SchNEWS 818 – Serf’s Up
9 Jun 2012
By now the glad tidings that ninety of her majesty’s most loyal subjects were happy to celebrate 60 years of her reign by kipping under a bridge before a joyful thirteen hour shift of telling union-jack-sporting buffoons the way to the big river in the middle of London without being paid has been splashed all over the papers. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg.Links: Boycott Workfare | Solfed (workfare page) | IWW| Corporate Watch | SchNEWSOn the newswire: Liverpool Workfare Walk of Shame Occupies City Centre Exploiters| Mayday workfare demo shuts Oxford Street stores| Workfare actions around Birmingham in April| Workfare conference cancelled due to protest | Workfare Unravels | ‘It’s exploitation and it’s repellent’ | Tesco?s Secret Workfare Slaves | Demo shuts Westminster Tesco | GMB Union Promotes Workfare as Answer | DWP Locks Down FOI Responses | Legal Challenge to Government?s slave labour schemeFrom Corporate Watch: Benefit claimant forced to accept Jubilee steward position for less than minimum wage | To pay or not to pay: Asda and Argos choose workfare over work | Regulating workfare (or not)| ‘It’s exploitation and it’s repellent’: Retailers, councils and charities benefiting from workfare | Unemployed people bullied into work

Occupy Brookes camp emerges
8 May 2012
Update (20/05/12): After a month, Occupy Brookes decided to pack up. The camp’s demands were almost entirely ignored by management but many people nevertheless felt it was a valuable experience, building links, raising awareness, and establishing a precedent for action that can be taken further in the future.Since Wednesday 18th April, a group of Oxford Brookes students and supporters have been camping in front of Gipsy Lane campus to demand free education for all, and more specifically and immediately, that the University switch from fee waivers to bursaries.The camp has now survived over two weeks of extremely wet weather, hosted various workshops and discussions, and received lots of verbal support and sympathy. A letter containing 3 basic demands was sent to the authorities early on, but there has been no substantial response from them, and the group’s next steps have yet to be decided.Anyone supportive or curious is very welcome to come visit or stay, and upcoming workshops and meetings are listed on the blog.[ Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 ] [ Photos ] [ Video ] [ Blog ] [ Fee waivers explanation ]

Summer 2012 antimilitarist actions
27 Apr 2012
The UK antimilitarist movement is building fresh coalitions against new developments in state militarism. In March activists converged in Bristol to confront an unmanned drones conference and a ?Disarm the National Gallery? campaign was launched in London to end arms trade sponsorship of the gallery. This week delegates visiting the annual Counter-Terror conference were met by a counter-protest and Vince Cable’s speech at the UKTI conference was disrupted.Smash EDO, who have campaigned to shut EDO MBM down for eight years are launching three months of action, from May 1st to August 1st, next week with a mayday noise demonstration, a bad music demonstration and a phone and twitter blockade to name just a few of the planned events.And in Scotland, Faslane peace camp are calling for 30 days of action against Faslane nuclear base.On the newswire: Vince Cable’s speech to Arms Industry disrupted | Protest & Vigil At Shenstone Drones Factory | Smash Edo reports | Anti-militarism topicLinks: Stop The Arms Fair | Disarm DSEi | Space Hijackers | Smash EDO | CAAT | London CAATSmash EDO Summer of resistance reports: Picket of Barclays – 27/4/12| A few words on sensationalist journalism, protest bans and the local rag| The Summer of Resistance starts here| Mayday! Mayday! The Summer of Resistance Day One| Day Two: Face the Music| Day Three: Hot on the Wire| Day Four: Surprise! Surprise!| Smash EDO Summer of Resistance Week Two begins| Bikes not Bombs: Smash EDO Summer of Resistance hits the Pedals| Ratchet up the Racket: Summer of Resistance Continues| Summer of Resistance Targets Barclays

No New Nukes: Protest at Hinkley Point
15 Mar 2012
Around 1000 people converged on Hinkley Point in west Somerset on the weekend of 10th-11th March 2012 to mark one year since the earthquake, tsunami and start of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan, and to demand that the UK abandon its plans for new nuclear power stations at Hinkley and up to seven other sites in England and Wales. The weekend involved a rally and ‘surround the power station’ action, followed by a 24-hour blockade of the entrance to the existing power station. People came from all over England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Taiwan; and, notably, a number of individuals from Japan took part, including a pair of Fukushima evacuees and a Buddhist monk and nun. Speakers included Green party leader Caroline Lucas MP; environmentalist Jonathon Porritt; Kate Hudson, General Secretary of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Steve Mitchell from the French Nuclear Phase-Out Network; and local anti-nuclear activist Nikki Clark; with musical entertainment from Somerset-based activist folk band Seize the Day, and words of encouragement from the band’s lead singer, Theo Simon, who had helped occupy the recently-evicted Langborough Barn.Theo led demonstrators on a tour of the land EDF plans to begin clearing and excavating later this month. Allegedly inaccurate signs marking sections of the land as part of the Hinkley B nuclear licensed site were removed, with other signs being defaced, and double harris fencing around the recently-evicted Langborough Barn being torn down. Security for EDF tried to evict people parked and camping overnight in the designated car park, before eventually retreating after heated words with some of the organisers. Around 100 people stayed on for the blockade, with over 60 still in place by 9am on Sunday, and others joining later in the morning.Shortly after 1pm on Sunday, the Buddhist monk and nun led a procession to the beach to float lanterns in memory of the many thousands of victims of the earthquake and tsunami, and present and future victims of fall-out from the triple meltdown at Fukushima. The blockade ended with a closing circle at 3pm. One man was arrested late on Sunday afternoon, after most people had left, for allegedly stealing a sign. This was the only known arrest over the course of the weekend, with police adopting a largely ‘hands off’ approach to the weekend’s demonstrations.LinksPrevious Hinkley Feature: Hinkley Blockaded: No More Nuclear Power! | On the Newswire: Fukushima 1 year on: Hinkley Point to be surrounded and blockaded | Successful anti-nuclear rally at Hinkley Point on Fukushima anniversary | Anti-nuclear activists claim double record at Hinkley Point demo | Hinkley Barnstormers need you!! | Hinkley C ~ Site Occupation | EDF Energy seeks high court injunction against protestors | Anti-nuclear protesters occupy Hinkley Point | Hinkley Point Barnstormers – Occupiers aim to stop EDF land trash | Farmhouse squatted to defend land from EDF Energy’s bulldozers | Directions to the new camp at Hinkley Point power station | Troubled Over Bridgwater | Concerned Locals take to the Trees at Hinkley Point | Nuclear energy fat cats EDF Energy targeted for fuel poverty days of action | Fukushima: The Big Lie | Don’t buy the lie: Say No to nuclear energy before it’s too lateAudio: Ecoshock: Fukushima Disaster – One Year Later | From Nuclear Weapons to Nuclear Energy: The U.S., The Marshall Islands, and JapanOccupation Videos (YouTube): 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Photos (Picasaweb): 1 | 2 | 3 | SchNEWS: Barn Stormed | Barn Storming | A Bridgwater Too FarBristol IMC Articles: Barnstormers Released | Reclaim Hinkley Protestors Arrested | Reclaim Hinkley Eviction | Hinkley Barnstormers Eviction Imminent ! Help Needed ! | Hinkley barnstormers call for support | Hinkley Barn Squatters Imminent Eviction ! | Boycott EDF/Stop the development of HinkleyC nuclear power station | Hinkley Barnstormers need you!! | EDF puts the stain into sustainability | Nuclear Energy Company EDF seeks high court injunction against protesters | Hinkley Point Barn Occupied | Support the Anti-nuclear folk at Langborough Farm! | Activists needed to defend squatted farmhouse near nuclear power plant | Directions to the new camp at Hinkley Point power station | Hinkley Occupied Again | Hinkley Tree Protesters Evicted | Warm Socks v Hot Nukes-Tree Action Update | Concerned Locals take to the Trees at Hinkley Point near Bridgwater, SomersetCampaign groups: Stop New Nuclear | Stop Hinkley | South West Against Nuclear | Stop Nuclear Power Network UK | Boycott EDF

Workfare: Enslave us and we’ll shut you down!
5 Mar 2012
Protests took place outside stores across Britain on 3rd March 2012 as campaigners stepped up their opposition to the ConDem workfare slavery scheme, (started under Labour,) by taking the online campaigns, which have resulted in many firms pulling out, onto the streets .In Edinburgh two Tescos were ‘invaded’ and pickets were mounted outside a Poundland and British Heart Foundation store. The Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty delivered a letter to the BHF store insisting ?that BHF withdraws completely from the Work Programme and all workfare schemes?Bristol cops arrested two protestors at a picket of a McDonalds, and a solidarity action was held outside Trinity Road cop-shop later in the day. In Birmingham about 50 campaigners stopped off at Sainsburies and Superdrug to congratulate them on pulling out the scheme, whilst pickets were held at Poundland and McDonalds. In Sheffield campaigners who were chucked out of a Tesco on West Street, continued their tour with visits to stores which included Marks and Spencers, McDonalds and Primark. Nottingham campaigners picketed Wilkinsons before moving on to other storesIn Lewisham, McDonalds, Boots, Greggs, BHS and Primark werre targeted by a group of about 30, whilst Oxford Street saw a few dozen campaigners target outlets including McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Holiday Inn in a game of cat and mouse awith the police. On Friday Ian Duncan-Smith was challenged by protestors as he arrived at a conference in Tottenham. He insisted that "workfare is a brilliant scheme".[Read more.]Newswire: Workfare conference cancelled due to protest | Workfare Unravels | ‘It’s exploitation and it’s repellent’ | Tesco?s Secret Workfare Slaves | Demo shuts Westminster Tesco | GMB Union Promotes Workfare as Answer | DWP Locks Down FOI Responses |Links: Boycott Workfare | Asda and Argos choose workfare over work | The Homelessness Charities Involved | Anti-workfare action in Brighton | Create Jobs ? Scrap Workfare | Edinburgh Tescos invaded |

A New Sheffield Social Centre: The Black Rose Centre
20 Feb 2012
The Black Rose Centre is a new social centre project at 268 Verdon Street, established by the Sheffield Social Centre Collective. This is the first time that the Social Centre Collective has had a permanent space, previously there have been weekend events held by the collective such as the Free Schools in 2011 and 2010 and there were two, short lived, squatted buildings in 2009.On Wednesday 22nd of February at 7:30pm there will be a discussion on setting up a Sheffield Wide Class Struggle Anarchist Group following a screening of An Anarchist’s Story. On Friday 24th February at 6pm there will be the opening of QUEER: an exhibition of local artists’ work in response to "LGBT History Month", the deadline for submissions for the show is Wednesday 22nd February.Newswire: Queer – 24th-26th February 2012 | Calling All Sheffield Anarchists | New Social Centre in Sheffield: The Black Rose CentreLinks: Sheffield Social Centre Collective | Open Street Map

University of Birmingham Students Defy Occupation Injunction
20 Feb 2012
On Wednesday 15th students from around the country joined students from Birmingham to protest the injunction the university has obtained banning all forms of occupational protest for 12 months. The university has been heavily criticised by human rights groups including Amnesty, Liberty and the Index on Censorship calling the actions aggressive and censorious. Sabina Frediani, campaigns co-ordinator for Liberty has been quoted as saying ?Universities should be places where ideas and opinions can be explored and they should be engaging with the students in their care ? not criminalising them. How exactly will taking out court orders against protest encourage future applications from aspiring undergraduates??The march started at the guild of students and several attempts were made during the march to gain access to various buildings on campus but were stopped by the overly aggressive security who had the backup of police, on standby around the campus. The route of the A to B march was quickly abandoned in favour of something a bit more impromptu and resulted in a demo outside the building where the disciplinary hearing was taking place for Simon Furse, the only student in the country to be disciplined by a university for taking part in an occupation. The disciplinary had already been disrupted once earlier in the day as a group of students stormed the room and read out statements.The march continued on in an impromptu fashion after this until a door with no security was found, at which point the march became an occupation, breaking the injunction. The building in question just happened to be the University?s Corporate Conference Centre in Staff House which was occupied in November, the first in this latest round of occupations.On the Newswire: Calling all students, take back your campus | Occupation – Defending the Right to Protest | University of Birmingham Corporate Conference Centre occupied – over 100 students | Take back your campusRelated Features: Your Education is Being Sold: Occupy the Academy! | Student?s squat gatehouse at University of Birmingham | Birmingham University Students Occupy Corporate Conference Centre | Council House & universities occupied: students reject cuts and fees hike |

Solidarity protests demand larger slice for Pizza Hut workers
5 Feb 2012
On 4th Feburary 2012 Sheffield Pizza Hut Workers Union, part of the IWW, held a protest outside Pizza Hut in Crookes, Sheffield over their ongoing dispute over workers terms and conditions. Solidarity potests were held in Bradford, Glasgow, London, Birmingham, Bristol , Hull, Liverpool, Calais, Portland, Vancouver and Berlin.The dispute centers on several specifics aspect of the workers terms and conditions, pay for working on bank holidays, mileage rates and also recognition of the union. Whilst it has been standard practice to pay workers an enhanced rate for working bank holidays, Pizza Hut has decided that it will only pay the standard rate. Delivery drivers who use their own vehicles are given an allowance of 60p per delivery, a static rate which has remained unchanged for several years despite the soaring cost of fuel. Furthermore, "The Pizza Hut Workers Union also has concerns outside of this dispute, including delivery staffs safety gear, a decreasing pay packet that falls behind inflation and a demand for a real living wage for all Pizza Hut workers."Newswire: Pizza Hut Workers Demand A Proper Slice | Solidarity Picket Glasgow With IWW Pizza Hut Workers Report | London Wobs’ Solidarity Picket with IWW Pizza Hut | Pizza Hut Solidarity in BradfordLinks: Sheffield Pizza Hut Workers Union | IWW General Membership Branch Sheffield | IWW | Pizza Hut Workers Call Out for Solidarity | Liverpool Solidarity Federation picket Pizza Hut

A resurgence in activism over Afghanistan?
3 Feb 2012
As the Taliban prepares to open a political office in Qatar, the US stalls on releasing Taliban prisoners and a leaked US military report alleges that "the Taliban’s strength and morale are largely intact despite the Nato military surge, and that significant numbers of Afghan government soldiers are defecting to them", the UK is witnessing a small upswing in anti-war activism over the raging conflict.Last month peace activist Maya Evans returned from a month-long delegation to the country with US activists from Voices for Creative Nonviolence, and she is now embarking on a speaking tour around the UK. Whilst in Afghanistan she helped deliver over 2,000 worth of aid, raised by NUJ members at the Financial Times and the readers of Peace News, to internally displaced Afghans in the capital. She is believed to be the first British peace activist to visit the country since 2001.Meanwhile, photojournalist Guy Smallman – himself recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan – will be speaking alongside ex-soldier Ben Griffin at an event in London on 9 February, and activists are preparing to re-establish a peace camp outside RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire in anticipation of the UK starting to use the base to pilot its Reaper drones in Afghanistan later this year. In September last year, the RAF announced its 200th drone strike in Afghanistan. British drones are currently piloted by RAF pilots based in the US.Thoughtful observers have long pondered the question why, given the undoubted horrors of the war in Afghanistan as well as its deep unpopularity with the general public, there continues to be so little UK activism focused on the war. Indeed, for many years the only UK-based protests marking the anniversary of the 2001 invasion involved a tiny handful of people [ 1 | 2 | 3 ]. Similar actions took place on the tenth anniversary last October [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ], as well as a Stop the War rally but even the latter was a relatively small affair compared to earlier ‘national’ Stop the War demos.Whether recent events herald a change on this front remains to be seen.On the newswire: Maya Evans speaking tour | Afghanistan Behind the Headlines | Peace News Winter AppealLinks: From Hastings to Kabul | Drone Wars UK | Justice Not Vengeance | Voices for Creative Nonviolence | Peace News

Activists join together to fight ConDem attacks on the disabled.
28 Jan 2012
Activists protesting against the Welfare Reform Bill and cuts to disability benefits and services blockaded Oxford Street on 28th January 2012. Activists from UK Uncut and Disabled People Against the Cuts (DPAC), The Black Triangle Campaign and other disability rights groups stopped traffic on Regents Street North after a number of wheelchair users chained themselves together at around midday. A while later they were joined by people who had responded to the callout issued earlier this week.One campaigner vividly described the effects of the state and corporate media propaganda campaign about benefit claiments in an interview:I?m here because I want to protest against the cruel cuts that are hitting the disabled horrendously in this country, that and the horrible horrible propaganda that?s been coming out from our government trying to villainise genuinely disabled people as being scroungers as being parasites, and a 75% rise in hate crimes that?s come along with that, that I experience daily. Just going out shopping people come up to me and they ask me ?Do you really need to be in that wheelchair? or are you, you know, just doing it for the benefits?? Like no, no, I don?t know why anybody would want to in this day and age, even the pavements aren?t accessible half of the time in the UK.Interviewer: Are you seriously saying people ask you why you?re in a wheelchair and whether you need it?Yes, quite regularly actually. I?m a 28 year old woman and I don?t look all that disabled, when people look at me strangely, why? Because they can?t see the damage that?s done to my abdomen, and its horrendous, they just assume, people think, that like every other person who?s disabled is a faker of some description, and it needs to stop, it really does, in the name of equality and all that?s fair.UK Cut explained the day before the action:Recent reports have shown that as a result of the bill 500,000 families stand to lose their homes while others will become ?imprisoned in them?. Nearly half a million people would lose their Disability Living Allowance, including disabled children. People with terminal illnesses would be forced into work, and 3.2 million will be put through demanding tests that have already pushed some to take their own lives. According to their own research, the government?s flagship reform will push 100,000 children into poverty.Earlier this month, disability rights campaigners released the Spartacus Report, which found that the government’s consultation on DLA reforms was flawed and failed to meet the state’s own code of practice for consultations. furthermore, 74% of respondents in the consultation were opposed to the plans.On arrival, the police seemed at a loss for what to do, and formed lines in front of their vans whilst busses were backed up along Regent Street. Generally those present described the coalition between anti-cuts campaigners and disability rights activists as welcome and encouraging, and calls were issued for more such actions to take place across the country.From the newswires: ‘Spartacus’ Report | callout for action | Protest Outside the Disabled Rights UK Conference | ATOS macht Frei | National Day of Action against ATOS: Oxford | NottinghamLinks: DPAC | UK Uncut | Black Triangle Campaign | The Broken Of Britain | Anti ATOS Alliance

3rd National Occupy Conference
20 Jan 2012
Occupy Sheffield is hosting the 3rd National Occupy Conference over the weekend 20th-22nd January 2012 at the camp outside the Cathedral, and the squatted Citadel of Hope (map).On Saturday at 1pm there is a A Rally of the 99%, "a voice for the voiceless ? to raise awareness of the issues of people without a voice" in front of Sheffield Town Hall.On Saturday night there a Occupy Sheffield Benefit Bonanza at the Dove and Rainbow with Roy Bailey at 8pm. Last winter Roy Bailey played a set at the Sheffield University Occupation and you can listen to that here.Sheffield Cathedral has served court papers on Occupy Sheffield, there is to be a court hearing on Thursday 26th January and the Cathedral, representing the establishment, is trying to scare Occupy Sheffield and especially the people named in the papers with the threat of costs being awarded against them. The Citadel of Hope has been secured for a month following a court case and agreement with the owner.Links: Conference Wiki Page | @OccupySheffield on Twitter

Ten years of Guantnamo. Ten years too long. Bring the British residents home.
13 Jan 2012
In the days leading up to 11 January 2012, the tenth anniversary of the opening of Guantnamo Bay detention centre, Guantnamo prisoners held a three day hunger strike and protest. Beyond the prison walls, the event has been marked with many days of action in the US, Britain and elsewhere around the world. Protesters call for the closure of Guantnamo and the release of the 171 people still incarcerated there without trial.50 people held a ten day fast, took part in actions in and around Washington DC during this time and supported defendants in a court case which, bizarrely, had been brought by the State using the (misspelt) name of Shaker Aamer, the last British resident detained at Guantnamo: Shakir Ami vs the US. The anniversary demo in DC on 11 January was the largest ever, involving 171 participants in orange jumpsuits and many hundreds of others, so large it split into groups and marched to the Supreme Court, Congress and the Department of Justice. The following day, 37 people in orange jumpsuits and with a full size cage were arrested in front of the White House while protesting against Obama’s support for the National Defence Authorization Act, which effectively cancels Obama’s promise to shut Guantnamo.British solidarity actions demanded the release of Shaker Aamer, the closure of Guantnamo and bore witness to torture and other human rights abuses perpetrated there. Events included a rally in Trafalgar Square, a press conference at the Frontline Club, panel discussion at Conway Hall with numerous speakers including former detainees, a screening of the film ‘Death in Camp Delta’ about a detainee who died in Guantnamo, petition presented to the US Embassy calling for Obama to keep his promise to shut down Guantnamo and a vigil in Haringey during the morning rush hour. In Ireland, protesters held a vigil outside the US Embassy at Ballsbridge and handed a letter to the Ambassador Dan Rooney.On Tuesday 14th February 2012, the last remaining British resident in Guantanamo, Shaker Aamer will have been in Guantanamo for ten years. The appalling conditions under which he continues to be held were eloquently described by his lawyer Clive Stafford Smith at the Remembrance meeting on Wednesday. Campaigners intend to mark the anniversary by staging a Guantanamo Chain Gang outside the US Embassy calling for him to be returned home to his family. Cage Prisoners believe that his testimony is vital in any investigation of British complicity in torture, and he is surely entitled to return to his home and the family he hasn’t seen for ten years as he has been cleared of any wrong doing.The LGC also maintains that the British government should seek the return to the UK of former British resident Ahmed Belbacha, an Algerian national who lived in Bournemouth from 1999 to 2001. He was cleared for release by the US military in 2007. Mr Belbacha fears for his life if forcibly returned to Algeria (an injunction currently prevents this), and remains at Guantnamo awaiting the offer of a safe home.On the newswire: We demand the truth about British involvement in torture | Anniversary demo in DC | 37 arrested at White House | Guantnamo Remembered event at Conway Hall | Campaigners demand Guantnamo closure | From Haringey to Washington DC: Close Guantnamo | Guantnamo prisoners’ protest and hunger strike | former guard Brandon Neely on Gitmo | Schedule of anniversary events | Shut Gitmo: End 10 years of Shame Call-out | Report |Audio reports: Guantnamo Remembered Event at Conway Hall – Introduction | former detainee Moazzam Begg | Attorney Michael Ratner | Vanessa Redgrave reads former detainee Murat Kurnaz | Human Rights lawyer Gareth Peirce | Former detainee Sami Al-Hajj | Human Rights lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith | Former detainee Omar Deghayes | Chair of Islamic Human Rights Commission Massoud Sadjareh | Three poems brought out of Guantnamo | Audio from DC rallyExternal links: Reprieve on Shaker Aamer | Ahmed Belbacha | Cage Prisoners | Witness Against Torture | Amnesty Report Guantnamo: A Decade of Damage to Human Rights | Human Rights Watch Guantnamo Ten Years On

Police Raids on Occupy Squats
10 Jan 2012
As UK occupations squat more buildings the police, many of whom have criminal records, are flouting the law to harass protesters, the Lords are debating making squatting residential buildings illegal, the government plans to make hundreds of thousands homeless and Occupy LSX is threatened with eviction.On 8th January 2012 40-50 police officers raided the Railton Hotel, next to the train station in Lancaster, which had been squatted by Occupy Lancaster the day before. At approximately 8.15 pm, the police used a battering ram to break through the front door. Once they had gained entry, the police arrested the four occupants who were inside at the time. The Occupiers secured the building legally, and displayed notices of Section 6 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 on the exterior of the building, but the police paid no heed to the law and Occupy Lancaster are now seeking legal advice.Also on 8th January undercover police arrested 3 occupiers at Occupy Liverpool on suspicion of possession; none were found to be in possession of "controlled substances". Twenty or so police then surrounded the occupied building stating that it was a crime scene and laid siege to it for 3 hours. Like Occupy Lancaster a Section 6 notice was displayed but the police acted as as if squatting was already illegal.Later this month Occupy Sheffield will be hosting a national occupy conference in the squatted Citadel of Hope.Newswire: Eviction – Press Release: 9/1/12 from Occupy Lancaster! | Legal help required | Police Harass Occupy Liverpool at Legal Squat | Police raid on Occupy Lancaster | Occupy Sheffield Statement on the occupation of the Citadel Of Hope | Salvation Army Citadel Occupied and renamed Citadel Of HopeLinks: Occupy Lancaster | Occupy Liverpool | Occupy Sheffield | Occupy LSX | Squatters’ Action for Secure Homes

New Year solidarity with prisoners.
2 Jan 2012
Over the New Year period, a number of actions took place outside prisons and immigration detention centres (migrant prisons) around the world, following a global call-out. The actions were in solidarity with prisoners, and against the Prison-Industrial ComplexUK actions included a noise demo at Holloway women’s prison and young offenders’ unit, a flashmob at Gatwick detention centres, solidarity demos at Brixton Prison and Bristol’s Horfield Prison, and a banner drop and noise demo outside Cardiff Prison. The protests were generally well received by the prisoners, and not welcomed by policeInternational actions included a noise demo outside the Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney Australia, firework displays outside a Nantes youth prison and Montpelier Prison in France, Hamburg Prison in Germany and an Athens prison in Greece. At least two prisons were graffiti’d in Brussels, Belgium.Other reported actions:Bloomington(USA) | Chicago (USA) | Portland (USA) | Seattle (USA) | Rome (Italy) | Seville (Spain)

All Out: N30 Strike Birmingham
5 Dec 2011
Wednesdays N30 strike was the biggest strike since the general strike of 1926 with 2 million public sector workers taking part and thousands marching on demonstrations across the country. In Birmingham 15,000 marched through the city centre with hundreds more on picket lines and rally’s throughout the city.Birmingham City council had tried to sabotage the event by demanding the organisers pay over 8,000 to cover costs despite only charging a few hundred for previous demonstrations. The march went ahead anyway with up to 15,000 public sector workers taking to the streets. They were joined by students, the unemployed and protesters from Occupy Birmingham whose camp is located near the end point of the march. The march started in Lionel Street Car Park went past St Philip’s Cathedral, down Corporation Street and past New St Station and the Mailbox before ended at the NIA where there was a series of speeches.On the newswire: Video: N30 Birmingham demonstration | Photos: Part 1 | Part 2 | Nov-30 Brum Strike and Protest | Reports: Stirchley and Cotteridge Against the Cuts N30 Report | Birmingham City Council tries to sabotage N30 demo | Wednesday’s Strike Is About More Than Pensions and Cuts | N30 List of Pickets, Demonstrations and RalliesElsewhere: Birmingham Against The Cuts – Pickets | Occupy Birmingham

SchNEWS: One Strike and You’re Out?
1 Dec 2011
Wednesday’s N30 strikes saw 2 million public sector workers striking and hundreds of thousands marching in Britain’s streets all over the country, marking the biggest strike in a generation.Demonstrations and pickets were held in nearly every major town across the UK, with the largest gatherings seeing 30,000 in London, 20,000 in Manchester, 15,000 in Birmingham and 10,000 in Edinburgh and Glasgow. More than 6 out of 10 schools were closed for the day and some activists from Occupy London stormed the offices of the UK’s highest paid CEO, Mick Davis, head of Xstrata mining corporation. Reports are of 75 arrests in total, most of them around the occupation of the Xstrata office and in Hackney, after some demonstrators were kettled for four hours, then taken into custody on ‘suspicion of breach of the peace’. [More]From the Newswires:Birmingham:Video | Brum Strike and Protest | Nottingham:N30 critical mass and free space | N30 march | London: Audio from pickets and march | banners at #N30 | My Day Out on Strike | Aberdeen N30 Big Breakfast | N30 in Wrexham | Sheffield N30 strike action | Photos from the Strike RallySee Also:OccupyLSX | Day of Action News | IMC uk Timeline

Your Education is Being Sold: Occupy the Academy!
24 Nov 2011
Students have once again begun a round of occupations on university campuses, this time in solidarity with the N30 day of action, and in opposition to the White Paper on Higher Education which will give the private sector almost complete control over higher education and knowledge production.At Birmingham University, students have squatted an abandoned gate house on campus. Earlier this month they also occupied the University’s Corporate Convention Centre. With scenes reminiscent of the 2009 occupation in solidarity with Gaza, the University attempted to deny occupiers essential supplies of food and water. In the early hours of the morning a crowd formed in solidarity with the occupiers and they managed to get past security and deliver some vital food supplies. Since then the occupiers have had a rough night and have been subjected to violence and harrasement from the University’s security. At a former occupation of the University’s ‘Physics Bridge’ a similar assault occurred. The occupiers have responded with a statement condemning the repression and victimisation. They have pointed out that the University’s plans to ‘prettify’ the campus and it’s intention to cut courses, jobs, access schemes and bursaries are completely at odds with defending universal access to education.University occupations have also started In Edinburgh, Warwick, York, London and Cambridge. In the USA UC Davis students have been subjected to repression as they struggle against increased tuition fees and police brutality on campus. [More]From the newswires:‘No platform for filth’ | Analysis of the white paper | Rough night for Birmingham occupiers | David Willetts Silenced | St. Andrews in Third Occupation | New site occupied in Bloomsbury

Student?s squat gatehouse at University of Birmingham
23 Nov 2011
Last night student activists reoccupied the University of Birmingham by squatting a disused former gatehouse at the north gate. This is the second time the university has been occupied this month and was part of a day of action called by NCAFC after the N9 demo. Occupations have become a regular occurrence at the university so this time the occupation has been escalated by actually squatting a disused building.The day of action was well publicised and the University were keen to avoid the further embarrassment of another occupation so sent out letters to all departments which included the following paragraph ?The planned student protest for 23rd November is targeting University administrative hubs. Whilst the Aston Webb and other locations will be subject to the usual security measures, please consider the security of your College hub as these might also be prone to occupation.?Despite these measures students easily managed to outwit security by beginning the occupation at around 12:40am in the morning in an unused building on the north gate. A statement on the Defend Birmingham websites states: ?We have done this because despite the university and government taking increasingly regressive measures to make universities inaccessible, we are determined to keep the gates open. Our aim is to advance a set of demands centred on justice in education and educational institutions. We want people to be treated as human beings and the university to be run for public good, not as a business.?At around 11:15 The University security started refusing entry in and out of the occupation denying the students access to food and water in an effort to drive them out. At 1:40 a crowd formed to show their support outside the building and at 1:49 managed to get past security and deliver some food.On the newswire: University of Birmingham re-occupied – building squatted | National Day of Action ? Defend Education, Fight Privatisation! | NCAFC ConferencePrevious features: "You Can Shove Your Rubber Bullets Up Your Arse!": ‘Total Policing’ of N9 Demos |Birmingham University Students Occupy Corporate Conference Centre | Political policing in Birmingham | Council House & universities occupied: students reject cuts and fees hikeLinks: Defend Birmingham

SchNEWS: "You can’t evict an idea"
18 Nov 2011
The occupy movements around the world are reaching crunch time this week as it kicks off in New York and London is served with an eviction notice from The City of London Corporation.On November 4th, representatives from the Occupy LSX camp met with their opposite numbers from The City of London Corporation, at the corporation’s request (See SchNEWS 795). During this meeting it was proposed that as long as the camp was able to clear some space for Fire Brigade access they would be allowed to remain without legal persecution until after Christmas. The next day, as this proposal was going through consensus at the camp, the corporation added no less than 12 added extras, ranging from demanding that the camp recognised itself as unlawful, that it was trespassing and preventing freedom of movement for the public, and that the corporation had the right to sue for possession of the area—to name but a few. These extras were not announced to the press and kept as quiet as possible. Occupy LSX rejected the terms, and responded with a few demands of their own. Demands that any other Local Authority in the country would be legally obliged to fulfil, but which The City of London Corporation remain scarily exempt from. Simply, the camp asked that the corporation: 1) Publish full, year-by-year breakdowns of the City Cash account, future and historic; 2) Make the entirety of its activities subject to the Freedom of Information Act; and 3) Detail all advocacy undertaken on behalf of the banking and finance industries, since the 2008 financial crash. The Corporation doesn’t have to do any of this because it is in fact a medieval hangover (officially entitled The M*ay*or and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London)which has gone unreformed for centuries—it’s a local authority whose electorate is composed almost entirely of businesses- as such it is a powerful advocate for the financial capital. [More + list of local Occupy camps]Latest from the Newswires:Occupy Notts Camp | Bank Buildings occupied in London | Bristol: Occupy starts hitting its stride? | Occupy Movement: where next? | Occupy Manchester Returns | Occupy The Library | Occupy Everywhere Topic

"You Can Shove Your Rubber Bullets Up Your Arse!": ‘Total Policing’ of N9 Demos
15 Nov 2011
Students and construction workers got their first taste of the ‘Total Policing’ advocated by new Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe at the demonstrations held on November 9th in London. In the build-up to the day, the Met sent out a clear message, in letters to people who had been arrested at previous student and anti-cuts demos, including those who had never been charged, or had been found not guilty, which warned:"It is in the public and your own interest that you do not involve yourself in any type of criminal or antisocial behaviour. We have a responsibility to deliver a safe protest which protects residents, tourists, commuters, protesters and the wider community. Should you do so we will at the earliest opportunity arrest and place you before the court."The Evening Standard once again was the METs preferred vehicles for pre-demo scare stories, publishing a double page spread which warned that police had been authorised to use rubber bullets. Organiser Michael Chessum, said: "What the police have done is extremely political and a cynical attempt to put people off from coming to a national demonstration. What they are doing is trying to put people off and pre-criminalising the process. They have made it more likely that trouble will occur."On the day itself, actions started at 7am, when the ‘Sparks’ and supporters gathered at the Pinnacle building site in the City before marching to the Cannon St construction site, pushing through police lines in order to get there. They went on to undertake a flying tour of building sites in the City, and also called in at #OccupyLSX before joining the UNITE demo at the Shard at 11:30. The Sparks had planned to join the Student march in solidarity, but were actively prevented from doing so by the police. Towards the end of the day they found themselves in a kettle. One Spark noted, "Theres f’n more horses than the f’n Epsom Derby, vans galore, riot shields, they won’t even let you get a sandwich’ [Video]Police continued their harrassment of student protestors with searches of coaches coming into London for the demo. Several arrests were reported. Once on the march, demonstrators found themselves in an enormous kettle, with police in riot gear and shields [Video] blocking off all side roads and junctions along the route thus preventing anyone from leaving the march, whilst a massive police bloc at the front dictated the pace of the march Plain clothes police inside the demo grabbed a young man in what witnesses described as an extremely aggressive arrest [Video]. Police intimidatory tactics appeared to have had some effect as numbers were lower than expected, which meant that the cops were easily able to prevent an attempt to Occupy Trafalgar Square. Later on a group of about 20 were kettled, arrested and taken to Farringdon Station where they were de-arrested after being filmed by the Forward Intelligence Team.RMT affilliated taxi drivers undertook a tour of sites in the city centre before bringing Trafalger Square and the Strand to a halt at 4 pm in solidarity with the students and construction workers, while UK Uncut ended the day with storming the stage at a Corporate Tax Conference while Dave Hartlett, the Permanent Secretary for Tax of HM Customs and Revenue was speaking.As capitalism teeters on the edge, and austerity starts to bite, it should surprise no-one that the state, police and the mainstream media are desperate to further undermine our ability to protest. But students reacted on the day by chanting, "You can shove your rubber bullets up your arse!" and immediately after the demo called another for Nov 23rd. More workers will join the day of strikes against the attacks on pensions on November 30th, and austerity and increased repression will only backfire in the long term.Previous Feature: Sparks Will Fly on November 9th!On the Newswire:Authorities panicking over November 9 protest! | Police harass activists traveling by coach to nov9 protests | a few pics and words on november 9 student protest | Nov9 The final kettle, arrests and dispersal | Cabbies ProtestVideo: Nov9 Sparks push through police lines | #Nov9 Arrest of protester by undercover police | Violent arrest of a protester during #Nov9 by a large group of undercover copsPlainclothes Cops: N9: Pics of moment undercover cops arrest protester | N9 arrest figures from Met police | Undercover Cop Faces at N9 | N9 new police tactics: Undercover cops active and aggressiveAnalysis: After Nov 9: Where do we go from here? | N9: The Bigger Picture

Prosecutions Against 2011 Census Refusers Begin
11 Nov 2011
Cases against people who refused to complete the 2011 census in England and Wales are starting to come before the courts. Judith Sambrook, who declined to fill in her form in protest at the government’s contract with WMD manufacturer Lockheed Martin to process census data, had a preliminary hearing at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Remembrance Day 11/11/11 with her case now adjourned to 8 December. Over 20 supporters attended the court in solidarity with Judith to demonstrate against Lockheed Martin and the wars it fuels, holding a vigil at the war memorial afterwards.Other known cases are in Liverpool on 5 December and Birmingham on 5 January. There are bound to be more in the coming weeks and months.Lockheed Martin also had a contract for processing census data in England and Wales ten years ago for the 2001 census, but objectors have been more effective at getting the word out this time round, with opposition coming from a wide range of groups and organisations.Recent articles on the newswires: Report from court 11/11/11 | Local group in solidarity with census refuser | Occupy London in solidarity | Flyer for download | Support Conscientious Census Objector | Solidarity from Canada | Demo and Vigil at Census Court CasePrevious articles on the newswires: Guantanamo/Abu Ghraib Interrogation Firms and the Census | Supplementary Census Questions | Don’t Co-operate (Scotland) | Boycott Census (Ireland) | For the non-religious | Discussion on Census Data Security | Census e-action day | Count Me Out: info | Count Me Out: Disarm the Census | London Demo Report | Dodgy Census Stats | Why I will be breaking the law | Lockheed Martin and the Census | UK Census 2011 | CACI Torturers in Scots Census RehearsalElsewhere: Count Me Out | No Census Taking Part | Ethical Census (Scotland) | SACC on the Scottish Census | Canadian Resistance to Lockheed Martin’s involvement in Census | The Register: Lockheed Martin suffers network ‘intrusion’ | How to complete your census without Lockheed Martin profiting | Guardian: Boycott Census | No2ID on the Census | London Guantanamo Campaign on the Census | Red Pepper: Why to Refuse the Census | CorpWatch on Lockheed Martin Interrogators | Guardian on torture link | Ekklesia on the Census | Book review: Prophets of War (on Lockheed Martin) | Lockheed Martin announces census contract | CACI announces Scottish census contract

Only 300 EDL turn out for uneventful demo
9 Nov 2011
Around 300 English Defence League members descended on Centenary Square in the city centre on Saturday 29th October. Although there were divisions from as far afield as Essex their numbers still fell well short of predictions – there were nowhere near the 1200 the EDL (claimed/forecast). There was a vast police presence throughout the city with officers stationed all the way up New Street and Paradise Forum as well as in Centenary Square. The police pre-emptively fenced off the Occupy Birmingham encampment in Victoria Square for the duration of the day.The demo was largely peaceful in comparison with previous years however there were definite tensions between the police and the EDL, at one point there was a surge of chanting protesters which almost broke the police line and sent press and onlookers sprinting for safety. The protesters were throwing bottles and fireworks were set off. After this the police presence was greatly heightened and there were three lines of riot police and dogs separating the general public and the EDL after this extra deployment the demo was peaceful. A counter demo was held in Chamberlain Square called Unity and celebration of differences. The event was supported by many unions and was well attended. There was live music, DJ’s and talkers promoting anti fascism.On the newswire: Call Out: Oppose The EDL In Birmingham 29th Oct | Details of coach companies ferrying EDL racists to Birmingham | EDL Official Website Hacked By Anti Fascist Hackers – 09 Feb 2011 | Richard Price EDL Co-ordinator – Placed on the sex offenders register Previous West Midlands EDL demos: Dudley EDL members sent to prison | SchNEWS Issue 687 – Fash Get The Brum Rush | No march for EDL in Wolverhampton | English Defence League animal abusers put pigs head on Mosque walls in Dudley

Glimpses of a possible future
9 Nov 2011
Several empty buildings in Oxford have recently been opened as squatted social centres. In August an empty industrial workshop on Randolph Street was squatted. After several "Free Uni" events (sharing skills and ideas), community meals, film and info-nights the court process provided only a short delay and then eviction. The building now remains unused.Undeterred, the social centre, known as "Plebs’ College" due to the focus on free education, has re-opened on Union Street, with a multitude of weekly events. Again they are under threat of eviction from a landlord keen to demolish the place and build student flats. This space where people can gather, meet, organise and learn, as equals, free of the usual commercial or bureaucratic pressures, may be a glimpse of another society.Meanwhile, the public occupations spreading in many countries are starting to challenge the economic system and may also evoke a freer and more equal society (though with much work still to do!).For hints of a more brutal future, we can look at the recent eviction of Dale Farm: an entire community made homeless, while those who resist are kicked, tasered, batoned, pressured-pointed, or beaten, and the media continue their lies.Which path we take could depend on the actions we all take in the next few years.

Sheffield Occupied!
5 Nov 2011
On 5th November a Occupy Sheffield camp was established outside Sheffield Cathedral (map). After discussing where to camp at a meeting on the steps of the City Hall it was agreed to set up camp at the Cathedral. Posters and flyers you can print, to spread the word, have been produced by the Sheffield Equality Group.Following on from the start of Occupy Wall Street on 17th September 2001 there is now a global occupation movement and a growing number of occupations in the UK.Occupy Sheffield has a web site, a StatusNet account, a Twitter account, a presence on Facebook, an email list and a wiki with a Wishlist for the camp.Newswire: Sheffield Occupied!UK Occupations: Bath | Birmingham | Bournemouth | Bradford | Brighton | Bristol | Cardiff | Edinburgh | Glasgow | Leeds | London Finsbury Square | London Stock Exchange | Newcastle | Norwich | Nottingham

Sparks Will Fly on November 9th!
5 Nov 2011
Fat Cat bosses from the eight largest construction businesses are seekingto further expand profit margins through moves that would see industry workers lose up to a third of their take home pay. The employers seek to withdraw from various agreements including the Joint Industrial Board (J.I.B.) agreement, and to impose new contracts which would downgrade safety and skill levels. Earlier this month, Balfour Beatty issued 1700 termination notices to workers, and began sacking those who took part in protests and refused to cross picket lines.Rank and file electricians, calling themselves ‘The Sparks’ have challenged both their employers and the UNITE union by launching their own wildcat actions whilst remaining in the union. London actions to date include two blockades of Blackfriars station construction site, a picket outside Stratford’s new Westfield Shopping Centre and most recently an attempt to blockade 110 Cannon Street, a site run by Gratte Brothers. On arrival the Sparks found that management had already closed the site, and headed for Cannon Street Tube where they held a short rally before marching to the #OccupyLSX camp outside St. Pauls. Outside of London actions have taken place at Sellafield, Grangemouth and Ratcliffe power stations, and Lindsey oil refinery.Next Wednesday the Sparks will be joined by plumbers, and heating and ventilation engineers from across the country. They plan to assemble at the Shard near London Bridge at 11.30am before marching to the Blackfriars Station site and then on to parliament.Also taking place on the day, will be the national demonstration against fees, cuts and privatisation which will bring together university, further education and school students from across the country to stage the biggest education protest in the capital since last December. Also planned is a mass walkout of schools, FE colleges and universities by students in support of the demo. The ?March on the City? will see thousands descending on the streets of London, starting at the University of London Union, Malet Street through Trafalgar Square and up the Strand, before passing #OccupyLSX camp outside St. Pauls and ending at London Metropolitan University Moorgate campus next to the City of London, the heart of the financial capital. The day of protest is aimed at the government?s education reform bill which is a crude attempt to corporatise the education sector.Upcoming Protests: National Construction Industry action | N9 Anarchist Bloc on the Student/Education demoOn the newswire: Sparks blockade Blackfriars station site | Siteworkers and OccupyLSX blockade Blackfriars | Latest London sparks protest | Electricians/Sparks Protest in Newcastle | Proposed Electricians Pay Cut Sparks Resistance | Manchester support the Sparks! | National Construction Industry action Nov 9th