Buy Nothing Day

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2006

Saturday, 25th November 06: Buy Nothing Day, a day where you challenge yourself, friends and family to switch off from shopping and tune into life. This is how a group of colourful happy people celebrated Buy Nothing Day in Manchester UK.

Rhythms of Resistance Manchester, Aliens, singers and their lovely friends took over the city in a colourful celebration of Buy Nothing Day , that included:

A FREE MARKET with lots of books, clothes, tapes, dvds and toys. All for people to take away (free) to promote re-using items rather than binning and re-buying.

FLYERS: Aliens, sambistas, singers and students gave out flyers with information on Buy Nothing Day and reusing and recycling. Awareness was also raised regarding ethical shopping, asking people to think about the environmental damages that products may result to.

SAMBA: the samba band, Rhythms of Resistance Manchester, entertained hundreds of people with samba encouraging them to “Stop Buying Start Dancing”. The band was joined by singers and poets too! The sambistas entered the Triangle Shopping Centre, with a banner and flyers and full samba swing. The acoustics were great and the band sounded excellent – the security guards though pushed the sambistas out. The sambistas re-entered through the other door in clowning fluffy loving style. The tough security guards were liberated with samba rhythms, as they smiled to the fun of RORM!

GAMES: games were played in the shopping centres, reclaiming the space from a mad buying zombie area to a space of friendships, fun and positivity.The games engaged young people and shoppers too!

BANNER FLOAT (the action which was also known in code: “banner drops, they are so last year sweetie darling”!): A banner suspended by 28 helium balloons was released next to the Christmas tree in the Arndale Shopping Centre. The banner which simply stated “Buy Nothing Day” was admired by hundreds turning the shopping centre in a beautiful space! The banner float was accompanied by more flyering.

In summary it was a beautiful day… and remember kids:
Think ...
Only 20% of the world population are consuming over 80% of the earth’s natural resources causing a disproportionate level of environmental damage and distribution of wealth.
Re-think…
Buy locally sourced fresh organic produce
Say No to animal tested products
Fewer air miles – Stop Climate Change
Buy environmentally and ethically sound products.
Re-use and recycle.

Links
Rhythms of Resistance Manchester Buy Nothing Day features on Adbusters US Magazine website

Rossport Solidarity

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2006


In Mayo, Ireland, Shell and Statoil, with the approval of the Irish government, are taking land from local residents to build a high pressure gas pipeline that will go past their houses: The pressure inside the pipeline will be up to four times greater than that of the biggest Bord Gais pipelines. The pipeline will be going through boggy land with a history of landslides.

The Rossport Solidarity Camp in Mayo, Ireland was set up as local residents oppose of Shell's plan to build the unprecedented high pressure gas pipeline through the hamlet of Rossport, on the wild rugged coastline of north-west Mayo, Ireland. The locals and activists have been faced with police brutality.

Rhythms of Resistance Manchester joined, in solidarity with Rossport camp, an awareness day outside a Shell petrol station in Salford, Greater Manchester. The awareness day involved postive engagement of the public. Information was given out to people visiting the station. A lot of them after reading and discussing issues left the station without buying petrol, in support.

Links:
Rossport Solidarity Camp
Indymedia coverage of Shell to Sea Campaign
Indymedia report on Manchester solidarity action

Film Night

Rhythms of Resistance Manchester presents…....
a fine selection of video activism

Join our film night on 16th November 06 at 7:30 pm at The Basement, 24 Lever Str, M1

Come and watch films of..
1) the unexpected, the perfectly paradoxical, the grotesquely beautiful, the new-fangled world of The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA)
2) a political explosion of Rhythms of Resistance shutting down Shell (film by Rikki)
3) Faslane365 (by our own local multi-talented video activist)
4) Greek students standing up against the privatization of education
5) Samba rhythms reaching people in a detention centre.
…and many more!!!
Lovely food will be also available!

The film night is part of the Creative Activism exhibition, which is at The Basement until the 26th November 2006.

Samba Workshop

On 12th Novemeber 2006 RoRM held an open samba workshop at The Basement. The workshop was part of the Creative Activism exibition which is at The Basement until 26th November.

Manchester Day at Faslane 365

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2006

Rhythms of Resistance Manchester joined Faslane365 on 6th-8th November as part of the year-long blockade to shut down the UK nuclear weapon base. Five sambistas were arrested and kept for 20 hours. All were released with no further proceedings.

Rhythms of Resistance Manchester demands:
Trident to be taken out of deployment.
No new nuclear weapons.