NO LAUGHING MATTER

This week, sobered by the report from researchers at the University of Edinburgh which concludes that ‘middle class people use humour to attempt to demonstrate their superiority’, we would like to assure our readers that we’re definitely not laughing at the fact that not one single person turned up for Foreign Secretary David Milliband’s ‘mobile surgery’ at a branch of Asda in South Shields, and we don’t find the news that a 64 year old man has been given an asbo for swearing at politicians on TV funny at all. Meanwhile, back in the thick of it….

The rampART revolutionary roadshow rolls on – coming to rest at 105 Globe Road, E2 4LB, a building with so many toilets we’re thinking of ripping some out and using them as planters. So… the only porcelain request on our wish list is a washbasin for the downstairs powder room. We also need… kitchen sink, lamps, cooker, cleaning equipment (mop bucket, floor cleaning stuff), clothes rail and shelving for free shop, chairs or other stuff to sit on, kettle, toaster and books to start a new library.

Date for your diaries: Friday, April 23rd – low key opening cafe / film night. No big events until we’ve got the place sorted but we would very much welcome folks who want to use the space for meetings, rehearsals, workshops and training. Come down to our regular collective meetings every Monday at 7pm or email rampart@mutualaid.org. Entrance is round the back of the building. We’re getting a doorbell sorted – meanwhile knock loudly!

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<* EVENTS IN OTHER SOCIAL CENTRES *>

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~~ 56a InfoShop ~~

56a Infoshop, 56 Crampton Street, London, SE17 3AE

*Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays 3-7pm (Saturdays, 2-6pm)*

Food Coop and Bike Workshop

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** Kew Bridge Eco Village **

24 Kew Bridge Rd, Brentford.  Nearest train: Kew Bridge, nearest tube: Gunnersbury. Tel: 07967864370

Spring is coming and at Kew Bridge Eco Village, we are busy planting the seeds for more villages to grow and flourish in London.

We would love you to come and help us create a vision for another low impact, perma culture community to spring up in the urban jungle.

If you are interested in living within a sustainable urban eco-village, come to Kew Bridge on Tuesdays at 7PM to eat some food and share some ideas.

Also…

Every Sunday at 12 noon

GROW YOUR OWN VILLAGE

Learn the necessary skills to set up an eco village, eg how to spot good sites using the internet and going out walking in groups to find them, building compost toilets, rocket stoves etc. We’ll be posting the info about whats happening each week with updates on each site we find at www.growyourownvillage.blogspot.com

The meetings on tuesday are there to follow up these practical workshops.

Plus…

Saturday, 17th April, 12 noon

PERMACULTURE SESSION

Planting vegetables, designing growing areas & more

Saturday, 24th April, 2pm

If you are sick of war,

come and “SAY YOUR PEACE”

Open-Mic session, plus guest speakers, free food, arts and crafts and music!

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++ 195 Mare Street ++

195 Mare Street, Hackney, E8 3QE

boardsofhackney@safe-mail.net

The back bit of the building contains an amazing stage. We thought this part of the building would get demolished soon but its still there.

So we’re calling out artists to come and use the space, be it for theatre, cabaret, music, rehearsals, gigs… anything that would benefit from being on a stage is welcome!!

TUESDAYS, 2 – 8pm

Do It Yourself Bike Workshop, Bike Repair, Meeting and Cooking Session

WEDNESDAYS, 2 – 8pm

Hacklab – a space for learning about Linux

SATURDAYS and WEDNESDAYS at 1pm. Gardening. Come and help us make our garden grow with all sorts of yummy things.

Other regular events happening in the building include:

- Food not bombs (twice a month on 2nd and 4th week end)

Plus…

++ FRIDAY, 16th APRIL, 7pm – midnight ++

Benefit Gig for 52 Commercial Road (band who recently had a load of equipment stolen) and 56a (anarchist infoshop).

Lineup;

- Magpie (acoustic)

- 52 Commercial Rd

- Bird Calls

- Me and Goliath

++ SATURDAY, 1st MAY, 8pm ++

HURIYA

Fundraiser for London Detainee Solidarity network, supporting detainees who are protesting in immigration detention.

Featuring:

* CLAY PIGEON – Reggae/punk/ska

* APOLOGIES I HAVE NONE – Punk/rock

* GRAINS

* THE MACHINE – Electro/tropical

* XTRATS – Drum’n'bass

* DJ JUVENILE DELINQUENT – doo wop/garage rock

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^^^ Pogo Cafe ^^^

76 Clarence Rd E5 8HB – 020 8533 1214, pogocafe.co.uk

Cafe open Thursday – Sunday, 12.30 – 9pm. Plus…

^^^ Tuesdays ^^^

Sewing Workshop, 4-7pm

Practical Squatting Night, 7-8pm

^^^ Saturday ^^^

Yoga Class. 9-11 am

Bring mats if possible

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||| System Xchange Social Centre |||

An old courthouse on Sheen Lane in Richmond has been squatted for use as a Social Centre! The centre is there to promote support in the community. They will be running workshops and

food etc. All they need is your input to create this wonderful space… so come down and give a hand and a boost to this much needed project space.

Address: The Old Court House, 27 Sheen Lane, Mortlake, SW14 8HY

Nearest Public Transport: Mortlake (overground), Richmond (underground)

Postcode: SW14 8HY

Time: All Day Every Day

Price: Donations always Welcome

Phone: 07776356252

Email: systemxchange@gmail.com

Web: http://systemxchange.webs.com

||| Tuesday & Thursday, 7-11pm |||

Cinema / food night

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<* EVENTS ELSEWHERE *>

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/// LETTER WRITING ///

Tuesday, 13th April, 6.30-9pm

Dogstar pub, Brixton

Amnesty International letter writing evening with a focus on Burma.

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/// HOSTILE RECONNAISSANCE RALLY ///

Tuesday, 13th April, 7pm

Friends Meeting House, Euston

Meeting about civil liberties, Police surveillance and Press Freedom. More information here:

http://londonphotographers.org/2010/04/hostile-reconnaissance/

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/// RADICAL COMMUNITY ORGANISING ///

Tuesday, 13th April, 7.30pm

Phoenix Millennium Centre, West Green Rd, N15. HSG

discussion evening

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/// EXPOSE THE EXPO! ///

Wednesday, 14th April, 12noon

Olympia, Olympia Way, W14

Protest outside the Counter Terror Expo. Please bring banners and instruments.

More info: http://www.dsei.org/counterterror

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/// A RISING TIDE OF DISINFORMATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE ///

Wednesday, 14th April, 6.30pm

Room G2, SOAS, off Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG

PUBLIC MEETING

Speakers including…

David Adam, Environmental Correspondent from the Guardian

Ben Stewart, Greenpeace

George Marshall, COIN – Climate Outreach and Information Network (founder)

Who are the “sceptics” or “deniers” , how are they organised, who is paying them? Is it true that theirs is the message that people most want to hear and why? What can we do to fight back? These questions and more… hear some answers and bring your own…

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/// PICKET BP AGM ///

Thursday, 15th April, 10.30am

Excel Conference Centre, royal victoria dock E16

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/// DIRTY BUSINESS FILM SERIES ///

Thursday, 15th April, 6.30pm

Human RightsAction Centre, 17-25 New Yard Inn.

“Iraq for Sale – the war profiteers”

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/// BENT BARS LETTER WRITING ///

Thursday, 15th April, 7pm

LARC, 62 Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel, E1 1ES

Letter-writing project aims to develop stronger connections and build solidarity between LGBTQ

communities outside and inside prison walls

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/// ERASING DAVID – FREE SCREENING AND DISCUSSION ///

Friday, 16th April, 6.30pm

Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3GA

ERASING DAVID (80min) documentary screening

David Bond lives in the UK, one of the most intrusive surveillance states in the world.  He decides to find out how much private companies and the government know about him by attempting to disappear – a decision that changes his life forever. Leaving his pregnant wife and young child behind he tries to vanish and finds himself tracked across the database state by two ruthless private investigators.  This is a chilling journey that forces him to contemplate the meaning of privacy – and its loss.

This is one of a few exclusive preview screenings before a nationwide cinema release on the 29th April.

Jo Glanville, the editor of Index on Censorship, will introduce the film and will lead a Q&A afterwards with the Director and the private investigators who hunted him. The panel discussion afterwards will focus on topics such as privacy, surveillance and civil liberties in the 21st century.

Please email: bookings@freewordonline.com or call 020 7324 2570 to book your FREE place.

For more information about the nationwide cinema release, please visit: http://erasingdavid.com/

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/// DISSIDENT ISLAND RADIO ///

Friday, 16th April, 9pm

whitechapel, and pumpin’ out of your stereo!

Let’s be honest here. We islanders rarely know what the heck is gonna be on the show until it actually airs.

This is because we are committed to getting the absolute latest word on the street. (That and because we are a little bit disorganised sometimes.) But we can guarantee the show is gonna kick ass. Cos it always does. So check back here at IMC London for more on what will feature, or go to www.dissidentisland.org to find out what’s happening on the show…or you can forget all that jazz and just tune in at 9pm, every first and third Friday, by clicking the player on the front page of IMC London (top right corner) or the player on the dissident island homepage…or just click here for a direct link to the stream (remember it starts after 9).

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/// WORLD WEEKEND FOR THE ABOLITION OF MEAT ///

Saturday, 17th April, 6am

Please join activists worldwide for the World Weekend for the Abolition of Meat on April 17 & 18, 2010!

The 2nd edition of the World Day for the Abolition of Meat that took place on January 31, 2010 was a huge success!

Various events (including awareness actions, street performances, speeches and protests) were held in over 50 cities in the following countries: Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, England, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland and the USA.

Many thanks to all the animal rights groups and individuals that raised their voices for the cause of the oppressed animals and expressed the idea that our societies have to ban the killing of animals for food! It was really important for us to know that on the same day people in various places throughout the world were making the same political demand: we have to stop the mass murder of animals.

Following this huge success, we are now promoting another weekend of actions on behalf of the animals exploited and murdered for human consumption.

We believe it is high time to make a public demand for the abolition of meat by increasing the number of happenings both locally and internationally.

We are hoping for a larger number of activist events in more and more places as well as ever-growing determination, imagination and visibility.

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/// OLYMPICS AND NUCLEAR TRAINS DEMO ///

Saturday, 17th April, 11am – 1pm

Green Lanes station, Haringey.

Leafletting,petitioning, banners, etc

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/// ICC FORUM ///

Saturday, 17th April, 2pm

Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, WC1.

Why revolutionaries are against bourgeois elections

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/// RELEASE SYRIAN PRISONERS DEMO! ///

Saturday, 17th April, 3pm

The Syrian Embassy, 8 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PH.

Mark 64th anniversary of Syrian independence & call to release prisoners of conscience.

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/// ANIMALS COUNT CAMPAIGN LAUNCH ///

Saturday, 17th April, 5pm

Housemans Bookshop, 5 Caledonian Road N1 9DX

Political party outline their manifesto.

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/// SAVING THE WORLD THE NEW LABOUR WAY ///

Saturday, 17th April, 6 – 9pm

West London Trade Union Club, 33-35 High Street, Acton.

Film Showing and Public Discussion on DfID

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/// BOOK LAUNCH ///

Saturday, 17th April, 6pm

Freedom Bookshop, Angel Alley, off Whitechapel High Street

Ghost Dancers by David Douglass. Published to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the

end of the miners’ strike.

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/// CAN POLITICIANS SAVE THE PLANET? ///

Saturday, 17th April, 6pm

The Socialist Party of Great Britain, 52 Clapham High Street.

Election Forum.

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/// POLICE MONITORING AND LEGAL OBSERVATION TRAINING ///

Sunday, 18th April, 10.30am

Friends Meeting House, 173 Euston Road, NW1 2BJ

Know Your Rights!

Are you worried about abuse of police powers at protests and in your community?

Ever moaned about an ever increasing police state but haven’t known what to do?

Come to the Network for Police Monitoring training and start holding them to account for their actions.

Everyone welcome, whether you have experience to share, want to brush up on skills or have no experience whatsoever.

Many abuses of police powers occur because we let them. Legal observation and police monitoring are effective tools in tackling such abuses and can make a real difference from collating the data necessary for effective legal challenges to providing and collecting witness statements for those arrested. These actions have both challenged the way protest and the streets are policed and kept innocent people out of prison.

Sessions will include police powers, stop and search and surveillance, as well as workshops on legal observation and police monitoring.

Network for Police Monitoring is a new organisation made up of individuals involved in Campaign Against Criminalising Communities, Climate Camp Legal Team, Fitwatch, Legal Defence and Monitoring Group and Newham Monitoring Project. This is the first time such a range of people have come together to offer training and it should be an interesting day. However, it also the first time we have offered this training, and feedback will be very welcome.

Although participants do not have to commit to doing legal observation/monitoring, it is hoped you will want to use your skills and we will be inviting people to join us for the next major protest on May 1st in Central London.

Whilst there is no registration, please email info@networkforpolicemonitoring.org.uk to let us know if your planning to come so we have an idea of numbers.

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/// FILM 17:00 ///

Sunday, 18th April, 5pm

The Castle, 65 Camberwell Church St, SE5.

A different lesbian/gay film will be screening every Sunday at 5pm in the upstairs room at The Castle (free entry). Make it a regular Sunday tradition!

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/// SURVEILLANCE AND THE CITY ///

Film screenings and roundtable discussion.

May/June 2010

Presented by: The Raphael Samuel History Centre Urban Studies group

Venue for the film screenings: Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1H 0PD

Venue for the roundtable discussion on 7th June: Room B03, 43 Gordon Square, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1H 0PD

Since Foucault’s notion of the panopticon as a machine of power there has been a metastasising of the technologies of surveillance throughout the fabric of post-industrial urban society. Cinema is the ideal art form through which to explore the ideas of surveillance and the city. The three films in this season, The Conversation (Coppola 1974), Red Road (Arnold 2006) and Cache (Hidden) (Haneke 2005) develop complex visual and narrative engagements with the interactions between the city and surveillance and cinemas implicit and explicit collusion with the machinery of power.

All welcome to join us for screenings and discussions chaired by Dr Amber Jacobs (Department of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck, University of London)

Monday 10th May: Screening 1: The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola 1974)

Monday 17th May: Screening 2: Red Road (Andrea Arnold 2006)

Monday 24th May: Screening 3: Hidden (Cache) (Michael Haneke 2005)

Monday 7th June: Roundtable discussion on the 3 screenings.

The screenings and the discussion will begin at 6.00pm. The events are free – all welcome.  First come, first admitted.

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See http://rampart.co.nr for more info about rampART.

See http://bowlcourt.co.nr for more info about Ex-Bowl Court.

Email rampart@mutualaid.org or bowlcourt@riseup.net