Massive victory for anti-incinerator campaign in Nottingham
19 Sep 2006
Today the Development Control Committee of Nottingham City Council unanimous agreed on rejecting the application to expand Eastcroft Incinerator, which burns most of Nottingham’s waste. At the moment 150.000 tonnes of waste goes through the incinerator owned by waste giant Waste Recycling Group (WRG) each year. The expansion would bring in waste from neighbouring counties and bring capacity up to 250.000 tonnes.Local residents who for the last year have campaigned under the banner of NAIL (Nottingham Against Incineration and Landfill) are now celebrating this massive victory. Owner WRG could appeal the decision, but the council stands a strong case that they seem to be willing to defend. Aside from stopping the expansion, NAIL is continuing its struggle to close down the facility and campaign for better management of waste and recycling facilities in the city.Video: The NAIL film (10 min. various formats) | NAIL Slideshow (avi 9M)Audio: NAIL Public meeting and debate (1hr 20mins – 32kbs, 19Mb) | You can’t do that here! NAIL banner drop (mp3 911K)Photo: Photos from the incinerator protest at Council House before the voteLinks: NAIL Website | View planning application | Nottingham Friends of the Earth | The Mischief Makers | Notts Indymedia health topic page | Wikipedia on IncinerationPrevious feature articles: Planning Officer Recommends Rejections of Incinerator Expansion | Council backs off from incinerator expansion decision | Incinerator Public Meeting – Public Bodies pull out! | Nottingham Against Incineration and Landfill campaigners hand in petition | Planning Officer insists on wider public consultation for incinerator expansion | Campaigners meet Environment Agency over incinerator | Sneinton’s Rubbish Day Out 1 – The Days Events | NAIL campaign ‘banner drop’ at Sneinton Boulevard | NAIL campaign hammers on… | The air that we breathe…

Nottingham Asylum-Seekers will be Heard
18 Sep 2006
The situation faced by Asylum-Seekers in the UK is enough to make you realise we live in an insane society. In the East Midlands a centralised HO reporting building has been set up in the small town of Loughbrough, twenty miles from the towns where most A-Ss actually live. The new centre is like Fort Knox. Its barred windows and security checkpoints make it clear that if they don’t want you to get out, you won’t. Many from Nottingham have been told to attend Nottingham with no indication of whether they can claim the fare back. Little or no information has been given about how to get to Loughborough, when the switch would be made, and how to get more information about it. One of the first asylum seekers to be transferred to the new office was told to sign on the fifth of every month! What if it’s a weekend? Who would invent such a system except an idiot; or a sadist trying to prevent A-S having any identity except one of dependency on the system.

Peace Camp Set to Defy Ban
18 Sep 2006
“We think it’s because it’s the Labour conference and they don’t want us going and voicing our opinions” Rose Gentle, Military Families Against the War“They have got every right to protest, and I think we will find they will protest. Whoever is responsible for this are idiots.” Walter WolfgangA protest group is planning to defy a ban on setting up a peace camp in Albert Square imposed on them by Manchester City Council. Military Families Against the War – an organization of relatives to members of the Armed Services opposed to the war in Iraq – will be pitching camp outside the town hall in the run up to the Labour Party Conference. Come Saturday the camp will be joined by thousands of people protesting against the continuing military occupation of Iraq and British foreign policy in the Middle East.The Council claim the ban is in place for ‘logistical’ and ‘health and safety’ reasons, a claim that is strongly disputed by MFAW, who say the council is merely doing the bidding of the Labour Party. A further claim that there were ‘security issues’ with the camp have been denied by GM Police.The conference is set to meet a high level of dissent this September. Aside from the peace camp a march and rally has been called by the Stop the War Coalition on Saturday 23rd. Also on the menu, welfare rights group, Coalition Against the Welfare Reform Bill, are planning a demonstration and lobby on Monday 25th in reaction to the punitive approach towards disabled welfare claimants outlined in the bill.Military Families to Defy Ban [ 1 | | Demonstrate Against Welfare Reform Bill [ 1 | 2 ] 2 ] | Military Families Against the War | Stop the War Coalition

Support Your Local Firefighters!
17 Sep 2006
Local firefighters are currently on strike against £3.5 million worth of cuts to essential services. Merseyside is without much of its cover, since the Territorial Army are currently in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kazakhstan, supporting Blair’s oil wars. However, this is not the firefighters’ fault, and they are only striking to prevent cuts that would leave Liverpool city centre with less fire engines than we currently have, and at least one hundred less firefighters. If the government pulled out of any Middle Eastern country, they could invest the money in more fire engines, and lots of other positive things!Liverpool Indymedia reports: Mersey Firefighters to Fight Service Cuts | Ex-Firefighters To Stand With Bosses On Cuts Agenda? | Breathtaking Hypocrisy of Mersey Fire Authority | Firefighters to Strike Over Cuts | Area Commander Dan Stephens Betrays Merseysiders | Fire Scab Scandal | Eight Day Strike For Liverpool Lives | Day 1 of Mersey Fire Strike: Great Show of Solidarity | Day 2 of Mersey Fire Strike: Authority Calls On “Fantasy firefighters” | Day 3 of Mersey Fire Strike: FBU’s Skarratts Blinks First | Day 4 of Mersey Fire Strike: More ‘Negotiating’ Amid Allegations | Day 5 of Mersey Fire Strike: Talks Break Down | Day 6 of Mersey Fire Strike: “We are not getting anywhere.” | Day 7 of Mersey Fire Strike: More Delaying Tactics By Authority | Day 8 of Mersey Fire Strike: Scale of Cuts Confirmed | Day 9 of Mersey Fire Strike: FBU publish alternative cuts plan | Day 10 of Mersey Fire Strike: Yet More Strike Dates Promised | Day 11 of Mersey Fire Strike: Desperate Authority Makes False Accusations | Day 12 of Mersey Fire Strike: Massive March and Rally in Liverpool | Day 13 of Mersey Fire Strike: Negotiations Continue Following Rally | Day 16 of Mersey Fire Strike: Authority Claims “positive and constructive” Talks

Hundreds demonstrate in Leeds against Zimbabwean deportations
14 Sep 2006
Zimbabweans from across the UK today led a huge demonstration in Leeds against the resumption of deportations of refused asylum seekers back to Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe. The protest, called by the Zimbabwe Refugee Community Organisation with the backing of the Refugee Council (Yorkshire and Humberside) and campaign group Leeds No Borders began outside Leeds Central Library at 12pm and was addressed by among others Mafungasei Maikokera, one of the famous Yarls Wood hunger strikers who resisted deportation on a plane bound for Harare. Hundreds of people then spontaneously marched into the main shopping precinct to the sound of samba and song.The demonstration was called in response to a legal ruling in August that ‘refused’ asylum seekers no longer automatically face persecution if returned to Zimbabwe – despite the UK government’s own very public condemnation of human rights abuses by the Mugagbe regime. These Zimbabweans now face the possibility of imminent deportation. Only last Wednesday in Zimbabwe, the country’s main trade union leader was arrested by police for attempting to hold a demonstration which the government had earlier banned. Wellington Chibebe was beaten with batons and rifle butts as the police arrested him and 15 others. Zimbabweans are not alone – the Home Office has recently stepped up its efforts to forcibly remove asylum seekers en masse back to Iraq and Afghanistan.Read: Demo call out | Report of Original Ruling, October 2005 | Recent legal ruling, August 2006, & Report | Refugee Council briefing | Zimbabwe Situation | Amnesty International Country Overview | Satellite images of Mugabe’s community destruction schemeLinks: Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq | International Federation of Iraqi Refugees | National Coalition of Anti- Deportation Campaigns | Noborders UK communication channels | No Borders | Asylum Policy.info | Barbed Wire Britain | Peter Tatchell

The NHS is on its knees. Get on your feet to save it!
12 Sep 2006
Defend the NHS! March and rally – Sat 23rd Sept – 11am Forest Recreation Ground (assemble 10am) Nottingham.This year the East Midlands faces 5,000 job losses (with 1,200 to go in Nottingham), £200 million worth of cuts, the sale of NHS Logistics, hospital ward closures, a review of NHS Direct and Patient Transport Services, and operations undertaken by private health firms run solely for the profit of shareholders. We say it’s time the Government stepped in to stop thee cuts and end privatisation of our local NHS. Join us!Links: Unison website | Download flyer | UK Indymedia health topic page | NHS England | Download ‘Nottingham Trade Union Solidarity – Issue 5’

11th September 2001, Five Years On
11 Sep 2006
Five years after 9/11, a large number of protests, screenings, concerts and meetings were held across the US (New York: 1 | 2 | SF Bay Area: 1 | 2 | Los Angeles: 1 | 2) to demand the truth about the events of September 11th 2001 and the subsequent “War on Terror” and the imperial invasion of key countries in the oil-rich Middle East. In the UK over 100 truth protestors gathered outside the US Embasy in London to oppose the official conspiracy theory, photos: 1 | 2.The attacks of September 11th 2001 have been used, on both sides of the Atlantic, to justify a spectrum of attacks on civil liberties and illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The 9/11 Truth Movement fears that until the lies are exposed the attack will continue to be used to justify perpetual war, with the next one possibly being with Iran and/or Syria, and further attacks on dissent and freedoms at home. In the UK post-9/11, steps down the road to a police state have included terror raids, shoot to kill, detention without trial, torture training, profiling, rendition and a host of other Orwellian “Big Brother” proposals like ID cards.The 9/11 Truth Movement has received varied responses from Indymedia, ranging from feature articles condemning conspiracy theorists (NYC) to dedicated 9/11 topics and feature articles asking why the network is ignoring the call for a 9.11 investigation (Portland). In the months following the attack UK-IMC carried many articles questioning the official story and analysing what the attacks would mean for the anti-capitalist left (for example: 9/11: A Desperate Provocation By U.S. Capitalism), but in the years following the attack an ad-hoc policy of hiding all articles questioning 9/11 was adopted. This has now changed, the 9/11 Truth Movement is gradually gaining recognition as a legitimate, albeit still controversial, part of the broad global justice movement.Read on for more on the events of 11th September 2001, the 9/11 Truth Movement and a look at one of the big answered questions, what happened to World Trade Centre Building 7?

Planning Officer Recommends Rejections of Incinerator Expansion
10 Sep 2006
Today the Planning Officer made public the report and recommendations on the proposed expansion of Nottingham’s controversial waste incinerator. The report recommends rejection!! Today the Planning Officer made public his report and recommendations into the plans to expand Eastcroft incinerator. This report will go to the Development Control Committee on the 20th September, when the report will be considered and the application voted on. The Planning Officer is recommending that the Committee REFUSE PERMISSION on several grounds, mainly in that the proposals go against the City’s plans for the River Side development and concerns on the commutative effect on emissions on people living near by.

Sheffield Children’s Hospital: Save Ward S2
9 Sep 2006
Protestors took to the streets of Sheffield on Saturday 9th September in response to Ward S2 in Sheffield Children’s Hospital being threatened with closure.S2 is a specialist childrens ear, nose and throat ward and its closure is part of a £3 million cuts package for the Hospital, which is just a fraction of the 3 year £100 million cuts package for the NHS in Sheffield. Hospital unions are objecting to cuts which include not filling vacancies and workers’ hours being cut.These cuts are not an isolated incident, in July there was a protest against privatisation on the 58th anniversary of the founding of the NHS. The Government’s ongoing underfunding, cuts and privatisation of the National Health Service have also been covered by Cambridge and Liverpool IMCs.

No Deportations to Iraq
6 Sep 2006
32 Iraqi asylum seekers, who had been incarcerated in different detention centres, were deported to Arbil, northern Iraq, on 5 September, 2006, on a specially chartered flight from the RAF Brize Norton military base in Oxfordshire. There was a demonstration at the Home Office in London, called by the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq and the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees, but that did not apparently stop the process, and neither did the warnings from international organisations [1 | 2 | 3] or the legal challenges.The first forced deportation of Iraqi Kurds from the UK took place on 19 November, 2005. 15 men were taken to an airport at night, handcuffed, beaten and forced onto a military plane headed for Arbil through Cyprus. The move then sparked a lot of anger and protest [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5], and the deportation of Iraqis was halted for a while until resumed this month. Tens of Iraqi Kurds are believed to be interned in UK detention centres, while thousands more have been served notice that they will be ‘removed’ from the country [latest report].Read: initial report | call-out for demo | names of deportees | Home Secretary resumes forced removals to Iraq | EU-coordinated deportation of Afghani refugeesLinks: Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq | International Federation of Iraqi Refugees | National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns | Noborders UK communication channels

Blockade of Israeli Company Carmel-Agrexco
2 Sep 2006
A number of Palestine Solidarity activists blocaded the UK headquarters of Israeli company Carmel-Agrexco for over 11 hours on 30 August, 2006, to gain ruling on the legality of trading with Israeli settlements [see report]. The purpose of the protest was to expose an Israeli company that is engaging in continuous unlawful and brutal activity by importing fresh produce originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Carmel-Agrexco, however, chose to withstand the disruption and not have the blockaders charged with ‘aggravated trespass’. At the end of the day only one activist was arrested and subsequently de-arrested.The method of protest was to construct two large metal triangular cages at each entrance. Protestors secured their necks to the cages by using bicycle D-Locks, with several supporters close at hand. One cage served to totally shut down the exit, and the other caused major disruption at the entrance.Read: Text of letter to Carmel-Agrexco | Press release from previous trial | Report on Carmel’s involvement in the Jordan Valley | War on Want’s report: Profiting from the Occupation | previous actions: 1 | 2Links: Palestine Solidarity Campaign | The Big Campaign | ISM London | ISM Palestine

Protest in solidarity with refugees Sat 09.09.06 Nottingham
31 Aug 2006
Nottingham Refugee Campaign Group have organised a protest in solidarity with refugees on Saturday 09th September from 1pm – 2pm at St Peters Gate Nottingham. How would YOU get from here to Loughborough with no money? That is what many asylum seekers are now being forced to do!From the 4th September, Asylum seekers who receive NO MONEY and are NOT ALLOWED TO WORK are being required to report to a new Immigration Reporting Centre in Loughborough (instead of reporting here at the central police station).Come and join the protest and show your solidarityLinks: Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum website

You Must Be Choking! – Day of Action Against Drax Power Station
30 Aug 2006
Actions against Drax Power Station started early on Thursday morning (31st of August) and have continued all day, with the Drax perimeter being breached several times. Up to 600 campaigners against climate change participated in the Reclaim Power mass action. Four main blocs gathered at the centre of the Climate Camp before splitting off into different groups, with some heading towards Drax across fields to avoid police road blocks [Early report | Photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Videos 1 | 2]Meanwhile, other smaller actions had already begun – just after 4.30am seven activists occupied a Drax lighting tower. Later nearby roads were blocked by different affinity groups and another Drax lighting tower was also occupied with a banner reading “No Future For You”. More perimeter penetrations occured as more groups arrived at the fence to be met with police in riot gear, horses and dogs. Total arrests are currently unknown, but believed to be in the region of 35-45 people, some of whom were violently attacked by police.In the early hours of Friday 1st of September the actions around Drax continued. Reports came in of people attempting to breach the perimeter of the fence overnight. On the other hand, the Legal Team informs that all of the 38 people arested in yesterday’s mass action have now been released, some of which having spent about 28 hours in police custody. There is one confirmed arrest that took place this morning, which still remains in Selby’s police station.For full details, see the full timeline of events and individual reports that have been posted to IMC-UK Climate Camp page.Reports: First reports | Police Prevent Essential Supplies From Reaching Activists | Police quotes | Searching for ‘weapons’ | Farmer attacks Drax Protesters with Tractor (including photos) | Kids Block at Climate Camp | Fireworks from inside Drax | On the Ground: Suicide farmers found in Yorkshire | Photographer arrested over ‘weapon’ near Drax | Police Obstruction of Media around Climate Camp and Drax | Police hipocrisy at Drax | 3 hour lock on shuts down machine inside Drax. Mainstream press: List of articles | Radio 4 coverage [ 1 | 2 ] | Reuters inaccurancies on climate camp reporting.

Climate Camp News, Wed 30th August: “If not Tomorrow, then When?”
29 Aug 2006
The Camp for Climate Action has been hailed as a success, with an impressive collective commitment to organising the camp in an environmentally-friendly way, and with hundreds of people just over half way through a packed programme of workshops. One statement said: “What has really struck me is the way in which everyone who has come to the camp is getting involved. People from all walks of life and with all sorts of previous experiences are here, and everyone is doing their bit to make the camp tick. From action planning to compost toilet building, everyone is getting involved…” [read more] See also Life at the Camp – a personal perspective | todays pics from inside the camp. Thursday sees the Reclaim Power mass day of action against Drax Power Station, and preparations are underway with people making banners, puppets and other props. Meanwhile throughout the day the police have been using Section 60 powers to stop and search all people entering or leaving the Climate Camp [report and pictures 1 | 2] Undeterred, people continue coming and going, some taking tours around the increasingly guarded perimeter of Drax power station [pics]. Later in the afternoon at around 2.30pm the police were denied entry to the camp [report and pictures] in a peaceful but strong reaction by camp residents, with similar scenes repeated again at around 5.30pm [report]. Seel also: Drax Shares Take A Slide | Drax to Stop Smoking | Power Line Pole Allegedly Cut | Oldbury Nuclear Power Reactors to Close | Feminism and Climate Change [more] | Green Spirituality Workshop | Greenwashing Climate Change

Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station Blockaded For Ten Hours
28 Aug 2006
Climate Action News: Tues 29th August: From 8am a group of nine climate change campaigners blockaded the front and back gates of Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station, sending out the message that nuclear power is not the solution to climate change. The blockade was in place for ten hours until the last person was cut out of the arm tubes they had locked themselves into to form the blockade. Police arrested a total of twenty people including non-blockading supporters and a freelance journalist.[see Blockade Reports + Updates | Reclaim Power Press Release | Mobile Photos | More Photos + Report]Climate Camp News:The comprehensive programme of workshops continues at the camp, with sessions on practical steps individuals can make to reduce their impact upon the environment, across to debates about biofuels and carbon trading schemes. See Workshop Audio Interviews [1 | 2]A Bicycology cycle caravan left en masse from the Climate Camp to establish a presence in nearby Selby town centre, holding bicycle maintenance workshops and promoting sustainable energy [Report and Pics].During the day the police were allowed onto the site for a walking tour around the camp, as well as the fire brigade [see Reports + Pics]. Meanwhile in the evening people at the camp continued preparing for the day of mass action on thursday.

Camp For Climate Action
27 Aug 2006
In the shadow of Drax power station, hundreds of activists have gathered at the Camp for Climate Action [see report and location | first pictures and call out]. The camp, which started officially on Saturday, August 26th, is based on squatted land and will have over 160 workshops over the course of the week. For more information and background, see the climate camp special reports section. Click the Full Article link for updates.Sunday, 27 Aug – reports: 1 | 2 – photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4Monday, 28 Aug – reports: Police Refuse Offer to Tour Climate Camp Site [2] | Kids Walk to Drax Power Station | Audio of Faslane Workshop

Student fingerprinting – not so VeriCool
27 Aug 2006
While the national ID card scheme has been watered down a little, moves continue to increase tracking of us by using biometrics. One unexpected front where this dystopia is already rearing its ugly head is in our schools. Several companies, with VeriCool the current front runner, are aggressively marketing fingerprinting solutions – solutions to what is not exactly clear as we’ll see – to primary and secondary schools, as well as libraries. Let us start by looking at one particular case, Impington Village College (IVC) on the outskirts of Cambridge.Read on for the full story.Links: LeaveThemKidsAlone | VeriCool | Indymedia article | BBC news article | BBC action network article | TES online article | Gummy finger article

Camp For Climate Action Established
24 Aug 2006
More than 100 climate activists spent all Wednesday night erecting marquees in the shadow of Drax power station, establishing the Camp for Climate Action [see report and location | first pictures and call out]. For more information and background on the camp which starts officially on Saturday 26th see the climate camp special reports section.

Close Down Dallas Court
24 Aug 2006
On 18 August 2006, asylum seekers and anti-racist campaigners gathered outside Dallas Court Reporting Centre in Salford Quays, to protest against the treatment of asylum seekers and the continued practice of detaining people at Dallas Court, including the recent detention and transfer to Campsfield of Jean Lobouka from Congo (Brazzaville).Many asylum seekers are forced to ‘report’ at Dallas Court every day, week or month, some from as far away as Bolton and Northwich. Many have no cash to pay for travel, as they are not allowed to work and the only support they have are ASDA electronic vouchers. They are subject to arrest and detention, and removal of food and accomodation if they refuse. When complying with their immigration service restrictions, some are unexpectedly arrested, seized and taken to prisons or ‘detention centres’.Story | Digital Diaries – Video about Dallas Court

Student fingerprinting – not so VeriCool
17 Aug 2006
The plans for the introduction of national ID cards may have been watered down somewhat, but the spectre of a future where everyone’s every movement and purchase can be tracked by biometric data looms ever larger. One, at first glance unexpected front where this dystopia is already rearing its ugly head is in our schools. Several companies, with VeriCool the current front runner, are aggressively marketing fingerprinting solutions – solutions to what is not exactly clear as we’ll see – to primary and secondary schools, as well as libraries. Before outlining some of the dangers of the system (for a more complete overview see LeaveThemKidsAlone, I will look at one particular case, Impington Village College (IVC) on the outskirts of Cambridge.In the beginning of this academic year, IVC introduced a new fingerprinting system, which is used to register students at the beginning of each lesson, and that has replaced borrowing cards in the library and money in the school’s canteen. This is how it works, at least in theory: before the start of each lesson the teacher logs onto the system with her own fingerprint, and the students register by pressing their thumbs against the plexiglass of a small scanner (with the exception of the Year Eights, who get to give the system the middle finger). A beep signals that a thumbprint has been recognized. Any unauthorized absenteeism is automatically flagged and available to the school office. VeriCool, the makers of the system, claim that taking a register is quicker, the results are immediately available, and that this is a useful weapon in the fight against truancy. The operative word here is ‘weapon’, but more about that later. When it’s time for lunch, the students pay for their food by the same mechanism, and their accounts are debited. This is meant to prevent children being bullied out of their lunch money…

Omladinski Centar here we come!
16 Aug 2006
In Novi Sad the Caravan was welcomed and looked after by people from two organisations. One is Kulturanova, which organised various visual arts festivals and has been campaigning for a cultural youth centre in the city. The other is the ‘Volonterski Centar Vojvodine’ a volunteer centre, which supports and runs a variety of projects. The week in Novi Sad was one of good workshops, good actions and the occasional party!Most Caravan members were accomodated on an old Ukranian cruise ship in the Danube, where workshops took place too. The Mischief Makers build a giant bird as a symbolic way of opening up Serb borders and made an impressive mosaic on the same theme, possibly to be used in a new youth centre. Clowns trained and joked about at the final parade to end the week of workshops. An other impressive feature of the activities in Novi Sad was the quickly formed samba band, which did a couple of stunning performances in the centre of town. The video group made 3 videos and did several open air screenings.At the end of the first week a demonstration was held for the cultural youth centre as well as for the opening up of Serbian borders. During the second week some Caravan members worked at a Roma settlement and prepared a film screening and demonstration, demanding an electricity supply, which the settlement in its 33 year existance has had no access to.Photos: art caravan arrived to novi sad yesterday | Caravan flyersAudio: Milan from Kulturanova speaks on local radio about CaravanOthers articles: Groovy times in Novi SadLinks: AA Caravan Indymedia | KulturaNova website + article on Caravan | Volonterski Centar Vojvodine website + announcement | Wikipedia on Novi Sad

War Over? Ongoing Crisis in Lebanon
15 Aug 2006
While the recently agreed-on ‘ceasefire’ between Isael and Hizbullah is being portrayed in most of the mainstream media coverage as an end to the ‘cricis’, the catastrophic cosequences of the hostilities, which lasted for over a month, go underreported. And while fighting on a much smaller scale conitnues, hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese are making their way back, many to find their homes destroyed by Israeli bombs.According to official figures, some 1,130 people have been slaughtered (30% of them children), 3,600 injured (40% of them children) and about a million displaced. Israeli strikes on Lebanon have destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, including Beirut airport, ports, bridges and roads, residential buildings, factories, mobile telephone and television stations, fuel containers and service stations and even medical and relief trucks.Meanwhile, Israel is still denying NGOs like Medecins sans Frontieres and the Red Cross a safe passage. On 15 August, an activist aid convoy was stopped by the Lebanese National Security Guards while trying to reach the South, as the area is still declared unsafe.Ongoing coverage: Lebanon War 2006 – topic pageUpcoming protests: Blockade the Foreign Office – 21st AugustPrevious features: The realm of the real – photography from Lebanon | Mass Demo Against Israeli Attacks | Worldwide Protests Against Israeli Aggression | War in the Middle East While the World is WatchingLinks: IMC Beirut | IMC Israel | IMC Cyprus | International Middle East Media Centre | Palestine News Network | Electronic Intifada | Electronic Lebanon | Palestine Blogs | Lebanon Updates | Civilian Resistance in Lebanon | Tadamon | Wikipedia: the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

Bicycology Tour visits Nottingham on their way to the Climate Camp
12 Aug 2006
Bicycology is a biketour which will be travelling from London to Lancaster (via Nottingham) this August. Form Lancaster it will be heading to the Climate Action Camp. It will visit Nottingham on Saturday 19th August. On their tour, the Bicycologists will be giving free bike maintainence workshops, holding Dr Bike sessions – come and get your bike fine-tuned – organising bike games and playing around with some crazy tall wobbly bikes; there will also be information and examples of alternative forms of energy, including some pedal-powered gadgets.Links: Bicycology website | Bicycology Wiki | Ian Gregory on Bicycology

Camping Against G8 And For Something Completely Different.
12 Aug 2006
“Camp Inski”, the preparation and information camp for the forthcoming G8 summit in Germany, took place from August 4th-14th in North West Germany. Somewhat less than one year before the G8-summit, autonomously organized resistance meets and plots for several days(en) in close proximity to the future summit location in the nearby town of Heiligendamm. Numbers are difficult to guess – several reports speak of more than 500, but the kitchens prepare 1,500 portions per meal. The workshops ranged from meetings about mobilisation, discussions about blockades (roads, tracks and waterblockades) to general questions of resistance and social movements.Meanwhile, preparations for the summit are well under way and acts of defiance have already begun. A “Door Knocking” exercise saw activists going from door to door in nearby villages and towns to inform residents of the future protests.While discussing and organizing next year’s protest, various actions took place showing the wide range of activities started by the camp: A villa was occupied(pic|de) in opposition to the commercialisation of the increasingly posh seaside resort. An anti-racist demonstration (Video: 1 | 2 ) was held in the nearby city of Rostock, an area infamous for its neo-Nazi activities. On friday hundreds of activists gathered at the beach outside summit venue(en), on saturday protest closed down an exhibition of the nazi artist Arno Breker while activists protested at a GMO field nearby the camp.Video (de): 2 | 3 | 4 | 5Pictures and Reports (de): 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 (en) | 6 (en) | 7Website: http://camp06.orgBike Caravan 2007Websites about G8 2007: dissentnetwork.org (de) | g8-2007.de | gipfelsoli.org

The realm of the real – photography from Lebanon
11 Aug 2006
In the last few weeks, an increasing number of horrible, very upsetting photos of the massacres committed by Israel have been coming out of Lebanon. The alternative media are doing everything possible to break the censorship of images that was enforced by the Corporate and authoritarian State media which only show a sanitized war, disinfected images of material destruction. The smuggling and widespread dissemination of images from ‘the realm of the real’ that are coming out of Lebanon and Gaza now make all of us uncomfortable. For those of us who do editing and publishing work, they bring up the awful worry of “is this appropriate?” (source: Cyprus Indymedia)Photographer Guy Smallman has been reporting from Lebanon since early this week. His photo reports show the harsh reality of war and a growing refugee crisis. New York Indymedia photographer Andrew Stern published photos taken after the bombing of two residential buildings in the town of Chiah, near Beirut on August 8th. The Cyprus Indymedia has been reporting constantly on the conflict since it started mid-July. Their website contains numerous (photo) reports on conflict, struggle and solidarity.Photo reports by Guy Smallman:Lebanese Hospitals Under Threat From Fuel CrisisMartyrs Square Vigil, Lebanon – Wed 9th AugDhayiya. Attacked Again – Wed 9th AugActivists Help Lebanese Refugee Kids – Tues 8th AugBeirut FlypostingDemos Banned for Arab League Ministers Meeting – Mon 7th AugSanayaa Park Refugee Centre, Lebanon – Sun August 6thLebanon’s Increasing Refugee Crisis – Sun 6th AugSouth Beirut After a Night of Bombing – Sat Aug 5thDriving Into Lebanon – Friday August 4thOther photo reports: Photo Essay from Lebanon | Photo Essay from Lebanon – 2 | Indymedia Photography from Lebanon | Civil Defense members removing corpses from Marwahin, Lebanon | Lebanon: Day 8 ~ While the world is turning its back and closing its eyes | Bomb Number Five, Salaam | Lebanon: Full Color Pictures of the AtrocitiesLinks: Cyprus Indymedia | Andrew Stern website | Impressive photos on Flickr | Photos from pro-resistance demo by Issandr El Amrani | Wikipedia on war photography