Tag Archives: battersea

“Shaker Aamer: a decade of injustice” screening in House of Commons next Monday

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An updated version of Spectacle’s short film “Shaker Aamer: A decade of injustice” will be screened next Monday in the House of Commons. It will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A to focus on how we can all work for Shaker Aamer’s release and return to the UK.

This new version includes interviews with Clive Baldwin- Senior Legal Advisor Human Rights Watch- and Ruth Blakely- Senior Lecturer In International Relations at University of Kent.

Shaker Aamer is one of the 171 men still held in detention in Guantanamo Bay on the camp’s 10th anniversary. Despite never having had a trial, having been approved for release twice, and a growing number of people from all walks of life campaigning for him, Shaker remains in detention. His physical and mental health deterioration is a prevalent concern.

Monday 29th October, at 7pm to 9 pm 
Room 15, the House of Commons, London SW1A2TT (St. Stephen’s Entrance)
 Meeting hosted by Jane Ellison MP on behalf of the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign (SSAC).

Speakers:

Clive Stafford Smith OBE, Jane Ellison MP,

Omar Deghayes, Kate Hudson, Yvonne Ridley,

Joy Hurcombe Others invited/include:

Caroline Lucas MP, Sarah Ludford MEP, John McDonnell MP, and Terry Waite CBE.

 

Please note – arrive in good time for the meeting. Allow 20 minutes to clear security at the House of Commons. The House of Commons is a no-smoking zone and we are requested not take in any food.

 

Support our project by buying  Shaker Aamer: A decade of injustice

Spectacle has followed the case of Shaker Aamer in detail since the completion of Outside The Law: Stories from Guantanamo in 2009.

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Shaker Aamer, una década de injusticia

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Shaker Aamer es uno de los 171 presos todavía encarcelados en Guantánamo en el décimo aniversario desde su apertura en 2002. A pesar de que nunca ha tenido un juicio, habiéndosele concedido la puesta en libertad dos veces y el gran número de personas que apoyan su causa, Shaker continúa detenido.

Durante los 10 años que lleva en la Bahía de Guantánamo, Shaker nunca ha sido inculpado y él nunca ha negado su inocencia. Aamer ha luchado continuamente por el bienestar de otros presos de Guatánamo y muchos piensan que esto junto a que podría haber sido testigo de abusos de los derechos humanos por parte de los Estados Unidos son las razones por las que todavía está preso.

Apoya nuesto trabajo comprando la versión en español del documental Shaker Aamer: Una década de injusticia

Spectacle ha seguido el caso de Shaker Aamer en detalle tras concluír la realización de Outside The Law: Stories from Guantanamo en 2009.

 

Encarga el DVD de Spectcle Outside The Law: Stories from Guantánamo

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Save Kimber Road and Battersea adventure playgrounds

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Wandsworth Against the Cuts has opened an online petititon to the Government to avoid the closure of Kimber Road and Battersea Park playgrounds. As York Gardens Playground has been recently flattened by builders they believe Kimber Road could be torn down as early as this Friday and Battersea soon after.

Campaigners claim that the closure of the adventure playgrounds will deprive children and young teenagers of things to do on these areas.

Visit Wandsworth Against the Cuts website for ways to try and prevent this happening.

It seems that Malaysian owners Sime Darby´s plans for the regeneration of the Battersea Power Station does not include any playground areas among these 3.400 homes, 2 hotels and dozens of shops and restaurants.

It would be a very good idea if part of (a publicly owned) Battersea Power Station were to be designated a huge public adventure playground for the joy of all the children of the area. But it is clear Wandsworth Council does not see providing for children as important as helping to enrich property developers by sanctioning the building of DINKy (Double Income No Kids- yet) Ghettos.

Check this video out for more information about this story.

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“Shut down Guantánamo” demonstration

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A demonstration calling to shut down Guantánamo Bay will be held on Thursday (4 October) outside the US embassy from 12 pm and at 1.15 outside Speaker´s Corner, Hyde Park. Follow the Facebook event for the last updates.

The London Guantánamo Campaing has been asking for the return of all British residents and the closure of the prison since 2006.

Shaker Aamer is the last Londoner in Guantánamo. He has never had a trial, he has never been charged so campaigners wonder why he is still there.

Watch a Decade of Injustice for more information.

 

Order Spectacle’s DVD Outside The Law: Stories from Guantánamo

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“Profit, profit, profit! Where do they mention heritage, heritage, heritage?”

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Disgruntled Twitter groups such as SAVEThe4Chimneys!, in support of preserving Battersea’s iconic Power Station, are campaigning online against plans to knock down and ‘replace’ the Power Station chimneys.

A Malaysian firm, Sime Darby – responsible for the deforestation of the Orangutan habitat for palm oil – was one of the organisations that bought the 39-acre south-west London site in July for £400m; they are now putting forward plans to destroy these British historical icons. Read more

In November 2008, Red Apes Org, a respected group that campaigns to protect  the orangutans of Malaysia described Ahmad Zubir Murshid as ‘evil’. The group says that oil palm cultivation is a grave threat to the survival of orangutans and that Sime Darby is a part of the problem. Read more

Pink Floyd’s next album cover perhaps?

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Battersea Power Station: A Mighty Fall

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Jeff Nevil has produced this insightful presentation, exploring and discussing the history and potential future of the iconic, Battersea Power Station.

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Kevin Murphy on Battersea Power Station

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Battersea Power Station is the focus of other people’s work as well as ours; one notable example of this is Kevin Murphy, director of the 2004 film ‘Battersea: Its Past, Its Future’.

Kevin has been featured on IPINglobal discussing the history and potential future of Battersea Power Station. His personal connection to the building is something that resonates with many locals, as are his thoughts on the disrepair it has callously fallen into in the years since its decommission.

As a youngster traveling in and out of Victoria Station I was always amazed at the sight of the Battersea Power Station every time I passed by. Famous for not only its unique architecture it has also become a popular landmark with the help of movies and popular music, most notably on the cover art of Pink Floyds concept album ‘Animals’. I never thought that one day I would be creating film documentaries regarding its present condition and future…

To read the full article, click here.

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Keith Garner on Rob Tincknell

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Keith Garner, local architect and member of the Battersea Power Station Community Group, has laid out a tyraid of questions to the chief executive of the Battersea Power Station Development Company, Rob Tincknell.

In an article described as ‘sycophantic and uncritical’ by Garner, Tincknell answered a series of questions about his involvement with the new plans for the regeneration of Battersea Power Station.

Garner responded strongly to the article, posing probing questions that still need answering. For example;

Why did Treasury Holdings not complete any substantive work in the five years they owned Battersea Power Station between 2006 and 2011, when you were in charge?

Why is the river walk connecting to Battersea Park still not built when your colleagues at Treasury Holdings promised at a meeting in 2011 that this would be done?

Why are you currently carrying out a “public consultation”, when it is clear that you have no intention of responding to any of the concerns raised?

The list ended with Garner asking, ‘Perhaps you would put some of these questions to Rob Tincknell as well?’

We can’t see the Architects Journal being so bold, but are keen to have these questions answered ourselves.

If you have any questions you want answering, let us know and we’ll try to pose them to the companies behind Battersea.

You can read the article itself, and Keith’s full response here, http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/rob-tincknell-committed-to-battersea/8635755.article

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‘Justice and Security’ Bill to Silence Civil Courts

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A new bill proposed aims to silence future court rulings involving secrets sensitive to the government, such as British Intelligence collusion in torture.

It is claimed that the bill will allow for better disclosure within the courts, whilst silencing the coverage of discussions, but the realities of this seem to be a move towards secreet courts.

This comes after secrets surrounding the torture and degrading conditions imposed on UK residents in Guantanamo Bay were discussed openly in court, after the High Court ruled that information disclosed by the CIA to MI5 and MI6 was to be released.

The bill will mean that future hearings won’t have the publicity they once did. Yet another sheet to cover the dealings of international governments from society.

Whether or not the truth behind Guantanamo’s conditions will ever be publicly admitted to or not seems continually unlikely; giving those campaigning for Shaker Aamer’s release another hurdle to overcome in the fight for justice.

For more on the bill, read The Guardian’s article and Parliament’s Official Page

Order Spectacle’s DVD Outside The Law: Stories from Guantánamo

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Brian Barnes Skeptical of Latest Battersea Plans

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Brian Barnes has publicly said that he’s continually doubtful of the new plans set out by Sime Darby to regenerate Battersea Power Station.

Barnes, the driving force behind the Battersea Power Station Community Group that he begun 29 years ago, has seen many plans come and go in his time and is sure the recent proposal from the Malaysian giant will be just another in a long list of failed plans.

He has also criticised the plans for not having enough affordable housing, claiming that no-one from the local area will be able to afford to live there, especially young people looking to get onto the property ladder.

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