==++=STOPPRESS++=see also STOPPRESS article somewhere up in the newswire++++====
"How I infiltrated hard core of the protest movement" is a piercing expose of a training organised by the Legal Defense and Monitoring Group in preparation of the non-violent direct actions that took place yesterday in London city. Laura Peek, a stunning twentysomething yearold, participated as an undercover observer in this "three-hour crash course in the art of protest".
Laura handsomely managed to forego all contextualisation and presented the public with an impressively one-sided, shallow and -let's not forget- sensationalist account of how "so-called crusties", "a former Greenham Common pensioner", "members of the "Palestinian-led [!!!-ed.] International Solidarity Movement, wearing KEFFIYEH [!!!!!!-ed.]" and "even a pretty young Sloane" prepared themselves for the 14,000 shift-strong police reaction to their non-violent antics in front of Buckingham Palace.
Discussions on "how to charge police lines", "how to dodge a water cannon" and "how to make sure that pepper spray does not bring tears to your eyes", as well as statements such as "The press are scum" brought out an interesting new perspective on the organising tactics of these "veterants of multiple arrests", "using first names only".
Understandably, Laura did not mention the reason why the people present were protesting the president's visit nor the deservedly notorious reputation of London police repression that might warrant this training. As Laura later said herself, in an exclusive interview with Indymedia London [see below-ed.]: "Inevitably, you cannot report every single word of what was said in three hours". Especially not on the frontpage of a major corporate newspaper, we agree.
To be fair, we -experienced journalists ourselves- would like Laura to know that in the future, she should not trouble herself by ommitting words such as "terrorists", "dangerous anarchists" and "ringleaders". [Oh, sorry, she did use the latter, we apologise!-ed]. We think the public should be told things as they are. A visit as important as that of "The Leader of the Free World" should not be troubled by fair and balanced reporting. It is the public's right to know!
Indymedia London and members of ["a faction calling itself"-ed.] ResistBush! were happily surprised to run into Laura during Wednesday's demonstrations. Considering her carefully disguised infiltration participation, the faction had ample hopes it would have the opportunity to express its strong feelings on her article to the famed author in person. In an unexpected twist of events, Indymedia London managed to pull a little infiltration of their own and document the whole encounter on video [available when find time-ed.]. In the true tradition of corporate mainstream reporting (of which Laura herself is an exemplary example, we salute!) we will present some of her words, completely decontexualised:
"I didn't say anything that wasn't discussed at the meeting."
"You were doing your job and I was doing mine."
"I think it informed [our readers] of what went on that night."
"It was a fair representation of what went on."
"That's not my decision."
"There was no opinion in the piece at all."
"To be fair I could walk away and not continue..."
"To be honest, I don't understand why you exclude press."
"It's easy to be kind of paranoid about it."
"I believe that everything I wrote was accurate."
"I stand by everything I wrote."
"Do write to the Times and get your views in the paper."
Well done, Laura!
Comments
Hide the following 8 comments
Rush to but The Times?
20.11.2003 16:44
Furat Al-Samaraie
to commenter....
20.11.2003 17:46
justagirl
A publication "calling itself a newspaper."
20.11.2003 20:54
But most media are using theOrwellian Bushism "War on Terrror" as normal speech.
(As Pilger pointed out .. war is terror.)
The Times is basically in the same category as the Perle/Black neocon broadsheets.
Would be merely a waste of trees if not for the so lethal results of their support of war crimes and the arms/oil corporate poodlers, Bushh and Bliar.
I don't think that the 55,000 Iraqis they killed recently will ever come back to haunt them. For their more balanced and sane dependants, it is a different matter.
I don't think they will ever understand that they are actually creating the motives for terrorists. Thet may not even be always informed of the outcomes of P2OG exercises and just where they stop, if they do in fact stop.
See the debate on Blair's psychiatric analysis at
Bush exhibits the deviances of post-addict behaviour and is of greater concern given the more somatized population in the US.
Verity Sparks
my take on it all
21.11.2003 16:21
However I have to say that the article itself, being full of quotes without context, gave a false impression. Sure most of the quotes she included may have been said, but of course we all know how easy it is to be selective to fit the impression you want to give. OK so the article was not that bad. I do however have to take issue with her statement that the group would be boycotting the thursday mass demonstration on the grounds that was "likely to be far too peaceful". This statement was a central one to the article. Talking to people who attended the meeting and who were involved in the Resist Bush initiative, their view was that the march would be simply a march, and that they themselves wanted to engage in non violent civil disobedience. Indeed the meeting she attended was clearly advertised and stressed as a specific NON VIOLENCE TRAINING SESSION, yet absolutely nowhere in the article did the words "non-violent" or "civil disobedience" appear. And that, I think, is the crux of the matter - that she ommitted the most important aspect of the subject she chose to report on.
hold the frontpage i've got an explosive exclusive! :-)
WHAT I THINK OF LAURA...
22.11.2003 14:59
mostafa
... and proud of it!
22.11.2003 16:01
Laura knows she is "a careerist parasite" (although she probably would use kinder adjectives) and is proud of it. She was looking for the main chance in her career of protester journalism , with the merest nod at objective reporting ("I only reported what was said").
If you learnt anything on your journalism course Laura, you should know that it is the choice and construction of the facts that creates the effect of the piece. Your choices were biased and sensationalist. But, you were aiming at the front page of the Times - how else would you do it?!
You also know that any fair reporting would give those you are reporting on a chance to comment on the piece - this is the only way you can ensure that you represent a multi-sided view. But you weren't interested in that, were you?
You should look at your refusal to identify the key aspects of what you were reporting:
- The meeting was open so how can you "infiltrate"? Hiding behind the fact that you didn't choose the headline is weak in the extreme.
- The purpose of the meeting was non-violent direct action training (not a single mention in the article).
And your willingness to lie and create division:
- You wrote that those present at the meeting were not going to take part in the Stop The War march because it was too peaceful. I know of no-one present at that training or taking part in Buckingham Palace protests who thought that - indeed all attended the march. Many people felt Bush's visit warranted taking the next step in protest (civil disobedience) and hoped to more directly disrupt Bush's outrageous visit to this country. Non-violent direct action protests were also planned for Wednesday to give people an opportunity to take the next step from marching - non-violent civil disobedience, for example in the form of a sit-down. This is so apparent with even the most cursory of glances at the ResistBush web site, or if you had listened at the Training when you yourself took part in the role-play about telling your family why you were taking part in this type of protest. Yet you ommitted all this.
You can rest assured that we all know your face now. You will not be welcome at any meeting or for any comment - you better find a new subject to write about. You have betrayed fair representation but I'm sure you have got some great dinner-party stories out of it - definitely worth it then.
RB individuals
the original article
16.02.2004 18:23
By Laura Peek
IN THE back room of a run-down shop in the East End of London, a radically different sort of welcome has been painstakingly prepared for the Leader of the Free World.
At the headquarters of an organisation calling itself Larc, the London Action Resource Centre, about 30 people gathered on Monday night for a three-hour crash course in the art of protest.
There were classes on how to charge police lines, how to dodge water cannon and how to make sure that pepper spray does not bring tears to your eyes. There was even some discussion about whether or not the hurling of petrol bombs could be considered an act of violence, if the target was the cockpit of a fighter jet. The answer, according to almost all those present, was no.
Sitting in a circle in a room festooned with protest banners and black skull-and-crossbones balloons, the group introduced themselves, using first names only. There were so-called crusties, clad in combat jackets and Dr Martens boots, a former Greenham Common pensioner, and members of the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement, wearing keffiyeh. There was even a pretty young Sloane from Kensington.
Most claimed to be veterans of multiple arrests. Among them were the ringleaders of a plan to storm Buckingham Palace today in what is likely to be the first serious test of the enormous security operation.
Outside the shop, two plain-clothes policemen crouched in the back of a van, using a tiny camcorder to film those who came and went.
Item 1 on the agenda was a debate about whether they should co-operate with the media. "The press are scum," one middle-aged white man with dreadlocks said. "We don't talk to the press." That dilemma settled, the group moved on to other matters, such as how to resist arrest.
They plan to congregate at Victoria station at 3pm today before moving to Buckingham Palace and trying to swarm over the walls. "Even if we can't get anywhere near the Palace, we can bring Victoria station to a standstill," one said.
A faction calling itself Resist Bush organised the crash course in protest tactics. The group is boycotting the main demonstration on Thursday, on the ground that it is likely to be far too peaceful. Using role play and physical exercises, they enacted anticipated scuffles with police. "We all know the police are violent bastards," one girl said.
When asked if they were willing to be arrested, everyone said that they were. Members were given "bust cards", legal crib sheets with the phone numbers of friendly solicitors in case of arrest.
The meeting was led by Sophie, apparently a veteran of scores of demonstrations, who outlined the latest police tactics and showed the group how to "lock-in" - by entwining arms and legs - to make it harder for police to pick people off.
Police are expected to use flip-cards and video footage to identify leaders from previous May Day demonstrations, and to control the crowds by corralling protesters, a tactic that the group appeared to fear most.
postie
Balenced and responsible?!
31.01.2005 01:45
G. Hillman