Nottinghamshire Feature Archive

Nottingham Police, allied with authoritarians at the local council and the Home Office, have been wasting taxpayers' money on a wave of offensive posters intended to terrorise dissidents and the socially excluded. This campaign has escalated with attempts to terrorise those involved in subvertising the posters.

Recent instances have included the return of the especially sinister anti-begging campaign, where the state spreads slanderous accusations accusing beggars of bankrolling drug dealers. This campaign has been connected in previous years to deaths of homeless people in cold weather, and to physical assaults on homeless people due to incitement by the posters. The campaign even led to violence and reduced revenue for Big Issue vendors who are engaged in an entirely legal activity.

On Saturday 3rd December, a community day was held in Sneinton, Nottingham, to raise awareness of the proposed expansion of the Eastcroft incinerator and promote recycling through fun and games. Sneinton's Rubbish Day Out was an event organised by the local community and the NAIL campaign.

Euripides Jance has worked for Coca-Cola in Colombia for 21 years in Barranquilla, a major city on the Caribbean coast. He also works for Colombia's food and drink union Sinaltrainal and is coming to Nottingham on the 1st of December to do a talk on the Boycott Coke Campaign.

Barranquilla is a city under paramilitary control. In 2002, a Coke worker and Sinaltrainal member was assassinated there, and in July 2005, 4 students who were involved in a protest outside the Coke plant were kidnapped and tortured by paramilitaries. Like all Sinaltrainal activists in the city, Euripides works in the constant shadow of violence. Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists. In 2001 at least 160 trade union leaders and activists were murdered, including two key colleagues from UNISON’s sister union - the municipal worker’s union SINTRAEMCALI. Many other trade unionists were abducted, ‘disappeared’ or received death threats.

PUBLIC MEETING: Thursday 1st Dec, 7.30pm, The Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham

Links: Boycott Coke Campaign | Colombia Solidarity Campaign | Map to The Mechanics | Previous Indymedia feature article on Coca Cola and the situation in Colombia | Colombia Indymedia

Creative campaigning is a one-day workshop all about drawing attention to your message. It will be held on Sunday 15 January 2006 from 11 am to 4 pm (with lunch break) at The Place, 2a Melrose Street, Sherwood 9off Mansfield road behind the old bus depot. The price is £4 on the day

Following an earlier Indymedia appeal for storage, a location for Nottingham's Community Print Resource has been found at the Asbo Community Centre at 33-35 Burns Street, 1 Wildman Street, Arboretum. There is now an urgent call out for help in setting up the facilities, starting (during the ASBO open day) on Saturday 19th November.

Please call by from 2pm (til possibly 7pm) to check it out.

Links: Print resources - A call out | CPR to the Rescue: Nottm Alternative News article.

Last week the driver of a bus which killed 5 people from Nottingham and Leicester was sentenced to 5 years in prison. The driver was quilty of no more than being human and the judge's verdict fails leaves us all vulnerable.

Notts Indymedia is urgently looking for people to help out with various tasks. Some tasks only take a few minutes a day... Please come along to the meeting to find out how you can help out. A permanent volunteer of the project is moving away, and will be unable to continue to work on this local news resource.

The meeting has been set for November 28th, 7.30pm, at the Sumac Centre, 245 Gladstone St, Forest Fields, Nottingham. Please try and come if you can.

For more information please email: notts@indymedia.org

Nottingham Against Incineration and Landfill [NAIL] is campaigning organisation intent on drawing attention to the incineration of waste at the Eastcroft plant and the proposed expansion of capacity there.

On Saturday afternoon, a bunch of concerned residence and activists, hung a banner across Sneinton Boulevard to promote the campaign.

On Saturday 3rd December Sneinton's Rubbish Day Out will be held at the Old School Hall on Windmill Lane. The day will include art workshops, recycling activities, community cafe, live music, poetry and performance. 11am until midnight.

Photos: Protest on the Market Square | Previous action against incinerator | NAIL public meeting

Links: Previous feature article on Notts Indymedia | View the planning application submitted by WRG | Website Nottingham Against Incineration and Landfill, (NAIL)

The All Saints Community Care Project has for 17 years been an oasis of relative calm, in its inner city location in Radford, Nottingham. The project feels it is not being adequately supported and has decided to close; a move which may be stressful for the centre's more vulnerable regulars.

The Rossport Solidarity Camp in Mayo, Ireland was set up as local residents oppose of Shell's plan to build an unprecedented high pressure gas pipeline through the hamlet of Rossport, on the wild rugged coastline of north-west Mayo, Ireland. Five of these local activists, aka The Rossport Five, were subsequently imprisoned for refusing to obey a court order forbidding them from preventing contractors hired by Shell access to their farms and those of their neighbours. After 3 months in prison, they were released when Shell asked that the court order be lifted. The struggle has won significant victories in securing their release, and in preventing Shell building the development this year, as they had planned to do, but the battle is far from over...

Two participants in Rossport Solidarity Camp will be on a speaking tour of Britain in November and will speak in Nottingham at the International Community Centre, 61b Mansfield Road on the 10th November. The talk starts at 7pm and is free.

Links: Justice for the Rossport 5 | Shell to Sea network | Indymedia Ireland | personal report with pictures from the Rossport Camp, by Dean | Rossport Solidarity Camp speaking tour dates

Amity Night 2 is an evening of live music and art to bring communities together, to raise money for a small Palestinian village and the Pakistan Eartquake appeal. Saturday November 12th 2005, 7.45pm-11.00pm, at The Malt Cross. A night of musical entertainment featuring Mecca 2 Medina, Fat Digester and many more... Nottingham Amity is a voluntary organistation which aims to bring communities together.

Links: Nottingham Amity | The Malt Cross | Short video of previous Amity Night

Critcal Mass is a regular event. The meeting point is the Savoy cinema on Derby Road in Lenton on the last Friday of every month now at 5.30pm. It is becoming a more popular event with many more riders this time, than the last..... Join them.

Previous Critical Masses in Notts: Oct | Sep | Apr | Feb I | Feb II | Jun 04

At the same time almost 1000 cyclists soon growing to a critical mass of an estimated minimum of 2000 cycled around central London. The meeting point was nearby the restricted SOCPA zone in front of the National Film Theatre. The CM moved on to Parliament Square and Downing Street. The samba band was on wheels for the occasion and many were in Halloween attire.
Pics 1 | 2 | 3 Pic-reports 1 | 2 | 3 Reports 1 Video reports 1 | 2

This is the first London Critical Mass ride after participants were informed about possible arrests at future Critical Mass rides. The Metropolitan Police demanded that the 'organisers' give notice of the route in advance. Read report.

Solidarity rides were taking place simultaneously in Bristol (more) and Brighton, Nottingham, Leeds and Gothenburg. We are collecting updates from the London streets in a timeline. For more info see full feature article on UK Indymedia.

A roof top protest by environmental protesters is causing quite a stir in Derby, they have camped out on top of the soon to be demolished bus station roof and have been there for a week now, as part of a last ditch attempt to stop it being knocked down to make way for a £90 million Riverlights scheme. Protesters need help

Marcus Garvey Centre, Lenton Boulevard, Nottingham Friday 28th October 10pm > 6am

Folks putting on this show, have come from the Free Festivals and Travellers Scene. Free Parties, RTS and 'Gatherings'. In sum, most of the folks the CJA was created to outlaw. Please come if you can ......

Latest: Ecoworks have won the Big Lottery Fund's "People's Millions

On Monday 31st October, Ecoworks will be featured on ITV Central News in a competition for funding from the Big Lottery Fund's "People's Millions." We will be up against a project from Leicester for the £50,000 grant. Tune in from 6pm to find out more, and get behind this Nottingham project by casting your vote.

It would appear that Derbyshire police is going to use the usual tactic of over policing a peaceful event and hamper anyone who tries to have a lawful protest. Despite the organisers liaising with the local police authority over the anti-Trident work being carried out at Rolls Royce factory, this Monday, Derbyshire Police have applied and got a Section 14 order from the local council. See police statement.

Previously Derbyshire police used Section 14 to control protests at the G8 ministerial meeting in March. According to the local rag there were "A thousand officers from 23 forces" and "policing the event was expected to cost between £1m and £2m", since there were perhaps 100 protestors it cost around £20,000 per protestor...

Photos of the event: [1] [2]

More Photos: [Protests at Nottingham University careersfair [inc Rolls-Royce, CAT etc]]

Links: East Midlands CND | Invitation to join blockade | Previous blockades at Rolls Royce: January 2003 - February 2003 - June 2003 | Rolls Royce Blockaders Found Guilty | Previous protests in Derby: M17 Section 13 and 14 Notices - G8 Clampdown in Derby - Abuse of police powers in Derby

We have done a bit more on "eco-building" at ECOWORKS, a community garden project on the Hungerhill allotments in St. Ann's. Volunteers have been working on this exciting project since last October, and the walls up now! Straw bales are a low-impact, highly insulating and user-friendly building material. The construction process is highly inclusive, satisfying and fun.

Links: Previous reports: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) | St. Anns Allotments Network | More info on strawbale building | A strawbale article | Article about Ecoworks

The last two days saw the AIESEC careers fair taking place at Nottingham University. The Portland Building, where the Students Union is based was full of businesses promoting their oppertunities for the under and post-graduates. People within the university informed the students attending the fair about some exhibitors: 'the problem is, they supply arms to countries with appalling human rights records'.

Arms manufacturers such as Caterpillar, BAE systems and Rolls Royce exhibiting at the fair were targeted because of their non-commitment to ethical responsiblity and the way in which they 'lie about the truth'. The protest, organised by NSPM, took place on both days of the fair. The Student Environmental and Ethical Network (SEEN) is organising an ethical careersfair later in November.

19/10/05: Students at Leeds University succesfully shut down BAe stall at the AIESEC careersfair at Leeds Uni.

Links: Nottingham Student Peace Movement (NSPM) | Environmental and Social Justice Committee | Student Environmental and Ethical Network | Stop Caterpillar :: Violations of Human Rights | Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) | The Ethical Student | AIESEC Nottingham Careers Fair | Environmental and Social Justice Committee | Previous article about NSPM

Veggies is a catering campaign that has catered for and supported a huge range of groups campaigning for animal and human rights and social justice for the last 21 years. Since 1984 Veggies volunteers have been frying 'veggie-burgers', selling 'samosas for social change' and distributing a large range of leaflets, booklets and magazines.

Besides touring the country, catering at actions, demonstrations, festivals, fairs and meetings, Veggies play a vital role in the running of the Sumac Centre, the publishing of the Veggies Directory and putting together the Veggies Diary. Join us to celebrate! Tuesday 18th October from 8pm at the Sumac Social Club bar, with buffet provided.

Links: Veggies website | Veggies Directory | Veggies Diary | Join the Veggies crew | Archive of events and groups supported by Veggies | Vegfam / Veggies South Asia Earthquake Appeal

A representative of the Pakistani armed forces is speaking at the University of Nottingham. Action is needed because of the continuing militarisation of Pakistani society, human rights violations including attacks on labour and peasant activists and minority groups, and Pakistani army complicity in the US global torture gulag.