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

[Alan J Munro]

A note on the sources of the article quoted below:-
Activistcash.com is backed by the Center for Consumer Freedom. It  
says so quite clearly on their home page.

 From Wikipedia:-
"The forerunner to the CCF was the Guest Choice Network, which was  
organized in 1995 by Richard Berman, executive director of the public  
affairs firm Berman and Company, with $600,000 from the Philip Morris  
tobacco company,[2] "to unite the restaurant and hospitality  
industries in a campaign to defend their consumers and marketing  
programs against attacks from anti-smoking, anti-drinking, anti-meat,  
etc. activists ..." According to Berman, the GCN mission was to  
encourage operators of "restaurants, hotels, casinos, bowling alleys,  
taverns, stadiums, and university hospitality educators" to "support  
[the] mentality of 'smokers rights' by encouraging responsibility to  
protect 'guest choice.'"[3] Philip Morris donated $2.95 million to  
GCN between 1995 and 1998.[4]"

Hmmm. Interesting source. I think we can let that speak for itself.

http://activistcash.com/
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom

alan


On 9 Mar 2010, at 12:13, James Beeley wrote:

> 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
>
>
>
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