about 150 or so folks braved the rain at the anti-cuts rally in the Market Square.

A variety of speakers. We heard from community and disability campaigns, unions, service users, homeless people, and students about how angry they are at the cuts facing these sectors. It was a lively rally that lasted a couple of hours, with stalls and singing.

Afterwards Vodafone [yet again], BHS, Natwest Bank and Boots were all visited by UK Uncut protesters.

 

UK Uncut

http://www.ukuncut.org.uk

Notts SOS

http://www.nottssos.org.uk

Unison anti-cuts protest

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/978

Notts County Council Strike: 1 The March

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/987

Notts County Council Strike: 2 Rally & Speeches

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/988

Notts County Council workers strike against cuts [Feature]

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/990

Natwest Bank shut by anti-cuts protesters 

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/995

Vodafone visited [yet again] by anti-cuts protest

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/997

Notts Uncut campaigners shut Natwest Bank [Feature]

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/1005

Council poster asking what to cut? What about silly posters?

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/tumbles/989

____________________________________________

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>



Full article

Vodafone & Philip Green stores visited by anti-cut

07-03-2011 00:26

Saturday 5th March

After the rally & protests against City Council cuts, held earlier in the Market Square, folks went on the now well troden route round to the Vodafone store in Clumber Street. 



After the rally & protests against City Council cuts, held earlier in the Market Square, folks went on the now well troden route round to the Vodafone store in Clumber Street. 

It seems this time that they weren't expected and many walked into the shop with banners and much chanting.  Store staff obviously rang the police but it was a full 15-20 mins bafore they arrived.  I was quite amazed since a couple of wardens wandered past within 5 mins of their occupation there and then a few minutes later a couple of policemen.  None of them seem to twig what was going on. Then a while later, another couple of policemen were passing and it took a member of the shop staff to go out to tell them what was going off in person.  Only then did they go and get more policeman and returned to try and clear the shop. Invovlving a bit of pushing and shoving before they could get the shutters down.

After some explaination to the passers-by ... folks continued to Boots x2, BHS in the Broadmarsh, another Vodafone shop and Topshop, part of the Phillip Green empire. Oh, and people dropped by Nat West bank again [after the occupation last saturday].

UK Uncut

http://www.ukuncut.org.uk

Notts SOS

http://www.nottssos.org.uk

Unison anti-cuts protest

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/978

Notts County Council Strike: 1 The March

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/987

Notts County Council Strike: 2 Rally & Speeches

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/988

Notts County Council workers strike against cuts [Feature]

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/990

Natwest Bank shut by anti-cuts protesters 

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/995

Vodafone visited [yet again] by anti-cuts protest

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/997

Notts Uncut campaigners shut Natwest Bank [Feature]

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/1005

Council poster asking what to cut? What about silly posters?

http://nottingham.indymedia.org/tumbles/989

____________________________________________

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>



Full article | 13 comments

Libya: the World Cheers as the CIA Plunges Libya Into Chaos

07-03-2011 00:18

The National Front for the Salvation of Libya - the main opposition group - is being funded by Saudi Arabia, the CIA, and French Intelligence. This group unified itself with other opposition groups, to become the National Conference for the Libyan Opposition. It was this organization that called for the "Day of Rage" that plunged Libya into chaos on February 17. Every effort is being taken to sketch the appearance of a popular revolt against the supposed leader of Libya, Gadaffi, when in fact he is just the architect of Libya's current political system, a mixture of pan-Arabism, socialism, and Islamic government. The true leader of Libya is an indirectly elected prime-minister - currently Baghdadi Mahmudi. Contrary to what the media is sketching, opinions in Libya vary. Some people support Gadaffi but want Mahmudi out. Others want both out. Many just want to live their life in peace. Calling Khadaffi the leader of Libya is comparable to calling Akihito the leader of Japan.
Meanwhile, exactly what are the origins of the "Islamic Emirate of Barka"? And why are videos of Pro-Gaddafi protests disappearing from Youtube?

Full article

Wikileaks vs Western Hypocrisy

06-03-2011 23:41

No one can prove Wikileaks has been responsible for the murder or death of anyone, anywhere as a result of the release of documents. Any accusation would simply be a conjecture. Ironically, support for this opinion comes from a statement Sarah Palin made following the Arizona shooting of 8 January 2011. Palin said, "... journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn."

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Revolts and riots in migrant detention centres (Italy)

06-03-2011 23:01

1 March: after a revolt that has gone on for days, the detention centre in Gradisca is in a state of collapse: one single cell left for the 100 detainees, people eating and sleeping in the corridors and in the canteen, one bathroom for everyone. You can see some pictures here. The detainees’ revolt almost completely destroyed the building, but the detainees couldn’t be transferred, as the other detention centres were packed full. Revolts and riots are not new to this detention centre; things have been worsening over the last couple of years. In September 2009, a similar revolt was brutally repressed by the police.

Full article

New Boycott group in Kilburn N.W. London

06-03-2011 22:22

New Boycott workfare group in Kilburn. N.W.London.

We are a group of individual claimants using Kilburn job centre who have come together in the spirit of mutual aid & co-operation. We are a non heirical non political party or union, we do not have leaders or followers, involvement with the group means just that, individual involvement & responsibility.Consensus is agreed by claimants of Kilburn job centre.Not outside union or party officials. We are opposed to & boycott workfare/Flexable new deal or the oxymoronic "mandatory voluntary work programme". We welcome individuals claiming benefit at Kilburn job centre to get involved. We extend solidarity to similar groups opposing & boycotting workfare. We can be contacted at: kilburnboycottworkfare@gmail.com 

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