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EXPOSED: Pet shopkeeper attacks animal

06-02-2012 20:20

Pet shopkeeper attacks a 15-year old animal investigator.

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EDL return to Leicester

06-02-2012 18:55

On Saturday February 4th the EDL descended on Leicester. The EDL previously visited Leicester in October 2010. This time round, they weren't able to turnout as many supporters, but once again there was a mobilisation of anti-fascists, while local youth organised to defend their own communities.

On the newswire: Report – EDL visit to Leicester | Dignity Found Dead in Rochdale | EDL in Leicester – compare and contrast! | Leicestershire police: "Operation Stay Safe" | EDL supporter attacks taxi driver in Derby | Leicester EDL march: route announced | EDL to demonstrate in Leicester

2010 features: EDL descend on Leicester | Anti-fascists to face EDL in Leicester

The EDL claim to have chosen Leicester as the venue for their latest demonstration because of the "racist" attack on Rhea Page, who was assaulted by four women of Somali descent in Leicester in June 2010. The women all received suspended sentences in November and the EDL have claimed this is symptomatic of politcially correct sentencing gone made etc. Anti-fascists have been quick to point out that the account of events pushed by the EDL and the Daily Mail is simplistic and misleading.

The EDL’s forces for the day were divided by ongoing infighting. The Infidels splinter group decided to hold a demonstration in Rochdale (where they were joined by members of the British people’s Party) on the same day, while some of their number made threats against an anti-fascist film festival happening in Leeds at the same time. The impact of competing demonstrations can only have exacerbated the EDL’s difficulties in mobilising supporters to stand around in the cold surrounded by plod and online discussions indicate that they were having real problems filling coaches. The final turnout was somewhere between 5-700, substantially less than the 1,500 they had hoped for.

Clearly concerned about disorder, Mayor Peter Soulsby, Leicester City Council, politicians, some “community leaders” and the police urged locals to stay at home and leave the EDL unopposed. The police went so far as to distribute leaflets threatening to lock-up young people on anti-EDL demos. The police even urged pubs not to sell alcohol for the duration of the rally. A major police operation was mounted on the day, at a cost of £850,000, with 2,000 cops on the street and blanket use of the Public Order Act. Despite all these efforts, permission was given for the EDL to march.

The Network for Police Monitoring (NETPOL) who organised legal observers at the demo, provide an account (quoted by SchNEWS) which suggests that policing on the day was primarily concerned with "controlling community opposition to the EDL" while facilitating the fascists unwelcome visit to the city: "The EDL were enabled to move fairly freely, to break away from the main body of the march and form up in groups. They had few restrictions in reality whereas those who opposed them, especially young Asian men, faced a set of restrictions. They were picked on by police whenever they attempt to move in even relatively small numbers. One group of young locals were chased into a park and had dogs set on them. An ambulance was called. There difference between the policing of the EDL and the community response was marked throughout the day and everywhere in the city."

As ever, Unite Against Fascism were one of the most vocal groups organising opposition to the EDL’s presence. Prior to the demo, they organised a meeting, which they report attracted around 170 people, and carried out extensive leafletting of the local area. Despite some disagreements with the authorities in the run-up to the day, UAF ultimately rallied at the clock tower and held a police-authorised A-B march.

There were also a number of independent anti-fascists out and about. According to a report by the Leicestershire Solidarity Group some of these independents "managed to get to the Clock Tower and chant ‘Nazi scum, off our streets!’ which was vigorously taken up by groups of Asian youth in the area." Others meanwhile "headed off to help defend St Matthews from any potential fascist attack. Down by the Campanile, Belgrave flyover and the Belgrave Gate roundabout, they joined about, at times, 200-300 (at other times, fewer) mainly Asian, Somali and Kurdish anti-fascists in keeping a barrier between the local community and potential roving EDL bands."

Some EDL supporters had issued unwise threats prior to the demo, such as claiming that they were going to smash up Leicester. In the end, the day was rather less spectacular. Despite the drinks ban, many of the EDL made sure they didn’t go short on booze with one online discussion suggesting that one supporter had so much to drink they ended up pissing themselves. Tommy Robinson/Stephen Yaxley-Lennon had to break off from a speech to implore a neo-Nazi not to seig-heil in front of the cameras.

At one point, an Argentinian flag was burnt by EDL demonstrators. Self-evidently this has nothing to do with "peacefully protesting against Islamic extremism," but appears to be the EDL’s attempt to capitalise on renewed tensions over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas. This is just the latest example of the EDL’s attempts to jump on any "patriotic" bandwagon they can find (see also the attack on Rhea Page discussed above, Remembrance Sunday/poppies, the supposed banning of Christmas etc.).

It was clear that this was an ignominious day for the EDL (in all its forms), but despite their ongoing problems, they lumber onwards like a zombie which hasn't yet realised it's dead. Where they’re go next is anybody's guess, but rumour has it they’ll be visiting Bristol in the near future.

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bristol police to go bankrupt

06-02-2012 18:55


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Smash EDO: Support for upcoming court cases

06-02-2012 18:46

Smash EDO have two court cases coming up this week. Court support would be much appreciated.

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Peel Holdings Set to Profit from City Council Cuts

06-02-2012 18:38

Peel Holdings 'owner' of Mersey Docks are set to profit from Liverpool City Council decision to pay repay £9M for landing stage.

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legal attacks on protest camps - act now

06-02-2012 16:55

yesterday, the 'boris' fences came down in parliament square. unfortunately it wasn't due to popular uprising. rather, it was part of the continued attack on protest, as a new swathe of laws and bye-laws criminalise the right to 24-hour protest. among the moves, the GLA placed a discreet notice in the evening standard last week announcing their intention to enforce new bye-laws which will dramatically curtail protest in trafalgar square, and potentially criminalise peaceful assemblies. there is time under the process to make your views heard. see below.

evening standard pic sourced from sturdyblog (linked below)

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our grubby politicians hate being harrangued as they go to and from westminster. they hate being confronted with the truth about the horrendous legacy of depleted uranium used in the illegal bombing of innocent women and children in iraq. they hate being reminded of how our taxes could be better used to avoid public service cuts if only they weren't spent on the military, on corporate welfare, and even on their own dodgy expenses.

so for ten years, the suits have asked whether anything can be done to rid their doorstep of brian haw and other protestors. over that decade, they've tried new restrictions and new laws, but each time, the courts have sided with protestors, and the right to peaceful protest has been favoured over any inconvenience to the conscience of the slimy, PR-obsessed vermin that inhabit westminster.

so, while the square was fenced off for 18 months (the official lie being to carry out essential repair work, but the truth clearly to prevent any repeat of the 'democracy village' encampment of 2010), the PR machine worked hard to come up with a new ploy, and the self-serving hypocrites of our unelected and much-hated government have come up with a beauty - the PRASRA law - that came into effect in december.

the rationale behind the new law is that of course the right to protest is an essential and a welcome part of our wonderful democracy, but that some people abuse that right and spoil it for others, by using megaphones or amplifiers so that they can be heard, or by hanging around for more than a few hours at a time so that their protest can be continually seen. these sorts of protestors will now be criminalised. their megaphones can be seized by force, their tents can be stolen, they can be directed to leave the square, they can be fined, injuncted to stay out of the area, and ultimately put in prison. oh, and council officials can do all this shit, as well as police.

but the right to protest remains intact, and to prove it, the SOCPA restrictions from 2005 (requiring police authorisation for protests near parliament) will be repealed next month (really this time - after many previous broken promises).

while the new law addresses the problems that the politicians had with brian haw's protest vigil, it was also drawn up at the time the new 'occupy' movement has grown worldwide, with its trend to protest using urban encampments, general assemblies, and 24-hour protest villages, all designed to encourage attention, creativity, alternative debate, education, and peaceful but uncompromising challenge to the establishment.

so, on the back of PRASRA (which has a very narrow remit of parliament square alone), there has been a mad rush to shore up parliamentary defences against any other local 'occupations', in the UK arm of what i call GWOC, the 'global war on camping'.

in its consultation notes over proposed new bye-laws, westminster council referred directly to the 'occupation' movement, stating its fears that protestors might try to set up camp in westminster abbey grounds, or other local green spaces and squares. their new bye-laws, very similar to the PRASRA rules, criminalise amplifiers and tents (or in fact, anything designed to assist staying overnight). next, the department of culture (which oversees the royal parks), brought in a similar consultation in preparation for introducing the same bye-laws to cover st. james, and other nearby parks. and finally the GLA has followed the same route, this time affecting trafalgar square and the bits of parliament square not covered by PRASRA.

while it was going through committee stages, there were serious reservations from lawyers about PRASRA, and the new law faced an immediate judicial challenge in the high court, after maria gallestegui managed to gain an injunction against westminster council to stop them from removing the tent she needs to aid her overnight stays while protesting outside parliament under the 'peace strike' banner. it is highly unusual for a new government law to be judicially challenged BEFORE its use, and it's great work by maria and her lawyers to have managed to do so. 

the final review of that case will occur in a few weeks, but even at the exact time maria's injunction was being argued out in court, westminster were preparing a press notice, and a large team of police were being briefed prior to a raid that same night to remove all other tents from the square. this left brian haw's peace campaign camp (which still continues its 24/7 vigil despite brian's sad death last year), with no shelter in freezing conditions. police also illegally seized private legal correspondence, as well as camping seats and umbrellas!

both protest camps have been using boris's fences to hang banners, but early on sunday morning workers arrived to take them down, thus further diminishing the power and visibility of the peaceful vigils. the security personnel who were manning the square for those 18 months (at enormous cost to the public), have been replaced by a van-full of police, with engine constantly running, on the look out for dangerous campers, and ready to use the 'reasonable force' authorised by PRASRA to snatch protest equipment and remove protestors (while still defending and of course facilitating the right to protest).

so what can YOU do?

as described in my previous articles (linked below), westminster, the culture dept, and the GLA consultations are now all closed. hopefully, some of you will have expressed yourselves in these exercises.

within one week of the GLA's consultation end date, a small notice appeared in the back pages of the evening standard newspaper, outlining the next stage. according to this, following on from the consultation, the GLA is going ahead with the bye-laws, presenting them to the dept of culture at the end of january, and after a final objection period of one month, they will be ready to come into law (expected early in march).

if you'd like to object to the bye-laws, you are invited to do so by writing an email to Carl.Schnackenberg@Culture.gsi.gov.uk. at the deparment of culture, and any such objections have to be in by 29th february.

if you read through the notes on the GLA site, you'll see that they are fully expecting legal challenges to the new bye-laws, but such is their concern to do their bit in the 'global war on camping' (GWOC), that they're going ahead anyway, even before maria's PRASRA challenge (directly related) is heard.

because under the new bye-laws, they are intending to give powers of seizure (and therefore the right to use force) to heritage wardens and other council and private employees, they are printing up new 'warrant cards' for identification purposes, all at considerable public cost and before PRASRA challenges are heard. this might be something you'd want to bring up in your email.

also, having 'consulted', it is not clear when or where the results of that consultation will be published. this might be something to ask mr schnackenberg too.

then there are the more general and important issues of free speech, use of public space, right to protest, and criminalisation of dissent. all these might be appropriate to refer to.

please spread the word, feel free to republish this article (except for profit, in which case contact me first), and let the GLA and the government know there is genuine concern and resistance to these further attacks on liberty.

and if all that fails, get ready for an act of mass civil disobedience to highlight and challenge the new law.

links:
my previous indymedia reports:
assault on protest part one   http://london.indymedia.org/articles/11434
assault on protest part two    http://london.indymedia.org/articles/11456
high court hearing and parl sq raid   http://london.indymedia.org/articles/11468
end of consultations   http://london.indymedia.org/articles/11516
government links:
PRASRA law  http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/13/contents/enacted/data.htm
westminster bye-laws consultation  http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/transportandstreets/strategy/parliament-square-proposed-byelaws/
dept of culture, parks bye-laws consultation   http://www.culture.gov.uk/consultations/8710.aspx
GLA squares consultation   http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/mayor/mayoral-decisions/md923
GLA bye-laws confirmation (with objection address)   http://www.london.gov.uk/consultation/confirmation-byelaws-trafalgar-square-and-parliament-square-garden
thanks to alex sturdyblogger for the pic of the evening standard ad http://sturdyblog.wordpress.com/about/

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Palestine Today 02 06 2012

06-02-2012 15:26

Audio
Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Monday February 6th, 2012.

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Call Out - High Court, 10am Wed 8th Feb Keep Gloucestershire's NHS Public!

06-02-2012 14:57

Campaigners in Gloucestershire on a Protest March last September
CALL OUT - free on the morning of Wed 8th? Please come and show support at the High Court, Aldwych, London, Wed 10am, where Gloucestershire resident Michael Lloyd is seeking judicial review against transfer of Gloucestershire's
community hospitals out of NHS and into social enterprise. for more
info see http://www. stroudagainstcuts.co.uk/ or email
carolinejmolloy[a]gmail.com

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"Moral capitalism" and the rise of the "overclass"

06-02-2012 13:49

A few days ago, English Prime Minister David Cameron made a speech on..."moral capitalism".

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Participatory Democracy and the Occupy Movement

06-02-2012 13:46

Organisation, hierarchy and transparency in activist organisations, and specifically in the Occupy movement, and in (previous) Climate Camps. Originally published at Feminist Action Cambridge.

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Anonymous Deface US White Supremacist 3rd Position Website

06-02-2012 13:22

https://twitpic.com/8e5a7u/full
And reveal close links between Republician Ron Paul and other white supremacists.

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US drones invade Iraqi skies

06-02-2012 12:38

When is a US troop pullout not a pullout? asks Felicity Arbuthnot.

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Birmingham IWW Solidarity Picket with IWW Pizza Hut Union

06-02-2012 09:46

On Saturday 4th February, members of IWW West Midlands General Membership Branch picketed Pizza Hut on New Street, Birmingham,"] in Solidarity with Sheffield workers who are fighting for improved pay and conditions. This was part of a national day of action, with pickets also held in Sheffield, London, Bristol, Liverpool and Hull.

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Crashing Through Capital: An Introduction to Economics

06-02-2012 08:09

The Space Project presents a course in economics in Leeds.

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Paul Lafargue - The Bankruptcy of Capitalism

06-02-2012 00:22

written in 1900

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Greek Hospital Occupied By Workers

05-02-2012 22:23

As Greek political leaders - including banker turned unelected Prime Minister Lucas Papademos - hold talks over another punishing round of attacks on the working class, the workforce of one hospital have taken matters into their own hands, and declared that "we occupy the public hospital and put it under our direct and absolute control".

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Coach companies used by the EDL

05-02-2012 22:07

This is a list of coach companies who carried the EDL to the Leicester demonstration on Saturday. We recommend that anti-fascists contact their owners and politely request that they do not carry the EDL in future and what the ramifications of this for their business and image will be.

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Israel threatens war against Iran within months

05-02-2012 21:39

Even as the US and its European allies intensify punitive economic sanctions against Iran, there are growing signs that Israel is threatening military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in the coming months. While the Obama administration has cautioned Israel against military action at this stage, there is no indication that Washington has vetoed such an attack.

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The IWW 'hit the Hut'!

05-02-2012 20:55


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Another Pub Closure - Another Tesco Metro

05-02-2012 20:55