Update About 200 people met at Hamilton House last night to plan their opposition to the supermarket giant. Report from the meeting last night.

Please come to a public meeting at 7pm on Monday 8 Feb at Hamilton House's Events Space to find out how to help prevent this and explore what the community does want. Even if you do not live in or near Stokes Croft - please do come along to show your support for the need for Bristol City Council to support, not wipe out local communities. Your community could be next!

This is a real life David and Goliath and feels incredibly important in terms of taking a stand against the stranglehold big business has over our lives and the failure of the planning system to ensure communities have a say in how they are shaped. Stokes Croft is nationally renowned for its community spirit and autonomy - the failure of Bristol City Council to inform and consult the myriad local networks is unacceptable.

Bristol City Council have outrageously granted Change of Use planning permission on the basis that they consulted the local community by:

1) Sending letters to 55 neighbouring residents (and received zero responses)
2) Sticking one A4 notification on a nearby lampost stipulating that Change of Use had been applied for (by an outside contractor)
3) Publishing one line at the back of the Evening Post under Statutory Notifications

This is an absolute outrage but it apparently does adhere to the legal requirements for consultation for planning permission. However, we still have the opportunity to challenge it and we are looking into this (boring ourselves silly with planning policy) to see on what grounds we can fight it.

Group forms to oppose Tesco | Tescos Buy up Lease of Former Jesters on Cheltenham Rd | Tescos Move Fast... Hoardings Going Up |

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"The last couple of years have seen an increase in the use by debt collection agencies of the telephone as a way of bullying people into paying more than they can afford."

East Bristol Debtors Alliance writes; People with money problems are being plagued by 'telerrists' - arrogant bullies who call them up at all hours of the day, demanding they pay more than they can afford. They hint that all kinds of terrible things will happen to them if they don't pay - they will wake up to the bailiffs one morning, they will lose their house, even that they will go to prison. All of this is often rubbish - debts on things like credit cards, catalogs, and some loans are classed as less important than debts like rent, mortgage, council tax etc and in most cases, if you can prove that you cannot afford to pay them at the moment, the court will decide that you don't have to, or that you only pay an amount you can afford. For this reason, bullying debt collection companies do not want to go to court - they would rather frighten people into paying more than they can afford with veiled threats and constant phone calls. Well, we at East Bristol Debtors Alliance think this is wrong, and we don't think they should be able to get away with it.. ... Our fight is not with the workers in these companies (many of who are only working there because they themselves are in debt) and we urge anyone who is sickened by what they see in their office to contact us. ... Full article.

| On the hunt for Telerrists | www.eb-da.org | Related Links Just Living Bristol Finance |

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Bristolians again offered the electoral choice of 'None of the Above' in protest over MPs expenses

Zero writes; I am going to change my name by deed poll to "zero none of the above" and stand in the next general election. i am doing this solely because i want to see a "none of the above" box on the ballot paper. i have one Legally Binding Election Promise, that i guarantee to carry out. i will resign as soon as i am elected. This Legally Binding Election Promise is my bond. I want you to take me to court if i do not fulfil it. resigning ensures that none of the above candidates, myself included, is elected to parliament so your "zero none of the above" vote really is a vote for "none of the above", not even me. resigning will force a bye election and i will then run again in that bye election with another single Legally Binding Election Promise that again i guarantee to carry out while claiming every single penny that i can in MP's expenses, i will only pay myself half the average national wage, and donate all the rest of the money to the NHS........... Full article.

| There will be a "none of the above" box on the 2010 General Election ballot paper | Full manifesto (thefunrevolution.com) | Related News ‘Which is more effective – the Ballot Box or Direct Action’ | Nobody Wins Easton 2001(schnews.org.uk) |

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Cube cinema, Dove St South, BS1 on 1 February 2010, 7.30pm: J18 & Seattle 1999 - reflections & strategies 10 years on

bookfair collective writes; In 1999 protests, street parties and riots in Cologne, London, Seattle and worldwide put anti-capitalism firmly on the political agenda and the state & capital on the back foot. As the cutting edge of the misnamed 'anti-globalisation' movement that opposed unrestricted neo-liberal global free-market expansion, the anti-capitalists weren't just asking for debt cancellation for poor countries, they wanted to smash the G8, IMF, WTO and World Bank, and tear down the whole capitalist system. These movements had been building slowly for a decade, usually outside of and separate to the established political parties and structures... The Bristol anarchist bookfair collective and Bristol Indymedia present an evening of films and discussion that look back to the global protests and counter-summit mobilisations of 1999, and consider where next for the movement of movements. This event is part of Bristol Indymedia's monthly programme at The Cube, entry as usual costs £3/4 but nobody will turned away for lack of money - just state what you can afford. All welcome. The Cube cinema, Dove St South, BS1 on 1 February 2010, 7.30pm: J18 & Seattle 1999 - reflections & strategies 10 years on. Full article.

| J18 London & N30 Seattle 1999 - reflections & strategies 10 years on | Links related to events (bristolanarchistbookfair.org) | Related News Easton Community Centre Fundraiser for Autonomos FC |Cafe and film hosted by Kebele Sound Collective |‘Which is more effective – the Ballot Box or Direct Action’ |

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