...radicals, strugglers, freethinkers, anarchists, workers, fighters, unemployed, dreamers, peace-lovers and planet-savers. Come along and join in the fun!

The Bristol anarchist bookfair 2009 sweeps into the city centre on 12 September. Bringing together local and national groups, networks, individuals and distros, the bookfair provides absolutely anything you have ever wanted to know about anarchism, and much more. It is also, this year, the opening event for the Bristol CoMutiny Convergence – details at http://comutiny.wordpress.com/

This year has seen the UK and world economy plunge into its worst recession for 80 years, as the consequences of the greed of corporations, banks and individual executives becomes clear for all to see. Governments and politicians who encouraged such activities remain in disarray, unsure what to do to keep the increasingly unsustainable economic system afloat. UK politicians local and national have meanwhile had their own greed and corruption exposed as they are caught abusing their privileged positions and fiddling their expenses. Unsurprisingly, this years bookfair is loosely themed around 'Resistance, and Alternative to Recession', not least because politicians from every party are saying loud and clear that we, the workers and taxpayers, will be paying for their crisis for years to come.

As anarchists we say loudly and clearly that the present economic and political system is not working for the majority of people, and it is time for real social change. The bookfair offers an opportunity for anarchist ideas and practices to be discovered, discussed and debated by people across Bristol and the south west, as together we struggle against the inequalities and exploitation endemic in society... FULL ARTICLE

Also see: Bristol Indymedia's programme for the film & media room at the Anarchist Bookfair.


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city centre bookfair mural 0.41 Mb after-party flyer 0.26 Mb bookfair poster 0.15 Mb

This month our very own Bristol Indymedia Film Night takes a closer look at the issue of Peak Oil on Tue 5th April. The feature will be 'The end of suburbia' Venue: Cube Cinema, Dove St. South (off Kings Square). Cube Directions. Doors open 7.30pm, show starts 8:00pm. £3/2 (nobody turned away due to lack of funds.) Film Night Review: Peak Oil is the geo-petroleum theory that states how the world has used half of the supply of oil and gas on the planet. The problem comes when you realise that we have used the easy to access half. From here oil gets harder to find and more expensive to produce. For every 3 barrels of oil we currently use, only 1 new one is found. In short, the days of cheap energy are gone - the party's over. Films include contributions from Richard Heinberg ('The Party's Over: The End of the Age of Oil'), Colin Campbell (geologist & founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil), Michael Rupert (founder fromthewilderness.com) and many more.

Latest News (02/04/05): Analysts predict oil at 100 US dollars a barrel

Review of 'The Party's Over: The End of the Age of Oil': "A few generations hence, our descendants will look back on the industrial world of today with a combination of awe, wonderment, and horror. Their past is our future - a transitional era of dwindling energy supplies, resource wars, and industrial collapse. If societies a century from now have managed to learn how to live peacefully, modestly, and sustainably, it may be at least partly because the advice in this timely book was heeded." Thom Hartmann, 'The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight and Unequal Protection: The rise of corporate dominance and theft of human rights.' Read More | Bristol Peak Oil Group | Peak Oil Petition | Related Links: Life After the Oil Crash | Peak Oil | Hubbert Peak | Surviving Peak Oil |

No its not New Labour, writes, A. Jester: A top-secret report, found in the loos at a top Bristol members-only table-dancing club, would never have been made public under the Official Secrets Act ... Produced jointly by the JIC (Joint Intelligence Committee, responsible for the lack of intelligence leading to the Iraq war), and by ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers, where two plus two equals crackdown), it reveals the state's concerns regarding the infamously unfunny Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army. The report ..[states].. it would be bad PR to go around arresting anyone with a red nose. Avon & Somerset's new Chief Constable, Colin Port, out hunting gypsies, asylum seekers, and single mums, is alleged to have spluttered: "I'm not having a bunch of clowns undermining the rule of flaw and disorder. It's all very well my friends in the Countryside Alliance riding roughshod over the law, literally, but I'm not having my men and women cross-dressing in silly uniforms. We will not let the law of the land be undermined, nor the land of the law mined. Can I have another mushroom please." If the Clowns tickle your fancy however, you can catch a free taster of their subvert on life at their workshop at the Bristol G8 Dissent 'Info4Action' day at the Malcolm X Centre, St Pauls, on 9 April, from 10.30am to 530pm. They'll be back for a full weekend in the spring. Oooh, stop quivering now! Full story. Film of Circa.

| State's clown concerns | Full Info4Action Day Details | Info4Action Posters 1,2,3,4 | Bristol Dissent! Elist |

1984 writes: Colombian Vice president Francisco Santos has been speaking in London and Madrid over the last week at high level meetings to present a clean image of the Colombian Government claiming improvements in human rights and in fighting the "War on Drugs". His key aim has been to secure support and continued military aid for Plan Colombia, a program widely criticised by Colombian social movements and international human rights organisations as a brutal military solution to a social problem. In a surprise visit yesterday (Tuesday) Santos came to speak in Bristol. He was met with a combination of direct action and a penetrating interrogation of his spurious arguments. Full story.

Bob the Builder continues: Santos gave a talk at Bristol University, attempting to describe his government's policies as a 'democratic response to terrorism'. Invited by the university's International Affairs Society, Santos faced multiple protests and withering criticism from a well informed audience including former Colombian students, a prominent Colombian human rights lawyer and an academic writing a doctorate on the subject. In addition, a silent protest was held outside in memory of 7 Colombian peace activists murdered by pro-government forces in late February. After the debate, red paint was symbolically thrown over the Vice President as he left the building for a plush dinner in town. Colombia Solidarity's Dr. Mario Novelli distanced the organisation from the paint throwing stating that "We want to remember the victims of violence in Colombia, in which the Colombian government has been repeatedly proved to be complicit. We are against all violent attacks on individuals, including this paint throwing incident." Full story.

Right to Reply: Colombia Solidarity Campaign was not involved in the paint-throwing incident (19/03/05) | Response from the International Affairs Society Regarding 'Inaccuracies' (18/03/05) | Networks: Colombia Solidarity Campaign | Colombia Journal | Justice For Colombia | Colombia Action Network | Related Links & Articles: International Affairs | Protesters Blockade Coca Cola Distro Plant |