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WAKE UP!! IT'S YER MUGSHOT IN THE ARM...

SchNEWS, Issue 697, Friday 30th October 2009

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A LIBERAL HELPING?

AS SchNEWS MARKS THE GUARDIAN’S SPOTTER CARD...

Here in the SchNEWS bunker we’ve been somewhat overwhelmed by
the sudden interest of the mainstream media in the police state in
recent months. OK, maybe it’s just jealousy that the
professional hacks of Panorama and the Guardian find it so easy to
reach the masses (while we humbly labour in the trenches of citizen
journalism talking to the same few grizzled poll tax riot veterans and
weirdbeards with crop-circle fixations) – but there’s
definitely something a bit whiffy about the Guardian expose and the
sudden outburst of liberal ire.

Leaving aside the thorny question of how ethical it is to splash
people’s mugshots across the front page under headlines about
domestic extremism (and then take a leaf out of the Daily Mail and
appeal for the public to write in and identify them), should we be
grateful they have taken our message to the multitudes? After all,
it’s got people talking about police repression in a way our
preaching in the wilderness has never managed to. But is it our
message?

In the Guardian’s world there are two kinds of protesters, with
a clear division between nice, fluffy though occasionally mischievous
people who just want to make their point of view heard... and nasty
anarchist thugs whose violence merits nothing less than a full blown
state crack-down.

Missing from the picture is the idea of a wealthy corporate elite,
pulling the strings and doing whatever it takes to maintain their
privileged position. The National Extremism Tactical Co-ordinating
Unit (NETCU) openly admit to being a pro-business section of the
police.

The angle echoed throughout the paper this week has been outrage that
powers originally developed for ‘tackling criminals involved in
animal rights groups’ have been used against a ‘group of
kids, clowns and campers’. The division between
‘good’ and ‘bad’ protesters might as well come
directly from NETCU themselves (the paper even drags up the
desecration of Gladys Hammonds grave as if it was a typical AR
action). The Guardian’s sister paper, the Observer, last
November carried a virtual NETCU press release entitled “Police
warn of growing threat from eco-terrorists” - clearly helping
them broaden their remit (See SchNEWS 655).

NETCU grew out of earlier bodies such as ARNI (Animal Rights National
Index) and utilise tactics pioneered against the AR movement - like
injunctions under the Protection from Harassment Act (See SchNEWS
581).

The injunctions, which effectively created zones of PFI martial law
around corporate establishments, received virtually no mainstream
coverage when they were used against AR people, a tiny amount when
they were used against anti-arms trade campaigners in Brighton before
being splashed all over the front pages when BAA had the effrontery to
use them against climate campaigners at Heathrow.

At the moment the SOCPA legislation against interfering with the
contractual relations of a corporation - which was used to put Sean
Kirtley away for 16 months (See SchNEWS 695), only applies to
‘animal research organisations’. But, within the act is
the provision for the Secretary of State to change that without
returning to Parliament – How long before it is applied to
‘defence of the realm’ or ‘national energy
security’?
NETCU’s intention with the persecution of the Sequani campaign
was to imprison and give lifetime ASBOs to people who had done little
more than stand outside a laboratory and conduct the kind of
demonstration that the Guardian considers “an essential part of
the democratic process”.

But is there really that much difference between the AR movement and
the the more recent arrivals on the scene - the climate campaigners?

How much difference is there between the mass pulling down of fences
at Ratcliffe-on-Soar last week (SchNEWS 696) and actions at Hillgrove
Cat Farm (SchNEWS 196)? Both could be argued to be violent, and both
were definitely illegal. An artificial division has been drawn between
AR and anarchist groups and ‘environmental campaigners and
anti-war protesters’ – who are in many cases the same
people. The real division between protest groups and how much state
attention they receive is not how violent they are but how effective
– start to challenge the status quo and the mask of democracy
inevitably slips away.



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COAL: IT'S THE PITS

After last week’s ‘Great Climate Swoop’ at
Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottingham (See SchNEWS 696),
campaigns against the environmental disaster that is the coal industry
continue to build momentum. This week saw actions targeting coal fired
power and opencast coal mining across the country with digger-diving,
chimney scaling and lock ons all round...

DIDCOT

Last Monday (26th) activists scaled the chimney and shut down the
coal supply at NPower’s flagship power station in Didcot,
Oxfordshire. The protesters forced the power station to switch from
burning coal to gas – a far less harmful fuel – for the
duration of the action.

The activists reached the power station at 4:30 am. One team locked
on to the coal conveyor belt that feeds the plant’s boilers,
while the others climbed up the inside of the 200-metre high chimney
until they reached the top. The group initially planned a two-week
stint at the top of the chimney but came down after two days when
conditions became too hot.

Police arrested the coal crew in the first 24 hours before nicking
the nine chimney sweeps.Through the use of punitive pre-charge bail
conditions, the police have slapped the protesters with various
restrictions before they have even been charged with a crime -
including barring two Oxford University students from Oxfordshire.

Before descending, one of the protesters said, “I’m a
qualified builder and will be 52 in a week’s time. I never
thought in my life I would do anything like this. It’s amazing
how working with committed people can empower you to confront these
massive companies and help force real change in the world.”

Another said, “If we wait around for our government to tackle
climate change without any real intentions, we will not have any hope
for our future. This is about acting now, and further action must be
taken.”

See www.earthfirst.org.uk

SHIPLEY

Earth First! activists brought work at the opencast coal mine near
Shipley, Derbyshire, grinding to a halt on Monday (26th) by occupying
six site vehicles.

Around 20 protesters entered the site in the morning before locking
on to diggers. The action ended at around 1.30pm when the 11 remaining
protesters were arrested for aggravated trespass. The 11 have been
charged and will appear at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’
Court next month.

EF! activist Andrew Kirkman said, “As local people can attest,
the handful of jobs that opencast coal mining provides hardly
compensate for the noise, traffic and pollution that we have to
suffer. Local people fought long and hard against the this mine, not
just for our sakes but also for that of our children.”

See  http://earthfirst.org.uk/actionreports/node/23282

MAINSHILL

Those tireless campaigners at Mainshill had a busy week, shutting
down the site in two days of relentless action.

Things kicked off on Monday (26th) morning when the site access road
used by loggers and contractors was blocked by two large barricades
and two people locking on. They successfully blockaded access to the
site for seven hours.

With no thought of wussy luxuries like sleep, the action continued
through the night. Protesters forced machinery off site when loggers
showed up for a bit of midnight tree-felling, dangerously close to
tree-houses, tunnels and other defences.

With bleary eyed Mainshill contractors asking themselves ‘what
are these people on and where can we get some?’ activists were
at it again first thing in the morning when two people locked-on to
harvesting machinery trying to enter Mainshill wood.

See  http://coalactionscotland.noflag.org.uk


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KICK IN THE GHOULIES

Wednesday’s (28th) Halloween Zombie Horror themed EDO demo
‘The Night of the Living War Dead’ turned out to be the
longest noise demo yet. It was the annual halloween special, with
zombies lurching outside the factory from 4pm. By 6pm, the police and
workers inside the factory were checking their watches, asking each
other ‘Isn’t this thing meant to finish at 6pm?’
However the 40 or so war undead continued their spooking. They were
angry their lives had been cut short by bombing, and wanted to make
sure the arms dealers got the message. By 6.30pm, workers kept looking
out the window, hoping the demo was over so they could make a dash for
it. Soon after, the cops apparently had better things to do, and left.
After that the gates were rattled tirelessly by the war victims and
the last few workers got the fright of their lives as their cars were
chased by around fifteen bloody victims.

* See www.smashedo.org.uk

Other Halloween Actions on October 31st:

* Anti-war protest - Called by Bristol EDO Decommissioners to
highlight ongoing deaths in Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza, Pakistan etc, and
the role of arms companies in this, as well as giving solidarity to
the EDO Decommissioners. Meet 2pm, by fountains opposite Hippodrome
in Bristol city centre  http://decommissioners.co.uk

* National demo at Novartis, who use vivisection lab HLS. Meet 12
noon at Horsham Park, behind the leisure centre, Horsham, West Sussex,
marching through Horsham to Novartis. 0845 458 0630 www.shac.net

* Protest against the ghoulish vivisection industry at the Sequani
Labs, Bromyard Rd, Ledbury, Hereford, where they do pharmaceutical
tests on animals. 3pm to late – dress for halloween.
 http://sequani.wordpress.com


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SCHNEWS IN BRIEF

* Sat 24th London Stop the War March. About 10-15,000, well-meaning
souls joined the jamboree from across the UK with placards such as
‘Silence is Shame’ and ‘The People want
Peace’. Hardcore. ‘Orators’ Gallowtwat, Mr Benn and
some theatre types shared their wisdom on bringing peace to all on
earth. No arrests were reported, not even for noise pollution.

* New issue of the Hereford Heckler is out with news of a demo on the
13th November about a local development, plus tales of blood-thirsty
Hooray Henry fox hunters and job-slashing Bulmers. See
 http://herefordheckler.wordpress.com

* After a resounding defeat the week before in Swansea (See SchNEWS
696), the Welsh chapter of the far-right English Defence League - the
WDL - failed to show up last Saturday (24th) in Newport. A
multi-ethnic crowd of around 350 anti-fascists were there anyway,
ready and willing to take them on. See
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=135997729165


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IRAQ AND BACK

It took the murder of 147 people earlier this week to remind the
British media that just because our troops have slunk out of Iraq with
their tail between their legs, it doesn’t mean they left behind
a shining beacon of democracy, or even a safe place to live. That Iraq
is still a warzone is something the British immigration authorities
refuse to recognise and Iraqi refugees continue to be deported.

On October 15th around 40 Iraqis were deported on a specially
chartered flight to Baghdad. When they arrived, the Iraqi authorities
only accepted eight of the deportees, putting the rest straight back
on a plane to Blighty. A rather embarrassed Home Office said they will
“iron out” the difficulties and “expect to carry out
another flight.”

Many of the deportees reported being violently assaulted by security
guards on the flight, one told the Coalition to Stop Deportation,
“they got my head in a headlock, beat it, put a blanket over it,
pushed me down to the floor then dragged me around”. He added,
“They were worse than Saddam Hussein’s men.”

On their return the double deportees were banged up at Brook House
detention centre at Gatwick airport. Since then a number of them,
along with refugees from Afghanistan, Algeria, Nigeria and Jamaica,
have gone on hunger strike in protest at their treatment at the hands
of the immigration authorities.

A statement released by the hunger strikers said, “Most of us
are being removed to countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, which are
clearly war zones. Most of us have families in the UK. What are we
supposed to do? Leave them behind or take them with us right into the
middle of a war zone to be killed?”

In Iraq meanwhile, the run up to January’s elections is seeing
an escalating campaign of violence, with thousands killed and maimed
in the last few months alone. Iraq eh? Hell of a war, glad that
one’s over.

* On Monday (26th) around 50 demonstrated at the Home Office in
London demanding the release of the Iraqis who are back in detention
in Britain.

* See stopdeportation.net


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CALLING THYME

SchNEWS’ ears on the ground have heard rumblings of a storm in
the herbal tea cup. Herbalists fear that the practice of herbalism in
this country is coming under serious threat.

The herbal lobby have been working with the Government for over ten
years towards the statutory regulation of herbal medicine, in light of
forthcoming EU legislation on the supply of herbs. The latter which is
now called ‘The Herbal Medicinal Products Directive’, has
been processed and will come into effect in 2011. It will mean herbs
will be available only to statutorily regulated practitioners. This is
designed to ensure that the health of the public is safeguarded
against bogus practitioners and most people are in consensus that this
is a good step.

However, herbalists are facing the the very real possibility that
they may now be denied the statutory regulation at the last minute and
so will be unable to legally gain access to these herbs after next
year.

The Department of Health has put out a consultation in order to
gather the views of the public on the proposed ‘Statutory
Regulation of Herbalists’ (it closes on November 2nd - see
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_103567) which may
help swing their final decision.

If you are amongst the 50% of the population that uses herbal
medicine or want more info, see the National Institute of Medical
Herbalists (www.nimh.org.uk) and act now else you might have to kiss
that Siberian Ginseng goodbye...


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IN A HOT CLIMATE

In Australia they are part-way through a series of four Climate Camps
across the country – because, as our SchNEWS correspondent says
- it saves them “chugging across the country in dodgy hippy
vans”, and causing more er carbon emissions.

As we covered in SchNEWS 691, the first was held September 12th-13th
in Victoria, when over 500 people went to the Hazelwood coal fired
power station in the Latrobe Valley, calling for an end to coal power
and a switch to renewables. Despite a heavy police presence, 22 people
scaled the fence to serve a Community Decommission Order on the power
station.

Next up was South Australia, where from September 24th-27th a Climate
Camp targeted a coal train running to Port Augusta. 50 people camped
for four days and held a demo outside the Port Augusta coal fired
power station, presenting a Community Decommission Order and 350
native flowers at the gate. Police had agreed that the coal train
wouldn't run all weekend on safety grounds, but later – making a
mockery of attempts to negotiate with police - it turns out that the
train had run, at a different time, because apparently it had
accidentally derailed.

NSW climate campers experienced some extreme climatic conditions,
including gale force winds and heavy rain during their camp October
9th-11th. 200 people camped near the Metropolitan Colliery in
Helensburgh for three days of workshops, campaign planning and direct
action. The camp included a sovereignty tent, where Traditional Owners
from around the country gathered to share stories of resistance. The
camp was also visited by members of an Aboriginal community in the
Northern Territory who have recently walked off their community in
protest against the continuing racist 'intervention' in indigenous
communities (for more info on that, check out
 http://interventionwalkoff.wordpress.com). Early in the morning of
Sunday 11th October, four people entered the Dendrobium coal mine and
locked on to a conveyor belt. Later that day 500 people attended a big
rally through town, finishing at the Colliery where eight more were
arrested after jumping the fence. Despite threatening drinking water
supplies, the mine is set for expansion, so no doubt we'll be hearing
more from local campaigners down there.

And even though Queenslanders didn't have a camp, on October 22nd, 20
people went out in kayaks on the Brisbane River attempting to stop a
ship loaded with 90,000 tonnes of coal from leaving the city's port.
See www.sixdegrees.org.au

As the Copenhagen talks come to an end in December, Western
Australians will camp in the state's coal capital, Collie.

For more see www.climatecamp.org.au


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AN OUTBREAK OF THE TROTS

Over 500 people came out to protest against the BNP’s Question
Time debut last week, at a mostly SWP/UAF organised demo. And, with
racism’s allegedly respectable but still very ugly face - Nick
Griffin - trying to get to the gig of his career, the crowd outside
weren’t in any mood for compromise.

Police totally underestimated the size of the crowd, who managed to
break through a police line, smash down barriers and scale walls to
get into the BBC studios. Some 25 people actually managed to get
inside the studio, disrupting TV schedules (but providing great news
footage) as they were dragged away by security.

Strangely for us anarchists - used to the Trots organising stage
managed a-b demos where the only aggression sanctioned is against
‘fellow’ protesters trying to confront authority - there
were plenty of SWPers on the front lines. Apparently even SWP leader
Martin Smith got nicked - massively upping his Red-cred. SchNEWS spoke
to one Swappy who explained “Yeah, there was a lot of Comrades
at the front. We saw the difference between the big stage-managed Iraq
war demos and the angry crowds outside the Israeli embassy last
winter. Sometimes we just need to be more confrontational.”

There’s been some criticism of the tactic of making the
BNP’s showing on Question Time an even bigger show by calling a
demo outside but, as the event was such a media circus, having a
mid-week riot to greet fascism’s appeal to the mainstream showed
the watching masses just how much fascism is hated in this country.

The ‘No Platform’ strategy (ie. Denying fascists
mainstream press coverage) is falling apart, with the uncensorable
saturation coverage that the internet now provides, so winning the
battle against the fash on the streets is more important than ever.
Come on Anarchists, let’s make sure that next time it’s
the Trots wishing they were at an Antifa action.


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AND FINALLY

Late SchMEWS: They may have got the cream but the fat cats at Goldman
Sachs aren’t leaving everyone purring.

After clawing back bumper profits - partly thanks to the guargantuan
tax-payer bailouts propping up the the system they’d brought
within a whisker of collapse - they are now at last being hauled over
the coals and mauled for... er, being mean to a bunch of homeless
kittens.

After 5 loveable little moggies were discovered on the construction
site of their new $1.6bn swanky HQ (subsidised in part with
‘Liberty’ tax-free bonds handed out following 9/11), they
generously agreed to cough up vets and care bills for the
down’n’out felines. Well they didn’t want to look
heartless, did they?

But it seems that with their eyes too fixed on their $23bn bonus pot,
they’ve strayed from their PR promises and failed to pick up the
tab(by) - leading to a local paper rubbing their nose in it, and
denouncing their corrupt greedy Wall St ways.

A clear case of ‘Pay up, reform the global economy or the
kitten gets it...’


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Disclaimer

SchNEWS warns all readers, don't stand out from the herd, be a
lesser-spotted anarchist. Honest

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