rampART

Rampart newsletter 7 May 2008

therampart — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:19:12 +0000

Hiya,

Not much this week at the Rampart(s), but we’re very active and there’s plenty going on and coming up that we thought you’d like to know about this stuff.

We had to close our fixed line broadband connection for the Rampart a while back in case we were evicted and it needed a cancellation period. That period has ended and now we are without internet. Rather than be without internet (heavens, no!) our resident techy has researched some solutions which we thought would be good to share with you:

_ Documentation for providing internet access and an incoming and outgoing phone line in a squat or other non-permanent space, where a fixed contract services might not be practical or possible _

The full most up to date version with links is available at https://en.wiki.aktivix.org/SquatTelecoms

===

Also members of Rampart will be attending the Interspace meeting at the end of May in Germany which you might be interested in. If you would like to contribute something towards the meeting but cannot go, we are having an Interspace pre-meeting at our Shoreditch space, 6 Bowl Court, on Thursday 15th at 8pm.

_ Interspace: International meeting for squats and autonomous spaces _

Kesselberg, Berlin 24th - 26th May 2008

Following on from the last international squat and autonomous spaces meeting in Dijon, France last November, comes the second meeting: this time on the outskirts of Berlin.

We see this as a meeting not just to exchange tactics and ideas, or to reflect on the April action days (and plan new ones?) but to share in our new projects, fights and victories: to redraw the battle lines. To achieve durable exchange and solidarity on an international level.

The time

The meeting will last three days: from Saturday May 24th till Monday 26th. We invite everybody to arrive on Friday during the day or in the evening.

For those who can stay a bit longer, the Berlin free spaces action days are taking place from the 30th May to the 2nd June (wba.blogsport.de).

Agenda

We of course have some ideas and have included the suggestions already made in Dijon, but the agenda is open and in the end determined by the people who come. If you have ideas, wishes or if you want to do a workshop, send us an email to intersquatberlin@riseup.net

Proposed topics so far:

* How do we deal with repression?
* What new strategies are there to create and invent squats and autonomous spaces?
* How does paying rent or buying houses influence the reality of autonomous spaces?
* What are free spaces and why are they important?
* How do autonomous spaces generate, maintain and involve themselves in broader social struggles?

And of course there will be need to speak about the April Action Days, to evaluate the actions and the networking process and to possibly further develop the infrastructure created in Dijon.

The place

The meeting is taking place at Kesselberg, an autonomous/project space in the countryside just outside Berlin. There is space at Kesselberg for about 100 people to sleep (but please bring tents if you have one), as well as several rooms for plenaries and workshops. The place is surrounded by woods and there is a lot of space for taking breaks or meeting outside if the weather is good.

Leave your dogs at home if possible. If you do bring them please keep them close to you at any time, as there are wild animals in the woods surrounding Kesselberg and already a bunch of dogs living there.

The site is also chemical free. The people at Kesselberg have said they can provide soap, but if you bring your own, make sure it is completely chemical free.

How to get there from Berlin:

Public transport: The nearest train station is Erkner. Just take the S3 train, direction Erkner. This is a local Berlin train line and tickets cost about 3 euros.

From Erkner station we can either pick you up if you let us know when you’re arriving, or you can take the bus. The bus is Line 428, direction Ziegenhals, until the stop ‘Neu Zittau, Kesselberg’. The entrance to the Kesselberg land is next to the bus stop. Alternatively, it takes about 20 mins to cycle there from Erkner.

With a car: Kesselberg is about 7km south of Erkner, between Neu Zittau and Wernsdorf. Driving from the Berliner Ring, either take the Erkner exit via Neu Zittau, or the exit Niederlehme via Wernsdorf , direction New Zittau. For a map see www.kesselberg.info/weg.html

There is limited parking space at Kesselberg, so it would be helpful to let us know if you are coming by car or wanting to park a live-in vehicle on site for the duration of the meeting.

So that we can prepare enough space, organise enough food etc., we need to get an idea of how many people to expect, so please let us know you are coming. Likewise if you need a place to stay in Berlin just before or after the meeting, please email us at: intersquatberlin@riseup.net

Keep an eye on the blog for up to date info: http://interspace.blogsport.de/ See you in May!

===

_ Book of the (not even gone yet) Rampart _

We thought we’d start to compile a pamphlet, or book, on the history of the Rampart Social centre, as a way of recording our history and experiences for other people to benefit from. If you have something you would like to contribute; a Rampart related story to tell, photographs, old flyers, advice, how-to-guides, etc. then email us at rampart@mutualaid.org

There is more to come obviously as the Rampart Social centre is still around and very much active! It just makes sense to start to get the material in whilst there is a space to centre it around.

== (( EVENTS )) ==

^^ Bike Film Night ^^
7th of May @ The New Shoreditch Social Centre

We serve Tea and Cake, show Belleville Rendez-Vous (a great French animation movie featuring the Tour de France) and some others.

Address: Bowl Court / Plough Yard Squat, Shoreditch, London
Time: 8:00
Price: Donations

More details here :
http://londonbikegroup.wordpress.com

===

^^ Food Not Bombs Whitechapel ^^
Saturday 10th of May

Meet at Rampart (17 Rampart St, E1) at 11AM for cooking
Food will be served from 2:30/3PM (until the pot is empty) at Altab Ali Park if it is a sunny day, or in front of the Whitechapel Library on 321 Whitechapel Road if it is a rainy day.

http://www.londonfnb.org/whitechapel/home.html
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/398367.html

===

^^ No Borders meeting ^^
Tuesday 13th May 7pm-9pm at 6 Bowl Court, Shoreditch.
Come along to hear latest news and to get involved.

===

^^ Interactive Diners Club - a dinner party for environmental campaigners and activists ^^

More of a friendly grassroots network meeting than a diners club but still..
Will be on Sunday 18th May, see next newsletter for details. If you want to help out drop us an email.

===

^^ Radical Theory Reading Group ^^
Friday May 30th at Bowl Court

The readings for the next meeting are both by RD Laing: Ch 1 of The Divided Self (’The Existential-Phenomenological Foundations for a Science of Persons’) and Ch 1 of The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise (’Persons and Experience’). Downloads here:
http://www.box.net/shared/static/rpoq8yn0gk.pdf
http://www.box.net/shared/static/y4abqs6kow.pdf

We are meeting on Friday May 30th at TwoPointTwo, Bowl Court, off Plough Lane (junction of Shoreditch High Street and Great Eastern Street, next to the Drunken Monkey). Meeting starts at 6pm.

== (( EVENTS ELSEWHERE )) ==

This Thursday at Crossroads Womens centre, Kentish Town, time TBC
Details not available at this time, check indymedia on the day.

^^ MAPUCHE WOMAN MOIRA MILLAN TOURS EUROPE IN FIGHT AGAINST DAMS AND CORPORATE PROJECTS IN PATAGONIA ^^

As part of the constant looting currently occurring in Patagonia (a region in southern Argentina and Chile), more and more companies are getting ready to viciously extract the region’s raw materials. From Argentina’s oil wells to mining operations taking place all along the Andes, aluminium smelters and even a nuclear waste deposit make a devastating panorama.

The system’s insatiable appetite for energy is also making Patagonian rivers a tempting feast for dam building companies. The hunger for electricity has led to the rise of over 20 dam projects alongside Chile and Argentina which are currently menacing farmers and indigenous people. Among them are the Mapuche, who will see rivers and their ecosystems devastated, as well as their lands flooded. They, along with other indigenous communities and farmers, will be forced to leave their homes in the name of “symbols of progress and development”.

Moira Millan is a Mapuche woman who lives in Corcovado, Patagonia, in Argentina. In 1999, she, along with her family and the help from other communities, formed the Mapuche community, Pillan Mahuiza on 150 hectares of land which had been abandoned by the police. This land, previously and still belonging to her ancestors, became the starting point of the reconstruction of a culture and a cosmogony that respects every aspect of nature and the living forces within it. Far from thinking of themselves as land owners, the Mapuche believe they themselves are ‘owned’ by the land, and on this basis, they have been building a new alternative to the capitalist system and its depredation.

But things have not been easy for Pillan Mahuiza whose members have been threatened with eviction and even had death threats from the police and the government. Surrounded by powerful neighbours known as the new terratenientes (large-scale landholders), such as George Soros, Benetton, Perez Companc, Jeremy Irons, Ted Turner, as well as multinational corporations currently extracting natural resources. Pillan Mahuiza is a small but powerful point of light, autonomy and independence ‘amidst some of the most prominent members of the global corporate machine currently occupying their land and extracting its resources.

The difficult reality faced by the Mapuche only makes Pillan Mahuiza stronger. Alongside other Mapuche communities from both sides of the Andes, they are creating a network of resistance and autonomy, based on the fundamental recognition that we must re-think how we live if life on our planet is to be sustained.

Flooding the alternative

The small village of Corcovado and its inhabitants, including Pillan Mahuiza, are currently under threat due to a project which plans on building anything from one to a whole set of six dams in Río Corovado and Río Hielo. The project will be financed mainly by the Spanish group Santander (who own Abbey National in UK) providing electricity to mine companies that have been exploring the region for years and oil wells which, being almost empty, are demanding more energy. These companies include, among others, the Canadian Barrick Gold and Brazil’s Petrobras..

Representing her community and the autonomous group Patagonia sin represas (Patagonia without dams), Moira Millan is touring Europe to create new and necessary links with autonomous groups that are trying to build a new way of living, which values include a sustainable approach and a respect to the enviromment. Paradoxically, this approach has a thousand-year-old history, during which the Mapuche have tirelessly resisted colonist invasions and the greed that accompanies them.

Moira Millan will be presenting a video following by a discussion at Crossroads Womens Centre

Video on youtube at http://youtube.com/watch?v=r-FAP5T5F2E

===

^^ Public meeting with delegation of Colombian social movements ^^

Monday, May 12th, 7pm at Amnesty International UK’s Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard

Public meeting with delegation of Colombian social movements. Representatives of the Women’s Popular Organisation, the National Indigenous Peoples’ Organisation, “African Footprints” (African Descendent Organisation), and the Movement of Christians for Peace with Justice and Dignity. 7pm, Amnesty International UK’s Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard (near Old Street or Moorgate tube stations).

(( STILL ON ))

STREET BLITZ - London
1 – 15 May 2008
2 weeks of creative urban modification

http://www.streetblitz.org/

Rampart Newsletter 30th April 2008

therampart — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:48:20 +0000

Hi there,

We now have two social centres on the go!

As you can imagine our new one is getting all the attention but we still have the older one to be used and tended to.
We had two huge parties last Friday, a launch party at the new Shoreditch space with the Dissident Island, and the Speakers Corner gig in Whitechapel, and both went really well. Thanks to the organisers and everyone who came.

If you can help out with fixing up the new space or would like to propose an event or project for either of the spaces please get in contact with us. rampart@mutualaid.org

We are alternating our Rampart meetings between the two spaces, next week (Monday 5th May) is at 15-17 Rampart Street, then the week after at the Shoreditch space 6 Bowl Court, and so on. Meetings start 7pm.

Our new space has progressed fantastically thanks to all the hard work from the crew involved. There are stairs to the different floors, running water, and working toilets! We want to build a bigger kitchen on the first floor to create something of a cafe space with nice bay doors.. that would be good! So.. if you have plumbing skills or want to be part of what could be a cafe collective let us know.

Enough for now as there is loads going on this week :

++ RAMPART EVENTS ++

__ FRIDAY 2ND MAY

{{= One dance-step for us, one giant leap for revolution? =}}

There we go: another fantastic rampart/noborders joint adventure

BENEFIT PARTY

featuring:
Radio Revolucion
Critical Soundsystem
xtrats
DJ Rootsteady
Menopause
52 Commercial Road
DJ Slippahz
ras negus i
more acts tba …

Friday May 2nd 2008
from 8.30 till very late (or early)

Music on two floors, music and video.
Donation at door

noborderslondon.blogspot.com

{{= Welcome to Dissident Island, a small republic off the coast of London =}}

Broadcasting from our new home in shoreditch, the next show will be broadcast on Friday May 2nd, starting about 9pm for a few hours. We’ve got some cool stuff lined up, so mark it in your diary. We’ve got two of the organisers from Ladyfest in to talk about the 2008 festival, and some people in to tell us a bit about what’s currently happening in Palestine. We have a surprise DJ in for the show.

Tune in at http://www.dissidentisland.org/

Our last show aired live on Friday, April 18th, and was a Zine Edition, focusing on several of London’s new and long-standing zines. We had a member from Voices of Resistance from Occupied London in to talk about the latest third installment. The show also featured interviews with Nick, the guy behind Rupture, the creators of Shift Magazine and Edd, who talked about his role in the zine Last Hours and what we can expect from this year’s London Zine Symposium. The show will be ready for download soon so check back regularly…

++ EVENTS ELSEWHERE ++

Come and celebrate Mayday in Mayfayre, rejoice and dance and play in the streets - for International Worker’s Day, for the Traditional Festivities of May the 1st and the coming of the summer, for the Lord of Misrule, and to celebrate and insist on our right to free assembly and a good old fashioned street party….

MAYDAY MEETING POINTS

1) Space Hijackers, Peasants, Aristocracy, Performers, Merchants, Peddlers, Strumpets and Virgins
Meet in Green Park by Green Park tube, we will then head off to the May Fayre at 2:03pm promptly

2) Metropolitan Police, Fools, Soldiers and Vagabonds
Meet outside Bond Street tube station, we will then head off to the May Fayre at 2:34 promptly
Please note it is very important you do not join the wrong meeting point, otherwise you will look like a total fool!

Call 07513 335 777 to catch up

You are cordially invited to Mayfayre 2008, a very special Mayday celebration and re-enactment! Check the attached files and www.spacehijackers.org.uk for flyers, costume ideas and more details…

Come and celebrate Mayday in Mayfayre, rejoice in the streets with our fellows - for International Worker’s Day, for the Ancient Rites of May the 1st and the coming of the summer, to celebrate and insist on our right to free assembly

http://www.spacehijackers.org.uk/

Mayday 2008 is the 300th anniversary of the last free Mayday before the Grand Jury suppression of the traditional May Fayre in central London; a riotous, raucous celebration of fertility and freedom.

From the 1st of May each year, and for up to two weeks afterwards, the people stopped working, rejected their normal routines then danced, drank, laughed and made love in the streets, jeering at the controlling figures of the Church and State, and turning everything they could upside down.

It was known as such “a nursery of vice and debauchery”, that after 1708 the authorities, having had enough of this dangerous freedom and subversion, shut it down. Although there were some attempts at reviving it, the creeping spectre of gentrification made sure it couldn’t continue, as the area of the fayre was gradually built over with palaces and playgrounds for the rich.

To commemorate this significant anniversary, and the still thriving tradition of over the top state control, the Space Hijackers and the Metropolitan Police proudly present a collaborative re-enactment of the end of this traditional May Fayre. Our modern-day interpretation of the cycle of uprising and suppression is in keeping with the attempted repression of parties, protests and gatherings enacted by the state throughout the ages.

In act one, the Space Hijackers will be inviting people to join a mayday street party in it’s traditional home, with music, bands, food and revelry. This will be later followed by the Metropolitan Police Players, who will be re-enacting a classic clamping down on civil liberties and freedom of the people.

All are welcome to this celebration, bring food, bands, mead, rum, codpieces, bales of hay, 18th century prostitutes, music, laughter, wonky teeth, corsets, bustles, spit roasts and virgins dancing around poles.

The exact location of the fayre is still a closely guarded secret, however it will be revealed closer to the date here on our website.

STUFF YOU SHOULD TO KNOW

COSTUME IDEAS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1700-1750_in_fashion
http://www.marquise.de/en/1700/pics/1700a.shtml
http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/fashion/round/18th_century_men/formal_wool/index.html
http://www.freewebs.com/fashionmuseum/1700.htm

MAYDAY HISTORY:
http://libcom.org/library/a-history-of-mayday
http://www.urban75.org/mayday02/history.html
http://www.infopt.demon.co.uk/grub/mayfair.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/news/may/mayday/mayday_history.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robin_Goodfellow

12 noon at Clerkenwell Green (near Farringdon Station).
March to Rally at Trafalgar Square.

Unity between all immigrant workers! We are not CRIMINALS. We are PEOPLE who want to work.

Unity with the workers of Bolivia on May 4th! No to the illegitimate, racist campaign of the Santa Cruz elite & United States to break up the country! We support the New Constitution & the real sovereignty of Bolivia!

Unity with the workers of Colombia! No more paramilitary violence against trade unionists and social movements in Colombia!

Unity with the Bolivarian Revolution! Solidarity with the conquests of Venezuelan workers on the road to socialism in the 21st Century.

AFTER-DEMONSTRATION MEETING: hear the latest developments in Latin America. Speakers from Bolivian Solidarity Campaign, Movement of Ecuadorians in the UK, Hands off Venezuela, and Colombia Solidarity Campaign.

3 - 5pm, Pitcher & Piano Pub, 40-42 William IV St, WC2N
Map: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=530128&y=180634&z=0&ar=Y

Upcoming Events We are ALL Latin Americans!!

• Saturday, May 3rd: Football for Unity: Football match for the Bolivian community and friends in London, a celebration of solidarity before the illegal referendum. All welcome!! 3pm at Burgess Park, Albany Road SE5 (nearest station Elephant & Castle)

• Monday, May 12th: Public meeting with delegation of Colombian social movements. Representatives of the Women’s Popular Organisation, National Indigenous Peoples’ Organisation, “African Footprints” (African Descendent Organisation), and the Movement of Christians for Peace with Justice and Dignity. 7pm, Amnesty International UK’s Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard (near Old Street or Moorgate tube stations).

• Saturday, June 7th: Second General Assembly of Ecuadorians in the UK. Includes discussions with an MP on the new immigration laws, representatives of Justice for Cleaners on the minimum salary, and the current project of the national government of Ecuador. 1pm at SOAS, 10 Thornaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1 (Russell Square tube).

http://www.movimientoecuador.co.uk/
http://www.boliviasc.org.uk/
http://www.colombiasolidarity.org.uk/
http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org

Friday 2nd May 2008 6pm
City Hall London

The election for the Mayor of London and for members of the Greater London Assembly takes place on Thursday May 1st. The results will be announced on the evening of May 2nd.

On Friday May 2nd people will gather at City Hall in London to vent their anger at the ‘democratic’ process of electing representatives. This country is not democratic, representation every four years is rubbing stamping within confined limits the political institutions of capitalism.

Lets get down to City Hall on May 2nd - and bring friends!

We’re not saying people shouldn’t vote, thats their choice. We’re saying if we want to change and improve our situations and create a free society, we need to build a counter-power in London that challenges and not reinforces these institutions.

By developing our presence and supporting social struggles where we live and work and play we can change the power balance.

Text of leaflet:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/london/2008/04/396079.html

Meet up 6pm
City Hall
The Queen’s Walk
Tower Bridge
South side of the river
(stations: London Bridge and Tower Hill)

1 – 15 May 2008
2 weeks of creative urban modification
http://www.streetblitz.org/

THE CONCEPT
Two weeks to use London as an open gallery. Install your art, modify something currently spoiling your view or do something which changes the perspective on our city. You then mark it onto the map on the Street Blitz website along with text and pictures.

THE MOTIVATION
The corporate image factory spends a huge amount of money on billboards, posters, flyers or ‘guerrilla’ marketing campaigns masquerading as street art. They fill your lives with an unrelenting barrage of preposterous ideals, numb values and false icons. No one asks for your permission before they push these images in your face so neither should we seek consent in order to leave our own mark on the city.

DEEDS NOT WORDS
We propose a 2 week blitz of street art in London between 1-15 May 2008. Whether you make murals, stencils, stickers, posters, sculptures, street projections, sign modification/removal/additions, billboard subverting/defacing/destruction etc; whether creative or destructive; whether to convey a message, brighten up a dull spot, rewire some corporate brainwashing tactics; whether to leave your mark, remove a stain, express yourself or simply to show your disgust – it’s all valid and all adds to The Blitz!

THE PROCEDURE
During the proposed two weeks we want you to use London as an open gallery. There is a map of the city primed and ready for Blitzers to post their activities, no matter how big or small, onto a map overlay. Install your art or anything which changes the perspective on our city then get online and post it onto the empty map on the Street Blitz website at www.streetblitz.org. You can add a description and any photos of your work. There will also be room for comments on each placemark which can also be used to tell us if the artwork is still there or if the miserly bureaucrats got there first.

THE FUTURE
Is ours. We wish to encourage Street Blitzes in other cities around the world. We can set up sub-domains, email accounts and maps for these events - you just need to set the dates and promote it locally. The idea is that most people work best to deadlines and it also creates an intense burst of activity which is more readily perceivable and which turns the city into a temporary gallery space.

THIS IS YOUR CITY
Leave your mark!

two social centres, two events

therampart — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:31:59 +0000

Last minute venue changes due to evictions threats have resulted in
both our current spaces having big all night parties taking place this
coming friday so you are spoilt for choice…

>> Benefit for direct action @ rampART 25 April - hip hop, dubstep,
afro beat funk

THE PEOPLES ARMY Makes a one off mission to East London, Friday 25th
April - 9pm-6am
@ rampART, 15 Rampart Street, London E1 2LA (near Whitechapel, off
Commercial Rd)
- The Speakers Corner family & The Peoples Army host an all night
session of Live Hip Hop, Live Afro Beat Funk, Reggae & Late night
Dubstep.

For the first section of the night we got a full conscious line up of
10+ live Hip Hop acts in session with DJ Snuff (Speakers Corner)
Hosted by Logic & Lowkey (NWO/Peoples Army)

Artist in this session include: Manage, The IRS, New World Order, The Kraftsmen,
A.M.M.O, Sunken Heads, Sonny Jim, Reain, MC Zani (Current London
Beatbox Champion), Maverick Sabre & many more very special guest TBA +
Open Mic Cypher. Big Session!

Followed by an explosive live performance from UNITED VIBRATIONS.
8-piece Afro beat funk 12 tone festival favorites bring their full
live heat to the night.
Full hour set. Positive Vibes & Energy.

Taking us into the early hours we have:
DJ Dark (Speakers Corner Reggae Room)
dropping conscious roots Reggae, Digi Dub + Danchall along-side..
DJ Steaz (Speakers Corner/HQ) & DJ Guide One (The IRS/Speakers Corner)
repping a back 2 back exclusive Dubstep set to take the night right
through to the finish!
This sessions hosted by good time host MC Honey Brown (Speakers Corner)

Live Visuals from The Beta Brothers
Sound System from Speakers Corner

Big night, Spread the Word!!
We’re working hard to bring you the realness.

Find links to all artist at:
http://myspace.com/speakerscorner
http://myspace.com/thepeoplesarmy2008

Address is 15 Rampart Street, London E1 2LA

Info line: 07958283676
people’s army / speakers corner
- Homepage: http://myspace.com/thepeoplesarmy2008

https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/397286.html

>> 28 Days Later(ish) - Social Centre opening party @ Bowl Court

28 days have passed since London’s newest social centre was occupied,
there’s been no word from the owners despite us writing to them to let
them know we were in their building so the deadline for applying for
an IPO has now passed and we thought it’d be nice to have a party.

Sod The Rich, Plow the Bowl, everyone to the Frontline, the 28 days are over!

To celebrate the opening of London’s newest (and yet to be named)
social centre Dissident Island and the centre’s custodians have teamed
up to bring you a feast of dub, dubstep, and drum n bass. Djs include
Luke.Envoy (Wonderland, Hotflush), Delsa (NSB Radio, Total Niceness),
BPM (Sublow Movement, Wireless FM), La Etnia (Wireless FM), DJ
Slippahz (Dissident Island), an assortment of Dissident Island DJs,
plus many more. Party starts at 9 and goes til the next day!

Suggested donation £5

Address is 6 Bowl Court EC2A 3LP - Off Shoreditch High St

Map:
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=533369&y=182145&z=1&sv=plough+yard&st=1&tl=Plough+Yard,+EC2&searchp=newsearch.srf&mapp=newmap.srf

e-mail: dissidentisland(at)riseup.net
See http://www.dissidentisland.org for more information

– Venue Details

rampART, 15 Rampart Street, London E1 2LA (near Whitechapel, off Commercial Rd)
map http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=534641&y=181230&z=0&sv=E1+2LA&st=2&pc=E1+2LA&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf
07050 618445 rampart@mutualaid.org

BowlCourtSquat, off Plough Yard nr Drunken Monkey, Shoreditch Hight Street
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=533369&y=182145&z=1&sv=plough+yard&st=1&tl=Plough+Yard,+EC2&searchp=newsearch.srf&mapp=newmap.srf

See http://rampart.co.nr for more info about projects and events.
http://www.myspace.com/rampartlondon

–

This mail is to members of the rampART.
To join or sign off see http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/rampart

Would you like to receive SMS alerts about London’s autonomous spaces?
Text ‘follow londonscn’ to 07624801423 then reply with a name as instructed.

Space Is The Place - side stepping the property ladder

therampart — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:32:01 +0000

Hi All,

This weekend, the rampART is one of several autonomous spaces contributing to ‘Space Is The Place - side stepping the property ladder’ a one-off series of events in London to coincide with the Europe-wide days of action in defence of free spaces and for an anti-capitalist popular culture (http://april2008.squat.net).

This weekend will also see the launch of the new (currently nameless) social centre in Shoreditch. The space will host an open access art-space, squatters estate agency, free shop, discussions,
skill-sharing and films throughout the weekend. There will also be a benefit gig at the Hackney social centre to raise money for the Advisory Service for Squatters.

Help at rampART on friday, and over the weekend at the new place, would be much appreciated.

London Summary

The weekend starts with a social meetup and info night at the rampART social centre on Friday evening - a cafe with films, presentations, info stalls and some music. There will also be an event at the NOID gallery with acoustic bands and performances.

The art-space, free shop and squatters estate agency, films, workshops and discussions etc will take place saturday and sunday at the newly opened social centre in Shoreditch (address and directions below).

On saturday evening, Hackney Social Centre on Lower Clapton Road will host the Advisory Service for Squatters benefit gig with Headjam, Skints, Ras Simeon Judah, 52 Commercial Rd and Pinstickers.

Full program outline

Venue details at the bottom of the email.
Latest event additions at: http://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/395938.html

FRIDAY 11th

7pm @rampART Social Centre (yes, it’s still open!)
Free Spaces info night and social meet up with cafe, films, talks, stalls, music. More info at http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396086.html

8pm @NOID Gallery
ASS acoustic bands and performance

SATURDAY 12th

12noon@Alexandra Court Hostel enroute to Hackney Town Hall
Demonstrate for clean, safe homes! Called by London Coalition Against Poverty (LCAP)
Meet Sat 12th April at 12.30pm, Alexandra Court Hostel, Belgrade Road, Hackney to march to Hackney Town Hall on Mare St.

10am-7pm@NewShoreditchSquat
Squatters Estate Agency, Art Exhibition, Films, Stalls, Workshops and discussion, Freeshop. There will be practical workshops on setting up a squat, ASS workshop, social centre eviction support, setting up a squat garden (weather permitting), bike maintenance and more..

8pm@HackneySocialCentre
Benefit gig for the Advisory Service for Squatters. Bands, stalls, vegan dinner.
More info http://hackneysocialcentre.blogspot.com/

SUNDAY 13th

10am-7pm@NewShoreditchSquat
Squatters Estate Agency, Art Exhibition, Films, Stalls, Workshops and discussion

Other happenings

Sat 11th : @ Wominspace. Drag workshops during the day and drag party from 9pm till late. Women only.

Sat 11th : 7pm - 11:30pm Earth Circus Climate 4 Change Cabaret @ Circle Community

Venue details

New Shoreditch Squat : Bowl Court off Plough Yard, by Drunken Munkey at junction of Shoreditch High Street and Great Eastern Street - http://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396084.html

rampART social centre : 15 Rampart St (off Commercial Road) E1 2LA - http://www.rampart.co.nr

NOID gallery : 26 Calvert Ave, London E2 7JP - http://www.noidgallery.net

Hackney Social Centre : 231 Lower Clapton Road, E5 8EG - http://hackneysocialcentre.blogspot.com

Wominspace : 4a Corbridge Crescent, E2 - http://womynspace.blogspot.com

Circle Community : The Old Mercedes Showroom 341 Finchley Rd - http://circlecommunity.org

RAMPART 2.2

therampart — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:52:43 +0000

rampART 1 is still going (of course still under acute threat of eviction) yet our backup space Ramp Part2 which was occupied since new year’s eve was less fortunate and has been .

Undaunted by the loss of our baby Ram Part 2 (they got the IPO on the
third try), we’ve already moved into a new space and have started to fix
it up to have it ready for the April 11/12 days of action (more details
on this in the next newsletter)!

It’s bigger, better location, with a room that has already been sound
proofed! The owners have taken out all the stairs so we need help
rebuilding them, and the upper floors need the boards relaying. If you
are a roofer please get in contact as the roof has a hole in it -
typical, building owners that want to force council planning to accept
demolishion (and build yuppie flats) by allowing the building to
deteriorate. Well now we’re around to put the place to better use!

– We urgently need help with the occupation and work rota! –

Please contact us at rampart@mutualaid.org or come along to the next
Monday meeting at 7pm at old Rampart, but we need help sooner than Monday!

JOBS TO BE DONE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS:
- Fix the first flight of stairs (need 13 planks 104cm long)
- Put curtains up on the first floor
- Replace the floor boards (using screws rather than nails to keep the
noise down at this stage)
- Patch up broken windows to reduce draft and keep cold out
- Fix roof
- Plumbing

ROTA: email us at rampart@mutualaid.org !!

WISHLIST:
- Door bell
- Scaffold planks, any length over 3.5ft and lots of them
- Perspex, glass or windows
- A big piece of lino or water proof advertisinf banners etc for roof
- Hose, taps, sink and somebody up for doing plumbing

******************************

*******

APRIL 11/12 DAYS OF ACTION FOR SQUATS AND AUTONOMOUS SPACES

We will be hosting some workshops and a café for the April 11/12 Days of
Action.

Some of the workshop ideas that were discussed were:
working with electricity, water and plumbing, gaining access and lock
picking, window glazing,
fitting locks, legal issues, basic DIY, repair and fixing consumer
appliances, sound proofing, growing food in squats saving energy -
insulation and draught proofing on zero budget, saving / harvesting
water, permaculture, etc.

If you have any workshop ideas or would like to get involved, come to
our regular Monday meetings at 7pm.

We’re doing a Squatters Estate Agents so if you know of any empties,
take a picture, note down condition and details and email us at
rampart@mutualaid.org

For more info on the April 11/12 Days of Action, visit:
http://april2008.squat.net/

*****************************************
// UPCOMING EVENTS AT RAMPART //
*****************************************

RADICAL THEORY READING GROUP MARCH 28TH, 6:30PM

**PLEASE NOTE LOCATION CHANGE**

The group will be meeting at 170-172 Acre Lane, Brixton

Readings:

‘On Neoliberalism: An interview with David Harvey’
(http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/lilley190606.html)

‘The Art of Rent: Globalization, Monopoly and the Commodification of
Culture’
(http://socialistregister.com/recent/2002/harvey2002). As usual, any
problems ring Debbie at 07904759830

“When they kick out your front door, How you gonna come? With your hands
on your head, Or on the trigger of your gun… etc. etc. etc.”

********************************************

MAGAZINE LAUNCH FOR NAKED PUNCH REVIEW

Saturday, March 29th, probably 8PM start

Naked Punch review will be holding a launch of Issue# 10 on Saturday night.

with:
Short performances and theatre followed by bands and dj.
Video and Cinema showcase
Art exhibition
Poetry room

Entrance £3 donation (funds towards for future publications)

Naked Punch Review is a quarterly interdisciplinary review and magazine
of philosophy, art, politics and poetry run voluntarily by young,
unestablished figures in those fields. Contributors have included
Antonio Negri, Tariq Ali, Wim Wenders, Arthur Danto, Richard Shusterman,
Simon Critchley, Walden Bello, Michael Taussig, Adonis, Mahmoud Darvish
among others.The magazine was founded in 2002 by a group of young
London-based thinkers.

http://www.nakedpunch.com

**********************************************

// OTHER SOCIAL CENTRE EVENTS //

EVENTS AT WOMYNSPACE:

Monday:
Welding workshop 7pm - 9pm
Music Jam 8pm

Tuesday:
Welding workshop 10am - 12am
Cafe and Kids space 3pm - 9pm
Practical Herbal Skillshare 4pm - 6pm
Womyns Space Collective Meeting 7pm

Wednesday:
Stencil making 4pm - 8pm
(please bring own scalpel and acetate/cardboard if you can)
Womens Direct Action group 7.30pm

Thursday:
Cafe and Kids space 3pm - 9pm
Photoshop and software share workshop 4pm - 6.30pm
(bring own laptop if possible! But come anyways
mail: jayapapaya@gmail.com
Women’s Discussion Group 6.30pm - 8.30 pm
SEE NOTICEBOARD FOR DETAILS

Friday:
Bar from 7pm

Saturday:
Cafe and Kids space 3pm - 9pm

Sunday:
Womens Health Collective

For more info, contact womenorganise@yahoo.co.uk

*****************************************
-*- BEHIND BARS VIII -*-

Queer DIY benefit supporting: International Union of Sexworkers

29th March 08
10pm - 8am

at the Hackney Social Centre
231 Lower Clapton Road, Hackney, E5 8EG
(please note: entrance is at the back door of the building)
Door donation

Live bands & acts: Juha, Spiritwo, Skitzopolis, Prolapse, Villain, Roc
Roc It, Husbands, Rouge Et Noir
VJs: Oskur, Monogaze, Filippo
DJs: Fake Face, Foll@nes, PJ, Sturamsey, Cheeky Half, Lakuti, Amila, Stay B

www.myspace.com/behindbarsbroadcast
www.iusw.org
www.hackneysocialcentre.blogspot.com

*****************************************
// OTHER EVENTS IN LONDON //
*****************************************

TRADE UNION AND COMMUNITY CONFERENCE AGAINST IMMIGRATION CONTROLS

SATURDAY 29th MARCH 2008 10.30am - 5pm

SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H,
Tube: Russell Square, buses: 7, 68, 169

Speakers include John McDonnell MP, trade union activists, and people
who successfully fought back against the immigration system

Called by Finsbury Park RMT

Supported by Piccadilly & West RMT, Camden RMT, Central London GMB,
UNITE-T&G 1647 Branch (Catering & Domestic Workers), Ilford & Romford
UNITE-AMICUS, Clerkenwell & St. Pancras UNITE-AMICUS, Liverpool
University UCU, Liverpool Trades Council, Brent Trades Council, Brighton
& Hove Trades Council, Bolivian Solidarity Campaign, Ecuadorian Movement
in the UK, No One is Illegal, Papers for All, London No Borders, Global
Afrikan Congress UK, LTRC Black & Ethnic Members, Latin Front, Latin
Community Association, Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP, No Sweat, Leicester
Civil Rights Movement, Leicester Social Forum and more

Info/contacts:
www.29thmarch.org.uk

e-mail: davidlandau9@aol.com
tel: 07956 133450 (English) or 07818 6 7192 (Spanish)

Post: Immigration Conference, Dean O’Hanlon, RMT, Unity House, 39
Chalton Street, Euston, London NW1 1JD.

Every day people are being detained and deported.
Every day people are being denied education, health care, the right to
work and thrown into destitution because of their immigration status.
Every day people are paid peanuts and made to work in life threatening
conditions by unscrupulous employers because of their immigration status.
Every day people die trying to cross borders.
Every day Immigration Officers raid people’s homes at dawn and raid
migrants at work.

And it is getting worse with new legislation requiring employers to
regularly check papers of ‘foreigners’.

BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS! If we get together in our
workplaces and our communities we can stop this.

To make this happen trade unionists and community activists need to get
together to share experiences, develop tactics and networks, find ways
of winning trade unions and other organisations to fight these
pernicious controls and say No One is Illegal!

So come along to the conference and make this happen.

There will be plenary sessions and workshops and with plenty of time for
discussion, including:

- Resisting immigration controls in the workplace
- Access to education, social services, housing & health
- Resisting deportation
- Resisting low pay and poor conditions
- Domestic work
- Transport industry and immigration controls

There will be a creche. Please let us know if you will be bringing children.

** BENEFIT GIG AFTERWARDS **

No Borders London presents:

LONDON CALLING!

An evening of acoustic political sounds following the Second Trade Union
and Community Conference against Immigration Controls

Sat 29th March, 6pm - midnight

@ The Ivy House pub, 8-10 Southampton Row, WC1B 4AE (next to Holborn tube)

Featuring sets from:
* PJ and Gaby
* Neil Sutherland
* Kelly Kemp
plus more tbc.

Free entry/donations welcome.

http://noborderslondon.blogspot.com

****************************************************
RECLAIM YOUR FOOD, SUNDAYS IN FRONT OF THE RITZY IN BRIXTON, STARTING AT 3PM
Come for free food and a bike maintenance workshop, in front of the
Ritzy in Brixton, every Sunday at 3pm
***************************************************

FOSSIL FUELS DAY OF ACTION

Tuesday April 1st

http://www.fossilfoolsdayofaction.org

*Funeral for coal in Parliament square, London*

Meet at 11 AM in Parliament Square

The People & Planet network invites you to join us at an action and mass
lobby. We will be building a coal power station complete with 12ft
cooling towers in Westminster, while people dressed in Jesters hats and
Gordon Brown masks will ‘burn’ a mock Climate Change Bill.

Contact james.lloyd@peopleandplanet.org for more information.
www.peopleandplanet.org/nonewcoal

*Protest circus for a coal Fossil Fool, London*

Meet 8 AM at 1 Victoria Street (nearest tube: St. James’s Park)

The London World Development Movement groups are co-ordinating a
hilarious protest outside the Department for Enterprise Business and
Regulatory Reform (or BERR) to laugh at the minister for business, John
Hutton. John Hutton is currently set to make a right fool of the
government’s climate policy if he signs off on EON’s new Kingsnorth
power station. Everyone’s welcome to join in the collective hilarity and
to demand Hutton takes the Kingsnorth decision very seriously. There
will be a real circus feel, with jugglers, clowns and acrobats, so don’t
hesitate to bring juggling balls or wear your squeaky nose or silly hat.

Protest starts at 8am and will be over in time for you to be at work.

Contact Rachel on 0207 8204900 for more information.
www.stopkingsnorth.org

***************************************************

WOULD YOU LIKE FREE SMS ALERTS ABOUT LONDON SOCIAL CENTRE ANNOUNCEMENTS
AND EVENTS?
Text ‘follow londonscn’ to 07624801423 then reply with a name as instructed.

–
This is a message to those subscribed to the rampART mailing list.
To sign-off of subscribe see http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/rampart
See http://rampart.co.nr for more info about the project and events.
http://www.myspace.com/rampartlondon
map http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=534641&y=181230&z=0&sv=E1+2LA&st=2&pc=E1+2LA&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf
15 Rampart Street, London E1 2LA (near Whitechapel, off Commercial Rd)
07050 618445 rampart@mutualaid.org

WOULD YOU LIKE FREE SMS ALERTS ABOUT LONDON SOCIAL CENTER GIGS AND EVENTS?
Text ‘follow londonscn’ to 07624801423 then reply with a name as instructed.

Rampart newsletter 4th March 2008__

therampart — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:39:01 +0000

Rampart newsletter 4th March 2008__

HI EVERYBODY,

We’re still around, hopefully we will be saying that for weeks to come.
However, both buildings are neck and neck for eviction! Read on for what
we need, what’s been happening in court and what’s on at rampART.

== Update on Rampart ==

We are still open for you guys, running events until we can’t, but we
are on borrowed time (in this building only of course). It’s a matter of
when, not if the bailiffs turn up. So, make sure you come when events
are on, help us look for empties, come to the monday meeting (7PM),
subscribe to the twitter text message service and think about putting on
an event!

If you see any empties, email us, rampart@mutualaid.org. We might be
squatters, but we’re still picky, so make sure you let us know: precise
location, what the neighbouring area is like, size and rooms, and if you
know of any possible planning permission.

== Update on the new place ==

The owner’s papers were not in order so their case got rejected. And we
won - kind of.. They will apply again for an IPO at the next available
court date likely which will likely be early next week.

Anyway, it means we have gained one more week in the new building, and
we are now taking on bets for which building will go first!

For information on squatting yourself, check the Advisory Service for
Squatters www.squatters.org.uk

To see what rampART 2 was meant to be and how it started off check the
photo essay on Indymedia! http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/392529.html

=== EVENT AT RAMPART ==

<=> THURSDAY 6TH MARCH <=>

BIKE FILM NIGHT & MEETING
‘Eat, Sleep, Bikes’ - All vegan fixed wheel team ride the 500 mile
non-stop bike relay race through Death Valley
PLUS other bike film shorts
Vegan food. @ 7.30pm Thurs 6 March.

<=> FRIDAY 7TH MARCH <=>

With International Women’s Day coming up on March 8th, the Dissident
Island radio show will be highlighting various new and established
London-based feminist groups, activities and actions.

Live in the studio, we will be talking to two members of the Feminist
Library organising committee to hear a bit about the rich and varied
history of this long-standing depository of feminist literature and some
of the operational challenges it is currently facing. We will also have
two participants of the Feminist Activist Forum to chat about its
efforts to bring about feminist collaborations, including a coherent
radical feminist timeline of recent history, amongst other activities…

There’s more! We will be airing an interview with participants from the
new womin’s squat in Hackney, and the plans for workshops and use of the
space, and also an interview with a member of the recently created
Pro-Feminist men’s group. In addition, we are hoping to hear from
Feminist Fightback in regards the past conference and future actions
they have in the works, as well as an organising member from Million
Women Rise, the group behind the demonstration/march happening on
Saturday, March 8th, which demands an end to violence against women.

Numbfink will be providing us with some live breakcore/experimental set,
this will be very good. Miss it at your peril.

So tune in this Friday, March 7th at 9:00pm.
Go here for the link to the live show:
<http://www.dissidentisland.org> www.dissidentisland.org

==*Also relevant events and meetings elsewhere*==

<=> 6 MARCH COLOMBIA DAY OF ACTION <=>

Remember the victims of para-militarism, para-politics and the crimes of
the State

FOR THE DISAPPEARED! FOR THE DISPLACED! FOR THE MASSACRED! FOR THE EXECUTED!

Around 4 million people have been displaced in Colombia , mostly by
extreme right wing paramilitary groups. These groups, working either on
their own or in coordination with the armed forces, have ‘disappeared’
at least 15,000 people. The corpses of 3,000 of these victims have been
found in common graves, others were just thrown into the rivers.

More than 1,700 indigenous people have been assassinated, as have been
2,550 trade unionists, and around 5,000 members of the Unión Patriótica.
Regularly, the paramilitaries torture the victims before killing them.
The paramilitaries have carried out 3,500 massacres (where five or more
victims are murdered) between 1982 and 2005. They have robbed more than
six million hectares of land.

Since 2002 and their supposed ‘demobilisation’, the paramilitaries
continue to assassinate 600 people each year. They have reached the
point of controlling 35% of politicians elected to Parliament.

And since President Uribe’s election in 2002 members of the National
Army have committed more than 950 executions, the majority presented as
positive killings of guerrillas in combat, when really they are
assassinations of civilians, kown as “false positives”.

In January 2008 alone, the paramilitaries committed 2 massacres, 9
forced disappearances and 8 homicides, and the Army has committed 16
extra-judicial executions.

In Colombia , agents of the State and the paramilitaries violate human
rights and humanitarian law. Many of the paramilitary groups have not
been demobilised. They now call themselves the Black Eagles. Many
para-politicians are still in public office and in posts in the
diplomatic corps.
Common Graves - Never Again! Forced Displacement - Never Again!
Para-militaries - Never Again! Para-políticians - Never Again! State
Crimes - Never Again!

National Movement of the Victims of State Crime
Statement calling for vigils on 6 March 2008

SOLIDARITY EVENTS on Thursday 6 March in London

11am Parliament Square (opposite Houses of Parliament) and No More
Military Aid To Colombia organised by Justice for Colombia, ICTUR, Unite
supported by Latin American Workers Association and the Collective for
the Humanitarian Accord

5.30pm – 7.30pm Vigil opposite Downing Street, Whitehall, organised by
Colombia Solidarity Campaign, the Collective for the Humanitarian
Accord, Latin American Workers Association and Movimiento Ecuador en el
Reino Unido, MERU.

Down with State Terrorism in Colombia ! Defend Grass Roots
Organisations! No More Dirty War! No More Military Aid!

<=> Sunday 9TH MARCH FEMINIST GATHERING <=>

Building on the energy of International Women’s Day 2008, we are
bringing together feminists from all backgrounds and political positions
for one exciting and thought-provoking day of workshops, discussions and
network building.

PROPOSED WORKSHOPS INCLUDE:

• An introduction to anarcha-feminism
• Bike repair
• Practical approaches to safer sex/ negotiating consent
• Exploring possibilities for feminist erotic media through DIY porn
• Building solidarity between women’s and trans movements
• Self-defence
• Prison-abolition and dealing with rape and violence against women and
girls
• Feminism and queer in the anarchist
• Movement in Belarus
• Religious Feminists

The day is open to all genders and sexualities
(Although some workshops may be for specific groups only: for example,
women or trans only).

Website: https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/9thmarch

Email: 9thmarch@lists.riseup.net

Start time for workshops: 12.30pm – and then workshops running every hour

Location: Hackney Social Centre, 231 Lower Clapton Road.

On public transport: Take the #38 bus from Victoria station to the end
of the line.

CRECHE: Is available

ACCOMMODATION: get in touch if you need places to stay in London as
there are sure to be sleeping spaces available.
If you have any specific accommodation needs (e.g. wheelchair access)
please let us know.

Please get in touch if you want to help organise, distribute zines, show
films, exhibit, run a stall or want to run/suggest a workshop or
facilitate a meeting.

——————————

————————————————–

SUBSCRIBE TO THE TWITTER

If you have a mobile phone and would like to stay informed about any
urgent news about the rampART and the new space eviction threat,
subscribe to the free SMS alerts service on twitter.

This will allow us to alert a large number of people very quickly should
there be an attempt to evict the social centre and hopefully enable us
to mobilise enough people to make such attempts unsucessful.

To join, text ‘follow londonscn’ to 07624801423. You will receive a
message in return and you should reply to that text as instructed with a
name of your choosing.

Subscribing will cost you the normal fee for sending two text messages
(probably 20p in total) and there is no charge to receive the alerts.

We don’t run the service, it is provided by an american company (see
twitter.com). There are privacy implications but we don’t believe they
are significant in this particular context. If you are the paranoid
type, don’t sign up.

In the future, this service will be used to annouce events taking place
at London Social Centres but currently it will only used for emergency
alerts and callouts.

You can unsubscribe at any time following the instructions that are
texted to you when you join up.

WOULD YOU LIKE FREE SMS ALERTS ABOUT LONDON SOCIAL CENTER GIGS AND EVENTS?
Text ‘follow londonscn’ to 07624801423 then reply with a name as instructed.

court victory for ram pART 2

therampart — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:45:42 +0000

alas, rampART 1 still under eviction threat and tomorrow the owners of rampART 2 seem to be trying to serve papers for their third attempt at an IPO. probably back in court next week.

For more information on what all that means, check the Advisory Service for Squatters www.squatters.org.uk and make sure you are subscribed to our text message twitter for instant information on your mobile!

To see what ram pART 2 was meant to be and how it started off check the photo essay on Indymedia:

http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/392529.html

we have problems with the list..subscribe to the twitter

therampart — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:36:25 +0000

we, or possibly riseup, have had problems with the mailing lists, hence no newsletter last week. Make sure you are subscribed to our text message twitter

SMS ALERTS ABOUT LONDON SOCIAL CENTER GIGS, EVENTS AND ALERTS: Text ‘follow londonscn’ to 07624801423 then reply with a name as instructed.