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UK Promoted Newswire Archive

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Campaign launched to close down German dolphinarium

27-07-2010 21:38

Forced to live a life as an attraction

"Not only do we have to fight criminal operations and cruelty to animals on the high seas but also take responsibility and direct action to help those who are imprisoned in concrete pools, doomed to entertain us".

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Palestine Today 07 27 2010

27-07-2010 14:59

Audio

Welcome to Palestine Today a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org for Tuesday, July 27, 2010.

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Palestine Today 07 26 2010

26-07-2010 16:25

Audio
Welcome to Palestine Today a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org for Monday, July 26, 2010

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Corporate Watch: Decommissioners Victorious

26-07-2010 16:02

As the zionist press angrily whip up media smoke screen around the real meanings of the decommissioners acquittals Corporate Watch take an in-depth look at the trial...

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UKBA detention capacity @ 26th July 2010

26-07-2010 07:12

Harmondsworth IRC, managed by GEO Group UK, is now back to full capacity after being partially made uninhabitable by frustrated detainees in November 2006.

(Formally known as 'Wackenhut Corrections Corporation'. GEO Group has been accused of gross civil rights violations relating to adequate access to food and medical care, especially at its USA Northwest Detention Center, including unlawful interrogations and coercing inmates to sign paperwork they would otherwise not be inclined to. Source 'Wikipedia'. GEO's worldwide operations include the management/ownership of 63 prisons/Immigration Removal Centres and residential treatment facilities with a capacity of 61,500 beds)

As of today there are a total of 3,436 bed spaces, in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) and Short Term Holding Facilities (STHFs).

A sizable number of prison bed spaces are occupied by persons off the end of criminal sentences (have reached their release date) and continue to be detained as immigration offenders, awaiting deportation or transfer to a detention centre. UKBA no longer release the numbers of those held in prison as immigration offenders.

Eight IRCs and 4 STHFs are owned/managed or managed by private corporations, three IRCs managed by the Prison Service.

Campsfield House IRC GEO Group Bed spaces: 216 male detainees

Harmondsworth IRC GEO Group Bed spaces 615 male detainees

Yarl's Wood IRC Serco Bed spaces 405 Female detainees

Colnbrook IRC Serco Bed spaces 383 male detainees ( STHC 40 beds male/female)

Brook House IRC G4S Bed spaces 426 male detainees

Oakington IRC G4S Bed spaces 408 male detainees

Dungavel House G4S Bed spaces 190 Mixed, male, female

Tinsley House G4S Bed spaces 146 Male Detainees

Dover IRC HM Prison Service Bed spaces 316 male detainees

Haslar IRC HM Prison Service Bed spaces 160 male detainees

Lindholme IRC HM Prison Service Bed spaces 112 male detainees

Manchester STHF G4S Bed spaces 32

Queens Buildings (Heathrow) STHF G4S Bed spaces 15

Harwich STHF Abbey Security Ltd Bed spaces 12

Dover Harbour STHF Dover Harbour Board Bed spaces 20

Addresses/phone/fax/visiting times for all the above can be found here:
 http://www.freemovement.org.uk/Resources/addresses.html

(Editors note, data has been taken from UKBA/Private management web sites)

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Landlords and Deposits: Know Your Rights

26-07-2010 02:30

Around this time of year many students are leaving, or have just left, their private rented accommodation. Aside from the frantic cleaning and figuring out how on earth they are going to move the junk collected through three years of university back home; one topic bothers pretty much all of them. How to get their deposits back.
A deposit for a student house is often a lot of money and it is not uncommon for students never to see a penny of it. Many others lose large chunks; £50 to mow the lawn, £150 to professionally clean the carpets, £75 to repaint that wall with all posters sellotaped to. It mounts up.

The frustrating thing about this is that landlords are very often seriously in breach of the law in making these claims. The Housing Act 2004, in force since 6th April 2007, requires the landlord to pay the deposit into one of three tenancy deposit schemes (Deposit Protection Scheme, Tenancy Deposit Scheme or mydeposits). They are then required to notify the tenants of which scheme is being used. If you are currently in a dispute with your landlord over deposits, get in touch with the three schemes listed above. If none of them have your deposit, your landlord is in big trouble.

Under s.214 of the Housing Act 2004, failure to pay the money into a scheme within the required period (14 days after recieving it) can result in a court order requiring the landlord to pay the tenants a fine equal to three times the amount of the deposit. Suddenly the boot is on the other foot.

Even though court cases are expensive and complicated (the landlord may appeal, you may be required to hire bailiffs to enforce the claim), it’s still worth knowing your rights. All landlords will know about the provisions of the Housing Act 2004, they just try and dodge them because they think students are too naive to know any better. Once you mention s.214, I would be willing to bet the long battles over the deposit evaporate. The landlord will be anxious to keep you happy and keep you out of court. And that means getting the carpets professionally cleaned at your expense quickly becomes much less important. The most likely result is that they’ll give you your money back and hope to never have to see you again.

And if your money is in a scheme, rely on their alternative dispute resolution system. This is cheaper and easier than going to court, and often results in a satisfactory ruling for the tenant. Again, you may find the threat of it encourages your landlord to give the money back much more promptly.

For those moving into a new property, now would be a good time to contact the landlord and ask them about the scheme they paid your deposit into. It could save a lot of hassle later on. It’s also a good idea to photograph the property when you move in, so you have evidence of the state it was in. If it looked a tip when you moved in, its less likely you’ll be held to account for the state of it when you move out.

All in all, remember your rights and don’t let your landlord take you for a ride. If we can prove we aren’t as naive as we sometimes appear, we may have a much easier time dealing with landlords in the future.

These are all general points, specific cases may require specific advice, and you should contact a solicitor before taking further action.

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people's assembly and more fence jumping

25-07-2010 19:22

yesterday afternoon, citizens from the democracy village held a people's assembly, open to all, in victoria tower gardens next to parliament. this was followed by non-violent direct action to reclaim parliament square and disobey high court injunctions. after dozens of incursions, eventually one person was arrested.

a couple of dozen people turned up yesterday afternoon for the people's assembly called for one o'clock at victoria tower gardens (which is the small park between millbank and the river just directly to the west of the parliament buildings, and a stone's throw from parliament square).

police were present and pointed out that the park bye-laws forbade meetings, speeches, assemblies, planning of assemblies, and even exercising and sports. however, the meeting continued without incident and police withdrew.

after more than two hours of debate, planning, discussion and brainstorming, it was time for some symbolic non-violent direct action against boris's fences which currently prevent anyone from enjoying the open space of parliament square (something which in his high court injunction he claimed was the main problem with the democracy village). unlike when the democracy village was present, there is no open way into the square now, there is no welcoming desk, and in fact the fences extend out (probably unlawfully) beyond the grass and onto westminster council's pavements, causing further danger and obstruction to the public.

at around 5pm, the first incursions began, and about ten people vaulted the fences into the square (including one dressed in an alien suit).  they ran around avoiding the orange tabarded bailiffs who have set up their own rather less welcoming camp in the square, and some of the activists managed to climb onto the churchill statue, the lloyd george statue and up a tree, flying peace flags and chanting peace slogans.

the incursion and the response was all pretty good-natured, and the bailiffs tried to persuade people to leave, escorting a few out without being overly heavy-handed. police were called and several attended over the next hour or so, again with conversation and persuasion the order of the day. this may have been partly because after much perusing of their police 'teams and duties' papers, it seemed neither a climbing team nor TSG were easily available.

passing cars hooted, passengers on tourist buses waved and showed the victory sign. a small phalanx of mainstream press journos took their pics, and even more activists jumped the fences and entered the square.

this is not a difficult place to penetrate, and in fact one person even came out for a pee-break before going back in and jumping on a statue again, while others got escorted out, came round the front, jumped back in and ran around again. another managed a quick incursion to take in supplies to some people on the churchill statue.

some of the police admitted they had a difficult time coming to terms with having to enforce petty restrictions which undermined the democratic right to protest. another even gave a cigarette to one of the activists when they finally came down from the statue.

of course there are always one or two bad apples, and special condemnation should go out to constable pollard (CW2474) who arrived on the scene at about seven fifteen, and shouted out "why don't you pay your taxes?". nice uneducated comment from a thug in uniform! the bailiffs too had a bad 'un, "james" who stole a flag, and broke it in two - er, that's theft and criminal damage innit? he also tried to hide his identity badge when challenged over it. but apart from those two, pretty much everyone else behaved themselves.

after about three hours of repeated incursions, including the symbolic placing of a tent on the grass, one person (named in the GLA's injunction) was arrested for "failure to comply with a court order". at the police station, that charge was immediately dropped, and instead he was held for a while for (is this a farce?) "breach of the peace". incidentally he had been sitting on the grass quietly holding a "peace" flag at the time of his arrest.

by eight thirty, there were just two young women sitting in the centre of the grass (where the oak tree used to be), and they refused to leave. rather than arrest them, police decided to withdraw, and after this final symbolic victory the young women left of their own accord.

the next people's assembly will take place, as usual next saturday afternoon. they intend to meet at the 'bottle' on the north west corner of trafalgar square at noon. from there they will process down to victoria tower gardens for a full open meeting. due to possible police interference there may be back-up plans, so check indymedia nearer the time for any updates, contact numbers and so on if you are planning to attend.

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Cambridge Uni Security Injures Animal Activists

25-07-2010 16:02

Stall in Town
Elderly female campaigner sustains injuries and is taken to hospital.

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Getting Away With Murder: My Memories of the Death of Ian Tomlinson

25-07-2010 11:21

This article has been removed at the request of the author.

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UG#509 - Gift Economy (1) - Reconceiving The Market

25-07-2010 08:58

Audio
The show this week looks at the gift economy. We look at a range of reasons to challenge the cynical, capitalist view of the human as 'red in tooth and claw', listening to evidence from speakers including Alfie Kohn, Genevieve Vaughan & Jeremy Rifkin.

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FREEMAN ECO VILLAGE site now open

24-07-2010 12:08

FREEMAN ECO VILLAGE FLYER
At this early point i would like to thank all the great people that we have met along the way and i send all my love back at all the lovely people that have got involved. The people that have turned up are amazing and have given some great ideas and donations, some i must mention: Blacks law dictionary 9th edtion (bra...nd new)plus other great reading materials, colloidal silver, stevia (herbal sugar) Fruit food stuffs and drinks, and most important PEOPLE
we would love to see bongo players and any musicians artists poets healers and any 1 that just wants to pop in and say hi or even to help build this project up.
THE GATES AND NOW OPEN FOR ALL
so come down feel free to be free
SITE ADDRESS: 1 to 7 pier road
North woolwich
E16 2JJ
nearest tube is King george V on the D L R line ( no gates at this station )
or get the free ferry from woolwich to the north side of the water that runs till 10 pm or then you can walk through the foot tunnel
if you need any help at all all contact details are up on the profile pic hope to see you all soon lets put faces to facebook
love hugs peas and freedom xxx

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Sheffield Indy Radio Show #2 - Deportations, The EDL and Divide and Rule

24-07-2010 08:52

Audio

The second Sheffield Indy Radio Show, features a discussion about the recent EDL confrontation at a Sheffield Indymedia meeting, the campaigns to oppose the deportations of two women from Sheffield, Odette Sefuko and Lem Lem Hussein Abdu, a listing of upcoming events from Alt-Sheff, news about the BP gulf oil spill via Democracy Now. If you missed it the first Sheffield Indy Radio Show came out on 17th June 2010.

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This Week in Palestine – Week 29 2010

24-07-2010 08:15

Audio
Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center www.imemc.org for July 16 to 23 2010.

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Democracy Village Eviction, London - Pictures

23-07-2010 15:45

End the War in Afghanistan & Victory.
On the morning after the Democracy Village anti-war campaign is evicted by private bailiffs from the grass at Parliament Square, anti-war campaigners gather on the pavement to assess the success of the campaign and to vow to continue to remain in the Square to press upon the British Government the case for withdrawal of British military forces from Afghanistan and the continuing occupation of the country.

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Flotilla Eye Witness

23-07-2010 13:28

Audio
Alex Harrison of the Free Gaza Movement spoke candidly about her experience on the Samud, smallest of the flotilla boats, and what happened after the IDF abducted them. The meeting was a Palestine Solidarity night at the Ratstar Social centre on 22nd July.

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Palestine Today 07 22 2010

22-07-2010 17:06

Audio
Welcome to Palestine Today a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org for Thursday, July 22, 2010.

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Palestine Today 07 21 2010

21-07-2010 16:06

Audio
Welcome to Palestine Today a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org for Wednesday, July 21, 2010.

Full article | 2 comments

Refugee graffiti

21-07-2010 14:37

I seen this walking up victoria road on the glasgow southside, whoever done this didnt know how to spell well, anyways, its got the point across about the refugees florence and precious who the uk borders agency want to deport.

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Freemovement - Say No to Removals/Deportations

21-07-2010 12:03

Important Information for Refugees granted leave to remain for 5 years in 2005

From 30 August 2010, those granted refugee leave or humanitarian protection in 2005 for 5 years will start to come to the end of their 5 years leave.

They will need as a matter of urgency to renew their application for indefinite leave to remain.

Someone who does not do so before his/her 5 years leave expires may suffer several problems - including losing any entitlement to work or receive benefits, or that any application for indefinite leave to remain is dealt with more restrictively, could also lead to their status being revoked and removal from the UK.

The UK Border Agency has published information about making applications for indefinite leave to remain for these people. See:
Refugees and those with humanitarian protection - route to settlement
 http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/asylum/outcomes/successfulapplications/leavetoremain/

Plus
For information on how to apply for indefinite leave to remain before your leave expires, you should go to:
Completing application form SET (Protection Route)
 http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/settlement/applicationtypes/completing_set_protection_route/

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Democracy Village eviction night, Parliament Square - pics

20-07-2010 23:33

Folk musicians entertain villagers just hours before the eviction
High Court bailiffs finally came to evict Democracy Village from Parliament Square, Westminster, London shortly after 1am on Tuesday, 20th July 2010.
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