Tag: WESTCOUNTRY

WIGGED-UP STITCH-UP

A BRISTOLIAN MAN has been found guilty of multiple accounts of assaulting an officer during last July’s anti-E.D.L. demo in Bristol, simply because the judge disagreed with his politics – allegedly; the demo itself saw hundreds of police protecting 300 racists from thousands of locals and anti-fascists, making multiple arrests. Despite the hearing taking place in a magistrates court, a district judge sat in. His first move was to declare testimony from two people invalid solely, due to their membership in the Anarchist Federation – an above-ground, legal, membership-based organisation. From there, the trial became even more farcical, with the judge ignoring gaping holes in the contradictory statements of two cops. At one point, the ‘assaulted’ officer admitted that he couldn’t be sure the accused was even responsible for the ‘assault’. The same officer then alleged that he ‘punched his hat off’, despite pictures featured in Vice magazine clearly showing the officer wearing his hat throughout the proceedings. But duty solicitors failed to submit the photographs, anyway. Throughout the hearing, the judge was more keen to criticise the lifestyle and political philosophy of the defendant than to consider evidence which pointed towards ‘not guilty’. After finding the anarchist guilty, the judge won’t rule out prison. Even if prison is averted, he’ll still be left with £600 to pay in fees, not including any fines. If you’d like to show (financial) support, drop us an email, and we’ll let you know what you can do to help stick two fingers up at a legal system that has always defended the interests of the powerful, judicial process be damned.

 

UNFAIR UNIVERSAL CREDIT CRUNCH

ARE YOU READY for yet another change to your benefits? More money is being taken from our pockets and being wasted in overhauling the benefit system. It seems all very confusing but it basically boils down to less money for the vulnerable, disabled, unemployed and elderly and more in the back pockets of the rich. You will also need a computer and the internet, two costly commodities for your home, which these categories are unlikely to be able to afford or be able to use (15 million people do not have a computer in the U.K., 8,000 of which have never used the internet!). It will mean more job losses for those who work for the benefit system, and cuts to pay and pensions. And for those of you who find it difficult to manage money, have bills coming out all over the month or do not have the time to sort it all out due to kids etc., your benefits will be coming to you in one lump sum! For most this will mean bouncing in and out of your overdraft, paying more money to the banks for the pleasure. You will now not be able to work up to 16 hours a week and claim J.S.A., and anything you work will be deducted from your benefits, so you will end up losing a lot more and having to work for it. The new scheme will be put into action between 2013 and 2017, but we in the southwest will be hit first, starting with the pilot study in Bath and and surrounds. So get ready with your complaint letters, e-mails and phone calls to council and local M.P.s. Go to the benefits office and council house, make a big fuss and egg on the staff to complain to their bosses too! And anything else you may think of to show your anger and stress; it’s time to nip this in the bud now.

 

INDEPENDENTS DAY

WITH DEBATE RAGING about the future of the high street, the increasing dominance of the big four supermarkets and the nature of our villages, towns and cities, this is a perfect time to discuss such big issues. In Frome, there are plans to redevelop the town, which sparked the founding of ‘Keep Frome Local’, a group pledged to resist a giant town centre supermarket. After a busy year and a half, they are bringing people together to share their experiences of campaigning and navigating the bullshit brown waters of local planning. What kind of places do we want to live and work in? Is there an alternative to so-called ‘big box’ retailing? For one day of workshops, discussions and more, ‘Independence Day’ will take place on Saturday November 17th, from 10.30a.m. to 4p.m. at the Wesley Chapel, in Frome town centre. To encourage as many local participants as possible, they are offering travel subsidies and subsidised tickets; e-mail info[at]tescopoly.org. On another note, whilst we welcome resistance to Tesco and multinational corporate monoliths, the root of the problem is the capitalist system itself; swapping out big capitalism for smiley small-scale capitalism is only the tip of the iceberg.

http://www.independenceday2012.co.uk/wp/?utm_source=Tescopoly&utm_campaign=ff3c898fa0-Supermarket_watchdog_campaign&utm_medium=email

 

THE TADPOLES OF TOADY HALL

NORTH SWINDON RESIDENTS have been left furious at their council’s decision to push ahead with the building of nearly 1,700 new homes on greenfield land. Despite worries that the new Tadpole Farm development will bulldoze yet more of the town’s green spaces and create a serious flooding hazard, Crest Nicholson (who have a long history of building on flood plains, and recently tried to concrete over 150 allotments in Bath) and an assortment of Tory Councillors have pushed the project through. The decision comes despite the new South Swindon Wichelstowe development laying more or less empty, with no signs of filling up. Add this to the fact that, as of the last count, there were 2,518 empty residential properties falling into disrepair around Swindon (with a further 5,000 throughout Wiltshire), and the case for new build starts to fall apart. Local politicians and construction companies will always play the ‘creating new jobs’ card when defending their plans, but this argument has never added up. With regulations on the quality of new buildings at an all-time low, planning regulations governing green land more meaningless than ever, and provisions for building ‘affordable’ housing practically non-existent, new builds represent a license for construction companies to print money, while foisting cowboy constructed, overpriced housing on the rest of us.

If local councillors and housing companies really cared about Swindon, and job creation, they would be far more willing to invest in sprucing up the town’s empties and offering them as social housing to ease an already overflowing council-house waiting list of over 13,000. The development at Tadpole farm is nothing more than big business exploring more ways to rake in massive profits at our expense, all with the eager help of their Tory toadies.

 

THEY DON’T GIVE ATOS, BUT WE DO

 ON THURSDAY 6th September 20 concerned locals from Bath and Bristol met up outside ATOS offices at Flowers Hill in Bristol, to show their disgust at the I.T. company’s sick treatment of those who are sick and disabled. The protest came amid a wave of action which saw disabled and anti-cuts activists taking to the streets in dozens of towns and cities across the U.K., highlighting the hypocrisy of ATOS’ sponsorship of the Paralympics. In London, in an action planned to coincide with the Paralympic closing ceremony, hundreds of disabled people protested outside ATOS H.Q. and occupied the D.W.P., where out-of-control cops broke the arm of a disabled protester. Even the Paralympic Team G.B. joined the protest, hiding their ATOS-sponsored badges throughout the opening ceremony! As mentioned in our previous issue, ATOS are being handed tax payers’ money to kick people off incapacity benefits. Their tests include whether someone can stand for one minute, or lift their hand above their head, and no medical notes from the claimants’ G.P.s are considered. The offices in Bristol, where claimants are forced to have these assessments, is a 20 minute bus ride from the centre, in a commercial estate without disabled access: apparently the company’s idea of testing vulnerable people before they even arrive.

On the day, protesters handed out leaflets to passing drivers and pedestrians, to a good response. One passerby told how their partner was booted off benefits despite her crippling arthritis, meaning that some days she couldn’t even get out of bed! However, she managed to get them reinstated after a harrowing five month battle, suffering loss of money and increased stress from the uncertainty of her case. The protesters made contact with several claimants themselves being forced through this ordeal, who the campaigners will be able to help through a new action group being set up: Community Action Network. The group is designed to help those who are not only being kicked off their benefits, but are also being kicked out of their homes, schools and day centres, or otherwise shafted by the cuts. As well as undertaking legal casework, C.A.N. will employ direct action – intervening to prevent bailiffs, ATOS and other assorted scum making our lives more miserable. The group is made up of current and former Citizens Advice Bureau staff, alongside radical social workers, teachers, debt advisors, solicitors, claimants, carers and others. If you feel that you are being treated unfairly and would like help or advice, or would like to help please e-mail: thecommunityactionnetwork[at]gmail.co.uk

 

NO JUSTICE, NO PIECE

ACTIVISTS ACROSS THE southwest picketed Domino’s stores back in mid-September to show solidarity with striking pizza delivery workers in Australia. Pickets from Bristol to the South Coast were well received by the public, who were shocked to learn that greedy Domino’s bosses are slashing pay for Auzzie delivery drivers by 19%, adding up to a whole lot of lost dough, all with the collaboration of their boss-friendly union. In disgust, the workers set up their own union, affiliated to the anarchist International Workers Association and have since been striking, taking direct action and calling for solidarity actions all over the world. Bristol Domino’s workers, initially concerned about the demo, soon became more supportive when they learned that it was all to support their antipodean mates. Management on the other hand flew off the handle, angrily berating protesters and going to the top(ping) by bringing in a regional manager to the Bristol demo (brilliant news, as now the high-ups know what people think of their thin-crust pay and conditions). Meanwhile, solidarity protests cropped up in other parts of the U.K., as well as France, Germany, (home of the pizza) Italy and (home of the bastardised pizza) America. With every solidarity action reported to be boosting the morale of the Auzzie drivers, it can only be a matter of time before the Domino’s bosses get stuffed (crust) and the workers get a fair slice of the pizza-pie. Messages of solidarity and info about how to get stuck in can be left at: http://www.facebook.com/GeneralTransportWorkersAssociation

 

WALK THE PLANK

A retrospective gig reviewlet!

Just like the poster says, Thursday September the 27th saw a gentle little evening soiree of music at the Royal Oak freehouse, a real ale local on Bath’s Lower Bristol Road. Put on by B.A.R.F. and friends (the city’s friendly neighbourhood anarchist collective), with sound graciously supplied by the fine folks at Pitchfork Rebellion, the night was set to raise funds for the Mutineer, of all things. But enough of all that guff.

Proceedings were opened with the quirky poetry of humble, behatted Jesse Perrett, who charmed and amused the intimate gathering, and acted as compere throughout. He was quickly followed by the antifolk antics of Karly Hobo: one man, one guitar, and street punk poet rantings about skipping, life and love. Next up was Stratford’s (ex-King Blues) Perkie (not Perky, as mis-spelt on the poster!), a punky folky pianist type, who sings slow, personal, haunting songs – kinda in the style of Tracey Curtis, but not like she’s five – and wears massive granny glasses!

The night was finished up by Bristol’s Clayton Blizzard, folk-rap virtuoso and maybe lyrical genius; between almost hitting it big, he sings songs about songs, being poor, the whereabouts of God, American foreign policy and economics – which is actually nowhere near as boring as it sounds. Between the confidence of his stage presence and the technical ability of his vocal delivery, he had the audience soon eating out of his hand (not literally), and finished up with crowd-pleaser ‘Winning A Raffle, Losing The War’.

But anyway, that’s quite enough brown-nosing for one article.

Keep an eye out for future gigs – you’ll hear it here last!

 

NOW THEY’VE GOAN AND DONE IT

Swindon Workers Get Stuck Into Bullying Bosses

FOR THE PAST half a year, cleaners at Swindon’s G.W.H. Hospital have been taking action against their employer, Carillion, who take on the maintenance, construction and management of hundreds of buildings across the U.K. The action comes in response to a culture of bullying and racism from Carillion bosses towards the mostly Goan cleaners. As well as routine racist abuse, Carillion managers frequently force workers to present them with ‘gifts’ in return for time off, overtime and other basic rights at work. The Goan workers were also denied the right to take enough of their holiday in one go to visit their families back home. Since the first strike back in February, the workers have given the rest of us a shining example in how to treat your boss, joining the G.M.B. union en masse, taking dozens of days of strike action (always involving nearly 100% of the workforce), blockading Carillion H.Q., holding well-attended meetings, a 400-strong demo through Swindon and numerous solidarity events and protests, alongside Swindon Anarchists and other union and activist groups.

The campaign has already seen one racist boss get kicked out, but instead of taking strikers’ demands seriously, Carillion have responded by sending in scabs to undermine strikes, lying, faking and fudging internal ‘investigations’ and further victimising the victims by launching disciplinary procedures against 10 of the strikers – they even had the gall to accuse the workers of “offering bribes!”. As a result, not only are Carillion losing their reputation in the industry, not to mention lucrative contracts, but they have also been caught playing a central role in a blacklisting scandal – where major companies have been denying work to ‘troublemaking’ workers for the ‘crimes’ of attending anti-fascist protests and being members of a union! With Carillion refusing to take the hint and clean themselves up, an ever-growing number of ordinary workers are getting drawn into the fight, voicing disgust against Carillion (and yet more stories of corporate intimidation). With more strike action on the horizon – as well as planned action from anarchist and activist supporters – you can be sure that we’ll all be hearing more from the brave Goan workers that refuse to be trampled by their arrogant employer, and you can be equally sure they’re not gonna quit until they’ve won the rights we all deserve at work. To send messages of support to the workers, drop us an e-mail at mutineerpress[at]riseup.net and we’ll pass them on.

NO FRACKING WAY!

A NEW CAMPAIGN has been launched to fight back against ‘fracking’ (hydraulic fracturing), the latest lunatic scheme to extract natural resources. Fracking involves blasting pressurised liquids deep underground in an effort to free up and extract shale gas, and has been linked to an increasing number of dangerous side effects: contamination of crops, air and groundwater, by methane. In Lancashire, where fracking is underway despite fierce opposition and direct action from locals, there has been a massive increase in respiratory problems for nearby residents, as well as earthquakes, due to the high pressure subterranean hosedown. Fracking also promotes the use of fossil fuels, of course, meaning that it will do nothing to reduce CO2 pollution. At the moment, the Mendip hills are the intended target of these carbon-crazy frackers. ‘Frack Free Somerset’ is a new group dedicated to fighting back, and they will be holding a public meeting on Tuesday 25th September between 7 and 9p.m. in the town hall of sleepy Wells. Contact them at info[at]frackfreesomerset.org, or via their website: http://www.frackfreesomerset.org.

PUN HOTLINE: as the word ‘fracking’ is so obviously open to all manner of linguistic abuse, any headline suggestions will be gratefully received, to the usual address; after all, we don’t want to do all the hard work ourselves.

DUCHY DIARY #1

As he is after all the Duke of Cornwall and owns much of the land that we call home and is owed our patriotism and leal duty, it is only fitting that we offer up a regular column for the worldly wisdom of our future Sovereign King and Commander-in-Chief, H.R.H. Prince Charles. This month, Charlie pontificates on what the bloody hell those Cornish oldies are moaning about. Take it away, Your Highness!

GOOD, ERR.. EVENING..? ladies and gentlemen

Now, I have always liked to consider myself, first and foremost, a man of the people. I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for all you rabble, going about your quaint little lives. Just like all the rugged, robust furry animals and our delightful woodland – many of which are mine, you know – yes, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for you. Many of you are mine, you know.

Yes, I’m essentially just like you. Oh yes, I have bodyguards and tedious hangers-on bowing and doffing their caps and I’m considerably more comfortable, hah, but I’m just like you. I enjoy the ballet and Eisteddfod, and I’m partial to the odd tipple, and shoot the shit on Friday nights(by shit, one of course means grouse, pheasant, deer, poachers – the list goes on), and I like to watch a good kick-about. Yes, watching my boys give a trespassing pleb a good kick-about always brings a smile to one’s face.

Anyway, this month I’d like to give a good dressing down to those bloody pensioners in Cornwall who have been moaning about all their care homes being privatised. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the elderly, particularly when they’re doing what they should – voting U.K.I.P., talking about spitfires and sending lovely letters to Mumsie – but this is bloody bolshevism! Listen, my own dear Mumsie has private home-care and let me assure you, it’s top bloody notch, and if it’s good enough for Mumsie it’s bloody well good enough for the proles! It’s not as if privatising the homes will plunge the elderly into a mismanaged, uncaring nightmare system run for profit, rather than compassion. No, quite the opposite, if Mumsie’s is any example. All this protest and hoo-har – well, yes, quaint, considerably, but it simply boggles the mind.

But anyway, that aside, it is now my pleasure to introduce to you, the Westcountry Mountaineer. I’ve always been partial to a bit of freebasing.

Now why won’t that stupid boy put some clothes on? If he can’t win the odd spot of billiards, then he’s no son of mine.