London (UK): News from the Library Street Social Centre

The Library Street Social Centre, is a fairly new autonomous community centre situated on in the Large Colorama Building on Library Street in Elephant and Castle (SE1 0RY) we regularly hold talks, film screenings, and social events. Anyone is welcome to approach us and put something on. Below is a report of the Peoples Kitchen and Film Night we had yesterday (29/11/12) for more infor see our website librarystreetlondon(dot)wordpress(dot)com.

At 2pm members of the Library street collective began preparing our freshly skipped vegetables to create the meal that would be served at the peoples kitchen. We chopped vegetables for a curry, spiced and boiled beans for a bean salad, herbed and garliced nearly 40 potebello mushrooms for grilling, toasted rolls and made a large green salad. [Read More]

Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Mass arrest attempt during the Bellamystraat 135hs squat action, Communique from the new inhabitants

This text was spread during the squatting action of the Bellamystraat 135hs today. There was a lot going on and some confusing messages came out, so just to be clear: the action was succesful and in the end no one got arrested. It was NOT a resquat of the earlier evicted house on number 33 of the same street.

Statement by the new inhabitants of Bellamystraat 135hs

To everyone interested,

As long as there is emptiness and a need for housing, people will squat. The dutch ‘kraken en leegstand’ law, that should be aimed not only at banning squatting but also at fighting emptiness, is only being enforced partly. While the state evicts squats in a law and order fashion, where the law is the law and nobody can get around it, the other part of the same law is treated like it doesn’t even exist. The state once again shows it’s real aim: while repression is constantly rising capital is still being defended. [Read More]

Cardiff: Squatters vs Keylet at the Bute Dock Hotel

On Tuesday 20th November we made our presence known to Keylet, owners of the Bute Dock Hotel and the largest estate agents (property racketeers) in Cardiff, that we had squatted their pub, on West Bute St, Cardiff Bay.

Two people from our welcoming committee of a dozen visited the executive offices at around 10am, located behind our hotel, to inform them of our occupation. Due to the layout of the building(s), which includes an inter-connecting corridor between the offices and hotel, it was effectively explained to them, with title plans and legal notice included. In summary which part of the building they still had possession of, and which part they had recently lost to us.
[Read More]

Egypt: Deadly clashes in Qorsaya

Mainstream media reports:

At least four people are dead and more are suspected missing after the army attacked a group of protesters who had blocked roads in the latest development of a longstanding land dispute in Giza.

The clashes started on Sunday morning when protesters from the island of Qorsaya in the suburbs of Giza blocked the Bahr Al-Azam road, disrupting traffic. They burned tyres and the army responded by firing rubber bullets at them. “One of them got a bullet in his side and he died… this is what made the situation escalate,” said Dalia Mousa from the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR), which has been following the clashes since early Sunday morning.
[Read More]

Notre-Dame-des-Landes (France): More information about the re-occupation of the ZAD, the new buildings and the threats from the Prefecture

On Saturday, after 3 weeks of evictions, we were more than 30000 to re-occupy the ZAD. As soon as the demonstration arrived, 5 pre-assembled structures started to get built: a meeting-room of 80m², a kitchen house, 2 dorms, a toilet and bath block and a workshop. On Monday, the work is continuing. Thanks to a sum of ingeniosity, mutualised know-hows and endless human chains to bring the tons of planks, as well as cross beams, metal sheets and straw needed for the work, the construction showed rapid progress. The achievement is breathtaking and can only leave large smiles on the faces. In order to celebrate that, and inaugurate, a cocktail is announced, this monday, at 17:00 on the building site. We would like to remind that these new collective buildings are meant to become a crossing point for all opponents and a headquarter to organise the resistance to the airport construction. [Read More]

France: Rural Rebels and Useless Airports. La ZAD, Europe’s largest Postcapitalist land occupation

October 2012, Notre dames des Landes, France.

Chris leans forward, her long fingers play with the dial of the car radio “I’m trying to find 107.7 FM“ … a burst of Classical music, a fragment of cheesy pop. “ Ah ! Here we go ! I think I’ve got it ?” The plastic pitch of a corporate jingle pierces the speakers : “Radio Vinci Autoroute : This is the weather forecast for the west central region…happy driving to you all. Traffic info next.” Chris smiles.

The narrow winding road is lined with thick hedgerows. Out of the darkness the ghostly outline of an owl cuts across our headlights. We dip down into a wooded valley, the radio signal starts to splinter. The well-spoken female voice fractures into static, words tune in and out and then another kind of sound weaves itself into the airwaves. We rise out of the wood onto a plateau, the rogue signal gets clearer, for a while two disturbingly different voices scramble together – the slick manicured predictable sounds of Radio Vinci wrestles with something much more alive, something rawer – a fleshier frequency.

“ The cops have left the Zone for the night…good riddance… Yeah ! Keep it up everyone ! ……” There is a moment of silence, we hear breathing, then a scream into the microphone “This is Radio Klaxon…Klac Klac Klac ! ”We feel her emotion radiate through the radio waves “ It’s nine thirty five.” she laughs and puts a record on, passionate Flamenco guitar pumps into the car.

We have entered La ZAD (Zone A Défendre) – Europe’s largest postcapitalist protest camp – a kind of rural occupy on the eastern edge of Brittany, half and hour’s drive from the city of Nantes. [Read More]

Brighton: “Mad Mike” gets his comeuppance!

Mike Weatherley, Tory MP for Hove, was due to do a lecture today at Sussex University, in Brighton. He was invited by the Sussex Uni Tory Society to talk about the squatban that he championed.
[Read More]

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Hambach Forest: Day 3 of Eviction

Today is the third day of the eviction at the Hambach Forest, which is occupied against the biggest climate killer in Europe, the Rhenish brown coal-mining district (Rheinisches Braunkohlerevier). After three days of eviction one activist is left, who’s inside a tunnel system under the ground. As this is the first tunnel blockade action Police don’t have a clue how to handle this. They ordered different technical teams, wich also didn’t have an idea.
[Read More]

Wroclaw: Green Technology Centre squat attacked by far right

On 11.11.2012 after a patriot march organised by NOP (Polish National Revival movement) at about 7 pm Green Technologies Centre ALTERNAVITA Society’s ground (Wagenburg squat) was raided by a group of over 100 men.
After an unsuccessful attempt to force the main gate they entered the
ground through adherent private premises (Gant Development). The
perpetrators used stones, flares, bottles and bats to attack inhabitants and their friends (16 people). During the incident two people were wounded (broken arm, head trauma). One of them, in severe condition, was transported to a hospital.
[Read More]

Hambach Forest: Anti-Eviction Guide

The Hambach Forest is occupied since half an year now. The forest will get cutted for the coal-open-cast-mine “Hambacher Tagebau”. This is together with two morge open-cast-mines in the region and the power plants that burns the coal, europes biggest producer of CO2. They have already started to cut the forest, and the eviction of the camp can happen every day. So read this anti-eviction-guide and see what you can do!

[Read More]

Notre-Dame-des-Landes (France): Reoccupy the ZAD! Demonstration 17 November 2012

Here we go, we’re on!!
The reoccupation demo will be on the 17 November!

We are already appealing for communal kitchens, marquees, musicians, batucudas, hut kits, materials, tools, tractors… looking forward for the reoccupation.

All enquiries to: reclaimthezad@@@riseup…net

Some occupants of the ZAD and supporting collectives, who won’t give up. [Read More]

Notre-Dame-des-Landes (France): Yet Another Forest Eviction, 5th November 2012

We live in the Rohanne Forest. Over the last two years the many people who lived and passed by here built seven high tree houses and a beautiful three storey collective house. On Thursday 19th October the police came with bulldozers and destroyed and removed the house.

Starting the next day, and with lots of motivated helpers, we built a new kitchen six metres up in the trees, and a new communal sleeping area a bit higher. On Tuesday 30th October and Wednesday 31st October they returned with bulldozers and cherry pickers to destroy the two newly finished cabins, plus all of the seven high tree houses. [Read More]