GAGGED! #15 - South Wales Anarchist Newsletter

Star-bucking the consumer trend
Coffee Not Bombs hits Newport!!
Armed with only Zapatista coffee, soya milk, sugar, a gas burner & a load of paper cups liberated from a nearby tourist attraction, South Wales anarchists took on the might of consumer capitalism in Newport town centre on Saturday 16 December 2006.
Sporting bad hangovers & an interesting line in black Santa hats (Bah Humbug! Save the Planet!), activists distributed free coffee, leaflets & issues of Gagged! to bemused passers-by, many of whom stopped for gratefully-received cuppa & a chat.
The action, which took place outside a local outlet of corporate coffee whores Starbucks, also featured live music (thankfully drowning out the Salvation Army Brass Band up the road), & a large group of moshing youths.
Coffee, after oil, is the second largest export in the world; with a turnover of about 10 billion dollars, Its production employs 25 million people in the southern hemisphere. While Starbucks enjoys record profits, its coffee farmers can't even afford to adequately feed their children on the 2-50¢/lb they are paid for coffee that sells for at least $10/lb. The Zapatistas are a revolutionary anti-corporate social movement from Chiapas, Mexico, who are fighting for the autonomy of the indigenous population as a solution to their immense poverty. Their organic coffees raises money directly for the autonomous communities that produced it.
According to Credit Action, the total amount of UK personal debt has exceeded £1 trillion. With consumerism being used as a buy-off to stop us whinging about unpopular neo-colonial wars fought in our name, why not organise a Food/Coffee not Bombs demo of your own?
All it takes is a little bit of ingenuity & culinary nous. You can then bring the battle to your local high street, engage with the community & introduce people to a non-consumer take on their coffee break.
Check out: www.foodnotbombs.net


PIPELINE TO DISASTER
Resistance from local people & climate action groups is continuing against the controversial gas pipeline being carved across South Wales. The Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) pipeline will run 115 miles from Milford Haven to Gloucestershire carrying gas from the Middle East. It is the highest pressure pipeline ever to have been attempted in Europe. It’s builders, National Grid (formerly TRANSCO) have publicly admitted they have no experience of running a 48” pipeline at 94bar pressure.
Many residents along the route of the pipeline feel they haven’t been properly consulted, some feel bullied & deceived, with some people having their homes compulsorily purchased. There have been many safety concerns as the pipe is being laid across the only earthquake zone in Britain, parts of it on land deemed too unstable for houses. The gas is odourless so people wouldn’t know if there was a leak yet the Health & Safety Executive have guaranteed that a hole will appear in the pipeline within 30 years. In Trebanos, near Swansea, the land was deemed too unstable for mains gas to the village; now they’re building Europe’s biggest gas pipeline! Milford Haven campaign group Safe Haven has tried to challenge the development through the courts, but couldn't even get a decent hearing.
On 12th November activists set up camp on the route, a 60ft section of pipeline was occupied for over a week halting all building work in the area. They explained: “We’ve taken this direct action, in partnership with local residents, to actively stop this project because we believe that non-renewable energy belongs in the past & we need to look to a future of renewable sources or we’ll have no future at all!”. The protest successfully got the Department of Trade & Industry to revoke the permission to blast with explosives as National Grid originally planned. However there is still concern about avalanches, similar to those of Aberfan & Panteg, as the pipe crosses old mine workings.
On 16th November a protest site was started along a section of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in the shadow of the LNG terminals, cutting across the route of connecting pipelines. National Grid hadn't bothered to apply for the public accessway to be closed for construction work so locals in the Milford Haven area, inspired by the protest camp in Trebanos, took their chance. Tracy Morris, a member of the Safe Haven Network & local mother of three, planted a tent directly across the footpath, & National Grid were obliged to put a fence around it. The camp persists, manned by a small but determined band of locals, some of pensionable age. "Some people think we're crazy, but I don't care anymore" says Tracy. "I'll fight them to the bitter end."
Things just seem to be going from bad to worse for National Grid. In November they received huge condemnation after some of their 4x4 vehicles tore up an untouched upland bog near Mynydd Myddfai in the Brecon Beacons. The national park authority said “the fragile nature of the area makes it almost impossible to put right any damage” & went on to release a 67 page document condemning the pipeline & its “huge environmental impact”.
Pressure against contractors continued with a demonstration outside British Gas HQ in Cardiff. Banners were held & leaflets distributed amongst the workers. A British Gas spokesperson claimed they have nothing to do with the pipeline. Funny that because the project is the brain child of Centrica (who own British Gas). British Gas jointly own Dragon LNG & have a 50% stake in the company transporting the gas to the Milford Haven.
On 8th January a new site was set up in Trebanos under the cover of darkness at 4am whilst the security slept! The site is on public footpaths leading into the construction site off Glyn Meirch road, & is blocking vehicles from gaining access.
Activists & locals have vowed to continue the fight against the pipeline. We are being thrown head first in to climate chaos & our governments are still building infrastructure for non renewable fossil fuels. What we need is renewable energy & we need it now, not in 20 years!
The pipeline is already well over schedule & massively over budget. We demand that this pipeline project is scrapped.
People are urgently needed to help occupy the sites.
Get in contact for directions.
Milford Haven camp: Tracy Morris 07752698489 or Jim Dunckley 07933082239
Trebanos camp: Site Phone 07733190958 or Rachel Evans 07790450747
or set up a protest camp along the route yourself!


ANOTHER DEATH IN CUSTODY
On 29th December a 58 year woman died in custody at Swansea Central Police station. She (unnamed at this time) was arrested for a driving offense. paramedics were called but could not revive her. The cause of death is unknown or how long she had been held. The case is to be investigated by Independent Police Complaints Commission. But just like the over 1,000 deaths in police custody it is unlikely anyone will be held responsible. Only 3 police officers have been in over 10 years.


Chanting Ban?!
In GAGGED 14 we brought you the news that the Met want to bring in in new laws that ban the wearing of masks at protests & to make the burning of flags a criminal offense. Now they want to outlaw ‘offensive chants’.
Met Assistant Commissioner, Tarique Ghaffur wants powers to proscribe protest chants & slogans on placards, banners & headbands. The call comes as part of a review of the powers to police protests prompted by recent protests by Islamic extremists, but clearly such powers could also be used against protesters such as animal rights & anti-globalisation activists. The civil rights group Liberty said the powers would make the police "censors in chief".
Chuffer of the Met stated, “What we are seeing in effect is a rise in the politicisation of middle England”. Again the State seem to be taking the approach of stifling public dissent rather than tackling the issues that give rise to the politicisation in the first place.
At the moment ‘causing offense’ is not against the law. Who would be the judge of what would be classed as causing offense? Clearly what offends one will not necessarily offend another. Such proposed powers would clash with article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of expression.
These new demands for curbs on the right to protest come as the Lords rule that police had acted unlawfully in detaining a bus full of Iraq war protesters heading for a demonstration at RAF Fairford in March 2003 & forcibly turning them back. Clearly the police are unable to keep a lid on protest with existing laws, so rather than being “Tough on the causes of crime”, Tony Blair’s mantra from the 1997 election, they think it easier to invent new laws to further erode civil liberty in this country.


STOCK TRANSFER
WHAT THEY ARE NOT TELLING US
Council tenants are being asked by Torfaen Council to vote for stock transfer of our homes to a registered social landlord (Bron Afon Community Housing). What we are not being told is what other Council assets will be transferred to Bron Afon Community Housing in the process.
In a letter of reply to a Freedom of Information request, Torfean Council stated that:
“no decision has been made about what other assets would transfer. This is a decision that will be made by negotiation between Bron Afon Community Housing and Torfean County Borough Council after the tenants’ ballot, if tenants vote in favour of transfer.”
If stock transfer goes ahead we could see community owned assets such as playing fields, parks, green spaces, allotments, local shopping centres, car parks, etc handed over to Bron Afon Community Housing Trust.
The decision on whether to transfer these assets will affect all the residents of Torfaen who have paid for these over the years, not just council tenants.
The people of Torfean should be very concerned and demand to know all the facts concerning stock transfer before any ballot is held.
See the case against stock transfer: www.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk


Oh to be a migrant
You could leave your family, friends, home. Risk your life in search of a better one. You could survive, unlike the 1000s that die crossing oceans & borders around the world every year. You could enter the UK.
You could be imprisoned in one of its 12 privately run detention centres, where you could be subject to physical, mental, & racist abuse.
You could be deported back 'home' where you could face war, torture, rape, repression, imprisonment - all of which you could have been fleeing in the first place.
You could be working in degrading conditions on the black market - cleaning, prostitution, waiting... living a precarious, invisible existence, hiding in the shadows, never sure, never knowing when you might be seen & sent back.
You could finally have your story believed & allowed to live in the UK. You could then be subject to racist harassment from narrow minded bigots & a racist mass media.
You could wonder whether it is possible for anyone to live a free & dignified life in a world order run for the rich by the rich.
You could say enough! Join all those who oppose immigration controls, detention centres & deportations. You could fight for a world were people & planet are placed before profit!
A demonstration has been called by No Borders London outside Harmondsworth & Colnbrook detention centres - 11.30 am Saturday 10 February 2007. www.barbedwirebritain.org.uk


JUST A MINUTE
2006 heralded a new era for CAN, following the genius idea that minutes be taken at the meetings & then subsequently posted on the interweb. Apart from being an efficient way of informing interested people of what is going on, it is also an excellent opportunity to obtain cheap laughs at the expense of friends, comrades & forced acquaintances. The latter has actually become the raison d’etre of the whole scheme, but if one reads between the lines, it is in fact still possible to find out about actions & events, both locally & world-wide.
It has also been a form of outreach to people who don’t feel comfortable /don’t like/are too busy to come to meetings, a fact all too easily forgotten by us meeting junkies.
The meetings are supposed to be facilitated on a horizontal, everyone-gets-a-say, no-one hogs the limelight basis, with a foundation of calm efficiency. This hasn’t ever happened. The style so far has wandered between aggressive ruthlessness & unconsciousness, resulting in an atmosphere of resignation & dread. It really is something to see & we’re sure that if you came to a meeting it would be something you could talk about for years to come.
The four main topics that we discuss are, (in no particular order), Anti-Militarism, G8, ID Cards & Climate Change. There’s always room for further discussion of other subjects after these though. Subjects covered so far have included free parties, bats, badges, local authority housing, film nights, the web site & home-made wine. Surely something there for everyone.
The last section of the meeting is extremely rigid in its structure, & takes the form of the question “Where are we going for a pint then?”. We adjourn to a nearby pub for an increase in belly laughs & to complain about the how the meeting we were just at was. Come to the dark side…
To have a look/chuckle at the minutes, go to cardiff.revolt.org/about%20us/minutes.htm

Racist Cardiff cops in fake airport terror alert
Under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, a police officer has powers to detain for up to 9 hours ‘whether or not he has grounds for suspecting that a person’ is a terrorist. Yes, you did read that right. If a plod doesn’t like the look of you, he can keep you locked up for hours on end, even if he hasn’t got any real reason for it. This is what happened to Aisha Pritchard & her Palestinian husband Sadi Elhaloul when they were due to fly to Dubai for a 4 day break on 14th December. After going through the usual security procedures, just before they boarded the plane they were hauled off for ‘questioning’ by some boneheaded special-branch redneck. After being released without charge they’d missed their flight, & were left with 2 expensive non-refundable tickets. Ms Pritchard, from Cardiff, said:
“Why was the luggage forwarded to the aeroplane, our e-tickets issued & our names put through the computer with no problems? Why was it only when we went to the boarding gate & they looked at Sadi's passport, were we questioned & detained?
Why, if we were a risk, was our luggage taken off the plane one hour & 45 minutes after it had been put on? We feel we were deliberately stopped from boarding the plane, that it was racist & because we are Muslims. As I am white, British & this is the country of all my ancestors, I feel I am paying a price for marrying a foreigner. What happened to freedom & rights?”
The answer is simple. Freedom & rights go out the window when blood-thirsty, ambitious, mass-murdering politicians pass draconian anti-terror laws that give more & more powers to small-minded racist local pigs who know they can get away with shitty abuses of power like this on a day-to-day basis without reproach. We’re edging towards a police state one nasty little bit of legislation at a time, & what freedom we ever had is being eroded more & more in the name of fake ‘democracy’ & ‘security’.


From our correspondent in... Palestine
Israel occupied the Palestinian territories of the West Bank & the Gaza strip in the war of 1967 between Israel & the Arab states. Since then Israel has maintained its' military occupation, subjecting Palestinians to Israeli military law (far harsher than civilian law) & establishing settlements to take more land for Israeli use thus fragmenting the territory of any future Palestinian state, effectively making it unworkable.
The occupation costs $12 billion annually. It would not be sustainable without international support for Israel. 80% of US foreign aid goes to Israel - $8 billion per year. In 2005 Israeli PM Ariel Sharon orchestrated the 'disengagement' - withdrawal of all 9,000 Israeli settlers who lived in Gaza. But since then, more than that number of new settlers have moved into the West Bank, & the absence of Israelis living in Gaza has left the Israeli army free to conduct invasions & airstrikes, devastating Palestinian infrastructure & killing people daily.
In 2003 Israel started building its' 'separation barrier' (or 'apartheid wall') between Israel & the West Bank. It cuts 25 kilometres into the West Bank in some places, stretching around most settlements, stealing land & water sources & separating Palestinian villages from each other or their land. Some, like Azzoun Atme, are completely surrounded by the wall with residents only able to leave & enter their village by passing through a terminal manned by Israeli soldiers who turn them back at whim. Visiting there was like visiting a prison - being searched & scrutinised by soldiers behind bulletproof glass. Israel justifies this wall, like all the other brutalities & humiliations it subjects Palestinians to, as necessary to protect Israel against suicide bombings & attacks by home-made 'Qassam' rockets. But it was obvious to me that the daily cruelty & violence towards Palestinians is much more likely to create frustration & rage which lead to violence. This logic of preventing 'terrorism' also fails to account for the route of the wall, stealing Palestinian land & resources at every turn.
Much of my time in Palestine was during the olive harvest. Olives are Palestine's largest product. Many farmers have trouble accessing their land. It could be on the 'wrong' side of the wall, or close to an Israeli settlement. Israeli & foreign volunteers accompany farmers to document & intervene in attacks by Israeli settlers or harassment by the army. I saw soldiers chasing a family off their land close to an Israeli checkpoint. Another volunteer was with a family who had a group of young Israeli settlers throw rocks at them while soldiers stood by. This is typical during olive harvest season.
I saw in Palestine a society crippled by forty years of increasingly brutal Israeli occupation, & now further suffering due to the severe economic crisis caused by withdrawal of international aid to the Palestinian Authority since Hamas was elected in January (moral of that story: democracy is great, as long as you elect who the USA & the EU want). Hope is in short supply, as everyone struggles to survive. Activism continues, but many have learned that demonstrating very often leads to violent reprisals by the Israeli army, & little if any positive change. But as our neighbour Issa pointed out, in Palestine, daily life IS resistance, & as long as he is there, he has hope.
If you can see the injustice of this situation get informed & involved! Info: eisoj.livejournal.com or  eisoj@care2.com
Check out: www.breakingthesilence.co.il www.palsolidarity.org & www.iwps.info


NHS: Not Free for All
While the NHS was set up to provide health care for all based on need & not an ability to pay, this is not the case for us all.
In April 2004 the Government tightened up restrictions on free health care to ‘overseas visitors’, in response to the perceived threat to the NHS of people coming to the UK specifically for free medical treatment. In fact, as pointed out by a 2006 Refugee Council report, there is no evidence to indicate the scale of such ‘health tourism’ & no specific examples of people migrating to the UK specifically for free health care. According to the Refugee Council, the main factors affecting the choice of country where individuals seek asylum is their language, family connections or historical connections between their country & the UK. Also, many asylum seekers simply do not have a choice of where they go as increasingly tighter border controls mean they may be smuggled into a country. It therefore seems ridiculous to suggest that asylum seekers come to the UK to receive free health care, when what it is they have come for is to escape war, torture & persecution.
Under Government legislation, refused asylum seekers are not generally eligible for free hospital treatment. While immediately necessary treatment in order to save life can be given, the recovery of the charge will be pursued as far as possible via invoices, threatening letters & even debt collection agencies. For example, a failed asylum seeker from Romania who had stomach cancer was billed £1085 for an operation & was refused radiotherapy until he could pay. Failed asylum seekers have to pay for things like treatments for cancer, diabetes & HIV & maternity care.
With such legislation, the UK Government continues its barbaric treatment of those seeking asylum & uses them as scapegoats for its own failings.


no id cards!
Are you interested in being part of a group of people in the Swansea/Carmarthen area committed to resisting the national ID database? As part of the national identity scheme, Swansea is set to be one of the sites for an ID interrogation centre, where people in the area will need to report to in order to be interviewed, finger-printed & iris-scanned as part of registration for the national ID database. One of the first things the group can do is raise objections to the ID centre through the planning system. Going forward, the group can work on direct action strategies for how best to support the resistance to the national ID database, in conjunction with the work of other Defy-ID groups & the campaigns organised by No2ID. If you are interested, please contact Dominic on  dfrancocci2@yahoo.co.uk or 07718 968835.


BURBERRY CLOSURE
It was a miserable Christmas for the three hundred workers at the Burberry factory in Treorchy, Rhondda. Not only are they about to lose their jobs, but boss Evelyn Suszko (responsible for Laura Ashley’s ignominious withdrawal from Wales) rubbed salt into wounds by awarding workers a scarf & £30 vouchers to spend in the local Burberry shop, which happens to be in London. Closure is set for the end of March 2007 due to Burberry’s decision to move production to China where they can cut costs from £10 a polo shirt to £2 whilst maintaining a retail price of £80. Garments have been manufactured at the factory for seventy years. Demonstrations have been held outside Burberry’s London outlet. As Burberry prepares to announce increased profits of £200 million, a union official has come up with an idea: rather than rip up the £30 vouchers, he’s urged the workforce to spend them in the London store & then burn any purchases outside the shop as a mark of protest. Perhaps setting fire to scarves & hats inside the shop would be more effective?


In the early hours of Sunday 19th November, items were stolen from a police van that was parked on Bryn Road, Swansea. The police had been called to a large party after complaints about noise levels were made by neighbours . When the police went in to break up the fun they left their van doors unlocked, allowing people to get inside & steal a police coat & a police notebook! What happened to“Keep it Safe Keep it Hidden Keep it Locked” boys?


south wales Hunt Saboteurs Update
Since the start of main season South Wales Saboteurs have been paying visits to the Cotswold Vale (our old favourites), & as normal found them hunting illegally, the bleating hunt were soon on the phone to the cops & again as normal it was like old friends meeting, "what! the antis are in the area? We'll be there now so you can carry on killing".
South Wales Sabs have also had away days with the Tedworth, (who were kept on the run all-day & packed up early), South Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Curre & the Pentrych on Boxing day.
Despite the crying & bleating by the Countryside Alliance two years ago, & to the surprise of millions of compassionate people (not), nothing has changed! because they’re all still hunting as normal, so don't be fooled (as if you could!), by media lies, get off your backside & do something about it because the boys in blue sure aren't!!


Gagged! can be found in all sorts of strange places around south wales as well as every social centre & radical bookshop in the UK. If there's not a pile of gagged in the corner of your favourite pub, club, cafe, hairdressers, tattooists, record, book, head or anything else shop, get in touch so you can take a pile in yourself! If you want to subscribe to the e-version send an email to  gagged-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. More info online at lists.riseup.net/www/info/gagged. 5000 copies are printed per issue plus several thousand are read online. We’re always in need of more help in production & distribution. Send any articles, pictures, reports, diary dates or offers to help to  gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk

Cardiff Anarchist Network (CAN) is a collective of people who want to pursue political demonstrations through direct action. There is no membership, no leaders, just like minded individuals. Email:  cardiffanarchists@riseup.net

Gwent Anarchists are like-minded individuals believing in autonomy, respect & justice; against all forms of exploitation & bigotry. Aiming to increase the knowledge of & create a resistance to governments & big business abusing people & the earth. Email:  gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk

RCT Anarchists is an autonomous group of free-thinking individuals who reject capitalism & resist state control through non-violent direct action. We work towards the creation of a world based on justice & freedom. Email:  rctanarchists@riseup.net

No Borders South Wales organises on migration issues & acts to break down boundaries; racial, cultural, gender, sexual, class & political that divide us. Email:  noborderswales@riseup.net

South Wales Against the G8 (SWAG8) is a coalition of groups wishing to mobilise against this year's G8 Summit both in Germany & in the UK. Email:  swageight@yahoo.co.uk

Peoples Autonomous Destination (PAD) aims to create physical space in Cardiff for groups & individuals who cannot or will not work within the constraints of governmental or corporate control. Email:  thepad@riseup.net Phone: 07910973876 Web: www.thepad.org.uk

Cardiff Rising Tide is a grassroots group committed to taking action & building a movement against climate change. Email:  Cardiffclimateaction@hotmail.com

South Wales Animal Rights Network (SWARN) working for animal liberation Email:  swarn@yahoo.co.uk Phone: 07903677111

South Wales Hunt Sabs saving animals’ lives now, actively sabotaging bloodsports. Newport Post: PO Box 70, Newport NP20 5XX . Phone: 0770815642 Swansea Email:  swansea_ar@webtribe.net Post: PO Box 7, Swansea, SA9 2YE Phone: 01792475092

Keep up to date with news from all over the world like the sort you find in Gagged! online at a variety of websites. Here are a few that we’d recommend: www.schnews.org.uk www.indymedia.org.uk www.libcom.org www.anarkismo.net . www.infoshop.org


Diary Dates
January

13th – Launch/Benefit for RCT (Rhondda Cynon Taff) Anarchists - KilnAboy, Tracey Curtis, Kyshera & Cosmo at Clwb Y Bont, 85a Stryd Taf, Ponypridd. 7.30pm, vegan buffet. £3

13th – 14th - Camp for Climate Action National Gathering - to plan the next Climate Camp. At the Common Place, 23-25 Wharf Street, Leeds, LS2 7EQ. www.climatecamp.org.uk

15th – CAN meeting. Upstairs in the Glamorgan Staff Club, Westgate Street, Cardiff (opposite Gate 3 of the Millennium Stadium). Fortnightly.

19th - 20th - Rising Tide National Meeting. London. www.risingtide.org.uk

22nd - Gwent Anarchists meeting. 8.30pm in The Murenger, High Street, Newport (in the snug). Fortnightly.

27th - Social Centres Gathering. 1in12 Club, Albion Street, off Fulton Street, Bradford, BD1 www.1in12.com

28th - G8 Mobilisation Meeting. Sumac Centre, 245 Gladstone Street, Nottingham NG76HX www.dissent.org.uk

29th - Phone In Sick Day - Prof. Cliff Arnall of Cardiff University says this is the most depressing day of the year! phone in sick! www.thesicknote.com

29th - CAN meeting.

FEBRUARY

5th - 2 local activists report back their experiences in Palestine, plus films, & food. Riverside Community Centre. 7-10pm

5th – Gwent Anarchists meeting.

9th-11th - G8 planning meeting, Warsaw.

10th - Demo to Close All Detention Centres & Stop Deportations. 11.30am Harmondsworth & Colnbrook Detention Centres. noborderslondon.blogspot.com

11th - David Rovics & Attila The Stockbroker. Dempseys, Castle Street, Cardiff A benefit for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign £5

12th – CAN meeting.

15th - Screening of ‘Iraq for Sale’ 8.00pm Chapter Arts Centre

19th – Gwent Anarchists meeting.
24th - No Trident / Troops Out of Iraq National Demonstration. 12 noon - central London www.cnduk.org

26th - CAN meeting.

MARCH

3rd – Anarchist Bookfair, the Teachers Club, 36 Parnell square, Dublin. www.wsm.ie/anarchistbookfair

5th – Gwent Anarchists meeting.
19th - Global Day Of Action against the “War On Terror”, on the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.