DIRECT ACTION STATIONS "If you go to one demonstration and then go home,
that's something, but the people in power can live with that. What they
can't live with is sustained pressure that keeps building, organisations
that keep doing things, people that keep learning lessons from the last
time and doing it better the next time." - Noam Chomsky Last Saturday
around 50 people attended a meeting about taking direct action against the
war. Hosted by SchNEWS it followed the Stop the War Coalition conference
and there was general agreement that while large marches are important they
are not enough and that direct action must form a major part of our
activities if we are to be successful in stopping this war. People talked
about a whole host of activities from disrupting cabinet ministers
meetings, getting into American bases to becoming human shields in Iraq to
try and protect essential services like water and sewage plants. One of
those places where it was felt we could really make our presence felt was
at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Fairford has just had a brand spanking
new �100 million pound refit so it can house the new bunker busting nuclear
weapons firing B-2 bombers. This is the only airbase in Europe that these
bombers can take off from to murder Iraqi civilians and so will play a
crucial military role in the bombing and invasion of Iraq. Already two
citizens weapons inspections have taken place with some people managing to
break into the base briefly - so could Fairford become the next Greenham
Common? FIGHT FAIRFORD In 1981 Ann Pettitt organised a march from Cardiff
to Greenham Common to protest against the siting of 96 cruise missiles at
the US-controlled airbase and decided to stay. Within a few months the
women's peace camp became a focus for hundreds of thousands of peace
activists across Britain. One mass demonstration there in December 1982
attracted 30,000 women. They repeatedly made a mockery of the high security
by cutting through fences and stopping the movement of the missiles, and
Greenham inspired similar actions took place up and down the country. This
year, on Sunday January 26th Ann Pettitt and many of the Greenham women
will be joining Gloucestershire Weapons Inspectors for another mass
citizens weapons inspection at Fairford. "There are remarkable parallels
between then and now and that's what caught my imagination," says Ann
"Contemplating the use of weapons of mass destruction in a war that's
supposed to be about eliminating such weapons is absurd... In 1981 we were
told that theatre nuclear weapons, cruise missiles, at Greenham would make
the world safer but we felt they edged us nearer to crossing the nuclear
threshold. It took years to pull back from the threshold back then and yet
we now find ourselves, once more, on the brink." As that wise old owl Jo
Makepeace said at the meeting "Marches every few months, however big, will
not in themselves worry the warmongers - they are a start, not an end in
themselves. We need to step things up, both locally and nationally. We need
to turn people's anger into action by involving tens of thousands of people
in blockading city centres, shutting military airbases, stopping 'normal'
government activity and, well, you get the picture." BATTLE PLAN If war
breaks out - check the SchNEWS website to find out what's happening in your
area. * Les Gibbons, wearing a shirt displaying the words "Dissent without
civil disobedience is consent" pleaded guilty in court this week to "high
quality intrusion" (whatever that means!). Les a former British marine, had
attempted to blockade the gates to Portsmouth naval base on the day the Ark
Royal left for the Gulf. * Five citizens weapons inspectors from Cambridge
Students Against the War entered RAF Feltwell last week to confirm reports
that the base forms part of a US Weapons of Mass Destruction development
programme. They were eventually nicked but released without charge.
www.camsaw.org.uk * Get along to RAF Northwood in London this weekend for
some direct action against the war. Northwood will play a key role in
directing British forces in any attack on Iraq. Operation Internal Look
(OIL)- coincides with the anniversary of the 1991 Gulf bombing and will
include a tour of the base, a mass blockade, mass breaching of the Official
Secrets Act, non-violence training and autonomous affinity group actions.
To find out more 0845 458 2564.www.northwood.cjb.net. Transport from
Brighton: 9am at St Peters Church. * Join the regular Menwith Women's Peace
Camp this weekend 01943-468593 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] to arrange
lifts from Harrogate. And don't forget the regular demonstrations every
Tuesday 7-9pm. 01943 466405 www.caab.org.uk * Sussex Action for Peace
meeting this Tuesday 7.30pm, at the Brighthelm Centre, North Road,
Brighton. * January 26th is the day before Hans Blix reports to the UN
Security Council. To mark the day thousands of citizens weapons inspectors
are expected at Fairford. Meet noon in the village 07768 418960
www.gwi.org.uk * Fancy going to Iraq as part of the Human Shield Convoy?
It's leaving 25th January from London. 07799 650 791 www.uksociety.org * A
women's peace camp has been set up outside Shannon Airport, County Clare,
Ireland to protest at it being used as a refueling point for the US
military. More info, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * February 1st:
Peace march/pedal for peace 2pm outside Bath Abbey. * February 8th: Mass
die-in 1pm Bournemouth Square. Dress in military uniform or white
protective suits and gas masks. 07743 537043
www.alternativeanswer.co.uk/stopwar.htm * February 8th, 1pm, anti-war
gathering in Montague Place, Worthing. [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
People from Faslane peace camp blockaded British Aerospace in Edinburgh for
4 1/2 hours and on Wednesday one of them locked onto the gates at Glen
Douglas Europe's largest weapons store for a few hours. Earlier in the day
people used a car to block the gates to try and stop the Gulf-bound
aircraft carrier Ark Royal loading munitions. Last week two train drivers
refused to drive a freight train destined for there. The peace camp have
organised 'make love not war' actions from 14-18 February. This includes
action against Labour Party war conference in Glasgow on the 15th. Tel
01436 820901 [EMAIL PROTECTED] * February 15th Massive demo
against the war Assemble 12 noon at Embankment, London 020 7053 2155
www.stopwar.org.uk * Sign the pledge of resistance to the "war on
terrorism" 0207 607 2302 www.j-n-v.org * There's a new direct action anti
war email group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/directactionagainstwar *
Recommended reading 'Greenham Women are Everywhere' by Alice Cook, Gwyn
Kirk, Pluto Press. ---------------- CRAP ARREST OF THE WEEK For taking a
photo of a building! After taking some snaps, amateur photographer Mike
Maginnis was putting his camera away when he was approached by a Denver cop
demanding his camera and film. He had unwittingly taken a picture of the
hotel Vice President Cheney was staying in, so after refusing to hand over
his kit Mike was pushed to the ground and arrested as a suspect terrorist
under the USA Patriot act. After several hours interrogation by the secret
service he used his one phone call to call the Denver Post - oops the phone
was cut off and he was dragged off to a holding cell for a few more hours.
------------------------- OIL SEE YOU IN HELL Last week, police stations
throughout Caracas, Venezuela's capital, had their sub machine guns and
other weapons confiscated. Complaining of the dawn raids, the police chief
told Caracas' Union radio, "This leaves us at a tremendous disadvantage
against criminals... It's outrageous." Hugo Chavez the President of
Venezuela took over control of the Caracas Metropolitan Police from Caracas
mayor Alfredo Pena of the opposition last November. Following reports of
continued police violence against pro-Chavez protestors and poor folk,
Chavez ordered that their weapons be taken last week too. After six weeks
of big business strikes, Venezuela is starting to feel the pinch as the
battle continues between the elected socialist president Hugo Chavez and
the right-wing opposition. On top of this the state oil company Petroleos
de Venezuela, nationalised since the 1970s, is actually run by managers
closely linked to the multinationals and the former governing party Acci�n
Democr�tica. On December 4th these managers declared their support for the
big business strike and were joined by the captains of Venezuelan oil
tankers who dropped anchor and refused to move. Owners of fleets of road
tankers also shut down and the result was the spectacle of a major
oil-producing country paralysed through lack of petrol. The military were
sent in to keep the oil refineries running, ship captains were dismissed
and the navy took control. Fines were imposed on striking road hauliers and
the top management of Petroleos de Venezuela was dismissed. Chavez also
used the military to set up 'popular markets' to distribute cheap food in
lower-class areas of the cities. In a coup led by the opposition and
assisted by the US last April (SchNEWS 345) 20 people were shot dead and as
yet no-one has been tried for the deaths. The opposition hope that by
destabilising the economy the US will step in again. As always the media
propaganda wars are making it incredibly difficult for anyone to know
exactly who or what to believe. Chavez's government has a centralised
socialist structure, while the main opposition group wants more links with
big business and multinational corporations, aka the 'free' market. Both
parties represent elitist capitalist or communist groups that haven't been
able to attain social justice and freedom in any other country yet. Despite
his dictatorial militant handling of opposition, Chavez does win points for
some of his reforms. Since coming to power in 1999 he has been shouting
about participatory democracy, trying to use popular assemblies, social
movements and continuous referendums. He also set up the provision of free
healthcare and education up to university level and positively restructured
the courts and legal system. Venezuela is the fifth largest oil producing
country in the world yet 80% of its population live in poverty. Chavez
sought to redress the balance by imposing a 30% tax paid on oil exports and
by changing the law so that the government would have to have a 51% stake
in all oil ventures. His government also passed a land reform bill which
makes it possible for the government to seize land that has been
unproductive for two years and redistribute it to the poor and landless.
More information see: www.squall.co.uk, www.nodo50.org/ellibertario
--------------------- SchNEWS IN BRIEF **The Manchester office of
Environmental Resource Management (ERM) was occupied for over four hours
this week as part of a campaign against their involvement in the green
washing of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline (last weeks SchNEWS). The
protesters got to talk to ERM's Director and BP's Regional Affairs Director
for the Pipeline project who agreed to a meeting. Manchester Earth First!
0161-226 6814, www.risingtide.org.uk ** Space Invaders a Festival of Arts
and Resistance will appear somewhere in Brighton from the 23rd. It aims to
inspire and excite with arts, live music, film, and space for direct action
and campaigning workshops. 01273 672186 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] ** The
threat of identity cards hasn't gone away, the government are consulting
the public on the issue. Privacy International have set up two local rate
numbers, and they will pass your opinions to the government. If you're
against the ID Card call 0845 330 7246, or if you're in favour 0845 330
7245. Read about the issues at www.stand.org.uk ** The Aspire collective in
Leeds whose house was raided and illegally evicted in November are looking
to pursue complaints and claims of damage against the police If you were
there and want to join in, contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.a-spire.org.uk.
** Earth First! Winter Moot takes place in Nottingham 7-9 Feb. Discussions
on how EF! operates - actions, tactics, gatherings, communication, and
strategy. Open to anyone who identifies with the EF! Network. 07763 552627
[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** On Monday Greenpeace activists strolled past lax
security at Sizewell B nuclear powerstation and occupied one of the
sensitive control rooms. www.greenpeace.org.uk ---------------- LICENCE TO
KILLJOY If you're planning a few celebratory late night drinks when the new
Licensing Bill comes into effect just be careful you and your mates don't
burst into song cos you might end up with six months in the nick and a �20
000 fine - the maximum penalty for performing "unlicensed live music". The
Licensing Bill, deregulates pub opening times but brings in draconian
measures to clamp down on live music. Any music performed live in public
will require a license to be obtained two weeks in advance by the
proprietor of the venue. It's not only pubs and clubs that will be affected
- also covered are buskers and a bunch of obvious threats to family values:
carol singers, Morris men, bell-ringers and someone singing at a wedding.
This is supposedly to tackle "anti-social behaviour" in the form of
"noise", but is another crack down on civil liberties. The license won't be
easy to get and will require approval from the police, environmental health
(i.e. noise abatement) and local residents. Most complaints are about noise
OUTSIDE pubs and clubs but rather than tackle the problem, the government
are targeting musicians as an easy soft target. But guess what? A
suggestion that satellite TV (eg. MTV) being broadcast in public places
should be similarly licensable was instantly thrown out with Kim Howells
stating that such a move would be "resisted robustly by the Industry."
That's alright then. * Meeting regarding action against the Public
Entertainment Licence this Friday (17) 8pm @ Charles Dickens, Worthing
01903 522787 [EMAIL PROTECTED] * 27 Jan Demo against License Bill Reforms
1pm Parliament Square, London. * Join the guerilla music action cell
[EMAIL PROTECTED] * To read the Bill see
www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/pabills.htm ----------------
MON-SATAN If you worry about things like world hunger, habitat destruction
or declining wildlife - chill out its all being sorted out by everyone's
favourite agribiz multinational Monsanto. On Wednesday a report published
by the Royal Society said GM crops could be good for the environment! And
guess who funded this research? Like a hyperactive superhero, one day
they're solving world hunger by forcing their transgenic products on
desperate African countries, and the next Monsanto are worried about
starving wildlife. Their "scientific" experiment had two different
management systems for conventional and GM crops, with the system for GM
crops being impractical on a commercial basis. With these results they
claimed GM crops were better for birds. But considering the two systems
were different and the trial only ran for half a year the results are
meaningless. Friends of the Earth campaigner Pete Riley said "Sugar beet
farmers were sold the idea of GM crops in the mid 1990s on the basis of
that they were good for weed control. The techniques proposed are likely to
be more costly and more trouble, it is hard to see what the appeal would be
for the majority of farmers." Friends of the Earth: 02074901555
www.foe.co.uk * The Nelson family from North Dakota, America are currently
fighting Monsanto through the courts after their corn cross-pollinated with
GM RoundupReady thereby making it Monsanto property. This is similar to the
case of Percy Schmeiser (see SchNEWS 346) a farmer from Canada who was
fined �150,000 after his canola crops became contaminated by neighbours GM
crops. www.percyschmeiser.com ---------------- WE WANT MORE PEOPLE TO READ
SCHNEWS BUT NEED YOUR HELP. CAN YOU HAND OUT COPIES AT LOCAL GIGS,
UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL, RECORD SHOPS, CAFES, ON THE BUS? WE STILL NEED A HAND
TO SHIFT MORE OF OUR SCHNEWS OF THE WORLD BOOKS. WITH MOST OF THE COUNTRY'S
RADICAL BOOKSHOPS CLOSING, WE NEED YOUR HELP IN TRACKING DOWN PLACES THAT
WILL SELL BOOKS FOR US. DO YOU KNOW A FRIENDLY SHOP THAT MIGHT WANT TO TAKE
SOME COPIES ON A SALE OR RETURN BASIS? CONTACT THE OFFICE FOR MORE DETAILS.
---------------- INSIDE SchNEWS Aliane Ahmed has been on remand for over a
year on charges of arson relating to the fire at the Yarls Wood detention
centre has had his charges dropped, and his supporters hope he will soon be
released from prison. Two men however are still on remand for charges
relating to the incident, one Klodjian Gaba would appreciate letters of
support or visits, Klodjian Gaba EM9676 - HMP Wormwood Scrubs, PO Box 757,
Du Cane Road, Acton, London, W12 0AE. ---------------- ...AND FINALLY...
Colombian Guerrillas who have been fighting for 40 years for a socialist
state have been spared from a planned devastating air-strike - Operation
Bikini. The government was gonna bombard them with a different kind of
bombshell - pocket sized photos of busty bikini-clad women. Despite 30% of
the rebels being female, the Latin American temptresses were supposed to
seduce the rebels to defection as they stretched provocatively next to
slogans such as "DESERT! and "Obtain Benefits". Colombian models refused to
be drafted in to pose for the photos so the army instead got the images
from an internet porn site. The war torn nations first female Defence
Minister supported the feminist protests and said she was cancelling the
campaign ---------------- Disclaimer SchNEWS warns all readers to stay at
home and build a weapon of mass destruction before the neighbours do.
Honest. ---------------- HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR SUBSCRIBE TO SCHNEWS-L To
unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with only "unsubscribe
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(without the quotes) below in the body. You can replace "Jo" with your own
name if you like. SchNEWS, PO Box 2600, Brighton, BN2 2DX, England
Phone/Fax (call before faxing): 01273 685913 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web: http://www.schnews.org.uk/
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