COUNTER INFORMATION
no.58 Winter 2003/2004 FREE
Grass-roots resistance in Scotland
In this issue of Counter Information -
What is Counter Information?
A message to people who were on the
Counter Info postal mailing list
GRASS-ROOTS RESISTANCE IN
SCOTLAND
PFI
The new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Labour's flagship Private Finance
Initiative,
is a disaster...
DUNGAVEL - NO-ONE IS ILLEGAL
The shocking imprisonment of children in Scotland's refugee prison
NURSERY NURSES STRIKE
Scotland's nursery nurses are standing up for themselves
SHORTS
Brief reports of resistance round Scotland
TELL US LIES ABOUT IRAQ
Four big Bush-Blair lies about the slaughter in Iraq
WAR RESISTERS
British soldiers who have refused the war machine
UPRISING
Bolivia's poor rise up and overthrow the President
'DESTROY THE METERS AND ENJOY THE WATER"
Poor black communities in South Africa taking direct action for access
to
basic services
AUTONOMY!
The Zapatistas assert "the right to govern ourselves"
SOLIDARITY!
Human rights observers give solidarity to the Palestinians
DEFY-ID!
Organising against the Big Brother state
SOLIDARITY SUCCESS
Solidarity walk-outs bring victory for shipyard workers on the Tyne
DIRECT ACTION DISRUPTS ARMS FAIR
Blockading the death dealers at the DSEi in London
SHORTS
Blockading the Ghost Fleet and McDonalds Workers Resistance
INSIDE INFO
Prisoner solidarity in Greece, Italy and the USA
SABCATS PRACTICAL INFO PAGE
The facts you need to beat the boss and stop the sheriff...
Contacts for fighting back
WHAT IS COUNTER INFORMATION ?
COUNTER INFORMATION is a news-sheet produced by an independent
collective
based in Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. We print an A3 paper
version for
widespread
free distribution.
Our aim is to assist in the struggle to overthrow all oppression and
exploitation
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COUNTER INFORMATION c/o 17 W.MONTGOMERY PLACE, EDINBURGH EH7 5HA
SCOTLAND TEL 0131 557 6242
GRASS-ROOTS
RESISTANCE IN SCOTLAND
PFI
Pretty Frigging Ironic. You spend years fighting Tory Government
plans
for privatisation, then along comes Labour and privatises more than the
Iron Lady could ever dream of. That's the judgment of Edinburgh people,
staff and patients who've experienced the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
(ERI). Remember the "NHS Safe in Our Hands" bullshit of the Labour
Party propaganda? Now exposed as a tissue of lies.
During the long hot summer a combination of poor design, bad
ventilation
and "a ban on opening windows" has left staff and patients roasting
in temperatures of 35C and higher. The situation got so bad that there
have
been staff walk-outs when the temperature went out of control.
And all this in a "purpose-built" modern building?
The Consort Health Care consortium behind the project includes Balfour
Beatty,
Morrison Construction and the Royal Bank of Scotland. They've invested
£184
million on the project, but are going to cash in to the tune of
£1.26
billion in 2061. Of all the pigs in the trough, Morrison Construction
seem
to have done best, they've managed to scoop up all the (now vacant)
hospital
sites for around £10 million - based on mid-90s prices. The
whole
thing is a stich-up put together behind closed-doors.
The only doctors who seem to be keen on the project are Labour's
Doctors
of Spin. As the flagship of Labour's Scottish privatisation programme,
the
dreadful publicity of their biggest project yet must be haunting the
spivs,
spooks, vandals and thieves who lead the Scottish Labour Party.
DUNGAVEL - NO-ONE IS ILLEGAL
Remember when Sheena Wellington sang A Man's a Man for a That
at
the opening of the Scottish Parliament? There wasn't a dry eye in the
house,
the media loved it and every couthy wee Scottish socialist warmed their
conscience with the notion that here was a different political culture
marked
by some peculiarly Caledonian egalitarianism.
What a heap of shit. As Labour Party members sit back and watch
children
jailed the pure stinking hypocrisy of the Lib-Lab Executive is exposed.
Dungavel is a prison whose inmates have committed the crime of fleeing
persecution.
Now, in an amazing development, Jack McConnell has the cheek to plea
for
people to come from abroad to fill our skill-shortages?
The barbarity of the system that has deported the Ay family and treated
Fatima Jailiana Muse (docked her weekly food allowance for feeding her
children
at the wrong time) has shocked ordinary people across Scotland. Over
1,000
demonstrators beseiged Dungavel's razor-wire fences on 6 September.
Friends of Refugees Ayrshire meet at Woodlands Centre, Irvine, 2nd Mon.
each month,7.30.<info@frea.org>
See http://peaceandjustice.co.uk
& http://www.noborder.org
Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees <glascamref@hotmail.com>
*National anti racist demo Glasgow 29 Nov. Assemble 10.30am Blythswood
Sq.
Mercy Ikolo and baby Bessie after campaigners won their release from
Dungavel
DO THE RIGHT THING
Glasgow City Council is evicting refugees who have been refused asylum
by
the UK state. But people are standing up against the government's
disgusting
"divide and rule" campaign against refugees, by demonstrating
at the City Chambers, George Square, 5pm Mon 10 Nov., followed by a
public
meeting. We need to stop these evictions and deportations, and fight
for
a decent life for all.
NURSERY NURSES STRIKE
IN any civilised society, Nursery Nurses, as trained workers who
help
pre-school children develop and gather the building blocks of learning
concepts,
would be given a key status. In ours they can earn as little as 22 quid
a day. Like nurses, firefighters and other public workers they're
treated
shabbily.
Councils like Edinburgh employ 386 full and part-time nursery nurses,
and
many more in private nurseries. Cosla's Technical Working Group came up
with a derisory package that included a 32.5 hour week being raised to
35
hours and a loss of holidays. The proposal would leave a few
specialists
better-off, but the vast majority capped at a maximum of £15,000
after
two years training and ten years experience.
Nursery nurses currently earn between £10,000 and
£13,000.
The number of nursery places rose by 4% while the number of staff fell
13%.
More strikes and unofficial action is expected.
MAST MADNESS
OPPOSITION is building to the new TETRA police radio masts. Studies
suggest
that radio waves around their frequency could trigger damage to the
nervous
and immune systems. 30 masts are due for Fife, and 700 for Scotland as
part
of a £2.5bn UK scheme.
http://www.mastsanity.org or
call the Fife campaign on 01337 810 413
KEEP ULLA FREE
KIRKCALDY 15 Oct..An arrest warrant was issued for anti war activist
Ulla
Roder, charged with disarming a military Tornado jet at Leuchars in
March
2003.
http://www.free-ulla.org
DEPLETED URANIUM
PLANS are afoot to set-up a national network of communities resisting
the
military in Scotland. From the military bases and firing ranges at Cape
Wrath to the Depleted Uranium dumps of the Solway Firth, low-flying,
ground
and water contamination, leukemia clusters - all are part and parcel of
the military presence.
During the 1991 Gulf war over 3000 tonnes of weapons containing
Depleted
Uranium were dropped over Iraq: over 96,000 DU shells were shot around
Basra.
Since then childhood cancer and leukaemia rates have risen by over 400%
and DU has been heavily implicated in causing Gulf war Syndrome amongst
US and UK troops.
Now there's moves to fight-back, with a website, newsletter and
meetings
in the coming months.
Contact Indymedia Scotland.
BILSTON GLEN
SINCE June 2002 Bilston Glen, by Edinburgh, has been occupied and
fortified
by an ever expanding group of activists.
Bilston Glen - a Site of Special Scientific Interest - faces having a
bypass
ripped through it. The road is funded by multinationals and biotech
companies
(Sainsburys, Ikea, Costco, Kwiksave and vivisection GM giants PPL
Therapeutics)
info@bilstonglen-abs.org.uk
http://www.bilstonglen-abs.org.uk
IndYmedia
"Everybody is a witness, everyone is a journalist"
SCOTLAND has its own Indymedia now! Indymedia is an alternative,
independent
media outlet, run by and for grassroot activists. The news is published
via interactive websites, and in multimedia, print, photography, video
and
audio.
Reporting and publishing on the website is open to anyone, following
the
main principle of accessability, openness and accountability of the
editors
towards the users in order to abolish hierarchies as far as possible.
See and publish at:
http://www.scotland.indymedia.org.uk
RESISTANCE PLANET-WIDE
TELL US LIES ABOUT IRAQ
AS Blair's Secret State has been exposed as a lying machine, it's safe
to
say "We're all anarchists now". What else could you conclude from
the fantastic case of Dr David Kelly but that the State is a disgusting
farce, which has at its heart death, deception and dishonesty, to
borrow
the alliteration so beloved of political spin men.
The Iraq Survey Group, a 2,000 strong force which has at its disposal
the
most sophisticated intelligence gathering hardware ever known (the
satellites,
spy
equipment etc which litter the Earth's atmosphere), as well as the
advantage
of an occupying force have found NOTHING. This group has spent
£300
million searching for WMDs that are a figment of some spooks
imagination.
Here's four big Blair-Bush lies that have been exposed:
1. Blair promised that neither the US nor the UK would touch Iraqi oil.
Now Resolution 1483 of the UN Security Council grants the coalition of
two,
complete control over the oil fields.
2. Blair claimed he had "nothing to do with" the decision to leak
Dr David Kelly's name to the press. Now the Hutton Inquiry discloses
three
meetings which Blair chaired, where the decision was made.
3. Labour make great play of the fact that they "allowed" a vote
in parliament on the decision to go to war. Now, Robin Cookadmits that
Blair
made a pact with Bush the year before to go in to Iraq.
4. The war on Iraq would result in a "Road Map for Peace in the Middle
East". Now Israel has bombed Syria and is erecting a new Berlin Wall
through the occupied territories.
STOP BUSH DEMOS
Edinburgh
:19 Nov. 2pm Bristo Sq. and 6pm Charlotte Sq., marching to US
Consulate.
London
: 20 November.
School students blockade Edinburgh city centre against the Iraq war.
Anti
war direct action swept the globe. One Edinburgh highlight was the
storming
of Edinburgh Castle on 17th March.
WAR RESISTERS
THE authorities have managed to suppress news that there has been
widespread
internal opposition to the war from their own troops. But what happens
when
UK soldiers refuse to fight? They get locked up, harassed and lied to.
In a Colchester barracks,two British soldiers, sent home on the eve of
invasion
into Iraq for refusing to fight, wait every day for the phonecall from
the
MOD that will tell them their fate. It is now more than two months
since
the private and technician from 16 Air Assault Brigade told their
commanding
officer they could not justify battling in an illegal war involving the
death of innocent civilians.
Military resisting the war machine from within can contact AT EASE who
provide independent advice on being a conscientious objector. Ring 0207 247
5164 suns only 5-7pm,or atease@advisory.freeserve.co.uk
UPRISING!
AN insurrection by the poor of Bolivia has forced the president to flee
the country.
Sparked by plans to sell Bolivia's natural gas to the USA, widespread
blockades
of roads in September escalated into fierce street clashes and a
general
strike in October. Workers, peasants and indigenous Aymara people
joined
forces and defied murderous attacks by state forces which killed up to
140
people and wounded hundreds. Reports speak of a situation of "dual
power" in some areas, as people formed neighbourhood committees, and
self defence militias against state violence.
On 16/17 October 250,000 people surrounded the Presidential palace in
La
Paz. Men, women, elders and children yelled and brandished thousands of
wooden sticks, chanting "civil war now, civil war now". That day
President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada resigned and fled to Miami.
This is a victory for the poorest people in South America against
multinational
capitalism. The regime was backed by the USA, who flew in military
supplies
to bolster the government. Multi- nationals in the consortium standing
to
benefit from the gas rip-off are British Gas, British Petroleum and
Repsol/YPF.
The people have won a battle, but are ready to continue the class war.
The
popular assembly of the COB, the Bolivian workers organisation, has
declared
that unless new President Carlos Mesa (a millionaire!) stops the export
of gas, and recovers it for the Bolivians, "a popular Assembly, called
by and consisting of workers, unions and popular representatives will
assume
the task of taking the gas and oil away from transnational hands."
"Destroy the meters and enjoy the water"
Anti Privatisation Forum activist, South Africa
PEOPLE in poor black Soweto, South Africa are resisting the imposition
of
pre-paid water meters. "The prepaid meter means that ....if you have
no money you will not have water."
Demanding "Free basic services for all", Soweto residents are
taking direct action to stop the Johannesburg Water Company digging
pre-paid
pipe trenches. In September 13 resisters were arrested and 7 jailed.
International
solidarity is needed.
Mass resistance overthrew apartheid - now the poor are fighting the new
boss. The ANC government is privatising basic services, and has overseen
10 million water and electricity cut-offs, and many evictions.
But community resistance grows. Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee's
Operation
Khanyisa - meaning to light up - has dozens of teams of
struggle-trained
technicians reconnecting the power supply to households suffering
cut-offs.
Women play a prominent role in this movement which calls for a boycott
of
electricity payments, demands free electricity, and is so strong that
the
Eskom electricity company had to write off 1.4 billion rand of arrears
in
May 2003.
http://www.southafrica.indymedia.org
Anti Privatisation Forum http://www.apf.org.za
AUTONOMY!
AUGUST 2003 saw 5,000 gather in Oventik, Chiapas to inaugurate the
Zapatistas'
5 new "Councils of Good Government".
Asserting the "right to govern ourselves", Comandante Esther declared
"Now is the time to put the autonomy of the indigenous peoples into
practice and to act on it throughout the entire country of Mexico. No
one
needs to ask permission to form their autonomous municipalities."
"In the same way, we are inviting all indigenous Mexican women to
organize
themselves so that, together, we can exercise autonomy and practise our
rights which we deserve as women."
SOLIDARITY!
AS Israeli state repression grows, many people are travelling to
Palestine
to be human rights observers with the International Solidarity
Movement.
ISM people sleep in homes threatened with demolition, accompany
ambulances,
and help Palestinians try and get through checkpoints and the massive
new
"apartheid wall".
Despite the reactionary suicide bombings, such is the power and
viciousness
of the US-backed Israeli military that 6 Palestinians die for every
Israeli
killed. ISM http://www.palsolidarity.org
REFUSE AND RESIST!
A group of 27 active reserve duty pilots and retired pilots have
sent
a letter to Israeli Air Force Chief, Major General Dan Halutz,
declaring
that they refuse to participate in operations against Palestinians in
the
territories.
RESISTANCE IN THE UK
DEFY-ID!
THE UK government's consultation on the introduction of ID cards will
report
in winter 2003. The Home Secretary is blatantly disregarding the fact
that
70% of people oppose the scheme, which has angered everyone from
libertarians
defending privacy to liberals concerned about discrimination.
The cards will be linked to a national database containing information
on
individuals about working, banking, the health system, voting, buying a
house, driving, travelling and benefits. Added to this will be any
movements
recorded by the police or other services who ask to see and scan your
card.
The ID cards will contain biometric information such as iris scans and
finger
prints to determine identity.
The UK already has more CCTV cameras than any other country in the
world,
your emails can be read and the history of your websurfing analysed,
without
a court order, by six government agencies and the police. Your landline
phone can be tapped. Your mobile is a tracking device. Vehicles can be
tracked
across the country through number plate recognition software. The
police
now have power to access your NHS records, without having to establish
that
a criminal act may have taken place.
Activists are beginning to organise against the next step in
implementing
a Big Brother state in the UK. Defy-ID is a new ad-hoc network of
groups
and individuals prepared to actively resist the introduction of the
card
and is promoting the creation of networks of resistance and tactics of
non-cooperation
and sabotage.
In Britain the wartime system of carrying ID cards was brought crashing
down when a single citizen refused to carry the card. Clarence Willcock
won a High Court case in 1951, when the judge ruled ID cards an
annoyance
which "tended to turn law-abiding subjects into law breakers".
In 1987 in Australia, an attempt to introduce such a scheme resulted in
massive opposition including civil disobedience. Australians understood
that the introduction of such a scheme would reduce freedoms and
increase
the powers of authorities. Indeed "freedom" comes to mean the
freedoms granted by carrying the card.
Join the DEFY ID Network
http://www.defy-id.org.uk/
Solidarity Success
CONTRACTORS working at the Swan Hunter shipyard on Tyneside have
won
a claim for equal wages after hundreds of fellow workers walked out in
their
support.
Swan Hunter boasts a common pay agreement but then completely reneges
on
this by employing contractors who can hire and fire at will and set
their
own wage levels. 98 dockers working for sub-contractors were sacked on
8
September after they mounted an unofficial strike for a
£1.95/hour
pay rise to bring them in line with the permanent workers at the docks.
This move by the bosses was an attempt to introduce a new level of
casualisation
- the sub-contractors are not new, unqualified workers but are all
time-served
tradesmen. Their argument was that they should be paid the same as
other
tradesmen. Their sackings led to 800 Swan Hunter workers staging a
lightning
strike in their support. They were later joined by 1,000 offshore
construction
workers from a nearby Amec yard.
Such massive support forced the managers to the negotiating table where
they capitulated completely. Not only have the sacked contractors won
equal
pay but also compensation payments and an extension of the agreement to
a third yard in the area.
Demonstrators occupy a tank at the DSEi arms fair
AS the lackeys of the global arms industry gathered at the DSEi
conference
in London from 6 - 12 September, hundreds of activists gathered outside
the Death fair.
Demonstrators blockaded the entrances, disrupted the Docklands Light
Railway
for much of one day, blocked roads and even launched boat actions
against
the death dealers.
The London Metropolitan Police arrested 144 people, using Section 44 of
the Terrorism Act 2000 to try and drive away protestors. The policing
costs
amounted to over £1m. Liberty asks anyone who witnessed people
being arrested, stopped or searched by police to contact them to assist
them in their legal efforts against the Metropolitan Police.
BLOCKADING THE GHOST FLEET
IN October environmental campaigners temporarily succeed- ed in
blocking
the departure of 9 ships from a toxic "ghost fleet" from sailing
from the US to Hartlepool in the UK where they are to be
decommissioned.
The vessels are up to 50 years old and contaminated with chemicals like
asbestos and heavy diesel and are unsafe to make the 4,000 miles
journey.
RESISTANCE
McDONALDS Workers Resistance have launched a pay campaign demanding
6 pounds per hour, as a starting point in the fightback against the
exploiting
multinational. The independent workers' network have loads of stickers
and
leaflets to give away - send 1 pound 20 pence to MWR, c/o ACE, 17 W
Montgomery
Place, Edinburgh EH7 5HA
See http://mwr.org.uk
..INSIDE INFO...SOLIDARITY THROUGH THE
BARS...INSIDE INFO..
HUNGER STRIKERS NEED OUR SUPPORT
THE Thessaloniki 7, arrested at the anti EU summit demos in June, have
gone
on hunger strike. Kastro has been on hunger strike since September 21st
2003 and Simon, Carlos, Fernando, Spiros plus two Greek juveniles all
followed
on 5 October. A successful action in London meant the video proving
Simon
Chapman's innocence was shown to millions on London TV. Make your
feelings
known to the Greek embassy :1A Holland Park London W11 3TP Tel: 020
7229
3850, Fax: 020 7229 7221 political@greekembassy.org.uk,
pressoffice@greekembassy.org.uk.
Info http://www.enrager.net/simon/
NO BORDERS
ON 27 July over 100 activists from the no border camp in
Frassanito/Puglia
in Italy peacefully invaded the "First Hospitality Centre" immigrant
detention centre in Bari Palese and some migrants managed to escape.
This
was preceded by a first demo on 24 July, and by a 1000 strong demo on
26
July. On July 28, 22 migrants escaped a detention centre in Turin after
a demo that day.
RAISE THE FIST
20 year old Sherman Austin is the first anarchist webmaster to be
jailed,
for one year, due to a link on his site raisethefist.com. An article
which
Sherman did not author, was published on the site, containing
amateurish
instructions about explosives. Sherman took a plea bargain, as he
feared
in the current political atmosphere anti-terrorist laws would be
applied
to him, as the federal prosecutors and the judge flagrantly politicised
the trial.
http://www.infoshop.org/shermanaustin.html
FITTED-UP black activist Mumia Abu Jamal is ill in jail in the USA and
needs
our help.
http://freemumia.org
SABCAT'S PRACTICAL INFO No.1
Shapeshifting
From cat to bird 'n' back again
DIRECT ACTION GETS THE GOODS. That's the sabcat's motto. Stuff
petitions
and politicians. And the law? Well, the law's a double-edged sword. For
instance....From October 2003 the legal minimum wage is £4.50 per
hour for
workers aged 22 and over, £3.80 for 18 to 21s. Crap though
it is
many employers still pay less. What do you do if you're being
ripped
off? Strike and get sacked? Picket until prosecuted? No. Just tell the
taxman.
Since 1999 the Inland Revenue has recovered over £13 million in
unpaid wages. This is handed directly to the underpaid workers, and the
bosses fined. Biggest offenders were Scottish employers who last year
alone
were forced to stump up over £1 million. Contact the Minimum
Wage
Hotline 0845 6000 678.
Edinburgh IWW has found another use for the tax office.
Liars and cheats
Keen as mustard young Sandi worked every hour of overtime that came her
way. When it reached 50 hours she asked to be paid. 'You're a liar,'
she
was told. 'You didn't work that at all.' Her plea to the Unison TU fell
on deaf ears so she contacted the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
the famously militant grassroots union. We were happy to help. But how?
A leaflet, picket and press release? No need. An IWW member e-mailed
Sandi's
line manager and told her, 'Not only are you ripping off a young
worker,
you're defrauding the Inland Revenue of her income tax - and that's a
criminal
offence.' They swiftly stumped up every hour of overtime due - and
extended
Sandi's contract! We checked her new contract. No mention of paid
annual
leave. The contract was illegal.
Take a Break
Under the European Working Time Regulations 1998, Council Directive
93/104/EC,
all workers whether under contract or not, full-time, part-time, agency
or casual are entitled to a minimum of 4 weeks paid annual
leave
per year (pro rata if you're part-time.) The bosses detest this law and
try to ignore or fight it. Last year an IWW member got casual workers
in
an Edinburgh college a lump sum payment in lieu of annual leave. Though
this is also illegal (the Directive is health and safety law under
which
bosses MUST give paid annual leave) the casuals were content, and
management
forced to recognise the law - unlike their besuited counterparts at MPB
Structures Ltd where a worker took them to an industrial tribunal to
get
paid annual leave, and won. The bosses appealed. In April 2003 the
Scottish
Court of Session upheld the tribunal's decision
(http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/XA80_02.html).
It's the law. In Scotland. Use it. In England check out Greater
Manchester
Low Pay Unit's site at (http://www.gmlpu.org.uk).
Scots contact the Scottish Low Pay Unit (0141 552 5922 and at
<http://www.slpu.org.uk/>)
or the IWW for advice. We advised Sandi to join
Unison despite their
disgusting
reply to her plea. We see the TUs as divisive and conservative but like
the law they have their uses. We also advised her not to give any of
her
union dues to Blair's New Labour nazis. How?
GIVE NEW LABOUR NOWT
If you're a TU member chances are you're paying money to Blair from
your
union dues. It's called the 'political levy' and goes right to Labour
Party
coffers. While big business now gives New Labour more than the TUs the
latter
still make the biggest single donations. About 60 unions give money to
Blair,
often millions. If you don't want to subsidise Blair and his cohorts
copy
the following and send it to your work's wages section. You can send a
copy
to your TU's local head office.
Political Fund Exemption
Notice. I hereby give
notice
that I object to contributing to the Political Fund of the union and am
in consequence exempt, in the manner provided by Chapter 6 of the Trade
Union and Labour Relations (consolidation) Act 1992, from contributing
to
that fund.
Sign it, print your name, union membership number, address, union
branch
and date. Tony's money will then be in your pocket.
WAGING WAR ON DEBT
On the subject of not paying, if you're having trouble affording the
despised
council tax Edinburgh Claimants have produced a brilliant 2-side A3
leaflet
called Debt Worries? You Don't Have to Stand Alone that
explains
Scots law about debt collection, including; wage arrestment, bank
account
security, poindings, bankruptcy threats, benefit deductions, what the
bailiffs
can and cannot take, solidarity actions and generally how to gazump
them
at every turn. For a bundle phone Edinburgh Claimants at 0131 557 6242
Last week ol' Sabcat got a letter from the sheriffs' officers. Give us
your
NI number, bank and work details, it growled, or 'further legal action
will
be taken.' Knowing that if I did they would snatch all my savings and
snap
at my wages, I filed it under 'CL'. Cat Litter. In Scotland debt's not
a
crime and they can only add 50 quid to my outstanding arrears if I
refuse
to supply the info.
So sabcats can be legal eagles too, you see. But it's time to turn
these
feathers to fur again
craaaawk.
.miaoooow....
prrrrrrrrrrrprrr...
Sabcat
CONTACT!
INDYMEDIA SCOTLAND
check out
http://www.scotland.indymedia.org.uk
for regular updates on news of resistance and upcoming events in
Scotland,
including the latest on several of the stories featured here. Plus
create
your own news by publishing on the Indy Scotland website.
GLASGOW
Through the Glasgow Autonomous Project a group of anarchists,
libertarians,
autonomists and independent anti-capitalists aim to set up a social
centre.
Operating on the principles of co-operation, mutual aid and solidarity,
the objective is to purchase or rent a building that can be used for
social
events, meetings, gigs, workshops and as an activist resource centre.
Events info (including coming Scottish Anarchist
day school on 13
December)
http://nocog.org/~autonomy/
<autonomy@nocog.org>
*Class War glasgowcw@hotmail.com
*Freedom/Black Flag Readers Group hereandnowscot@email.com
just north of Glasgow....
*Faslane Peace Camp 01436 820901
http://www.faslanepeacecamp.org.uk
faslanepeacecamp@hotmail.com
EDINBURGH
ACE - the Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh - is a long-running open
campaign
space providing resources, info and solidarity for individuals and
grass-roots
groups. Now ACE has the chance to move into new better premises - your
involvement
/support is crucial to make this happen.
ACE, 17 W. Montgomery Place, EDINBURGH EH7 5HA
0131 557 6242
http://www.autonomous.org.uk
OPEN Tues 1-4pm (advice and solidarity for claimants and on debt)
&Sun
2-6pm
WRITE C/O ACE - Edin. Claimants, Edinburgh-Chiapas Solidarity Group,
Bilston
Glen Anti Bypass Camp, Edinburgh CITY, Intercourse, Indymedia Scotland,
IWW.
Edin. Claimants http://www.autonomous.org.uk/ec
Edinburgh-Chiapas Solidarity Group http://www.edinchiapas.org.uk
Edinburgh CITY http://www.edinburghcity.org.uk
NOTE If ACE moves ACE mail will be forwarded and the phone will give
the
new no..
FROCK ON!
A strong womens collective has developed in Glasgow over the last
year,
putting on regular events to empower women in art and politics. Day
events
include skillsharing in workshops, and evening events feature concerts,
giving under-represented female artists rare opportunities to perform
to
a supportive audience.
http://www.frockon.org
Next Frock On event Sat 6 December Glasgow
Industrial Workers of the World
Scotland/ N.England :
IWW c/o ACE , 17 W. Montgomery Place, EDINBURGH EH7
5HA
EdinburghIWW@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.freewebs.com/edinburghiww
Rest
of England/Wales :
Brighton IWW, PO Box 74, Brighton BN1 4ZQ
BrightonIWW@yahoo.co.uk
SchNEWS
http://www.schnews.org.uk
Black Flag, anarchist mag, from AK
AK Press & Distro http://www.akuk.com
Anarchist Fed http://www.afed.org.uk
Regular news :
* Earth First! Action Update, c/o 12 London Rd., Brighton BN1 4JA
mail@actionupdate.org.uk
* Resistance - news-sheet published monthly by Anarchist Federation,
c/o
84b Whitechapel High St, London, E1 7QX. 07946 214590 www.afed.org.uk
anarchistfederation@bigfoot.com
* SchNEWS, PO Box 2600, Brighton BN2 0EF weekly news-sheet
01273-685913 schnews@brighton.co.uk www.schnews.org.uk
* http://www.ainfos.ca
* http://www.indymedia.org.uk
More good contacts
* 56a Infoshop, 56 Crampton St., London SE17, 56a@safetycat.org,
http://www.safetycat.org/56a
Open Thur 2-8pm, Fri 3-7pm
* London Action Resource Centre 0207 377 9088 fieldgate@gn.apc.org
* Black Flag, BM Hurricane, London WC1 3XX (recommended @ mag)
blackflageds@hushmail.com
* bristle, box 25, 82 Colston St., Bristol BS1 5BB (excellent mag)
* Class War, PO Box 467, London E8 3QX * Direct Action, PO Box 29, SW
PDO,
Manchester M15 5HW (Solidarity Fed mag) (also Education &
Communication
Workers Networks) *eroding empire, c/o 56a Infoshop. http://www.eroding.org.uk
(free London rad events listing) *Haringey Solidarity Group, Box 2474,
London
N8. 020 8374 5027 hsg@clara.net *Kate Sharpley Library, BM Hurricane,
London
WC1 3XX * McDonalds Workers Resistance write c/o 17 W Montgomery Place,
Edinburgh EH7 5HA http://mwr.org.uk *
Nat.Coalition Anti Deportation
Campaigns,
110 Hampstead Rd., Birmingham B20 2QS 0121 554 6947 * Miners Advice
Centre
http://www.minersadvice.co.uk
*Reclaim the Streets, PO Box 9656, London N4
4JY,
020 7281 4621, rts@gn.apc.org, http://www.reclaimthestreets.net
*S.Herts
Sol.Fed
PO Box 493, St.Albans,AL1 5TW
Distros: * BM Active, London WCIN 3XX * AK PO Box 12766, Edinburgh EH8
9YE.
INTERNATIONAL
check out all the different Indymedias planet-wide at http://www.indymedia.org
COUNTER INFORMATION
is a free news-sheet produced by an independent collective based in
Glasgow
and Edinburgh. We print an A3 paper version for widespread free
distribution.
Our aim is to assist in the struggle to overthrow all oppression and
exploitation
and create a co-operative world without relationships of domination and
submission. Contact us to - get free bundles to distribute - send us
news
- get involved in producing CI - send donations (cheques to Counter
Information)
- or just to know more.
The ways to get in touch are by post or by phone, sorry no e mail at
present.
PLEASE NOTE! If you were on our postal mailing
list and used to receive a bundle of Counter Info through the post to
distribute - then please contact us if you would like a bundle of this
new issue. Due to the amount of work involved we cannot guarantee
to be able to do all the mailings we used to, especially outside
Edinburgh, but we will be happy to post out paper copies to people we
know definitely want them.
COUNTER INFORMATION
c/o 17 W.MONTGOMERY PLACE, EDINBURGH EH7 5HA SCOTLAND
0131 557 6242
http://counterinfo.org.uk
Back to CONTENTS
This issue went to press 20 Oct 2003