Tag: NATIONAL

DODGY DAVE IN DIRECT ACTION DEFEAT

HAVE YOU EVER worried that protesting doesn’t change anything? Well, stop – you’re wrong. ‘And who says so?’, you ask. None other than our very own darling government!

Last month, the government blocked the release of a list of companies involved in workfare, admitting that protests and direct action have left the unpopular scheme in tatters. Since its creation, the scheme has met with fierce resistance with dozens of exposed companies (like the British Heart Foundation and Holland & Barrett) being forced to pull out through a high profile campaign of protest. The scheme was appealing to bosses when it was a dirty little secret, but it turns out that they hate being exposed as free labour profiteers, and tend to drop out when exposed to the light of day.

So, enter every big-businessman’s bezzie mate: David ‘Call me Dave if yer rich’ Cameron. Working with the D.W.P., he has blocked calls to reveal a list of workfare providers. Leaked documents from government lawyers state that “Previous targeted campaigns had resulted in the withdrawal of providers from workfare”, effectively citing mass public disapproval as the main reason for hiding the list. However, with more and more employees and people pushed onto the forced-labour scheme and happy to whistleblow, it won’t be long before more big names start falling.

The most important thing about the documents isn’t the length to which governments will go to protect big business, or the contempt for democracy shown by suppressing information from the public – we all knew this went on. What makes this crucial is that the government have admitted – in a document meant for their eyes only – that they are scared of action as it can and does get results. With the government admitting their fear of popular discontent, just think what we could achieve if we pushed a little harder…

So, on that happy note, ask yourself this: what better time than now to get on http://boycottworkfare.org, round up a bunch of yer mates and get stuck into the fight against this redundancy-making, crumbling scheme that puts yet more of our taxes in the pockets of the rich?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/nov/09/mandatory-work-activity-names-witheld

TOWER POWER

BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th, the last of the 17 climate change campaigners climbed down from their moral high ground, atop the middle coolant tower of E.D.F. ‘s new West Burton B gas turbine station. After a week-long protest camp, the chimney sweeps abseiled down into the loving arms of Nottinghamshire police, and have been bailed on ‘suspicion’ of aggravated trespass, alongside five others. Whilst up in the clouds, they used their 300ft-high platform to carry a range of amenities like solar panels, a portable toilet and a rope walkway between the towers, flown-up ingeniously by kite!

The whole stunt was designed to spark off debate on carbon emissions – the modern environmentalist’s favourite sticking point – and mock the recent ‘coalition’ row on wind farms: LibDems want all power to come from green sources by 2030, but Tories don’t want to force any more wind farms on communities – not nuclear, or fossil fuel stations, mind; the plebs can bloody well have them and enjoy it!

Despite more immediate concerns like debts and work stress, it’s a fair bet that most decent people are concerned about climate change, and hope for greener and more efficient energy. As a country, the U.K. is falling far behind the rest of Europe – Germany gets 25% of its electricity from renewables, Spain is on 33%, and we’re floundering on 9%, despite having some of the best wind resources in the world. Meanwhile, natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy have more than doubled in frequency since 1980, as a result of climate change – and will only get worse unless we can shift away from dirty fuel.

The group’s main spokesperson, Ewa Jasiewicz, had this to say: “This was the first time activists have managed to successfully shut down a power station, and the longest occupation of a power station the U.K. has ever seen. We got our message out about how reckless and ridiculous George Osborne’s proposed ‘dash for gas’ is out to thousands of people. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved – but it’s only the start of the battle for our energy future.”

Before they came down, they tweeted out a whole gallery of beautiful photos of dawn and sunset from on high. If you have a camera, budding photographer aspirations, and a beef with your local power plant, then maybe this is a job opportunity for you!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/05/no-dash-for-gas-end-occupation

UP AND ATOM

IT’S A BAD time to be in the nuke biz. Remember that global recession that we’re apparently out of? Well, the con-alition government’s nuclear plans (for an extra 10 power stations by 2025) are currently showing the cracks, as three catchy-named nuclear engineering companies from both France and China – Areva, China National Nuclear Power Corporation and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group – have pulled out of buying Horizon Nuclear Power (planning reactors in Wylfa and Oldbury), due to economic doubts. Iberdrola, Spanish owners of Scottish Power (with designs on Sellafield), are also having second thoughts.

Frenchies E.D.F. are also in financial straits, but that’s not all their problems, as anti-nuclear campaigners have recently finished their ‘Reclaim Hinkley’ weekend action camp. Hinkley Point in Bridgwater is to house two untried-and-tested brand nuke reactors, as well as a storage facility to hold radioactive waste for at least 160 years, assuming some other authority agrees to later take it off their hands. The camp lasted from 5th to 8th of October, and was set up on occupied land nearby, complete with catering, wooden H.Q., solar panels and between 70 and 120 eco-warriors at any time.

After the obligatory day of talks and action training, proceedings ended with a bang on the Monday, as they led a colourful march – complete with toxic yellow barrels rolled through the streets – to the power station’s gates and did a ‘die-in’ blockade. And then it was all on E.D.F.’s proposed Hinkley C site for a jolly mass trespass, where 50-plus surrounded the five mile perimeter, dodged G4S goons, hung massive banners, sang, waved placards, and lobbed 577 seedbombs (the number of days since the Fukushima Dai-chi disaster in Japan). While all that song and dance went on, 30 managed to scale or breach the 8′ high barbed wire-topped fence, and planted wildflowers; six were arrested, and one got a suspected broken arm for their troubles.

South West Against Nuclear say that the £60bn earmarked for ‘new nuclear’ needs instead to be diverted to energy reduction and renewables development, for a cleaner, greener future. Maybe the government will listen?

http://tinyurl.com/8zeqwyz

http://theoccupiedtimes.co.uk/?p=7265

http://tinyurl.com/9ejqr5h

http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/pictures/Photos-Stop-Hinckley-Protest-pictures/pictures-17046040-detail/pictures.html

http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/node/1500

http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Video-Anti-nuclear-campaigners-begin-Stop-Hinkley/story-17048137-detail/story.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/oct/03/british-nuclear-china-investors-pull-out?newsfeed=true

DUCHY DIARY #2

HELLO AGAIN DEAR Mountaineers

Her Royal Mumsie visited me this week with some truly shocking news. She has found out this month that housing benefits are going to change. At first I was panic-stricken, as the Dave and Gideon have proposed to remove benefits from those of us with “unused” bedrooms in our home. I mean, I have extra houses with hundreds of bedrooms! With the amount of cuts to my benefits, that would mean my trips abroad would be significantly reduced and, bugger the carbon footprint, if one can’t sun in the Seychelles and ski in the Sierra Nevada at least twice a year, one simply couldn’t carry out one’s duties – one is only bloody human. I got so het up that i spilled my Bollinger Blanc de Nois Vielles Vignes Francaises 1997 all down my third favourite Savile shirting. Ah well, plenty more of both. My foul mood was only assuaged by Camilla, bless her, who cantered over, gave me a stiff one and pointed out that it was only the poor and undeserving that the benefit changes will affect!

Well, I can tell you my relief was palpable! Anyhow I think it is fair enough that under 16’s should share a room, my boys had to share a castle, it really made them close and well-adjusted – not at all the reptile-eyed, attachment disordered, powder-nosing delinquents the gutter press so love to portray. As for foster kids, they should just be happy to have a roof over their heads, so not allowing them a room is Ding Dong by me. Anyway, I watched ‘Oliver’, and some of those needy kids are simply wretched. As it’s just the plebs getting their benefits cut, it’s even possible that some of the savings will get kicked up to yours truly, then I can get Balmoral newly carpeted. And what a spiffy idea of Dave’s putting in that doodad about siblings having to share rooms to make room for lodgers! A three-bed house house for a family of six is highly sufficient; there is such a thing as bunk beds – apparently. And disabled adults should just appreciate that they are still alive, and haven’t been culled by the fam, they really don’t need the extra room: we always throw ours in the cellar and have down with it! Sensible policies and all that. Anyhow i am really looking forward to April’s changes, and as it gives you a chance to stand up and take a hit for good old Blighty, I bet you can’t wait either, eh? Lucky little buggers.

Anyway, as I was saying…

H.R.H. Prince Charles

AWAY-DAY BLUES, BOOZE AND BRUISES FOR E.D.L.

THE LAST COUPLE of months has been a great time for anti-fascists, mainly due to the comic demise of the Stella-soaked storm-troopers of the English Defence League (E.D.L.). For those not in the know, the E.D.L. claim to be a force of proud ‘patriots’ opposed to ‘muslamic’ extremism. Scratch just underneath the surface however, and it becomes obvious that the group is riddled with hardcore fascists and racists, and made up of footie hooligans who need a new excuse to kick off now that Old Bill keep an eye on them at football. For the past three years, they’ve turned up uninvited in numerous towns and cities, smashing up Asian businesses, assaulting Sikhs mistaken for Muslims and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Recently however, things have gone downhill for them, with humiliating defeats and ever dwindling numbers at demos in Brighton, Bristol and elsewhere. Then, enter Walthamstow, where less than 200 meagre Ee-ee-diots were outnumbered 16-1 by angry locals, who blocked their march route, occupied their stage, pelted them from first floor windows and forced a full-on retreat. Being a sucker for punishment, and having taken one too many blows to the head, leader Tommy Robinson immediately announced a re-match in Walthamstow, due to take place on Oct 27th… later banned by the cops. Despite online bragging that they would turn up anyway, the E.D.L. pulled a no-show, while over 1,000 anti-fascists held a victory party in Walthamstow, not a single bigot in sight. Meanwhile in Westminster, 70 demoralised E.D.L. members held a static ‘mass national demo’ outside a Wetherspoons. In an attempt to shove a bit of white spirit up the noses of the addled rabble, big man Tommy tried to smuggle himself and 50 ‘loyal’ organisers into a mosque in the back of a removal van. The plan unravelled when at least three of the chosen few grassed – two to the police, one to Unite Against Fascism! – the result being a mass arrest of Tipsy Tommy and co, ‘tooled-up’ and wearing balaclavas, miles from any mosque (but near a pub!).

While in the nick, plod discovered that Tommy had travelled to America on a false passport (the real one being confiscated for footie hooliganism). Taken alongside his previous convictions for fraud, tax avoidance and assault, Tommy is now stuck in the big-house, dining on halal prison food, waiting for an extradition to America in January. Mind you, this may come as a relief, as, after going bankrupt and being booted out by his wife, without access to his kids, Tommy has been living with his uncle, and fellow E.D.L. ‘top boy’ Kev Courtney in a caravan behind a Sainsbury’s in Luton!

The decline of the ‘League has already given rise to literally a dozen tiny splinter-groupsicles who are, for the moment, too weak to do anything but bicker over who gets to play fuhrer. While they may have one or two mini-demos left in them, their downfall is evidence that, besides their own brain-cell deficit, opposition on the streets (as well as taking the time to counter and defeat their arguments) can and does work, when it comes to giving racists the literal and ideological kicking they so richly deserve.

 

A LOTTA SQUATTER BOOKS

ONE OF THE first of our services the Tories lined up for destruction was libraries. To your average Tory, too rich to need a public library, it was easy to spread the ‘no-one uses libraries anymore’ lie. However, those less well-off know that libraries play a massive part in the lives of the community, young and old. It is a place where those of us without private school educations can develop and nurture a love of reading. But all over the country, resistance has been seemingly futile, and dozens of libraries have been closed. However, at least one community is showing us all how to hit back and keep hitting the books. In 2011, Barnet Council took the unpopular decision to close the Friern Barnet library; immediately, a campaign group was set up, protesting outside and inside council sessions and spreading the word. When the library closure went ahead anyway, (with pro-closure councillor Judith Beckman admitting “I don’t know where the library is”), locals refused to give up, mounting round the clock pickets of the library. And when council vans turned up to remove the books, locals used a phone tree call-out and soon dozens of people were blocking the entrance, keeping the books where they belong. Since then, the group has been deadlocked in negotiations with Barnet Council, who are offering a replacement ‘library’ in a small room miles from the original building. Locals refused, and so the stand-off continued.

That is until a small group of squatters entered the library, immediately re-opening it with a collection of donated books, and were welcomed with open arms. Today, the library remains open four days a week, staffed by local volunteers, and is as well used as before the shut down. The library squatters, and the residents of Barnet, have set an example for us all. The government has never been interested in the average person and has been quite happy to rob us of the things we want and need, hiding behind banner of ‘deficit reduction’. Protesting has a time and a place, but like the residents of Barnet, if we want to win back our public services, we need to stop asking nicely and rip our libraries, schools, hospitals and workplaces back from the hands of sell-out politicians and run them by ourselves, for ourselves.

FREE FUN FOR ALL THE FAMILY!

ON 20TH OCTOBER 200,000 people filled the streets of London from Lambeth to Hyde Park, in protest against austerity. There were people from diverse social and racial backgrounds, babies and great grannies, black and white, poor and slightly less poor (rumour has it the rich of London were huddled in Blitz-style terror behind the reinforced shutters of the Ritz), all having a laugh, a sing-song, a good chat and a shout in the sun. There were nurses, physiotherapists, train and bus drivers, teachers, pensioners, students, anarchists, socialists, communists, and people with disabilities: all with one thing in common, being fucked over by the government and wanting their voices heard! Most knew marching alone wouldn’t be enough, and there was a definite mood to take things further, but what better way to boost your own morale than meeting others who want things to change?

The highlights of the day came at the end of the march, as a couple of thousand malcontents took action against companies involved in tax-dodging and the government’s Workfare/slave labour scheme. Targets included a posh Hilton hotel, stormed and occupied just like McDonalds, Starbucks and Boots. Wheelchair-users and pensioners blocked the road at Marble Arch in protest at cuts to services and benefits, and reports are still rolling in of small-scale occupations and shutdowns all over London. In a telling moment, thousands of trade unionists booed Ed ‘I’m just like you in my £1.4 million mansion’ Miliband at Hyde Park as he tried to convince the crowd that red cuts hurt less than blue ones. Despite the great atmosphere, numbers were way down on the 500,000 strong anti-cuts demo last March. Why? Because the T.U.C. have sold us the occasional demo as an alternative to actions that really could stop the cuts, such as mass strikes, occupations and direct action. While angry workers made the most of the day to network amongst themselves, for the T.U.C. leadership, it was nothing more than a ‘re-elect Labour’ stunt and a pacifier to the thousands desperate to get properly stuck into the Tory scum. It is now the job of ordinary people to keep fighting, with or without the T.U.C.: a one-day strike and the odd protest is not a recipe for success and if the union leadership can’t deliver the action we need to be taking, it’s time to start doing it for ourselves, in our communities and in our workplaces. You never know, we could even be talking revolution.

 

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

ALL OF US can think back to those confusing, exciting, and emotional teenage years and think “wow, I really do wish we had more exams! I loved the stress and the competitiveness of them, they really made those years!” Well, don’t worry, the coalition government are here to save the day again with the introduction of the ‘EBac’. Not only will everything count on this one exam, after two years of study (I really hope you’re not ill that day kids, or hung over!), but you will also have the fantastic opportunity to be forced to stay in school another two years to finish them. That means more time with the parents, annoying siblings and no cash! So, no more coursework (I wonder what will happen to the more fun subjects of arts and tech?), or multiple attempts to bring your grades up, but also only those smart-arse kids with rich parents and smaller families are much more likely to do better (more space and time at home to focus on work and practice), and those who are poor are going to be lucky to reach 18 with any skills or qualifications. We all know how useful science, maths and English is to our lives, unlike carpentry, mechanics, plumbing, building, childcare and growing your own food. You can really get a good job to support yourself with knowing what Macbeth was about or what is 5x + 3y = 10x + 15y. But no worries, with the rise in apprenticeships at places like Costa Coffee and slave labour…. whoops I mean ‘the Work Programme’…. at Tesco stacking shelves, you will be well sorted. It is not like you could afford university fees at £9,000 a year anyway. You know what might be better idea? Skip school, go learn something useful off your own back and start trading your skills with your mates. It will be more fun, interesting, and gives you some cash. ‘Education’ is for losers anyway.

 

THEORY CORNER: ON THE RECEIVING END

In the first of a three-part series on heightened ‘security’ culture, we look at the increase in oppressive policing, surveillance and militarization of society, explore the state’s reasons for this and begin to suggest ways to fight back.

NOW MORESO THAN ever, those of us who don’t fit in with the aims of the state are under attack. As the economic situation worsens and people fight back, these attacks carried out by the state and their supporters will grow, and take various forms. Young people, the unemployed, trades unionists, travellers, the sick and disabled, migrants, and protesters (amongst others) are demonised in the media and calls are made for them to be controlled.

There is an unprecedented attack on benefits claimants – through cuts, sanctions and the use of ATOS to penalise the disabled. Workfare is used as a form of slave labour, obliging the unemployed to work for free. In terms of surveillance, Britain now has more C.C.T.V. cameras per head than any other country and the authorities are calling for tighter controls on our phone calls and e-mails.

Through the so-called ‘justice’ system last year, poor rioters were tried straight away and handed top-heavy sentences by special courts, while the rich and powerful get away with crimes like tax evasion scott free. Even the high profile friends of the David Cameron charged with corruption and phone hacking are yet to see proper trial. The right to protest is being eroded. This year the courts have ruled it legal to kettle demonstrators and to arrest and hold people before they commit any offence, like those arrested during last year’s royal wedding.

Ian Tomlinson is the most well-known of those who have died at the hands of the police, but 15 people have died in/following police custody between 2011 and 2012. Also, remember that no police officer has been successfully prosecuted for a death in this country since the 1960’s. Events like the Olympics and the Jubilee are used in two ways by the state: to both increase security (military, police or private security) firms erasure of rights, and to get the public used to seeing soldiers on the streets. What was once rare in the security field now becomes the norm. People who complain, or refuse to comply, are branded as ‘subversive’ or, worse, ‘unpatriotic’, and requires control.

So what can we do about the increased militarisation of the forces against us?

Firstly, we need to publicise what is happening. Secondly, we need to join with others on what unites us, not what divides us. Through organisations like anti-cuts campaigns, we can increase our numbers and build up our strength. Thirdly, we must not be intimidated by the authorities: some leftwing groups now ask for the permission to demonstrate, which just leads to more restrictions on our right to protest. We need to remember that the streets are ours, not theirs.

 

HEY, TEACHER, MAKE THOSE BOSSES GROAN!

TEACHERS ACROSS THE southwest joined colleagues across the country, last month, starting an indefinite campaign of industrial action against excessive stress and workload. The action, designed not to affect pupils, will involve teachers refusing excessive observations (which teachers in some schools in the west face daily), refusing to hand in their planning to be marked by senior leaders (yes, this happens) and dozens of similar boycotts. The average teacher’s day begins at 7.45a.m., and ends around 6p.m., and the long holidays mostly get consumed with marking and planning. This is something teachers have been willing to put up with for years, but with headteachers increasingly treating staff like naughty children – upping already heavy levels of scrutiny as well as expecting a rainforest-depleting ream of paperwork on a daily basis – teachers felt action was the only option. Their decision to fight back has been made easier by education secretary Michael ‘Pob’ Gove claiming that teachers frequently leave at 3p.m. and should have their pay docked for doing so – a sick joke for anyone who knows how deep into the evening an average teacher’s work runs. Clamouring to one-up his partner in crime, OFSTED boss and well-known scrote Sir Michael Wilshaw recently opened a speech to senior leaders with the line “If anyone says to you that ‘staff morale is at an all-time low’ you will know you are doing something right.” Wow! With bosses like these, who can blame the teachers for striking back?

In some schools, headteachers, scared of losing their iron grip over staff, have attempted to ban the action. In at least one school in Wiltshire, staff standing together have already beaten back this attack, and in another, staff in a religious school are preparing to escalate a campaign against their boss who has banned the action on the grounds that it doesn’t fit with their religious ethos (we’d argue that religion and freedom have never had much in common anyway)! Teachers at the school will be going loud with their campaign soon, so we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, if you are a parent or pupil, you can support your teachers simply by telling them know that you appreciate what they do. Letting them know you think Gove is a bastard, or offering to deck him will also be guaranteed to raise morale amongst your local educators!