the void

City cleaners this week have launched a week of action against greedy city firms who employ contractors who refuse to recognise trade unions and force workers into poverty.

Some of the richest people in the land have their offices cleaned by some of the poorest so a series of noisy demonstrations has been planned to highlight yet another example of corporate greed.

Full timetable and more info here

The Spike Surplus Scheme is a community-led initiative in Peckham that has been operating on a voluntary basis for a decade. It was reclaimed from an abandoned fly-tipped site and the land opened up for community activities.

In a borough where nearly half the population is poor or borderline poor (according to Southwark Council website), the Scheme is dedicated to providing affordable and free-where-possible services to the local community.

The Scheme incorporates a rehearsal/recording studio, a martial arts/meditation/ health space, community garden and much more.

It has been largely self-sustaining, relying on donations from local users, albeit mostly in terms of time and skills rather than cash in such a poor neighbourhood. It is truly a vibrant example of community in action. It has thrived thanks to a supportive council attitude and modest grants.

“There are many local people and community and faith organisations that are actively involved in making their neighbourhood a better place. We aim to widen the number of people, especially young people, involved in community affairs as well as make the council and its partners more responsive to them when they do get involved.” (Southwark Council website)

This is all about to change.

On April 8 2008 the Council Executive decided to auction off the 39B Consort Road (the Spike Surplus Scheme), unless it can raise a minimum of £500,000 within three months.

With less than four hours notice of their intended decision, we pleaded (in our five allotted minutes) for an affordable lease or some more time, but to no avail.

We then appealed to the Scrutiny and Review Committee, again with no success. Please give us your support and sign the petition.

http://www.petitiononline.com/paulk/petition.html

Eric McDavid was yesterday sentenced to 19 years and 7 months for a crime that was never committed. Eric was accused of “conspiracy to destroy property by means of fire or explosives,” although no crime ever took place.

The trial was largely based on discussions Eric and his friends had with FBI infiltrator ‘Anna’ who was paid $75,000 dollars to attempt to infiltrate the US anarchist movement and in particular the Earth Liberation Front.

It seems that her role was intended to be more pro-active than gathering information and she effectively acted as an agent provocateur. Court testimony from the witnesses involved talk of how ‘Anna’ cooked up a planned terrorist bombing campaign targeting power stations in San Francisco, a forest-genetics research lab in Placerville and the local Nimbus Dam.

According to witnesses Anna led the group, providing information on making home-made explosives and helping to fund the group. According to Eric’s lawyer his client:

“engaged in stupid, evil talk, But that was all. There could have been no conspiracy, he insisted, without Anna, the FBI agent who seemed to have all the answers.

“She provides the money. She provides the car. She rents the cabin. Oh, and by the way, ‘I used to be a high-school chemistry teacher, so this is second nature to me.’” All that adds up to entrapment and worse,

“This is a case where the government is manufacturing crime”.

According to witnesses Eric had fallen in love with Anna.

Eric’s friend took a plea bargain and offered to testify against Eric after being threatened with 20 year jail terms themselves.

Eric will appeal, check below for more information:

http://www.supporteric.org/index.html

Boris Johnson’s plan to ban drinking alcohol on the tube is ‘unworkable’ the RMT has warned. In what’s likely to be the first of many wars of words Union leader Bob Crow said:

“We are being told that it is our members who will have to approach people drinking and ask them to stop - but the mayor hasn’t asked us what we think.

“Violence against our members is already a major problem, particularly from people who have been drinking.”

Given that even ticket inspectors are rarely allowed out without half the Met backing them up it seems likely that this new legislation will be entirely ignored.

Meanwhile it’s emerged that these new rules will not apply to the yuppie stuffed commuter trains where first class travellers can legally order a Pimms anytime they want.

One rule for them and another for us?

Yup, that’s about the size of it.

Crime on the Tube - Some Perspective

There are around 18,000 recorded crimes on the Tube Network each year with the vast majority being low level criminal damage such as graffiti.

Crimes which actually affect an individual run at around 13,000 a year with the bulk of these being pick-pocketing. Around 1 billion journeys are made on the tube every year.

Someone who makes 400 tube journeys a year would stand a 1 in 200 chance of being a victim of crime. To put that in perspective you would have to make 400 journeys a year for 200 years to statistically be likely to experience crime.

And that crime would be unlikely to be anymore serious than having your mobile pinched when you aren’t looking. Carrying out the same number of annual journeys you could expect to wait 6,250 years before you were robbed.

Aside from the 7/7 bombings, serious crimes such as murder, rape or serious violent assault are virtually unheard of on the tube.

In fact, statistically a tube carriage is probably safer than your own front room, but don’t worry it’ll only be a matter of time before they stop you having a drink there too.

For your own good you understand.

When Boris was told he needed to get some staff he immediately hired a butler and three parlour maids. Unfortunately City Hall spin chiefs had to explain this wasn’t what they had in mind.

So the intrepid Boris got on the phone to his chums.

Cityboy Kim Malthouse has been brought in to oversee the police. Malthouse has extensive experience in this are having led a noble (and yet failed) campaign to ban prostitutes from adverstising in phone boxes.

Not only that but he spearheaded a campaign to have beggars locked up and make grand claims that under whilst heading the Social Services department at Westminster Council he halved the number of rough sleepers in the borough.

This was done in several ways. Firstly homeless people in Westminster were rounded up, arrested and harrassed until they left the borough of their own accord and went to sleep rough somewhere else. Secondly with the connivance of then Homeless Tsar Louise Casey they fixed the annual street count to assess the number of street homeless people.

This was done quite easily by forcing everyone off the streets into hostels or cells on the night it was carried out.

Malthouse also actively campaigned against the congestion charge and believes the RMT have too much power. As Managing Director of a hedge fund company Malthouse has a unique insight into the needs of working class Londoners, or as he himself might say ‘fuck the poor’.

Joining Malthouse will be token black man, former screw and religious crackpot Ray Lewis. Ray believes:

“We need to teach our children that whatever they are is because of God and the talents they have are gifts from God,”

Well halle-fucking-julah a barking mad do-gooder who intends to impose God’s will on the city’s youth. So far so good, a chinless wonder cityboy and a god bothering fruitcake should fit in well with Boris and his chums.

Meanwhile oxbridge twat Sir Simon Milton has been put in charge of planning. Milton was up to his neck in the illegal homes for votes scandal in Westminster in the 80’s and was forced to make a gruelling apology at the time.

As Senior planning advisor Milton will once again have power over housing, but well you know chaps that business is all in the past and really nothing a chap should upset himself over.

Ian Clement who becomes Deputy Mayor for Government Relations appears to be a bit of a non-entity who doesn’t seem to have any opinions which is quite unlike Brian Coleman who will be the new chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.

Coleman wanted to turn Potters Field, a popular local parkon the South Bank, into a multi-storey carpark and was praised by high calibre political analyst Richard Littlejohn for reducing speedhumps in his Barnet Constituency.

Within weeks Coleman had been fined £300 and banned from driving for 6 months for … you guessed it, speeding. During this period Coleman spent a cool ten grand of tax-payers cash on cab fares.

Coleman has also called those legally protesting against the SOCPA legislation “sad, mad and bad”. This new approach may help to explain why peace protester Brian Haw was violently arrested within days of the Johnson administration taking office.

Finally dull as ditchwater Richard Barnes has been appointed as Boris’ number 2, a nice but dim safe pair of hands not likely to give a chap too much trouble.

So there we have it, lots of toffs a couple of crooks, no copper but one screw and if not a fascist then at least a confirmed racist at the helm.

Meet the new boss, possibly even worse than the last boss.

The Government is insisting that the location of 26 sites in Hampshire used to grow opium poppies are to stay secret.

This follows a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from local newspaper, the Daily Echo which has revealed that leafy Hampshire is the heroin growing capital of the UK.

The poppies are used to produce morphine to sustain the high levels of drug abuse morphine use as a pain killer within the NHS.

The poppy fields should be easy enough to spot, drop us a line if you see one.

We wouldn’t mind seeing an FOI request on how many of the poppies ‘go missing’ between the field and the medicine cabinet.

It’s a rarely known fact that all poppies contain opium including the distinctive bright red, wild poppies that grow in the UK. Although they aren’t as strong as their Eastern cousin, the opium poppy, they can still be used to make a refreshing if vile tasting opium tea (google opium tea recipe)*.

It’s also little known that it is entirely legal to grow opium poppies in the UK for ornamental use, something encouraged by the government.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sports funded Plant Cultures website states:

“Opium poppies grow well in the British climate - why not try it?”

Which is the closest you’re likely to hear a government ministry supporting Brown at the moment.

*Disclaimer: the void accepts no responsibility for anything.

Frank Ogboru was killed in South East London by four vicious assailants. A crowd of witnesses claim that thugs set upon him and bundled him to the floor after first attacking him with CS Spray.

Eyewitnesses claimed that the offenders appeared to have their “knees and feet” on him as he “wailed like a dog”, pleading he could not breathe. A film of the assault appears to show one thug’s knee over Mr Ogboru’s neck while his head hangs over the kerb.

Afterwards, witness Sean Pops, 27, said they: “were on top of him, you could tell he was in a lot of pain.

The guy kept saying, ‘I can’t breathe’.”

An official pathology report gave the cause of death as asphyxia.

Astonishingly the CPS have decided not to prosecute despite scores of witnesses and video footage of the attack.

Perhaps that’s because these criminals were wearing uniforms.

The Mirror has the video.

No officer has been found guilty over a custody death despite 501 in 10 years.

Four in five victims were black or Asian.

The New Statesman has published an article showing that some on the mainstream left are starting to wake up to the suppression of political protest in the UK. Focussing on the demonstrations outside the City Hall, featured on this blog, it asks: Is this what a police state looks like?

Just ignore the BNP trolling in the comments.

Quick reminder about the 1968 event at Conway Hall next weekend celebrating the events of 1968. Speakers are set to include Ian Bone, Jamie Reid and Mike Lesser, for the full listings go here.

Saturday, 10 May 2008, 10am - 10pm
Conway Hall
Red Lion Square
London WC1

http://www.1968andallthat.net/

Class war is well and truly back on the streets of London after the Home Counties elected bumbling toff Boris Johnson to become Mayor.

Demonstrators outside city hall were met with TSG and FIT Teams who took it upon themselves to protect the BNP and force legal protest off the streets.

About 100 people turned out to the demonstration last night against this sham democracy to demand ‘Neither crook, nor toff, nor copper nor fascist’. Banners were held aloft reading ‘This is Anti-Fascism’ whilst red and black flags dotted the skyline.

It wasn’t to last however as scores of TSG appeared and began physically assaulting tourists and demonstrators alike. Several people were forced into a police pen and surrounded whilst others were pushed back as far as London Bridge, to the pub … lucky bastards.

Those of us held in the police pen repeatedly questioned under what legislation this effective mass arrest was being carried out. Aside from occasional grunts of breach of the peace and anti-social behaviour this was never really answered.

Meanwhile fascists were freely congregating outside the City Hall.

After a couple of hours of being ogled by tourists genuinely shocked at the behaviour of the police in what they presumed was a ‘free country’ the police began to release people one by one taking names and addresses (under threat of arrest) and photographing everyone as they left.

Some hardy souls refused to leave the pen unless they were permitted to leave together and about 15 people were detained a further couple of hours.

A later mercy mission by protesters to take them some chips found that they had finally been released and the BNP were still lording it outside City Hall. This led to angry confrontations and the police once again chose to side with the fascists and forced protesters out of the area under threat of arrest and with a police escort.

At least three people were arrested over the course of the evening, why is not yet clear.

We won’t miss Ken but this is only the start of what’s set to become a vicious struggle over the next four years. Expect strikes, protests and riots as a new generation learn for themselves what scum the Tory Party are.