Home | Friday 26th January 2007 | Issue 573

WAKE UP!! IT'S YER UNPLUGGED...

SchNEWS

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Story Links: On The Social | Crap Arrest Of The Week | We Are All Over The Place | Under The Lens | Boo Radleys | Gitmo Bay-Watch | Bling Sting | It's A Fair Kopi | Party & Protest | ...and finally...

ON THE SOCIAL

Welcome back for 2007 as SchNEWS enters its thirteen year of producing this ‘ere news sheet you hold in your hand. The new year has brought a significant change for us – leading to a longer Xmas break than usual. We’ve quit the Metway, the Leveller’s building, and moved into the Brighton’s autonomous social centre, the Cowley Club. Thanks must go to the Levellers, who back in 1994 gave Justice? (Brighton’s anti-Criminal Justice Act collective) an office to base their myriad of activities - from direct action to community squats to a certain weekly newsletter. The band probably thought the raggle-taggle Justice? crew wouldn’t need the office for very long – and indeed Justice? ran its natural course after several years - but they ended up giving the office to us for free for eight years, providing a solid base for SchNEWS to go on to produce nearly 600 issues in our twelve years there.

What took us away from the Metway was the opportunity to be at Brighton’s social centre, and closer to the hub of libertarian activity here. The Cowley Club was opened as a co-op in 2003, and likewise has its roots in the local direct action milieu, and the string of squatted street-front cafes often under the ‘Anarchist Teapot’ banner. The Cowley Club is a cafe/bookshop by day, a pub and gig venue at night, and is the centre of a whirl of countless groups, meetings, screenings, open days, jumble sales and gatherings.

Just as SchNEWS is run entirely by an unpaid (and unemployable) crew, all roles at the Cowley Club, from cooking, cleaning, bar and admin are undertaken by volunteers. Both projects show what people can do when they cooperate, and put the building of a better community - and a sustainable world - as a higher priority than doing the sort of jobs which only reward you with new cars and flat-screen TVs.

ONE FOOT IN THE RAVE?

Alternative media and the co-op movement in Britain are just pieces in a larger jigsaw of creating a sustainable and egalitarian future – in the here and now – and not waiting for a utopian revolution which isn’t gonna happen. Both show that these types of project can, and in fact must be, embedded in the community on a long term, cross-generational and multi-racial basis – proving that anarchism is for life, not just for yer two post-degree year’s dole-drums. This movement is inhabited – and inhibited at times - by some hard cases here for the long haul.

The Cowley Club is one of a network of autonomous social centres across Britain – and beyond – some of which arose in a wave since 2005, building up to the G8 Summit in Scotland, while others arose from previous movements, such as Bradford’s 1 in 12 Club, which was started in 1981, or Kebele in Bristol which started in the mid-nineties. These ‘legit’ social centres rise out of the squatter movement as veterans seek to break the eviction cycle. Either way – whether a centre is part of the new wave, or part of previous movements, or totally separate from these circles, these centres are all about creating community spaces away from commercialisation and prejudice – a place where you can nurse a cup of rooibosch tea all afternoon, and where activities cultural and political can happen. For a list of autonomous social centres in Britain see over the page.

click for the bigger picture

CAUGHT IN THE NET

Likewise SchNEWS is part of a network of alternative media, which has the same goals of creating an autonomous media free from commercial forces. Obviously these days the network of regional Indymedia websites is at the heart of it all, but on top of this there’s a plethora of regional or campaign specific websites, publications, independent video crews and more.

The work of video crews like Glasgow’s Camcorder Guerillas (or SchMOVIES) feeds into free online distribution points like ClearerChannel, while at the grass roots level we find that there is still a healthy amount of highly localised free newsletters around the country such as Gagged in South Wales, or Gay Bishop in Reading, or Brighton’s virtually fact free Rough Music - proving that the web can’t reach the places a piece of paper still can. Again, this is no new phenomena – it serves a need which has always been there - and what we have now carries on from the FIN’s (Free Information Network) zines produced on a regional basis which were a popular format in the years between the anarch-punk zines of the eighties, and now the web.

Which brings us to the next point... SchNEWS has survived by growing with the political networks it is part of – and the technologies (it was around before mainstream use of the web). It has (tried to) stay relevant by keeping involved in these movements, and has always been open to feedback and participation by anybody. The move to the Cowley Club over the new year, leading to the longest break SchNEWS has ever taken has plunged us into a bout of navel-gazing.

Whereas our video collective – SchMOVIES - is new, evolving and going from strength to strength (there is a new DVD out this month), the newsletter and the website are formats which settled into place years ago. The fact that it’s survived is partly because it’s been a popular format, and partly because it’s been a sustainable format on a weekly basis for the size of the crew. But the media world has caught up with SchNEWS – subjects we banged on about for years like globalisation, privatisation, climate change, corporate crime, and the environment are now common place not only in the Guardian and the Indy but the Daily Mail, BBC, and Woman’s Weekly. Is SchNEWS now flogging a dead hobby horse?

What’s missing from the mainstream is news of grass-roots resistance. People all over the world actually struggling to make a change rather than waiting for politicians to do it for ‘em - and especially here in the UK, where there is a chance for you, personally, to get involved and do something about it. If you’ve been a regular reader of SchNEWS, or if you’ve only just picked one up, how about sending us your feedback? (Don’t worry, we haven’t quite got key demographic focus groups in mind). E-mail us and release the bees in your bonnet, or go one step further and get involved, particularly if you’re in Brighton. And wherever you are, please continue to send your stories into us, and if SchNEWS isn’t the right thing for your town, start your own newsletter, or see what’s in your area. And if the food in your social centre isn’t quite to your taste, well don’t just moan, get involved with the kitchen crew!

In fact this extends to everything:– if what you see around you is beyond the pale don’t just sit in a pub moaning about it, get off your arse and do something about it. If not you, who? If not now, when? Do-it-yourself. That’s the one constant thing we have been banging on about for 12 years and, whatever else, will continue to do so.

Crap Arrest Of The Week

For Taking The Biscuit...

The crunch came during a mid-December’s night party in Cornwall for one bunch of SchNEWS reading punks when the drummer in a local hardcore band was arrested for throwing chocolate digestive biscuits at the outside of the bar he’d just gigged in. His mate was then arrested, beaten, CS sprayed, cuffed and locked in isolation for asking why he was being arrested, whilst another was nicked for trying to film it and calling the police “F*ckers” when he couldn’t. Police overreaction perhaps? Crumbs.

We Are All Over The Place

Bradford: 1in12 Club, 21-23 Albion St, Bradford, BD1 2LY. Set up in 1981 as a centre for the low waged and unemployed and still going on strong. Tel 01274 734160 Web www.1in12.go-legend.net email info@1in12.com

Coventry Peace House, 311 Stoney Stanton Rd, CV6 5DS, Tel 02476 663031 Web www.covpeacehouse.org.uk Email covpeace@gn.apc.org A housing co-operative and a peace and environmental centre connected to local activist networks. Works directly with local asylum seekers, and has a bike recycling project.

Brighton: Cowley Club, 12 London Road, Brighton BN1 4JA Tel 01273 696104 Web www.cowleyclub.org.uk A social centre on the busy London Road in Brighton. It houses a cafe and bookshop during the day, a private members bar during the evenings, and is a base for a variety of other projects.

Bristol: Kebele Kulture Projekt,14 Robertson Rd, Eastville, Bristol, BS5 6JY Tel 0117 939 9469 Web: www.kebele.org Email:info@kebele.org Anarchist collective run drop-in and meeting centre, vegan cafe, bike workshops, anarchist library, housing co-op, exhibitions, campaign catering, political activities and more.

Lancaster Resource Centre, 78a Penny St, Lancaster LA1 1XN. Web:www.eco-action.org/lancaster - a collectively run resource centre and meeting space in Lancaster. Open every Wednesday 4-7pm.

Leeds: Common Place, 23-25 Wharf Street, Leeds, LS2 7EQ, Tel 0845 345 7334, Web www.thecommonplace.org.uk - an independent, volunteer run social centre in the centre of Leeds.

Liverpool – the Cellar downstairs from bookshop News From Nowhere, 96 Bold Street, L1 4HY is about to open in the next few months. The venue is already holding events, but it needs a bit more money to open properly with a kitchen and other facilities. Once open it will be a hub for community action groups with cafe, internet, gigs etc. See www.liverpool.indymedia.org.uk

London: The Square, 21-22 Russell Square, London, WC1. Squatted social centre, aiming to be a radical, public space for all. For info and events listing see: www.londonsocialcentre.org.uk

London Action Resource Centre, 62 Fieldgate St, London E1 1ES. Tel 020 7377 9088 Web:www.londonarc.org Email:info@londonarc.org Collectively-run building providing space and resources for people and groups working on self-organised, non-hierarchical projects for radical social change.

London (East): The RampART Creative Centre and Social Space, 15-17 Rampart Street , E1 2LA, is a large occupied building in East London, hosting cultural and political events, community cinema, exhibitions, alternative media production, benefit gigs, discussions, meetings and workshops and more. www.rampart.co.nr (offline for maintainence at moment) ** Currently RampART are having bother with the local authority and fire brigade wanting to do a health and safety inspection – which could lead to it being shut down. RampART is calling for help and has a wishlist - Illuminated fire exit signs * Fire extinguishers * Fire blanket * Health and Safety Law poster * Hand basin and more – contact at the above address.

London (South): 56a Info-shop, 56a Crampton Street, Walworth SE17 (near Elephant & Castle). Resource for local people and campaign groups selling books and zines, and with extensive archive radical publications. www.56a.org.uk

Manchester: The Basement, 24 Lever Street (off Piccadilly Gardens), Manchester M1 Tel 0161 237 1832 Email mustsocial@yahoo.co.uk Manchester’s new radical bookshop with a wide selection of anarchist and radical books and journals. with vegan cafe, radical library, free internet and exhibition space.

Nottingham: Sumac Centre, 245 Gladstone St., Nottingham, NG7 6HX. Tel:0845 458 9595 Web:www.veggies.org.uk/sumac Email:sumac@veggies.org.uk Resource centre for local groups campaigning for human and animal rights, the environment, peace, etc.

FOR MORE INFO: Find details on these and many others from www.schnews.org.uk/links and click on Social & Community Centres, see also www.londonarc.org/social_centre_network.html

Under The Lens

A Quick Guide to Alternative Media

Online

Indymedia – an international network of independent news sites which contain articles, pictures, films and more, with material self-published by readers. In Britain it has collectives running regional IMC sites in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford, Scotland, Sheffield, South Coast, York. These sites all share the main national and international IMC features, but all also listings and news specific to the region. See www.indymedia.org.uk

Current Free Newsheets

Gagged – South Wales Anarchist Newsletter PO Box 70, Newport NP20 5XX. Issue 15 is out now - download a pdf here http://lists.riseup.net/www/d_read/gagged/gagged15.pdf

Gay Bishop – Reading readinggaybishop@yahoo.co.uk or write to Gay Bishop, c/o RISC, 35-39 London Street, Reading, RG1 3JE.

Porkbolter – Worthing - www.eco-action.org/porkbolter

Rough Music – Roughin' it up on the streets of Brighton www.roughmusic.org.uk

Rupture – (Free party scene - email rupture@headfuk.net for pdf subsciption) Bristol

Forthcoming... Voices of Resistance from Occupied London - a new “anarchist bulletin of news, theory and action from the British capital after the empire”. The first issue will be out early/mid-March – on time for the global day of action for Iraq on March 19. Looking for contributors now – deadline March 1st - email occupiedlondon@riseup.net

Video

ClearerChannel - is an online resource with lots of local and international independently made videos to download for free see www.clearerchannel.org

Indymedia Video - For a list of groups active in the UK see www.indymedia.org.uk/en/static/video.html
CultureShop - online retailer of hard to find political films UK and international. See www.cultureshop.org

Boo Radleys

Action stations in Oxfordshire at the moment as the forces of good attempt to stop Didcot power station, now operated by RWE Npower, from wrecking a local beauty spot. Thrupp Lake at Radley is under imminent threat of being drained and infilled with fly-ash (i.e. stuff that won’t burn, containing toxic metals like lead, copper and zinc) from Didcot, threatening the whole area’s ecosystem. There used to be even more lakes in the area but back in the “environment? what’s that?” eighties, the local council planning department happily dished out handfulls of permissions allowing the dumping of Didcot’s waste for years in return for, well we’re not quite sure... Four lakes were subsequently filled and in 2005 Npower announced plans to use to ash up the remaining two.

A raft of objections from locals only managed to get the plan amended to leave the smaller lake alone...for now. Unsatisfied with that, the campaign continues and some more enterprising folk have been occupying a large house by the site since late December, becoming a base of protests and home to numbers of people. The forces of darkness have moved swiftly however, and less than three weeks later, they are facing an imminent eviction order. (Help is needed now - the address is Sandals, Thrupp Lane, Radley, OX14 3NG).

The lakes are surrounded by mature woodland and are a rich wildlife habitat supporting otters, water voles, Kingfishers, badgers, Carp and great crested newts to name a few – for more see www.radleyvillage.org.uk/ourvillage/natural_history/thrupp_lakes.htm

Aside from the threats to animal and plant ecosystem, even from one of the remaining lakes being destroyed, the area is part of the Thames Flood plane and the loss of an another excess run-off sink could very well affect flooding levels nearby, which have already experienced higher water levels since the earlier lakes were infilled. This could be especially pertinent as we welcome home the effects of global warming... resultant from intense burning of fossil fuels such as at. Didcot – yes, it’s a vicious circle... For full background, current info and to join the campaign see www.saveradleylakes.org.uk

GITMO BAY-WATCH

Easily the most publicly-visible outcome of the War on Terror™... the Geneva Convention-busting and illegal ‘concentration camp’ in Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay (fine purveyor of repression since 2002) remains open for business. Despite widespread outrage from the beginning, the yankies have proved unwilling to give it up and now even the British establishment has started muttering disapproval.

And so, January 11th saw the fifth anniversary of the torture camp being marked with a day of international protest. Organised by some of the ongoing campaigns, the day saw a range of worldwide actions. Former British Gitmo detainee Asif Iqbal, and the family of ex-Brighton current detainee Omar Deghayes visited the gates of the camp itself. Meanwhile hundreds of people in orange boiler suits went to the US Embassy in London while crowds gathered in Birmingham to protest outside the factory that makes shackles for prison (See SchNEWS 511). There was also a big march from the US Consulate to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

With Bush’s political influence on the wane domestically the and Tony Bliar on his way out, the instability of the political situation means the time is ripe for a final push of public pressure to succeed in finally getting this particular scar on our conscience closed for good. (But don’t even get us started on rendition, other CIA torture camps etc...)

* For more coverage and pics see www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/01/359937.html

* For info about worldwide war on terror detainees see www.cageprisoners.com

* view the SchMOVIE about Omar at www.schnews.org.uk/schmovies/index-war-on-terror-iraq.html and visit www.save-omar.org.uk

* Feb 3rd is the Control Your Arms charity fundraiser featuring breakdancers, beatboxers and graffiti. Every penny goes to Amnesty International’s ‘close Guantanamo’ campaign, so expect plenty of orange boiler suits...7pm-2am.Corbet Place, The Old Truman Brewery, London E1 6QL. £7 (£5 before 9pm). Web www.amnesty.org.uk/events_details.asp?ID=30

BLING STING

Anti-road campaigners in Southend, Essex, stormed into their Council’s recent self-congratulatory shindig and declared the cancellation of the road-widening scheme that will tarmac over an Anglo-Saxon burial site at Camp Bling (See SchNEWS 514). Despite this plan, Southend Borough Council had managed to win the British Archaeological awards last year for the discovery of the very same Saxon King’s burial ground that they are about to build a road over!

When council bureaucrats (with no apparent sense of irony) accepted the award, they were lambasted by a faking-it ‘Mayor’, local campaigner John Smith who took to the stage and apologised on behalf of the Council for their intention to destroy the burial site, promised to return the award, and then dramatically announced the immediate cancellation of the scheme! Masquerading as an alternative Mayor, he admitted he had ‘finally listened to and taken note of the majority of people in Southend who have been shown repeatedly to oppose it.’ Chaotic scenes ensued.

A recent review of the cost of the scheme makes it the most expensive stretch of road ever, at 25 million quid for under a mile of carriageway. A nice not-so-little earner for someone.

Meanwhile, the happy campers at Camp Bling protest site continue to keep a watchful eye over the place. 16 months in the making, the camp now boasts the deepest ever tunnel in the history of the anti-roads movement. Numbers at the camp have grown as a decision on the funding for the road is soon to be given. See www.savepriorypark.org or phone 07739 189165.

IT'S A FAIR KOPI

This year the G8 Summit will be held in the attractively named Heiligendamm in northern Germany. The corporate lovefest is planned for the 6th - 8th of June and, as usual, delegates and police are eagerly awaiting (in Tony Blair’s words) the “anarchists’ travelling circus that goes from summit to summit with the sole purpose of causing as much mayhem as possible!”.

Activists are already getting hassle from Der Man. Berlin’s long-running KOPI autonomous centre has faced two raids by 50 cops in just 10 days. The second raid took place on the 12th January, with police taking a particular interest in the many anti-G8 posters and leaflets. After about an hour, a sizeable crowd had gathered outside the centre and, with the use of projectile reasoning*, encouraged the cops to withdraw. Berlin’s activist community can expect a lot more of this type of harassment as the date draws near. (For more see http://koepi.squat.net)

Situated near Rostock, Heiligendamm itself is a tiny, isolated seaside resort, picked because it’s easier to protect the elite attendees and repress any protests without disruptin’ too many locals and the packed business-friendly agenda. Germany has a huge eco- movement and the potential for a Big Day Out there is massive. Watch this space.

* The SUMAC centre, Nottingham’s autonomous social centre, is hosting a day of discussion and mobilisation for the G8 on the 28th of this month, from 10.30am-5pm. Participation is free and cheap food is provided by the ever-charming VEGGIES. Limited accommodation is available upon request. Email dissentprocess@yahoo.co.uk or see www.veggies.org.uk

** SchNEWS Vocab: projectile reasoning is the use of flying stones and other masonry when arguing with cops.

Party & Protest

• JAN 26 - Axis of Assholes / Toestring and The Bad Fucks – Fundraiser for Smash EDO campaign from 7.30 pm till late at the Cowley Club, London Road, Brighton. £3 suggested donation; Members and guests only. If you can’t make it, join the next EDO Phone Blockade on 1st Feb. Call 01273 810500, 810501, 810502 etc or fax 810 600 and tell the arms dealers what you think of them Or call the EDO Managing Director on ext 810567... See www.smashedo.org
• 26 - Plane Stupid! Benefit - at Brixton Jamm, this Friday 26th, Alabama 3 will play plus show of footage from recent actions. Tickets and info at www.planestupid.com
• 26-28 Harrods Anti-Fur Weekend. Protests start on Friday from 12noon, Saturday from 11am, and Sunday at noon. Even if you can’t make the protests this time, more useful info along with event details at www.veggies.org.uk/event.php?ref=870 or email london@craft.org.uk Tel: 07899 775493
• FEB 4 – the sixth annual Seedy Sunday 2007 for Brighton/Hove. With talks, stalls, films, organic farmers market, seed selling and swapping. With organic cafe, creche and bar. 10am – 4.30pm, £1, kids free at The Old Market, Upper Market St, Hove. Call 01273 381 686 , web www.seedysunday.org email seedysundaybrighton@yahoo.co.uk
• 7 - The Red Room presents ‘Injustice’ A controversial award-winning documentary by Ken Fero and Tariq Mehmood, investigating the rising number of black people who have died in police custody (with a filmmakers Q&A session afterwards). Book, but tickets free (donation of £3 is kindly asked for, but not obligatory). 7.30pm at Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA. www.richmix.org.uk and www.theredroom.org.uk
• 10 - No Borders London demonstration to shut Colnbrook and Harmondsworth Detention Centres. Coaches leave London 10am. See www.noborderslondon.blogspot.com or email noborderslondon@riseup.net

FOR FULL Party & Protest LISTINGS - UPDATED WEEKLY - see www.schnews.org.uk/pap

...and finally...

While we here at SchNEWS broadly support a lot of the work subvertising Canadians Adbusters do, and usually give their ‘Buy Nothing Day’ a plug (although the leap from one day a year to five or six a week is is cavernous one), their new campaign sets new standards in half-hearted tokenism.

As their own tough talking open letter put it “Dear Jammers & Creatives, Still feeling frazzled from the December whirlwind of holiday shopping, gift giving, and parties? Already burned out by extra hours at the office in the New Year? Tired of spending more time in traffic than you do with your family and friends? It’s not too late to slow down and renew your intentions for a saner, more mindful way of life in 2007. If you’re ready to experiment with a different, more fulfilling rhythm, join us in celebrating the second annual International Slow Down Week, January 14-20.” That’s right - don’t walk out of that corporate rat-race, ditch the car, confront reality – just... slow down. A bit. For a few days. Then get back to it! What’s next: Feel Vaguely Guilty for Five Minutes Day? International Hope Someone Else Sorts Things Out And It Doesn’t Affect Me Too Much Month?

OK we applaud the idea of people slowing down on mindlessness and consumption, but it has to be permanent and matched by a speeding up of positive action..Taking the afternoon off work and occasionally enjoying some witty subverts some anti-marketing ‘creative’ type has photoshopped up is just not quite gonna be enough. Still we did get into the spirit of it all and it’s only taken six weeks for us to write this edition of yer weekly SchNEWS!

Disclaimer

SchNEWS warns all readers - make sure you always get it in writing. Honest!

SchMOVIES

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