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Merseyside anti-bedroom tax groups get organised

It’s been a slog but, after months of meetings and discussion, anti-bedroom tax groups across Merseyside met, on Sat 18th May, to conclusively set in place the Merseyside Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation.

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Article written by contributor who is currently serving a 120 hour community payback order, in which they are required to do a program of unpaid work for the terrible “community”1. This Article forms the First part of a short series detailing different aspects and analysis of the community payback program, from thinking about the actions being performed and their implications to offering a kind of insight into what this shit is actually like. Please distribute to anyone you know who might be about to get sentenced to community payback.

Part 2: Faggot Till I Die.

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An article written by a contributor who is currently serving a 120 hour community payback order, in which they are required to do a program of unpaid work for the terrible “community”1. This article forms the first part of a short series detailing different aspects and analysis of the community payback program, from thinking about the actions being performed and their implications to offering a kind of insight into what this shit is actually like.

Please distribute this to anyone you know who might be about to get sentenced to community payback. The full series is also avaliable at thesituationlondon.wordpress.com

Part 1: Honor amongst thieves.

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On Saturday, May 4th activists of the initiative „Solidarity Agriculture“, in short SoliLa!, occupied some farm land in the 21st district in Vienna, which was not cultivated or used in another way for years.

On Saturday, May 4th activists of the initiative „Solidarity Agriculture“, in short SoliLa!, occupied some farm land in the 21st district in Vienna, which is owned by the fund for housing construction and urban renewal of the City of Vienna and leased to a private person, that has not cultivated it or used it in another way for years.

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Welcome to issue seven of the Irish Anarchist Review, published by the Workers Solidarity Movement. One hundred years on from the great Dublin lockout, the labour movement in Ireland stands at a crossroads. In this issue, we look at some of the struggles of the past that lead us to this moment in history and consider ways that we can progress the reconstruction of working class organisation. We don’t think there is a magic formula for success; rather we hope this magazine can be a forum for debate for activists who are involved in the struggles that are going on in 2013.

Locked Out: Dublin 1913
General Strike - Protest or Process
Urban Politics & The Dublin Housing Action Committee 1968-71
Anarchism in Brazil
Capital's Shadow
On the RAG
The Politics of Voices: Notes on Gender, Race & Class
Avoiding Burn out – Self Care and Support in activism
Review of Volume 2 of Anarchist FAQ

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Benjamin Fogel on the attempt by the South African Communist Party to take over the trade union movement in South Africa.

COSATU is in the midst of the biggest crisis in its 27-year history. This crisis has arisen from an SACP-driven attempt to oust democratically elected COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, under the guise of corruption charges. The conflict’s roots are in longstanding political contradictions and ideological tensions between COSATU and its Alliance partners – the ANC and the SACP.

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On sunday, the 28th of April 2013, a well-known Russian anti-fascist,
Alexey Gaskarov, was arrested in Moscow. He is a member of the
Coordination Council of Russian opposition.

The investigation committee
of the Russian Federation has accused him of having pacticipated in
riots and violence against representative of authorities on the 6th of May 2012, when OMON
(Russian riot police) attacked a peaceful demonstration.

The 6th of May was one day prior to Putin's inauguration, and a mass
demonstration had been called by the opposition. The winter and spring of

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3.000 anarchists march in solidarity to Athens Indymedia & 98 FM

Taking the fight from the internet to the streets. On April 25th, 2013 approximately 3.000 anarchists marched in solidarity to Athens Indymedia and 98 FM that have been censored by the greek State since April 11th, amongst dozens of solidarity actions all over Greece and some parts of Europe.

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The latest human disaster in the Bangladeshi garment industry - a poorly constructed factory building collapses...

No accident; murder as merely
a cost of production

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Hundreds of thousands of workers went on strike on Thursday in protest at the deaths of hundreds of workers in a factory collapse the previous day.

Workers downed tools and blockaded major highways in several industrial areas outside the capital Dhaka, forcing factory bosses to declare a day's holiday.

Factories where the owners did not grant the day off were attacked.

The chief of police told press that many of the workers also "wanted to donate blood to their fellow workers", over 1000 of whom were injured in the collapse.

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20economix-yglesias-blog480.jpg Quote:
“Where’s my mother? Where’s my mother?” cried Rana Ahmed as she rushed through Enam Medical College and Hospital.

Mosammat Khurshida wailed as she looked for her husband. “He came to work in the morning. I can’t find him,” she said. “I don’t know where he is. He does not pick up his phone.

An arm jutted out of one section of the rubble. The lifeless body of a woman covered in dust could be seen in another.

From the Seattle Free Press.

[b]Murder is murder – forcing your workers to enter a factory known to be unsafe is no exception, and no amount of GDP growth is going to change that.[/b]

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Slavoj Zizek, the philosopher, says we need a 'Thatcher of the left'. Gabriel Levy responds that we will emancipate ourselves, without big leaders

The philosopher Slavoj Zizek hopes fervently for a “Thatcher of the left”, and pays homage to strong leaders, in the New Statesman this week.

How can we engage in any sort of creative thinking about human liberation, as long as there linger ideas that liberation depends not on active, participatory democracy but on a “Thatcher of the left”? Gabriel Levy

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In the evening of 14th of April, social activist V.N. was seriously
wounded in Kiev. He was assaulted by 5 Nazis in the area of metro
station Dorozhichi. Young patriots used knives and cutted three times
arteries in the legs of the activist. V.N. also lost teeth and suffered
a brain concussion.

If it was not purpose of attackers to murder, at least they attempted to
permanently main activist who takes active part to anti-government,
anti-capitalist and animal right actions. V-N. lost much blood, but due
to an operation made in time, his life is no more in a danger.

Currently money is needed for covering his medical costs.

Paypal of ABC-Moscow for donations: abc-msk@riseup.net

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DEMO
Thursday 18th April Huddersfield Magistrates Court
9.45am
DEFEND THE HUDDERSFIELD 2
Arrested on Saturday’s bedroom tax protest.
Bring Banners.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdrh1EVNmUc

This is a Demo called by Axe the Tax and Huddersfield Anarchist League to support two local anarchists who were brutally arrested after an occupation of Barclays Bank towards the end of an anti bedroom tax demo in Huddersfield on 6th of April.

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Two policemen are under investigation for covering up a fascist brawl that involved Rome’s Mayor’s son, Manfredi Alemanno.

According to Rome’s Public Prosecutors the inquiry that had followed the event was obstructed and then buried under the sand by the Police, thanks to the withholding of evidence and false statements made by policemen Roberto Macellaro (who in his free time volunteers to be the Mayor’s personal chauffeur) and Pietro Ronca, a local Chief Inspector in Rome.

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Excellent document from the New Economics Foundation debunking government and media rhetoric about benefit "skivers" and showing that only 2.6% of welfare spending is on the unemployed.

Executive Summary The myth

‘Strivers versus skivers’ purports to sums up our welfare state, and why, therefore, the benefits system should be reformed.

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The battle against the bedroom tax in Huddersfield has commenced resulting in a near riot outside Barclays bank.

The battle against the bedroom tax and the cut in council tax rebate was launched in Huddersfield when supporters of Huddersfield Anarchist League staged a thirty strong protest outside the local town hall on 21st March. A delegation of five people addressed Councillors to demand answers to questions.

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The escrache protests in Spain organised by the Platform of Mortgage Victims are quickly getting to the rotten core of a technical government in all but name. Despite the Popular Party's attempts to demonise them in the press they continue to gather support, pointing the way for the rest of Europe.

As David Cameron prepares to promote yet another housing boom in Britain, we would do well to pay some notice to our neighbours in Spain, who are currently suffering the dire consequences of a bursting bubble releasing its slime all over their lives. When all else fails (and it’s hard to think of much that’s not failing under Osborne) a housing bubble can do wonders for a dismal government.

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This week's episode of The Final Straw features an interview with Ramona, an anarchist activist in Slovenia and member of the Federation for Anarchist Organizing. She speaks about the uprisings which have been happening in that country since November, 2012 in reaction to widespread political corruption and police surveillance.

From AshevilleFM

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Hundreds gather in spontaneous celebrations in London, Glasgow and Bristol on the day former Tory Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's death was announced.

Although there had been talk for some years of gatherings to take place after the passing of the former Conservative leader, as the event happened people emerged onto the streets rather quickly.

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