G8 Protest - Bristol Solidarity
Vince | 04.06.2007 18:20 | G8 Germany 2007 | Climate Chaos | Globalisation | Social Struggles
CRITICAL MASS, Friday 8th June
8am in the MORNING!
Assemble on St. Augustines Parade at 8am sharp to move off when critical mass forms.
8am in the MORNING!
Assemble on St. Augustines Parade at 8am sharp to move off when critical mass forms.
What are we doing?
As a start we are calling for a critical mass on the morning of Friday June 8th as the wake up call to a day of action in solidarity with those protesting against the G8 meeting in Germany.
We hope that this will act as a catalyst for other groups and individuals in Bristol to mark the occasion however they see fit.
Whether it be a pensioners mass march, a playground protest, or you and yer mates throwing a literal or symbolic wrench in the works – get off your arse and show ‘em you’re mad as hell and aren’t going to take it no more!
Why should you be angry?
CLIMATE CHAOS
We all know the terrifying statistics: a million species extinct by 2050, 19 of the 20 hottest years on record since 1980, Greenland and Antarctica melting, droughts, floods, famines … the G8 have had over 30 years to address climate change and only succeeded in providing trillions in subsidies to the very industries that are destroying our planet and our future.
And while the G8 continues to line their pockets, island states disappear and hundreds of thousands die as a result of the freak weather conditions caused by their irrational and uncontrollable obsession with never ending economic growth.
We have a ten-year window to act. As the megalomaniac G8 leaders meet in Germany, masked behind a barrier of fences and soldiers, intent on leading us further towards catastrophic and irreversible climate chaos, we must shout, scream and roar ‘no more’. Now is the time to take direct action and shut them down, them and their climate criminal industry friends!
THE USUAL SUSPECTS
While climate chaos affects us all, those on the front line are those already devastated by the cruelty of global capitalism - the poor and disadvantaged.
While the G8 looks to the markets to solve the problem by turning emissions into a product that can be bought and sold, they purposely ignore the only effective solution – an end to the consumerist mass market society.
Ironically consumerism is the way of life that the G8 is forcing poorer countries to adopt in order to have their poverty, debt and trade problems alleviated. Societies are manipulated into becoming precarious McCountries: from exporting cheap mass produced goods from sweatshops to feed western appetites, to providing playground paradises for the rich.
All this does is feed climate chaos and create further carbon emissions to be traded as “credits” between the richest countries.
ANGRY YET?
So what are you going to do about it? Buy a wristband, go to a concert, sign a petition, go on an organised mass march?
Remember Jubilee 2000? – third world debt is worse than ever.
Remember Make Poverty History? – it didn’t.
Remember Stop the War? – we haven’t.
The G8 leaders have carried on with their own agenda and fancy footwork. The only way that governments will listen to us is if we force them to – this is the only effective form of protest, which is why freedom to protest effectively is being eroded and outlawed.We are sleepwalking into a society where dissent will not be tolerated and it’s time to wake up!
Why June 8th?
The 8th of June International Day of Action Against Climate Change and the G8 has been called by the International Rising Tide Network. This is a call for autonomous, decentralized actions appropriate for your town, city, or local area.
We want to send a message to the protestors on the streets and in the jails of Germany that we stand in solidarity with them and their actions.
Why a Critical Mass?
Critical Mass demonstrations are not just about highlighting the problems facing cyclists, they are used effectively across the world as an effective way of protesting. The first one happened in San Francisco in1992 and since then enthusiasts in many towns and cities worldwide have followed suit. It is difficult to describe CM as opinions differ widely but they seem to range from a simple celebration of cycling to an anti-authoritarian blockade of traffic, particularly cars, with many facets in between.
Cycling protests have already been happening as a part of the actions against the G8 summit, and the heavy handed response to them shows that the authorities feel they are effective and fear them.
On the 7th May in Utrecht (Holland), mounted police attacked, beat, arrested and did significant damage to a peaceful bicycle caravan on its way to Germany -
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/369998.html for details.
On 25th May in Hamburg (Germany), Over 250 people involved in the G8 mobilization took to the streets of Hamburg in a Critical Mass. The police broke up the group of cyclists by driving between them with vehicles and by running and standing in front of them. The cops followed the smaller groups of cyclists to get them to disperse. 12 people were arrested and held for several hours.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/371656.html for details.
Also on the 25th, Bristol’s own Critical Mass was subject to a heavy-handed police response. Although obviously not on the same scale, the reason behind it was the same – to smash the Critical Mass as a form of protest because it is effective. This forms part of a concerted effort by police across the UK to stop the protests, including attempts to criminalise the action and its participants (that failed).
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/371358.html for details.
Why in the morning?
The usual monthly Critical Mass in Bristol is a separate entity that focuses on the rights of cyclists, while the intention of the June 8th is to have a wider focus and so the change of time will differentiate the two. Also there has been criticism that the monthly Mass stops Bristolians from getting home for the weekend, which can lead to a lack of wider support.
This Critical Mass is a present to the working people of Bristol! If well attended, the demonstration could mean big delays in getting to work on a Friday morning, and a perfect excuse for phoning in late – and who but the bosses wouldn’t support that! Spread the word to those you work with, but remember we need the numbers on the ride to make it happen!
Remember, the streets are ours, Critical Mass is NOT illegal (yet!), and you have to get out of bed early in the morning if you’re going to outwit those who want to take away your freedom to protest!
Bristol Rising Tide Website
http://risingtide.org.uk/bristol
More info on the G8 protests in Germany
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/371754.html
For posters and flyers see ‘G8 flyer and poster’ article on www.indymedia.bristol.org
As a start we are calling for a critical mass on the morning of Friday June 8th as the wake up call to a day of action in solidarity with those protesting against the G8 meeting in Germany.
We hope that this will act as a catalyst for other groups and individuals in Bristol to mark the occasion however they see fit.
Whether it be a pensioners mass march, a playground protest, or you and yer mates throwing a literal or symbolic wrench in the works – get off your arse and show ‘em you’re mad as hell and aren’t going to take it no more!
Why should you be angry?
CLIMATE CHAOS
We all know the terrifying statistics: a million species extinct by 2050, 19 of the 20 hottest years on record since 1980, Greenland and Antarctica melting, droughts, floods, famines … the G8 have had over 30 years to address climate change and only succeeded in providing trillions in subsidies to the very industries that are destroying our planet and our future.
And while the G8 continues to line their pockets, island states disappear and hundreds of thousands die as a result of the freak weather conditions caused by their irrational and uncontrollable obsession with never ending economic growth.
We have a ten-year window to act. As the megalomaniac G8 leaders meet in Germany, masked behind a barrier of fences and soldiers, intent on leading us further towards catastrophic and irreversible climate chaos, we must shout, scream and roar ‘no more’. Now is the time to take direct action and shut them down, them and their climate criminal industry friends!
THE USUAL SUSPECTS
While climate chaos affects us all, those on the front line are those already devastated by the cruelty of global capitalism - the poor and disadvantaged.
While the G8 looks to the markets to solve the problem by turning emissions into a product that can be bought and sold, they purposely ignore the only effective solution – an end to the consumerist mass market society.
Ironically consumerism is the way of life that the G8 is forcing poorer countries to adopt in order to have their poverty, debt and trade problems alleviated. Societies are manipulated into becoming precarious McCountries: from exporting cheap mass produced goods from sweatshops to feed western appetites, to providing playground paradises for the rich.
All this does is feed climate chaos and create further carbon emissions to be traded as “credits” between the richest countries.
ANGRY YET?
So what are you going to do about it? Buy a wristband, go to a concert, sign a petition, go on an organised mass march?
Remember Jubilee 2000? – third world debt is worse than ever.
Remember Make Poverty History? – it didn’t.
Remember Stop the War? – we haven’t.
The G8 leaders have carried on with their own agenda and fancy footwork. The only way that governments will listen to us is if we force them to – this is the only effective form of protest, which is why freedom to protest effectively is being eroded and outlawed.We are sleepwalking into a society where dissent will not be tolerated and it’s time to wake up!
Why June 8th?
The 8th of June International Day of Action Against Climate Change and the G8 has been called by the International Rising Tide Network. This is a call for autonomous, decentralized actions appropriate for your town, city, or local area.
We want to send a message to the protestors on the streets and in the jails of Germany that we stand in solidarity with them and their actions.
Why a Critical Mass?
Critical Mass demonstrations are not just about highlighting the problems facing cyclists, they are used effectively across the world as an effective way of protesting. The first one happened in San Francisco in1992 and since then enthusiasts in many towns and cities worldwide have followed suit. It is difficult to describe CM as opinions differ widely but they seem to range from a simple celebration of cycling to an anti-authoritarian blockade of traffic, particularly cars, with many facets in between.
Cycling protests have already been happening as a part of the actions against the G8 summit, and the heavy handed response to them shows that the authorities feel they are effective and fear them.
On the 7th May in Utrecht (Holland), mounted police attacked, beat, arrested and did significant damage to a peaceful bicycle caravan on its way to Germany -
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/369998.html for details. On 25th May in Hamburg (Germany), Over 250 people involved in the G8 mobilization took to the streets of Hamburg in a Critical Mass. The police broke up the group of cyclists by driving between them with vehicles and by running and standing in front of them. The cops followed the smaller groups of cyclists to get them to disperse. 12 people were arrested and held for several hours.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/371656.html for details. Also on the 25th, Bristol’s own Critical Mass was subject to a heavy-handed police response. Although obviously not on the same scale, the reason behind it was the same – to smash the Critical Mass as a form of protest because it is effective. This forms part of a concerted effort by police across the UK to stop the protests, including attempts to criminalise the action and its participants (that failed).
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/371358.html for details. Why in the morning?
The usual monthly Critical Mass in Bristol is a separate entity that focuses on the rights of cyclists, while the intention of the June 8th is to have a wider focus and so the change of time will differentiate the two. Also there has been criticism that the monthly Mass stops Bristolians from getting home for the weekend, which can lead to a lack of wider support.
This Critical Mass is a present to the working people of Bristol! If well attended, the demonstration could mean big delays in getting to work on a Friday morning, and a perfect excuse for phoning in late – and who but the bosses wouldn’t support that! Spread the word to those you work with, but remember we need the numbers on the ride to make it happen!
Remember, the streets are ours, Critical Mass is NOT illegal (yet!), and you have to get out of bed early in the morning if you’re going to outwit those who want to take away your freedom to protest!
Bristol Rising Tide Website
http://risingtide.org.uk/bristol More info on the G8 protests in Germany
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/371754.html For posters and flyers see ‘G8 flyer and poster’ article on www.indymedia.bristol.org
Vince