Hosted By: Anarchist Prisoner support benefit gig
When: 08 Feb 2008, 20:00
Where: Tjs
Clarance Place
Newport, Wales|74 NP19
United Kingdom
Description:
Anarchist Prisoner support benefit gig

Click Here To View Event

Hosted By: Gwent Anarchists
When: 03 Nov 2007, 19:00
Where: Le Pub
Caxton Place
Newport, NP19
United Kingdom
Description:
We is skint, come along!

Click Here To View Event

Hosted By: Gwent Anarchists
When: 13 Nov 2007, 19:00
Where: Le Pub
Caxton Place
Newport, NP20
United Kingdom
Description:
COME ON DOWN WE IS POOR

Click Here To View Event

forgot to post issue 19 up here - sorry!! you can read it here:
http://lists.riseup.net/www/d_read/gagged/gagged19.pdf

GAGGED! 20 october 2007 www.gaggedanarchist.tk FREE
See the pdf here: https://lists.riseup.net/www/d_read/gagged/gagged20.pdf

No Border Camp - south wales anarchists on tour

offending the cops - cardiff activist nicked for swearing

GAGGED! benefit gigs - we go punk rock crazy this november

Destruction of Tara - anti-motorway protests in ireland

Thatcher BROWN-NOSED - Labour, tory - same old story!

Total shut-down! - funders of Burmese junta targeted

L.N.G. KILLS!!! - One worker dead as protests continue

paedophile cop walks free - one law for them, another for everyone else

capitol city Transport Hell - Cardiff Buses face privatisation

The FIght against detention & deportations
Between the 19-24th September over 300 people gathered near Balcombe, East Sussex, for the first UK No Border Camp, which formed part of a wider campaign against the building of a new detention prison at Gatwick airport. The centre will be the biggest in the UK, able to hold 426 people & if built will increase the capacity in the UK to nearly 3,000. Those imprisoned in these inhumane places are held without trial, their only crime being to have come in search of a new life, to escape persecution, poverty & war.
A variety of actions took place during the camp. Demonstrations outside integral parts of the UK's racist immigration system, the Border & Immigration Agencies Lunar House & Electric House in Croydon. Lunar House is one of two places in the UK (the other is in Liverpool), where asylum seekers must go to claim asylum. Many people have their claims rejected at this point & are held in short-term prison-like facilities before being immediately deported. Electric House is a reporting centre where asylum seekers have to sign in while their applications are processed. Many are arrested, detained & deported when signing & failure to sign can often lead to deportation. Electric house is also where local snatch squads, who break into houses in dawn raids, are based.
Virgin Holidays Crawley office was also paid a surprise visit on Friday by around 10 activists. Virgin makes money by deporting refugees, particularly flying refugees back to Nigeria. The activists occupied the foyer & a number of them managed to get upstairs to the office, where they leafleted & informed staff about Virgin's activities. Later in the day activists from No Borders Wales blockaded the front entrance to the offices of Group 4-Securicor. As employees tried to sneak out through the back entrance they were asked to justify their company's racist profiteering from detaining asylum seekers at Dungavel detention prison in Scotland, & the key role that Group 4 plays in deporting people. There have been numerous allegations that during the deportation process Group 4 staff have racially & physically abused those being deported. Group 4 also makes huge profits from tagging prisoners & young offenders as well as running 6 detention prisons in the Netherlands, & interrogation facilities & over 100 prisons in the US.
On Saturday around 500 people marching from Crawley Town Centre, to Tinsley House, an already existing detention prison in the grounds of Gatwick airport, in order to show their solidarity with those imprisoned inside.
The camp provided a space to share information, hold workshops, & discuss how to best oppose growing border controls across the world & work towards a world without states, a world where everyone will be able to freely participate in life on an equal footing. Check out: noborders.org.uk

Jackie & Naseem's story
On Sunday 9th September, asylum seeker Jackie Aber & her son Naseem were seized by Immigration Officers & taken from their home in Swansea to Yarlswood detention prison. Jackie was tortured & raped by the Ugandan army. She escaped an army prison, entered the UK & claimed asylum. Although accepted by the Immigration Appellate Authority as a 'believable witness', the Home Office refused her asylum claim stating that she would not be in danger of persecution if she was returned to a different part of Uganda. Finding new evidence that she was personally at high risk of arrest, illegal detention, torture & death, if she & her son were deported, Jackie lodged a fresh claim. Those that detained her informed Jackie that her claim had been rejected in December 2006. Jackie had received no notification of this. Jackie & Naseem were due to be deported on 13th September but their legal team obtained a stay of the removal while mother & son were on their way to the airport. They were then taken back to Yarls Wood, released on the morning of the 14th & then taken back to Swansea in time for Naseem to celebrate his 10th birthday on the 16th.

Home office picketed
During the past month activists from No Borders Wales have taken part in two pickets of Welsh regional office of the Border & Immigration Agency (part of the Home Office) at General Buildings, 31-33 Newport Road, Cardiff. Asylum seekers are forced to attend the building to sign (on an arbitrary basis), while they await a decision on whether they face deportation. Banners reading 'no more racist prisons' & 'no more deportations' were held & leaflets were handed out. No Borders Wales intends to picket this building regularly in order to draw attention to what goes on inside.

Total Shutdown
October 8th was the international day of action against French oil company Total. People opposing Total's role in Burma's oppressive regime marched through Cardiff to the Total Garage on Cathedral Road. Around 40 people showed up, bringing business to a standstill. Drivers honked 'for a free Burma' as they passed by.
Total is the biggest foreign corporate investor in the undemocratic military dictatorship. Funding the brutal dictators since 1992, Total has provided 30% of their export revenue - an estimated $450 million. Total has helped to fund 70, 000 child soldiers; one of the largest armies in South East Asia; the rape of women & children as a weapon of war; censorship (Burma has 1,350 political prisoners)…the list is numerous! Total have also got blood on their hands from the creation of a 63km pipeline, forcing up to 1,000,000 people from their homes, & relying on slave labour. A follow up protest took place on October 13th & 20th, with plans for further protests in future.

3 benefit gigs for GAGGED!
Gagged! costs money to produce; shelling out for paper, ink, envelopes & stamps keeps local anarchists purses empty. We are committed to distributing Gagged! for free, existing purely on donations, so massive thanks go to the people organising these benefit gigs for us. All three gigs will take place this November at Le Pub, Caxton Place, Newport. Please come along!
On Saturday 3rd it's anarcho punks NO CHOICE (nochoice.org), activist folk punk from KILNABOY (kilnaboy.co.uk), melodic hardcore from GUNRACK? (myspace.com/gunrackmusic) plus GIVING CHASE from Philadelphia (givingchase.com) for only £3.
On Tuesday 13th we've got Mexican D-Beat from ANTIMASTER (myspace.com/antimaster), dark brooding crust from Italy/Portugal via London in GIVE UP ALL HOPE (giveupallhope.org), Bristol anarcho-punks JESUS BRUISER (jesusbruiser.co.uk) & Valleys hardcore kids THREAT MANIFESTO (myspace.com/threatmanifesto) all for £5.
On Friday 16th we've got Newport punx REJECTED (myspace.com/yourapersonnotanumber), Newbridge punx PLINTH (myspace.com/plinththeband), Cardiff punx GUNRACK? (myspace.com/gunrackmusic) & grungey new band DROP DEAD DARLIN (myspace.com/wearedropdeaddarlin), all for £4.

PICKET LINES

Up to 130,000 Royal Mail staff took part in two 48hour strikes on Thursday 4/5th & Monday 8/9th October after talks between the Communication Workers Union (CWU) & Royal Mail broke down without agreement. Rolling strikes took place on a weekly basis & wildcat (unofficial) actions sprang up all around the country. Workers are angry at Royal Mails 'modernisation' plans, which will see massive job losses of around 40,000 workers, worse pay, pensions, & working conditions, as well as a hugely inferior service provided to customers. Despite 5 weeks of negotiations, Royal Mail has not taken on board the union's message that, in order for the business to succeed, Royal Mail need to invest in their workforce.

Around 300 workers at the South Hook site of the LNG pipeline staged a wildcat strike on 21st September in support of co-worker Omar Mohammad who was racially abused by 2 other workers. The labourers working for subcontractor Shaws UK downed tools & marched on the offices of overseers Chicago Bridge & Iron Company to show their anger at what they saw as a lack of action from bosses. Omar Mohammad had made a formal complaint & spent 9 days trying to get the various companies overseeing construction to listen to him but to no avail. Following the strike the 2 racists have been suspended on full pay pending inquiries.

A string of job cuts have been announced by a number of companies across Wales:. Steel firm Carrington Wire Limited (CWL) is to close its Cardiff factory in December after 20 years resulting in 120 job losses. 184 jobs will be cut when the old Freedman's cigar factory owned by Japan Tobacco closes in 2009. Job cuts are also likely as multinational corporation Unilever announced a massive restructuring of its operations, considering contracting out work at its Flintshire IT offices, & job cuts at its Pot Noodle factory in Crumlin, although it is yet to indicate how many of the 220 employees would be affected. Although Unilever's sales continue to grow, it announced in August that it was going to cut around 20,000 jobs (approx 11% of its workforce), in order to "further increase competitiveness & drive growth".
•
The House of Lords has ruled workers will be unable to claim compensation for having their lungs damaged by asbestos. Law Lords ruled in the case of Rothwell v Chemical Insulation & Co that people with pleural plaques (scarring of lung tissue) could not claim compensation because it was technically not a disease. Thousands of workers exposed to asbestos will now suffer without justice. Yet again the aristocrats & the capitalists have teamed up to protect their own wealth & privilege.

Labour or Tory - SAME OLD STORY
New PM Gordon Brown's attempt to capture the votes of Tories by inviting old hag Maggie Thatcher to Downing Street comes as no surprise. In real terms the only difference between the Tory & Labour Party was a bit of PR gloss. Inequality has increased under "New "Labour with the rich getting richer & the poor getting poorer. A child born to a labourer is six times more likely to suffer extreme poverty by the age of 30 than one born to a lawyer.
Boardroom pay went up 37% last year with the average annual wage for a chief executive is £2.8 million. City bonuses have risen by an average of 30% to a record £14 billion. Up from £10.9 billion in 2006. The 35,000 who work in the City of London have managed to accumulate over £43 billion in savings. Profits are booming whilst we are told to tighten our belts & accept below inflation pay "rises" (cuts) so the economy won't suffer! Unless we work together as a class to get rid of these corporate parasites we will always have to live in a world of poverty & inequality. These figures show that capitalism only works for those at the top. Sir Richard Cohen one of Britain's richest men & founder of private equity group Apax warned recently that the gap between rich & poor could lead to riots.

Death Dealing Disrupted
The bi-annual Defence Systems exhibition International (DSEi) arms fair at London's Excel centre was once again subject to widespread protests this September.
A very expensive security operation failed to stop protesters getting yards from the east entrance & loading bays & disrupting proceedings. The grey-suited rotund figure in charge of security panicked when he saw around 16 black clad figures breach the outer cordon & fell flat on his arse, his clipboard & papers flying around him. Only the intervention of the police Tactical Support Group (TSG) prevented activists entering the building. One of the police was heard to comment, "What happened to the security? They were crap!"
Arms company & military delegates had to run the gauntlet of protesters hurling abuse as they were held there by police awaiting prisoner transport for about 40 minutes. Delegates cars could not get access to the car park backed up in a queue stretching half a mile. A march, rally, & critical mass also took place, whilst protesters managed to get a sound system & tank(!) outside the main entrance. Two people were arrested after pouring fake blood over the venue.

Our correspondents at Tara hill
Two South Wales Anarchists recently visited the Tara valley just outside Dublin where a massive tolled motorway (M3) being constructed. 1km from the summit of Tara hill a floodlit 53 acre motorway interchange (the largest in Europe) is proposed. The planned route threatens at least 41 archeological sites. Carved stone coffins, subterranean circular stone chambers with interconnecting passages, semi spherical red clay bowls containing human remains & spiral ritual burial sites with a central cremation pit are just a few of the historically significant findings that have either been dug up or used as hardcore for the road.
There are two resistance camps: an information & peace camp just below the summit of Tara hill where a vigil fire has been burning since 21st June 06, & a direct action camp at nearby Rath Lugh. At Rath Lugh people have taken to the trees as the National Roads Authority have moved the Compulsory Purchase Order fence several times into the woods, cutting more trees each time.
During our stay, the Gabhra River was diverted under the motorway in large cement pipes. This river lies near a newly discovered wooden henge, older than Stonehenge, at Lismullen. Strict guidelines for archeological practice have been blatantly flouted from the start of construction, prompting archaeologists involved to walk out in disgust. <br>The Irish government has allocated €280billion for the construction of sixteen motorways. Within budget alternative routes to the M3 have been presented but dismissed. The government's friends megacorporation Haliburton are subcontractors on the M3 job & might be upset if they don't get their cut. The main construction company Ferrovial, grew from the profits of Spanish dictator Franco's genocidal dictatorship.
The EU have told the Irish Government to stop work as it is illegal, & archaeologists are under extreme time pressure to finish gathering data. Diggers have been hard at work, their progress slowed by the daily actions of protesters, jumping on top of diggers & lying on roads in front of trucks.
The protesters invite all to visit a varied, dedicated group of inspiring individuals who are risking arrest daily to save their heritage. Supplies & support are needed now as the seasons change & winter approaches. Check out www.savetara.com

Merthyr's monster mine 
Flying in the face of the Welsh Assembly Government's 'commitment' to sustainable development & reducing carbon emissions, work has recently begun at Ffos-y-Fan, near Merthyr Tydfil, on a 1,000 acre, 600ft deep opencast mine. Concerns that the edge of what will be the largest opencast mine in the UK will run just 36 meters from homes have been dismissed by authorities, who have collaborated with the mining company to force the plans through. No other opencast scheme in recent times comes anywhere near this close to people's homes. In Scotland planning regulations require a buffer zone of at least 500m
The mining company Miller Argent hopes to extract 10,800,000 tonnes of coal. This will take 17 years of digging & infilling, with machines working from 7am-11pm & explosives used to loosen the 123,000,000 cubic meters of rock needed to be removed. As has happened elsewhere the huge amounts of groundwater pumped out will gradually turn the surrounding area into arid non-fertile land. Also, the massive amount of smoke & dust generated won't do anything to improve the health of the people of Merthyr, which out of 432 local authorities in the UK is 429th in the life-expectancy table.
The coal excavated will be use to fuel both existing & future coal-fired power stations. Once again our government & the corporations they serve (between 2000-4 the UK government gave Britain's coal producers £210.5m in subsidies, the majority of which went into opencast) are investing in power generation that will have a massive impact on our fragile environment. We need to be reducing the amount of energy we consume & create more localised, de-centralised & renewable forms of power not increasing our use of carbon intensive dirty energy like coal.  

LNG pipeline Kills first victim
A worker died at the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal maintenance platform, alongside a jetty at Milford Haven port, when it collapsed on 6th October. Seven others were rescued & one man is "stable" in hospital. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has launched an investigation.
According to the governments own sources an explosion along Wales' LNG pipeline could see people, homes & schools caught up in a massive fireball. Any potential explosion "may be sufficiently large to cause injuries to individuals out of doors in the vicinity of the pipeline. The gas release could continue for some time – tens of minutes – & in some cases it may be a number of hours before the gas leak is isolated & the hazard removed."
Documents, which were sent to local councils along the pipe's route appear to have been ignored or disregarded by planners & politicians. This is shocking given that they warn any pipeline puncture may "give rise to a thermal radiation hazard to individuals in the vicinity of the pipeline if the gas subsequently ignites" – which is health & safety speak for "an explosion will burn people to a crisp!".
On 15th October, over 25 protests took place across the UK in a day of action against the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the world's self-described 'Oil & Gas Bank' a major funder of the L.N.G. pipeline as well as the aviation industry. In Cardiff the High street branch was blockaded for 3 hours after activists caused disruption inside. Hundreds of leaflets were handed out & banners displayed. The process was repeated afterwards at RBS' sister bank Natwest. Check out: fightthepipe.co.uk

Cardiff Transport just gets worse
Cardiff residents face a transport double whammy this autumn with the increased parking charges in the city centre & council plans to privatise Cardiff Buses.
A day's parking in the city centre will now cost double what it did before (£5), some environmentalists applaud this as a step towards a greener transport policy, arguing people should be discouraged from using their cars & that higher parking fees do that. But that's a load of tosh – this is nothing more than money-making. There are no indications that cash from the scheme will be ploughed back into making our city any greener.
We agree that everyone should be driving less – we all have to change our energy consumption to combat climate change & congestion. But high charges for parking mean that poorer people can't afford it, while the 4x4-driving middle classes can still absorb the cost & park their gas-guzzlers where they like.
This would be easier to swallow if there was massive investment in public transport so people had a proper alternative. Nothing could be further from the council's mind! They've just announced a 40% sell-off of Cardiff Bus, which is one of the few publicly owned bus companies left in the UK. A sell-off will lead to the same problems that always accompany bus privatisation: worse pay & conditions for drivers, higher ticket prices & the scrapping of services. Public transport should be public – putting it in the hands of fat-cats means only profit will matter, leading to a poorer service.

COPWATCH

Tase' Me Baby One More Time
Welsh cops have fired an electronic Taser stun gun for the first time during a pub brawl in North Wales. Police first used the chemical weapon CS Spray on three men & then moved on to the taser.
When Tasers are fired, two metal barbs connected to the weapon by a thin wire pierce the skin before the charge is delivered. Tasers have been linked to more than 220 deaths in the US since 2001.
North Wales Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom's blog featured a video of him being a target of a Taser, which delivers a 50,000-volt shock. Other cops have insisted the weapons are safe & many have said they wouldn't mind being fried. Please form an orderly queue.

Welsh Drug Cops Nicked
2 South Wales Police officers have been arrested for drugs offenses following a raid in Swansea. The unnamed officers have been suspended from duty pending further investigation, & no further details have been released by the force.

You Are The Weakest Link…
A Welsh cop 'famous' for appearing on TVs 'The Weakest Link' has been found guilty on 18 charges of owning child porn. Sergeant Mark Bretherick, from Welshpool escaped jail due to technical loophole & didn't even get sacked by Dyfed Powys Police (though he has now resigned). He has received a 3 year supervision order & put on the sex offenders register for 5 years. Yet another cop gets away with a heinous crime without doing time.
On The Weakest Link, Bretherick told Anne Robinson that he relaxes by dressing up in Saxon or Viking costumes for mock battles as part of a historical re-enactment group. He added he would love to see her running around a battlefield in a maiden's outfit.

cop wankers part III
A Cardiff activist was arrested in Crawley on October 22nd for muttering 'wankers' near a couple of cops. Saying rude words to friends isn't often an excuse for arrest but as the cops were in town for the No Borders protest they thought they'd harass anyone who might have an opinion!
The activist was held for seven hours, charged with Section 5 of the Public Order Act (for being offensive in public), banned from the whole of Sussex & now faces a 3 day trial in March.

Prisoner death
A 53-year-old male inmate of Prescoed prison has been found dead. Neither Gwent Police nor representatives of the prison were willing to confirm anything about the case. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to guess that this is another in a long line of suicides in overcrowded jails.

Diary Dates
October
23 - No Borders Wales Film Night Feedback from local activists who took part in the recent UK No Borders camp & with films from "Virtual Migrants". 7pm at the PAD Social Centre
27 - Anarchist Bookfair - Queen Mary & Westfield College, Mile End Road, London, E1. 10am-7pm www.anarchistbookfair.org.uk (at 5pm there'll be a workshop on anarchist newsletters by our editorial collective!)

November
1 - South Wales anarchist forum - monthly gathering of local anarchist groups. 8pm at the Glamorgan Staff Club, Westgate Street Cardiff (opposite gate 3 of millennium stadium).
2 - No Borders International Day of Action - against the proposed detention centre near Gatwick.
3 - "Bash the Rich!" march on David Cameron's house in Notting Hill, London. londonclasswar.org
3 - Gagged! benefit gig - No Choice, KilnAboy, Gunrack? & Giving Chase 8pm Le Pub, Caxton Place, Newport. £3
13 - Gagged! benefit gig - AntiMaster Give Up All Hope, Jesus Bruiser, & Threat Manifesto 8pm, Le Pub, Caxton Place, Newport, £3
16 - Gagged! benefit gig – Rejected, Plinth, Gunrack? & Drop Dead Darling 8pm, Le Pub, Caxton Place, Newport, £3.

Got any news or an event you want us to cover? send details to news@gaggedanarchist.tk

An audio version of Gagged! is available, check out www.gaggedanarchist.tk, where you can also read all the back issues & subscribe online. 5,000 copies of each issue are distributed - can you help? If you are interested in getting involved, contact info@gaggedanarchist.tk

Peoples Autonomous Destination
a physical space in Cardiff for groups & individuals who cannot or will not work within the constraints of governmental or corporate control.
Food co-op every wednesday from 5pm.
meetings every wednesday from 7pm.
Vegan-fry-up every sunday from 12noon.
& lots more, call by & see notice board
118 Clifton Street, Cardiff CF24 1LW • www.thepad.org.uk

Cardiff Rising Tide
is a grassroots group committed to taking action & building a movement against climate change.
cardiff@risingtide.org.uk www.risingtide.org.uk

No Borders Wales
organises on migration issues & acts to break down boundaries that divide us. Meet at the PAD thursdays 7pm.
noborderswales@riseup.net
noborderswales.org.uk

Cardiff Reading Anti-Capitalism
is a study/reading group exploring revolutionary vision & strategy. Meet 7pm every other tuesday of the month at PAD.
myspace.com/cardiffanticapitalism

South Wales Anarchists
A network of collectives who are against all forms of exploitation & bigotry. We are concerned with taking direct action against capitalism & government. We spread information & build resistance to create a world based on justice & freedom. We organise autonomously without authority or hierarchy, so that everybody involved can have an equal say. www.southwalesanarchists.org
Cardiff Anarchist Network (CAN) Meetings on Mondays 8pm, at the PAD. Contact cardiffanarchists@riseup.net or myspace.com/cardiffanarchists.
Gwent Anarchists Meetings on every other Monday 8.30pm at the Murenger, High Street, Newport. Contact gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk or myspace.com/gwentanarchists
Pembrokeshire Anarchists Contact pembrokeshireanarchists@riseup.net or myspace.com/pembrokeshireanarchists.
Rhondda Cyon Taf Anarchists Contact rctanarchists@riseup.net.

For international news like the sort you find in Gagged! check out: schnews.org.uk indymedia.org.uk libcom.org anarkismo.net infoshop.org

http://lists.riseup.net/www/d_read/gagged/gagged18.pdf

GAGGED! 18 • August 2007• www.gaggedanarchist.tk • FREE
Produced by South Wales Anarchists • southwalesanarchists.org

War on Terror = War on Civil Liberties
South Wales cops have asked the Home Office for invasive powers to stop & search people in Cardiff following terror attacks in London & Glasgow Airport. In a move which echoes politicians' calls to extend internment without charge, the police here are using the terror attacks as an excuse to extend their powers & further strip away civil liberties. Section 44 of the Terrorism Act gives the plod unprecedented stop & search powers & has already been misused to hassle demonstrators & others.
Speaking at the beginning of July Divisional Commander for Cardiff, Chief Superintendent Josh Jones said: 'Communities defeat terrorism & I ask anyone who is stopped by a police officer over the next few days to help us by engaging positively & passing on any information that they may have.'
However, Assistant Chief Constable Giles York also said: 'We have seen several well intentioned calls to the police & I am very encouraged at the vigilance being shown by the public of South Wales , particularly as there is no specific threat to the area.'
Does anyone else see a bit of a contradiction here? They've asked for powers to stop & search people because of the threat of terrorism, while at the same time admitting there is no threat to people in Cardiff . This is opportunist nonsense. The cops are yet again using people's very real fear of terrorism as an excuse to get more powers for themselves.

Know your rights
If you're stopped & searched under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 you have specific & clear rights that cops will ignore unless you make it clear you know them. They may try & get you to give them your personal details, & they may attempt to photograph you – they are not allowed to do either. Here are some pointers provided by the civil rights group Liberty:
• The police can only give you a pat down, remove outer clothes (eg: jacket, hat) search your bags, & have you empty your pockets
• You do not have to give your name or address.
• You do not have to explain why you are there.
• You are not allowed to flee the search, but you are not required to be actively compliant. You are allowed to "go limp" as passive resistance during the search if you do not wish to comply.
• There is no permission to collect DNA data during the search.
• You do not have to comply with any attempt to photograph or record you (although you cannot wear a mask).
• Women can not be touched by male police during these searches.
• Make notes about the officers searching you - name, number, & police force.
• Note the time & the events preceding the search.
• Note the specific wording used by the police to explain their authority to search.
• Ask police for the reason that they are searching you. Specifically, are they searching for terrorists or are they simply trying to deter, delay, or inconvenience you?
check out: www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk

Plod Spread Terror Fears
South Wales Police have been bleating to the press about the increased level of calls from frightened members of the public about so-called 'suspicious' behaviour. Instead of appealing for calm or just keeping their mouths shut, they've encouraged people to remain 'vigilant' against unknown or non-existent threats, & report every paranoid fantasy to the police.
Assistant Chief Constable Giles York said: 'It is not only my officers making South Wales a hostile area for any terrorist activity, but also our communities. The public are our eyes & ears & we are grateful for the efforts they have taken to report anything which is slightly out of the ordinary.'
Exactly what are the best nuggets of 'intelligence' a frightened public have passed on to York & his team?
'We have received calls from businesses who are reporting unusual purchases', he said. 'One supermarket in South Wales notified us of a group buying a large amount of digital cameras. In another call, the manager of a shopping centre notified us of a call he had received in which he was asked for maps of the centre.'
Digital cameras & maps of Cardiff ? Be afraid. Be very afraid.
York added: 'Both of these calls turned out to have genuine explanations but I encourage anyone to get in contact with us if they have any concerns, no matter how trivial they may seem.'

Nobody is illegal
A Kebab-house was closed & 5 takeaway workers arrested when cops & immigration bureaucrats raided Cardiff's 'Chip Lane' at the beginning of July.
One worker at Dorothy's Fish Bar said: "There have been lots of police here, at least 20 officers. They sealed off Caroline Street at both ends & have been through all the takeaways looking for illegals. They checked all the staff's passports & their status."
It isn't known what people were nicked for, they could have been so-called 'illegal immigrants' or asylum seekers awaiting Home Office approval to stay in the UK. Under current laws refugees are not allowed to work or earn money while their applications to stay are processed, having to live off tiny state handouts. If they work, they are forced into low-paying menial jobs, & if discovered they are arrested & deported.
Asylum seekers are often from countries where there has been military intervention by the West or regimes armed & supported by the UK. Nothing can justify the suffering that is imposed on innocent people like those arrested in Cardiff in the name of 'immigration controls'. The rich will settle in whichever country makes them pay the least tax, but the poor are forced to risk their lives to try & make a better life for themselves. As Anarchists we believe in complete freedom of movement.


Picket lines
Royal mail staff in Wales took part in the 1st UK wide postal strike for 11 years on 29th June with another 24-hour strike beginning at 7pm on 12th July. Workers are angry at Royal Mails 'modernisation' plans, which will result in the loss of 40,000 jobs & cuts in wages & pensions. It will also mean higher stamp prices, less collections, later deliveries, cuts in weekend services & the closure of even more post offices.
*****
A high school in Denbighshire, north Wales, was forced to close as teachers staged a one day strike. Industrial action came following a long running dispute over new pay arrangements introduced in 2006 & serious concerns with working practices at the school with many staff feeling "demoralised & undervalued". Sound familiar? Ah the predictability of capitalist working relations.
*****
Strike action at the troubled Grampian Food Group factory, Llangefni, Anglesey was cancelled at the last minute after workers accepted a 4% pay deal in a ballot on the 25th June. Workers were due to strike on 26th, 27th & 30th June because of disputes over pay, pensions & the growing casualisation of the workforce.
*****
Health workers across the UK are still considering strike action over a pay rise deal well below the rate of inflation. Earlier this year health workers were offered a miserable 2.5% pay rise. This was cut even further when both the government & employers said that in Wales, England & Northern Ireland this would be staged - with a 1.5% increase given from April & the final 2.5% settlement paid from November. However, following workers complaints & union pressure the respective governmental bodies of Wales & Northern Ireland were forced to make u-turns & health workers in these countries will now receive their pay rise in full backdated from April. This does not yet apply to health workers in England. UNISON has conducted a ballot of its health worker members (460,000 across the UK) for potential industrial action scheduled to take place in September 2007. Watch this space!
*****
Hospital workers at Ysbyti'r Tri Chwm, Ebbw Vale held a demonstration outside the hospital in protest against £120-a-year car parking charges for staff, which were introduced in April. A spokesperson for the Gwent NHS trust stated that charging for car parking was now standard practice at nearly all NHS hospitals in south Wales & that there was a need to maintain equity with staff in other hospital sites who already pay charges. But many workers feel that they are being charged for the privilege of going to work & that parking should be free for all staff, patients & visitors. Too right!

"Wales?" Same old tory Story
David Cameron's "New" Tories have appointed an Eton-educated hereditary peer who knows "absolutely nothing" about Wales as Welsh Affairs spokesman. Lord Glentoran, who lives in Northern Ireland , said, "As far as the politics of Wales is concerned, as of 48 hours ago I knew absolutely nothing. I now know nothing, plus a bit. I know nothing about the politics but I know quite a lot about the geography." he denied this was a problem as he had once stayed with a "literally working class family in Bristol" when he was 16, before joining the Army. You couldn't make it up!

NO PIPELINE!
On the morning of 19th June a huge number of police & bailiffs arrived at the anti-pipeline tree camp in Sennybridge, Brecon Beacons, to evict protesters from the trees.
The camp has successfully prevented the destruction of woodland in the Brecon Beacons National Park, on the route of the huge LNG pipleine, since January this year. Protesters were taken to court in early June & had been awaiting the eviction. Some people were locked on high up in the trees whilst others were underground in tunnels in order to delay National Grid's multi-million pound destructive & dangerous project.The A40 road that ran past the camp was closed to traffic & police & bailiffs spent two days removing the activists. Many people headed down to give support but few made it onto site, most being kept in a police cordon outside with journalists.
In total 12 people were arrested, most receiving cautions or conditional discharge with a court fine. National Grid instantly began stripping away the land in order to prevent anyone occupying it again. Perhaps they forget that the route of the pipe is 200 miles long...plenty of room for more resistance!
The camp was successful in raising awareness of how the government & corporations are prioritising money over the future of our environment. Any claim they make to be taking climate change & environmental destruction seriously becomes a joke when they happily overrule objections so they can destroy supposedly 'protected' natural land to make way for yet more fossil fuels. Check out: www.fightthepipe.co.uk

Who watches the watchers?
Five security guards working in Welsh Assembly buildings, Cardiff were caught using CCTV cameras to look at nearby homes & hotels. While this has been going on for around two years, the voyeuristic security guards have received nothing more than a slap on the wrist. An assembly spokesperson claimed that these were "isolated" incidences, which were not thought to have infringed anyone's privacy. We bet the people whose houses were spied on feel a whole lot better now!

Welfare for the Rich
Working class people in Wales are subsidising private industry not only through wage slavery (where the pay we take home is much less than the value of the work we do), but also in huge payouts to businesses funded by our taxes.
Tax is meant to be cash we lend the state so that they can pay it back to us in essential services, education, healthcare, & pensions. But politicians are giving millions to the rich so they can set up more businesses.
For 5 years the Welsh Assembly Government has given millions of taxpayers' money to business in the form of Assembly Investment Grants (AIG) & Regional Selective Assistance (RSA). During the first 4 years of the scheme's operations, over 1504 offers of AIG with a combined value of £45.8 million were made to businesses. In the 7 year period to March 2006 1173 offers of RSA with a combined value of a whopping £650 million were made to businesses undertaking capital investment projects in Wales.
These bribes for bosses are typical of the way in which governments operate. Sweeteners for the rich might look attractive to politicians, & might even boost the economy & create a few jobs in the short-term. But in the long-term the people of Wales lose out big-time: Once profits at these subsidised businesses start to fall they close down their factories, sack the workforce & move on to places where the labour is cheaper & new government subsidies are to be had.
Under "New" Labour the gap between rich & poor has widened massively. Payouts to the rich are a major cause of this inequality, the wealthy few can enjoy lives of comfort & extravagance while 3 million British children live in poverty.

COME CAMP WITH US!
Organising & struggling in our local communities is key to building strong social movements & bringing about lasting social change. But we also need to continue to come together in mass mobilisations. It is at convergence spaces like the ones at the recent anti-G8 protests (see Gagged! 17) that we get a glimpse of our collective power. They offer us the space to organise & come up with solutions to social & environmental problems without the need for leaders, where together we can create new worlds in the shell of the old. This summer there are at least two major protest camps in the UK - come camp with us: you know you want to!

CAMP FOR CLIMATE ACTION
On 14th-21st August, somewhere near Heathrow the 2nd Camp for Climate Action will take place, with 8 days of low-impact, sustainable living, learning, collective decision-making & direct action to highlight the problems of climate change & solutions to halt it.
Climate change is happening now. People are dying of starving now. Environmental refugees are moving now & according to the Red Cross already outnumber those displaced by armed conflict. The situation is only going to get worse - unless we act now! If we carry on with business as usual scientists predict a possible 6 degree rise in temperature. Last time the planet experienced this was 250 million years ago & 95% of all life was wiped off the face of the earth.
Our entire way of life is currently structured so that almost every aspect of our lives produces harmful carbon dioxide emission - travel, work, housing, food. In order to cut these emissions by the 90% that many scientists believe necessary, some very major changes need to occur. So where is this change going to come from? We believe that far from offering any solutions to our current ecological crisis governments are part of the problem. Neither can we expect corporations or the market to offer any real solutions. Although we all need to make changes in the ways we live, it's not enough just to switch brands. We need to challenge the logic of capitalism, which got us into this mess in the first place. Capitalism is based on a very simple principle - perpetual economic growth. This leads to the constant over production of goods & services that we just don't need, the consumption of the world's finite resources & ever growing amounts of waste that our ecosystem just can't deal with. Expecting corporations to sort this out is absurd. They are designed for one thing & that is the maximisation of profit.
The aviation industry is a major contributor to climate change. The main reason why the camp will be at Heathrow this year is to highlight the massive contradiction of the government claiming to be working to reduce emissions while setting the conditions for huge growth in flying, through airport expansion & subsidies on air fuel, which has stimulated a massive increasing in cheap flights.
Last year's camp was a huge success (see Gagged! 13). Activists from south Wales joined over 600 people to take direct action against Drax powerstation, the UK's largest carbon dioxide emitter & explored, debated & discussed grass roots alternatives to the current system. Let's make this year's camp an even bigger success! Together we can build a better world now! Check out: climatecamp.org.uk

No Border Camp 2007
On 19th-24th September will be the UK's first "No Border Camp", continuing the tradition of No Border protest camps across the world since the late 1990s. The government has recently announced its plans to build a new detention centre near Gatwick airport. This will be another in a long list of such places around the world. Places where people are locked up indefinitely & without trial, & from where they can be forcibly deported. Such detention prisons are an integral part of a systematic, racist, & barbarous policy of suffering. Together we can stop this one being built!
The camp will be an experiment in self-organisation. A chance to work together to stop the building of a new detention centre & gather ideas for how to build up the fight against migration controls. It will be an important opportunity to challenge & overcome the artificial borders of class, race, sex, sexuality, & nationality which divide us from each other, & act in solidarity with one another for a world without borders.
'Freedom of movement' is such a scary prospect for the wealthy few because migration undermines a central dimension of contemporary global capitalism - that people living in different parts of the world can be paid different wages. Borders, migration controls, notions of citizenship & the 'rights' that these entail are all integral mechanisms through which this unequal, exploitative world system is maintained. Without them there would be no way of confining people to a certain place, a certain set of working conditions & rate of pay. Check out: www.noborders.org.uk

COPWATCH



Cop Wankers Part II
Last month Gagged! reported how PC Richard Bowen got away with an 18 month suspended sentence & avoided jail after masturbating in front of an arrested woman in the back of a panda car. He was ordered to do 100 hours community service as a painter & decorator on the estate where he grew up. Let's hope he doesn't run out of wallpaper paste. This month we can reveal that yet another UK rozzer, Essex Police's Martin Chapman, has been suspended for the same thing. It must be something about the uniform. There is a silver-lining though: a few more like this & they might all go blind.

Gwent Cops on Tax Payer-Funded fun
Members of the Gwent Police were living it up at our expense at major events this summer. Cops were sent on free trips to Glastonbury & Wimbledon, allegedly to get hints & tips on how to police major events ahead of the Ryder Cup, to be held in Newport in 2010. Superintendent Nigel Russell denied any suggestions cops had been on a junket to Europe's biggest music festival, claiming they did not see any bands. "You won't catch the cops in the moshpit," he said, trying desperately not to sound like a cock.

Police Numbers Fall
Overpaid work-shy plod are retiring in their droves & not enough new ones are taking their place, according to new figures. For the first time in ages more police are leaving Welsh forces than are being recruited, because of a rise in retirement & resignation rates. The number of cops resigning from the four Welsh forces has more than doubled since 2002, while retirements have also shot up, from 110 in 2002 to 269 last year.

Cop Cars Trashed at Gypsy Camp
Two South Wales Police vehicles had their windows smashed in a disturbance at an official traveller's camp. A Gypsy Council spokesman told the press he didn't know anything about the incident, but added: "I'm surprised the police left their cars unattended. It doesn't matter where they go on housing estates anywhere in the country, they shouldn't leave them unattended. I don't know any police force that would leave their cars."

Welsh Plod Ignored Male Rape Victim
Police have apologised to a rape victim after their handling of his case was criticised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Geoffrey Cole, from Neath, was sexually assaulted in October 2005. When he reported the crime, police officers didn't take him seriously, & failed to make adequate efforts to examine the crime scene for evidence. Mr Cole's attacker has never been caught.

Diary Dates -If you are unsure about attending any of the events listed below, why not get in touch?

August
1-5 - Big Green Gathering - Sustainable living, music & hippies. Somerset. www.big-green-gathering.com
6 - South Wales Anarchists forum - a networking gathering with reports from all the local groups & campaigns. All welcome. 8pm, Glamorgan Staff Club, Westgate Street, Cardiff.
11 - No Borders Info-day & Social - to mobilise for the No Border camp; with speakers, films, food & live music. From 1pm at the PAD.
14-21 - Camp for Climate Action – near Heathrow airport. www.climatecamp.org.uk
27-30 - Smash EDO Action Camp - Direct Action against the war machine. www.smashedo.org.uk
September
11 - Disarm Desi - actions against Defence Systems & Equipment International arms fair. ExCel Centre, London. www.dsei.org
19-24 - No Borders Camp, near Gatwick. www.noborders.org.uk

Got any news or an event you want us to cover? send details to news@gaggedanarchist.tk

An audio version of Gagged! is available, just check out www.gaggedanarchist.tk, where you can also subscribe online. Five thousand copies of each issue are distributed throughout the region, we always looking to get Gagged! into new places. If you are interested in getting involved in any way, please get in touch info@gaggedanarchist.tk

Peoples Autonomous Destination
a physical space in Cardiff for groups & individuals who cannot or will not work within the constraints of governmental or corporate control.
Vegan fryup every sunday from 12noon.
Not-for-profit-shop every wednesday from 5pm. Plus free shop all the time.
meetings every wednesday from 7pm.
& lots more, check our notice board!
118 Clifton Street, Cardiff CF24 1LW • www.thepad.org.uk

Campaign Groups
Cardiff Rising Tide
is a grassroots group committed to taking action & building a movement against climate change. Meet irregularly, get in contact for details.
cardiff@risingtide.org.uk
www.risingtide.org.uk
No Borders Wales
organises on migration issues & acts to break down boundaries that divide us. Meet thursdays 7pm at PAD.
noborderswales@riseup.net
www.noborders.org.uk
Cardiff Reading Anti-Capitalism
is a study/reading group exploring revolutionary vision & strategy. Meet 7pm last tuesday of the month at PAD.


Cardiff Anarchist Network (CAN) is a collective of people who want to pursue political demonstrations through direct action. There are no leaders, just like minded individuals. cardiffanarchists@riseup.net myspace.com/cardiffanarchists Meet 8pm mondays at PAD.
Gwent Anarchists are like minded individuals believing in autonomy, respect & justice; against all forms of exploitation & bigotry. Aiming to increase the knowledge of, & create a resistance to governments & big business abusing people & the earth. gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk myspace.com/gwentanarchists Meet 8.30pm every other monday at the Murenger House, High Street, Newport.
Pembrokeshire Anarchists is a group of like minded people who believe in direct action, justice, freedom & autonomy, are against capitalism, exploitation & bigotry. pembrokeshireanarchists@riseup.net myspace.com/pembrokeshireanarchists
Rhondda Cyon Taf Anarchists are an autonomous group of free-thinking individuals who reject capitalism & resist state control through direct action. We work towards the creation of a world based on justice & freedom. rctanarchists@riseup.net

For more news from all over the world like the sort you find in Gagged! take a look at: www.schnews.org.uk www.indymedia.org.uk www.libcom.org www.anarkismo.net www.infoshop.org

Best viewed here: http://lists.riseup.net/www/d_read/gagged/gagged17.pdf

GAGGED! #17 June/July 2007 • www.gaggedanarchist.tk • funded by donation, advert free & skint / FREE
56.3% voted nobody & G8 summit Chaos
Produced by South Wales Anarchists southwalesanarchists.org

NOBODY WON! NOTHING'S CHANGED!
So the election is over & a few faces have changed. But the government is still in power, & with 56.3% of the electorate staying away from the voting booths, the results are clear: most people don't want politicians in control. Many of those who voted did so out of a misplaced sense of duty, & many voted negatively, against the candidate they dislike most rather than for the candidate they really believe in.
Most of the real decisions that affect our lives are taken by unrepresentative bodies like the G8, the EU, & multinational corporations anyway, so the idea of "choice" at elections is completely false.
Politicians would have us believe that there is no other way; that we need them otherwise all hell will break loose. But society is already run by everyone, & it's our collective work that keeps everything going, not the endless hot air blown by careerist politicians. The truth is: We don't need them.
Nobody's victory shows that deep down people recognise it doesn't matter which politicians are in charge; when a small group have all the power, an alternative should & can be sought. Anarchism is that alternative.
We believe in; Ending exploitation & injustice by the abolition of capitalism & government. Creating a culture where everybody organises through mutual aid & co-operation without the need for political or economic privilege. Building a new society guided by the principles of individual liberty & social equality.
It's not complicated. You could even call it common sense. Health services should be run by the doctors, nurses & patients, & schools should be run by teachers, pupils & parents. But most of all the wealth of society should be commonly owned & used to serve everybody.
Getting to this new society won't be easy. It won't happen overnight, yet it is possible. Just abstaining from voting doesn't dismantle political institutions, however unpopular they are. We have to work & fight to build the kind of world we want to live in. Become part of the resistance!

South Wales Anarchists were in attendance in front of the Sennedd when the Queen popped down to Cardiff Bay on June 5th for the official re-opening of the Welsh Assembly after the election. The activists holding the "56% voted Nobody!" banner were approached by police officer 3603 who asked "Who do you represent?" "NOBODY!" we cheered! - we waited months to crack that one!
Check out myspace/votenobody for more on the campaign.

BNP scum
Nobody's resounding victory was clouded by the British National Party getting 42,197 votes. Fighting fascism used to be straightforward, fascists had huge boots, skinheads, & organised marches. Counter-marches pushed them off the streets. These days the BNP wear suits & talk about democracy & free speech. In the climate of fear created by a racist press, & politicians out to make cheap headlines, people listen to their fascist filth.
The 'Vote Nobody!' campaign was criticised for letting the BNP in through the back door. This is not true. The BNP stood on the 'list seats' which use a rubbish form of proportional representation. To stop them getting in you have to vote for one of the four main parties who are all the same. Voting socialist or green would decrease the big four's share of the vote, helping the 5th largest party, worryingly the BNP, to get a seat.
But all this is a distraction. You or I voting for someone else isn't gonna stop somebody voting fascist. The BNP got what they wanted: a mandate. 42,197 votes to gain respectability.
The root of the problem is the fact that people are let down by politicians – privatisation, rubbish wages, decreasing benefits, high house prices, dwindling pensions & no future. When the BNP come along with simple answers & easy racism it's no surprise some support them. Voting is a sideshow – what's important is anti-fascist campaigning outside of this one day of voting.

G8 successfully blockaded again!
On 6-8th June, anti-G8 protesters successfully blockaded all roads leading to Heiligendamm while the leaders of the world's richest nations hid behind miles of barbed wire fence & 16,000 tooled-up riot cops. As 100s of delegates, journalists, & essential service staff arrived, huge human blockades & scores of barricades stopped them reaching the luxury hotel summit venue.
Despite the largest security operation in Germany since World War II & unprecedented police repression, tens of thousands of protesters including plenty from South Wales Anarchists closed the routes leading to the summit breaching the no-demonstration zone around the fence, & severely disrupting proceedings. A variety of tactics with burning barricades, black bloc, passive resistance, tree felling & more were used to close the four roads & railway line into the summit.
Official G8 organisers were forced to ferry summit attendees by boat or fly them in by helicopter, while many were delayed or left stranded. A week of protest saw loads of actions & demonstrations on topics such as anti-fascism, global agriculture, migration, militarism & war. The main focus, though, was on shutting down the summit itself & sending a clear message to the leaders inside that no matter how high they build their fences, no matter how many hired goons with tear gas, water canons, & pepper spray they put in our way, we're still here, & we're getting angrier every day. For more detailed reports check out www.indymedia.org.uk
South Wales anarchists who didn't make it to Germany took to Cardiff city centre to show support for anti-G8 protesters, displaying a banner proclaiming "SHUT IT DOWN!" & distributing 100s of leaflets, before visiting the office of the honorary German consul in Wales to highlight the brutal repression of protesters by the German state. Anti-G8 banners also appeared above the A48 & in the city centre, lasting a few days

Anti-G8 camps show another world is possible
"It's all very well saying `smash capitalism', but what would you have instead?" - This demand for a fully laid out alternative plan for the post-revolutionary society is made every time someone dares to stand up against injustice or oppression & demand a better way of running things.
As anarchists we aren't in the line of telling people how to live their lives. We think that any alternative ways of living should be decided & agreed upon by those doing the living, not some distant group of leaders who claim to have all the answers. But anyone living at the protest camps that surrounded the summit area at Heiligendamm will have experienced a small taste of what it's like to live in a truly free, self-organised, & democratic society.
At the gate of the Reddelich camp where South Wales Anarchists stayed a sign read, "You are now leaving the Federal Republic of Germany": it was accurate. Inside you found 9 collectively organised kitchens run on donations, toilets & shower facilities, a children's play area, a media centre with computers & internet access, a huge circus tent for meetings & entertainment, a fantastic bar with seats carved out of a hill, 2 cinemas, information points where you could find out about demos & skill-sharing workshops, areas where you could borrow bicycles for free, & enough camping space for 4000 protesters. Everything was run along participatory democratic lines, & everyone had a voice in how things were run. Everyone mucked-in & took part in the running of the camp, helping prepare meals, washing up & keeping the place clean.
In the shadow of the G8, one of the most undemocratic & unaccountable institutions in the world, for a few days a small space appeared which was run along the anarchist principles of mutual aid, direct democracy, equality, & freedom. This was just as sweet a victory as shutting down the summit itself.

Supermarket takeover
Another Tesco store is to open in Cardiff, adding to the existing 12. It will be on City Road, less than 5 minutes walk from 2 other branches. Unethical business practices allow Tesco to undercut local traders, every supermarket causes 100s of job losses as local shops close. City Road already has 6 convenience stores & many other diverse shops. Another Tesco is not needed or wanted. Boycott Tesco & take direct action against your local store. www.tescopoly.org

PIPELINE Protest Banned
The 200 mile LNG pipeline from Milford Haven to Gloucestershire, costing at least £840m, owned & managed by National Grid, that cuts through Pembrokeshire Coast & Brecon Beacons national parks is contractually obliged to be finished by October 2007. Any hedgerows & trees along the route that weren't occupied have been destroyed & work has started in a number of locations.
Protesters from Brecon anti-pipeline tree camp were in court on the 8th June to face eviction from the section of woodland they are squatting to prevent it from destruction. Supporters gathered inside & outside the court as the judge listened for 2 hours before predictably siding with National Grid & granting the eviction papers, effective from the next day. National Grid also filed for an injunction against anyone stopping lawful activity along phase 2 of the pipeline (from Felindre to Tirley). This was temporarily granted which means anyone breaking the injunction could end up behind bars. However activists will be back in court in 3 weeks to argue the impracticalities of the injunction. Meanwhile no such injunction exists along phase 1... Check out: www.fightthepipe.co.uk Protest camp phone: 07733190958
STOP PRESS: As Gagged! was going to print (19th June) the eviction of the camp was underway, the A40 is closed & there have been at least two arrests, people are locked on in the tree tops, there are also people underground with substantial supplies.

Mobile phone masts on the brain?
Mobile phone company O2 wanted to put a 12 metre mast close to houses in Caerleon. Local residents immediately objected & planning permission was refused. But this didn't stop O2 who exploited a loophole in the law & attempted to start work in early April. Local people were furious & occupied the site in protest, stopping contractors from working. O2 called a halt to work & said they hope to come to an agreement with residents. This looks unlikely as O2 are only prepared to move the mast a few metres & residents have said they want it moved to another site completely away from houses.
O2 was forced to pull down a 90ft mast in Warwickshire after local protests sparked by half of the 30 staff at a school within sight of the mast developed suffered significant heath problems, half of them tumours. In 2002 a group of European doctors launched 'The Freiberger Appeal'. As they had observed "a dramatic rise in serious & chronic diseases", including extreme blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, brain degeneration, leukaemia & brain tumours in people living & working near mobile phone masts. For more info check out: www.mastsanity.org

PAD re-launched: a new Social Centre!
118 Clifton Street, Adamsdown, Cardiff has been transformed into a collectively run social centre. The "Peoples' Autonomous Destination" (PAD) is due to be open in June. It will be a place, independent from government or commercial control, to socialise, meet other like-minded people, share ideas & enjoy food, drink, music & films. Importantly, the PAD will be a place for people to come together & organise around social struggles both locally & globally.
The PAD is run voluntarily so nobody gets paid & nobody makes a profit, everyone involved can have a say in how it functions, with no leaders or hierarchies. Anyone can come along to a meeting to help organise & take part in making decisions about the PAD. The space will be inclusive, open to all individuals, with discrimination not tolerated & diversity respected. For more about upcoming events or to get involved, e-mail thepad@riseup.net or come along to a meeting on Wednesdays at 7:30pm at The PAD itself. Find out more about other social centres: www.socialcentresnetwork.org.uk

A Plague On Both Your Houses
Neither the phoney "war on terror" or dodgy fundamentalist religion!
A 32-year-old Libyan-born Cardiff man was freed in May after spending 18 months in a high security prison without charge. He won an appeal against deportation from the UK in late April after being accused of having links with Osama Bin Laden. He strongly denies being a terrorist or having connections with Al-Qaida. The Muslim father of 2, was spared deportation over fears he may be tortured if sent back to Libya for his opposition to Colonel Gaddafi's regime. His lawyer said: "He is not a terrorist. He is frustrated he has not had the chance to respond to the evidence put against him. The claims against him were made in a closed hearing".
He is said to be looking forward to disproving claims that "terrorist propaganda" was found by police raiding his house. Items included maps & a DVD containing access to a website which included a song "I am a terrorist". The website, said to be supportive of suicide missions, feature songs praising "jihad" & "virtuous warriors", images of George Bush & Tony Blair, a map of Iraq, & a photo of a baby who'd been shot in Palestine.
Well, many people own "I am a terrorist" by DJ Vadim (recommended), hate George Bush & Tony Blair, think the world would be better without them, have maps of the UK & Iraq, & pictures of Israeli atrocities. This doesn't mean they're about to bomb anyone, & it's no excuse to lock anyone up.
We don't actually know if this guy's a terrorist & there's no real evidence to suggest he is. More likely he's been alienated by years of imperialist wars & growing racism, & has read a few websites written by dodgy religious types. All that stuff about martyrs & fighting the Great Satan spouted by hate-filled religious bigots & their growing numbers of followers is dangerous rubbish. We condemn the repressive actions of the government in its phoney war on terror & crackdown on civil liberties, but also the superstitious idiots who believe that fundamentalist religion of any kind is the way to make the world a better place.

When Push Comes To Shove
Last August, Israel was engaged in an intensive bombing campaign in Lebanon. Over a thousand Lebanese civilians died as a direct result of the bombing, a third of them children. A further unknown number of people will die as a result of damage to power plants & water supplies, the complete destruction of three civilian hospitals, & the widespread use of cluster bombs. One of the more vindictive Israeli operations was to shower the surrounding area of a civilian hospital with cluster bombs hours before the ceasefire was due to begin. Sheltering inside were 100s of civilians too old or ill to have left.
To aid the Israeli air force in this, the MOD granted them leave to use the Brize Norton RAF base in Oxfordshire. In response a blockade of Brize Norton was called, South Wales Anarchists took part (see Gagged #13). After a 2 hour blockade of the main gate the blockaders left, intending to march around the perimeter to join others at the rear of the base. As the group entered the quiet road running alongside, the police started shoving people with some force, tearing apart a substantial banner.
3 people were arrested & subsequently cautioned for obstructing a highway, one was arrested for allegedly kicking & pushing a police officer which they denied. At Oxford magistrates court the CAN activist was cleared of kicking the cop, but was found guilty of giving the officer a slight push to the shoulder. They accepted that it caused him no harm or injury but that didn't stop them imposing a 2yr conditional discharge & costs of nearly £800. At least the magistrates were good enough (as they pointed out) not to award compensation to the poor un-injured policeman. Well that's all right then....
South Wales Anarchists are organising to raise funds in support of activists targeted by the state with court costs & fines. If you can help in any way, financial or otherwise, please get in touch: cardiffbustfund@googlemail.com


Picket lines:
The high profile closure of the Burberry factory in Treorchy after 68 years is the tip of the iceberg: in the last decade alone Wales has lost over 50,000 factory jobs. In the last six months more than 4,500 jobs have been lost or are due to go. Burberry, like other departing employers, enjoyed comfortable profits: it wasn't financial losses that made them move. It was the simple fact that there are places where they can get away with paying people less than they do here. It's insulting to have to fight to keep underpaid exploitative jobs, but that's capitalism!

The Selectron factory in Cwmcarn announced in March that after 25 years it would be closing, making 150 people redundant. This sparked a sit-in by workers during the visit of the European Vice President on 17th April. Workers spontaneously stopped work on his arrival & occupied their canteen until he agreed to speak to them directly.

Staff contracted by OCS Ltd at Neath Port Talbot Hospital say they have been told their hours are to be cut. The 140 cleaners & catering staff affected staged a 24-hour strike on 10th April in protest at a proposed decrease in working hours. Senior personnel from OCS, who were drafted in to clean & cater during the strike, have promised no reduction in working hours.

20,000 civil servants in Wales took one day strike action on 1st May in protest at job cuts & privatisation, as well as regional pay plans meaning workers in Wales would receive less than in southern England.

In the latest in a long line of risk concerns with the LNG pipeline project, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is launching an investigation after a welder at the Milford Haven site lost consciousness on 3rd June. The site was shut & when it reopened nearly 1,000 workers went on strike. They returned to work on the 8th after a series of health & safety promises.

South Wales coastguard volunteers led a nationwide 2 day strike following the accident & lack of compensation for Brian MacFarlane. Brian was injured in a cliff rescue, lost his job & only got a temporary payment of less than half his old salary. His local crew at Fishguard threatened to withdraw their cover until the matter was resolved, & gathered support from across the UK. The strike ended when workers agreed to an interim agreement.

100s of employees at Aberthaw power station walked out on the 10th June after the death of a 49-year-old co-worker. Workers are concerned about the lack of medical facilities & want a full-time medic to be based permanently on site.

COPWATCH:

5-Star Police Cells?
Smell enough of urine? Mattress sticky enough? Toilet got enough skid-marks? Are you a police-cell connoisseur? Cops are looking for volunteers to check on the quality of police cells. Volunteers should be over 18 & will receive travelling expenses. Full support & training provided. Visitors can call at police stations in pairs at any time unannounced & get immediate access to the cells. Really. Info: 01656 869366, www.south-wales.police.uk/authority

Police incompetence & rule breaking
Almost 100 claims for damages were made against the South Wales Police Authority last year. The highest pay-out by the force was £1,116 for a claim of trespass & damages. In 2005/2006 alone there were 26 claims for damage to premises, 16 for negligence, 15 for loss of property, 11 for property damage, 7 for assault, 5 for wrongful interference with goods, 3 for statutory duty & 2 for defamation.

Brawl in a teacup
PC Byron Matthew Emerson-Thomas, of Badgers Brook Drive, Ystradowen, Cowbridge, a notably brutal copper, well known to anyone who has been in a public order situation in Cardiff, appeared before a magistrate on the 9th May. Thomas is charged with wounding & causing GBH after walloping fellow cop Aled Bartlett above the eye on Tuesday, May 1, while the pair were on duty at Fairwater Police Station. Due to the serious nature of the case PC Thomas will appear at Cardiff Crown Court for committal on Wednesday, June 20, at 10am. Of course he is suspended on full pay.

Cop Wanker
PC Richard Bowen of Dyfed-Powys Police faces the sack & prison for masturbating in the back of a police car alongside a young female suspect, after she turned down his sexual advances whilst another officer drove. Regular church-goer Bowen's spunky handkerchief & lewd notes were seized by fellow officers on his arrival at Lampeter Police station. The disgraced PC cried uncontrollably when found guilty of misconduct in public office & two counts of indecent exposure.

Sick Cops cost £10 million a year
Figures obtained in May under the Freedom of Information Act show that 4.4% of Welsh Police officers are on restrictive or recuperative duties costing the Welsh taxpayer £9.93m a year. The highest number is in South Wales where 155 receive full wages despite working as little as 1 hour a day.

Another Death in custody
After a mere 3 days in HMP Cardiff on a property damage charge, remand prisoner Karl Davies from Swansea was found dead in his cell. An investigation has been promised - we expect the usual whitewash.

Diary Dates:
June
21st -No Borders South Wales meeting 7.30pm at 118 Clifton Street, Cardiff
23-28th - "War is STILL the Issue" Peace camp in Parliament Square an "unauthorised protest" in the SOCPA zone www.voicesuk.org
25th - Cardiff Anarchists meeting, 8pm, at 118 Clifton Street, Cardiff
26th - Cardiff Reading Anti Capitalism: study/reading group. Meeting on last Tuesday of each month, 8pm at 118 Clifton Street, Cardiff kitsday@gmail.com
27th - PAD social centre meeting, 7.30pm at 118 Clifton Street, Cardiff
July
2nd - Gwent Anarchists meeting, 8.30pm at the Murenger House, High Street Newport.
4th- PAD social centre meeting,
7-8th - Welsh Indymedia gathering for a Welsh Indymedia Collective. 118 Clifton Street, Cardiff.
9th - Cardiff Anarchist meeting
11th - PAD social centre meeting,
16th - Gwent Anarchist meeting,
18th - PAD social centre meeting,
18-22nd - Earth First Summer Gathering. East Anglia. £15 www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk
23rd - Cardiff Anarchist meeting,
25th - PAD social centre meeting,
28th - Social Ecology Seminar 118 Clifton Street,
31st - Cardiff Reading Anti Capitalism.
August
6th - Gwent Anarchists meeting
8th - PAD meeting
13th - Cardiff Anarchists meeting
14-21st - Camp for Climate Action location near Heathrow airport www.climatecamp.org.uk

Got any news or an event you want us to cover? send details to news@gaggedanarchist.tk

Gagged! is a collective effort by South Wales Anarchists, other anarchists from around the area are welcome to contribute. Five thousand copies of each issue are distributed throughout the region, we always looking to get Gagged! into new places. If you are interested in getting involved in any way, please get in touch info@gaggedanarchist.tk

Cardiff Anarchist Network (CAN) is a collective of people who want to pursue political demonstrations through direct action. There is no membership, no leaders, just like minded individuals. cardiffanarchists@riseup.net myspace.com/cardiffanarchists
Gwent Anarchists are like minded individuals believing in autonomy, respect & justice; against all forms of exploitation & bigotry. Aiming to increase the knowledge of, & create a resistance to governments & big business abusing people & the earth. gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk myspace.com/gwentanarchists
Pembrokeshire Anarchists is a group of like minded people who believe in direct action, justice, freedom & autonomy, are against capitalism, exploitation & bigotry. pembrokeshireanarchists@riseup.net myspace.com/pembrokeshireanarchists
Rhondda Cyon Taf Anarchists are an autonomous group of free-thinking individuals who reject capitalism & resist state control through direct action. We work towards the creation of a world based on justice & freedom. rctanarchists@riseup.net
Peoples Autonomous Destination (PAD) is a physical space in Cardiff for groups & individuals who cannot or will not work within the constraints of governmental or corporate control. 118 Clifton Street, Cardiff CF24 1LW www.thepad.org.uk
Cardiff Rising Tide is a grassroots group committed to taking action & building a movement against climate change. cardiff@risingtide.org.uk
South Wales Hunt Sabs saving animals' lives now, actively sabotaging bloodsports. Hunting with dogs, though banned, still continues. Newport: PO Box 70, Newport NP20 5XX 0770815642 Swansea: PO Box 7, Swansea, SA9 2YE 01792475092 swansea_ar@webtribe.net

For more news from all over the world like the sort you find in Gagged! take a look at: www.schnews.org.uk www.indymedia.org.uk www.libcom.org www.anarkismo.net www.infoshop.org

GAGGED! #16 mar/apr 07
South Wales Anarchist Newsletter • news.southwalesanarchists.org • PO Box 70, Newport NP20 5XX 

Looks best on pdf, download & print!
http://lists.riseup.net/www/d_read/gagged/gagged16.pdf

Anti-pipeline campaign continues on full flow
As the corporations & authorities press on with their ridiculous & outrageous pipeline project, activists from both south wales & further afield continue the campaign to stop it. The proposed 150 mile pipeline pumping liquefied natural gas at a dangerously high pressure is intrinsically wrong on many levels:
The jetty under construction at Milford Haven hasn't had an adequate risk assessment by the harbour authority. Ex-pilots for the harbour have expressed severe concern for the positioning of the jetty, which is so far out into the channel to accommodate the enormous ships bringing in the gas tanks, that a serious risk is posed to other ships trying to navigate into dock. In the last 6 months there have been 1200 reports to the health & safety executive of leaks by tankers owned by a single operator. The risks involved with the construction of the pipeline & it's associated reprocessing stations has been called into question several times. In the USA a pipeline of this pressure isn't allowed to be laid within 10 miles of houses, due to the risk of leaks & explosions. But here it runs through villages & past schools.
The environmental impact is massive, as the pipeline slashes through ancient woodland including parts of the Brecon Beacons national park flattening everything as it goes. Despite government greenwash & public recognition of the very real threat of climate change £700,000,000 is being spent on a project which only serves to increase our dependence on fossil fuels. More & more people are realising that our governments aren't to be trusted & that the only way to maintain a world for our children & grandchildren is to take matters into our own hands & take responsibility or our own future.

This Is Terminal!
On Wednesday 14th February Activists blockaded the main entrance road to the South Hook LNG terminal construction site. 5 people locked onto heavy arm tubes in a circle, blocking the road, which is owned by Esso. The police arrived within a few minutes (basically, they were expecting us) & aggressively attempted to pull the people in arm tubes apart. The large police presence dragged away people supporting the protest & illegally holding them in a worker's bus for hours, finally releasing them with a warning & a ban from the area.
The blockade continued for 6 hours despite police threats to use pepper spray & to lift people locked-on, risking broken arms. Police played good cop/bad cop depending on whether their cameras were on. The blockade resulted in a tailback of over 50 lorries unable to enter & many vehicles unable to leave the construction site. This resulted in an estimated loss of £700,000 for Esso/South Hook LNG.
The state were a little annoyed about this protest. 5 people were charged with aggravated trespass & 7 released on bail for conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass. Held for nearly 24 hours, they were let out separately in middle of the night. 3 vehicles were impounded & 3 houses unofficially raided with doors being kicked in, property trashed, computers & other personal items confiscated & no receipts or official documents left. Ridiculous bail conditions were imposed including 'residing at home each night' (basically being grounded) & not going within 200m of the pipeline – even though at 150 miles it's hard to avoid in South & Mid Wales. People were photographed & monitored when attending court 2 weeks later.

Police Oppression
Circumstances around the terminal protest suggest Big Brother has been watching closely recently. As many as 300 Police gathered at Swansea police station at 6pm the day before. The intelligence they had about the protest suggests meetings had been infiltrated or listened to, with evidence that activists were being being watched & followed.
Although scary & uncomfortable at times for those involved, the reaction of the state proves that direct action is effective. If we are not a serious threat to governments & big business then they would not need to go to these extreme measures to try to intimidate us & stop us from fighting back. We will not stop! See you at the next action!

GAGGED! SEIZED!
In the raids following the blockade, police seized 100s of copies of Gagged! Is what we print so dangerous it has to be confiscated by the cops?! More of a worry is people having 100s of copies of Gagged! a month after it was printed! We're trying to distribute faster, contact us for copies & to get involved.

Trebanos footpath occupation
The Trebanos protest site (see #15) continued until early February with an empty nearby pub occupied to provide warm & dry rooms for those 'off shift'. All work was stopped until National Grid applied for the closure of the footpath.
However, evicting the camp without the full 7 days notice meant activists returned early the next morning. 4 days later with the notice time up & protesters returning, the site was suddenly swamped by over 40 old bill. People were given 5 minutes to leave the site, some, now known as the 'Faffing Five' took precisely 3.58 minutes to decide, & were promptly arrested. Though banned from Wales in their bail conditions, the charge of aggravated trespass is unlikely to stick in court due to the lack of 1.02 minutes captured on video.

Brecon Tree Camp
On Monday 22nd January a protest camp was set up in Penbont in the Brecon Beacons National park. Occupying woodland set for destruction to make way for the pipeline. The camp has 5 treehouses, suspended nets, walkways & ground structures with burners. Residents of Brecon & lovers of the park have donated foods & supplies. Protesters are busy building defenses (more materials needed!) & visiting other sites to stop trees being felled.
Pop down for a day, a few days or even longer! Help & visitors always welcome. The camp is at 4 miles west of Brecon town on the A40. Site phone: 07733190958

www.fightthepipe.co.uk www.safehavenpembs.co.uk risingtide.org.uk/bristol/pipeline


privatisation vote cuts both ways
Whilst 72.1% of Swansea tenants rejected the privatisation of their homes 59.2% of Torfean tenants voted for stock transfer. All Torfean council homes & assets (land buildings, playing fields, green communal areas etc) will be given to Bron Afon Ltd. Seeing that Torfean Council spent £1.2 million on propaganda, employed privatisation consultants 'tact@dome' & used Union & GMB members to spread a totally 1-sided pro-transfer argument (both unions are anti-transfer) the result isn't a surprise!
Torfean Defend Council Housing are proud that 40.8% of tenants voted against privatisation & did not give in to the blackmail of "vote yes, or else your homes won't get repaired". Those who voted "No" will be proved right. Interestingly in Scotland Mid-Lothian council are actually building 1000 new council homes. In Wales the assembly & local councils are looking to make a quick buck & shift all responsibility.
We'll be watching Bron Afon Ltd as they try to keep pre-ballot promises. Remember new kitchens, bathrooms, etc have to be fitted by 2012 to meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard. www.publicnotprivate.org.uk

An Anarchist group serving the Swansea/Llanelli & west Wales area is setting up. If your interested in getting involved with 'FEP' (Freedom, Equality, Peace) please get in contact: El_fuser@riseup.net

MURDER COLLEGE
at St. Athan, Vale of Glamorgan
The Welsh Assembly Government announced with great pride that the contract for the 'UK Defence Training Academy' has been awarded to RAF St Athan. The contract worth £14 billion was given to The Metrix Corporation whose main UK business partner is the Ministry of Defence.
The fact that troops from all the UK's armed forces would be trained in murder & destruction at the airbase was welcomed by Labour, Plaid Cymru, the Tories & the Lib Dems, none, including so-called 'anti-war' politicians have spoke out against it. In their desire for headlines about jobs & 'financial growth' they overlooked the fact that the vast majority of the 5000 jobs (3500 permanent 1500 trainees) promised by 2012 will go to specialist military personnel who will have to re-locate, aside from the odd cleaner & estate agents no-one else in the region will benefit. A further £100,000,000 of taxpayer's money will be spent on transport to serve the enlarged base including road widening on sections of the A48 to cope with military traffic.
This 'centre of excellence' will train civilian & armed service personnel in defence technology. Skills will be used to make people better killers so the government can run a more effective killing machine to protect UK economic interests around the world. More specifically destroying lives in Iraq, Afghanistan & maybe soon, Iran.
ALL the welsh political parties are in favour of this murder college. Though some may oppose Trident nuclear missiles they welcome this institution of death. Such hypocrisy is typical of politicians who are interested only in power. We don't need people being trained to commit murder either in south wales or anywhere else. We are led by killers don't care about human life.

If you've got nothing to hide.....
Recently released statistics show that the police have taken DNA details from 1 in 14 people in South Wales. Even though loads of these were later released without charge, their details have been logged into a massive central database.
3.3 million people across the UK have had DNA samples taken & logged by one of the 43 UK police forces. That's about 6.7% of the population, (even higher in black & ethnic minority groups with 1 in 4 black men) & nationally the number of samples held on the database is set to rise to 4.25 million within 2 years.
It's obvious the Government is gradually expanding this database as the basis for a national register of the details of the whole population. This just goes to show how important it is for the powers that be to keep tabs on us at all times.
We are already being watched by over 4 million CCTV cameras, some with facial recognition capacity, keeping all our town centres & public spaces under constant surveillance.
Biometric information which will be stored on a central database through the new national ID card scheme could soon be linked to facial recognition systems & CCTV cameras to identify individuals anywhere in the UK, or to compile a database of our movements without our knowledge.
They say they're watching us for our own protection, that if we've got nothing to hide we've got nothing to fear. This isn't true! Surveillance doesn't keep us safe from crime or terrorism. It creates a climate of distrust, fear & paranoia. Surveillance is always bad news for the marginalised, the disadvantaged, & those who don't want some civil servant, cop, or greedy politician knowing every last thing about them.

Though Gagged! has only been about since 2004 there's been anarchist activity in south Wales for alot longer. Did you know that:
The term 'anarcho-syndicalism' was coined by an engineer from Neath? Cardiff's army recruitment office was petrol bombed by anarchists? Malatesta was smuggled out of Cardiff docks? A Swansea anarchist newsletter got a several local councillors jailed? Emma Goldman married a Camarthanshire miner? Crass' last gig was in Aberdare? Issue 1 of 'Class War' was produced in Cardiff?
Some people are trying to compile a history of anarchism in wales, if you have any information about Wales' anarchist past or if you have any old literature by or about anarchists from Wales, they'd love to hear from you. Email: buckfast4breakfast@hotmail.com

close all detention centres
On February 10th, 'No Border' activists from south Wales joined over 200 others from around the UK & beyond to demonstrate outside Harmondsworth & Colnbrook detention prisons, near Heathrow, to call for an end to the forced detention & deportation of asylum seekers. Private companies such as Kalyx (which runs Harmondsworth) & Serco (Colnbrook) are making huge profits from imprisoning tens of thousands of people every year. These peoples' only crime is to have entered the UK in search of a better life, free from poverty, torture & war. The irony is that these same companies are also exploiting the cheap labour of migrants. Under capitalism, corporations are free to use the resources & labour of poorer countries to produce their products cheaply, yet the people of such countries are not free to move to a better life. We are told by certain parts of the press that immigrants come to the UK for an easy ride. In reality they can face discrimination, poverty & live in fear of being forcibly deported to countries they put everything at risk to escape from. Those seeking asylum have a right to do so, & the UK has adequate space & resources to provide this asylum.

Operation Phoenix
Swansea Police's anti-crime & disorder initiative 'Operation Phoenix' has the same name as the notorious campaign of torture, assassination & imprisonment that took place in Vietnam between 1967 & 1971 in which 20,000 civilian were executed without trial. Does the Swansea police force aspire to warcrimes or is it their ignorance of history? Either way Vietnamese people in Swansea must be feeling fairly uncomfortable.

Reclaim the Night
On the 29th December 2006, over 150 people, some from south Wales gathered in Ipswich for a Reclaim the Night March. The march was called to show solidarity with the murdered prostitutes in Ipswich & the ensuing police statement that recommended that all women should stay at home. This type of statement encourages the culture of fear that keeps women from walking the streets at night, so that the ones who do venture outside are isolated & more at risk. The march, organised by a queer collective, was attended by both women & men for the freedom of all vulnerable people to walk the streets safely at night. As we marched we sang, "we don't need protection, we need a revolution!"

toxic waste Dumped near cardiff
It has just become public knowledge that throughout the 50 to 70's Monsanto paid contractors to dump 1000s tonnes of highly toxic waste in the Brofiscin quarry at the edge of Groesfaen, near Cardiff. It could cost up to £100m to clean up the site. Not that Monsanto will have to pay to clean up their mess of course. The unlined porous quarry erupted in 2003, spilling fumes over the surrounding area, but the community has been told little about the real condition of what is in the pit.
"The authorities have known about the situation for years, but have done nothing. There is evidence of not only negligence & utter incompetence, but cover-up, & the problem has grown unchecked" said Douglas Gowan, a pollution consultant who produced the official report into the Brofiscin quarry in 1972 after 9 cows on a local farm died of poisoning.
The company knew from 1965 that the PCBs manufactured at its plant in Newport, were accumulating in human milk, rivers, fish & seafood, wildlife & plants. Monsanto stopped producing PCBs in the US in 1971, but the UK government, which knew of the dangers in the 1960s, allowed their production & disposal in Wales until 1977.
Monsanto has conveniently split into several corporate entities since 1997. 'Solutia', who owns the Newport site says parent company 'Pharmacia' informed contractors on the type of waste before disposal, & did not dump wastes from its own vehicles. Well that's alright then, is it? The Environment Agency has so far spent over £800,000 investigating the tip. That's public money being spent just to monitor the site!

The Great Rhondda land swindle
Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Labour council must surely be one of Wales' dumbest & most arrogant institutions. Having closed down a number of schools in the Rhondda against the wishes of local communities, councillors have now sold them & other sites to property speculators without a hint of consultation. The result of the sell off? More homes meaning more school places will be required! Even before any new homes have been built, parents in Clydach, who fought hard to save Blaenclydach infants school, are complaining that class sizes in other schools in the area have gone above 40, even though the council promised that class sizes shouldn't exceed 30. The land grab has netted the council £3.7 million (minus the cost of the piss up in the bar of the four star London hotel following the auction, of course). An RCT spokesperson claimed the funding would contribute to the development of the Youth Service. Perhaps the council should engage first with the young people of Clydach where youth club membership has fallen by 50% after the council closed down Blaenclydach school. As the requests for planning permission start rolling in, watch out for brown envelopes…

From Our Correspondent in Palestine: Checkpoints
For Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the delays & humiliations of Israeli checkpoints are an unavoidable & constant fact of life making all travel unpredictable. Checkpoints are sites on roads where the Israeli army controls all Palestinian traffic whilst Israeli vehicles - recognisable by their license plates - are not stopped. They vary in size from one jeep to large 'terminals' where people must leave their vehicles & pass on foot, often waiting for hours, sometimes without shade. ID must be shown & soldiers can refuse passage at whim. Harassment & violence by soldiers is common. The movement of young men & people from the cities & refugee camps is heavily restricted. Checkpoints are sometimes closed completely due to undisclosed 'security threats'. I witnessed a growing crowd of hundreds waiting to pass a closed checkpoint, being controlled by soldiers standing on top of their jeep, waving guns & shouting. The level of tension was extremely high, & I understood then how people are sometimes shot at checkpoints. There are 54 permanent & around 100 'flying' (temporary) checkpoints in the West Bank, an area around 35 by 80 miles in size. Since the beginning of the 2nd Intifada in September 2000, there have been 42 deaths due to people requiring medical attention being delayed at checkpoints. International solidarity organisations spend time monitoring checkpoints, & an Israeli women's organisation called Machsom Watch is devoted to this. Checkpoint monitoring is frustrating – seeing the fear which is drummed into the young Israeli soldiers which leads them to treat Palestinians as less than human; having to chose which of the waiting people to advocate for with the soldiers; feeling that your presence as the 'eyes of the outside world' may prevent some of the worst violence or abuses, but may also antagonise the soldiers & cause them to delay people longer.
Israel justifies checkpoints as necessary to protect against acts of 'terrorism' by Palestinians. However, most checkpoints are inside the West Bank, not between the West Bank & Israel, so don't prevent anyone entering Israel. Also the arbitrary functioning of checkpoints undermines this logic completely. Of 6 buses I saw pass a flying checkpoint near our village,two had all passengers searched, three had a few searched, & one passed without anyone being searched.
This does nothing to ensure security, on the contrary, the humiliation & disruption to daily life caused by checkpoints can only serve to intensify ill-feeling towards Israel. Check out: www.machsomwatch.org The blog - eisoj.livejournal.com

Is this man an IDIOT?
How long will it be before the welsh health minister Dr Brian Gibbons resigns on grounds of complete incompetence? Recently ambulances were queuing outside the Heath hospital unable to discharge the sick & wounded. Gibbons defended himself saying this was a one-off incident due to heavy snow. A week later 7 ambulances were queuing outside the Royal Glamorgan hospital with no snow in sight! Needless to say, Gibbons is refusing to answer questions about the cock up.

Let's read together!
Do you ever think to yourself; "What is the best way to bring about the revolution?" Or, do you just want to read for pure enjoyment about current neo-liberal global institutions & alternative economic systems structured around human values rather than profit? If so, an exciting new group called 'Cardiff Reading Anti Capitalism' has been formed, focusing on vision & strategy for attaining alternatives to Capitalism!
Contact Kitsday@gmail.com for current texts & see diary dates for meeting times!

Whoever you vote for, the government always wins
Vote Nobody for the assembly on May 3rd
Voting is not an expression of power, but an admission of powerlessness, by voting you do nothing but legitimise someone who doesn't represent you. At the last assembly election only 37% voted, NOBODY won with a whopping 63%! Politicians go on about apathy, but they're missing the point. We DO care about the NHS, education, & other issues that affect our lives. The fact is we know that there is no real choice to be had. History shows us that those in power of whatever party do nothing for the needs of the majority of people & everything for the rich. So why give the assembly yet another opportunity to treat us like fools? This isn't apathy, it's antipathy! Let the politicians know how unpopular they really are! myspace.com/votenobody

kick the nazi's in!
The British National Party (BNP) has announced it will stand in the Welsh Assembly elections on 3rd May, contesting the five regional lists. Founded by ex-National Front (NF) chairman John Tyndall who said: "Many who feel that Hitler was right do not believe it is safe yet to state such views openly. But times will change." Under the leadership of Nick Griffin, who's standing in South West Wales, the BNP has become the most successful far right party in the UK's history, with a total of 53 councillors in local government.
They claim to have changed their image, which means they wear suits & avoid marching (which always got them beaten up). With Labour abandoning it's lip service to working class politics, the BNP have posed as socialist, even forming a racist "Union of British Workers" called Solidarity. However, far from being 'new look' its the same old fascist filth. Prominent members have convictions for violence & explosive making, Nick Griffin has been charged with incitement to racial hatred. Areas with BNP activity get increased racial violence. After the first council meeting since the BNP were elected in 2006, an Afghan refugee was murdered outside Barking tube station & wrapped in an England flag.
Opposition to fascism has to start in our communities, workplaces & streets. Its in these places that battles must be fought & won. Anarchists do not offer the quick fix of the ballot box to solve the society's problems. The long haul is the only way we can see genuine social justice, & finally nail the coffin shut on the conditions that give rise to the far right.

Diary Dates:

MARCH
Saturday 24th, Carnival Against the Pipeline! A street party to protest against the gas pipeline. 2pm at Trebanos
Sunday 25th, G8 2007 UK Mobilisation Meeting. Rising Sun Arts Centre, 30 Silver Street, Reading, Berks, RG1 2ST www.dissent.org.uk
Monday 26th, National day of action against ID-Cards & the database state. www.no2id.net 8pm Cardiff Anarchist Network (CAN) meeting. upstairs in the Glamorgan Staff club, westgate street, Cardiff. Fortnightly.
Tuesday 27th. 8pm Cardiff Reading Anti Capitalism. A study group looking at economic alternatives Upstairs at the Glamorgan Staff Club. Monthly.
Saturday 31st Food Not Bombs, Cardiff

APRIL
Monday 2nd , 8.30pm Gwent Anarchist Meeting, The Murenger, Newport. Fortnightly.
Tuesday 3rd, 7.30pm Vote Nobody! Campaign meeting, Glamorgan Staff Club, Fortnightly.
Thursday 5th: Expose Exxon Day 24 hours of protest at the HQ of the world's largest oil company, ExxonMobil (Esso), Leatherhead, south of London, www.campaigncc.org
Thursday 5th –11th Spring Into Action A week of workshops, events, music & action on climate change, across Nottingham. www.eastsideclimateaction.org.uk
Monday 16th, 8.30pm Gwent Anarchist Meeting.
Tuesday 17th, 7.30pm: Vote Nobody! Meeting.
Thursday 19th- 22nd Bath Climate Camp, focused on the headquarters of Land & marine, the company building the LNG pipeline through Wales. bathclimatecamp@yahoo.co.uk
Saturday 21st World Day for Laboratory Animals March & rally against Manchester Airport, from where animals are taken by cargo plane to vivisection labs.
Monday 23rd, 8pm CAN meeting.
Tuesday 24th, 8pm Cardiff Reading Anti Capitalism. Monthly
Monday 30th, 8.30pm Gwent Anarchist Meeting.

May
Tuesday 1st : International Workers Day!
Monday 8th 8pm, CAN meeting.
Friday 11th- 13th: SchNEWS Alternative Media Conference, Cowley Club, 12 London Rd, Brighton. www.schnews.org.uk
Monday 14th 8:30pm, Gwent Anarchists Group meeting. Fortnighlty
Monday 21st 8pm, CAN Meeting.

Welsh anarchist Assembly. 22.9.07

Gagged! can be found in all sorts of strange places around south wales, 5000 copies are printed per issue plus several thousand are emailed out. If there's not a pile of gagged! in the corner of your favourite pub, club, cafe, hairdressers, tattooists, record, book, head or anything else shop, get in touch so you can take a pile in yourself! Check out: www.gaggedanarchist.tk We always need more help in production & distribution. Send any articles, pictures, reports, diary dates or offers to help to gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk

Cardiff Anarchist Network (CAN) is a collective of people who want to pursue political demonstrations through direct action. There is no membership, no leaders, just like minded individuals. Email: cardiffanarchists@riseup.net

Gwent Anarchists are like-minded individuals believing in autonomy, respect & justice; against all forms of exploitation & bigotry. Aiming to increase the knowledge of & create a resistance to governments & big business abusing people & the earth. Email: gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk

Rhondda Cyon Taf Anarchists are an autonomous group of free-thinking individuals who reject capitalism & resist state control through direct action. We work towards the creation of a world based on justice & freedom. Email: rctanarchists@riseup.net

No Borders South Wales organises on migration issues & acts to break down boundaries; racial, cultural, gender, sexual, class & political that divide us. Email: noborderswales@riseup.net

South Wales Against the G8 (SWAG8) is a coalition of groups wishing to mobilise against this year's G8 Summit both in Germany & in the UK. Email: swageight@yahoo.co.uk

Peoples Autonomous Destination (PAD) aims to create physical space in Cardiff for groups & individuals who cannot or will not work within the constraints of governmental or corporate control. Email: thepad@riseup.net Phone: 07910973876 Web: www.thepad.org.uk

Cardiff Rising Tide is a grassroots group committed to taking action & building a movement against climate change. Email: Cardiffclimateaction@hotmail.com
South Wales Hunt Sabs saving animals' lives now, actively sabotaging bloodsports. Newport Post: PO Box 70, Newport NP20 5XX . Phone: 0770815642 Swansea Email: swansea_ar@webtribe.net Post: PO Box 7, Swansea, SA9 2YE Phone: 01792475092


Keep up to date with news from all over the world like the sort you find in Gagged! online at a variety of websites. Here are a few that we'd recommend: www.schnews.org.uk www.indymedia.org.uk www.libcom.org www.anarkismo.net www.infoshop.org

GAGGED! #15 Jan/Feb 07 anti-copyright
South Wales Anarchist Newsletter • southwalesanarchists.org • PO Box 70, Newport NP20 5XX
Much prettier here (with pics etc) on pdf - http://lists.riseup.net/www/d_read/gagged/gagged15.pdf

Star-bucking the consumer trend
Coffee Not Bombs hits Newport!!
Armed with only Zapatista coffee, soya milk, sugar, a gas burner & a load of paper cups liberated from a nearby tourist attraction, South Wales anarchists took on the might of consumer capitalism in Newport town centre on Saturday 16 December 2006.
Sporting bad hangovers & an interesting line in black Santa hats (Bah Humbug! Save the Planet!), activists distributed free coffee, leaflets & issues of Gagged! to bemused passers-by, many of whom stopped for gratefully-received cuppa & a chat.
The action, which took place outside a local outlet of corporate coffee whores Starbucks, also featured live music (thankfully drowning out the Salvation Army Brass Band up the road), & a large group of moshing youths.
Coffee, after oil, is the second largest export in the world; with a turnover of about 10 billion dollars, Its production employs 25 million people in the southern hemisphere. While Starbucks enjoys record profits, its coffee farmers can't even afford to adequately feed their children on the 2-50¢/lb they are paid for coffee that sells for at least $10/lb. The Zapatistas are a revolutionary anti-corporate social movement from Chiapas, Mexico, who are fighting for the autonomy of the indigenous population as a solution to their immense poverty. Their organic coffees raises money directly for the autonomous communities that produced it.
According to Credit Action, the total amount of UK personal debt has exceeded £1 trillion. With consumerism being used as a buy-off to stop us whinging about unpopular neo-colonial wars fought in our name, why not organise a Food/Coffee not Bombs demo of your own?
All it takes is a little bit of ingenuity & culinary nous. You can then bring the battle to your local high street, engage with the community & introduce people to a non-consumer take on their coffee break.
Check out: www.foodnotbombs.net


PIPELINE TO DISASTER
Resistance from local people & climate action groups is continuing against the controversial gas pipeline being carved across South Wales. The Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) pipeline will run 115 miles from Milford Haven to Gloucestershire carrying gas from the Middle East. It is the highest pressure pipeline ever to have been attempted in Europe. It's builders, National Grid (formerly TRANSCO) have publicly admitted they have no experience of running a 48" pipeline at 94bar pressure.
Many residents along the route of the pipeline feel they haven't been properly consulted, some feel bullied & deceived, with some people having their homes compulsorily purchased. There have been many safety concerns as the pipe is being laid across the only earthquake zone in Britain, parts of it on land deemed too unstable for houses. The gas is odourless so people wouldn't know if there was a leak yet the Health & Safety Executive have guaranteed that a hole will appear in the pipeline within 30 years. In Trebanos, near Swansea, the land was deemed too unstable for mains gas to the village; now they're building Europe's biggest gas pipeline! Milford Haven campaign group Safe Haven has tried to challenge the development through the courts, but couldn't even get a decent hearing.
On 12th November activists set up camp on the route, a 60ft section of pipeline was occupied for over a week halting all building work in the area. They explained: "We've taken this direct action, in partnership with local residents, to actively stop this project because we believe that non-renewable energy belongs in the past & we need to look to a future of renewable sources or we'll have no future at all!". The protest successfully got the Department of Trade & Industry to revoke the permission to blast with explosives as National Grid originally planned. However there is still concern about avalanches, similar to those of Aberfan & Panteg, as the pipe crosses old mine workings.
On 16th November a protest site was started along a section of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in the shadow of the LNG terminals, cutting across the route of connecting pipelines. National Grid hadn't bothered to apply for the public accessway to be closed for construction work so locals in the Milford Haven area, inspired by the protest camp in Trebanos, took their chance. Tracy Morris, a member of the Safe Haven Network & local mother of three, planted a tent directly across the footpath, & National Grid were obliged to put a fence around it. The camp persists, manned by a small but determined band of locals, some of pensionable age. "Some people think we're crazy, but I don't care anymore" says Tracy. "I'll fight them to the bitter end."
Things just seem to be going from bad to worse for National Grid. In November they received huge condemnation after some of their 4x4 vehicles tore up an untouched upland bog near Mynydd Myddfai in the Brecon Beacons. The national park authority said "the fragile nature of the area makes it almost impossible to put right any damage" & went on to release a 67 page document condemning the pipeline & its "huge environmental impact".
Pressure against contractors continued with a demonstration outside British Gas HQ in Cardiff. Banners were held & leaflets distributed amongst the workers. A British Gas spokesperson claimed they have nothing to do with the pipeline. Funny that because the project is the brain child of Centrica (who own British Gas). British Gas jointly own Dragon LNG & have a 50% stake in the company transporting the gas to the Milford Haven.
On 8th January a new site was set up in Trebanos under the cover of darkness at 4am whilst the security slept! The site is on public footpaths leading into the construction site off Glyn Meirch road, & is blocking vehicles from gaining access.
Activists & locals have vowed to continue the fight against the pipeline. We are being thrown head first in to climate chaos & our governments are still building infrastructure for non renewable fossil fuels. What we need is renewable energy & we need it now, not in 20 years!
The pipeline is already well over schedule & massively over budget. We demand that this pipeline project is scrapped.
People are urgently needed to help occupy the sites.
Get in contact for directions.
Milford Haven camp: Tracy Morris 07752698489 or Jim Dunckley 07933082239
Trebanos camp: Site Phone 07733190958 or Rachel Evans 07790450747
or set up a protest camp along the route yourself!


ANOTHER DEATH IN CUSTODY
On 29th December a 58 year woman died in custody at Swansea Central Police station. She (unnamed at this time) was arrested for a driving offense. paramedics were called but could not revive her. The cause of death is unknown or how long she had been held. The case is to be investigated by Independent Police Complaints Commission. But just like the over 1,000 deaths in police custody it is unlikely anyone will be held responsible. Only 3 police officers have been in over 10 years.


Chanting Ban?!
In GAGGED 14 we brought you the news that the Met want to bring in in new laws that ban the wearing of masks at protests & to make the burning of flags a criminal offense. Now they want to outlaw 'offensive chants'.
Met Assistant Commissioner, Tarique Ghaffur wants powers to proscribe protest chants & slogans on placards, banners & headbands. The call comes as part of a review of the powers to police protests prompted by recent protests by Islamic extremists, but clearly such powers could also be used against protesters such as animal rights & anti-globalisation activists. The civil rights group Liberty said the powers would make the police "censors in chief".
Chuffer of the Met stated, "What we are seeing in effect is a rise in the politicisation of middle England". Again the State seem to be taking the approach of stifling public dissent rather than tackling the issues that give rise to the politicisation in the first place.
At the moment 'causing offense' is not against the law. Who would be the judge of what would be classed as causing offense? Clearly what offends one will not necessarily offend another. Such proposed powers would clash with article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of expression.
These new demands for curbs on the right to protest come as the Lords rule that police had acted unlawfully in detaining a bus full of Iraq war protesters heading for a demonstration at RAF Fairford in March 2003 & forcibly turning them back. Clearly the police are unable to keep a lid on protest with existing laws, so rather than being "Tough on the causes of crime", Tony Blair's mantra from the 1997 election, they think it easier to invent new laws to further erode civil liberty in this country.


STOCK TRANSFER
WHAT THEY ARE NOT TELLING US
Council tenants are being asked by Torfaen Council to vote for stock transfer of our homes to a registered social landlord (Bron Afon Community Housing). What we are not being told is what other Council assets will be transferred to Bron Afon Community Housing in the process.
In a letter of reply to a Freedom of Information request, Torfean Council stated that:
"no decision has been made about what other assets would transfer. This is a decision that will be made by negotiation between Bron Afon Community Housing and Torfean County Borough Council after the tenants' ballot, if tenants vote in favour of transfer."
If stock transfer goes ahead we could see community owned assets such as playing fields, parks, green spaces, allotments, local shopping centres, car parks, etc handed over to Bron Afon Community Housing Trust.
The decision on whether to transfer these assets will affect all the residents of Torfaen who have paid for these over the years, not just council tenants.
The people of Torfean should be very concerned and demand to know all the facts concerning stock transfer before any ballot is held.
See the case against stock transfer: www.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk


Oh to be a migrant
You could leave your family, friends, home. Risk your life in search of a better one. You could survive, unlike the 1000s that die crossing oceans & borders around the world every year. You could enter the UK.
You could be imprisoned in one of its 12 privately run detention centres, where you could be subject to physical, mental, & racist abuse.
You could be deported back 'home' where you could face war, torture, rape, repression, imprisonment - all of which you could have been fleeing in the first place.
You could be working in degrading conditions on the black market - cleaning, prostitution, waiting... living a precarious, invisible existence, hiding in the shadows, never sure, never knowing when you might be seen & sent back.
You could finally have your story believed & allowed to live in the UK. You could then be subject to racist harassment from narrow minded bigots & a racist mass media.
You could wonder whether it is possible for anyone to live a free & dignified life in a world order run for the rich by the rich.
You could say enough! Join all those who oppose immigration controls, detention centres & deportations. You could fight for a world were people & planet are placed before profit!
A demonstration has been called by No Borders London outside Harmondsworth & Colnbrook detention centres - 11.30 am Saturday 10 February 2007. www.barbedwirebritain.org.uk


JUST A MINUTE
2006 heralded a new era for CAN, following the genius idea that minutes be taken at the meetings & then subsequently posted on the interweb. Apart from being an efficient way of informing interested people of what is going on, it is also an excellent opportunity to obtain cheap laughs at the expense of friends, comrades & forced acquaintances. The latter has actually become the raison d'etre of the whole scheme, but if one reads between the lines, it is in fact still possible to find out about actions & events, both locally & world-wide.
It has also been a form of outreach to people who don't feel comfortable /don't like/are too busy to come to meetings, a fact all too easily forgotten by us meeting junkies.
The meetings are supposed to be facilitated on a horizontal, everyone-gets-a-say, no-one hogs the limelight basis, with a foundation of calm efficiency. This hasn't ever happened. The style so far has wandered between aggressive ruthlessness & unconsciousness, resulting in an atmosphere of resignation & dread. It really is something to see & we're sure that if you came to a meeting it would be something you could talk about for years to come.
The four main topics that we discuss are, (in no particular order), Anti-Militarism, G8, ID Cards & Climate Change. There's always room for further discussion of other subjects after these though. Subjects covered so far have included free parties, bats, badges, local authority housing, film nights, the web site & home-made wine. Surely something there for everyone.
The last section of the meeting is extremely rigid in its structure, & takes the form of the question "Where are we going for a pint then?". We adjourn to a nearby pub for an increase in belly laughs & to complain about the how the meeting we were just at was. Come to the dark side…
To have a look/chuckle at the minutes, go to cardiff.revolt.org/about%20us/minutes.htm

Racist Cardiff cops in fake airport terror alert
Under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, a police officer has powers to detain for up to 9 hours 'whether or not he has grounds for suspecting that a person' is a terrorist. Yes, you did read that right. If a plod doesn't like the look of you, he can keep you locked up for hours on end, even if he hasn't got any real reason for it. This is what happened to Aisha Pritchard & her Palestinian husband Sadi Elhaloul when they were due to fly to Dubai for a 4 day break on 14th December. After going through the usual security procedures, just before they boarded the plane they were hauled off for 'questioning' by some boneheaded special-branch redneck. After being released without charge they'd missed their flight, & were left with 2 expensive non-refundable tickets. Ms Pritchard, from Cardiff, said:
"Why was the luggage forwarded to the aeroplane, our e-tickets issued & our names put through the computer with no problems? Why was it only when we went to the boarding gate & they looked at Sadi's passport, were we questioned & detained?
Why, if we were a risk, was our luggage taken off the plane one hour & 45 minutes after it had been put on? We feel we were deliberately stopped from boarding the plane, that it was racist & because we are Muslims. As I am white, British & this is the country of all my ancestors, I feel I am paying a price for marrying a foreigner. What happened to freedom & rights?"
The answer is simple. Freedom & rights go out the window when blood-thirsty, ambitious, mass-murdering politicians pass draconian anti-terror laws that give more & more powers to small-minded racist local pigs who know they can get away with shitty abuses of power like this on a day-to-day basis without reproach. We're edging towards a police state one nasty little bit of legislation at a time, & what freedom we ever had is being eroded more & more in the name of fake 'democracy' & 'security'.


From our correspondent in... Palestine
Israel occupied the Palestinian territories of the West Bank & the Gaza strip in the war of 1967 between Israel & the Arab states. Since then Israel has maintained its' military occupation, subjecting Palestinians to Israeli military law (far harsher than civilian law) & establishing settlements to take more land for Israeli use thus fragmenting the territory of any future Palestinian state, effectively making it unworkable.
The occupation costs $12 billion annually. It would not be sustainable without international support for Israel. 80% of US foreign aid goes to Israel - $8 billion per year. In 2005 Israeli PM Ariel Sharon orchestrated the 'disengagement' - withdrawal of all 9,000 Israeli settlers who lived in Gaza. But since then, more than that number of new settlers have moved into the West Bank, & the absence of Israelis living in Gaza has left the Israeli army free to conduct invasions & airstrikes, devastating Palestinian infrastructure & killing people daily.
In 2003 Israel started building its' 'separation barrier' (or 'apartheid wall') between Israel & the West Bank. It cuts 25 kilometres into the West Bank in some places, stretching around most settlements, stealing land & water sources & separating Palestinian villages from each other or their land. Some, like Azzoun Atme, are completely surrounded by the wall with residents only able to leave & enter their village by passing through a terminal manned by Israeli soldiers who turn them back at whim. Visiting there was like visiting a prison - being searched & scrutinised by soldiers behind bulletproof glass. Israel justifies this wall, like all the other brutalities & humiliations it subjects Palestinians to, as necessary to protect Israel against suicide bombings & attacks by home-made 'Qassam' rockets. But it was obvious to me that the daily cruelty & violence towards Palestinians is much more likely to create frustration & rage which lead to violence. This logic of preventing 'terrorism' also fails to account for the route of the wall, stealing Palestinian land & resources at every turn.
Much of my time in Palestine was during the olive harvest. Olives are Palestine's largest product. Many farmers have trouble accessing their land. It could be on the 'wrong' side of the wall, or close to an Israeli settlement. Israeli & foreign volunteers accompany farmers to document & intervene in attacks by Israeli settlers or harassment by the army. I saw soldiers chasing a family off their land close to an Israeli checkpoint. Another volunteer was with a family who had a group of young Israeli settlers throw rocks at them while soldiers stood by. This is typical during olive harvest season.
I saw in Palestine a society crippled by forty years of increasingly brutal Israeli occupation, & now further suffering due to the severe economic crisis caused by withdrawal of international aid to the Palestinian Authority since Hamas was elected in January (moral of that story: democracy is great, as long as you elect who the USA & the EU want). Hope is in short supply, as everyone struggles to survive. Activism continues, but many have learned that demonstrating very often leads to violent reprisals by the Israeli army, & little if any positive change. But as our neighbour Issa pointed out, in Palestine, daily life IS resistance, & as long as he is there, he has hope.
If you can see the injustice of this situation get informed & involved! Info: eisoj.livejournal.com or eisoj@care2.com
Check out: www.breakingthesilence.co.il www.palsolidarity.org & www.iwps.info


NHS: Not Free for All
While the NHS was set up to provide health care for all based on need & not an ability to pay, this is not the case for us all.
In April 2004 the Government tightened up restrictions on free health care to 'overseas visitors', in response to the perceived threat to the NHS of people coming to the UK specifically for free medical treatment. In fact, as pointed out by a 2006 Refugee Council report, there is no evidence to indicate the scale of such 'health tourism' & no specific examples of people migrating to the UK specifically for free health care. According to the Refugee Council, the main factors affecting the choice of country where individuals seek asylum is their language, family connections or historical connections between their country & the UK. Also, many asylum seekers simply do not have a choice of where they go as increasingly tighter border controls mean they may be smuggled into a country. It therefore seems ridiculous to suggest that asylum seekers come to the UK to receive free health care, when what it is they have come for is to escape war, torture & persecution.
Under Government legislation, refused asylum seekers are not generally eligible for free hospital treatment. While immediately necessary treatment in order to save life can be given, the recovery of the charge will be pursued as far as possible via invoices, threatening letters & even debt collection agencies. For example, a failed asylum seeker from Romania who had stomach cancer was billed £1085 for an operation & was refused radiotherapy until he could pay. Failed asylum seekers have to pay for things like treatments for cancer, diabetes & HIV & maternity care.
With such legislation, the UK Government continues its barbaric treatment of those seeking asylum & uses them as scapegoats for its own failings.


no id cards!
Are you interested in being part of a group of people in the Swansea/Carmarthen area committed to resisting the national ID database? As part of the national identity scheme, Swansea is set to be one of the sites for an ID interrogation centre, where people in the area will need to report to in order to be interviewed, finger-printed & iris-scanned as part of registration for the national ID database. One of the first things the group can do is raise objections to the ID centre through the planning system. Going forward, the group can work on direct action strategies for how best to support the resistance to the national ID database, in conjunction with the work of other Defy-ID groups & the campaigns organised by No2ID. If you are interested, please contact Dominic on dfrancocci2@yahoo.co.uk or 07718 968835.


BURBERRY CLOSURE
It was a miserable Christmas for the three hundred workers at the Burberry factory in Treorchy, Rhondda. Not only are they about to lose their jobs, but boss Evelyn Suszko (responsible for Laura Ashley's ignominious withdrawal from Wales) rubbed salt into wounds by awarding workers a scarf & £30 vouchers to spend in the local Burberry shop, which happens to be in London. Closure is set for the end of March 2007 due to Burberry's decision to move production to China where they can cut costs from £10 a polo shirt to £2 whilst maintaining a retail price of £80. Garments have been manufactured at the factory for seventy years. Demonstrations have been held outside Burberry's London outlet. As Burberry prepares to announce increased profits of £200 million, a union official has come up with an idea: rather than rip up the £30 vouchers, he's urged the workforce to spend them in the London store & then burn any purchases outside the shop as a mark of protest. Perhaps setting fire to scarves & hats inside the shop would be more effective?


In the early hours of Sunday 19th November, items were stolen from a police van that was parked on Bryn Road, Swansea. The police had been called to a large party after complaints about noise levels were made by neighbours . When the police went in to break up the fun they left their van doors unlocked, allowing people to get inside & steal a police coat & a police notebook! What happened to"Keep it Safe Keep it Hidden Keep it Locked" boys?


south wales Hunt Saboteurs Update
Since the start of main season South Wales Saboteurs have been paying visits to the Cotswold Vale (our old favourites), & as normal found them hunting illegally, the bleating hunt were soon on the phone to the cops & again as normal it was like old friends meeting, "what! the antis are in the area? We'll be there now so you can carry on killing".
South Wales Sabs have also had away days with the Tedworth, (who were kept on the run all-day & packed up early), South Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Curre & the Pentrych on Boxing day.
Despite the crying & bleating by the Countryside Alliance two years ago, & to the surprise of millions of compassionate people (not), nothing has changed! because they're all still hunting as normal, so don't be fooled (as if you could!), by media lies, get off your backside & do something about it because the boys in blue sure aren't!!


Gagged! can be found in all sorts of strange places around south wales as well as every social centre & radical bookshop in the UK. If there's not a pile of gagged in the corner of your favourite pub, club, cafe, hairdressers, tattooists, record, book, head or anything else shop, get in touch so you can take a pile in yourself! If you want to subscribe to the e-version send an email to gagged-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. More info online at lists.riseup.net/www/info/gagged. 5000 copies are printed per issue plus several thousand are read online. We're always in need of more help in production & distribution. Send any articles, pictures, reports, diary dates or offers to help to gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk

Cardiff Anarchist Network (CAN) is a collective of people who want to pursue political demonstrations through direct action. There is no membership, no leaders, just like minded individuals. Email: cardiffanarchists@riseup.net

Gwent Anarchists are like-minded individuals believing in autonomy, respect & justice; against all forms of exploitation & bigotry. Aiming to increase the knowledge of & create a resistance to governments & big business abusing people & the earth. Email: gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk

RCT Anarchists is an autonomous group of free-thinking individuals who reject capitalism & resist state control through non-violent direct action. We work towards the creation of a world based on justice & freedom. Email: rctanarchists@riseup.net

No Borders South Wales organises on migration issues & acts to break down boundaries; racial, cultural, gender, sexual, class & political that divide us. Email: noborderswales@riseup.net

South Wales Against the G8 (SWAG8) is a coalition of groups wishing to mobilise against this year's G8 Summit both in Germany & in the UK. Email: swageight@yahoo.co.uk

Peoples Autonomous Destination (PAD) aims to create physical space in Cardiff for groups & individuals who cannot or will not work within the constraints of governmental or corporate control. Email: thepad@riseup.net Phone: 07910973876 Web: www.thepad.org.uk

Cardiff Rising Tide is a grassroots group committed to taking action & building a movement against climate change. Email: Cardiffclimateaction@hotmail.com

South Wales Animal Rights Network (SWARN) working for animal liberation Email: swarn@yahoo.co.uk Phone: 07903677111

South Wales Hunt Sabs saving animals' lives now, actively sabotaging bloodsports. Newport Post: PO Box 70, Newport NP20 5XX . Phone: 0770815642 Swansea Email: swansea_ar@webtribe.net Post: PO Box 7, Swansea, SA9 2YE Phone: 01792475092

Keep up to date with news from all over the world like the sort you find in Gagged! online at a variety of websites. Here are a few that we'd recommend: www.schnews.org.uk www.indymedia.org.uk www.libcom.org www.anarkismo.net . www.infoshop.org


Diary Dates
January

13th – Launch/Benefit for RCT (Rhondda Cynon Taff) Anarchists - KilnAboy, Tracey Curtis, Kyshera & Cosmo at Clwb Y Bont, 85a Stryd Taf, Ponypridd. 7.30pm, vegan buffet. £3

13th – 14th - Camp for Climate Action National Gathering - to plan the next Climate Camp. At the Common Place, 23-25 Wharf Street, Leeds, LS2 7EQ. www.climatecamp.org.uk

15th – CAN meeting. Upstairs in the Glamorgan Staff Club, Westgate Street, Cardiff (opposite Gate 3 of the Millennium Stadium). Fortnightly.

19th - 20th - Rising Tide National Meeting. London. www.risingtide.org.uk

22nd - Gwent Anarchists meeting. 8.30pm in The Murenger, High Street, Newport (in the snug). Fortnightly.

27th - Social Centres Gathering. 1in12 Club, Albion Street, off Fulton Street, Bradford, BD1 www.1in12.com

28th - G8 Mobilisation Meeting. Sumac Centre, 245 Gladstone Street, Nottingham NG76HX www.dissent.org.uk

29th - Phone In Sick Day - Prof. Cliff Arnall of Cardiff University says this is the most depressing day of the year! phone in sick! www.thesicknote.com

29th - CAN meeting.

FEBRUARY

5th - 2 local activists report back their experiences in Palestine, plus films, & food. Riverside Community Centre. 7-10pm

5th – Gwent Anarchists meeting.

9th-11th - G8 planning meeting, Warsaw.

10th - Demo to Close All Detention Centres & Stop Deportations. 11.30am Harmondsworth & Colnbrook Detention Centres. noborderslondon.blogspot.com

11th - David Rovics & Attila The Stockbroker. Dempseys, Castle Street, Cardiff A benefit for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign £5

12th – CAN meeting.

15th - Screening of 'Iraq for Sale' 8.00pm Chapter Arts Centre

19th – Gwent Anarchists meeting.
24th - No Trident / Troops Out of Iraq National Demonstration. 12 noon - central London www.cnduk.org

26th - CAN meeting.

MARCH

3rd – Anarchist Bookfair, the Teachers Club, 36 Parnell square, Dublin. www.wsm.ie/anarchistbookfair

5th – Gwent Anarchists meeting.
19th - Global Day Of Action against the "War On Terror", on the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

*** quick reminder - we've got our first benefit gig on friday -
http://news.southwalesanarchists.org...d=17&Itemid=34 ***

GAGGED! ..14 November 06 anti-copyright
South Wales Anarchist Newsletter .. southwalesanarchists.org .. PO Box 70, Newport NP20 5XX*
download the pdf!! - http://lists.riseup.net/www/d_read/gagged/gagged14.pdf

Contents:

War Crimes
Ransack Parliment
Guantanamo Burger & Torture Coffee
Did you get a free vegan burger with this gagged!?
Anarchist Black Cross
Cardiff anarchist in prison
Another woman dies in prison
More Crimes. More Prisons?
Ban on masks at protests?
underhand, unreasonable & unapologetic
Swansea Cop denies rape charge
Local Sab Update
From St Petersburg to Heiligendamm
Police free to kill
Police get cut
Council lies go into overdrive
Cardiff Alternative News has returned
Ding dong, the witch is (not quite) dead
New groups


Gagged! can be found in all sorts of strange places around south wales as well as every social centre & radical bookshop in the UK. If there's not a pile of gagged in the corner of your favourite pub, club, cafe, hairdressers, tattooists, record, book, head or anything else shop, get in touch so you can take a pile in yourself! If you want to subscribe to the e-version send an email to gagged-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. More info online at lists.riseup.net/www/info/gagged. 5000 copies are printed per issue plus several thousand are read online. We..re always in need of more help in production & distribution. Send any articles, pictures, reports, diary dates or offers to help to gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk

Keep up with what welsh Anarchists are doing at the G8 in russia this July:
Welsh Anarcho's in Russia 2006