Climate Chaos – Page 140

Rossport Solidarity Camp eviction latest

Update on eviction threat to Rossport Solidarity Camp

After over eighteen months of providing a base for activists supporting the local Shell to Sea campaign, the Rossport Solidarity Camp was served notice to quit by Mayo County Council two weeks ago. For the past year and a half the council has accepted the camp’s existence without complaint. It seems no coincidence that the council’s moves to evict the camp come at a time when Shell has been extensively surveying the estuary that runs alongside the camp in preparation for pipeline development. It is likely that pressure has been applied on the council to evict now to minimize the risk of disruption to the laying of the pipeline.

Update on eviction threat to Rossport Solidarity Camp

On Tuesday the 31st July, representatives from the camp attended a court hearing in Castlebar. Following submissions from the camp’s barrister regarding due process and the lack of time given to the camp to prepare a case, the judge reluctantly agreed to adjourn the case until September the 3rd. However, in the meantime he imposed an ‘interim order of injunction’ which allows only two camp members to remain living on site. Notably, prior to the hearing, the legal representatives of both parties had agreed terms for an adjournment that allowed more people to remain on camp. The case is essentially a civil dispute and the judge’s imposition of more stringent terms is indicative, once again, of the partiality of the judiciary with regard to Shell to Sea cases.

The primary function of the camp is to provide a space for people to support the local campaign in resisting Shell. This can be done most effectively if we have a secure base to work from. Consequently, at present, we have decided to vacate the camp in accordance with the judge’s order. In an effort to be prepared for the different potential scenarios we could face, we have sought out possible alternative locations for the camp. Some people in the campaign will continue to fight the eviction through the courts and after the hearing in September we will assess our options.

Community support following the eviction order has been overwhelming. Within a week an impressive fundraising effort had been initiated and we had offers of several houses and fields to relocate to. We have also had help with moving, cleaning, decorating and furnishing. Thanks to such incredible local assistance, one of these houses has been fixed up in the last week and is now being used as the temporary Rossport Solidarity Camp base. Over the next few weeks we hope to make several other locations inhabitable.

Two weeks ago our situation seemed dire. Today, the spirit of the camp is vibrant. It is clear that resistance here will not be hampered by repression. So, while we’re sad to be temporarily giving up our beautiful seashore home, the Rossport Solidarity Camp lives on – albeit in a slightly less rustic form. As before, visitors are always welcome.

BAA climate camp Injunction: What’s Happened At Court & legal briefing

Judge’s reading (reports from first two days below) –

Delivering her ruling in a 90-speech this morning, Mrs. Justice Swift struck out most of BAA’s application, pointing out that much of their evidence was based on news reports and web sites, and ruling that, as there is a “divergence of interest” within the groups named, [with the exception of Plane Stupid], they should not be targeted.

Judge’s reading (reports from first two days below) –

She said it is regrettable that Geraldine Nicholson was ever named in the application, and that there had been no suggestion –despite participation in previous demonstrations– that Joss Garman or Leo Murray had ever harassed or intended to harass anyone.

She has therefore deleted the majority of BAA’s application, substituting wording of her own, intended to allow lawful protest, [as enshrined by right in Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights], although preventing unlawful disruption of airport operations, [as already covered by Heathrow’s by-laws].

The wording of her draft is being studied while the court adjourns for lunch. She is prepared to fine-tune the details, when the court resumes at 2 o’clock.
———————
1st August –
Please note: this is an article written after telephone contact with people outside the court. Please see the other report here.

The High Court in London was the scenery of some funny encounters today as BAA put forward their case for an injunction they served individuals from certain anti-airport groups earlier last week. We’ll spare you all the boring details, so let’s jump to the exciting bits. Basically, the whole thing was badly put together from BAA’s side. Timothy Lawson Cruttenden (TLC) was representing BAA in this case, interestingly enough the same lawyers firm that tried to slap injunctions on protesters at Brighton’s weapons manufacturers EDO. This eventually failed miserably…

Anyhow, the start of the hearing was brought back to the afternoon and once in full swing, BAA put forward some evidence to give their injunction some substance. Their evidence were some articles from the Evening Standard and the Times newspapers and a chapter from the Eco Defence Handbook. Another bit of evidence was an article about last years Climate Camp in which it was said that local people had joined the protesters and mentiones were made about radical direct action tactics. Interestingly enough, the journalist who actually wrote that was in court today as well and said that some of the things in the article he had just ‘put in’ or made up. As one does…

Evidence like this is classed as ‘hearsay’ as it is no direct evidence and therefore pretty irrelevant in court.

It was unclear whether the injunction applied to the named people within the various organisations they served the papers to, or all members from those organisations. If it would apply to all members of the named organisations (over 5 million), it would probably be difficult to enforce but if it only applied to certain individuals, than the injunction wouldn’t have a lot of effect.

BAA was so unclear about this, the judge was said to be very confused and gave them until tomorrow morning to get things straight: who are you asking to be injuncted and for what reasons? The whole injunction business seems to be a total joke, poorly prepared and mainly used as a scare tactic. As things currently look, it won’t have any effect on the actual camp which is to take place from the 14th August. A spokesperson for the Camp For Climate Action was a lot clearer than BAA: ‘ This injunction is totally irrelevant to us. We won’t be intimidated or bullied. The camp is going ahead! ‘

2nd August –
BAA used most of the morning to put forward their case. It basically boiled down to a couple of things. Firstly, BAA thinks that possible disruption caused by protests may highten the risk of ‘Iraqi-style terrorism’ at the airport. One of the examples the BAA laywer Timothy Lawson-Cruttenden used was that protesters might blockade cars going to the airport which in turn could ‘exposing them to a terrorist strike’. He added: ‘of course we see that in Baghdad every day’. Right.

The defence lawyer spent the afternoon putting forward that there are already far reaching laws in place as well as a competent police force who will be able to take care of such events. An injunction would just confuse the situation, rather than add to it. The laywer for Transport for London and the London Underground, agreed, urging the court to throw out the injunction, calling it ‘neither necessary, desirable nor clear’.

Secondly, although BAA hinted yesterday that they might not seek an injunction for all members of organisations supporting the camp for climate action, it made it clear today that it is seeking to injunct the supporters besides the 4 named people on the injunction.

The judge, Mrs Justice Swift, said she will need the weekend to think things over, so a ruling can be expected on Monday morning. The hearing will continue today (Friday) in the morning, for a couple of hours.

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Heathrow’s Injunction – What it means

Everything you needed to know but didn’t have a clue what to ask about Heathrow’s injunction against protesters. Designed for the lay person, it is essential reading for climate campers.

Heathrow’s Injunction – What it actually means.

To say that Heathrow Airport have shot themselves in the foot with their misguided attempt to impose an injunction against all anti-airports protestors, not just the Camp for Climate Action, is an understatement. There is an injunction, but it is toothless. The main aim of the injunction is to scare people off from coming to the camp and from taking action at Heathrow Airport so we want to explain what the injunction really means for Climate Campers.

THE TERMS OF THE INJUNCTION

Who the injunction applies to:
As well as a few named individuals, the injunction has been granted against a nebulous group of ‘protestors’, where protestor means the anti-aviation protest group Plane Stupid, its supporters and those acting “in concert” with Plane Stupid to disrupt the operation of Heathrow airport.

What it restricts:
a) trespassing on Heathrow Airport’s land;
b) any activity impeding, obstructing or interfering with the operation of Heathrow Airport;
c) inciting or helping others to do a) or b).

Nothing in the terms of the injunction order exceeds current police powers. Mrs Justice Swift has based her order on existing laws and bye-laws, and has not permitted the wide restrictions that Heathrow wanted.

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE CLIMATE CAMP?
Nothing of substance. The Camp for Climate Action is not covered by the injunction. The Camp for Climate Action is separate from Plane Stupid. While it may be argued that there are links between individuals in Plane Stupid and the Camp, they are separate organisations. The Camp for Climate Action existed before Plane Stupid, and is a self-organising entity controlled by no other organisation.

ARE YOU COVERED?
The key phrase which determines whether you become a ‘protestor’ or not is whether you are acting ‘in concert’ with Plane Stupid and the three named individuals (collectively called the Defendants) to disrupt operations at Heathrow Airport. Being part of the Climate Camp does not automatically make you a ‘protestor’ within the terms of this injunction. You would need to do something else in addition which would link you with the defendants. Experience with other injunctions indicates that to be acting ‘in concert’ with the Defendants would require you to:
a) be a known activist with Plane Stupid;
b) do an action explicitly organised by the Defendants for the purpose of disrupting operations at Heathrow Airport;
c) use materials produced by the Defendants in an action which either trespasses on, obstructs or interferes with Heathrow.

So to be safe we recommend that you don’t bring any banners or leaflets or other materials with any reference to Plane Stupid on them to the camp or on actions.

The injunction comes to an end on 31st August. After that it disappears altogether unless Heathrow can successfully apply to extend it.

SERVICE OF THE INJUNCTION
To be covered by the injunction you have to be served first. If you are not served then you cannot be covered by its terms even if you fall under the definition of protestor.

To prove you have been served Heathrow has to demonstrate that you were either
a) personally handed a copy of the injunction, or
b) seen / photographed / videoed reading a copy of the injunction whether on a website or the ones that are likely to be posted up on their property (this is called service by substitution).

We will deal with what to do about personal service below, but service by substitution is very difficult to prove. The injunction requires Plane Stupid, HACAN and Airport Watch to post the injunction on their websites, and no doubt Heathrow will have it on theirs as well. However, they still have to prove that you went to those websites and explicitly viewed the terms of the injunction – something very difficult to do, if not downright impossible.

Heathrow will also display the injunction around its premises, in particular on the fences and posts of its perimeter. The purpose of this is to say that you must be aware of the terms if you were in the area. But it is an argument likely to fall flat unless they have evidence to show that you actually read the notices.

The court may decide that if you have been provided with the terms of the injunction by someone telling you (eg someone shouting it over a megaphone) then you have been served. However there are any number of problems with proving this in court (as has been show to be the case with the police using megaphones to inform assemblies of sec.14 orders).

PERSONAL SERVICE
It is very likely that, despite the hollowness of their victory that BAA will attempt to serve people personally with a copy of the injunction order. The standard tactic, probably with the support of the police, is to have specially appointed individuals called ‘process servers’ whose job is to go around handing out copies of the order to people they think are likely to be ‘protestors’, and at the same time photo / video / record the fact with a description of the person served.

To be served they must give you a copy of the order, but this can amount to tapping you on the body with it and dropping it at your feet, even as you are running off. It is likely that these process servers will turn up at various protests with copies to hand out. They are also likely to be outside the climate camp attempting to serve it on people coming in or out.

You are not required to stand still and simply wait to be served. As they are officers of the court you are not supposed to actively interfere with them serving people but there is no requirement for you to make their life easy for them. If someone dodgy looking comes towards you with a sheaf of paper don’t hang around and take it, or open your window to accept it. Don’t let them into the camp – they have no right to be there. In the past people have been very creative in protecting those that have not been served, for instance, forming spontaneous group hugs around them or simply standing in a line between them and the process server – process servers are not allowed to break the law to serve the injunction order.

If a process server is being aggressive, take action and make complaints – the are not allowed to assault people or act aggressively. Video their actions (though not faces of those being served) in case there are any subsequent court cases – you have a right to video both process servers and police alike, regardless of what they say.

And if you have been served with the injunction this does not mean you are automatically covered by it – you still have to fall into the definition of ‘protestor’ given above. Simply being a climate camper or involved in a climate camp protest does not mean that.

WHAT IS A BREACH OF THE INJUNCTION
If you are a ‘protestor’ within the meaning of the injunction and you trespass on Heathrow Airport Ltd’s land (there is a map attached to the injunction) then you are in breach of the injunction. You are also in breach if you blockade any road or other form of transport for people or vehicles reaching the airport, as this would amount to interfering with or obstructing the operation of the airport. What it does not stop is action against companies involved with the airport being targeted in their own right. It does not stop leafleting or other lawful protest activities from taking place in any place not covered under the trespass clause.

It is not a criminal offence to breach the injunction as it is a civil matter only. You cannot be arrested for breaching the injunction, even if the police say otherwise. Note, however, you can still be arrested for breaking the law and local bye-laws relating to trespass, etc.

Inciting people to trespass, or to impede / interfere with Heathrow’s operation will also be considered to be breaches of the injunction, but then, only if they can prove that you were served or had knowledge that it was breaching the injunction. Note, incitement can be an offence in its own right depending on what you are inciting others to do.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU BREACH THE INJUNCTION
The injunction does not give the police any powers of arrest for breach of the injunction (of course you may still be arrested if you are suspected of committing a criminal offence). To pursue you for breach of the injunction Heathrow must get the Court’s permission, which is decided at a ‘committal’ hearing. Heathrow will need to first get your name and address in order to serve you with court papers about the committal hearing. At that hearing they will have to prove that you had been served with the injunction, and that you did something that breached the terms of the injunction.

Technically a breach is contempt of court, and can carry a variety of penalties depending on the severity of the breach, these range from a conditional discharge, through fines and jail time. But jail time in particular is very unlikely except for persistent breaches. Taking you to court for breach of the injunction is an expensive and fairly pointless route for Heathrow, and something they are unlikely to do as by the time they get you to Court the camp will be over. Most other injunctions of this sort, such as the one at the climate camp at Drax last year have proved unenforceable and have been ignored by protesters without repercussions.

The publicity generated by these injunction proceedings has been a fantastic boost for the Climate Camp itself and the campaigns against Heathrow and aviation in general. You couldn’t pay for this sort of coverage. We hope that no one will be deterred from coming to the Climate Camp by the injunction – that would be a surrender of our right to freedom of protest and expression. We can all be at the Camp, sure in our right to be there.

FINAL NOTES ON THE PROTECTION FROM HARASSMENT ACT
The outcome of these injunction proceedings is a victory for protesters in the UK and has made a laughing stock of Heathrow’s owner BAA plc, as well as their lawyer Timothy Lawson-Cruttenden, the self-declared ‘market-leader’ in these types of injunctions. Mrs Justice Swift threw out BAA’s application for an injunction under the Protection from Harassment Act (PHA) forcing BAA to fall back on the more toothless common law option, so damaging greatly the ability of corporations to use the PHA to stifle legal protest.

For the last four years corporations have been using the PHA to attack legitimate protest. Originally designed to protect people from stalkers, the Government and companies who are the target of persistent protests have been relatively successful in attempting to declare otherwise lawful forms of protest such as marches and leafleting, the use of megaphones, drums, whistles etc as amounting to harassment and therefore have been able to obtain court orders restricting or banning protests outright. The misuse of this law has lead to a draconian infringement of the rights to protest and assemble. It has also allowed corporations to obtain court orders based on lower standards of proof than would be allowed in the criminal courts, yet the penalties for breaching the orders made are criminal in nature.

As a last point, we would like to distance ourselves from the negative comments by some fighting the injunction in referring to ‘animal rights nuts’. The animal rights movement has been at the front line fighting the draconian terms of injunctions under the Protection from Harassment Act for four years now. These injunctions have never been about stopping illegal activities, but about curbing the right to lawful protest. The outcome of these current injunction proceedings is another step in that same fight.

legal.collective3@yahoo.co.uk

Bacton, Norfolk. Locals show solidarity with Shell to Sea

3.08.2007
Today a small group of local campaigners visited Shell’s processing plant at Bacton on the North Norfolk Coast to demonstrate solidarity with communities struggling against Shell in Co. Mayo, Eire. Bacton is one of the major landfall locations for North Sea gas in England and Shell’s refinery has been included in the recent SOCPA legislation.

ELF hits Rio Tinto Alcan in Essex in solidarity with Saving Iceland

In the early hours of 30/07/07, saboteurs struck at Smurfit Kappa, a plastics factory owned by Rio Tinto Alcan in Chelmsford, Essex. The gates were locked shut, office doors and loading bays were sabotaged with glue and a message left painted on the wall. Vehicles belonging to Rio Tinto were also sabotaged.

Rio Tinto, who have recently acquired the business have arguably the worse record of any corporation for abuse of the earth and its people. Whether they’re sponsoring and training paramilitaries committing genocide in the South Pacific, removing entire mountain tops in Africa or strip mining virgin rainforest that belongs to indigenous tribes, they must be stopped.

Rio Tinto’s recent acquisition of Alcan makes them party to the greatest ecological crime currently being committed in Europe. They are looking to turn Iceland’s great wildernesses into a series of monolithic power stations to power aluminium smelters; one of the most polluting and energy intensive industries in the world. Rio Tinto bring repression wherever they go, in Bouganville in the South Pacific they hired mercenaries to rape and murder all who opposed their massive copper mine, Panguna. Their invasion into Iceland is no different and protests against heavy industry are being met with police violence and activists are fitted up and subject to state sponsored slander.

It’s necessary to hit Rio Tinto where it hurts, on the bottom line, the balance sheet. Where it matters.

EARTH LIBERATION FRONT

Oxford Climate Campers Take Over Carfax Tower!

28.07.2007

Today, four activists climbed to the top of Carfax Tower and dropped a banner satirising the Oxford City Council logo (an ox crossing a ford) and promoting the camp for climate action. The banner stayed put for over two hours.

On the ground around 25 people handed out flyers for the camp, and there were shouts of “No more bull!” which were echoed back from the top of the tower.

28.07.2007

On the ground around 25 people handed out flyers for the camp, and there were shouts of “No more bull!” which were echoed back from the top of the tower.

Meanwhile, a group of people were trying to build an ark. Their excuse? The government and big business won’t take action on climate change, so we’d better build an ark to accommodate the earth’s 7 billion people. They tried to get the police to assist. When asked who was in charge, an activist identified only as Noah, said:
“No one is in charge; this is an Ark-y”(!)

The recent flooding around the UK has left many people homeless – in Oxfordshire, one of the worst hit areas, many people were evacuated to safety. A local demonstration last Wednesday bemoaned the fact that the government are not doing enough to help those worst hit by the floods. It has been reported, in The Guardian, that flash floods in Britain are likely to be the biggest immediate problem caused by climate change.

Link: www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/oxford/2007/07/377181.html (more pics there too!).

oxford@climatecamp.org.uk
http://climatecamp.org.uk

reports of critical masses & London video

Another London Critical Mass police hassle.

Police routinely interfere with Critical Mass, holding up the front of the ride, targeting sound systems and sometimes ticketing riders. They also video and photograph riders at the start of every event. It is odd though that they never turn up for the December ride, which is close to the New year celebrations.

Another London Critical Mass police hassle.

They just had to spoil it didn’t they. In what would have been a fast and fluid Mass with no holdups at junctions and the police providing useful corking, they decided to shut down a sound system in Park Lane, well outside the SOCPA zone, and hold up traffic by so doing. It is as if the police are desperate to assert their authority one way or another. Maybe they have difficulty trying to justify such a large police presence and expense on routine cycle rides. Luckily the sound system bod emerged from his unpleasant police encounter unscathed and with a smile on his face.

Video Part 1 – video/mp4 18M
Video Video part 2 – video/mp4 22M
The raw video is over two hours long and was made with a helmet cam. It has been edited down into two parts totaling 11 minutes.
—————–

Gagged! 18 – South Wales Anarchist Newsletter

Heres the pdf – http://lists.riseup.net/www/d_read/gagged/gagged18.pdf
audio to follow in the next few days.

some last minute diary dates:
Saturday 6pm – Social Ecology seminar -at the PAD, An introduction by Social
Ecology London
Sunday noon – after the fry up at the PAD a presentation on this years
climate camp, films, talks etc etc
Monday 8pm – South Wales Anarchists forum – a networking gathering with
reports from all the local groups & campaigns. All welcome. 8pm, Glamorgan
Staff Club, Westgate Street, Cardiff. If what you read in Gagged! interests
you, why not come along!
Tuesday 7pm – at the PAD reading group subject ‘Turbulence’ see
www.turbulence.org.uk

GAGGED! #18 • August 2007• www.gaggedanarchist.tk • FREE
Produced by South Wales Anarchists • southwalesanarchists.org

War on Terror = War on Civil Liberties

South Wales cops have asked the Home Office for invasive powers to stop & search people in Cardiff following terror attacks in London & Glasgow Airport. In a move which echoes politicians’ calls to extend internment without charge, the police here are using the terror attacks as an excuse to extend their powers & further strip away civil liberties. Section 44 of the Terrorism Act gives the plod unprecedented stop & search powers & has already been misused to hassle demonstrators & others.
Speaking at the beginning of July Divisional Commander for Cardiff, Chief Superintendent Josh Jones said: ‘Communities defeat terrorism & I ask anyone who is stopped by a police officer over the next few days to help us by engaging positively & passing on any information that they may have.’

However, Assistant Chief Constable Giles York also said: ‘We have seen several well intentioned calls to the police & I am very encouraged at the vigilance being shown by the public of South Wales , particularly as there is no specific threat to the area.’

Does anyone else see a bit of a contradiction here? They’ve asked for powers to stop & search people because of the threat of terrorism, while at the same time admitting there is no threat to people in Cardiff . This is opportunist nonsense. The cops are yet again using people’s very real fear of terrorism as an excuse to get more powers for themselves.

Know your rights

If you’re stopped & searched under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 you have specific & clear rights that cops will ignore unless you make it clear you know them. They may try & get you to give them your personal details, & they may attempt to photograph you – they are not allowed to do either. Here are some pointers provided by the civil rights group Liberty:
• The police can only give you a pat down, remove outer clothes (eg: jacket, hat) search your bags, & have you empty your pockets
• You do not have to give your name or address.
• You do not have to explain why you are there.
• You are not allowed to flee the search, but you are not required to be actively compliant. You are allowed to “go limp” as passive resistance during the search if you do not wish to comply.
• There is no permission to collect DNA data during the search.
• You do not have to comply with any attempt to photograph or record you (although you cannot wear a mask).
• Women can not be touched by male police during these searches.
• Make notes about the officers searching you – name, number, & police force.
• Note the time & the events preceding the search.
• Note the specific wording used by the police to explain their authority to search.
• Ask police for the reason that they are searching you. Specifically, are they searching for terrorists or are they simply trying to deter, delay, or inconvenience you?
check out: www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk

Plod Spread Terror Fears

South Wales Police have been bleating to the press about the increased level of calls from frightened members of the public about so-called ‘suspicious’ behaviour. Instead of appealing for calm or just keeping their mouths shut, they’ve encouraged people to remain ‘vigilant’ against unknown or non-existent threats, & report every paranoid fantasy to the police.

Assistant Chief Constable Giles York said: ‘It is not only my officers making South Wales a hostile area for any terrorist activity, but also our communities. The public are our eyes & ears & we are grateful for the efforts they have taken to report anything which is slightly out of the ordinary.’
Exactly what are the best nuggets of ‘intelligence’ a frightened public have passed on to York & his team?

‘We have received calls from businesses who are reporting unusual purchases’, he said. ‘One supermarket in South Wales notified us of a group buying a large amount of digital cameras. In another call, the manager of a shopping centre notified us of a call he had received in which he was asked for maps of the centre.’

Digital cameras & maps of Cardiff ? Be afraid. Be very afraid.

York added: ‘Both of these calls turned out to have genuine explanations but I encourage anyone to get in contact with us if they have any concerns, no matter how trivial they may seem.’

Nobody is illegal

A Kebab-house was closed & 5 takeaway workers arrested when cops & immigration bureaucrats raided Cardiff’s ‘Chip Lane’ at the beginning of July.

One worker at Dorothy’s Fish Bar said: “There have been lots of police here, at least 20 officers. They sealed off Caroline Street at both ends & have been through all the takeaways looking for illegals. They checked all the staff’s passports & their status.”

It isn’t known what people were nicked for, they could have been so-called ‘illegal immigrants’ or asylum seekers awaiting Home Office approval to stay in the UK. Under current laws refugees are not allowed to work or earn money while their applications to stay are processed, having to live off tiny state handouts. If they work, they are forced into low-paying menial jobs, & if discovered they are arrested & deported.

Asylum seekers are often from countries where there has been military intervention by the West or regimes armed & supported by the UK. Nothing can justify the suffering that is imposed on innocent people like those arrested in Cardiff in the name of ‘immigration controls’. The rich will settle in whichever country makes them pay the least tax, but the poor are forced to risk their lives to try & make a better life for themselves. As Anarchists we believe in complete freedom of movement.

Picket lines

Royal mail staff in Wales took part in the 1st UK wide postal strike for 11 years on 29th June with another 24-hour strike beginning at 7pm on 12th July. Workers are angry at Royal Mails ‘modernisation’ plans, which will result in the loss of 40,000 jobs & cuts in wages & pensions. It will also mean higher stamp prices, less collections, later deliveries, cuts in weekend services & the closure of even more post offices.

*****

A high school in Denbighshire, north Wales, was forced to close as teachers staged a one day strike. Industrial action came following a long running dispute over new pay arrangements introduced in 2006 & serious concerns with working practices at the school with many staff feeling “demoralised & undervalued”. Sound familiar? Ah the predictability of capitalist working relations.

*****

Strike action at the troubled Grampian Food Group factory, Llangefni, Anglesey was cancelled at the last minute after workers accepted a 4% pay deal in a ballot on the 25th June. Workers were due to strike on 26th, 27th & 30th June because of disputes over pay, pensions & the growing casualisation of the workforce.

*****

Health workers across the UK are still considering strike action over a pay rise deal well below the rate of inflation. Earlier this year health workers were offered a miserable 2.5% pay rise. This was cut even further when both the government & employers said that in Wales, England & Northern Ireland this would be staged – with a 1.5% increase given from April & the final 2.5% settlement paid from November. However, following workers complaints & union pressure the respective governmental bodies of Wales & Northern Ireland were forced to make u-turns & health workers in these countries will now receive their pay rise in full backdated from April. This does not yet apply to health workers in England. UNISON has conducted a ballot of its health worker members (460,000 across the UK) for potential industrial action scheduled to take place in September 2007. Watch this space!

*****

Hospital workers at Ysbyti’r Tri Chwm, Ebbw Vale held a demonstration outside the hospital in protest against £120-a-year car parking charges for staff, which were introduced in April. A spokesperson for the Gwent NHS trust stated that charging for car parking was now standard practice at nearly all NHS hospitals in south Wales & that there was a need to maintain equity with staff in other hospital sites who already pay charges. But many workers feel that they are being charged for the privilege of going to work & that parking should be free for all staff, patients & visitors. Too right!

“Wales?” Same old tory Story

David Cameron’s “New” Tories have appointed an Eton-educated hereditary peer who knows “absolutely nothing” about Wales as Welsh Affairs spokesman. Lord Glentoran, who lives in Northern Ireland , said, “As far as the politics of Wales is concerned, as of 48 hours ago I knew absolutely nothing. I now know nothing, plus a bit. I know nothing about the politics but I know quite a lot about the geography.” he denied this was a problem as he had once stayed with a “literally working class family in Bristol“ when he was 16, before joining the Army. You couldn’t make it up!

NO PIPELINE!

On the morning of 19th June a huge number of police & bailiffs arrived at the anti-pipeline tree camp in Sennybridge, Brecon Beacons, to evict protesters from the trees.

The camp has successfully prevented the destruction of woodland in the Brecon Beacons National Park, on the route of the huge LNG pipleine, since January this year. Protesters were taken to court in early June & had been awaiting the eviction. Some people were locked on high up in the trees whilst others were underground in tunnels in order to delay National Grid’s multi-million pound destructive & dangerous project.The A40 road that ran past the camp was closed to traffic & police & bailiffs spent two days removing the activists. Many people headed down to give support but few made it onto site, most being kept in a police cordon outside with journalists.

In total 12 people were arrested, most receiving cautions or conditional discharge with a court fine. National Grid instantly began stripping away the land in order to prevent anyone occupying it again. Perhaps they forget that the route of the pipe is 200 miles long…plenty of room for more resistance!
The camp was successful in raising awareness of how the government & corporations are prioritising money over the future of our environment. Any claim they make to be taking climate change & environmental destruction seriously becomes a joke when they happily overrule objections so they can destroy supposedly ‘protected’ natural land to make way for yet more fossil fuels. Check out: www.fightthepipe.co.uk

Who watches the watchers?

Five security guards working in Welsh Assembly buildings, Cardiff were caught using CCTV cameras to look at nearby homes & hotels. While this has been going on for around two years, the voyeuristic security guards have received nothing more than a slap on the wrist. An assembly spokesperson claimed that these were “isolated” incidences, which were not thought to have infringed anyone’s privacy. We bet the people whose houses were spied on feel a whole lot better now!

Welfare for the Rich

Working class people in Wales are subsidising private industry not only through wage slavery (where the pay we take home is much less than the value of the work we do), but also in huge payouts to businesses funded by our taxes.

Tax is meant to be cash we lend the state so that they can pay it back to us in essential services, education, healthcare, & pensions. But politicians are giving millions to the rich so they can set up more businesses.

For 5 years the Welsh Assembly Government has given millions of taxpayers’ money to business in the form of Assembly Investment Grants (AIG) & Regional Selective Assistance (RSA). During the first 4 years of the scheme’s operations, over 1504 offers of AIG with a combined value of £45.8 million were made to businesses. In the 7 year period to March 2006 1173 offers of RSA with a combined value of a whopping £650 million were made to businesses undertaking capital investment projects in Wales.

These bribes for bosses are typical of the way in which governments operate. Sweeteners for the rich might look attractive to politicians, & might even boost the economy & create a few jobs in the short-term. But in the long-term the people of Wales lose out big-time: Once profits at these subsidised businesses start to fall they close down their factories, sack the workforce & move on to places where the labour is cheaper & new government subsidies are to be had.

Under “New” Labour the gap between rich & poor has widened massively. Payouts to the rich are a major cause of this inequality, the wealthy few can enjoy lives of comfort & extravagance while 3 million British children live in poverty.

COME CAMP WITH US!

Organising & struggling in our local communities is key to building strong social movements & bringing about lasting social change. But we also need to continue to come together in mass mobilisations. It is at convergence spaces like the ones at the recent anti-G8 protests (see Gagged! #17) that we get a glimpse of our collective power. They offer us the space to organise & come up with solutions to social & environmental problems without the need for leaders, where together we can create new worlds in the shell of the old. This summer there are at least two major protest camps in the UK – come camp with us: you know you want to!

CAMP FOR CLIMATE ACTION

On 14th-21st August, somewhere near Heathrow the 2nd Camp for Climate Action will take place, with 8 days of low-impact, sustainable living, learning, collective decision-making & direct action to highlight the problems of climate change & solutions to halt it.

Climate change is happening now. People are dying of starving now. Environmental refugees are moving now & according to the Red Cross already outnumber those displaced by armed conflict. The situation is only going to get worse – unless we act now! If we carry on with business as usual scientists predict a possible 6 degree rise in temperature. Last time the planet experienced this was 250 million years ago & 95% of all life was wiped off the face of the earth.

Our entire way of life is currently structured so that almost every aspect of our lives produces harmful carbon dioxide emission – travel, work, housing, food. In order to cut these emissions by the 90% that many scientists believe necessary, some very major changes need to occur. So where is this change going to come from? We believe that far from offering any solutions to our current ecological crisis governments are part of the problem. Neither can we expect corporations or the market to offer any real solutions. Although we all need to make changes in the ways we live, it’s not enough just to switch brands. We need to challenge the logic of capitalism, which got us into this mess in the first place. Capitalism is based on a very simple principle – perpetual economic growth. This leads to the constant over production of goods & services that we just don’t need, the consumption of the world’s finite resources & ever growing amounts of waste that our ecosystem just can’t deal with. Expecting corporations to sort this out is absurd. They are designed for one thing & that is the maximisation of profit.

The aviation industry is a major contributor to climate change. The main reason why the camp will be at Heathrow this year is to highlight the massive contradiction of the government claiming to be working to reduce emissions while setting the conditions for huge growth in flying, through airport expansion & subsidies on air fuel, which has stimulated a massive increasing in cheap flights.
Last year’s camp was a huge success (see Gagged! #13). Activists from south Wales joined over 600 people to take direct action against Drax powerstation, the UK’s largest carbon dioxide emitter & explored, debated & discussed grass roots alternatives to the current system. Let’s make this year’s camp an even bigger success! Together we can build a better world now! Check out: climatecamp.org.uk

No Border Camp 2007

On 19th-24th September will be the UK’s first “No Border Camp”, continuing the tradition of No Border protest camps across the world since the late 1990s. The government has recently announced its plans to build a new detention centre near Gatwick airport. This will be another in a long list of such places around the world. Places where people are locked up indefinitely & without trial, & from where they can be forcibly deported. Such detention prisons are an integral part of a systematic, racist, & barbarous policy of suffering. Together we can stop this one being built!

The camp will be an experiment in self-organisation. A chance to work together to stop the building of a new detention centre & gather ideas for how to build up the fight against migration controls. It will be an important opportunity to challenge & overcome the artificial borders of class, race, sex, sexuality, & nationality which divide us from each other, & act in solidarity with one another for a world without borders.

‘Freedom of movement’ is such a scary prospect for the wealthy few because migration undermines a central dimension of contemporary global capitalism – that people living in different parts of the world can be paid different wages. Borders, migration controls, notions of citizenship & the ‘rights’ that these entail are all integral mechanisms through which this unequal, exploitative world system is maintained. Without them there would be no way of confining people to a certain place, a certain set of working conditions & rate of pay. Check out: www.noborders.org.uk

COPWATCH

Cop Wankers Part II
Last month Gagged! reported how PC Richard Bowen got away with an 18 month suspended sentence & avoided jail after masturbating in front of an arrested woman in the back of a panda car. He was ordered to do 100 hours community service as a painter & decorator on the estate where he grew up. Let’s hope he doesn’t run out of wallpaper paste. This month we can reveal that yet another UK rozzer, Essex Police’s Martin Chapman, has been suspended for the same thing. It must be something about the uniform. There is a silver-lining though: a few more like this & they might all go blind.

Gwent Cops on Tax Payer-Funded fun
Members of the Gwent Police were living it up at our expense at major events this summer. Cops were sent on free trips to Glastonbury & Wimbledon, allegedly to get hints & tips on how to police major events ahead of the Ryder Cup, to be held in Newport in 2010. Superintendent Nigel Russell denied any suggestions cops had been on a junket to Europe’s biggest music festival, claiming they did not see any bands. “You won’t catch the cops in the moshpit,” he said, trying desperately not to sound like a cock.

Police Numbers Fall
Overpaid work-shy plod are retiring in their droves & not enough new ones are taking their place, according to new figures. For the first time in ages more police are leaving Welsh forces than are being recruited, because of a rise in retirement & resignation rates. The number of cops resigning from the four Welsh forces has more than doubled since 2002, while retirements have also shot up, from 110 in 2002 to 269 last year.

Cop Cars Trashed at Gypsy Camp
Two South Wales Police vehicles had their windows smashed in a disturbance at an official traveller’s camp. A Gypsy Council spokesman told the press he didn’t know anything about the incident, but added: “I’m surprised the police left their cars unattended. It doesn’t matter where they go on housing estates anywhere in the country, they shouldn’t leave them unattended. I don’t know any police force that would leave their cars.”

Welsh Plod Ignored Male Rape Victim
Police have apologised to a rape victim after their handling of his case was criticised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Geoffrey Cole, from Neath, was sexually assaulted in October 2005. When he reported the crime, police officers didn’t take him seriously, & failed to make adequate efforts to examine the crime scene for evidence. Mr Cole’s attacker has never been caught.

Diary Dates -If you are unsure about attending any of the events listed below, why not get in touch?

August
1-5 – Big Green Gathering – Sustainable living, music & hippies. Somerset. www.big-green-gathering.com
6 – South Wales Anarchists forum – a networking gathering with reports from all the local groups & campaigns. All welcome. 8pm, Glamorgan Staff Club, Westgate Street, Cardiff.
11 – No Borders Info-day & Social – to mobilise for the No Border camp; with speakers, films, food & live music. From 1pm at the PAD.
14-21 – Camp for Climate Action – near Heathrow airport. www.climatecamp.org.uk
27-30 – Smash EDO Action Camp – Direct Action against the war machine. www.smashedo.org.uk
September
11 – Disarm Desi – actions against Defence Systems & Equipment International arms fair. ExCel Centre, London. www.dsei.org
19-24 – No Borders Camp, near Gatwick. www.noborders.org.uk

Got any news or an event you want us to cover? send details to news@gaggedanarchist.tk

An audio version of Gagged! is available, just check out www.gaggedanarchist.tk, where you can also subscribe online. Five thousand copies of each issue are distributed throughout the region, we always looking to get Gagged! into new places. If you are interested in getting involved in any way, please get in touch info@gaggedanarchist.tk

Peoples Autonomous Destination
a physical space in Cardiff for groups & individuals who cannot or will not work within the constraints of governmental or corporate control.
Vegan fryup every sunday from 12noon.
Not-for-profit-shop every wednesday from 5pm. Plus free shop all the time.
meetings every wednesday from 7pm.
& lots more, check our notice board!
118 Clifton Street, Cardiff CF24 1LW • www.thepad.org.uk

Campaign Groups
Cardiff Rising Tide
is a grassroots group committed to taking action & building a movement against climate change. Meet irregularly, get in contact for details.
cardiff@risingtide.org.uk
www.risingtide.org.uk
No Borders Wales
organises on migration issues & acts to break down boundaries that divide us. Meet thursdays 7pm at PAD.
noborderswales@riseup.net
www.noborders.org.uk
Cardiff Reading Anti-Capitalism
is a study/reading group exploring revolutionary vision & strategy. Meet 7pm last tuesday of the month at PAD.

Cardiff Anarchist Network (CAN) is a collective of people who want to pursue political demonstrations through direct action. There are no leaders, just like minded individuals. cardiffanarchists@riseup.net myspace.com/cardiffanarchists Meet 8pm mondays at PAD.

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. gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk myspace.com/gwentanarchists Meet 8.30pm every other monday at the Murenger House, High Street, Newport.

Pembrokeshire Anarchists is a group of like minded people who believe in direct action, justice, freedom & autonomy, are against capitalism, exploitation & bigotry. pembrokeshireanarchists@riseup.net myspace.com/pembrokeshireanarchists

Rhondda Cyon Taf Anarchists are an autonomous group of free-thinking individuals who reject capitalism & resist state control through direct action. We work towards the creation of a world based on justice & freedom. rctanarchists@riseup.net

For more news from all over the world like the sort you find in Gagged! take a look at: www.schnews.org.uk www.indymedia.org.uk www.libcom.org www.anarkismo.net www.infoshop.org

info@gaggedanarchist.tk
http://www.gaggedanarchist.tk

Camp for Climate Action – all the info you need to get there with the right stuff, take action & do workshops

The Camp for Climate Action 2007 – Tuesday 14th August to Tuesday 21st August
Check out Indymedia for news during the camp – this website will not get updated for the duration – site occupied: come on down.

Key information for people coming
Avenge the Planet – www.reclaimtheskies.com – information for action
24 Hours of Mass Action
Location/getting there
Workshop programme
Toolkit for climate action
Injunction: all-clear details & legal briefing
Legal advice to read before arrival
Eight days of low-impact living, debates, learning skills, and high-impact direct action tackling the root causes of climate change. Why?

The science is clear: global emissions of carbon dioxide must go into rapid decline within the next decade. If they don’t, humanity faces a bleak future.

To achieve this in a way that respects global justice means 90% cuts in developed countries like the UK. How will we cut emissions and end inequality? How will we achieve this in the face of an economic system intent on expanding at any cost, with corporations stealing the language of change to disguise business as usual? Ordinary people will have to join together to create real solutions and take direct action against the root causes of the problem.

This year the Camp for Climate Action will be at Heathrow, the world’s busiest airport and a bigger source of CO2 emissions than most countries. It’s sheer lunacy in this time of ecological crisis, but the aviation industry are pushing to almost double the airport’s capacity by increasing flights and building a third runway. The battle to stop them will be one of the most important environmental battles in Western Europe.

What we do now decides what the future holds. Those who came before us didn’t know the problem, those who come after us will have severely limited options. We have both the power and the responsibility to make a radically better world.

By uniting in collective action this summer we can begin to make it happen.

============================================================================================

Newly published – leaflet and website:
Heathrow Airport and the industries that make it work

Avenge the Planet – encouraging affinity group action against the aviation industry
Hot action not hot air

Full details at www.reclaimtheskies.com

Out Now! Toolkit for Climate Action

Just in time for the 2007 Climate Camp – the Toolkit for Climate Action is now ready. With this toolkit we hope to inspire you to take action – at home, at school, at work, in your community. The toolkit has been put together by the Network for Climate Action, which is has grown out of and is associated with the Climate Camp.

The toolkit contains masses of useful information related to climate chaos including:
*useful contacts, *action resources, *group working, *outreach ideas, *images and graphics, *press and media, *facts and science, *positive alternatives, *flyers and posters, *films and music

You can look at it on the web:

http://www.networkforclimateaction.org.uk

It’s also available as a pack containing a DVD with all the resources on it, printed guides on direct action, legal issues, media and publicity, plus a contact list for people involved in climate action.

Pick up your pack at the Big Green Gathering or the Climate Camp.

Or if you can’t wait or aren’t going there, we can post one to you.

Donations would be great too!
Contact Details
http://www.networkforclimateaction.org.uk/toolkit/contactus.html

CONTRIBUTE!
We’d like the resource website grow and maybe we’ll even put out a second paper edition. If you are up for helping get in touch! Let us know you have any useful climate related resources that should be on it.

FEEDBACK
The pack’s been put together by just a few people and it was lots and lots of work – which means that some of it may not be as great as it could be. It’d be really good to get your comments and offers of help to improve it.

http://www.networkforclimateaction.org.uk

No More Bull On Climate Change: Action this Saturday

24.07.2007

PRESS RELEASE
NO MORE BULL ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change campaigners to descend on Cornmarket Street

24.07.2007

PRESS RELEASE
NO MORE BULL ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change campaigners to descend on Cornmarket Street

No more bull…

This Saturday many environmental campaigners will descend on Cornmarket Street to raise awareness about climate change. A colourful, vibrant, and varied crowd will be running around Oxford.

One activist who will be taking part in one of the many actions this Saturday said:
“Climate change is the most pressing issue of our time, if we don’t take action now to slow down the oncoming disaster then no-one can.”

The main action will occur from 12pm at a well-known landmark, other actions will be taking place around the town. There will also be a Flash Mob beach party resplendent in bikinis and bermuda shorts.

The recent flooding in Oxfordshire led to many people being removed from some of the worst hit areas, the Oxford Mail reported that over 200 people needed to be evacuated to safety[1]. The Guardian reported that the ‘flash floods in Britain are likely to be the biggest immediate problem caused by climate change'[2].

Another campaigner semi-joked of the current flooding:
“If the water keeps on rising, we’ll have to build an ark!”

This action has been called as part of the upcoming Camp for Climate Action[3] where hundreds of people will meet, participate in workshops, and take action on the root causes on climate change.

The Camp for Climate Action will be at Heathrow Airport from the 14th – 21st August.

ENDS

Notes to editor:

1.Matt Wilkinson, ‘Flooding: Evacuation hotel full’, Oxford Mail, 24/07/07
2.Matthew Weaver, ‘Flash floods ‘biggest climate threat to UK’, The Guardian, 12/07/07
3.The Camp for Climate Action is a national campaign to encourage people to tackle the root causes of climate change. In 2006, 600 campaigners marched on Drax Power Station in Selby to protest against carbon emissions; this year the aviation industry will be challenged. See www.climatecamp.org.uk for more details.
4.A study by Oxford University, published by the Inter-governmental Committee on Climate Change, found that there will 25 million environmental refugees who will be displaced by climate chaos.