The Guantánamo Files - Andy Worthington
Sunday 9th December 2007 7pm
Short talk, Q&A, book signing, and informal discussion with Andy Worthington about his major new book The Guantánamo Files.
The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison is the first book to tell the story of every man trapped in Guantánamo.
For four years, those in overall charge of Guantánamo maintained such a strict veil of secrecy that they refused even to reveal the names of the prisoners, and it was not possible to provide a comprehensive overview of the prisoners and their stories. After a detailed study of documents released in response to a Freedom of Information lawsuit, as well as discussions with lawyers representing the prisoners, and an analysis of press reports, interviews with released prisoners and other reports compiled by human rights organizations, Andy Worthington has been able to put together the first detailed history of Guantánamo and its prisoners.
The Guantánamo Files explains, in detail, the genesis of the prison, its counterparts in Afghanistan, its development from 2002 to the present day, its role as a prison devoted to interrogation and torture, the legal challenges that have been launched against the administration, and the network of secret prisons that underpins Guantánamo's brutal illegality. More importantly, The Guantánamo Files allows the prisoners to tell their own stories, explaining who they are and the circumstances of their capture. What the stories reveal most of all is that very few of them had anything to do with al-Qaeda, and the vast majority were either Taliban foot soldiers, or humanitarian aid workers, religious teachers and economic migrants, sold to the Americans by their allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Bringing these stories to life for the first time, The Guantánamo Files vividly demonstrates the human cost of the administration's ill-conceived and violently executed "War on Terror".
Photos
Andy gave a fascinating, and appalling, introduction to the book and the Guantánamo prison; this was followed by a lively question and answer session.
The discussion continued informally over a cup of tea.
It is, after all, a book signing.
Essential Astrology
Wednesdays 14th and 21st November 2007, 6:30pm - 8pm Two week course with Prudence Jones. Course fee: £18 including all materials and a printout of your own birth chart.
Learn the basics of astrological chart interpretation in 2 easy lessons!
| You probably know your astrological sign, but how do you begin to interpret all the signs and planets scattered around a full astrological chart wheel? | 
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| Easy! Basic analysis can be taught in 2 simple lessons. There is always much more to learn, but this framework will allow you to grasp the essentials of any birth chart whatever. |
Prudence Jones is a writer, therapist, and astrologer. She has contributed to many books on astrology, and edited Creative Astrology. She is a former Chair of the Association of Professional Astrologers.
For this course, advance booking is essential, as we need to prepare your birth chart before the first session. We will need to know your time, date, and place of birth. (Date alone will do, but time and place make it so much more precise.)
Heathen Paths - Viking & Anglo Saxon Belief Systems
Sunday 4th November 2007 6:30pm talk and book-signing with Pete Jennings.
This new illustrated book by Pete Jennings has been written from a different perspective to others published on what is known variously as Asatru, the Northern Tradition and Odinism, to present a handbook of accumulated data so that people can read and interpret it for themselves, aided by sometimes conflicting or complementary opinions clearly labelled as such.
Although the author frequently uses academic methods and arguments, he is an individual trying to make sense of a spiritual path he was drawn to a couple of decades ago. Trying to objectively observe a movement from within, whilst being a part of it oneself is a delicate path to tread, but in this book Pete Jennings does an admirable job, separating opinions from historical data.
Entrance to this event is free: please just turn up!
Poets' Tea Party
The next Poets' Tea Party will be on Thursday 25th October 2007 from 7:30pm. Hosted by Brad & Mel, this popular evening is now (almost!) a regular monthly event. Bring your poems, a mug, and an interesting teabag!
Bringing Stories to Life
Wednesdays 10th & 17th October 2007 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Come along and dip a toe into the world of storytelling! A pair of storytelling workshops for beginners, with local storyteller Kati Preston.
From around the world, there will be stories... Just bring yourself and a joy in storytelling!
The course costs £16.00, which pays for both sessions.
Music of the Land
Tuesday 9th October 2007 6:30pm talk and book-signing with Leslie Ray, author of Language of the Land, the first book in English to examine the contemporary Mapuche people in Argentina and Chile.
Using a combination of words and music, Leslie Ray will present his recently published book "Language of the Land - The Mapuche in Argentina and Chile".
Being an indigenous people living in two countries located literally at the ends of the Earth, southern Chile and Argentina, the Mapuche are largely unknown in the UK, and have generally conducted their battles well away from the glare of the media spotlight. Despite this, Leslie will argue that their struggles have much to teach us.
The Mapuche resisted against the Spanish invaders for over 300 years. Following their eventual conquest in the late 19th century, most of their ancestral lands were expropriated, and those among them who were not killed or imprisoned were marginalised. The book looks back over the history of their relations with the two nation states, denouncing the repression and racism to which they have been and are still being subjected, and examining issues of ethnicity, biodiversity and bio-piracy in Mapuche lands today, their struggle for rights over natural resources and the impact on them of tourism and rampant neoliberalism.
Many of the themes explored in the book, such as closeness to the land, alienation in the city, war, immigration, gold fever, imperialism, deforestation and fear of the "other", have echoes and resonances in the experiences of other colonised peoples, in the USA, Canada and Australia, for example. Likewise, the Mapuche's struggles today have parallels with those of ordinary people in the past here in the British Isles, such as the injustice of the Highland Clearances, the idealism of the Diggers or the repression of dissenting religious minorities, which actually led to their journeying to the New World in search of a freer, better life.
In short, the aim of this presentation will be to "only connect" rather than to isolate and pigeonhole.
Entrance to this event is free: please just turn up!
The Path of the Shaman
Saturday 29th September 2007 6:30pm talk and book-signing with Anna Franklin.
This new book by Anna Franklin explores, from the perspective of native British shamanism: the shamanic cosmos; the web of power; the shamanic crisis & becoming a shaman; healing & soul work; working with the spirits of the land; animal & plant allies.
Anna Franklin talking about the Path of the Shaman.
Just a few of the books Anna has written.
Eight Magickal Mandalas
Wednesday 26th September 2007 6:30pm workshop with Orryelle Defenestrate-Bascule.
Eight Magickal Mandalas to Map Time onto the Spatial Plane, a Workshop on Wyrd Web Weaving, in which Orryelle will be demonstrating techniques from hir book A Brief HIRStory of Time, and also presenting new images from Conjunctio, a Graphic Grimoire in progress, to be published next year.
Muscles, Meridians & Magic
Tuesdays 25th September and 2nd October 2007, 6:30pm - 9pm
A 4-hour introductory Kinesiology workshop course with Suryamani (Ginny Layton). The course costs £18 (£14 concessions).
This workshop will teach you simple effective kinesiology techniques for releasing stress, muscular tension, and some types of pain in yourself and others. Through demonstration of muscle testing you will see and feel the magic of the body in directing itself towards healing and well-being.
Handouts & refreshments also provided!
Suryamani is a registered Touch for Health instructor and Massage Therapist. She runs regular courses to full certification for those interested in taking this wonderful tool further, whether for more effective use with friends & family, or as a professional practitioner with the public.
Poets' Tea Party
The next Poets' Tea Party is scheduled for Thursday 16th August 2007 from 7:30pm. Hosted by Brad & Mel, this popular evening is now (almost!) a regular monthly event. Bring your poems, a mug, and an interesting teabag!
Poets' Tea Party
Back by popular demand, Brad & Mel will once again be hosting the Poets' Tea Party in the shop on Thursday 28th June 2007 from 7:30pm. Bring your poems, a mug, and an interesting teabag!
Introduction to Domestic Bookbinding
A one-hour introduction to basic hand-made pamphlet construction from THE PIXIE SPELLBINDERY
Wednesday 11th July 2007, at 6:30pm
In this one hour introductory hands-on workshop we will examine & use the tools, materials & basic pamphlet-sewing techniques needed to successfully bind booklets in your own home. No previous experience needed.
Course fee (includes all materials & a complimentary copy of the pamphlet Domestic Bookbinding by Jean Dark): £2.50.
Basic Massage for Family, Friends & You!
Mondays 16th and 23rd of July 2007, 6pm - 8.15pm
A four hour introductory course with Faradena Afifi to be held at Libra Aries Books.
The course costs £18 (£14 concessions)
This course will teach you basic massage techniques that you will be able to safely use on yourself and your friends. Attendees will be provided with a course handout. All you need to bring, is a blanket and a mug, if you wish to have tea. Faradena is a fully insured and qualified Deep Tissue & Holistic Massage Therapist and a TCCKF and TCUGB recognised instructor of T'ai Chi Chuan & Chi Kung.
Introduction to Domestic Bookbinding
A one-hour introduction to basic hand-made pamphlet construction from THE PIXIE SPELLBINDERY
Wednesday 6th June 2007, at 6:30pm
In this one hour introductory hands-on workshop we will examine & use the tools, materials & basic pamphlet-sewing techniques needed to successfully bind booklets in your own home. No previous experience needed.
Course fee (includes all materials & a complimentary copy of the pamphlet Domestic Bookbinding by Jean Dark): £2.50.
For further information, or to reserve a place, please email or phone Jean Dark on (01223) 412411.
An Introduction to The I Ching
An opportunity to explore the ancient Chinese oracle, The I Ching in a Three-Week Course of Workshops.
Workshops will last about one hour, and will be followed by tea & biscuits.
Course fee: £7.00 for all 3 workshops. Places limited. Advance booking recommended.
For further information, or to reserve a place, please call Tim Goodwin on (01223) 412 411 or email.
Poets' Tea Party
Thursday 24th May 2007
Starts Sunday 11th March 2007: Domestic Bookbinding and Beyond
A six-week practical course in basic hand-made book construction from THE PIXIE SPELLBINDERY.
Starts Sunday 11th March 2007, at 4:30pm
Over the course of 6 weekly 1½ hour workshops the participants will make two types of blank notebook & one pamphlet, using simple techniques & easily available materials, with an eye to recycled & non-animal products. No previous experience needed.
Course fee, including the cost of materials: £18 for the full course of 6 workshops (£15 if paid in full before 1st March). Places are limited: to avoid disappointment please reserve a place in advance.
Wednesday 11th April 2007 - Nigel Pennick: Primal Signs
Wednesday 11th April 2007, at 8pm
Primal Signs, a new book by Nigel Pennick is a richly illustrated exploration of symbols, signs, sigils & magical glyphs. From ancient cave paintings and rock art to the present day, signs have denoted particular things or ideas. Among the topics in Primal Signs are the Sun and sunwheel; the Akhet and the twin towers; crescent Moon, star and comer; the Tree of Life; the Cosmic or Philosophical Egg; the Omphalos; the cross; the swastika; the rose; runes; witch-posts and door glyphs; the horseshoe; spiritual tools; labyrinths; plaits & binding knots; pentagram & hexagram; house-marks, craftspersons' marks and sigils; magical glyphs; symbolic beasts. Illustrated with over 320 woodcuts, drawing, calligraphy & rare photographs of real artefacts from Great Britain and mainland Europe, Primal Signs will delight anyone interested in esoteric and exoteric signs & symbols, being a practical aid to understanding the complex interaction of their meanings.
On Wednesday 11th April 2007, at 8pm, Nigel will give a brief introduction to his new book, and he will be signing copies of Primal Signs, which will be on sale at £10.95. Tea, biscuits, and informal chat will also be available!