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The Red Pepper round-up: 28 September

28 September 2012: The week around the web and upcoming actions, with Izzy Koksal

As the Liberal Democrats spent the week demonstrating their utter detachment from the rest of the population real politics were taking place in the streets of Spain and Greece as hundreds of thousands of people took the streets against austerity. The photographs of the protests are incredible with many showing the police brutality that the protesters were faced with. See these photos from Spain, these from Greece and the ‘Greece – life in an economic crisis’ Flickr account.

The mainstream media have spent the week being excited by a privileged white male speaking down to someone. I guess his archaic language did add some novelty to what is otherwise a non-story. Johnny Void points out the hypocrisy of a criminal justice system that has seen others sent to jail for swearing at coppers whilst Andrew Mitchell will no doubt retain his freedom.

The Cuts Cafe is coming soon to London. Check out their blog as they fill it with fantastic articles about the impacts of the cuts and how we can organise together. If you’ve got an idea for an article, email it to them to make this a brilliant space for generating ideas, discussion and debate. The blog has kicked off with an absolutely awesome post on our housing crisis and what we can do about it. Two other housing stories this week – with Corporate Watch reporting social engineering at the King’s Cross Central development and a public meeting where residents from the Carpenter’s Estate defended their homes against UCL’s plans to ‘redevelop’ the area – give yet more evidence to the argument in the Cuts Cafe blog.

Former HMRC boss and friend of Goldman Sachs David Hartnett saw his evening of port and tax dodging deals disturbed by black tie activists who gate-crashed the event. Watch it here and read Adam Ramsey’s explanation on why we need to mock the rich and powerful. More video fun with ‘Occupy Wall Street: One Year Later’.

If you’re in this for the long-haul, check out this investigation from the ‘Our Beeb’ team showing the massive failures of the BBC in their reporting of the NHS reform bill over the last two years. It’s huge but vital reading!

Happy Birthday Critical Mass! The first ever Critical Mass took place 20 years ago in San Francisco. We’ve been pushing pedals around the world ever since.

Events and Action

It looks like a quiet week this week, but that’s just cos we’re getting ready for a rowdy autumn!

Cuts Cafe Public Meeting, 7pm, Monday 1 October, Unite Head Offices, ground floor suite, 128 Theobald’s Road, Holborn, London, WC1X 8TN

Ending the Fuel Bill Rip-Off Public Meeting, 7pm, Thursday 4 October, Crossroads Women’s Centre, 25 Wosley Mews, Kentish Town, London, NW5 2DX

Read an article that you want to share? Got an event coming up? Tweet me @IzzyKoksal

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A new party of the left comes one step closer Salman Shaheen of Left Unity, the group supporting Ken Loach’s call for a new left party in Britain, reports from its first national meeting

Diary of a ‘wannabe MP’: local elections, UKIP and the left Davy Jones is Green Party parliamentary candidate for Brighton Kemptown at the next general election and a member of Red Pepper’s board. This is the second of a series of regular blogs on his campaign

South Africa’s poor resist home attacks Amid Britain's decision to cut aid for South Africa by 2015, Caroline Elliot hears from poor shack dwellers who vow to resist the destruction of their homes.

Open House begins this weekend in London A nine-day event bringing together people facing the housing crisis across London to organise and take action around our collective housing needs

Call to protect Colombian human rights defender On 10 October 2012, a man pushed a gun into the chest of Alfamir Castillo and told her that both she and her lawyer were going to die.

Beyond the Fragments is more than history The book was part of challenging the left's methods of organisation, writes Alice Robson - and that struggle continues today as it is republished

Meet Red Pepper’s new co-editor, Michelle Zellers Michelle Zellers introduces herself, her reasons for wanting to be part of Red Pepper and her hopes for its future

Bedroom tax: Lessons in morality from Iain Duncan Smith Kara Moses reflects on the experience of protesting at the Tory minister’s mansion – and offers a glimpse of the luxury he enjoys while lecturing us about ‘fairness’

Reviewing the NHS – speaking ill of the dead Junior doctor Paul Teed says patient satisfaction surveys give an illusion of ‘choice’ in the NHS – but bad reviews don’t create more capacity or employ more staff

We need to challenge the myths that poison attempts at progressive change Hilary Wainwright introduces the first in a series of mythbusters produced by Class, in collaboration with Red Pepper.

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The Brighton pay dispute: the union view GMB union organiser Rob Macey puts the workers' side of the argument

The pay dispute at Brighton council: a Green view Davy Jones, Green Party parliamentary candidate for Brighton Kemptown, gives his view of a dispute that has caused huge debate among Green Party members in the city and across the country

Jeremy Hardy thinks… about the right to exist 'We’d all say a person has a right to a home, but we wouldn’t say their home has rights.'

Back to the fragments Lynne Segal, one of the authors of the seminal 1979 socialist-feminist text Beyond the Fragments, reflects on its lessons for today

Turkey: A people imprisoned Once seen as a moderate party, the AKP government in Turkey is using anti-terrorism legislation to unleash a wave of repression against the left and the Kurdish movement. Tim Baster and Isabelle Merminod spoke to activists in the country


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