[ELECTRON] International Womens Day Film Screening at the Electron Club

[James Beeley]

On Mon, 2010-03-01 at 18:58 +0000, Marion Hersh wrote:

> When there was an Earth First group in Glasgow I was involved in it.  My
> experience was of a group of gentle people rather than vandals and
> bullies and opposition to the inappropriate use of technology, not
> technology per se.
> Marion

Earth First! are anything but gentle:

"In 1987, a 23-year-old mill worker was severely injured when his saw
blade shattered after hitting a redwood tree that had been "spiked" with
a long steel nail, following the standard Earth First! recipe. In 1990,
Earth First!er Lyn Georges Dessaux was convicted of assault after
stabbing two men with a ski pole in a save-the-buffaloes protest. Earth
First!ers have set fire to a livestock auction. They've also torched
logging equipment. 

Dave Foreman himself pled guilty in 1991 to conspiring to blow up
electrical lines leading to an Arizona nuclear power plant (he wrote a
check to pay for 50 grenades). While Foreman somehow got off with
probation, his four co-conspirators landed in jail. And hundreds of
other Earth First!ers have spent time behind bars."

Source: 

http://activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/o/271-earth-first

A film justifying this organisation has no place at all in a
taxpayer-funded arts centre. And before anyone starts claiming the CCA
is funded by the "common good" or whatever, a quick visit to the CCA's
web page reveals that:

"The CCA is supported by the Scottish Arts Council, Glasgow City Council
and by the National Lottery through the Scottish Arts Council."

GCC gets is funding through council tax and a central government grant
funded by a variety of other taxes such as income tax and VAT. The SAC
similarly gets most of its funding via the taxpayer. Taxpayers money
should not be abused to subsidise political activist groups.



I think one reason there is a limited amount of electronic/maker
activity in the EC is the restricted range of electronic tools and
instruments available in the EC. More equipment, is to my mind, a
priority. When I worked in the Electronics Dept. at Glasgow University I
got a hold of various oscilloscopes, computers and other items which
were being thrown out. I've also bought instruments secondhand from
amateur radio rallies. Some of my lab kit is home-built.

Another issue is lack of a place to store one's tools and projects, a
big problem given that dismantled electronic equipment, and projects in
progress are vulnerable to accidental damage. Theft of tools is also a
risk. Lockers for individuals/groups would be a good solution.



I think a meeting/social night to sort these issues out, as has been
suggested, is not a bad idea. These things are better discussed in
person than via email.


Jim