# Cuts Café (5th to 20th October)



## RegularPoster (Sep 22, 2012)

The government tells us that cuts to public services and social security are needed to save an economy in crisis, but in reality the crisis is capitalism.
For the two weeks leading up to the Trade Union Congress demonstration on October 20th, Cuts Café will provide a radical space in Central London to build resistance to these devastating cuts, and to explore the real alternatives to austerity.
It will be open for all of us who are affected, whether we are people with disabilities, women, migrants, workers, pensioners, students, unemployed… or anyone else not part of the privileged elite who are enriching themselves in this ‘crisis’.
By sharing this reclaimed space, we hope people working in their community, local anti-cuts, student, or autonomous groups, as well as the trade unions, will be able to collectively and democratically build positive alternatives with which to challenge the ‘politics as usual’ forced upon us.
This will be an opportunity for connections to form outside of those groups that we may already be involved with, and to reinvigorate the anti-cuts movement at the grassroots level.
Cuts Café, being part of a movement for creating equality and real democracy, will be organized without discrimination and, as much as possible, without hierarchy. We welcome you to come and participate in the running of the space.
If you or your group would like to facilitate a workshop or skillshare, screen a film, hold a discussion, or use the space in any other way please get in touch! You can also contribute by helping to provide some of the more material resources needed for the day-today running of the space, or just by coming down to share a bit of your time.

For more information email cutscafe@riseup.net or to propose an event get us at eventscutscafe@riseup.net.

Twitter: @Cuts_Cafe
Facebook: Cuts Café


http://cutscafelondon.wordpress.com/


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## RegularPoster (Sep 22, 2012)

There's a public meeting on the 1st of October at Unite's head office at 7pm

Unite Head​Office,​Ground floor suite, ​128 Theobald's Road​ Holborn​London​WC1X 8TN​


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## RegularPoster (Sep 29, 2012)




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## RegularPoster (Oct 1, 2012)

*bump*

Meeting tonight 7pm 

We're a friendly bunch come join us!


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## RegularPoster (Oct 8, 2012)

The meeting went very well. We had over a hundred folks turn up and participate.


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## RegularPoster (Oct 8, 2012)

After 2 sieges by security and filth we've now finally secured a place we can hang on to (touch wood).

Tomorrow (Monday) we'll make public the address. It's central London.

Come on down and get involved. It's going to be fucking grand.


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## The39thStep (Oct 8, 2012)

You will have to go a bit to beat the coffee at Firebox


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## Treacle Toes (Oct 8, 2012)

> *Events​*​
> *Monday 8 October​*
> *6.30-7.30pm Crypto Party at Cuts Cafe*: An introduction to practical cryptography for activists. We’ll explain why it’s important and help you get set up!
> 
> ...


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## articul8 (Oct 8, 2012)

Will be along at the weekend if not before.  Looking good.


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## Fozzie Bear (Oct 8, 2012)

I'm a squat cafe sceptic - but it's on the way home, so will have a look.


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## Fozzie Bear (Oct 9, 2012)

No sign of life when I swung past after 5pm (or this morning), but I guess it's early days. I've mentioned it to some people I work with.

It would be good to see something happening in that bit of Southwark Street, it's been increasingly depressing since Kings Reach Tower was cleared out a few years back, and the shops in Milroy Walk were emptied a few months back too. (There are some display stands for greetings cards dumped in the arcade which a creative person might be able to make use of).


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## DaveCinzano (Oct 9, 2012)

Fozzie Bear said:


> it's been increasingly depressing since Kings Reach Tower was cleared out a few years back


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## love detective (Oct 9, 2012)

cuts cafe said:
			
		

> Dozens of empty *central London* non-residential buildings were identified yet all bar a handful were rejected due to the rest *not being physically accessible to everyone*.


 
wouldn't want it to not be accessible to everyone now


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## ShiftyBagLady (Oct 9, 2012)

Fozzie Bear said:


> No sign of life when I swung past after 5pm (or this morning), but I guess it's early days. I've mentioned it to some people I work with.
> 
> It would be good to see something happening in that bit of Southwark Street, it's been increasingly depressing since Kings Reach Tower was cleared out a few years back, and the shops in Milroy Walk were emptied a few months back too. (There are some display stands for greetings cards dumped in the arcade which a creative person might be able to make use of).



You're right, it feels like a bit of a wasteland up that end of the street, I really hope it's not left to rot for much longer.

Anyway, where exactly is this place?


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## love detective (Oct 9, 2012)

some debate already starting as to whether the phrase 'disabled people' should be used instead of 'people with disabilities' the later is apparently oppressive while the former is not

they're all going to get together to discuss whether it should be changed or not


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## The39thStep (Oct 9, 2012)

love detective said:


> some debate already starting as to whether the phrase 'disabled people' should be used instead of 'people with disabilities' the later is apparently oppressive while the former is not
> 
> they're all going to get together to discuss whether it should be changed or not


 
Language is important




> *What the problem is*
> 
> Progressives and radicals tend to be good at “critiquing the free market” and “articulating [our] desired goals”. Where we fall down is explaining “how the economy works”.
> *Stories about how complex systems (like economies) work often use “cognitive metaphors”*, easy to understand stories to better undertand abstract ideas i.e. fear as: fluid in a container, “filled with fear”; an enemy or opponent, “fear crept up,” “fear overwhelmed”;  an illness, “sick with fright”; a supernatural being, “haunted by fear”.
> ...


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## Fozzie Bear (Oct 9, 2012)

ShiftyBagLady said:


> You're right, it feels like a bit of a wasteland up that end of the street, I really hope it's not left to rot for much longer.
> 
> Anyway, where exactly is this place?


 
1 Stamford Street - which I think might be the big concrete building on the southside, which used to have a pub in one corner... that or the office block next to the Mad Hatter hotel?


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## articul8 (Oct 9, 2012)

there's a problem with access - they've decided not to open it up until it's wheelchair accessible.  Exploring alternatives.


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## RegularPoster (Oct 9, 2012)

Right a quick update...

We've working hard to resolve issues with the building. There's been blood, sweat and tears.

We are open for visitors but it's just work going on at the moment but you're welcome to come down and visit.

If you want to come down call the squat phone number which is on the blog when you arrive http://cutscafelondon.wordpress.com or bang bloody hard on the door. 

We had one workshop last night from the cryptoparty about basic online activist security but we will not be running any other workshops at Cuts Cafe until the building is fully accessible.

We're hoping the important issues will be sorted by the end of play tomorrow.

A bit of history, we had a fully accessible building that was perfect for the Cafe but it was pigged by our friends in the TSG after a lengthy stand off.

Anyways, back to it!


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## RegularPoster (Oct 10, 2012)

Tomorrow afternoon we are open for food, tea, films and more hot DIY action.

Thursday we are opening fully for the Cuts Cafe.

The main obstacle has been being fully accessible and now we have a working plan.

Come on down


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## RegularPoster (Oct 10, 2012)

Fuck 'em and their law.


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## Urbanblues (Oct 14, 2012)

love detective said:


> some debate already starting as to whether the phrase 'disabled people' should be used instead of 'people with disabilities' the later is apparently oppressive while the former is not


 
I prefer 'people with impairments disabled by the barriers erected by wider society'. Slips off the tongue; far more pithy.


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## Urbanblues (Oct 14, 2012)

Access isn't just about ensuring wheelchair users are catered for. Disability access can range from ensuring written materials can be 'read' and understood by a wide range of people through to having toilets in place that can be transferred onto from the right or the left.


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## RegularPoster (Oct 15, 2012)

Urbanblues said:


> Access isn't just about ensuring wheelchair users are catered for. Disability access can range from ensuring written materials can be 'read' and understood by a wide range of people through to having toilets in place that can be transferred onto from the right or the left.


 
Absolutely. 

We have tried very hard indeed to provide access as much as possible. I've literally bled from making the ramp and had very long, and multiple tense meetings about the 'disabled' toilet.

Nobody has a toilet. We have pubs surrounding us with disabled access. One directly next door. 

http://www.dpac.uk.net/ has been involved in the discussion. We almost called off Cuts Cafe due to the toilet situation.


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## RegularPoster (Oct 16, 2012)

Looking forward to finally having ​DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts)​ 
 coming down to the cafe this evening. hope to see lots of you here!​ 
(and yes we have a disabled access toilet!)​


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## RegularPoster (Oct 16, 2012)

*Today at the Cuts Cafe:*

*2-4pm CUTS CAFE MATINEE Film Showing: Sicko*

Screening of Michael Moore’s documentary Sicko, with discussion after
*4pm-5pm European Movements*

*6-8pm Plan C*

Nostalgia won’t save us. We need a new plan. We hear about new deals – green new deals, new kinds of localism and social democracy. About renewing manufacturing and ‘getting Britain working’. And this kind of nostalgia for a 1960s Britain is tempting. It’s attractive. Well, it’s attractive if your white, male, a citizen and don’t mind all the colonial baggage that it comes with, let alone the wholesale destruction of the Earth. But these ‘plan b’s’ are not just unattractive as propositions – they are impossible. There is no going back. So we need to go forward. What we need is a plan c. Call it a plan for the commons. Call it a plan for building counter power. Or call it communism. We need to stop thinking that all there can be are slight changes to the world we currently live in. Slightly less crap versions of capitalism. And we need to stop being scared to actually propose visions for the future. Unless we dream, and dream big, we won’t get anywhere. We want to invite you to walk through the future ruins of austerity Britain with us, and to think through what it would mean to plan for our post-capitalist future, and how we get there.
*6-8pm No Future in ‘a Future that Works’: Two Critiques of the TUC*

A lot of protest in recent years against austerity follows the following blueprint: the TUC (or the NUS etc) call for a day of action and people to the Left of the TUC seize this opportunity to modify, radicalise, or to oppose the TUC’s politics. What unifies these radical criticisms is a dissatisfaction with the TUC’s call, aims and tactics. However, what exactly “we” oppose is rarely discussed. We call this meeting to discuss our critique of the TUC. The guiding question will be: “For what reason do we oppose ‘A future that works’?” The TUC’s campaign pamphlet can be accessed here
*7pm – 9pm Radical Education Discussion Group*

How can radical educators work within the school system and curriculum, whilst also trying to actively engage young people in radical politics? Representatives from the Radical Education Forum, Demand the Impossible summer school, author of Rax Active Citizenship and others will discuss the issues and limitations around radical teaching and host a skill-share.
*8pm-8.45pm Traveller Solidarity Network Action Briefing *

On the anniversary of the Dale Farm eviction, the Traveller Solidarity Network have put a callout to evict the Department for Communities and Local Government. Find out what to expect on the 19th October here. For more info see their website.
*8pm-9:30pm Disabled People Against the Cuts*

Direct action for everybody: Why we do it and how to plan it!


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## RegularPoster (Oct 16, 2012)

We've been rammed today.

...and now we have our own TV channel..

http://vimeo.com/cutscafelondon


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## RegularPoster (Oct 17, 2012)

*WEDNESDAY AT A GLANCE*

Wednesday October 17th:
2.30pm-3.30pm: The Grey Brigade – Pensioners fight back against cuts, marginalisation and poverty
3:30pm-5:30pm - Ken Loach Presents: “which side are you on?”
6pm - London Coalition Against Poverty
6pm - Extra-ordinary Action Workshop by Susan Lelliot
7pm-8pm - Boycott Workfare
7pm-8.30pm - National Union of Journalists: Truth, the first casalty of the cuts
7.30pm-9.30pm - The Luddites, automation and austerity.
8.30pm-9.30pm - Trade Unions and Local Communities – Organising with people who aren’t in paid work


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## RegularPoster (Oct 17, 2012)

.....oh and there will be pizza tonight.


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## The39thStep (Oct 17, 2012)

what night is Tariq Ali?


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## RegularPoster (Oct 17, 2012)

RegularPoster said:


> .....oh and there will be pizza tonight.


 
Vegan and vegetarian.


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## RegularPoster (Oct 17, 2012)

The39thStep said:


> what night is Tariq Ali?


 
Er there is no Tariq Ali coming. I think you know that.


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## RegularPoster (Oct 17, 2012)

I assume you bring him up as you see Ken Loach coming today?


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## The39thStep (Oct 17, 2012)

RegularPoster said:


> I assume you bring him up as you see Ken Loach coming today?


 
yes I know he is in London at the moment and thought Ken might bring himalong


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## sunnysidedown (Oct 17, 2012)

himalong?


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## RegularPoster (Oct 18, 2012)

Another successful day. Over 100 people through the doors.

Loach, Luddites and LCAP. It's been full on.

We've made 17 pizzas from scratch to feed the masses.

Tomorrow there's the matinee of Diaz: Don't Clean Up This Blood.

....and a full schedule to follow.


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## RegularPoster (Oct 18, 2012)

*Thursday October 18th:*

*1pm-5pm Language Classes*

Join us for introductory classes in English, Spanish, Polish and Greek and Bring Your Own Language, to share with others.
*5pm-9pm Language Exchange*

Informal conversation and socialising and putting to use what the language classes have taught us.
*5pm-6pm From Evolution to Revolution*

It’s often said that ‘no revolution can change human nature’. However, scientists are now concluding that everything distinctively human about our nature, in particular our species’ unusual capacities for language and self-awareness, stem not merely from genetic mutations but from revolutionary social change. What can we learn today from the most successful revolution in history? By Anthropologist Chris Knight.
*6pm-7.30pm Marinaleda – The Spanish Communist Utopia:*

Spain has a worse unemployment rate than Greece, an ‘economic miracle’ turned catastrophe, and a lost generation of indignados with no homes, no work, and no faith in the system. In less than a year Rajoy’s austerity government has caused waves of protest across Spain’s regions. Meanwhile, in the middle of the Andalucian countryside, where unemployment is 34%, exists a little-known communist utopia led by a charismatic poet-rebel, a town of landless labourers who for over 30 years since the death of Franco, have fought capitalism – and won. Join Guardian journalist and author Dan Hancox to hear about the history of Marinaleda, and discuss alternatives to austerity in Spain and beyond.
*6-8pm The future isn’t working:*

Imagine a future that isn’t defined by work. This Red Pepper session will think beyond the TUC’s calls ‘for a future that works’ to consider life beyond the wage, with Hilary Wainwright(co-editor, Red Pepper and fellow of the Transnational Institute) and Emma Dowling(writer and activist).
*8-9:30pm Fuel Poverty Action present:*

What is fuel poverty in relation to cuts / capitalism / climate change and how can we take action against those causing it over the coming winter?
*8pm – 10pm Riot From Wrong: Film Screening and Q&A*

Important new documentary film made by the youth media collective Fully Focused Productions, produced by 19 young Londoners. Seeks to document last years August uprisings from within the communities in which they occurred and, crucially, from the perspective of young people.


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## Fozzie Bear (Oct 19, 2012)

I went last night to see my mate Dan Hancox speak. It was pretty well organised and the discussion afterwards was interesting - no grandstanding or loons.

I guess the meeting was mainly studenty types in their twenties, with a few old farts like me.

I think cuts cafe has done a good thing by promoting itself as a space for people to discuss the cuts and the crisis, (and build for the march tomorrow) rather than as a "social centre". It was quite busy.

There were some fairly excruciating song lyrics stuck on the wall on flipchart paper.

I didn't eat there, because the pub beckoned.

It was better than I expected.


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## RegularPoster (Oct 22, 2012)

Piss poor article on the Cuts Cafe in the Grauniad....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/shortcuts/2012/oct/21/return-leftwing-cafe-culture


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## love detective (Oct 22, 2012)

face alert







face alert


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## RegularPoster (Oct 22, 2012)

We're not "UK UnCut types" or "inspired" by the "school of ideas".

Nob head.


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## love detective (Oct 22, 2012)

_15 teachers, teaching assistants, professors and undergraduates huddle in a circle _

_"I fucking hate academies," says a student in a keffiyeh_


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## Fozzie Bear (Oct 22, 2012)

Fozzie Bear said:


> Someone more cynical than me would pitch a "compare and contrast" article on Firebox vs Cuts Cafe to Vice Magazine.


 
Though I guess the Guardian will do...



RegularPoster said:


> Piss poor article on the Cuts Cafe in the Grauniad....
> 
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/shortcuts/2012/oct/21/return-leftwing-cafe-culture


 
"some still in their suits from work" ha! I wonder if that was me.


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## Hocus Eye. (Oct 22, 2012)

According to that article the Cuts Cafe doesn't serve coffee; there is no running water. Do people bring their own drinks in flasks bottles and cans?


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## RegularPoster (Oct 22, 2012)

Hocus Eye. said:


> According to that article the Cuts Cafe doesn't serve coffee; there is no running water. Do people bring their own drinks in flasks bottles and cans?


 
It's all over now. It was a project for the run up to the demo on Saturday.

We did serve coffee and we brought water in from nearby.


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## RegularPoster (Oct 22, 2012)

The coffee, tea and hot food we served every night was free.


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## The39thStep (Oct 22, 2012)

> Thanks to this article, I am now sitting in Firebox cafe and have to say I'm very impressed. Big windows, spacious, and most important, it serves good coffee (and I'm very fussy about my coffee). It has the minimalist, creative style of the modern, activist culture. It also has an accessible feel, which a lot of the squat spaces didn't always have. This feels like a natural progression of leftist political culture and it does look like a visible sign of a (counter)cultural shift. Of course it's mere existence will be sneered at by the cynics, but it looks like a positive space for people to meet and discuss political and philosophical ideas. Where's the harm in that?


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## RegularPoster (Oct 23, 2012)

Some photos from Cuts Cafe

http://www.flickr.com/photos/88896672@N03/page2/


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