Creating Alternatives

Bromley Cuts Concern has been networking with the Occupy Movement for several months. Occupy London writes

 

Hey Everyone!

 

This Sat's General Assembly at St Pauls, on Creating Alternatives through the ideal of localism, community and the commons will be a great opportunity to start discussing all the issues.

 

With music, poetry, talks on the theme of community, inspiring community groups like Haringey Solidarity and Save Leyton Marsh in attendance this is a great opportunity to find common ground, support each others' campaigns, and perhaps start building a really strong London network.  

 

Do come along if you can, and don't forget to share the invitation with your local group(s).

http://occupylondon.org.uk/archives/8693 

Creating Alternatives – new series of community-themed assemblies starting Saturday 16 June

Occupy London warmly invites individuals, grass-roots organisations and community groups to join us for a discussion of the ideas, experiences, visions and strategies that will make better social living a practise. By sharing our stories and community based approaches, we can find common ground.

This series starts on Saturday 16th June and will continue each Saturday until late August, always from 2 – 4pm on the steps of St Paul’s. If you have an idea for a themed assemblies looking at a specific concern do get in contact.

We feel strongly that through working together exploring the vast similarities between many of our causes and together, we can reclaim what has been taken from us and assert our rights as communities over corporations and the state. Our shared task is to turn occupation into lasting change by imagining and building compelling, just and democratic alternatives to the current morally and materially bankrupt system of living. Examples of such alternatives exist already and have been successfully practised in a variety of environments and cultures around the world. [1-3]

Through this series, we’d like to explore such examples together and hear your stories, experiences and views with a view to building towards creating our own real alternatives.

Have an idea? Get in contact:

Email: occupylondonga@gmail.com

Twitter: @occupylondonga

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/477327888950050/

1. http://www.cooperationcommons.com/node/361

2. http://www.envplan.com/epa/editorials/a37172.pdf

3. http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/opinion/comment/peter-geoghegan-the-road-to-financial-safety-1-2282091

Materials on the Commons and Commoning

http://p2pfoundation.net/Category:Commons

http://www.peoplesassemblies.org/2012/06/commons-links-resources/

So We Stand

Power in Community is an organisation based in Scotland dedicated to building leadership in poor communities.

They are sending this invitation to groups and individuals concerned about how environmental and social injustice is likely to affect young people in pockets of deprivation elsewhere in the UK.    

Hello there,

Since the Summer insurgencies and riots of 2011 we've been thinking of creative and inspiring ways to work with young people to positively work around some of the issues the events gave light to. We're really excited to announce our SWS Summer School 2012 - a one week intensive programme for young people to come together with long-serving community organisers to share and learn about issues around community justice, the insurgencies, and our political and personal histories. It will be taking place at sites across London from 7th - 14th July. It is free. Please read all about it here:

http://sowestand.com/sws-projects/so-we-stand-summer-school-intro-to-community-organising-and-social-change/

We would very much appreciate if you would circulate the below flyer and information with any and all young people that you work with and send it far and wide amongst your networks. Deadline for applications is Fri 15th June. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any feedback or queries regarding the summer school.

All the best, So We Stand  
www.sowestand.com

Coming soon to Bromley!

Bromley Cuts Concern supporter and organiser Paul Rooney posts news here of two free-to-attend meetings at Bromley's HG Wells Centre -  

Thursday 31st May at 6.30pm. Venue- HG Wells Centre

Bromley Cuts Concern meeting.

Guest Speaker: Glenn Kelly (Staff Side Secretary,Bromley Council).

Glenn is at the forefront  of fighting the Tory cuts to essential local Council services.

    Bromley's latest proposal is to withdraw from National Pay & Conditions. This will mean even lower pay & worse pensions locally, leading to poorer services as well as preparation for privatisation of even more Departments.

    Glenn will also tell us about his ongoing battle with Unison regarding his suspension from the union. He won his High Court case recently, but unfortunately Unison have appealed. 

    Glenn is a great & uplifting speaker .

Open meeting

ALL WELCOME

Free Entry.

Wednesday 6th June at 5pm.Venue-HG Wells Centre

Transport and Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA union) have invited Dave Smith (UCATT and a former engineer) to speak at their next meeting.

Dave has been in the news over several years because he was blacklisted for raising concerns as a  UCATT trade union safety rep about unsafe working practices in the construction industry.

    This is a very relevant today as both nationally & locally the Tories are determined to  attack hard won worker protection and employment rights. Disturbingly and falsely, the Tories view workers rights & health & safety protection as holding back economic growth.

   Only last year the absurd Leader of Bromley Council tried to set an immature & dangerous example by refusing to wear a hard hat on a visit to  local construction site.

    If Mr Carr wants to hurt and injure himself then that's up to him although I doubt his wife & children will be too impressed if they have to care for him as result of sustaining a serious head injury.

   Also, he put others (including any Emergency Service workers) in jeopardy who would have had to risk harm to themselves in order to atend to his injuries caused as a result of not protecting himself. 

   Dave is an excellent speaker. Do come and hear his story and learn about lessons for today.

ALL WELCOME

Free Entry

People's Assembles Network

YouTube movie 'Beyond Resistance' appears on People's Assemblies Network website.


Following January's post here relating to 'Occupy London', the movement has now established an international presence and internet profile. They write -

The People’s Assemblies Network is an informative and resource platform to support the ongoing democracy protests and open, democratic assemblies in the UK, Europe and throughout the world.
We are open to collaboration and welcome your news about People’s Assemblies wherever you live, please get in touch at:
info@peoplesassemblies.org
For further infomation you can read about various other ideas about Assemblies here and contribute to the further development of the politics and economics of PAs at our forum or wiki page. Also, take a look at the Wikipedia entry on Popular Assemblies, everyone who believes in a society much more democratic than the current model is encouraged to contribute!

How much longer will the public put up with this...

Letters by Paul Summers, Rod Reed and John Getgood, on topic of more spending for the better off through more slashing of services for the vulnerable and less well off, are published in the Bromley Times this week.

 Bromley Times Letters, 22/3/12

The national campaign against the Health & Social Care act Keep our NHS public (KONP) is building coordinated local action. Lewisham meets Thursday March 22, 7pm Waldron Health Centre, New Cross.

Is this The Big Society at work...

Two posts from Bromley Cuts Concern supporters --

On Bromley's community services -

Bromley Council seem to be celebrating the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens birthday by imposing new hard times on the people of our borough. 

£13.5 million of cuts voted through by our councillors will hit the elderly, special educational needs, disabled, citizens advice bureau, school improvement, street cleaning and more.  

The council should be caring for the whole community not casting the needy and vulnerable adrift.

Is this The Big Society at work. 

Paul Summers

On Bromley's railway services -

Last week the Government announced their backing of the McNulty Report which represents the biggest threat to the railway since Beeching.

If the McNulty report is implemented passengers will experience further cuts to their safety and services at the same time paying even further increases to their fares.

Many stations, such as Bromley North, Knockholt, Ravensbourne and New Beckenham will be totally de-staffed and many others, Shortlands, Chislehurst, Chelsfield, Bickley and Hayes staffing will be severely reduced, this is to name just a few.

There will be many further staff reductions such as no guards on trains.

Since privatisation the cost to the tax payer has increased four fold and due to the fragmentation and big profits being made by often foreign owned companies, nearly £1 billion a year is taken out of the railway, money which could and should be reinvested.

Even though McNulty admits that the franchise system has failed its answer is to actually increase this failure and give in to the profit driven companies by having longer gold plated franchise terms.

We ask passengers and the public to please contact their MPs and Councillors to reject this report and to ask for a not for profits run railway.

Stephen Leggett  

'Green' Economy or Greed Economy? - an Open Teach-in

Open Teach-in on the 2012 Rio + 20 Earth Summit:
'Green' Economy or Greed Economy?

Saturday March 24th, 11am to 5pm

London Feminist Library
5 Westminster Bridge Rd
London SE1 7XW
http://feministlibrary.co.uk/visit-us

Speakers: climate science update; the UN Earth
Summit in Rio (20 years later); the international
treaty process and economic justice; technology
assessment: hope or hype; and what to expect in
the future. Plus open Discussion.

In June this year, twenty years after the
original 1992 Earth Summit, the United Nations
will once again bring together a conference to
discuss the environment and the global economy.
The conference hopes to discuss what they call
the 'green economy', a follow-on concept from
'sustainable development'. The 'green economy'
consists of (i) giving nature and 'ecosystem
services' a financial value which can be used to
facilitate trading, as has already taken place
for carbon emissions, and (ii) using new 'green'
technologies such synthetic biology/biomass and
'geo-engineering' to combat environmental problems.

Hope or hype? Will new technologies build a real
green economy or perpetuate the current greed economy?

Whose interests are served by such technocratic 'green solutions'?

What are the risks of synthetic biology and geoengineering?

What's wrong with putting financial values on nature?

Can we build a real green economy based upon economic justice?

Come join the debate, learn the latest details.

For more information https://network23.org/invite

Speakers and/or support from: Luddites200, ETC
group, the Land Magazine, Scientists for Global Responsibility and others

The event is free (bring lunch to share) but
participants are encouraged to donate £2-10 to
support the London Feminist Library. http://feministlibrary.co.uk

This teach-in will be an alternative forum to the
Royal Society's "Planet Under Pressure"
conference, a large international technology
conference preparing for the Rio Earth Summit.

Bring lunch to share.