UK UK Newswire Archive
2 yrs 9 mths for chatting shit on Facebook
27-08-2011 09:55
18-year old Amed Pelle of New Basford has been sent down for 2 years and 9 months for supposedly inciting rioting on Facebook. Pelle wrote 'Nottz Riot whose onit?' and 'Kill one black youth; we'll kill a million Fedz: riot til we own cities' on his page during the riots earlier this month. There is no evidence that he or any of his friends actually did anything during the riots.
Pelle is quoted as having said in his police interview that he hoped that 'youth would take over the streets and Government, police and society could do nothing'. But whether he is seriously responsible for inciting rioting seems questionable. It looks much more like he's just a naive kid who was easy for the justice system to pick on to make itself look tough. It can't have helped him that he's pretty much a stereotype Daily Mail hate figure, being an immigrant and a benefits claimant as well as young and black.
In sentencing, Judge John Milmo told Pelle that his comments 'encouraged attacks on the people of Nottingham as a whole, and the people of other cities.' This of course is untrue. Pelle only mentioned the police in his message.
The case follows the cases of two men who were jailed for 4 years for using Facebook to 'organise riots' that never happened in the North West. Jordan Blackshaw (20) and Perry Sutcliffe (22) were also young and naive about using social networking sites. Jordan claims his posts were a joke.
There is no evidence that any of these three was involved in rioting or looting. Their only 'crime' has been to gob off on a very public site that the police regularly monitors for intelligence purposes. Essentially they are being jailed for having anti-state thoughts.
Interestingly, no cases for incitement to murder are currently being brought against the hundreds of reactionaries who used social networking sites to urge people to shoot, hang and otherwise dispatch rioters during the disturbances. It seems that it's only if you express anti-state opinions that the law applies in these circumstances. On the Post website, Pelle has been threatened with being strung up, deported to Cuba and a poster 'hope[s] he has a hard time in jail'. I don't suppose the police will hurry to investigate these online threats. It's zero tolerance for the excluded and anything goes for the hateful mainstream.
The use of social networking to promote anti-state activity is scaring the authorities so much that the government and police actually want the ability to turn off sites during times of unrest. Well known lovers of free speech in the Chinese state have praised the increasing totalitarianism of the government.
People must make sure they DON'T use personal or personally identifiable social networking profiles to call for anti-state action. This is the kind of shit you could end up in if you're not carefuly about staying anonymous on the net. Use sites that don't log your IP address like Indymedia for news posts, Network 23 for blogs and indy.im for microblogging. If you're going to use sites like Facebook and Twitter don't use a profile with your real personal details and use software like Tor to mask your IP address.
We should support Pelle as someone who has been royally fucked over by the state for daring to call for insurrection. We should do what we can to try to prevent people getting caught for thought crimes in the first place.
Critical Mass
27-08-2011 02:09
London Critical Mass ride this friday was an excellent rideThe looting continues. 9000 families homeless
26-08-2011 22:55
In the first 3 months of this year, house repossessions jumped 17% compared with last year. More than 9000 households, unable to service their debt, were forcibly evicted by thuggish bailiffs acting on court orders granted to lenders, who in some cases had been bailed out by taxpayers thanks to an un-mandated UK Govt when in a similar situation themselves.New anti-fascist group formed
26-08-2011 20:28
3 Counties Anti-Fascist Alliance is a new initiative in the Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire area.Antifascist benefit a big success
26-08-2011 19:55
The Nottingham antifascist benefit gig last night was a great success. The Sumac experienced a very busy Thursday night indeed as Belgian dub punksters Cop on Fire and Bristolians Half Boy/Half Rat dished out some heavy vibrations. The gig raised over £100 for UK antifascist prisoners.
More than just being about the money the gig was an opportunity for supporters of antifascism to rally behind the cause and show their support for comrades inside the prison. Once people heard there was an antifascist benefit going on all manner of offers of help and support were offered to the organisers. A very big thank you goes out to the people who took on security duties, skipped food and cooked and served dinner, who kept the beer flowing and of course the sound man. Last but no means least, a big thanks to everyone who turned up to enjoy themselves and give some money to the cause.
The gig was put on by Notts ABC to support antifascists jailed after an altercation with fascists at Welling railway station in 2009. More than two years later 7 were convicted of conspiracy to commit violent disorder in May this year and 6 have been sentenced to between 15 and 21 months in prison. None of the fascists were arrested. A second trial will take place next month. Check out http://antifascistprisonersupportuk.wordpress.com for more details.
Both bands were great people to meet and committed antifascists themselves. Cop on Fire told us with great pleasure about an incident in Leuven where they caught some local Nazis, took their money for antifascist prisoners and made a note of the fascists' addresses from their ID cards. The fash were told that if there were any signs of fascist activity in the town they could expect some activity on their doorsteps. The result? Three years without even a single swastika graffiti. Half Boy/Half Rat are mates of antifascist prisoner Phil de Souza and drove all the way from Bristol and back yesterday just to support the cause. You can hear some very low quality recordings from the gig at the bottom of this article (it couldn't handle the bass!)
Events like these mean a lot to the prisoners we're supporting. On being told about plans for the gig Ravi Gill wrote to us saying 'Good luck with the gig and give my respect and thanks to all involved including punters.'
Don't worry if you missed it - you can donate to the prisoner support fund by Paypal on the website. There are also two more ABC benefit gigs at the Sumac this month:
Sat 27th Aug - Glasses + Freedoom
Tue 30th Aug - ReSist@s + El Dia
Please write to the antifascist prisoners and show your support. Their addresses are:
Andy Baker
A5768CE
HMP Highpoint North
Stradishall
Newmarket
Suffolk
CB8 9YN
HMP Highpoint North Prison Regime
(Scroll down to ‘Communications’ for details of how to send money etc.)
Thomas Blak
A5728CE
HMP Wormwood Scrubs
PO Box 757
Du Cane Rd
London
W12 OAE
Sean Cregan
A5769CE
HMP Coldingley
Shaftesbury Road
Bisley
Woking
Surrey
GU24 9EX
Phil De Sousa
A5766CE
HMP Elmley
Church Road
Eastchurch
Sheerness
ME12 4DZ
Ravi Gill
A5770CE
HMP Wayland
Griston
Thetford
Norfolk
IP25 6RL
Austen Jackson
A5729CE
HMP Wormwood Scrubs
PO Box 757
Du Cane Rd
London
W12 OAE
InfoUsurpa 29th Aug - 4th Sept
26-08-2011 19:55
weekly events and actions listings for london (and surrounding area)
all events are free or on donation unless otherwise stated
please print and distribute if possible
NATO's Libya war: A Nuremberg level crime
26-08-2011 19:08
Chilean teenager shot dead during protests
26-08-2011 17:54
Boy, 16, dies in hospital after sustaining gunshot wound during mass demonstrations against Chile's president, Sebastián PiñeraA Spaniard’s Testimony from Libya
26-08-2011 15:03
IJID Note: As this interview took place just before the launching of the NATO military attack against Libya at the end of March, it can be taken as a third party’s testimony reflecting the feelings of most of Libyan people just before the western aggression.Leonor’s note: First of all, I want to note that my testimony is my personal opinion and I don't have any economic or political interests. My only wish is to talk about the country and about the people who live in it because I think there's a lot of ignorance about it. In fact, all the mass media information is being focused on a particular man (Gaddafi) in a very biased way.
SOAS Students Day X - The Battle for Education
26-08-2011 12:09
http://www.indiegogo.com/SOAS-students-Day-X-a-diary-of-events Powerful and unflinching the film is an elegy for the right to protest.
Campaign of the Month: Military Embargo on Israel Now !
26-08-2011 11:38
On July 9, 2011 the BNC (BDS National Committee), the largest Palestinian civil society coalition, launched a call for a mandatory, comprehensive military embargo on Israel.War Profiteer of the Month: Clarion Events
26-08-2011 11:35
DSEi, the world's biggest arms fair, opens in east London on September 13, 2011. But arms fairs don't organise themselves - a lot of work goes into inviting the right mix of despots and dealers. So who makes DSEi happen?EDL - Cops ask for 30 day ban on all marches?
26-08-2011 09:55
Following a campaign including a 25,000 petition to ask the police to request a ban on the EDL march planned through Tower Hamlets on Sat 3rd Sept, and the threat of legal action by the local mayor, it seems the met police have now asked the home secretary to ban ALL marches in the five london boroughs for a period of 30 days.
While the exact wording of the request is currently unknown, it is assumed that traditional marches and parades and funerals will be except from the ban, but other protests may be caught by it. The full details will only be known when the home secretary announces the final decision.
Many MPs and Councillors that asked for a ban on the march cited the cost of policing it as justification enough! This is certainly a dangerous road to be travelling down...
The EDL are saying they still intend to hold a static demonstration (with meet up points to 'walk' to the static location).
Unite Against Facism are urging people to still attend the counter demonstration on Sat 3rd Sept at 11am, Weavers Fields, London E2 6HW
Mass community organising has been going on over the last few months to prepare a huge local resistance to the EDL and thousands were also expected to travel from across the country to be in the streets on sept 3rd.
During the summer as some campaigned for a ban on the EDL march, other voices including Tower Hamlets ALARM were arguing against a ban.
Nurofen and animal rights
26-08-2011 06:38
Tablets in many nurofen packets have been replaced with anti-psychotic drugs. A wholesaler error is the most likely root of the problem. But that hasn't stopped DM from blaming animal rights campaigners!Rossport – if Tuesday was not mad enough try today
25-08-2011 23:20
refinery and bounced back out again four hours later
NATO's Libya War: A Nuremberg Level Crime
25-08-2011 22:49
The US/UK/French-led war on Libya will be remembered as one of history's greatest crimes. It violates the letter and spirit of international law and America's Constitution. The Nuremberg Tribunal's Chief Justice Robert Jackson (a US Supreme Court Justice) called Nazi war crimes "the supreme international crime against peace." His November 21, 1945 opening remarks said: "The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated."The Black Fish is looking for crew members
25-08-2011 20:33
Nick Clegg egged by former Lib Dem member in Glasgow
25-08-2011 18:52
Just before 6pm today former Liberal Democrat member Stuart Rodger, was arrested for throwing a blue paint filled egg at Nick Clegg in Glasgow. As he was arrested he was heard shouting "No Shock Doctrine for Britain".Western colonialism must be stopped from within
25-08-2011 16:04
Libya is just the latest act of Western corporate/colonial terror.Who is next? Syria? Iran?When does the western terror parade finally end and who will end it?
