News

The Monopoly board of the city: Grenfell Tower - where was the HCA, government housing regulator??

Submitted by Red Marriott on Jun 19 2017 16:23
Person trapped in Grenfell Tower

The Homes & Community Agency(HCA) is the UK state regulatory body for social housing; its job is to monitor the performance, finances and provision of services of landlords. Missing from the media coverage of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster so far is any discussion of what relation the HCA has to this horror story of corporate murder. Given the years of complaints from Grenfell tenants(1) about their landlord the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation(KCTMO)(2), we can reasonably ask why the HCA never stepped in to investigate the terrible tenant-landlord relationship and the many fire safety complaints tenants had flagged up repeatedly before the fire broke out.

Sisters Uncut Occupy London’s Holloway Prison

Submitted by RSBenedict on Jun 15 2017 15:16
Image credit @sistersuncut, flares on the roof of Holloway Prison

Sisters Uncut, a UK-based feminist group, held a week-long occupation of north London’s Holloway Prison in late May in response to conservative austerity policies that have had a damaging effect on social services for victims of domestic violence.

Smothered by regeneration: the Grenfell Tower fire

Submitted by libcom on Jun 14 2017 10:48
Grenfell Tower fire

Tenants at Grenfell Tower repeatedly warned the council and its management organisation about fire safety risks before a deadly blaze engulfed the 24-storey residential tower block.

Fueling the fires: South Africa in class war

Submitted by Malatesta Black on Jun 9 2017 07:51

The hope that the end of apartheid would herald a better life for the oppressed in South Africa has evaporated. Their conditions today are materially as bad as under apartheid - and even worse in some cases. But the upper classes are having the time of their lives. Working class struggles should be intensified and linked, based on self-organising and direct democracy to bring about real change.

Anger from the underground: Bulgarian miners in wildcat strike

Submitted by evgeni5150 on Jun 5 2017 21:37

The miners from Obrochishte - the third largest manganese mine in the world, located in eastern Bulgaria, went on wildcat strike on 01.06.2017. The strike was supported by the anarchosyndicalists from ARS (Avtonomen Rabotnicheski Sindikat / Autonomous Workers Union), while the bureaucratic union in the mine opposed the strike and sided with the bosses.

Land, law and decades of devastating douchebaggery

Submitted by Malatesta Black on Jun 2 2017 08:58

This article looks at the recent wave of community protests in South Africa with a focus on the case of Freedom Park in Soweto

Activists arrested in Turkey for solidarity with hunger strikers

Submitted by mikail firtinaci on May 24 2017 18:11
Nuriye Gulmen and Semih Ozakca, left-wing educators dismissed from posts.

An anarchist comrade along with several others were arrested violently by the police during a solidarity demonstration with Nuriye Gulmen and Semih Ozakca*.

Manchester’s self-organised homeless challenge Andy Burnham over housing pledge

Submitted by Rob Ray on May 18 2017 11:35

Organisers at squatted former arts space Cornerhouse have called on new Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to go a step further than simple charity donations and engage directly with homeless people in finding solutions to the city’s rough sleeping crisis. Cornerhouse, owned by Network Rail, has been occupied by homeless people and Manchester Activist Network (MAN) since January and successfully saw off an eviction attempt late last month.

Alt-right crowdfunding site disappears

Submitted by Jim on May 16 2017 16:16
Where's the money gone?

A major alt-right crowdfunding site has gone offline, raising questions about where the money has gone.

Recent developments in Turkey's transition to fascism

Submitted by mikail firtinaci on May 13 2017 06:25

Report from Turkey on recent developments in the country as leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan strengthens his grip on power.