Activists stage new tax protests

Tax protesters step up protest against stores
Source: BBC Protesters against tax avoidance have staged demonstrations at shops across the UK on what is traditionally the busiest shopping weekend of the year. UK Uncut said it held sit-down Protests in cities including London, Edinburgh and Manchester against the Arcadia Group, Boots, Vodafone and Barclays. Arcadia Group's flagship Topshop and BHS shops in Oxford Street were hit. The wife of Sir Philip Green, the firm's boss, has been criticised for living in a Tax Haven. Read more: https://w...

Tax protests spread across Britain
Security Guards remove UK Uncut Protesters from Top Shop in Central London earlier this month. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Protesters against Corporate Tax avoidance plan to target Vodafone and Top Shop outlets in more than 50 towns and cities around Britain tomorrow in the biggest day of action by the UK Uncut group so far. The action, on traditionally the busiest pre-Christmas high street shopping day, will also be aimed at other stores - but the main focus will be Vodafone and o...

Big business goes on the defensive as tax protesters win the propaganda war
Students on Oxford Street, London, protesting last week against cuts in Higher Education spending and Topshop owner Sir Philip Green, now a government adviser. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi for the Guardian HSBC has joined the least desirable club in the business world. The bank yesterday became the latest target of a sudden surge in public fury over tax avoidance, as a guerrilla group of demonstrators under the elusive banner UK Uncut planned to occupy branches in London and Liverpool. A ...

Belarus leader: No opposition rally after vote
MINSK, Belarus - Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko expressed confidence that he would win a fourth term in Sunday's election, and opposition leaders and rights Activists reported that more than 30 people campaigning against the president had been detained. News of the detentions came as Lukashenko harshly denounced a planned opposition rally as being led by "bandits and saboteurs" and proclaimed that it would not take place. Opposition Candidates have planned a large demon...

Belarus leader: No opposition rally after vote
MINSK, Belarus - Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko expressed confidence that he would win a fourth term in Sunday's election, and opposition leaders and rights Activists reported that more than 30 people campaigning against the president had been detained. News of the detentions came as Lukashenko harshly denounced a planned opposition rally as being led by "bandits and saboteurs" and proclaimed that it would not take place. Opposition Candidates have planned a large demon...

22 Foreclosure Activists Arrested at Chase Bank in Downtown Los Angeles
In addition to the courts, the state Attorneys General and investors wanting to put back soured Mortgages on them, the banks have had to increasingly contend with direct action at their worksites. Thursday in downtown Los Angeles, 22 Activists, including the head of SEIU Local 721 and members of ACCE (the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment), were arrested outside a Chase bank for protesting the Foreclosure crisis. The activists set up a “living room” in front of the...

Belarus police warn opposition on eve of vote
MINSK | Sat Dec 18, 2010 9:37am EST MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus's state security forces warned the political opposition on Saturday that they would Crack Down hard on any attempts to whip up tension during Sunday's Presidential Election. Opponents of Veteran President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994 and is poised to win a fourth term in office, say they plan to hold Protests on Sunday night against electoral malpractice and vote-rigging. In a joint statement, the police a...

'DREAM activists threaten violence against United States
The DREAM Act failed miserably in the Senate today, with the news media blaming evil Republicans for discriminating against innocent Students who “just want to be part of the American Dream.” However, these supposed “innocent students” weren’t so nice on Twitter and other message boards. “The United States better let us serve and gain Citizenship through the Military. If they don’t, they will be fighting against us,” says Twitter user MEChA1985. &#...

Tea Party scores major win on illegal immigration
Illegal Immigration has been a key issue in the Tea Party in this area - as at this June rally.    This area's Tea Party - which was rooted in Protests by area building tradesmen against Illegal Aliens - scored a major win today: the defeat of the DREAM Act mini-amnesty for younger illegal aliens.  Today, the Senate voted 55-41 to defeat the DREAM Act - and both senators from North Carolina, including Democrat Kay Hagan, voted to defeat it.    The Tea Party's leade...

The Anonymous WikiLeaks protests are a mass demo against control
© Jon Nazca/Reuters Wikileaks Anonymous supporters wear masks during a demonstration in Malaga Spanish Protesters wear masks of the 'Anonymous' group and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The actions against MasterCard and Amazon are not 'hacking'. People are just finding a way to Protest in a digital space The Anonymous web protests over WikiLeaks are the Internet equivalent of a mass demonstration. It's a mistake to call them hacking (playful cleverness) or cracking (security breaking)...

Richard Stallman on WikiLeaks
[Richard Stallman, who started the free software movement, has an excellent editorial in The Guardian. It is also interesting that this was published in a British newspaper, not an American one. Stallman published it under the Creative Commons license that disallows derivative works, so I'm going to reprint the whole thing.] Spanish Protesters wear masks of the 'Anonymous' group and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters The Anonymous web Protests over Wikileaks are...

Tax protesters to target Vodafone and Top Shop
Source: The Guardian Corporate Tax avoidance Protesters plan to target Vodafone and Top Shop outlets in more than 50 towns and cities around the country tomorrow in the biggest day of action yet by the UK Uncut group. The action, on traditionally the busiest pre-Christmas shopping day on the high street, will also be aimed at other stores, but the main focus will be Vodafone and outlets run by Sir Philip Green's Arcadia group. The Protests are organised locally – UK Uncut is a loose alliance of ...

UK Uncut hurts ordinary shoppers, not rich corporations
Hamfisted: Protesters block the Oxford Street entrance to Topshop (Photo: EPA) Has there ever been a more ham-fisted Protest movement than UK Uncut? The express purpose of this organisation is to force rich individuals and corporations to pay more tax. Whatever the merits of the case - and, obviously, I think taxes should be lowered for everybody, not raised for anyone - it’s hard to see how interfering with ordinary shoppers is going to advance the movement’s cause. UK Uncut&#...

DADT Repeal: Gay Rights Have Come a Long Way, Baby
Joe Lieberman on Capitol Hill today. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Gay Rights victories, like today’s Repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” are inevitably linked to Stonewall, the 1969 riots that launched the modern-day LGBT movement. But 41 years ago, few gay Activists would have expected that enlisting in the Military would become such a major test of equality. Back then, gays wanted to get out of enlisting so they wouldn’t have to go to Vietnam, and the co...

UK: Islamist Cleric Holding Anti-Christmas Protest in Londons Shopping District
With any luck someone will knock his ass out… HATE-FILLED preacher Anjem Choudary is holding an anti-Christmas Protest on Britain’s busiest shopping street. The nut is heading to London’s Oxford Street on Christmas Eve to try to convert a million “lost souls”. The ranting cleric will lead disciples in a Protest against the “Promiscuity and materialism” of Christmas on a day when more than a million shoppers will in the world’s most famous shopping district.

For Shame! No Second-Trimester Abortions in Madison, Wisconsin
I’m outraged that the Madison Surgery Center has gone back on its pledge to offer second-trimester Abortion care. The center, which is co-owned by the UW Hospital and Clinics, the UW Medical Foundation and Meriter Hospital, announced on Dec. 13 that it has given up on finding a place in Madison where women can get the reproductive health they deserve. I know, from personal experience, what a tragic loss this is. I’m married, I’m a working professional and a few years ago, I found myself in

Disabled Protestor Jody McIntyre in Shameful BBC Interview
20yr old disabled Protester Jody McIntyre was disgracefully dragged from his Wheelchair by four British police officers during Student Protests against the two tier education system being introduced to the UK. BBC anchorman Ben Brown begins by badgering the shocked Victim who suffers from Cerebal Palsy, for not reporting the incident immediately, but who was he going to call, the police or the Ghost Busters?? Next the BBC man suggests that Mr McIntyre menaced the officers by "wheeling towards...

Is Politics a Liberal Game?
That’s the question that “Lady Kurobara” is asking at Ricochet.com: Over on Dave Carter’s thread, “What Say You?” Ricochet member Freeven offered a brilliant observation — so good that it deserves its own thread.  So I am posting it here on Freeven’s behalf (without his knowledge or permission, let it be noted): Alas, government is a Liberal’s game. The best conservative Candidates, almost by definition, never get off the bench. They have bett...

Thuggery masquerading as redevelopment
By Don Tabor From time to time, it is necessary for governments to acquire property from citizens for roads or utility rights of way and for necessary public uses such as forts, Military bases and other public buildings. Compelling citizens, against their will, to sell property to the government for public use is justified under the common-law concept of "Eminent Domain." When urban blight was recognized as a public problem, this power to force Private Citizens to sell their property ...

Moscow police arrest 500 as ethnic tensions linger (AP)
Moscow – Russian news agencies say Moscow police have arrested 500 people to stop them attending rival Protests over the killing of a Soccer fan and the ethnic violence that erupted after the slaying. A young Moscow man was fatally shot with rubber bullets during a fight with people from the Russia's Caucasus region at a bus stop this month. People from the Caucasus are typically darker-skinned than northern Russians and many are Muslim. They have traditionally been Victims of ethnic dis...

School security guard: 'I'm not a hero, folks'
Next story in Crime & courts Okla. set to execute inmate with animal drug In this image taken from video and released by WJHG-TV, Clay A. Duke points a hand gun at Bay City School Board members and staff on Tuesday....

Security Guard Who Stopped Gunman At Florida Schoolboard Meeting Tells Story To Fox News Shep Smith (Video)
Mike Jones, a Security Guard says he was supposed to be off all week on Vacation but he was asked to stay a couple days because of the Bad Weather. He says it was troubling taking the life of another and afterwards sought help from his pastor. He hasn't watched any of the video of the shooting or read any of the papers ...

'I'm Not A Hero,' Says Guard Who Stopped Gunman At School Board Meeting
What is this? That's what Mike Jones, the Security Guard who brought down gunman Clay Duke during Tuesday's School Board meeting in Panama City, Fla., as Duke was firing away at school officials, just told reporters. His words and humility say it all. The Panama City News Herald has much more about the dramatic incident here. What is this? Please note that all comments must adhere to the NPR.org discussion rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ. You must be logged in to leave a comme...

Client Number Nine: Doesnt That Florida School Board Shooting Mean That We Should Have More Gun Control?
Well, I predicted it yesterday, didn’t I?  Here’s the video. Of course, the answer is no.  The fact is this guy was not supposed to have a gun in the first place.  He was a convicted felon.  The synopsis of that previous crime was this: In October 1999, Duke threatened to kill a Florida woman, and when she attempted to flee, he used a Handgun to “shoot out the Victim’s rear tire of the vehicle that she was operating.” Duke, wearing a bulletproof ...

Report: 191 Prisoners Escape Mexico Border Jail
As many as 191 Mexican Prisoners escaped early Friday morning from a jail in Nuevo Laredo near the US border, reports local TV station KGBT-TV. Nuevo Laredo is the sister city of Laredo, Tx. The Prisoners allegedly just walked out the front door, reports Agence France Presse. After the escape, the Prison's 44 Security Guards and its director were arrested, KGBT-TV reports. It was one of the biggest prison escapes in recent years, surpassing the 85 inmates who broke out of a prison in the norther...