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13-05-2008 19:45

Camp Titnore birthday protest!

CAMP TITNORE, the eco-protest site near Worthing, West Sussex, is celebrating its second birthday on Saturday May 24.

To mark the occasion, a party is being held on the steps of Worthing Town Hall in Chapel Road.

The event has been given added poignancy by scenes at the recent election count, when heavy-handed security and police threw out Save Titnore Woods! candidate Dawn Smith and her supporters.

Campaigners are inviting anyone who supports the camp and the wider campaign to turn up in party mode - with hats, balloons, cake and music. One said: "The campaign has, of course, being going a lot more than two years, but the extraordinary achievement of those who have kept alive a continued presence in the woods since May 2006 just cannot be over-emphasised.

16-04-2008 11:01

Brighton Tubas Solidarity Group Visit to Palestine

A delegation of seven people from Brighton arrived in the Tubas region of occupied Palestine last week. The delegation is part of the project by the Brighton-Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group. The group's aims are to highlight Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in the region, raise awareness about life under occupation and create practical solidarity links between grassroots organisations in Brighton and Tubas region.

Press Releases from the Brighton-Tubas Solidarity Group: Education and Resistance in Occupied Palestine | Palestinian Village Denied Water and Threatened with Demolition

23-03-2008 20:01 | 3 additions | 27 comments

On the Verge - The Film They Tried to Ban

Police have intervened across the country to censor 'On the Verge' an independent documentary about the Smash EDO campaign to shut down the Brighton's weapons manufacturer EDO MBM. So far establishments in Southampton, Chichester, Bath and Oxford as well as Brighton have come under police pressure to cancel film showings. In Brighton police intervened to prevent a showing at the Duke of York's Cinema, just one hour prior to the scheduled premiere.

Using activist, police and CCTV footage plus interviews with those involved in the campaign, 'On The Verge' tells the story of one of the most persistent and imaginative campaigns to emerge out of the UK's anti-war movement and direct action scene. See trailers of the film here(mpg) and here (wmv). A torrent file of the film has also been created. To download a copy of the film and to know how to use bittorrent click here.

Spokesman for the production company SchMovies, Steven Bishop said "I am extremely disappointed but not entirely surprised by the police's action. There may be issues with certification but as we're not charging for entry this shouldn't be an issue. If the police really had problems over the certificate they could have approached us at a much earlier stage. Our film although focussing mainly on the rights and wrongs of protest shows a number of examples of questionable police behaviour – Perhaps this is why they left their move so late"

Meanwhile the "On the Verge" Screening Tour continues. Confirmed upcoming dates are:
24th March - Oxford. OARC
25th March - Bath. Friends' Meeting Place
18th April - Glasgow. - the Carnival Arts Center
19th April - Aberdeen. - Aberdeen University
21st April - London. - London Action Resource Center Tour's page for the latest information on screenings.

17-02-2008 14:23

Stunning victory for wildcat strikers

AN AMAZING victory has been notched up by wildcat strikers in Brighton.

After two days on "illegal" strike, refuse workers at Brighton's Hollingdean Depot have won their fight against management bullying.

The striking bin staff had been complaining about management bullying after staff refused to double their workload due to lack of vehicles and under-staffing.

As part of what workers called management's "bully tactics", four refuse workers had been moved onto different crews sparking anger amongst the depot and leading to the wildcat action.

The GMB union had advised members to go back to work and only strike under official conditions.

16-02-2008 18:22 | 1 comment

International Actions against Israeli Apartheid

The period leading up to Valentine’s day saw actions against Israeli apartheid taking place in the USA, England and Belgium. A week of action had been called against the import of Israeli flowers for Valentine’s Day. The call to action was against Carmel-Agrexco, the 50% state owned Israeli export company, and in support of a boycott of apartheid Israel.

On Friday 9th February Belgian activists blocked trucks at Agrexco’s depot in Liege, On Monday in Hayes, Middlesex, Activists blocked the entrances and exits of Agrexco’s UK headquarters. Some activists opted for another Valentine’s day target, the Israeli diamond trade: In London Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine and Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods picketed Lev Leviev’s new store while activists from Adalah in the US targeted Levievs’ New York branch. Leviev, an international diamond merchant, is responsible for developing illegal settlements on Palestinian land near the West Bank Villages of Bil In and Jayouss. His New York store has been targeted for several months by anti-apartheid activists.

Reports: Report of the Belgian Carmel-Agrexco action | Photos| Videos - 1 2 3 4 5 | Report of the London Carmel-Agrexco Action - 1 2

Previous: Original call to action against Agrexco | Previous Actions against Carmel-Agrexco 1 2 3 4 | London Pickett of Lev Leviev’s Store (+ Video) | Report of the US Picket (+ Video | Pictures)

Links: More info on the campaign against Leviev so far

14-02-2008 19:28

Growing a green future in Sussex

A NEW season of events has been announced by Brighton Permaculture Trust, including courses on growing fruit trees, creating wildlife-friendly gardens and green architecture.

Brighton Permaculture Trust is a small charitable company formed in 2000 by people interested in putting permaculture firmly 'on the map' in Brighton and the Sussex area. It offers courses, talks, socials and seminars and from time to time gets involved in larger projects, such as the Brighton Earthship. People are welcome to join as a member, but most events are open to everyone.

02-01-2008 21:18

Brighton fights for right to protest

A RIGHT to Protest demonstration is being held in central Brighton on Saturday January 19, meeting at 12 noon in Churchill Square.

The focus will particularly be on recent police repression at the EDO Brighton bomb factory. There have been 15 arrests since August for singing, shouting and generally expressing opinions about the presence of an arms factory in the community.

Local people in Brighton have been campaigning for the last three and a half years against a bomb factory in their back yard. EDO MBM make componants that are used in weapons deployed against the people of Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine.

Recently at the weekly noise demos at the factory police have been using archaic local by-laws to suppress people expressing their thoughts and feelings at the local weapons manufacturers.

In October five people were arrested for singing karaoke badly outside EDO MBM, they were hauled off into a police van after a particularly bad rendition of "We are the Champions". Three were arrested under Section 235 of the Local Government Act (brought in for bad buskers and street drunks) while two were arrested for breach of Section 14.

Other people have faced arrest for blowing an air horn and plugging in a PA. The town demo is aimed to show support for these people and also to safeguard the hard won rights to freedom of opinion and freedom of assembly that are being taken away at an alarming rate in this country. Bring banners, drums, air horns and voices.

12-12-2007 21:00

Free mapping comes to South Coast

A RADICAL new form of map has been launched in Brighton.

OpenStreetMap is a wikipedia-like project to create a free map of the entire world, open to contributions from anyone.

Most commonly used maps have legal or technical restrictions on their use, holding people back from using them in creative, productive or unexpected ways.

22-10-2007 17:28

Brighton Residents Visit Palestine

A delegation of ten people from Brighton arrived in the Tubas region of occupied Palestine this weekend. The delegation is part of the project by the Brighton-Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group. The group's aims are to highlight Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in the region, raise awareness about life under occupation and create practical solidarity links between grassroots organisations in Brighton and Tubas region.

The Jordan Valley, part of which is situated in Tubas region, has been de facto annexed by Israel. The Israeli occupation forces using land expropriation, house demolitions, militarisation of vast swathes of land and enforcing a system of pass laws reminscent of apartheid South Africa are attempting to make life impossible for the Palestinians. The aim is to bleed Palestinians out of the valley, leaving those who remain there to provide a workforce to serve the needs of the Israeli agricultural companies who profit from land stolen from the indigenous Palestinian population.

Press Releases from the Delegation: Collective Punishment in Al Masra'a | British Citizen Arreted in Al Masra'a Now Released Three Brighton Residents On Trial in Jerusalem tonight for ‘Taking Part in an Illegal Demonstration’| Israeli Military and Settlers Shoot Live Ammunition at Brighton Delegation | Palestinian Farmers Denied Access to their Olive Trees| Brighton Delegation Marches in Solidarity with Imprisoned Hunger Strikers| Brighton Residents Visit Palestine|

Brighton-Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group| Stop the Wall in Palestine | Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign |

Report of Demolition order issued on Fasayil school

Reports of recent actions against Carmel Agrexco: 1 2 3 4 .

10-10-2007 22:03 | 2 comments

Singers Arrested Outside Arms Factory.

5 people were arrested after singing 'We Are the Champions' at a karaoke themed demo at EDO MBM's Brighton arms factory. The police reacted to the cringe-worthy songs by arresting some demonstrators under noise byelaws and then imposing conditions to prevent the warmongers hearing an encore. Those who didn't move along were nicked, while the sour-faced managing director looked on. | Video

This major police response to a bit of a sing-song follows a successful blockade of the factory last week. All doors into the building were glued shut and two people locked themselves to the front doors with D-locks. This forced the managing director to smash his own window to get in and delayed the manufacture of deadly bomb components, which loses the company both profit and popularity with clients. | Video | Update: 5 Protestors have been charged with 'Conspiracy to cause Criminal Damage', and face a jury trial.

As EDO's profits slide, the campaign against them is building. Campaigners are looking forward to the traditionally lively Haloween demo on the 31st October, when the ghosts of EDO' s victims (and a host of weird and wonderful beings) come to haunt them.

smashEDO protestors have observed that the police are using increasingly repressive measures to deal with the protests, and one compared police behaviour that was common prior to the attempt to injuct protests in 2005. At the hearings, it became apparent that the police had urged EDO MBM to seek the injunction. The case collapsed, costing EDO MBM much money. Since then the company's fortunes have taken a number of knocks. Campaigners have vowed to keep up the pressure until the arm's manufacturer closes the factory.

Links:

Campaign Website | Schnews Coverage

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