Brian Anson - Architect, Story Teller, Poet, Revolutionary

Inspiration (1934-2009)

Brian Anson passed away over the weekend after being inflicted with a sudden illness.

Audio documentary; Stories of architecture and social struggle with Brian Anson
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/37463 read full story / add a comment

At about 5pm this evening as the closing plenary of what can only be seen as a very disapointing climate talks in Barcelona, 2 people got up with a banner and walked toward the front stage shouting "Markets are the problem, not the solution". The banner appears to have read "Obama is finishing what Bush started".

They were quickly jumped upon by security guards at the conference and wrestled to the ground. A third person stood up and came to their aid, it appears she was taken away from the plenary by the security guards.

All three were evicted from the conference, no arrests were made. read full story / add a comment

This week (monday 2 - friday 6) the Barcelona International Climate Change Talks are happening, five days of formal negotiations, in the lead up to COP 15. Since Saturday there have been a series of actions in the cities streets as well as at the conference centre to raise awereness, to unite eco movements and to try to force change during this window of opportunity in the conference centre at the far side of Montjuic. But will it be enough to get us out of our AGE OF STUPID? Perhaps not, news has just come through today that African countries have abandoned the talks.

Talks Timeline
Saturday - Manifestation in Barcelona streets - The climate is not for sale
Sunday - Outdoor film screening in city streets - 11th hour - Age of Stupid - Eco hopes
Monday - TckTckTck wake up call for climate talks - Anarchist night greeting
Tuesday - Africa boycott U.N. climate talks, demands CO2 cuts read full story / add a comment

Oil and Gas multi-nationals always get what they want. That is, the resources for next to nothing. And nothing will stand in their way. This week 25 Peruvian Indians were massacred by the military. The same thing has happened elsewhere in South America in other countries and in Africa a-la Nigeria. In our own country, to avoid bloodshed, our politicians just handed over the resources for free. In Bolivia where Evo Morales nationalised their Natural Gas, death squads were sent out to kill him, with one of their own being Irishman Michael Dwyer who worked for a large oil company in Mayo. Anyone notice a trend here? So read on to find out what happened in Peru this past week...

Awajun, Wampis, mestizos y blancos unidos en defensa del territorio, luchando para derogatoria de los DS
Awajun, Wampis (native tribes), mestizos (mix of native and Spanish blood) and whites united in defence of the land, Struggling to repeal the Court Orders

An ongoing, many month old peaceful protest in the Bagua region of the north western area of Peru was brutally attacked this week by state forces, resulting in the deaths of, at least, 25 native Indigenous Amazonian Peruvians. A motorway in the "curve of the devil" region had been blocked by local communities of the area who feel their land, health, livelihood and community is threatened by the government's giveaway of the area, and its precious resources, to multinational oil and gas exploration. They are perhaps right to feel sad, threatened and terrified, knowing how things have faired in neighbouring areas with a similar story, Sion, Equador and beyond... Perhaps even as far a field as Rossport. read full story / add a comment

Springtime in Europe and the Earth's life cycle is in bloom again. The 3 parts of the radio documentary capture magical moments in the recent history of one of the most exciting projects in Barcelona at present, our community garden in Gracia. This article was written after a lovely Valentine's weekend of much open, shared and participative activity, the highlight of which was our collective mural day in the garden. It is hoped that some of the life, current ideas, projects, tools, spaces, bargains, oddities, dreams, passions and goings on of the city and her peoples are communicated here-in.

Friday… Thinking about winning
Saturday… Painting pictures and feeling like we are winning
Sunday… Sharing passions, playing and doing, remembering the South read full story / add a comment

Al Gore: "I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants."

Next Monday The largest act of civil disobedience will happen against global warming in the US. A large protest has been called at a coal-fired plant in Washington, D.C, 11,000 people are expected. In the days leading up to the protest, youth climate activists are organizing a conference called Power Shift ’09. Thousands of student activists plan to lobby lawmakers on Capitol Hill, urging them to rebuild the economy through bold climate and clean energy policy.

Looks like the "climate camp movement" is continuing to grow globally and momentum is building in the lead up to COP15... Ireland too are organising thing for this summer. Also Greenpeace´s "lawful excuse" court battle win might open the flood gates for more direct action... read full story / add a comment

In Brazil, more than one hundred thousand people are gathering for the ninth World Social Forum. A crowd of some fifty thousand kicked off the event Tuesday with a march through the Amazon city of Belem. The World Social Forum gathers social movements from around the world under the theme of ‘another world is possible.’ It’s timed to coincide with the gathering of corporate leaders in the Swiss town of Davos.

Listen to the live broadcast, when available from AMARC: http://66.90.104.82:8330/listen.pls

WSF 2009 @ Belém - Pará - Brasil (27 feb - 1 feb, 2009) : http://www.fsm2009amazonia.org.br/

read full story / add a comment

Dear Pat, (Wednesday 21 January, 2009)

Strange times indeed!

Yesterday Martin Luther King’s dream was realised with Barack Obama becoming the first black president of the united States. Today sees Ireland celebrating, after much movement building based on Hope and Bold-ness of vision, the 90th anniversary since the first meeting of Dail Éireann.

But strangest of all is that we are living in times of such climate catastrophe, which threatens our collective existence regardless of nation and race, and in Ireland this fact is neither sufficiently recognised, nor is sufficient assistance given to those with visions for sustainable change. read full story / add a comment

100 - 175,000 march in Barcelona against Gaza massacre and call for Israeli boycott.
Due to the ongoing massacres being carried out in the Gaza strip at present, 700+ Palestinians killed, mostly women and children, the protest in the streets of Barcelona was attended between 100 and 175 thousand people, thats about 2 full Croke Parks. Activists, at some stage, mounted a construction scaffolding and attached a banner in Catalan which was a slight modification to the famous poem "First they came…" about the Nazis coming for, removing and disappearing all those they then opposed: the communists, the jews, the trade unionists, the Catholics, the intellectuals, the last of which was the poems author, Martin Niemöller (1892–1984), was part of. Yesterdays banner included "Now they are coming for the Palestinians" read full story / add a comment

While many view these days with dread; the outset of climate crisis, political corruption and corporate manipulation blocking healthy change, lack of hope that things can change.

Others are starting to see something profound emerging; a re-awakening, an eruption of activity, new and intelligent ways of human interaction. Ecologist Paul Hawken sees this phenoman as "the immune system of humanity finally kicking in" and calls it Blessed Unrest.

As another bubble in all this, yesterday saw the first of 25 days of the first "Global Eco Forum"... read full story / add a comment

This is a series of daily video reports from the Climate Camp 2008 in Kingsnorth, Kent, UK read full story / add a comment

A worrying amount of reports are coming in about the possibility of a new front in the ongoing “war on terror”. The chances of an attack on Iran, who have never attacked anyone outside of its borders for 280 years now, is being increasingly talked about. But who might lead this attack and in what way might such an act further destabilise the world, both externally in the Middle East but also here at home in Europe and the “civilized world”? Bush, Obama or maybe Israel? And who might follow? Sarkozy, Burlesconi, Brown, maybe even Poland, maybe even all of Europe? read full story / add a comment

As a species we are finally waking up to the Climatic crisis that we have stupidly gotten ourselves into. After many years of not listening, people now realise the problem we face: ADAPT OR DIE. Some see the human species as a cancer that should die off, a natural end for a silly species. But others have a vision of a sustainable world, a vision that drives them to think differently, act differently, design differently, live differently. For many its simple little lifestyle changes, for others its nothing short of the next chapter in this unfolding strange story of civilization: the ecological revolution. read full story / add a comment

If you were walking the streets of Paris this month 40 years ago, chances are you would be completely caught up and participating in a time that has since changed French society forever. Then, France was on the verge of a total revolt with 12 million workers on strike, 122 factories occupied, and millions of students fighting for a radical change in the way the world was working. A spark that boldly called for revolution and dreamed of an end to capitalism appeared to come out of nowhere. Its ripples sparked further questioning and action in other parts of the world including our own little island. Ultimately, Paris ’68 did not succeed, but that’s not to say that the spark has been fully quelled or, indeed, that it wont boldly appear again in what are still troubled times. read full story / add a comment

yyyeeeeeeeeeehhhh hhhhaaaaaaaaa
BE THE MEDIA

http://radio.indymedia.org/

After being offline for over a year, IMC-RADIO is back online. For a variety of TEK problems the amazing resourse that is IMC-RADIO was gone from us, that meant that people all over the world could no longer publish their audio, access and listen to old audio, click on the site to get quickly directed to audio nodes and news from all over our little planet. For those into audio it was a big big loss.......

BUT now, Its back. read full story / add a comment

This morning at 8.30 the Mossos arrived and carried out the eviction of anohter of Barcelonas most important social centres, Ruina Amalia, one of the last few squatted spaces in the Raval nieghbourhood of the old city. The centre was another of the critical spaces and nodal points of BCN's social movements, about 20 people lived in the squatted space and its social centre hosted a wide range of services and support to the social movement: Okupa office, ASF (architects sans frontiers: arx without borders) support, free internet access, Carcoma the popular carpenter, costume workshop, free shop, kilombo library, theatre and dance space, flamenco patio with cheap bar and cafe.

This is another severe blow to critical nodal points of the cities social movement. It seems blow after blow has been dealt out with no real response from the movements..... Is it time for a change of thinking or acting? read full story / add a comment

Some months back, people from the Dublin community gardens collective secured the legal use of a space on South circular road, across the road from the White Heather factory behind which the original "Dolphins barn commmunity garden" was started 2 years ago on squatted land but that was later evicted. They have been busy over the past while, quietly and happily digging away, gently making a beautiful social space which is an example of what a more sustainable community or city looks like. There is currently a lovely new addition to the old Dublin 8 street, just after the Mosque coming from the city centre: a line of very colorful sunflowers now stand out against the green of the veggies and flowers growing behind in the SCR plot. The collective have at least another 2 years in this space and hopefully things will keep on growing so that this garden turns into a permanent green space for the city. All newcomers are people interested are welcome. read full story / add a comment

One of the strongest squats in Barcelona is facing eviction and using creativity as a tool of resistance. Miles de Viviendas resists and hopefully wider support can come.... read full story / add a comment

3 Barcelona squats under attack in 3 seperate early morning raids by police, riot squad and security guards.
Pouble Nou barrio: Makabra eviction began at 8.20am lasted 3 hours for processing, people with no papers taken away. no resistance, no violence, street party shaping up outside squat which is still held by armed cops with helicopter support

191 Pillars: squatters attacked by security guards, women beaten with metal bars and knives, much trouble, things calmed now, lawyer tried to stay there, squatter won, court case upcoming. 3rd squat somewhere in Raval area in city centre, no more news as yet read full story / add a comment

Early next year the World Social Forum will happen in Nairobi-Kenya and a call out has gone out for indymedia support for the project. Along with the setting up of a "convergence-based" IMC for the event, some activists are organising to try to set up listening stations in social centres around Europe whereby more people can at least listen to things as they happen from Kenya. But experiments in participating in the WSF without physically being there are also being explored in an attempt to push the boundaries of how this world works today. read full story / add a comment