Date: Thursday 31st January, 2013
Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Venue: The Hydra Bookshop
Price: Donation

Book Launch – Physical Resistance: A Hundred Year’s of Anti-Fascism by Dave Hann

Large-scale confrontations, disruption of meetings, sabotage and street fighting have been part of the practice of anti-fascism from the early twentieth century until the twenty-first. Rarely endorsed by any political party, the use of collective bodily strength remains a strategy of activists working in alliances and coalitions against fascism. In Physical Resistance famous battles against fascists, from the Olympia arena, Earls Court in 1934 and Cable Street in 1936 to Southall in 1978 and Bradford 2010, are told through the voices of participants. Anarchists, communists and socialists who belonged to a shifting series of anti-fascist organizations relate well-known events alongside many forgotten but significant episodes.

For more on the book details see: http://www.zero-books.net/books/physical-resistance

Programme for the event

This weekend check out the Indian Radical Film Fest on Sunday 27 January @ Kebele, 14 Robertson Road, Easton, BS56SY

2-2.30pm – Soya chai, Indian sweets, lassi and samosas (for a small donation)
2.30pm Prisoners of Conscience(41 min, 1978): An important historical record of a traumatic period in India’s recent political history, this documentary focuses on the State of Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi from June 1975 to March 1977.
During the Emergency the media was muzzled, over 100,000 people were arrested without charge and imprisoned without trial. Awards?Grand Prize, The Tyne Award, UK, 1982
3.30pm DAM/AGE(50 min, 2003): Prize winning writer Arundhati Roy’s bold and controversial campaign against the Narmada dam project in India. DAM/AGE traces writer Arundhati Roy’s bold and controversial campaign against the Narmada dam project in India, which will displace up to a million people.
4.30pm Short film clips and discussion on the GM movement in India
5pm The Gulabi Gang (16 min, 2010): The Bundelkhand is one of the poorest parts of the Uttar Pradesh region of northern India. The inhabitants of Bundelkhand face a daily struggle for survival as they cope with infertile land and a corrupt judicial system. 
In the midst of this plight, a group of vigilantes who call themselves the Gulabi Gang (gulabi means pink) is fighting, often literally, for equality. The gang is made up of over 10,000 women, all of whom wear the Gulabi uniform of pink saris. They specialize in the lathi, a traditional Indian fighting stick. Be inspired by this short film!
5.30pm -6.15pm – South West Against Nuclear will show some clips on the movement in Tamil Nadu State against Koodankulam nuclear power station. People across the world have been moved by the bravery of local people’s resistance to nuclear power. 
6.30pm -dhal, chickpea curry and rice followed by Indian-sytle rice pudding for a donation of £2.50 for the main, 50p for rice pudding.
7.30pm – Caroline Beatty Ekta Parishad, speaker on Indian land reform. Caroline will also show photos of the most recent march. For more information, visit ektaparishad.com
8.45pm – Caste Wars (17 min, 1994): A woman in a brightly coloured sari crawls through a field of goats and cows with her gun at the ready. She is from India’s poorest caste – the ‘untouchables’ – who have long been at the bottom of the heap. They are fighting back. Young ‘untouchable’ women are learning to kill. They are gaining self-respect and, most importantly, protection in a hostile world. Higher castes are also arming their people after repeated attacks. Villagers speak of terror campaigns. As India’s ruling party faces crucial state polls the country’s battle lines are being drawn not only by religion but caste. Politicians can no longer afford to ignore the lower caste majority. This film examines the plight of the ‘untouchables’ and how they’re helping themselves to an improved life.
9.15pm – Close

Bristol's 5th anarchist bookfair moves to The Trinity Centre this year, enticed by the possibilities of the green open space outside. Expect a mixture of traditional bookfair inside - that is some 60 stalls, 30 or so meetings & workshops; along with aspects of a fayre outside - outdoor activities, perma-nent-culture, demos, fun & games. Plus there'll be a kids space, and delicious vegan cafe. Entry is free, and everyone is welcome!

We are now taking bookings for stalls, and if you book by 1st February you will get it a bit cheaper. All the info and forms you need to book a stall are on the Stalls page of our website (http://www.bristolanarchistbookfair.org/?page_id=1929).

We also invite proposals to run meetings & workshops. We have a variety of spaces and sizes both inside and out, some of which will have a specific theme, so do please read carefully the Meetings & Workshops Info before you fire off a form or email. All the info & forms you need are on the Meetings & Workshops page of our website (http://www.bristolanarchistbookfair.org/?page_id=1931).

The Bristol Anarchist Bookfair is on 20 April 2013, from 11am to 6pm
At The Trinity Centre, Trinity Road, Bristol BS2 0NW

As we enter yet another year of the current economic recession, 2013 needs to be the year that Britain joins up with much of the rest of Europe in resisting the top down austerity measures that see the rich getting richer, and the rest of us getting poorer - the north-west European Spring has got to start somewhere soon!. The Bookfair says loud and clear that 'we won't pay for their crisis', and aims to help in bringing you the information, knowledge, skills and contacts to put that slogan into operation. So whether you are a hardened anarchist, or a pissed off local looking for a dialogue about alternatives to the mess this country is in, you'll find something for everyone at the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair. We'll be seeing you here then!

Crackbook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/437820852938597/

On Tuesday evening I spent a rather chilly night sleeping on College Green to show my support for the campaign "Dignity for Asylum Seekers". This is a campaign run by Bristol Refugee Rights which highlights the plight of people seeking asylum in this country.

The catch-word of our short camp was "destitution", for this is the condition in which many asylum-seekers in Bristol find themselves. (One of the banners at the camp reminded people that "over 150 asylum seekers are destitute in Bristol".) And the word "destitution" felt particularly urgent, and ugly, after I'd spent a night in the cold - God help those poor folk for whom this is their daily life.

In addition to showing solidarity, the camp was also in anticipation of a Council debate concerning asylum seekers, which took place the next afternoon (yesterday). In 2011 Bristol declared itself a "City of Sanctuary" for asylum seekers, with members of all political parties signing the declaration. Clearly sanctuary must mean something more than destitution, and this is what the debate in the council chamber was focused on.

I'm pleased to report that the Council recognised that the current state of affairs is unacceptable, and have resolved to do something about it:

Full Article | Outside and Inside the Council House - another report on the action | Sleep Out in the Chains of Destitution Callout