Mayors for Peace
"Mayors
for Peace works for the abolition of nuclear weapns by international
agreement. It is led by Mayor Akiba of Hiroshima and supported by more
than 4207 towns and cities in 144 countries and regions.
"The
UK Working Group of Mayors for Peace is asking Mayors and councils in
the UK to join 62 other local councils in Britain including several
major cities, in signing up to this global network."
Hastings Council will discuss supporting Mayors for Peace at its council meeting to be held on 20th April 2011.
Sad Vigil
Almost all
we hear these days about the war in Afghanistan is when the mainstream
media reports a British army major saying a "corner has been
turned" and the occupation forces are "winning" the
battle to subjugate the country. The reality is very different,
according to analysts who go beyond military propaganda handouts.
More than 1,500
people have been killed this year. They are always described as
"insurgents" or "the enemy" in official reports,
but most are in fact civilians killed under a "bomb now, ask
questions later" policy. The US government wants more countries
to send troops to bolster their aggression,
as the Afghan resistance continues to control large swathes of the
country. The deaths of British soldiers,until now only noted briefly
in media reports, has reached 100 on Sunday 8th. June.
Hastings Against War called for a vigil in the town centre on Monday
9th. to remember those British servicemen and many thousands of
uncounted Afghan civilians. 18 to 20 people congregated in Wellington
place where many of them chalked on the pavement names of known
British and Afghan victims of this unwanted war.
Film - On
the Verge
On the Verge
documents the 5 year campaign against a factory in Brighton that
manufactures components for fighter planes and bombs used in Iraq.
It uses film footage from the campaigners, the police, and CCTV
from the factory, along with interviews with the people involved
with the campaign.
It is called On the Verge because protestors outside the factory
were forced by a court injunction to stand on a tiny strip of grass
between the road and a steep drop to a railway line. If they stepped
off the verge, or aimed a camera at the EDO/MBM factory, they were
liable to arrest. The film documents the relationship between the
campaigners, the police, the factory workers and the private security
firm hired by EDO MBM. It also shows footage of demonstrations in
Brighton town centre, and shows how individual campaigners were
targeted for harassment and arrest. Despite several arrests through
the campaign, nearly all charges against the protestors were dropped
-- because the security firm and police had behaved inappropriately.
When premiered in Brighton, the screening was stopped by Police
on a technical point (like many small budget and experimental films,
it didn't have a "Board of Censors" certificate).
Soundtrack by Bela Emerson plus Tragic Roundabout and others.
For more information, check out:
http://www.smashedo.org.uk
http://www.schnews.org.uk/schmovies/index-on-the-verge.htm |
