Following a national demonstration in London on November 19th and subsequent occupations, blockades and marches over the last week throughout the country, including Bath and Warwick, students at the University of the West of England (UWE) have occupied a lecture room in a demonstration in support of free education and an end to tuition fees as well, as an end to police brutality of protestors in America, Mexico and the University of Warwick. The occupiers issued a statement earlier this evening:
UWE Free Education statement of occupation
Students at the
University of the West of England have gone into occupation in support
of Free Education for all. Education is a human right that has
increasingly been annexed off by the political elite for the privileged
few, for those able to take on the £44,000 worth of debt that an
undergraduate degree incurs. In protesting this system over the past
week students at Warwick University have been met with police brutality,
pepper sprayed and threatened with
tasers; students at Sheffield University have been illegally and
dangerously locked into their occupation, with security blocking fire
exits with the use of chains and padlocks.
Bristol’s students are united in solidarity with their comrades
nationally and across the world that are standing up for their rights,
and resisting oppression by the elite. We send our full hearted support
to the students of Mexico who live in constant fear of being abducted
and killed for demanding what is theirs and those in the United States
suffering and resisting police brutality.
Join us in lecture room 2B025 to stand up for:
• Free Education
• Cancellation of student debt
• Unconditional student grants
• Our freedom to protest
• A living wage and fair conditions for all staff who work for UWE directly or indirectly
• Divestment of arms trade connections
• Police off campus
Universities are not factories, nor prisons. Knowledge is not a consumer product and we are not your clients.
In other #FreeEducation news, the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) have announced a conference for student #FreeEducation activists and supporters in Manchester this weekend. http://anticuts.com/register-2014/
Over in Bath, after a heavy week of campaigning, blockading and marching, Bath Students Against Fees And Cuts are holding an open meeting today (Tuesday, 9th December) at 7.30pm in The Westgate to discuss future actions.
Local activist and one-time resident of Occupy Bath in Queen Square, Simon Jilley, reports on Occupy Democracy and the continuing efforts of Bath activists to create a better world for all...
Just over three
weeks ago, several Bath Occupiers headed over to London with the TUC
wagon to be a part of something pretty massive. Not only was there
to be an 80,000-strong march on Hyde Park to add ourselves to, but,
perhaps more current to our sentiments, the day marked an energetic
beginning to a 9-day occupation of Parliament Square.
As Alex and
myself arrived at Parliament Square, having taken a planned detour
whilst en-route to the march, we were greeted by vivacious greetings
from the Big Ben-side of the Square, as our drumming was warmly
welcomed over to a small group of pavement-occupiers. Strategically,
we worked our way around the square before joining the group, as to
suss out the situation police/security-wise. In the 1-minute journey
across the square towards the demonstrators, we met a kindly warden
who advised that we were not allowed to drum on that particular
30-metre path that crossed the square; then we met a couple of Met's
finest profilers, who asked us all about ourselves and our drums and
what we were doing, yadayada. To add to tensions, two GBC Legal
Observers rushed over to us as the Met were trying to spark
conversation, apparently assuming that our arrests were imminent.
We got to
our group, about 30-or-so there, and brought the drumming vibrantly
to the surface. We drummed, shouted 'FREEDOM!', sang our 'freedom
song', and chanted some more about freedom. Within a few minutes
some Westminster Council fellows came on over, seemingly claiming
[but we couldn't hear for sure...everyone started shouting and
chanting and singing and we drummed when they came over] that we
couldn't play there despite having been specifically told by our
profiling coppers a few minutes previous that we could. So, we kept
our tune, as it was raising spirits, and people were really
encouraging us. We continued playing for quite a while, till another
friend came along, and played some more before Alex was given
direction to do the speech from The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin).
Greed
has poisoned men’s souls...more than machinery we need humanity.
More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness...the hate of
men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the
people will return to the people...you are not machines! You are not
cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts!
You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate - the unloved and the
unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!
Soon we had rounded up
a few people for the rally, and promised others that we would return
with a huge crowd more. I didn't quite expect that we could do that
– but the intentions were out there, and there were thousands on
the march, so why not?
The march was very
regimented, with lovely neatly formed groups from particular unions
and groups that we rounded past with our drums and chants for
freedom. The black block darted off, over the railings, shortly
followed by the 20 cops that had been following them probably for the
whole march.
We got to Hyde Park,
where a Green Party spokesman from Taunton was slamming the talk
about how 'THIS IS GOING TO BE A FIVE PARTY ELECTION!!!'. The whole
situation, combined with my lack of sleep, reminded me of Alex Jones'
appearance on Waking Life. But, it precipitated what was then to
come for the Green Party – an absolute onslaught on the media for
failing to represent the party at an acceptable level. Hash-tagged
as #invitetheGreens, the campaign has pushed the party into a bit of
a publicity limelight over the past fortnight.
A Hare Krishna stall
was there, serving up the same kind of irresistible nourishment that
they continuously provided throughout the 2011 Occupy St Paul’s,
and at plenty of other demos, completely for free. It felt like I was on
another march that had climaxed in the middle of nowhere, and I was
starting to get anxious to move on back to Parliament Square. The
idea of a rally, anyway, has never appealed to me in the slightest –
let alone a rally, as was apparent in this instance, that didn't seem
to even physically exist (I saw no stage, nor knew of there being any
main gathering place anywhere in Hyde Park..). We'd all finished our
prasadam curry, and my two friends were stretched out on the grass,
seemingly getting ready for a siesta. The samba band, who had been
playing about 50 metres away from us, had stopped playing, and all
was becoming quiet.
I noticed that one of
these two towers, which we'd marched near for some of the march, read
'democracy'. I was jubilant as I read the other: 'OCCUPY'. They had
each been carried upright by a few people, but now were being brought
to a horizontal, like as if a movement was being planned. Five or
six people took each tower, red and black flags started waving, and
the samba band were about to start up again.
I rushed my friends to
get themselves ready to go – we had another march to get on! As
Occupy Democracy, Reclaim The Power, the Black Block, and plenty of
non-affiliateds gathered and started moving on out of Hyde Park, a
police van rushed to a stop and a squad of maybe ten cops shyly
marched alongside the group. Their presence was weak, and largely
ignored.
We joined as the march
was working its way out of Hyde Park, and reclaiming the streets
towards Parliament Square. 'Whose streets? OUR STREETS!' roared our
crowd, the samba gave the pulse, myself and Alex drummed too, and we
gave our lungs to 'FREEDOM!', too. I met a few activists I hadn't
seen in quite a long while, which was fantastic. The camaraderie was
really really strong. We are united, together in whatever happens.
I suspected that we may miss our bus home through this – but it
didn't matter. This was something more important than a safe trip
home.
A police line were
waiting for us at the end of one road, about halfway to Parliament
Square, lined up. They were hardly formidable-looking, lacking the
riot shields and batons that I came to expect through my time last
year at Balcombe. There was a park on our left, so we all hopped the
railings and walked through the park, leaving the cops a little
embarrassed by their stunt.
We got back onto the
road, causing very little road disruption and even being supported by
a few motorists along the way. As we approached Parliament Square, I
was feeling very excited at what was soon to follow. The
hundred-or-so of us in our march were to return to Parliament Square
as a huge wave of energy, taking the Square from the oppressive
forces that dictate this 'democracy'. A slim line of police stood
between us and the Square. We weaved around them, and marched
straight into the centre of the square. I remembered finishing a Stop
The War march in 2007 in this square, as a samba band kept rhythms
going and police started surrounding the square. This was a similar
scene – but there were plenty more of us than them, and we were
committed to doing something incredible. We weren't going to be
moved.
So as myself and my
two friends ducked out of the square some minutes later, as we had a
coach back to Bath to catch as well as thirty-or-so comrades on the
coach to elate to, we left realising that this is the start of
something beautiful, again. What began as a mere idea, conjured by a
collective of 'subvertivists' under the 'Adbusters' motif, became an
assembly of whoever and whatever, all across the world. Reclaim The
Square became a common reality. What is strange for me, though, is
that since early 2012, when the last of the camps were decamping and
people getting burnt out, there has been little motion towards taking
this much, much further.
Now we are over two
weeks since that initial action, and just over a week since Occupy
Democracy ended the 24/7 occupation of Parliament Square. Russell
Brand brought the occupiers pizza, but occupiers were warned that,
should they fall asleep on the pizza boxes, they would be prosecuted
under the 2011 Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill for using
'sleeping equipment' in Parliament Square. Tents and structures are
banned in Parliament Square, to which police also claimed that
umbrellas were banned as a form of 'structure'. Tarpaulins were
banned, leading to two 'Battles of the Tarpaulin' between the
occupiers and the police. The police kicked the occupiers out of the
central square after the second Battle of the Tarpaulin, creating a
#TarpaulinRevolution on the periphery of the 2-metre police fence
guarded by police dogs. Banners and posters were banned from
Parliament Square, in one of the most obscure depictions of policing
in a 'democratic nation' that can possibly be imagined. People were
arrested
for giving food and drink to activists, and the
Police even arrested
the deputy chair of the London Assembly's Police & Crime
Committee, Jenny Jones, in one particularly
embarrassing episode for the London Met/the government. The
Occupiers persisted through wind and rain, through police brutality,
and through a media blackout for the first few days. And what has
come of this?
The Occupation of
Parliament Square made the TUC rally mean something to me. I am
often one for quite controversial statements, and will not hold back
again this time. 'Britain Needs A Pay Rise' is a shallow and fairly
arrogant idea. What will a pay rise do, when we are living in a
society of broken communities? In my experience, money does not save
any troubles around us, but often leads to increased isolationism and
paranoia. In this time of austerity, we need to look beyond the
financial ripping-off that we are experiencing.
We are living in a
society that claims to be democratic, and where we are fooled into
thinking that we can actively change anything that is happening by
voting for another party, or by going on a march. I felt unwelcome
at the 'Britain Needs A Payrise' demo, and I know a fair few other
Occupiers refused to join the march because of a complete
disconnection with the focal point of the march. It was a big,
digitally-printed, banner-waving, boxed-in march for the
middle-class/Unionised working class to feel like as if they were
actively doing something about austerity. The feeling on the coach
to and from Bath reflected this. People spoke of this year's march
in relation to last year's march, like as if the march is a yearly
commodity, that it's just a day out strolling with thousands of other
people through the city and occasionally, should the occasion arise,
shouting a pre-printed slogan. There was a general feeling of a
reluctance to actually do
anything. The Occupy Democracy and Reclaim The Power activists
emblazoned the march with a meaningful purpose. Through the march,
we gathered energy and pace to march powerfully on Parliament Square,
and kick-start Occupy Democracy. It is in rooting myself with
collectives that actually are as direct as RtP and Occupy, as well as
the countless grassroots activists that are occupying, resisting, and
risking arrest and personal livelihoods through standing up for what
they believe in, that I continue to believe and feel that change is
happening, and that the world around me is gradually becoming
liberated. For now, just as much as any other time, a question
resounds in my mind: if not now, when?
Once more, College Green in Bristol is due to be occupied - this time against an imminent attack on Syria. A Facebook event page has been set up to promote the protest, from 5pm this Thursday. The page reads:
Britain, France and the
US are committing to another disastrous military intervention. Apart
from the inevitable casualties, any attack on Syria can only inflame an
already disastrous civil war and would risk pulling in regional powers
further.
Most people in this country have learned from the
disasters of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. According to a Telegraph poll
today only 9% of British people support an attack. Our politicians
however have learned nothing.
We are to congregate in full force and OCCUPY College Green in protest against this possible "intervention" in Syria.
Kit List:
Tent Sleeping Bag Water Food Loud Things Musical Instruments Medication Banners Water Proofs
It's official: As of 8pm today the occupation of the Twerton public toilets has ended. After spending 3 nights in the toilet and collecting 2000 petition signatures online and a further 400 outside the toilets, Lin Patterson has left the building. On hearing the news, Occupy Bath posted on Facebook: "BREAKING
NEWS - Lin has ended the occupation! She just informed us over the
phone and said that she has accomplished what she set out to do. Lin
will be appearing as a guest on Daybreak on ITV on Monday morning. The
petition is now at 1983 signatures and additionally there are around 400
signatures on a paper petition collected outside the toilets. Well done
Lin!!!"
Earlier today, Lin issued the following statement: "A big thank you to all 38 Degrees people who
have signed the petition to save our public toilets in Bath. You are
amazing. Please ask your family, friends and work colleagues to sign the
petition and continue to share it by e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and other social media.
Both Councillors for Twerton have visited outside the toilets and it
seems there may be 2 rays of hope - but nothing is certain , so it would
NOT be wise to think the Twerton toilets are safe yet.
First,
the disabled toilet is the only wheelchair accessible one in the area,
even the football ground has been relying on it to fulfill their
statutory obligation to provide equal access. So an Equalities Impact
Assessment has been called for, which MAY keep the toilets open for 3
months - possibly.
Then negotiations are going on with nearby
establishments. This is possibly the football ground or Morrisons, who
have bought the old Blockbuster building, to subsidize the existing
toilets and hold the RADAR key for the disabled cubicle. So a lot of
maybes. In the meantime the community can keep up the pressure, now that more people are aware.
So many times today and yesterday, I wished I could film the passion
and clarity of those who approached to sign, and their outrage over the
possibility of closure.
A couple of 14 year old girls held the
fort with the petition table for an hour while I took a much needed nap.
They counted the signatures, which now total 309 in 2 days.
Considering most of those people were either using the loo or making a
special trip, that is phenomenal. So between the 2 petitions in 2 days,
we've topped 2000. Has this happened in Bath before? Sometimes you can
be almost overcome by the goodness of people. Let's hope the council
will recognize the changed landscape."
Councillor David Dixon, to whom the petition is addressed said "Once I have received the petition I can ensure a full response"
Standing Stone's Blog will report on the outcome of the petition when the time comes.
Congratulations Lin, and well done for standing up for ordinary people.
The Twerton Toilet Demo has seen a successful third day. On Wednesday, Lin Patterson begun the occupation of a public toilet that was due to be closed for good yesterday. Since then her petition on the 38 Degrees website has grown to over 1800 signatures and Lin has been featured in the local and national news.
Earlier today, Lin was stood outside the toilet answering questions from the public. Other Bath residents have joined in by collecting several hundred paper signatures. Local taxi drivers have also been very supportive, telling Lin that they regularly stop to use those toilets. A Twerton resident with mobility difficulties commented "I have great difficulty getting to the shops and back. If I get caught short while doing my weekly shopping, I can't just run home like a normal person. I need these toilets to stay open". It has also come to the attention of the demonstrators that Twerton public toilets are the only loos in that region of Bath with disabled access.
Lin has been overwhelmed by the amount of public support. She was stunned when a woman drove all of the way from South Gloucestershire today just to see her. Lin has been passing Occupy Bath updates to post on their Facebook page. Earlier today she commented "What
an incredible response to the 38 Degrees petition! Every signature
represents 10 others who are disabled, young, busy carers, elderly with
medical or mobility problems and the list goes on. We need the council
to take down the closure signs and acknowledge their closure plans were
unreasonable. I have a friend who absolutely relies on these toilets, which really brings it home. Today has seen a media frenzy which hopefully will generate even more signatures so the council will have to act."
Yesterday Bath resident Lin Patterson began an occupation of a public toilet due to be closed by the council today. The toilet remains open and Lin has attracted the attention of the local media, including the Bath Chronicle and the BBC, and was on BBC Points West this evening talking about the campaign.
Since her occupation began yesterday, her petition on the 38 Degrees website has reached over 1000 signatures. This afternoon she commented:
"1000
signatures in just over a day is absolutely amazing! What it means is
that we can prevail upon the council to have a debate based on achieving
1000 signatures on a petition to keep the toilets open. I have to thank
every single person who took the trouble to sign the petition and
please tell your friends and groups to do the same.
I would also like to thank a man named Adie Rawlings who single-handedly gathered almost 200 signatures on a paper petition.
The community is getting involved!"
Lin says that she intends to continue the occupation for at least a few more days.
The protest has seen support from Occupy Bath and many members of the public, many of whom were unaware that the council were closing down toilets in the city.
Political comedian Mark Thomas, who performed in Bath last week, has added his support to the campaign by tweeting the petition, and called Lin's protest "brilliant".
Here's the latest press release from Bath People's Assembly on this Saturday's Visions for Change event - NOT TO BE MISSED!!!
After months of planning, Visions for Change 2013 will open
its doors to the public at 11am Saturday 27th April. More than just
groups with stalls, this year’s event features talks and short films, as well
as the opportunity to engage with various groups active in the Bath area, find
out what they are doing to make the world a better place and to get involved.
Organised by Bath People’s Assembly, the independent democratic forum that all
residents of Bath are welcome to attend the meetings of, the event promises to
be an exciting one, with a diverse range of groups and speakers, from
environmental groups such as Greenpeace and Green Vision, groups concerned with
business and economics such as Avon Co-operative Development Agency, the Bath
Oliver and Bath LETS, groups campaigning for peace and an end to poverty such
as Bath StopWar Coalition, Bath Amnesty and Bath Oxfam, groups opposing
government cuts and the current handling of the economy including Bath Against Cuts,
Occupy Bath, 38 Degrees and BARF, and many others, including Bath Foodcycle,
New Hope and directors of radical films.
Last year’s event was a huge success – the event was packed out and many groups
met each other for the first time and have since worked together more closely. It
also inspired a similar event in Norwich, and an organiser from Visions for
Change Norwich will be speaking at the Bath event. This year the event will be
held on two floors – on the ground floor will be stalls and a café run by South
West Food Not Bombs, and in the basement will be talks, short films and a
radical photography exhibition.
The event is free and is open to the public between 11am and
3pm,and is in the Friends’ Meeting House, York St., Bath, BA1 1NG. Up to date
information can be found on the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/158627290953876/?fref=ts
The full list of groups attending this year is as follows:
Greenpeace Bath Oxfam Bath Against Cuts Bath Amnesty Energy Efficient Widcombe 38 Degrees BARF (Bath Anarchists) The Zeitgeist Movement Occupy Bath South West Against Nuclear Bath Stop War Coalition Bath Foodcycle Frack Free Somerset Bath People's Assembly New Hope Secret City Bath Quakers Bath Friends of Palestine Bath Against the Badger Cull Green Vision: The Bath Youth Climate Movement Clevelands Pool Trust Bath Green Drinks Visions for Change Norwich Forum Bath Bath LETS Bath Oliver South West Food Not Bombs Avon Co-operative Development Agency
UPDATE: Film director Ken Loach has now been confirmed as the guest speaker, between 11:30 and 12:00
Saul Alinsky's 1971 book "Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals", published shortly before his death, has been a significant influence on radicals from all sides of the political spectrum - from anarchists and other left-wing political activists to right-wing Tea party activists in America. In in he presents 13 rules for activist tactics, based on his extensive experience as a community organiser. As the book is still in print and presumably still under copyright, only the text in quotation marks is directly lifted from the book itself. The remainder of the text is my own interpretation for which I've tried to keep examples contemporary.
RULES FOR RADICALS by Saul Alinsky Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals, p127-130
1. “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have”
If you've got half a nation on your side, then you've got few issues showing your full force to your enemy. But if there's only a handful of youthen you need to devise ways of making the enemy look like you're more powerful than you really are. Alinsky cites the example of Gideon: “Conceal the members in the dark but raise a din and clamor that will make the listener believe that your organization numbers many more than it does”
2. “Never go outside the expertise of your people”
Undertaking an action beyond the experience of the people leads to “confusion, fear, and retreat”, claims Alinsky. It is important that the people are capable of undertaking the action and can perform it well.
3. “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy”
While you don't want to cause “confusion, fear, and retreat” amongst your own kind, this is highly desirable amongst the enemy. Dumbfound them with something that they are under-prepared for, and you've won a significant victory. However, remember that this victory may only be temporary and be prepared for the possibility of them catching up.
4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules”
As Alinksy states: “You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity”. I would add to this the idea of making the enemy eat their own words. A very recent example of this is a 200,000 strong (and rising!) petition to make Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith live up to his claim that he could manage on £53 a week (sign it here: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain-duncan-smith-to-live-on-53-a-week). This also ties in with Rule 5.
5. “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon”
Ridicule is almost impossible to counteract. People like jokes, and when your enemy becomes one it is difficult for people to take them seriously. It also infuriates them and tips them off balance, causes them to react with impaired judgement, increasing the chance of making mistakes.
6. “A good tactic is one your people enjoy”
This goes without saying. If you want people out trying to change the world, make it something they are going to want to do. One of the major reasons for the decline in the number of people on site at Occupy camps over time was that camping in October is not the same as camping in December or January. People stopped enjoying it, whereas it was fun to begin with. Make things fun! This leads into Rule 6.
7. “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag”
Yep, those tents weren't making the same impression in January 2012 as they did back in October 2011. I hate to admit it, but it really was time to move on and up the campaign a little using another tactic. Fortunately some people have done this, such as the occupation and subsequent community running of Friern Barnett library and Occupy Bath's seamless shift from camping to starting the Bath People's Assembly. The same tactic again and again gets boring and often annoying for the public and activists alike, and the message can often get lost in the process. Keep things fresh and exciting, and always have a plan of what to do next.
8. “Keep the pressure on. Never let up”
Keep up the fight! If you score a minor or partial victory, don't let that be the end. Celebrate by all means, but then get back to work, knowing that things are already going in your favour.
9. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself”
The imagination of the enemy will probably make out that the action you've threatened them with will be far worse than what you're actually going to do.
10. “The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition”
As Alinsky puts it: “It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign”.
11. “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive”
Negative actions from the enemy can be used to your advantage and win over public support for your side, the victims of such inhuman brutality. Alinksy cites the example of Ghandi's tactic of passive resistance as a classic example.
12. “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative”
You may win the battle, but you will then be pushed for a realistic alternative. Best to have one of these up your sleeve for when that moment comes, otherwise you'll be in danger of ultimately losing the war.
13. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it”
Possibly the most controversial of the rules. Alinsky makes the point that the target is constantly trying to shift the blame elsewhere (such as a company director blaming his board, a company blaming their suppliers etc.). He rightly accepts that a specific target may be not be the only cause, and suggests that by pinning down a target, the others will come out of the woodwork. Alinsky also favours targetting people rather than institutions - for instance going after the CEO rather than the company itself. On polarization, he makes the point that when a decision has been made, even if there are pros and cons either way, one must assume that their decision is completely the right one.
On the one day where practical jokes are a socially acceptable norm, Occupy Bath played a small prank on the local Liberal Democrats, with hilarious consequences. Around 11am this morning, Occupy Bath put out a message on Facebook and Twitter - "WE'RE OCCUPYING DON FOSTER'S OFFICE (31 James Street West)!!!
COME FIND US!", a blatant April Fool's prank if I ever saw one. If our local backstabbing MP's office isn't secure enough to keep out the 99%, then he really is even more of an imbecile than many of us thought.
But it appears that the local Lib Dems are even more gullible than
predicted. Rather than using his brain and realising what date it was,
Lib Dem Councillor Tim Ball fell for the prank and went down to Don's
office to see if anyone was about. Only after this did he acknowledge that
it was probably an April Fool's joke (although due to his grammar it appears that he may still be unsure...) - "just been there no one in sight is this another April fool joke". Someone buy this man a calendar next Christmas.
While no-one from Occupy Bath has yet owned up to posting the message, when asked about the incident a former resident of the Queen Square and the Royal Crescent occupations said "Just councillor Tim Ball being gullible and probably not amused. He should have expected us". Another occupier said "Gutted
for him... I read also Paul Wiltshire seemed interested in the
occupation, thanking Tim Ball for his 'on the spot report' - a sign that
the Chron would've shortly been out to find us also, maybe?". This is yet another example of the Lib Dems proving themselves to be a fucking joke and a bunch of fools, locally and nationally. Nevermind, they'll be finished by the next election.
This isn't the first time that Occupy Bath have had dealings with Don Foster. He came to the old camp in Queen Square once, when he was supposed to have been elsewhere at a meeting regarding the NHS cuts (but presumably didn't want to show his face), and instead got a mouthful from a university lecturer over his voting record on various wars. Dirty Don then stated (and I heard this with my own ears) "I have no objections to this camp!" and promptly left for a "sports meeting".
Now that you can all stop worrying
about the end of the world, let’s focus our attentions on the year ahead – there
are real things that are a threat to the planet and the people and other
life-forms that dwell upon it, and the momentum is already mounting behind the
various campaigns and initiatives dedicated to solving the social, political,
economic and environmental issues that we’re all concerned about right now.
Here’s a summary of what’s in store, with the odd prediction thrown in here and
there…
The Big Fight Back Against Austerity
The warning shots have already
been fired by a diverse range of groups opposed to the coalition’s austerity
measures. Over the last couple of years we've seen actions and debates inspired
by UK Uncut, Occupy, 38 Degrees and many other groups. This summer will see
delegates from many of these groups, as well as opposition politicians, public
figures and members of the public, gather in London for the People’s Assembly
Against Austerity. And this is already looking like it will be BIG. No longer
will these groups be working in isolation, if all goes well there will be one
huge concerted effort to stop the government in its’ tracks. June 22nd
2013 will be a significant date in British history – the moment the fight back gets
serious. For more information, see the letter in The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/05/people-assembly-against-austerity
and if you want to attend see The Coalition of Resistance’s page: http://www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk/2013/02/peoples-assembly-against-austerity-saturday-22-june/.
There is a small booking fee.
The battles fought so far have
been won by opponents to the cull on every level. Almost all of the
environmental and animal rights groups are on board, the rock stars and TV
naturalists have been talking about this at every opportunity, the House of
Commons voted against it and even the government’s own scientists have found
through previous trials that it will not work. But the Tories and NFU are
winning the war and still plan to go ahead with the massacre this summer. In whom
do you trust more? Natural History legend David Attenborough or (anti-) Environment
Secretary Owen Paterson? The RSPCA or Defra? Top scientist Lord Krebs or rich farmer
(who will profit from the cull) Jan Rowe? The war is far from over, and already
activists, campaigners, celebrities and the general public are preparing to put
a stop to this unethical, undemocratic and unscientific slaughter. Once the first of
Britain’s Most Loved Wild Animal gets a bullet in the head, all hell is going
to break loose. Owen Paterson, you won’t get away with this…
Standing Stone's Blog is working on
a huge article on the badger cull for Head Heritage… watch this space for it!
The Re-Occupation of Britain
The Occupy Movement has been out
of the limelight of late, but although the tents are gone it hasn’t gone away…
In November last year, Occupy Bath returned with a camp to once again highlight
the issues and picket Starbucks, and the Bath People’s Assembly they set up has
gone from strength to strength, engaging with other campaigns and coming up
with new ideas – one of which, a “Tax Kite Mark” that companies who pay their
taxes properly can display in their windows, was recently mentioned in parliament.
But that’s not all. Occupy London have been in the headlines of late, having
squatted the recently closed Friern Barnet library and started lending out
books again – the library has now been given back to the people due to overwhelming public support. In Bristol, people from Occupy Bristol squatted
the disused All Hallows Hall with the aim of turning it into a community
centre. They have now been given a lease on the building by the owner, who was impressed with their work. People’s Assemblies are being formed by
ex-occupiers, providing their communities with real democracy and the chance to
have their say and take action. Occupy may be finally finding its' feet and going
places, and actions are inspiring other actions. Don’t write the movement off
just yet…
Road protesting was huge in the
90s, when the last Conservative administration embarked on a road building
scheme greater than the Romans, and through the actions of protesters and
campaigners at Twyford Down, Solsbury Hill, Fairmile, Newbury and other places,
many of their road schemes were scrapped. Many of these roads were completely
unnecessary and were sold to the public under false pretences – that they would
keep traffic away from towns and villages – but the sinister reality was that
they were all part of a massive Euro-route, and in many cases made the traffic
problems that they were supposed to solve even worse, at the price of losing irreplaceable
parts of the countryside. Although there have been road protests since then,
none were quite on the scale of the Newbury Bypass. Now George Osborne has
announced 191 new road schemes, including some of those scrapped at the end of
the 90s. The first has begun already, and the Combe Haven Defenders along the
route of the Bexhill-Hastings road have set up camps. Some camps have been
evicted already, and media attention has yet to make a huge deal out of this,
but when the road building scheme gets properly underway, it’s likely that the tree
pixies and tunnel diggers will return en-mass
to the countryside.
Frack Off
Rather than embark on a
large-scale renewables programme, the government have opted for the cheap,
nasty and environmentally destructive method of fracking. Now that the
anti-nuclear lobby appear to have held back new nuclear power stations – for now
– the government need to find other ways to exploit natural resources and mess
up our planet in order to meet the energy demand AND make a tidy profit for the super-rich. Fracking (or shale gas extraction) has been known to pollute
water systems, including drinking water, and cause earth tremors. You don’t
want to live nearby. Already there are campaigns against this and the signs are
that they are growing in numbers and activity.
Save the NHS
The NHS is NOT for sale. But the
government are doing their best with attempting to privatise it. If the recent demonstrations and petitions are
anything to go by, this is at the top of the agenda for an awful lot of people.
The Tories will be committing political suicide for sure if they get their way, but that's not stopping them...
Of course, no-one wants to be out
protesting and campaigning against these issues – we’ve got other things we’d
like to do. But the people, our planet and the creatures we share it with are
under threat. We can’t let them get away with it. 2013 needs to be the year
that we fight back. Or the things we take for granted today will be gone
tomorrow. We need to not just put a stop to the things that threaten us, we also need to ensure that they don't happen again. Our society needs a complete overhaul - perhaps even a complete revolution. It's time to start thinking about how much better the world could be, and doing something about it. The fate of the this country and this world is in all of our hands.
Following on from last
year's highly successful Visions for Change event, Bath People's
Assembly is proud to announce that we will be putting it on again this
year!
Visions for Change consists of a large collection of
forward-thinking groups active in Bath who are working in some way for a
better world, including environmental, political, social, peace,
welfare and other issues, and who campaign and/or take action at a
local, national and international level. Each have their own space and are given a speaking slot.
We are currently in the process of inviting groups, with many more to
announce as attending in the coming weeks. Last year we had 23 groups,
and this year there is room for even more, as we have an additional room
for speakers!
Those confirmed to date (to be updated regularly) are:
Greenpeace Bath Against Cuts Bath Amnesty 38 Degrees BARF (Bath Anarchists) The Zeitgeist Movement Occupy Bath Bath Stop War Coalition Frack Free Somerset Bath People's Assembly New Hope Clevelands Pool Trust Bath Green Drinks
There will be stalls, talks and a fairtrade cafe area. This promises to
be an interesting, informative and thought-provoking event.
The event will be held in the Friends' Meeting House, York St., Bath, BA1 1NG. Location map here: http://tinyurl.com/ckol4e7
Please help to spread the word by inviting everyone you know who might
be interested in coming by word of mouth, e-mail or by inviting them to the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/158627290953876/
Please send all enquiries (from public or media) to: info@bathpeoplesassembly.org
