Solidarity Actions for Assange
11-07-2011 00:17
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange took his appeal against extradition to Sweden for alleged sexual offences to the High Court in London on 12 and 13 July. Assange has been electronically tagged and required to sign on daily at a police station for over six months since being released from Wandsworth prison in December 2010 prior to the extradition hearing which took place in February this year. The manner in which the allegations against him have been pursued has led many to conclude that the extradition is being sought neither for the benefit of the two women involved nor in the interests of protecting other women, but rather to secure Assange's extradition to Sweden with a view to onward extradition to the US where he would face the full wrath of the Empire, an Empire comprehensively exposed by WikiLeaks revelations. Assange has received many death threats from the US; there have been calls for him to face the Death Penalty over the WikiLeaks disclosures, as well as calls from prominent politicians and media personalities for him to be 'hunted down' and assassinated.
In the two weeks leading up to this appeal hearing, solidarity actions and events took place in London. Anti-war supporters of Assange and others maintained a presence outside the Royal Courts of Justice from 9am on Tuesday 12 July and throughout the two day appeal hearing. At the end of the hearing, judgment was reserved and is expected within the next few weeks.
On the newswires (re. current hearing): Report from the court Wed 13 July | Tues 12 July | Call-out for support at extradition appeal | Call-out for solidarity protest in Dublin | Assange Subterranean Homesick Blues |
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RIP: Simon Levin 1974 - 2011
06-07-2011 02:51
Friends and family will gather in Brighton on Thursday 7th July to celebrate the life of Brightonian activist, Simon Levin. who passed away on Friday 24th June, aged 36.
Simon was an enthusiastic supporter of the Palestinian struggle for justice, and travelled to Palestine where he spent some months in the Balata refugee camp outside Nablus. He returned several times with the Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity Group and in 2008 he was involved in the building of a new school at Fasayil
Back in Britain Simon was involved in Direct Action Campaigns against Caterpillar, Agrexco and the SmashEDO camapign. He was a defendant in the Decomissioners trial where activists were acquitted for their part in smashing the EDO arms components factory during Israel's onsaught on Gaza
Friends of Simon have suggested that those who want to remember Simon go to their local arms factory, importer of Israeli goods or oppressor of workers and "do a vigil, noise demo or action. Have a beer. He would have liked that". On Monday Rossport Solidarity Camapigners dedicated their Blockade of Shell offices to Simon.
From the newswire:
Caterkiller activist defends right to protest | 5 EDO decomissioners found NOT GUILTY!!! ! RIP Simon Levin - EDO Decommissioner
Blog Posts by Simon
Jordan Valley 2008 | Resourcefulness and tenacity | Transference
J30: Generalise the Strike
29-06-2011 23:26
Read full article for a round-up of J30 action: a day of protest against pension cuts and more
See also regional features (links below) and the J30 topic.
All newswire posts on J30: J30 Topic | Indymedia features: Sheffield 1 | 2 | Bristol | London 1 | 2 | Northern | Nottingham
Website: J30 Strike | Twitter: J30 Strike
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Deportation flight to Iraq blockaded and stopped
26-06-2011 20:00
No Borders and refugee solidarity activists blockaded the Harmondsworth and Colnbrook immigration prisons, near Heathrow airport on 21 June to stop a mass deportation flight to Baghdad. About 70 Iraqi refugees, mostly Kurds, were due to be forcibly flown on a specially chartered flight from an undisclosed airport at 11pm. A last-minute court injunction forced the Home Office to call it off, so the blockaders decided to end their protest at 9pm, after making sure that the migration prisoners were safely off the buses. The action was an important step in escalating resistance to the deportation machine, in solidarity with the hunger strikers in Campsfield, the rioters in Brook House, the Yarlswood four, and all migration prisoners in their everyday struggle.
SchNEWS 776: Squatting at Heaven's Door
25-06-2011 15:08
As Tories threaten hallowed ancient squatting rights.
As expected: Following the opportunistic yelps of a jumped-up tory media-whore (see SchNEWS 764), against the background of a right-wing ideological crusade, the criminalisation of squatting is now on parliament’s agenda. This week the government announced a brief consultation period was under-way on the issue of occupation without authorisation. The sights of the Tory legislative blunderbuss are slowly being zeroed in, battle lines are being drawn and arguments rehearsed. As every day goes by, the corporate press prejudice people further against one of the few remaining laws that empowers the many against the few.
The squatting community and it’s supporters have to fight their corner without the benefit of funds, media presence or political influence - they must work from the ground up and rely on the ability of people (and in this case, worryingly, politicians) to judge fairly between logical arguments. Some squatters have already risen to the challenge - Squattastic is an irregular though frequent series of open meetings, held in a chain of different squatted properties, mainly in the London area to discuss ways in which this crack down can be combated.
In a more mainstream stylee - The SQUASH Campaign is a dedicated group of activists and researchers who have already given a briefing to Parliament attacking the proposed change to the law - this was presented on May the 18th and was attended and supported by several well-known groups involved with homelessness issues, including Crisis and Shelter.
From the newswires:
A short and incomplete history of squatting in Brighton | Resist the Dutch ban on squatting | Whatever they say, squatting will stay - update ... | The criminalisation of squatting | Squatting is to change from being a civil offence ... | Squatting Europe Kollective
In Schnews: SchNEWS 776
Brian Haw 7/1/49 - 18/6/11 RIP
19-06-2011 10:23
Early on Saturday morning 18 June 2011, veteran peace protester Brian Haw, 62, passed away just after the camp he established right opposite the Houses of Parliament had celebrated its tenth anniversary of highly visible opposition to the wars being waged on ordinary people. Brian had been suffering from lung cancer, diagnosed less than a year ago.
Newswire: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
Links: parliament-square.org.uk | brianhaw.tv
New Email Lists and Wiki for UK Indymedia
08-06-2011 20:25
Two of the key tools that Indymedia activists use for communication and collaboration are email lists and wiki pages. UK Indymedia activists have made extensive use of lists hosted by the global Indymedia list server and of the global Indymedia wiki over the last decade. But at the end of May 2011 key lists were shutdown without agreement and wiki accounts deleted.
In response to this situation, new email lists have been set up for people who wish to contact the site admins or to be involved in discussions about features and moderation. There is also a new wiki site for UK Indymedia related documents. In addition there is now a new Users list for users of this site to raise matters which are not covered by the Moderation, Features or Tech lists.
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UK Uncut Emergency Operation
30-05-2011 23:29
UK Uncut issued a call out for an Emergency Operation in banks across the country on Saturday 28 May: "Whilst the NHS is being dismantled, the banks that caused this crisis in the first place have been left untouched. Reckless gambling, obscene bonuses and a global financial crisis are symptoms of a disease that requires a drastic intervention. The banks are due a check-up. Join UK Uncut’s Emergency Operation and transform your local high street bank into a hospital. Tell the government to leave our NHS alone; it’s the banks that are sick."
Dozens of banks were hit, many transformed into makeshift wards and operating theatres filled with bleeding patients, surgeons, doctors and nurses.
On the newswires: London feature | Bristol feature | Bank occupations in Cambridge | Big Society Hospital in Oxford
Elsewhere: Reports and photos posted to UK Uncut | The Mule reports arrests in Manchester | Fitwatch Report
Other anti-cuts actions on 28 May: Funk the Cuts in Leeds | Eat the Rich in Nottingham | Topshop Occupation in Cardiff | Arrests in Edinburgh
SchNEWS 773: No Spain No Gain
28-05-2011 06:14
As mass protests in Madrid raise the bar for European anti-austerity actions. We've got the Arab Spring – what about a European summer? It's a week since thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators pitched up in central Madrid (see SchNEWS 772) - and revolution fever is spreading across Europe like nits in a playground. With the Spanish sit-in still going strong – and intending to remain until at least the 29th - street demonstrations have also hit Greece, Georgia, and, er, Bristol. Protests are spreading to Italy, France, Portugal, Austria even Germany - could it be that last year's initial protests against austerity measures are maturing, one year on, into a broader demand for political reform?
From the newswires:
Crackdown begins. | Nottingham Solidarity | Spanish Revolution at London | #Spanishrevolution Has Reached Bristol | This revolution is sponsored by you! | Protests continue outside Spanish embassy | A shout from Spain | Message from Barcelona | Edinburgh Solidarity March
In SchNEWS: SchNEWS 773
Sheffield Anarchist Bookfair 2011
27-05-2011 22:11
Saturday May 21st saw the return of the Sheffield Anarchist Bookfair, now in its second year. This year it attracted over 250 people and throughout the day it had a good crowd of people attending meetings, watching films, hanging out in the cafe space and checking out a good range of groups and stalls. The venue was certainly an improvement on last year (we had day light and windows for a start!) and was decorated with loads of different banners, flags and posters brought by various groups on the day.
Photos | Audio: Elephants, Dogmas and Taboos: a Friendly Critique of Anarchism | Anarchism 101 | Anarchist Studies Network Book Launch | Sheffield Social Centre: Why? What? Where? | Luddites Organising Forum
