Action Reports – Page 280

Bristol Protest against G8 and Climate Catastrophe, 8th June

Stop them driving the planet to destruction

CRITICAL MASS, Friday 8th June – 8am in the MORNING!
Assemble on St. Augustines Parade at 8am sharp to move off when critical mass forms.

Stop them driving the planet to destruction

CRITICAL MASS, Friday 8th June – 8am in the MORNING!
Assemble on St. Augustines Parade at 8am sharp to move off when critical mass forms.

What are we doing?
As a start we are calling for a critical mass on the morning of Friday June 8th as the wake up call to a day of action in solidarity with those protesting against the G8 meeting in Germany. We hope that this will act as a catalyst for other groups and individuals in Bristol to mark the occasion however they see fit.

Whether it be a pensioners mass march, a playground protest, or you and yer mates throwing a literal or symbolic wrench in the works, get off your arse and show ‘em you’re mad as hell and aren’t going to take it no more!

Why should you be angry?
CLIMATE CHAOS
We all know the terrifying statistics: a million species extinct by 2050, 19 of the 20 hottest years on record since 1980, Greenland and Antarctica melting, droughts, floods, famines. The G8 have had over 30 years to address climate change and only succeeded in providing trillions in subsidies to the very industries that are destroying our planet and our future.

And while the G8 continues to line their pockets, island states disappear and hundreds of thousands die as a result of the freak weather conditions caused by their irrational and uncontrollable obsession with never ending economic growth. We have a ten-year window to act. As the megalomaniac G8 leaders meet in Germany, masked behind a barrier of fences and soldiers, intent on leading us further towards catastrophic and irreversible climate chaos, we must shout, scream and roar ˜no more”. Now is the time to take direct action and shut them down, them and their climate criminal industry friends!

THE USUAL SUSPECTS
While climate chaos effects us all, those on the front line are those already devastated by the cruelty of global capitalism – the poor and disadvantaged. While the G8 looks to the markets to solve the problem by turning emissions into a product that can be bought and sold, they purposely ignore the only effective solution – an end to the consumerist mass-market society.

Ironically consumerism is the way of life that the G8 is forcing poorer countries to adopt in order to have their poverty, debt and trade problems alleviated. Societies are manipulated into becoming precarious McCountries: from exporting cheap mass produced goods from sweatshops to feed western appetites, to providing playground paradises for the rich.

All this does is feed climate chaos and create further carbon emissions to be traded as ‘credits’ between the richest countries.

ANGRY YET?
So what are you going to do about it? Buy a wristband, go to a concert, sign a petition, go on an organised mass march?

Remember Jubilee 2000? Third world debt is worse than ever.
Remember Make Poverty History? It didn’t.
Remember Stop the War? We haven’t

The G8 leaders have carried on with their own agenda and fancy footwork. The only way that governments will listen to us is if we force them to – this is the only effective form of protest, which is why freedom to protest effectively is being eroded and outlawed. We are sleepwalking into a society where dissent will not be tolerated, and it’s time to wake up!

Why June 8th?
The 8th of June International Day of Action Against Climate Change and the G8 has been called by the International Rising Tide Network. This is a call for autonomous, decentralized actions appropriate for your town, city, or local area.

We want to send a message to the protestors on the streets and in the jails of Germany that we stand in solidarity with them and their actions.

Why a Critical Mass?
Critical Mass demonstrations are not just about highlighting the problems facing cyclists, they are used effectively across the world as an effective way of protesting. The first one happened in San Francisco in1992 and since then enthusiasts in many towns and cities worldwide have followed suit. It is difficult to describe CM as opinions differ widely but they seem to range from a simple celebration of cycling to an anti-authoritarian blockade of traffic, particularly cars, with many facets in between.

Cycling protests have already been happening as a part of the actions against the G8 summit, and the heavy handed response to them shows that the authorities feel they are effective and fear them.

On the 7th May in Utrecht (Holland), mounted police attacked, beat, arrested and did significant damage to a peaceful bicycle caravan on its way to Germany – http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/369998.html for details.

On 25th May in Hamburg (Germany), Over 250 people involved in the G8 mobilization took to the streets of Hamburg in a Critical Mass. The police broke up the group of cyclists by driving between them with vehicles and by running and standing in front of them. The cops followed the smaller groups of cyclists to get them to disperse. 12 people were arrested and held for several hours – http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/371656.html for details.

Also on the 25th, Bristol’s own Critical Mass was subject to a heavy-handed police response. Although obviously not on the same scale, the reason behind it was the same – to smash the Critical Mass as a form of protest because it is effective. This forms part of a concerted effort by police across the UK to stop the protests, including attempts to criminalise the action and its participants (that failed). See http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/371358.html for details. And see http://bristol.indymedia.org/newswire.php?story_id=24359&search_text=Critical%20mass&results_offset=15 for details of 200 plus riders on Bristol CM on 28/11/05 held in solidarity with London CM after the cops threatened them. Who says CM isn’t political?

Why in the morning?
The usual monthly Critical Mass in Bristol is a separate entity that focuses on the rights of cyclists, while the intention of the June 8th is to have a wider focus and so the change of time will differentiate the two. Also there has been criticism that the monthly Mass stops Bristolians from getting home for the weekend, which can lead to a lack of wider support.

This Critical Mass is a present to the working people of Bristol! If well attended, the demonstration could mean big delays in getting to work on a Friday morning, and a perfect excuse for phoning in late – and who but the bosses wouldn’t support that! Spread the word to those you work with, but remember we need the numbers on the ride to make it happen!

Remember, the streets are ours, Critical Mass is NOT illegal (yet!), and you have to get out of bed early in the morning if you’re going to outwit those who want to take away your freedom to protest!

Bristol Rising Tide Website – http://risingtide.org.uk/bristol

More info on the G8 protests in Germany –http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/05/371754.html

For posters and flyers see http://bristol.indymedia.org/newswire.php?story_id=26367

Brecon Tree Camp & Reading Community Garden court hearings – evictions possible

National Grid are getting ready to evict Brecon, Brecon are getting ready to fight, please join us.

National Grid have set the court date to begin the eviction of the Brecon Tree Camp. There will be two people representing us, if you wish to be there ring the site phone on 07903152822. The hearing is in Cardiff on Thursday 7th June.

National Grid are getting ready to evict Brecon, Brecon are getting ready to fight, please join us.

People are needed on site, machinery has been moved almost onto the site and eviction is expected from maybe Friday or Monday, if you are available to come please, please do. Ring the site phone for information or for advise on what needs doing, i.e legal support.

This is it folks…

fightthepipe@hotmail.co.uk
http://www.fightthepipe.co.uk

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Eviction of squatted community garden

A community garden built on disused council land was opened to the public on may 19th. The land had been was previously used as a shooting gallery by junkies, but was turned into a beautiful garden, outside official jurisdiction, by local activists.
The council, however, put the wheels in motion for the eviction, before it even opened.
But the opening was a great success and the garden has opened every day since (ignoring the council’s injunction).
At 10am on monday 4th June the eviction hearing will go ahead. There will be a demonstration outside, complete with press coverage.
There will be another demonstration/resistance on wednesday or thursday (a more exact time when we have it) when the bailiffs come round to evict and close down the garden.

Please show your support for this community project by protesting outside the court (Friar street, reading) or helping resist the eviction later in the week.

Many thanks, Katesgrove community garden collective

Brecon Tree Camp Open Day 9th June

Protestors against National Grid’s monster pipeline, need your support, come and visit us in Brecon.

To oppose National Grid’s 197 Mile long, 48 inches wide, 94 bar pressure gas pipe that is running through the Brecon Beacon National Park there has been a protest site set up along the route, this is currently preventing National Grid causing more destruction in this area. Having the camp is delaying work which will cost them millions of pounds and gives us time to work on stopping them indefinitely. It’s also fun, educational and free. Unfortunately the time has come and eviction is due any day now, so…

Protestors against National Grid’s monster pipeline, need your support, come and visit us in Brecon.

We invite you to join us on site for our open day on Saturday 9th June:

There will be:
Free Workshops (including Climbing Instruction by our qualified instructor)
Free Food (suitable for Vegans)
Information and display board about this pipeline
Free Accommodation (if you want to stay)
Advise and guidance in protesting
Fun, frolics and friendship!

This is the perfect way to learn more about why we are protesting this pipeline, what can be done about it and to experience life on a protest site.

The Brecon Camp is located about 5 miles from Brecon Town Centre, in the National Park on the A40 (West of Brecon). It is opposite Penpoint Church and is obviously marked with banners. Parking is available in front of the camp, or a bus goes along the road every two hours and will stop outside, or hitching is usually possible. If you want to come down but have difficultly with transport, email us, we might be able to help you.

For more information check: www.fightthepipe.co.uk or email us at fightthepipe@hotmail.co.uk
Brecon Tree Camp Site phone number is 07903152822

Rostock, Global Agricultural day of action

Video Rush of the anti GM March, 03/06/2007; part of the G8 protests – for full coverage, see indymedia.org.uk

Video 20070603_Anti_GM_March – video/x-ms-wmv 11M

Video Rush of the anti GM March, 03/06/2007; part of the G8 protests – for full coverage, see indymedia.org.uk

Video 20070603_Anti_GM_March – video/x-ms-wmv 11M

Mac Users, download Flip4Mac to view.
Watch video.
Be happy.

Can I be nominated for the best shots of the cutest kid award?

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Rostock Sunday. Global Agricultural day of action.

Despite its claims to the contrary the G8 has done bugger all to alleviate starvation in the world. In fact the number of people starving in the world is now at an all time high. Sunday was the day nominated to draw attention to all things unfair in the world of agriculture so a roving demo toured the town to tackle the issues

It has to be said that following Saturdays carnage this decidedly fluffy affair was a welcome assignment. There was a band on a float which sounded like a cross between Orbital and the Levellers, also a Samba band and other assorted drummers and musicians. As well as the usual activists several farmers from Germany and around the world were in attendance raising awareness about everything from GM crops and livestock to exploitation, pollution and corrupt subsidies.

One port of call was Lidl whose crimes include low pay, non recognition of unions, promoting GM and selling shit food. Speeches were made here and at several other locations.

Despite the obvious fact that this demo was going to be less confrontational than a sit-in by the Hare Krishnas, two hundred cops in full riot gear were in attendance. This gives the impression that their Policing is not what you would describe as ‘intelligence led’. With nothing else to do they kept themselves occupied by searching anyone under the age of 30 who was wearing an item of black clothing. No arrests were made.

The demo finished with more speeches in the square with plenty of interesting facts and figures. One example is that milk producing EU cows are subsidised for two dollars a day. Meanwhile starving Africans? One dollar a day!

Investigation leads to chicken rescue by Gloucestershire animal activists.

Gloucestershire Animal Action press release – For immediate release
Sunday, June 03, 2007

Five month investigation leads to chicken rescue by Gloucestershire animal activists.

Five months ago activists from Gloucestershire Animal Action learned of a farm in Gloucester which had been visited by DEFRA after the rotting carcasses of chickens and pigs were left causing a stench which had affected the local community.

Gloucestershire Animal Action press release – For immediate release
Sunday, June 03, 2007

Five month investigation leads to chicken rescue by Gloucestershire animal activists.

Local press covered the incident in which the farm owner had claimed that around one hundred animals die per week at the facility. Activists visited the farm at Little Witcombe in Gloucester with the intention of documenting the condition in which the animals were housed which have resulted in the deaths of so many animals.

With our investigation footage we hope to highlight the reality of modern non caged “barn” egg businesses to show that free-range and barn eggs are in no way a guarantee that your food is ethically produced in many cases barn egg systems are worse than battery cage systems and if you wish to be a truly ethical person you really need to go vegan. The government has maintained that veganism is a very healthy way to live, you can almost half your carbon footprint in most cases and you can live a cruelty free lifestyle knowing that no animals or humans are being exploited for your diet!

The following is the account from one activist involved in the investigation:

“We entered one of the long sheds which hadn’t been secured properly late one evening, making sure to protect the animals inside we disinfected our feet and clothing before entering. To be honest I was expecting to have to search for animals in a bad condition but the reality was it was more difficult to find animals that looked healthy, maybe one in fifteen chickens weren’t in a bad condition. The air was acrid and filled with ammonia and dust particles and the fans didn’t seem to be working properly. The worker chart on the wall had said that 6 deaths had occurred in one day in a single shed and there are fourteen sheds on the farm. It would seem that this is the norm for a facility that holds more than 70,000 chickens.”

During the following months the activists returned to check the conditions which didn’t seem to be improving. After sufficient evidence had been gathered in order to highlight the plight of the hens inside a collective decision was made by those involved that we would attempt to rescue and give veterinary care to a small amount of the chickens (Thirteen in total).

The rescue took place during the early hours of a warm night in May, three activists entered a barn with animal carriers and recording equipment, footage was recorded and photos taken, the animals were then carefully loaded into animal carriers and into a converted laundry bag, they were then transported to a house for the night for food and water. The next morning they were taken to live out their lives at a sanctuary. It should be remembered that these animals have never experienced sunlight or fresh air and to see these intelligent creatures being given a chance to live with real food and fresh water in fantastic conditions brought those involved to tears. We can only hope that the remaining thousands of animals and billions of animals breed each year for our animal diet experience the same luxury one day.

Gloucestershire Animal Action are a peaceful group of individuals, we consider our actions to be totally justified and are willing to accept any repercussions as a result of our actions. During our visits we saw no signs which indicated that the property was private. We are aware that we have caused damage to a lock on the farm during our last visit and we will be sending a payment to cover the cost of replacing the lock however we will not be paying for the chickens taken. We however welcome donations via our website towards transportation costs and vet bills.

Note: The activists wear face coverings during the rescue to prevent identification this is for personal safety and to protect their freedom, animal activists have been imprisoned for years after rescuing animals from facilities such as this one.

For information about Gloucestershire Animal Action you can visit their website at www.stopanimalcruelty.co.uk or you can watch the full video of the rescue online via YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=JllgcO0f_Gg

Enawene Nawe block highway to stop dam

4th June 2007
A few days ago the Enawene Nawe set up a road blockade in protest to a series of hydroelectric dams which will destroy their fishing grounds, which they depend on.

Today they dismantled the blockade and have begun travelling to the capital of Brazil to meet government officials.

4th June 2007
A few days ago the Enawene Nawe set up a road blockade in protest to a series of hydroelectric dams which will destroy their fishing grounds, which they depend on.

Today they dismantled the blockade and have begun travelling to the capital of Brazil to meet government officials.

From Survival International – The Indians mounted the blockade on 31 May to protest against plans to build a series of hydroelectric dams along the Juruena river, which they say will destroy their vital fishing grounds.

According to local press reports, several neighbouring tribes joined the protest and about 100 Indians armed with bows and arrows effectively isolated the northwestern part of the state.

A commission composed of government officials and the police negotiated with the Enawene Nawe who agreed to halt their blockade if they could meet with the president of FUNAI (the Brazilian government’s Indian affairs department) to raise their concerns.

A delegation of Enawene Nawe set out today on the long journey to Brasília. (source. Also see this article about the blockade)

Camping campaigners in byelaws battle (and a 9th June Aldermaston party invite!)

1.06.2007
New byelaws for Britain”s nuclear weapons factory – AWE Aldermaston – came into force yesterday. This brief article reflects on the implications for campaigners and challenges being mounted to yet another criminalisation of protest … and invites women to join the peace camp for a fabulous camp birthday cocktail party on 9 June.

As with many military sites across Britain, land at AWE Aldermaston has been subject to specific military byelaws for many years. While these theoretically criminalise a range of otherwise non-criminal activities, they have not been enforced. At bases around the country where byelaws have been used against protesters they have almost universally fallen following legal challenges (most famously at Greenham Common where thousands of cases were thrown out after the byelaws fell).

However, as of 31 May 2007, spanking new byelaws for AWE Aldermaston came into force. Undoubtedly the MoD will be hoping that they have learnt from previous byelaws disasters and now removed all technical, human rights, and other inherent flaws. [1]

Human rights
The new Aldermaston byelaws were quietly put out to consultation in April 2006, and in their original form, would have prohibited all forms of protest at AWE Aldermaston. The proposed byelaws would have denied the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association as they criminalised meetings, assemblies and processions (sections 7 (f) and (h)). They would also have prohibited handing out leaflets and holding placards, thus denying freedom of expression.

Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp(aign), and supporters, made submissions to the MoD’s Byelaws Review Committee under the Human Rights Act, and succeeded in gaining the removal or amendment of several of the originally proposed “criminal” activities.

Protecting the MoD from peacewomen
The consultation on the Aldermaston byelaws took place as the Terrorism Act 2006 enabled the provisions of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCRAP) to apply to Aldermaston and a number of other military sites in the UK. To date, SOCRAP has been used once against a protester at Aldermaston. It remains unclear as to whether the Attorney General will give assent for the prosecution to proceed. [2]

Defence Estates commented at the time that “The Military Lands Byelaws and the SOCAP powers, although capable of being used independently, are mutually supportive and together provide a layered form of legal protection for the Ministry of Defence.” [3]

Implications for protest
The amended byelaws, although theoretically allowing protest at Aldermaston, now threaten the very existence of the women’s peace camp – which has been protesting outside the nuclear weapons factory every month for the past 22 years. The new byelaws criminalise camping and lighting “bonfires” (the women use a camp fire to keep warm and cook). The byelaws also criminalise things as simple as attaching banners to the fence at Aldermaston, which women have traditionally done to alert passers by to the nuclear weapons factory, or are as vague as “causing annoyance to any other person” [4]

It is impossible to predict whether the new byelaws will be strictly enforced, however, presumably the MoD didn’t go to all the bother of creating new ones in order for them to sit on a shelf gathering as much dust as the previous version!

Challenges
Women from Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp(aign) have called for a celebratory camp birthday cocktail party on Saturday 9 June. This will be the first camp weekend after the byelaws come into force and we would like to invite as many women as possible to join us. Of course this will be a fantastic party in its own right, but we would also like to send a clear message to the MoD that women will continue to occupy space outside AWE Aldermaston, continue resisting Britain’s nuclear weapons programme, and continue claiming the right to protest. [5]

On another front, a legal challenge to the byelaws has been mounted and there has been positive legal advice on the prospects of its success. Treasury Solicitors have been informed that despite the welcome changes to the byelaws, they remain disproportionate and are incompatible with the Human Rights Act. The next step will be to bring a Judicial Review.

We don’t know whether the police will enforce the bylaws at the time of the party. If they do, women should be able to attend the party and not risk arrest provided they heed police statements at the time and move to safe pitches. That said, the more women that are prepared to risk arrest the greater the effectiveness of the gathering.

Do come anyway: it is the women’s cocktail party of the year!
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NOTES:
1 Read the full byelaws at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/20071066.htm
2 See http://www.aldermaston.net/news/169
3 See http://www.aldermaston.net/news/107
4 See AWE Byelaws, Section 7 (2)
(f) camp in tents, caravans, trees or otherwise;
(g) attach any thing to, or place any thing over any wall, fence, structure or other surface;
(j) act in any way likely to cause annoyance, nuisance or injury to other persons;
(k) light bonfires or do anything likely to cause an outbreak of fire;
5 See http://www.aldermaston.net for party invitation
info@aldermaston.net

The Basement Social Centre (Manchester) needs you! Workday 2nd June…

After the fire on Lever Street, the Basement Social Centre is in need of urgent help.

Greetings dear friends and comrades

***please forward this message to anyone who may be interested and / or able to help***

After the fire on Lever Street, the Basement Social Centre is in need of urgent help.

Greetings dear friends and comrades

***please forward this message to anyone who may be interested and / or able to help***

Some bad news I’m afraid. Although The Basement is structurally sound and in good spirits the fire damage sustained by the rest of 24 Lever Street was much more severe than we were originally told. Most significantly the top two floors were gutted by fire and office above us was waterlogged. Their floorboards (ie our ceiling) needs totally replacing.

All tenants of the building have been instructed to vacate the premises as soon as possible for health and safety reasons whilst renovation is completed. Hence the collective clean-up operation is now more of a box up and get out…

We urgently need the following:

• Storage space – can you fit some of our treasures in your attic / cellar / shed / living room etc?
• People to help us pack up and move during the next week or so
• Empty boxes, access to vans, tools for removing fittings, torches and headlamps for working with etc
would also all be handy
• If you have any items stored in the basement please get in touch as soon as possible and arrange
collection of them

NB we have had a new shutter fitted for security reasons so please check someone is about to unlock
before making a journey

If you can help please
• ring / text the NEW BASEMENT MOBILE on 07925 771017 or
• email mustsocial@yahoo.co.uk
• come to the General Meeting this Thursday 31 May 7pm at The Town Hall Tavern Tib Lane,
http://www.whathappenedlastnight.net/manchester/bars/the%20town%20hall%20tavern

WE WILL BE BACK – but the timeline is a little blurry.
It’s likely to be a few (possibly 4ish) months. We will of course update you as soon as we know anything.

Our apologies to everyone who is inconvenienced by our enforced temporary closure – we will strive to open again as soon as we can.

In the meantime, thanks as ever to all who have shown solidarity, love and practical support, we will return as soon as possible in a stronger and more glorious phoenix style

PS please also get in touch or come along on thursday if you’re interested in some subversive basement
shenanigans during the ear to the ground gig this sunday.

mustsocial@yahoo.co.uk
http://thebasement.clearerchannel.org/

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Urgent Basement Workday Tomorrow

workday from 12 noon, saturday 2nd june at the basement

sadly the basement social centre is going to be shut for 4ish months due to the state of the building above us. We need to get everything out as soon as possible…

we urgently need:
O cars and vans to help transport stuff
O places to store things (attics, cellars, spare rooms etc)
O people to help pack and move
O boxes!!!

if you can help with any of the above please call the basement mobile 07925771017
email mustsocial@yahoo.co.uk or pop down to 24 lever street on saturday afternoon and get stuck in

over the summer we will also need help fundraising and plotting to make sure our phoenix like resurrection is truly splendid…. watch out for details….

love and industrial packing tape

the basement collective

*******please forward shamelessly to anyone who might be able to help******

Biofuels protest in Aberdeen

Aberdeen Campaign Against Climate Change held a protest inside the auditorium of the All Energy conference in Aberdeen on Wednesday 23rd May. They unfurled anti-biofuels banners and interrupted a speech by US Ambassador to the UK, Robert Tuttle, in which he was praising the efforts of the US to fight climate change and was claiming that biofuels are part of the solution.

The protestors left peacefully when asked and continued their protest outside the show venue, Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.

The All Energy conference also promoted wind, solar and marine energy sources as part of the solution to climate change. The protest was held to make sure that people distinguish between these clean, truly renewable sources of energy on the one hand and biofuels from large-scale monocultures on the other.

The Aberdeen edition of the Press and Journal reported the protest well (see picture at
http://3276.e-printphoto.co.uk/ajl/index.cfm?z=z&y=y&p_id=5176411&c_id=8
401&action=view).

Background:
The US government have been sabotaging progress at international climate conferences for years and their emissions continue to rise steeply. Large-scale biofuels do not mitigate global warming but make it happen even faster, as rainforests and other ecosystems are rapidly being destroyed to make way for vast monocultures to grow crops for cars in rich nations. Biofuel production has already been responsible for global food price rises which have been the target of recent riots in Mexico. People in the global South are suffering a double whammy, firstly as they are suffering most from severe weather events caused by excessive green house gas emissions from rich countries and now by having their livelihoods destroyed by massive biofuels monocultures which are imposed by rich countries trying to solve their energy problems. People are being forcibly removed from their biodiverse farms and are suffering health problems from agricultural chemicals. Both intensive agriculture and deforestation are major contributors to global warming and biofuels threaten to greatly increase those emissions.

For more info on biofuels see www.biofuelwatch.org.uk.

aberdeen_climatechange@yahoo.co.uk
http://climatechangecampaign.blogspot.com

Critical Mass reports – London, Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol, Edinburgh, York

London:
The cycle police were pretty laid back and vastly outnumbered, though they did still try to manage the ride by blocking the front so that the back could catch up. What does it matter if a 1,000 riders get split into two or more though? Towards the end of the ride the police seemed to give up doing anything, they didn’t even try to stop a couple of cars going the wrong way down a one way street, and they just blended in and became a part of the Mass.

The police intervened with an incident with a young rider at King’s Cross. I couldn’t make out whether the rider had been involved in accident and the police were just taking particulars or if the rider was being reprimanded. Anyway this led to some booing from the Mass.

Participants did quite a lot of blockading traffic and even a small sit
down in Parliament Square, though this was probably celebratory and
defiant. Nothing was done to stop the sound systems playing in the SOCPA zone this time. The impression I got from other riders was that this was a very good Mass. I went expecting the worst and got almost the best.

http://criticalmasslondon.org.uk

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the incident at kings cross involved a rider being caught stealing a light from the back of a cops bike. the police got pissed and tried to arrest her but a few other riders, and unfortunately i mean a few, intervened and let it be known that it would be very difficult for the police to arrest her – which they decided would therefore not be worth it. i personally think that those on the CM should not allow fellow riders to be arrested – an easy thing to acheive when we vastly outnumber the cops.
respect to the few that helped out.

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The atmosphere on the ride was really friendly with a few small sound systems and a variety of pretty mad bikes and trailers adding to the magic. There were loads of new faces and people of every age and background.

There were also plenty of cops. They had talked to a few people as the ride met up at Waterloo Bridge and were seen handing some kind of paperwork to the owner of one of the sound systems, but no sign of any significant attempt to curtail the ride. Far from being oppressive, they kept themselves to themselves on the whole.

I personally got a quite pissed off a few times by seemingly inconsiderate behavior from the ride itself – for example, not letting pedestrians cross the road. In another example, a bus coming in the opposite direction was blocked by cyclists on the wrong side of the road and held up for at least ten minutes as a result.
The cops did grab a few idiots and give them some stern words on several occasions throughout the ride for cycling on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic.

The police made fools of themselves at Parliament Square when they tried to block the rides third or forth rotation around the square and ended up stalling the ride there for a good half hour. The ride would have moved off much quicker if left to it’s own devices as the ride likes to move and becomes impatient when people stop.

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Videos from London:

Quicktime video – video/mp4 9.3M
Windows video – video/x-ms-wmv 13M

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Manchester video rough-cut

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BIG BIKE BLESSING – Another great Critical Mass bike ride in Glasgow

About 80 cyclists came out to the Big Bike Blessing on this sunny evening in Glasgow. The priest from the church of the Holly Bikes were sent by St Cycle to help cyclists realize that by ridding their bikes they are actually saving the city dwellers and the planet at the same time. Every cyclists was praised as a hero, a savior for they are the only ones that can help this oil driven economy. They are the only ones that can bring fresh air to the contaminated city. They are the ones taking action on a daily bases no matter where they are from, what their religion might be, or what their profession is. The bike will save us. AMEN!

Holly oil was used to bless about 20 bikes and every cyclist was thanked for their incredible achievement, their heroic act of using their self propelled vehicles. They were told that the Great St Cycles is looking over all of us and that we will be looked after during our ride around the city as long as we stick together.

The ceremonious aspect of this gathering actually created some great interactions and made people curious to the point of wanting to know more. There were some very interesting discussion about our religious belief in bikes (which challenged people in their own beliefs). This also brought all the cyclists together.

As for cultural diversity, and just to show that it’s not about the religion but about bikes, there were a few people sending blessings dressed in a more Hindu style as well. There was even some strange reptile that decided to join the ceremonies of the day.

The Weird Bike Show brought out the ZEM (Zero Emissions Machine) once again, with it’s hopping sound system and provided the brothers and sisters from the church of the Holly Bikes a brilliant ride.

The promised Divine Intervention did occur around Trongate where a pair of shoes belonging to no other than St Cycles were carefully left on top of an electric box before he himself was taken to the sky.

As for the police charging cyclists of blocking traffic last month, there was a completely different vibe this month. There were two police officers on bikes that came along to the ride. They were very mellow and therefor were given quite a few blessings.

We also have some excellent footage that shows how fast bikes can get out of the way to let things like fire trucks and the police through. The only thing holding these emergency vehicles up were the motors … not bikes.

The mass finished in George Sq where everyone left was stamped with a ‘Bike Route’ Stamp ensuring a special discount to the gig at the Art School with Jumble Sales Sound System and Bedlam Boudoir fancy burlesque night.

For those that claimed Critical Mass was dead … I’m pleased to inform you that our numbers are still growing and we’re loving it.

Bless you Bike!!

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Bristol: Critical Mass yesterday was phenomenal. I think we had over 100 participants and it was flowing beautifully for about 40 minutes… Then of course some drivers, three I think, all got a bit impatient all at once and a couple of cyclists were knocked over, 14 police cars an ambulance and a riot van, two arrests later, tail backs from the Fountains right up past Stokes Croft… all got a bit nasty. It will be interesting to see if the press have anything to say and what the police presence is next time…

Just to be clear though, whilst there was quite a lot going on as far as I am aware at least one of those arrested got stuck in to the fracas after the police arrived and had nothing to do with the ride itself, and neither of the cyclists who were hit behaved inappropriately at any point. No motorists were arrested and the police let one hit and run driver leave the scene without formally recording an accident, despite him having deliberately rammed a cyclist and ruined his bicycle.

So, people, I understand there will be another ride on the 29th of May. Meet 5.30pm at the Fountains, leave at 6pm. Those of you who aren’t at Glastonbury that is. The more reasonable cyclists that attend the better we can create a good organic flow and have a safe and effective ride to celebrate cycling.

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I was at the Edinburgh Critical Mass yesterday, with about 15 or 20 of us there. It went along fairly peacefully, with the exception of the police in the middle of the meadows. The banner that someone had, had to be taken down, but apart from that there was no issue, apart from some tailbacks.

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York‘s May Critical Mass a success

Somewhere between 35 and 40 riders took part in this months ride including a number of new faces. Flags displaying statements such as “One Less Car” and “I [bike] YRK” were attached to people’s bikes as they assembled at the Minster. The large amounts of fliering in the previous week seemed to have had a wonderful effect, though the weather could have been better. We met some interesting responses along the way. When we reached the suggested end point of St Sampsons Square, the ride ended up continuing to circle the square for some time before finally stopping. It definitely looks like, having slipped to just 20 a month, the ride is heading back to higher numbers, and could make 100 by the end of the year.
At 6:05 the ride left, heading for Holgate Road and Poppleton Road. After crossing Clifton Bridge, the ride headed down Water End into Clifton, and after a messy turn, proceeded along Kingsway North to the roundabout, where the customary 2.5 rotations was achieved. The ride then followed Crighton Avenue to Burton Stone Lane, where the away team coach for the evening’s City match was found coming in the opposite direction. The ride turned towards town, in along Bootham, through Gillygate, through Lord Mayors walk and out along Monkgate, where the roundabout provided yet more fun. Back in, through Bootham Bar, and round the Minster, then over to the Assembly Rooms and Davey Gate. At this point, the ride approached the agreed finishing point in St Sampsons Square. Due to the cycle racks and phones, the ride went round the first side, where upon, instead of turning into the square, it continued onwards around and around. So immature, but so much fun!