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Two weeks ago the Radical Dairy, a squatted social centre in Stoke
Newington, was raided by the cops on the pretext that drugs and
electricity were being used illegally. No arrests were made but
two computers were taken as ‘evidence’ that electricity
was being smoked, and just for good measure the leccy board then
dug up the road and removed the centre from the National Grid! This
sort of over-the-top activity can only mean one thing - May Day
will soon be upon us. It’s that time of year again - when anarchists
climb out of their winter gutters and threaten the very fabric of
our society.
The raid on the London centre follows increased activity from the
cops, which has been steadily building over the past few months.
The Met Police threatened to raid any internet servers who dared
host the website for this year’s ‘Mayday Festival of Alternatives’
while at MayDay meetings and fundraisers cops hang around outside
like a bad smell snapping pictures and putting pressure on landlords
of any venues that are being used. Meanwhile the corporate media
have talked about the most violent May Day for decades and running
battles with the cops.
 
Throwing
a Wombly
Seven WOMBLES (whose dress sense makes the police break out into
hot sweats and reach for their truncheons) are up in court at the
beginning of next week after being nicked on Hallowe’en. They
were arrested while walking down Oxford Street on their way to a
party, many wearing white overalls to symbolise ghosts (the original
context of the white overall movement in Italy) and Halloween masks.
The cops involved were part of “Operation Calm”, an anti-terrorist
response to September 11th who calmly started pushing people up
against shop windows, arresting them for complaining then holding
them for up to 19 hours. By some amazing co-incidence the trial
will be going on during May Day and it looks like the judge will
be Roger Davies who was in charge of all last years Mayday trials.
This is the man who sent down someone for three months for throwing
a crumpled up piece of paper at a cop and told a Romanian woman
that he’d put their children into care if they were caught
begging again. Last summer the Legal Defence and Monitoring Group
(LDMG) uncovered secret Mayday Sentencing Guidelines that instruct
Judges to hand down heavy sentences to those arrested during May
Day actions. The document titled “Mayhem” first came to
the attention of the LDMG at Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court. The
defence barrister asked to look at the document, but the court refused
this on the grounds that it was secret! As for the Radical Dairy
– well the centre is still running thanks to generators, candles
and a lot of local goodwill. The centre has proved very popular
with local residents who have seen Hackney Council shut down and
sell off community assets in order to try to pay off its debts.
One local resident said, “The people here have been nothing
but good for the local community. This place was empty for three
years, that’s bad for everybody: it was unsafe and it was unhealthy.
It is now clean, occupied, safe. It’s used for socially constructive
purposes.” One local 15-year-old girl added “I think the
Radical Dairy is a good place for the community. It’s a better
place for us kids to go because we can play on the decks and also
learn new things like yoga and shiatsu which are fun …the police
should not be bothering the people in The Radical Dairy when there
is so much criminal activity happening on the streets of Hackney.
We can use the computers here to do school work and use the Internet
free for research.”
So, while the police are no doubt scanning the computers for links
between the anti-capitalist movement and Al-Qaeda, a few local pissed
off kids are wondering when they will get their homework back.
* The Wombles Trial is from 29 April - 3 May at Horseferry Road
Magistrates Court, SW1. Demo outside everyday wear a white overall/white
armband in solidarity. Details: 07960 973847 sevensupport@temporary.org.uk
www.wombles.org.uk
* The Radical Dairy is at 47 Kynaston Road, Stoke Newington, London
N16 Tel 020 7249 6996
London Calling
Full list of the ‘Mayday Festival of Alternatives’ from
26th April till May 6th and “attempting to provide constructive
ideas and alternatives to commercial and corporate Britain”
check out www.ourmayday.org.uk
or call 07786 716335.
* 7.30am Critical Mass – from the south (Camberwell Green)
and north (Camden Town Tube), to meet up at 10am outside US Embassy,
Grosvenor Square.
* 9am Breakfast Against Routine Fit-ups. - Vegan breakfast outside
WOMBLES trial at Horseferry Road, SW1.
1pm Mass Action: “Mayday in Mayfair” - Multiple Meet-up
Points with four themes - Travelling Circus, Wake for Capitalism,
Carniball! (old fashioned footie) and Critical Mass bike ride.
“Now one of the most opulent and cloistered areas in the capital,
full of luxury pads, exclusive shops, fancy hotels and national
embassies, (Mayfair) takes its name from the fair which was held
every year from 1 May for 15 days until its suppression in the mid-18th
century. Mayday in Mayfair will be a fluid, spontaneous and exciting
return to the Mayfayre, happening everywhere at once, without a
fixed starting point or finish..! We all need to take the initiative
in Mayfair... keep moving and don’t let the cops trap and surround
you! This way our festivities will not be crushed.”
* 5pm “Nobody is illegal” Sexual Freedom Coalition event
in Soho, with sex workers union & samba band - meet Cambridge
Circus.
* 8pm - 1am Comedy and magic night at Chats Palace, 42 Brooksby’s
Walk, Homerton, E8. Nearest train station: Homerton.
May
Procession
Brighton April 30th Sainsbury’s go to court to evict
the Locomotive Works Community Project. Demo against Sainsbury’s
meet Sat 27th 1pm at the Loco Works (1 New England St). Mayday -
events at the Loco Works, with Beltane Bonfire show at 9pm. 01273-622727.
Liverpool Noon from St Lukes (bombed out church) on Bury
St. Nightime. Play about Tolpuddle Martyrs at Casa, Hope Street
followed by bands and entertainment. www.peoplenotprofit.co.uk
Bradford 12.30pm Infirmary Fields, Westgate (adj Beehive pub) march
through town to Centenary Square. www.1in12.com
Edinburgh Noon onwards in Princes Street Gardens (West) 0131
557 6242 www.ourmayday.org/edinburgh/
Glasgow Noon outside Buchanan tube in the city centre. www.ourmayday.org/glasgow
Haringey 10 days of Mayday activities & a spoof newspaper
Tel. 0208 374 5027
Mayday Mayhem against the Fur Trade 10am outside Fairheads,
60-64 Cranbrook Rd., Ilford. Call day before to check event is still
happening 12pm Philip Hockley’s, 20 Conduit St., W1 - biggest
fur shop left in London. London Animal Action 0845 4584775
laa@londonaa.demon.co.uk
Noon Sat 4th Nottingham Carnival from Forest Recreation Ground
to The Old Market Square, live music stage and speakers till 4.30
pm maydayuk@yahoo.co.uk
Crap
Arrests of the Week
For not paying library fines. An American woman who failed
to return her 3 library books was jailed for 10 days and fined $125.
Hopefully that will teach her not to renew them.
For stickering. 8 people were arrested for criminal damage
after one sticker was put on the window of a worker from the Newchurch
Guinea Pig farm. All 8 were bailed to return to the police station,
in the meantime police are undertaking forensic anaylsis of the
offending sticker. www.guineapigs.org.uk
Close
Chavez
“There isn’t a single political person in Latin America
who does not believe that the CIA was involved in some form, and
in the same way, as it was in Chile. Those responsible for Latin
America in the state department are the most extremist, off-the-wall
team - 7 out of the top 12 officials in the Latin American department
are Cuban-Americans” - Larry Birns Director of the Council
of Hemispheric Affairs.
The Venezuelan people stuck two fingers up at the US this month
and reinstated President Hugo Chavez, less than 48 hours after a
US backed coup had overthrown him. Chavez, who led his own failed
coup in 1992, was overthrown by a military junta following violence
at an anti-Chávez demonstration. The coup had all the hallmarks
of a classic CIA-backed plot with misinformation, black propaganda
and agent provocateurs casually shooting demonstrators, creating
a situation of fear and panic which would allow the military to
step in, overthrow the president and bring calm back to the country.
Unconvinced? A cable sent from the CIA to its station chief in Chile
during the overthrow of Salvador Allende read: “Re: Coup. Activities
to include propaganda, black operations, disinformation, or anything
else your imagination can conjure...” The coup began with an
Anti-Chavez demonstration with over 150,000 people gathered in E
Caracas; the wealthy homeland of his opponents, in support of striking
oil workers. When the protestors decided to march on the presidential
palace word got out to Chavez supporters who mobilised to stop the
march. Violent clashes broke out during which gunmen casually fired
from rooftops and bridges into the crowd killing at least 14 people
and wounding over 100 more.
Anti-Chavez supporters claim it was the Chavez supporters who started
firing at them yet eyewitnesses have said the shooting began from
a roadway overpass controlled by the anti-Chavez Metropolitan Police,
and the first to be killed were pro-Chavez demonstrators. Confirmation
of the eyewitness reports came from the secretary of health for
metropolitan Caracas, who reported that of those who died ‘the
most serious wounds were in the cranium and cheek... they appeared
to be shots from above’. According to the military they intervened
to stop further bloodshed. When confronted over the shootings Chavez
resigned and handed the presidency over to the junta. No resignation
note has been produced. With the Junta in command the presidency
went to Pedro Carmona, head of Venezuela’s Federation of Chambers
of Commerce & Industry and organiser of the oil strike. He immediately
operated like a dictator dismissing the entire Congress and Supreme
Court, abolishing the constitution and the right to fire any elected
state or municipal leader.
With the newly imposed president sipping champagne in the presidential
palace the US Ambassador visited to give the coup the US’s
blessing. At the same time neighbouring Latin American countries
condemned the coup and refused to recognise the illegitimate, un-elected
president. Worse still Venezuela was not going to sit there and
allow a govt to be imposed on them by the US and so set about getting
their real and democratically elected president back. Protests broke
out through Venezuela. The middle-ranking members of the military
influenced by the demos and the international response changed their
mind about the coup, had the 5 senior members of the junta arrested,
forced Carmona to resign and handed the presidency over to Chavez’s
vice president who then handed it back to Chavez- the 3rd president
in 3 days!
www.narconews.com
SchNEWS
in Brief
- 12 towns and cities took part in Wednesday’s day of action
against casualisation organised by the Simon Jones Memorial
Campaign. In Brighton 80 people including a band, lots of balloons
and an old dragon demonstrated outside Personnel Selection, the
temp agency that sent Simon to his death. The company decided
to shut down for the afternoon as a mark of respect. www.simonjones.org.uk
- 75,000 marched in Washington DC last Saturday. Originally planned
as a mobilisation against the World Bank and IMF, people
also marched against the wars on drugs and terror and for Israel
to withdraw from Palestine. http://dc.indymedia.org
- Choke on It demo outside Downing Street where the Queen,
Tony Blair and ex-Prime Ministers will be having a tea party.
Meet 6pm, Monday 29th www.fuckthejubilee.com
Tel: 07931 301901
- Cold Bath Times is a new alternative monthly newsletter
currently being set up in Southampton. If you’d like to get
involved coldbathinfo@yahoo.co.uk
- Stourbridge ABC are campaigning against a bypass that
will destroy 37m of green belt land. They would really appreciate
any help/advice kari@cauldron90.freeserve.co.uk
- April 16 saw the first general strike in Italy for 20
yrs with the country brought to a halt by over 80% of union workers
stopping work for 8 hrs, and over 2m people took part in street
protests against govt labour policies.
- Five acres of GM crops in the Highlands have been mysteriously
destroyed. The incident comes only days after a Scottish parliamentary
committee called for the crop trial, which had just started to
flower, to be ploughed up www.genetixactionscotland.org.uk
- A pink castle has appeared on a field near Littlemoor estate,
Weymouth, which is due to be planted with GM maize soon. Castle
residents are vowing to stay to prevent the crop being planted.
Support is urgently needed Tel: 07815 925214 www.sayhi.to/thecastle
- Sheffield Toxic Avengers were stopped by police from
building a 13’ model of an incinerator in the front garden
of Councillor Peter Moore. A spokesperson for the group said “Peter
Moore wants to build an incinerator in our front yard, so we thought
we’d build one in his.”
- Manchester’s 2nd radical bookfair is happening on the 5th
May, 1-5pm, at Merci, Bridge Mill, 22A Beswick St, Ancoats. www.radicalbookfair.org.uk
- Two ex-Black Panthers, one who spent years in American
prisons are on a tour of N England over May Day week, inc. a date
at the Manchester Bookfair. See SchNEWS party and protest site
for details
Kissing
Ass
Demonstrators turned out on Wednesday to greet Henry Kissinger
who was in London to give a talk at the Institute of Directors’
conference. Kissinger served as US National Security Adviser from
1969-73 and as Secretary of State between 1973-77 and has been described
as the world’s biggest war criminal. A Spanish judge unsuccessfully
sought to have Britain send Kissinger to Madrid to testify about
his alleged involvement in “Operation Condor,” a concerted
plot by former military dictatorships in Brazil, Argentina, Chile,
Paraguay and Uruguay to persecute and eliminate their opponents
during the 1970s and 1980s. Outside London’s Royal Albert Hall
demonstrators held a mock trial with a huge effigy of Kissinger.
The road outside was blocked for a while before heavy handed police
moved in, two people were arrested. As one protester said “Despite
a huge policing operation, Kissinger was not arrested”.
www.indymedia.org.uk
RIP
* Pablo, who died in his sleep two weeks ago. Well known
around the old protest camps, living life on the fast lane. * 22
year old Beth O’Brien died after falling 150 ft from
a tree at Eagle Creek tree protest site in the Mt. Hood National
Forest Oregon, USA. Beth’s death came as protestors were packing
up camp after winning their battle to save the woodland from road
developers. www.cascadiaforestalliance.org
Caterpillars
of Society
On April 11th pro-Palestinian activists occupied the Caterpillar
HQ in Desford, Leicestershire in protest at the bulldozer-building
company profiteering from the murderous Israeli activity in Palestine.
Activists gained access to all parts of the site, occupied the managing
director’s office, and leafleted the 1,500 workforce some of
who helped by handing some out to their colleagues. Israel uses
Caterpillar bulldozers to wreak enormous destruction in the Occupied
Territories - bulldozing Palestinians’ homes, creating roadblocks,
and digging mass graves.
* Check out what’s really going on in Palestine www.electronicintifada.com/diaries/index.html
** Peace activists who’ve recently returned from Palestine
are holding a meeting on Monday (29th) Quaker Meeting House, 10
St James St, Sheffield ** The Sussex University Students who took
part in international solidarity actions in Palestine are giving
a talk next Saturday (4) 2 pm. at the Friends Meeting House, Ship
Street, Brighton** From 24th June- 7th July the International Solidarity
Movement are organising non-violent direct actions in Palestine
alongside the Palestinians. As they say “We do not know what
the situation will be like this summer. If the Occupation continues,
we will resist. If it ends, we will joyfully reconstruct”.
To prepare for this there will be a UK training weekend. uksolidarity@yahoo.co.uk,
www.palsolidarity.org
Lodgers
Wanted
The Forest Lodge Collective squatted housing project in Nottingham
has been renovating its grade 2 listed building since 1998. The
lodge has been housing homeless people, providing them with a stepping-stone
to save money for more secure accommodation. The lodge is now facing
eviction by the council, who own the building, and who have refused
to say what they are doing with the property. The Collective are
desperately trying to gain an order of consent that will allow them
to stay until there are definite plans for the building. They’d
greatly appreciate any help/advice. theforestlodge@hotmail.com,
www.forestlodge.150m.com
And
Finally...
aving the cheek to fight for a better world, the mass media focuses
on protests in Seattle and Genoa, while burying news of general
strikes and mass protests in countries like Argentina. But we know
that it will only be people around the world working together and
linking up with international struggles, that can defeat capitalism.
As one of the speakers at last year’s National Assembly of
piqueteros, put it, “Argentina is part of a world-wide crisis
– all over the world piqueteros are arising. And last week,
300,000 piqueteros invaded the city of Genoa to say ‘no’
to world-wide imperialism.” Others have taken up the slogan
‘Todos Somos Argentinos’ – ‘We Are All Argentineans’
–because people know that what is happening now in Argentina
will be happening in a country near you soon if the IMF and their
big business mates carry on destroying the planet in their never
ending search for profit. Unless of course, we stop ‘em.
Disclaimer
SchNEWS warns all readers now Commander Paddick’s seen
the anarchist light he’s gonna be May Queen with Druids dancin’
round his pole. Honest.
Cor-blimley-they’re-practically-giving-them-away
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