UK Newswire Archive
Support Conscientious Census Objector with a Message of Solidarity
06-11-2011 21:31
SRCL Campaign Kicks Off
06-11-2011 21:25
"ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR EVIL TO TRIUMPH IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING"- Edmund Burke
The war on squatters
06-11-2011 20:59
What we are seeing is a well-orchestrated clampdown on alternative culture. Again. By the Tories. Again.We need to keep our eyes peeled.
Cops attack Atlanta protest - video link
06-11-2011 16:44
POLICE in the USA have again attacked a protest against corporate capitalist greed, this time in Atlanta, Georgia.The Wind in the Trees
06-11-2011 16:25
This is a message to the revolutionaries on Tahrir Square from a rainbow warrior in Europe. You might doubt whether there is something useful to say from that position, but so did I before I found myself in the middle of the struggle for the freedom of our hearts and minds. You might also question whether there is anything worth to be squeezed through the prisoner dilemma that is between all of us, but so did we before we took up our last battle against the regimes we had found in our lives. Please take the time to listen to a few words from the deep woods – because as the old poem goes, after the oppressors have spoken the oppressed are going to speak.Genocide in Libya: can we talk about it now?
06-11-2011 15:31
Speak out about our government support for black genocide.Protest chic – a guide on what to wear and bring on N9 demonstration
06-11-2011 14:39
Turkish criminal army uses chemical weapon in air raids over kurdistan region
06-11-2011 12:46
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_NbdmpaSv0&feature=player_embedded&skipcontrinter=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0EmPyYRb1o&feature=related
Kingston Crown Court Sentences, Nov 4th Report
06-11-2011 10:44
Friday 4th November saw eleven protesters in Kingston Crown Court for sentencing relating to the Millbank protest of November last year, the Whitehall protest, the final anti-fees protest and from the TUC protest of March this year. Of those that received custodial sentences – all for violent disorder – the length of sentence ranged from 10 months to 18 months, with the majority 12 months or over. When sentencing, the two judges – in the morning Nicholas Price QC and the afternoon Susan Tipping QC – made it clear that even where it was clear that what the protesters had supposedly done was not very serious, the context of the public order situation, combined with the desire to deter and warn future protesters was what was really at stake in the severity of the charges and sentencing.Statement in solidarity with political prisoners on hunger strike in Chiapas
06-11-2011 09:02
There is now grave concern for the health of a group of indigenous people who are on hunger strike and fast in prisons in Chiapas, SE Mexico. They believe they are innocent, and their convictions falseOccupy London Statement on 5th Nov March
06-11-2011 00:55
This afternoon, OccupyLSX convened a rally outside St Paul’s Cathedral. Those speaking included Caroline Lucas MP, Bruce Kent and Josie Long. Once the speakers had concluded, a call was made for those attending to march to Trafalgar Square, the end point of the 2011 Jarrow March, to show solidarity with those there. In the event, this turned out not to be possible.
(As we write this, several hundred protesters are being kettled by police in the vicinity of Parliament Square. We have received reports of arrests, which observers from GBC Legal are investigating.)
Our march was escorted by police, who led those assembled not in the direction of Trafalgar Square, but towards Whitehall. Given that police were onsite at St Paul’s on Saturday morning to warn us that any attempt to march in the direction of Whitehall (which was not our intention in any case) would be blocked, this is rather puzzling.
We understand that police are containing protesters under the terms of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA). Section 132 of the Act states that any demonstrations in the vicinity of Parliament require authorisation, which must be applied for a minimum of seven days before the planned action.
OccupyLSX have learned tonight that authorisation for a demonstration in Parliament Square was applied for and granted well before that 7-day time limit. We understand that veteran activist Chris Coverdale is in possession of two separate authorisations for protest, in the names of Democracy Village and Make Wars History. These two documents – and only one would be required – explicitly state that permission for a demonstration of “no more than 15,000 people” has been granted by police, under the terms of the Act. What is happening in Parliament Square is not, therefore, an “unlawful protest” under the terms of SOCPA.
This afternoon, Chris Coverdale attempted to join the demonstration at Whitehall, with his authorisations (which he has in writing) in hand. He was prevented from joining the others assembled, even though police had the opportunity to see both of his authorisation documents at first hand. Occupy London understand that Mr Coverdale will be applying for a judicial review of police action on Monday.
In the meantime, we advise anyone arrested today to ensure that police are made aware that they are taking part in an authorised demonstration under SOCPA rules.
Should you witness an arrest or want support, the GBC Legal hotline is 07946 541 511. In the event of arrest, we recommend you do not rely on the duty solicitor but call one of the following:
Bindmans: 020 7833 4433
HJA: 07659 111 192
ITN: 020 8522 7707
Update – 8pm
The kettle has now been dispersed. We understand that there have been 9 arrests, at least one on SOCPA grounds.
From OccupyLSX blog
occupy lsx march to parliament - report & pics
06-11-2011 00:55
several hundred people took part in a march to parliament this afternoon. but a huge police operation ensured they couldn't exercise their democratic duty to protest outside the democratic heart of the nation. however, with non-violent persistence the protestors got close, ending up outside the house of lords, a stone's throw (not that any were) from the square.
click on image for larger version. 'some rights reserved' - free for credited non-commercial use, otherwise contact author for permission
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more than a thousand people gathered outside st paul's early this afternoon, and listened to a succession of speakers from many fields and from many nations. city of london police handed out a notice stating that they would prevent any attempt to march to parliament, but perhaps due to a combination of negotiation, the sheer weight of numbers, and maybe the realisation how bad the PR might be, they relented and several hundred people followed a large "occupy LSX" banner and headed west along fleet street and the strand.
policing at this stage was fairly light and good-natured. some people played football while weaving in and out through the front line of police. along the strand, more police joined the sides of the march, but at trafalgar square TSG appeared from side streets and several vans and lines of police completely blocked the access to whitehall.
there was a little bit of scuffling at this police line, with attempts to push through it, but the crowd remained generally peaceful and soon withdrew, looking for an alternative route to parliament.
moving west along pall mall, they took a left down the steps to st james park, and broke into a run. police panicked and poured into the park, forming arbitrary lines, stopping some people, while others walked nonchalantly past. one particularly crazy bunch stood in a line among the autumn leaves with batons raised, halting the progress of some protestors while others strolled past each end of the line.
the crowd found a well-formed cordon at birdcage walk, and after some short remonstrations, they changed direction heading up towards the palace and then doubling down petty france. again as they neared parliament square they were met by police cordons on storey's gate and victoria street, so they again avoided direct confrontation and headed towards millbank, eventually approaching the square once again in front of the house of lords along st margaret's street.
at this point they were met by just a single line cordon, but again, the principle of non-violence was adhered to, although there were easily enough demonstrators to push through. soon though, more vans arrived and blocked access, and police re-inforcements from both the met and city of london were soon deployed to effect a powerful cordon pushing protestors back along the road, threatening arrests for 'unlawful protest' (section 132 of the about-to-be-repealed serious organised crime and police act 2005). at the rear of the crowd, a looser cordon was occasionally letting protestors leave, although there were apparently a few SOCPA arrests too.
by about 6.30, the crowd had been dispersed, with some ending up in trafalgar square and others returning to st pauls.
interestingly (and if you know anyone that was arrested, please pass this information on), earlier in the week,
chris coverdale, the long-time war law activist, put in official notifications to the charing cross events team for two protests in parliament square this saturday afternoon from 3pm, with numbers between 1500 and 15000. as, under the SOCPA legislation, the police must by law authorise protests that are notified according to the law, it was in fact the police who were behaving unlawfully in preventing people from attending the protests in the square, and anyone who was arrested should know that the two protests chris coverdale notified were under the banners of "democracy village" and "make wars history". assuming you followed good practice and gave 'no comment' interviews to the police, then this information could be of great value to your defence.
chris is contactable at ccovers{AT}gmail[d0t]com - i strongly suggest arrestees or their representatives contact him for more details.
as people left the area, one activist decided to protest the continuing closure of parliament square to the public and he jumped over the fence and stood with a peace flag on the grass. in what must surely count as the most crap arrest of the day, no less than eight city police approached him across the grass and arrested him for allegedly breaking an injunction, and for "aggravated trespass".
the definition of aggravated trespass involves "the intention of disrupting, or intimidating those taking part in, lawful activity taking place on that or adjacent land."" now, given that the only people taking part in any 'activity' in parliament square were the security guards (euphemistically named "heritage wardens"), and as their lawful activity involves making sure members of the public don't go on the grass, it seems to me that the activist was actually facilitating their work and engaging them in their lawful activity (in fact stopping them from simply sitting around wasting taxpayer's money), so the charge of 'aggravated trespass' is spurious, laughable, and possibly even malicious. on the subject of taxpayer's money, it also seems a total waste that eight police were deployed to arrest a single demonstrator who was not only completely peaceful, but was also carrying a 'peace' flag.
the bbc local news tonight mentioned that protestors from LSX marched to parliament square this afternoon, but somehow overlooked that they were presented from doing so by a ridiculous overblown unnecessary police operation costing huge amounts of money. what planet are these news editors on?
!!!This land is ours!!! A tale of land theft through violence and laws
05-11-2011 23:32
Occupy Nottingham Statement
05-11-2011 22:55
Occupy Nottingham Statement /policy
Occupy Nottingham has today adopted the following statement / policy:
OCCUPY NOTTINGHAM OPERATES A ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY TOWARDS DISCRIMINATION ON THE GROUNDS
OF GENDER, SEXUALITY, RACE, ETHNICITY, RELIGION, COLOUR, CREED, AGE OR DISABILITY.
ANYONE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST OTHERS ON THESE GROUNDS WILL BE PERMANENTLY EXCLUDED FROM THE OCCUPY NOTTINGHAM SITE. THIS BEHAVIOUR IS CONTRARY TO THE ETHOS OF OCCUPY NOTTINGHAM.
SIMILIARLY MEMBERS, SUPPORTERS OR SYMPATHISERS OF THE EDL, BNP OR ASSOCIATED RIGHT WING NEO NAZI GROUPS WILL BE PERMANENTLY EXCLUDED AS THEIR VIEWS ARE WHOLLY INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE BELIEFS AND PRINCIPLES OF OCCUPY NOTTINGHAM.
UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF SATURDAY 5/11/2011. DAY 22 OF OCCUPATION
Violence against sabs
05-11-2011 21:49
New Hunt season, more violence against hunt saboteurs
Jailed for Sailing to Gaza, Challenging the Blockade
05-11-2011 17:04
The boats—one from Canada and one from Ireland—were carrying 27 passengers, including press and peace activists from Ireland, Canada, the United States, Australia and Palestine. They were unarmed, and the Israeli military knew that. They were simply peace activists wanting to connect with civilians in Gaza, and the Israeli military knew that. Yet naked aggression was used against them in international waters—something that is normally considered an act of piracy.
Occupy Oakland General Strike interviews
05-11-2011 16:41
Sheffield Occupied!
05-11-2011 16:40
7 November - IWW International Day of Action against Sodexo
05-11-2011 16:20
The vast majority of cleaners at the Guildhall are members of the independent trade union the Industrial Workers of the World. In summer 2011, the cleaners waged a successful campaign to secure months of unpaid wages, and achieved the reinstatement of a victimised trade union member. Since then the cleaners have been campaigning to secure justice on pay, equality and respect at work.