Curious comment from Andy Meinke on the Freedom Collective, Friends of Freedom & the OFIN program:
'THE Freedom Collective does not rent out any of the
property. We're a Collective of Anarchists who work in the building and
on various Freedom projects such as publishing, website, news sheet. Everyone
involved pays what they can to keep the project going. Freedom is run by a
Collective that has meetings every month open to anyone in the movement. You
get to join the Collective by turning up and doing stuff. The 'Friends
of Freedom Press' are a company who owns the building in trust. As you
might guess from their name they are 'friends' (editorial emphasis in bold) of the
Collective. Mostly former Collective members and generally good eggs. If we
need a group called 'Annoying Dicks who want to fuck up Freedom
Press' (editorial italics and bold print) we'll leave (sic - let?) you know on 'Who is David?' post below.'
NV Editorial Reply to Andy Meinke:
ANDY Meinke above writes: 'If we need a group called "Annoying Dicks who want to fuck up Freedom Press we'll let you know".'
CAN this be the same Andy Meinke, who in 2014, wrote in the Freedom free-sheet words to this effect: 'Kropotkin started it (Freedom newspaper) but we fucking finished it (Freedom)' ?
CAN this be the same Andy Meinke, who in November 2012, banned a northern regional anarchist publication from the Freedom Bookshop?
CAN this be same Andy Meinke, who in the Summer of 2012, verbally abused the photo-journalist, David Hoffman, over a claim he had raised with Freedom about the theft of intellectual property? Resulting in Mr. Hoffman having to pursue a formal complaint the consequence of which was that Freedom Press had to pay him a large sum of money?
CAN this be the same Andy Meinke, who in late 2012, allegedly failed to pay the insurance on the property belonging to Freedom Press? The consequence being that the insurance cover on the building ran out and some two weeks later a fire occurred resulting in extensive damage and further cost to Freedom Press?
Need we go on further? What is the position pray regarding the insurance of the property now? Will the building pass fire regulations? Will anyone insure the property owing to the earlier mismanagement? What happens if there is another fire at Freedom and it takes the Whitechapel Art Gallery together with the current Barjeel Art collection*, with it?
HOW many tens of thousands of pounds will it take to bring the Freedom building at 84B, Whitechapel High Street up to standard, so that it meets all the regulations required of it? Who will take responsibility? The Friends of Freedom Press, or will it be Andy Meinke and his mates who turn up for a drink and enter the revolving door of the Freedom Collective? As Andy apparently lives with his parents and is seemingly an employee who manages the Freedom bookshop, perhaps in event of a crisis he will escape legal liability.
Need we go on further? What is the position pray regarding the insurance of the property now? Will the building pass fire regulations? Will anyone insure the property owing to the earlier mismanagement? What happens if there is another fire at Freedom and it takes the Whitechapel Art Gallery together with the current Barjeel Art collection*, with it?
HOW many tens of thousands of pounds will it take to bring the Freedom building at 84B, Whitechapel High Street up to standard, so that it meets all the regulations required of it? Who will take responsibility? The Friends of Freedom Press, or will it be Andy Meinke and his mates who turn up for a drink and enter the revolving door of the Freedom Collective? As Andy apparently lives with his parents and is seemingly an employee who manages the Freedom bookshop, perhaps in event of a crisis he will escape legal liability.
* The Barjeel Art Foundation holds an extensive collection of art from the Arab world.
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