Mid-August round-up: fascists, landlords, prisons and all the rest

Another round-up of ongoing campaigns and events of interest:

First off, the complete humiliation of the White Man March in Liverpool last weekend is a total victory and deserves to be celebrated as such. The official Anti-Fascist Network write-up says pretty much everything that needs to be said, but the Class Action Liverpool and Vice reports are also worth a look, along with this charming video of people showing off some souvenirs of the day. Yesterday’s NWI/NF protest in Manchester also attracted fierce opposition, even if it was a bit less decisive. Considering how recently it’s been that militant anti-fascism was rebuilt pretty much from scratch – it was only in late 2011 that the AFN was founded – it’s good to see that the network can now organise this kind of impressive and highly effective action.

Meanwhile, down on the South coast, there’s a few different events coming up in solidarity with the Calais migrants, while Calais Migrant Solidarity remind us that it’s possible to take action against the border wherever you are.

In housing news, on Friday 21st the cops shot someone during an eviction in Brixton. Meanwhile, Housing Action Southwark & Lambeth have written two articles for the Occupied Times sharing their organising strategy, ACORN Bristol report on how tenant organising has pressured landlords into making repairs that they’d been putting off, and coming up, the Sweets Way occupiers need your help to save their headquarters, starting with people showing up for their court hearing on the morning of the 27th at Barnet Court. Further ahead, there’s also the March Against Evictions organised by Focus E15 in mid-September.

On the welfare front, Johnny Void reports on how the DWP’s attempts to use the #WECan hashtag to promote workfare turned into yet another embarrassing shambles, and Liverpool IWW are asking Families Fighting For Justice to sign up to Keep Volunteering Voluntary.

The IWW in general are also keeping busy, with their national speaking tour still ongoing, and the London branch are still fighting for the sacked Friends House workers, with their next demo called for August 27th.

In other workplace news, the United Voices of the World union are continuing their campaign for the reinstatement of the remaining Sotheby’s Two, with a protest planned at a Sotheby’s car auction on September 7th in Battersea, and Teesside construction workers are continuing their #paytherate protests, which have led Sembcorp bosses to pressure Cleveland police to arrest workers involved. The Blacklist Support Group are also keeping busy as ever, with a protest against blacklisting at Royal Liverpool Hospital starting at 6:30 on 4th September, along with a host of other events.

On the topic of repression, the 23rd-30th of August has been called as an international week of solidarity with anarchist prisoners. UK anarchist prisoner Em Sheppard’s written a letter to mark the occasion, so why not send her one back? It’d also be nice to send some support to the Czech comrades who’re currently being held as a result of Operation Fenix. Overseas, Eddien Patterson and Steven Loughman are both in need of support, as they’re both facing charges following an incident where the KKK were chased out of South Carolina. There’s a lot more to be said about the current wave of resistance against racism in the USA, but that deserves a whole post of its own really.

Finally, over in Ireland, August 29th will see another massive demonstration in the ongoing fight against water charges. The campaign so far has been amazing, and I’m sure August 29th will be another impressive show of strength in a movement that hasn’t just confined itself to big setpiece demos, but has also involved real local resistance to the charges, including direct action to stop water meters being installed.