WAKE UP!! IT’S YER GREEN IN THE GILLS...

Monday 27th July 2009 Free/Donation Issue 685 ver 2 THE HIPPY, HIPPY SHAKEDOWN BREAKING NEWS.... THE BIG GREEN GATHERING HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN BY POLICE! The Big Green Gathering, a fi xture in The new licensing act added an extra £120k UNCERTAIN FETE the alternative calendar, was due to return to their costs, leaving them with a loss of The last issue at stake was road closures. after two years this week. 15–20,000 people £80k. Security accounted for a third of their Council had insisted on road were expected to turn up on Wednesday overall overheads and the road marshalling closures as part of the licensing requirements. (29th) to the site near Cheddar, , bill rose from £5k to over £23k. In spite of A festival organiser contacted the highways for Europe’s largest green event - a fi ve- these setbacks, they managed to scrape them- agency to process this fairly routine request. day festival promoting sustainability and selves back off the fl oor with shareholder The decision was passed to junior manage- renewable energy, with everything from cash and some potentially dubious corporate ment who reportedly came under intense allotments to alternative media. Hundreds involvement. Every effort had been made by pressure not to grant the closure. As the road of staff and volunteers are already on site, the gathering’s organisers to accommodate closures were not secured, the council were and its cancellation comes just days before the increasingly niggling demands of police able to claim that the BGG was in breach gates were due to open. Organisers, most of and licensing authorities. The procedure of licence. A nice little legal stitch-up that whom work for nothing, are gutted. One told lasted over six months – just check out SchNEWS “We are so disappointed not to www.mendip.gov.uk/CommitteeMeeting. according to one QC meant the BGG stood be having this year’s gathering – it means asp?id=SX9452-A782D404 for the minutes fuck-all chance of fi ghting the injunction. Of so much to so many people”. of meetings held between organisers and the course, now that “Operation Fortress” is in A last-minute injunction by Mendip Dis- authorities. Demands included a steel fence, full swing, there are road-blocks throughout trict Council, supported by Avon and Somer- watchtowers and perimeter patrols, having the area. The BGG is itself a limited company set Police, put the ki-bosh on the entire event the horsedrawn fi eld inside a ‘secure com- and could have fought the injunction - risking - citing the potential for pound’ and wristbands for no more than bankruptcy - but in a nasty twist ‘crime and disorder’ and “This is political” - Chief twelve undercover police. two individuals were also named, meaning safety concerns. This At a multi-agency meeting that should proceedings have gone ahead was despite the fact that Inspector Paul Richards on Thursday, police took against the festival then Mendip Council the festival had actually those wristbands in order to would have had a claim on their assets to been granted a licence on the 30th of June. maintain the pretence that the festival stood a settle court costs. Police also threatened to According to Avon and Somerset police’s chance of going ahead. A catalogue of other place the farmer on the injunction, risking website “[We] went above and beyond the obstacles were also continually placed in the his entire livelihood. call of duty to ensure this event took place.” organiser’s path. Anyone who has ever been to the Big This is of course utter bollocks. All of the businesses associated with the Green will know that the atmosphere is more The injunction was due to be heard in the BGG came under scrutiny, licensing authori- like a village fete than any of the mainstream High Court in London on Monday (27th). ties contacted South West ambulances, the events. There is virtually no aggro. It’s more However, before that could happen the BGG Fire Brigade and the fencing contractors about chai and gong-massages than Stella organisers surrendered the festival licence on and asked them to get payment up front and fi sticuffs. All power is 12V solar and Sunday morning. As soon as this was done from the BGG. Needless to say this caused the amplifi cation is correspondingly quiet. a police commander at the meeting was huge problems. Music stops at midnight. Compare that to overheard saying into his radio “Operation Under the terms of the Licensing Act the 24 hr Technomuntfucks that go on with Fortress is go”. Police have already set up 2005, police can insist on certain security state blessing across the country. Of course roadblocks and promised to turn festival- fi rms being used by organisers. This of course it would be cynical to suggest that the BGG goers back. Chief Inspector Paul Richards, leads to a totally unhealthy hand-in-glove re- represents an alternative that the authorities festival liaison, later confi rmed to one of the lationship, open to abuse. Stuart Security were fear. It’s a gathering place for eco-activists, festival organisers that “This is political”, forced on the BGG by police, and on Wednes- where the likes of Plane Stupid and No- adding that the decision had been made over day last week, they suddenly announced that Borders hang out and exchange ideas while his head at county level. One of SchNEWS’ they wanted 60% of their fee up front. Even trying to avoid being button-holed by 9-11 sources on site said that the police were though the BGG scraped the cash together, the truthers. It’s clear now that the state views frank about the fact that the closure had been company still wanted out. So the BGG hired events like the Big Green in the same light planned for two weeks. “This was a blatant another fi rm – against police wishes. The fact as Climate Camp and the anti-G20 protests. act of political sabotage – the Big Green that Stuart Security rely on police approval for The BGG saga is showing that there may no Gathering is now completely bankrupt, they lucrative contracts at , the longer be any ‘safe’ legal spaces for us to knew that we were going to be closed down Royal Bath & West Show, WOMAD, Reading gather. The third way of quasi-legal free-ish and yet they carried on allowing us to spend Festival, and Glade Festival has, of course, festivals is looking like a dead-end. money hand over fi st on infrastructure”. no bearing on the matter. Continued overleaf... The BGG collapsed fi nancially in 2007 Copyleft under the weight of increased security costs. Published in Brighton since 1994 BIG GREEN GATHERING SHUT DOWN THE HIPPY, HIPPY SHAKEDOWN continued... consumer delights), and being part of a fes- tival/free party where everyone’s responsible IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN legal route, such as Strawberry Fair and even Glastonbury, until the aptly named Mean for the entertainment, and even infrastructure It’s clear that the Big Green has been singled Fiddler intervened in 2002. Unfortunately the like welfare. A crowd that feels it owns an out – and any gathering promoting those corporate dollar is never far behind. Witness event behaves differently to one that feels it values or trying to organise in a grass-roots how Glastonbury went from a fence-jump- has paid to have an experience. The fact that way will probably suffer the same fate ing free-for-all where the festival organisers undercover police now feel free to operate once they get to a certain size. As corpo- built the infrastructure, but the fl y-pitchers, and arrest people, without any back-up, for rate-branded Glasto has become a fi xture buskers and random naked lunatics made it cannabis use or nudity (See SchNEWS 684 on the mainstream calendar, like Ascot or a real festie rather than a fenced in, heavily and 603) at festivals has a lot do with the Wimbledon, many have turned towards policed corporate theme park. sheep-like behaviour of punters - a mentality smaller more ‘grass-roots’ festivals. Niche The Big Green was an exceptional fes- that our masters are keen to see enforced. festivals have bloomed across the British tival, which managed to leap through the In the SchNEWS offi ce we’re hearing landscape. No matter what your bent, be it legal process while being crew-heavy and rumours that people aren’t going to be put faerie wings or S&M, there’s probably a retaining a lot of the free-festival atmosphere off – alternative sites are being looked at muddy weekend in a fi eld for you. (Not all of course - we still had to put up with and people are heading to the West Country Of course this isn’t the fi rst time that plod wandering around site). It was a unique anyway. In the words of one participant Britain’s had a thriving festival scene. gathering place for fringe movements, from “Things are just getting interesting”. Time See previous SchNEWS’ for how the free eco-activists to crop-circle nutters. for the Big Black Barney? festival scene came under ruthless attack We’re not just banging on about festivals * Festivals and free parties are going on all from the forces of Babylon (or just skin up being free because we miss the good ‘ol days around the country. For festivals see www. for an old hippy and listen to them bang – there’s a huge difference between being a festivaleye.com and www.efestivals.co.uk on about the glories of the White Goddess punter who has a whole experience laid on for For free parties see www.partyvibe.com For Fayre or Torpedo Town). them (e.g. Glasto’s themed areas with helpful both of these as well as protest camps and Some have tried to go down the quasi- stewards pointing you in the direction of the lots more see www.schnews.org.uk/pap STILL CAMPING IT UP STILL KEMPING IT UP It’s summer (no, really) and time www.climatecamp.org.uk This week has seen the open- the council accepted the ques- for a bit of in-tents action. With *And don't forget the other ing of the third corporate-run tionable evidence of 51% of four Camps For Climate Ac- permanent camps in Scotland: supermarket on St James’ Street products being sold for take-out tion coming up, the UK Climate Mainshill camp in South Lan- in Kemptown, Brighton. In re- and allowed Starbucks to con- Camp scene is seeing the break arkshire was set up oppose sponse Campaign group Keep tinue trading on a retail licence up of the union with separate Scottish Coal who've been Brighton Unique organised (SchNEWS 679), Keep Brighton Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Eng- given the go-ahead to mine 1.7 a demonstration calling for a Unique will be continuing to hold lish events. The camps are the million tonnes despite 700 out boycott of the new Tesco store monthly protests outside various last Wednesday (22nd). usual low impact living affairs of 1000 locals putting in objec- Starbucks in the city. To date, this Tesco recently cancelled plans with renewable energy, compost tions to the scheme. The camp rowdy bunch have collected over to open a 100,000 sq ft store on 3,000 anti-Starbucks signatures toilets and grey water systems. is building defences and always London Road, Brighton, due and staged weekly protests for Meals are provided by camp appreciates more people and tat. kitchens and there are practical to a locally organised action more than a year. Info: www.coalactionedinburgh. group’s campaign of opposition The next Keep Brighton workshops, direct action and nofl ag.org.uk/?page_id=415 or horizontal organisation. during the consultation. The Unique demo is midday 1st call 07806 926040 group, Another London Road, August outside the St James’ Running alongside all four Long running anti-nuke weap- will be police camps with all have been acting continuously Street Starbucks, then on the ons establishment Faslane Peace mod cons, shiny uniforms and to preserve Brighton from mul- fi rst Saturday of every month. Camp is in need of people. The usual harassment. tinational development. Anti- The protesters were joined last peace camp, running since 1982, First up is the Scottish Cli- corporate campaigners were Wednesday by another group is down to just one member. All hopeful when the St James’ St mate Camp, August 3rd-10th, campaigning against a Tesco in Tesco was initially refused an in the Firth of Forth area which the other regular residents are Titnore Woods (near Worthing), alcohol licence on the grounds has lots of power stations, defending land elsewhere in the where groundwork has started that it was in an booze control corporate HQs, gas and oil re- country. There is a real need for without full planning permis- area within the city centre. How- fi neries, open cast coal mines, people to move there or visit as sion on an area with ancient ever, magistrates bowed to the a nuclear power station and a often as they can. woodland and that is at severe The camp is a base for direct big business bullies on appeal risk of fl ooding. Protesters have cement factory. See www.cli- and granted the licence. matecampscotland.org.uk action against nuclear weapons been camped in the nearby and related issues it would be a Kemptown, renowned for its woods since May 2006 (See Wales’ climate camp will be in quirky, individual and unique Pembrokeshire, August 13-16. See great shame if the camp closed. SchNEWS 648). Help is still To help keep this 27-year-old atmosphere as well as its inde- needed with the camp. www.climatecampcymru.org pendent traders and privately protesting institution going * Info on the London Road The Irish camp will be in Co. run shops, now has the dubious get yerself up north sharpish! Offaly, August 15th-23rd. See honour of having a Morrison’s, campaign group: http://another- www.climatecamp.ie Contact: 01436820901, Co-op, Tesco and Starbucks all londonroad.googlepages.com And last is the English camp faslaniapeacecamp@yahoo. along one stretch of high street. * For more about the Ttnore which will be near London, Au- co.uk and www.myspace.com/ Despite a recent set back in their protest camp see www. gust 27th – September 2nd. See faslanepeacecamp campaign against Starbucks, as protectourwoodland.co.uk TESTING TIMES An animal rights protest was held by BREAKING WIND Gateway to Hell campaigners and Stop Se- quani Animal Testing group (See SchNEWS AS WORKERS OCCUPY VESTAS WIND TURBINE FACTORY 646) in Ledbury, Herefordshire last week After sticking their heads out of the Westmin- (Wednesday 15th). ster windows for a quick climatic analysis, The demo, named No Holiday For The Britain’s politicians have earmarked wind Animals Inside Sequani, was held to stop power as our best option in the race to prevent the cruel practices of Sequani Labs in their climate catastrophe. Yet, in April, when the treatment of animals used to test pharma- worlds largest manufacturer of wind turbines, ceutical drugs, chemical compounds and Vestas, announced plans to close its sites medical devices. in the Isle of Wight and Southampton, the government remained silent - about both 30 protesters in summer clothes with the loss of Britain’s most signifi cant turbine buckets and spades were joined by 22 manufacturing facilities and the loss of hun- police offi cers and 7 police vehicles, while dreds of jobs. Faced with a wall of silence, passing motorists showed their support by apathy and hypocrisy, the non-unionised sounding their horns. Some cops then took Vestas workers on the Isle of Wight had little offence and started hitting these drive-by option but to take action and, last week, they supporters... with £30 fi nes - much to the occupied their factory in protest. confusion of the people concerned and the The occupation began on Monday night other offi cers. (20th) when 30 workers took over the man- One arrest was made of a campaigner for agement offi ces in the factory. The Vestas withholding their name, details which were management immediately locked down the later leaked on a pro-vivisection website af- site and called in the police. Workers arriving ter the police used painful restraint methods for their last few days of work the next day to extract the information. were turned away from the gates, but when Energy and climate change secretary, Ed More action is planned see www.sequani. they realised why, many stayed on and estab- Miliband, recently promised the creation of wordpress.com or www.gatewaytohell.net lished a picket outside the factory, which has 400,000 new ‘green’ jobs as part of his plans since been manned by up to 150 people. to meet his hot air target of “over 30%” of CALAIS ABOUTS Vestas took a hard line in response to the Britain’s energy being produced by renew- The clampdown on the migrants in Calais protest. Riot police who turned up on the fi rst able sources, most notably wind power, by by French Authorities (see SchNEWS 684, day threatened those inside with arrest for 2020. Passing wind on the Vestas situation, 682) is underway with migrants being aggravated trespass and huffed and puffed Miliband, without a trace of irony, blamed stopped and detained on the streets with but failed to force their way into the offi ces. insuffi cient orders for the turbines and the intensifi ed police raids on migrant camps They also prevented people from joining the diffi culty in obtaining planning permission and squats - complete with tear gas, beatings protest or providing food to the occupiers. for wind farms. and detentions. Although there is no sign Although the riot shields have since been A similar situation arose in Scotland ear- yet of fl ights chartered for deportations, the put away, police have continued obstructing lier in the year when Vestas closed a plant in situation remains tense. attempts to deliver food. On Tuesday two Machrihanish, Kyntyre, for similar reasons. Activists from France, the UK, the Neth- people were arrested for breach of the peace However, the Scottish government negotiated erlands and Belgium have been arriving all after protesters staged a mass walk-in, in an a takeover by another company, (the hilari- week to show solidarity with the migrants attempt to resupply the workers inside. ously named) Skykon, who, with the help of Hoping to starve the protesters out, Vestas government subsidies, are planning to adapt and act as legal observers. imposed a food ban after the failure of their the plant to purpose before expanding pro- Raids on the jungles and squats have initial cunning plan of offering the workers duction as part of a push to meet the Scottish intensifi ed: on Wednesday (22nd July) a food as long as they came out to get it. Follow- government’s renewable energy targets. Sudanese squat was raided four times, with ing the success of the walk-in however, they While the government has been happy tear gas and two people taken. The Pashtun changed their stance and are currently offering to give the ‘green’ light to airport expansion jungle was also raided in the early hours of to provide the workers with food, as long as plans and the construction of new nuclear the morning, and while nobody was taken they accept no more from supporters. and coal powered power stations on the the police photographed and counted all The company has so far refused to ne- premise that they will create desperately the migrants they found there – mostly gotiate - preferring threats instead. They’ve needed jobs, not to mention pouring rivers of minors as many of the adults who are more told the occupiers that they faced arrest cash into the failing banks and propping up at risk of being deported have been hiding and being fi red without redundancy pay (a the car industry, it seems that stepping in to elsewhere. Similarly there have also been measly three weeks), if they didn’t leave save 525 jobs in a hard hit island economy is raids on Eritrean and Somali squats. the premises immediately. Two workers out of the question. Up to their necks in hy- With police operations building, activ- have left the occupation but the others pocrisy, Miliband’s feeble protestations have ists on the ground have put a call out for remain strong despite having been given shown once again that the government’s more people to get down there and show four ultimatums. action on climate change amounts to little their support. The factory on the Isle of Wight had more than pissing in the wind turbine. * See www.calaismigrantsolidarity. been making turbines for the US market, wordpress.com but production is moving to China and the * See www.savevestas.wordpress.com US. Vestas, who recently saw a 70% rise in * Send messages of support to: quarterly profi ts, have failed to adapt pro- [email protected] duction for European wind farms, blaming * The workers are calling for solidarity ac- a “lack of political initiatives” and chronic tions – specifi cally at Vestas UK head offi ce nimbyism, with a ‘not in my backyard’ at- in Warrington at 302 Bridgewater Place, titude rife in Britain. Birchwood Park, WA3 6XG For events listings updated weekly see PARTY & PROTEST www.schnews.org.uk/pap LA LUTTE CONTINUE REPUBLIC GONE SAVING IT FOR AN Groups of French workers who had been BANANAS IRAN-Y DAY threatening to blow up their factories (see Against the background of continuing na- In the latest round of repression of protests SchNEWS 684), have this week been of- tionwide direct action, the deposed president against the rigged elections in June by the fered increased redundancy packages to put of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, fi nally returned Iranian authorities, security forces beat and down the gas canisters and end their factory to Honduran soil on Friday (24th). Zelaya, arrested dozens in Tehran on Tuesday. occupations. however, only made it as far as a ‘Welcome This follows Friday’s clashes when the While workers at Nortel have accepted a to Honduras’ sign before turning tail and police attacked protesters attending an anti- €7,300 redundancy package, workers at car retreating to the safety of Nicaragua. Ahmadinejad rally with tear gas last Friday. part manufacturer New Fabris are consider- After the failure of US brokered talks Until last Friday there had been few signs ing their options following negotiations with between Zelaya and coup ‘president’ Rob- of mass dissent after the brutal crackdown the French Industry Minister and Peugeot following the election, during which at least erto Micheletti, Zelaya had announced his and Renault – who had been New Fabris’ thirty protesters were killed. The recent plans for a triumphant return coinciding customers. After disarming their home- protests represent the fi rst major challenge with the birthday of Latin American folk made bombs in order to enter into talks last to the Ahmadinejad regime after it declared hero, ‘The Liberator’, Simon Bolívar. Monday (20th), the workers – who had been gatherings illegal. holding out for a €30,000 payment - were But, with thousands of Zelaya supporters Even the Saturday meetings of the offered an average statutory severance pay of dispersed in clashes with riot police several ‘Mourning Mothers’, which began four €17,500 plus a “job-seeker aid” payment of miles away from the crossing, and with weeks ago in public parks between 7 and €11,000. However, many of the factory-fl oor the military and riot police waiting on the 8pm - the day and time at which Neda Agha- employees would receive considerably less, border with orders to arrest him, Zelaya’s Soltan, a young woman, was shot dead on despite over 20 years service in some cases. liberation march was considerably shorter June 20th - have been targeted by security Disappointed workers have yet to accept the than that of Bolívar. He instead opted to do a forces. The meetings have seen several ar- offer and may yet return to their guns, having couple of quick interviews before returning rests, including women’s rights and student stated that “nothing is ruled out.” to exile rather than risking arrest. activist Zeynab Peyghambarzadeh, who is Elsewhere in France, workers are con- While Zelaya has continued his symbolic also a member of the One Million Signatures tinuing with their rather more up-fer-it ver- hopping back and forth over the border Campaign, which is demanding an end to sion of the ‘Summer of Rage’. On Wednes- throughout the weekend, those that are now discrimination against women in law. day four managers at Michelin’s plant in living under a military dictatorship, the Hon- Thousands have been detained during Montceau-les-Mines were held over night duran people, continue to risk their liberty round-ups by the authorities after the elec- in another case of “boss-knapping”, while and safety by challenging the regime on tions, including political activists, journal- around 100 workers at Swedish-owned ball the streets with daily mass demonstrations, ists, academics and lawyers, many of whom bearing plant SKF in Fontenay-le-Compte, strikes, school and workplace occupations are still being held. Lawyer and human rights blockaded the entrance to the site and burned and road blocks. activist, Shadi Sadr, was violently arrested machinery in response to redundancies. There are now also a number of inter- in Tehran last Friday on her way to prayers. This was followed on Friday (24th) by national solidarity campaigns underway, Shadi was walking with a group of women’s yet another “boss-knapping” when workers including the International Transport Work- rights activists along a busy road when uni- from British company Servisair prevented ers Federation which has called on its 4.5 dentifi ed plain-clothed men beat her with two managers from leaving the company’s million members worldwide to refuse to batons before bundling her into a car. offi ces. The managers were released the next handle Honduran goods for as long as the There were international demonstrations day following the intervention of bailiffs. coup regime remains in place. last weekend (25th) in solidarity with the Zelaya has proved once again that he Iranian people, including events London, TWISTY TIERNEY is no real-deal revolutionary. The social Brighton, Seattle, Toronto and others. Peter Tierney, Liverpool businessman by day, movement that has arisen as a result of his * See www.iransolidarity.org.uk so called BNP “super activist” by night, is set removal however, continues to grow in ...and fi nally... to stand trial for assault at Liverpool Magis- strength and it looks like they won’t back trates Court on August 5th. After previously down quite so easily. Pent up Pagan police are now campaigning being nicked twice, once for the possession for an offi cially recognised support group * For recent history from the original banana – a Pagan Police Association. Well it can’t of 100 wild bird eggs, Tierney was collared in republic see SchNEWS 682,683,684. April after splitting open the head of an Anti- be easy concentrating on your mantras * See www.upsidedownworld.org www. when the Chief Super is breathing down Fascist protester with a camera tripod. narconews.com The Anti-Fascists had been following Tier- your neck... ney and his fellow BNP Neanderthals around Pentagram-carrying Pagan police are Liverpool city centre, foiling their attempts already allowed up to eight days annual to set up a stall and leafl et passers-by. After leave which they can take off and join all the hippies at the solstice and equinox, but twice having to pack up and leave, Tiernery presumably not to skin up a big spliff. fi nally fl ipped out and started attacking pro- Pagan cop Andy Pardy, from Hertfordshire testers with the folded tripod. He was joined told Police Review: “Paganism is not the new in his assault by Steven Greenhalgh, who age, tree-hugging fad that some people think it used an upturned table as a riot shield. is” (Maybe you’re more into pig worship). “It The BNP are attempting to organise a is not the clandestine, horrible, evil thing that demonstration outside the Court in support people think it is.” (No Andy, that’s MI5.) of Tierney. Liverpool Anti-Facists are call- SchNEWS wonders what is next... Sa- ing out for a counter-demonstration to show tanist or Jedi Police Associations? that Tierney and the BNP have no place in the community. Disclaimer SchNEWS warns all readers, you bend over backwards * See www.antifa.org.uk to do things legally and look what happens. Honest! Get SchNEWS free every week by email in pdf or text fi le - visit our site, or send us stamps and we'll post it to you. Copy and distribute! Keep SchNEWS free with do na tions (via website or cheques payable to Justice?). Posted free to all prisoners. SchNEWS, c/o Community Base, 113 Queens Rd, Brighton, BN1 3XG. Tel +44 (0)1273 685913 Email [email protected] Web www.schnews.org.uk