SchNEWS 711 - 26th February 2010 - A Different Kettle Of Fash

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Issue 711 Articles:

Greek Fire

Crap Arrest Of The Week

A Different Kettle Of Fash

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A DIFFERENT KETTLE OF FASH

The SDL (a north of the border offshoot of the EDL) were comfortably seen off the streets of Edinburgh on Saturday, despite the usual splits over tactics from different anti-fascist groups.

All in all, only around eighty of the far-right actually made it to Edinburgh - showing once again that this movement hasn’t really got any strength outside England. Previous efforts by both the Scottish and Welsh Defence Leagues (see SchNEWS 696, 697 & 700) have ended up in ignominious failure - with the leagues kettled into pubs besieged by anti-fascists.

In this case the Edinburgh anti-fascist alliance had a couple of months to prepare for the SDL’s arrival. Unfortunately once again organising was marred by SWP front group the UAF insisting on holding a simultaneous rally two miles away from the leaguers’ meeting point.

Despite this, as soon as the League were sighted in a pub near Holyrood parliament, large numbers marched to confront them. They were soon kettled inside the boozer and had to wait for police reinforcements. They were then unceremoniously bussed out of town.

Before the march, police arrested EDL leaders travelling to Edinburgh for incitement to cause a breach of the peace. According to an EDL statement, armed police raided the leaders’ homes and seized computer equipment. The leaders have now been banned from attending any meeting with more than three EDL members.

The EDL are now gearing up to welcome far-right Dutch islamaphobe Geert Wilder to Britain. They will be gathering outside the Houses of Parliament on March 5. Contrary to rumours, the planned march through Bradford in May is still scheduled according to the EDL website.

Keywords: anti-fascists, edinburgh, edl, sdl

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Dragon On A Ciggie

A brief history of the Dragon Festival and Cigarrones travellers site, southern Spain.

The Cigarrones travellers’ site is one of several communities which have sprung up near Orgiva in Andalucía, Spain, in recent decades. Coming to the southern tip of Europe to escape the repression against travellers in Britain and elsewhere, they have carved out a life of avin’ it autonomous anarchy – despite increasing attention from tinpot local authorities who act like Franco is still in. Since 1997 the site has held the annual Dragon Festival - now arguably one of the most significant free festivals in Europe – but this is also under attack. Here is a brief history written by a resident of Cigarrones:

Dyer Warnings

SchNEWS interviews Canadian journalist and military historian Gwynne Dyer about the dire warnings for a post-climate change world in his book 'The Climate Wars'

Mexico: It's Grim Up North

Report from US-Mexico border about the narco wars whose connections go right up to the president

More Than Just A Movement: Resistance To The Coup In Honduras

One year after the military coup in Honduras which ousted the leader and installed a neo-liberal cabal, grassroots groups across the country are aligning to create a popular movement.

Direct Hacktion

SchNEWS interviews Richard Stallman – hacker, founder of the Free Software movement and activist for digital-software-information freedom...

Eyewitness Afghanistan

From Kemp Town to Kabul, as SchNEWS interviews Al Jazeera journalist Medyan Dairieh about his take on the war...

Mass Evictions In Cambodia

An eyewitness account from Phnom Penh, as Cambodia faces its largest forced displacements since the time of the Khmer Rouge.

Titnore Woods is on Alert

The future of Titnore Woods is threatened as Tesco and Worthing Council gang up to build upon the ancient woodland...

Who Are Ya?

Who are the far-right English Defence League, and what are their strategies?

Rotten to the Caucases

With the murder of Russian human rights activist Natalia Estemirova in Chechnya, we look at the Russian-backed despotic regime in Chechnya.

The Hippy, Hippy Shakedown

At the last minute the Big Green Gathering festival in Somerset was pulled due to legal pressure - SchNEWS looks at the events and factors that led to this.

Coup Blimey

The president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, is removed and sent into exile after a military coup d'etat.

Convoy Polloi

This year marks the 24th anniversary of the infamous police attack on travellers on their way to Stonehenge in an incident now known as the Battle Of The Beanfield.

In the Brown Stuff

SchNEWS looks how deep the financial problems are for the banks and the British Govt, and how they won't learn from their errors.

Omar Deghayes Speaks to SchNEWS

Given a more optimistic environment after Obama's announcement that he's going to close the Guantanamo prison camp, SchNEWS interviews ex-detainee, Omar Deghayes, to gauge his reaction.

Eyewitness Rafah, Gaza

Eyewitness accounts from British activists on the ground during the wanton attack on Gaza by Israel in January 2009.

Somali-argh

Somali pirates roaming the Gulf Of Aden, hijacking - amongst other ships - a Saudi oil supertanker. How is it possible? What geo-political context is giving rise to these latter-day pirates?