Analysis
Political Discourse / Discussion / Theory.
What's up with Notts Police?
05-02-2010 20:36
Concerned about underperformance by Nottinghamshire Police Force, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) have taken the unusual step of sending in an "elite squad" to review the force's practices. Zoe Billingham, the Inspector for the eastern region, explained: "We're concerned about the enduring issue of Nottinghamshire Police's under-performance. There has been improvement in the city, but crime is not falling as fast as in other areas of the county. People in Nottinghamshire don't feel safe in some areas."
The team's work will reportedly cost £75,000. The six person team includes two serving chief constables and, bizarrely, Tony Wilkinson, former chairman of discount store Wilkinsons Ltd.
This move comes at the end of what diplomatically might be described as a "difficult" year for Nottinghamshire Police.
On the newswire: Christmas Appeal - Spare some coppers for a Copper | Another shoplifting copper caught with their trousers down | Police dog handler on trial | Demo against Notts Police & £700,000 bill for arresting 114 enviro activists | Taser Frenzy in Nottingham | Another young, black man dies in a police cell | Police spent £700.000 on climate action bust operation | Heroes of law and order
Previous features: Notts Police Face Scrutiny | Mass Arrest of 114 Climate Activists in Raid | Tasers in Nottingham
Related links: Inquest | Nottscops: Unofficial Nottinghamshire Police Photo Archive | United Campaign Against Police Violence | Notts Indymedia Repression topic page
Notts Indymedia: Review of 2009
01-01-2010 13:21
BNP Membership Leak 2.0
22-10-2009 10:31
On 20th October 2009 a list containing personal details of BNP members was leaked for the second time by the whistleblowing website Wikileaks. According to Wikileaks the latest data reflects the state of the party membership as of April 2009. An analysis of the data alludes to the successes and failures of the antifascist movement within the UK.
The claims of a 'surge' in BNP membership since the European elections appear to be false. The figures show a unique paid annual membership of 11,811 which is significantly less than the 14,000 recently claimed by the BNP. The list leaked in November 2008 showed a membership of 12,802 names although this list was widely regarded to include non-members who had shown an interest in the party.
Wikileaks state that a total of 35,000 memberships appear on the list, but after this number reached 33,000, 100,000 has been added to all subsequent membership ID numbers. "It has the effect of making the BNP look larger to new recruits and those they talk to, since the numbers on their membership cards are all over 133,000" say Wikileaks. This was a tactic originally adopted by the German nazi party after 1919 who added 500 to every member's number to exaggerate the party's strength, and was regarded as a key propaganda tactic to increase support.
The number of lapsed memberships also appear to be significantly high which indicates the party is poor at retaining committed support. A member of the state-funded antifascist group 'Searchlight' stated "people join the party because they're angry, agitated or curious, but they leave in equal numbers out of the bottom". However most BNP supporters are unlikely to join a political party so the figures exhibit a skewed representation of the current landscape of fascism in the UK.
Birmingham Related Articles: Fash Get The Brum Rush | EDL is BNP front group | Birmingham kicks out EDL | Birmingham kicks out EDL.. again
Related Articles: BNP Threatens Free Media | Keep Question Time Nazi Free | No to the BNP! No to the Racist Labour Government! | Secret BBC Location
BNP Membership Leak 2.0
21-10-2009 11:50
On 20th October 2009 a list containing personal details of BNP members was leaked for the second time by the whistleblowing website Wikileaks. According to Wikileaks the latest data reflects the state of the party membership as of April 2009. An analysis of the data alludes to the successes and failures of the antifascist movement within the UK.
The claims of a 'surge' in BNP membership since the European elections appear to be false. The figures show a unique paid annual membership of 11,811 which is significantly less than the 14,000 recently claimed by the BNP. The list leaked in November 2008 showed a membership of 12,802 names although this list was widely regarded to include non-members who had shown an interest in the party.
Wikileaks state that a total of 35,000 memberships appear on the list, but after this number reached 33,000, 100,000 has been added to all subsequent membership ID numbers. "It has the effect of making the BNP look larger to new recruits and those they talk to, since the numbers on their membership cards are all over 133,000" say Wikileaks. This was a tactic originally adopted by the German nazi party after 1919 who added 500 to every member's number to exaggerate the party's strength, and was regarded as a key propaganda tactic to increase support.
The number of lapsed memberships also appear to be significantly high which indicates the party is poor at retaining committed support. A member of the state-funded antifascist group 'Searchlight' stated "people join the party because they're angry, agitated or curious, but they leave in equal numbers out of the bottom". However most BNP supporters are unlikely to join a political party so the figures exhibit a skewed representation of the current landscape of fascism in the UK.
Related Articles: BNP Threatens Free Media | Keep Question Time Nazi Free | No to the BNP! No to the Racist Labour Government! | Secret BBC Location
Largest HLS Investor Dumps All Shares As Buyout Approaches
18-08-2009 12:48
On August 1st, Win Animal Rights (W.A.R.) launched a campaign to influence the top Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) Investor, Morgan Stanley, (who recently bought LSR stock) to divest their large holding of LSR shares. With 679,225 shares, Morgan Stanley was a 5% owner of Europe's largest and most exposed vivisection laboratory, swiftly selling all their LSR stock within a week of the campaign against them.
Protests included W.A.R. visiting the homes of 5 senior executives, as well as the two co-presidents of the firm, and five days later demonstrating at the headquarters of Morgan Stanley in New York City. This was followed by visits to the homes of multiple senior executives of the company.
The divestiture comes as LSR/HLS CEO, Andrew Baker, moves forward with his plans to acquire HLS and make it a privately held company, therefore delisting themselves from the NYSE (a major target in the campaign to close HLS). The proxy statement makes it abundantly clear that activists have had a tremendous impact on LSR/HLS' financial predicament, causing them to have limited options for the future.
Previous features: Novartis CEO's hunting lodge destroyed | Highgate Farm Protest Camp | Operation Liberation: Highgate Rabbit Farm | Largest Shareholder Barclays and Top Investors Dump HLS | World Day for Animals in Laboratories March | SHAC supporter unlawfully arrested at Barclays Bank | SHAC Shakedown City Investors | Top HLS Investors Dump Shares | HLS Exposed - Yet Again! SHAC To Shakedown Financial Investors In The City | 50 Years For The UK SHAC 7 | Anti-vivisection campaigners convicted of blackmail | Largest HLS Investor Dumps All Shares | SHAC Prepares For National March & Rally | Victory for animal rights campaigners | Activist Imprisoned for Shouting | Fisher Scientific Embarrassed Over Links with HLS | SHAC World Day for Lab Animals | Asahi Glass Protesters Harassed by Police | "March Against the Murderers"
Secret City Council Report Now Public
12-05-2009 23:51
A damaging report into the 'culture and leadership' at Nottingham City Council has so far been kept hidden in a locked cabinet at the Council House. Classed as 'confidential', the city council has systematically tried every effort to keep the report out of the public domain. In February, Stephanie Pearson, the information governance officer of Nottingham City Council, refused to provide the information requested by a councilor and the Evening Post under the Freedom of Information Act. The Council argue that the information disclosed in the report is 'not in the public interest'. It is also claimed that those seeking exposure of the controversial documents have not demonstrated a 'need to know' of its contents.
We believe that it is not for the City Council to judge whether information concerning their activity is in the public interest or not. Council officers should remember that they are in their positions to serve the people of Nottingham. To ensure full transparency of the activities of our City Council and in the interest of accountability we have decided to publish a direct download link of the full report.
A Conspiracy too far?
17-04-2009 15:51
In one of the best reports on the incident so far, Daithai asks some pertinent questions about the police raid involving more than 200 officers from Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire and British Transport Police which saw 114 people arrested for conspiracy at the Iona School in Sneinton Nottingham shortly after midnight on Monday.
Parliamentary scrutiny of political policing
24-03-2009 11:46
![Police display a warning before attacking protesters (Photo: Tash [alan lodge])](/icon/2009/02/422684.jpg){kind=icon}
With only ten days to go before the massive protests against the G20 summit taking place in London, the Parliament's Joint Select Committee on Human Rights accused British police of being heavy-handed, misusing counter-terrorism laws and anti-social behavior legislation when dealing with demonstrators.
"The right to protest is a fundamental democratic right and one that the state and police have a duty to protect and facilitate," said Andrew Dismore, Labour MP for Hendon and chair of the committee.
After a year of inquiry, the seventy-page report raised serious concerns about the police forces ability to distinguish appropriate use of the powers they are given. The committee complained that police have been routinely using "legal powers not designed to deal with protests such as anti-social behaviour legislation and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997."
The report was particularly damning regarding the police's abuse of stop-and-search powers to intimidate, unjustifiable seizures of personal property, and improper detention and containment of protesters. The committee's chairman said: "The state must not impose restrictions unless it is necessary, and proportionate, to do so. That is a high threshold. The presumption is in favour of protest without state interference."
Related Indymedia Posts: Police 'turn themselves in' over abuse of power claims | Report into police tactics at Kingsnorth released | Video of police tactics at Kingsnorth | Summer of rage? It's a figment of febrile imaginations | Senior police officer warns of “summer of rage” | Protest against police state | Britain 2009 (are we in a police state?) | Climate Camp Cops feel the heat | Over Policing | Police maintaining special database | Whole TV series on this issue
What Does The Economic Crisis Mean For The Climate Change Movement?
19-02-2009 00:51
We are in the middle of two crises, the climate crisis and the economic crisis. Although we we seem to treat them as separate, it can be argued that they are completely entangled. Tackling one without tackling the other is impossible and fruitless, but the connections are complex and shifting. To intervene effectively, we need to look carefully at how we think about time and change, and how we relate to markets and the state. But first, let's look at how the economic crisis arose and draw some link between this history and the problematics of climate politics.
Other aspects of economic crisis: Leeds | Liverpool | Public services cuts | Evictions | Factory OccupationsFull article | 1 addition | 44 comments
How do you know that Indymedia does not keep logs?
19-02-2009 00:00
Indymedia UK (IMC-UK) is a network of activists who provide an open publishing platform. We are part of the wider Indymedia Network that started in Seattle during the protests against the WTO in November 1999, and the UK site was one of the first to join the network in early 2000. In common with all Indymedia Centres (IMCs) around the world, as designated in the (draft) Principles of Unity, IMC-UK does not log IP addresses - as detailed on the security page. Moreover, following on from previous requests by governmental authorities for logs, IMC-UK and many other Indymedia sites (e.g. the global website, www.indymedia.org) do not retain any logs related to the website. These facts are documented on our open mailing lists and on the open IMC documentation site, docs.indymedia.org. (here for example).
In the rest of this article, we provide some advice on how to improve the measures you take when publishing on the website if you want to do so anonymously. We also outline some legal procedures that could potentially be used to attack Indymedia and the right to free expression, as well as describing some of the technical points in more detail.
