10/08/2017

Best of luck, Gina Miller


I never, ever thought I'd read something like this... Never until recently. 

I even had a dream, a few months ago, about some sort of "secret police" arresting people in the UK according to their skin colour. I was in Bristol in the dream and reached a building I was renting a room in... and two men in suits arrested a middle class woman on the base of her having brown skin. I could hear her complaining on the staircase that she had not prepared for this to happen now and was expected at work. But they took her anyway. And I manage to be discreet and reach the flat I was meant to stay

This hatred is getting out of control!! What happened to get so far?

This is the real side of Brexit... It is not about trade or the single market. It is about some distressed or angry or destructive people rejecting the society as it is, over an imagined representation of a perfect, imperial United Kingdom still dominating the world. It is a dangerous path! 

Please wake up. And let's say no to this kind of violence...


Gina Miller afraid to leave her home after threats of acid attacks

Brexit legal challenger fears she may have to leave the UK if anxiety over her family’s security becomes too much to bear

Wednesday 9 August 2017

Gina Miller, the campaigner who won a Brexit legal challenge against the government, has revealed that she has been receiving threats of acid attacks for months and is afraid to leave her home.
The businesswoman said that if the threats continued and became too much to bear she would “seriously consider” leaving the UK. 
“I have been getting threats of having acid thrown in my face for months and months now. When I see someone walk towards me on the street with a bottle of water or something, I just freak out,” she told Verdict magazine.
With the backdrop of a spate of acid attacks across the country, she said: “My life has completely changed.”
Miller spoke of her fears for her life just weeks after Rhodri Phillips, 50, the 4th Viscount St Davids, was jailed for 12 weeks for racially abusing her on social media. 
Four days after she won her supreme court case against the government, Phillips offered a bounty for her to be run over. He offered “£5,000 for the first person to ‘accidentally’ run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant”.
He described her as a “boat jumper” adding: “If this is what we should expect from immigrants, send them back to their stinking jungles”.
In a statement to court, Miller said she felt “violated” by his remarks, which were “offensive, racist and hateful”. 
But even Phillips’ three-month jail sentence has not put people off sending malicious messages and death threats, Miller said.
“I get people who send me death threats who include their name and full address on the letters. People are so bold that they just don’t hide,” she said.
She has had 24-hour security installed in her home, hired security guards and she and her family now spend their weekends at home because of the upset that leaving the house can cause.
“If it came to the point that it was just too much to bear from a security point of view, if I sat down with my police teams and we felt that it was a really serious threat, I would have to seriously consider leaving the UK,” she said.
“This would break my heart because I love this country and I am fighting for it. But we might have to.”
In January this year the Metropolitan police revealed they had issued eight “cease and desist” notices to people who had sent Miller threatening messages. 
She said people were “surprised” when they received the letters, as if they thought they would never be caught.
In April she told how she was still getting abuse after launching a tactical voting initiative ahead of the general election.
At the time she said she had a choice – either to embrace it and do something with her high profile or “walk away”, which she was not minded to do. 
A year after the murder of MP Jo Cox, Miller said that social media companies are still not doing enough to stop abuse being spread. 
Miller was thrust into the public spotlight when she launched the campaign to force the government to give parliament a vote on triggering Article 50.
Now she says she did not realise she would be the sole focus of public attention when she brought the legal action. 
“When the courts made me the lead claimant, my lawyer said to me: ‘My god Gina, do you know what this means?’ and I just sort of said ‘yes’. It was quite fatalistic of me,” she said, adding that she never expected to still be the lead claimant when it came to court.

08/08/2017

August 8, it's all about the light...


Words from artist Chris Levine, working with laser light in art shows:


Your love of sacred geometry theme really does mesh perfectly with Dark Mofo's pagan winter festival aesthetic.

We are beings of energy and are directly connected to the sun. To contemplate our position in the cosmos and our relationship to the closest star is somehow primal and innate. We are light, then for all mankind sake, let's BE LIGHT.


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Read the complete interview here:
https://creators.vice.com/en_au/article/3dm339/chris-levine-is-lighting-up-hobart-with-the-biggest-laser-show-dark-mofos-ever-seen


DARK MOFO 2017

Chris Levine is Lighting Up Hobart With the Biggest Laser Show Dark Mofo's Ever Seen
The legendary UK-based light artist has worked with the likes of Antony and the Johnsons, Grace Jones, and Sigur Ros.

You've seen light shows before, but never like this. As part of Dark Park, Dark Mofo's massive outdoor "public art playground" which features immersive and interactive works from all over the world, UK-based light artist Chris Levine is set to light up Hobart with a sprawling technicolor laser show called iy_project 136.1 Hz. 
What's in store? What's in store? Three 25-metre tall towers positioned in a 50-metre circle will shoot super powered lasers 10 kilometres across Hobart's night sky, crowning the city with shimmering colour. It's all going down from 5pm-10pm from June 9 until June 11, and then June 15-17. For a sneak peak, have a look at Levine's sprawling light work hovering over the city of Hastings here
In the lead up to our favourite winter festival, Creators caught up with Levine to talk about how his obsession with light and sacred geometry has fuelled his practice. 
Creators: Chris, how did you first come to being interested in light art and sacred geometry?Chris Levine: I started exploring holograms and holographics at art school in London. I saw it as very much the domain of laboratories and not studios at the time—it was not an artform. Then increasingly over time, when striving to get closer to the source, the essence of reality, my work became informed through my practice of meditation. It has been said that numbers are the purest form of thought, then geometry is an an expression of that truth, and somehow the dots align when the mind quietens. The truth reveals itself.

We're all used to seeing light shows at concerts and festivals—how do you create something truly spectacular and memorable using light? 
For me its all about the experience and taking people into the realm of inner space between thought. If the work is truly experiential it means you have to orientate yourself with in a mode that is questioning reality. I like that. 
You said when you started out, light art was undiscovered territory. How do you think the art world and general population's attitude to light shows changed over time?
Light has been hiding in plain sight and though its often cited or related to across all kinds of media, light itself as the medium still seems fresh, modern and of the age. The more we see of it, the more a language reveals itself and we become more discerning over the execution and purpose of the work. Like with anything, you have to filter out the gimmicky and frivolous as another distraction.

What do you want viewers to get out of your Dark Park installation?
Is it corny to say expect the unexpected? Truly this is an experimental project into a collective meditative space and its narrative is energy and spirit as one. Each time we do an iy_project it seems to take us further into new territory. I would always correct people when saying it's not technically a laser show, but if they come away saying its the best Mofo laser show they've ever seen and the sounds tripped us out...then I'm ok with that.
Your works are monumental—do you have a crew of people who help you put them together? How long is the design process, and what does it involve?The scale of laser is such that those beams carry on into space expanding the geometry of the work at a rate of 186 000 miles per second. That is monumental on a cosmic scale. The development of iy_project is an ongoing work in progress where we pull it into its latest incarnation for the opportunities like Dark Mofo where we are invited to do it. There is a tight core team involved in the production, development and logistics of the work. Then on the sound different collaborators coming into the mix. We're so excited that Rob Del Naja from Massive Attack has started working with us and his flavours will become apparent in Hobart.

How does the work interact with the cityscape of Hobart?We are working with the ancient wisdom of Solfeggio frequencies of which the base note is OM, which resonates with the Energy of our planet. The outdoor installation uses a combination of high powered lasers informed and aligned with sacred geometry and visible throughout the Hobart and beyond to Bruni Island and into deep space beyond.
What made you say yes to Dark Mofo?As soon as I first heard of Dark Mofo, something rang inside me that it was the right place to do iy_project. We're introducing it at the festival, and its initial exposure is important to us. Dark Mofo felt right and the brief was really to do with tuning into the mystic power of light and sound with a high charge of positivity. Light out of darkness.
Your love of sacred geometry theme really does mesh perfectly with Dark Mofo's pagan winter festival aesthetic.We are beings of energy and are directly connected to the sun. To contemplate our position in the cosmos and our relationship to the closest star is somehow primal and innate. We are light, then for all mankind sake, let's BE LIGHT.
Dark Mofo kicks off this weekend in Hobart, and tickets are on sale now. Find out more about the festival lineup here, and more about Levine's work here.
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"Le Jeune Karl Marx"


 Another thing: by the end of August, I'll be able to finally see Le Jeune Karl Marx / The Young Karl Marx, the first film I ever worked on, directed by Raoul Peck.

We started working on this film in 2005, with the idea of producing a documentary. I did a lot of research on Marx' writing and on the iconography to help the filmmaker, for about a year. And he finally decided to create a feature film, on the years that led to the 1848 revolution.

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Friendship, journalism, writing about social issues and social / political change, believing in philosophy and in telling the truth... this resonates more than ever!!

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The film will be released on September 27th in France. And it is still looking for distribution in the UK. If you're interested... get in touch!




Le Jeune Karl Marx de Raoul Peck, avec August Diehl, Stefan Konarske, Vicky Krieps, Amy Wren, Olivier Gourmet & Alexander Scheer.
Sortie le 27 septembre.



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Here is the trailer, in French / English / German, with French subtitles:



With English subtitles:


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August resilience


 Hello rainy August. You must know that in my head, I'm in sunny Naples so it doesn't matter that darkness fell over my windowpane at 3.45pm...

Anyway, you did steal my thunder, rainy weather. I had a lot to read and even more to write about, but you drained my energy away.

Yesterday was such a simple, lovely day of daydreams. Today had to bring back some balance, or it would seem unfair. For I'm such a lucky woman, always have been. Such a protected soul, wandering the earth with all her dreams coming through and true. Every project I accomplished, as little as it was, was always deemed "impossible" by someone before I finally mastered it. From entering the University programmes I waned to getting this or that job. But I always did. Enter or get it.

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Now, while I've realised my deepest and most important dream, publishing a book, how it is that I feel like I cannot be heard? I feel my voice is stifled. It does not go far enough... It cannot cross the walls I want to overcome...

I've been a journalist for more than 12 years and it seems that the more important a subject is, the more obstacles there are on the road of its release... Like that day when I crossed half of Kenya to talk to women who had gotten rid of the men in their village because they were so violent, but they finally didn't want to talk to us when we arrived... My biggest regret in a journalism experience.

It is hard to publish on the refugee crisis, it is hard to publish on police brutality and inequality and discrimination. And working freelance is adding hardship to the hardness.

But August is a month of rest and recuperation before the preparation. In France, September is baptized "la rentrée". New beginnings, new start.

I wanted to dedicate this month and July to finish my work on the English version of my book about Bristol and Massive Attack... but that wasn't possible. The British publishers are too busy, not concerned enough. And there is the situation in the UK... It is a disaster,  really. Almost as worrying as in the United States.

So everything I wanted to organise there is on hold. And so I'm moving on...

My two other book projects have also been put on hold too... By my French publisher this time. So I'm working on two other projects!

What else shall one do? We need to be resilient! We need to fight for our rights and help show the truth.

I'll tell more about all this when it comes to fruition... A film with a brilliant filmmaker might be possible. My own documentary film that I've been trying to bring to life for two years. A biography and two other books, about Africa for one, and the relations between Africa and Europe for the second. Even a play maybe!

Then, we'll see.

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Until then, I wish to all the truth workers a great amount of strength and... well, resilience.
Courage.

I could post pictures from my holidays in Naples two years ago... But well, that was back then.
Here is a painting by Erté, my painter of the summer. I hope that'll do.

It inspires me a feeling of a feminine beauty dancing with the cosmos, dancing in tune with the planets and the stars, or dancing in the raindrops if you will, despite the heaviness and obstacles, she is still dancing and choosing joy.

And so am I.




And so we lost Martin Roth, former V&A director


Sad news... Martin Roth was one of those who made my favourite museum, the V & A, what it is today. He was the first German director to lead such a deeply British institution. 
And I was looking forward to interviewing him in the autumn. He was at a centre of a radio documentary project that I wrote in the spring but that the French national radio rejected because, they say, they'd rather work with the same circle of producers... Typical french "renvoi d'ascenseur" attitude.
Rest in Peace Martin Roth...




Martin Roth, former V&A director, dies aged 62

First German to head major UK museum oversaw record visitor numbers but left V&A after disillusionment with Brexit vote

The V&A has paid tribute to its former director Martin Roth, who has died in Berlin, aged 62.
Roth was the first German to head a major British museum, leaving the V&A in 2016 shortly after it won the museum of the year award. That victory meant that Roth, after five years in charge, could leave while the museum was on a high. However it was a decision also hastened by his disillusionment over the Brexit vote.
He died from cancer, diagnosed only weeks after he left the V&A.
Nicholas Coleridge, the chairman of the V&A, said the museum was extremely saddened to hear of Roth’s death. He said: “Martin will be remembered as a man of prodigious energy, a director with a global reputation both within the museum world and beyond, a committed Europhile and cultural ambassador with a philosophical turn of mind, as well as a devoted husband and father.”
Coleridge said Roth had made it his mission to raise the international profile of the museum. Initiatives under his leadership included a presence at the Venice Biennale, the expansion of the museum to China, Dundee and east London, the founding of the V&A research unit, and the opening of restored galleries devoted to European arts and crafts of 1600-1815.
“This, combined with exhibitions such as David Bowie Is, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, Disobedient Objects and Engineering the World: Ove Arup, raised the V&A to new heights,” he said. “We will greatly miss Martin, and are profoundly grateful for his considerable contribution to the V&A.”
Roth was director general of the Dresden state art collections from 2001-11 and was succeeded by Hartwig Fischer, who last year trod a similar path when he was appointed director of the British Museum.
Fischer said he was “shocked and saddened” by the news of Roth’s death. “Martin was an energetic moderniser of museums. He was a great advocate of museums playing an active role as institutions in today’s societies, and he did much to internationalise collections. He fostered global cooperation and exercised considerable skill in cultural diplomacy. He will be missed.”
Roth’s leadership of the V&A was widely regarded as a success, with visitor numbers reaching record numbers, and it was a surprise when Roth announced his intention to leave last year. Leaving the museum on a high and in robust health was clearly a major motivation, but Roth had made no secret of his views on the UK decision to leave the EU.
He was born in Stuttgart in 1955 and the issues were personal. “For me, Europe is simply synonymous with peace,” he said in an interview with German broadcaster DW. “I didn’t want to be a German. I did not want to grow up in a country that had killed a huge part of its population.
“So for me, Europe always gave hope for a peaceful future, based on sharing, solidarity and tolerance. Dropping out always means creating cultural barriers – and that worries me.”
Roth said in interviews that he wanted to be more politically involved on returning to Germany. He was appointed honorary president of the Institute for International Relations.
The German culture minister, Monika Grütters, was among those who paid tribute. She said: “With the passing of Martin Roth, the German and international museum world has lost one of the most prominent but also polemical personalities. He took part in numerous discussions with a strong opinion and enriched these debates. His capacity for enthusiasm was contagious.”
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07/08/2017

Souvenirs of Kenya (2010-12)


 For those reading this randomly or only recently arrived, this blog started when I was based in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2011. Beforehand, I had another blog, written in French, where I posted my reports for BBC Afrique and the German International Radio, Deutsche Welle, Le Figaro and some other news outlets, but increasingly, though I was only a newcomer in East Africa and a humble freelance journalist, I was willing to write in a language the people around me in the region could understand...

Here is the link to the blog, if you feel like readind old news ;)
http://bbcafriquekenya.blogspot.fr

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Also, from February 2011, I started travelling way more, after spending five wonderful months discovering mostly Nairobi and nearby towns, as Kisumu, the mesmerizing island of Zanzibar, and the marvelous Rift Valley.

I travelled to Kampala, Uganda, for the 2011 elections and soon to Dadaab, at the border of Somalia, which hosts one of the largest refugee camps in the world. No need to say how life-altering these journeys have been. I was privileged enough to soon travel to Ethiopia, to Somaliland and a year later to Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.

Tomorrow, August 8th, Kenyans are voting for their new president and this could have important consequences for the whole region. Though I suspect current President, Uluru Kenyatta (son of Jomo Kenyatta who let Kenya to independence and become the country's first president) has too much to lose to admit any form of defeat. Long story... I'll post some articles from the Guardian.

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A few reports in French:

BBC Afrique
Reportage de Melissa Chemam au Kenya et en Ouganda à l'occasion de la journée de lutte contre le paludisme.
http://www.bbc.com/afrique/nos_emissions/2011/04/110425_minimag_melissa.shtml

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Des SMS pour se soigner

Mon dernier reportage pour la Deutsche Welle au Kenya


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Autres audios

https://audioboom.com/melissachemam

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But first, because East Africa is one of the most beautiful region in the world, situated in the Horn of Africa and home to the Rift Valley, among other marvels, here are a few souvenirs in pictures.


The view on the city skyline from a famous hotel, used by researchers and journalists as a regular spot and base...




My take on the old sign post at the main train station in Nairobi, the one that is featured in the famous American film, Out of Africa, adapted from Karen Blixen's book.



For the anecdote, Nairobi has a neighborhood named Karen, now a wealthy suburbs in the west of the capital, that was named after Baroness Von Blixen...

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There would be so much more to say about this beautiful country.
But that will come soon.

To be continued....

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Latest news, in The Guardian:


Kenyan police to flood streets as country braces for election violence

Tuesday’s poll pits incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta against veteran challenger Raila Odinga

Monday 7 August 2017 

An estimated 180,000 police officers and members of the security forces are being deployed across Kenya as the country prepares to vote on Tuesday in a fiercely contested presidential election.
Voters will either return the incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been in power since 2013, or elect the veteran opposition politician Raila Odinga. Recent opinion polls have not indicated any clear leader in the campaign and turnout will be a key factor. 
The country is braced for widespread unrest whoever wins, after a campaign marred by hundreds of violent incidents – including the murder of a high-profile election official – issues with new voting technology and widespread concerns about fraud.
A contested poll in 2007 led to more than 1,000 deaths, and violence could sweep the country again if the losing party refuses to accept the result.
At a church service near his home in Nairobi on Sunday, Kenyatta, 55, called for calm. “Do not allow anything to drive a wedge between you. You have been good neighbours and I urge you to remain so regardless of your tribe, religion or political affiliation,” the president said.
Thousands of city dwellers have been returning to their home towns to wait out the aftermath of the poll in relative safety. Others have been stocking up on provisions in case of trouble. Streets have emptied and business has slowed.
“Normally I fill up my matatu (minibus taxi) in 15 minutes but today I’ve been waiting three hours. It’s a disaster. People are fleeing,” said Willy Fiyukundi, a conductor at Nairobi’s central bus station. 
Human rights officials, community leaders and politicians have called on voters to “control their emotions and preserve a peaceful environment” when the results are announced.
“If your candidate wins, do not rub other people’s noses in it, and if your candidate loses, suffer stoically and do not let Kenya down … We must hope for the best but be prepared for the worst,” said Kagwiria Mbogori, the chair of the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights.
Mbogori said the KNCHR was concerned about “cowardly leaflets” threatening candidates and warning voters “of certain ethnic origins to flee or else”. She called on security personnel to avoid using excessive force. In 2007, many casualties were the result of police using live ammunition against protesters.
Local elections for appointments as governors, members of the lower house, senators, county officials and women’s representatives involve 16,000 candidates and are seen as potential flashpoints.
In Mathare, a poor area of Nairobi, several people were wounded and one killed over the weekend as rival supporters clashed with machetes and guns.
Around 19 million voters, half of whom are under 35, have been registered. Prisoners are able to vote for the first time.
Political allegiance in Kenya often reflects ethnic identity. Kenyatta’s Jubilee Alliance is largely supported by the larger Kikuyu and Kalenjin tribes, while Odinga has a following among the country’s smaller communities, such as the Luo.

Many Kenyans downplay ethnic factors, pointing instead to issues such as rising prices of staple foodstuffs, allegations of corruption and high unemployment.
“It is not about tribes. It is about corruption,” said Paul Ouma, manager of a bus company, who indicated he would be voting for Odinga. “Bread costs the same whichever tribe you are from. This government is not delivering development to the ordinary man and woman. They are heartless people.”
Ouma said violence could be avoided if there was a “fair and transparent” ballot.
“Then there will be no war … But if it is rigged there will be chaos,” the 51-year-old said.
At the church in a middle-class neighbourhood of eastern Nairobi where Kenyatta prayed on Sunday, worshippers said tribal differences were minor.
“We sing here in all the languages of our country. Our pastor has been telling us there will be peace so we are not worried,” said Daniel Mwangi, a church official.
Rose Wangchuk, 19, said she was happy Kenyatta had come to the Jesus Winner Ministry. “He is in our prayers. He recognises God and he cares about his people,” she said.
Observers see the election as the last showdown of a dynastic rivalry between the families of Kenyatta, 55, and Odinga, 72, that has lasted more than half a century.
Odinga is making his fourth attempt to gain power. He claims that elections in 2007 and 2013 were stolen from him.

Kenyatta would be constitutionally barred from a third term if victorious this time while Odinga would be prevented by age and previous failures from mounting a further challenge in 2022.
“It is the beginning of the end of an era and so it has to be painful and brutal,” said the commentator Charles Onyango-Obbo. “In part because Kenya has escaped the worst of African coups and wars it has never made the transition from a post-independence leadership. We are approaching a turning point.” 
Nic Cheeseman, a professor of African politics at Birmingham University, said both candidates were so certain of victory that they may have “talked themselves into a corner” in which defeat is not an option.
“The question is not whether or not they will accept the result but what they will do when they don’t accept it,” he told Agence France-Presse.
A new biometric system of voter identification and counting was introduced after the 2007 election but partially failed in 2013.
Odinga claimed there was vote rigging, however he took his complaints to the courts instead of the streets and despite some rioting after he lost his case, the process ended peacefully.
Fears surrounding the system were raised last week when the election commission’s chief IT manager, Chris Msando, was found strangled and torturedin a forest on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Msando, a high-profile figure who had made frequent media appearances, had access to all the system’s passwords and secret codes.
Last week it was revealed that patchy mobile phone coverage meant around a quarter of machines would not be able to relay crucial information in real time.
Observers say preventing unrest after the poll depends on disappointed voters being confident there has been no vote rigging. 

Mbogori encouraged Kenyans to perform their civic duty to choose their leaders. “We look forward to the day when elections in Kenya are not the reason for fear and uncertainty,” she said.
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Trump: "GUILTY OF IDIOCRACY"


A Mr Donald Trump shown as a monster and devil, holding this sign reading "GUILTY OF IDIOCRACY" has appeared on a wal near my flat in Paris, 18e arr.t.

Well, pasting and street art can still voice message... Despite the genre being increasingly used as a tool for polished decoration...

Thanks to the artist. If you are or know who they are, get in touch!!





UK: Pro-EU activists to stage 'stop Brexit' marches


 It is only Monday, it is August, the quietest month in France's calendar, but it will be a busy day.
I'm officially on a break, working only part time and writing the first pages of two new book projects, but politics is never far away.

I won't leave France until the autumn normally and move on with a new job from September on a film.

But if you're in the UK, you might be interested in these two events:

Anti-Brexit March in London, on September 9th - meeting point : Hyde Park

Anti-Brexit March in Manchester on October 1st
Here is the event on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/193901264475628/?acontext=%7B%22action_history%22%3A%22[%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22page%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22page_upcoming_events_card%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A[]%7D]%22%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D

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More events are on the way:



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More here:


Today in The Guardian:

Pro-EU activists to stage 'stop Brexit' march during Tory conference

Campaigners say aim is to make the Tories face the reality of Brexit, with thousands expected to turn out in Manchester


Pro-EU campaigners are planning to stage one of their biggest “stop Brexit” marches outside the Conservative party conference this autumn.
Campaigners said their aim was to make the party “face up to the reality of Brexit” when they march to the conference centre to make sure their voices are heard by delegates inside.
Thousands are expected to turn out for the rally, starting in Platt Fields in Manchester on the first day of the conference – the same day as the traditional anti-Tory and anti-austerity protests held outside the gathering, which begins on 1 October.
The pro-EU rally will involve a number of groups, which are said to be planning an “autumn of discontent” against Brexit. The People’s March for Europe is one of the campaigns orchestrating a protest in central London, marching from Hyde Park Corner to Parliament Square on 9 September.
The organisers are hoping to attract pro-EU Tories to the Manchester event. The lineup of speakers so far includes the the former Labour adviser Alastair Campbell, Prof AC Grayling and the former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg.
Peter French of Unite for Europe said there were several pro-EU groups planning to march in the north of England for the first time and they were hoping to be joined by activists from Scotland and Northern Ireland.
“This is our chance to actually let the people in the north of England have their voices heard because they have been neglected in every other way and this is a chance to give them their voice as well,” he said.
“And this is a chance to hopefully start to turn this around. Our aim is to actually stop the Brexit process and I think things are beginning to turn in that direction. We have a long fight on our hands but I think it is something that is achievable.”
The march will be supported by the Liberal Democrats, breaking the traditional truce against disrupting other party conferences.
“Brexit is the battle of our lives and it is vital we make the Conservatives see the strength of feeling against their disastrous extreme Brexit, which threatens to crash the economy and damage the life chances of millions,” said Tom Brake, the Lib Dem MP for Carshalton and Wallington. “They are heading for the very most reckless of Brexits in the teeth of public opposition to leaving the single market
“Liberal Democrats didn’t take the decision lightly to protest at another party’s conference but we can’t ignore the harm Theresa May’s Brexit will do to future generations. Liberal Democrats on the march will protest peacefully and in good spirit but ministers should be under no illusions that a lot of people are very, very angry at their disastrous handling of Brexit, which has made a difficult situation a million times worse.”
Smaller pro-EU protests are also planned outside the Labour conference in Brighton (late September) and the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth.

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The Standard:

Anti-Brexit campaigners planning wave of mass protests in 'autumn of discontent'




An anti-Brexit campaign group is planning a London march as part of a wave of mass protests next month for a wider event dubbed “the Autumn of Discontent”.
Campaign group the People’s March for Europe has organised a pro-EU rally in central London for September, which thousands of people have already pledged to attend.
Activists will march from Hyde Park Corner to Parliament Square on September 9 in protest against last year’s Brexit vote.
Backed by Star Trek actor Sir Patrick Stewart and former Labour spin-doctor Alastair Campbell, the group said the march will coincide with other events in Europe including political party conferences and stalls to be set up in busy town centres.
The group said the “Autumn of Discontent” is “set to bring the issue of Brexit and remaining in the EU to the forefront of political debate.”
Remain supporter Sir Patrick attacked Leave campaigners for misleading the public over Brexit. He said: “The Leave campaign was filled with disinformation and one huge falsehood  – the £350 million that was going to find its way into the NHS.
“That £350 million never existed. The people of the UK were misled. Monthly reports are published on the economic impact of leaving the union – and they are all negative.”’
The group said the “Autumn of Discontent” is “set to bring the issue of Brexit and remaining in the EU to the forefront of political debate.”
Remain supporter Sir Patrick attacked Leave campaigners for misleading the public over Brexit. He said: “The Leave campaign was filled with disinformation and one huge falsehood  – the £350 million that was going to find its way into the NHS.
“That £350 million never existed. The people of the UK were misled. Monthly reports are published on the economic impact of leaving the union – and they are all negative.”’
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BONUS 

An extract from my book, Out Of The Comfort Zone - about the history of the band Massive Attack and their city, Bristol (to be released in 2018 in the UK, French version already out), extract from the third chapter - "Underground Revolutions":



Bristol and the Punk Revolution

England, after the first oil shock in 1973, radically changes. Unemployment and inflation double in a few years. In 1976, the country’s revenue per habitant drops drastically. Under James Callaghan’s cabinet, the end of 1978 is baptised the “Winter of our Discontent” by The Sun’s columnist Larry Lamb, inspired by a quote from William Shakespeare’s Richard III (“Now is the Winter of our Discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York”)[1]. Many strikes block the main cities. Consequently, public spending has to be limited and cultural infrastructures are the first to suffer until the election of a conservative cabinet, to be led by Margaret Thatcher, after the Tories’ victory at the general election on May the 4th, 1979. The country is progressively ravaged by mass unemployment and by a cultural void. This will soon encourage the birth of countercultures.



[1] On this topic, watch Channel 4’s documentary series: Secret History: Winter of Discontent (Brook Lapping Productions for Channel Four, 1998).

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